SSJ2Luigi wrote:
BACON!

Atlantius wrote:

And a little for the eyes : https://www.heavy.com/action/2012/07/t...men-bacon/

Marcovdw wrote:
I'll take the Guinness for strength

We have put together a team mainly aiming for stage wins, but also able to get a good GC result with a bit of luck.
For the flat stages we have brought Norwegian champion Alexander Kristoff, who will have Matti Breschel to help him in the sprint.
Matti should also aim for stage wins from breakaways or on the hilly stages.
Two riders with similar roles are Davide Rebellin and Przemysław Niemiec. Both will be going for the hilly stages and especially Rebellin should keep the GC on his mind.
For support we have brought Sergey Lagutin and Alexandr Pliuschin as well as a small treat for the locals Australian Champion Jack Bobridge.



As can be seen on the picture this is a team that will bring some colour to the race fielding as much as for NC-jerseys and a good bunch of aggressive riders (in the good way)

The first stage might not be the most decisive here, but still we wanted to do well on the first day of the season. Lets just say it didn't quite work out as hoped...



None of the guys found their way to the break and in the sprint Kristoff was left pretty much without help. Tough for him with three brilliant sprint-trains present. Still he fought his way to a 12th on the stage and all our riders came in with the peloton so we haven't lost anything yet!

First day expected to have any bearing on the GC, so now was the time for the guys to be awake.
Once again we missed the break so we was just sitting quietly in the peloton for the first 140 km.

On a hill finish like this not many riders can match Gilbert, but both Breschel and Niemiec do well to finish 7th and 8th placing them 9th and 10th in the GC. Hoping for a bit more on Willunga hill, but two places in the GC top 10 is a good start...

Another day looking like a bunch sprint, so not a day we could expect victory.

Once again none of my riders managed to get in the break - it's getting slightly annoying now!
And just as the break was about to get caught with 11 km to go Niemiec manage to throw away his chances in the GC completely by taking an early nap on the road. he ended up losing close to 6 minutes!



Anyway the sprint was coming up and luckily both Matti and Alexander seemed determined to cheer me up a bit. 7th and 9th on a stage like this isn't too bad and Matti is still looking good in the GC.

Apparently the photographers were on a strike today, so no picture for you.

As usual we failed to get in the break, but it still turned out ok for us.
Shortly before the finish a small hill made much more damage than expected, but Breschel was looking good and in the end finished 6th on the stage only half a wheel away from a third.

The final times have not been released so we're not sure if the split peloton have brought Matti to a better place in the GC.

With the most important stage of the race on today it was about time that my guys started showing some initiative. And finally they did.
Sometime during the stage both Lagutin, Kristoff and Rebellin tried to get away, but with no luck. Still trying is progress for them...

When it became clear that no break as such would get a solid lead all hope lied on Matti. After an extremely consistent first four stages now was the time for him to really prove something.



Voeckler was untouchable, but Matti did well finishing 8th on the day and holding 7th in the GC.

This final flat criterium in Adelaide was never for us. Still we had hope that Kristoff would show something in the sprint.

The first 80 km went by pretty much without us, but as expected everything was brought together for the sprint.
Alexander was perfectly places with 3 km to go, but that was about what he could manage today...

Another 12th on the stage is not quite what we had hoped...

Most stages were slightly disappointing, but fortunately Matti was very consistent throughout the race and saved the week with his 7th in the GC.

Team competition: 2. Tulip - Guinness, + 30

General Classification:

8	Matti Breschel	Tulip - Guinness	+ 25
28	Sergey Lagutin	Tulip - Guinness	+ 42
34	Davide Rebellin	Tulip - Guinness	+ 49
53	Jack Bobridge	Tulip - Guinness	+ 2'24
71	Przemyslaw Niemiec	Tulip - Guinness	+ 5'58
92	Alexandre Pliuschin	Tulip - Guinness	+ 12'32
112	Alexander Kristoff	Tulip - Guinness	+ 13'25

The teams first race will not go over in history in spite of 6 stage top-10's and a 7th in the GC. Not a single day in a classification jersey and not a single top-5. We had hoped more of this team, and a re particularly disappointed that Bobridge couldn't be bothered to show his Australian NC-jersey on home turf.
Stage-by-stage and full team results can be seen in the main Tour Down Under Article.

A disappointing race all-together but still leaving us on a 6th place in the rankings, so a good start point-wise nonetheless.

February will be a very quiet month for the team as we will only be racing Clasica Almeria. Not a top-priority race for us, but we will be sending a strong team anyway...

Still the quite month is not all bad as it will give me the opportunity to follow my son Heimdals racing-debut in the Tour of Oman.

Each month we will name a Rider of the Month based on the performance of the riders. In the end of the season all the "rider of the month"-winners will be up for a vote for being Rider of the Year.

Matti Breschel: Only one rider managed not to underachieve in Santos Tour Down Under. With 4 stage top-10's and an overall 7th place he single-handed saved our honour and for that he is rewarded.