The nine man early break included Sergio Henao, who was now forty eight minutes down in the GC. They were not allowed to build a gap of more than three minutes as Lotto and Zakarin's Swissair led the chase. The peloton was down to sixty riders on top of the second climb. I had lost all my teammates! Three members of the break were caught on the third climb but five new riders, none of them GC contenders, attacked soon after. The pace of the fifty odd strong peloton was slow at this point. With 18 km left, Dan Martin and Rolland attacked. They built up a gap slowly. With 9 km left, Verona and Ania attacked. At this stage the former duo had built up a two minute lead. Sepulveda attacked next. With 6 km to go, the gap to Martin and Rolland was still two minutes, with Sepulveda thirty seconds behind them. Zakarin, Dayer Quintana and Vuillermoz were the next to attack as I faded. I did my best to keep my rhythm. I lost all the time I had made up on stage 15 and more and went back to 7th in the GC.
Stage 17
The last of the four consecutive high mountain stages. de Gendt the eight man break, which built up a six minute lead at the most. The pace of the pack, tired from the recent efforts, was slow on the second climb. I realized very early that my legs wouldn't be able to take the effort of an attack. I concentrated on the staying with the pack. Two from the break survived, with Zakarin taking even more time to the rest of us. The rest of the top 10 finished together.
Stage 18 was a flat and the entire peloton breathed a sigh of relief. van Gestel, who joined the break, finished 4th for us as the break survived.
Stage 19 saw another six man break survive, despite having only ninety seconds over the pack with 20 km to go.
Stage 20 was the 'Do or Die' stage for me. Two flat stages had allowed me to recover. The break was ten riders strong and built up a six minute lead. The peloton was down to around seventy five riders on the third climb. I only had Theuns left in support. The even further reduced peloton caught three riders from the break on teh fourth climb. Theuns was dropped. With the break now five minutes ahead, and looking certain of taking the stage, Dayer Quintana and Rolland attacked with 17 km to go. They were caught after 4 km. Ion Izagirre was dropped as Sepulveda, Dan Martin and Dayer, once again, sped away. I managed to stay on Zakarin's wheel till the finish, losing a few seconds to my rivals. Izagirre made his way back befoer the line, finishing on my wheel. The break took the stage.
Stage 21 was the flat ride into Milan. van Gestel joined the eight man break. Although they never had more than three minutes to the pack, they survived with van Gestel crossing the line in 2nd place. The GC toppers were safely escorted to the line by their respective teammates.
General Classification
1
Ilnur Zakarin
Swissair
77h11'28
2
Ion Izagirre
TEAM Cepsa
+ 10'40
3
Daniel Martin
Tinkoff-Saxo
+ 15'37
4
Dayer Quintana
Colombia
+ 17'06
5
Eduardo Sepulveda
Tinkoff-Saxo
+ 17'11
6
Alexis Vuillermoz
Ag2r La Mondiale
+ 18'46
7
Abhishek Sinha
Lotto Soudal
+ 19'37
8
Arnaud Duteil
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 21'06
9
Peter Sagan
Tinkoff-Saxo
+ 23'59
10
Rafał Majka
TEAM Cepsa
+ 24'39
Spoiler
11
Pierre Rolland
Team Sky
+ 29'58
12
Carlos Verona
Team Sky
+ 31'09
13
Cyril Gautier
Team Europcar
+ 31'49
14
Clement Penven
Team Europcar
+ 33'15
15
Sam Oomen
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 35'28
16
Anastasio Ania
Tinkoff-Saxo
+ 35'40
17
Cameron Meyer
Drapac Professional Cycling
+ 40'05
18
Mathieu van der Poel
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 41'35
19
Francesco Bongiorno
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+ 44'00
20
Peter Kennaugh
Team Sky
+ 44'26
21
Laurens De Plus
Point Chaud
+ 45'39
22
Rubén Fernández
TEAM Cepsa
+ 45'49
23
Alexander Foliforov
Tinkoff-Saxo
+ 46'25
24
Jay McCarthy
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 48'34
25
Alvaro Cuadros
Astana Pro Team
+ 52'21
26
Esteban Chaves
Swissair
+ 53'56
27
Moreno Moser
Ag2r La Mondiale
+ 54'41
28
Lachlan Morton
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 57'39
29
Hector Saez
Team Katusha
+ 58'35
30
Sébastien Reichenbach
Nike
+ 1h00'27
31
Sebastian Henao
Team Sky
+ 1h00'50
32
Davide Malacarne
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+ 1h02'19
33
Edoardo Zardini
Astana Pro Team
+ 1h03'40
34
Merhawi Kudus
Astana Pro Team
+ 1h05'16
35
Léo Vincent
Team Europcar
+ 1h06'22
36
Jan Hirt
MTN-Qhubeka
+ 1h11'40
37
Grégory Ambroise
Ag2r La Mondiale
+ 1h12'22
38
Bernard Thiel
Drapac Professional Cycling
+ 1h14'09
39
José Ramella
Astana Pro Team
+ 1h15'35
40
Daniel Felipe Martinez
Colombia
+ 1h16'02
41
Silvio Herklotz
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 1h21'26
42
Tobias Ludvigsson
Swissair
+ 1h21'32
43
Daniele Dall'Oste
Team Sky
+ 1h22'21
44
Eugenio Moreno Rosillo
Team Katusha
+ 1h27'05
45
Sonny Colbrelli
Swissair
+ 1h30'02
46
Jesús Herrada
TEAM Cepsa
+ 1h31'19
47
Alberto Contador
TEAM Cepsa
+ 1h32'16
48
Davide Villella
Swissair
+ 1h34'11
49
Sérgio Henao
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 1h36'35
50
Lennard Kämna
MTN-Qhubeka
+ 1h36'38
51
Nelson Oliveira
Stella Artois
+ 1h36'42
52
Matteo Rabottini
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+ 1h41'01
53
Petr Vakoč
Swissair
+ 1h42'00
54
Daniele Ratto
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 1h43'52
55
Jérémy Cornu
Decathlon
+ 1h44'35
56
Gavin Mannion
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+ 1h46'54
57
Jan Bakelants
Point Chaud
+ 1h47'18
58
Robert Gesink
MTN-Qhubeka
+ 1h47'51
59
Lukas Löer
Team Sky
+ 1h47'52
60
Bernardo Suaza
Colombia
+ 1h48'19
61
Filadelfio Soriano
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+ 1h49'03
62
Amir Kolahdozhagh
Drapac Professional Cycling
+ 1h49'09
63
Michael Matthews
Tinkoff-Saxo
+ 1h51'50
64
Adriano Malori
Stella Artois
+ 1h53'21
65
Nathan Brown
Nike
+ 1h53'49
66
Michael Hepburn
Tinkoff-Saxo
+ 1h56'13
67
Geoffrey Duteil
Ag2r La Mondiale
+ 1h57'56
68
Davide Cimolai
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+ 1h58'17
69
Stefan Denifl
Liqui Moly
+ 1h59'33
70
Rayane Bouhanni
Decathlon
+ 2h00'14
71
Christopher Juul-Jensen
Team Europcar
+ 2h03'19
72
Kenichi Kondo
Swissair
+ 2h06'14
73
Edward Theuns
Lotto Soudal
+ 2h08'06
74
Luke Durbridge
Team Sky
+ 2h10'29
75
Sep Vanmarcke
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 2h10'53
76
Valerio Conti
Astana Pro Team
+ 2h11'13
77
Danny Van Poppel
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 2h12'21
78
Marko Díaz
Colombia
+ 2h12'58
79
Juan José Lobato
Team Katusha
+ 2h13'26
80
Luis León Sánchez
TEAM Cepsa
+ 2h15'17
81
Ildar Arslanov
Team Katusha
+ 2h15'41
82
Thomas Bonnin
Team Europcar
+ 2h17'16
83
Nico Denz
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 2h17'47
84
Stefan Küng
Tinkoff-Saxo
+ 2h17'55
85
Karel Hník
Liqui Moly
+ 2h18'10
86
Simone Carantoni
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 2h19'09
87
Arnaud Demare
Team Europcar
+ 2h21'25
88
Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier
Decathlon
+ 2h21'32
89
Thomas De Gendt
Lotto Soudal
+ 2h22'16
90
Luca Chirico
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 2h22'27
91
Jacques Mevel
Ag2r La Mondiale
+ 2h25'14
92
Salvatore Puccio
Astana Pro Team
+ 2h25'41
93
Steff Hermans
Nike
+ 2h26'02
94
Yuber Conteras
Colombia
+ 2h28'22
95
Jelle Wallays
Stella Artois
+ 2h29'39
96
Kevin Ledanois
Ag2r La Mondiale
+ 2h29'49
97
Pim Ligthart
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 2h30'53
98
Alexis Gougeard
Team Europcar
+ 2h31'06
99
Dries Van Gestel
Lotto Soudal
+ 2h31'47
100
Moreno Hofland
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 2h33'14
101
Dylan van Baarle
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+ 2h34'28
102
Geoffrey Curran
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+ 2h34'36
103
Florian Maître
Team Europcar
+ 2h36'14
104
Mikel Iturria
Team Katusha
+ 2h36'20
105
Tim Declercq
Point Chaud
+ 2h36'56
106
Alton McArther
Astana Pro Team
+ 2h37'17
107
Miles Scotson
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 2h37'26
108
Johan Le Bon
Nike
+ 2h37'32
109
Gustav Hoog
Swissair
+ 2h39'53
110
Michael Hümbert
Drapac Professional Cycling
+ 2h41'45
111
Markus Freiberger
Liqui Moly
+ 2h42'16
112
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 2h42'28
113
Mads Theodorsen
Drapac Professional Cycling
+ 2h44'33
114
Christophe Laporte
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 2h44'59
115
Artem Nych
Team Katusha
+ 2h45'32
116
Davide Ballerini
Nike
+ 2h46'20
117
Ramon Sinkeldam
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 2h46'24
118
Ryan Mullen
TEAM Cepsa
+ 2h47'25
119
Ricardo García
Team Katusha
+ 2h49'49
120
Alexander Geuens
Stella Artois
+ 2h51'16
121
Ricardo van Dongen
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 2h51'57
122
Sjors Roosen
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 2h52'40
123
Sean De Bie
Lotto Soudal
+ 2h53'44
124
Quentin Pacher
Colombia
+ 2h54'09
125
Gijs Van Hoecke
Nike
+ 2h55'06
126
Nawaf Albalooshi
Team Katusha
+ 2h55'50
127
Marcel Kittel
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 2h56'29
128
Axel Domont
Decathlon
+ 2h57'13
129
Enzo Wouters
Drapac Professional Cycling
+ 3h00'08
130
Jonas Bokeloh
MTN-Qhubeka
+ 3h01'02
131
Andrea Guardini
TEAM Cepsa
+ 3h03'28
132
Joshua Huppertz
Liqui Moly
+ 3h04'00
133
Dylan Groenewegen
MTN-Qhubeka
+ 3h04'09
134
Julien Vermote
Point Chaud
+ 3h04'52
135
Leigh Howard
Lotto Soudal
+ 3h05'01
136
Stefano Pirazzi
Nike
+ 3h05'50
137
Damien Gaudin
Ag2r La Mondiale
+ 3h06'09
138
Elia Viviani
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 3h06'18
139
Michał Paluta
MTN-Qhubeka
+ 3h07'16
140
Taylor Phinney
MTN-Qhubeka
+ 3h09'35
141
Matteo Pelucchi
Team Sky
+ 3h09'51
142
George Bennett
Colombia
+ 3h10'45
143
Roman Shevchuk
Colombia
+ 3h10'59
144
Frederik Backaert
Point Chaud
+ 3h11'20
145
Alexander Kristoff
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 3h15'16
146
Jonas Rapp
Drapac Professional Cycling
+ 3h17'43
147
Fabio Sabatini
Drapac Professional Cycling
+ 3h17'49
148
Eduard-Michael Grosu
Lotto Soudal
+ 3h17'58
149
Lucas Liss
Liqui Moly
s.t.
150
Simone Antonini
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 3h19'02
151
Alex Dowsett
Stella Artois
+ 3h20'04
152
Kristian Haugaard
Colombia
+ 3h24'20
153
Jasper Bovenhuis
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 3h25'18
154
Olivier Naesen
Point Chaud
+ 3h25'22
155
Edward Serroels
Ag2r La Mondiale
+ 3h25'36
156
Miguel Bryon
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+ 3h26'19
157
Zico Waeytens
Lotto Soudal
+ 3h28'05
158
Eduard Prades
Team Katusha
+ 3h30'02
159
Thomas Bergeret
Decathlon
+ 3h34'02
160
Jimmy Raibaud
Ag2r La Mondiale
+ 3h36'02
161
Gerry Druyts
Point Chaud
+ 3h37'45
162
Simone Sterbini
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 3h38'49
163
Romain Combaud
Team Europcar
+ 3h39'43
164
Raffaele Radice
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 3h40'19
165
Tom Van Asbroeck
Decathlon
+ 3h41'20
166
Tobias Wauch
Liqui Moly
+ 3h43'19
167
Lukas Spengler
Nike
+ 3h43'48
168
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Stella Artois
+ 3h48'15
169
Brenton Jones
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 3h48'38
170
Michael Vingerling
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 3h52'09
171
Nathan Van Hooydonck
Stella Artois
+ 3h53'55
172
Kevin Reza
Decathlon
+ 3h55'43
173
Jacopo Guarnieri
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 3h55'49
174
Daniel Hoelgaard
MTN-Qhubeka
+ 4h02'11
175
Michael Schwarzmann
Swissair
+ 4h07'27
176
Feritcam Samli
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 4h10'37
177
Fabian Cancellara
Nike
+ 4h13'09
178
Marcus Christie
Drapac Professional Cycling
+ 4h16'07
179
Davy Gunst
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 4h22'07
180
Frederik Frison
Point Chaud
+ 4h23'07
181
Filippo Fortin
Liqui Moly
+ 4h25'27
182
Pascal Ackermann
Liqui Moly
+ 4h39'05
183
Vincent Jérôme
Decathlon
+ 4h46'09
184
Nino Honigh
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 4h55'02
Points Classification
1
Ilnur Zakarin
Swissair
202
2
Peter Sagan
Tinkoff-Saxo
184
3
Ion Izagirre
TEAM Cepsa
132
4
Daniel Martin
Tinkoff-Saxo
131
5
Sérgio Henao
Orica-GreenEDGE
114
Mountain Classification
1
Peter Kennaugh
Team Sky
67
2
Clement Penven
Team Europcar
58
3
Ilnur Zakarin
Swissair
47
4
Alexander Foliforov
Tinkoff-Saxo
35
5
Eugenio Moreno Rosillo
Team Katusha
30
Young Riders Classification
1
Abhishek Sinha
Lotto Soudal
77h31'05
2
Sam Oomen
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 15'51
3
Anastasio Ania
Tinkoff-Saxo
+ 16'03
4
Mathieu van der Poel
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 21'58
5
Laurens De Plus
Point Chaud
+ 26'02
Team Classification
1
Tinkoff-Saxo
231h35'58
2
TEAM Cepsa
+ 39'50
3
Team Sky
+ 45'17
4
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 49'01
5
Team Europcar
+ 1h05'31
I managed to tie my best ever result in a Grand Tour. Week two was perfect and it looked like I might get close to the podium, if not climb on to it. But the day after the rest day caught me off guard and I paid a heavy price. I have to say that despite their weakness in the mountains (the team finished 16th in the classification, three and a half hours in arrears), my teammates performed admirably to support me as much as they could. I've never really had a bad relationship with any of them. Just that bad management came in the way.
If anyone had any doubt, this Vuelta is a reminder that just one bad day on the bike is enough to ruin a year's preparation and three weeks of hard toil.
Such an existing rollercoaster ride this Vuelta a Espana was for Abhishek and anyone following him. Not too bad the result either, even though we were all suddenly whispering podium after stage 15.
Mixed feelings seem to be the common thread in every GT Abhishek races. At least you've proved that you're still able to get decent results in this kind of races.
Also, must have been one hell of a last stage to Milan.
@Kiserlovski: You are right unfortunately. It's become a case of one step forward, one step back in every GT I start. I need to start proving I can get better than decent results soon, else the offers for GT leadership in WT teams will start to dry up!
September and October
Just two races in my calendar in the last two months, not considering half the Vuelta happening in September. I would be in Italy for both races.
September
The last week of September saw me turn out in Prato for a one day race.
GP Industria and Commercio di Prato
Surprisingly, I was given a free role for this race, but to be honest, I wasn't surprised about any management decision anymore! I stayed in the pack as four different breakaway attempts were chased down before the first climb. A lone rider consisted of the day's break, who managed to establish a three and a half minute lead over the pack. I lost support of two teammates at the base of the last climb, as they failed to catch up to the pack after a fall. On top of that climb, and with 25 km to go, Mohoric attacked with another rider in tow. They were caught with 15 km to go. The peloton did not allow any other attackers to get a gap. With 2 km to go and the pack down to less than a hundred, I attacked! With another kilometer gone, I had 12 seconds to the pack. The hesitation in the pack played to my advantage and I pulled away in the closing kilometer. I got my win, my third one-day race victory of the year. Mohoric claimed 2nd with Vliegen5th to round out a great race for Lotto.
1
Abhishek Sinha
Lotto Soudal
4h19'59
2
Matej Mohoric
Lotto Soudal
+ 26
3
Marco Tecchio
Team Unieuro Wilier Trevigiani
s.t.
4
Adriano Malori
Stella Artois
s.t.
5
Loïc Vliegen
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
6
Willy Willwohl
Hrvatski Telekom
s.t.
7
Victor Campenaerts
Stella Artois
s.t.
8
Miguel Angel Lopez
Stella Artois
s.t.
9
Gian Marco Di Francesco
TEAM Pisa University
s.t.
10
Jef Van Meirhaeghe
Stella Artois
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Kristijan Durasek
Swissair
s.t.
12
Diego Rosa
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
13
Adamo Vespa
Southeast
s.t.
14
Muhamad Othman
Telekom Slovenije
s.t.
15
Jacopo Guarnieri
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
16
Tom Slagter
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
17
Francesco Bongiorno
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
18
Dimitri Le Boulch
Stella Artois
s.t.
19
Scott Ambrose
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
20
Michele Scartezzini
Southeast
s.t.
21
Michał Paluta
MTN-Qhubeka
s.t.
22
Fredrik Galta
Martini
s.t.
23
Charly Wickliff
Stella Artois
s.t.
24
Oreste Scotta
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
25
Andrea Vaccher
Southeast
s.t.
26
Alessio Lanzano
Southeast
s.t.
27
Bart De Clercq
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
28
Samir Jabrayilov
MTN-Qhubeka
s.t.
29
Rudi Milic
MTN-Qhubeka
s.t.
30
Dylan Teuns
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
31
Rafaël Le Breton
MTN-Qhubeka
s.t.
32
Hernán Aguirre
Team Unieuro Wilier Trevigiani
s.t.
33
Odd Christian Eiking
Swissair
s.t.
34
Giovanni Pedretti
Martini
s.t.
35
Jan Hirt
MTN-Qhubeka
s.t.
36
Eugenio Alafaci
Team Sky
s.t.
37
Nicola Gaffurini
Marcello Bergamo
s.t.
38
Salvatore Puccio
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
39
Pierre Rolland
Team Sky
s.t.
40
Beñat Intxausti
MTN-Qhubeka
s.t.
41
Davide Malacarne
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
42
Massimo Mogni
Stella Artois
s.t.
43
Andrea Manfredi
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
44
Andrea Tomassini
Gewiss
s.t.
45
Bernardo Pedone
Stella Artois
s.t.
46
Ildar Arslanov
Team Katusha
s.t.
47
Enrico Battaglin
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
48
Antonio Nibali
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
49
Christian Livieri
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
50
Alexis Guerin
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
51
Fredy Antonio Reátegui
Team Katusha
s.t.
52
Matteo Occhialini
TEAM Pisa University
s.t.
53
Manuel Senni
Team Katusha
s.t.
54
Lorenzo Rota
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
55
Sergey Shulga
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
56
Carlos Verona
Team Sky
s.t.
57
Jérémy Maison
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
58
Nathan Haas
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
59
Goredema Dabengwa
MTN-Qhubeka
s.t.
60
Anthony Roux
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
61
Simone Ponzi
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
62
Antonio Dubois
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
63
Kenny Elissonde
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
64
Tony Pozniak
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
65
Patrick Konrad
Swissair
s.t.
66
Alfredo Balloni
Martini
s.t.
67
Robert Gesink
MTN-Qhubeka
s.t.
68
Simone Andreetta
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
69
Samuele Conti
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
70
Grégory Ambroise
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
71
Fabio Tuzi
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
72
Nico Denz
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
73
Manuele Boaro
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
74
Davide Villella
Swissair
s.t.
75
Moreno Giampaolo
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
76
Riccardo Donato
Martini
s.t.
77
José Ramella
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
78
Franco Leon
Swissair
s.t.
79
Luca Cappelli
Martini
s.t.
80
Daniele Dall'Oste
Team Sky
s.t.
81
Mitchell Lovelock-Fay
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
82
Arnaud Courteille
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
83
Théo Vimpere
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
84
Stefano Nardelli
Martini
s.t.
85
Edoardo Saviolo
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
86
Tibor Kozak
Team Katusha
s.t.
87
Dario Cataldo
Team Sky
s.t.
88
Javier Moreno
Team Katusha
s.t.
89
Pedro Merino
Team Katusha
s.t.
90
Kim Magnusson
Telekom Slovenije
s.t.
91
Eugenio Moreno Rosillo
Team Katusha
s.t.
92
Gini Turano
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
93
Piergiuseppe Zago
Marcello Bergamo
s.t.
94
Mirko Torta
Marcello Bergamo
s.t.
95
Brian Bulgac
Swissair
s.t.
96
Franz Nentwich
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
97
Francesco Chesi
Southeast
s.t.
98
Andrea Lomonaco
Marcello Bergamo
s.t.
99
Ryan Sutton
Team Sky
s.t.
100
Giacomo Berlato
Gewiss
s.t.
101
Mathias Frank
Swissair
s.t.
102
Riccardo Tito
Martini
s.t.
103
Josué Moyano
Team Unieuro Wilier Trevigiani
s.t.
104
Hyeoung Min Choe
Marcello Bergamo
s.t.
105
Esteban Chaves
Swissair
s.t.
106
Matteo Gozzi
Gewiss
s.t.
107
Campbell Flakemore
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
108
Joshua Edmondson
Team Sky
s.t.
109
Raffaello Bonusi
Gewiss
s.t.
110
Willie Smit
Telekom Slovenije
s.t.
111
Alessandro Mazzi
SIDI
s.t.
112
Riccardo Stacchiotti
SIDI
s.t.
113
Francesco Bonistalli
Team Unieuro Wilier Trevigiani
s.t.
114
Richie Porte
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
115
Giacomo Tomio
TEAM Pisa University
s.t.
116
Omar Lombardi
SIDI
s.t.
117
Sérgio Godoy
Team Unieuro Wilier Trevigiani
s.t.
118
Jörg Welling
SIDI
s.t.
119
Pavel Gorenc
Telekom Slovenije
s.t.
120
Antonio Bickel
Hrvatski Telekom
s.t.
121
Sergey Nikolaev
SIDI
s.t.
122
Nick Forrest
Team Sky
s.t.
123
Pietro Sposito
Gewiss
s.t.
124
Jordan Stannus
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
125
Agatino De Angeli
SIDI
s.t.
126
Nazario Petito
SIDI
s.t.
127
Rein Taaramäe
TEAM Pisa University
s.t.
128
Pier Antonio Tagliente
Team Unieuro Wilier Trevigiani
s.t.
129
Endi Sirol
Hrvatski Telekom
+ 3'01
130
Aureliano Rea
Southeast
s.t.
131
Georgi Khvostunov
TEAM Pisa University
+ 3'26
132
Fabiano Papa
Marcello Bergamo
s.t.
133
Chad Haga
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
134
Serge Pauwels
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
135
Paweł Cieślik
Southeast
s.t.
136
Saverio Balduino
Southeast
s.t.
137
Andrea Luxich
Marcello Bergamo
s.t.
138
Alessio Taliani
Martini
s.t.
139
Sebastiano Frassetto
Team Unieuro Wilier Trevigiani
+ 4'27
140
Mirco Mainetto
Team Unieuro Wilier Trevigiani
s.t.
141
Mattia Frapporti
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
142
Luka Grubic
Hrvatski Telekom
+ 5'08
143
Maarten Brinkman
Telekom Slovenije
s.t.
144
Juraj Plass
Telekom Slovenije
s.t.
145
Vuk Hrustic
Gewiss
s.t.
146
Rainer Obrecht
Hrvatski Telekom
+ 6'55
147
Luka Jovanovic
Gewiss
+ 9'53
148
Antongiulio Capone
TEAM Pisa University
s.t.
149
Roberto Cesaro
Gewiss
+ 11'12
150
Federico Rocchetti
SIDI
+ 12'12
151
Eduard Vorganov
Hrvatski Telekom
+ 13'52
October
Only one race in October this year, and it's the Autumn Monument. The preapration for this race was hampered as I suffered a bruised forearm in training. Still, there was no way I was letting this chance go.
Il Lombardia
I was the designated leader for Lotto here. The three man break were left on a long leash as the pack meandered up the first climb. Immediately afterwards, the pack sped up and the gap started reducing drastically. The break was caught halfway up the third climb. At the top, a four man group - Landa, Bardet, Foliforov and Adam Yates - led the field. I found myself alone in the third group on the road, but not many seconds behind. After the descent, there was a short truce of sorts as the lead group swelled in size to around twenty riders. Three riders attacked at the base of the fourth climb. I was in the group of eleven riders chasing. By the time we had gone up and down that climb, I was out contention, in the fifth group on the road, more than three minutes down on the leaders. Merwahi Kudus created a massive surprise by winning the race, becoming the first African winner in the race's illustrious history!
Spoiler
Game crashed after the podium. Could not export results.
It was an up and down fortnight, my last in Lotto colours. Although I would've liked the results in the last two races to be reversed, I think I leave the team with my head held high.
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 10-08-2017 05:47
Regarding game crash can recommend this tool, and unbelievable great tool that can help you in so many ways with story writing, very easy to use too.:
Amongst other good things it has the results in a spreadsheet, when the auto generated is not there for some reason. https://pcmdaily.c...p?did=1053
I managed to come back strong from the disappointments of last season. The policy of not setting concrete goals but taking each race as it comes paid off. I have to say I was not expecting to come away with three one day race victories this year, even though they weren't the top races. I finished inside the top 10 in all but 4 races!
Did I establish my Grand Tour credentials? Not absolutely. But I did enough for another top World Team to put their faith in me. I know I can get close to the top of the podium with just a bit more consistency. That should come with experience, something I gathered plenty of this year. I round off my time at Lotto with my best ever season in the cycling peloton.
Shame about the Vuelta. But altogether a very good season, great final positions in the individual rankings.
Spoiler
As for PCMCE, I didn't quite understand the problem but if the update feature is broken you can turn off the auto updater by editing the autoupdater.config, set <Enabled>false</Enabled>.
I step into my seventh season in professional cycling and the fourth team in my career. 2020 was both a breakthrough and an eye-opening season for me. I got my first GC win and I messed up in the final week of the Vuelta. I showed that I can challenge for the top spot on the podium and also realized the amount of hard work that still needed to be done to get there. A big responsibility has been placed on me for the new season, leading my new team in two Grand Tours. I approach the year with both nervousness and anticipation.
Duvel Team Presentation
Duvel's team looks well balanced to challenge in all types of races. I am still getting to know my new teammates and getting familiar with how the team works. So far, it's been a good ride. After the turbulent conditions under which I signed, I am glad to finally have this sense of stability back.
Rider Presentation
Some more improvement for me over the past year but the rate has definitely flattened out. I wonder how much further I can push myself to improve. You know I won't keep trying!
@Aquarius: Duvel do have good mountain support, which was one the reasons I picked them over the others who offered me a contract. With Lotto, I was almost always fighting a lonely battle up climbs. There's only so many attacks I can follow on my own.
@Ollie: Nice to hear from you. And like I said above, the climbing support is what swung the deal in favour of Duvel. And there's a strict no beer policy till we win something
I always get nervous at the start of a new season. The nervousness doubles when I start a season with a new team. There are so many unknowns to figure out. Starting off 2021 was no different.
Tour de San Luis
Duvel announced a very strong team for this race. It was a get to know session among the best climbers in the team. Both Barguil and Dumoulin were penned in to feature and I was hoping get a feel of how well we gelled, even at this early stage.
We were favourites going into the 21 km Team Time Trial on Stage 1. We lived up top our top billing, finishing seventeen seconds ahead of Orica. I got the race leader's jersey by virtue of crossing the line first.
Stage 2 was one for the sprinters and I held on for a smooth ride. The early break was caught with 7 km left. Jasper Stuyven, former teammate at Lotto, took the win.
Stage 3
The first of the stages with climbs. The early three man break was joined by another after the first climb. I launched the first attack from the peloton, 2 km from the top of the third climb, and with 14 km to go. I was followed by Aru alone. We caught and passed the break and had 50 seconds to the pack at the top of the climb. Four others attacked out of the peloton with 10 km to go and caught up to me. By this time, Aru had got a 20 second lead. The others got away, while I was caught by the charging peloton. Only Aru and Kwiatkowski survived till the finish as the rest were swept up. Kwiatkowski took the lead in the GC.
Stage 4
The first real test of the season going uphill. The four man early break were not allowed to get a big lead. Elissonde was the first to attack, just after the second intermediate sprint. The GC favourites got their act together and followed suit. With 7 km to go, Aru was alone out in front with a nine man group, with me and Barguil in it, chasing. I understood what a 'super-domestique' does in a mountain stage as Barguil closed the gap to Aru. The lead group was now down to seven with race leader Kwiatkowski dropped. I couldn't follow Aru's next attack as Barguil finally faded. I managed to drop everyone else to finish 2nd on the stage and move up to 2nd in the GC. Barguil's 9th place on the stage moved him into the top 5 in the GC.
GC after Stage 4
1
Fabio Aru
Huawei
10h12'25
2
Abhishek Sinha
Duvel
+ 26
3
Michał Kwiatkowski
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 1'14
4
Rohan Dennis
Huawei
+ 3'32
5
Warren Barguil
Duvel
+ 3'48
Stage 5 was one for the sprinters. The break was caught with 3 km to go and the stage was decided in a bunch sprint.
Stage 6
The decider. The early break of six was caught before the ridge leading up to the second intermediate sprint. 50 km still remained. Once again, it was Elissonde who attacked out of the pack first, on the third category climb. Gregory Ambroise attacked next and left Elissonde in his wake. With 11 km to go, Ambroise was the lone leader with Elissonde chasing. I was alone, chasing a group of 11 with Barguil and Craddock, and the rest of the GC hotshots. With 7 km to go, Ambroise was still leading with Barguil the lone chaser followed by Duteil. I was in the GC leaders' group with Craddock. I dropped Aru, followed by the rest of the GC contenders, as I made my way forward. I caught up to Duteil, while Aru recovered to drop the rest of the challengers. We caught up to Barguil and then I proceeded to drop both of them as I raced ahead in search of the stage win. I could not make up the distance, claiming 2nd. I did manage to put enough time into Aru to take the lead in the GC! Barguil finished 3rd on the stage but remained in 5th in the GC.
Stage Result
1
Grégory Ambroise
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
3h42'38
2
Abhishek Sinha
Duvel
+ 39
3
Warren Barguil
Duvel
+ 2'12
4
Arnaud Duteil
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 2'17
5
Fabio Aru
Huawei
+ 2'26
Stage 7 was another flat stage and I enjoyed my day in the sun. The pack split into three in the closing kilometers because of the fast pace. I sprinted to an unlikely 9th place at the finish.
(My day out in the sun!)
General Classification
1
Abhishek Sinha
Duvel
17h35'23
2
Fabio Aru
Huawei
+ 1'27
3
Michał Kwiatkowski
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 3'32
4
Grégory Ambroise
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
+ 4'00
5
Warren Barguil
Duvel
+ 4'57
6
Arnaud Duteil
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 5'42
7
Rohan Dennis
Huawei
+ 7'20
8
Xabier Martínez Madrigal
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 7'45
9
Kenny Elissonde
Ag2r La Mondiale
+ 8'42
10
Rafał Majka
TEAM Cepsa
+ 8'46
Spoiler
11 Juan Chamorro Colombia + 8'49
12 Lennard Kämna Team Giant-Alpecin + 9'03
13 Rubén Fernández TEAM Cepsa + 10'55
14 Aidan van Niekerk Old Spice + 12'32
15 Lawson Craddock Duvel + 12'48
16 Rok Oslaj Colombia + 12'52
17 Tom Dumoulin Duvel + 13'53
18 Dayer Quintana Colombia + 14'39
19 Natnael Berhane Orica-GreenEDGE + 15'11
20 Diego Rubio TEAM Cepsa + 15'35
21 Thierrry Berthault Ag2r La Mondiale + 17'02
22 Mao Zhang ERDF + 18'13
23 Pedro Marín Orica-GreenEDGE + 18'37
24 Jay McCarthy Huawei + 18'40
25 Simone Carantoni Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec + 18'48
26 Felix Großschartner ERDF + 19'38
27 Antonio Nibali TEAM Cepsa + 19'40
28 Axel Domont Ag2r La Mondiale + 20'10
29 Jarl Salomein De Koninck + 20'42
30 Lukas Spengler Trek Factory Racing + 20'58
31 Elmar Reinders CULT Energy Pro Cycling + 21'11
32 Scott Davies ERDF s.t.
33 Jelle Wallays Duvel + 21'21
34 Travis Meyer Orica-GreenEDGE + 21'36
35 Pedro Sequera Old Spice + 21'47
36 Bert-Jan Lindeman Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton + 22'00
37 Jérôme Francois Trek Factory Racing + 22'29
38 Matteo Pelucchi Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec + 22'39
39 Nicolas Edet Ag2r La Mondiale s.t.
40 Richard Handley Old Spice + 22'45
41 Dario Hernández New Zealand + 22'51
42 Dylan Page Trek Factory Racing + 22'52
43 Benjamin Zimmermann Orica-GreenEDGE + 22'54
44 Thomas Sprengers De Koninck + 23'02
45 Luca Chirico Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec + 23'17
46 Jasper Stuyven De Koninck + 23'47
47 Mathias Rask Jeppessen Team Cannondale - Garmin + 23'49
48 Nacer Bouhanni Team Giant-Alpecin + 23'59
49 Quentin Pacher Colombia + 24'02
50 Dimitri Le Boulch Duvel + 24'19
51 Tim Declercq De Koninck + 24'33
52 Troels Ronning Vinther CULT Energy Pro Cycling + 24'53
53 Michael Mørkøv CULT Energy Pro Cycling + 24'54
54 Ramon Sinkeldam Team Giant-Alpecin + 25'05
55 Alexander Edmondson New Zealand s.t.
56 Steven Lammertink Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton + 25'46
57 Luke Rowe Huawei + 26'00
58 Nick Van Der Meer ERDF + 26'21
59 Nassor Akpabio Old Spice s.t.
60 Ben King Trek Factory Racing s.t.
61 Tim Kerkhof Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton + 26'25
62 Davide Pacchiardo Team Cannondale - Garmin s.t.
63 Yoeri Havik Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton + 26'28
64 Matteo Malucelli TEAM Cepsa s.t.
65 Stef Krul Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton s.t.
66 Rudy Barbier ERDF + 26'29
67 Martijn Degreve CULT Energy Pro Cycling + 26'41
68 Nicolas Marini Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec + 26'54
69 Emiel Planckaert Trek Factory Racing + 27'43
70 Filadelfio Soriano Team Cannondale - Garmin + 27'45
71 Yves Lampaert De Koninck + 27'58
72 Simone Antonini Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec s.t.
73 Giacomo Nizzolo Huawei + 28'43
74 Taco Van Der Hoorn Team Giant-Alpecin + 28'50
75 Gerald Ciolek Colombia + 29'42
76 Allessio Bottura Team Cannondale - Garmin + 29'59
77 Thomas Wrona Old Spice + 30'20
78 Dmitry Mokrov New Zealand + 30'24
79 Muchaneta Cremer Team Cannondale - Garmin + 30'55
80 Fariji Tahar Trek Factory Racing + 30'57
81 Jiri Polnicky New Zealand + 31'44
82 Mohamed Kok Keong Colombia + 32'07
83 Olaf Buekens De Koninck + 33'14
84 Andrejs Miholap CULT Energy Pro Cycling + 33'15
85 Saare Gabra Old Spice + 34'47
86 Jan Maas Team Giant-Alpecin + 34'48
87 Fabien Canal Ag2r La Mondiale + 35'19
88 Gamal Jespersen CULT Energy Pro Cycling + 35'33
89 Aaron Gate New Zealand + 36'20
90 Nicolas Dietrich Ag2r La Mondiale + 36'21
91 Omar Bertazzo TEAM Cepsa + 36'56
92 Maxim Pokidov New Zealand + 37'54
93 Aimé Moro ERDF + 39'11
94 Diego Rosa Team Cannondale - Garmin + 39'58
95 Enrico Barbin Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec + 40'48
96 George Tansley Huawei + 43'03
Points Classification
1
Simone Carantoni
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
8
2
Michael Mørkøv
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
8
3
Lukas Spengler
Trek Factory Racing
5
4
Troels Ronning Vinther
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
5
5
Steven Lammertink
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
5
Mountain Classification
1
Grégory Ambroise
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
22
2
Abhishek Sinha
Duvel
20
3
Fabio Aru
Huawei
19
4
Warren Barguil
Duvel
15
5
Arnaud Duteil
Team Giant-Alpecin
10
Young Riders Classification
1
Abhishek Sinha
Duvel
17h35'23
2
Grégory Ambroise
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
+ 4'00
3
Xabier Martínez Madrigal
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 7'45
4
Lennard Kämna
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 9'03
5
Aidan van Niekerk
Old Spice
+ 12'32
Team Classification
1
Duvel
52h12'10
2
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 8'25
3
Huawei
+ 9'18
4
Colombia
+ 15'54
5
TEAM Cepsa
+ 16'15
Off to a superb start once again! I won a stage in my first race with Lotto, now I've won the race at San Luis with Duvel. A lot of credit for this win goes to the work done by Barguil on stage four and six. I was right in choosing Duvel for it's climbing team. Not so good a race for Dumoulin but am sure he'll improve as the season progresses. A lot of accolades all around for us. You can be sure that the Duvel will be passed around quite a bit tonight!
.
Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia 
Int. Osterreich Rundfahrt 
GP Industria and Commercio di Prato 
