4/2 Artyom Zakharov i now fully recovered and starts training today.
5/2 Jan Bakelants won Herald Sun Tour
5/2 Jesus Herrada won Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
Jesús Herrada López
6/2 Ruslan Tleubayev’s broken hand is now fully recovered and he started training today, but he is having some pains in the back hopefully just because he is out of form.
7/2 A right combination of exercise training and massage and Ruslan Tleubayev’s back is now fine.
11/2 Fernando Gaviria won the Dubai Tour, also taking 4 stage victories.
Edited by Tamijo on 17-01-2019 15:10
Latest Winners:
2017: Ben Hermans - 2016: Vincenzo Nibali – 2015: Rafael Valls
Squad:
Jakob Fuglsang - Sergey Chernetckii - Jan Hirt - Andriy Grivko
Yevgeniy Gidich - Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev - Hugo Houle
Expectations:
We bring a strong team here with good support for Jakob Fuglsang in Chernetckii and Hirt both in top shape. Jakob is still far from top shape but we expect at least a top 5 result, a podium should not be impossible.
Stage 1: Al Musannah - Sultan Qaboos University 158.6 km
The stage start in Al Masnaah a relative small town located on the coast about 85 km west of Muscat. From here we travel into the desert heading for the Jebel Akhdar mountain chain, but not directly entering the mountains we swing east, before we head back to the coast finishing at Sultan Qaboos University in Al-Seeb.
Even though we are going up the first ½ of the stage, the road rises very gentle and the stage will feel as if it was flat. We must expect a mass sprint finish.
Al-Seeb is located just 25 km from Muscat, the closest larger settlement west of the capital. Al-Seeb contains a fishery harbour with a fish market, the area also a major agricultural growth centre due to the relative large amount of fresh water.
Jiří Polnický (Elkov) opens the race after 8 km of racing, behind him a group with Jesse Anthony (Rally) and Stijn Devolder (Véranda's Willems) trying to catch up.
Further back three riders all from UnitedHealthcare also laying a bit of distance to the peloton. The three riders in front unite and later also Gavin Mannion bridge to the breakaway, the two other UnitedHealthcare riders was reeled in.
Stijn Devolder wins the KoM in front of Jiri Polnicky
This is Belgian veteran Stijn Devolder’s 18th season as a pro, he won Ronde van Vlaanderen back to back in 2008 and 2009
Km: 29
After 60 km the breakaway haven’t been able to get a gap of more than 1’30”, first Anthony seems to struggle but gets a 2nd breath and reunite, then Polnický lost contact soon to be swallowed by the bunch.
A bit later first Daniel Eaton (UnitedHealthcare) and soon also Alois Kankovsky (Elkov) joins the break, but at this point the peloton at just 30”
Looks like the sprinter want to fight over the points sprint and the sprinter teams hunt down the breakaway in time to do so. Caleb Ewan (Michelton) takes 6 points in front of Kristoffer Halvorsen (Sky) and Sean De Bie (Véranda's). Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) also in the competition but without result.
After several good Junior results in road race and on track, Caleb Ewan signed with Orica–GreenEDGE for the 2015 season. In his first season he won several races including the CG in Tour de Korea, with four stage wins
Km: 1
We get a late attack from Alois Kankovsky (Elkov) the team really doing all to be seen on TV today, but it was short lived.
Mainly Jarlinson Pantano (Trek) setting the high pace in the peloton over the last 10-15 km. From rather far out it is Daryl Impey (Michelton) and Jasper Stuyven (Trek) starting a very early sprint, passing under the red kite with a small lead
Daryl Impey first under the red kite, somewhat surprisingly not leading for Caleb Ewan
Km: 0
Neither Impey nor Stuyven get far before they are passed by the better sprinters, but of course they forced other teams to up the pace.
With 500 meters left we got a line with Ewan, Halvorsen and De Bie, in 2nd row Nizzolo, Rojas and also Stuyven but now losing speed.
Caleb Ewan wins at Sultan Qaboos University in front of Sean De Bie and José Joaquin Rojas. Halvorsen with a very bad last 500 m falls back to 8th.
Caleb Ewan was born in Sydney 1994, though only 23 years old last season alone he had ten stage wins
Astana Pro Team
Besides the fact that Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev did not feel good today and left the race, we are fine with the result, not expecting to do much at the flat stages here
The stage starts in the small town Fanja, from there south for a sprint in Samail and back. After passing Fanja we are traveling northeast towards the Gulf of Oman passing the outskirts of Muscat, after that we got two hilly climbs within the last 25 km, passing the last top with just 3.3 km to the finish line in Al Bustan
The stage is categorized as flat, but with those two hills it is not likely to be a huge group approaching the finish together.
Al Bustan is a small costal village just about 27 km east of Muscat, best known for the “Marina Bandar Al Rowdha” with sea tours and diving centre and the fact that a well preserved late Iron Age graveyard has been found in the area.
The Al Bustan Palace Hotel located just south of the village
Race
Km: 113
The early attack came from Matej Zahálka (Elkov), with Lorenzo Rota (Bardiani), Julien Vermote (Dimension Data) and Gavin Mannion (UnitedHealthcare) who was also in yesterday’s breakaway.
With a fast pace from the peloton they do not get far in the first attempt, but we soon get another attempt from almost the same riders only that Zahálka did not make it this time and was replaced by Dries De Bondt (Véranda's Willems)
A few KM later also Alois Kankovsky (Elkov) and Brandon Mcnulty (Rally) attacks and close the gap to the leaders.
Now the peloton seems content with the situation and allows for a bit of distance, Alois Kankovsky wins the intermediate sprint.
Czech rider Alois Kankovsky have been riding 10 seasons at CT level, his best result was winning the GC in Tour of China II in 2013
Km: 24
The breakaway was never allowed to build any kind of threatening lead, Vincenzo Nibali and Mark Padun (Bahrain), Logan Owen and Alex Howes (Education First), Reto Hollenstein and Alex Dowsett (Katusha) all working hard to keep the distance around 2 minutes.
Before the first KoM the early breakaway was over. Astana’s Yevgeniy Gidich attacks half way up the climb, as no one chose to follow he takes the KoM
Yevgeniy Gidich won the KoM in Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca, the aggressive youngster may well attempt to do it again
Km: 9
There is no one in front of the peloton when the reach the last points sprint, and the sprinters fight for the points. Caleb Ewan (Michelton) take it in front of Youcef Reguigui (Sovac) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek)
Winner of the first stage yesterday Caleb Ewan further built on this points jersey lead
800 m:
With quite a strong climber squad Astana set a hard pace up the final climb in front of Movistar, leading for Movistar Team.
It takes everyone by surprise when suddenly Sergey Chernetckii attacks the KoM from 2nd position. Chernetckii is hammering towards the top and not only takes the KoM but also opens a small gap.
On the downhill seemingly the now very reduced peloton can’t agree to put energy into a 100% dedicated pursuit and Chernetckii gain some extra seconds, passing under the red kite with 16”, he has a chance to pull this one home.
Besides the Russia national ITT in 2016, Chernetckii’s latest win was a stage Volta a Catalunya 2015
km: 0
Sergey Chernetckii wins in Al Bustan, in front of Youcef Reguigui (Sovac) and José Joaquin Rojas (Movistar)
With this win Chernetckii moves to 2nd in GC, behind Caleb Ewan. The first 27 riders were granted the same time.
The only interesting rider to lose time today was two good punchers: Jasper Stuyven (Trek) and Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data) both losing 44”
Chernetckii moved from Katusha to Astana for in 2017, but without any major result in his first season with the team, best result 8th in GC at Vuelta a Burgos and 10th in Il Lombardia
Astana Pro Team
Perfect ! Never expected this to be a stage where we would be able to win, but goes to show that it was anything but a sprinter stage.
Everything went our way and Chernetckii was sitting with diamonds ready to strike.
Expectations:
A hard race to predict, but we must expect the 35 km ITT to be very important and as such our best shot should be Luis León Sánchez, we would be fine with a top 5 and expect at least a top 10 result, would also be nice if Michael Valgren or Alexey Lutsenko could land a podium at stage level.
Kiserlovski01 wrote:
Great to see the start to the season has brought you some wins already. I'll happily catch up with the latest results once I find some more time.
Thanks
Besides this good racing by Chernetckii, result wise haven't seen too much from the team recently, but satisfied with the season all in all so far.
The stage start in Faro, a coastal city located in the east side of Algarve, at first we are heading further east for two sprints in Asseca and Cacela Velha and after that up to Monte Francisco close to the Spanish border.
After that we are heading north west for the only KoM climb near Odeleite, and then round Odeleite Dam before heading south west for the finish in Albufeira
The route is long and generally rather undulated, but the last 40 km more flat and we may expect a large peloton fighting it out in a mass sprint finish.
The first known permanent settlement of Faro dates back to the 8th century BC. The Phoenician city was called Ossónoba and was one of the most important centers of the southern Portugal, based on the exchange of agricultural products, fish and minerals.
Top 5 media favorites:
Michael Matthews (Sunweb), Ben Swift (UAE), Phil Bauhaus (Sunweb), Edward Theuns (Sunweb) Greg Van Avermaet (BMC)
Cathedral in Faro Old Town
Race
Km: 150
The original morning break was Yannis Yssaad (Caja Rural) and Joao Rodrigues (W52), but they lasted not for long.
A 2nd acceleration from Hiroki Nishimura (NIPPO) lead to the next breakaway attempt, with Jordi Simón (Burgos) and Joao Benta (Radio Popular), Benta wins both points sprints in front of Simón.
Meanwhile also César Fonte (W52) has some distance to the peloton but struggles to catch the leaders. After more than 50 km’s solo pursuit he finally joins the breakaway.
At this point peloton at 3’48”
Japanese Hiroki Nishimura born 1994 in Tokyo best result was 5th in Japan National Championships 2017
Km: 104
We get a large crash in the peloton, top riders Edward Theuns (Sunweb) Luis León Sánchez and Michael Valgren down. Astana also has Artyom Zakharov and Truls Engen Korsaeth down, all in all 30 riders.
César Fonte wins the only KoM in front of Jordi Simón, thereby taking the overnight lead.
After 7 years as a professional Portuguese César Fonte has just one win, a stage in Volta a Portugal 2012
500 m
Zakharov and Korsaeth gives all they got for their leaders, both paid the price, alone behind the peloton they now have to fight the time limit. But all the favorites are back in the bunch.
While the peloton is getting closer first César Fonte and later Joao Benta attacks from the breakaway, but it’s a waste the break was over with 12 km to the finish
With 500 meters to the line we got 6 sprinters in a close battle, at the left Ben Swift (UAE) with Ruben Guerreiro (Trek), Timothy Dupont (Wanty) and Michael Matthews (Sunweb)
At the right Jurgen Roelandts (BMC) with Marco Haller (Katusha), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) also in the picture but has just swung off for Roelandts.
English Benjamin Swift has 13 proffesionel wins, but haven’t won since a stage in Coppi e Bartali 2015
Km: 0
Michael Matthews (Sunweb) well placed in the slipstream of Swift, won the first stage of 2018 Volta ao Algarve. In front of Jurgen Roelandts (BMC) and Ben Swift.
Ricardo Mestre (W52) and Przemysław Niemiec (UAE) both had to abandon with broken bones after the huge crash we had near the KoM.
This was 27 years old Australian Michael Matthews 30th professional win, his previous stage 16 in last year’s Tour de France
Astana Pro Team
Michael Valgren 7th was fine, not the sprints that matters to us here
The stage starts in the town Nakhl located near the mountains 60 km southwest of Seeb. From there we are heading north for Barka, but before we get to the coast we turn right towards Muscat. In Muscat again right for Al Amarat, passing a short steep cat.3 climb before we finish at Wadi Dayqah Dam.
The route is categorized as flat, but some short hills near the end may favor at sprinter with a bit of punch.
Nakhai Fort dates back to pre-Islamic times, first constructed by the Sassanids, a late Persian kingdom, to fight of invading Arabic tribes. The fortification has of course undergone several renovations since then.
Nakhal with fort and oasis, at the edge of the Jebel Akhdar Mountains
Race
Km: 156
Evgeny Shalunov (Gazprom) opens the stage with Mirco Maestri (Bardiani), Islam Mansouri (Sovac) and Gavin Mannion (UnitedHealthcare).
The sprinter team was hoping for points at the early sprint and the pursuit was hard but the break keep a small gap and Mirco Maestri takes the sprint in front of Gavin Mannion.
Italian Mirco Maestri was born in Guastalla 1991, his best result was 13th in Tour de Pologne 2016
Km: 42
Mansouri struggles on the KoM climb, gets caught and fall right through the peloton, While Jesse Anthony (Rally) attacks over the climb and joins the breakaway again four riders, the maximum distance was just 2’20”
Mirco Maestri takes the KoM and Jesse Anthony the last points sprint.
At this point peloton is at 35” while Islam Mansouri is already at 11’16” with more than 40 km left for the breakaway.
32 years old Jesse Anthony from Massachusetts is at his 13th pro seasons, his best result was winning Norwegian race Festningsrittet in 2010
Km: 9
The break was over with 17 km to the line.
The trains was up early, Imanol Erviti (Movistar) leads this leader José Joaquin Rojas under the 10 km banner, behind them Damien Howson with Caleb Ewan (Michelton)
More than 100 riders in the first group and the pace are very high, will come to the mass sprint finish
34 years old Imanol Erviti from Pamplona, Spain, is a true veteran with 19 grand tours under his belt, the only one he did not finish was 2012 TDF where he was seriously injuried
KM 0.0
Movistar’s hard work on the last 10 km works out as planned, José Joaquin Rojas wins at Wadi Dayqah Dam in front of Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data).
Today’s huge surprise was CT team Sovac - Natura4Ever’s sprinter Youcef Reguigui, taking his 2nd stage podium in a row, very well done by him.
With a podium at Cadel Evan, three stages in Columbia and now a stage here, it had been a great early season for José Joaquin Rojas
Astana Pro Team
Sergey Chernetckii again shows great form and finish in top 10, not bad at all
The stage start and finish in Lagoa, at first we are heading straight for the Serra de Monchique, first over a smaller climb west of Marmelete and then the tough climb to Fóia the highest summit of the mountain chain.
The last ½ part of the stage flattens out racing in the triangle between Silves, São Bartolomeu de Messines and Lagoa, although still a bit undulated it is flat enough to be considered a sprinter finish.
At the request of Catherine Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Portugal (1507 – 1578), the Convent of Our Lady of Carmo was constructed in Lagoa, a Monastery at the time belonging to the religious Carmelite Order.
The Convent was ruined in the 1755 earthquake, but have later been reconstructed and still exists
Top 5 media favorites:
Michael Matthews (Sunweb), Ben Swift (UAE), Phil Bauhaus (Sunweb), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) Edward Theuns (Sunweb)
Catherine was queen of Portugal from 1525, when her husband died, she served as the regent of Portugal from 1557 until 1562
Race
Km: 156
Domingos Gonçalves (Radio Popular) opens the stage with Imerio Cima (NIPPO) KoM leader César Fonte (W52) Ibai Salas (Burgos) and Alexey Lutsenko at wheel.
Mas Bonet (Caja Rural) later attacking and getting quite close but then the road raises in the mountains he start to lose time. The strong Alexey Lutsenko is setting a hard pace and also Ibai Salas drops.
The tempo in the peloton gets higher and higher forcing also Alexey Lutsenko to up the pace, in the end the passes the climb alone, as the only rider left in front of the peloton.
25 years old Kazakh Alexey Alexandrovich Lutsenko already got 12 professional victories, amongst them four back to back GC wins in Tour of Almaty
Km: 120
On the downhill Rinaldo Nocentini (Sporting/Tavira) joins Lutsenko, the duo built a lead of 1’41”, at the same time we start to get some showers.
Lucas Hamilton (Michelton) puts a lot of effort into the pursuit, again forcing Lutsenko to keep up a high pace that drops Nocentini 2km from the top.
Alexey Lutsenko just made it to the summit, taking the KoM lead, but the breakaway was over.
Lucas Hamilton was promoted from Mitchelton’s development team to the World Tour team at the beginning of this season, reeling in Alexey Lutsenko today was a strong effort from the young rider turning 22 three days ago
Km: 15
Only 42 riders makes if over the top in the first group, but slowly more riders join on the downhill.
We get an attack from Jordi Simón (Burgos) but it was short lived.
With 35 km left the peloton was grown back to 97 riders, but then the fight for position began and it was reduced again, with 15 km to the line 35 riders in the leading group.
Nicholas Roche (BMC) setting the pace.
After a stage win and GC podium in Colombia Oro y Paz, today Nicholas Roche is working for the team
Km: 0.0
It comes to a reduced sprint between 20 riders and not too surprisingly under these conditions it is hilly sprinter Michael Matthews (Sunweb) taking the win in Lagoa
Ben Swift (UAE) 2nd and Richie Porte (BMC) 3rd
Great start for Matthews with back to back stage wins in the two first stages, the profiles of the stages suit him perfectly
Astana Pro Team
Michael Valgren 5th was actually a little better than we anticipated, but more important was Lutsenko fight for the KoM lead
