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A Tale of Two
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| baggieboys32 |
Posted on 08-08-2012 12:32
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Sprinter
Posts: 1981
Joined: 01-10-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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What s great first season at Lotto the duo are having!
Is there any chance of seeing the stats of them?
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| Teddy The Creator |
Posted on 08-08-2012 12:34
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2253
Joined: 19-10-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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baggieboys32 wrote:
What s great first season at Lotto the duo are having!
Is there any chance of seeing the stats of them?
NO! That will ruin it, I love seeing no stats, all the predetermined expectations are gone. One of my favourite parts of this story.
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 08-08-2012 12:40
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Eric and Stijn are having a great start to the season, let's hope it continues  |
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| johannes-w |
Posted on 08-08-2012 12:48
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 833
Joined: 24-04-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Teddy The Creator wrote:
baggieboys32 wrote:
What s great first season at Lotto the duo are having!
Is there any chance of seeing the stats of them?
NO! That will ruin it, I love seeing no stats, all the predetermined expectations are gone. One of my favourite parts of this story.
+1 also this makes the story kinda special compared to the others!
Great racing from the two of them
Can't wait for the Giro to come
Btw Don't let Avin see this
Ian Butler wrote:
I agree, just look at Sagan, he was a bit cocky
Edited by johannes-w on 08-08-2012 13:05
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 08-08-2012 13:42
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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I'm so glad you all like the no-stats things 
I won't show Avin, though it wasn't to insult Sagan, I like him actually, but he was a tiny bit cocky at the start of TDF
Thank you all for following, the Giro's getting closer |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 08-08-2012 13:43
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Giro del Trentino - Stage 1
Well, this was a bummer. A team time trial over 15km, we lost, we really, really lost. Our team ended last, 1'43" behind Team Sky.
Well, I hope the team time trial in the Giro goes better, because it's a tad longer and we're likely to lose many minutes this way.
Tomorrow is the first of three mountain stages, let's see what we can do there! |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 08-08-2012 13:44
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Giro del Trentino - Stage 2
This was a more interesting race, for me. At least it would be a great test in connection to the Giro.
Just for the sake of testing my legs, I tried to develop a nice pace up the mountain, which was a success, I believe.
In the descend I was notified that my effort had reduced the peloton to 22 riders, so I think I'm building up my form properly.
It was De Gendt who won the stage, with an impressive sprint! To my surprise, I won the sprint for the 5th place, which is a great start here in the mountains!
Well, there isn't any more I can say. It's just a preparation for the Giro, so it's not too important. Although I'll be a happy man when I can ride top 5 in a mountain stage in the Giro!
One more thing: Vanendert came close to winning in The Flèche Wallone. Only Gilbert was a bit faster. Rodriguez completed the podium. |
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| johannes-w |
Posted on 08-08-2012 13:52
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 833
Joined: 24-04-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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I just love the Giro del Trentino its a great race, TTT are always hard in PCM hope it goes better in the Giro |
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| ricotero_uy |
Posted on 08-08-2012 13:58
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Domestique
Posts: 610
Joined: 21-03-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Excellent story so far!!! Keep it going! |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 08-08-2012 14:27
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Giro del Trentino - Stage 3
I know I once said I liked everything going uphill. I may have to take that back now, just take a look at that final climb, there isn't a meter under 10%, I'm kidding you not! It was extremely tough today, so let's see what I did here.
My tactic was to stay with De Gendt at all times, until the final climb, then we'd see. Staying with him was quite easy, and we even had a nice little chat, enjoying the scenery. He even congratulated me on my 10th place in Tirreno. I was flattered he remembered.
However, when the climbing started, we had no time nor energy left for (small) talk. I was a pit bull, not letting go of him, as I was confident that if someone would make the finish in the front group, it'd be him.
I was lucky that the finish was a couple of kilometers after the summit, in the descend. I rode an excellent downhill and found myself in the perfect position for the final sprint, at impressive speed, because it was still going downhill.
I've never been so close to a win before, with only Moncoutié between me and the finishing line. This race is getting better and better. Who knows, maybe tomorrow will be mine! |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 08-08-2012 16:31
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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@johannes-w: thanks for your sympathy I think I'll simulate the TTT in Giro, because I really can't ride those, it's my worst feature when playing PCM. I don't want to lose 10 minutes
@ricotero_uy: I'll try my best thanks |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 12:07
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 08-08-2012 16:33
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Giro del Trentino - Stage 4
The final stage of this race in Italy brings us one long climb. I decided that I'd attack today, since I had nothing to lose. I was 12th on the GC, was 2nd in running for both the mountain and the young jersey and fourth in running for the points jersey. I'd rather have one jersey and nowhere close on the other ones than no jersey at all.
So I attacked with 53km still to go, with Dennis Vanendert launching me.
My maximum lead was about 2 minutes, but I was reeled in at 20km from the top. Having lost a lot of energy, I was unable to stay with the front group. Froome won the stage, right in front of De Gendt, who won the GC.
I ended on a 23th place, dropping to a 15th place overall and leaving Trentino without a jersey, without a prize, without glory. There are still two races to go before the Giro, but then it's for real. See you in a couple of days (let's keep our fingers crossed for Jelle in Liège, hopefully he can beat Gilbert this time!) |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 08-08-2012 16:42
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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No jersey won, but at least you had the courage to go out and attack
So unlucky |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 08-08-2012 16:47
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Well, maybe riding aggressively is worth more than a jersey,
then again, the prize money is not
But what can you do against Froome or De Gendt? Not much |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 08-08-2012 16:49
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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De Gendt looked awesome throughout the race |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 08-08-2012 16:53
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Yeah, he definitely a favorite to win this, especially after winning Tirreno - Adriatico! We'll see, I guess |
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| francopell |
Posted on 08-08-2012 16:54
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Domestique
Posts: 652
Joined: 15-07-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Eric is good form. That second place shows that . If he keeps going like this then maybe he'll do some very good performances in the Giro D'Italia
It was brave to attack, shame it didn't pay off  . Nice aggressive riding though.
Also, maybe Jelle can finally beat Gilbert |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 08-08-2012 17:16
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Let's hope Gilbert is beatable
I'm hoping on a good performance in the Giro, his preparation is going good, so his form should be good! |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 08-08-2012 17:17
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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GP di Industria Larciano
Not a lot of hills, if you ask me. This is just about building up form so I just stayed in the peloton today. Ended up on a 12th place, Westra took a nice win.
On another note, Poels is riding in all the preparation races, so there's a big chance he'll be riding the Giro, he seems to be in excellent shape, definitely one to look out for!
Bart De Clerq is making progress and should healed from his injury (still from his fall in Paris - Nice) just in time for the Giro. He'll be in a bad shape but maybe he'll be all right for the third week, who knows?
And Jelle Vanendert completed his classic season with another 2nd place. You are reading this correctly, 3 times 2nd!
Only this time Gilbert was one step behind him, while it was Cunego won Liège - Bastogne - Liège! |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 08-08-2012 17:19
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Vanendert being very unlucky this season |
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