Today's stage is a lot shorter and easier than the one yesterday. It looks like a good stage for a breakaway.
Km 2: Lars Weckernagel (Nutrixxion) launches the first attack. Timothy Duggan tries to follow.
Km 20: Duggan failed to get into the break, so Longo Borghini gives it a try.
Km 35: While Longo Borghini still tries to stay free, Duggan obviously overestimated himself and falls back from the peloton. That'll be a tough stage for him.
Km 52: It turns out quite good for Liquigas now: Duggan recontacts with the pack and Longo Borghini managed to get into the 14 men group of the day!
Km 60: Although NetApp and ISD Continental do the pace in the pack, the advance grows over three minutes.
Km 67: Giovanni Visconti (Farnese Vini) attacks from the pack. He would be a good bet for the stage win!
Km 79: Over the first mountain, Visconti reaches the break, who lead with 5 minutes now. He is also the best-placed rider, 8 minutes back in the GC.
Km 86: With 60km to go, the advance for the escapees is still at more than seven minutes. They could succeed.
Km 99: Trabriz, who showed a strong performance yesterday, increase the pace now and the advance decreases!
Km 127: The break has only 21 km to go, and the pack is still down by 5'30. They will fight for the win, and Giovanni Visconti is the big favorite.
Km 142: Wih 6 km to go, Simone Campagnaro (Miche) attacks from the first group. Paolo Longo Borghini counters.
Km 143: Without Liquigas noticing, a group around yesterday's third Rubiano got loose from the pack! Liquigas has to do the pace now!
Km 146: Longo Borghini is half a minute in front now. That looks good for him now.
Km 142: Change of tactics: Instead of chasing, the Liquigas team attacks now!
Km 148: Longo Borghini wins!
Km 148: Nerz sprints along with Basso to minimize the time loss. Nevertheless, they'll lose the leader's jersey today.
What an incredible season for the old Italian. Already his fourth victory!
Result
1
Paolo Longo Borghini
Liquigas - Cannondale
3h29'06
2
Evgueni Popov
Itera - Katusha
+ 30
3
Yuri Metlushenko
Amore & Vita
s.t.
4
Giovanni Visconti
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
s.t.
5
Kurt Hovelynck
Donckers Koffie - Jelly Belly
s.t.
6
Hossein Jahabanian
Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team
+ 44
7
Matej Gnezda
Adria Mobil
s.t.
8
Ales Broz
PSK Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
9
Patrick Schachtner
Team Nutrixxion Sparkasse
s.t.
10
Zoltan Madaras
Ora Hotels - Carrera
s.t.
…
16
Miguel Rubiano
Meridiana Kamen Team
+ 3'43
...
22
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 4'36
...
26
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 4'52
General Classification
1
Miguel Rubiano
Meridiana Kamen Team
10h07'11
2
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 47
3
Sylwester Szmyd
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 1'19
4
Markus Eibegger
Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team
+ 2'08
5
Giovanni Visconti
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 4'54
6
Francesco Bellotti
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 5'13
7
Pasquale Muto
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 5'37
8
Tomasz Nose
Adria Mobil
+ 5'54
9
Constantino Zaballa
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 5'57
10
Andrea Noè
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 6'01
11
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 6'11
Young Riders Classification
1
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
10h13'22
2
Ales Broz
PSK Whirlpool - Author
+ 1'53
3
Gianluca Brambilla
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 1'56
Dominik's Comment:
An ambivalent day for us. Of course, we achieved another stage win, which is great. But we also lost the overall lead due to our inattentiveness. We could prevent the worst with our late team attack, but still we lost nearly a minute. On the other hand: If he really aims for it (which he will), 47 seconds on someone like Rubiano should be more than manageable for Ivan the Terrible!
For me, I hope that I can get into the Top Ten tomorrow. That would be really great.
So far,
Dominik
Edited by cunego59 on 21-07-2011 11:39
The third stage will decide the GC, as the fourth stage is completely flat. Rubiano seeks to defend his overall lead, which will be a hard job, as Basso will do everything to regain the lead. For Dominik, we hope that he can get into the Top 10.
Km 4: The first attacks are launched...
Km 19: Eleven men establish the BotD.
Km 33: Another couple of riders try to bridge up to the break.
Km 51: The enlargement of the break caused the pack to chase, so again, everything is back together.
Km 53: Timothy Duggan tries it again. Will he have more luck than yesterday?
Km 68: Yes. He takes part in the seven men break, who have more than three minutes of advance now.
Km 99: The pack is down by 6'45 now.
Km 150: On the bottom of the final climb, only 4'30 are left of the old advance.
Km 160: Belotti again increases the pace in the pack.
Km 166: While it's Szmyd now in front of the peloton, Bartosz Huzarski tries to attack.
Km 173: Szmyd pretty much destroys the pack, only 15 riders are left in the group of Basso.
Km 174: Following Rubiano, Basso attacks now!
Km 174: Nerz, accompanied by Francesco Belotti, fell behind a little. He hasn't his best day.
Km 177: Basso catches up with the leader, Tomasz Nose. Rubiano is half a minute behind. Basso has to hurry up! 2 km to go.
Km 179: Basso wins the stage easily. Now, it's time to wait for Rubiano's time...
Km 179: And it's enough! Rubiano loses about a minute.
Km 179: Nerz, in his young riders jersey, comes in 10th. He moves into nineth overall!
His win wasn't surprising, nevertheless it was a good one!
Result
1
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
4h41'59
2
Tomasz Nose
Adria Mobil
+ 35
3
Miguel Rubiano
Meridiana Kamen Team
+ 1'02
4
Markus Eibegger
Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team
+ 1'37
5
Sylwester Szmyd
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
6
Andrea Noè
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 1'57
7
Mitja Mahoric
Adria Mobil
s.t.
8
Francesco Bellotti
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 2'26
9
Bartosz Huzarski
Team NetApp
s.t.
10
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 2'37
General Classification
1
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
14h49'47
2
Miguel Rubiano
Meridiana Kamen Team
+ 21
3
Sylwester Szmyd
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 2'19
4
Markus Eibegger
Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team
+ 3'08
5
Tomasz Nose
Adria Mobil
+ 5'46
6
Francesco Bellotti
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 7'02
7
Andrea Noè
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 7'21
8
Mitja Mahoric
Adria Mobil
+ 8'01
9
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 8'11
10
Giovanni Visconti
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 8'54
Young Riders Classification
1
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
14h57'58
2
Ales Broz
PSK Whirlpool - Author
+ 5'37
3
Jakub DanacÃk
PSK Whirlpool - Author
+ 8'35
Dominik's Comment:
Yeah! We achieved all our goals! Basso won the stage and regained the overall lead, I kept my young riders jersey and moved into the Top 10 – What could you want more?
I'm so happy that our DS put this race into our schedule. The results are great for the team's atmosphere.
Tomorrow, Jacopo Guarnieri, who suffered all the way on the last stages, will get his chance in the mass sprint.
See you,
Dominik
Edited by cunego59 on 21-07-2011 11:54
for this one! Nice win for Basso and even better Top-10 for Dominik! I was a little bit afraid, when you said "Dominik hasn't his best day", but in the end, he managed to achieve a great result. Well done!
@ tsmoha: Thanks At a certain point, Dominik didn't look good, and I was a little afraid as well^^ But He constantly rode at his pace and was able to overtake some riders who went too fast on the first part of the climb. And yeah, eventually, his result was pretty good.
@ johannes-w: I feel honoured that you dedicated your first banana to this story And you're right about the young riders classification. Luckily, I still had the exported results, so I edited them into the posts.
The last stage of the Tour de Slovenie is flat. A mass sprint finish is expected.
Km 3: The first riders attack.
Km 18: Dominik sits comfortably in the pack, presenting his young riders jersey.
Km 43: 11 riders established a lead of four minutes.
Km 69: The advance increased to 8'30.
Km 81: Liquigas takes over the relays in the pack to reel in the escapees.
Km 105: With 55 km to go, the riders are still more than 6 minutes in front.
Km 135: 25 km to go, and the advance is still at 4'30. Looks good for the escapees.
Km 150: The front group dissolves as some riders try to break free.
Km 153: With 7 km to go, Jesper Odgaard Nielsen (Christina Watches) and Stefano Pirazzi (Colnago) are thirty seconds in front of the other escapees.
Km 158: The sprint for the stage win begins!
Km 158: Basso and Nerz try to lead Jacopo Guarnieri out in the bunch sprint.
Km 160: Stefano Pirazzi wins this stage easily!
Km 160: Guarnieri and Nerz sprint into the Top 20.
Km 160: Francesco Belotti lost a lot of energy on the chase for the escapees, and loses his Top 10 position.
Stefano Pirazzi takes his first season win.
Result
1
Stefano Pirazzi
Colnago - CSF Inox
3h37'38
2
Jesper Odgaard Nielsen
Christina Watches-Onfone
s.t.
3
Jaroslaw Ribiewski
Bank BGZ
+ 33
4
Oleksandr Martynenko
ISD Lampre - Continental
s.t.
5
Davide Ricci Bitti
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
s.t.
6
Hossein Jahabanian
Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team
s.t.
7
Kim Lachmann
Team Nutrixxion Sparkasse
s.t.
8
Daniel Schorn
Team NetApp
s.t.
9
Franz Schiewer
LKT Team Brandenburg
s.t.
10
Mikhail Antonov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
...
20
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
General Classification
1
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
18h27'58
2
Miguel Rubiano
Meridiana Kamen Team
+ 21
3
Sylwester Szmyd
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 2'19
4
Markus Eibegger
Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team
+ 3'08
5
Andrea Noè
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 7'21
6
Mitja Mahoric
Adria Mobil
+ 8'01
7
Tomasz Nose
Adria Mobil
+ 8'10
8
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 8'11
9
Giovanni Visconti
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 8'54
10
Pasquale Muto
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 8'57
Points Classification
1
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
50
2
Miguel Rubiano
Meridiana Kamen Team
32
3
Sylwester Szmyd
Liquigas - Cannondale
32
4
Tomasz Nose
Adria Mobil
32
5
Stefano Pirazzi
Colnago - CSF Inox
30
Mountain Classification
1
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
20
2
Constantino Zaballa
Miche - Guerciotti
18
3
Miguel Rubiano
Meridiana Kamen Team
14
4
Sylwester Szmyd
Liquigas - Cannondale
12
5
Tomasz Nose
Adria Mobil
8
Young Riders Classification
1
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas – Cannondale
18h36'09
2
Ales Bosz
PSK – Whirlpool
+ 5'37
3
Jakub Danacik
PSK – Whirlpool
+ 8'35
4
Gianluca Brambilla
Colnago – CSF Inox
+ 9'24
5
Mads Moltke Steen
Christina Watches – Onfone
+ 10'43
Team Classification
1
Liquigas – Cannondale
.
55h28'37
2
Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team
.
+ 12'10
3
Farnese Vini – Neri Sottoli
.
+ 22'17
4
Adria Mobil
-
+ 28'13
5
Miche – Guerciotti
.
+ 29'24
Dominik's Comment:
Although this stage wasn't really like we would have liked it to be, the atmosphere in the team bus was really happy. We totally dominated this tour with three stage wins and all jerseys.
The DS just called me to congratulate me to my young riders jersey. They're really pleased with me. And so am I. This Tour de Slovenie was a great experience.
Now, the national championships can come!
Yours,
Dominik
Edited by cunego59 on 21-07-2011 11:57
The Tour de Suisse is the other large preparation race for the Tour de France. Strangely, Andy Schleck was missing here as well. Alberto Contador was the big favorite. Liquigas came here with a sprinter-orientated team, but couldn't get any good results.
The prologue was won by Alberto Contador. Ignatas Konovalovas and Samuel Sanchez followed. Kristjan Koren and Maciej Bodnar got a decent result with the places 14 and 15.
Stage two came up with a little surprise, as even the pure sprinters survived the mountain. Mark Cavendish won in front of Tyler Farrar and his lead out Matthew Goss.
The stage three was what it was expected to be: A mass sprint finish with a favorite's win. Mark Cavendish again in front of Tyler Farrar and Gregory Rast.
Mark Cavendish repeated his win on stage four, again in front of Tyler Farrar. This time, Heinrich Haussler completed the podium. I think, we can expect a lot of nice battles in the Tour de France.
The sprints weren't very rich of variety at all: Another stage, the same result. Cavendish beating Farrar, Haussler finishing third. Farrar had to be pretty frustrated by now.
Stage six was the only real mountain stage of this tour. Alberto Contador took the win 8 seconds in front of Denis Menchov. Roman Kreuziger finishes third.
Those sprinters have to be in a great shape if even those hills can't stop them: Mark Cavendish is really impressive and again beats Tyler Farrar. This time, Andre Greipel is on three.
A breakaway succeeded on stage eight: Stuart O'Grady (Leopard) won in front of Martin Kohler (BMC) and Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r).
Fabian Cancellara proved his great shape and won the concluding time trial six seconds in front of Christian Vande Velde and the overall winner Alberto Contador.
Successful performance check for Alberto Contador.
would be nice to see him do it in the tour again since he won my sympathy this year.... well if liquigas isnt targeting the mountain jersey of course
is andy maybe injured? otherwise it would be quite weird not riding a prep race at all
Today is the day of the German national time trial championship. Dominik has no chance of a really good result, a Top 10 would be outstanding. Maybe his quite good shape can help him against usually better time trialists.
The favorites are Tony Martin and Bert Grabsch (both HTC), as Andreas Klöden (RadioShack) surprisingly doesn't take part.
13:00: Fabian Wegmann (Leopard) opens the race.
13:41: Young Patrick Gretsch (HTC) sets a first good time at the intermediate checkpoint.
13:54: Both Markus Fothen (Team NSP) and Linus Gerdemann (Leopard) lowered Gretsch's time at the checkpoint.
13:57: Roger Kluge (Skil) is the first rider to set a final time: 57'18
14:11: Gretsch comes in. A good time. 56'01
14:15: Dominik is about to start now!
14:22: Markus Fothen, U23 world champion of 2003, sets a new best time: 55'38
14:25: But quickly, the time is lowered by Linus Gerdemann. 55'23
14:39: Bert Grabsch is on his way! On the checkpoint, he loweres Gerdemann's time by 15 seconds.
14:42 Dominik passes the intermediate check, 14th, + 1'07.
14:47: Tony Martin starts his quest to defend his title.
14:56: Former German time trial champion Sebastian Lang (Omega Pharma) has nothing to do with the decision. 56'50
15:09: Bert Grabsch sets the new best time, 39 seconds in front of Gerdemann. Looks beatable for Tony Martin. 54'43
15:12: Dominik gives everything he has on the last meters. He finishes provisional 16th, 2'37 behind Grabsch. 57'20
15:13: Tony Martin passes the intermediate checkpoint with a clear new best time, 30 seconds faster than Grabsch.
15:20: With Alexander Gottfried (NetApp), the last rider starts the race.
15:22: An impressive image. Tony Martin overtakes Paul Martens (Rabobank), who overtakes Gerald Ciolek (Quick·Step). At this point, no one doubts that Martin defends the title.
15:40: With Andre Greipel (Omega Pharma), Tony Martin nearly overtook his third rider. He wins this championship easily, more than a minute in front of his team mate. 53'38
He will wear this jersey for one more season: Tony Martin.
Result:
1
Tony Martin
HTC – Highroad
53'38
2
Bert Grabsch
HTC – Highroad
+ 1'05
3
Linus Gerdemann
Leopard – Trek
+ 1'45
4
Markus Fothen
Team NSP
+ 2'00
5
Patrick Gretsch
HTC – Highroad
+ 2'23
…
19
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas – Cannondale
+ 3'43
Dominik's Comment:
What can I say? I didn't do anything extraordinary but I finished within my possibilities. A Top 20 place is quite ok.
Maybe I can do a little surprise on the road race tomorrow.
After the time trial, HTC want their next win. Andreas Klöden is again not present, the same applies for the defending champion Christian Knees (Sky).
Km 23: It took a long time, but now, the first attacks come. Knowing it is his only chance, Dominik follows.
Km 40: As the group is in danger of being caught, Nerz tries it again.
Km 51: It seems like the group of the day is fix now: Nerz is accompanied by Marcel Sieberg (Omega), Florian Harbig (Thüringer Energie), Stefan Schäfer (Brandenburg) and Dirk Finders (Eddy Merckx).
Km 84: The advance grew to more than five minutes now. But the finish is still far away. Dominik can be considered as the best hilly rider in the group, while Marcel Sieberg is definetely the best sprinter.
Km 118: 7 minutes seem to be enough, Leopard and Team NSP increase the pace now.
Km 127:Bert Grabsch attacks from the pack.
Km 136: Grabsch and his fellow escapees are caught again.
Km 139: The advance quickly decreased to 3 minutes. Doesn't look good for Dominik.
Km 168: With the advance being only 1'30, Dominik tries it again with an attack!
Km 170: He quickly creates a gap of thirty seconds.
Km 187: The other escapees are caught, while Dominik maintains a gap of about a minute.
Km 198: He did a great job, but now, his adventure is over. Dominik is back in the pack. It's now time for the real favorites.
Km 201: And there they are. At least one of them. Paul Martens attacks.
Km 204: Although there are still 40 km left, Tony Martin sets an attack. He overtakes Martens quickly.
Km 217: A group of 12 riders leads now. Except for Jens Voigt (Leopard), all major favorites are present there.
Km 223: Paul Martens is the most aggressive rider today. Again, he attacks.
Km 231: Again, the large group is back together.
Km 240: Those 12 riders enter the last, descending 5 km together. A couple of good sprinters are present there, but it will probably be decisive who has the most power left.
Km 244: The sprint begins, and Linus Gerdemann leads, followed by Patrick Gretsch, Tony Martin (both HTC) and Patrick Sinkiewitz (Farnese Vini).
Km 245:Tony Martin makes it a double victory at the national championships.
Km 245: After his efforts, Dominik finishes within the pack.
After this great win, Tony Martin will wear the national champion's jersey in every race.
Result
1
Tony Martin
HTC – Highroad
53'38
2
Rene Weissinger
Vorarlberg – Corratec
s.t.
3
Simon Geschke
Skil – Shimano
s.t.
4
Paul Martens
Rabobank
s.t.
5
Bert Grabsch
HTC – Highroad
s.t.
…
34
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas – Cannondale
+ 5'37
Dominik's Comment:
Not much to say. I did the best I could, and tried it in the break, but the other guys weren't really helpful.
But anyways, I didn't expect anything here, so it's ok.
Edited by cunego59 on 22-07-2011 18:48
here is an overview about the other new national champions:
Time Trial:
Canada
Svein Tuft
Spidertech
Czech Republic
Roman Kreuziger
Astana
Denmark
Brian Vandborg
Saxo Bank
France
Laszlo Bodrogi
Team Type 1
Germany
Tony Martin
HTC - Highroad
Italy
Manuel Quinziato
BMC
Netherlands
Joost Posthuma
Leopard
Norway
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky
Poland
Bartosz Huzarski
NetApp
Portugal
Tiago Machado
RadioShack
Russia
Vladimir Karpets
Katusha
Slovenia
Janez Brajkovic
RadioShack
Spain
Samuel Sanchez
Euskaltel
Suisse
Fabian Cancellara
Leopard
Ukraine
Yaroslaw Popovych
RadioShack
Road Race
Austria
Bernhard Eisel
HTC - Highroad
Belgium
Stijn Devolder
Vacansoleil
Canada
Ryder Hesjedal
Garmin
Czech Republic
Martin Hebik
PSK Whirlpool
Danmark
Matti Breschel
Rabobank
Estonia
Janek Tombak
Free Agent
France
Thomas Voeckler
Europcar
Germany
Tony Martin
HTC - Highroad
Great Britain
Mark Cavendish
HTC - Highroad
Italy
Alessandro Ballan
BMC
Ireland
Philip Deignan
RadioShack
Kazakhstan
Alexandre Vinokourov
Astana
Lithuania
Simas Kondrotas
Free Agent
Luxembourgh
Fränk Schleck
Leopard - Trek
Netherlands
Marc De Maar
Quick·Step
Norway
Alexander Kristoff
BMC
Poland
Tomasz Smolen
CCC Polsat
Portugal
Tiago Machado
RadioShack
Russia
Yury Trofimov
Katusha
Slovenia
Simon Spilak
Lampre
Spain
Samuel Sanchez
Euskaltel
Suisse
Hubert Schwab
Vorarlberg
Sweden
Frederik Kessiakoff
Astana
Ukraine
Oleg Chuzhda
Caja Rural
Interesting was that two free agents could win the national titles. They commended themselves for a new contract.
Also, we had five double champions. The most successful team was RadioShack with 5 titles. Our team failed to achieve even a single win.
Tomorrow, the contract negotiations officially begin, and I will provide you with the information you need – but probably not before the end of July, as I'll be riding at the Tour, of course!
See you,
Dominik
Edited by cunego59 on 22-07-2011 18:49
Skil – Shimano and Landbouwkrediet extended their lead in the Continental Ranking. Bert De Waele is now Van Hummels closest follower, after winning the Ster Elektrotoer.
Not much changes in the CQ Ranking either. Rabobank overtook Leopard, but they're still very close. Due to his win in the Tour de Suisse, Alberto Contador firstly appears in this ranking.
The UCI recently announced that the CQ Ranking will be the main criterion for the promotion to the new WorldTour. So here are the Top 5 continental teams in the CQ Ranking:
As you can see, Saur is already quite a bit away from the Top 2, so it probably will be a fight between the leading four teams.
With 2 wins, Kenny Van Hummel advanced into second position in this ranking. Cofidis still has the second most wins, now in front of Landbouwkrediet.
Mark Cavendish won five stages of the Tour de Suisse and the British Championships. A more than deserved winner. After January, this is already his second award! Jakub Danacik won one stage of the Ringerike GP.
Edited by cunego59 on 23-07-2011 18:59
Our intense training and the preparation races had quite a lot of impact on me. Right on time for the Tour, I feel that I have made another leap regarding my abilities.
I'm already in our camp in Rotterdam where the Tour starts tomorrow, and I have to say that I'm pretty excited. I hope that I can do a good job here.
Great Tour of Slovenie for Nerz! Looking forward to the Tour... Nerz won't have chances but I think he will be able to help Basso with his development during this season and his great shape. However, his work can be important as Basso aims at the Podium?
for this one! Nice win for Basso and even better Top-10 for Dominik! I was a little bit afraid, when you said "Dominik hasn't his best day", but in the end, he managed to achieve a great result. Well done!
)
And you're right about the young riders classification. Luckily, I still had the exported results, so I edited them into the posts. 
