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Project 1t4i ● 2013
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 25-01-2013 19:16
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A Romanian amongst the stars of world cycling
At the end of the 2010 season, Jack Wolfskin made quite a risky move on the transfer market and decided to invest time and money in Romania's hottest prospect at the time - Andrei Nechita.
With the very young Romanian still having a lot to learn, he was loaned out to Intesa, a former Continental Team, to gather experience for the 2011 season. The same thing happened in 2012, this time Focused Cycling - a great development team - being his destination.
The season spent with Focused was the last pre-step Nechita needed to finally join the main team. And now, in 2013 he will become the first Romanian to ever ride in the Pro Tour. The first season could prove to be quite difficult for unexperienced rider, but hopefully Andrei will manage to achieve some decent placings.
His development is far from over, which means that we could see some very nice things from him in the future. For the past 2 years he has been the Romanian Champion in both the RR and the TT, so that's 2 titles that he would be looking to achieve again.
Andrei Nechita's schedule for 2013:
 | Tour of Qatar |  | Classique du Grand-Duche |  | Tirreno - Adriatico |  | Aussie Classic | | Milano - SanRemo |  | Vuelta a Colombia |  | Rund um Koln |  | Praha - Karlovy Vary - Praha | | Giro d'Italia | | Tour of Tasmania |  | Tour de Suisse |
Nechita will make his PT debut at the Tour of Qatar
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 28-01-2013 06:54
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Very nice article about your young Romanian prospect, good luck for him in the season. And I am already looking forward to his battle at road race NC with "you know who". 
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 28-01-2013 12:41
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Avin Wargunnson wrote:
Very nice article about your young Romanian prospect, good luck for him in the season. And I am already looking forward to his battle at road race NC with "you know who".
Thanks.
I think it will be really hard for Nechita to defend his title in the RR this year. Both Grosu and Ciocan seem to be greater contenders than him. Well, at least I still have the TT 
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 31-01-2013 19:26
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Nothing special in Qatar
We started the Tour of Qatar with no expectations. And that didn't improve during the week as Jon Aberasturi couldn't involve in any of the mas sprint finishes.
In fact, the only time we saw the 1t4i jersey on TV it was when Matteo Trentin went into the breakaway in the fifth stage of the race. The Italian grabbed both of the intermediate sprints of the day, which move him into the overall top 10 before the final time - trial.
When the final day of the race arrived it was clear that no one would be able to stop Tom Boonen, who had dominated the sprints, from winning the race, but there were still a lot of points left on the table as the time - trial specialists didn't have a lot of time to gain back on the sprinters.
Jacob Fiedler won the stage, which moved him into 6th place overall. Posthuma finished the stage 3rd, which was enough for a 11th place in the general classification. It could have been better for the Dutch Champion, since Kittel (9th) and Malori (10th) had the same time as him, but unfortunately they had better placings in the previous stages.
Other notables results came from De Kort (19th) and Trentin (28th). Even though Posthuma couldn't sneak into the top 10, 11th is the team's best result in Qatar to date, so we will take it as being a success.
Matteo Trentin, the most aggressive 1t4i rider in Qatar
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| tyriion |
Posted on 31-01-2013 20:28
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Nice to see that you at least have a little benefit from Trentin. Should improve on the cobbles.
Check out my ManGame team here
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 31-01-2013 22:31
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tyriion wrote:
Nice to see that you at least have a little benefit from Trentin. Should improve on the cobbles.
Yes, he should do very well on the cobbles. But I'm very interested to see how he does in MSR as well 
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 05-02-2013 17:39
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Top 10 for Posthuma in the race against the clock
Traditionally, one of the last races of the season, Chrono des Herbiers was move to February this year. And that had a big impact on the race as we saw Fabian Cancellara take his first win here in his preparation for the northern classics.
The 3 Project 1t4i riders sent to France were Joost Posthuma, Benoit Vaugrenard and Koen De Kort. Both Posthuma and De Kort carried on their form from Qatar to take 9th and 19th, respectively. Vaugrenard didn't catch his best day and only finished in the 28th place.
Edited by alexkr00 on 05-02-2013 17:40
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 07-02-2013 00:03
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The big clash
February is one of the busiest months in the cycling calendar, with 5 Pro Tour races taking place, among other small races. It has now become a tradition for 3 of those race to clash with each other. We are of course talking about Paris - Nice, Tirreno - Adriatico and Volta Ciclista a Catalunya.
Tirreno will start first and word around is that we are in for a treat with most of world class puncheurs riding there, including the Italian National Champion and multiple Grand Tour winner Damiano Cunego.
Jelle Vanendert will be leading the Project 1t4i squad in Italy, but with a stellar startlist announced for the race, even a top 10 could prove to be a dream goal.
Project 1t4i for Tirreno - Adriatico  | Jelle Vanendert | | | |  | Wesley Kreder | | Matteo Trentin | | | |  | Mohammad Saufi Mat Senan | | Ramon Sinkeldam | | | | | Markus Fahnert | | Laurens Ten Dam | | | |  | Andrei Nechita |
Two days after the start in Italy, the action in Paris - Nice will kick off as well. Luis Leon Sanchez will be leading the team there, looking for a place on the podium. Julien Simon will also ride on his home ground in search for a stage win.
Project 1t4i for Paris - Nice  | Luis Leon Sanchez Gil | | | | | | Bas Giling |  | Julien Simon | | | | | | Jon Aberasturi | | Wout Poels | | | | | | Jonathan Castroviejo | | Johannes Frohlinger | | | | |  | Rafel Majka |
Four days into racing of Paris - Nice and two days before the end of Tirreno - Adriatico, Banyoles will host the start of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, the only race made for true stage - races in February.
The race will be Velits' first one where he will be our main leader and get full support from the rest of team. To show that, most of our time - trialist were brought here to make sure he won't be far from the other favorites after the opening TTT.
Project 1t4i for Volta a Catalunya  | Peter Velits | | | | | | | | Sebastien Rosseler | | Joost Posthuma | | | | | | | | Kristof Vandewalle | | Koen De Kort | | | | | | | | Jos Van Emden | | Benoit Vaugrenard | | | | | | | | Paul Martens |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 19-02-2013 22:25
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Tirreno - Adriatico: Close, but no cigar
The Race of the Two Seas started quite well for our team. During the first stage, Ramon Sinkeldam managed to sneak into the day's breakaway and secure the King of the Mountains jersey.
In the next stage, Jelle Vanendert was one of the most aggressive riders in the pack. He was very close to take the stage win and the leader's jersey, but in the end he only managed to "steal" the green jersey from Sinkeldam.
The third stage wasn't as good as the previous two. Ramon Sinkeldam went once again in the breakaway but only grabbed one point for the KoM classification. In the general classification battle, Jelle Vanendert wasn't doing too good either as he failed to finish with the first group of favorites. The only consolation was that the Belgian would keep the King of the Mountains jersey for another day.
The next two stages didn't bring anything special, Vanendert losing the green jersey and the contact with the big contenders of the GC once again during the fifth stage.
In the sixth stage, the day's early breakaway made it all the way to the finish line. Laurens Ten Dam was there, but all he could achieve was a small fourth place.
In the last stage, Ramon Sinkeldam got for the third time in the day's main breakaway and even though he took the maximum points for King of the Mountains rankings, it was to late to get the jersey back. During the stage, a big crash affected the peloton and many important names were caught behind, including the first 2 riders in the GC, Frank Schleck and Jan Bakelants, which gave Damiano Cunego the opportunity to take yet another ManGame win under his name. As a result of the crash, Vanendert gained 6 places in the GC in order to finish 11th.
Vanendert in the green jersey
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Posted on 25-11-2024 12:51
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 13-04-2013 10:34
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Nothing special in the Race to the Sun
With some of the big names missing from this year's Paris-Nice, Luis Leon Sanchez had a real chance to grab one of the spots on the podium.
With all the big names riding in Tirreno - Adriatico, the race wasn't as exciting as it was in the previous seasons and Trofimov defend his 2012 title in style after taking 4 stage victories.
The route wasn't tough enough to make any differences between the favorites and with Trofimov taking all the major bonus seconds, the times from the prologue became very important in deciding the final outcome of the general classification. Luis Leon Sanchez did everything he could to catch one of the podium places, but in the end he finished 5th.
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 13-04-2013 10:42
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First victory of 2013
Much better news came from Catalunya, where Velits received his first role as a leader at Project 1t4i.
At the Slovakian didn't disappoint as he rode a very strong GC and finished 9th. The team was very close to get its first win of the season in the opening team time - trial, but the PCT wildcards from ING proved to be way too strong.
Still, this was going to change in the 5th stage, where Peter Velits managed to win the sprint of a rather large group, which included the GC favorites and some of the breakaway's remaining riders, resulting in his and Project 1t4i's first win of 2013.
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 13-04-2013 10:53
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The classics season kicks off
After Niels Albert's departure in 2011, the team failed to achieve big results in the northern classics. The record was kept this season as well, with one exception.
In the Tour of Flanders, Matteo Trentin anticipated the attack of the big favorites and tried to make a surprise. It didn't work 100% as he was caught by the strongest riders and finished more than 6 minutes behind the race winner, Tom Boonen. Still, that was enough for him to take an amazing 7th place.
If the northern classics went kind of well, the flat classics went as worse as possible, with a 19th place for Simon in Milano - SanRemo and no riders in the top 30 in Rund um Koln.
With Paris - Roubaix, the last cobbled classic behind us it's now time to focus on the Ardennes classic, where Robert Gesink will count on a very strong support from Luis Leon Sanchez and Jelle Vanendert.
Trentin starting the biggest adventure of his career
Edited by alexkr00 on 13-04-2013 10:54
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 15-04-2013 06:07
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Happy for you and Velits for that win in Catalunya, nice display by him there!
Good luck in Ardennes with Gesink and his lieutenants.
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 15-04-2013 17:45
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Avin Wargunnson wrote:
Happy for you and Velits for that win in Catalunya, nice display by him there!
Good luck in Ardennes with Gesink and his lieutenants.
Thanks.
Hopefully the "team" will bring in good results from the Ardennes as Gesink hasn't improved since last year (which wasn't great anyway), while most of his opponents have.
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 17-04-2013 20:04
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Robert Gesink - king of the Basque Country
Robert Gesink started this year's Vuelta al Pais Vasco from a very good position - the defending champion. But with a much stronger startlist than last year, it was clear that winning the race again will be really tough so a podium was set as a realistic goal.
Nothing big happened in the first 2 stages, where Gesink preferred to stay in the peloton and let the others waste their energy. He made his move on the third stage, the queen stage of the race, the same place where he took the lead last year. He's attack wasn't as devastating as last year though, Frank Schleck being able to follow him, just before cracking in the final meters.
The next day, Schleck took his revenge by taking the stage win, but all he could take on Gesink were the bonus seconds, as the Dutchman closely followed him to the finish line. The next stage was quite tricky for Gesink, but in the end no gaps were registered between the favorites, which allowed him to keep the yellow jerseys before the final time - trial.
With Robert being the best time - trialist from the favorites and wearing the yellow jersey as well, it was clear that it will take something big for him to lose the race at that point. But, nothing happened and Gesink even took the stage win along the way.
Two stage wins and the general classification. Just like last year. It really looks that Gesink has found the winning recipe for Vuelta al Pais Vasco.
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 03-05-2013 20:06
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Ardennes classics: Top 5 for Gesink in La Doyenne
Last year, we had our best Ardennes season yet, with Chavanel taking the victory in Fleche Wallone. Even though this year the team was stronger it was clear that it will be really hard to grab another win.
On home ground, Gesink was one the main favorites in Amstel Gold Race, but all he could do in the end was a top 10. In Fleche Wallone, Luis Leon Sanchez tried to pull off a Chavanel, but this time the pack didn't let the breakaway go. Still LuLu was our best placed rider in the 14th place, with Robert Gesink having an off day.
With no impressive results in the first 2 races, our hopes for a good race headed towards Liege - Bastogne - Liege. Even though there were plenty of attacks along the way, the race was decided in a sprint between a rather large group of favorites. Gesink somehow managed to finish fifth, even though sprinting isn't his best skill, and saved our Ardennes season.
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 19-05-2013 13:15
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Disappointing result in Tour de Romandie
The 2013 Tour de Romandie had a perfect start for Project 1t4i as Robert Gesink grabbed the win in the prologue. That was a great result as it put the Dutch rider in the yellow jersey ahead of the decisive stages.
But disaster stroke for Gesink in the third stage as he crashed on the downhill before the most important climb of the day. The team managed to bring him back in the pack, but the crash clearly affected his performance, with Robert losing more than 5 minutes and dropping 15th in the general classification.
Even though he tried, Gesink could only gain one position back, which meant that he finished the race in the 14th position. A disappointing result in what was our the biggest goal of the seasons.
Gesink doesn't seem able to put these crashes behind him
Edited by alexkr00 on 19-05-2013 13:16
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 27-05-2013 20:37
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Good racing in California
In his final preparation for La Vuelta, Luis Leon Sanchez had the chance to test his legs in the Tour of California. The Spaniard was pretty consistent through the entire race. Good placings in the time - trial and the crucial stages of the race got him the 6th place in the general classification. Jelle Vanendert also had a good week in California, finishing in the top 20.
The big surprise of the race was Welsey Kreder, who even though is in his first year as a pro, managed to finish a few stages in the top 10, a clear sign of what the Dutchman is capable of in the future.
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 27-05-2013 20:52
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A rather disappointing Giro
After 2 seasons, where La Vuelta was our main Grand Tour of season, we felt that it was time for change and decided to focus on Il Giro this year. Even though he wasn't one of the big favorites, Velits had a good chance to finish the first Grand Tour of year amongst the best 10 riders.
The Slovakian climbed very well and had good results in the time - trials, but in the end he failed to achieve the goal of finishing inside of the top 10 after losing precious seconds in a less important stage as he was caught behind by a split in the pack on the last uphill section of the 10th stage. Velits was only 11 seconds away from the 10th place, but 11th is still our best GC performance in Il Giro to date.
One of the best 1t4i riders in Il Giro was Ramon Sinkeldam who got involved in quite a few breakaways and was very close to get a stage win, but only finished 2nd in the 14th stage.
After 2 stage wins in 2012, this year's Giro has clearly been a little under our expectations, but at least we've got involved in plenty of breakaways and in the end, we only missed the top 10 by only a few seconds.
Velits during the mountain time - trial
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 28-05-2013 12:31
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Andrei Nechita finishes his first Grand Tour
With Nechita finally making the big step to the Pro Tour, it also meant that it was time for the Romanian to race the first Grand Tour of his career. He started the Giro with to real goals, just to survive as long as he could and get a Grand Tour experience.
The double Romanian champion managed to exceed all expectations as he was one of the riders that arrived in Udine for the final stage of the Giro. Andrei had some very good times in the time - trials, but more importantly he was the last rider in the general classification, which is not an easy thing to achieve in a Grand Tour.
The Lantern Rouge brought Nechita some time on camera
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