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Karl Hammarling - Scene 25: The Grand Finale
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 13-12-2013 19:03
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@Dippo - Blanco/Belkin/Rabobank... Not entirely sure what Db i was using at the time. But they are the Dutch team in the WT that is mildly successful, crashes a lot, and uses lots of drugs 
Act 2: Paved with Good Intentions
Scene 10: Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne
The morning of KBK was a repeat of the previous, dull grey damp and cold. It’s easy to describe such places in one word, depressing. The cobbled portions of the route attract a similar style of startlist to the Omloop but a long run around Kuurne near the finish opens it up to the stronger sprinters as well. It was going to be an interesting day.
Unfortunately as a team we were not able to penetrate the days breakaway. However when some big moves came late on things changed. The strong riders without the sprint, like Vanmarcke, Veldhuizen and Van Kiersbulck attacked with about 20km to go. I was feeling good and joined in the move.
Ultimately it was unsuccessful but I was the last man standing with 7km to run. Certainly attracted a fair amount of attention and TV time, which I was getting more and more of in this NC jersey. The race was won in a sprint by the still sprightly Mark Cavendish and Keough placed well in 12th position. I was in the main peloton but in no place of importance.
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 13-12-2013 22:00
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Tour de France Champion
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It's always nice to get some TV time  |
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| Dippofix |
Posted on 13-12-2013 22:08
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Classics Specialist
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Nice to see Karl attacking with the best, surely a good sign. 
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 14-12-2013 11:54
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Act 2: Paved with Good Intentions
Scene 11: Belgian Rock
Then there were a few more races, Driedaagse West-Vlaanderen came next and was mostly unremarkable. I could put down consistent stage finishes and lead to an impressive 11th Overall placing by the end. Following that was a short break until the Dwars Door Vlaanderen. This is the big warm-up race for the WT Classics.
The startlist was big with all the major classics names in attendance. These guys are peaking for the week and I could not challenge them seriously. That said a good result was till taken with a 21st place finish. Frankly I couldn’t wait for the big boys to shove off and focus on the bigger races.
Which brings is to the 4 Days of De Panne. A slight re-shuffling of the World Tour calendar meant that this race now clashed with the Ronde, meaning all the really serious cobbled specialists were busy elsewhere. Such a chance is unlikely to come again…
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| Dippofix |
Posted on 14-12-2013 13:08
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Classics Specialist
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Come on Karl, take this chance!
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 14-12-2013 13:17
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World Champion
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Making the overlap eh? How cheap
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 14-12-2013 17:14
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@Ollfardh - Well the race extended by a day, and we are a few years down the line. Not entirely against logic to have a clash. However what is cheap is the next real story arc...
Act 2: Pave with Good Intentions
Scene 12: Old Flame
Brugges has this incredible atmosphere. The architecture is phenomenal and the whole place just resonates history. It is a beautiful city and one I will definitely make a point of coming back to. But first there is a matter of a race, where I turn up as one of the overall favorites. It’s a unique feeling and one I do enjoy.
It was Wednesday afternoon before the big off on Thursday, and everyone was in one of the many city plazas. Various media were floating around grabbing interviews and the such. I’d lost track of the number of microphones jabbed in my face to grab a quick remark or comment. A fair few had been more active and engaged for a more substantial interview. The evening was creeping up and I was reaching the end of my patience a bit.
Next thing is a tap on my shoulder, snapping me out of the moment. There’s a faint cough as I turn around…
“Hi Karl. Remember me?”
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 14-12-2013 23:31
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Mmmmm, who could this be  |
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 15-12-2013 10:12
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@Sutty - Why the worried look? It's not like I or Karl has a history of bad luck/evilness.. oh wait...
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 15-12-2013 12:05
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@all - From here racing does start to take more of a back seat, with the personal stories taking focus. There is still some good racing focused stuff to come, but the best of that as a focus is now a whole Act away. Still racing coming, just shorter, and it will all make sense. Also this little Story Arc is not my favorite but again it is needed and will all make sense given time.
This re-write version of Act 2 is a lot better than what i had previously done. Stick with me please and this will be amazing. Also you can have fun guessing which bits and moments actually happened to me...
Right, back to Karl.
Act 2: Paved with Good Intentions
Scene 13: Amsterdam
“Lucy… I…” It had been half a year since we had last seen each other, and the first time since I ran to the USA following the Tour. A million thoughts and words raced through my head as she stood stock still in front of me. Clearly it was going to be up to me to set the tone for the conversation.
“…Banana bread…” Wow genius, great skill there…. I am such a smooth person under pressure…
“You know what Karl! Clearly I made a mistake coming over to talk to you. Bye”
“No! Lucy, wait! Please… Get a drink with me and I’ll explain.”
“2 minutes. I’ll give you two minutes. You better have something good to say.”
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 15-12-2013 20:24
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Act 2: Paved with Good Intentions
Scene 14: Catch Up
We went to a small café around the corner from the square to talk. I guess my explanations where good enough and we talked for hours into the evening. I told her about my move to Chicago and the issues with Malcolm. She just sat and listened, only asking the occasional question if she was confused.
After a solid hour she told me what she’d been up to. Actually Lucy had also left Node4 and joined O2-Honda, the womens team that was formerly Wiggle-Honda. She was doing a lot more racing on the continent and was taking part in the womens De Panne, hence being in Brugges. We chatted away the evening exchanging all sorts of stories. She even updated me on Phil.
He was doing fine really. Of course there was surprise and shock when I disappeared but he got over it once he found an odd letter I must have left in my room from Motorola. He was still riding with Node4 and was enjoying things. It was reassuring that he was doing fine.
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 15-12-2013 22:55
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''Banana bread'' liking it |
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 16-12-2013 12:46
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Act 2: Paved with Good Intentions
Scene 15: Four Days of De Panne, Part I
However we were both there to race, so before things got too late we headed our separate ways back to hotels. Before we finished we agreed to go out again after the final stage and celebrate our results.
So onto De Panne and it’s 4 days of racing. Stage 1 was a medium length time trial, about 20km in length. Not my best terrain yet I threw down a decent time and finished 12th only 43” down. Close packed field, but I was ahead of all my biggest rivals at this point.
Stage 2 was a simple sprint stage. Motorola kept me well out of trouble as we hadn’t brought a real sprinter. The day was won by Tyler Farrar who was going through something of a late bloom this season. The final two days to come where the tough ones, both were cobbled and the final day had some nasty lumps.
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 16-12-2013 12:51
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Karl's terrain?  |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 16-12-2013 15:19
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Lets hope Karl has some fun in the last two stages |
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 16-12-2013 17:09
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Act 2: Paved with Good Intentions
Scene 16: Four Days of De Panne, Part II
Day 3 came along and I was pumped as hell! Blood was flowing fast in my veins and I could not wait to get going. The weather was warming but not by much. I got the team to set the early pace high and try and tire out some of the weaker threats early on.
By the time the first of the cobbled sections came around some of the peloton were already struggling. Over the bumpy roads a large proportion of the peloton dropped off the pace altogether leaving a fairly select main group of 50 behind a seven man break.
The final 20km contained 6 cobbled sections totalling 10km of cobbles. I was still feeling great and just pounded the first section hard! Either I flew or everyone else was slow, because a huge gap just opened up in my wake. Keeping the pressure on the break soon fell behind me. From there I kept the pace as high as I could manage to take a comfortable solo stage win by over 1’00.
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| Dippofix |
Posted on 16-12-2013 17:27
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Nice!
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 16-12-2013 17:40
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Tour de France Champion
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Great win |
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 17-12-2013 11:33
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Tour de France Champion
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Act 2: Paved with Good Intentions
Scene 17: Four Days of De Panne, Part III
The final day held about 15km total cobbles, but this time they partly came over several laps of the famous Oude Kwaremont. The team were happy to help me out and keep the breakaway in check over the start of the stage. None of the other serious teams were helping, but with 2nd place being over 2’00 down it was understandable.
The first of 3 climbs came around and I had the team accelerate. Rathe really took the chance to up the pace and monstered the climb, cutting the leading group down to about 20 guys. On the second ascent a couple of other guys accelerated testing my legs. I followed them closely as the group was cut further down to just 8 riders.
Then on the final ascent, and with only 6km left to race, I put in a serious acceleration and distanced the lead group. From there it was downhill all the way to the line to take a second consecutive win, and extend my GC lead to 2’27 over second placed Leukemans.
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 17-12-2013 13:10
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Karl seems to be enjoying his cycling once again, Great win |
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![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
