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Double Feature | THE END
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| juszta |
Posted on 30-12-2012 09:15
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Really nice top 10 place again by Stijn!
Maybe tomorrow we will see Willy in action?  |
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| Jesleyh |
Posted on 30-12-2012 09:37
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I wonder about something. Did you get the name Willy Wouters from the Vacansoleil rider Willem Wauters? I was reading the TDU topic, and it said that Willem Wauters is on the startlist, and I thought, hey, that's Ian's rider 
Feyenoord(football) and Kelderman fanboy
PCMdaily Awards: 12x nomination, 9x runner-up, 0x win.
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| juszta |
Posted on 30-12-2012 09:39
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Jesleyh wrote:
I wonder about something. Did you get the name Willy Wouters from the Vacansoleil rider Willem Wauters? I was reading the TDU topic, and it said that Willem Wauters is on the startlist, and I thought, hey, that's Ian's rider
Hehe, I was confused there for a second too! |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 30-12-2012 09:50
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Tour de France Champion
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sutty68: Thanks, it were two tough sprints but he made the best of it!
dienblad: This time I'm really proud of it, too, with the lowered stats 
juszta: Let's hope Willy takes over result-wise, now 
Jesleyh: No, I actually never heard of Willem Wauters before I read it in the TDU topic. It's a coincidence. Wouters/Wauters is a recurring name in Dutch and I've always loved the name Willy, so it's a pure coincidence, strangely enough
Thanks for the support. More of this later today |
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| andy222c |
Posted on 30-12-2012 10:00
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Sprinter
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Great sprint by Stijn! Top 10 is a descent result for him
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| PCM rulezz |
Posted on 30-12-2012 10:31
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Sick for 2 days and I mist 3 pages
You are doing a great job.
Winners never quit, quitters never win.
It's difficult not to be happy when you're surrounded by Belgians. - Mark Cavendish
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| Daggen |
Posted on 30-12-2012 11:26
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Sprinter
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Goat - Manx 1-1 |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 30-12-2012 12:29
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andy222c: Thanks, it's a great result for him, considering what sprinters are here. His sprinting stats are nowhere near theirs
PCM rulezz: Yeah, got a little trouble starting school again, once I take a couple of days off, I usually keep in the holiday spirits for a couple of weeks until I really start again
Daggen: Unfortunately it'll stay that way. No more flat stages here  Thanks! |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 30-12-2012 12:29
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Tirreno - Adriatico :: Stage 4
The days for the sprinters are over as we head into the mountains.
The finale of this stage reminds us of an Ardennes Classic. It'll be a hard day, this being the longest stage in this year's edition of Tirreno - Adriatico.
I started the day relaxing, still enjoying my performance of the last two days.
No day is gone wasted and even though I haven't a chance today, I took the time to check out the competition for the cobbled classics. Cancellara seems in a great shape and tried to break away several times. It won't be easy to deal with him in the Ronde.
When the pace got too high and the peloton split, I was one of the final sprinters to be dropped, alongside Boonen. We had a chat once we were dropped, he seems ready for the cobbled season, too.
Well, today was a recon for me, checking out the competition. We won't have an easy job trying to defeat those men in the coming weeks. On the final slope, I even dropped Boonen and finished 84th, 15 minutes behind the winner of today.
I really should thanks Joost Van Leijen today. He was an amazing help and kept me out of the wind at the front for more than half the race. His legs weren't that great so that's why he decided to help me, instead. What a great guy!
But when the attacks came, I was on my own. I was ready for my first World Tour experience in the hillier terrain. It was raining attacks and the pace was excruciatingly high!
When Valverde and Rodriguez went, the pace dropped for a second, and they got away.
They formed a breakaway group and I found myself being part of the chasing group, soon to be reduced to a peloton of 16 men. It's amazing that I was part of it and I think the adrenaline was the only thing to keep me going, my legs were gone.
Lucky for us, they never got too much space. By some miracle we came closer and I hung on in the front of the race!
By the time the sprint started, a group of 20 was back together. But when Rodriguez launched his sprint, no one had an answer. He disappeared in a split second, winning the race.
Just as I crossed the finish, my last little bit of energy went out of my body. I was dead and had to be supported to get to the team bus. But I'm happy, I'm real happy, because I just finished inside the top 10!
This was an amazing day, and it gives me a lot of hope for the future. On a good day, like today, I can (barely) hang on to the absolute top. Of course, any acceleration and I'm dead, but I still have time to get better.
Result
| 1 | Joaquin Rodriguez | Katusha Team | 6h20'51 | | | 2 | Philippe Gilbert | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | | 3 | Peter Sagan | Liquigas-Cannondale | s.t. | | | 4 | Alessandro Ballan | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | | 5 | Alejandro Valverde | Movistar Team | s.t. | | | 6 | Oliver Zaugg | Radioshack Nissan Trek | + 33 | | | 7 | Alexandre Vinokourov | Astana Pro Team | + 58 | | | 8 | Jan Bakelants | Radioshack Nissan Trek | s.t. | | | 9 | Christian Vandevelde | Team Garmin-Barracuda | + 1'10 | | | 10 | Willy Wouters | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | IanButler |
GC
| 1 | Philippe Gilbert | BMC Racing Team | 16h59'14 | | | 2 | Alessandro Ballan | BMC Racing Team | + 6 | | | 3 | Alejandro Valverde | Movistar Team | + 16 | | | 4 | Oliver Zaugg | Radioshack Nissan Trek | + 30 | | | 5 | Joaquin Rodriguez | Katusha Team | + 33 | | | 6 | Peter Sagan | Liquigas-Cannondale | + 34 | | | 7 | Jan Bakelants | Radioshack Nissan Trek | + 55 | | | 8 | Christian Vandevelde | Team Garmin-Barracuda | + 1'01 | | | 9 | Jens Voigt | Radioshack Nissan Trek | + 1'07 | | | 10 | Linus Gerdemann | Radioshack Nissan Trek | s.t. | | | (...) | | 28 | Willy Wouters | Lotto Belisol | + 3'06 | IanButler |
Points
| 1 | Peter Sagan | Liquigas-Cannondale | 32 | | | 2 | José Joaquin Rojas Gil | Movistar Team | 13 | | | 3 | Allan Davis | Orica-GreenEDGE | 12 | |
KoM
| 1 | Sebastian Langeveld | Orica-GreenEDGE | 8 | | 2 | Oscar Gatto | Farnese Vini Selle Italia | 6 | | 3 | Jérôme Pineau | Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team | 5 |
Tomorrow is an even tougher finale, so let's hope for some spectacle there!
Stijn & Willy |
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| juszta |
Posted on 30-12-2012 12:36
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What a great day for Willy! Really nice performance!  |
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| dienblad |
Posted on 30-12-2012 12:40
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Nice ride in this hard stage!
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 15:46
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| Stromeon |
Posted on 30-12-2012 13:07
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Great ride from Willy! Let's see if he can get into the top 20 in GC now
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| PCM rulezz |
Posted on 30-12-2012 14:19
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Great performance for Willy
Winners never quit, quitters never win.
It's difficult not to be happy when you're surrounded by Belgians. - Mark Cavendish
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| rogvi97 |
Posted on 30-12-2012 14:39
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Very good! Willy seems to be in great shape too 
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 30-12-2012 15:23
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juszta: Thanks for the banana
dienblad: Thanks, both energy bars were completely empty, crossing the finish line!
Stromeon: That's the hope!
PCM rulezz: Thanks
rogvi97: Indeed, let's hope he has the same shape in the Giro, later this year! |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 30-12-2012 15:24
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Paris - Nice :: Conclusion
In the end, Casar rode the race of a lifetime and won the general classification. Van Den Broeck did not fulfill the team's expectations and finished 16th. It's still early in the season but Lotto Belisol will need some World Tour points. Let's hope he shines in the Tour! Greipel gave the team a nice present by winning the Points Jersey.
Top 10 Paris - Nice
| 1 | Sandy Casar | FDJ-BigMat | 25h47'08 | | 2 | Andy Schleck | Radioshack Nissan Trek | + 16 | | 3 | Bradley Wiggins | Sky Pro Cycling | + 19 | | 4 | Lars Petter Nordhaug | Sky Pro Cycling | + 48 | | 5 | Ivan Basso | Liquigas-Cannondale | + 49 | | 6 | Lieuwe Westra | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | + 1'02 | | 7 | Thomas Voeckler | Team Europcar | + 1'23 | | 8 | Marzio Bruseghin | Movistar Team | + 1'34 | | 9 | Branislau Samoilau | Movistar Team | + 1'52 | | 10 | Sergey Lagutin | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | + 1'56 |
Tirreno - Adriatico :: Stage 5
The toughest stage of this year's Tirreno - Adriatico. Gilbert is almost destined to lose the leader's jersey here. The biggest question is who will pick it up.
So the final two climbs are definitely the hardest, but the way to them is also filled with obstacles. There won't be a moment of rest in this race. So let's get it over with.
Today we saw a pretty big breakaway. BMC kept them under control and they had more than 5 minutes.
I dropped way before the big climbs. The pace was high all around and I didn't feel like blowing my legs today, so I dropped pretty early.
I kept with a rather large group, the gruppetto, and finished 93th.
I spent my day at the front, like yesterday. I had a nice chat with absolute talent Sagan. It turns out we like the same kind of food, isn't that nice?!
But there wasn't much time to chat. The action went down incredibly fast and there was a constant struggle for survival. I was very attentive and didn't miss the big split.
When Rodriguez went, it was in everyone's eyes: he's gone. He went on to win the stage.
The race was over, but for me it had yet to begin. I had a difficult moment at the start of the final climb. I had to let a rather large group go, or I would've blown my legs completely!
After a minute or two, I started feeling better. I was getting on top of myself again, I started accelerating. My legs feeling okay. A little harder, legs still fine. I was passing droppers by the second now, I started having hope!
To my big surprise, I reached a small group with Van Garderen. I planted myself in his wheel and took a small break.
After a couple of seconds, I believed I had regained my strength again, so I took over and I found myself riding away from them!
I couldn't believe it. It was the best feeling ever. However hard my legs were screaming of pain, I remembered Jens Voigt's advice: shut up, legs!
And I did it! I finished by myself, on a formidable 10th place, again! I'm growing a lot here, it's stages like this that will hopefully shape me into a honorable and strong GC contender!
It's been an incredible day, and even thinking about it gives me a warm feeling. Today I battled the mountains, I battled strong riders and mostly I battled myself. I feel I have conquered all three. Looking at the GC, I move up into the top 20, which is just amazing!
Result
| 1 | Joaquin Rodriguez | Katusha Team | 5h53'10 | | | 2 | Danilo Di Luca | Acqua & Sapone | + 1'12 | | | 3 | Samuel Sánchez | Euskaltel Euskadi | + 1'57 | | | 4 | Alejandro Valverde | Movistar Team | + 3'04 | | | 5 | Oliver Zaugg | Radioshack Nissan Trek | s.t. | | | 6 | Matteo Carrara | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | | 7 | Christian Vandevelde | Team Garmin-Barracuda | + 3'25 | | | 8 | Chris Anker Sørensen | Team Saxo Bank | + 4'09 | | | 9 | Amets Txurruka | Euskaltel Euskadi | s.t. | | | 10 | Willy Wouters | Lotto Belisol | + 6'29 | IanButler | | 11 | Jan Bakelants | Radioshack Nissan Trek | + 7'45 | | | 12 | Simon Spilak | Katusha Team | s.t. | | | 13 | Tejay Van Garderen | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | | 14 | Jens Voigt | Radioshack Nissan Trek | + 8'04 | | | 15 | Johnny Hoogerland | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | |
GC
| 1 | Joaquin Rodriguez | Katusha Team | 22h52'44 | | | 2 | Alejandro Valverde | Movistar Team | + 3'00 | | | 3 | Oliver Zaugg | Radioshack Nissan Trek | + 3'14 | | | 4 | Christian Vandevelde | Team Garmin-Barracuda | + 4'06 | | | 5 | Samuel Sánchez | Euskaltel Euskadi | + 4'30 | | | 6 | Danilo Di Luca | Acqua & Sapone | + 4'59 | | | 7 | Chris Anker Sørensen | Team Saxo Bank | + 5'05 | | | 8 | Matteo Carrara | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | + 5'11 | | | 9 | Philippe Gilbert | BMC Racing Team | + 7'44 | | | 10 | Amets Txurruka | Euskaltel Euskadi | + 8'05 | | | 11 | Peter Sagan | Liquigas-Cannondale | + 8'18 | | | 12 | Jan Bakelants | Radioshack Nissan Trek | + 8'20 | | | 13 | Jens Voigt | Radioshack Nissan Trek | + 8'51 | | | 14 | Willy Wouters | Lotto Belisol | + 9'15 | IanButler | | 15 | Simon Spilak | Katusha Team | + 9'18 | |
One more hilly stage and then the final time trial! Until tomorrow,
Stijn & Willy |
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| maxime86 |
Posted on 30-12-2012 15:36
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great ride by Willy!! |
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| Jesleyh |
Posted on 30-12-2012 15:45
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15274
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Great job again of Willy, another 10th place
What was the food that both Willy and Sagan like?
I remembered Jens Voigt's advice: shut up, legs!
Feyenoord(football) and Kelderman fanboy
PCMdaily Awards: 12x nomination, 9x runner-up, 0x win.
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| dienblad |
Posted on 30-12-2012 16:20
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Wise riding by Willy!
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| FreitasPCM |
Posted on 30-12-2012 16:56
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Grand Tour Champion
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Solid performances from Willy! |
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