Okay will do in future, i'm planning as i said to do around 3 stages per day, which will mean decent progress, without eating too much into my evening in terms of work etc, glad you liked the report jaxika
After some unpleasant weather and a bunch sprint yesterday, the riders were faced with a slightly tougher profile this morning, along with a short but steep finish. All riders lined up, with breakaways featuring Xuo Zheng who claimed some sprint and mountain points as part of the early breakaway, whilst also forcing other teams to work in order to chase down a competitive 6 man breakaway
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102k from home, disaster seemed to strike for Team Youtube Twitter, Kando Boss was involved in a fall which left him on his own 2minutes behind the peloton
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To return seemed an impossible task surely? Shaken if not injured form the fall and a gap that would just keep rising, who in the team could have been better equipped for the job, Boss put his time trialling and fighter abilities to full use, and in just 5k later, Kando could relax, back in to a peloton that he refused to let out of his sight.
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Between Pro Team Astana, and Garmin, the breakaway were reeled in at which point Twitter took control to make sure the race went according to plan, with Heinrich Leinstein along with Miguel Rocha making use of there abilites to keep a rapid pace on the peloton to ruin opposition attacks, whilst Rory Druce new australian TT champion, protected Cavendickx as they pushed to get ahead.
When the hill arrived, it quickly became the Jey-Cy Cavendickx show, sharp attacking and a rapid pace uphill left the peloton dead in his wake.
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Placing a minute between him and closest competitor Johann Tschopp from BMC racing.
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Overall a fine day for team Youtube-Twitter with Cavendickx taking the orange jersey, couple the tremendous form shown by Jey with the fact there is only one other genuine hilly stage to come, he looks extremely well set to win the GC thanks partially to personal form, but also due to the fantastic team-mates he has surrounding him to make his job easy.
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The top ten as things stand after stage 2, are as follows
The Third day of the Tour de San Luis was a remarkably boring profile after yesterdays hills, setting up a likely sprint finish for Pye in his quest for the points jersey, in the teams pre-match conference H.Leinstein admitted his wish to attack over this stage, he liked the look of the nice weather, and was after stage victory.
The team obliged, and when the race started Leinstein was quick to attack, and with 5other riders, they started to pull a sizeable gap from the peloton
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Leinstein was able to protect the points jersey with a first and second through the checkpoints, but as the race drew on, a new goal looked ever more reasonable, a stage victory?
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The gap opened to nine minutes, but then with 118k to go, 3Teams decided enough was enough, and Pro Team astana, with help from Christina Watches and Verandas, were able to pull them back, ruining Leinsteins hopes of a stage victory.
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When it was clear that no-one else would be escaping the peloton today, at 12k from home, Youtube Twitter set up there sprint train, once again, Alex Zhou would be providing the final cover for sprinter Mike Pye.
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The final dash was off!
Zhou was set up so well by Rory Druce, that no other team could touch us, And when it came down to the crunch, It was Pye in first, along with Alex Zhou coming in second! A fantastic Ride by the young sprinter, one which he will be able to look back on fondly for many years!
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The team rode brilliantly today, with the likes of Boss and Zheng playing superb roles as Domestiques, aswell as another final victory for the squad, what a start for new team Youtube Twitter!
Stage 4 of the Tour San Luis, is an individual time trial, giving Rory Druce a chance to show off his new pride and joy, but perhaps a risk to Cav's jersey, due to his weak time trialling abilities, meanwhile, Estonian Kando Boss, was looking for his first ever victory since his step up from junior to professional cycling.
The first rider donning the Blue-Bird kit, was leadout man Alex Zhou, who, whilst not a strong time triallist, still managed to put in a reasonable time of 27'58"
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Next rider to set off, and favourite for todays stage, was Kando Boss, a strong first half, meant that Kando could afford to settle down, relax and enjoy himself as he powered to a final time of 26'12" storming the stage.
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Heinrich Leinstein had to follow in the wake of companion rider Boss, but team consecutive one-two's would make a perfect story for the sponsors, and that's exactly what Leinstein secured, a powerful TT by the veteran rider, meant that Youtube-Twitter could further there claim to total domination in the argentinian race. Pro Tour teams will have to sit up and take notice, of the steam roller that is Youtube Twitter.
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Sadly There was little for Rory Druce to do, but pick up the scraps left for him by his earlier counterparts, but it was still nice to see his new jersey get an outing, a very respectable placing of 7th may not be what he was after, but is none the less a great result for him and the team.
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The last rider to set off, was the current GC leader, Jey-Cy Cavendickx, who spent the night worrying for his jersey, due to less than brilliant TT abilities, which he was scared might cost him the jersey,
Well WHAT was he worried about? JC came flying out of the block like he was possessed, clearly determined of one thing "I will not lose this jersey"
A brilliant ride, by a less than brilliant TTist.
At the halfway stage, he was inside the top 10, despite a number of high quality Time Triallers already having given it there all, and sure enough, as he crossed the line, a triumphant Jey-Cy Cavendickx, took home an incredible 4th place, and actually extended his lead over the TT stage, a result no-one including himself, would either have predicted, or hoped for!
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The team here at PCM reporting, have managed to get hold of Jey for an interview.
James Logan (PCM): Jey, incredible! where did that come from?
JC: Well james, i knew this stage could prove a hiccup for me, so i spent a while with Heinerz (H. Leinstein) looking at where i was going wrong, he made a few suggestions, which apparently in combination with my determination to hang on, were enough to pull me through.
Logan: Congratulations, i expect we'll be seeing a lot of you tomorrow then? the hills being your strength?
JC: Well, i dont want to say too much, but i'd like to think i'll be up there, the team have been fantastic so far, and with there help i'm sure i'll be there or there abouts, come the end of the race.
Logan: Okay, Cheers Jey, good luck for the rest of the tour, i'll let you get back to your celebrations now.
Stage 5 of the Tour de San Luis, has a flat profile, and a steep finish up a sharp 8-12% slope, which Jey-Cy thought may well be an opportunity for a stage win, and an increase in his GC lead.
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There were multiple attacks at the start of the race, with numerous secondary riders attempting and failing to escape the group, until a 4man group including Youtube sprinter, Mike Pye, and Sky star Christian Knees managed to escape properly about 100k from home.
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they were however, steadily reined in after Pye was able to grab some sprint points through checkpoint 1, multiple teams were involved in the chase. Due to the small break most teams felt it necessary to try and pull back the small group up ahead.
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With around 30k to go, Heinrich Leinstein, saw an opportunity in the lacklustre pace being set by the peloton, with the help of Miguel Rocha, he was able to force a gap between himself and the peloton, and set himself up with a good gap as he reached the base of the final hill. Rocha dropped back after around 4k, but his work was done, Leinstein had a gap, and a chance to make use of this late opportunity.
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As the peloton reached the base of the hill, Leinstein still had over a minute, and his victory started to look more realistic by the second, with 4k to go A.Kessiakoff (currently 2nd in the GC) attacked, and with that Cavendickx was forced to follow, he jumped out of his seat with cover from Rory Druce, and quickly overtook Kessiakoff of Pro Team Astana.
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Leinstein clung on with Cav closing the gap to just 17" as they crossed the line, the third consecutive one-two victory for Team Youtube Twitter, and a great final ride by the individual H.Leinstein.
This victory lifts him up the rankings to 2nd in the General Classification, aswell as placing him in the points jersey, one point ahead of team mate Mike Pye.
Sorry Guys, Major work commitments tonight, i doubt i'll be getting another stage up tonight, why don't you all go check out the team blog. Leave some questions for Rider Jakab Zoltan to answer in tomorrow's update from him.
The weather was an almost unbearable 34degrees for today's brutal stage, including both of the tour's toughest profile climbs, meaning that whichever rider wants to take the stage must plan there attacks carefully, then bare the agony of climbing a hill just 15k from home with riders baring down on you whilst the sun beats down.
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Xou Zheng the plucky little chinese lad from team Youtube Twitter was in the breakaway for the second time in the tour, and showed he meant business over the first two hills.
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Not the strongest climber in the group, but with little intention of anything more than some mountain points, Zheng attacked early on the first smaller hill, taking the full 6points available to the first rider.
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before relaxing until about 2k away from the top of the tour's most brutal hill, Zheng made use of the energy gel he was carrying, and with that extra Buzz, he was able to beat some stronger cyclists to the top and claim the full 16!
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With his job now done, Xou Zheng was able to relax on the back of the escape group as the peloton steadily pulled them back. It was at the base of the final hill that Pro Team Astana's effort paid off, and the break was caught, at which point Kessiakoff and Cavendickx were off once again, Cav the stronger climber he was able to pull a small gap between himself and Kessiakoff, which he carried over the line to place a gap of 3'26" between himself and second place in the GC.
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Meanwhile, Mike Pye continued to hold on to the under 25 jersey, but needing a sprint victory tomorrow, if he is to have any chance of taking home the points jersey, clinching it from Team-mate Jey-Cy Cavendickx's grasp.
Xou Zheng may not have made any headway in the GC, slipping back to an par-score finish in the main pack, but his sterling efforts over the first two hills were enough to secure him joint second place in the KOM jersey rankings, in a post match interview Xou said he was "proud of his efforts" and was "glad to be of service to the team in this his first ever professional race."Edited by baggieboys32 on 06-12-2011 23:07
The final stage of the Tour de San Luis, consists of three laps around a small hill, with a flat sprint finish, which Mike Pye knew was a must if he was to claim the sprint jersey today. The weather was hot, though thankfully slightly less blistering than the day before.
As the riders set off around the first of three 60k laps, Team Youtube Twitter made it absolutely clear that they were in control, setting a rapid pace right from the off, through the help of teamates, Miguel Rocha along with Xou Zheng, and H Leinstein. All attacks quickly petered out, and the fans at home watching on the telly, rapidly realised what a boring day today was going to be.
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The race played out in exactly this fashion, with no one being allowed by the Youtube squad to escape or place any ground between themselves and the peloton. The riders sat on the front were forcing a vicious pace, and a few of the riders poorly placed in the GC allowed themselves to slip off the back, and travel at a more relaxing speed on the final day.
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The first and second sprint checkpoints came and went, exactly as TYT would have wished them to, nobody allowed to get a break, and Pye sprinting the last few hundred metres on each occasion, in order to set himself up for his attack on the points jersey.
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TYT's riders may have been tired after 180k sitting on the front controlling the pack, but this didn't stop them forming there train when the time arrived, and with 12k to go, Pye was perfectly placed on the wheel of Alex Zhou.
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With 3k to go Kessiakoff, the Astana rider who was well placed in the points rankings, after regular attacks over all stages, had built a small lead and with 1.2k no one was quite sure that Pye would be able to pull him back, still, off he went, like a hare, and his superior sprinting abilities allowed him to just pip Kessiakoff and Team Type 1 rider Jure Kojcan to the finish line.
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A great final dash, but had he done enough to secure the points jersey during this, the final stage of the Tour de San Luis?...
Overall:
Never really a competition for first place in the GC, on stage 2, Jey-Cy Cavendickx attacked and placed a minute between himself and second, and then backed this up with a second stage victory on stage 6, as well as second in the other hill stage (5) and a stunning 4th place in the ITT stage 4.
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Points:
The hardest fought jersey of the tour, Mike Pye finally ending up in control after a well earned stage victory on the last day. An amazing haul of 37points pulled him up the rankings, overtaking co-rider Jey-Cy, aswell as Fredrik Kessiakoff who came second, 5pts behind TYT sprinter Mike Pye.
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Mountain:
Due to his Stage victories, and persistant attacks on every incline, Jey-Cy Cavendickx finished up with a second jersey, by a clear margin. TYT riders Heinrich Leinstein and Xou Zheng, finished in second place with 28pts, and a creditable solo victory, showing, his abilities, and potential use as a leader later in the season.
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Under 25: TYT collected this jersey to complete the set, once again through the work of Sprinter Mike Pye, a reasonable showing in the hills, plus the time bonuses from his sprint victories, allowed Pye to claim himself a second jersey. In second place, came TYT rider Kando Boss, who performed excellently in the Time Trial on stage 4.
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TYT Directeur SportÃf's Comments:
Brilliant Performance in the Teams first outing, we made this race a season objective at the Board Meeting at the beginning of the season. Very proud of 3 riders in particular, though every rider played there part, and deserves as much credit as the three i'm about to talk about...
Jey-Cy Cavendickx
Obviously an outstanding performance in the tour this year, but his ride was exceptionally pleasing for more than just the obvious jersey's he will take home with him tonight.
His persistant pressure on the other riders never allowed anyone to get in the way of his desires, and when he came up to a potential downfall, he put the effort in behind the scenes, and was able to perform fantastically in a stage he wasn't looking forward to.
Mike Pye
Again, for obvious reasons, Mike was able to show just how powerful he is over the flat stages of the tour, but aswell as this, when he became aware that the jersey might be more difficult than anticipated, with the help of his team, he put in the extra effort on the last day, and attacked at the intermediate checkpoints to claim the jersey on the final day, and protect it from Pro team Astana's grasp.
Xou Zheng Zheng may not be coming home with a jersey, but he is able to go home with a major smile on his face, twice competing in the breakaway, and on both occasions showing his great spirit as a rider, claiming Intermediate Points despite some much stronger riders surrounding him on both occasions. Zheng's attacks were both plucky and courageous, and despite not being the strongest rider in the squad, his attacks mean that he is my Rider of the Tour. This is an award, i will be providing after every tour, to the rider who i feel has best earnt it, it may not go to the most successful rider, and any rider who puts his all in for the team as Zheng did for us here in the heat of Argentina, is in with a good chance.
Edited by baggieboys32 on 07-12-2011 18:46
As Team Youtube Twitter were getting ready for the next race on the calendar, The GP la Marseille, the phone rang, and who else was on the phone than the Head office of Team GB cycling, asking if manager Bob Haskins would be willing to take charge this year, of course, he jumped at the idea, and so, Congratulations to DS B.Haskins, newly appointed in charge of Team GB.
As Team Youtube Twitter were getting ready for the next race on the calendar, The GP la Marseille, the phone rang, and who else was on the phone than the Head office of Team GB cycling, asking if manager Bob Haskins would be willing to take charge this year, of course, he jumped at the idea, and so, Congratulations to DS B.Haskins, newly appointed in charge of Team GB.
The team had a lot to consider when selecting the squad for the GP, with a route containing some hills, along with the fact it was a one day event, the team expected to see a broken peloton, with group attacks, and likely the winner would come from one of these attacking groups.
As such the board along with the DS decided on a strong collection of hills and flat riders, with some strong fighters who they hoped would be able to get away for the stage.
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The team initial sat back in the peloton, and a few small breaks got away, each for a few kilometres, before they were pulled back by the riders on the front of the peloton. At the first big hill, a few TYT riders came to the front, and towards the top Peter Pal and Alexander Lens decided it was the right time to try and take the stage in there hands.
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The breakaway initially looked successful, the two riders relaying off each other, and maintaining strength, they had a lead of 2minutes upon the peloton, sadly however they were unable to stay away, due a most unfortunate accident on the descent of the mountain, Pal took a corner with slightly too much venom, and the result found him lying on the floor after a tumble which fortunately didn't prove too serious, but did ruin the chances of a successful break, 55k being too far on your own...
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With Pal no longer in support Lens steadily dropped back, rather than expending effort, in order that should another opportunity arise later in the day. The Peloton started to split into groups, Pal and Zheng found themselves in the Main group, but all other riders were away in the 50+ rider group out in front.
At 10k to go, to attack looked impossible, but Lens and Il Cassano had a go, with no solid TYT sprinters in the group, a late break looked like the most likely chance of victory, Cassano jumped away and Lens came up to join him.
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Sadly, they couldn't quite carry it all the way over the line, and with 1.5k left, a bunch sprint with no particular organization set off, Youtube lacked the Powerhouse to get away in the last few seconds, but Il Cassano still managed a most respectable position of 5th place, Lens finished up 8th, and Eric Chen the south korean rider, forced his way into 13th place.
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Perhaps not quite the finish that Youtube Twitter had been hoping for, but none the less, a respectable outing for the side, with the top 14 as follows below.
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Rider of the Race
For me today it was Alexander Il Cassano who earns this award, he attacked repetitively over the stage, forced other riders to work to stop his attempts, and Claimed the highest ranking spot of a TYT rider in todays stage.
Edited by baggieboys32 on 07-12-2011 23:17
rorzcp wrote:
Try and not waste Rory Druce's Talent early in the season, hes a Big stage racer, target a giro maybe?
Mr Druce let the board know of his desires in this years TDF, and as such he is our big hope for this, We intend to set him up for stage wins, and expect to see him attacking, as he goes after the mountain jersey this year.
In a private word with the manager Rory also expressed his wishes in the second half of the season, and as such offered his services right at the beginning of the season, he intends to work on fitness so he is in his prime come early-mid July.
I hope this resolves your fears? and we hope to see you getting involved on our blog page, where you can post questions such as this, directly to the rider or DS.
nice reports and congrats on wnning 3 out of 4 races/stages so far
