|
Fant. Neutral Story [Ronde 2018]
|
|
| Ad Bot |
Posted on 01-11-2024 16:37
|
Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
|
|
| IP: None |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 02-06-2014 23:21
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
A Great Overall and well deserved win for Stetina  |
| |
|
|
| mpardo |
Posted on 05-06-2014 19:23
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
 Grand Prix Ouest France - Plouay
The Grand Prix de Plouay marks the start of the preparation towards the World Championship in the season. Before the race in Spain for the rainbow jersey the peloton will visit Plouay and Montreal. The French race is the less difficult and the only one where the sprinters that can climb the hills might have a chance. The race is a circuit of around 26 kilometers with two climbs and the riders will have to go 9 times through it for a total of 236 kilometers.
The winners of the previous editions of the race, Jakob Fuglsang and Jose Joaquin Rojas, will not be at the start but the 2nd and 3rd two years ago will. Bjorn Leukemans and Dries Devenyns are among the biggest favorites to race for the win. The French riders have yet to make an impact in the race and unless Tony Gallopin can do something special it is unlikely that they will win this year.
Favorites:
- Bjorn Leukemans (Lotto - Belisol): Leukemans is the main favorite to win the GP Plouay as he has a good combination of flat and hills skills. However, he will need to reach the final kilometer in a reduced group, because his sprint abilities are not the best. The Belgian has already won three times this season but all of them are stages and he is missing a quality win this season.
- Simon Gerrans (Radioshack - Leopard): Simon Gerrans is one of the best riders of the season. The Australian has only appeared in a few races this season but he has won the Amstel Gold Race, the Liege - Bastogne - Liege and the Tour de Pologne. Therefore, it is normal to think that he might be taking another peak of form in the run to the World Championship.
- Simone Ponzi (Katusha Team): The GP Plouay is one of the most similar races to the Milano - Sanremo in the World Tour, as the climbs are not too demanding and some of the sprinters have the possibility to make it to the finish line ahead. Ponzi fits in the category of sprinters that can go through the hills without much difficulty, so if he manages to hold on to the leading group he will have many options of taking the win.
- Peter Sagan (Vacansoleil - DMC): Peter Sagan is more or less in the same position as Ponzi. However, the Slovakian should be feeling the pressure of a not-so-good season in which he has only won a stage in the Tour de Pologne. This is the best race for him to make ammends with his performances of the season and he should not let the chance pass.
Other important riders that will be present in France and that could contend for the win are Joost van Leijen (Vacansoleil - DMC), Johan Vansummeren (Omega Pharma - Quickstep), Tony Gallopin and Dries Devenyns (BMC Racing), Davide Rebellin (Movistar Team) and Jelle Vanendert (Lotto - Belisol).
Previous winners
| First | Second | | | 2010 | Jose Joaquin Rojas | Janez Brajkovic | Matthew Goss | | 2012 | Jakob Fuglsang | Dries Devenyns | Bjorn Leukemans |
Startlist
|
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 05-06-2014 23:19
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Got a feeling Bjorn Leukemans will win this year  |
| |
|
|
| mpardo |
Posted on 06-06-2014 08:30
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
sutty68 wrote:
Got a feeling Bjorn Leukemans will win this year
It is a good choice but I have doubts over whether he will be able to win a sprint even in a reduced group...
|
| |
|
|
| mpardo |
Posted on 11-06-2014 19:31
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
Grand Prix Ouest France - Plouay
Plouay - Plouay
The race in Plouay is always difficult to predict, as the circuit is not too hard and a mass sprint cannot be discarded in principle. However, the last hill is only 4 kilometers to the finish line and, therefore, the puncheurs also have the option of a late attack. The riders will have to tackle 9 laps to the 26 kilometers circuit around the French town, a longer circuit than what we have seen previously in the race.
The break of the day was not big at all, as only 3 riders managed to break away in the early stages of the race: Nick Nuyens (Garmin), Chris Froome (Sky) and Michael Albasini (BMC). They quickly built a gap of 8 minutes at the front of the race but Vacansoleil, Radioshack and Belkin decided halfway through the stage to start pulling them back slowly.
Cameron Meyer was the first serious rider to attack in the late stages of the race. With 32 kilometers to go the Australian is losing 1 minute with the break and the peloton is 1' 45'' behind. It seems difficult that Meyer makes it to the finish line as Belkin is very committed to working for Kenny van Hummel. The race has not been too hard and most of the riders are still in the bunch.
Michael Albasini and Chris Froome are alone at the front of the race after they left Nick Nuyens behind at the start of the last lap. Julien Simon also tried to break away but Cameron Meyer and he were quickly reeled back in. In the main bunch Rinaldo Nocentini is working very hard to chase down the break. Katusha is very confident that Simone Ponzi, the winner of the Milano - Sanremo, can take another win in a classic this season.
As expected, the men from the break did not last long ahead once the serious battles started. With 10 kilometers to go it was Johan Vansummeren and Alessandro Ballan who tried to work together. They attacked in the gentle middle climb of the circuit and held a small 15 seconds gap on the main bunch. The World Champion has not had a lot of races to show his jersey this year. Sylvain Chavanel also tried an attack but the French could not overcome the pace that Katusha and Belkin were setting.
Vansummeren could not keep up with Alessandro Ballan, who was having great legs today. The Italian made it alone to the last hill of the circuit and reached its top maintaining the same small 15 seconds gap ahead of the bunch. It was Andy Schleck who was setting the pace in the bunch in the climb, while sprinters like Simone Ponzi, Chris Sutton and Kenny van Hummel were trying to hold on in the front places on the peloton. Some team will have to work at the front to chase down Ballan, as there are not many domestiques around.
Alessandro Ballan can fix his horrendous season by taking the win in the Grand Prix de Plouay. The World Champion seems increasingly strong while the main bunch is filled with doubts and no team wants to take responsibility for the chase of the BMC rider. The gap has slightly increased to 20 seconds with 2 kilometers remianing, so they would better start chasing soon if they want to have a chance.
Alessandro Ballan enters the last kilometer of the race with a gap of 15 seconds and is the virtual winner in Plouay. Behind him the sprint has already started and Simone Ponzi is leading the way ahead of Andy Schleck, Chris Sutton and Bjorn Leukemans. It is quite surprising that someone like Leukemans has not even tried to bridge the gap to Ballan in the last hill when he was not that far ahead.
Alessandro Ballan wins in Plouay! Today's win has been a demonstration of strength by the Italian rider, who seemed to be suffering the curse of the World Champion. This is the first win of the season for Ballan, who was having a rather poor season so far. The main sprinters came very close in the end to the winner but he seemed to have the gap under control at all times.
The sprint for the second place was won by Andre Greipel ahead of Simone Ponzi. It was surprising from the German having been able to endure the pace over the hills to have enough energy on his legs to win the sprint of the group. Behind them, Chris Sutton and Kenny van Hummel completed the top 5 for the race.
Today's Winner
Stage Results
| 1 |  | Alessandro Ballan | BMC Racing Team | 5h46'11 | | 2 |  | André Greipel | RadioShack - Leopard | s.t. | | 3 | | Simone Ponzi | Katusha Team | s.t. | | 4 |  | Christopher Sutton | Vacansoleil - DCM | s.t. | | 5 |  | Kenny Van Hummel | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 6 |  | Björn Leukemans | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 7 | | Tony Gallopin | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 8 | | Lloyd Mondory | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. | | 9 | | Julien Simon | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 10 | | Sylvain Chavanel | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. |
|
| |
|
|
| mpardo |
Posted on 11-06-2014 22:09
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
UCI World Tour rankings riders (after Grand Prix Ouest France - Plouay)
| 1 |  | Peter Stetina | BMC | 642.53 | | 2 |  | David Lopez | Euskaltel | 611.1 | | 3 | | Tejay Van Garderen | BMC | 610.58 | | 4 | | Bauke Mollema | Vacansoleil | 577.48 | | 5 | | Rob Ruijgh | Belkin | 481.31 | | 6 | | Mikel Nieve | Discovery | 373.42 | | 7 | | Laurens Ten Dam | Cannondale | 363 | | 8 | | Björn Leukemans | Lotto | 299.17 | | 9 | | Jelle Vanendert | Lotto | 284.09 | | 10 |  | Ben Swift | Sky | 282 | | 11 | | Simon Gerrans | Radioshack | 275.15 | | 12 | | Marcel Kittel | Discovery | 273 | | 13 | | Hubert Dupont | Belkin | 271.52 | | 14 | | Jose Joaquin Rojas | HTC | 243.06 | | 15 |  | Fränk Schleck | Radioshack | 242.8 |
UCI World Tour rankings teams (after Grand Prix Ouest France - Plouay)
| 1 | | BMC Racing Team | 1764.9 | | 2 | | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 1208.3 | | 3 | | Lotto - Belisol | 987.05 | | 4 | | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 935.3 | | 5 | | Radioshack - Leopard | 904.45 | | 6 | | Vacansoleil - DMC | 854.35 | | 7 | | Discovery Channel | 831.8 | | 8 | | Omega Pharma - Quickstep | 784 | | 9 |  | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | 632.8 | | 10 | | Sky Procycling | 566.65 |
|
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 11-06-2014 23:02
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Bjorn Leukemans has made a decent start  |
| |
|
|
| mpardo |
Posted on 14-06-2014 12:09
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal
Only one race day in the World Tour is raced in the Americas this season: the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal. Its hilly course is perfect for the upcoming World Championship in Ponferrada and will serve as a good test to compare how the main favorites to the rainbow jersey are. The riders will have to race 17 laps around the same cicuit that has been used for the past few years for a total of slightly more than 200 kilometers. The length of the race is not much for a classic, what should broaden the possible winners.
The winner two years ago in Canada was Alessandro Ballan, but it looks unlikely that the World Champion will repeat his win, especially considering that BMC brought Dries Devenyns and Tony Gallopin to Montreal. The second placed was Bjorn Leukemans, who is one of the biggest favorites, and the third was Jure Kocjan, who will not be at the start. The other winner in Montreal, Janez Brajkovic, will also be missing at the start.
Favorites:
- Simon Gerrans (Radioshack - Leopard): Gerrans was the dominator of the Ardenees and the race in Montreal will fit the Australian much better than Plouay. He was nowhere to be seen in Plouay but in turn Radioshack decided to work for Andre Greipel, which paid off with a podium. Here in Canada there will be no doubt on who the leader is. The only doubts cast on Gerrans is that Philippe Gilbert will not be there to help him.
- Bjorn Leukemans (Lotto - Belisol): The Belgian was a bit disappointing in Plouay because even though he managed a top 10 spot in the final sprint he didn't even attack once for the race. A rider of the quality of Leukemans should not be bothered with top 10s and race for the win. Surely he will have more of an attacking mind in Montreal.
- Simone Ponzi (Katusha Team): Simone Ponzi had quite a good race in Plouay last week and he managed to get into the podium after losing the sprint of the group against Andre Greipel. The race in Montreal is going to be maybe a bit harder than the Italian would be but he is making a good run towards the World Championships.
- Joost van Leijen (Vacansoleil - DMC): Joost van Leijen gave the lead of the Vacansoleil team in Plouay to Peter Sagan and Chris Sutton but will reclaim it for the race in Canada. However, his form this season has been lacking. The only result that he got so far is the stage win in the Mirador de Lobeira during the Vuelta a España.
Other important riders that have travelled to Canada are Peter Sagan (Vacansoleil - DMC), Davide Rebellin (Movistar Team), Dries Devenyns and Tony Gallopin (BMC Racing Team), David Lopez (Euskaltel - Euskadi) and Jose Joaquin Rojas (HTC - Highroad).
Previous winners
| First | Second | Third | | 2010 | Janez Brajkovic | Oscar Freire | Dries Devenyns | | 2012 | Alessandro Ballan | Bjorn Leukemans | Jure Kocjan |
Startlist
|
| |
|
|
| mpardo |
Posted on 16-06-2014 21:39
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal
Montreal - Montreal
The Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal comprises 17 laps to a 12 kilometer circuit that includes the climb to the Cote Camillien-Houde. This climb is tackled at the beginning of the lap, so the outcome of the race is difficult to predict. A solo attack is unlikely to succeed and a sprint of a small group of riders will be the most probable outcome today.
There was not much fight to form the break of the day. A group of 4 riders was allowed to break away early on: Sylvain Chavanel (Ag2r), Anthony Roux (Astana), Lars Boom (Belkin) and Domenico Pozzovivo (Lampre). With almost 8 laps remaining their gap had begun to decrease and sat at 6 minutes (92 kilometers remaining). Radioshack and Saxo Bank were setting the pace in the main bunch, working for Simon Gerrans and Rui Costa respectively.
The pace of the main bunch was increasingly hard as the laps went by but it was not until the penultimate climb that the attacks started. Chris Froome was the first to try it, almost at the top of the hill. Vasil Kiryienka and Peter Kennaugh had set a high pace in the climb but it was the Sky rider who decided to attack. At that point (22 kilometers remaining) the peloton was still 1' 30'' behind the break but the chances of the leading 4 were slim at best.
Once Froome attacked several riders joined the party. Rui Costa and Simon Gerrans were not followed by anyone else and they reached the finish line 25 seconds behind the break ahead of the last lap. Another group of 5 riders, including Bjorn Leukemans and Dries Devenyns, was losing 35 seconds. The main bunch was led by Quickstep, as Andy Schleck tried to follow but could not join the attackers. Johan Vansummeren was doing a great job and had the attackers only 30 seconds ahead.
Rui Costa and Gerrans were caught by their chasers and Bjorn Leukemans attacked straight away. Several riders tried to follow the attack of the Belgian but only Davide Rebellin managed to do so. Simon Gerrans seemed to follow at first but he was losing 15 seconds to the leading duo at the top of the hill. 30 seconds behind is a group of 5 where Rui Costa and Dries Devenyns have managed to stay.
The three riders ahead joined forces in the descent and they held a gap of around 40 seconds on a bigger group behind. Peter Sagan is working at the group, not a very wise decision if he wants to contend for the win. Behind him are Wout Poels and Tejay van Garderen, who are also working to reduce the gap of the leaders. On the leading group the riders don't seem to agree on relaying, as Bjorn Leukemans is the slowest of the three and is trying to save for the sprint.
The three riders ahead could not agree to make the group work and they were caught with slightly more than 2 kilometers remaining. It seems like the final sprint is going to be launched from a long way out, which does not look very wise for the best sprinters in the field. Wout Poels was the rider that made the last strong relay to bring the break back but it is unclear who he is working for in Belkin. Among the fastest man in the first places are Simone Ponzi, Luca Paolini, Tom Boonen and Peter Sagan.
Davide Rebellin leads the way with 1 kilometer remaining but he is giving a great lead out to some of the riders behind him. The last 500 meters of the stage are slightly uphill so a pure sprinter is not expected to take the win. Behind Rebellin are Cameron Meyer, Simone Ponzi, Bjorn Leukemans and Dries Devenyns. Ponzi, the winner of the Milano - Sanremo, could well win the race in Montreal.
Bjorn Leukemans wins in Montreal! This is quite a surprise. Bjorn Leukemans is by no means the fastest rider around and he has been able to secure his greatest win of the season so far by beating many fastest riders than him. The final uphill section and the perfect lead out that Davide Rebellin unintentionally did for him have been enough for the Belgian to take the win. Leukemans will be surrounded in the podium by two quickstep riders, Johan Vansummeren and Cameron Meyer. Maybe if they had worked together one of them could have won today.
The top 5 was completed by a slightly disappointing Peter Sagan, who got blocked in the sprint, and Davide Rebellin. Simone Ponzi, who seemed ready to contend for the win, faded away in the final meter of the stage to finish in a rather dull 8th place. The race in Montreal has only lasted 1.5 laps and that is a bit disappointing for a circuit with a difficult climb.
Today's Winner
Stage Results
| 1 | | Björn Leukemans | Lotto Belisol | 5h28'30 | | 2 | | Johan Vansummeren | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | s.t. | | 3 | | Cameron Meyer | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | s.t. | | 4 |  | Peter Sagan | Vacansoleil - DCM | s.t. | | 5 | | Davide Rebellin | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 6 | | Dries Devenyns | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 7 | | Tony Gallopin | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 8 | | Simone Ponzi | Katusha Team | s.t. | | 9 | | Steven Kruijswijk | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 10 | | Tom Boonen | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | s.t. |
|
| |
|
|
| mpardo |
Posted on 16-06-2014 22:08
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
UCI World Tour rankings riders (after Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal)
| 1 | | Peter Stetina | BMC | 642.53 | | 2 | | David Lopez | Euskaltel | 611.1 | | 3 | | Tejay Van Garderen | BMC | 610.58 | | 4 | | Bauke Mollema | Vacansoleil | 577.48 | | 5 | | Rob Ruijgh | Belkin | 481.31 | | 6 | | Mikel Nieve | Discovery | 373.42 | | 7 | | Laurens Ten Dam | Cannondale | 363 | | 8 | | Björn Leukemans | Lotto | 343.17 | | 9 | | Jelle Vanendert | Lotto | 284.09 | | 10 | | Ben Swift | Sky | 282 | | 11 | | Simon Gerrans | Radioshack | 275.15 | | 12 | | Marcel Kittel | Discovery | 273 | | 13 | | Hubert Dupont | Belkin | 271.52 | | 14 | | Jose Joaquin Rojas | HTC | 243.06 | | 15 | | Fränk Schleck | Radioshack | 242.8 |
UCI World Tour rankings teams (after Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal)
| 1 | | BMC Racing Team | 1784.15 | | 2 | | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 1211.05 | | 3 | | Lotto - Belisol | 1031.05 | | 4 | | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 935.3 | | 5 | | Radioshack - Leopard | 904.45 | | 6 | | Vacansoleil - DMC | 876.35 | | 7 | | Omega Pharma - Quickstep | 844.5 | | 8 | | Discovery Channel | 831.8 | | 9 | | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | 633.9 | | 10 | | Sky Procycling | 566.65 |
|
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 16-06-2014 23:35
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
I knew Leukemans was due a win |
| |
|
|
| mpardo |
Posted on 18-06-2014 11:56
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
sutty68 wrote:
I knew Leukemans was due a win
We will see whether he can do the same in the World Championship... To be honest it was quite surprising that he won that sprint given how poor his sprinting stat is.
|
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 18-06-2014 13:54
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
mpardo wrote:
sutty68 wrote:
I knew Leukemans was due a win
We will see whether he can do the same in the World Championship... To be honest it was quite surprising that he won that sprint given how poor his sprinting stat is.
That is the fun about this story, nothing is predictable |
| |
|
|
| mpardo |
Posted on 27-06-2014 22:44
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
Road World Championship
The Road World Championships will be held in Ponferrada, Spain, in 2014. The circuit is quite hilly, although not as hard as the one in Firenze last year. For the first time in a few years the race will be completely raced in the circuit, rather than having an approximation route towards the final circuit as in the previous years. A total of 14 laps will be completed to a circuit towards the north of the Spanish town, including 2 hills. The first one is long but not too steep, while the second one is shorter but a bit steeper.
The Belgians have been the best so far in the World Championships, as they have already won twice. Bjorn Leukemans and Jelle Vanendert were succeeded last year by Alessandro Ballan after the Italian won at home soil. Among the curios things in the palmares of the World Championships is that Simon Gerrans has been second and Janez Brajkovic third for the last two years straight.
Favorites:
- Bjorn Leukemans (Belgium): Bjorn Leukemans is one of the favorites that already knows what it is like to wear the rainbow jersey. The Belgian won in Valkenburg two years ago and is willing to repeat the performance. He comes from winning the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal, so his morale must be outstanding. Belgium has brought a great team to Ponferrada but that could either be very good if they all race with the same objectives or bad if everyone wants to do their own race.
- Simon Gerrans (Australia): Gerrans' year would be difficult to improve if he takes the gold medal in the World Championship. However, there are some doubts cast on his performance, as he has been nowhere in the classics in September. Adding to that, it looks like the rest of the Australian team are way past their peak fitness and could be of little help.
- Joost van Leijen (Netherlands): Another former World Champion will be leading the always strong Dutch team in Spain. Van Leijen really needs a good performance in order to take something out of his season, as he only has a stage win in the Vuelta a España to enjoy, clearly not enough for a rider with his capabilities.
- Johan Vansummeren (Belgium): Johan Vansummeren will be the second bullet for the Belgian team but he could well come up with the win if the main favorites look closely to one another. Vansummeren is one of the most enduring riders in the field and proof of that are his two consecutive wins in the Ronde van Vlaanderen.
Other important riders that will chase the rainbow jersey today are Simone Ponzi and Davide Rebellin (Italy), Tony Gallopin (France), Jelle Vanendert (Belgium), David Lopez (Spain) and Michael Albasini (Switzerland).
Previous winners
| First | Second | Third | | 2009 | Tom Danielson | Jelle Vanendert | Edvald Boasson Hagen | | 2010 | Joost Van Leijen | Damiano Cunego | Peter Sagan | | 2011 | Jelle Vanendert | Denis Menchov | Chris Froome | | 2012 | Bjorn Leukemans | Simon Gerrans | Janez Brajkovic | | 2013 | Alessandro Ballan | Simon Gerrans | Janez Brajkovic |
Startlist
|
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 28-06-2014 00:13
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Looking forward to seeing who will be wearing the rainbow stripes next year |
| |
|
|
| mpardo |
Posted on 28-06-2014 14:38
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
Road World Championship
Ponferrada - Ponferrada
The World Championships are celebrated in Spain for the first time since the story started. The chosen place in Ponferrada, in the middle of a mountainous area in the north of the country. The circuit is somewhat controversial, given that the possibilities that the area offered for tougher circuits were big. Nevertheless, the total climbing for the 255 kilometers race is going to be above 4.000 meters. The only doubts offered by the circuit are that it lacks climbs that can really break the pack.
As usual in the World Championship a few smaller teams tried to get some TV time through the break, although Italy and France also made it into the break this time. The group of 7 had a gap of 7' 15'' on the main bunch with 120 kilometers remaining. It included Emanuele Sella (Italy), Pierre Rolland (France), Bernhard Eisel (Austria) and Taylor Phinney (USA). The most significant events on the first part of the race were the crashes. Some important riders like Peter Sagan, Rui Costa and Jurgen van den Broeck took tumbles but all could continue in the race.
The race was not very interesting until the last two laps. Belgium has been setting the pace in the bunch with riders like Tom Boonen, Philippe Gilbert and Dries Devenyns and they brought the gap of the break down quickly to around 1' 30'' at the finish line. The first rider to try an attack in the closing stages of the race was Ryder Hesjedal, who is the only rider for Canada. However, Belgium was unpanicked and kept the same pace and the same riders chasing.
The main bunch tackled the second climb in the circuit with 23 kilometers to go and they started to reel back riders from the early break, starting with Pierre Rolland, who crashed earlier in the race. Ryder Hesjedal had been reeled back and it was the turn of Spain to try to open a gap. Igor Anton reached the top of the hill with a gap of 20 seconds on Alessandro Ballan and Lloyd Mondory, while the bunch was 30 seconds back. Bjorn Leukemans already had to follow a dangerous attack himself earlier in the lap.
Anton's move was not successful but in the first climb of the last lap a much more important move at the front of the race happened. A group of 6 riders including Peter Stetina, Rui Costa, Simon Gerrans, Joaquim Rodriguez, Bjorn Leukemans and Igor Anton opened a sizable gap with 11 kilometers remaining. Their closest chasers were Lloyd Mondory, Ryder Hesjedal and Jelle Vanendert but they were 55 seconds behind. Crucially, Italy and the Netherlands did not have anyone in the front group.
There was noy much understanding among the 6 riders at the front and that allowed the three chasers the catch up with them at the start of the second hill (7 kilometers to go). Spain has two riders at the front but none of them is David Lopez, who was supposed to be their man for the race. The other team with 2 riders was Belgium and it was clear straight away that Jelle Vanendert was ready to work for Bjorn Leukemans. It helps that they are also teammates in Lotto. Alessandro Ballan and David Lopez were trying to reach the group from behind but it seems too late for them.
Jelle Vanendert paved the way for Bjorn Leukemans' attack and the Belgian could not be followed by anyone as he headed for the final descent towards Ponferrada. Not even Simon Gerrans, who had a great season, could follow the move by the Belgian star. He had 10 seconds on the rest of the group with 5 kilometers remaining. Among the teams that should chase is Spain, as they can use one rider to try to bring back Leukemans and reserve the other one.
Leukemans might have thought that it was over and that he would get the rainbow jersey for the second time but he had a surprising companion with 2 kilometers remaining. Lloyd Mondory is a great descender and he managed to get away from the group of the favorites. The two of them have 12 seconds on the rest of the group but now Leukemans should not relay, as Mondory is a far quicker sprinter than he is. It is going to be a very interesting final for the World Championship.
There was no understanding between Leukemans and Mondory and they were caught by the rest of the favorites as they crossed the flame rouge. Bjorn Leukemans was leading the sprint at that point followed by Simon Gerrans, Ryder Hesjedal, Lloyd Mondory and Igor Anton. The French should be the quickest sprinter of the group but he might have spent a lot in chasing Leukemans on his own. Other than that today's result will probably go down to who is the strongest.
Bjorn Leukemans wins in Ponferrada! The Belgian is the first rider that will wear the rainbow jersey twice in the story. Belgium was clearly the strongest team in this type of race and they delivered not only taking the gold medal with Leukemans but Jelle Vanendert progressed in the sprint to take the silver medal. The third place in the podium will be for the local Igor Anton, who surprisingly managed to hold on with the favorites and then was strong enough to beat the likes of Rui Costa and Lloyd Mondory in the final sprint.
The disappointment performance of the day has to go to the Dutch team. Their leader, Joost van Leijen, was nowhere to be seen and when the final move occurred they sent Bauke Mollema to try and join that group but it was too late. The Dutch finished 2 minutes behind. The World Championship in Ponferrada closes a cycle of World Championships for hills riders as the next Championships in USA and Qatar will be for riders who like the flat and sprinters.
Today's Winner
Stage Results
| 1 | | Björn Leukemans | Belgium | 6h39'58 | | 2 | | Jelle Vanendert | Belgium | s.t. | | 3 | | Igor Antón | Spain | s.t. | | 4 |  | Rui Costa | Portugal | s.t. | | 5 | | Lloyd Mondory | France | s.t. | | 6 | | JoaquÃm RodrÃguez | Spain | s.t. | | 7 | | Ryder Hesjedal | Canada | s.t. | | 8 | | Simon Gerrans | Australia | s.t. | | 9 | | Peter Stetina | USA | s.t. | | 10 | | Alessandro Ballan | Italy | + 53 |
|
| |
|
|
| SSJ2Luigi |
Posted on 28-06-2014 14:46
|
World Champion
Posts: 11971
Joined: 21-07-2012
PCM$: 400.00
|
good for Leukemans, first double world champion
|
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 28-06-2014 20:43
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Björn Leukemans , the guy is on fire at the moment |
| |
|
|
| mpardo |
Posted on 28-06-2014 22:06
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
Belgium was the best team by far, Leukemans was the main favorite, he seems to be fit... It seems logical that he wins.
|
| |
|
|
| mpardo |
Posted on 28-06-2014 23:32
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
UCI World Tour rankings riders (after Road World Championship)
| 1 | | Peter Stetina | BMC | 647.53 | | 2 | | David Lopez | Euskaltel | 611.1 | | 3 | | Tejay Van Garderen | BMC | 610.58 | | 4 | | Bauke Mollema | Vacansoleil | 577.48 | | 5 | | Rob Ruijgh | Belkin | 481.31 | | 6 | | Björn Leukemans | Lotto | 423.17 | | 7 | | Mikel Nieve | Discovery | 373.42 | | 8 | | Laurens Ten Dam | Cannondale | 363 | | 9 | | Jelle Vanendert | Lotto | 344.09 | | 10 | | Simon Gerrans | Radioshack | 285.15 | | 11 | | Ben Swift | Sky | 282 | | 12 | | Marcel Kittel | Discovery | 273 | | 13 | | Hubert Dupont | Belkin | 271.52 | | 14 | | Jose Joaquin Rojas | HTC | 243.06 | | 15 | | Fränk Schleck | Radioshack | 242.8 |
UCI World Tour rankings teams (after Road World Championship)
| 1 | | BMC Racing Team | 1784.15 | | 2 | | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 1211.05 | | 3 | | Lotto - Belisol | 1031.05 | | 4 | | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 935.3 | | 5 | | Radioshack - Leopard | 904.45 | | 6 | | Vacansoleil - DMC | 876.35 | | 7 | | Omega Pharma - Quickstep | 844.5 | | 8 | | Discovery Channel | 831.8 | | 9 | | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | 633.9 | | 10 | | Sky Procycling | 566.65 |
|
| |
|
