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Pride of Amsterdam - Bayern-Rundfahrt, st. 2
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| Balaverde |
Posted on 01-08-2007 16:09
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Domestique
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AMSTERDAM - JANUARY 2007
PRE-SEASON
Behind all triumphs among professionals there's years of hard training.
Behind all professional teams there's a hard working youth squad.
In many years, Dutch team Rabobank has marked their place in cyclesports -
able to produce a strong side, from the cobblestoned races and the
Ardennes classics in April, to the deadly slopes of July's Tour de France
and the autumn event at the World Championships.
The secret behind the rise of former youths Kai Reus, Grischa Niermann and
Thomas Dekker, is a strong youth squad, riders, trainers and sportsdirectors alike.
They call the team, the Rabobank Espoirs.
PROFILES:
Since the days of Reus and Dekker, the Rabobank Espoirs has been on the look-out
for a new number one. At the moment, the "men to beat" on the team seems to be
these two new Dutch talents:
 
Lars BOOM
As the mastermind on cobblestones, 21-year-old Boom is the Espoirs-man in the
Northern Classics. Although his chances to succeed in the highly competed
one-day-races of March and April should be considered immensely small - he should
attempt to prove his skills in the smaller cobble classics in the early summer.
His secondary force is his quality as a strong all-around superdomestique for in-form
team-mates and his admirable reputation when the riders move on to a strong
descend.
Ricardo VAN DER VELDE
Half-and-half hilly puncheur and well-reputed climber, 19-year-old Van der Velde
is the Espoirs-man for the slopes. When the road starts to rise watch out for a Ricardo
on the move. As the strongest rider for stage races, Van der Velde will have fine
protection from fellow climbers Mollema and Rabou.
In the hilly classics, Van der Velde will see to protect hills-expert Van Dulmen.
GOALS:
Since any top result is considered an unlikely achievement rather than an
expected outcome, we will focus on specific races with no specific result in mind.
We should push it for a top 10, though.
The important races are:
Profonde van Drenthe
Paris-Camembert
GP Herning
Colliers Classic
Bayern Rundfahrt
GP Schwartzwald
Österreich Rundfahrt
Sachsen-Tour
Hessen Rundfahrt
CALENDAR:
/FEBRUARY
Tour of California
/MARCH
Le Samyn
/APRIL
Rund um Köln
Grand Prix Pino Cerami
Profonde van Drenthe
Klasika Primavera
Paris-Camembert
Niedersachsen Rundfahrt
/MAY
GP Herning
Colliers Classic
Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt
/JUNE
Bayern-Rundfahrt
GP Schwartzwald
Ster Elektrotoer
Dutch Championship
/JULY
Österreich Rundfahrt
La Poly Normande
Sachsen-Tour
/AUGUST
Tour de l'Ain
Rothaus Tour
/SEPTEMBER
Hessen Rundfahrt
/OCTOBER
Münsterland Giro
Edited by Balaverde on 20-08-2007 11:18
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 29-12-2024 04:49
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| Crommy |
Posted on 01-08-2007 16:21
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World Champion
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Lovely pic with the hands applauding 
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| Addy291 |
Posted on 01-08-2007 16:22
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8915
Joined: 29-11-2006
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very nice team choice
what db?
and is there going to be a full team presentation?
YORKSHIRE BORN, YORKSHIRE BRED... |
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| Balaverde |
Posted on 01-08-2007 16:30
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Domestique
Posts: 632
Joined: 03-05-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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The GCT DB version 1.1 - with the fix of course.
I actually thought about transferring Dekker to the team,
but I since I didn't have an editor installed when I started, I couldn't.
Still, I like it this way - since the difficulty is "hard" it's a challenge, really.
I have no chance at all at the bigger races.
I don't know about a full team presentation... I'll present Van Dulmen and Mollema,
for sure. But I dunno about the rest of the lot.
Btw - I fired the Russian (Popov?) absolute leader and two Belgians.
Wanted the team to be entirely Dutch  |
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| Addy291 |
Posted on 01-08-2007 16:35
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8915
Joined: 29-11-2006
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ok can you say is Bos in the team?
YORKSHIRE BORN, YORKSHIRE BRED... |
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| Balaverde |
Posted on 01-08-2007 17:14
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Domestique
Posts: 632
Joined: 03-05-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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The team is:
Boom
Veelers
Van der Velde
Van Winden
Vermeltfoort
Van Dulmen
Mollema
Berkhout
Rabou
Van Embden
So, sorry - no Bos.
And no training camps as well - according to the usual way of doing it...
Other "rules"?
Edited by Balaverde on 01-08-2007 17:14
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| Addy291 |
Posted on 01-08-2007 17:21
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8915
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 200.00
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no dot use
other than dropping back in the pack
good luck anyway mate
YORKSHIRE BORN, YORKSHIRE BRED... |
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| Balaverde |
Posted on 03-08-2007 15:12
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Domestique
Posts: 632
Joined: 03-05-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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- UPDATED AFTER PROFONDE v DRENTHE -
Too little screens? Too much text?
What do you think? |
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| Addy291 |
Posted on 03-08-2007 15:18
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8915
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 200.00
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the screens and text are fine, great reporting, but why not post the results in a new post???
YORKSHIRE BORN, YORKSHIRE BRED... |
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| Balaverde |
Posted on 03-08-2007 15:23
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Domestique
Posts: 632
Joined: 03-05-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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SAN JOSE - FEBRUARY 2007
TOUR OF CALIFORNIA
Our first race of the year, and a race that might as well act as a week of intensified training.
Neither of our primary combatants are in shape to settle things on their own, and the many
flat stages do not suit our race squad. Only speedbumb-casualty Veelers has a chance to
pull off a top 10 in the sprint, although highly unlikely.
Van der Velde tried to break away on several occasions, but never managed better than
being wheeled in half a kilometre from the finish.
Instead, some of the best sprinters in the sport dominated the field. Hushovd victorious
twice, selling out a single stage win to Freire while Ardennes favourite Bettini took podium
three times.
We did not finish the American tour without success, however, as Lars Boom succesfully
captured the KOM shirt in a break-away on stage 4. The break made it all the way to the finish,
with Boom too fatigued to overwhelm neither Gasparotto nor Tosatto in the final.
He took podium, though, and as he managed to keep his lead in the KOM competition,
we had our amount of success in the Californian race.
Edited by Balaverde on 16-08-2007 09:13
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| Addy291 |
Posted on 03-08-2007 15:24
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8915
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 200.00
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oh, ok that's fine
great reporting anyway, hope you get your 1st win soon
YORKSHIRE BORN, YORKSHIRE BRED... |
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 03-08-2007 15:25
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Team Manager
Posts: 33046
Joined: 08-03-2007
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What jersey are your riders wearing? It doesnt look like the Rabobank one
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| Balaverde |
Posted on 03-08-2007 15:28
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Domestique
Posts: 632
Joined: 03-05-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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No - I find it somewhat excellent, since we're sometimes competing in the same races... B)
But no - it's another outfit. Can't tell you "why"... But I like it.
Addy: I'm looking forward too. Should be on cobbles or in a not-so-widely-contested hilly race. |
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| Balaverde |
Posted on 05-08-2007 11:08
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Domestique
Posts: 632
Joined: 03-05-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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ZWOLLE - APRIL 2007
PROFONDE VAN DRENTHE
As our riders were far from peak form, March proved to be a quiet month. With Le Samyn as
the only race, we didn't even reach the top 10.
But Boom and Van der Velde seemed on their way to greater heights, as Van der Velde rode
aggressively, attacking twice in the Rund um Köln, and Boom managed a top 10 among the
sprinting combatants of a group in pursuit for the leaders.
Due to the hilly terrain, Boom was able to finish in front of sprinters André Greipel and
Robert Hunter, as the Grand Prix Pino Cerami saw Massimo Giunti take the victory in head
of the front group. As the peloton broke up towards the line, Boom finished 8th in the mass
sprint.
So, as the Profonde van Drenthe is about to take place, our main riders have proved
able to compete. On Dutch soil, they will be motivated as ever - Van der Velde the leader
and Boom the lieutenant.
With almost 200 easy kilometers already ridden, the road starts to rise before the last slope.
Although they've crossed the hill four times on their way, this time, it's time to shine.
Wiesenhof captain Wesemann, leader of the individual continental rankings, makes his move
as they hit the first hilly stretch on the last inclimb. As De Waele follows him on the attack,
Van der Velde decides that the time has come to punch away.
Wesemann, way too strong for his followers, moves ahead of the race with a comfortable gap
down to De Waele and Van der Velde. The latter having to struggle to keep his companion's
wheel. They keep the distance to a chasing pack.
Back in the pack, Boom feels too strong to stay put and flies away to secure a fine lead
before the hilly finish. At this point, the chance that the peloton will wheel in the break-away
is minimal. Pino Cerami-winner Giunti follows as the two of them closes in on De Waele and
Van der Velde.
Wesemann is victorious and puts a bottle in his mouth to express his extreme dominance.
The name at the finish is no coincidence - he really was the strongest of the participants.
300 meters from the line, Van der Velde is suffering hard. The high procentages should
be to his advantage, but he has nothing left to give. De Waele attacked at the kilometre
mark, and left him to fight his way home. As he sees Giunti and his team-mate taking
up the air behind him, his podium hopes seem crushed in the last minutes.
But he dramatically sprints his way to third, as team-mate Boom conquers fourth and secures
Espoirs dominance in the Netherlands.
A fantastic race for our team, and a brilliant result in the end. Booms attack would have
been a huge tactical error if Giunti had beaten both our riders in the sprint and had won
podium. But as Van der Velde kept it to the line and Boom took fourth, it proved the right
thing to do.
Good for the morale of our riders - great for the confidence of our sponsors. Two in the
top 5 was exactly what we needed after some quiet months of track racing. The next
important race for us should be the Paris-Camembert. We do plan to race the Klasika
Primavera with Van der Velde as our captain - but the Spanish races are often too tightly
contested for our riders to shine.
Edited by Balaverde on 16-08-2007 09:15
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| Crommy |
Posted on 05-08-2007 11:26
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World Champion
Posts: 10018
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 200.00
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You're going to have one hell of a long first post if you keep going like this - nice win anyway
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| Addy291 |
Posted on 05-08-2007 15:06
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8915
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 200.00
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yes very nice win
YORKSHIRE BORN, YORKSHIRE BRED... |
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| niconico |
Posted on 05-08-2007 15:53
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4102
Joined: 09-07-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Nice little feature with putting the remaining distance on the pictures. Great stuff
Keep it up. |
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| Balaverde |
Posted on 07-08-2007 17:07
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Domestique
Posts: 632
Joined: 03-05-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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HERNING - MAY 2007
GP HERNING
The Paris-Camembert in April saw a rainy route take out the few cameramen appointed
to the small French cobblestones event. Thus, no photos from the finish line were taken.
French home-favourite Andy Flickinger attacked twice, first to break-up the favourite
group. He had Espoirs-candidate Lars Boom on his wheel, alongside French sprinter
Sebastien Chavanel.
When he made another move to break the group apart, both his companions appeared
blown apart and unable to counter his fast pace.
Flickinger rode it home with a solid gap down to his followers. In the sprint for second
place, Chavanel proved his specialty and powered away from Boom.
Now the moth is May, and it is time for another main event.
A Danish manager in charge of a cobblestone rouleur - the GP Herning is inavoidable.
About two-hundred kilometers of flat road and cobblestones, three small in-climbs in the
middle section of the Danish race, the route seems perfect for an in-shape Lars Boom.
Van Winden and Van der Velde is due to do the dirty work on the slopes, as Boom will
have a small hilly advantage on his fellow riders of the Northern classics. Veelers will
be the one to hang on "for some time" - below the needed standard on the cobbles,
but above the average on our team. With some luck, he should be able to sprint for
a top 10.
Van Winden and Van der Velde set the pace at the cobble in-climb. They do not have
the skill to break-up the pack, but the high pace will garantee plunged lungs on some
of the "weak-at-hills" rouleurs.
With only thirty-some riders back in the peloton, Boom has to set the pace himself, to
get rid of the strongest finishers and ruin the hopes of Danish strong side, Team CSC.
What the Danish side lacks in strenght, they gain in numbers. Six men from the team
are still positioned at front. It shall not remain this way.
On the first of the two last paved sections, the main favourites finally make a move.
Arnaud Coyot of Unibet and Lars Boom from the Rabobank Espoirs accelerate.
Behind the two, home-favourite Michael Blaudzun does what he can to bridge the gap.
Coyot and Boom are riding fast, they seem the strongest of the favourites.
With 16 km to the line, they have a one-minute lead over Blaudzun.
Most break-aways contain a strong finisher - a man to beat, or a man to flee from before
the last kilometers. But sometimes it happens that the ones to settle the matters
are of completely equal sprinting strenght.
Coyot is the better sprinter, but only slightly. Furthermore, Boom has the strongest
acceleration, thus evening the field even more. It will be a close affair.
Less than three kilometers and Boom is cool enough to rely on his acceleration and
take up second position. Does he have what's requiered to overhaul the French fighter?
They sprint side a side the last kilometer, neither one able to pull off the winning gap.
At last, it is the Dutchman that gains ground and takes up the lead on the last meters.
He seemed the best suited for the route, but victory almost slipped his hands at the finish.
Still - todays winner is: Lars Boom!
Edited by Balaverde on 16-08-2007 09:16
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 07-08-2007 17:26
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Team Manager
Posts: 33046
Joined: 08-03-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Id have thought that it would be a better idea to post new updates in a new post, and not put them all in the main post.
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| Crommy |
Posted on 07-08-2007 17:46
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World Champion
Posts: 10018
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 200.00
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Definitely
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