@ Selwink, sutty & baia: Thank you all for the good luck wishes! We’ll see how the team is going to perform compared to the WT guys.

Welcome to the first stage of the 2013 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo! This stage is already a race decider, as it’s one of the two hilly courses in this stage race. Guys like Bardet (AG2R), Ulissi (Lampre) and Moser (Cannondale) might favour themselves here.


We’re just leaving Bitam as B.Sulzberger (Drapac), G.Devillers (Crelan) and J.Ghyselinck (Cofidis) sneak away.


The peloton is pedalling slowly, so far there are no problems for the Telkom boys, and the breakaway keeps his advantage of a few minutes.


Speaking of our boys: here’s Johannes Goedhals showing off our jersey at the head of the pack.


But soon after that the fun is over, and the peloton starts riding really fast. Every Telkom rider except for Habtemariam had to drop one by one. Meanwhile, the favourites are making their moves, with R.Dennis (Garmin), A.Durán (Efapel), M.Montaguti (AG2R) & E.Sella (Androni) up front.


A few kilometres later it’s the 4 up front who become 10, when B.Huzarski (NetApp), M.Rabottini (Vini Fantini), R.Bardet (AG2R) & the Cannondale-trio existing of M.Moser, D.Ratto and K.Koren join the party.


But 3 of those 10 are clearly the strongest, and M.Rabottini, M.Moser and R.Bardet decide to power away from the rest! It’s a sprint between these 3 talents for the first leader jersey of 2013!


M.Rabottini wins the stage! He’s sprinting so powerful that his concurrents can’t even get close! Moser sprints to second, Bardet comes in third.


A few minutes later, a very small peloton arrives, with Tesfay Habtemariam and Merhawi Kudus (photo) in it. Kudus worked himself up from the backmarkers back to the pack, all by himself! These two Eritreans did a very good job today.

1	Matteo Rabottini	Vini Fantini - Selle Italia	3h52'21
2	Moreno Moser	Cannondale Pro Cycling	s.t.
3	Romain Bardet	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
4	Matteo Montaguti	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 52
5	Bartosz Huzarski	Team NetApp - Endura	s.t.
6	Arkaitz Durán	Efapel - Glassdrive	s.t.
7	Kristjan Koren	Cannondale Pro Cycling	s.t.
8	Rohan Dennis	Garmin - Sharp	s.t.
9	Emanuele Sella	Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela	s.t.
10	Diego Ulissi	Lampre - Merida	+ 1'12
…	…	…	…
72	Tesfay Abraha Habtemariam	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 3'17
78	Merhawi Kudus	Team Telkom-Ecobank	s.t.
129	Daniel Nambwe	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 6'05
152	Robert Wanyama	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+7'57
153	Saare Gebremedhin	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 8'49
171	Johannes Goedhals	Team Telkom-Ecobank	s.t.
192	Chibesa Mwanza	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 10'15
193	Runako Edwards	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 10'53

1	Matteo Rabottini	Vini Fantini - Selle Italia	3h52'01
2	Moreno Moser	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 8
3	Romain Bardet	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 12
4	Matteo Montaguti	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 1'12
5	Bartosz Huzarski	Team NetApp - Endura	s.t.
6	Arkaitz Durán	Efapel - Glassdrive	s.t.
7	Kristjan Koren	Cannondale Pro Cycling	s.t.
8	Rohan Dennis	Garmin - Sharp	s.t.
9	Emanuele Sella	Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela	s.t.
10	Diego Ulissi	Lampre - Merida	+ 1'32
…	…	…	…
75	Tesfay Abraha Habtemariam	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 3'37
81	Merhawi Kudus	Team Telkom-Ecobank	s.t.
129	Daniel Nambwe	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 6'25

1	Matteo Rabottini	Vini Fantini - Selle Italia	25
2	Moreno Moser	Cannondale Pro Cycling	20
3	Romain Bardet	AG2R La Mondiale	16
4	Matteo Montaguti	AG2R La Mondiale	14
5	Bartosz Huzarski	Team NetApp - Endura	12

1	Jan Ghyselinck	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	8
2	Bernard Sulzberger	Drapac Cycling	8
3	Gilles Devillers	Crelan - Euphony	2

1	Moreno Moser	Cannondale Pro Cycling	3h52'09
2	Romain Bardet	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 4
3	Rohan Dennis	Garmin - Sharp	+ 1'04
4	Diego Ulissi	Lampre - Merida	+ 1'24
5	Daniele Ratto	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 1'24
…	…	…	…
26	Tesfay Abraha Habtemariam	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 3'29
29	Merhawi Kudus	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 3'29
46	Daniel Nambwe	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 6'17

1	Cannondale Pro Cycling	11h39'07
2	Katusha Team	+ 1'32
3	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 2'05
4	Vini Fantini - Selle Italia	+ 2'25
5	Astana Pro Team	+ 3'37
…	…	…
22	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 10'35

@ Jesleyh, baia, sutty & bjornini: Fitness, the quality of the fiels, there are numerous reasons why we couldn't compete with the rest of the field. I'd say we should give these guys a little bit of time, they're still young. Maybe one day they will be able to stay in the pack!

@ Shonak: Thanks for the compliment! And yeah, I watched the Tour of 2004 on TV alongside my dad, and a few monthes later I saw CyM 4 in the shelves, I just had to buy it. Back then I was simply rubbish, I went like attacking with all riders at the start of the race. I suppose I'm a little bit better nowadays

So yeah guys, I obviously did not make the Tuesday deadline, but don't worry, it's 100 % sure that tomorrow will be the day for a new report. Yes, for real. Just trust me. Tomorrow.

A sunny day today in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. Today’s course is a criterium with two hills in it, but the route shouldn’t be that much of a problem for the sprinters. Favourites for the victory are B.Bozic (Astana), F.Gavazzi (Androni) or maybe even B.Swift (Sky).


Again 3 riders in a break of the day, this time it’s J.Brandao (Efapel), T.van Asbroeck (Topsport), J.Ahlstrand (Argos) setting the standard.


Here’s our own Robert Wanyama trying to bridge the gap between the pack and the breakaway, but he eventually doesn’t succeed in doing so. It was still a good try though by the Kenyan.


As soon as the pack get back to Wanyama, they’re speeding up a bit to grab the 3 remaining escapees. Orica are at the head of the pack for their sprinter A.Kruopis.


J.Brandao and J.Ahlstrand are powering away from T.van Asbroeck and are now trying to stay in front of the pack. That same pack is broken into several pieces…


…and the main victim is again our leader Merhawi Kudus! This time he’s not making it back to the pack though. The Eritrean loses a few minutes in the GC. Guys like L.Meintjes (MTN) and F.Aru (Astana) are also part of the backmarkers.


We’re taking the last downhill into Yaoundé and S.Ponzi and B.Bozic (both Astana) get a little bit advantage over the pack. This is clearly a manoeuvre for a sprint win for the Slovenian!


But it doesn’t work out for Astana! Bozic fell back, and now it’s M.Marcato (Vacansoleil) taking the lead with just 250 metres to go! Will the Italian be able to take the sprint victory?


Aaand… yes, Marcato holds on to his lead and takes the stage! S.Colbrelli (Bardiani) manages to take the 2nd spot on the podium, while F.Kessiakoff (Astana) takes a rather surprising 3rd.


Tesfay Habtemariam did not have enough power left to sprint with the main guys, but he did a ggod job staying in the pack. In the end a 60th place is nice for him.


But next to Kudus getting dropped we still get some kind of notice, although I don’t know if we should be happy with that. Johannes Goedhals wasn’t in his best form today, and he had to drop quite early. Turns out he ends the stage in dead last… it’s not a great tour so far for Team Telkom-Ecobank!

1	Marco Marcato	Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team	2h35'14
2	Sonny Colbrelli	Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox	s.t.
3	Fredrik Kessiakoff	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
4	Allan Davis	Orica - GreenEdge	s.t.
5	Simone Ponzi	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
6	Maxime Vantomme	Crelan - Euphony	s.t.
7	Borut Božic	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
8	Francesco Gavazzi	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
9	Matteo Rabottini	Vini Fantini - Selle Italia	s.t.
10	Pim Ligthart	Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
…	…	…	…
60	Tesfay Abraha Habtemariam	Team Telkom-Ecobank	s.t.
119	Runako Edwards	Team Telkom-Ecobank	s.t.
120	Daniel Nambwe	Team Telkom-Ecobank	s.t.
131	Chibesa Mwanza	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 2'37
138	Merhawi Kudus	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 4'08
187	Saare Gebremedhin	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 4'08
188	Robert Wanyama	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 5'41
196	Johannes Goedhals	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 8'22

1	Matteo Rabottini	Vini Fantini - Selle Italia	6h27'15
2	Moreno Moser	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 8
3	Romain Bardet	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 12
4	Matteo Montaguti	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 1'12
5	Bartosz Huzarski	Team NetApp - Endura	s.t.
6	Arkaitz Durán	Efapel - Glassdrive	s.t.
7	Emanuele Sella	Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela	s.t.
8	Kristjan Koren	Cannondale Pro Cycling	s.t.
9	Rohan Dennis	Garmin - Sharp	s.t.
10	Fredrik Kessiakoff	Astana Pro Team	+ 1'24
…	…	…	…
55	Tesfay Abraha Habtemariam	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 3'37
112	Daniel Nambwe	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 6'25
123	Merhawi Kudus	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 7'45

1	Matteo Rabottini	Vini Fantini - Selle Italia	32
2	Moreno Moser	Cannondale Pro Cycling	25
3	Marco Marcato	Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team	25
4	Sonny Colbrelli	Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox	20
5	Fredrik Kessiakoff	Astana Pro Team	19

1	Jóni Brandão	Efapel - Glassdrive	9
2	Jonas Ahlstrand	Team Argos - Shimano	9
3	Tom Van Asbroeck	Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise	9
4	Jan Ghyselinck	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	8
5	Bernard Sulzberger	Drapac Cycling	8

1	Moreno Moser	Cannondale Pro Cycling	6h27'23
2	Romain Bardet	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 4
3	Rohan Dennis	Garmin - Sharp	+ 1'04
4	Daniele Ratto	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 1'24
5	Diego Ulissi	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
…	…	…	…
19	Tesfay Abraha Habtemariam	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 3'29
42	Daniel Nambwe	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 6'17
48	Merhawi Kudus	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 7'37

1	Cannondale Pro Cycling	19h24'49
2	Katusha Team	+ 1'32
3	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 2'05
4	Vini Fantini - Selle Italia	+ 2'25
5	Astana Pro Team	+ 3'37
…	…	…
20	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 10'35 (20)

The third stage of this years La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is the last on Cameroonian ground, tomorrow we’ll be heading to Gabon. This stage has the same start and finish town as stage 1, but it’s ridden on another route. This is still a quite challenging stage though, the road keeps going up and down before arriving at a small uphill finish. The Italian riders should be the favourites for the day victory, with D.Ulissi (Lampre), M.Moser (Cannondale) and race leader M.Rabottini (Vini Fantini) as top stars.


As we roll off in Bitam the first attacks are made, and they are immediately succesful. R.Chiarini (Androni), P.Van Hecke (Topsport Flandres) and L.Meintjes (MTN) pair up in an early attack.


D.Le Lay (Sojasun) was still a bit asleep when the three frontrunners got away, so the Frenchman decides to have a go. He manages to make it to the front, that gives us 4 men in today’s break of the day.


The peloton rides fast today, it’s controlled by the Vini Fantini team of stage 1 winner and race leader M.Rabottini.


S.Clarke (Orica) attacks somewhere at the middle of the race. The peloton decides the Australian isn’t dangerous enough so they let him go, and soon he will make it to the front of the race.


Make that the chase group behind the front of the race as Chiarini decides to power away!


There’s just ten kilometres left and there’s movement at the front of the pack! D.Ulissi (Lampre), F.Kessiakoff (Astana) and M.Rabottini (Vini Fantini) are giving it a try to win today’s stage, these three will soon join Clarke, Meintjes and van Hecke. After them R.Bardet (AG2R) leads the group of those who seem to be too late.


We’re inside the last kilometre! Chiarini is almost dead as he still tries to take this stage, but right behind him are the real favourites. Ulissi, Kessiakoff and Rabottini picked up Clarke, and R.Navardauskas (Garmin) and D.Pietropolli (Lampre) also managed to join this group in the dying moments of this stage. This is surely going to be an exciting uphill sprint to victory!


Who would’ve thought that! Clarke grabs the victory as he powered away from the peloton with 55 kilometres to go! Vini Fantini thought he wasn’t dangerous enough but they’re getting paid for that now as their leader Rabottini finished third. Kessiakoff takes the remaining podium spot. Chiarini was close, the Italian finishes in seventh, but he gets the KoM jersey as a reward for his bravery.


So I hear you ask: ‘What about Telkom-Ecobank?’ This was finally a good day for us as all eight team members managed to stay in the pack during the stage. Tesfay Habtemariam (photo) even got away of the pack at the end of the stage and clinched a great 19th place, which makes him 17th in the GC. Merhawi Kudus takes the 28th spot, while the others finish within the first hundred. A great stage for us as we head towards Gabon!

1	Simon Clarke	Orica - GreenEdge	2h40'42
2	Fredrik Kessiakoff	Astana Pro Team	+ 9
3	Matteo Rabottini	Vini Fantini - Selle Italia	s.t.
4	Diego Ulissi	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
5	Daniele Pietropolli	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
6	Ramunas Navardauskas	Garmin - Sharp	s.t.
7	Riccardo Chiarini	Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela	+ 33
8	Oliver Zaugg	Team Saxo - Tinkoff	+ 54
9	Preben Van Hecke	Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise	+ 1'12
10	Peter Kennaugh	Sky Procycling	+ 1'21
…	…	…	…
19	Tesfay Abraha Habtemariam	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 4'52
28	Merhawi Kudus	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 7'39
51	Daniel Nambwe	Team Telkom-Ecobank	s.t.
56	Chibesa Mwanza	Team Telkom-Ecobank	s.t.
71	Robert Wanyama	Team Telkom-Ecobank	s.t.
77	Runako Edwards	Team Telkom-Ecobank	s.t.
87	Saare Gebremedhin	Team Telkom-Ecobank	s.t.
97	Johannes Goedhals	Team Telkom-Ecobank	s.t.

1	Matteo Rabottini	Vini Fantini - Selle Italia	9h07'58
2	Fredrik Kessiakoff	Astana Pro Team	+ 1'20
3	Moreno Moser	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 1'28
4	Romain Bardet	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 1'32
5	Diego Ulissi	Lampre - Merida	+ 1'40
6	Peter Kennaugh	Sky Procycling	+ 2'52
7	Simon Geschke	Team Argos - Shimano	s.t.
8	Steven Kruijswijk	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
9	Simon Clarke	Orica - GreenEdge	+ 3'16
10	Ramunas Navardauskas	Garmin - Sharp	+ 3'45
…	…	…	…
17	Tesfay Abraha Habtemariam	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 8'28
101	Daniel Nambwe	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 14'03
121	Merhawi Kudus	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 15'23

1	Matteo Rabottini	Vini Fantini - Selle Italia	48
2	Fredrik Kessiakoff	Astana Pro Team	39
3	Moreno Moser	Cannondale Pro Cycling	29
4	Marco Marcato	Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team	25
5	Simon Clarke	Orica - GreenEdge	25

1	Riccardo Chiarini	Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela	10
2	Jóni Brandão	Efapel - Glassdrive	9
3	Jonas Ahlstrand	Team Argos - Shimano	9
4	Tom Van Asbroeck	Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise	9
5	Jan Ghyselinck	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	8

1	Moreno Moser	Cannondale Pro Cycling	9h09'26
2	Romain Bardet	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 4
3	Diego Ulissi	Lampre - Merida	+ 12
4	Peter Kennaugh	Sky Procycling	+ 1'24
5	Ramunas Navardauskas	Garmin - Sharp	+ 2'17
…	…	…	…
6	Tesfay Abraha Habtemariam	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 7'00
35	Daniel Nambwe	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 12'35
47	Merhawi Kudus	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 13'55

1	Lampre - Merida	27h40'34
2	Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela	+ 2'39
3	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 2'46
4	Vini Fantini - Selle Italia	+ 3'59
5	Astana Pro Team	+ 4'57
…	…	…
18	Team Telkom-Ecobank	+ 17'06