MrUfo87 - Thanks! Nobody expected Gretsch, but we put him in great shape nevertheless!
Jesleyh - Kelderman had a busy season so I'm guessing he had a very low form, that happens for the WC sometimes Maybe I'll try to get him to the team later on in this story, so I can control his schedule
sutty68 - Thanks! The team's really been shining in this late season! A lot of great wins and honorable places. Maybe Slagter can pull a win out of Lombardia, who knows?
The team will mostly stay together. I think one will leave and Kittel has gone (retired). One stagair (young Dutch sprinter) came in and the final place was filled by Martijn Maaskant, the Dutch cobbler, as a lieutenant for Stijn in the classics
Paris - Tours, as ancient a race as they come. It used to be very high profile, but it's lost much of its prestige. Hoping to change that, we sent a strong team today.
It's quite flat, but the finish is near some hilly terrain. Could be treacherous.
Willy Wouters
I can't even begin to express how glad I am to be back. I'm definitely not in top shape but if I can finish the race, it'll be a success!
Fortunately, the race went smoothly and I finished well on time. This gives me hope, I don't think my winter will be ruined by my health. I'm alreayd much better, I wouldn't be racing if I weren't!
Stijn Van Gent
It was racing up that final hill for a good position. I must admit it was kind of cool. These races don't feel like obligations. Most of the team is already retired, on vacation. So these races are more about fun than obligation, for some reason. I had a great time racing that hill!
However, I overdid it just a little and I missed some strength for the sprint. Oh well, I'll remember that for Milan - San Remo next season!
Result
1
Romain Feillu
Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
5h21'39
2
Jure Kocjan
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
3
Raymond Kreder
Team Garmin-Barracuda
s.t.
4
Nacer Bouhanni
FDJ-BigMat
s.t.
5
William Bonnet
Bretagne-Schuller
s.t.
6
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky Pro Cycling
s.t.
7
Stijn Van Gent
Team Argos-Shimano
s.t.
IanButler
8
Robert Wagner
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
9
Julien Antomarchi
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
10
Daniele Colli
Team Type 1 - Sanofi
s.t.
Chrono Des Nations
Our very final race. Chrono des Nations used to be the unofficial championship of the world, before the ITT was launched.
48 km of lonely roads ahead of us here!
Stijn Van Gent
I really sucked today, but I loved it. I can't explain it but it just felt like a nice finish of this amazing season. I've grown so much and performed better than I thought. Today was a perfect finish, just a nice ride to finish it off!
Willy Wouters
I didn't have any expectations for today. It would be important to see where I stand, though, for my winter training. I hope I didn't fall too much behind, being ill.
I finish top 10, which makes me very hopeful!
Then it was time for our World Champion to impress. He took the win by far. Well done!
Slagter scored a stage win here, in the only hilly mountain!
Well, we're sad to announce the racing's over now!
We'll definitely bring you a (short) season review, along with the rankings among other things. We've enjoyed 2013, we hope you have too. We'll see you in a few weeks with more news, reviews and previews!
Stijn & Willy
They really have made great progress this year, both winning World Tour races. Especialy Willy in Tirreno (or at least I think it was ) was awesome.
For next year, I would like to see Stijn win a big classic. With Maaskant, he has the decent helper he missed this year. Willy on the other hand should aim for a win in either Giro or Vuelta, before returning to the Tour in 2015.
But all in all, I think they should ride less races and try to peek for the races that do matter. Especialy towards the end of the season, they seemed a bit tired. Stijn lost a lot of sprints he wouldn't have lost earlier on in the season, and Willy even got himself almost killed
BikeRoel - We're going into 2014 with motivation high up, glad to have you on board Check the first post of the thread for some background about Stijn and Willy
Ollfardh - It was a year of discovery and progress, that's for sure
I think I'll take your advice on Willy's calender, maybe avoiding the Tour. Though I'm not sure yet, I'll have to look into it!
I agree with less races and peak better. Stijn flattened out near the end, but it flatters him that he keeps trying. He just wants to wear that jersey as much as possible
sutty68 - It sure was a good year. Let's make the next one better
Welcome to our final post of 2013. This year has been an amazing experience for the both of us, with ups and downs. Here we will review our season personally (don't worry, we'll keep it short) , talk about the final standings and announce some SHOCKING NEWS!
Stijn Van Gent
I've already reviewed my performances of the cobbled season, so I won't bore you with that. What happened after is even more amazing. Winning that Belgian Jersey changed my entire life and particularly my career. It made me win that Tour stage and much more. 2 years in the professional peloton and 16 victories already, it's unbelievable.
I learned a lot from this season. A couple of lessons I've learned:
1. I've grown strong enough for both sprinting and classics.
2. +80 race days is too much for me.
3. When it doesn't rain in Paris - Roubaix, it rains in the Tour -> Global Changing
Mostly I'm a changed man, looking at how I was at the beginning of the season. My confidence grew and I got some amazing results already. I hope I can build on that to make me an amazing palmares.
Willy Wouters
My second part of the season was cut short, unfortunately. I made a mistake to enter a race sick. However, let's not talk about that, since my winter has been pretty good so far!
My highlight was the Tour. My debut and I finished 10th, leaving with a stage win. That is amazing, and I think I can lead a Grand Tour in the next season. However, with the SHOCKING NEWS coming up, it won't be easy. Really, SHOCKING NEWS.
UCI Individual Ranking 2013
Is this the SHOCKING NEWS?... No it isn't... Stijn made a 10th place, though. Which is, at his age, unbelievable. He can truly say he's among the strongest of modern cyclist...
UCI Team Ranking 2013
For a first year in the World Tour, Team Argos - Shimano has re-invented itself as a team that battles on all fronts. Revealing the SHOCKING NEWS later on, that will only get better.
SHOCKING NEWS
After many a fight with his team management and a break of contract, he didn't have many places to go. Team Argos - Shimano made a bid and got the upper hand. Ladies and gentlemen, racing for Team Argos - Shimano from 2014 until 2015, the best cyclist of 2013, the leader of the rankings: Joaquin Rodriguez! Aged 34, he will be leading some races and taking back some gas in others, training some of us younger guys with his experience and wisdom.
Wow! That's indeed shocking news. What a great signing for Argos!
And those WT ranking positions of Willy, but especially Stijn, are amazing too!
Both of this surely deserve a banana
Ian Butler wrote: BikeRoel - We're going into 2014 with motivation high up, glad to have you on board Check the first post of the thread for some background about Stijn and Willy
Thankyou, and I also read the first few posts to get to know about the two riders wish you luck in the year 2014, and Joaquim Rodriguez is a shocking signing. Hope he is gonna win a lot for your team
Jesleyh - Yeah, it kind of was an accident actually. He was still unsigned and I wanted to sign him so I could change his contract in the editor but suddenly it was November 26th so he joined, oh well
TheManxMissile - You know what strikes me? You're a negative person Strange thing about that team, will check into it...
BikeRoel - Thanks a lot Hope so, too!
PCM rulezz - Let's hope he shines Argos colors certainly did Stijn and Willy good! Though I seriously doubt they'll stay here for the rest of their careers...
sutty68 - That's very true! Willy has got capacities to ride Ardennes Classics, maybe Rodriguez can teach him to tactics and the instinct. .
Thanks for following everyone! Let's have a great 2014
I'm going to make schedules now, so don't expect a race today, it always takes much time for me, puzzling those calendars
Wow Willy and Purito will be a duo to be reckoned with in the mountains in 2014! Been busy in the last few days so I've had some catching up to do! Both riders doing great - looking forward to see what 2014 can bring
Welcome into 2014. We all survived New Years here in the Netherlands. Let me tell you, people here can drink a lot of Amstel! Anyway, Team Argos - Shimano is taking on a new approach to its riders, and we must say it's quite nice. The management really wants to make a (one-year) family of the team, so they try to put us together quite a lot. So, for the schedules, we sat down with the entire team. Everyone could say what they wanted, and after a few hours, everyone was quite happy, actually!
Willy Wouters
February - I'll start in Mallorca, my first major victory of last year. Starting alongside Rodriguez, I don't count on leadership, but I hope to learn. What follows is the Tour of Oman.
March - Strade Bianchi, Tirreno - Adriatico, Milan - San Remo and the Tour of Catalunya. A busy month, lots of races.
April - Taking a rest!
May - Californian Road. I love America, I need races there!
July - Tour de France. Yes, the Tour. I'll explain in a moment.
So far that's all. what follows will depend on results up until the Tour. Maybe Canada, don't know yet. I hope to be selected for the WC ITT! This year's profile is perfect for me, with a flat and a ascending section!
So I'll be going back to the Tour, this time as an absolute leader. How did this happen? First I wanted the Vuelta, actually, but the "problem" was that this Tour is nothing for Rodriguez, too many time trial kilometers. So Rodriguez is doing the double: Giro - Vuelta. Costa won't be racing a Grand Tour this year and Kruijswijk will start in the Giro. In the end, I think it'll be an interesting Tour and I can't wait to see where I'll end up, with many TT kilometers and some nice mountain stages!
Stijn Van Gent
January - I'll be starting early this time, in the Santos Tour Down Under. I've never raced there, so I'm curious! I'll be the lead sprinter there. Slagter will be going for the classification.
February - Following Willy to Mallorca and Oman (also sprinting there), then it's on to the Omloop and Kuurne!
March - Strade Bianchi, Tirreno - Adriatico. Milan - San Remo, but the leaders are yet to be decided. We have Degenkolb, Slagter, Wegmann etc going, so we have many options! Then it's E4 and Gent - Wevelgem.
April - Ronde Van Vlaanderen and Paris - Roubaix! With Maaskant, I'm hoping for an amazing result!
May - Willy says it's amazing riding in America. He got real sick there, but I'm prepared to follow him to the Tour of California.
What follows then is still a question mark. But I guess I'll be riding the Eneco Tour and maybe those late classics? I don't know yet.
The cobbled classics will be exciting. Though this year I'll be trying to be a sprinter as well as a classic rider. I said that before, but usually I start my "sprint-"season after the classics. This year I'm going to mix it up. I'll be trying to keep up my form, strength and whatnot and perform good the whole season, in all areas. The Tour Down Under is a great place to start!
) was awesome.
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