@ste_18: I think Lampre would be an excellent choice too. Yeah, actually any Italian team would be great for him But maybe it's good for him to stay out of his usual surroundings (Italy) to grow more mature... We'll see when he decides

@FreitasPCM: Well, teams showing interest this early can't be a bad sign for Puccio I hope he can continue in the World Tour next year, but interest isn't always equal to a concrete contract

@Miguel98: Thanks! I also think Vacansoleil suits him pretty well. Their style of racing and their number of Italian riders on the team is really attractive

@dienblad: Hehe, Thank you for reminding me That stage was quite brilliant and nasty at the same time
I have the same thoughts when talking about chances for Puccio - But the real question is whether he is ready to get those chances already? Staying 1 more year with Sky could give him a lot more experience, instead of a rising pressure to making results...

@sutty68: Yeah! Definitely!

There's Edvald Boasson Hagen, and then there's all the others...
This month has to be dedicated to our Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen. Taking the win in the Italian Strade Bianche, 2 stage-wins and overall 5th in Tirreno-Adriatico, plus winning the Milano-SanRemo, you can't be in have any doubts that he has really moved a step further into the professional cycling field.


Apart from Edvald Boasson Hagen's success, the team has also reaped victories in Tour of Catalunya and Dwars door Vlaanderen, which really settles a month above the general expectations.

Last month we occupied the 2nd spot in the World Tour team-rankings after Movistar, but after this fantastic month, we've moved one step up, and now sits in 1st spot ahead of Omega Pharma - Quick Step!
On the individual rankings, Wiggins is still in 2nd, where Boonen is leading comfortably. Milano-SanRemo winner Edvald Boasson is in 4th.


In the CQ-rankings, Wiggins dropped from 1st to 3rd, where Boonen is also in the lead. But on the team-rankings, we're still occupying 1st.


March was the month where i stepped into the professional rankings, after making some fine results in the Spanish World Tour race, Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. Beneath you can see how i'm placed.

Leaderboard	Ranking	Points
World Tour	60	6
CQ-Ranking	197	57

I've been doing a lot a great races this month. It's difficult to think that this is my first year as professional, when i get to ride the greatest races from the very start! Standing on the starting line in Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour of Catalunya and one of my favorite races Milano-SanRemo, is something i've always dreamed about, but never thought was realistic for me. But here i stand, having ridden three World Tour races in one month, feeling better than ever!


I've got out of the Catalunyan tour in the shape of my life, and with results being some of the greatest i've ever achieved. You may feel it when looking at me, but right now i'm just flying on clouds, wanting more, more and more. And more is what i'm going to get, as my next race is the professional edition of the Tour of Flanders - The race i won last year - Just a level above.

This months team-mate is our Belarussian Siutsou. The reason of this pick is based on his effort in the Tour of Catalunya, where he was one of the main reasons to Wiggins' general classification win.


Siutsou managed to stay with Wiggins and Froome as the last standing rider from our team. Without his help, Wiggins maybe wouldn't have won the race. He's in the shape of his life right now, but he'll have to wait using all his energy if he wants to have something left for the Tour de France, where he has already been guaranteed a spot in the lineup.

@Ian Buttler: Thank you so much!

@FreitasPCM: Thanks! I hope so too. He'll get to ride some big races once again, so just being on the startline of those is already great for him

@sutty68: Thanks mate

@fcancellara: Thanks! Vacansoleil is a very good option indeed

@fernando97: Thank you, i'm glad to have you back Yeah, it was a real shame that Perez oversprinted Puccio on the last metres, but it was still a great result for him

Ian Butler wrote:
Oh, and I just realized I actually hope Puccio stays with Sky. Because otherwise the layout will change (just love the Sky colors with that layout)

Pre-Tactics
The Ronde Van Vlaanderen is one of the greatest races on my schedule. Last year i had my breakthrough in this exact same race. Only difference this year is the level of the other riders competing, which last year was the U23 Nations Cup - This is the real deal!

Tom Boonen has to be counted as the biggest favorite of all, after his recent results. Flecha is ready to conquer him and as usual he does well in this race. We have a very strong team, so i'm certain that he'll bring home a great result. My role today will be to keep myself as close to the front for as long as possible, helping the other boys with waterbottles and cover from the wind.

	T. Boonen
	F. Cancellara, J. Flecha
	A. Ballan, L. Boom, N. Nuyens

Morningbreak of the day contained 7 riders, without being any real threat to the win. Within the group A. Marangoni, M. Irizar and
G. Smukulis probably were the fastest on such cobbled route.


Hitting the first cobbled section, the pack was stabilized and united, with Omega Pharma - Quick Step leading the pack quietly.


Going further towards the countryside, the pack reached the first significant cobbled hill, with Omega Pharma - Quick Step still in front. The pack was torn into many pieces, but all favorites stayed up close.


After the hill, Sebastian Langeveld exploited the opportunity of the torned pack to break away, trying to catch up with the front breakaway about 5 minutes in front of him.


With 110 km to the line, Puccio experienced a puncture at a critical point of the race. Thankfully he managed to connect with the main pack quite fast, but with a use of a lot of energy.


With 95 km to the finish, Filippo Pozzato made an attack, first going solo, but later on he was joined by FDJ's Ladagnous.


Both Langeveld, Pozzato and Ladagnous reached the front group with about 75 km to the line, bringing the front group up to 10 riders.


After a paramount cobbled hill with 65 km to the line, a big divide was made. Puccio and the other Sky riders were placed well up front going into the climb, but riders such as Hushovd, Breschel and Turgot didn't manage to connect with the front pack, consisting about 35 riders.


6 riders managed to break free of the group of 35, heading for the front breakaway 2 minutes ahead. The group contained Flecha, Eisel, Cancellara, Roulston, Boonen and Wynants - Was this the final cut?


As the weather suddenly turned upside down, the group was joined by Leukemans and Boom, after having reeled in the morning break.


But Langeveld and Pozzato were still in front of the favorite group with 50 km to the finish. But the time gap was only about 40 seconds, being only a matter of time before connecting with the other group.


With 40 km to go, Puccio was feeling terrible. Rain and mud at the same time wasn't the best cup of tea for such young Italian, being used to drive in the heat. Together with riders like Turgot, Kristoff and Mortensen, Puccio was fighting for his suvival with obstinacy.


With 30 km to go, Cancellara made his move, going uphill a cobbled climb. Flecha didn't hesitate a second to follow his wheel. However Boonen seemed unfocused for just a minute and couldn't reach the duo when they finally came free.


Flecha and Cancellara cooperated fine, and they knew they had to keep Boonen behind themselves, but he was closing in on them.


With 15 km to go, it seemed like the duo finally got Boonen neutralized, but then the unthinkable happened. Flecha got a puncture!


Boonen managed to pass Flecha when changing tire, leaving Cancellara alone in front, with Boonen almost a minute after, and then Flecha who was trying to reach Boonen again.


Nobody were able to challenge Cancellara today. Even though of Flecha's puncture, Cancellara probably would have taken the victory either way. As Cancellara rode under La flamme rouge, Flecha still fought to catch Tom Boonen, only seconds ahead of him.


Fabian Cancellara took a well deserved and beautiful solo victory with almost a minute's gap between him and the 2nd place.


When Flecha crossed the line, he unfortunately couldn't take the 2nd place from Boonen. Only seconds seperated them, but in the end it was too much to catch up for Flecha after his puncture.

1	Fabian Cancellara	RadioShack - Nissan	6h53'43
2	Tom Boonen	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step	+ 1'04
3	Juan Antonio Flecha	Sky Procycling	+ 1'35
4	Björn Leukemans	Vacansoleil - DCM	+ 6'23
5	Alessandro Ballan	BMC Racing Team	+ 7'35
6	Maarten Wynants	Rabobank Cycling Team	s.t.
7	Philippe Gilbert	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
8	Bernhard Eisel	Sky Procycling	s.t.
9	Lars Boom	Rabobank Cycling Team	s.t.
10	Filippo Pozzato	Farnese Vini - Selle Italia	+ 9'25
...
52	Salvatore Puccio	Sky Procycling	+ 23'35

This has been one of the most extreme races i've ever ridden!
But despite that, the race started out fine for me and the team. At the first cobbled hill, i wasn't placed well and was suddenly dropped, but fortunately the pace weren't too high at that moment. Despite that single time, i think i was very good at placing myself correctly, especially when the group of Breshcel and Hushovd was dropped, i quickly realized that i was doing really well.

Flecha did really well today. And if it wasn't for his punture, there was no doubt that the 2nd place would have been secured. But punctures is a part of these races, and ending up in 3rd is a great result for him and the team - He'll be back on full speed for the Paris-Roubaix!

Only 69 riders out of 200, were able to complete the race today, so ending up in 52th is a great result for me, and it's much better than i've expected. The rain in the last part of the race really took the strength out of me and a lot of riders, so i'm really proud to have completed the race.

@Miguel98: Yeah, it could have been worse, so thankfully he secured a podium spot

@Ian Buttler: Puccio really rode a great race, and i'm also sure he'll learn from this race. I think he'll end up being able to ride some great Ronde's in the future.

andy222c wrote:

fcancellara wrote:


BUTTler: best spelling mistake ever?