Stage 15 Dont-Case Bortot a Belluno
What a huge stage today. The profile is impressive, with 8 climbs including a long one to the finish line, today could be the day everything is decided. Here is the race commentary, which I got from Cycling UK Online:
Start: Hello and welcome to today’s big race. The riders will take a tough 230km ride through over 5000m of elevation, including a peak of 2186 m. Today’s favourites have got it cut out, but the Italian press are still making Cunego heavy favourite to win and ride in pink tomorrow, although I know Allan Smile has something to say about that with his rider Cataldo. And away we go!
227 km: Jose Rujano is on the attack! Now he is a rider who could do well up here, I think he might be going for those early mountain points, there is a lot of them. And Scholz of Gerolsteiner has followed him, and they’re working together as we enter the mist lying on the Forcella Staulanza, a 13 km hike averaging at 6.7 %
215.7 km: On the descent now, and the two riders Scholz and Rujano are extending their lead, and have 3’28 over the Austrian Luttenberger, who has 1’12 over Ludewig, with the pack another 1’18 behind
Great support for the escapees
204.3 km: Up the next climb, and there’s a break in the peloton. Pellizotti, Van Huffel, Cheula and Van den Broeck have gone, and have already passed Ludewig, and are just 3’51 behind the leaders on this second, small climb.
194.7 km: At the base of the toughest climb today, Jose Rujano has attacked. The Passo Fedala stands before him, a mammoth 14.7 km climb averaging at 7.5%
184.7 km: We’re riding at 10%, and the pace is mercilous! Jose Ruanjo now leads solo by 1’08 in front of a group of 26. This is tough work, and Cycling24 seem to be working hard to try and shrug off weaker riders. Savoldelli has pauid for his earlier attack, and is now in a group of 29 riders a full minute behind the maglia rosa group
181.4 km: We pass over the top of the Passo Fedala, with Jose Rujano taking maximum points all alone. His lead has been cut to 55” though, but this short descent should work in his favour
Some peculiar mountains in the background. A geological marvel apparently
180.1 km: The Cataldo group has split! 12 riders struggled with the pace, including Botero, Intxausti, Colom, Kloden and Reus. Can the 14 men in front capitalise on this?
169.2 km: It’s all over for Rujano, he’s been caught, right at the base of the Passo Sella, a 12.2 km climb averaging at 6.6%. A group of 8 follow trying to bridge the gap
Passo Sella: Lots of breaks, and it’s easier to see Rujano is going for the Maglia Verde, he’s up front with Van Huffel, as they lead Ardila and Redondo by 26”. Following is three riders who need a big win, Pellizotti, Van den Broeck and Cheula, but the 18 rider group follows just behind.
147.6 km: As we climb the short Passo Gardena, the riders come together up front. This climb is a fairly easy 5.8 km climb, averaging at 4.2%
127.5 km: We’ve just been over the Passo Campolongo, and some dangerous riders have broken. Ghisalberti is up front, all on his own, with Eltink and Botero just seconds behind him. Cheula and Brajkovic follow, with Rujano next. These gaps are just too small, they’ve not really got a break
114.1 km: Well hush my mouth, a very serious break has formed, with Eltink, Botero and Ghisalberti now pulling together, as they have 29” on Brajkovic. The maglia rosa follows with 14 others a minute behind.
Passo Di Falzerago: 10 kilometres of pain has just gone, with an average slope of 6.2%. Ghisalberti has split the front threesome, and has a slim lead over Eltink. Botero is struggling, and he is 1’29 behind the young Davitamon rider. Brajkovic riders for the Disco boys all alone, a minute behind team mate Botero, with three riders (Van Huffel, Rujano and Cheula) all on the attack again 30 econds behind. The rest of the best follow in a twelve man group just behind, but 3’44 behind Ghisalberti, which they need to do something about.
68 km: A long descent has led to larger gaps, as Milram rider Sergio Ghisalberti extends his led over the young Dutchman Eltink to 2 whole minutes. Teammates Brajkovic and Botero ride together 1’21 behind, as a 15 rider peloton still takes it easy, now 5’10 behind the leader.
58.5 km: Up the Forcella Cibiani, the second toughest climb in terms of figures (10.2 km at 7.8%), but so late in the race, it’s going to feel like the toughest, and the truly best riders will be seen now. Yaroslav Popovych is off, after his two team mates have just been caught. He rides solo, trailing Eltink by 3 minutes. Kloden, Botero and Brajkovic ride together just behind, whilst Cycling24 have forced a tough pace, and Cuengo has been dropped! Only two riders have stayed with the four Cycling24 riders (Intxausti, Sella, Rujano and Cataldo), and they are Colom and Pellizotti. Fothen lies just in front of this group, whilst six riders including Cunego are working hard a minute down
55.5 km: We’re getting near the top, and Ghisalberti looks strong up front, with a lead now over 2 minutes over Eltink. Cunego has found smoething in the tank, and has moved into third, three minutes behind second place. Cataldo, Popo and Sella are working just behind him, whilst a 12 man peloton has reformed over 30 seconds behind
52.2 km: At the summit, and Sergio looks good for the stage win with a single climb left. Eltink follows, and then the two leaders, Cuengo and Cataldo follow together, with Sella in tow. They’ve made a minute on Theo, and have Popo trailing by a minute behind
Two rivals prepare for a huge battle, as big as the mountains behind them
20.7 km: On the flat, and the big three have caught Eltink. Ghisalberti lies untouchable 4 minutes up the road, and Popovych has lost another minute
4.1 km: We’re now on the Case Bortot, a small 6/4 km climb to the finish, averaging at 5.2%. Sergio’s lead is down to 2’44, and Eltink has gone out the back of the trailing group, but should hold off Popovych. A group of 12 follow the Discovery rider by 3’12, and will fight it out for top 10 finishes. And Sella has been dropped!
Finish: Ghisalberti celebrate his win up a 14.1% gradient(!), whilst Cunego sprints early and blows up. Dario Cataldo sees his opportunity and takes it, finishing under a minute behind the winner. Damiano finishes at 1’37, on his handlebars. As expected, Sella takes fourth, with Eltink fifth and Popovych 5’42 down in sixth. Benat Intxausti leads over Botero and Rujano in a group of 3, 8’05 down, and the rest of the riders arrive over the next 2 hours, after 6 hours and 30 minutes of hard labour for the winner, and 8 hours and 30 minutes of sheer hell for last placed Lazlo Bodrogi.
The GC has taken a bit of a shake up after that, but only one top 5 change occurs, with Ghisalberti’s win putting him in fourth, whilst Popocyh slips two places to sixth. Botero slips a place to seventh, as does Intxausti and Rujano. Fothen’s excellent ride today puts him in tenth.
Maglia Ciclamino (Points):
Petacchi easily holds onto his jersey, but should begin to be getting worried, as Cuengo (119) and Cataldo (116) begin to close in
1. Alessandro Petacchi 179
Maglia Verde (King of the Mountains)
Jose’s early break today paid dividends, as he takes a slim lead over Wim Van Huffel (37) after today’s race. Can he hold on? He probably can, although he has said he is unhappy to the press over his lack of top 5 involvement.
1. Jose Rujano 41
Edited by Crommy on 03-06-2007 21:55
Stage 16 Udine-Anthoz Anterselva
Wow, I can’t belive how I’m doing in my first ever Giro. We’ve got the leader, the KOM, the U25 jersey, the team jersey and four top 10 riders! Today’s stage was 199 km in length, with three ctaegorised climbs. Our aim today was to keep Dario’s lead, and hopefully gain some time.
128.1 km: 60 km in, and 10 riders are advancing up the Passo di Monte Croce Carnico, a 16.9 km climb averaging at a shallow 4.5%. The pack allows it to go, and we’re happy just to sit in
98.7 km: 4 riders attack up the Gailberg Sattel, a short climb of 5.7%: Cioni, Nozal, Jufre and Savoldelli once again lead out the attacks
73.5 km: The Cioni break has caught up with the front, and it now numbers 13, a couple of riders have been dropped though, as the gap increases to 6’30
49.8 km: As we start the Staller Sattel, a 35.3 km crawl at 3.4%, Savoldelli and Cioni break free of the escape group, with Nozal trailing just behind. The peloton has dropped the lead to 5’19 though
36.1 km: Savoldelli and Cioni are really pushing each other, and the Barloworld and Liquigas riders are being cheered on by their home crowd. The pack is now closing in on the 9 man escape group, but has lost 20 seconds to the lead
32.1 km: The pack catches the big escape group
25.4 km: With 10 km to the summit, I decide it’s time to make our move. I send Sella, Rujano and Cataldo off the front, as Gomis follows us. Ghisalberti also attacks, and accelerates past our riders our riders at a ferocious pace, but I told my team to relax and let him go, just ride tempo. Fothen and Colom break, but Cunego stays in the 60 man peloton, with his team pulling it along
21.6 km: Here we go, it’s the big move. Cunego, Pellizotti and Eltink attack , and catches our riders within 3 km.
15.4 km: Over the summit, and Cioni rides solo just 33 seconds in front of Ghialberti and Savoldelli. An unlikely threesome in Cunego, Cataldo and Eltink put their rivalry behind them, and work together to try and cut down their 1’11 lead, which I ‘m very happy to do. Rujano and Sella are close behind
4.4 km: This long descent has allowed a lot of catch up: Cioni now rides with Savoldelli and Ghisalberti, whilst the Cataldo group is now 51” down, 1’25 in front of a group of 9.
Finish: Ghisalberti leads out Cioni and Savoldelli, and is passed by Cioni but oursprints Savoldelli. The good news is that the next three were awarded the same time, with Cunego fourth and Dario sixth. The bad news is Benat Intxausti didn’t finish in the following group, but in the peloton, 4’05 behind ,along with Botero.
The top 5 in the GC stay the same, although Sella lost time and now has only 43 seconds on Ghisalberti in fourth. Botero and Intxausti both slip a place, as Rujano leapfrogs above them into seventh, although the gap between him and Yaroslav Popovych in sixth is over seven minutes
Stage 17 Bolzano-Monte Baldo
Two climbs, including one tough finish, and Dario was feeling good, but not great. With Damiano’s superb recovery, I knew that today could be a day where we could lose some serious time, so the whole team was set to working for Dario, although I allowed Jose Rujano the freedom to get the early mountain points and cement his jersey.
Start: 210 km of hard riding face us today, and this is a tough mountain stage, featuring 3248 km of elevation with the highest peak at 1590m. However, the nig challenge facing the riders is the 26.8 km monster leading to the finish, the Monte Baldo, which even includes a downhill section, which brings its average down to 5.2%. Look out for Damiano Cunego today, who should take the stage win and mount some serious pressure on Dario Cataldo.
200.5 km: We’re off, and straight away we enter the Passo della Mendola, a 15 km climb averaging at a tough 6.5%. And Jose Rujano attacks. No surprise their, the Colombian wants those mountain points, and he’s followed by 6 riders, but none seem to be able to get near him, he’s destroying this mountain
198.8 km: Only 2 kilometres have passed, but Jose Rujano has already piled on the pace, he leads by 1’48 from the next group, and 2’12 from the peloton!
195.1 km: We have a great crowd out here today in glorious sunshine, and they’re being rewarded with this early break, he’s getting some great applause! His lead now satnds over 5 minutes, but the peloton is trying to pull him back in, only 1 other rider remains off the front.
186.7 km: Over we go, and what a lead for Jose Rujano! He stands at 8’15 in front of Irizar of Euskaltel, who has 2’48 on the peloton. With a long descent and flat portion, this probably won’t make it, but the crowd are certainly willing it to.
Great support for the Columbian
150 km: Now Jose’s lead stands at just 6’09 to Irizar, but the Spanish rider has gained time on the peloton, the gap’s now 7’32!
100 km: Since the last time check, Jose has lost three minutes to the next rider, but the more worrying news, is that the peloton is gaining time rapidly, the gap is 6’23 from Jose to the pack
74.9 km: That’s it! Jose has been caught, how unlucky. Or not, this isn’t the stage for an early break, too much flat for team’s to chase dwon riders, and Gerolsteiner rider Markus Fothen, who wants to improve on his tenth, had his team working flat out there.
22.1 km: We’ve enetered the Monte Baldo, and the crowd haven’t been disappointed. Redondo of Astana was first off, and he’s being hotly pursued by a six man group (Popovych, Cuengo, Kloden, Reus, Sella, Pellizotti and Cataldo). Ghisalberti lies just off the back, but he should be able to stay in touch
19.5 km: Cuengo is shaming his critics, he’s going for it, and now leads three men (Popovych, Redondo and Ghisalberti). Cataldo is still holding something back, 30 seconds behind, with team mate Sella, but is it too late already?
16.2 km: Cataldo has lost another minute, he needs to start working hard
8.6 km: After a short downhill, Cunego still holds on up front, and shows no signs of tiring as he leads Popovych and Ghisalberti by 53 seconds. Redondo follows 20 seconds later. Then, who’s this? It’s Eltink, he’s done well, 35” behind Redondo. 40 seconds behind is Cataldo in a 7 rider group. He has to go soon, Allan Smile looks nervous in the tema car, that’s something we haven’t seen so far in this Tour! Is the dream start going to end?
5 km: Just 5 km to go, and the gap between the front two is holding. And now Cataldo makes his move, surely it is too late, though he’s going hard, and Sella follows him
1.7 km: The gradient is now at 12%, and Cunego is struggling. This is a hard finish. Ghisalberti follows at 1’01, but Cataldo is catching him, he’s only seconds behind. He’s left it too late, he’s going at some speed but he is hurting. Sella has joined Popovych, Eltink and Redondo in a group shortly behind, who will battle it out at the finish line
Finish: Cunego crosses the line, and immediately watches the clock, but the gap is only 52 seconds as Dario Cataldo powers in front of Sergio Ghisalberti in third. Emanuele Sella appears at 1’42, way ahead of Yaroslav Popovych who rides solo at 3’04. Theo Eltnik takes sixth, at 3’46, with the rest of the riders struggling in after this tough finish that has altered the GC considerably, apart from up near the top.
What a nervous race for me, I really though Dario was struggling, but he pulled it out the bag and gave everything he got to hold on to the maglia rosa. Jose Rujano actually did quite well through his early attack, as he now holds on to the maglia verde by just 3 points from Ghisalberti, so it looks good there. The big change however is that Sergio Ghisalberti has moved up into third, but only has an 8 second advantage over Emanuele Sella. However, as Sergio is Milram’s leader, and I’ve got Emanuele working for Dario, it could be tough to bring back. The only other top 10 change is that Markus Fothen’s poor ride today has lost him a lot of time, so he moves out of tenth spot to be replaced by T-Mobile’s Kloden. General Classification:
1. Dario Cataldo 76h28’52
2. Damiano Cunego + 3’36
3. Sergio Ghisalberti + 8’54
4. Emanuele Sella + 9’02
5. Theo Eltink + 13’02
6. Yaroslav Popovych + 14’22
7. Jose Rujano + 23’28
8. Santiago Botero + 24’25
9. Benat Intxausti + 25’43
10. Andreas Kloden + 27’07 Maglia Verde
This competition is really hotting up. We’ve got our main rider as Jose Rujano, and he leads this, but it’s just a three point advantage, and there is just 10 points separating the top 5. Hopefully Jose will have some success to take the jersey when we enter Milan 1. Jose Rujano 51
2. Sergio Ghisalberti 48 3. Dario Cataldo 47 Maglia Ciclamino
Petacchi still leads, but Cunego and our very own Cataldo are biting away at this lead
1. Alessandro Petacchi 179
2. Damaino Cunego 158 3. Dario Cataldo 148Edited by Crommy on 04-06-2007 17:47
Stage 18 Anzo-Livigno
Another day in the mountains, and all I could see was a day for Dario to lose more time; he was looking tired this morning. I gave an inspiring pep talk, but he still looked tired at the start line. I just hoped he could keep the lead.
Start: Welcome to Cycling Uk Online’s coverage of stage 18 of the Giro, and another tough stage favouring Cunego is before us; 206 km of riding over 4454m of elvation, including a peak of 2592m at the top of the tough Passo Gavia climb.
135.4 km: We join the action on the slopes of the Campo Carlo Magno, 15.9 km of climbing at a 6.9% average slope. We have four riders out in front of the peloton, and they are all struggling solo. Leading the way is Ivanov, a constant attacker in this tour, is this the day it comes off?
101.6 km: It’s a breakaway! 5 riders have set off, and we’ve got some good riders, but ones who have disappointed so far: Brajkovic, Savoldelli, Scholz, Ardila and Van Huffel are the intrepid fivesome, with 9 minutes separating the front rider and the pack
100.7 km: More riders are attacking, including Rodrgiuez and Gomis.
81.6 km: The lead of the break is down to 6 minutes, and some of the new escapees are making serious ground on the front two (Ivanov and Olsen)
76.6 km: The slope is at 10.2% as we are on the Passo Gavia, and Jose Rujano attacks! This is unsurprising, as his rival for the maglia verde, Wim Van Huffel is up the road
72.4 km: Spectacular views as we cross a bridge on the Passo Gavia, a 17.7 km climb coming near to its end, with a tough average slope of 7.9%, and the front riders have grouped into a bunch of eleven, very dangerous for the peloton. Rujano has made it their, that’s a great ride by him. The peloton is holding at about six minutes, so needs to start moving soon
64.5 km: What a ride, Rujano safely holds his jersey as he goes over the top at the front, securing 20 points. His fast pace has forced four riders to be dropped, including Savoldelli. But wait, back in the peloton, a break has formed, and it’s Cunego ahead of Cataldo. Cunego has caught the leader unawares, and now rides with great support, with Eltink and Botero. This race has just been kicked up a notch, this is a great move by the Lampre team
49.9 km: On the descent, and five riders remain in the front group after Brajkovic is dropped: Gomis, Van Huffel, Ardila, Rodriguez and Rujano. Cunego follows at 1’25 with Bertganolli and Savoldelli, whilst Cioni is just in front. 1’30 later, and here comes Ghisalberti, now how far behind is Cataldo. Is that him in that group, yes.He is in a group of 13 riders including Sella and Eltink, 2’41 behind Cunego
40.2 km: Rujano is holding back I think, he has gone backwards quickly, looks like the call has come for him to help out his leader Cataldo, who is losing more time to Cunego every metre of the race
32.6 km: Todays final climb, the Passo di Foscagno starts easy but slowly progresses its gradient. It averages at 24.5 km, at an average of 4.4%, although this gets a lot higher at the end. Rujano has followed Cuengo, who has joined the front group, and is trying but failing to slow the pace down. Cataldo is at 4’54, and he is back in a 25 man peloton, he has to do something, he’ll lose his lead!
28.5 km: Wow, Rujano is trying to destroy Cunego is a battle of endurance, he has set off at a blistering pace, and Cunego has followed. Rujano is working hard, trying to tire out Cuengo, we’ll have to see if this has worked
20 km: As we go through 20 km, Cuengo and Rujano are up front, Van Huffel behind at 1’34, Rodriguez and Ghisalberti leading the next four man group at 2’32, Eltink follows just behind, and now Cataldo has upped the pace, he is 3’31 behind Cunego, he can’t slack now. Only Sella, Ardila and Botero can stay with him. Popo leads the group behind.
18.4 km: Dario Cataldo is now doing all the hard work, he’s going at 24 km/h up a gradient of 6.9%, and the rest of his group are struggling.
13.9 km: Cataldo has caught up with Ghisalberti and Van Huffel, and they’ve reduced the lead to 2’18 as we pass over the top, and still Cataldo is up front and working hard, this is great riding! No wait, Van Huffel has been dropped, and he’s going backwards, straight past Eltink and Sella
8.5 km: The gap is holding at around 2’30, and Rujano is letting Cunego do all the work. Ghisalberti allows Cataldo this luxury to, but he can’t hold on to him, Cataldo is some sort of machine!
6.3 km: Cataldo is all alone and bearing down on the front two, the gap is at 2’01. Ghisalberti has joined Eltink and Sella in a fairly quick chase
Finish: With a downhill into the finishing straight, Cunego manages to slip behind Rujano and use him to take the stage win by a single bike length. 1’35 later, after an immense effort rides the young Dario Cataldo, with Emanuele Sella surpisingly riding all alone at 2’01. Ghisalberti follows shortly afterwards, then, with head on handlebars comes Theo Eltink, he struggled towards the end
As the light fades Cunego takes the stage win...but not the GC
We got lucky. No other way to describe it. I should have anticipated that move, and if it wasn’t for Dario’s great determination, we would be seeing a new rider in pink tomorrow, and the press have laid into me for it. Great ride by Jose though, he will be wearing the maglia verde into Milan, and his great day was only spoiled by an unlucky sprint. Nothing much has changed in the GC, apart from the great news, that Sella has won back his third spot. The points jersey is now with Cunego though, so he at least has one jersey, whilst we hold the rest. Dario’s lead lies only at 1’49, hopefully he will keep that and make it even bigger in tomorrows stage.
Edited by Crommy on 05-06-2007 11:37
Stage 19 Livigno-Como
Finally, we are out of the mountains, but their still are climbs which can really kae the difference to the GC. Today’s 198 km race is the last day Cunego can really challenge for the maglia rosa, and the 2137m of elevation are mainly downhill, but there are a couple of tough climbs near the end. Commentary from Cycling UK Online.
191.9 km: Welcome, we’ve already got three riders attacking, including Uribarri of Euskaltel
136.7 km: The Passo del Bernina has been and gone, and nothing has changed. Miholjevic leads for Liquigas, 2’23 ahead of Uribarri and Jegou. The peloton trails them by 5’30, and they’re just letting it go
110.1 km: Cycling24 have hit the front, and are working hard. Cornu takes a turn, now Posthuma, then Bayarri, now Belda. They want to drag this break in, I don’t know why? Are they going for the stage win? It would seem so
99.5 km: A short incline has resulted in a lot of attacks. Bettini went off first, after a quiet Tour so far, and he was followed by four riders including Gomis and Redondo. Slowest to react was Rujano, although he is working hard to close the gap
92.3 km: With the three riders ahead by 3 minutes, a group of 5 has formed including Bettini behind them. Rujano has settled back into the peloton, but he wasted a lot there trying to get out.
91.2 km: Brajkovic attacks. Looks like he is trying to make up for a disappointing Giro so far
76.3 km: Cycling24 have taken over from Lampre in pace setting, and this pace is ferocious. Allan Smile seems to be prepared to sacrifice riders in order to go for the stage win. Wait a minute, Bettini has been dropped! The Quickstep rider doesn’t seem interested, and is taking it easy. Front rider is 5’49 in front of peloton
65.5 km: Rodriguez and Savoldelli attack! Poor choice though, as the peloton is moving at some speed
56.4 km: Up front its Miholjevic all alone, with four riders (Bettini, Cuesta, Gomis and Redondo) chasing at 1’10. Brajkovic follows with Savoldelli at 2’50 off the front, and the pack led by Lampre and Cycling24 is going to swallow it up, and that’s it, they’re captured
An unlikely partnership
41.4 km: Miholjevic has been caught and passed by the Bettini group, who now lead the pack by just 1’36. They should get caught soon, with three climbs left
19.4 km: This is a surprise, the Bettini group has found something extra and extended their lead to 1’41. Everyone has stopped chasing!
16.1 km: Here’s the big move, off go Cycling24, this is why the pace had slowed. Sella leads out Rujano, Intxausti and Cataldo in a daring attack up the Civiglio, and no one follows
13.6 km: With the road at 9.9%, the two groups join, with just a minute’s gap! Can this work? Lampre are doing their best, but Cycling24 have got numbers in the break!
11.7 km: Bettini has blown up! The Quickstep rider looked like the best challenger to the Cycling24 team, but they’ve forced the tempo right up, and now they’ve left everyone, including one of their own, Intxausti, who is quickly swallowed up with all the rest. It’s three against all, the crowd want them to, but can they pull off a stunning victory?
5.7 km: Yaroslav Popovych wants in, what a break! He has crossed the gap, and Cunego has tried to foolow, but he falls short!!!
3.7 km: Popo has killed himself bridging the gap, and has nothing left, he drops off. Cunego is all alone at 41” off the front, they’re going to make it, what a ride!
Finish: Allan Smile rides up to his threesome, and tells them to sprint it out against each other, and with a grin, Sella is off, and no one can catch him. Rujano takes second, but Popovych spoils the day, finding something left to take third from Cataldo. Then, a questionable call as Cunego and Eltink arrive, but are given the same time, even though there was a very clear gap. Cycling24 complain, but it is thrown out. After all that effort, they come with so little, you have to feel sorry for them.
I’m so angry at the moment, there was a clear gap between us and Cunego. It was at least 20 seconds, but no, the decision stands. At least Dario did get the same time, as now his position as winner is in little doubt. His time trial abaility is better than Damiano’s, so he should be able to take it easy in Milan. Surpsingly, there was no major GC change, although Petacchi has lost a lot of points to Cunego.
Stage 20 Canzo-Ghisallo ITT
The last stage to decide GC positions, and for us to go for stage wins. None of our riders can do better in the general classification, so everyone will still try their heart out for the stage win, but I shan’t be bothered if riders like David Belda and Gonzalo Bayarri take it easy, they’ve worked very hard for me..
There wasn’t very much to report on. With the mountain slope, Dario Cataldo was made vaourite for today, and he didn’t disappoint, winning in 17’48, winning by 41 seconds from Janez Brajkovic! That’s phenomenal for so short a stage. Kai Reus was third on the same time as the Discovery rider, Rujano was in fourth, Benat tenth, Emanuele twelth and Dominique nineteenth. All set up for a great celebration in Milan.
Dario the Great has a nice ring to it
WAIT!!!
Dario’s ride today puts him in first place for the points jersey, 3 points ahead of Cunego, and 25 ahead of Petacchi. We go into Milan owning all the jerseys:
Dario Cataldo has the maglia rosa, the points jersey and the U25 jersey, whilst Jose Rujano has the maglia verde, and we are winning the team competition as well. I love cycling!
Stage 21 Cantu-Milano
We sent Joost Posthuma off early in an attempt at glory, and he fell short at the 30 km mark. Alessandro Petacchi took the sprint and the points jersey, whilst we celebrated a great win.
How can anyone attack after three weeks of sheer hell?
And then, a huge twist in the tail, as Theo Eltink was forced to abandon just 2 km from the line after a crash badly injured him, so everyone behind him got bumped up a surprise. You have to feel so sorry for him: 90 hours of riding, to fall short just a couple of minutes from the line!
Rose tinted spectacles for the T-Mobile team - they got lucky
What a Giro it has been, my first ever and I feel it will be my most favourite in years to come. Dario has won comprehensively, the press are declaring me a sensation, we only just lost the points jersey, and the board couldn’t be happier, I’ve been given the promise of a present by them. The press even interviewed the old board from last season, and they are kicking themselves, making this win all the more sweeter! Final Results:
General Classification:
1. Dario Cataldo TEAM CYCLING24-2012 91h12’04
2. Damiano Cunego LAMPRE-FONDITAL + 2’50
3. Emanuele Sella TEAM CYCLING24-2012 + 10’23
4. Sergio Ghisalberti TEAM MILRAM + 12’30
5. Yaroslav Popovych DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 18’50
6. Jose Rujano TEAM CYCLING24-2012 + 22’20
7. Santiago Botero DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 30’53
8. Benat Intxausti TEAM CYCLING24-2012 + 32’38
9. Andreas Kloden T-MOBILE TEAM + 34’01
10. Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS + 35’53
11. Jose Antonio Redondo ASTANA TEAM + 36’05
12. Markus Fothen GEROLSTEINER + 36’10
13. Wim Van Huffel DAVITAMON-LOTTO + 37’45
14. Antonio Colom CAISSE D’EPARGNE + 38’57
15. Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 39’25
16. Jurgen Van den Broeck DISCO CHANNEL + 40’20
17. Kai Reus RABOBANK + 42’03
18. Juan Gomis COMUNIDAD VALENCIANA + 43’24
19. Serhiy Gonchar C’DAD VALENCIANA + 47’43
20. Giampaolo Cheula TEAM BARLOWORLD + 47’54
27. David Belda TEAM CYCLING24-2012 + 1h11’31
45. Gonzalo Bayarri TEAM CYCLING24-2012 + 1h44’41
62. Dominique Cornu TEAM CYCLING24-2012 + 2h25’30
84. Joost Posthuma TEAM CYCLING24-2012 + 3h18’39
188. Lazlo Bodrogi CREDIT AGRICOLE + 8h27’18
Maglia Verde
1. Jose Rujano TEAM CYCLING24-2012 92 pts
2. Dario Cataldo TEAM CYCLING24-2012 62 pts
3. Damiano Cunego LAMPRE-FONDITAL 60 pts
U25 Jersey
1. Dario Cataldo TEAM CYCLING24-2012
2. Damiano Cunego LAMPRE-FONDITAL
3. Jose Rujano TEAM CYCLING24-2012
Team Classification
1. TEAM CYCLING24-2012 274h07’30
2. DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 51’28
3. DAVITAMON-LOTTO + 1h35’37
I’ve had to face a tough choice after this Giro, but I’ve decided it is for the best. I’ve sacked my assistant Jef De Bilde, as he has just not offered anything as assistant, and doesn’t have the enthusiasm I would like to see in my staff. He didn’t take it very well, and the board weren’t too happy, but he just wasn’t right. I have now got to find a new assistant, and I’ve got a few candidates, I just need to find the one who is right for the team.
GP Triberg-Schwarzwald
After the Giro, we had to begin our Tour preparations, and I sent a reasonably strong team here under Emanuele Sella. We maintained the pace throughout, and only ten riders could keep up, of which four were ours. Then, with about 5 km to go, David Belda surpsied me with a very strong attack, and although he faded towards the end, he came through for a great win, ahead of Sella in second. Alex Holder did well in fifth, but another big surprise was Dominique Cornu in sixth, who’s progressing well this season
Date: June 4th, 2007
From:
To:
Subject: GP Kanton Aargau
Hola boss! Not great down here, as Wim Van Huffel stole the show with a solo win. Our best rider was Gonzalo Bayarri, who finished sixteenth in the pack sprint. Good luck in France,
P.S. Still looking for an assistant?
Criterium duDauphine Libre
We bring a strong team down here, under Michael Rogers who is preparing for his Tour. Floyd Landis provides great support, and David Belda will hopefully surprise me again after his win in the GP Triberg-Schwarzwald. This looks like a preview of the Tour, with all the top riders here: Vinokourov, Basso, Leipheimer, Kohl and Hesjedal
Stage 1 ITT
A very short ITT, our riders looked a bit rusty, with Floyd sixth and Michael seventh, both 9 seconds behind winner Ruben Plaza
Stage 2
On the flat, and it was just a case of sitting in and trying to propel Damien Nazon and Daniele Bennati up to the top, as out team sprinters. Thor Hushovd won, with Damien doing well in 13th, but I was disappointed with Daniele, as he struggled in 99th! In fact, Thor now holds the leaders, points and mountain jersey!
Stage 3
Another day on the flat, and another disappointing day for us. Federic Finot managed to take a solo win and take the lead, whilst Oscar Freire just beat Tom Boonen for the second spot. Nazon did okay in 19th, but Daniele failed again in 63rd.
Stage 4 ITT
This time Michael took no prisoners, with a great win, a full minute in front of second, which was…Floyd Landis!!! Ruben Plaza was third, 1’44 behind, and Micahel has now taken the lead, with Floyd second 1’01 behind, and Ruben Plaza third at 1’35
Just seems to be crap. I can't understand it, his morale is fine, his form is great, he has sprint stat of 82, but he just gets completely owned in every race
Stage 5
The mountains begin today, and the whole team felt good. It would be tough for all riders today, with only the one climb to the finish, the huge Mont Ventoux, a 23 km slope averaging at a 7.6% gradient. Here is my race report.
170.8 km to go: 6 riders have broken free, but nobody to worry about, so the pack just lets them go
160.7 km: There is now 10 riders in the break, but the gap is small, and with such a large break, with a couple of dangerous riders in it, I send McGee, Nazon and Gonzalez up front, and they pile on a fast tempo
155.3 km: A lovely chase their. Short and sweet, it’s a 166 man peloton again
105.9 km: Past the first mountain points, and Floyd wanted to stretch his legs, and he did, taking the first mountain points. However, this gives him just 6, and the final climb gives first place 40 points, so this is all just for pride
60.4 km: With the pace beginning to hot up, and the final mountain coming into view, we allow the other teams to go for the mountain points, and Patxi Villa obliges, whilst Alexandre Vinokourov wastes energy taking third. Poor riding, and smoething we can hopefully capitalise on
41.6 km: In the sprint checkpoint, Daniele Bennati fails yet again, as he takes fourth spot and the infamous nil point, whilst green jersey wearer Oscar Freire loses out to Thor Hushovd
13.1 km: We’ve been going up the mountain side for some time, when I allow Floyd a chance to go for a surprise attack. Unfortunately, everybody follows, and Michael was taking a drink, so rushes to get up with the break
11.2 km: Ivan Basso and Bernhard Kohl look the strongest at the moment, as they have a slim lead over 5 riders (Landis, Rogers, Vinokourov, Hesjedal and Pereiro). Plaza follows shortly afterwards with Casar. Valverde and Leipheimer wait in the bunch, will they mnake a move soon, or are they just going to chase?
9.3 km: Well, they’ve decided to chase, and have destroyed the peloton. Basso and Kohl still lead over an 8 man group, whilst 18 riders led by Valverde and Evans chase hard 49 seconds behind
2 km: I’ve set Michael to chase hard, and he is bearing down on the front two as 5 more riders including Floyd sit in behind him. Vinokourov did waste energy earlier, as he is backsliding; he is struggling in group of 5 with David Belda
Impressive riding in preparation for the Tour
Finish: Basso surges forward and Kohl has no answer, whilst Michael grits his teeth and struggles in up the 10.5% slope to take second, just 19 seconds behind Basso. He leads in Pereiro in third, and Floyd in fourth, with Ryder Hesjedal is on the same time in fifth. Kohl has suffered severely, as he went backwards at the end to finish eigth, 1’21 behind, whilst David Belda surprised all with a good 11th, 2’02 behind.
The General Classification has seen some movement. The front two rem,ain the same, but Ryder Hesjedal overtakes Ruben Plaza into third, and Ivan Basso moves up to fifth. David Belda moves into tenth, a great result for him.
Stage 6
Another day in the mountains, and time for Rogers to cement his position. Three climbs, although only the Col de l’Izoard has me worried: a 24 km monster, right near the finish. Here is my race report:
155.4 km: Right at the start, and a bit of patriotism from me I must admit, as I sent Alex Holder onto the attack. He was followed by six riders, including Robbie McEwen for some strange reason. No luck for us though, as the peloton chased him down within 10 km.
Rule Britannia!!!
141.5 km: Another big break, as 12 riders attack, including McEwen again (how does he find the energy). They quickly build up a lead, so it’s up to us again to chase it down, with Bradley McGee being a super worker again, getting it back on terms within 10 km
129.5 km: Another attack, and it’s seven riders this time. And as we go over the top of the Col de Sarraut, another three riders join them. Piotr Mazur takes the mountain points
123.3 km: We’re up front again, when all of a sudden, Cofidis leader Moncoutie falls, so we carry on with the fast pace as his team drops back to help him out
107.7 km: After some help from Quickstep, we catch the break again as we enter the Col Lebraut. As we get up the top, lots of riders go for the mountain points, and Thomas Voeckler gets them from Zubeldia then Plaza. Waste of energy? Of course it is, 40 more points lie up the road!
100.2 km: Having just gone over the top, Zubeldia takes a tumble on the descent on a tight corner. However, the rider in seventh has enough of a lead that he quickly rejoins the peloton
66.1 km: Attack! I watch on us Kirchen leads out Boogerd, Garcia Quesada, Halgand and Scarponi as they look to make a daring break. Beltran leads out Zandio and Chavanel who follow
62.4 km: Oh no. Rogers has fallen. I’m panicking, this is awful. He got taken down by a Euskaltel rider. As I drive up to him, I’m out of the car before its stopped, helping him back onto his bike, he has some bad road rash. He starts to ride, but is forced to pull up in pain. I tell him to get back into the car, this could ruin our Tour. This is disastrous.
55 km: With our doctor already looking at Michael, I had to focus on the race, but it was hard to, I was really worried. Floyd was made team leader, as the break extended its lead to 4 minutes.
33.4 km: Up the Col de l’Izoard, and I tell my riders to make their move. David Belda leads out Floyd in an attack, and the others follow, with Ryder Hesjedal, Vino, Levi, Gil, Plaza, everyone attacked.
29 km: Kohl and Basso attack now, and they have timed it perfectly, as they zoom past their rivals who have little left in the tank, with the suumit still 8 km away
26.2 km: Floyd is struggling big time, he is really hurting. I can’t expect much of him after he has worked for Michael for two thirds of the race. Currently, Zandio leads, and Floyd is just hanging on to Basso and a group of 12, 1’48 off the lead. Kohl and Valverde are way back
24.1 km: Floyd has blown up. He looks shattered, with the peak still 3.6% away. I feel awful, we’re going to lose everything today
Not much fun...
20.5 km: Over the top, and Zandio leads Basso by 30 seconds, with Garcia Quesada all alone in third, and Floyd is way back in…wait David Belda is now our first rider in a group of 9 with Valverde and Kohl. Floyd is struggling 4’57 behind the leader, with some Lampre rider giving him no help at all.
Valverde: Tour winner?
Finish: Xavier Zandio takes the stage win, whilst Ivan Basso fades towards the end in the uphill finish, and is beaten by Pereiro, in a Caisse-IB one two. Ivan Basso is nudged out into third, with Valverde fourth, completing a great day for the Caisse team. David Belda finished thirteenth for us and slips to twelth overall, whilst Floyd struggled into 33rd, and he would have collapsed on the line had I not of caught him. He has still held on to a top 10 spot though, as he is tenth, 20 seconds behind ninth (Caruso), but only 8 seconds in front of eleventh (Gil). Basso now leads Pereiro by 7 seconds in the GC, whilst Plaza looks good in third, although Hesjedal is breathing down his neck in fourth. GREAT NEWS!!!
Rogers has no permanent damage after his fall, although I made the right choice in making him drop out, as he would have made into something not so temporary. This is great news, no problems for him leading into the Tour
Edited by Crommy on 06-06-2007 11:32
From:
To:
Subject: Tour de Suisse Stage 1
Hola again boss, big thank you for making me your temporary assistant. Easy stuff in Switzerland for stage uno. Nice little sprint in warm up for lots of mountains, nice test for our leader Rujano. Claudio Corioni nicked the win today from Alessandro Petacchi, boys looked good taking it easy in the peloton. Bad news about Michael, but what can you do?
Criterium du Dauphine Libre Stage 7
Big day today, we’re in the mountains, with lots of climbs. This is just like a stage of the Tour, (in fact, I think it is), and features 210 km of tough riding, with over 5000m of elevation, and one of the highest points we’ve ever raced, at 2629m being the highest altitude on top of the Col du Lautaret. Floyd was still team leader, but I gave freedom to both Alex Holder and David Belda, as they both felt really good
203.7 km: As soon as we reach the uphill, Alex goes off up the Col du Lautaret, a 35 km monster, although the slope averages at 3.8%. Four riders follow, including the Frenchman Pauriol, from my mate David Jones’ Credit Agricole
193.6 km: Still 35 km to the summit, and Alex is joined by Perez of Euskaltel, and I tell Alex to take it fairly easy, as the pack is doing nothing
180.4 km: After much hard work, Pauriol joins the front two. And back in the pack, David Moncoutie attacks for Cofidis. Damn, the peloton will pick up pace to catch him
174.4 km: The front three now have 2’12 on Moncoutie and Zberg of Gerolsteiner, and the pack is another 4’01 behind. Lots of hard work is coming from some teams though. Wait, what a daring break! 8th place Bernhard Kohl attacks, and now the pack starts to motor
163.5 km: Moncoutie joins the front lot, and he still looks really fresh. Lots of support for him out there, its all French support
158.7 km: Summit, and I sent Alex Holder up front to take maximum points, that’s 40 points. I tell him to slow down as Moncoutie and Perez leave behind Pauriol. Kohl is catching up fast, and Gil is off the front as well, not far behind. The peloton is now just 3’19 behind Alex
142.6 km: A great descent from Kohl there, he’s dragged along Pauriol up to the front group again, and I don’t imagine he’ll just sit in and relax
133.7 km: Up the Col du Telegraphe, a very short but intense climb, I send Alex to pick up some more points, and Kohl follows, but what a ride by Holder, he holds him off. That was great riding
126.9 km: On the descent, and Moncoutie and Pauriol have caught up the two at the front
109.8 km: It was just too dangerous a break, everyone has worked together to pull them back in, and it has finally ended
98.3 km: After Alex had recovered, I sent him off again, and this time he was joined by Chavanel, Evans and Scarponi. Within 5 km, they have 1’45, but Alex has spent a lot going on the attack, I tell him just to sit in
83 km: This break has pulled apart the peloton, the five up front are being chased down by 37 riders. Alex is struggling, but is still holding on up the Col du Glandon.
72.7 km: The second group has split, and we’re at the wrong end. 4 men break free without even attacking, and it’s Basso, Plaza, Kohl and Zubeldia, who quickly join Scarponi, Holder and Evans, after Chavanel is dropped. 30 seconds later appears the group of 24 who are struggling hard to form a chase, although Caisse-IB have some strong helpers in there. We only have David Belda and Floyd
67.7 km: Alex is struggling, he is just going backwards along with Evans and Scarponi
62 km: Over the top, and Basso has left his group as he takes full mountain points. Kohl trails 16 second behind, followed by Zubeldia and Plaza. 10 riders follow 2’10 later, but only David and Alex are in there, Floyd has been dropped, and sits in a group of 9 with Leipheimer and Valverde 20 seconds behind
40. 9 km: Over the Col du Mollard, and Basso has extended his lead over Kohl to a minute, hich he has done in turn to Plaza and Zubeldia. 9 riders follow by just 37 seconds, including Vinokourov, Popovych, Hesjedal, Pereiro and Belda! Floyd is still with Valverde in a group of 5, 4’31 behind leader Basso. Alex Holder is holding on just in front of them
19.4 km: An evil finish, with 19.4 km up the Ascension vers la Toussuire, and Basso has lost 20 seconds to Kohl, whilst 1’32 behind him is a group of 10 still including David, he is having the ride of his life. Landis still holds with Valverde in a group of 8, 1’31 behind the Belda group
15.5 km: Here is the big attack, Pereiro leads out Plaza , Vinokourov, Popovych, Gil, Hesjedal and there are really going for it. I tell David to rest and ride tempo
13.1 km: Basso is on for the stage win easily now, 1’20 in front of Kohl. But Gil and Hesjedal are chasing hard, and follow just seconds behind. Belda has rode amazingly, he has rode tempo and now joins Vinokourov, Plaza, Pereiro and two others just seconds behind Gil. Lanids has lost touch with Valverde, and is just riding tempo to the finish
11.4 km: The Plaza group catch Kohl, the Austrian has been entertaining today, has he got another big surprise to come
9.7 km: Caruso has attacked, and closed the gap down to 48 seconds. Belda has joined Hesjedal, Gil and Kohl in the chasing group, 53 seconds behind, but he is beginning to burn. It’s a testament to his character though, he is gritting his teeth and hanging on.
4.7 km: Vino, Plaza and Pereiro catch the Kohl group, who’s going to make a move though?
2.3 km: Who would have though it, Caruso has caught up with Basso, this is going to be a great finish for all three podium spots
Finish: Caruso takes the stage win from Ivan Basso, what a win by the Astana rider.
And have a guess who took third spot, 2’19 down. Here is a clue. I’ve got the biggest grin on my face and can’t stop laughing. That’s right, David outsprinted the lot of them to take third, what a ride! Hesjedal took fourth, Kohl suffered and was dropped near the end, whilst Floyd arrived in fifteenth with Valverde, 6’26 down. Alex Holder had a good result, taking twentieth, 9’05 down.
Belda in immense mode!
Lots of GC changes to report. Ivan Basso takes the lead, looking comfortable 2’26 ahead of Oscar Pereiro. Ryder Hesjedal looks great in third, 4’08 down Plaza is fourth, and Caruso’s great ride gives him fifth. David Belda moves into the top 10, which sparked a celebration for us (no alcholo involved. Well, not for the riders anyway), as he is now ninth. Floyd has taken David’s old position in 13th, and is a bit depressed, he is struggling to grasp he isn’t as strong as he was last year, although he is just behind Valverde, favourite for the Tour, so I’m not sure why he is too unhappy. Alex Holder takes 20th spot, a great confidence booster for the young Brit.
I’m being sued! My old assistant Jef De Bilde has taken legal action over me sacking him, and I could lose everything in this: money, job, and more importantly, my reputation. This is just the sort of person I don’t want on my team, so I’m glad I sacked him, but I think the board are going to kind of leave me out on a limb here, they weren’t happy with me sacking him, and I just ignored them. Just in the build up to the Tour, I hope it doesn’t get into the papers, morale would sink fast. I’ve signed a new coach, some Colombian fellow, just on a short term deal to replace Jef. I don’t even have a lawyer!
Stage 8
The final stage, and it’s nice and easy, but 10 riders establish a break which makes it to the line, and whilst Stijn Devolder is dropped, Jerome Pineau goes to the line and takes the victory. However, this doesn’t change the GC, so Ivan Basso earns some big pride points as he gloats on the podium, although Ryder Hesjedal has been a big surprise: whether he can keep this up for the Tour is altogether a different question. Our best rider was David Belda in ninth, but our perforamce was totally marred by the loss of Michael Rogers
Tomorrow, I’ve got a board meeting to discuss the legal procedure for the claim by that scum Jef De Bilde. Chris Boardman has assured me that it should be relatively easy for me, and I just need to focus in the team, the board will sort this mess out, but he didn’t sound entirely confident. I’m a bit nervous at the moment to tell you the truth.
Tour de Suisse Stage 2 ITT
My assistants were here today, as I was preparing for the board meeting, and they did okay. The time trial was fairly short, so not much time has been lost by Jose Rujano to today’s winner Jan Ullrich, who held off team mate Linus Gerdemann by just 1 second.
That was the most irritating meeting I’ve ever had. They sat me down, and began to almost interrogate me, asking me a load of questions about Jef, his appointment and his dismissal. They kept on tutting and shaking their heads at my answers, whilst Chris just sat there looking stunned. They talked for a while whilst I sat in the room next to them, but I eavesdropped on them when I hjeard shouting. The board had had pressure from the true boss of the team Richard Loughton, and they followed like the sheep they are, attacking my defense and heaping the blame on me. Chris was the only one defending me, and so I stormed in and started shouting at them. I can’t seem to remember if I was saying anything coherent, but it felt good to get rid of some pent up aggression, I hated their guts at that moment. So now, I have received a polite letter from the board, and it’s the most insulting piece of literature I have ever seen, so I burned it. And do you want to know why? It’s because they’ve banned me from seeing my team and watching them race until this mess is sorted out!!!
Stage 3
The ban comes into effect tomorrow, so this could be my last race with the team. I didn’t tell the lads though, I wanted to keep morale high in the run up to the Tour.
Anyway, Brad Viera set off early today on this 140 km climb with three categorised climbs (although only the first and the finishing climbs were really significant). He had five riders follow, but they failed to bridge the gap, and Brad went and rode solo.
A couple more riders broke from the peloton up the climb, including Quickstep’s Bertagnolli, but none caught Brad, who took full mountain points. On the descent, the rest of the escapees were caught, but the pack let Brad go, allowing Ianetti of LPR to join him at the 100 km mark, with 3’30 on the peloton.
Up the next climb, three more riders attacked, but none could reach the front two. On the Col de la Croix, Brad managed to leave Ianetti, whilst Mayo and Mazzoleni deceided to go for it 5 minutes back down the road. Over the top, and Kirk O’Bee had to abandon, he’d just blown up completely, and he wasn’t the only one. Tynyanov followed.
On the descent, Brad was joined by three other riders, but only Schroder and Mayo could keep up as they hit the final climb. He blew up shortly afterwards, and took it easy, as the attacks came in back in the pack from Di Luca and Pellizotti, whilst we waited it out with Jan Ullrich in the 40 strong peloton.
With 13.5 km left, I sent Jose on a big attack, and he absolutely destroyed the field. He then set a tough pace, and began to pull in the earlier escapees. Within 4 kilometres, only Mayo and Arroyo stood in his way, and it only took him another 4 km to reach them. By now he was in a rhythm, and there was absolutely nothing anyone could do to stop him from taking the stage win, so he duely obliged, also taking the leader’s jersey, beating Arroyo by 3’05, third placed Anton by 6’01, and the pink Jan by a full twelve minutes. How is that for a director sportif Richard Loughton! Not only is Jose in yellow, but Brad Viera gets to wear the mountain jersey
Stage 4
Alessandro Petacchi won today in a nice recovery stage
Stage 5
I’m preparing my case with my lawyer, so I cannot get much information about the races, but Danilo Di Luca won today’s race, but Jose came in on the same time in third. He still leads the GC, but now has 4’09 on second place David Arroyo.
Today I received a phone call from my best friend Jef De Bilde, who gave me the nice news that I was going down unless I could give him the princely sum of £5,000,000. I then told him exactly what I thought of him, of which I think blockhead was the kindest word I used.
Stage 6
Igor Anton just managed to poke ahead of Jose in a sprint today, and the Euskaltel rider managed to get a 22 second gap on my man, who outsprinted Carlos Sastre and Jan Ullrich. He is coming on really nicely, he is beating riders like Kashechkin and Gerdemann by a fair distance. Jose easily holds on to his lead, increasing it to 4’44 over Arroyo, whilst Igor Anton bumps up to third, 6’28 down. However, Brad Viera loses his mountain jersey to Anton
Stage 7
Today was a good day for me, but a bad day for my case. Jef turned up with a couple of thugs to my house to warn me of the consequences of failing to give in to his demands. I told him I didn’t have that kind of money he wanted, and he started to make threats as his hired goons tried to look menancing. Mid rant, I punched Jef in the face, and then locked my door. I didn’t realise they were videoing it, and it didn’t have sound on it. All anyone can see is Jef asking me questions politely, and then I randomly punched him in the face. I felt great, but my lawyer managed to get hold of a copy of the tape, and now he has left me. So now I’m representing myself, as my board don’t seem to want to help me out.
Oh yeah, today’s race saw Kashechkin win, but Jose came in seventh and easily holds on to his lead, although Robert Gesink is now second, 5’35 down.
Stage 8
A great day for the team today, I even sent a congratulatory message on to them, after we did the one-two, with Jose winning, and his main support man Brad Viera taking second. However, Gesink was third, so no increase on Jose’s lead, but Brad moves up to thirteenth
Stage 9
The final stage, and a nice celebration ride for Jose. Rony Martins managed to break with Marzio Bruseghin to take the stage win (just), whilst Jose wins the overall and U25 jersey. Great preparation for Le Tour!!!
Meanwhile in the Subida al Naranco, Philippe Gilbert mustered a decent third, although the fact he was outsprinted by Xavier Tondo and Enrique Salgueiro disappoints me
Some statistics for you:
At the time of writing, this story has: --2110 views in this forum --5817 views overall --Averages 66 views per day --A total of 59 posts by me on the story --Averages one new piece of the story every 1 and a half days --A total of 190 posts overall in all forums this is posted in --Averages over one new post every day, per forum --Has 71 screenshots posted --Averages a new screenshot every 1 and a quarter days
--Has taken up 132 pages in Microsoft Word --Has been going on for 88 days
Targets for 100 days -- 7000 views -- 150 pages of Word -- 100 screenshots
So look out for the 19th June, one day before the new PCM is released
Crommy, you have way too much free time on your hands
The preceding post is ISSO 9001 certified
"I love him, I think he's great. He's transformed the sport in so many ways. Every person in cycling has benefitted from Lance Armstrong, perhaps not financially but in some sense" - Bradley Wiggins on Lance Armstrong
CLM Eindhoven
I managed to sneak in and watch this event today, and I made sure a couple of the more trustworthy lads saw me. We brought along our strongest team here, led by Michael Rogers, Floyd Landis and Brad McGee, and we totally owned today.
We were the last team off, with Team CSC leading, and the lads took it easy up to the first check point, then piled it on. My great tactics worked, as we won the TTT by 1’25 over Team CSC, who were clear favourites today, what with Bobby Julich, Cancellara, Voigt and Gusev all riding. Astana were third, Phonak fourth and Caisse – IB fifth.
National Championships
We have a couple of national champions in the team!!!
Our most impressive country was Italy, where Dario Cataldo became the time trial chamoion (Nibali was second), whilst that was reversed in the road race, as Nibali became the Italian champ with Dario second!
Bernhard Eisel also became the Austrian National Champion, great news for his troubled season, but I have some really bad news. Jef De Bilde had me followed, and somehow he knew about my ban. He managed to get pictures of me at the CLM Eindhoven, and the board have now publically declared their lack of support for me. They called me unprofessional and a disgrace. Well, they’ll regret that when the courts of London deal out justice to that scumbag Jef De Bilde.
Tomorrow sees the intense trial of Allan Smile. What will happen? Only time will tell. Be prepared for a dramatic twist, and a personal revolution in story telling Edited by Crommy on 07-06-2007 20:55
Day 1 – The Trial begins
Today the case against me began, and quite frankly, his lawyer bored me to tears, but he used so much technical lingo I can tell the jury was impressed. The first witness called by his lawyer was Jef, and he made up a load of rubbish about how I constantly told him he was rubbish, so I shouted at him, but this just annoyed the judge. The judge halted proceedings midway through the afternoon to allow me to calm down, but I couldn’t as the press were all over me. They kept me up nearly all night, as they camped outside my hotel. This is going to be hard.
Day 2 – The Betrayal Part I
The Board members began to give evidence against me today, and it did not look good. It seems they have managed to persuade Jef to sue me and not the board, and they all made up stuff to incriminate me, mainly agreeing with everything he said. Some of those meetings they described were entirely fictitious, but the judge seemed to be happy, as he didn’t require proof they occurred as the whole board agreed with each other. Unsurprisingly, Chris Boardman wasn’t called by the prosecutor, and he is my key witness.
Day 3 – The Betrayal Part II
Today, Daniele Bennati gave evidence against me. He was riding in Le Tour, but communicated via video conferencing to provide evidence against me. I was in shock, I went deathly pale. I couldn’t believe it. My own rider. How could he? By this time it didn’t look good, Jef had the jury in his hands.
Day 4 – Hope
I came into court today with a thumping headache, but I was determined to make my case strong and get myself out of this mess. My main case went around the fact I sacked him because he was bad at his job, highlighting examples of other managers from not only cycling, but other sports like football. I then summoned my two key witnesses, Chris Boadrman and Kirk O’Bee, and they not only provided a useful defence, but they gave good character testamanies. There is always hope, even in the darkest hour
Day 5 – I’m dead
Today, Jef called in my two witnesses and absolutely slaughtered my case. He tore apart my case and added insult to injury by asking for his case to be funded by me if I was found guilty. The judge dulely obliged. So that’s it, only 5 days to destroy my career, I can only hope my message got through to the jury, and common sense wins over corruption
Day 6 – Sleepless nights
The jury spent the whole of today conferencing, and my health is getting worse with this case. I’ve lost a lot of weight, and I’m struggling to get to sleep, and I have a blinding migraine. I’ve also been drinking a lot to try and drown my sorrow away. Tomorrow comes the announcement, another sleepless night awaits
Day 7 – The Worst Day of my Life
It’s over, and the dread of anticipation comes the awful hurt. I lost, the jury voted overwhelmingly for Jef, and I’ve lost it all. I’ve lost all my money, my house, my car, my team, everything. I got a whopping big fine to fund his case, so I’m now bankrupt, I’ve been sacked by my board, so now I have no job. It was my time, those riders were mine, I set them up, I showed faith in them. The thing that hurts the most though is that I’ve discovered how the Cycling24 board avoided going down with me: they promised Jef De Bilde my job. Life sucks, I’ve got nothing
