As Henao was on the brink of winning his second Giro as well as it being the eve of our final race before July, the Tartu Grand Prix, I sat down with the three coaches to ask their views on what calibre of rider we should be signing for next season.
Me: So everyone what are your views on what the team should look like next season?
Andreu: I will make some tea! (He leaves to make some tea)
De Waele: Well I think we should utilise our strengths as coaches and sign hungry aggressive riders.
Gardeyn: I like the idea of a good solid sprint train like SES.
Me: Yes. But, Bert I don't think you quite understand. We will have a substantial budget to compete with the best in this level, we should not have another disaster like the Tour of Turkey on the cards. We should be able to fight for victory on all terrains.
(Andreu returns with the tea with biscuits as well)
De Waele: Okay, but we should only sign riders hungry for wins. I mean look at the success of Rabobank continental team in recent times
Andreu: Hmm, a sprint train does seem like a good idea.
Me: Agreed. I have been looking at Colbrelli, a rider who could really do well at this level and I have been in contact with a number of Belgians who like the idea of the team. Boonen, might even come, it would be huge if a star name like that could join. But puncheurs like Albert, climbers as well will be needed if we are to reach our objective of promotion. Of course we will be signing some more Qatari's.
Gardeyn: Ultimately, you have the final decision and we will back you no matter what you decide.
That was the meeting over I now had a better idea about what types of riders would fit the team ahead of my meeting next week with Qatari Optics owner Al-Bijouan.
PFan- The world is strange enough already!
MrUFo- I know that! But otherwise I would never read anything! Edited by The Rider on 27-06-2013 20:52
The stage underway and a three man break of Arguelyes, Des Cuevas and Lechuga get away uncontested on a rainy day.
The peloton never give them much leeway under poor conditions, they achieve a max gap of 4:10, on a day when there were plenty of crashes, Kummer and Sanderson were two big winners who went down.
The peloton are caught with around 10 kilometres to go, the rain had now gone, unsuccessful attacks from Ignatiev, Sulzberger, Dokcer and Konovalovas were neutralised.
Then with 5 kilometres to go Dennis (Orica) puts in a massive attack, however Jerome and Barredo are trying to get on terms.
Dennis looks a right tank as he crosses the line for the win, there was no stopping that. When the three attacked no sprinter wanted the stage, Kupeshov did brilliantly for us doing the leadout role and Nateghi won the bunch sprint with the big sprinters not really giving their all it would seem, still a marvellous result.
It was early June and I was in the Doha office of Qatar Optics owner Sheik Al-Bijouan. We talked through the team and what the goals were, in particular next season was discussed.
Of course I told him my ideas but most of the meeting involved the Sheik explaining to me that Qatar Optics has large sums of money suffice to acquire some 'top' names. He was realistic in the type of rider which may come to the team this early on, but he really stressed that a few big names needed to be signed soon. He was a mild mannered man but was persistent when we said that more Qatari's needed to be apart of the team.
I left the meeting soaking up the Qatari sunshine in a good mood, the team has a trip to Mississippi coming up before the hectic wheeling and dealing can begin!
@ MrUFO---- Thanks, although I think I preferred it when your English wasn't this good! Edited by The Rider on 27-06-2013 21:01
Myself, Andreu, the two Qatari's, C.S.Long and Yildiz were down in Mississippi looking to build a good team spirit ahead of next season. After traversing the state, going down back road after back road we finally found a place where they played real music, music that has deep meaning, I was hoping that the whole experience really opened up the rider's eyes.
I don't have an exact copy of the music but it went a bit like this:
@ MrUFO- Because imo it is more entertaining when people don't write in 'perfect' English.Edited by The Rider on 27-06-2013 22:00
---Before negotiating with riders outside of the current team, the contracts of riders currently at the team were negotiated, with everyone's contract running out apart from Al-Ghanim and Al-Zoid.
---I was overjoyed when C.S.Long and Sammy Yildiz came asking for new contracts, we offered them each a two year contract +90% extra on top of what they wanted to sweeten the deal.
---Qatari, Al-Mowaled has been offered a one year deal.
----Bazayev, Lagutin, Martinez and Lastras will all be retiring at the end of the season.
---Still suffering from his horrible injury we wished Roulston good luck but he will not be signing a new contract here.
---Although we thanked Kupeshov, O'Brien and Nateghi for their performances we told them the team wanted to go into a different direction away from the team of this season, so they should be looking for new teams.
- July was here and I was really busy trying to secure deals with riders, in the hope of building a team next season capable to gain promotion to the world tour.
- It didn't start to well. Big name targets, Duran(Former ITT world champion), Colbrelli, Appollonio, Arashiro and Greipel all rejected invitations, mainly because they didn't think the team was big enough.
-- However, the luck soon turned when Strage Bianchi winner, Russian TT and Russian road champion Tim Kritskiy signed on a long contract.
Spoiler
-- This was followed by a Bretagne duo signing. Izagirre, who has finished 4th and 5th in continental rankings and Aramendia, a real strong rider capable of winning on a tough day both signing for us.
Spoiler
-- Then another former Bretagne rider signed for us. Bakelants was the man, an exceptional rider for this level. We get him from American Express where mostly he has to work for other riders.
Spoiler
-- The team is very pleased to announce the signing of strong rider Simon Clarke in addition to the signing of young Qatari Al-Muwalid.
--- However, Qatari Al-Mowaled who currently rides for us will not have his contract renewed, him and his agent said they had hoped for better.
---Currently we have 10 riders for next season, fingers crossed, a star name sprinter will sign on the dotted line soon.
No Roulston next season. Same as Lagutin. But you've contracted some new riders, what is great! Hope the team isn't getting too strong for next season.
And both Ian Butler and The Rider don't make fun of my English.
Stage 1, a criterium around Xining taking in around 15 laps including short 11% hill, is arguably the hardest stage in the whole stage race. The stage race is made for sprinters yet there aren't that many here, our three sprinters were rated well inside the top 10 here, so our team should put in some great performances.
A strong 11 man break broke away which included strong riders such as Brutt, Moreno and Al Sulimani. Early pace setters on the bunch included Avianca.
With 60 kilometres to go the 'sprinter' teams Dukla and Dual Temp came to the front as well as us. Al Zaid and Ben Nasr were doing a great job. Sulimani had finished handing out the water bottles for the second time when we had a dilemma, which of our three sprinters should we back. It became pretty clear Kupeshov was feeling great so we would go with him.
With 20 kilometres to go the break were looking strong we sent C.S.Long to the front to help but the gap was not reducing from around 1:30. Frohlinger(SES Astra) attacks and will join the break after an attack on the steep hill.
Inside the last 10 kilometres the teammates are spent and the break are going to win with :40 over the peloton. Out-front Moreno looks strong and holds of Parygin for the victory, we were the only real team to launch a train and when Kupeshov finally started his sprint he looked the fastest, which bodes well for the coming stages, things are looking on the up for Qatar Optics.
STAGE RESULTS:
1
Javier Moreno
RusVelo
3h15'22
2
Ilya Parygin
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
3
Dimitry Kozontchuk
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
4
Abdurahman Al Sulimani
Team Nippo
s.t.
5
Stephen Cummings
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
6
Roberto Ezquerro
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
7
Johannes Fröhlinger
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
8
Markus Eibegger
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
9
Pavel Brutt
Katusha Team
s.t.
10
Joshua Atkins
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Andrea Santoni
Team WIT
s.t.
12
Maurizio Paperino
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
13
Anuar Manan
Dukla
+ 40
14
Juan José Lobato
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
15
Dominique Rollin
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
16
Valentin Iglinskiy
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
17
Carlos Barredo
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
18
Berik Kupeshov
Qatar Optics
s.t.
19
Miguel Rubiano
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
20
Mitchell Docker
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
21
Ingmar Dassler
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
22
Scott Thwaites
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
23
Marc Goos
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
24
Alexey Bauer
Katusha Team
s.t.
25
Sergey Kolesnikov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
26
John Darwin Atapuma
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
27
Lieuwe Westra
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
28
Edwin Parra
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
29
Sebastian May
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
30
Hossein Nateghi
Qatar Optics
s.t.
31
Juan Valerón
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
32
Yusuke Hatanaka
Team Nippo
s.t.
33
Stefano Locatelli
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
34
Roman Klimov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
35
Martin Gilbert
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
36
Pedro Merino
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
37
Andrey Klyuev
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
38
Andrey Zeits
Team Nippo
s.t.
39
Marino Palandri
Team WIT
s.t.
40
Samet Yildiz
Qatar Optics
s.t.
41
Maxim Pokidov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
42
Freddy Montaña
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
43
Diego Tamayo
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
44
Adriano Malori
Team WIT
s.t.
45
Ignatas Konovalovas
Dukla
s.t.
46
Sebastiaan Meyer
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
47
José Antonio De Segovia
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
48
David Veilleux
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
49
Egor Silin
Katusha Team
s.t.
50
Christophe Kern
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
51
Marcel Fischer
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
52
David De la Cruz
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
53
Jorge Azanza
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
54
Santiago Solano
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
55
Eduardo Curcio
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
56
Rory Sutherland
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
57
Serafín Martínez
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
58
Maarten Tjallingii
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
59
Chan Siu Long
Qatar Optics
s.t.
60
Johann Rabie
Team Nippo
s.t.
61
François Parisien
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
62
Yelko Gomez
Dukla
s.t.
63
Travis Meyer
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
64
Paco Reyes
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
65
Oscar Riesebeek
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
66
Zachary Bell
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
67
Aleksandr Kuschynski
Katusha Team
s.t.
68
Christian Meier
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
69
Nikita Novikov
RusVelo
s.t.
70
Michael Torckler
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
71
Alessandro Colo
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
72
Dalivier Ospina
Dukla
s.t.
73
Rafael Barrios
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
74
Robert Partridge
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
75
Mikel Nieve
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
76
Andrey Kashechkin
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
77
Anton Afanasyev
RusVelo
s.t.
78
Stefan Van Winden
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
79
Stefano Pirazzi
Katusha Team
s.t.
80
Sergey Isteleyov
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
81
Mikhail Antonov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
82
Juan Saez
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
83
Alex Coutts
Panathinaikos
+ 1'56
84
Istvan Cziraki
Panathinaikos
s.t.
85
Joonas Nazarov
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
86
Sergey Chernetskiy
RusVelo
s.t.
87
Fabio Negri
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
88
Patrick Konrad
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
89
Rafal Majka
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
90
Jacques Janse Van Rensburg
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
91
Sebastien Pristl
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
92
Ian McLeod
Dukla
s.t.
93
Jamie Sparling
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
94
Vladimir Gusev
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
95
Andriy Grivko
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
96
Hassen Ben Nasr
Qatar Optics
s.t.
97
Assan Bazayev
Qatar Optics
s.t.
98
Denis Kinder
Dukla
s.t.
99
Milos Horvath
Dukla
+ 3'25
100
Cameron Meyer
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
+ 4'40
101
Lucas Euser
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
102
Tomasz Nose
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
103
Stefan Schumacher
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
104
Lawson Craddock
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
105
Dean Windsor
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
106
Álex Cano Ardila
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
107
Alex Dowsett
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
108
Gabriel Bone
Panathinaikos
s.t.
109
Chad Beyer
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
110
Florian Guillou
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
111
Erick Rowsell
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
112
Donato Cannone
Team WIT
s.t.
113
Fabrizio Lucciola
Panathinaikos
s.t.
114
Carlos Quintero
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
115
Konstantin Pavlenko
RusVelo
s.t.
116
José Rujano
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
117
Jonas Horn
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
118
Spiros Tavlaridis
Panathinaikos
s.t.
119
Luca de Vivo
Katusha Team
s.t.
120
Tomohiro Hayakawa
Team Nippo
s.t.
121
Tomas Bakos
Dukla
s.t.
122
Imtiyaz Sulimani
Qatar Optics
s.t.
123
Giosuè Iacono
Katusha Team
s.t.
124
Emanuele Sella
Team WIT
+ 6'03
125
Abdulatif Al Zaid
Qatar Optics
s.t.
126
Raúl García de Mateos
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
+ 6'31
127
Rubén Pérez
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
128
Alexandros Mayridis
Panathinaikos
s.t.
129
Marcel Barth
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
130
Danilo Di Luca
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
131
Francesco Failli
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
132
Vitor Rodrigues
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
133
Manuel Ortega
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
134
Ivan Santaromita
Team WIT
s.t.
135
Bruno Agostini
Panathinaikos
s.t.
136
Anastasios Kourbetis
Panathinaikos
s.t.
137
Esteban Plaza
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
138
Juan José Moreno López
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
139
Bernat Martínez Fonseca
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
140
Marat Mikhaylov
RusVelo
s.t.
141
Santo Anza
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
142
Saito Kishi
Team Nippo
s.t.
143
Yuriy Agarkov
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
144
Yevgeny Kunayed
Astana Pro Team
+ 14'11
GENERAL RESULTS:
Spoiler
1
Javier Moreno
RusVelo
3h15'02
2
Ilya Parygin
Astana Pro Team
+ 8
3
Dimitry Kozontchuk
Itera - Katusha
+ 12
4
Abdurahman Al Sulimani
Team Nippo
+ 20
5
Stephen Cummings
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
6
Roberto Ezquerro
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
7
Johannes Fröhlinger
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
8
Markus Eibegger
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
9
Pavel Brutt
Katusha Team
s.t.
10
Joshua Atkins
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
11
Andrea Santoni
Team WIT
s.t.
12
Maurizio Paperino
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
13
Anuar Manan
Dukla
+ 1'00
14
Juan José Lobato
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
15
Dominique Rollin
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
16
Valentin Iglinskiy
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
17
Carlos Barredo
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
18
Berik Kupeshov
Qatar Optics
s.t.
19
Miguel Rubiano
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
20
Mitchell Docker
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
21
Ingmar Dassler
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
22
Scott Thwaites
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
23
Marc Goos
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
24
Alexey Bauer
Katusha Team
s.t.
25
Sergey Kolesnikov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
26
John Darwin Atapuma
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
27
Lieuwe Westra
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
28
Edwin Parra
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
29
Sebastian May
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
30
Hossein Nateghi
Qatar Optics
s.t.
31
Juan Valerón
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
32
Yusuke Hatanaka
Team Nippo
s.t.
33
Stefano Locatelli
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
34
Roman Klimov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
35
Martin Gilbert
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
36
Pedro Merino
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
37
Andrey Klyuev
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
38
Andrey Zeits
Team Nippo
s.t.
39
Marino Palandri
Team WIT
s.t.
40
Samet Yildiz
Qatar Optics
s.t.
41
Maxim Pokidov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
42
Freddy Montaña
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
43
Diego Tamayo
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
44
Adriano Malori
Team WIT
s.t.
45
Ignatas Konovalovas
Dukla
s.t.
46
Sebastiaan Meyer
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
47
José Antonio De Segovia
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
48
David Veilleux
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
49
Egor Silin
Katusha Team
s.t.
50
Christophe Kern
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
51
Marcel Fischer
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
52
David De la Cruz
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
53
Jorge Azanza
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
54
Santiago Solano
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
55
Eduardo Curcio
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
56
Rory Sutherland
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
57
Serafín Martínez
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
58
Maarten Tjallingii
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
59
Chan Siu Long
Qatar Optics
s.t.
60
Johann Rabie
Team Nippo
s.t.
61
François Parisien
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
62
Yelko Gomez
Dukla
s.t.
63
Travis Meyer
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
64
Paco Reyes
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
65
Oscar Riesebeek
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
66
Zachary Bell
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
67
Aleksandr Kuschynski
Katusha Team
s.t.
68
Christian Meier
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
69
Nikita Novikov
RusVelo
s.t.
70
Michael Torckler
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
71
Alessandro Colo
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
72
Dalivier Ospina
Dukla
s.t.
73
Rafael Barrios
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
74
Robert Partridge
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
75
Mikel Nieve
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
76
Andrey Kashechkin
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
77
Anton Afanasyev
RusVelo
s.t.
78
Stefan Van Winden
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
79
Stefano Pirazzi
Katusha Team
s.t.
80
Sergey Isteleyov
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
81
Mikhail Antonov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
82
Juan Saez
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
83
Alex Coutts
Panathinaikos
+ 2'16
84
Istvan Cziraki
Panathinaikos
s.t.
85
Joonas Nazarov
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
86
Sergey Chernetskiy
RusVelo
s.t.
87
Fabio Negri
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
88
Patrick Konrad
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
89
Rafal Majka
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
90
Jacques Janse Van Rensburg
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
91
Sebastien Pristl
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
92
Ian McLeod
Dukla
s.t.
93
Jamie Sparling
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
94
Vladimir Gusev
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
95
Andriy Grivko
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
96
Hassen Ben Nasr
Qatar Optics
s.t.
97
Assan Bazayev
Qatar Optics
s.t.
98
Denis Kinder
Dukla
s.t.
99
Milos Horvath
Dukla
+ 3'45
100
Cameron Meyer
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
+ 5'00
101
Lucas Euser
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
102
Tomasz Nose
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
103
Stefan Schumacher
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
104
Lawson Craddock
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
105
Dean Windsor
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
106
Álex Cano Ardila
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
107
Alex Dowsett
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
108
Gabriel Bone
Panathinaikos
s.t.
109
Chad Beyer
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
110
Florian Guillou
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
111
Erick Rowsell
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
112
Donato Cannone
Team WIT
s.t.
113
Fabrizio Lucciola
Panathinaikos
s.t.
114
Carlos Quintero
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
115
Konstantin Pavlenko
RusVelo
s.t.
116
José Rujano
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
117
Jonas Horn
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
118
Spiros Tavlaridis
Panathinaikos
s.t.
119
Luca de Vivo
Katusha Team
s.t.
120
Tomohiro Hayakawa
Team Nippo
s.t.
121
Tomas Bakos
Dukla
s.t.
122
Imtiyaz Sulimani
Qatar Optics
s.t.
123
Giosuè Iacono
Katusha Team
s.t.
124
Emanuele Sella
Team WIT
+ 6'23
125
Abdulatif Al Zaid
Qatar Optics
s.t.
126
Raúl García de Mateos
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
+ 6'51
127
Rubén Pérez
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
128
Alexandros Mayridis
Panathinaikos
s.t.
129
Marcel Barth
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
130
Danilo Di Luca
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
131
Francesco Failli
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
132
Vitor Rodrigues
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
133
Manuel Ortega
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
134
Ivan Santaromita
Team WIT
s.t.
135
Bruno Agostini
Panathinaikos
s.t.
136
Anastasios Kourbetis
Panathinaikos
s.t.
137
Esteban Plaza
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
138
Juan José Moreno López
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
139
Bernat Martínez Fonseca
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
140
Marat Mikhaylov
RusVelo
s.t.
141
Santo Anza
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
142
Saito Kishi
Team Nippo
s.t.
143
Yuriy Agarkov
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
144
Yevgeny Kunayed
Astana Pro Team
+ 14'31
After the stage the transfer business resumed, first we received confirmation of the exciting young Qatari rider's abilities..
Spoiler
before we pulled off a HUGE signing... yes we managed to sign Jose Joaquin Rojas. He will be the first to admit his career hasn't really lived up to the heights of when he won two stages at the 2013 tour de France, since then he has won the TDU and multiple smaller Spanish races, but we are confident he still has it in him to win races. We have our sprinter.. We have our leader.
Spoiler
We were very pleased to hear that Kupeshov has signed a deal with Astana, hopefully he will give it his all and look for a potential win in the rest of Qinghai Lake.
Don't let Silin being a stage favourite foul you, the modest climbing ends with 60 kilometres to go and from their it is flat to the finish.
A 12 man break including Bazayev got away, meaning we didn't have to chase. But Dual Temp, Dukla and Cantabria had more than enough quality to close down the break. Coming into the final it would be a mass sprint, Dual Temp had the only train in town.
But Docker couldn't finish off the good work, he was not fast enough. Lobato outsprints Manan for the win, for us we went with Yildiz. But the same problems keep recurring with him, he has a tendency to be blocked and he looses position to quickly at the moment.
Snow was falling on this flat stage, it was coming down strong .
A 14 man break gotaway but once again they were no trouble for the peloton and thesprinter teams, the break was caught with 10 kilometres to go. Dual Temp were looking really impressive once again setting up their sprint train. For us Yildiz was feeling really good and Kupeshov and Nateghi attempted to lead him out.
But they were no match for Dual Temp, but once again Docker couldn't finish off the job. Manan is looking good but Lobato comes out of the wheel and takes the win in the points leaders jersey for his second win in a row.
STAGE RESULTS:
1
Juan José Lobato
Cantabria Infinita
2h37'59
2
Anuar Manan
Dukla
s.t.
3
Lieuwe Westra
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
4
Alexey Bauer
Katusha Team
s.t.
5
David Veilleux
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
6
Dominique Rollin
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
7
Valentin Iglinskiy
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
8
Alex Dowsett
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
9
Mitchell Docker
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
10
Sergey Kolesnikov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Carlos Barredo
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
12
Lawson Craddock
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
13
John Darwin Atapuma
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
14
Samet Yildiz
Qatar Optics
s.t.
15
Yuriy Agarkov
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
16
Florian Guillou
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
17
Dean Windsor
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
18
Zachary Bell
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
19
Jacques Janse Van Rensburg
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
20
Travis Meyer
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
21
Stefan Schumacher
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
22
Diego Tamayo
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
23
Berik Kupeshov
Qatar Optics
s.t.
24
Ignatas Konovalovas
Dukla
s.t.
25
Ingmar Dassler
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
26
Marc Goos
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
27
Marcel Fischer
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
28
Chad Beyer
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
29
Sebastian May
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
30
Cameron Meyer
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
31
Patrick Konrad
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
32
Yusuke Hatanaka
Team Nippo
s.t.
33
Scott Thwaites
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
34
Mikel Nieve
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
35
Adriano Malori
Team WIT
s.t.
36
Egor Silin
Katusha Team
s.t.
37
Joshua Atkins
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
38
Dimitry Kozontchuk
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
39
Stefano Locatelli
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
40
Marino Palandri
Team WIT
s.t.
41
Nikita Novikov
RusVelo
s.t.
42
Juan Valerón
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
43
Lucas Euser
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
44
José Antonio De Segovia
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
45
Maxim Pokidov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
46
Christophe Kern
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
47
Yelko Gomez
Dukla
s.t.
48
Jorge Azanza
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
49
Sebastiaan Meyer
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
50
Andrey Klyuev
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
51
Martin Gilbert
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
52
Roman Klimov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
53
Sergey Isteleyov
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
54
Joonas Nazarov
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
55
Stefano Pirazzi
Katusha Team
s.t.
56
Chan Siu Long
Qatar Optics
s.t.
57
Hossein Nateghi
Qatar Optics
s.t.
58
Maarten Tjallingii
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
59
Marcel Barth
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
60
Dalivier Ospina
Dukla
s.t.
61
David De la Cruz
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
62
Jamie Sparling
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
63
Stefan Van Winden
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
64
Juan Saez
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
65
Andrey Kashechkin
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
66
Esteban Plaza
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
67
Serafín Martínez
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
68
François Parisien
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
69
Fabio Negri
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
70
Christian Meier
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
71
Stephen Cummings
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
72
Aleksandr Kuschynski
Katusha Team
s.t.
73
Hassen Ben Nasr
Qatar Optics
s.t.
74
Ian McLeod
Dukla
s.t.
75
Tomasz Nose
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
76
Alessandro Colo
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
77
Danilo Di Luca
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
78
Robert Partridge
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
79
Rafal Majka
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
80
Ilya Parygin
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
81
Edwin Parra
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
82
Abdulatif Al Zaid
Qatar Optics
s.t.
83
Manuel Ortega
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
84
Michael Torckler
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
85
Carlos Quintero
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
86
Roberto Ezquerro
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
87
Paco Reyes
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
88
Rafael Barrios
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
89
Konstantin Pavlenko
RusVelo
s.t.
90
Vitor Rodrigues
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
91
Javier Moreno
RusVelo
s.t.
92
Freddy Montaña
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
93
Luca de Vivo
Katusha Team
s.t.
94
Pavel Brutt
Katusha Team
s.t.
95
Pedro Merino
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
96
Eduardo Curcio
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
97
Raúl García de Mateos
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
98
Ivan Santaromita
Team WIT
s.t.
99
Rubén Pérez
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
100
Rory Sutherland
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
101
Santiago Solano
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
102
Francesco Failli
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
103
Denis Kinder
Dukla
s.t.
104
Maurizio Paperino
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
105
Andriy Grivko
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
106
Sergey Chernetskiy
RusVelo
s.t.
107
Andrea Santoni
Team WIT
s.t.
108
Bruno Agostini
Panathinaikos
s.t.
109
Andrey Zeits
Team Nippo
s.t.
110
Oscar Riesebeek
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
111
Istvan Cziraki
Panathinaikos
s.t.
112
Johann Rabie
Team Nippo
s.t.
113
Miguel Rubiano
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
114
Johannes Fröhlinger
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
115
Markus Eibegger
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
116
Tomas Bakos
Dukla
s.t.
117
Erick Rowsell
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
118
Marat Mikhaylov
RusVelo
s.t.
119
Anton Afanasyev
RusVelo
s.t.
120
Santo Anza
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
121
Alex Coutts
Panathinaikos
s.t.
122
Fabrizio Lucciola
Panathinaikos
s.t.
123
Vladimir Gusev
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
124
Spiros Tavlaridis
Panathinaikos
s.t.
125
Alexandros Mayridis
Panathinaikos
s.t.
126
Anastasios Kourbetis
Panathinaikos
s.t.
127
Abdurahman Al Sulimani
Team Nippo
s.t.
128
Gabriel Bone
Panathinaikos
s.t.
129
Milos Horvath
Dukla
s.t.
130
Juan José Moreno López
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
131
Giosuè Iacono
Katusha Team
s.t.
132
Yevgeny Kunayed
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
133
Bernat Martínez Fonseca
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
134
Emanuele Sella
Team WIT
+ 10'30
135
Álex Cano Ardila
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
136
Sebastien Pristl
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
137
Assan Bazayev
Qatar Optics
s.t.
138
Tomohiro Hayakawa
Team Nippo
s.t.
139
Mikhail Antonov
Itera - Katusha
+ 11'08
140
Donato Cannone
Team WIT
s.t.
141
Jonas Horn
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
142
José Rujano
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
143
Saito Kishi
Team Nippo
s.t.
144
Imtiyaz Sulimani
Qatar Optics
s.t.
GENERAL RESULTS:
Spoiler
1
Javier Moreno
RusVelo
9h25'39
2
Ilya Parygin
Astana Pro Team
+ 8
3
Dimitry Kozontchuk
Itera - Katusha
+ 12
4
Maurizio Paperino
Domina Vacanze
+ 18
5
Juan José Lobato
Cantabria Infinita
+ 20
6
Stephen Cummings
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
7
Andrea Santoni
Team WIT
s.t.
8
Joshua Atkins
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
9
Abdurahman Al Sulimani
Team Nippo
s.t.
10
Markus Eibegger
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
11
Roberto Ezquerro
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
12
Pavel Brutt
Katusha Team
s.t.
13
Johannes Fröhlinger
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
14
Anuar Manan
Dukla
+ 36
15
Lieuwe Westra
Argos Oil - Wii
+ 44
16
Andrey Zeits
Team Nippo
+ 50
17
Roman Klimov
Itera - Katusha
+ 52
18
Andrey Klyuev
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
19
Johann Rabie
Team Nippo
+ 56
20
Aleksandr Kuschynski
Katusha Team
+ 58
21
David Veilleux
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
+ 1'00
22
Alexey Bauer
Katusha Team
s.t.
23
Mitchell Docker
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
24
Valentin Iglinskiy
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
25
Dominique Rollin
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
26
Sergey Kolesnikov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
27
Samet Yildiz
Qatar Optics
s.t.
28
John Darwin Atapuma
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
29
Carlos Barredo
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
30
Travis Meyer
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
31
Marcel Fischer
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
32
Yusuke Hatanaka
Team Nippo
s.t.
33
Ingmar Dassler
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
34
Diego Tamayo
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
35
Zachary Bell
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
36
Mikel Nieve
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
37
Adriano Malori
Team WIT
s.t.
38
Nikita Novikov
RusVelo
s.t.
39
Chan Siu Long
Qatar Optics
s.t.
40
Stefano Locatelli
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
41
Sergey Isteleyov
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
42
Scott Thwaites
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
43
Marino Palandri
Team WIT
s.t.
44
Alessandro Colo
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
45
Ignatas Konovalovas
Dukla
s.t.
46
Egor Silin
Katusha Team
s.t.
47
Hossein Nateghi
Qatar Optics
s.t.
48
Marc Goos
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
49
Sebastiaan Meyer
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
50
Robert Partridge
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
51
Christophe Kern
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
52
Juan Valerón
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
53
Maarten Tjallingii
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
54
Sebastian May
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
55
Yelko Gomez
Dukla
s.t.
56
José Antonio De Segovia
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
57
Berik Kupeshov
Qatar Optics
s.t.
58
Jorge Azanza
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
59
Juan Saez
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
60
Maxim Pokidov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
61
Martin Gilbert
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
62
Dalivier Ospina
Dukla
s.t.
63
David De la Cruz
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
64
Miguel Rubiano
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
65
Stefano Pirazzi
Katusha Team
s.t.
66
Oscar Riesebeek
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
67
Christian Meier
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
68
Andrey Kashechkin
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
69
Anton Afanasyev
RusVelo
s.t.
70
François Parisien
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
71
Stefan Van Winden
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
72
Serafín Martínez
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
73
Eduardo Curcio
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
74
Paco Reyes
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
75
Rafael Barrios
Cantabria Infinita
s.t.
76
Edwin Parra
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
77
Freddy Montaña
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
78
Pedro Merino
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
79
Michael Torckler
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
80
Rory Sutherland
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
81
Santiago Solano
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
82
Fabio Negri
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
+ 2'10
83
Sergey Chernetskiy
RusVelo
+ 2'12
84
Alex Coutts
Panathinaikos
s.t.
85
Jacques Janse Van Rensburg
Saur - Sojasun
+ 2'16
86
Patrick Konrad
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
87
Joonas Nazarov
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
88
Rafal Majka
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
89
Andriy Grivko
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
90
Istvan Cziraki
Panathinaikos
s.t.
91
Jamie Sparling
Cyclevox - Baguet Bicycle Center
s.t.
92
Ian McLeod
Dukla
s.t.
93
Vladimir Gusev
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
94
Hassen Ben Nasr
Qatar Optics
s.t.
95
Denis Kinder
Dukla
s.t.
96
Milos Horvath
Dukla
+ 3'45
97
Alex Dowsett
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
+ 5'00
98
Dean Windsor
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
99
Florian Guillou
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
100
Lawson Craddock
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
101
Cameron Meyer
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
102
Lucas Euser
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
103
Chad Beyer
Dual Temp - NaturalShrimp
s.t.
104
Stefan Schumacher
Argos Oil - Wii
s.t.
105
Konstantin Pavlenko
RusVelo
s.t.
106
Erick Rowsell
TEAM Chain Reaction Cycles
s.t.
107
Carlos Quintero
Avianca - Coldeportes
s.t.
108
Tomasz Nose
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
109
Luca de Vivo
Katusha Team
s.t.
110
Fabrizio Lucciola
Panathinaikos
s.t.
111
Gabriel Bone
Panathinaikos
s.t.
112
Spiros Tavlaridis
Panathinaikos
s.t.
113
Tomas Bakos
Dukla
s.t.
114
Abdulatif Al Zaid
Qatar Optics
+ 6'23
115
Yuriy Agarkov
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
+ 6'51
116
Marcel Barth
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
117
Esteban Plaza
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
118
Danilo Di Luca
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
119
Raúl García de Mateos
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
120
Bruno Agostini
Panathinaikos
s.t.
121
Vitor Rodrigues
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
122
Marat Mikhaylov
RusVelo
s.t.
123
Rubén Pérez
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
124
Ivan Santaromita
Team WIT
s.t.
125
Manuel Ortega
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
126
Francesco Failli
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
127
Anastasios Kourbetis
Panathinaikos
s.t.
128
Santo Anza
Farnese Vini - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
129
Alexandros Mayridis
Panathinaikos
s.t.
130
Juan José Moreno López
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
s.t.
131
Giosuè Iacono
Katusha Team
+ 7'51
132
Bernat Martínez Fonseca
Iberia - Deutsche Bank
+ 9'28
133
Mikhail Antonov
Itera - Katusha
+ 12'08
134
Sebastien Pristl
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
+ 12'46
135
Assan Bazayev
Qatar Optics
s.t.
136
Yevgeny Kunayed
Astana Pro Team
+ 14'31
137
Tomohiro Hayakawa
Team Nippo
+ 15'30
138
Álex Cano Ardila
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
139
Donato Cannone
Team WIT
+ 16'08
140
Jonas Horn
SES Astra - Magic-Sportfood.de
s.t.
141
José Rujano
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
142
Imtiyaz Sulimani
Qatar Optics
s.t.
143
Emanuele Sella
Team WIT
+ 16'53
144
Saito Kishi
Team Nippo
+ 17'59
After stage 3 I was very pleased to announce the singing of two strong Belgian riders.
-- K Lodewyck -- A strong rider with a good sprint.
-- S Neirynck -- A real strong rider famous for winning the 2016 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad rounding off a Accent Jobs 1-2-3.
lovely edits
But otherwise I would never read anything! 
Same as Lagutin. But you've contracted some new riders, what is great! Hope the team isn't getting too strong for next season. 
