@ Avin: Thank you very much! You're right, I maybe should have mentioned those results. By now, I'm unfortunatly already too far progressed in the game and I can't look at them in the last results section. What I can tell you is that Sagan wasn't in the Top 25, and came in with the pack, I guess at about rank 40.
I hope you don't miss me too much! I really enjoy my weeks off, before I get back to training again. But I'm not completely away from cycling: Tomorrow, I will give you a live coverage for Liege – Bastogne – Liege. Here's a brief preview.
The race
The 262 km long course from Liege over Bastogne back to the city of Ans, close to Liege, is probably the hardest of the three Ardennais classics. The doyenne, as the race is often called, combines both many and steep hills over a long distance, the most famous probably being the Côte de la Redoute, about 35 km in front of the finish.
The favorites
In the Amstel Gold Race and La Fleche Wallonne, three riders became apparent to be the strongest at the moment:
Philippe Gilbert: He is the top favorite. After a great preparation in the Basque country, he finished second in the Amstel Gold Race and won La Fleche Wallonne. With his great acceleration, he should be able to distance everyone else.
Damiano Cunego: Just like Gilbert, he had good results in March and April, nevertheless, his win at the Amstel Gold Race was a little surprising. But he confirmed his great shape with his fourth place in La Fleche Wallonne.
Alexandre Vinokourov: It was always just a little bit that was missing for the Kazakh in the previous races. Two third places are really good, but he aims for more: He wants to defend his victory from last year, when he won this race. With his 37 years, this might be his last chance for a major result in the Ardennes.
Apart from those three, there are a couple of minor favorites:
Fränk Schleck: With the places four and five, he was always best of the rest. Now he's aiming for more. He's the best climber of the potential winners, so the tougher terrain might suit him. Also, for the first time in the Ardennes, he has the support of his brother Andy.
Alexandr Kolobnev: His second place at La Fleche Wallonne came out of nowhere, it was his first notable result at all this season. But you ignore a result like that when you look at the favorites for LBL.
Joaquim Rodiguez: Two top ten results in the Amstel Gold Race and La Fleche Wallone show his good shape and his ambitions. As well as Kolobnev, he can benefit from an incredibly strong Katusha Team here in the Ardennes.
Carlos Barredo: His third place in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco gave an impression of his good shape, however, his top ten results in the first two races were kind of surprising. It will be interesting if he can repeat that.
Team Liquigas
As Peter Sagan still lacks of a decent shape, Mauro Finetto will be our captain tomorrow. After the preparation races with Vincenzo Nibali, he is in a good form, but still a good result would be a surprise.
We conclude the spring classics season today with a late highlight: Liege – Bastogne – Liege, fourth monument of the cycling calendar, and thus one of the most prestigious races at all. We can expect an interesting and tough race.
Km 2: Not surprisingly, many riders want to show themselves on a day like this. A lot of attacks are launched.
Km 11: No group has stabilized yet.
Km 24: At the moment, 21 riders are in front of the peloton, but it's not likely that they will come free.
Km 45: Still no break of the day. I'll be back when it stands.
Km 100: We're now 100km through the race, and the pack is still all together. That is rare.
Km 104: A couple of strong riders around Andreas Klöden (RadioShack) try to break free.
Km 118: 8 riders are out in front now. Most famous member of the strong group: Alberto Contador!
Km 129: Their advance grew to 5 minutes. The pack should be attentive.
Km 162: It is. As the race enters in it's final 100km, it is down by only 3 minutes. Omega Pharma and Katusha are doing the pace.
Km 183: Together with Jurgen Van den Broeck, Philippe Gilbert got away from the peloton. They have already a gap of a minute.
Km 203: It was an interesting move, but it's over now. Katusha brought them back.
Km 211: With 50km to go, the escapees are still more than two minutes in front.
Km 230: The first major move: Andy Schleck attacks! A couple of riders like Sammy Sanchez and Chris Horner try to follow, but fail.
Km 240: Schleck is already more than a minute in front of the peloton, and now Simon Gerrans and some others try to bridge up. Meanwhile, there are some movements in the front group, but no one can really break free.
Km 241: As one of the last favorites, Philippe Gilbert makes his move. He seems to have chosen the right piece of street for that.
Km 244: Contador and Christophe Kern (Europcar) got away from the rest of the escapees and lead now with 1'10 to the first favorite, which is at the moment Andy Schleck. We could see a real surprise here.
Km 249: It's really hard to keep the overview now, as one attack follows another. At the moment, Christophe Kern leads with 30 seconds to Alberto Contador, who was joined by Fabian Wegmann. Another 30 seconds behind is a group around Andy Schleck, but the other favorites follow really close.
Km 251: This is the big group of favorites, who are 1 minute down on Christophe Kern. But at this very moment, it's Joaquim Rodriguez, who sets an attack! Fränk Schleck tries to counter.
Km 254: Just a notice: Neither Vinokourov nor Cunego are in this group. They won't have anything to do with the decision today.
Km 256: Kern is overtaken by Schleck and Rodriguez now, but their advance is minimal. Philippe Gilbert attacks from behind! This will be a thrilling final!
Km 257: Gilbert's attack was massive and he got away. It's Joaquim Rodriguez now who tries to close the gap. Simon Gerrans follows him.
Km 260: His attack was too strong for anyone else. Gilbert enters the final climb with an advance of 50 seconds. Victory will be his.
Km 260: Behind him, it seems that Rodriguez is the stronger of the chasers, he sets another attack.
Km 262: Two in a row. No one could stop Philippe Gilbert today! Behind him, Rodriguez will celebrate a strong second.
Km 262: He gave everything he had, but again, Fränk Schleck failed to get on the podium.
He is clearly the best classic rider at the moment. A big win for Philippe Gilbert.
The second most important stage race in the Suisse is used as a preparation race for the Giro d'Italia. It usually gives a first insight in the riders shape, but apart from Denis Menchov, no other major stage racer is present, so either the Giro field is very weak, or the other contenders feel strong enough without the Tour de Romandie. The profiles are hilly and not too hard, the team time trial on stage 4 is a nice test for the one in the Giro.
Vincenzo Nibali is already in a decent shape, but especially his team mates can use a little more preparation.
The prologue was won by HTC's Bert Grabsch. Vincenzo Nibali proved his good form with the second place, 2 seconds behind the German. Denis Menchov failed completely, finishing 166th, losing 52 seconds on this short course.
The second stage was a really close thing. Astana's Assan Bazayev won in front of Marco Finetto and Grega Bole (Lampre).
On stage three, Juan Jose Cobo won the sprint of a 13 men front group, Nibali is again only second, but overtakes the overall lead.
But then, our team failed the test for the team time trial and lost 45 seconds to the winner Rabobank. As Geox performed good, too, Juan Jose Cobo overtook the lead.
Nibali then missed the right moment to attack and thus the opportunity to take the overall win. He finished 24 seconds behind stage winner and new leader Sandy Casar.
On the final flat stage, Brett Lancaster (Garmin) won the sprint of the breakaway duo against Michael Schär (BMC). Finetto led the pack over the line, finishing third.
Very surprised by the early Contador attack on Liege – Bastogne – Liege after catching backup with your story. It takes some great dedication to continue to post this detailed reports, Keep it Up!
Yeah, I was really surprised, too. Saxo Bank had no other good rider in the pack, for whom they could ride. One would think that he isn't in form. Therefore, and as he won't ride the Giro, his participation in the Ardennes was a little strange.
Also, it's nice that you caught up with the story Thanks for the compliment!
A really exciting month ends, the classements got mixed again, but first of all, the race results:
After being beaten in Spain, Nibali continued his winning streak in Trentino. Kenny Van Hummel was impressive and won three classics. Most important of course the Ardennais double of Philippe Gilbert.
Heinrich Haussler could defend his lead due to his decent performances in the Tour of Flandres and Paris – Roubaix. Gilbert, Cunego and Fränk Schleck benefit from their great results in the Ardennes, in whose Katusha performed great and thus overtook the lead in the team ranking.
Landbouwkredit continued their supremacy in the one day classics, but behind them, the teams are really close.
Nibali is able to keep his lead here, but his advance decreased. The classic riders are his closest followers. As in the PT-ranking, Katusha took the lead here in front of Garmin.
Mainly thanks to Vincenzo Nibali, Liquigas leads here.
With his good results in el Pais Vasco, and of course his domination in the Ardennes, Gilbert is the deserved rider of the month april. Ricardo Van der Velde is honoured for his win of the youth classification of the Presidential Tour of Turkey.
I started to train a little more intense the past days, and I have to say that I feel stronger than ever. I hope that I can progress even more until the Tour, so that I can play a good role there, helping my leaders.
Coming up next is the Giro d'Italia,
Stay tuned,
Dominik
Guys,
the first of the three Grand Tour is about to start tomorrow. Our team aims to win it. I won't be able to give you live tickers for the stages, but I will provide you with a brief overview every three days.
But first of all, here is an overview about the race and the favorites.
The Race
As most Grand Tours in the past did, the Giro d'Italia 2011 starts with a prologue. 8 km in Amsterdam should give a first impression of the rider's form.
The first week is mostly one for the sprinters. Four flat stages are only interrupted by a team time trial on stage 4.
The first mountain stage is a tough one, a mountain top finish up to Terminillo. But afterwards, the peloton will have the opportunity to recover: Five more flat stages await them, although some of those stages feature a couple of rather small hills.
But then, the fight for the GC really starts: The Monte Grappa on stage 14 shouldn't be too selective as it is followed by a long descent. But on stage 15, the peloton climbs up the Monte Zoncolan, a very steep climb. After a rest day, 12 km of mountain time trial up to Plan de Corones and another, not too hard, mountain finish to Pejo Terme will shape the GC.
After a flat transfer stage, the last opportunity for the sprinters, the last three stages will bring the decision. The stages 19 and 20 feature mountain top finishes at the end of hard stages. On the last day, the contenders are on their own, 15 km of time trialing through Verona.
The Contenders
Maglia Rosa (General Classification)
The field of overall contenders is surprisingly weak. Regarding the field, one wouldn't think that this is the second most important stage race in the world. Here are the top favorites:
Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas - Cannondale)
Everything but a victory would be both a big surprise and a big disappointment for Nibali. He's by far the best climber and also a quite good time trialist. Also, he has a good team in his back to support him.
Marzio Bruseghin (Movistar)
Due to the weak field, Bruseghin is one of the best climbers, and among the top contenders, he is maybe the best time trialist. But as he hasn't had any notable result so far, it's interesting to see how he's in shape. This Giro should be his last chance to get a decent result in a GT.
Marco Pinotti (HTC – Highroad)
Just as Bruseghin, Pinotti is a really good time trialist. But he lacks a little of climbing abilities. His team should be the top favorite for the team time trial, which he should use to make up some time.
Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago – CSF)
He is considered the second best climber in the field, but he totally lacks of time trialing. Considering the amount of time trial kilometers in this Giro, he has to perform really good in the mountains to get a good result.
Damiano Cunego (Lampre – ISD)
Cunego proved to be in enormously good shape in the Ardennes – but that was probably his peak. But if he's able to hold a decent shape for the whole 3 weeks, that he should compete for the podium.
Danilo Di Luca (Katusha)
In the Ardennes, he was only a domestique, nevertheless he had some nice results. If he peaks for the Giro, than he shouldn't be underestimated. With Joaquim Rodriguez and Giampaolo Caruso, he has strong helpers.
Chris Horner (RadioShack)
Jean Christophe Peraud (AG2R)
Joauim Rodriguez (Katusha)
Jose Rujano (Androni)
Paolo Tiralongo (Astana)
Maglia Rossa (Points Classification)
What goes for the general classification applies for the Maglia Rossa as well: Very few top riders.
Danilo Napolitano (Acqua & Sapone)
He's not only considered to be the strongest sprinter, he also has a good shape, as he won the Giro di Toscana just a couple of days ago.
Chris Sutton (Sky)
Another top contender is Chris Sutton. He should benefit from a strong sprinting team around Kurt Arsle Arvesen and Russel Downing.
Mauro Finetto (Liquigas)
Finetto has had a great season so far with already 5 victories. In the Tour de Romandie, he showed a good shape, and with Peter Sagan, he has a nice lead out.
The young riders classification doesn't stand out from the rest. The concurrence is both weak and not dense.
Rein Taaramäe (Cofidis)
He is one of the best climbers and a decent time trialist, but his probably biggest advance is that he is, in contrary to all the other contenders, the leader of his team.
Simon Spilak (Lampre)
Cunego's super-domestique has his ambitions here as well. His chances will depend on the amount of freedom he gets for himself.
Benat Intxausti (Movistar)
In a strong Movistar team, Intxausti has no outstanding position. He might benefit of a good result in the team time trial.
Francesco Masciarelli (Astana)
Stefan Denifl (Leopard) Eros Capecchi (Liquigas)
Team Liquigas
Our team has mainly one goal: The overall win. Our leader is of course Vincenzo Nibali, who, despite his mediocre Tour de Romandie, has a great form, and showed impressive results so far. His mountain support consists of Eros Capecchi, Francesco Belotti and Sylvester Szmyd.
Mauro Finetto will try to get some decent results in sprints, supported by Peter Sagan, who will also go for stage victories.
Maciej Bodnar is mainly in the team for the team time trial, while Alan Marangoni and Damiano Caruso are pure domestiques.
So, here is the first short summary of the Giro d'Italia.
Stage 1
The prologue experienced a favorite's victory. David Millar beat Jean-Christophe Peraud and Gustav Erik Larsson. Vincenzo Nibali finished 9th, 15 seconds down.
Result
1
David Millar
Team Garmin - Cervelo
9'03
2
Jean-Christophe Peraud
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 2
3
Gustav Erik Larsson
Saxo Bank - Sungard
+ 4
...
6
Marco Pinotti
HTC - Highroad
+ 8
9
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 15
13
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
+ 20
24
Marzio Bruseghin
Movistar Team
+ 26
84
Danilo Di Luca
Katusha Team
+ 41
96
Domenico Pozzovivo
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 44
Stage 2
The first notable result here was that Ruben Perez (Euskaltel) was the first one to be wearing the mountain jersey.
The sprint was a little surprising, as no one of the bigger favorites played a role. Luca Paolini won, while Napolitano got 6th, Mauro Finetto only 8th, as his lead out didn't work at all.
Result
1
Luca Paolini
Katusha Team
4h41'21
2
Lloyd Mondory
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
3
Grega Bole
Lampre – ISD
s.t.
Stage 3
Luca Paolini could confirm his good shape on stage 3, but Danilo Napolitano was just better today. Finetto messed up his lead out again and finished only 10th.
The team time trial is fairly long and slightly uphill, so there were some time gaps to be expected. The big favorite for today was HTC-Highroad, along with Movistar. But our team was the big surprise of the day, and won with 14 seconds. As a result of the fast tempo, only 5 riders crossed the line together. With this great result, Vincenzo Nibali overtakes the Maglia Rosa.
Result
1
Liquigas – Cannondale
.
42'14
2
HTC – Highroad
.
+ 14
3
Movistar Team
.
+ 23
Stage 5
Stage 5 was the first time when Mauro Finetto could show his sprinting skill. For once, the lead out worked at least a little, and he was able to get his first Grand Tour podium.
The last hill provided the opportunity for attacks. Peter Sagan gave it a try, but in the end, it was a group around Damiano Cunego that made it. Lucky for us, they didn't get a time gap.
Thanks. I was a little surprised because of the result, but since I played the time trial on extreme, I think I earned it An of course it's the goal to keep pink until the end!
The first stage that had some difficulties towards the end was stage 7. A breakaway dominated most part of the stage, and as it became probable that they succeed, Mauro Finetto set an attack. He overtook the escapees on the last small climb, and saved a small advance into the finish! A great win for him. The former escapees were overtaken on the last kilometers.
Result
1
Mauro Finetto
Liquigas – Cannondale
5h13'23
2
Sylvain Chavanel
Quick·Step
+ 18
3
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
With this victory, Finetto overtakes the Maglia Rosa, and comes a lot closer to the Maglia Rossa.
Stage 8
The first mountain top finish awaited the riders on this stage. It was the first chance for the GC contenders to show themselves, and for some of them to regain the time they already lost.
Surprises stayed away and the spectators saw a favorite's win today. Nibali didn't have too much problems to win this stage, with an attack within the last 2 kilometers, he gained 37 seconds (plus time bonus) on his followers.
Result
1
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas – Cannondale
4h55'59
2
Joaquim Rodriguez
Katusha Team
+ 37
3
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
Some riders who lost more time than expected were, among others, the likes of Marzio Bruseghin (+ 1'19), Domenico Pozzovivo (+ 1'19) or Rein Taaramäe (+ 3'16).
Stage 9
After the short trip to the mountains, the pack returned to flat terrain for 5 stages again. Mauro Finetto had a great lead out by Nibali and Sagan, but went into the wind a little too early, and so, quite surprising, Philippe Gilbert could grab a sprint win.
The second in a row of five flat stages. Mauro Finetto showed an improving shape recently and strengthend that impression with a great win in front of Danilo Napolitano and his lead out Peter Sagan.
Result
1
Mauro Finetto
Liquigas – Cannondale
5h18'39
2
Danilo Napolitano
Acqua & Sapone
s.t.
3
Peter Sagan
Liquigas – Cannondale
s.t.
Stage 11
Although it's classified as flat, this stage featured some difficult climbs. It looked like a great stage for escapees, and that's exactly what it turned out to be.
As the last member of a breakaway, Fabian Wegmann saved a small advance into the finish. The peloton shrinked to 35 riders, and as the last kilometer was pretty steep, the final sprint caused another time gap: Five riders, led by Cunego, made up a couple of seconds to the pack, in which Vincenzo Nibali was present. Cunego thus reduced his deficit in the GC.
Result
1
Fabian Wegmann
Leopard – Trek
6h58'15
2
Damiano Cunego
Lampre – ISD
+ 27
3
Paolo Tiralongo
Astana
s.t.
…
9
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas – Cannondale
+ 53
The stage was much harder than expected, and 25 riders had to abandon, among them our riders Alan Marangoni and Maciej Bodnar. But both of them did a good job until today, and were mainly there for the team time trial.
Stage 12
In contrary to yesterday, this stage was indeed really flat, the two small hills towards the end weren't selective at all. Again, the sprint became a duel between the two best sprinters of the Giro. This time, Danilo Napolitano had the better end, Mauro Finetto in his Maglia Rossa finished second.
And I don't know exactly about the stats in your game, but in mine, Gilbert is by far the best hilly rider.
Thanks for the compliment!
