Tour of Oman - Stage 5
Wattayat–Sultan Qaboos Stadium
Stage 5 is the final road stage of the Tour of Oman, before the all important time-trial tomorrow, ending back in Muscat, at the Sultan Qaboos Stadium, the national stadium of Oman.
Favourites: Alan Davis, Andre Greipel, Greg Henderson My secret tip: Frédéric Amorison, I always try to nominate someone else, and I think it came time for Fred to win, he was always in the top 10 and may try to something more before the time-trial.
Team objectives :
- Top3 Henderson
- Top 5 Thomas/Swift
Last depart of the peleton in Oman.
Break as always, trying their best to not be caught by the peleton, but as the pattern of this year's tour, not one break was sucessful, we doubt this one would be diffrent.
20km to go, and the break is caught, the sprinters and thier teams will try to position themselves for the final kilometres.
3km to go, you can see Greipel and Davis nearby, will it be the first time they will actually do something in the sprint ? Our position looks quite good.
2km to go and Greipel with a strong accelaration, we thoguht it was too soon, and waited till 1.3km to go.
At 1.8km Davis went, with even stronger acceleration and that was the winning move, two best sprinters showed today what are they worth. Though I tought we coudl have won this stage, the mistake we made not spriting when Greipel went and at the end that mistake cost us the win.
The Final stage of first ever Tour of Oman is a 26km ITT from Al Jissah to Muscat. Though the gaps have been made we expect today to shuffle the overall classification. Will Henderson be able to keep leader’s jersey today ?
Favourites: G.Thomas, C.Froome, A.Hansen My secret tip: Geraint Thomas impressed in the last days with few podiums and good places, he usually lead-out Henderson so he wasn’t our leader, but today he is and I can’t see anyone else winning other than him.
Evgeni Petrov is one the first favourites to go and sets the best time which will last for a quite a while from now.
38’40”
Next very good time by Christian Meier from United Healthcare, he beats Petrov time by 26 seconds and sets the new best time.
37’14”
Vitaliy Popkov is one of the best time-trialers on the field but he isn’t’ able to beat Meier’s time and is 3 seconds behind, sitting on the second place.
37’17”
Adam Hansen produced a stunning performance, and now leads the provisional general classification, he destroyed Meier’s time by 17 seconds. Also his team mate Van de Walle rode pretty good time-trial and is second 5 seconds behind Hansen time.
37’57”
Chris Froome one of the favourites before the race, had small stomach problems and his daily form was unfortunately -4, though he tried his hardest, while he couldn’t’ beat Hansen’s time, he lost only 23 seconds, and may still finish in the Top 10.
38’20”
Geraint Thomas, the young Welsh superstar felt some pressure before the start of this time-trial, he knew Hansen time and he knew what he needs to do to beat him. And unsurprisingly he does the job majestically, he holds his nerves together and produces stunning performance, beating Hansen time by 21 seconds.
37’36”
3rd overall before the time-trial, Igor isn’t the best time trailer in the world, he tried his hardest but couldn’t produce and finishes with disappointing time 1’54” behind Thomas, loosing his good overall position.
39’30”
J.A.Flecha isn’t the best time-trialer but he is one of the best fighters in the world of cycling. He produces amazing performance and takes 14th overall with only 54 seconds back.
38’30”
Greg started last and he didn’t finish too bad, only 1’06” behind Thomas meant he kept good position overall, great performance, and we hope he can continue them.
38’42”
Results
1
Geraint Thomas
Sky ProCycling
37'36
2
Adam Hansen
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 21
3
Jürgen Van de Walle
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 26
4
Christopher Baldwin
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 34
5
Rory Sutherland
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 35
6
Christian Meier
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 38
7
Vitaliy Popkov
ISD Continental Team
+ 41
8
Luca Ascani
CDC - Cavaliere
+ 43
9
Bart De Clercq
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
10
Chris Froome
Sky ProCycling
+ 44
11
Jiri Hudecek
PSK Whirlpool - Author
+ 47
12
Jack Bauer
Endura Racing
+ 48
13
Ben Day
Virgin Blue - RBS Morgans
+ 50
14
Juan Antonio Flecha
Sky ProCycling
+ 54
15
Simon Geschke
Skil - Shimano
s.t
Spoiler
16
Alexandre Blain
Endura Racing
+ 55
17
Pavel Gorenc
Adria Mobil
s.t.
18
Sébastien Delfosse
Landbouwkrediet
+ 58
19
Bert De Waele
Landbouwkrediet
+ 1'01
20
Arnoud Van Groen
Veranda's Willems - Accent
s.t.
21
Mitja Mahoric
Adria Mobil
+ 1'04
22
Evgeni Petrov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
23
Andriy Grivko
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
24
Alexsandr Dyachenko
Pro Team Astana
+ 1'05
25
Greg Henderson
Sky ProCycling
+ 1'06
26
Thomas Degand
Veranda's Willems - Accent
s.t.
27
Karl Menzies
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
s.t.
28
Staf Scheirlinckx
Veranda's Willems - Accent
+ 1'07
29
Ben Swift
Sky ProCycling
+ 1'08
30
Kristian House
Rapha Condor - Sharp
+ 1'09
31
Zakkari Dempster
Rapha Condor - Sharp
s.t.
32
Rubens Bertogliati
Team Type 1
s.t.
33
Dario Cioni
Sky ProCycling
+ 1'11
34
Simon Clarke
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
35
Stijn Joseph
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
36
Darren Rolfe
Virgin Blue - RBS Morgans
s.t.
37
Robert Hayles
Endura Racing
s.t.
38
Ariel Maximiliano Richeze
CDC - Cavaliere
+ 1'13
39
Allan Davis
Pro Team Astana
+ 1'14
40
Ian Wilkinson
Endura Racing
s.t.
41
Dean Downing
Rapha Condor - Sharp
+ 1'18
42
Xabier Zandio
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
43
Gabor Fejes
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
s.t.
44
Zoltan Madaras
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
s.t.
45
Nikita Novikov
Itera - Katusha
+ 1'21
46
Yuriy Agarkov
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
47
Sven Jodts
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
+ 1'22
48
Rafal Ratajczyk
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 1'23
49
Iván Melero
Team Type 1
+ 1'25
50
Koen Barbé
Landbouwkrediet
+ 1'28
51
Steven Van Vooren
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
52
Geert Verheyen
Landbouwkrediet
s.t.
53
Dimitry Ignatiev
Itera - Katusha
+ 1'29
54
Guillermo Lana
Caja Rural
s.t.
55
Maarten De Jonge
Endura Racing
+ 1'30
56
Roman Maikin
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
57
Bernard Sulzberger
Virgin Blue - RBS Morgans
s.t.
58
Emanuele Rizza
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
s.t.
59
Víctor De la Parte
Caja Rural
+ 1'31
60
André Greipel
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 1'32
61
Javier Moreno
Caja Rural
s.t.
62
Stanislav Starobudtsev
Itera - Katusha
+ 1'33
63
Jay Thomson
Virgin Blue - RBS Morgans
s.t.
64
Dan Craven
Rapha Condor - Sharp
s.t.
65
Dmitriy Fofonov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
66
Klaas Lodewyck
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
67
Mateusz Taciak
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 1'34
68
Stijn Neirynck
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
69
Johannes Fröhlinger
Skil - Shimano
+ 1'35
70
Tamas Lengyel
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
+ 1'36
71
Frédéric Amorison
Landbouwkrediet
s.t.
72
Jonathan Clarke
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
s.t.
73
Robert Förster
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 1'37
74
Johan Coenen
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
+ 1'40
75
Benjamin King
Team Type 1
s.t.
76
Jakub Vecera
PSK Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
77
Giuseppe Muraglia
CDC - Cavaliere
+ 1'41
78
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke
Rapha Condor - Sharp
s.t.
79
Davide D'Angelo
CDC - Cavaliere
s.t.
80
Frederik Willems
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 1'42
81
Fabricio Ferrari
Caja Rural
+ 1'43
82
Sven Van den Houte
Veranda's Willems - Accent
s.t.
83
Gianluca Coletta
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
+ 1'46
84
Evgueni Popov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
85
Ben Kersten
Virgin Blue - RBS Morgans
+ 1'47
86
Mikhail Antonov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
87
Aljaz Hocevar
Adria Mobil
+ 1'48
88
Damjan Stankovic
CDC - Cavaliere
+ 1'49
89
Oleksandr Martynenko
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
90
Tomas Danacik
PSK Whirlpool - Author
+ 1'50
91
Gert Dockx
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
92
Rubén Martínez
Caja Rural
s.t.
93
James McCallum
Rapha Condor - Sharp
s.t.
94
Yukihiro Doi
Skil - Shimano
+ 1'53
95
Mitchell Docker
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
96
Jeremy Hunt
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
97
Hayden Brooks
Virgin Blue - RBS Morgans
+ 1'54
98
Igor Abakoumov
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
99
Sergey Renev
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
100
Bram Schmitz
Veranda's Willems - Accent
s.t.
101
Erick Barlevav
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
s.t.
102
Aidis Kruopis
Landbouwkrediet
+ 1'55
103
Ales Broz
PSK Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
104
David De la Cruz
Caja Rural
+ 1'56
105
Marko Dimic
CDC - Cavaliere
s.t.
106
Walter Proch
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
s.t.
107
Higinio Fernández
Caja Rural
s.t.
108
Henry Frusto
CDC - Cavaliere
+ 1'57
109
Marino Palandri
Adria Mobil
s.t.
110
Jens Debusschere
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 1'58
111
Gorazd Stangelj
Pro Team Astana
+ 1'59
112
Bernardo Riccio
CDC - Cavaliere
s.t.
113
Alex Bowden
Team Type 1
+ 2'00
114
Valery Kobzarenko
Team Type 1
s.t.
115
Kris Boeckmans
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
116
James Vanlandschoot
Veranda's Willems - Accent
+ 2'01
117
Marco Carletti
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
+ 2'03
118
Marc Reynès
PSK Whirlpool - Author
+ 2'05
119
Steven Caethoven
Veranda's Willems - Accent
+ 2'06
120
René Mandri
Endura Racing
+ 2'07
121
Alexander Ryabkin
Caja Rural
s.t.
122
Preben Van Hecke
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
+ 2'08
123
Alexandre Usov
ISD Continental Team
+ 2'14
124
Martijn Verschoor
Team Type 1
+ 2'16
125
Marco Haller
Adria Mobil
+ 2'17
126
Jure Zagar
Adria Mobil
+ 2'19
127
Fabio Calabria
Team Type 1
+ 2'21
128
Davy Commeyne
Landbouwkrediet
s.t.
129
Robin Chaigneau
Skil - Shimano
+ 2'22
130
Jarl Salomein
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
131
David Puskas
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
+ 2'23
132
Han Feng
Skil - Shimano
+ 2'26
133
Vojtěch Dlouhý
PSK Whirlpool - Author
+ 2'30
134
Maksym Vasilyev
ISD Continental Team
+ 2'32
135
Hans Dekkers
Landbouwkrediet
+ 2'34
136
Cheng Ji
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
137
James Moss
Endura Racing
s.t.
138
Callum Wilkinson
Endura Racing
+ 2'37
139
Wim De Vocht
Veranda's Willems - Accent
+ 2'38
140
Morgan Schmitt
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 2'42
Great result for us, though the win was epxected it's still feels freat to win, Froome 10th dissapointed a little bit, but all 5 stages he worked for the team so the tirdeness palyed a part. Flecha 14th proves he is in great form and ready for the classics to come.
Overall
1
Geraint Thomas
Sky ProCycling
15h23'09
2
Adam Hansen
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 29
3
Juan Antonio Flecha
Sky ProCycling
+ 30
4
Greg Henderson
Sky ProCycling
+ 34
5
Jürgen Van de Walle
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
6
Christopher Baldwin
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 42
7
Rory Sutherland
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 43
8
Christian Meier
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 46
9
Vitaliy Popkov
ISD Continental Team
+ 49
10
Luca Ascani
CDC - Cavaliere
+ 51
11
Bart De Clercq
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
12
Chris Froome
Sky ProCycling
+ 52
13
Jiri Hudecek
PSK Whirlpool - Author
+ 55
14
Jack Bauer
Endura Racing
+ 56
15
Ben Day
Virgin Blue - RBS Morgans
+ 58
Spoiler
16
Bert De Waele
Landbouwkrediet
+ 1'01
17
Allan Davis
Pro Team Astana
+ 1'02
18
Simon Geschke
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
19
Alexandre Blain
Endura Racing
+ 1'03
20
Pavel Gorenc
Adria Mobil
s.t.
21
Sébastien Delfosse
Landbouwkrediet
+ 1'06
22
Ben Swift
Sky ProCycling
+ 1'08
23
Arnoud Van Groen
Veranda's Willems - Accent
+ 1'09
24
Ian Wilkinson
Endura Racing
+ 1'10
25
Mitja Mahoric
Adria Mobil
+ 1'12
26
Evgeni Petrov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
27
Andriy Grivko
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
28
Ariel Maximiliano Richeze
CDC - Cavaliere
+ 1'13
29
Alexsandr Dyachenko
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
30
Simon Clarke
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
31
Karl Menzies
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 1'14
32
Thomas Degand
Veranda's Willems - Accent
s.t.
33
Kristian House
Rapha Condor - Sharp
+ 1'15
34
Staf Scheirlinckx
Veranda's Willems - Accent
s.t.
35
Zakkari Dempster
Rapha Condor - Sharp
+ 1'17
36
Rubens Bertogliati
Team Type 1
s.t.
37
Robert Hayles
Endura Racing
+ 1'19
38
Dario Cioni
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
39
Stijn Joseph
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
40
Darren Rolfe
Virgin Blue - RBS Morgans
s.t.
41
Yuriy Agarkov
ISD Continental Team
+ 1'23
42
Rafal Ratajczyk
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
43
Frédéric Amorison
Landbouwkrediet
+ 1'24
44
Nikita Novikov
Itera - Katusha
+ 1'25
45
Dean Downing
Rapha Condor - Sharp
+ 1'26
46
Xabier Zandio
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
47
Zoltan Madaras
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
s.t.
48
Gabor Fejes
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
s.t.
49
André Greipel
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 1'28
50
Igor Abakoumov
ISD Continental Team
+ 1'30
51
Sven Jodts
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
52
Maarten De Jonge
Endura Racing
+ 1'34
53
Bernard Sulzberger
Virgin Blue - RBS Morgans
s.t.
54
Roman Maikin
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
55
Koen Barbé
Landbouwkrediet
+ 1'36
56
Geert Verheyen
Landbouwkrediet
s.t.
57
Steven Van Vooren
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
58
Robert Förster
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 1'37
59
Guillermo Lana
Caja Rural
s.t.
60
Dimitry Ignatiev
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
61
Emanuele Rizza
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
+ 1'38
62
Víctor De la Parte
Caja Rural
+ 1'39
63
Javier Moreno
Caja Rural
+ 1'40
64
Klaas Lodewyck
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 1'41
65
Dan Craven
Rapha Condor - Sharp
s.t.
66
Dmitriy Fofonov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
67
Stanislav Starobudtsev
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
68
Stijn Neirynck
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
+ 1'42
69
Mateusz Taciak
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
70
Benjamin King
Team Type 1
s.t.
71
Johannes Fröhlinger
Skil - Shimano
+ 1'43
72
Jonathan Clarke
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 1'44
73
Johan Coenen
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
+ 1'48
74
Jakub Vecera
PSK Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
75
Davide D'Angelo
CDC - Cavaliere
+ 1'49
76
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke
Rapha Condor - Sharp
s.t.
77
Frederik Willems
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 1'50
78
Aljaz Hocevar
Adria Mobil
s.t.
79
Sven Van den Houte
Veranda's Willems - Accent
+ 1'51
80
Fabricio Ferrari
Caja Rural
s.t.
81
James McCallum
Rapha Condor - Sharp
+ 1'54
82
Evgueni Popov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
83
Gianluca Coletta
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
s.t.
84
Ben Kersten
Virgin Blue - RBS Morgans
+ 1'55
85
Mikhail Antonov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
86
Tomas Danacik
PSK Whirlpool - Author
+ 1'56
87
Oleksandr Martynenko
ISD Continental Team
+ 1'57
88
Gert Dockx
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 1'58
89
Rubén Martínez
Caja Rural
s.t.
90
Jeremy Hunt
Sky ProCycling
+ 2'01
91
Erick Barlevav
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 2'02
92
Sergey Renev
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
93
Bram Schmitz
Veranda's Willems - Accent
s.t.
94
David De la Cruz
Caja Rural
s.t.
95
Hayden Brooks
Virgin Blue - RBS Morgans
s.t.
96
Aidis Kruopis
Landbouwkrediet
+ 2'03
97
James Vanlandschoot
Veranda's Willems - Accent
s.t.
98
Ales Broz
PSK Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
99
Walter Proch
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
+ 2'04
100
Marko Dimic
CDC - Cavaliere
s.t.
101
Higinio Fernández
Caja Rural
s.t.
102
Marino Palandri
Adria Mobil
+ 2'05
103
Jens Debusschere
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 2'06
104
Bernardo Riccio
CDC - Cavaliere
+ 2'07
105
Gorazd Stangelj
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
106
Kris Boeckmans
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
+ 2'08
107
Valery Kobzarenko
Team Type 1
s.t.
108
Marco Carletti
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
+ 2'11
109
Marc Reynès
PSK Whirlpool - Author
+ 2'13
110
Steven Caethoven
Veranda's Willems - Accent
+ 2'14
111
Preben Van Hecke
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
112
René Mandri
Endura Racing
+ 2'15
113
Alexander Ryabkin
Caja Rural
s.t.
114
Alexandre Usov
ISD Continental Team
+ 2'22
115
Martijn Verschoor
Team Type 1
+ 2'24
116
Davy Commeyne
Landbouwkrediet
+ 2'25
117
Jarl Salomein
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
+ 2'30
118
David Puskas
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
+ 2'31
119
Vojtěch Dlouhý
PSK Whirlpool - Author
+ 2'32
120
Hans Dekkers
Landbouwkrediet
+ 2'40
121
Maksym Vasilyev
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
122
James Moss
Endura Racing
+ 2'42
123
Cheng Ji
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
124
Callum Wilkinson
Endura Racing
+ 2'45
125
Wim De Vocht
Veranda's Willems - Accent
+ 2'46
126
Morgan Schmitt
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 2'50
127
Iván Melero
Team Type 1
+ 4'03
128
Alex Bowden
Team Type 1
+ 4'38
129
Jay Thomson
Virgin Blue - RBS Morgans
+ 4'59
130
Fabio Calabria
Team Type 1
s.t.
131
Tamas Lengyel
Tecnofilm - Betonexpressz 2000
+ 5'02
132
Giuseppe Muraglia
CDC - Cavaliere
+ 7'40
133
Damjan Stankovic
CDC - Cavaliere
+ 7'44
134
Henry Frusto
CDC - Cavaliere
+ 8'02
135
Marco Haller
Adria Mobil
+ 8'22
136
Robin Chaigneau
Skil - Shimano
+ 8'27
137
Mitchell Docker
Skil - Shimano
+ 18'23
138
Yukihiro Doi
Skil - Shimano
+ 22'52
139
Han Feng
Skil - Shimano
+ 23'31
140
Jure Zagar
Adria Mobil
+ 25'09
Well, the overall changed after the time-trial, and it looks great for us, Thomas was a very consistent throghout and desereves his first Pro Tour stage victory, tohugh we lost second place by a second, we are happy with Flecha third, and Henderson 4th, Froome on 12th completes our great overall position.
If at the start of the tour I would get that results I have would be massivly pleased, as the form and fitness were't great, and I am pleased, very much now with the boys on the team.
Points
1
Greg Henderson
Sky ProCycling
78
2
Juan Antonio Flecha
Sky ProCycling
69
3
Robert Förster
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
61
4
Igor Abakoumov
ISD Continental Team
59
5
Geraint Thomas
Sky ProCycling
59
Henderson with consistent top places on all stages wins the green jersey, more surprisingly Flecha comes second, something I would never expect, great tour from him, and I think even this classification shows he is ready for Omloop.
U25
1
Geraint Thomas
Sky ProCycling
15h23'09
2
Bart De Clercq
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 51
3
Jiri Hudecek
PSK Whirlpool - Author
+ 55
4
Simon Geschke
Skil - Shimano
+ 1'02
5
Pavel Gorenc
Adria Mobil
+ 1'03
Not much too say, Thomas with his great time-trial abilities was always the favourite to take this classification, and at the end he didn't dissapoint. Another white jersey to hopefully his great collection after 2011.
Team:Sky ProCycling
I think at the start with our squad, our goal was to win this classification, and we have managed it at the end, great feat by our team.
Edited by Alakagom on 20-02-2011 21:17
Sorry for no updates, had a big debate at school and had to learn my speech, today GP dell'Insubria-Lugano with Thomas Lofkvist making his debut this season.
@Bjartne In your story He is alright in mine, we will see what he can do.
@baia Thanks They rode very well, they have quite good team so I should expect team to be a dangreous challenge for Rogers at the Tour of California.
GP dell'Insubria-Lugano
Sky Team
Thomas Löfkvist Rigoberto Urán Christian Knees John-Lee Augustyn Lars Petter Nordhaug Serge Pauwels Morris Possoni Ian Stannard
The first hilly classics of the season are about to begin, and first of them are two races in Lugano, first one being the easier one. we bring quite a strong squad, and our only goal is to improve our fitness.
As the stage usually ends in mass sprint Uran will be our leader and try to get good results overall, as Lofkvist isn't really now for his spriting abilities we will try to attack with him on the last 5km and see what we can do, Knees will support both guys but will be ou co-leader in case both Uran and Lofkvist had an accident etc.
The starlist here is strong, many contenders here will try do bring themselves more fame in the Ardennes classics. Kolobnev is on paper, the strongest hiller on the list, but the two climbs are short and the best sprinter should have the biggest chance to win here.
Liquigas brought very strong team with Nibali and Basso the leaders and Sagan and Szmyd domestiques, if they gel toghether they could potentially the race. Scarponi continues from his win in Giro della Calabria and will be definitely dangreous. Most of the other favourites begin their season here, so we shouldn't expect much from them.
Secret Tip: If in a form Sagan should be a big contender with good hill and sprint skills, downhilling is also important and he can do those three things quite well, tohugh he only race two days, he might be danger to the other favourites.
Incredible SKY season start!!!!!
Im really enjoying your history and im looking forward Paris-Niza to come...
Excellent graphics!!!! Please can you tell something about your computer or graphic settings?? (i think i have a good machine and i set the maximun options in graphic settings and its so far from your screen view).
Thanks and good luck!!!!!
Thanks, hope the good form continues over March. Hopefully we can finish off Oman today and start the first classics
Davis looked strong... But you are still dominating the overall 
