The final stage has an uphill finish but it isn't quite as hard as the previous two, so we'll see what we can do as we try to keep Spilak in the top three.
Eleven riders went up the road today, including Ligthart, Marangoni, Reihs and Popkov. They built up a maximum advantage of six minutes.
But Lampre were not happy to let the break win again, probably feeling that it's about time Cunego got a stage win, and they shut the gap down by the time we hit the final climb.
Unsurprisingly, but needlessly, Failli was the first to launch the attack again. I don't think he understands how cycling works but you've got to give him credit. Cunego, Rudaskov and Spilak followed.
But finally, Cunego beat him and took the stage win. Spilak couldn't stay with the front group and dropped back to the second group, but easily kept third on GC.
Result
1
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
4h17'28
2
Francesco Failli
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 15
3
Sergey Rudaskov
Itera - Katusha
+ 33
4
Kevin Hulsmans
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 53
5
Matteo Carrara
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 59
6
Simon Spilak
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
7
Oscar Gatto
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 1'17
8
Paolo Tiralongo
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
9
Romain Feillu
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'33
10
Grega Bole
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Filippo Savini
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 1'44
12
Joris Boillat
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
13
Dimitry Kozontchuk
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
14
Kristjan Fajt
Adria Mobil
s.t.
15
Artem Ovechkin
RusVelo
s.t.
16
Luca Mazzanti
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
17
Sylwester Szmyd
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
18
Mariusz Witecki
Bank BGZ
s.t.
19
Paolo Bailetti
Utensilnord Named
s.t.
20
Cayetano Sarmiento
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
21
Luca Ascani
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
22
Diego Ulissi
Lampre - ISD
+ 2'01
23
Alessandro Spezialetti
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
24
Tomasz Smolen
Bank BGZ
s.t.
25
René Jørgensen
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
26
Tomasz Lisowicz
Bank BGZ
s.t.
27
Andriy Grivko
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 2'11
28
Tomasz Marczynski
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 2'17
29
Rasmus Guldhammer
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
30
Oleg Chuzhda
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 2'23
31
Alexandre Pliuschin
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
32
Marko Kump
Adria Mobil
s.t.
33
Krzysztof Szczawinski
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 2'50
34
Alexander Mironov
RusVelo
s.t.
35
Mart Ojavee
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
36
Paolo Locatelli
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
37
Anton Vorobyev
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
38
William Aranzazu
Miche - Guerciotti
s.t.
39
Bernardo Colex
Amore & Vita
s.t.
40
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 3'04
41
Laurent Beuret
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
42
Alan Marangoni
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
43
Cristiano Monguzzi
Utensilnord Named
s.t.
44
Daniel Oss
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
45
Tanel Kangert
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
46
Pim Ligthart
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
47
Kristjan Mugerli
Adria Mobil
s.t.
48
Vitaliy Popkov
ISD - Lampre Continental
s.t.
49
Michael Reihs
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
50
Yuriy Agarkov
ISD - Lampre Continental
s.t.
51
Elia Favilli
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
52
Davide Viganò
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
53
Pierpaolo De Negri
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
54
Alfredo Balloni
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 3'29
55
Pengda Jiao
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
+ 4'04
56
Andrea Girardini
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 4'28
57
Danilo Hondo
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
58
Daniele Righi
Lampre - ISD
+ 4'46
59
Massimo Graziato
Lampre - ISD
+ 4'52
60
Marco Marcato
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 5'19
61
Blazej Janiaczyk
Bank BGZ
s.t.
62
Filippo Baggio
Utensilnord Named
+ 5'27
63
Andrei Nechita
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 5'33
64
Philipp Mamos
Amore & Vita
s.t.
65
Andrey Kashechkin
Astana Pro Team
+ 5'43
66
Matvey Zubov
RusVelo
+ 5'50
67
Francesco Masciarelli
Astana Pro Team
+ 5'56
68
Radoslav Rogina
Adria Mobil
+ 6'02
69
Tomáš Bucháček
Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
70
Valentin Iglinskiy
Astana Pro Team
+ 6'08
71
Alexei Markov
RusVelo
s.t.
72
Kristian Sobota
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
73
Alessandro Vanotti
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
74
Marcello Pavarin
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
75
Manuele Caddeo
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
76
Cristian Delle Stelle
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
77
Martin Mortensen
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 6'22
78
Maciej Bodnar
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
79
Andrea Pasqualon
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
80
Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy
Astana Pro Team
+ 6'33
81
Michele Gaia
Miche - Guerciotti
s.t.
82
Frantisek Padour
Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
83
George Preidler
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
84
Alexander Prishpetniy
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
85
Blaz Furdi
Adria Mobil
s.t.
86
Peter Kusztor
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
87
Alexander Khatuntsev
RusVelo
+ 6'51
88
Ivan Savitsky
RusVelo
+ 6'57
89
Stefano Pirazzi
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
90
Kris Boeckmans
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
91
Moreno Moser
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
92
Cristiano Fumagalli
Miche - Guerciotti
s.t.
93
Marino Palandri
Amore & Vita
s.t.
94
Łukasz Bodnar
Bank BGZ
+ 7'12
95
Pirmin Lang
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
96
Elia Viviani
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
97
Sergey Firsanov
RusVelo
s.t.
98
Andrea Di Corrado
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
99
Josef Hosek
Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
100
Jacopo Guarnieri
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
101
Kristijan Durasek
Adria Mobil
s.t.
102
Leopoldo Rocchetti
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 7'28
103
Tiziano Dall'Antonia
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
104
Jiri Hudecek
Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
105
Jimmi Sørensen
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 7'41
106
Vladyslav Bakumenko
ISD - Lampre Continental
s.t.
107
Martin Lind
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
108
Uri Martins
Amore & Vita
s.t.
109
Angelo Furlan
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
110
David Dvorsky
Whirlpool - Author
+ 7'53
111
Stiven Fanelli
Utensilnord Named
s.t.
112
Alexander Serebryakov
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
113
Jan Keller
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
114
Konrad Czajkowski
Bank BGZ
s.t.
115
Niki Byrgesen
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
116
Marco Zanotti
Utensilnord Named
s.t.
117
Kirill Baranov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
118
Kin San Wu
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
119
Daniel Henggeler
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
120
Nicolas Winter
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
+ 8'14
121
Kiel Reijnen
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
+ 8'20
122
Florian Salzinger
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
123
Niv Libner
Amore & Vita
s.t.
124
Radoslaw Swiatek
Bank BGZ
s.t.
125
Simone Ponzi
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
126
Andrea Piechele
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
127
Matthias Friedemann
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
128
Viesturs Luksevics
Amore & Vita
s.t.
129
Alexander Serov
RusVelo
s.t.
130
Volodymyr Kogut
Amore & Vita
+ 8'50
131
Davide Cimolai
Lampre - ISD
+ 9'08
132
Joe Eldridge
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
+ 10'15
133
Eugenio Bani
Amore & Vita
+ 10'34
134
Gianluca Maggiore
Utensilnord Named
+ 11'07
135
Fabio Piscopiello
Utensilnord Named
s.t.
136
Michal Podlaski
Bank BGZ
s.t.
137
Bernhard Oberholzer
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
138
Oleksandr Martynenko
ISD - Lampre Continental
s.t.
139
Alex Bowden
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
+ 11'22
140
Viktor Shmalko
Itera - Katusha
+ 11'30
141
Edoardo Girardi
Utensilnord Named
+ 11'52
142
Jaan Kirsipuu
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
143
Gianluca Randazzo
Miche - Guerciotti
s.t.
144
Mattia Melchiori
Miche - Guerciotti
s.t.
145
Dmytro Volovod
ISD - Lampre Continental
s.t.
146
Volodymyr Dzhus
ISD - Lampre Continental
s.t.
147
Martijn Verschoor
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
+ 14'04
148
Joshua Prete
Whirlpool - Author
+ 23'03
Final GC
1
Francesco Failli
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
22h21'44
2
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
+ 1'47
3
Simon Spilak
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 3'10
4
Artem Ovechkin
RusVelo
+ 4'06
5
Filippo Savini
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 4'26
6
Sergey Rudaskov
Itera - Katusha
+ 4'38
7
Alexandre Pliuschin
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 4'46
8
Matteo Carrara
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 5'27
9
Paolo Tiralongo
Astana Pro Team
+ 5'28
10
Oscar Gatto
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 6'10
Spoiler
11
Sylwester Szmyd
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 6'19
12
Grega Bole
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 7'14
13
Joris Boillat
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
+ 7'19
14
Tomasz Smolen
Bank BGZ
+ 7'42
15
Paolo Bailetti
Utensilnord Named
+ 8'45
16
William Aranzazu
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 9'24
17
Diego Ulissi
Lampre - ISD
+ 9'27
18
Laurent Beuret
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
+ 9'45
19
Romain Feillu
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 10'20
20
Cayetano Sarmiento
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 10'37
21
Kevin Hulsmans
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 10'58
22
Rasmus Guldhammer
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 11'08
23
Alessandro Spezialetti
Lampre - ISD
+ 11'10
24
Andriy Grivko
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 11'20
25
Sergey Firsanov
RusVelo
+ 11'31
26
Kristjan Fajt
Adria Mobil
+ 11'49
27
Daniel Oss
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 12'01
28
René Jørgensen
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 12'06
29
Alexander Mironov
RusVelo
+ 12'35
30
Pengda Jiao
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
+ 12'55
31
Oleg Chuzhda
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 13'13
32
Cristiano Monguzzi
Utensilnord Named
s.t.
33
Vitaliy Popkov
ISD - Lampre Continental
+ 13'25
34
Tomasz Marczynski
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 13'26
35
Matvey Zubov
RusVelo
+ 13'56
36
Andrey Kashechkin
Astana Pro Team
+ 15'18
37
Alessandro Vanotti
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 15'32
38
Marco Marcato
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 16'11
39
Mart Ojavee
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
+ 16'26
40
Bernardo Colex
Amore & Vita
+ 16'28
41
Davide Viganò
Lampre - ISD
+ 16'42
42
Blazej Janiaczyk
Bank BGZ
+ 16'44
43
Marino Palandri
Amore & Vita
+ 17'06
44
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 17'09
45
Anton Vorobyev
Itera - Katusha
+ 17'48
46
Francesco Masciarelli
Astana Pro Team
+ 18'02
47
Alexander Khatuntsev
RusVelo
+ 18'12
48
Tiziano Dall'Antonia
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 18'41
49
Radoslav Rogina
Adria Mobil
+ 19'16
50
Mariusz Witecki
Bank BGZ
+ 20'03
51
Daniele Righi
Lampre - ISD
+ 20'20
52
Danilo Hondo
Lampre - ISD
+ 20'51
53
Tanel Kangert
Astana Pro Team
+ 21'31
54
Luca Mazzanti
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 21'34
55
Dimitry Kozontchuk
Itera - Katusha
+ 21'39
56
Manuele Caddeo
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 21'41
57
Michele Gaia
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 22'12
58
Luca Ascani
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 23'15
59
Paolo Locatelli
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 23'26
60
Tomasz Lisowicz
Bank BGZ
+ 23'27
61
Kristian Sobota
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 23'43
62
Alfredo Balloni
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 24'13
63
Marko Kump
Adria Mobil
+ 24'35
64
Elia Favilli
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 24'55
65
Pierpaolo De Negri
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 25'15
66
Vladyslav Bakumenko
ISD - Lampre Continental
+ 25'44
67
Krzysztof Szczawinski
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 26'03
68
Yuriy Agarkov
ISD - Lampre Continental
+ 26'40
69
Andrei Nechita
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 27'16
70
Martin Mortensen
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 28'57
71
Valentin Iglinskiy
Astana Pro Team
+ 29'02
72
Philipp Mamos
Amore & Vita
+ 29'32
73
Massimo Graziato
Lampre - ISD
+ 29'36
74
Pim Ligthart
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 30'40
75
Kristjan Mugerli
Adria Mobil
+ 31'06
76
Alexei Markov
RusVelo
+ 32'01
77
Maciej Bodnar
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 32'03
78
Michael Reihs
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 32'29
79
Alan Marangoni
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 32'38
80
Frantisek Padour
Whirlpool - Author
+ 33'15
81
Stefano Pirazzi
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 33'22
82
Łukasz Bodnar
Bank BGZ
+ 33'43
83
Tomáš Bucháček
Whirlpool - Author
+ 34'09
84
Marcello Pavarin
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 34'22
85
Kris Boeckmans
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 34'37
86
Andrea Girardini
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 34'46
87
Alexander Prishpetniy
Itera - Katusha
+ 34'50
88
Stiven Fanelli
Utensilnord Named
+ 35'00
89
Uri Martins
Amore & Vita
+ 35'17
90
Elia Viviani
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 35'28
91
Cristian Delle Stelle
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 35'38
92
Kin San Wu
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
+ 35'53
93
George Preidler
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
+ 36'35
94
Peter Kusztor
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
+ 36'42
95
Marco Zanotti
Utensilnord Named
+ 37'01
96
Jiri Hudecek
Whirlpool - Author
+ 37'29
97
Cristiano Fumagalli
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 37'31
98
Ivan Savitsky
RusVelo
+ 37'42
99
Konrad Czajkowski
Bank BGZ
+ 37'46
100
Matthias Friedemann
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
+ 37'56
101
Andrea Pasqualon
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 38'08
102
Filippo Baggio
Utensilnord Named
+ 38'12
103
Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy
Astana Pro Team
+ 38'24
104
Jimmi Sørensen
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 38'29
105
Kristijan Durasek
Adria Mobil
+ 38'38
106
Niv Libner
Amore & Vita
+ 38'44
107
Alexander Serov
RusVelo
+ 39'06
108
Jan Keller
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
+ 39'12
109
Kirill Baranov
Itera - Katusha
+ 39'19
110
Alexander Serebryakov
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
+ 40'15
111
Moreno Moser
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 40'19
112
Bernhard Oberholzer
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
+ 40'52
113
Pirmin Lang
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
+ 41'23
114
Florian Salzinger
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
+ 41'26
115
Daniel Henggeler
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
+ 42'13
116
David Dvorsky
Whirlpool - Author
+ 42'31
117
Andrea Di Corrado
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 43'45
118
Gianluca Maggiore
Utensilnord Named
+ 44'27
119
Simone Ponzi
Astana Pro Team
+ 44'31
120
Josef Hosek
Whirlpool - Author
+ 44'51
121
Nicolas Winter
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
+ 45'05
122
Blaz Furdi
Adria Mobil
+ 45'12
123
Jaan Kirsipuu
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
+ 45'15
124
Niki Byrgesen
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 45'55
125
Kiel Reijnen
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
+ 46'38
126
Martin Lind
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 47'56
127
Andrea Piechele
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 48'26
128
Davide Cimolai
Lampre - ISD
+ 49'14
129
Angelo Furlan
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 49'42
130
Mattia Melchiori
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 49'54
131
Jacopo Guarnieri
Astana Pro Team
+ 50'41
132
Volodymyr Kogut
Amore & Vita
+ 51'01
133
Leopoldo Rocchetti
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 51'42
134
Fabio Piscopiello
Utensilnord Named
+ 51'49
135
Edoardo Girardi
Utensilnord Named
+ 52'12
136
Volodymyr Dzhus
ISD - Lampre Continental
+ 54'35
137
Radoslaw Swiatek
Bank BGZ
+ 54'49
138
Viktor Shmalko
Itera - Katusha
+ 55'15
139
Viesturs Luksevics
Amore & Vita
+ 55'32
140
Michal Podlaski
Bank BGZ
+ 56'03
141
Joe Eldridge
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
+ 56'52
142
Oleksandr Martynenko
ISD - Lampre Continental
+ 57'01
143
Gianluca Randazzo
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 58'25
144
Dmytro Volovod
ISD - Lampre Continental
+ 59'54
145
Alex Bowden
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
+ 1h05'00
146
Eugenio Bani
Amore & Vita
+ 1h09'17
147
Martijn Verschoor
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
+ 1h31'34
148
Joshua Prete
Whirlpool - Author
+ 1h35'10
Points
1
Francesco Failli
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
85
2
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
69
3
Simon Spilak
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
35
4
Artem Ovechkin
RusVelo
32
5
Filippo Savini
Colnago - CSF Inox
32
KoM
1
Francesco Failli
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
34
2
Matvey Zubov
RusVelo
34
3
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
30
4
Alexandre Pliuschin
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
20
5
Bernardo Colex
Amore & Vita
20
U25
1
Alexandre Pliuschin
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
22h26'30
2
Diego Ulissi
Lampre - ISD
+ 4'41
3
Cayetano Sarmiento
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 5'51
4
Rasmus Guldhammer
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 6'22
5
Daniel Oss
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 7'15
Team Summary
Well, it was a pretty quiet day for us, but we achieved what we needed to do. Spilak clinched a podium place, whilst Pliuschin dropped another couple of places but claims a magnificent seventh place as well as the white jersey by nearly five minutes from Ulissi. Failli has been superb this week and definitely deserves this victory. This same team will be in action tomorrow at the Clasica Sarda one day race, whilst we also have two one day races in Switzerland to tell you about.
Stage Winner
Race Winner
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
The first of three one day races for the team at the end of February, the GP dell'Insubria-Lugano is a new race held in Switzerland. It is a hilly race, but not particularly difficult, and could very well be one for the punchier sprinters. Peter Velits makes his debut for the team here, and will hopefully be able to do something on the final climb. Kiserlovski also returns after his successful Tour de San Luis, whilst Huzarski and Der will be free to attack. A lot of top Italian riders are here, including Nibali, Basso and Scarponi, so it should be a great race.
Outsiders
Ivan Basso (Liquigas)
Alexander Efimkin (Team Type 1)
Peter Velits (Skoda - Orlen)
Worth a Bet
Daniele Pietropolli (Lampre - ISD)
Stefan Schumacher (Christina Watches)
Leonardo Bertagnolli (Lampre - ISD)
Julien El Fares (Team Type 1)
Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil)
Skoda - Orlen Team
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
The BotD contained eleven riders including Huzarski, Michael Rasmussen, Guardini and Jezowski. They built up a gap of seven minutes before the peloton started to bring them back.
With the pace starting to ramp up, disaster struck for Huzarski as he picked up a flat tyre, and had to drop back to the car. Fortunately for him, Dietziker had attacked out of the peloton and Huzarski was able to follow him back to the front group.
Oddly, it was Katusha and Topsport on the front of the peloton, not Lampre or Liquigas. They brought the breakaway back on the final climb, but Dietziker wasn't finished and kicked again.
Then, Peter Velits tried to follow the NetApp rider, but he was too far ahead and the Slovakian admitted defeat and eased off to try to claim second.
It was an inspiring performance from Dietziker on home ground, and he took a comfortable solo victory. Velits, meanwhile, was beaten to the line by Vicioso and El Fares, but still picked up a solid fourth place on debut. Kiserlovski, Huzarski and Kozubek all finished in the top twenty aswell.
Result
1
Andreas Dietziker
Team NetApp
4h17'03
2
Ángel Vicioso
Katusha Team
+ 38
3
Julien El Fares
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
4
Peter Velits
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
5
Daniele Pietropolli
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
6
Pieter Jacobs
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
7
Dominique Cornu
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
8
Javier Megías
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
9
Julien Antomarchi
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
10
Sven Vandousselaere
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Alexander Efimkin
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
12
Jan Barta
Team NetApp
s.t.
13
Rubens Bertogliati
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
14
Robert Kiserlovski
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
15
Krzysztof Jeżowski
Bank BGZ
s.t.
16
Andrea Guardini
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
17
Bartosz Huzarski
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
18
Przemyslaw Niemiec
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
19
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
20
Stanislav Kozúbek
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
21
Arkimedes Arguelyes
RusVelo
s.t.
22
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
23
Arthur Van Overberghe
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
24
Zsolt Der
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
25
Petr Benčík
Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
26
Alexander Kvachuk
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
27
Pavel Gorenc
Adria Mobil
s.t.
28
Leonardo Giordani
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
29
Michael Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
30
Vladimir Gusev
Katusha Team
s.t.
31
Giampaolo Caruso
Katusha Team
s.t.
32
Simone Stortoni
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
33
Thomas De Gendt
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
34
Stefano Agostini
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
35
Alberto Losada
Katusha Team
s.t.
36
Domenico Pozzovivo
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
37
Timofey Kritskiy
Katusha Team
s.t.
38
Rafal Majka
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
39
Jelle Wallays
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
40
Pieter Serry
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
41
Daniel Schorn
Team NetApp
s.t.
42
Johnny Hoogerland
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
43
Yury Trofimov
Katusha Team
s.t.
44
Morris Possoni
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
45
Marco Marzano
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
46
Sonny Colbrelli
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 2'03
47
Leonardo Bertagnolli
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
48
Kun Jiang
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
49
Petr Ignatenko
Katusha Team
s.t.
50
Cristiano Benenati
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
51
Serguei Klimov
RusVelo
s.t.
52
Martin Pedersen
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
53
Gatis Smukulis
Katusha Team
s.t.
54
Gang Xu
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
55
Blaz Jarc
Team NetApp
s.t.
56
Aaron Kemps
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
57
Joey Rosskopf
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
58
Laszló Bodrogi
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
59
Marco Canola
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
60
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
61
Cristiano Salerno
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
62
Sven Jodts
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
63
Christopher Butler
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
64
Juraj Sagan
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
65
Fabio Calabria
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
66
Aljaz Hocevar
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 3'36
67
Kevin De Jonghe
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
68
Wout Poels
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 4'37
69
Stefan Denifl
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
70
Rob Ruijgh
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
71
Kristjan Koren
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
72
Dimitry Ignatiev
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
73
Matteo Rabottini
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
74
Pavel Kochetkov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
75
Pawel Cieslik
Bank BGZ
s.t.
76
Matej Jurco
Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
77
Gianluca Brambilla
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
78
Andrey Solomennikov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
79
Oleg Opryshko
Amore & Vita
s.t.
80
Igor Frolov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
81
Gustav Erik Larsson
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
82
Vladislav Borisov
Amore & Vita
+ 5'14
83
Michaël Baer
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
84
Marcel Aregger
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
85
Evgeniy Kovalev
RusVelo
s.t.
86
Daniel Foder
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
87
Leonid Krasnov
RusVelo
s.t.
88
Anton Storchous
Amore & Vita
s.t.
89
Yovcho Yovchev
Amore & Vita
s.t.
90
Dmitry Kosyakov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
91
Reto Hollenstein
Team NetApp
s.t.
92
Angelo Pagani
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
93
Simon Pavlin
Adria Mobil
s.t.
94
David Rosch
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
95
Mirko Selvaggi
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
96
Stefano Locatelli
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
97
Nikolai Trussov
RusVelo
s.t.
98
Artur Ershov
RusVelo
s.t.
99
Enrico Battaglin
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
100
Valerio Agnoli
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
101
Stefan Schumacher
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
102
Artur Detko
Bank BGZ
s.t.
103
Diego Caccia
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
104
Konrad Tomaszewski
Bank BGZ
s.t.
105
Matthias Brändle
Team NetApp
s.t.
106
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
107
Matej Gnezda
Adria Mobil
s.t.
108
Brian Vandborg
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
109
Davide Ricci Bitti
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
110
Frederik Wilmann
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
111
Patrick Schelling
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
112
Andreas Schillinger
Team NetApp
s.t.
113
Jonathan Fumeaux
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
114
Sergey Valynin
RusVelo
s.t.
115
Alberto Contoli
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
116
Denys Karnulin
ISD - Lampre Continental
s.t.
117
Piotr Sztobryn
Bank BGZ
s.t.
118
Damiano Caruso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
119
Craig Lewis
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
120
Adam Stachowiak
Bank BGZ
s.t.
121
Jakub Danačík
Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
122
Artem Tesler
Amore & Vita
s.t.
123
Ivan Kovalev
RusVelo
s.t.
124
Patrik Moren
Amore & Vita
s.t.
125
Biao Liu
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
126
Jaroslaw Dabrowski
Amore & Vita
s.t.
127
Nicholas Francesconi
Amore & Vita
s.t.
128
Anatoliy Pakthusov
ISD - Lampre Continental
+ 6'50
129
Radoslav Romanik
Bank BGZ
s.t.
130
Raphael Addy
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
131
Mikhail Antonov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
132
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
133
Peter Erdin
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
134
Pawel Brylowski
Bank BGZ
+ 7'25
135
Tomasz Nose
Adria Mobil
s.t.
136
Michael Schwarzmann
Team NetApp
s.t.
137
Jiri Polnicky
Whirlpool - Author
+ 8'07
138
Jakub Vecera
Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
139
Simon Pellaud
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
140
Maksym Vasilyev
ISD - Lampre Continental
+ 9'37
141
Alexander Kamp
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 10'59
Team Summary
Not the worst day ever, with Velits beating some seriously strong riders on what was his first race of the season. Unfortunately, Huzarski had used too much energy to be able to follow Dietziker at the end, but it was a superb move by the Swiss rider on home soil. This team stay in Switzerland for another race tomorrow, which should be fairly similar.
A second race in Switzerland in two days, the GP di Lugano is another circuit race with one tough climb to be tackled four times. The finish is fairly flat, so it will be a brave attacker or a strong sprinter who takes this one. We, of course, have the same eight riders as in yesterday's race and will therefore be hoping for a strong performance from Velits and Kiserlovski.
Outsiders
Francesco Gavazzi (Astana)
Daniel Moreno (Katusha)
Alexander Efimkin (Team Type 1)
Worth a Bet
Ivan Basso (Liquigas)
Peter Velits (Skoda - Orlen)
Daniele Pietropolli (Lampre - ISD)
Pavel Brutt (Katusha)
Julien El Fares (Team Type 1)
Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago)
After a very high pace at the start prevented anyone from attacking, after the first climb, ten riders got away, including Kozubek, pictured at the front of the break.
Incredibly, a group had been distanced over the first difficult climb. Most of them were terrible climbers, however, in there was Christina Watches' leader, Schumacher. That was the end of his day.
The final rider who rode across to the breakaway was Colnago sprinter Sacha Modolo who was clearly in good shape, and, along with Kozubek did most of the work in the group.
With 70km to go, Basso decided to give it a go and managed to bridge the five minute gap to the break just before the fourth and final crossing of the big climb. Unsurprisingly, he then caused some problems for the other members of the BotD.
Despite numerous attacks, a high pace from Astana had kept the main peloton together, but there were only 29 riders in it now, including Velits and Kiserlovski for us, and all of the riders from the break who had been caught. Bad news for the riders though as it had started raining.
And, sure enough, disaster struck, and it had to be us didn't it? On the final descent with Velits sat on El Fares' wheel and ready to unleash his sprint, he fell. That was the end for us as Kiserlovski had become the final rider to be dropped on the final climb.
At the front, Team Type 1 took a superb 1-2 with Efimkin edging out El Fares. Had Velits not crashed, he would probably have been challenging for the win because he was sat on El Fares' wheel. Never mind. Robert came home 17th.
Result
1
Alexander Efimkin
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
5h23'52
2
Julien El Fares
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
3
Pavel Brutt
Katusha Team
s.t.
4
Dimitriy Muravyev
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
5
Francesco Gavazzi
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
6
Rubens Bertogliati
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
7
Evgeni Petrov
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
8
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
9
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
10
Dries Devenyns
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Jérôme Pineau
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
12
Daniele Pietropolli
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
13
Julien Antomarchi
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
14
Przemyslaw Niemiec
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
15
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
16
Sacha Modolo
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 1'10
17
Robert Kiserlovski
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
18
Eros Capecchi
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 1'51
19
Maxim Iglinskiy
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
20
Javier Megías
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
21
Giampaolo Caruso
Katusha Team
s.t.
22
Daniel Moreno
Katusha Team
s.t.
23
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
24
Kristof Vandewalle
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
25
Kun Jiang
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
26
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
27
Peter Velits
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
28
Stanislav Kozúbek
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 2'33
29
Gatis Smukulis
Katusha Team
s.t.
30
Andrey Zeits
Astana Pro Team
+ 3'34
31
Leonardo Bertagnolli
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
32
Morris Possoni
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
33
Frantisek Rabon
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 4'25
34
Craig Lewis
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
35
Krzysztof Jeżowski
Bank BGZ
s.t.
36
Marcel Aregger
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
37
Martin Pedersen
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
38
Petr Benčík
Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
39
Manuele Mori
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
40
Bartosz Huzarski
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 5'02
41
Evgeniy Kovalev
RusVelo
+ 5'29
42
Dmitry Kosyakov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
43
Federico Canuti
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 6'03
44
Kevin De Weert
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
45
Domenico Pozzovivo
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
46
Valerio Agnoli
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
47
Christopher Butler
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
48
Rafal Majka
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
49
Matteo Rabottini
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
50
Cristiano Benenati
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
51
Daniel Foder
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
52
Serguei Klimov
RusVelo
+ 7'19
53
Zsolt Der
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
54
Dimitry Ignatiev
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
55
Pawel Cieslik
Bank BGZ
s.t.
56
Joan Horrach
Katusha Team
s.t.
57
Cristiano Salerno
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
58
Gang Xu
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
59
Stefano Agostini
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
60
Nikolas Maes
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
61
Yury Trofimov
Katusha Team
s.t.
62
Davide Ricci Bitti
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
63
Eduard Vorganov
Katusha Team
s.t.
64
Brian Vandborg
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
65
Diego Caccia
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
66
Michael Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
67
Pavel Kochetkov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
68
Vladislav Borisov
Amore & Vita
+ 8'19
69
Andrey Solomennikov
Itera - Katusha
+ 9'13
70
Juraj Sagan
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
71
Joey Rosskopf
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
72
Fabio Calabria
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
73
Alexander Kvachuk
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
74
Alexsandr Dyachenko
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
75
Aaron Kemps
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
76
Laszló Bodrogi
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
77
Leonardo Giordani
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
s.t.
78
Sonny Colbrelli
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 10'21
79
Leonid Krasnov
RusVelo
s.t.
80
Angelo Pagani
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
81
Matthew Brammeier
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
82
Artur Detko
Bank BGZ
s.t.
83
Nikolai Trussov
RusVelo
+ 11'17
84
Arkimedes Arguelyes
RusVelo
s.t.
85
Frederik Wilmann
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
86
Matej Jurco
Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
87
Aljaz Hocevar
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 12'16
88
Mauro Da Dalto
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 12'35
89
Gianluca Brambilla
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
90
Oleg Opryshko
Amore & Vita
+ 13'15
91
Artur Ershov
RusVelo
+ 13'53
92
Andrew Fenn
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
93
Jakub Danačík
Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
94
Alexander Foliforov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
95
Stefan Schumacher
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
96
Pavel Gorenc
Adria Mobil
s.t.
97
Patrick Schelling
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
98
Nikita Eskov
RusVelo
+ 14'27
99
Yovcho Yovchev
Amore & Vita
s.t.
100
Denys Karnulin
ISD - Lampre Continental
s.t.
101
Anton Storchous
Amore & Vita
s.t.
102
Simon Pavlin
Adria Mobil
s.t.
103
Andrea Guardini
Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
+ 15'16
104
Michaël Baer
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
105
Piotr Sztobryn
Bank BGZ
s.t.
106
Sergey Valynin
RusVelo
s.t.
107
Vyacheslav Kuznetsov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
108
Matej Gnezda
Adria Mobil
s.t.
109
Adam Stachowiak
Bank BGZ
s.t.
110
Artem Tesler
Amore & Vita
s.t.
111
Stefano Locatelli
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
112
Patrik Moren
Amore & Vita
s.t.
113
Radoslav Romanik
Bank BGZ
s.t.
114
Jonathan Fumeaux
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
115
Biao Liu
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
116
Anatoliy Pakthusov
ISD - Lampre Continental
s.t.
117
Jaroslaw Dabrowski
Amore & Vita
s.t.
118
Tomasz Nose
Adria Mobil
s.t.
119
Alberto Contoli
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 17'11
120
Marco Haller
Katusha Team
s.t.
121
Adriano Malori
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
122
Patrick Schubert
Bank BGZ
s.t.
123
Marco Coledan
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
124
David Rosch
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
125
Nicholas Francesconi
Amore & Vita
s.t.
126
Simon Pellaud
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
127
Marcin Urbanowski
Bank BGZ
+ 19'11
128
Maksym Vasilyev
ISD - Lampre Continental
s.t.
129
Jiri Polnicky
Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
130
Raphael Addy
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
131
Jakub Vecera
Whirlpool - Author
+ 19'34
132
Alexander Kamp
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 22'04
133
Peter Erdin
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
Team Summary
What a frustrating end to a race! It looked really good for Velits with 3km to go as he was very well positioned on El Fares' wheel, but the slippery descent caught him out. In the end, our best result was 17th, which we won't be writing home about, but we were definitely due a bad result somewhere.
Race Winner
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
Very nice Sardegna for you with Pliuschin, Bole and Spilak getting success. GP dell'Insubria went very well too, nice start for Velits and Lugano was just unlucky. Keep it up
Our final race in February is back in Sardinia where we have just finished the Giro di Sardegna. This one, though, only lasts one day. The Classica Sarda, which runs from the North of the island in Sassari to the South in Cagliari, is a hilly race with a difficult uphill finish. The previous winners are Brutt and Visconti, so that tells you that you have to be a strong rider to win this. Our Giro di Sardegna team stays together for this one, so we will be looking to get Grega to the finish first, but also see what Spilak and Szymd can do.
Worth a Bet
Simon Spilak (Skoda - Orlen)
Sylwester Szymd (Skoda - Orlen)
Francesco Ginanni (Acqua & Sapone)
Stefan Denifl (Vacansoleil)
Maciej Paterski (Liquigas)
Wladimir Miholjevic (Acqua & Sapone)
Rafael Valls (Vacansoleil)
The breakaway contained 10 riders, including Chuzhda who was making the most of his opportunity in the spotlight and was doing a lot of the work. Nine of the eleven teams present were represented in this group.
Over the long, steep first climb, the group was reduced to eight riders as sprinters Sabatini and Porsev couldn't cope with Chuzhda's pace. The gap back to the peloton was now seven minutes.
Halfway through the race, there was a big split in the peloton. There were only 48 riders in it before the split, but now the front group was reduced to just 21 riders. All of our guys were on the right side of the split.
With just under 20km to go for the breakaway, Chuzhda followed an attack by Frolov and Duggan and as soon as they were finished, he just rode away from them. It was now the peloton against Chuzhda.
Representing the peloton was Florencio, who was burying himself for team mate Vicioso. The rest of the breakaway had been caught and were slowly getting shelled out the back, as well as Nechita and Pliuschin for us.
With five kilometres to go, Oleg was still a minute ahead of the rapidly reducing peloton. He was now churning up the final climb, with barely anything left in his legs. In the distance, Matt Lloyd attacked but it came to nothing.
And, just like Laigueglia with Marczynski, Chuzhda was caught under the flamme rouge. He was distraught, but kept pedalling hard to claim a top ten place. Superb effort.
This race was unbelievably similar to Laigueglia, without the crashes, and the result was exactly the same for us. Bole was just beaten to the line by Vicioso, which was very frustrating. Spilak, Szymd and Grivko also got top six finishes.
Result
1
Ángel Vicioso
Katusha Team
5h11'59
2
Grega Bole
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
3
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
+ 12
4
Simon Spilak
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 27
5
Sylwester Szmyd
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
6
Andriy Grivko
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 35
7
Sergey Lagutin
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
8
Matthew Lloyd
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
9
Stefano Garzelli
Acqua & Sapone
+ 46
10
Oleg Chuzhda
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 54
Spoiler
11
Tomasz Marczynski
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
12
Marco Marzano
Lampre - ISD
+ 1'07
13
Stefan Denifl
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'16
14
Maxime Vantomme
Katusha Team
+ 1'22
15
Alexandre Pliuschin
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
+ 2'35
16
Kristjan Koren
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 2'40
17
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
18
Simone Masciarelli
Acqua & Sapone
s.t.
19
Steven Wong
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
20
Timothy Duggan
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 2'51
21
Igor Frolov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
22
Vitaliy Buts
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
23
Jarosław Rębiewski
Bank BGZ
+ 3'31
24
Timofey Kritskiy
Katusha Team
+ 3'37
25
Rüdiger Selig
Katusha Team
+ 4'09
26
Vladimir Isaychev
Katusha Team
+ 4'18
27
Petr Ignatenko
Katusha Team
s.t.
28
Alexander Porsev
Katusha Team
s.t.
29
Andrei Nechita
Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
30
Francesco Ginanni
Acqua & Sapone
+ 8'20
31
Paolo Longo Borghini
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 8'38
32
Rob Ruijgh
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
33
Vladimir Miholjevic
Acqua & Sapone
s.t.
34
Alessandro Proni
Acqua & Sapone
+ 8'53
35
Rafael Valls
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 8'57
36
Daniele Ratto
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 9'02
37
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
38
Maciej Paterski
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
39
Fabio Taborre
Acqua & Sapone
s.t.
40
Matteo Bono
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
41
Alessandro Donati
Acqua & Sapone
s.t.
42
Jacek Morajko
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
43
Danilo Napolitano
Acqua & Sapone
+ 9'22
44
Simone Stortoni
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
45
Martijn Keizer
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 9'32
46
Fabio Sabatini
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
47
Damiano Caruso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
48
Michal Golas
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
49
Konrad Tomaszewski
Bank BGZ
s.t.
50
Iljo Keisse
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 10'43
51
Nikita Novikov
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 11'32
52
Pawel Brylowski
Bank BGZ
s.t.
53
Wouter Mol
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 11'43
54
Ivan Kovalev
RusVelo
s.t.
55
Mikhail Antonov
Itera - Katusha
+ 11'56
56
Winner Anacona
Lampre - ISD
+ 13'01
Team Summary
I have lost count of the amount of second and third places we have had so far this season, and to be honest, I don't care. 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 11th in one race is a new one for me, but the peloton was very small and weak, so it's not too strange. That is February out of the way and we now move on to March where we have yet more one day races in Italy, and we will be moving to new parts of Europe aswell. Exciting times ahead.
The latest news from the cycling world at the end of February, which contains no World Tour races:
February has been a very good month for Spanish veterans, with Freire winning in both Qatar and Oman, Flecha winning Omloop and Kuurne and Lastras winning in Andalucia. Kiriyienka also had a good month winning in Mallorca and Algarve. More surprising were the results for Tom Dumoulin, Lisowicz and Mombaerts. ps. ignore the results from Lugano and Sarda, the save corrupted (AGAIN) so I had to go back a day, and sim them.
Freire took the rider of the month award, which is hardly a shock after winning six stages and the overall in both races in the Middle East. Pliuschin takes young rider of the month for a second time in a row after a magnificent performance in Sardinia.
Rankings The continental tour has been led by Bole for the entire month. The Slovenian keeps picking up podium positions on a consistent basis and has had a magnificent start to the season. The only riders near him are French, Kern and Mombaerts.
In the teams rankings, it is Bole's team, new boys Skoda - Orlen, that lead the way by nearly 80 points from Farnese Vini. Europcar and Topsport are the only other teams to have had decent starts to the season.
The CQ ranking is still led by Hushovd, based purely on his Tour Down Under victory. There has only been one big race this month, Omloop het Nieuwsblad, which was won by Flecha, who is in sixth place. Cancellara already sits inside the top ten, with the classics approaching.
Movistar are destroying the opposition at the moment, mainly due to the fact that they get a lot of 1-2-3's in the Spanish races. Kiriyienka, Arroyo and Lastras have all started well. Katusha are a clear second ahead of Sky and the quick starting Skoda - Orlen.
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
Here is the March news bulletin from Skoda - Orlen Professional Cycling Team:
Well, February was another great month for the team. A lot of outside observers have noted how they forgot we were a new team because of how quickly we have settled into the peloton. The only overall victory for us was at the very start of the month at the GP Etruschi, but further great performances from Bole, Pliuschin, Spilak and Velits have put the team at the top of the Continental Tour rankings already.
Pliuschin wins Stage 1 of the Giro di Sardegna with a magnificent solo attack.
Pliuschin won a stage of the Giro di Sardegna and despite falling gradually down the GC, he took home the white jersey. Spilak finished on the podium in the same race.
Image of the Month
Grega Bole takes a superb sprint victory at the GP Costa Degli Etruschi at the start of February.
March Race Preview
March begins with two further one day races in Italy, the Giro del Friuli and Strade Bianche. After our application for a Tirreno - Adriatico wildcard got rejected, the team decided instead to head for France for the one-day race,Cholet - Pays de Loire. We're still waiting for news on our Milano-San Remo wildcard, but whether we go there or not, we have two stage races at the end of the month to look forward to. The Settimana Coppi e Bartali in Italy and the prestigious Critérium International in Corsica, France. Another wildcard we have applied for is for the Gent - Wevelgem cobbled classic in Belgium. It is the only one of the big three cobbled classics that we will be trying to get a wildcard for. Fingers crossed.
The Future
Well, we have found one promising rider in Slovenia. A sprinter named Nik Furlan, who could be the next Borut Bozic, who knows? Will we be signing him or not? That decision will be made later in the season, but he certainly looks talented.
And Finally...
The management is already looking ahead to next season, with potential signings being weighed up. Whilst we hope to sign at least three neo-pro's, we have drawn up a shortlist of Eastern European riders who are out of contract at the end of the season. The biggest names are Kreuziger, Sagan and Rabon. We also have to look at renewing the contracts of our own riders, including Kiserlovski. A busy time lies ahead for the boss!
See you on the roads in March,
SKODA - ORLEN PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM
HQ, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
Nice work so far man, great writing. What difficulty are you on though, it's a little boring to see you get such good results, even if you don't win every time. Great work though.
@teddy I'm on hard at the moment, but as I said a bit earlier, if I think it's becoming too easy to win, which it definitely isn't at the moment, I will put it up to the big extreme. What you have to remember is that all of these races are small continental ones and riders like Bole, Spilak and Velits are definitely World Tour riders. Hopefully, we'll have some more challenging races soon, but we need to get a wildcard first
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
Our first race in March is the Giro del Friuli, which is another hilly race in Italy. The race is held in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, which is not only the location of the evil Monte Zoncolan, but it also shares a border with Slovenia making this an important race for the team and, in particular, Grega Bole. Previous winners include Jose Serpa and Roberto Ferrari. Our eight man squad is once again led by Bole, with capable support from Kocjan, Huzarski and Stybar amongst others. Kiserlovski will have a free role again and he will hope to give it a go on the steep climb that the riders will have to cross six times, the final ascent being just a few kilometres from the finish.
