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Fant. Neutral Story [Ronde 2018]
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 23-07-2014 23:48
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Nice to the Americans dominate the Grand Tours  |
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| maxime86 |
Posted on 24-07-2014 02:21
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2950
Joined: 01-03-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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wow no big victories by any french riders! |
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| mpardo |
Posted on 06-08-2014 15:00
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Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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I just wanted to give an update and to confirm that even though it is summer this story is not dead. With the new teams I am adding and the stats updates it is taking me a while to update everything though.
I will also bring back the calendar that we will have this year with continental championships and time trial worlds.
2015 Calendar
| Race | Date | Category |  | Tour Down Under | 20/01/2015 - 25/01/2015 | 2.HC |  | Paris - Nice | 08/03/2015 - 15/03/2015 | 2.WT |  | Volta a Catalunya | 23/03/2015 - 29/03/2015 | 2.WT |  | E3 Prijs Vlaanderen | 01/04/2015 | 1.HC | | Gent - Wevelgem | 04/04/2015 | 1.WT | | Vuelta al Pais Vasco | 06/04/2015 - 11/04/2015 | 2.HC | | Paris - Roubaix | 12/04/2015 | 1.WT | | La Fleche Wallonne | 19/04/2015 | 1.WT | | Liege - Bastogne - Liege | 26/04/2015 | 1.WT |  | Tour de Romandie | 28/04/2015 - 03/05/2015 | 2.WT |  | Giro d'Italia | 09/05/2015 - 31/05/2015 | GT.WT | | Tour de Suisse | 13/06/2015 - 21/06/2015 | 2.WT | | ITT European Champs | 24/06/2015 | NC |  | ITT Rest World Champs | 24/06/2015 | NC | | Road European Champs | 28/06/2015 | NC | | Road Rest World Champs | 28/06/2015 | NC | | Tour de France | 04/07/2015 - 26/07/2015 | GT.WT |  | Eneco Tour | 10/08/2015 - 16/08/2015 | 2.HC |  | Vattenfall Cyclassics | 23/08/2015 | 1.HC | | GP Ouest France - Plouay | 30/08/2015 | 1.WT |  | Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec | 13/09/2015 | 1.HC |  | TTT World Championship | 22/09/2015 | WC | | ITT World Championship | 24/09/2015 | WC | | Road World Championship | 27/09/2015 | WC | | Giro di Lombardia | 04/10/2015 | 1.WT |  | Tour of Beijing | 09/10/2015 - 13/10/2015 | 2.HC |
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| SSJ2Luigi |
Posted on 06-08-2014 15:15
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World Champion
Posts: 11971
Joined: 21-07-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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looks like an exiting year again
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 06-08-2014 22:50
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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No Vuelta this year then  |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 06-08-2014 22:53
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16429
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 10438.70
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Quite strange then.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| SSJ2Luigi |
Posted on 06-08-2014 22:58
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World Champion
Posts: 11971
Joined: 21-07-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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well there is always only two GT's this year it was the Vuelta's time to be cut 
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| mpardo |
Posted on 07-08-2014 16:56
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Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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I keep adding racing days with each season that goes by, but it is still a quite reduced calendar. The good part is that the game progresses relatively fast considering I report each racing day in the story.
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| SSJ2Luigi |
Posted on 07-08-2014 17:00
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World Champion
Posts: 11971
Joined: 21-07-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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mpardo wrote:
I keep adding racing days with each season that goes by, but it is still a quite reduced calendar. The good part is that the game progresses relatively fast considering I report each racing day in the story.
wow it is pretty high, didn't realise it until now. you managed to do 6 season in 3 years time. don't think that many people are able to do that 
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| Forever the Best |
Posted on 08-08-2014 12:37
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3803
Joined: 27-06-2014
PCM$: 400.00
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Very Good calendar except of Beijing being in the calendar
The user formerly known as 'The Schleck Fan'
Gracias Alberto.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 26-11-2024 15:07
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Bot Agent
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Joined: 23.11.09
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| mpardo |
Posted on 15-08-2014 22:40
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Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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2015 squads - World Tour
Ag2r - La Mondiale
Astana Pro Team
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
BMC Racing Team
Cannondale
Discovery Channel
Euskaltel - Euskadi
Garmin - Sharp
HTC - High Road
Lampre - Merida
Lotto - Belisol
Movistar Team
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
Team Katusha
Team Sky
Tinkoff - Saxo
Trek Factory Racing
Vacansoleil - DMC
2015 squads - Pro Continental
FDJ.fr
Giant - Shimano
Orica - Greenedge
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| mpardo |
Posted on 16-08-2014 15:26
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Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Tour Down Under
The 2015 season will start again in Australia with the Tour Down Under after the race was missing from the 2014 calendar. Australia is always a great place to start the season for the riders, as most of them can get away from Europe and the winter to start putting kilometers in their legs in sunny Adelaide. The race itself has few changes in the route as the years go by. It is difficult to gain time in most stages other than Willunga Hill, in the penultimate day of the race.
The race in Australia is a favorite of Peter Sagan, the winner of the last two Tour Down Unders. However, the Slovak is not among the favorites this year after his lackluster 2014 season. Tony Gallopin, the second to Sagan twice in a row will also be present in Australia to try to gain his first overall win in Australia.
Favorites:
- Simone Ponzi (Team Katusha): The Italian Simone Ponzi was one of the best finishers in stages that were a bit difficult for the pure sprinters to contend in 2014, so he will be looking to open his stage win count in Australia. However, the bonus seconds that he might get and the fact that he is among the best hills riders could well mean that he will be looking for the win at the end of the week.
- David Lopez (Euskaltel - Euskadi): It is quite of a surprise that a typical Grand Tour rider like David Lopez starts his season so early in Australia. However, it looks like the Spaniard will skip the Giro to focus on the Tour de France this year and, therefore, he can bring forward in the year his first peak of fitness.
- Bjorn Leukemans (Lotto - Belisol): Leukemans has to appear among the favorites in any race that is based on cobbles or hills and the Tour Down Under is no different. He will probably have difficulties winning stages other than in Willunga hill given his lack of sprinting speed but the Belgian is capable of putting time between himself and others in the penultimate stage of the race.
- Rinaldo Nocentini (Team Katusha): Katusha might not be one of the strongest teams in the World Tour but they have brought their best riders to Australia. If something might happen to Simone Ponzi, Rinaldo Nocentini will be there to take the role of leader for the team. Given how good they both are in the hills and the size of the competition they could well place a couple of riders in the podium.
Other important riders that will be important in the Australian race will be Emanuele Sella and Dries Devenyns (BMC Racing Team), Philippe Gilbert (Trek Factory Racing), Rui Costa (Tinkoff - Saxo), Davide Rebellin (Movistar Team) and Andy Schleck (Omega Pharma - Quickstep).
There will also be several good sprinters Down Under, like Marcel Kittel (Astana Pro Team), Andre Greipel (Trek Factory Racing), Ben Swift (Team Sky), Alexander Kristoff (Euskaltel - Euskadi), Kenny van Hummel (Belkin Pro Cycling) and Christopher Sutton (Vacansoleil - DMC).
Previous winners
| First | Second | Third | | 2010 | Tyler Farrar | Alexandre Vinokourov | Francisco Ventoso | | 2012 | Peter Sagan | Tony Gallopin | Sacha Modolo | | 2013 | Peter Sagan | Tony Gallopin | Marcel Kittel |
Startlist
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 16-08-2014 15:49
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Looking forward to the new season |
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| mpardo |
Posted on 17-08-2014 13:18
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Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Tour Down Under
Stage 1: Nuriootpa - Angaston
The season opener is a quite simple stage between the towns of Nuriootpa and Angaston, to the north of Adelaide. The riders will have to complete 3 laps to a circuit, although the last one is slightly different and includes Menglers Hill, a 2.5 kilometers climb, which top is 12 kilometers from the finish line. The hill is, however, not hard enough that a mass sprint can be avoided.
The main bunch was not willing to let a break go away today and halfway through the stage the bunch was still keeping things together. The second intermediate sprint was therefore contended by the main sprinters. Andre Greipel, who had already won the first one, took the second one ahead of Marcel Kittel and Ben Swift. Astana, Trek and Sky have been the teams that have been working at the front of the pack to bring back the numerous attacks in the first half of the stage.
A group of 4 riders finally managed to get away before the start of the last lap to the circuit: Nick Nuyens (Garmin), Maarten Tjallingii (Ag2r), Sylvain Chavanel (Giant) and Geraint Thomas (HTC). They reached the start of Menglers Hill with a gap of 50 seconds on the main bunch but Katusha and Movistar were determined to bring them back soon. At the top of the hill Thomas was first and he will therefore wear the first mountain's jersey of the year tomorrow.
The break was eventually reeled back in with 8 kilometers remaining and the mass sprint was unavoidable. Trek had their train set up very early with their new signing, Giacomo Nizzolo, replacing Daniele Bennati as the last man to lead Andre Greipel out. Alexander Kristoff was behind the German to try to profit from the good setup. On the left hand side of the road it was Sky doing their train with Tom Boonen working for Ben Swift. The local Michael Matthews were behind them. Other sprinters that were also well positioned were Marcel Kittel, Kenny van Hummel and Simone Ponzi.
The lead-out by Giacomo Nizzolo was perfect and he delivered Andre Greipel clearly ahead to the last kilometer of the stage. Now it is the time of the German to bring home the stage win. However, it will be interesting to see the kind of damage that the climb to Menglers Hill has done to some of the sprinters. Sky's train fell apart and that means that the order behind Greipel is Alexander Kristoff, Marcel Kittel, Matthew Goss and Ben Swift.
Andre Greipel is still leading the way with 500 meters remaining but has two very threatening shadows behind in the shape of Marcel Kittel and Alexander Kristoff. It looks like the winner of the stage will come from one of these three riders. Behind them a bigger group of sprinters led by Michael Matthews and Kenny van Hummel is trying to close the gap that has opened between them and the win.
Marcel Kittel wins in Angaston! The German has come back as strong in 2015 as he was last season. It did not matter that he changed teams and Astana will already be more than happy with the performance of Kittel. It is worth noting that Astana only managed to get 1 win in the whole 2014 season and they have already tied that record. The second place in the stage went to a surprising Simone Ponzi, who gained lots of places in the last few meters of the stage.
The top 5 was completed by the local Michael Matthews, Stefan van Dijk and Alexander Kristoff. Van Dijk has managed to get the first points in the Pro Continental circuit for the Giant - Shimano team. The stage tomorrow will not be for the sprinters, as the final in Stirling is slightly uphill so the leader's jersey for Kittel might be short lived.
Today's Winner
Stage Results
| 1 | | Marcel Kittel | Astana Pro Team | 2h59'36 | | 2 | | Simone Ponzi | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 3 | | Michael Matthews | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 4 | | Stefan Van Dijk | Giant - Shimano | s.t. | | 5 |  | Alexander Kristoff | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. | | 6 | | Kenny Van Hummel | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 7 | | André Greipel | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 8 | | Francesco Gavazzi | Cannondale | s.t. | | 9 |  | Ben Swift | Team Sky | s.t. | | 10 | | Francisco José Ventoso | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. |
General Classification
| 1 | | Marcel Kittel | Astana Pro Team | 2h59'30 | | 2 | | André Greipel | Trek Factory Racing | + 2 | | 3 | | Simone Ponzi | Team Katusha | + 3 | | 4 | | Michael Matthews | Lotto Belisol | + 5 | | 5 | | Ben Swift | Team Sky | s.t. | | 6 | | Stefan Van Dijk | Giant - Shimano | + 6 | | 7 | | Alexander Kristoff | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. | | 8 | | Kenny Van Hummel | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 9 | | Francesco Gavazzi | Cannondale | s.t. | | 10 | | Francisco José Ventoso | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. |
Points
| 1 | | Marcel Kittel | Astana Pro Team | 62 | | 2 | | André Greipel | Trek Factory Racing | 42 | | 3 | | Simone Ponzi | Team Katusha | 35 | | 4 | | Ben Swift | Team Sky | 31 | | 5 | | Michael Matthews | Lotto Belisol | 30 |
Mountain
| 1 | | Geraint Thomas | HTC - Highroad | 16 | | 2 | | Sylvain Chavanel | Giant - Shimano | 12 | | 3 | | Nick Nuyens | Garmin - Sharp | 10 | | 4 | | Maarten Tjallingii | AG2R La Mondiale | 8 | | 5 | | Peter Kennaugh | Trek Factory Racing | 6 |
Young
| 1 | | Francesco Gavazzi | Cannondale | 2h59'36 | | 2 | | Maxime Vantomme | Vacansoleil - DCM | s.t. | | 3 |  | Przemyslaw Niemiec | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 4 | | Ian Stannard | Team Sky | s.t. | | 5 | | Jens Debusschere | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | s.t. |
Teams
| 1 | | Lotto Belisol | 8h58'48 | | 2 | | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. | | 3 | | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 4 | | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | s.t. | | 5 | | BMC Racing Team | s.t. |
Edited by mpardo on 22-08-2014 21:06
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 17-08-2014 15:12
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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First win of the New season goes to the German sprint King  |
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| Forever the Best |
Posted on 17-08-2014 15:15
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3803
Joined: 27-06-2014
PCM$: 400.00
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Kittel gets the victory.He should be happy now
The user formerly known as 'The Schleck Fan'
Gracias Alberto.
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| mpardo |
Posted on 18-08-2014 10:37
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Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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It seems Kittel is as good in the story as he is in real life. I am sure that Astana is very happy with their new man.
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 18-08-2014 10:48
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Will be interesting to see how many victories he can rack up this season |
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| mpardo |
Posted on 20-08-2014 21:11
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Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Tour Down Under
Stage 2: Prospect - Stirling
The second stage in Australia could be decided in several different manners. The pure sprinters will have it difficult, as the last 8 kilometers are slightly uphill and the last kilometer itself goes up to almost 6% in gradient. The uphill section in Stirling could well be a good point for an attack by one of the many punchers in the field and also an uphill finisher could take the win.
The break of the day was on the small side, as only 2 riders managed to break away from the tough control of the main bunch: Peter Sagan (Vacansoleil) and Sylvain Chavanel (Giant). Even though they were only 2 it was going to be a hard day for the bunch to bring them back. At the second climb of the day, Checker Hill, Peter Sagan won the sprint ahead of the French but Chavanel will be the one wearing the jersey tomorrow. Meanwhile, there is no shortage of teams trying to control the bunch, including Trek, Astana and Sky.
The second intermediate sprint was placed in Balhannah (66 kilometers to go). The sprint in the group was joined by a lot of sprinters as there were lots of points up for grabs. The winner was Andre Greipel, who easily beat Marcel Kittel and Ben Swift. The break still had 3' 30'' on the bunch as they were closing in on the final circuit of the day. Astana is holding the lead in the main bunch but it is going to be tricky for Marcel Kittel to keep the leader's jersey today.
The main bunch took things a bit too easy today and with 10 kilometers to go the two leaders still had 50 seconds on them. They are close to starting the last uphill section towards the finish line. It is surprising that no hills riders have tried to attack in the penultimate climb as they could have discarded lots of fast men. Simone Ponzi is probably the main favorite for the stage and his team is not even doing that much work to deliver him with options to the last kilometer.
Marcel Kittel surprisingly stayed at the front of the pack even after Sylvain Chavanel and Peter Sagan were reeled back in. Astana was, in fact, the only team to build a sprint train with Robbie McEwen as the last lead-out man. Among those behind Kittel were Chris Sutton, Ben Swift and Matthew Goss, some of the sprinters that handle the hills best. Joost van Leijen and Johan Vansummeren look also ready to join the final rush.
Marcel Kittel launched himself with 1.5 kilometers to go, surely too far away from the finish line. He held the lead before the last kilometer but in truth he seemed to be leading out Chris Sutton, who was clever in taking the Germans' wheel. Simone Ponzi, the main favorite for the win today, was around the 10th place at this point but he seemed to have plenty of time to recover. The riders should be very careful with possible gaps opening up in the bunch today.
As expected, Marcel Kittel started dropping back inside the last kilometer and it was Chris Sutton who took the lead with 500 meters to go. The Australian was outstandingly positioned before the sprint and was taking full advantage of that fact. Behind Kittel there were a few sprinters keen to fight for the win as well, Ben Swift was third at that point ahead of Simone Ponzi and Matthew Goss. The Italian was coming back from behind and if he doesn't lose speed he is going to be contending for the win.
Chris Sutton wins in Stirling! The Australian was the best today in the uphill sprint and easily fended off the final punch by Simone Ponzi, who had to settle for the second position for the second day in a row. Sutton had only won once in 2014 so he matched that record very early in the season this year. The top 5 in the stage was completed by Ben Swift, Michael Matthews and Kenny van Hummel. It showed how many of the sprinters lost places in the end after trailing Kittel's early burst.
The German will retain the leader's jersey today after collecting 2 bonus seconds in the first intermediate sprint of the day, what leaves him 2 seconds ahead of Simone Ponzi and 3 ahead of Chris Sutton. The decrease on the amount of bonus seconds for this season means that the GCs will be very tight at the start of some stage races.
Today's Winner
Stage Results
| 1 | | Christopher Sutton | Vacansoleil - DCM | 3h43'19 | | 2 | | Simone Ponzi | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 3 | | Ben Swift | Team Sky | s.t. | | 4 | | Michael Matthews | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 5 | | Kenny Van Hummel | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 6 | | Cameron Meyer | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | s.t. | | 7 | | Alexander Kristoff | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. | | 8 | | Johan Vansummeren | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | s.t. | | 9 | | Marcel Kittel | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 10 | | Joost Van Leijen | Vacansoleil - DCM | s.t. |
General Classification
| 1 | | Marcel Kittel | Astana Pro Team | 6h42'47 | | 2 | | Simone Ponzi | Team Katusha | + 2 | | 3 | | Christopher Sutton | Vacansoleil - DCM | + 3 | | 4 | | André Greipel | Trek Factory Racing | + 4 | | 5 | | Ben Swift | Team Sky | + 6 | | 6 | | Michael Matthews | Lotto Belisol | + 7 | | 7 | | Kenny Van Hummel | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | + 8 | | 8 | | Alexander Kristoff | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. | | 9 | | Johan Vansummeren | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | s.t. | | 10 | | Cameron Meyer | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | s.t. |
Points
| 1 | | Marcel Kittel | Astana Pro Team | 95 | | 2 | | Simone Ponzi | Team Katusha | 70 | | 3 | | Ben Swift | Team Sky | 67 | | 4 | | Michael Matthews | Lotto Belisol | 59 | | 5 | | André Greipel | Trek Factory Racing | 50 |
Mountain
| 1 | | Sylvain Chavanel | Giant - Shimano | 29 | | 2 | | Geraint Thomas | HTC - Highroad | 23 | | 3 |  | Peter Sagan | Vacansoleil - DCM | 15 | | 4 | | Nick Nuyens | Garmin - Sharp | 13 | | 5 | | Maarten Tjallingii | AG2R La Mondiale | 10 |
Young
| 1 | | Francesco Gavazzi | Cannondale | 6h42'55 | | 2 | | Maxime Vantomme | Vacansoleil - DCM | s.t. | | 3 | | Jens Debusschere | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step | s.t. | | 4 | | Przemyslaw Niemiec | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 5 | | Ian Stannard | Team Sky | s.t. |
Teams
| 1 | | BMC Racing Team | 20h08'45 | | 2 |  | Tinkoff - Saxo | s.t. | | 3 | | Discovery Channel | s.t. | | 4 | | HTC - Highroad | s.t. | | 5 | | Vacansoleil - DCM | s.t. |
Edited by mpardo on 22-08-2014 21:07
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 20-08-2014 23:06
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Yay, Uncle Chris wins  |
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