It looked set to be a windy day in Belgium, and looking at the direction of the wind, it was set to be a fast finish.
Victory is the plan, so it will be all about making sure the breakaway doesn't go all the way!
Race Report
12km: The day started with just 3 riders breaking away from the peleton. We sent Matt Brammeier up the road today, taking a bit of the pressure off our guys back in the main group.
32km: Riders went off the front one after another, and soon it was a break of 23 (yes 23!) riders. It was clear that that was far too dangerous, and it was soon brought back.
56km: With everything back together, there was a moment of calm for around 200m before 10 more riders went off the front. They built up quite a nice gap, gaining a maximum of 2'32" over the chasers, before yet again, small groups of riders tried to bridge the gap, ultimately created a break of 22 riders.
102km: Reaching the half way point on the stage, the route was littered with riders. Out front was the large group of 22 riders, with 2 smaller groups behind; one with 5 riders and another with 3 riders, closely followed by the Garmin and Sky led peleton. In all, 1'53" separated the leaders from the main pack.
134km: With over 60km til the finish, there was no rush in pulling back the breakaway. Slowly but surely, the gap decreased, with everything coming back together as we rolled back into Schoten for the first lap of the finishing circuit.
165km: We decided to keep the pace high on the finishing circuits, but that did not stop Nico Eeckhout (AnPost - Sean Kelly) from trying to make one last attempt.
187km: But it was not to be for Eeckhout, as lead out trains took control. Tony hit the front, with Lars, Bernie, Mark and myself perfectly placed behind.
196km: As the sprint opened up, Sky looked to have the edge over us. Greg Henderson was leading out Ben Swift, whilst on his wheel was the Australian Heinrich Haussler (Garmin). This was gonna be a close one...
198km: And it was indeed close! I take the victory by half a bike length ahead of Swift and Haussler!
If the rumours circulating in the cycling press is to believed, OmegaPharma are set to lose Jurgen Van den Broeck and Jelle Vanendert at the end of the season. Van den Broeck is a target for both RadioShack and Team Sky, whilst Vanendert is wanted by HTC- Highroad.
Elsewhere, George Hincapie could be on his way out of BMC. The Classics rider, known in the peleton during his Columbia - Highroad days as 'Captain America', has been heavily linked with a move to France, with FDJ and Cofidis monitoring the situation closely.
The Tour de Romandie is the final race before the Giro d'Italia, and we come here with many riders looking at finalising that preparation.
Marco Pinotti will lead the team, supported by Michael Albasini and Gatis Smukutis. My lead-out team will be made up of my faithful right hand man Mark Renshaw, along with New Zealand Champion Hayden Roultson, Patrick Gretsch and Frantisek Rabon.
The main aim is a Top 5 GC finish for Marco, whilst I will try to pick up some stage wins along the way.
Stage 1 of the Tour de Romandie is a 3km prologue around the centre of Martigny. Normally I would look forward to this sort of flat, short course, but I am lacking fitness, so will just have to see how I get on.
Race Report
0km: On the start ramp, there had been a lot of riders before me. Andrew Talansky (Garmin) had set the quickest time so far, completing the course in 4'51"
3km: I crossed the line a disappointing 97th place, 16" down on the eventual stage winner Talansky.
27th April 2011 - Tour de Romandie
(Martigny - Leysin)
After a disappointing show in the ITT yesterday, the focus changes to Marco, and his fight for GC. After a steady start to the stage, the route begins to favour to climbers and the 4.4km climb to finish should be enough to show who will be there or thereabouts in the GC battle.
Race Report
The stage was won by Joaquím Rodríguez (Katusha), after a big attack on the 4.4km climb to the finish line. He won the race 38" ahead of Ángel Vicioso (Androni Giocattoli) and Igor Antón (Euskatel). Marco finished in 4th place, 53" behind Rodríguez.
Ian Butler wrote:
Great news, waiting for the next sprint victory (btw what do you think about Cav going to OPQS, it's official now)
There are a few Mountain Stages at Romandie to do first, but yes, hopefully another victory in stage 3.
And Cav to OPQS... Great news! I only supported Sky because of him! I have not liked how Sky came into the sport, treated it like something it isn't and at time have been laughable with a lack of 'Plan B' when 'Plan A' went wrong. There are enough people already on the Team Sky bandwagon, without me pretending to be on it as well I am going to predict it now! CAV 4 GREEN TdF13!
28th April 2011 - Tour de Romandie
(Romont - Romont)
It's going to be another stage for the GC men. Undulating route all day, with a steep rise to the finish line.
Race Report
BMC's Steve Morabito took the victory on stage 3, holding off his breakaway companions, as well the advancing peleton on the line. Bart de Clercq (OmegaPharma) and Kevin de Weert (Quickstep) completed the day's podium. Marco finished 6th with the other GC rivals.
29th April 2011 - Tour de Romandie
(Thierrens - Neuchâtel)
Yet another stage which is termed as flat from the race organisers. But in my eyes, this could be a difficult one for the out and out sprinters.
The main aim is stage victory, with the HTC train ready to show itself in Switzerland.
Race Report
12km: Two riders got away at the start of the stage, one of them being Patrick Gretsch, a decision made to help ease the work load needed to be made by the team.
17km: In fact it was Katusha who controlled the breakaway, looking after race leader Joaquím Rodríguez in the process.
43km: The words 'Sagan - Puncture' cracked through Race Radio. But as we descended into the valley below, was it Peter or Juraj? Further information from the car revealed it was indeed Juraj, and this would be the last time he would see the peleton.
67km: On the descent into the valley, Alexander Kristoff (BMC) joined up with the 2 breakawy men, with 2 further riders in the gap in between.
143km: Hitting the final two climbs, just 3'12" separated the break from the peleton, and coming over the second of the KoM clibs, that was down to just 34".
159km: The break was finally caught with 10km left, and it was looking set for a sprint finish. However, that did not stop some riders making some last ditched attempts for the win.
162km: We did not allow anything to get clear, and as the sprint began, it looked like Garmin had the upper hand. Frantisek was doing a great job, and Hayden was primed to go!
164km: And yet again I finish off their hard work, but it was not as simple as it looked...
164km: Just half a wheel width was the difference between Farrar and myself. Regardless of the distance, I was delighted. Victory number 6 of the season in the bag!
6th April 2011 - Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen 
26th April - 1st May 2011 - Tour de Romandie 
