Cannondale riders dominated the commonwealth games, with our riders winning Gold, silver and bronze in both the Time Trial and the Road Race. In the road race young rider, Teo Geoghen Hart escaped into the early break, and fought like the star of the future that we at the team believe he will be, meanwhile back in the bunch the Yates Brothers showed there talent by sprinting up the final climb to finish second and third, showing that they know how to ride a race to achieve. In the time trial Chris Froome was the last rider off and she showed his strength by catching his one minute man Richie Porte, also from Cannondale to win the time trial by over a minute from Adam Yates who finished second and Simon Yates who came home third, meaning the Yates Brothers came out with two silvers and two bronze.
Paris - Nice
The race was dominated for the second year in a row by Chris Froome, who won the prologue and the two key stages of the race, being the mountain top finish and the races uphill time trial. Froome received great support from his Cannondale team, especially Adam Yates who rode strongly for the whole week on his way to securing 6th overall and 2nd in the King of the Mountains.
Tirreno Adriatico
The Cannondale team performed well in this key warm up race before Milan San Remo with Matt Goss and Richie Porte leading the team, the race which saw Goss win two stages with the help of Aussie lead out man Caleb Ewan and Bodnar. Where as Richie performed strongly in the mountains to finish 4th overall behind Alberto Contador who claimed overall victory after a strong showing in the mountains which saw him win by 3 minutes from Tejay Van Garderen.
Milan San Remo
The Cannondale team started the race with an Italian and Australian feel, with Matt Goss going into the race as leader, with a strong group of riders behind him, such as lead out man Caleb Ewan and diesel engine De Marchi. Goss who showed his power by sprinting to victory in a reduced bunch sprint after Vincenzo Nibali worked hard over the final climb to shred the bunch to a lead group of only 25 riders, and Matt was the only big sprinter left so he easily won the sprint.
Tour of Catalunya.
Only a day after winning Milan San Remo, Matt Goss dominated the race's first hilly stage, with Chris Froome continuing his dominance by winning the race's hilly time trial to take him into the race lead. Cannondale then continued to dominate the race by winning the first mountain top finish of the race, thanks to a great ride by Richie Porte to pull himself and Froome well clear of all their competitors, to win a classic stage. On stage 4, Froome extended his lead in the overall standings after descending like a mad man off the days final climb to win the stage, and all but secure the overall victory. Stage 5 saw the first flat stage of the race, but it didn't end in a bunch sprint after Cannondale split the race over the only difficult climb on the route, and rode hard to maintain the gap, leaving Simon Yates to take a well deserved stage win. The final stage of the race was a brutal race with 6 difficult climbs on the route, and Cannondale showed a slight weakness losing riders early in the stage meaning that by the penultimate climb, there were only three riders left, Adam Yates, Richie Porte and Chris Froome, and as they hit the bottom of the final climb Richie Porte attacked to take a memorable stage win, as Froome secured overall victory.
E3 Harelbeke
The team stayed out of trouble for all the race and had 3 riders in the final split, which contested the win, however with al 3 suffering from the effort, Tom Boonen rode away in the final 5 kilometres to take a great win, with Cannondale's best rider being Kristijan Koren in 32nd place.
Gent Wevelgem
After an early crash which took out most f the field Cannondale was left with just Koren in the leading group and as the race hit the final cobbled sector, Koren punctured and had to wait 5 minutes before getting a new wheel, and lost all hope of a good result. Peter Sagan rode away from the field and wheeled across the line after a dominant performance from his Saxo Tinkoff team.
Tour of Flanders
Cannondale had no goals for today's race and told the team that they could ride for themselves, except if they had teammates in the group then they would be requested to help them with bottles and food. Canuti managed to get in the first break of the day which was brought back after 50 kilometres, and it was Kristijan Koren who got in the ky break of the day which saw 8 riders gain over 11 minutes on the peloton, but the break was duly dragged back to a 2 minute gap as the race reached a climax, when Koren attacked his compatriots and tried to solo to the finish but he was caught racing up the final climb of the day and finished a respectable 16th.
Tour of the Basque Country
Cannondale had Mikel Nieve going into the race as leader with a strong support team of Joe Dombrowski and Josh Edmondson. In the race's key stage Mikel was able to stay with the front of tha race and finish 4th, on a stage that finished on top of a difficult climb, but it was Rodriguez who climbed to victory with Thibaut Pinot and Roman Bardet finishing 30 seconds behind him with Mikel a further 15 seconds back. Therefore going into the race's final time trial Rodriguez had a 52 second lead on Pinot with Bardet 6 seconds behind him and Nieve 23 seconds behind him, and as Bradet flourished in the time trial it was Rodruiguez who was suffering and would need every second of his lead if he was to win, and at the finish the times told us that Bardet had won the race by 7 seconds from Rodriguez with Pinot 18 seconds back and Nieve finishing 4th just 1 minute back.
Paris Roubaix
The team' plan was to get as many riders in the break as possible, which was accomplished as Koren and Matt Goss got in the break of the day which was caught by an elite group of 5 riders (Sagan, Boonen, Cancellara, Vanmarcke and Eisel) only 12 kilometres from the finish and with Gossy sit on the break for much of the day trying to conserve energy he was able to tag onto the back of the leaders as they flew towards the velodrome. In the final sprint he was able to get 5th, for a memorable result for Cannondale.
Amstel Gold Race
Cannondale were forced to control the race, due to having red hot favourite for the win Simon Yates, and he didn't disappoint putting in a huge effort to cross a sizeable gap to leader Valverde and then dropping him on the final time up the climb, with Matt Goss putting in a great ride for 3rd place.
Fleche Wallone
This time the team followed a different tactic, and put Moreno Moser in the break, meaning they didn't have to work on the front of the bunch. Froome then attacked the first time up the Mur de Huy, to chase across to the leaders with Moser putting in a lot of work to keep the gap above a minute. Yates then followed a select group across to the leaders with Froome taking over the pace setting on the front, and heading onto the final climb, the favourites were all together in a very select group with yates diving out of the first group to take a great win.
Liege Bastogne Liege
With Simon Yates Cannondale's leader in a very difficult Liege Bastogne Liege with some of the best climbers in attendance, this was by no means going to be a walk in the park, with Cannondale putting a rider in the break, but underestimating the difficulty of the final climb Yates and Froome went early and were passed in the final kilometres by Alberto Contador who took a well deserved win, after his team did most of the work.
Tour de Romandie
Adam Yates led the team at the race which is a perfect warm up before the Giro d'Italia, with Yates putting in a strong performance against a world calss field as Alberto Contador took overall victory after a stellar ride in the race's mountainous stage which saw him gain 2 minutes on the rest of the field.
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Liking the great amount of detail you put into your posts! Nice racing with Simon in the Ardennes. Hopefully Adam can shine as equally bright in the Giro.
Adam Yates
Matt Goss
Simon Yates
Jens Voigt
Thomas Lofkvist
Mikel Nieve
Vasil Kiriyenka
Richie Porte
Joe Dombroski
Aim
After the withdrawal of Ian Boswell from the Giro team, due to a broken collarbone which he picked up whilst training in the pyrenees in preparation before the Giro. Instead of Boswell, Richie Porte will ride the Giro as a teammate for Adam Yates, however if he finds himself better placed on the overall, then he shall be allowed to take over the lead. Where as in the sprints the team will be working for team sprinter Matt Goss, as he aims too improve his already great season after wins in Milan San Remo and Paris Nice.
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I'm really surprised that we won today, as we were just expecting to have to limit our losses to the better teams, as we don't really have the amount of practice as other teams. So to win is great and I'm delighted that I could take the jersey as it means a lot and puts me into a great position for the rest of the race, and I hope that we can defend this lead until the end of the race, so I think it puts the team in a great situation heading forward in the race. Adam
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I'm delighted with my ride today, I knew that the final climb may be a good launch pad to attack from, so at the start of the day I asked the team if I could have a go, and they said I could as Gossy said his legs felt a bit heavy as he made such a huge effort yesterday. So when I went I didn't think I'd stay away as I went early on the climb so I thought others would react which they did but only Rodriguez came across to me, so I knew I could win the stage as he was suffering, so I just kicked as hard as I could on the final straight, and it was great to get my hands in the air, so know I just have to win a stage of the tour to get the full set. To get the leaders jersey is a real bonus and to wear every jersey is just a dream come true. It's also great as I've worn every jersey at the Vuelta and the Giro, so I'm very happy with that. Simon
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We knew today would be a difficult stage as it is very long compared to some stages, so we wanted to make sure that we made the most of the fact that we have a very strong team, so we know that we could shred the race, we recced this stage earlier in the year and I like the final few climbs, although it doesn't really suit a break away, so I think it may come down to a small bunch sprint, although the sprinters wont be there so I think that it suits a rider that can climb and sprint, so maybe Rodriguez or Uran as they have shown very good sprinting legs this year. Although we've always got to watch put for a guy like Nibali as the downhill is right to the line so he may try to smash the race to bits as it is quite technical. Adam
Stage 3 - Mountainous Road Race
Today my legs didn't feel good so I just wanted to limit my losses on GC, so I told Richie to ride for himself today. We made sure that we got a guy in the break, and Kiri managed to do that, so it meant we didn't have to chase so that saved everyone's legs. Kiri was brought back so Joe attacked across to the break, and it was key that we got a guy in the break, as it meant we had large numbers on the last few climbs. It's a shame that we weren't able to go with Rodriguez and Nibali, but we used our teammates and tried to limit our losses, and I think we were very smart to do that as there are still a lot of key stages ahead and we need to have the energy for them rather than just killing it on the third stage when we still have 18 stages to go in the race. Sure it's disappointing to lose that much time to Rodriguez but we have to look at the bigger picture, and aim to gain the time back in the future stages. You know in the scheme of things two minutes isn't that big a gap, I mean Simon gained that on a flat stage, it's just a shame that Rodriguez went with him as he gained a minute and a half on me, so I've got to be careful and make sure that I ride as well as I can in the stages to come. Adam
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Today we knew that getting a rider in the break would be key so we put Jens up there to monitor things, and pick up any KoM sprints that he could. Then when we caught him Kiri dropped back to help Gossy onto the bunch as he was only a minute back, but he tired himself out so he dropped a long way back on GC. I'm disappointed with my ride as I wasn't expecting to be 5 minutes down after 4 stages, so I need to look over the past few days and see what I need to do to improve, so that next year I will be better suited to winning the race, as I think my best hope know is a stage win and a top 3 overall. Adam
Stage 5 - Flat Road Race
I can't believe how today went as I never could of imagined that I would win the stage, when there are some very strong sprinters here. Coming into the final 20 kilometres, Gossy started to suffer, so he told me to go for the win, so I asked Ivan and he told me to go for it, as the team wanted to make up for yesterdays disappointment. Adam did a great job to position me just behind Cav and Greipel going into the final kilometre, and then I was able to get past them in the final few metres to get the win, which I could never of imagined, I mean I knew my form is good but to win today was a dream. Simon
Stage 6 - Hilly Road Race
Today was an other great ride by my team, they controlled the race all day, it's a shame that we had to chase Joe but there were a lot of attacks going so we couldn't risk them getting across to him, so we had to keep the pace high, I think the sprinters like Cav put in a lot of effort to get over the climb, so they were tired coming into the sprint so I'm very happy I could take the win, as the team deserve it and it shows that I am in very good form at the minute, and I think tomorrow may suit me as well, as I don't mind the cobbles and I think next year I may ride all the spring classics as they suit my style of riding, so I would enjoy riding them. Simon
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Today was my favourite win so far, as I enjoy riding the cobbles so much, and I think that I would like to train more for the classics in general, so that I can have a got at racing Paris Roubaix, as my coach thinks that I am well suited to that style of racing as my track background means that I have a big engine for the classics, and I'd love to win Roubaix as it is a great classic. I think Adam needs to improve as he could of taken a lot of time out of Rodriguez like I did, I mean he doesn't have to be brilliant at them, but to be able to ride them well, would mean he could gain time, especially as there are two cobbled stages in this years tour. To take the jersey back is a real honour as I never expected to be able to take it back after I lost a lot of time in the Mountains, but it just shows how much of a benefit you can gain from being good over the cobbles. Simon
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Today we had a very specific team plan, which was to get a rider in the break, as we thought the bunch wouldn't want to chase it, so Jens went with the break, and sure enough the bunch didn't chase and Jens ,managed to get second on the stage, which is a great result for him as he isn't a climber. My role was to attack at the bottom of the climb and if I was allowed to escape then good I would move up the gC, but if I didn't then Richie would be able to drop the riders who had done the work to bring me back, so when I attacked I got a decent gap and the guys had to chase but I was caught with 10km to go and then Ri chid went and managed to reduce the race to just 4 contenders for the GC, with Sanchez getting dropped in the final few kilometres, so it was a great ride by him. It's a shame that Simon lost his jersey, but we couldn't do anything about that as he isn't as good a climber as Rodriguez, so he gave us the green light to just ride our own race, and then see what we could do, but not to worry about him as he would fight for the jersey himself, and I bought he was going to be able to when he was still with us with 10 kilometres to go, but he blew and lost 9 minutes to Rodriguez. Adam
Stage 9 - Flat Time Trial
Today was a great result for the team as we all gained time on our rivals, I mean I gained over a minute on Rodriguez today,s o that's great, and Richie won the stage and took back a minute on Nibali and 2 minutes on Rodriguez, so that's a great result and puts us in a better position for the overall, as 3 minutes is a closable gap, so we will try to close it and I think that will give the team confidence AdamEdited by JoeArmstrong13 on 09-08-2014 08:28
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We knew that other teams would expect us to chase as I was one of the favourites for the stage and with 4 stage wins already, they thought we should be the ones to do the chasing, so we decided to put Jens in the break again as it means he can pick up KoM points and stop us from chasing, so it wasn't a surprise when the bunch didn't want to chase the break, so they were given about a 15 minute lead at one point and then Katusha started to ride a bit just to hold the gap, rather than bring it back in. I mean Jens is riding really well at the minute and that has shown as he is having a great race, and has been in the break a lot of the time. Jens managed to pick up some KoM points, so then he could just sit on the break, and enjoy a free ride to the finish, meaning he would be able to jump them if the break stayed away. We wanted to isolate Rodriguez so we kept attacking him so that he would be tired when we came to the end of the stage, the plan was for Adam and Locky to keep counter attacking, and he would have to respond, so me and Richie could then attack him when we hit the climbs, and it worked well it's just a shame that Richie wasn't able to capitalise on it, but I was and I took another stage win, which I am very happy about as it means I have a stronger grip on the points jersey so that is very good for me personally, and the team as we have had a lot of great wins, and I think that if we continue to follow the same tactics, then we will be able to break Rodriguez. Adam
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Today the plan was to get Richie and Simon some time back on Rodriguez, we saw yesterday how we could wrk Rodriguez over so we decided we were going to do the same today, and then make sure they Richie would gain from it, rather than just Simon. The plan for today was for us to get Jens in the break, and then for me, Locky, Mikel and Kiri to keep counterattacking each other as Rodriguez would have to respond as we are all a threat on GC. When Locky first went we saw that Rodriguez used his team to respond, so we decided to wait until the first climb of the day to start the attacking. When I went I saw that nobody responded so I kept going and Jens dropped back from the break to help me, so it seemed like the plane was working well, but they caught me as we hit the bottom of the next climb. Locky had a bit of a go and it seemed to work but Purito was very strong today, so we'll have to try again another day. It's disappointing to be so far down, but maybe I'll be given more freedom now. Adam
Stage 12 - Mountainous Road Race
Today the team plan was to control the race until we hit the climbs, and then to try and work Rodriguez over so the Richie could gain some time on him. The plan was to control the race, which we managed to do as we put Jens and Gossy on the front to monitor any attacks and to keep the race at a high pace so that the others weren't given any time to ride into shape before the climbs, as we knew that today would be a difficult day. We decided to use Kiri and Joe on the first climb as we knew that they are very strong at the minute, so that the bunch would be shredded before the next climb, so that we could make some of them suffer so that when Richie went less riders could go with him. I decided to put in an attack as we hit the first climb, as we knew that it would be a more effective way to shred the group as Katusha would have to chase, meaning Rodriguez would have less men when it came to the final climb. However nobody chased so Rodriguez attacked, and Richie was the only one able to go with him so I was very happy, when the team told me I could race for myself on the final climb, and I was able to pick up all the KoM points for the day. I'm very happy to get the stage win and Richie had another good day, when he managed to sitance Nibali and move up to second, and he was able to put Rodriguez under pressure, so it's a good sign for the race in the future. Adam
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Today we knew we could gain time on our rivals, as we knew that the climb was hard to start off with, so a lot of riders would go out to hard and we could gain a lot of time in the final few kilometres. Richie won the stage and I was second, so I'm very happy as I gained time on all my rivals, but I also gained a few key KoM points, and I think that Richie may be able to benefit from Rodriguez in the final few stages as he has ridden hard in the first few stages to get a gap, but he hasn't been able to, so thats a good sign. Adam
Stage 14 - Flat Road Race
Today the plan was to save energy so that we can work harder tomorrow, so I'm very happy that I didn't lose any time, or that I didn't have to do any work on the front. I mean Gossy had a bit of a go for the stage win, but we knew that the finish didn't suit him, so we just held back and then let him do whatever he could, but he told us not to work for him, as he has picked up a bit of a chest infection, so he doesn't want us to suffer for him when he isn't likely to win. Adam
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Today we knew that the guys at the end may suffer as its been a hard race so far, so we have to use our energy wisely, the plan was to control the race then attack the climbs as hard as we could and hope that Rodriguez blew before Richie. I attacked early and got a decent gap on the field, but then Rodriguez reacted and Richie had to follow, so he worked hard except he caught me before the summit of the climb , and it was just Richie and Rodriguez left from the main bunch, so I knew they were riding well today. I then blew up, and just had to limit my losses today, which is disappointing but thats racing I'm working on my recovery and stamina, so it won't be the same at the Tour. Adam
Stage 16 - Flat Time Trial
Today was a great day for the team as Rodriguez lost a lot of time, and Richie was able to reduce the gap to just 40 seconds, so that puts us in a great place for the final few days, as he can win this know, I mean I said at the start of the Giro that 4 minutes would be a hard gap to close, but I had no idea how well Richie would do today, and how much Purito would suffer, so I think if I improve my time trailing then I may of been able to do that in the future. Adam
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Today we didn't want to work, so we put Jens and Joe in the break, and when it was clear they'd stay away, we decided to just sit in and then let Gossy and Simon do what they can at the finish, its a shame that we couldn't win the stage but Joe and Jens killed themselves on the final climb, trying to gap the rest of the break. Then Gossy and Si were able to win the bunch sprint, meaning Si took back the points jersey, so that's good for us. Adam
Stage 18 - Mountain Top Finish
Today we wanted the stage win, so we decided to put as many guys in the break as possible. Jens and Gossy went in the first break, and then Kiri and Joe bridged across. The bunch sat up behind and they gained a lead of over 20 minutes. Gossy and Jens sacrificed themselves to build the lead before the first climb, and then Joe started to set the pace, to distance any riders that weren't able to climb, which he did so well, there was just him and Kiri left, so when Joe blew up Kiri just had to solo and hope to get to the finish. Then when we hit the climb Locky attacked to try and tire Rodriguez so Richie could gain any time on the final climb. Except Rodriguez didn't react so he kept going, so then I went after him and Rodriguez sat up and Richie was able to ride across ti him meaning we had six guys up the road and Richie still had Mikel with him, so he was in a great position. We were both caught by Rodriguez, but I managed to slip away again on the descent so I had a 2 minute gap as we hit the next climb, and Rodriguez had no teammates and Richie had two with him and 5 up the road. It was a shame that I caught Kiri but I had to go past as Rodriguez was closing in so we couldn't risk not winning the stage, but it is a great result for the team. Adam
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Today Richie knew that Purito would try and distance him, as he needs to gain more time before the final few key stages. However Richie managed to limit his losses to 24 seconds, so that means he's in a good position to challenge for the win come the final few days, so for us I think it's starting to look good, as we have a very strong group of guys and we are close to the top on GC, and we have a few of us fighting for other jerseys as well. I think the time trial on the final day will be key, and hopefully Richie will be able to take the win as he wasn't in the original team, so it would be a real show of strength if he could take the win. Adam
Stage 20 - Mountain Top Finish
Today we wanted to win the stage so we put a few guys in the break, but then on the first climb of the day, we saw Rodriguez was suffering so we decided to just go and try to cause as much damage as possible, so Richie had three teammates, but Rodriguez had none so we could just stretch the gap, with Richie just sitting in and saving energy, I think the team rode very well as we all sacrificed ourselves for Richie as we knew that Thos would be a key stage of the race, and that we had to make the most of Rodriguez's bad day. We managed to so it means that Richie now has a big lead going into tomorrow, so that's a great result for us as it will be very hard for Rodriguez to get that back, so it's a great result for the team, and it showed how strong we are when we had 5 guys in the top 10, and they had all worked incredibly hard for Richie, so it was great to get the win when we have scarf iced our own chances to get the win today, and hopefully the overall win. Adam
Stage 21 - Flat Time Trial
This is a great result for the team as we thought that we had lost the race after the first few stages because Rodriguez was just so far ahead, so it's a great feeling to win, when everyone thought it was over after 7 days of racing. I'm so happy for Richie as he has worked so hard to get this win, so it's great that he can enjoy it as he is a great rider and a lovely man to be around, so he is a very popular winner. Adam
Final Rankings
Overall
No.
Name
Team
1
Richie Porte
Cannondale
2
Joaquim Rodriguez
Katusha
3
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana
4
Samuel Sanchez
AG2R
5
Adam Yates
Cannondale
6
Rigoberto Uran
Colombia
7
Roman Kreuziger
BMC Racing
8
Bauke Mollema
Blanco
9
Michal Kwiatkowski
Colombia
10
Mikel Nieve
Cannondale
Points
No.
Name
Team
1
Joaquim Rodriguez
Katusha
2
Simon Yates
Cannondale
3
Richie Porte
Cannondale
KoM
No.
Name
Team
1
Joe Dombrowski
Cannondale
2
Joaquim Rodriguez
Katusha
3
Richie Porte
Cannondale
Young Rider
No.
Name
Team
1
Adam Yates
Cannondale
2
Michal Kwiatkowski
Colombia
3
Nairo Quintana
Colombia
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Today was a complete shock for me as I didn't think that I would win, as I prefer a more difficult route and a longer course, so to win is a great result for me, as I thought Froome would win the stage but it's better I suppose as he doesn't have the pressure of the jersey tomorrow, when he needs to focus as it is a very difficult stage. Simon
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The plan for today was to get Teo in the break, as he is a strong rider, and if the break were able to stay away, then he could win the stage. When he got caught by the bunch, the plan was for me to attack to make the other riders have to chase, meaning Froomey would be easily able to get away from them, however the main favourites didn't follow me so I just kept going, and Froomey sat on, and then with 2 kilometres to go he attacked, and nobody followed him so that's very good as it shows that we are much stronger then other teams, meaning we can win the tour in a few weeks time. I'm very happy to get the leaders jersey, as Froomey has told me that he will work for me, so that I will help him when it comes to the Tour De France. Adam
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The plan for today was to get a guy in the break and then let others do all the work, however we wanted to make sure that we had the best placed guy on GC as we didn't want to lose the race lead. However we knew that Saxo and Movistar would want to chase so we weren't particularly worried, and I had a big lead so it didn't matter. However we saw the opportunity and put Mikel up the road, and Ivan (Basso) in the car was telling us that he was 2 minutes up on the bunch, and then it went up to 4 minutes, and nobody was reacting but then Movistar sent a guy to the front, so the plan went well. Although when we saw the lead get to 6 minutes, we were pretty surprised as Mikel was only 5 minutes down on me in the GC. Then Teo wanted to pick up a few KoM points, so we let him put in a bit of a dig but we didn't want him to go to hard as the guys up the road had a decent gap, so he picked up the points and then dropped back to the bunch, and then Ivan told us that Mikel had 9 minutes on us, so we knew that it was unlikely for him to get brought back. So I was surprised when the gap came down so quickly as Mikel was riding hard in the break but I guess he wasn't as strong as we thought he was. When we hit the climb, we got the guys to set a fast tempo to hold back any attacks until we wanted to go, and when we did only Quintana and Contador could respond, and then we just rode them off our wheel coming into the final few kilometres, where we decided to sprint against each other for the win, as the fans deserve to see a race, for sure I'm happy to get the win but it was a team effort so I would of loved for the whole team to be allowed onto the podium as we won the stage not me. Next time if we are in a situation like that I'll give it to Chris as he worked so hard for me today that he deserves the win. Adam
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Today the guys decided they wanted to work for me, which I am very happy about as they could of just asked for an easy day after yesterday, but we have a hunger to win and I think thats what we showed by going for todays stage. This morning Ivan came to me and told me that there was a spot on the Tour team for me if I wanted it, he said I could just ride it as training for the Vuelta, but they needed someone for the cobbled stage to help Froomey and Adam, so I said yes. Adam told me that he wasn't sure about the rest of the season as we've been told that their will be change to the plans, however Adam won't be at the Vuelta so that's certain, however Froomey and Richie will be, I think that Richie won't be at the Tour now as he won the Giro so is very tired after that success, I'm not sure if I will be able to go for the sprints at the Tour as I won't be the teams aim as Froomey and Adam are in great form and are really going for the GC. Froomey will obviously be the leader, but the rest of the team is uncertain. I know that Caruso is going to the Tour, and I think the reaming 5 places will be chosen out of: De Marchi, Dombrowski, Teo, Locky, Ian (Boswell), Jens, Viviani and Kiri. Anyway today was a hard stage, so we decided to put Teo in the break just in case the bunch didn't chase them, and then we would set a hard pace on the climbs to drop the main sprinters, and maybe split the group. Anyway we knew Teo would pick up the KoM points, and I think after his performance at the minute it won't be long until he gets onto the Tour team. There are rumours that next year Cannondale won't be sponsoring a team but we will have to see as the management are looking for a new sponsor, but it's whether or not they will find one. Personally I plan on staying with the team if possible, and I know that Adam, Froomey, Teo, Locky, Jens and Mikel have all renewed their contracts so we'll have to see what happens. There also rumours about rider joining the team, however I don't wish to talk about them now, although I can say that if we do have to find a new team, then I already have a few offers on the table, so we should be fine for next year. When we split the race I wasn't expecting it to have that much effect but there was only 24 guys left by the top, so we went full gas to hold it. We caught a lot of big hitters out, and a few of the GC boys were in the back group. So to get the win after the team ride like that is great, as we worked hard for this win, and it means a lot to win after your teammates do that on the front of the bunch Simon
My Stories
My Teams
ICL - Project Cumbria Powered by Thomas Graham Steel & Industrial Supplies
