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Sky - Professional Cycling Team
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 28-01-2010 21:05
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World Champion
Posts: 13924
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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Hi there, hey there, ho there. With the new 2010 PCM.daily's Database out and with Setzel's new story there I decided to start a new story as well. And who knows maybe the forth time on PCM09 will be the lucky one. Also I've decided to change my reporting style a little bit but I guess you'll notice that on the reports.
I've been looking into the Pro Tour teams list and decided to try to take the new British team, Sky, to the top. I chose Sky because it reminds me a little bit of the Team Columbia from 2008, 6 riders that were riding for Columbia back then are now with Sky: Wiggins, Hagen, Lovkvist, Possoni, Barry and Henderson.
Even though they are a new team, Sky managed to sign some good riders for their first season. The main star seems to be Bradley Wiggins, three times Olympic Champion on track and 4th last year in the Tour de France. Bradley came in time to save Sky's roster for the general classifications in Grand Tours as from the other riders only Lovkvist seems to be at the same level with the World's best stage racers. Still the teams looks quite good in other sectors such as sprinters and classics specialists. For the classics Flecha and Gerrans look to be the 2 main riders, Flencha aiming once again for the Northen Classics, while Gerrans will lead the team in the Ardennes. A few minutes ago I said that Sky reminds me somehow of Columbia and here's another reason to support that, a nice list of top sprinters such as: Vigano, Swift, Sutton, Henderson, Downing and one of the best all - rounders and most talented riders in the World, Edvald Boasson Hagen.
Here's a picture with the Sky riders' stats in the PCM.daily database:
Key Races
The sponsors have come up with a lot of money for this season to help the team start its journey through the cycling world with a good season and the expectations are quite high even though every one knows this is season where the staff and the riders should learn how to work together.
On the key races list we can see all the three Grand Tours rated in our 6 most important races this season. Other 2 are of the Cycling Monuments races, while the sixth one are the British Championships. For the Grand Tours we have Wiggins and Lovkvist, with Brit leading us in the Giro and the Tour, while Lovet will ride the Vuelta.
For our national championships Wiggins should aim for the time - trial race, while Downing and Swift will be leading the team in the road race.
In Milano - Sanremo we have our Ardennes captain, Gerrans, in case that the race will be decided on Cipressa or Poggio, with Flecha also might have a chance to make a move there, while it those hills don't prove too hard for the sprinters we have the home - ground sprinter Davide Vigano.
For Paris - Roubaix, Flecha is clearly our big hope and the results he got in the Hell of the North in the previous years show that he is one of the best when it comes to this race, even though he still hasn't won it.
Season Goals
If the key races were some of the most important and hard races in the World, the season goals aren't getting the level any lower. This time Juan Antonio Flecha, the former Fassa Bortolo and Rabobank rider, seems to be our hope as 3 of the races seem to suit him: Paris - Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders and Milano - Sanremo.
A top 3 in Vuelta seems to be the hardest one there, as our main stage racer, Bradley Wiggins will ride the Tour and the Giro, while the young Swede Lovkvist will have to do his best to take a podium spot in the last Grand Tour of the year. Lovkvist is most likely going to be our leader for the Vuelta al Pais Vasco as well, which is also one of our season's goals.
The last one seems to be very doable, as both Wiggins and our sprinters will have some good opportunities to bring home some stage wins from Italy, in May.
Hopefully you'll enjoy reading about Team Sky's first season in the pack, as I will try to make it last longer than my previous PCM09 stories.
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 28-01-2010 21:05
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World Champion
Posts: 13924
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/kurtaslearvesen-1.png[/img-r]Name: Kurt Asle Arvesen
Nationality: 
Age: 34
Specialisation: All - rounder
Previous team: Team Saxo Bank
Height: 1.83m
Weight: 70kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/johnleeaugustyn-1.png[/img-r]Name: John - Lee Augustyn
Nationality: 
Age: 23
Specialisation: Climber
Previous team: Barloworld
Height: 1.78m
Weight: 64kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/michaelbarry-1.png[/img-r]Name: Michael Barry
Nationality: 
Age: 34
Specialisation: Puncheur
Previous team: Team Columbia
Height: 1.88m
Weight: 68kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/edvaldboassonhagen-1.png[/img-r]Name: Edvald Boasson Hagen
Nationality:
Age: 22
Specialisation: All - rounder
Previous team: Team Columbia
Height: 1.81m
Weight: 76kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/sylvaincalzati-1.png[/img-r]Name: Sylvain Calzati
Nationality: 
Age: 30
Specialisation: Climber
Previous team: Agritubel
Height: 1.77m
Weight: 68kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/kjellcalstrom-1.png[/img-r]Name: Kjell Karlström
Nationality: 
Age: 33
Specialisation: Puncheur
Previous team: Liquigas
Height: 1.81m
Weight: 70kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/daviddariocioni-1.png[/img-r]Name: David Dario Cioni
Nationality: 
Age: 35
Specialisation: Stage racer
Previous team: ISD
Height: 1.85m
Weight: 72
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/stevencummings-1.png[/img-r]Name: Steve Cummings
Nationality: 
Age: 28
Specialisation: Time - trials
Previous team: Barloworld
Height: 1.90m
Weight: 75kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/russelldowning-1.png[/img-r]Name: Russell Downing
Nationality:
Age: 31
Specialisation: Sprinter
Previous team: Candi TV
Height: 1.71.m
Weight: 61kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/juanantonioflecha-1.png[/img-r]Name: Juan Antonio Flecha
Nationality: 
Age: 32
Specialisation: Northen Classics
Previous team: Rabobank
Height: 1.81m
Weight: 72kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/chrisfroome-1.png[/img-r]Name: Chris Froome
Nationality:
Age: 24
Specialisation: Stage racer
Previous team: Barloworld
Height: 1.86m
Weight: 72kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/simongerrans-2.png[/img-r]Name: Simon Gerrans
Nationality: 
Age: 29
Specialisation: Puncheur
Previous team: Cervelo Test Team
Height: 1.70m
Weight: 64kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/matthewhayman-1.png[/img-r]Name: Matthew Hayman
Nationality:
Age: 31
Specialisation: Northen Classics
Previous team: Rabobank
Height: 1.90m
Weight: 81kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/greghenderson-1.png[/img-r]Name: Greg Henderson
Nationality: 
Age: 33
Specialisation: Sprinter
Previous team: Team Columbia
Height: 1.80m
Weight: 74kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/peterkennaugh-1.png[/img-r]Name: Peter Kennaugh
Nationality:
Age: 20
Specialisation: Puncheur
Previous team: -
Height: 1.73m
Weight: 62kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/thomaslovkvist-1.png[/img-r]Name: Thomas Lövkvist
Nationality: 
Age: 25
Specialisation: Stage racer
Previous team: Team Columbia
Height: 1.86m
Weight: 70kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/larspeternordhal-1.png[/img-r]Name: Lars - Petter Nordhaug
Nationality:
Age: 25
Specialisation: Puncheur
Previous team: Joker - Bianchi
Height: 1.76m
Weight: 65kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/sergepauwels-1.png[/img-r]Name: Serge Pauwels
Nationality: 
Age: 26
Specialisation: Climber
Previous team: Cervelo Test Team
Height: 1.79m
Weight: 64kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/nicolasportal-1.png[/img-r]Name: Nicolas Portal
Nationality:
Age: 30
Specialisation: Fighter
Previous team: Caisse d'Epargne
Height: 1.84m
Weight: 70kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/morrispossoni-1.png[/img-r]Name: Morris Possoni
Nationality:
Age: 25
Specialisation: Climber
Previous team: Team Columbia
Height: 1.73m
Weight: 53kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/ianstannard-1.png[/img-r]Name: Ian Stannard
Nationality:
Age: 22
Specialisation: Fighter
Previous team: ISD
Height: 1.89m
Weight: 80kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/chrissutton-1.png[/img-r]Name: Chris Sutton
Nationality:
Age: 25
Specialisation: Sprinter
Previous team: Garmin - Splistream
Height: 1.76m
Weight: 66kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/benswift-1.png[/img-r]Name: Ben Swift
Nationality:
Age: 22
Specialisation: Sprinter
Previous team: Team Katusha
Height: 1.79m
Weight: 65kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/geraintthomas-1.png[/img-r]Name: Geraint Thomas
Nationality:
Age: 23
Specialisation: Sprinter
Previous team: Barloworld
Height: 1.83m
Weight: 71kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/davidevigano-1-1.png[/img-r]Name: Davide Viganò
Nationality:
Age: 25
Specialisation: Sprinter
Previous team: Fuji - Servetto
Height: 1.82m
Weight: 66kg
[img-r]https://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz110/sky_story/bradleywiggins-1.png[/img-r]Name: Bradley Wiggins
Nationality:
Age: 29
Specialisation: Stage racer
Previous team: Garmin - Splipstream
Height: 1.90m
Weight: 72kg
Edited by alexkr00 on 02-02-2010 16:45
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| Cobbs96 |
Posted on 28-01-2010 21:08
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Stagiare
Posts: 209
Joined: 11-02-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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good luck with your story
El Pistelero Fan
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| Batista15 |
Posted on 28-01-2010 21:09
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2704
Joined: 29-04-2007
PCM$: 900.00
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hey alex!!!great to see back!
will follow your story and good luck for the season |
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| I_Mayo |
Posted on 28-01-2010 21:17
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1481
Joined: 25-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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GL, Alex! Hope your story will be as good as your're in "guess the cyclist"!
Edited by I_Mayo on 28-01-2010 21:18
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| Goalie92 |
Posted on 28-01-2010 21:28
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Free Agent
Posts: 110
Joined: 31-03-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Yeah an Alex story! 
At least 100 pages! 
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-12-2024 23:34
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Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 28-01-2010 21:48
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Team Manager
Posts: 33046
Joined: 08-03-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Good luck, youll need it for a few of those riders with some odd stats. (Sutton most noticeably)
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| Guido Mukk |
Posted on 28-01-2010 21:52
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15830
Joined: 08-02-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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alex..great
You will get lot of Britain readers..also you can include me.
Good luck..long one please again. |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 28-01-2010 22:38
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World Champion
Posts: 13924
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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thanks guys
A long one (100 pages pretty much impossible ) will be quite hard, especially on PCM09... Yeah Sutton's stamina, resistence and recovery really suck.
The second post is now update with some sort info about each rider.
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 28-01-2010 23:04
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
Joined: 20-05-2009
PCM$: 530.00
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This is gonna be good for sure.
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 28-01-2010 23:48
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World Champion
Posts: 13924
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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January Calendar
We will start the 2010 season Down Under, with the Aussie Championships, followed by the Santos Down Under Tour. Then we will travel back to Europe for the Marseille Classic.
With 3 races in Australia, 2 of them being the national championships, this is going to be a really interesting month for our 3 Aussie riders: Matthew Hayman, Simon Gerrans and Chris Sutton.
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 29-01-2010 00:04
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World Champion
Posts: 13924
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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The first race of the season are the Aussie Individual Time - trial Championships. On paper Evans and Rogers are the big favorites but the early season form could prove to be more important than the pure time - trial skills
Michael Rogers was quite an early starter but his time was rather disappointing as he wasn't able to beat Jack Bobridge's time, losing almost one minute to the Garmin rider
Our main hope for today's race was Chris Sutton but he had really a bad day and both Hayman and Gerrans were faster than him, with Hayman being our best rider today, finishing 27th
Garmin has some really good Aussies in their roster at the moment, with Bobridge and the Meyers. Cameron was their leader today but he wasn't able to beat Bobridge's time either
Hansen, a former champion, was really close to beat the Garmin rider but he took only an provisional second place, 9 seconds behind Bobridge
Evans was the big favorite at the start of the day and he was one class everyone else, beating Boridge's time with 50 seconds and became the new Aussie Time - Trial Champion
Results
| 1. | Cadel Evans | BMC Racing Team | 55'40 | | 2. | Jack Bobridge | Garmin - Transitions | + 50 | | 3. | Adam Hansen | Team HTC - Columbia | + 59 | | 4. | Brett Lancaster | Cervélo Test Team | + 1'12 | | 5. | Cameron Meyer | Garmin - Transitions | + 1'13 | | 6. | Rory Sutherland | UnitedHealthcare presented by Maxxis | + 1'21 | | 7. | Matthew Goss | Team HTC - Columbia | + 1'22 | | 8. | Ben Kersten | Fly V Australia | + 1'35 | | 9. | Darren Rolfe | Fly V Australia | + 1'45 | | 10. | Michael Rogers | Team HTC - Columbia | + 1'49 | | 11. | Travis Meyer | Garmin - Transitions | + 1'50 | | 12. | Benjamin King | Trek Livestrong U23 | + 1'51 | | 13. | Trent Lowe | Garmin - Transitions | + 1'53 | | 14. | William Dickeson | Jelly Belly presented by Kenda | + 1'55 | | 15. | Zakkari Dempster | Rapha Condor - Sharp | s.t. |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 29-01-2010 00:27
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World Champion
Posts: 13924
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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Once again Evans and Rogers are rated as the big 2 favorites, but this time we also have a rider rated in the top 3 favorites: Simon Gerrans, which is at the moment probably the second best Aussie puncheur. Still being a favorite on paper here usually means nothing as a lot of times the winner was decided after a winning breakaway
On the first ascent, nine riders got away in what was going to be the breakaway of the day. Sutton was one of them along side names such as Cameron Meyer and Bret Lancaster
No one in the pack seem interested to chase down the breakaway, as the only team that might have the power to do that it was Garmin, but they've got a rider in the breakaway. 50 km before the finish the escapes had more than 6 minutes advantage over that lazy pack which means that it's going to be between those 9 for the win today
Right before reaching the final lap of the day the attacks started in the breakaway group. Roe and Porte were the first ones to do so
Chris Sutton looked strong all day and he had no problems following them on one of the last ascents of the day
Actually Sutton was the only one able to make a gap there and he started the last ascent of the day with a small advantage over the other escapes. At the end of the climb he had an advantage of only 10 seconds over his chasers
But that proved more than enough to stay in front for Sutton, who took his revenge after the bad day he had in the time - trial. Chris Sutton is the new Aussie Champion, bring Team Sky the first win of the season!
Row and Howard lead the sprint behind him, taking the other 2 spots on the podium.
Behind the breakaway, Evans was the strongest and he took the 10th place today. Gerrans finished at more than one minute behind Evans to take the 11th place.
Results
| 1. | Christopher Sutton | Sky Professional Cycling Team | 4h40'30 | | 2. | Thimothy Roe | Trek Livestrong U23 | + 14 | | 3. | Leigh Howard | Team HTC - Columbia | s.t. | | 4. | Darren Lapthorne | Rapha Condor - Sharp | s.t. | | 5. | Cameron Meyer | Garmin - Transitions | s.t. | | 6. | Matt Rice | Bahati Foundation | s.t. | | 7. | Brett Lancaster | Cervélo Test Team | s.t. | | 8. | Richie Porte | Team Saxo Bank | s.t. | | 9. | Hayden Brooks | Fly V Australia | + 1'06 | | 10. | Cadel Evans | BMC Racing Team | + 3'25 | | 11. | Simon Gerrans | Sky Professional Cycling Team | + 4'51 | | 12. | Trent Lowe | Garmin - Transitions | + 5'27 | | 13. | Mark Renshaw | Team HTC - Columbia | + 5'49 | | 14. | Nathan O'Neill | Bahati Foundation | s.t. | | 15. | Rory Sutherland | UnitedHealthcare presented by Maxxis | s.t. |
Edited by alexkr00 on 29-01-2010 00:28
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| dakey11 |
Posted on 29-01-2010 02:27
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 298
Joined: 13-06-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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nice win |
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| chrica04 |
Posted on 29-01-2010 03:42
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 853
Joined: 23-10-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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What are the Meyer's stats Alex? Great start man! |
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| fluppe |
Posted on 29-01-2010 07:12
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Amateur
Posts: 1
Joined: 29-01-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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nice
Fluppie
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| bfreire |
Posted on 29-01-2010 07:35
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Domestique
Posts: 538
Joined: 07-11-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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nice start alex |
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| Tombola |
Posted on 29-01-2010 07:54
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Domestique
Posts: 473
Joined: 25-10-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Looks good! Succes in the rest of the season...
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| hellboy |
Posted on 29-01-2010 08:12
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 850
Joined: 27-10-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Great win, good luck for the future
Go Roman!
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 29-01-2010 09:19
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World Champion
Posts: 13924
Joined: 05-08-2008
PCM$: 300.00
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thanks guys. And chrica which Meyer, Travis or Cameron?
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