@olabj He rejected our good offer, and for some reason joined Joker. Don't ask me why!
The Clasica San Sebastien is a climber's classic, and it is tough to guess who will win, but Gilbert and Vinokourov are probably the top favourites. Cadel is still in great form straight out of the Tour and will look to complete the sponsor gola of a top-10, or higher!
My role is as domestique, and control the pace up the last few climbs.
Clasica San Sebastien
San Sebastien - San Sebastien : 231.2kms
The first big climb was cleared, and with no attacks, a whole new race had started.
Somehow, as we closed in on the main climb up to Alto de Jaizkibel, a 3-man break had formed and gained 3'30" The riders, were Pidgornyy, Buts and Kadri.
Near the top of the penultimate climb, Evans attacked, and Scarponi countered.
As Cadel started to head downhill, Frank Schleck, Gilbert, Basso and other favourites joined in.
Soon, Evans joined the front group, and the following favourites group closed.
As the group joined Evans, Bradley Wiggins and Igor Anton attacked!
They were over the last climb, and attacks were coming think and fast.
A front 5 had established, and with 5kms to go, one would win! L.L. Sanchez was with Gilbert, Scarponi, Andy S and Vino. Cadel was following alone about 30" back.
The mad sprint was on, and with lots of scrambling, Gilbert just took it ahead of Andy Schleck. Great win and his season improves by the day!
Cadel Evans comes in at 6th all alone.
Final Rankings
1
P. Gilbert
Omega Pharma - Lotto
5h54'46"
2
A. Schleck
Leopard Trek
s.t.
3
L. L. Sanchez
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
Spoiler
4
A. Vinokourov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
5
M. Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
6
C. Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 33"
7
F. Schleck
Leopard Trek
+ 1'01"
8
C.A. Sorensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
9
I. Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
10
I. Anton
Euskatel - Euskadi
s.t.
...
93
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 13'38"
A great race, but I won't be riding for a while now.
I'll give some transfer updates soon, and maybe a Vuelta preview if I can be bothered!
@cunego59 Oh, haha okay. And by the way, thanks for commenting, that TTT will be ours next season! More transfers later tonight (or today, whatever the time zone is in Germany!)
The USA Pro Cycling Challenge will have it's first edition in 2012 aned I am lucky enough to be involved. The race is very mountainous and with two-time trials, Cadel has a real good chance at the overall.
I will ride as a free-element and get in a few breaks. The first stage is a flat time-trial throughout the Colorado Springs before we start climbing.
USA Pro Cycling Challenge
Stage 1 - ITT
Colorado Springs : 8km
Cadel, David Millar and the Belgina champ Rosseler are the favourites for the stage.
I was one of the first to set off, and was 16" off the first best time, which was set by Robert Partridge of Endura Racing. Not my best day.
RadioShack's Kiwi TT Protege, Jesse Sergent, set a good time, 6" ahead of Partridge and the new no. 1!
US Champ George Hincapie was off soon, and he set a decent time, 5" off Sergent.
CCC Polsat's Jose Mendes just beat Sergent by 1", and was the new leader.
S. Cozza of NetApp blew the field apart, edging out Medes by another 4". But Belgian champ Rosseler had just set off, an was on the hunt for the lead!
Rosseler comes to the line.... and yes, he takes another 2" of Cozza.
British No. 1 David Millar was coming to the line, but was 1" off Rosseler!
Evans set off, and looked to set a new best time!
He crossed the line in front of a big crowd, but was 2" off Rosseler and in 5th place.
Final Rankings - Stage 1 ITT
1
S. Rosseler
Team RadioShack
9'22"
2
D. Cornu
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
3
D. Millar
Team Garmin - Cervelo
+ 1"
Spoiler
4
S. Cozza
Team NetApp
+ 2"
5
C. Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 3"
6
J. Mendes
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 6"
7
R. Sutherland
UnitedHelathcare Pro Cycling
+ 7"
8
J. Sergent
Team RadioShack
+ 8"
9
J. Bauer
Endura Racing
s.t.
10
K. De Kort
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
...
78
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 31"
A great ride by the Belgian!
A fun ride, and I think Cadel has to be the overall favourite here.
Hey Tim,
Not sure if you respond to comments on your blog, but anyway,
If Evans crashes or has a bad day, who would you say would be a smokey from BMC to have a good go? Anybody who is riding well?
Thanks @GreenEDGEFan I am happy to answer any questions my readers have for me!
Do you mean for the USAPCC? If so, I would have to say George is our 2nd option, especially in his home country! But I think I would have a red hot go if Cadel were to crash as well!
If you mean in any race, I would say Mauro Santambrogio as the next best option on an average hilly stage, or Mathias Frank on a mountainous route. Both are fantastic riders, and can change a race like that!
But right at the moment, our Steve Morabito is in great form, he is currently riding La Vuelta, while Yannick Eijssen has improved dramatically this season and in great form so I except him develop into a really great rider in the future!
Thanks for your question mate, I hope I answered it well enough and it is great to know I have readers enjoying my blog!
Cheers,
Tim.
With a climb right from the get-go, this race should get interesting very quickly. Cadel Evans, Dan Martin and Ben Hermans are today's favourites,!
Should be fun out there!
USA Pro Cycling Challenge
Stage 2
Salida - Crested Butte : 144.9kms
Tim started the race with an attack, as he set off up the mountain alone.
With the Colorado Rockies to keep me company, it was easy to take my mind off the legs.
Tim eventually reached the top alone, and with 2'08" on the field, sped off downhill.
With no real chance of holding on all the way to the next set of points, I slowed down and let the now small peloton catch me.
As he was caught, Tim was given a big pat on the back from George Hincapie, congratulating him on the points, and the possible polka-dot tomorrow.
With 35kms to ride, a 3-man group had formed and Kurt Asle-Arvensen, Fabricio Ferrari and Lucas Euser made it up. Sky's Asle-Arvensen won the points. They had a solid 6'15" lead over the now expanded peloton.
As the penultimate climb began for the trio up front, their lead was slowly dropping and at 5'52" currently.
Near the top of the climb, Daniel Navarro attacked and the final breakaway rider was caught. Evans easily followed, and had no trouble attacking again to head downhill. Geniez of Skil joined the other two in front.
Those three were soon joined by the following group, which contained Tim, and the race settled slightly.
But in the final km, the riders started going at it. Navarro was first but with Cadel on his wheel it wasn't looking good for the Spaniard.
Evans would not take no for an answer, and sped past Navarro to take a great win!
Tim crosses the line in 10th, well deserved!
Final Rankings - Stage 2
1
C. Evans
BMC Racing Team
4h24'10"
2
D. Navarro
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 11"
3
A. Geniez
Skil - Shimano
+ 42"
Spoiler
4
C. Le Mevel
Team Garmin - Cervelo
+ 1'09"
5
J. Frohlinger
Skil - Shimano
+ 1'14"
6
D. Martin
Team Garmin - Cervelo
s.t.
7
R. Sutherland
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 1'35"
8
D. Frattini
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 1'44"
9
I. Camano
Endura Racing
s.t.
...
10
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'51"
Overall Standings
GC
1
C. Evans
BMC Racing Team
4h33'15"
2
D. Navarro
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 35"
3
A. Geniez
Skil - Shimano
+ 1'00"
Spoiler
4
D. Martin
Team Garmin - Cervelo
+ 1'51"
5
C. Le Mevel
Team Garmin - Cervelo
+ 1'52"
6
R. Sutherland
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 1'59"
7
J. Frohlinger
Skil - Shimano
+ 2'02"
8
I. Camano
Endura Racing
+ 2'12"
9
J. Mendes
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 2'14"
10
D. Frattini
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 2'25"
...
12
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 2'39"
King of the Mountains
Spoiler
1
D. Navarro
Saxo Bank SunGard
19 Pts
2
R. Mandri
Endura Racing
18
3
C. Evans
BMC Racing Team
17
...
4
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
16
Points
Spoiler
1
C. Evans
BMC Racing Team
37 Pts
2
S. Rosseler
Team RadioShack
25
3
D. Cornu
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
20
...
20
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
6
Young Riders
Spoiler
1
A. Geniez
Skil - Shimano
4134'15"
2
D. Martin
Team Garmin - Cervelo
+ 51"
3
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'39"
Cadel, Navarro and Geniez will have no opposition in this race, and since Navarro isn't known for his time-trialling, Geniez and Evans will be fighting for yellow unooposed.
My 3rd in U25 is great, and if I win that jersey, or atleast keep my podium spot, I will be thrilled. My new goal!
Tomorrow is a big climb to Aspen and will be tough! Can't wait!
@FreitasPCM Yes it will be very tough, but I don't think Dan Martin is in great form so I think Tim has what it takes. Thanks for the support!
BMC Transfers
Another omission, and another exciting additon. Here we go:
Rider Out:
Amael will be sorely missed and has had a great season, his highlight being an overall victory in the Tour de Slovenie. He will joine Bretange - Schuller next season and will surely adopt the ultimate leader role.
And now, I am proud to announce that BMC have signed...
Rider In:
The Tuscan is one of the most exciting young talents coming out of Italy right now! He has developed as a climber even more this season, and next year and onward he will be a force to be reckoned with. Cannot wait to ride with the man, if I get the chance.
That's it for now, but I have 3 more announcements to go,and one big announcement regarding yours truly so stay tuned!
Tim.
P.S. Any guesses at what the announcements will be?
Tim might get selfish and demand a leader's role sooner rather than later if he stayes with BMC, whilst a GreenEDGE move would guarentee him to be the second or third, if not first, leading climber in the team.
@rorzcp @LilParka @GreenEDGEFan Thanks for your predictions. It seems we will just have to wait and see.
A short stage, but a very hard one no doubt. With two big, steady climb, Cadel feels very confident he can make it two in a row.
USA Pro Cycling Challenge
Stage 3
Gunnison - Aspen : 109.1kms
With 85kms to ride, an 8-man group got away. Caballero of Andalucia took the first points, as they headed uphill.
Rubens Bertogliati of TeamType 1 won the KoM points on top of the first climb, and the break headed downhill with a lead of 2'37".
The breakaway pack was caught on the bottom of the climb, all due to BMC sending their best downhillers to the front of the pack to lift the pace.
As the climb began, soem attacks from Danny Pate and Staf Scherilinckx threatened, but came to nothing.
Tim was the next rider to go for it, and he developed a small gap.
Despite a closing front group, led by Geniez and Le Mevel, Tim was just holding on.
He was soon caught though, and joined the front group. Navarro was the first to attack next, and Evans, Geniez, Frohlinger, Rory Sutherland and Dan Martin followed.
When I saw Geniez ride past me, I tried to follow but just couldn't and stayed in my group.
Navarro headed downhill first, and with a small gap, Cadel and Frohlinger fought to try and catch up.
They were gaining, but before he knew it we were in the last km, and Navarro still had about 30"!
Despite a bolting Evans and Frohlinger, Navarro held on to win the stage!
I was just edged by Le Mevel for 8th, but still took 9th and moved into the top-10 overall!
Final Rankings - Stage 3
1
D. Navarro
Saxo Bank SunGard
3h30'41"
2
C. Evans
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
3
J. Frohlinger
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
Spoiler
4
A. Geniez
Skil - Shimano
+ 53"
5
R. Sutherland
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
s.t.
6
D. Martin
Team Garmin - Cervelo
s.t.
7
M. Rutkiewicz
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
8
C. Le Mevel
Team Garmin - Cervelo
+ 2'12"
9
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
10
D. Frattini
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 2'39"
A very fun stage, and with tomorrow's time trial, I think we can really solidify Cadel's yellow jersey.
I really like your reports,Tim is doing great in United States.
I also like how he cares about his fans
Edit: I guess you will contract some more Australians to support Cadel. Or maybe Gossy or Haussler?Edited by Avin Wargunnson on 09-09-2011 14:15
Nice rides by Tim. My guess regarding the transfer: You already have Cancellara and Wiggins, still you say it's a really big announcement, so, what the heck, I go for Contador
