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Modern Times, Old Roads | The End
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| FonsDeSpons |
Posted on 13-05-2014 20:03
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Stagiare
Posts: 160
Joined: 30-10-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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well, the season can only get better (hopefully) |
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| kimiopn |
Posted on 13-05-2014 22:06
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1020
Joined: 07-04-2010
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Ian Butler
Posted on 11-05-2014 11:00
Directeur Sportif
This looks so nice  Congratulations! |
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 13-05-2014 23:39
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Not the best start to the season for Matt. The team is posting some great results without him though
congratulations on the admin job!!
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 13-05-2014 23:52
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Team Leader
Posts: 7293
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Bad luck on the late start 
And congrats on the admin job! You deserved it
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| Martial1 |
Posted on 14-05-2014 02:31
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 388
Joined: 30-04-2014
PCM$: 200.00
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Getting the Ronde/Roubaix double would definitely make up for the late start.
And congrats on your adminhood. 
Edited by Martial1 on 14-05-2014 02:32
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 14-05-2014 09:06
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World Champion
Posts: 14563
Joined: 08-08-2011
PCM$: 9100.00
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E3 - Harelbeke: Elia Viviani
Wut?
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 14-05-2014 09:23
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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sutty68 - Team is doing fine so far thanks!
cunego59 - Bozic is coming along nicely, he's still only 23 and thanks, I hope I'll be a good admir -- uh admin!
Shonak - He'll have to fight for a contract, I'm afraid. We'll see how it goes, but this wasn't the best start indeed!
Dippofix - Let's hope so
VoetsT - Miracles can happen! Thanks
admirschleck - Well, we'll see. It'll slow me down a bit, but I don't mind. I want to do the job right!
FonsDeSpons - Amen
kimiopn - I quite agree, thanks 
the_hoyle - Yeah, maybe you were right about returning to Belgium... Thanks a lot!
Jakstar22 - Hope he can make up for the bad start, though. Thanks, man!
Martial1 - The double will be hard. Though Matt has a big advantage: he's very, very fresh!
Ollfardh - Yeah, you got me  outsprinted Boonen no less!
Thanks for all the nice words, everyone!
I hope to get some updates out today, we'll see! |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 14-05-2014 09:38
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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 De Panne - Koksijde
This race should've been my (short) build up towards the Ronde. I have been training on a bike for a while now, but since this would be my first competitive race in months, I thought I'd put in some effort here in order to try and get into shape.
I'm not that much in a racing shape, obviously. But I do have one major advantage, I'm fresh! That freshness must be more important than I originally thought.
I finished 5th on the opening stage, which was hilly and filled with cobbled sections. I won stage 2, which ended on a sprint with 5, after a tough, rainy day! Stage 3 and 4 I had to defend my leader's jersey, which I failed to do in the final time trial. But all in all a successful first race.
Is my form enough to win De Ronde? Probably not.
Can I win De Ronde? Maybe, but I'll need a lot of luck on my side
Will my form be good for Roubaix? It'll be better. We'll have to see if it'll be enough.
| 1 | Alexander Kristoff | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 12h15'58 | | 2 | Matthias Vleminckx | Orica GreenEdge | + 7 | | 3 | Geraint Thomas | Team Sky | + 9 | | 4 | Tom Boonen | Trek Factory Racing | + 3'01 | | 5 | Sébastien Turgot | BMC Racing Team | + 3'03 | | 6 | Iljo Keisse | TEAM Soleco | + 3'19 | | 7 | Dylan van Baarle | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | + 3'36 | | 8 | Bradley Wiggins | Orica GreenEdge | + 3'52 | | 9 | Luke Durbridge | Orica GreenEdge | + 4'09 | | 10 | Marcus Burghardt | BMC Racing Team | + 4'10 |
One stage win and a 2nd place. That means my legs haven't abandoned me when I was ill!
See you at De Ronde!
Matt |
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| Schleck96 |
Posted on 14-05-2014 10:05
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Posts: 1498
Joined: 10-08-2010
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Amazing result for a season debut  |
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 14-05-2014 10:15
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Team Leader
Posts: 7293
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Awesome first race!! Great Start, Keep it up
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 14-05-2014 10:29
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Great ride from Matthias (and Geraint ) at De Panne |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 01:07
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Bot Agent
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 14-05-2014 10:51
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Schleck96 - Yup, he's started quite well
Jakstar22 - Thanks, I will
sutty68 - Geraint with an impressive race, too, indeed. Too bad Kristoff was here, though |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 14-05-2014 10:52
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Ronde van Vlaanderen 2017
We're here. I'm so glad I made it here just in time. My form is on the increase and I feel ready to compete with the top again today! This is a race which suits me. I have won last year's edition in the Belgian Tricolere jersey. If everything goes my way, I'll do the same today! It's the biggest goal of the season so let's go for it!
Profile
 We're back to a more modern profile, with 3 times Kwaremont and Paterberg. That's fine by me. The Kwaremont is my kind of hill. I'll miss Roelandts today, for sure, but we had a decent back-up plan nonetheless!
Part one of our plan was a success, we got Bradley Carroll in the breakaway group. That's not just any guy up there, he would survive for a long time, putting me in a comfortable position, which would definitely make up for my lack of competitive racing days!
It was up to the teams of the two big favorites to do the work; the teams of Sep Vanmarcke and Kenneth Vanbilsen.
The weather conditions were tough and at a certain point the peloton split in literally twenty pieces. I was with Vanbilsen and Vanmarcke and I also had Wiggins still with me. The break was still way up front, though! There were still 120 km to go, after all.
With 90 km left to go, the three favorites (I was included as a favorite despite my late season start on most bookie sites) were fighting each other already. Vanmarcke, Vanbilsen and myself. Arguably the three strongest cobblers in the world!
But it was too soon. I wasn't taking any turns because I had Carroll still up front. The two of them didn't want to take me on like that, so we let ourselves get caught. Still had plenty of time!
Only with 30 km left to go, right before the Oude Kwaremont, we caught Zabel and Carroll, the final two breakaway companions.
And then, Vanmarcke attacked! I still haven't forgotten the World Championships. I made a promise to myself today: follow any attack by Vanmarcke, even if I'm totally dead!
On the 3rd time Oude Kwaremont, it was obvious who were the strongest riders in the race. Once again, we were together: Vanmarcke, Vleminckx, Vanbilsen. Triple V for a historic battle!
This time I had a reason to relay, since a group with Sagan and Degenkolb was chasing us! But at this point of the race, I was 100% certain I was the most fresh of the three at the front, so I didn't mind.
We were heading towards the finish. With the bad weather, 1.720.423 Belgian viewers were watching the television to witness this spectacle. We all bluffed; we had enough time on our chasers to do so. We were all potential winners and we can all sprint, so it'd be an exciting final kilometer!
Vanbilsen tried to get away on the right side of the road, I was at his wheel immediately! He had no choice but to keep going now, though, he started his sprint early!
200 meters to go...
150 meters to go...
Time to go!
With 100 meters to go, I broke loose!!
Could it be? Two Rondes in a row?
Yes, it could!!
Amazing! At the age of 25, I win my second Ronde Van Vlaanderen, twice in the Belgian Tricolore Jersey! What an amazing day! Today's victory was even more beautiful than last year's. This was an epic fight and I came out on top!
It was thanks to Carroll, without a doubt, but there was also something else. I suggest you read the interview to find out my secret...
| 1 | Matthias Vleminckx | Orica GreenEdge | 6h05'08 | | 2 | Sep Vanmarcke | ASUS | s.t. | | 3 | Kenneth Vanbilsen | FDJ.fr | s.t. | | 4 | Niki Terpstra | FDJ.fr | + 1'24 | | 5 | Bradley Carroll | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 6 | Alexander Kristoff | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 7 | John Degenkolb | TEAM Cube | s.t. | | 8 | Oscar Gatto | Cannondale | s.t. | | 9 | Sébastien Turgot | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 10 | Yohan Offredo | Tinkoff - Saxo | s.t. | | 11 | Guillaume Van Keirsbulck | TEAM Soleco | s.t. | | 12 | Rick Zabel | TEAM Cube | s.t. | | 13 | Peter Sagan | Cannondale | s.t. | | 14 | Heinrich Haussler | BMC Racing Team | + 2'53 | | 15 | Lars Boom | Movistar Team | s.t. |
Spoiler | 16 | Matthieu Ladagnous | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | + 4'12 | | 17 | Damien Gaudin | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 18 | Philippe Gilbert | BMC Racing Team | + 5'48 | | 19 | Maxime Vantomme | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 20 | Sebastian Langeveld | Garmin Sharp | s.t. | | 21 | Stijn Vandenbergh | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 22 | Elia Viviani | Cannondale | s.t. | | 23 | Pieter Jacobs | TEAM Soleco | s.t. | | 24 | Bradley Wiggins | Orica GreenEdge | + 7'29 | | 25 | Elia Favilli | Lampre - Merida | + 7'54 | | 26 | Caleb Ewan | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 27 | Bernhard Eisel | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 28 | Jempy Drucker | Schuller | s.t. | | 29 | Vyacheslav Kuznetsov | RusVelo | s.t. | | 30 | Maarten Wynants | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | + 8'27 | | 31 | Zdenek Stybar | ASUS | + 9'02 | | 32 | Jens Keukeleire | RusVelo | + 9'23 | | 33 | Alexey Lutsenko | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 34 | Kris Boeckmans | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 35 | Tom Veelers | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 36 | Geraint Thomas | Team Sky | s.t. | | 37 | Elmar Reinders | ASUS | + 11'38 | | 38 | Imanol Erviti | Catalunya | s.t. | | 39 | Matteo Trentin | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 40 | Yauheni Hutarovich | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 41 | Koen De Kort | ASUS | s.t. | | 42 | Mitchell Docker | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 43 | Bert De Backer | ASUS | s.t. | | 44 | Jens Debusschere | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 45 | Marco Bandiera | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 46 | Florian Vachon | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 47 | Pello Bilbao | Catalunya | s.t. | | 48 | Tom Boonen | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 49 | Ian Boswell | Team Sky | s.t. | | 50 | Reinis Andrijanovs | Schuller | s.t. | | 51 | Dries Devenyns | ASUS | s.t. | | 52 | Dylan van Baarle | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 53 | Enrico Barbin | Bardiani CSF | s.t. | | 54 | Tycho van Benschoten | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 55 | Kirk Carlsen | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 56 | Andrea Guardini | Team Katusha | + 12'27 | | 57 | Jarl Salomein | TEAM Soleco | s.t. | | 58 | Roy Jans | TEAM Soleco | s.t. | | 59 | Julien Vermote | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 60 | Sonny Colbrelli | Cannondale | s.t. | | 61 | Nikolas Maes | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 62 | Roger Kluge | TEAM Cube | s.t. | | 63 | Gorka Izagirre | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 64 | Mirko Selvaggi | Wanty - Groupe Gobert | s.t. | | 65 | Davide Malacarne | Cannondale | + 14'00 | | 66 | Jesús Herrada | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 67 | Mikhail Ignatiev | Tinkoff - Saxo | s.t. | | 68 | Niels Albert | TEAM Soleco | s.t. | | 69 | Steven Kruijswijk | ASUS | s.t. | | 70 | Alexander Porsev | Tinkoff - Saxo | s.t. | | 71 | Gaetan Bille | Wanty - Groupe Gobert | + 14'41 | | 72 | Tim Declercq | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 73 | Giovanni Visconti | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 74 | Toms Skujins | Schuller | s.t. | | 75 | Christopher Sutton | Team Sky | s.t. | | 76 | Dieter Bouvry | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 77 | Pieter Serry | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 78 | Yury Trofimov | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 79 | Sibrecht Pieters | TEAM Soleco | s.t. | | 80 | Chris Barton | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 81 | Jesús Del Nero | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 82 | Salvatore Puccio | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 83 | Joeri Stallaert | TEAM Soleco | + 15'27 | | 84 | Adriano Malori | Team Sky | + 16'02 | | 85 | Aleksandr Kuschynski | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 86 | Valerio Agnoli | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 87 | Jay McCarthy | Tinkoff - Saxo | s.t. | | 88 | Sergey Firsanov | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 89 | Thomas Damuseau | FDJ.fr | s.t. | | 90 | Benoit Jarrier | FDJ.fr | s.t. | | 91 | Yannick Eijssen | TEAM Soleco | s.t. | | 92 | Barry Markus | ASUS | s.t. | | 93 | Thomas Vaubourzeix | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 94 | Tiesj Benoot | Wanty - Groupe Gobert | + 17'00 | | 95 | Nick Nuyens | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 96 | Kristof Vandewalle | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 97 | Sven M. Schuster | TEAM Cube | s.t. | | 98 | Roberto Ferrari | Lampre - Merida | + 18'05 | | 99 | Anthony Roux | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 100 | Enrique Sanz | Catalunya | s.t. | | 101 | Gediminas Bagdonas | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 102 | Juan José Lobato | RusVelo | s.t. | | 103 | Enrico Battaglin | Bardiani CSF | s.t. | | 104 | Jérôme Cousin | FDJ.fr | s.t. | | 105 | Lieuwe Westra | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 106 | Luke Rowe | Garmin Sharp | s.t. | | 107 | Ryan Anderson | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. | | 108 | Simone Ponzi | Team Sky | s.t. | | 109 | Preben Van Hecke | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 110 | Wout Poels | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 111 | Cyril Gautier | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 112 | Bart De Clercq | Wanty - Groupe Gobert | s.t. | | 113 | Julien Fouchard | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 114 | Alex Dowsett | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 115 | Alexis Vuillermoz | Schuller | s.t. | | 116 | Johan Mombaerts | FDJ.fr | s.t. | | 117 | Fredrik Ludvigsson | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 118 | Frantisek Padour | TEAM Cube | s.t. | | 119 | Perrig Quemeneur | FDJ.fr | s.t. | | 120 | Guillaume Bonnafond | FDJ.fr | s.t. | | 121 | Sven Jodts | Wanty - Groupe Gobert | + 19'58 | | 122 | Enrico Montanari | Bardiani CSF | s.t. | | 123 | Davide Bruno | Cannondale | s.t. | | 124 | Augusto Campo | Cannondale | s.t. | | 125 | Florenz Knauer | TEAM Cube | + 20'26 | | 126 | Romain Feillu | Team Sky | s.t. | | 127 | Igor Boev | RusVelo | s.t. | | 128 | Julian Kern | TEAM Cube | s.t. | | 129 | Lars Petter Nordhaug | RusVelo | s.t. | | 130 | Peter Kennaugh | TEAM Cube | s.t. | | 131 | Jonathan Hivert | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 132 | Daniel Moreno | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 133 | Evan Huffman | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 134 | Dylan Teuns | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 135 | Thomas Degand | Wanty - Groupe Gobert | s.t. | | 136 | Francesco Failli | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. | | 137 | Marco Canola | Bardiani CSF | + 21'38 | | 138 | Nicola Testi | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. | | 139 | Aurélien Passeron | Schuller | s.t. | | 140 | Julien Antomarchi | Schuller | s.t. | | 141 | Nadir Haddou | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 142 | Martin Velits | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. |
Matthias Vleminckx, congratulations! You are now officially the King of Flanders, the pride of Belgium. A second Ronde Van Vlaanderen, congratulations!
Thanks! It means so much to me. I just feel so great right now. This was my big season goal and I brought it home, it wasn't an easy task!
You were out for so long, there were many doubts about your form. How can you win De Ronde Van Vlaanderen after being back for only a week after an illness?
I guess it's confession time... You see, I did catch a virus early in the season. I recovered quite well, actually, and I started training intensively. But then the DS and I decided it would be very hard to win De Ronde this year. I would be the absolute favorite and this year.. Well, frankly, we didn't have the team to carry the race. So we decided to play some theater. Orica kept me out of racing, off the radar. I was "ill", when actually I was training hard, very hard.
It was a tough decision to skip E3 and Wevelgem as part of this plan, but I knew I had to. If I had raced them and the competition had seen I was good, we would've had to carry the race in de Ronde. And my big goal this season is De Ronde, more than anything else!
So I came to the start here heavily trained and ready, but without the burden of having to carry the race and with the element of surprise. With Bradley up front, I only had to come out of my shell 30 kilometers from the finish, you know the rest.
That is quite a story. I can imagine there'll be a lot of criticism on this. The Belgian Jersey deliberately skipping E3 and Wevelgem?
Like I said, it wasn't easy. But I wanted to win today, no matter what the cost. I hope people will see that.
You're 25 years old now, and this is already your second Ronde Van Vlaanderen. Are you thinking about the record?
We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I just want to win as much as I can. This race suits me perfectly and I'll always try my best here.
One more question. There are rumours going around that you're out of a contract at Orica. Are you talking with other teams?
I can't say anything about that, sorry. Thanks!
So there you have it.
The DS and myself set up a very risky, daring plan. But in the end, I just won De Ronde Van Vlaanderen. So I'd say our plan worked, didn't it?
I'll see you at Roubaix! Can't wait!
Matt |
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| Selwink |
Posted on 14-05-2014 10:53
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8856
Joined: 17-05-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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YEAH
Now go for the double!
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 14-05-2014 11:46
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Team Leader
Posts: 7293
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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What a win!!!! Can't wait for Paris Roubaix now!
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| Martial1 |
Posted on 14-05-2014 11:51
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 388
Joined: 30-04-2014
PCM$: 200.00
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Beautiful win in the tricolore jersey! Now...
ROUBAIX. |
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| FonsDeSpons |
Posted on 14-05-2014 11:58
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Stagiare
Posts: 160
Joined: 30-10-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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weird and risky plan but it worked so congratulations! |
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| TimoCycling |
Posted on 14-05-2014 12:04
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Sprinter
Posts: 1765
Joined: 27-08-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Smart strategy once again by Orica, haha. Great win at the Ronde and great 5th for Carrol aswell! |
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 14-05-2014 12:32
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Oh Ian! You had us all thinking Matt was out of form and unable to compete... Crafty strategy and I like it
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 14-05-2014 12:33
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Great to see the Belgian Champion's jersey winning at The Ronde |
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