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Team MILRAM: March, the real racing starts here.
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 28-04-2009 10:28
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Classics Specialist
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here we go again. Milram won the vote so here is the new story. for the last couple of season Milram have been a lead out train with no real sprinter after Petacchi's injury problems and suspension and Zabel simply being to old to mount a serious challenge. with the collapse of Geralsteiner, Milram have built up a decent looking, mostly Germanic team and i aim to try to keep it this way. The majority of my team will be made up of Germans, Austrians and the odd Eastern European.
First of all let me introduce you to my squad. as you can see it's a vast improvement on the last couple of years and we should finally be able to compete at thia level. Gerdemann will be our overall leader. He will be supported by a number of riders in different situation. Terpstra will lead us in the cobbles while Wegmann is a decent 1 day classic rider. Ciolek and Forster will mean we will still be a force in the sprints. It finally looks like a complete team.
Despite this my goals are slightly easier this year. Gerdermann lead us at the tour and i think he is capable of getting a top ten. He will also go for the German champs i think. I'm not sure about the others yet. i'll have to work out my calender in a bit. i've also made an approach for a new rider who hopefully i will announce in a little while.
I've managed to secure some decent sponsors which will give me a bit of financial support.
so there you go. as usual i will be playing on hard. gonna spend the next couple of hours working out my calender.
any questions then feel free to ask.
Edited by ringo182 on 20-05-2009 13:47
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Posted on 28-04-2009 10:44
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Neo-Pro
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I persume your using the new pcmdaily db  good luck but the goals look a bit tough  Hope milram survive in the pro tour too. I think you should sign ian stannard at the end of the season what a hero |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 28-04-2009 10:49
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
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but that would go against my Germanic transfer policy
yeah, they are tough, but i'm confident if i plan my season well i can achieve them all. also i think i'll stay in the pro tour quite comfortabbly for a change. |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 28-04-2009 12:28
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
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Here is a quick run through of my main men this year.
Linus Gerdemann: A very talented rider who could develop into a strong GT rider. His main targets this season are the Tour de Suisse, German Champs and Tour de france where he will be looking to secure our sponsors goals. hopefully he can achieve them.
Niki Terpstra: Will lead us in the Cobbled Classics before being a big help to Wegmann in the Ardennes. After that his early season will include the Tour de Romandie and the Giro.
Fabian Wegmann: The current German champion will probably not be defending his title this year. Instead he will be aiming for a good performance at the Ardennes Classics before going for a stage win at the Giro.
Markus Fothen: A great rider to have in the squad as he will be a great support rider as well as being capable of leading the squad. He will lead us at the Paris-Nice before supporting Wegmann at the ardennes classics and then Gerdemann at the German Champs and Tour de france.
Gerald Ciolek: Our Main sprinter. will be going for the points jersey at the Tour which will be tough. Not racing too much early season as i want to save him for the flatter stage races later in the season.
Robert Forster: Another good sprinter. He will be starting early in Australia before preparing for the Giro.
And our new signing....
Edited by ringo182 on 28-04-2009 12:29
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 28-04-2009 13:03
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
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...
David Kopp: Will spend most of the season as a key supporter to the sprinters and also to Terpstra on the cobbles. will be a valuble member of the team as he is also more then capable of winning stages himself.
So there's my team. First race report coming up. |
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| Batista15 |
Posted on 28-04-2009 13:07
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2704
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great team
the last german pro tour team thank you for taking this team.
good luck for you. |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 28-04-2009 13:16
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
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Cancer Council Classic:
Our first race of the season is a warm up for the TDU. Forster Will be our leader as we try to take the sprint. Its 51k and pan flat so it should come down to the sprint.
Squad: Forster, T. Fothen, Gajek, Knaven, Kopp, Kux, Stroetinga, Wrolich.
There are plenty of breaks today. I decide to put Wrolich into it to try to control it for later but he is looking strong and in the end goes alone without much effort.
However as expected it does come down to a sprint and Kopp takes Forster to the front where Stroetinga and Knaven are preparing the train.
Forster is in an excellent position and when Guarnieri moves up the outside fast he jumps onto his wheel.
In the end he has too settle for 2nd behind Renshaw, but it's a very promising start to the season. Kopp manages 7th and we win the team prize.
If it's a similar line up at the TDU then we should get ourselves some points this week.
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 28-04-2009 14:06
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
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Tour Down Under:
First Pro-Tour event of the season and i am desperate to get off the mark as quickly as possible to try to settle the nerves a bit. I don't think we're in any real danger of being religated but i don't want to leave anything to chance. We're not going to be going after the overall, but forster will be looking to take some stage wins.
Squad: Same as CCC
Stage 1:
A flat stage to kick things off. I think i'll try to stick Wrolich into the break and try to take the KOM jersey. Wrolich succeeds in getting into the break of 5. He finishes second in the KOM sprint but manages to take 3rd and 1st in the points sprints.
With 20k to go the break is still over 3.30 mins up the road, surely they can't win from a break on the first day? But in the last 10k Wrolich cracks and falls behind the last 4 members of the group.
Amazingly the break holds on and the 3 contest the sprint which was won by Dion ahead of Duval and Acosta. If only Wrolich could have held on!
Forster finishes 4th in the bunch sprint to take 7th on the stage. To be honest i got distracted by Wrolich otherwise he could have finished higher.
Thanks to his performances in the points sprints Wrolich is 4th overall while Forster is 10th. Hopefully our first win of the season isn't too far away.
Edited by ringo182 on 28-04-2009 14:07
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 29-04-2009 10:15
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
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Stage 2:
The first 4 stages of the tour are all flat so we hope to pick up some pro-tour points with Forster. A large group of 10 riders goes away today with some pretty big and dangerous names (Franzoi, Sutton, Ljungqvist, Del Nero, Hanson, Vaitkus) But in the end they are brought back in.
I was determined to lead out Forster to a victory today and i must say i did quite well.
With 4k to go Wrolich and Kopp had taken Forster right to the front and he was in a perfect position.
As the sprint started Kopp had gotten a jump on everyone else and Forster was right on his wheel.
However, it soon became clear that Forster just wasn't in good enough condition to challenge for the win and began to go backwards.
The win was taken by Pozzato while Forster had to settle for 8th.
Stage 3:
Today we try to get Knaven into the break. He succeeds but isn't strong enough to stay in the front group when it all fragments. It doesn't matter as the break is cought and again we attempt to lead out Forster. Again Kop gets him into the perfect position.
This time it was me who messed up. When the sprint started i wanted to have Kopp sprint and Forster follow him. I didn't realise i had Forster selected so he started to sprint at the 2.5k point and quickly ran out of steam
Pozzato took the stage and Forster and Kopp both finished out of the top 10
Stage 4:
The last stage before the queen stage of the tour that would passibly decide the overall win. A break of 5 goes away but they are all less then 30 seconds down on GC so they never stand any real chance of getting the win.
Today i change my tactics and decide to follow Pozzato's wheel in the sprint.
It works to a degree and Forster takes 4th for our first Pro-Tour point of the season. Elminger takes the win and Pozzato holds onto the overall lead by 4 seconds.
In the GC Wrolich's sprint wins on the first day mean he is still in the top 10 on GC. Will he be able to stay there after tomorrow?
So far a dissapointing tour for us. But we still have someone in the top 10 and Forster should be a favourite for the last stage so there is still plenty to ride for.
Edited by ringo182 on 29-04-2009 10:16
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 30-04-2009 20:52
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
PCM$: 1348.00
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Stage 5
Here it is. The "queen" stage of the tour and the stage the big boys have been waiting for. My team hasn't been looking forward to today as we are deffinately geared towards flat stages. Our aim today is just to get through today in one piece.
A large break goes away but there are too many riders only 20 seconds down on GC for the peleton to let them get too far away. They are reeled back in at the bottom of Willunga hill. On the climb there are a series of attacks and several riders get away from the peleton. Ljungqvist has a real go and tries to go alone and is followed by Devolder, Sanchez, Geslin, Breschel, Pozzato and Ballan.
On the decent Ljungqvist is relled in by the other 6 and they are joined by Nuyens, Albasini and Elminger. Nuyens is moving fast and gets a jump on the others and tries to power his way to the finish however with 1k to go he is being caught.
The sprint goes down to the line but Pozzato proves that he really is the strongest rider here in Australia as he takes his 3rd win of the tour.
As expected Milram struggles today and only Kopp and Kux finished in the peleton. Tomorrow will be our last chance to go for the win.
Pozzato holds onto his leaders jersey but he still doesn't have a descisive lead.
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 30-04-2009 21:04
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
PCM$: 1348.00
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Stage 6
Final stage is a pan flat city crit. Forster is looking for a similar performance to the CCC a few days ago.
A few breaks go away throughout the stage but nothing is allowed to go too far. As expected the race went down to a sprint and it was avery nervous finish. There was a mass pile up of around 30 riders but luckily none of my riders were involved.
So Kopp lead out Forster again and once again we were in a perfect position for the sprint. Surely today would be our day.
However Forster was just pipped to the line by local boy O'Grady. However we were pleased with second and the Pro-Tour points.
So our tour has been saved on the last day. At least we will come away with something.
Overall we don't pick up any points in any of the competitions but we don't really mind that. Pozzato takes the win and our highest finisher is Kopp in 17th.
As it's effectively the end of January now here is the Pro-Tour rankings for the end of January.
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 30-04-2009 22:23
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
PCM$: 1348.00
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Tour of Qatar:
Not really expecting too much from this tour and have only sent 6 riders. However I have sent Forster so hopefully we can grab our first win of the season. Stage 1 is the team time trial and as i am rubbish at them and don't really care about the result i simmed it. We finished 19th out of 20!
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 30-04-2009 22:36
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
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Leader Programmes:
Here are the early season race programmes of my 7 main riders.
Gerdemann: Easy start to the season before he sets his sights on the Tour and maybe the Vuelta later on. He will go to the Paris-Nice as support for Fothen.
Tour Med
Trofeo Laigueglia
GP Di Lugano
Paris-Nice
Terpstra: We hope he can make a mark at the Cobbled Classics this year. He will lead at the Cobbled races before supporting Wegmann in the Ardennes and then going for a stage win at the Giro. A packed early season for the young Dutchman.
Tirreno-Adriatico
MSR
E3-Harelbake
KBC
Cobbled Classics
Scheldeprijs
Ardennes Classics
Tour de Romandie
Giro D'Italia
Wegmann: Is our main hope in the Ardennes Classics where we hope he can finish consistently in the top 10. Will also go for stages at the Giro.
Tirreno-Adriatico
MSR
Gran Premio Miguel Indurain
Vuelta al Pais Vasco
Ardennes Classics
Tour de Romandie
Giro D'Italia
Fothen: Will spend much of the season as a helper at the Tour and Vuelta for Gerdemann and in the Ardennes for Wegmann but will be allowed to lead at the Paris-Nice, Pais Vasco and the Tour de Romandie.
Tour of California
GP Di Lugano
Paris-Nice
Vuelta al Pais Vasco
Ardennes Classics
Tour de Romandie
Ciolek: Very easy early season before he goes for the points comp at the tour and the flatter stage races later in the season.
Tirreno-Adriatico
MSR
Forster: Will be our sprinter at the Giro so has a slighter fuller early season.
Tour of Qatar
Tour of California
Paris-Nice
MSR
Tour de Romandie
Giro D'Italia
Kopp: Valuble lead out man but also key support for Terpstra on the cobbles. Will act as domestique for most of the season.
Tirreno-Adriatico
MSR
E3-Harelbake
KBC
Cobbled Classics
Edited by ringo182 on 30-04-2009 22:38
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 01-05-2009 17:03
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
PCM$: 1348.00
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GP Cycliste la Marseillaise:
Doesn't really mean anything to us and with some fairly big names riding i don't expect too much. However, Rohregger will lead and try to stick with the leaders.
Squad: Rohregger, Frohlinger, Muller, Scholz, Schroder, Voss
To begin with we try to get a rider into the break. But after both Frohlinger and Scholz get away and are brought back we give up. Eventually a group goes away and stays away until the last climb before the finish where the action starts. On the climb the big names all attack. There are about 20/25 riders all spread out at the top of the hill. Rohregger is in the second group but is working hard to chase down the leaders.
At the bottom of the last dessent the front group is all together and they begin to try to get into poition for the sprint.
Joly proves to be the strongest on the day winning on the line ahead of Di Luca. Rohregger comes an excellent 6th. Great performance for his first outing of the season.
Very pleased with the result seeing as i wasn't expecting anything today.
Edited by ringo182 on 01-05-2009 17:04
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 01-05-2009 17:15
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
PCM$: 1348.00
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Tour Of Qatar:
Stage 2
Squad: Forster, Eichler, T. Fothen, Knaven, Kux, Stroetinga
First proper stage of the tour but with my guys already over 2 mins down we are going for stage wins. With Forster leading we should have a good chance. However today the wind will be a major factor. A number of riders went up the road and built up a good lead. As the pace went up in the peleton it completely stretched out.
We knew it was only a matter of time before the elastic snapped and so kept Forster near the front. Eventually the inevitable happened.
Eventually the first two groups joined up and cought the break so the teams prepared for the sprint. Stroetinga and Knaven had done an immense job all day in protecting Forster and now they giuded him to the front before he jumped onto the wheel of Sieburg.
Forster was determined to repay his team for their hard work and when the sprint started he jumped onto the wheel of Hayman who had accelerated to the front.
With 1k to go Forster had pulled level with the Australian. Could he go past him?
Yes! First win of the season for Forster and Milram. Great team performance today. In the end Forster won easily.
Excellent result for us today. Confidence is high as we try to take more wins this week.
P.S Have the celebration buttons been changed or removed on the new DB? I was pressing everything but nothing happened!
Edited by ringo182 on 01-05-2009 17:17
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 01-05-2009 18:17
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
PCM$: 1348.00
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Tour of Qatar:
Stage 3:
Perhaps the most wierd and eventful stage i have ever raced on PCM. I don't think i've ever found a flat stage so eventful before. Early on the stage was very similar to the previous day, a break went away and the peleton was stretched out. Again i kept Forster at the front in case of a break and again the break came. However this time the front group was just 8 riders big and was being driven along by Rabobank. Forster just sat in at the back in the pritection of his team-mates.
Before long the Rabobank riders were exhausted and began to fall off leaving my riders exposed. I put Forster on minimum effort to fall back into the peleton but another group had pulled away from the peleton, this time driven by Cevelo so he joined that group along with 4 other Milram riders.
The group were slowly reeling in the break away riders and also keeping a gap on the peleton. As with the last group the Cevelo riders slowly began to drop off and i sent Forster to the front to prepare for the sprint. Again the group split and Forster and Stoetinga were in the lead group of just 5 riders.
As Forster Followed the wheel of Willems in the last few k's Stroetinga decided to have one last go at the win and pulled out in front.
As the sprint started Forster blew past Willems and the Peleton caught the lead group. Stroetinga was still out in front.
As they went under the 1k to go banner Stroetinga was passed by the leaders. Forster was still out in front. Would it be 2 out of 2 for Forster?
YES!!! 2nd win of the season for Milram. What a stage to win. Forster just stayed at the front and the race kind of fell into his lap. What a win.
Well i hope the rest of the stages aren't as confusing as that. But hopefully the end result will be the same. I hope i explained it all properly so you fully understand just how wierd the stage was.
Edited by ringo182 on 01-05-2009 18:19
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| chrica04 |
Posted on 01-05-2009 18:26
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 853
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Awesome start man! |
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| Bosskardo |
Posted on 01-05-2009 18:36
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Sprinter
Posts: 1559
Joined: 07-04-2008
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zubeldia 2nd
But nice results
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 01-05-2009 18:44
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
PCM$: 1348.00
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yeah like i said it was a really wierd stage and he only finished second cause he stayed at the front and got into the group of 5 with Forster at the front. |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 01-05-2009 18:46
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World Champion
Posts: 13924
Joined: 05-08-2008
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all the stage in Qatar are pretty weird because of the wind
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