thanks lads, as I said also my game is send to dr. plakker but its nothing serious so no need to worry :wink:
we've got 2 more races to secure a Pro Tour spot and it looks good since there aren't that many French races left for Credit Agricole and Agritubel --8) first a new signing! If you want to survive in the pro tour you need some elite riders. We already got Iglinski who can score lots of points for us in smaller tours and since we already have enough sprinters the only elements that are missing are a hilly rider, a cobble rider and a GT contender. With only 2 spots left (Actually 3 but the 3rd spot will be taken by a Free Agent-helper who is a national champion, we will sign him in December because Nesveda is simply not good enough for the Pro Tour)
Cancellara didnt want to join us and so we got Bodrogi for the TT's, but who did we get for the cobbles? From Russia, a man who can also climb but his speciality is cobbles *drum rolls*
Vladimir Gusev. --8) That leaves only spot, which rider will become Sparta Praha's ultimate leader next year in the Pro Tour? You'll see that next time but first, nach Deutschland!
Perfect profile for both Haussler and Forster but also escapees would have a nice shot at victory here. However there was only 1 rider who took off and so a sprint was already in the making...
Martin Vestby trying to get something done on his own
Ofcourse this Norwegian didnt make it and so we got ourselves a sprint in the streets of Nurnberg. Forster and Haussler both picked a different wheel and unfortunately this led to Haussler picking the wrong one and when the sprint began he was too far away and since there wasn't alot of sprinting space he couldn't get to the front. Forster however was up front together with Henderson and Fiebig, it was a 'sprint a trois' which was won by a German
well now our final signing, is it a bird? Is it a plane, no its Vladimir II!
Vladimir won the TDF 2 years ago due to the competition being either injured or not in shape but a year later he showed everyone that he is a rider to look out for as he ended 2nd in a tour that featured lots of favourites but since Caisse D'Epargne brought in a lot of other great climber Karpets wanted to go to a team where he would be treated as the one and only leader. And so he came to Sparta Praha and our Eastern European team is ready for the pro tour, then we do need to promote first ofcourse....here is our last race of the year
Our lead in the ranking seems safe but still some additional points would be nice. Early on 6 riders break away and since Sparta Praha can't do everything on it's own they take a big lead and eventually fight it out for the win, with 1 km to go these 5 ride onto the finishline after Rabobank's (CT) Enno Van Os had to let go
Lianes, Nechad, Matzbacher, Szafraniak and Scognamiglio
The Spanish Norwegian from Lowik (Lianes) tries to surprise everyone but it doesnt work and so the best sprinter in the group does what he is supposed to do in such a situation...
Victory for Carlo Scognamiglio!
Result:
01. Carlo Scognamiglio TEAM MILRAM 4h30'56
02. Szymon Szafraniak LANDBOUWKREDIET - TÖNISSTEINER s.t.
03. Andreas Matzbacher TEAM VOLKSBANK s.t.
04. Martin Nechad CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM DIFFERDANGE s.t.
05. Roy Tore Lianes TEAM LÖWIK MEUBELEN s.t.
06. Enno van Os RABOBANK CONTINENTAL + 1'27
07. Greg van Avermaet PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 5'54
08. Michel Kreder CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM DIFFERDANGE s.t.
09. Sven Krauss GEROLSTEINER s.t.
10. Robert Retschke TEAM NOTEBOOKSBILLIGER.DE s.t.
Promotion! --8) Meanwhile Tinkoff relegates and also AG2R seemed to relegate but Nocentini won Zuri Metzgete and saved the day for the Frenchies as now Barloworld relegates
next up a pro tour preview since many riders switched teams and also a team preview with our last minute signing but he's just someone who can help us in breaks etc. After that we wait until the maestro is finished with editing my save game and then we can go to season 3
Dwight K. Schrute: 'I'm not a hero. Im just a mere defender of the office. You know who is a hero? Hiro from Heroes. That's a hero. And Bono'.
30 riders, as u can see Sergei Lagutin was the latest rider added and I think this team should be able to survive in the Pro Tour, now lets look at the other 19 teams who will be in the pro tour
Liquigas
Francisco Perez Sanchez is their new GT leader while they also got McEwen altough it has to be said that he's aging and isnt as fast as he used to be. They did manage to keep Nibali and Kreuziger while they also added Langeveld for the future. A decent all round team but nothing special.
Milram
They lost Petacchi and also a lot of helpers. As you can see the helpers of Milram aren't that strong but the German/Italian team does have 2 guys who can score alot of points this year and in the years to come. Fothen and Ciolek are great riders and with the signing of Vanendert they have a rider for every kind of race. However when these 3 dont perform Milram does have a problem...
Gerolsteiner
A strong team but it lacks a real leader. Because of this Gerolsteiner may have problems this year but once Seeldraeyers, Abal and Rodrigues get a bit older they have one hell of a team. In the sprints they depend on Graeme Brown while Fedrigo could be a wildcard for the classics in April. Also the signing of Oscar Solis is an interesting one...
Euskaltel
Last year Euskaltel barely survived, and with the departure of some great Basque riders they manager decided to bring other nationalities into the team aswell because that is the only way they can survive. They did keep Anton but with Plaza, Soler, Gutierrez, Astarloza and Ghisalberti they have a great team for the mountains. For the sprints they have Galdos who has shown improvement over the last 2 years while Backstedt, who was very excited about his move to the Basque team, will be the leader in the cobbled races! A team which should be able to survive with ease.
Credit Agricole
After spending 1 year in the CT, Credit Agricole is back and this time they are not planning to go back again. A strong team with great helpers, the leaders are Parra Pinto and Sella while Sorensen is someone to look out for in the future. For the sprints they got Goss while also Sebastien Chavanel has more than a decent sprint. Credit Agricole has gotten stronger and shouldnt have any problems staying in the PT
CSC
They lost alot of key riders, but they kept their best one and signed alot of elite riders. Frank Schleck is their leader while Caruso and Siutsou could also do well in a GT. For the sprints they have Cooke, Haedo and Pedersen while Dall Antonia and Bonnet are also riders to look out for. Add Sanchez Gonzalez for the hills and Ballan for the cobbles and you have yourself a team that will certainly end in the top 5 if everything goes alright.
Saunier Duval
They did lose Ricco but kept Gomez Marchante. Meanwhile they got Sastre who will share the leadership with Gomez Marchante and Wegmann who will be someone to look out for in late April. Camano and Chacon are also very good riders for the mountains and even though Ventoso, Duque and Farrar arent top sprinters they should be able to end in the top 5 or perhaps win when the sprinter field isnt that strong. A nice team that will probably survive just because they have Gomez Marchante and Sastre.
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is strong but they do seem a bit weaker than last year. In the mountains they are a team to look out for, with Cunego as their new leader they got Pereiro, Nozal, Mazzanti, Medina, Lowe and Sartasov who can all climb well. However it probably seems that their hope relies on Cunego for a GT and the hilly classics while Hushovd has to perform in the sprints and the cobbled races, if these 2 dont perform Discovery may be in trouble.
T-Mobile
Just like CSC, T-Mobile also has a team that can do it all. With Andy Schleck, Mancebo and Pozzovivo they have 3 guys who can all do well in GT's, however if they all want to ride the TDF they may lose points but if they all want to ride a different one then TMobile will do very well! For the hills they got Pipo who will also be present in the sprints together with Steegmans, Baumann and perhaps Brea. Steegmans will also be their leader in the cobble races.
and so thats part I, part II will come later on
Dwight K. Schrute: 'I'm not a hero. Im just a mere defender of the office. You know who is a hero? Hiro from Heroes. That's a hero. And Bono'.
A strong team which should be able to perform on all terrains, for the sprints they have Napolitano, for the GT's Zubeldia, for the hills Schumacher and at last Franzoi for the cobbles. Grivko should do well in smaller tours while Gutierrez Palacios is omeone to look out for in the TT's
Unibet.com
Unibet.com's hopes of surviving lie on the shoulders of Rujano, Popovych, Ten Dam and Millar. If they dont do well Unibet could be going back to the CT since they havent got anything special besides these 4.
Rabobank
Together with CSC and T-Mobile, Rabobank is also seen as a team that could win the Pro Tour. Dekker and Gesink are their top guns while also Rodriguez Oliver and Lovkvist are also capable of doing well in a GT. With Freire for the sprints, Flecha for the cobbles and Sanchez Gil for the hills they've got one strong team. Also Zabriskie will ofcourse grab his points in TT's.
Astana
Andreas Kloden has to do well , otherwise Astana may be heading towards the CT because guys like Bruseghin and Chavanel just arent strong enough to get alot of PT points. Also the sprinters, Fischer, Bazzajev and Vanderaerden lack the real power to win big races however Vanderaerden could become even better since he's still young.
Quick Step
Well it seems that it wont be easy for Rabobank to become the best team of the Benelux since Quick Step also has a very good team. Ricco and Leipheimer are the GT leaders that they've never really had and also Ricco should do well in the classics in April. With Pellizotti and Gilbert having free roles, and the resigning of Boonen they will certainly end high if everything works out. Especially on the cobbles they will dominate, because which team can possible beat a team that has Boonen, Hoste and Klier?!?!?
Silence - Lotto
Hoste left and thats why Predictor will likely come up short if they want to end in the top 5. However McEwen also left, but for him they got none other than Alessandro Petacchi! Also in the mountains they are very strong with Menchov and Di Luca getting support from Devolder, Kohl, Montfort and Jufre.
Francaise Des Jeux
Perhaps the best French team, they nearly relegated 2 years ago but now they wont need to fear. Brajkovic is their hope for the tour while it will also be interesting to see how Serpa will fair in the Pro Tour. And even though Bettini is aged he and Kroon will still try to do well in the classics in April. And if there is 1 team that might be able to hande Quick Step on the cobbles then its this team. Because with Cancellara, Burghardt, Eisel and De Vocht they are also strong on cobbles. And at last, look out for Cavendish who is their main sprinter.
Cofidis
Not as strong as Francaise Des Jeux and CA but if they play it well they should be able to survive thanks to their strong climbing team. Because Gil, Valjavec, Perez, Marzano and Colom should be able to get alot of PT points and for the cobbles they still have Nuyens. At last, for the sprints they rely on Sutton and the Italian Paride Grillo.
AG2R - La Mondiale
According to many betting offices this is the number 1 favourite when it comes down to relegation. In the GT's they rely on the Mexican climber Perez Cuapio while Nocentini has to do well in the hilly classics just like last year because back then he saved his team by winning the Giro di Lombardia. For the sprints they have Nazon and Castaneda.
Caisse D'Epargne
Wow, even though CSC, TMO, RAB and QSI have very strong teams they will likely not be able to beat this team. With Evans, Valverde and Contador they have perhaps the 3 best GT riders! And the riders who will help them are Rogers, Arroyo, Cobo, Lopez Garcia, Sevilla, Ardila, Calzati and Landaluze...wow! For the sprints they have Benatti and Davis while Hincapie is their leader for the cobbles. If they dont win the PT I will be really surprised!
All in all I think we should end up somewhere in the middle, Caisse D'Epargne will likely win it while AG2R and Gerolsteiner are currently the lowest rated teams in the betting offices
Dwight K. Schrute: 'I'm not a hero. Im just a mere defender of the office. You know who is a hero? Hiro from Heroes. That's a hero. And Bono'.
Gusev wanted to be here, for the GC we have Martin and Konovalovas while Forster is here for the sprints. This first stage is a real sprinters stage, the Australian teams control the race together with Petacchi's new team Silence Lotto. And so we get a bunchsprint
Petacchi (SIL), Cooke (CSC) and Sieberg (MRM) up front!
Petacchi gets past Cooke but then he still has a long way to go! The relatively unknown Aussie sprinter Peter Dawson is the only one who comes close to beating Petacchi but its not enough. Forster fights himself a way to the front and ends 3rd.
First race and first win for the Ale-Jet!
Result:
01. Alessandro Petacchi SILENCE - LOTTO 4h18'31
02. Peter Dawson DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM s.t. 03. Robert Förster AC SPARTA PRAHA s.t.
04. Simon Clarke SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS s.t.
05. Baden Cooke TEAM CSC s.t.
06. Marcel Sieberg TEAM MILRAM s.t.
07. Fredrik Johansson BARLOWORLD s.t.
08. Miles Olman DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM s.t.
09. Jaime Alberto Castañeda AG2R LA MONDIALE s.t.
10. Romain Feillu AGRITUBEL s.t.
Stage 2/5:
A nasty stage which could already shake up the GC, early on a group of 9 breaks away with Bodrogi representing Sparta Praha
Bodrogi and Nicki Sorensen lead the break
However they get caught eventually because the Bouygues boys are working hard whole day long. Then on the final climb Tony Martin decides to attack
Tony Martin with a nice attack!
However Martin isnt the only one who feels good today, lots of other riders counter Martin and so with 5 kms to go Martin finds himself in the 3rd group together with Day, Bertogliati, Bak and Dyadichkin. In the 2nd group we have Tonti, Foder, Pacheco and Arvesen and up front we have 1 rider, Chris Anker Sorensen
Left: Chris Anker Sorensen takes a nice lead! Right: Foder leads the chase!
With 1 km to go the pack is right behind Martin's group and with Martin's group being right behind the 2nd group it seems clear that today's winner wont gain any additional time. Sorensen is still on his own and in the sprint the chasers get close but...
...not close enough. Sorensen takes the win and the lead as Pacheco comes to late!
A stage for the sprinters, however today the sprinter teams didnt work hard enough as a break of 8 riders still had 1'30" with 10 kms to go, however one rider in the break wants to do it on his own
Ildar Zakirov leaves his breakaway companions behind!
The chasers give it their all but Zakirov is feeling excellent today and takes the win, and so Silence Lotto takes back the lead...this time with Zakirov.
The toughest stage of the TDU, will Zakirov lose his lead today or will Silence Lotto keep everything together on the Willunga hill? First we have the break of the day which consists of 10 riders
The break with Bodrogi in it
But on the hill the break is wheeled back, but Bodrogi ups the pace when he is about to be caught and so the pack breaks and the favs attack with one riders being by far the strongest on the hill.
Left: Mickael Cherel is on his way to victory! Right: Bodrogi, Konovalovas, Tankink and Foder.
Cherel is just too strong for the others today and wins easily, Konovalovas ends 3rd while Bodrogi ends 5th
Cherel wins and takes over the lead with 1 stage to go!
The final stage, normally its filled with crashes but today nothing happened However we do have a break which will be fighting it out for the win today
Break of 7 with the young Trpisovsky representing Sparta Praha
However Ludek isnt a sprinter and has to settle with a 4th place today, the win goes to a Belgian today
Dieter Cappelle just beats Gil Suray!
Result:
01. Dieter Cappelle BARLOWORLD 2h04'00
02. Gil Suray UNIBET.COM s.t.
03. Jonathon Clarke AGRITUBEL s.t. 04. Ludek Trpisovsky AC SPARTA PRAHA s.t.
05. Miles Olman DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM s.t.
06. Jan Simek SAVINGS & LOANS CYCLING TEAM s.t.
07. Simon Clarke SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS + 45
08. Giosuè Bonomi BARLOWORLD s.t.
09. Peter Dawson DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM s.t.
10. Alessandro Petacchi SILENCE - LOTTO s.t.
Heinrich H. is unhappy since I did not enter the Tour of Qatar, nor the Copa de America classic ops:
Stage 1/5:
We bring a young and strong team here with the veteran Khalilov as our sprint leader. Today Khalilov can already try to show himself, since no one breaks away, we get a mass sprint...
Sprinting madness in Palavas les Flots!
Khalilov is on the first row but its a kiwi who takes the first stage and the lead!
Gregory Henderson wins the first stage!
01. Gregory Henderson T-MOBILE TEAM 3h15'50
02. Philipp Nielsen AG2R LA MONDIALE s.t.
03. Jos van Emden BOUYGUES TELECOM s.t. 04. Mikhail Khalilov AC SPARTA PRAHA s.t.
05. Romain Feillu AGRITUBEL s.t.
06. Alessandro Petacchi PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
07. Denis Flahaut ROUBAIX LILLE MÉTROPOLE s.t.
08. Janek Tombak JARTAZI PROMO FASHION CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM s.t.
09. Alejandro Borrajo LANDBOUWKREDIET - TÖNISSTEINER s.t.
10. Paride Grillo COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
Stage 2/5:
If I knew that this race would be so boring I would have brought in more sprinters, today we have only 1 escapee who is caught with 50 kms to go. In the sprint Khalilov finds himself in the back and so he ends 11th. Henderson seems to on his way to another win but its a Frenchie who ruins the T-Mobile party
Romain Feillu takes the 2nd stage just in front of Henderson
Result:
01. Romain Feillu AGRITUBEL 3h13'11
02. Gregory Henderson T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
03. Jos van Emden BOUYGUES TELECOM s.t.
04. Alejandro Borrajo LANDBOUWKREDIET - TÖNISSTEINER s.t.
05. Denis Flahaut ROUBAIX LILLE MÉTROPOLE s.t.
06. Alessandro Petacchi SILENCE - LOTTO s.t.
07. Jeremy Hunt UNIBET.COM s.t.
08. Steve Schets CHOCOLADE JACQUES - TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN s.t.
09. Francesco Gavazzi CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
10. Janek Tombak JARTAZI PROMO FASHION CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM s.t.
Stage 3/5:
We tried to make today's stage more interesting by letting Rovny work hard on the climbs, many riders had to let go but eventually all the top sprinters managed to get back and so we got ourselves another mass sprint. This time Khalilov was up front again but the Bouygues boys strike as Van Emden wins the sprint, he also takes over the lead from Henderson.
Jos Van Emden beats the favourites!
Result:
01. Jos van Emden BOUYGUES TELECOM 3h32'40
02. Francesco Gavazzi CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
03. Romain Feillu AGRITUBEL s.t.
04. Alejandro Borrajo LANDBOUWKREDIET - TÖNISSTEINER s.t. 05. Mikhail Khalilov AC SPARTA PRAHA s.t.
06. Janek Tombak JARTAZI PROMO FASHION CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM s.t.
07. Igor Astarloa AUBER 93 s.t.
08. Gregory Henderson T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
09. Pedro Lopes Goncalves CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
10. Denis Flahaut ROUBAIX LILLE MÉTROPOLE s.t.
Stage 4/5:
Now it will get interesting, the first stage that shouldnt end in a bunchsprint, after a big break of 11 gets caught it is Konovalovas who is the first to attack on the final climb, 4 others go after him and so a group of 5 riders is formed with just a few kms to go
Left: Konovalovas attacks! Right: Konovalovas with Gavazzi, Millar, Miholjevic and Dyadichkin
The pack gets closer and closer and with guys like Elmiger and Van Emden in that group it doesnt look good, altough Khalilov is also still in that group we'd rather have Konovalovas winning today and so while the pack is about to catch them he ups the pace with the other 4 following him...
The pack is right behind them now!
Konovalovas goes so fast that Miholjevic and Millar have to let go, but then Gavazzi sprints past Konovalovas and he doesnt look back...Konovalovas has to settle with a 3rd spot since Dyadichkin just takes the 2nd place
Francesco Gavazzi wins the tough stage but Van Emden holds on to the leadersjersey
Result:
01. Francesco Gavazzi CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 3h46'42
02. Viatcheslav Dyadichkin CHOCOLADE JACQUES - TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN s.t. 03. Ignas Konovalovas AC SPARTA PRAHA s.t.
04. Martin Elmiger AG2R LA MONDIALE s.t.
05. Laurent Mangel AG2R LA MONDIALE s.t. 06. Mikhail Khalilov AC SPARTA PRAHA s.t.
07. David Kopp AG2R LA MONDIALE s.t.
08. Jos van Emden BOUYGUES TELECOM s.t.
09. Romain Feillu AGRITUBEL s.t.
10. Sergei Klimov TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS s.t.
Stage 5/5:
The final stage, and traditionally it all comes to an end with a mass sprint:
Henderson has the lead but Gavazzi and Khalilov are right behind him!
Henderson is a bit too strong for the others and takes the final stage, because of this win he also wins the Etoile De Besseges!
Henderson wins again!
Result:
01. Gregory Henderson T-MOBILE TEAM 3h53'19
02. Francesco Gavazzi CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t. 03. Mikhail Khalilov AC SPARTA PRAHA s.t.
04. Alessandro Petacchi SILENCE - LOTTO s.t.
05. Janek Tombak JARTAZI PROMO FASHION CONTINENTAL CYCLING TEAM s.t.
06. Jos van Emden BOUYGUES TELECOM s.t.
07. Alejandro Borrajo LANDBOUWKREDIET - TÖNISSTEINER s.t.
08. Mark Cavendish FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
09. Philipp Nielsen AG2R LA MONDIALE s.t.
10. Denis Flahaut ROUBAIX LILLE MÉTROPOLE s.t.
You'll see that next time but first, nach Deutschland!
good racing though 
