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Linus - The Great German Hope
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 24-11-2009 16:00
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
PCM$: 1348.00
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Hey guys, just purchased the new PCM and (thanks to cruetrue) added the 2009 patch so i've decided to start a new story to give me something to do over the winter. Normally in my stories I start off well but slowly loose motivation after about 4 or 5 months as I get fed up with constantly having to upload pictures etc. So this story will focus on one rider as well as on a team. This way I will only have to report the races that my selected rider is racing and hopefully will increase my motivation. I will still report all the other races but only very briefly. So here we go:
My story will focus on Linus Gerdemann of Team Milram. As a youngster he was heralded as the new Jan Ullrich with future victories in major grand tours seen as a major possibility. However, a career threatening crash a couple of years ago put a major hold on his development and grand tour victories now look much less likely. However, he still has all the attributes to be a very good stage racer and he is capable of finishing in the top 10 at the Tour, Giro or Vuelta.
He also has the added responsibility as been seen as Germany's great hope in a very challenging time that has seen a number of high profile German and Austrian riders being suspended or implicated in major drug scandals.
This year Gerdemann's main objective will be to finish high in the Tours final GC. A top 10 in the least we expect from him. Apart from that he will be looking to pick up some good results in other smaller stage races. He has all the attributes to be a threat, though his recovery might be a little too low to see him as a major contender in races over a week long.
He will be backed up by a strong team made up heavily of German riders. We have decent riders in all disciplines with Ciolek for sprints, Wegmann for the Ardennes classics and Terpstra on the cobbles. We have no-one who is really world class but we are more than capable of holding our own in any type of race.
Our current sponsors want us to concentrate on the Giro with stage wins which will most likely be headed by Ciolek while Gerdemann goes for the Tour. German races make up most of our sponsors goals as is to be expected.
So there it is. I'll give you more details in the coming days. If you have any questions then feel free to ask. |
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| sam1196 |
Posted on 24-11-2009 16:10
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Protected Rider
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i think linus needs to get 79 in climbing. what do you think? |
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| mrlol |
Posted on 24-11-2009 16:17
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5005
Joined: 24-06-2007
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sam1196 wrote:
i think linus needs to get 79 in climbing. what do you think?
I think that isn't something to be discussed here  |
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| ML |
Posted on 24-11-2009 16:23
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Amateur
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Joined: 24-11-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Okay start. Im looking forward to read the storie
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 24-11-2009 16:34
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
PCM$: 1348.00
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i think 79 would make him too competitive in the grand tours. i think 77 means he won't be finishing on the podium but is capable of finishing in the top 10 which is more realistic.
not sure when the story will actually start. I usually spend a day or 2 planning out the whole season for each rider and i've got an interview tomorrow so i won't be playing anymore today or tomorrow.
next update will prob be the team leaders schedules. But there won't be any real reports until Linus starts racing, Probably in preparation for Paris-Nice. |
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| Ad Bot |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 02-12-2009 23:04
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
PCM$: 1348.00
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January Report:
It's been a very good start to the season for Team Milram. I decided to send Fabian Wegmann to the Tour Down Under to score us some early season points and pull us away from any religation battle. The plan worked perfectly and due to a combination of getting into the right brake on the decisive stage 5 and a crash by Tom Boonen on the last stage, Wegmann finished 2nd overall behind Alesandro Ballan. Wegmann even led the Pro-Tour for a day after finishing second on stage 1 behind Roger Hammond.
So at the end of January Team Milram sit in joint second place in the team rankings. Other religation candidates B. Telecom also scored well but we have deffinately put a decent gap between ourselves and some of the others.
Here is a round up of the results from January:
Not a very busy month and there is little else to report.
Linus Watch:
As expected, an easy few weeks for Linus. He's been getting in the training miles in preparation for the start of his racing season in February. We've finalised his racing schedule leading up to the Paris-Nice and it looks like this:
14-22/2 - Tour of California
24-28/2 - Giro di Sardegna
1/3 - GP di Lugano
4/3 - Giro del Friulli
8-15/3 - Paris - Nice
So that was January. A solid start from Team Milram and morale in the camp is high. Hopefully we can follow up our good start with a good preparation and good results at the start of the season proper at the Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico and MSR.
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| Guido Mukk |
Posted on 02-12-2009 23:52
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15830
Joined: 08-02-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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mrlol wrote:
sam1196 wrote:
i think linus needs to get 79 in climbing. what do you think?
I think that isn't something to be discussed here
79? What year is it? |
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| jaccan |
Posted on 03-12-2009 19:38
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 306
Joined: 18-11-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Guido Mukk wrote:
mrlol wrote:
sam1196 wrote:
i think linus needs to get 79 in climbing. what do you think?
I think that isn't something to be discussed here
79? What year is it?
2009? |
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 03-12-2009 19:49
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4790
Joined: 06-12-2006
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sam1196 wrote:
i think linus needs to get 79 in climbing. what do you think?
What Linus needs to be competitive are lots of "training camps." Make the story realistic. |
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| Waghlon |
Posted on 03-12-2009 20:35
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7694
Joined: 18-08-2007
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fenian_1234 wrote:
What Linus needs to be competitive are lots of "training camps." Make the story realistic.
Say no more say no more
THE THOMAS VOECKLER PROPHET OF PCM DAILY
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 04-12-2009 19:34
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
PCM$: 1348.00
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Early February Report:
Couple of races to briefly report before we move on to the Tour of California and Gerdemann's debut for the team.
I sent a team out to the Tour of Qatar and the GP Costa degli Etruschi. Both teams were led by Robert Forster. In Qatar I was hoping for a stage win but in the end had to settle for Forster taking the sprint jersey after finishing consistantly on each stage.
Forster finishes 2nd on the last stage to secure his sprint jersey
At the GP Costa degli Etruschi we weren't really expecting too much with a stronger field. But Forster was in excellent form and finished an excellent 2nd.
Forster is 2nd to William Bonnet
So we still haven't found our first win of the season but we have every reason to be very happy with our early season performances.
Linus Watch:
Only a few days until Gerdemann's first race of the season. We're not expecting a great performance in California but it would be nice to finish in or around the top 10. |
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| Bosskardo |
Posted on 04-12-2009 19:40
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Sprinter
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Looks like you're good at taking 2nd
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 04-12-2009 19:43
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
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yeah, Forster's very good at getting onto a wheel but can't go round the wheel. |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 04-12-2009 22:30
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
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Tour of California:
Linus Gerdemann begins his season in California in preparation for Paris-Nice next month. He will lead the team with a view to finishing in the top 10. He will be well supported by the likes of Rohregger and Knees.
Squad: Gerdemann, Gajek, Knees, Muller, Roels, Rohregger, Rub, Scholz
Stage 1:
A very short prologue to simply find someone to wear the yellow jersey. As expected Cancellara takes the win and Gerdemann takes a very pleasing 4th place. This is perfect for us as he is now within striking distance of the lead but the team won't have to do any work for the jersey. A very satisfying day for the team.
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 05-12-2009 09:22
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
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Tour of California:
Stage 2
Stage 2 is flat and should come down to a bunch sprint. Gerdemann will be simply looking to get through the stage in 1 piece.
In reality the stage turned out to be much more unpredictable then I had predicted. A combination of small hills and a lot of small American teams in the race meant that the peleton split alot in the last 30k and Gerdemann and 3 others were left in a group of about 40 at the front.
I decided that with no top sprinters in the group that I might as well have a half-hearted go at winning the stage with Gerdemann, he was still high up in the points comp and could wear the jersey tomorrow with a good finish. To my surprise, Knees started to pull away with his lead out and by the time the sprint started he an Gerdemann had a strong lead.
Gerdemann was obviously not the fastest finisher in the group as they quickly caught him. But Gerdemann had pulled out just enough time to finish ahead of them. Milrams first win of the season!
A great result for the team. We now believe that Gerdemann can win this race as he takes over the overall lead from Cancellara. Our main task now will be to try to put as much time between Gerdemann and the likes of Cancellara and Larsson before the Solvand TT. There isn't much in the way of hills to try to create a gap so it's going to be a tough few days for the team in defending the jersey.
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| beagle |
Posted on 05-12-2009 11:25
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nice win?? |
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| Squire |
Posted on 05-12-2009 19:25
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Linus looks good for the overall win 
What difficulty? |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 06-12-2009 08:56
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Classics Specialist
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hard
not sure about winning overall. there aren't any hard stages so they will probably all finish in a bunch sprint of some kind. With the long tt in Solvang i expect that the likes of Cancellara and Larsson to beat Gerdemann overall.
Edited by ringo182 on 06-12-2009 09:04
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 06-12-2009 22:40
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
PCM$: 1348.00
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Tour of California
Stage 3:
Classed as a hilly stage though I expect it to finish in a small bunch sprint. Obviously we will be looking to defend our yellow jersey. Forgot to take a picture of the profile but it's nothing too difficult. Bit of a climb at the end before a long decent to the finish.
As expected a break went away but an early climb splintered the break and they ended up in 1's and 2's up the road. Gerdemann seemed relaxed in the yellow jersey and we let them get on with it.
As we got closer to the finish I sent my team to the front and the gap quickly dropped. After a while a few other teams moved to the front so i decided to leave the chasing to them.
On the final climb the break were caught and a few of the big names attacked. Most notibly Voigt and Kirchen. However, I sent Knees to the front and they were pulled back quickly. This increase in pace also split a small group from the main peleton and the victory would now be decided by those riders.
On the long decent I kept Knees at the front to keep a high tempo but Voigt was feeling strong and attacked again.
That would be the last we would see of Voigt as he powered away to a solo victory. He's obviously in good form at this race.
In the chasing group Gerdemann followed Gesink's wheel to finish 3rd. Another good ride from the German.
So Voigt took the stage with his solo break and took over 30 seconds on his rivals.
Voigt has also taken over the overall lead of the race while Gerdemann drops to 2nd. On a more positive note Knees has moved up to 8th overall.
So Gerdemann will tomorrow wear the points jersey instead.
So we've lost the jersey after just 1 day and it will be a tough job to get back into the lead. Not sure if i'm gonna try to defend the points jersey. I'm more interested in finishing as high up the GC as possible.
Edited by ringo182 on 06-12-2009 22:43
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| ursul |
Posted on 06-12-2009 23:05
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Nice result
When Nothing goes rigth, go left...
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