Could you tell me what races your looking forward to and what you could be leading in, in the near future.
Hope to hear back!
Rorzcp
From: To:
Hey mate! It is great to hear from a fan!
My season is almost done, my next races are currently a bit up in the air. I was expected to ride the Osterreich Rundfart then the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, and that would be my season.
But now due to my recent injury, and my great form, I have been put on the shortlist for Brixia Tour, Clasica San Sebastien, Vuelta a Burgos, and excitingly, La Vuelta a Espana!
I am not too confident of making the team for La Vuelta, but the DS said if I continue my great form throughout my current race, I may just make the team!
Exciting stuff!
Today's flat stage will be a bit of a rest compared to yesterday, but I still need to be awake to attacks from competitors, especially Siutosu.
Inst. Osterreich Rundfart
Stage 6
Deutchlandsberg - Laxenburg : 202.2kms
The first set of KoM points were won by a rider in the breakaway, R. Retschke of NetApp. The breakaway had 7'35" on the main field at this point.
With 120kms to ride, the lead reached 10'00". The pack was not trying, and this stage was a good one for a break. The most dangerous rider in the lead group was Nick Van der Ljike of Rabo Conti Team. He was wearing the white jersey for best young rider, as Tim was wearing the yellow.
With 85kms to ride, the lead was out to 15'00" and BMC did what they could to try and bring them back.
As the break reached the top of the biggest climb of the day with 52kms to go, Van der Ljike took the points and their lead was at 10'15".
Once all the hills were gone, CCC Polsat and NSP joined in the chase, letting the BMC guys at the front rest a little.
In the break, Sebastien Reichenbach attacked, and with a strong lead and only 18kms to go, he had a real chance!
With 10kms, and a 5'00" lead, the break had the win in the bag! No worries for BMC though, as Tim's lead was safe.
And Reichenbach wins! A great victory for him! The rest of the break are hot on his tail!
The pack sprint is coming in... The all-rounder Schumacher takes it! Kroon does admirably taking 4th..
I finish comfortably in the pack and retain the yellow jersey.
Final Rankings - Stage 6
1
S. Reichenbach
Atlas Personal
5h03'46"
2
N. Van der Ljike
Rabobank Conti Team
s.t.
3
J. Nielsen
Glus & Marstrand - LRO
s.t.
Spoiler
4
S. Sortveit
Joker Merida
s.t.
5
K. Sobota
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
6
D. Dvorsky
PSK Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
7
R. Retschke
Team NetApp
s.t.
8
T. Guldhammer
Team Concordia Forsikring - Himmerland
s.t.
9
S. E. Vold
Joker Merida
+ 41"
10
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 4'02"
11
D. Impey
Team NetApp
s.t.
12
R. Obst
Team NSP
s.t.
13
K. Kroon
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
14
K. Jezowski
Bank BGZ
s.t.
15
A. Schulze
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
...
65
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
Tomorrow is the all-important time-trial and I need to have a great ride if I want to keep yellow!
@rorzcp, Avin Wargunnson, FreitasPCM Thanks for the comments, best of luck to Tim!
Siutsou is the favourite for the stage, and since it is such a long ITT, it may be tough to hold on to the yellow. I will have to ride the time-trial of my life if I want success here!
Inst. Osterreich Rundfart
Stage 7 - ITT
Podersdorf am Neusiedler See : 32.2kms
The last two riders were Siutsou and Tim. Siutsou set off, and only needing 47" to go ahead of Tim, it was his race to lose!
As I sat on the ramp, my heart was beating fast. The pressure was on! Could I deliver?
The best time on the board so far, was that of V. Zagorodny of Miche - Guerciotti, who rode the 32km course in 50'05"..
On the first timecheck, Siutosu set the new best time. Was he going too fast, too early?
Tim came in the timecheck already 1'10" behind Siutsou. He would have to ride a way better second half if he wanted any chance of catching up.
Again, Siutosu set the best time at the 2nd check. I was closing though, and although I lost 3", I moved up to 6th on the provisonal rankings!
Schumacher comes in to the line, and sets a new best time! 48"58"!
And Siutosu finishes, he beats Schumacher by 29"! Wow, he is in great form! The maillot jaune is slipping out of reach for Tim!
And I absolutely sprint to the line! How did I go?
Tim sets the 4th best time! But still, he loses 1'05" to Siutsou, and the Belarusian earns the yellow jersey!
1
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
48'28"
2
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 30"
3
M. Fothen
Team NSP
+ 50"
Spoiler
4
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'06"
5
J. Mendes
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 1'19"
6
V. Zagorodny
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 1'36"
7
T. Van Garderen
HTC - Highroad
+ 1'38"
8
L. Bochman
Glud & Marstrand - LRO
+ 1'44"
9
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 1'45"
10
M. Albasini
HTC - Highroad
+ 1'49"
11
J. Del Nero
Team NetApp
+ 1'52"
12
M. Eichler
Team NSP
+ 1'55"
13
R. Belohvosicks
Team Vorarlberg
+ 1'58"
14
M. Valgreb Andersen
Glud & Marstrand - LRO
+ 2'00"
15
P. Gorenc
Adria Mobil
s.t.
Overall Rankings
GC
1
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
26h42'20"
2
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 20"
3
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 2'42"
Spoiler
4
M. Fothen
Team NSP
+ 4'22"
5
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 5'27"
6
M. Gaia
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 8'49"
7
N. Van der Ljike
Rabobank Conti Team
+ 13'04"
8
R. Holenstein
Team Vorarlberg
+ 14'24"
9
C. Zaballa
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 14'42"
10
M. Albasini
HTC - Highroad
+ 16'12"
11
J. Mendes
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 16'29"
12
J. Del Nero
Team NetApp
+ 17'58"
13
P. Gorenc
Adria Mobil
+ 18'19"
14
L. Bochman
Glud & Marstrand - LRO
+ 18'45"
15
V. Zagorodny
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 18'52"
I feel like I couldn't have done much better than I id today, Siutsou was just riding like two men out there. I'm obviously very disappointed, but the team was all smiles after the race. They were very proud, and now I think about it, 2nd place in an International 8-day mountainous tour isn't half bad, especially for a 21 year old!
Tomorrow is a flat stage through to Vienna, and the finale will end in a sprint finish most likely..
Gilbert wins as Cadel takes Yellow Jersey in Saint-Flour!
Cadel Evans has promoted his favouritism in the Tour de France by earning the yellow jersey after his 4th place finish in stage 9, behind stage winner Phillipe Gilbert!
Evans, who has prepared all season for the Tour, finished 4th in the bunch sprint with 3 other riders, Thor Hushovd, Samuel Sanchez and Gilbert (above), and created a gap of 30" on competitors Alberto Contador and Igor Anton, and gained 1'46" on Andy Schleck. The Australian finished 6th on the 8th stage, where Alberto Contador took the stage win.
Evans (above) currently leads 2nd place Gilbert by 4"and 3rd place Hushovd by 52". Samuel Sanchez and Alberto Contador are both just over 1 minute behind while Andy Schleck is 1'24" behind.
Evans is tipped to hold the jersey until at least the Pyrenees, which start on the 14th in Cugnaux, if not all the way to Paris.
Hey Tim!
Great to see your results!
Wow, losing by 20seconds is unlucky but 2nd is still a great result and you gallantly in that time-trial. maybe you could pull something off in the final stage
This final stage is abit hilly, but will be no worries to the sprinters, and I will not get a time gap on Siutsou.
Inst. Osterreich Rundfart
Stage 8
Podersdorf am Neusiedler See- Vienna: 103.5kms
With nothing to report but big crowds, the race was pretty dull until the last 4kms.
The break was caught and sprint trains in full form.
Daryl Impey of Netapp sprinted first, and took an early lead. Schulze and Jezowski were the only ones on his wheel!
Schulze made his move, and just edged the South African, and took his first win for the season!
He celebrated emphatically when he realised he had won!
Final Rankings - Stage 8
1
A. Schulze
CCC Polsat Polkowice
2h12'36"
2
D. Impey
Team NetApp
s.t.
3
K. Jezowski
Bank BGZ
s.t.
Spoiler
4
R. Obst
Team NSP
s.t.
5
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
s.t.
6
T. Vedel Kvist
Glud & Marstrand - LRO
s.t.
7
B. Matsyiak
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
8
M. Stragar
Team Vorarlberg
s.t.
9
J. Rebiewski
Bank BGZ
s.t.
10
T. Kiendys
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
11
D. Kopp
Team Eddy Merckx - Indeland
s.t.
12
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
13
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
14
M. Gaia
Miche - Guerciotti
s.t.
15
M. Gnezda
Adria Mobil
s.t.
...
69
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
Overall Standings - FINAL
GC
1
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
28h58'56"
2
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 20"
3
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 2'42"
Spoiler
4
M. Fothen
Team NSP
+ 4'22"
5
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 5'27"
6
M. Gaia
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 8'49"
7
N. Van der Ljike
Rabobank Conti Team
+ 13'04"
8
R. Hollenstein
Team Vorarlberg
+ 14'24"
9
C. Zaballa
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 14'42"
10
M. Albasini
HTC - Highroad
+ 16'12"
11
J. Mendes
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 16'29"
12
J. Del Nero
Team NetApp
+ 17'58"
13
P. Gorenc
Adria Mobil
+ 18'19"
14
L. Bochman
Gluc & Marstrand
+ 18'45"
15
V. Zagorodny
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 18'52"
King of the Mountains
Spoiler
1
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
70 Pts
2
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
52
3
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
48
4
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
34
5
M. Fothen
Team NSP
34
Points
Spoiler
1
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
123 Pts
2
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
110
3
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
109
4
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
68
5
M. Fothen
Team NSP
58
Youg Riders
Spoiler
1
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
28h59'16"
2
N. Van der Ljike
Rabobank Conti Team
+ 12'44"
3
P. Gorenc
Adria Mobil
+ 17'59"
4
R. Guldhammer
Team Concordia Forsikring - Himmerland
+ 18'35"
5
Y. Eijssen
BMC Racing Team
+ 18'45"
Standing on the podium in my white jersey felt really good, and the DS was ecstatic with my performance! An amazing week, and after the post-race meeting tonight, I will hopefully be able to have a few drinks with the guys and relax!
Post - Race Meeting
At the Meeting, the Directeur Sportif had some comments, and I thought I'd share them with you:
Tim, the whole team was absolutely thrilled with your performance here in Austria, and the whole team has performed admirably! I know you wanted to race the Brixia Tour, but we feel Yannick (Eijssen) deserves a starting role, especially since he performed so amazingly as your main domestique this race.
Your next race will be in the Clasica San Sebastien, where one of our goal is a top-10. Evans will ride the race, and you will be his domestique. After that for you, is the USA Pro Cycling Challenge with Cadel (Evans) and George (Hincapie). This means you will not ride the Vuelta, and although I do feel you have what it takes to tame those climbs, I feel the 21 stages will be just too much for you to handle. I think next year is your time for a GT, wether you ride with us, or a different team.
Interesting stuff, Colorado here I come! A little dissapointing I won't ride La Vuelta, but he had a point, I am only 21!
By the way, i heard that over in France, Cadel has earned the yellow jersey! How great! I will give you a Tour review when it finishes, and see if Cadel can come out on top!
This year's edition of Le Tour was one to remember, especially for the French and the Aussies, and here is a review of all the 3 weeks of racing, starting in Passage du Gois!
After Stage 1, The first yellow jersey of the race was worn by Leonardo Duque of Cofidis! The Colombian was in a small breakaway with French pair Engoulevent and Christophe Kern and won the sprint. They beat the fast closing field and Phillipe Gilbert by just 17" after leading by 2'00" with 3kms to ride!
Stage 2 was the vital team time-trial, and RadioShack did not dissapoint, taking the stage win, and stealing the yellow from Duque, giving it to Andreas Kloden! BMC finishes in 3rd, 13" behind RadioShack and Team Sky.
Stage 3 was a bunch sprint won by Manx Missile Mark Cavendish ahead of Tyler Farrar and Allesandro Pettachi.
Stage 4 was a very flat stage until the last few kms which were on a heavy slope. Gilbert won the front group sprint, just edging Samuel Sanchez. Cadel Evans was further back in 24th but did not lose any time.
Stages 5, 6 and 7 were all flat stages. Stage 5 was won by Tyler Farrar, while the next day Cavendish took his redemption, beating out the American in another sprint.
Stage 7 was a little more interesting though, and a very strong 5-man breakaway took it all the way to the line. Thomas Voeckler won the stage, and took the maillot jaune. In the bunch with Voeckler was Nicolas Roche, Jeremy Roy, Sebastien Joly and Yuri Trofimov. The peloton sprint was won again by Cavendish.
Stages 8 & 9 were very hilly, and on the 8th day, Alberto Contador won ahead of old nemesis Andy Schleck, gaining 16" on Evans. The next day though on Stage 9, Cadel finished 4th behind Gilbert, Hushovd and S. Sanchez and gained 30" on Contador and 1'30" on the Schleck brothers, gifting the Aussie the maillot jaune.
Stage 10 was just all over the place. There were breakaways everywhere, and Christophe Kern was all alone, 4'31" ahead of the following 3-man group when he crossed the line. Cadel lost 17" to the Schlecks, but gained 20" on Contador.
Stage 11 was another bunch sprint, won by Farrar, before we headed into the Pyrenees. There were three Pyrenees mountain stages, and the first up to Luz-Ardiden, Stage 12, was won Jerome Pineau in another breakaway. Kern and Barredo were his breakaway buddies, and they were 2'13" ahead of the following 3-man group of Tony Martin, Thibaut Pinot and Andy Schleck. Cadel was 8th, 40" behind Contador in 7th, and 1'12" behind Andy in 6th.
Stage 13 was won by Cadel Evans, as he and Andy Schleck gained 17" on Contador and many other favourites.
On Stage 14 up to Plateau de Beille, Contador and Andy gained 20" on Cadel and others on the huge uphill finish.
The next 3 stages weren't very important in the overalls, as all favourites finished together basically.
On Stage 18 up to Galibier, Sandy Casar won ahead of Phillipe Gilbert as they broke away with 19kms to race. Cadel lost 30" to Andy and Contador, but going into Alpe d'Huez and the final time-trial he was terrifically placed, being 1'25" ahead of Alberto Contador and 2'25" ahead of Andy, comfortably in the maillot jaune.
Stage 19 to Alpe d'Huez never disappoints and 2011 was no different as the crowd went beserk when a 6-man, 5-Frenchman break got the stage win. Sylvain Chavanel won ahead of Kern and Remi Pauriol. Cadel cemented his favouritism, gaing another 15" on Contador.
The final time-trial on Stage 20 was Cadel's time to win the Tour de France, and he rode magnificently, finishing in 4th behind stage-winner Fabian Cancellara. Contador lost 1" on Evans, and Andy was way back, losing 1'10".
Cadel Evans has all but won Le Tour de France!
The usually calm final stage to the Champs d'Elysees in Paris was very eventful this year, with a big crash injuring most notably Thomas Voeckler, Andre Greipel, John Gadret and J.A. Flecha. The breakaway also did the impossible, winning the final stage of the Tour! They gained 13'51" on the slow peloton, and Damian Gaudin won the stage ahead of David Boucher, Niki Terpstra and Jerome Coppel.
What an amazing Tour, and of course we are absolutely thrilled for Cadel who has achieved his career goal of winning Le Tour de France!
See you in Colorado,
Tim.
Edited by kitface on 07-09-2011 08:58
Congrats to both Tim's and Evans' performance. Just a question: Was Christophe Kern anywhere near the front in the GC? He should have made quite some time with all the breakaways he was in?
@cunego59 Thanks for the support and comments. Kern was 4th overall, and lost 9'00" on stage 9, 7'00" on stage 17 and 17"00" on Alpe d'Huez so it is understandable he wasn't top-10 or 5.
BMC Transfers
In this column, I will announce all of BMC's latest signings and losses. Already you are aware of our first three which have been announced:
Rider Stay:
Tour de France champ and currently 1st in the UCI World Tour Rankings and 2nd in CQ, this man is one of the best cycling has to offer. He will still be our ultimate leader next season, but may aim for the Giro and La Vuelta instead of Tour.
Rider In:
Cancellara is the best rider in the world. I said it. He is the best time-trialist of his generation, and on his day, nobody can beat him on cobbles. His work ethic is second to none and the importance he has come Tour time is extraordinary. Huge signing.
Rider In:
He may be getting on, but Pinotti finished 9th in a little race called the Giro d'Italia earlier this year! He has not been leader at HTC due to Cavendish, but he will be a HUGE part of the team next season. I cannot wait to ride with Marco, he is a true professional.
And our other resignings:
Johann Tschopp
Chris Barton
Chris Butler
Taylor Phinney
Here are few more announcements, some sad, some exciting!
Rider Out:
George will be sorely missed here at BMC and his importance in Cadel's winning Tour is undeniable. He is pursuing a leading role at USA Team Type 1, an interesting choice.
Other Omissions:
Mathias Frank (Amore & Vita)
Alexander Kristoff (Joker)
Marcus Burghardt (Team NSP)
And our next, very exciting inclusion...
Rider In:
Bradley will join Cadel and Fabian as one of the world's best cyclists. He is an immaculate time-trialist and when he is feeling good, can climb like a mad man. He will aim for the Tour de France and he feels BMC is the team to take him to the top. Very exciting!
I hope you enjoyed our current signings, and don't worry, there are more coming soon!
DD.
