2/10 Milano – Torino: 195.4 km (cat. 1.HC)
Christina reports: We are here in Milan, “the Fashion Capital” located in Lombardy northern Italy, for Milano – Torino, the race is the oldest Italian classic first run in 1876, but the race have not run every year, this is the 96 editions. The race is a focus race for us, management expect a top 10 result.
The ancient Milan, was originally founded by Insubrians, a Celtic/Gaulish tripe of pre-romans in north Italy, around 600 BC. The city was captured in 222 BC by Romans.
The Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete 1386-1965:
Pre-race strategy: We will stay in the peloton. We have got Stefan, Kenny and Davide all able to do something in a race with this profile, Stefan clearly in the best form.
Profile:
Roster:
Davide Malacarne
Francisco José Pacheco
Kenny Elissonde
Mads Würtz Schmidt
Mitchell Lovelock-Fay
Patrick Clausen
Stefan Schumacher
Yves Lampaert
It is 16°C and rather cloudy, but we are not expecting rain and there is very little wind. The morning break is 11 riders, we don’t expect it to hold, and doesn’t but any effort in the chase.
Hitting the first of the two final climbs, our leaders is well placed in front of the peloton, it is clear now the break will soon be over.
Over the top Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) attacks and at the same time splits the peloton. 13 km to the line half way down the first climb, it is Nibali with 31 sec to a group of 11 riders with all our three leaders, the peloton with 41 riders another 29 sec. behind.
Nibali can raise his arms in victory in good time, nobody is close. At this point he has 1’10 to Carlos Betancur (Astana) and Dario Cataldo (RusVelo), and 1’54 to the next group of 15 riders with Kenny Elissonde. Schumacher & Malacarne is further back at 2’27.
Kenny gets in with a group led by Cunego, taking 9th place in front of Tour de France winner Alberto Contador. Davide Malacarne gets in as 25th.
Christina: Spot on, just the result the management wanted. There will be celebrations in our camp tonight.
Result:
1
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana Pro Team
4h30'26
2
Dario Cataldo
RusVelo
+ 1'25
3
Carlos Betancur
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
4
Rigoberto Urán
Astana Pro Team
+ 2'13
5
Diego Ulissi
Lampre - Merida
+ 2'36
6
Damiano Cunego
Cannondale Pro Cycling
s.t.
7
Jakob Fuglsang
Team Nippo - De Rosa
s.t.
8
Damiano Caruso
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
s.t.
9
Kenny Elissonde
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
10
Alberto Contador
Cannondale Pro Cycling
s.t.
11
Mattia Cattaneo
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
12
Stefano Pirazzi
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
13
Domenico Pozzovivo
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
14
Daniel Moreno
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
15
Leopold König
REWE
s.t.
16
Francesco Gavazzi
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
17
Garikoitz Bravo
Liberty Seguros - Würth
s.t.
18
Rubén Fernández
Liberty Seguros - Würth
s.t.
19
Simon Gerrans
Orica - GreenEdge
s.t.
20
Alejandro Valverde
Katusha Team
s.t.
Team: Astana Pro Team
Edited by Tamijo on 05-05-2016 10:21
Rasmussen Reports: Even though the race is names Paris – Bourges that actual race starts in Gien about 150 km south of Paris. Gien dates back to a Roman time village of unknown name. In the early Middle Age the town of Gien-le-Vieux (Old Gien) becomes a parish.
Originally a fortress from the 700’s, Château de Gien was constructed in 1484 by Anne de Beaujeu, de facto regent of France from 1483 until 1491.
We expect Schumacker or Malacarne to have the best shot at a good finish. We will protect them as long as possible.
Profile:
Roster:
It is great racing weather today, 20°C a blue sky and no wind at all. The morning break is 9 riders.
110 km left, Martin Pedersen see an opportunity to get away, trying to catch up to the front group about 4’15 ahead.
90 km left, Pedersen joins the front group, there are now 10 riders in the lead. The peloton is at 5’41.
With about 20 km left Gutiérrez crashes, the group is down to 9 again. Under the 5 km mark Serebryakov attacks, it is now clear the winner will be from the breakaway.
Serebryakov wins the race with 15 sec. to Vanheule, Martin takes the last podium.
Rasmussen: Very fine race from Pedersen, his best result since his stage win in last year’s Tour of Taiwan.
Again the export file was corrupt, this is a top 10:
Christina Reports: Paris–Tours is a Sprinters' Classic first held in 1895, this year it is the 109 edition. This is our last focus race, management expect a top 5.
The actual race starts in Chartres capital of the Eure-et-Loir department. The town was founded by the Celtic Carnutes tribe in pre-roman times.
Chartres Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres) was built between 1145 and 1220. The Cathedral is the last of at least five which have occupied the site since the town became a bishopric in the 4th century.
Pre-race strategy: We expect it to be a stage for Francisco José Pacheco, maybe Stefan Schumacher.
Profile:
Roster:
Davide Malacarne
Francisco José Pacheco
Mads Würtz Schmidt
Morten Høberg
Patrick Clausen
Philip Nielsen
Stefan Schumacher
Yves Lampaert
Not the best weather today, the rain is pouring down on the start line, only 14°C and a fresh to strong breeze. The morning break is 10 riders.
We send Mads Würtz Schmidt and Yves Lampaert up front, to keep the break under control.
We break gets caught, time to prepare for the sprint. We have constant trouble with Patrick losing contact with lead-out Schumacher, both Patrick and Francisco gets drained trying to regain contact several times. When the sprint starts Schumacher is alone near the front.
The race is won by Steven Tronet (BigMat) over John Degenkolb (Argos), our best was a disappointing Stefan Schumacher (46)
Christina: Not our race! management is not happy with this result, we expected at least a top 10.
Rasmussen Reports: Today we are in Imola for the Giro della Romagna in historical Romagna region, northern Italian near Bologna. Imola formerly known as Forum Cornelii, was founded in 82 BC by Roman statesman/ dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, known as Sulla.
Archaeological find of Mosaik from Imola:
Profile:
Roster:
Davide Malacarne
Lasse Bøchman
Mads Würtz Schmidt
Morten Høberg
Patrick Clausen
Philip Nielsen
Stefan Schumacher
Yves Lampaert
It is a fine day today with 23°C a blue sky and very little wind. Lasse Bøchman gets away in a group of 12 riders, besides Lasse the strongest climber is Michele Gaia (Lampre) also a strong sprinter Barry Markus (Vacansoleil) is in the group.
On the hardest climb Lasse attacks, trying to go solo or at least get rid of the best sprinters.
Back in the favorite group some attacks are attempted, a serious group of 5 riders gets away, Rigoberto Urán (Astana), Eros Capecchi (Vodafone), Jan Bakelants (RadioShack) Gianluca Brambilla (Cannondale), and Francesco Bongiorno (Bardiani Valvole)
Bøchman’s effort to shake of the better sprinters has been successful, in the meantime Jan Bakelants from the “Poursuivant” has bridge the gap, there are now 6 riders in front.
It becomes clear that the break will hold and with 1,5 km to the line Michele Gaia (Lampre) starts the sprint, Lasse Bøchman is at his limit nothing left to sprint with, the same goes for most of the others. Michele Gaia wins the race in front of Jan Bakelants.
Rasmussen: Fine top 10 from Lasse, a brave effort to grab the chance, might easily have been a podium if he had just a little bit extra in the legs today.
Rasmussen reports: We are here in Utsunomiya for the Japan Cup, our last race of the season. Utsunomiya is a city of about 520.000 people in the northern Kantō region of Japan, about 130 km north of Tokyo. The area of Utsunomiya has been continuously settled since the Japanese Stone Age 40.000-14.000 BC. The current town grew up around Utsunomiya Futarasan Shrine
Utsunomiya Futarasan Shrine (宇都宮二荒山神社) , moved to the present location 838 AD:
Pre-race strategy: Last year Stefan Schumacher came 8th in this race, this time we have Malacarne and Schumacher, we hope one of them can do better than last year.
Profile:
Roster:
Davide Malacarne
Sondre Holst Enger
Stefan Schumacher
Francisco José Pacheco
Yves Lampaert
Patrick Clausen
Martin Pedersen
Mads Würtz Schmidt
It is a very hot day in Japan, 29°C and no wind. Sondre Holst Enger attacks.
It ends with a breakaway of 6 riders, including the relative strong climber Donato De Ieso (Androni Giocattoli), he might be very hard to hold on to for the others on the steep climbs.
But the break doesn’t hold, and with 11 km to the finish Joseph Dombrowski (RadioShack) attacks, Davide Malacarne and Enrico Battaglin (Bardiani Valvole) counters.
Dombrowski and Battaglin are to strong, Malacarne can’t hold on. It is Dombrowski winning in Japan in from of Battaglin. Malacarne comes in with the next group getting 5th position.
Rasmussen: Fine result in this last race, now time for a little vacation, before the winter preparations.
Christina reports: We have had our end of season board meeting.
The management has been very impressed with our results this year. Some of the result they have especially mentioned was:
Winning the Championnat de France, Top 3 in Australian Championship
Overall win in Langkawi, Sibiu, Sarthe – Pays de loire, Coppa Agostoni.
Podiums in Coppi e Bartali and Bayern Rundfart
2 riders in Vuelta Espana top 25, and a stage podium.
Two stages in Qinghai Lake, 1 stage in Österreich Rundfart, 1 stage in Turkey.
The most important result is this:
Promoted to world tour: Lampre & Christina Watches
Relegated to Continental Pro: AG2R & Europcar
Promoted to Continental Pro: La Pomme
Relegated to Continental: Jamis
Christina reports: Before we move in the goals of the team and the coming season, I will first mention the riders that we had to let go.
This is a list of riders no longer with the team:
Daniele Aldegheri 25 year old from Veneto – Italy (av.68)
Daniele have been with us since 2013, his best result was winning the 2013 Ljubjana – Zagreb
Next year he will be with Bardiani Valvole
Sebastian Black 27 years from Sweeden. (av.68)
Sebastian have been with us since 2013, his best result was 9th in 2013 Zuid Oost Drenthe Cl.II
At this point he has no contract for next year.
Simon Bigum 22 years from Nordjylland, Denmark (av.65)
Sebastian have been with us since 2013, his did not get any notable results.
At this point he has no contract for next year.
Angelo Furlan 38 year old from Veneto – Italy (av.64)
Angelo have been with us since 2012, is the 2013 season he had several fine results, and won stage 4 on Baltic Chain Tour.
At this point he has no contract for next year.
Frederik Wilman 30 year old from Sør-Trøndelag – Norway (av.68)
Frederik have been with us since 2012, his best result was winning the 2013 Baltic Chain Tour.
Next year he will be with Joker Merida
Christina Reports:
The management discussed the goals and intensions of the coming years:
First of all we want the team to be able to stay in the World Tour.
We also want to clearly state that this in a Danish Team, and do our best to attract the best Danish and Scandinavian riders, and continue to sign young Danish riders, to give them the opportunity to make it within professional cycling. The changes we have done to the team this year does not reflect that clearly, but we will do our best to improve on that.
This is a presentation in the 2016 Team:
Leaders:
Kenny Elissonde 24 year from Alsace, France (av.75)
Kenny is our top climber and our strongest hope for the Grand Tours, but we will have to use him wisely looking for the tour with the least time trail, as that is his weakness. He is improved slightly over the last year, but not his climb. His contract runs out in 2016.
Sonder Holst Enger 22 years from Vestfold, Norway (av.75)
Sonder is our top sprinter, he has improved significantly over the last year, not only his sprint but also his acceleration and flat. Sonder is also rather strong up-hill, giving him extra possibilities in many situations. His contract runs out in 2016.
NEWTony Gallopin 27 years from Parisian Region, France (av.76)
Tony is a very skilled all-rounder, puncheur and fighter, his specialty is the spring classics, very strong on the hills and at the same time able to ride on cobbles, but there is more to Tony than that, he can also be a strong helper in the mountains or a perfect lead-out for a sprinter.
His contract runs out in 2017.
Lieutenant / Co-captains:
Davide Malacarne 28 years from Veneto, Italy (av.73)
Davide is a climber with ability’s almost similar to Kenny, his time trail is slightly better, but with a slower recovery he might be weaker in the Grand Tours. His climbing has improved over the last year.
His contract runs out in 2016.
NEWLawson Craddock 23 years from Texas, USA (av.74)
Lawson is a very strong all-rounder, even though his climbing is not as good as our best, his time trail makes up for it and he is very strong on hilly stages, absolutely a rider able to fill a leader role in many races. His contract runs out in 2017.
NEWRiccardo Zoidl 27 years from Linz, Austria (av.74)
Riccardo is an all-rounder, able to do well in many types of races, with a fine time trail and climbing skills he can act as a race leader as well as a strong lieutenant.
His contract runs out in 2017.
NEWKristian Sbaragli 25 years from Toscana, Italy (av.74)
Kristian is one of our top sprinters. With a very good flat ability he can also provide a good lead-out for Sonder in the very important races.
His contract runs out in 2017.
Francisco José Pacheco 33 years from Castilla-La Mancha, Spain (av.73)
Francisco is one of our top sprinters, he has got fine hill ability and a very strong downhill making him extra strong on descend towards the finish. He has improved his downhill over the last year.
His contract runs out in 2016.
Helpers:
Yves Lampaert 24 years from Flanders, Belgium (av. 72)
Yves is our best on flat cobbles sections, but with an average uphill best in races without to many hill’s. Yves has improved his cobbles and several other skills over the last year.
NEWRasmus Quaade 25 years from Nordjylland, Danmark (av.72)
Rasmus is a time trail specialist, with a good flat making him also useful as a lead out.
His contract runs out in 2017.
Stefan Schumacher 34 years from Baden-Württemberg, Germany (av.72)
Stefan is a puncheur, with a fine time trail, formerly one of our top riders but Stefan’s skills are slowly starting to decline.
His contract runs out in 2017.
NEWMike Teunissen 23 years from Limburg, Netherlands (av.72)
Mike is a cobbles rider with a very good flat and with ok hill ability, making him good from the classics as well as a lead-out for a sprint.
His contract runs out in 2017.
Patrick Clausen 25 years from Copenhagen, Denmark (av.72)
Patrick is a sprinter, his sprint has not improved, but he has improved his hill and other skills over the last year. His contract runs out in 2016.
NEWLars Ytting Bak 35 years from Midtjylland, Denmark (av.72)
Lars is a strong fighter, able to do well on flat, cobbles and time trails. Lars is a well-known rider in Denmark attracting some media attention. We have signed a one year contract.
Lasse Bøchman 32 years from Nordjylland, Denmark (av.72)
Lasse is an all-rounder, a strong helper in the stage races with a fine time trail. Lasse has improved his time trail and restitution over the last year. His contract runs out in 2017.
Mitchell Lovelock-Fay 23 years from Canberra, Australia (av.71)
Mitchell is a puncheur, able to do well in a breakaway on hilly terrain or as a strong helper. Mitchell has developed significantly in many areas over the last year.
His contract runs out in 2017
NEWBjörn Thurau 27 years old from Bayern, Germany (av.71)
Björn is a cobbles/fighter type rider with a very good flat, making him good for the classics as well as a lead-out for a sprint. He is very weak in the mountains.
His contract runs out in 2017.
Mads Würtz Schmidt 21 years old from Copenhagen, Denmark (av. 71)
Mads is a good cobbles rider with a fine flat, making him good from the classics as well as a lead-out for a sprint.
His contract runs out in 2017.
Martin Pedersen 32 years from Copenhagen, Danmark (av.70)
Martin is a puncheur and fine breakaway riders or helper. He has improved his flat over the last year. His contract runs out in 2016.
Morten Høberg 27 years from Copenhagen, Denmark. (av.70)
Morten is an ok sprinter and he has improved his sprint and flat over the last year. He is ok as a lead-out sprinter in the smaller races. His contract runs out in 2018.
Water Carries:
Philip Nielsen 28 years from Nordjylland, Danmark (av.69)
Philip is a fine sprinter, but he struggles if the terrain is just a little uphill. He has improved a little over the last year, but nothing very useful.
His contract runs out in 2016.
Anders Bjerregård 23 years from Nordjylland, Denmark (av.68)
Anders is a sprinter, his sprint and flat abilitys have improved fine over the last year, but he is very weak up hill. His contract runs out in 2016.
Lasse Christiansen 22 years from Nordjylland, Denmark (av.65)
Lasse is a sprinter, he has improved on a broad spectrum this year, but he has a long way to go to become a competitive rider on a top level. His contract runs out in 2016.
Anton Grøn 22 years from Midtjylland, Denmark. (av.61)
Anton has proven to not improve fast compared to his age, we have no plans for him.
His contract runs out in 2016.
NEWJens Juul 20 years from Nordjylland, Denmark. (av.59)
Jens is a fighter, we have no idea what to expect from him. His contract runs out in 2018.
Edited by Tamijo on 07-05-2016 12:34
Kiserlovski01/sutty68: Clearly a stronger team compared to last season, but hard to say how much they can achieve with the much harder competition we will face on the world tour. Time will tell.
. Best to forget about the last one...
and Pedersen secured a great podium in Paris-Bourges too 
Daniele Aldegheri 25 year old from Veneto – Italy (av.68)
Sebastian Black 27 years from Sweeden. (av.68)
Simon Bigum 22 years from Nordjylland, Denmark (av.65)
Frederik Wilman 30 year old from Sør-Trøndelag – Norway (av.68)
Kenny Elissonde 24 year from Alsace, France (av.75)
Lawson Craddock 23 years from Texas, USA (av.74)
Riccardo Zoidl 27 years from Linz, Austria (av.74)
Francisco José Pacheco 33 years from Castilla-La Mancha, Spain (av.73)
Yves Lampaert 24 years from Flanders, Belgium (av. 72)
Stefan Schumacher 34 years from Baden-Württemberg, Germany (av.72)
Mike Teunissen 23 years from Limburg, Netherlands (av.72)
Mitchell Lovelock-Fay 23 years from Canberra, Australia (av.71)
