Poels' run of great results continues with the Tour of Austria, this time he finishes 3rd. On the early queen stage he dropped riders like Herklotz and Konrad and was only beaten by Jeannesson. However, on the hilly stage 4 Herklotz launched a scathing attack and managed to win the stage by 38 seconds, slipping into the lead. But we don't have any complaints, because Poels once again rode a super time trial a day later, beating Herklotz and Kangert, who are considered to be much better. While he passed Jeannesson with that performance, it was not enough to reach Herklotz, also, Thomas won the stage and slipped past Poels by a hair.
Tour of Austria
3
Poels
0'23
27
Simon
10'42
28
Minguez
11'05
53
Denifl
21'43
70
Schorn
32'29
71
Bertilsson
34'07
93
Dowsett
44'16
The Kigali GP was our second focus race, a highly selective CT.2 cobblestone course which we hoped would play to Stannard's strengths. However, there was no plan B, making this a pretty risky endevour. But our hopes were fulfilled, Stannard finished 2nd, only behind Vittel's Byron, and Christian even added a great 6th place, making this a highly successful goal race.
Kigali GP
2
Stannard
2'10
6
Christian
3'03
30
Van Winden
13'11
54
McCluskey
23'30
65
Denifl
30'39
67
Van der Sande
31'31
Birch
DNF
The Volta a Portugal attracted surprisingly little GC competition, making our captain Poels the favourite, the first time one of our riders was in such a position. His main competitor would be Jeep's Duarte, who until then had a pretty anonymous season with 176 prestige points. The Colombian was on top form and deservedly won the race. Poels was able to win the queen stage, but Duarte won the other two mountain stages, dropping Poels both times.
Stefan Denifl also recorded his best result so far this season, finishing 9th in a race which wasn't his speciality, but he fought hard in the mountains to secure his top 10 position.
Volta a Portugal
2
Poels
2'48
9
Denifl
22'41
15
Lowsley-Willams
42'21
17
Simon
45'18
21
Minguez
49'10
36
Stannard
1'08'52
55
Birch
1'25'15
The run of great results didn't stop with the Tour of Vancouver. Fuglsang had a mediocre opening MTT, but he was feeling good on the first mountain stage and attacked at the foot of the climb with Caruso in his tow. They worked well together, Caruso took the stage and the race lead, but Fuglsang was right behind him and only Landa and Talansky arrived within a minute, the rest lost at least two minutes.
Two days later the WT riders Rosa and Adam Yates attacked at the foot of the final climb, threatening Fuglsang's position. But we never gave them much room to work with, in the end Caruso won the stage just ahead of Rosa and Fuglsang was third ahead of Yates, with Talansky losing more time and Fuglsang's spot on the podium pretty much secured before the final ITT. But the Danish champ still gave all he had in the time trial and once again ended a strong third. Caruso managed to win the TT as well, topping off his great performance, he was unbeatable here in Canada. Fuglsang ended 44 seconds behind, but over 2 minutes ahead of Talansky and the rest of the strong competition.
A slight disappointment was the lack of depth, Dowsett once more underperformed in the time trial, Monsalve was of little help in the mountains.
Tour of Vancouver
2
Fuglsang
0'44
34
Valgren
15'41
41
Simon
17'54
56
Lowsley-Willams
21'57
63
Monsalve
22'58
65
Van Winden
24'05
68
Dowsett
24'25
Prestige Points 2018
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Total
RD
Fuglsang
433
136
172
235
976
42/18
Poels
291
14
48
230
440
1023
45/15
Schorn
133
139
317
17
606
42/28
Stannard
38
158
12
106
314
28/36
Valgren
9
1
66
178
9
263
39/25
Monsalve
33
1
41
75
49/20
Denifl
17
24
52
93
54/15
Dowsett
33
24
10
8
75
32/34
V. d. Sande
39
40
79
49/21
Bibby
16
4
20
40
49/25
Minguez
39
7
46
53/19
Bertilsson
1
4
12
17
42/26
Lowsley-W
2
6
15
20
43
58/15
Simon
20
8
21
13
62
52/17
V. Winden
21
50
1
1
73
38/36
Christian
115
11
17
42
185
31/42
Birch
3
3
61/19
McCluskey
41/23
Team Total
133
555
678
813
281
568
945
3973
Race Days
7
12
21
27
12
12
26
31
18
13
179
PpRD
19
46
32
30
23
47
36
34
RD column: Race Days used/Race Days remaining
Summary: I'm running out of superlatives, July was our biggest points haul yet. Poels alone collected 440 points in two races and has jumped above 1000 points. Fuglsang is close behind. Stannard performed once again on cobblestones, Denifl collected more points this month than he did in the whole season up to then. Christian added another 42 points to his tally and remains in 6th position in the internal ranking.
Andrea "Muscoli" Guardini picks up a stage win on the first stage of the race, also riding 3 days in yellow. All in all, a good performance by the team. As we pick up points and a stage win.
Andrea "Muscoli" Guardini picks up a stage win on the first stage of the race, also riding 3 days in yellow. All in all, a good performance by the team. As we pick up points and a stage win.
Muscoli "Andrea" Guardini drops a stage win on the first stage of the race, also riding 9 Months in yellow. All in all, a good performance by other teams. As we pick up points, a stage win and a lost dog.
Wout Poels is something of a bad omen – every team he signed up with in the ICL folded after one season. Certainly not due to his performances, which at least in the CT were very good to excellent every year.
And at the age of 31, he gained another point in climbing, making him an even more attractive offer. Aviva was able to capture him for a wage of 585 in the FA Round 1.2. He arrived together with Fuglsang, who on paper is the superior rider. Manager Ripley was unsure at first whether to team up the duo in most races, relegating Poels to a free role. In the end he decided to do that only for two of the three CT GTs, wanting to place a focus on these mini GTs. Looking back now at Poels' performances in the captain's role he should have separated them entirely, but the manager had no idea just how good Poels really is.
The team felt he should be able to make it into the top 10 a lot of times, but Poels defied those modest expectations. He started brilliantly as runner-up in Oman and confirmed his form with 4th overall on Mallorca. In South Africa he raced with Fuglsang for the first time and the captain was in trouble, possibly ill, in the important mountain stages and the Dutchman sacrificed his own ambitions to keep Fuglsang in podium contention, Poels dropped to 18th after the mountains. He rode the first of several excellent time trials a couple of days later which moved him up to 12th overall in the final rankings.
He took a long break before lining up for the Andorra Tour, studded with top riders, and finished a brilliant 4th. He saved his best ride for Le Geant de Provence, winning the prestigious one-day race against tough opposition. He didn't rest on his laurels and added another podium in the Tour of Austria. The Volta a Portugal could have been his biggest catch yet, he was the favourite in a weak field, but Duarte rode brilliantly and Poels had to settle for 2nd. Nonetheless, he collected 440 prestige points in two stage races in July, already making this his most successful season of his career.
He has three more races to go this year, the Tour de Rio in August, the Qinghai Lake Cup in September and the Vuelta a Colombia in October. Will Aviva extend his contract? It might well depend on his wage demand, which could be considerable with these great results. Ripley will certainly try to hold onto him, but should he become a free agent yet again he'll surely make another team very happy next season.
When Johannes Windischbauer is your highest finisher in a hilly race... We also proudly claimed four out of the last six spots!
1
Romain Bardet
Suntory Lucozade Sport
2h05'53
69
Johannes Windischbauer
Lufthansa Racing Team
+3'02
71
Beñat Intxausti
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 3'46
81
Heiner Parra
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 5'26
128
Carl Ilsanker
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 13'02
129
Jürgen Reuter
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
132
Martin Springer
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 15'37
133
Denis Kathmann
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
Tour de France
Richie Porte was peak Richie Porte, tumbling in the first week and being wildly unpredictable in the rest of the race. Brambilla and Frank were better, finishing near 20th and picking up some points in the KOM. All three of them in the top 10 at Alpe d'Huez was our highlight.
1
Alberto Contador
CarbonSports Cycling - Lightweight
82h54'17
9
Richie Porte
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 18'01
20
Gianluca Brambilla
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 47'12
21
Matthias Frank
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 47'33
50
Jeroen Meijers
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 1h50'12
63
Oskar Svendsen
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 2h03'29
89
Julian Runge
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 2h33'40
131
Nikias Arndt
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 3h34'29
Kigali GP
A crash ruined what could've been a promising race for Honigh. It was all downhill from there.
Deutsche Bahn to Sponsor Lufthansa's Development Team
The Lufthansa Racing Team management would like to announce that the German railway company, Deutsche Bahn, will sponsor our new development team. The deal has been finalized and we look forward to a successful co-operation among all parties concerned.
The management would also like to confirm our shift back to focus regions of Austria and Switzerland for the coming season, with which we started our ICL adventure, especially for our development team. We believe that this represents who we truly are and we would like to keep up our efforts in promoting cycling at the grass-roots in those countries. As a new addition, we will also look at developing cyclists from the country of Liechtenstein, who we believe aren't nearly well enough represent till now.
The senior team will still be on the lookout for cyclists from around the world in our quest to improve as a force in world cycling.
So many rumours! Our last post has spread a lot of rumours it seems!
There are rumours going around that we're completely shifting focus from Germany. That's not true.
We'd also like to point out that we won't actually be using Deutsche Bahn trains to race. We already have their money. So whether their trains stop running or eventually melt in the summer, we're not at all bothered for this season!
Looks like the rumour mills have been oiled recently!
The management team would like to respond to the latest question posed by the rumour mills in one word: NO.
The management would also like to ask for bonus budget from the ICL organizers for generating more interest in the U23 division in the past 48 hours than there has been in the whole season so far. Seems only fair.
Apart from the Tour of Britain, September is our month of one-day races. We don't expect many good results to come from them. We start with the Cigar City Classic, the short cobbled sectors probably won't have any impact. Still, we're bringing Stannard and he'll have to try a late attack. For a mass sprint we've only got Van der Sande, who sprinted to a good 6th place in RideLondon last month.
Team: Stannard, Van der Sande, Bertilsson, Van Winden, Christian, Birch, McCluskey
Schorn's only one-day captaincy of the season is Praha-Karlovy Vary-Praha. Though nominally flat, it features a few steep hills, which we hope will give him an edge. On the other hands, the race is 268 km long and stamina is not one of Schorn's strong suits, so maybe this was a planning mistake.
Team: Schorn, Van der Sande, Bertilsson, Van Winden, Christian, Birch, McCluskey
We would love to win a stage in our home stage race, the Tour of Britain. Our greatest hope is Schorn. He should have an advantage against his faster rivals on just about every stage due to the selective profiles - however, most of them will be too tough for him as well. Valgren is another option, the terrain suits him better and he has some sprinting ability. Our Brits Stannard and Dowsett also get the chance to show themselves in front of the home crowd, though the race isn't really suited for either of them.
Team: Stannard, Valgren, Schorn, Dowsett, Simon, Minguez, Christian
Our best bet this month is the Qinghai Lake Cycle Cup. Poels won the last one-day mountain spectacle and here's his next chance, though Herklotz and Caruso are clearly the favourites. Monsalve will hope to do better than on the Mont Ventoux, he is determined to make the top 10 this time.
Which leaves the two Canadian GPs in Quebec and Montreal. We're bringing Stannard, Valgren and Denifl to both. Valgren should be the captain with the other two in free roles, trying late attacks. Both courses suit Valgren, however, the same can be said for countless competitors.
Team Quebec: Valgren, Stannard, Denifl, Bertilsson, Van Winden, Christian, McCluskey Team Montreal: Valgren, Stannard, Denifl, Van der Sande, Van Winden, Christian, McCluskey
Reports are yet again coming out of the headquarters of Deutsche Bahn that the upper managetment are growing disspleased with AbhishekLFC's handling of the media.
After lack of depth in recent comments, anonymous sources are telling us that Richard Lutz, CEO, are moving towards terminating the partnership.
Hopefully, Lufthansa Racing Team can right the ship before it hits the potenial iceberg. Stay tuned.
We did not have the best suited line-up for this race, but we hoped that Van Avermaet would be able to make the decisive split when it happened. He couldn't and we had to be content with a best of 26th place.
1
Carlos Betancur
Liberty Seguros
5h19'35
26
Greg Van Avermaet
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 1'25
60
Kenneth Vanbilsen
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 2'07
83
Martin Jansen
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 3'46
119
Jürgen Reuter
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 5'23
129
Hans-Georg Nentwich
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
131
Martin Springer
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 7'28
142
Denis Kathmann
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 15'17
World Ports Classic
Phil Bauhaus was the picture of consistency, picking up two 10th place finishes on both stages and ending up 10th in the GC. Still, this was a better showing from one of our support riders than has usually been the trend this season.
1
Arnaud Demare
Team Alitalia
7h34'22
10
Phil Bauhaus
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 36
62
Nikias Arndt
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 4'44
77
Emil Ritter
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 6'09
85
Carl Ilsanker
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 6'25
109
Johannes Windischbauer
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 9'36
114
Klaus Gießner
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
121
Lutz Berg
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
Tour de Pologne
We were going very well till Stage 5, with Intxausti in 5th place in the GC. Stage 6 messed everything up and our Spaniard failed to live up to his billing yet again, ending up a lowly 13th in the GC.
1
Rui Costa
The Balkan Cycling Project
28h28'46
13
Beñat Intxausti
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 3'49
51
Jeroen Meijers
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 18'22
86
Martin Jansen
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 31'35
88
Julian Runge
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 31'53
107
Hans-Georg Nentwich
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 41'32
110
Martin Springer
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 43'47
129
Jürgen Reuter
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 1h11'18
Tour of Northern Europe
Van Avermaet struggled somewhat on the hills and missed the decisive split on the cobbles to end up a below par 17th in this race.
1
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Filliers - Mora Pro Cycling Team
24h32'31
17
Greg Van Avermaet
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 4'31
55
Kenneth Vanbilsen
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 14'20
108
Julien Vermote
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 26'11
124
Nino Honigh
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 30'10
127
Nikias Arndt
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 32'55
130
Johannes Windischbauer
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 34'39
151
Emil Ritter
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 1h03'34
Course du Lac d'Annecy
Another disappointment from Intausti. It's not even funny anymore! Brambilla, too, with a bad race.
1
Nairo Quintana
Grupo Argos - Quala
5h54'41
52
Beñat Intxausti
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 3'35
57
Gianluca Brambilla
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 5'32
61
Jeroen Meijers
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
94
Jürgen Reuter
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 11'49
98
Martin Springer
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 14'33
118
Denis Kathmann
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 21'10
124
Carl Ilsanker
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
Baltic Chain Tour
Vanbilsen flattered to deceive in a rare outing as team leader. He was 6th in the GC after Stage 3 but his aspirations fell apart on the next stage. He finished 25th. Honigh with a decent ride to 32nd field in a strong field.
1
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Filliers - Mora Pro Cycling Team
14h53'57
25
Kenneth Vanbilsen
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 3'52
32
Nino Honigh
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 4'42
82
Johannes Windischbauer
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 13'07
100
Lutz Berg
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 18'59
102
Klaus Gießner
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 19'56
107
Emil Ritter
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 22'47
109
Hans-Georg Nentwich
Lufthansa Racing Team
+ 23'58
Vattenfall Cyclassics
Degenkolb led the team in our home race. He continued his excellent season with a 6th place finish among faster sprinters.
1
Arnaud Demare
Team Alitalia
4h54'17
6
John Degenkolb
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
40
Phil Bauhaus
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
42
Nikias Arndt
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
56
Julien Vermote
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
109
Emil Ritter
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
110
Johannes Windischbauer
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
126
Klaus Gießner
Lufthansa Racing Team
s.t.
Eneco Tour
Degenkolb picked up a couple of 3rd places and a couple more high finishes and ended 6th in this race. 4th place in the Points helps too. He is effectively keeping us safe for the season on his own!
Statoil Pro Cycling tries to poach Polestar riders. Statoil Pro Cycling representatives were seen in the Polestar's team bus in what was apparently illegal talks with several of their riders. Sources claim that these riders were Fredrik Galta, Lars Petter Nordhaug, Sven Erik Bystrøm, Matti Breschel and Tanel Kangert.
Polestar Cyan ProCycling issued a statement saying that "We'll do whatever it takes to keep our riders from the influence of other teams". The team also got the assurance of their 2019 co-sponsors - the Norwegian telecom Telenor - that they'd help them keep the riders within the team.
There are also claims by Statoil that Polestar is trying to poach one of their riders. It's unknown at this point who this rider might be, but the speculations are leaning towards sprinter Sondre Holst Enger or TT specialist Truls Korsaeth.
The team would also forsee huge shakeup for the next season - it's believed that several riders would be released. This includes most of the current U23 team as well as Emanuel Buchman, Ilnur Zakarin and Nathan Brown among others. The final decision would be made after the conclusion of the season.
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
