Fant. Neutral Story [Ronde 2018]
|
mpardo |
Posted on 12-12-2011 10:34
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
Stage 6: Civitanova Marche - Camerino
The penultimate stage of the Tirreno Adriatico is the most important of the race. It is a hilly marathon of 234 kilometres that also has the climb to the Sasso Tetto (13 km at 7.1%). If that was not enough, the final 5 kilometres are a climb to Camerino, where some seconds could be won if there is a finish in a group. Anyone willing to win the Tirreno will have to do a good performance on the way to Camerino.
Five riders were almost 6 minutes ahead at the first KoM sprint: Maxime Monfort (Omega), Simone Ponzi (Quickstep), Francisco Ventoso (Lampre), Mikel Nieve (BMC) and Taylor Phinney (Euskaltel). None of them was dangerous in the GC, so the peloton let them do. However, they still had 160 km in front of them.
Marco Marcato, the leader of the race, suffered a puncture with 117 km to go. As many as 6 Liquigas riders waited to bring him back to the pack.
The Liquigas riders were having a hard time bringing Marcato back to the group. As Peraud had lost all his chances of a good GC in a fall, he was put to work in front of the peloton. This also meant that riders started to be dropped way before the climb to Sasso Tetto. The Liquigas group lost 2 minutes on the pack with 100 km to go.
The break starts the climb to Sasso Tetto with 1’ 55’’ on the pack. Liquigas had to do a big effort to put Marcato back in the group and that means he is left almost without teammates.
As expected, Mikel Nieve was the best of the group in front climbing the Sasso Tetto. He was on his own at the top, but others were closing in: Dupont was 45 seconds behind and the group 1’ 15’’. The group was now down to 30 riders. The main rider not to make it in that group was Oscar Freire, second overall.
Mikel Nieve was finally caught with 25 kilometres to go. At that time, Hubert Dupont seemed to suffer a bonk and lost the pace of the group in the descent.
The last climb towards Camerino starts when the riders cross the 5 kilometre sign. Janez Brajkovic leads a group that has slimmed a little more to 24 riders. An amazing Vinokourov has been able to keep the pace of the group. Dupont is losing 1’35’’ and Freire 2’ 45’’ at this point.
Weening is the first to launch the final attack. With 1 km to go, he leads with Brajkovic and Devenyns right behind.
Janez Brajkovic wins in Camerino! The Slovenian wins ahead of Pozzato and Weening to grab his second win in the Tirreno. Small time gaps opened in the front group, as Hushovd jumps to second and Brajkovic to third overall.
With only one flat stage ending tomorrow in San Benedetto del Tronto, the race is pretty much sttled. Marco Marcato is going to win the Tirreno ahead of Hushovd and Brajkovic. Alexandre Vinokourov is the main favourite for the points competition and Mikel Nieve for the mountain jersey.
Today's Winner
Stage Results
1 | Janez Brajkovic | TEAM RADIOSHACK | 7h02'39 | 2 | Filippo Pozzato | LAMPRE - ISD | s.t. | 3 | Pieter Weening | HTC - HIGH ROAD | s.t. | 4 | Fränk Schleck | LEOPARD TREK | s.t. | 5 | Thor Hushovd | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | s.t. | 6 | Dries Devenyns | QUICKSTEP | s.t. | 7 | Marco Marcato | LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE | s.t. | 8 | John Degenkolb | LEOPARD TREK | + 18 | 9 | Alexandre Vinokourov | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | s.t. | 10 | Daniel Martin | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | + 28 |
General Classification
1 | Marco Marcato | LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE | 24h43'41 | 2 | Thor Hushovd | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | + 17 | 3 | Janez Brajkovic | TEAM RADIOSHACK | + 29 | 4 | Alexandre Vinokourov | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | + 42 | 5 | Dries Devenyns | QUICKSTEP | + 43 | 6 | Pieter Weening | HTC - HIGH ROAD | + 55 | 7 | Peter Kennaugh | SKY PROCYCLING | + 58 | 8 | Lloyd Mondory | LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE | + 1'01 | 9 | Andy Schleck | LEOPARD TREK | + 1'34 | 10 | George Hincapie | BMC RACING TEAM | + 1'45 |
Points
1 | Alexandre Vinokourov | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | 79 | 2 | Janez Brajkovic | TEAM RADIOSHACK | 73 | 3 | Marco Marcato | LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE | 68 | 4 | André Greipel | OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO | 54 | 5 | Oscar Freire | RABOBANK | 36 |
Mountain
1 | Mikel Nieve | BMC RACING TEAM | 19 | 2 | Maxime Monfort | OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO | 17 | 3 | Hubert Dupont | SAXO BANK SUNGARD | 14 | 4 | Lloyd Mondory | LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE | 10 | 5 | Borut Bozic | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | 10 |
Young
1 | Giovanni Visconti | LAMPRE - ISD | 24h47'50 | 2 | Tejay Van Garderen | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | + 30 | 3 | Rui Da Costa | TEAM RADIOSHACK | + 37 | 4 | Alexander Kristoff | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | + 54 | 5 | Pierre Rolland | QUICKSTEP | + 1'15 |
Teams
1 | LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE | 74h13'28 | 2 | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | + 6 | 3 | TEAM RADIOSHACK | + 2'02 | 4 | LEOPARD TREK | + 3'27 | 5 | LAMPRE - ISD | + 9'04 |
|
|
|
|
sutty68 |
Posted on 12-12-2011 11:21
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Nice win for Brajkovic |
|
|
|
mpardo |
Posted on 13-12-2011 15:57
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
Stage 7: San Benedetto del Tronto - San Benedetto del Tronto
The last stage of the Tirreno Adriatico is very flat, a stage for the sprinters. The last kilometres will be raced in a circuit in the city of San Benedetto del Tronto, the place where the Tirreno normally ends. The GC is already set, with Marco Marcato on his way to the first important win.
A 6 men break was at the front before starting the last descent towards San Benedetto del Tronto. The most important men there were Ivan Basso (Leopard), Sylvain Chavanel (Quickstep) and Wouter Poels (Rabobank). The gap they had built during the few hills was 9’ 20’’.
However, the teams with sprinters were very keen on another mass sprint, especially Sky and Garmin. They were caught at the second intermediate sprint, with 20 kilometres to go.
As the sprint started, Peter Kennaugh was clearly ahead of the rest. However, Tyler Farrar looked very strong on the other side of the road and Hushovd was also trying to get ahead.
Tyler Farrar wins in San Benedetto del Tronto! The American was the strongest by far today and shows that he is feeling good for Sunday’s Milano Sanremo. Behind him were Peter Kennaugh and Alexandre Vinokourov. The Kazakh goes home with the second consecutive points jersey and the lead in the World Tour. An impressive start of the season for Vinokourov, who has 4 stage victories, a second and a fourth overall and two points jerseys.
Marco Marcato grabbed the overall win for Liquigas, even though some thought that Lloyd Mondory would be the leader of the team. He climbs to fourth in the World Tour. Brajkovic also improved in that classification, taking the second place that belonged to Tyler Farrar.
Today's Winner
Stage Results
1 | Tyler Farrar | SAXO BANK SUNGARD | 4h23'39 | 2 | Peter Kennaugh | SKY PROCYCLING | s.t. | 3 | Alexandre Vinokourov | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | s.t. | 4 | Thor Hushovd | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | s.t. | 5 | Alberto Contador | SAXO BANK SUNGARD | s.t. | 6 | Francisco Ventoso | LAMPRE - ISD | s.t. | 7 | Borut Bozic | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | s.t. | 8 | Andreas Klöden | TEAM RADIOSHACK | s.t. | 9 | André Greipel | OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO | s.t. | 10 | Jakob Fuglsang | LEOPARD TREK | s.t. |
General Classification
1 | Marco Marcato | LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE | 29h07'20 | 2 | Thor Hushovd | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | + 17 | 3 | Janez Brajkovic | TEAM RADIOSHACK | + 29 | 4 | Alexandre Vinokourov | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | + 38 | 5 | Dries Devenyns | QUICKSTEP | + 43 | 6 | Peter Kennaugh | SKY PROCYCLING | + 52 | 7 | Pieter Weening | HTC - HIGH ROAD | + 55 | 8 | Lloyd Mondory | LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE | + 1'01 | 9 | Andy Schleck | LEOPARD TREK | + 1'34 | 10 | George Hincapie | BMC RACING TEAM | + 1'45 |
Points
1 | Alexandre Vinokourov | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | 95 | 2 | Janez Brajkovic | TEAM RADIOSHACK | 73 | 3 | Marco Marcato | LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE | 72 | 4 | André Greipel | OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO | 61 | 5 | Tyler Farrar | SAXO BANK SUNGARD | 54 |
Mountain
1 | Mikel Nieve | BMC RACING TEAM | 19 | 2 | Maxime Monfort | OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO | 17 | 3 | Hubert Dupont | SAXO BANK SUNGARD | 14 | 4 | Lloyd Mondory | LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE | 10 | 5 | Borut Bozic | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | 10 |
Young
1 | Giovanni Visconti | LAMPRE - ISD | 29h11'29 | 2 | Tejay Van Garderen | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | + 30 | 3 | Rui Da Costa | TEAM RADIOSHACK | + 37 | 4 | Alexander Kristoff | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | + 53 | 5 | Pierre Rolland | QUICKSTEP | + 1'15 |
Teams
1 | LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE | 87h24'25 | 2 | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | + 6 | 3 | TEAM RADIOSHACK | + 2'02 | 4 | LEOPARD TREK | + 3'27 | 5 | LAMPRE - ISD | + 9'04 |
|
|
|
|
sutty68 |
Posted on 14-12-2011 09:44
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Bring on the Milan-San Remo |
|
|
|
mpardo |
Posted on 14-12-2011 09:51
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
sutty68 wrote:
Bring on the Milan-San Remo
Milan - Sanremo report will have to wait until tomorrow I will update the World Tour rankings and the preview of the race.
|
|
|
|
mpardo |
Posted on 14-12-2011 15:27
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
UCI World Tour rankings riders (after Tirreno Adriatico)
1 | Alexandre Vinokourov | Garmin | 244.11 | 2 | Janez Brajkovic | Radioshack | 152.55 | 3 | Tyler Farrar | Saxo Bank | 150 | 4 | Marco Marcato | Liquigas | 123.22 | 5 | Peter Kennaugh | Sky | 121 | 6 | Thor Hushovd | Garmin | 89.11 | 7 | Francisco Ventoso | Lampre | 82 | 8 | Dries Devenyns | Quickstep | 58 | 9 | Peter Sagan | Liquigas | 49.22 | 10 | Chris Anker Sørensen | Saxo Bank | 42 | 11 | Andreas Klöden | Radioshack | 41.55 | 12 | Pieter Weening | HTC | 41 | 13 | Oliver Zaugg | BMC | 40 | 14 | Lloyd Mondory | Liquigas | 32.22 | 15 | Jakob Fuglsang | Leopard | 31 |
UCI World Tour rankings teams (after Tirreno Adriatico)
1 | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | 356 | 2 | LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE | 242 | 3 | TEAM RADIOSHACK | 231 | 4 | SAXO BANK SUNGARD | 216 | 5 | SKY PROCYCLING | 129 | 6 | LAMPRE - ISD | 114 | 7 | BMC RACING TEAM | 104 | 8 | QUICKSTEP | 76 | 9 | LEOPARD TREK | 67 | 10 | HTC-HIGHROAD | 46 |
|
|
|
|
alexanderlens |
Posted on 14-12-2011 15:31
|
Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 990
Joined: 08-07-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
How much money does Vino have left?
Guess who's back?
Lets see how many friens are still around...
|
|
|
|
Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 03:23
|
Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
|
|
IP: None |
|
|
mpardo |
Posted on 14-12-2011 21:54
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
What do you mean how much money he is left?
|
|
|
|
sutty68 |
Posted on 14-12-2011 23:35
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
mpardo wrote:
What do you mean how much money he is left?
It's a joke which i fell for earlier in the week
Apparently Vinokourov paid off rivals so he could win LBL |
|
|
|
mpardo |
Posted on 15-12-2011 08:17
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
sutty68 wrote:
mpardo wrote:
What do you mean how much money he is left?
It's a joke which i fell for earlier in the week
Apparently Vinokourov paid off rivals so he could win LBL
That sounds like a lot of riders...pretty difficult to believe
|
|
|
|
Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 15-12-2011 08:36
|
World Champion
Posts: 10121
Joined: 01-05-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
mpardo wrote:
sutty68 wrote:
mpardo wrote:
What do you mean how much money he is left?
It's a joke which i fell for earlier in the week
Apparently Vinokourov paid off rivals so he could win LBL
That sounds like a lot of riders...pretty difficult to believe
Not all his rivals, just Kolobnev. It's just rumours though.
And nice story btw.
|
|
|
|
mpardo |
Posted on 15-12-2011 11:13
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
The World Tour couple of weeks in Italy end with the first of the Monuments. The Milano Sanremo is one of the longest races of the calendar, as it is close to the 300 kilometres mark. Among the Monuments, it is the classic that is more prone to be won by an sprinter, as the profile of the route is quite flat. The only climbs that matter are the Cipressa and the Poggio, both within 25 kilometres of the finish.
Favourites:
- Jakob Fuglsang (Leopard): The Leopard rider enjoys long and flat routes, so he should have a chance here. Besides, he can be fast in small group finishes. He hasn’t done anything remarkable yet this season but has been in the top 15 in both races.
- Alexandre Vinokourov (Garmin): Vino has been outstanding so far. He has already won four times this season and has proven to be almost at the level of Farrar in mass sprints.
- Lloyd Mondory (Liquigas): The French aimed for the Tirreno Adriatico to be his race, but in the end it was won by his teammate Marcato. He would like a hillier route, but he should profit his current form to try an attack in one of the last hills.
- Tyler Farrar (Saxo Bank): The American is the fastest sprinter in the field, so he has every chance if he can hold on to the front group. He already has 3 wins this season, but the feeling is that Vinokourov is stronger than him at the moment.
|
|
|
|
sutty68 |
Posted on 15-12-2011 14:43
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Hope you have a great Liege-Bastogne-Liege
And hope you send a team full of strong sprinters |
|
|
|
mpardo |
Posted on 15-12-2011 15:17
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
Milano - Sanremo
The route of the Milano Sanremo is well known. The most favourable classic for the sprinters, as only the Cipressa and the Poggio can make a difference. They are not demanding climbs, though.
At the top of the Turchino 4 riders were in front: Greg Van Avermaet (Quickstep), Mikel Nieve (BMC), Robert Gesink (Omega) and Laurens Ten Dam (Euskaltel). None of them was really dangerous and they had built a small gap of only 3’ 25’’. Garmin was predictably in control of the peloton, as Vinokourov has won himself some respect.
The break came to an end too soon and right before another set of riders tried to break away. In the end, only Cadel Evans was strong enough to hold a lead for a while. He was 1’ 05’’ ahead in the Capo Cervo, 54 km to the finish.
Garmin was determined to leave behind some sprinters who aren’t good on the hills and therefore was acting as a luxury teammate for Vinokourov while climbing the Cipressa. He reduced drastically the gap to Evans and started dropping people off the pack.
Filippo Pozzato attacked on the last slopes of the Cipressa and holds 40’’ on the pack when he starts climbing the Poggio.
No rider is willing to go after Pozzato and the Lampre rider tops the hill with an advantage of 1’ 05’’. Garmin wanted some other to help on the chase and the misunderstanding is big in the peloton.
Pozzato is already celebrating with 2 kilometres to go, as he has more than 1 minute on his chasers. On the pack, the Liquigas train is so fast that they have broke away from the peloton bringing 9 riders with them.
Filippo Pozzato wins the Milano Sanremo! A hard attack in the last slopes of the Cipressa gave the Lampre rider a big enough gap to cause confusion in the peloton. No team took the responsibility for the chase and therefore they gifted the win to Pozzato. The two races in Italy have been won by two Italian riders.
Andre Greipel takes the second place ahead of a Liquigas trio, Marcato being the third to the line. Marcato ends a great week, having won the Tirreno and claiming third in Sanremo.
Pozzato jumps to 6th overall in the World Tour classification, while Greipel grabs some needed points in Omega to jump to 10th. Marco Marcato is third, but will have it difficult to defend that position as most of his preparation is aimed towards the Vuelta a España.
Today's Winner
Stage Results
1 | Filippo Pozzato | LAMPRE - ISD | 8h11'47 | 2 | André Greipel | OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO | + 1'05 | 3 | Marco Marcato | LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE | s.t. | 4 | Alessandro Ballan | LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE | s.t. | 5 | Peter Sagan | LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE | s.t. | 6 | Tyler Farrar | SAXO BANK SUNGARD | s.t. | 7 | Tony Martin | HTC - HIGH ROAD | s.t. | 8 | Lloyd Mondory | LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE | s.t. | 9 | Alexandre Vinokourov | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | s.t. | 10 | Simon Gerrans | QUICKSTEP | s.t. |
|
|
|
|
sutty68 |
Posted on 15-12-2011 16:36
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Nice attack by Pozzato and a great win |
|
|
|
mpardo |
Posted on 16-12-2011 09:20
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
UCI World Tour rankings riders (after Milano Sanremo)
1 | Alexandre Vinokourov | Garmin | 249.11 | 2 | Marco Marcato | Liquigas | 173.22 | 3 | Tyler Farrar | Saxo Bank | 170 | 4 | Janez Brajkovic | Radioshack | 152.55 | 5 | Peter Kennaugh | Sky | 121 | 6 | Filippo Pozzato | Lampre | 97 | 7 | Thor Hushovd | Garmin | 89.11 | 8 | Francisco Ventoso | Lampre | 82 | 9 | Peter Sagan | Liquigas | 79.22 | 10 | André Greipel | Omega | 74.55 | 11 | Dries Devenyns | Quickstep | 58 | 12 | Lloyd Mondory | Liquigas | 42.22 | 13 | Alessandro Ballan | Liquigas | 42.22 | 14 | Chris Anker Sørensen | Saxo Bank | 42 | 15 | Andreas Klöden | Radioshack | 41.55 |
UCI World Tour rankings teams (after Milano Sanremo)
1 | LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE | 372 | 2 | TEAM GARMIN-CERVELO | 361 | 3 | SAXO BANK SUNGARD | 236 | 4 | TEAM RADIOSHACK | 231 | 5 | LAMPRE - ISD | 194 | 6 | SKY PROCYCLING | 129 | 7 | BMC RACING TEAM | 104 | 8 | OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO | 92 | 9 | QUICKSTEP | 78 | 10 | LEOPARD TREK | 67 |
|
|
|
|
mpardo |
Posted on 16-12-2011 15:51
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
The Liege-Bastogne-Liege is the last of the monuments to appear in the World Tour. It is raced in the Ardennes region of Belgium, with an easy first part going south to Bastogne and the more demanding return towards Liege. The race has finished lately in the town of Ans. There are quite a few hills in the last 60 kilometres of the race that should settle the final results; therefore, the riders that can ride through the hills are the favourites.
Favourites:
- Janez Brajkovic (Radioshack): The Slovenian rider has its main targets for the season here and in Montreal. Even though he is a typical classics rider, he did a great Tirreno and grabbed 2 stages and the third overall.
- Filippo Pozzato (Lampre): The route of Liege fits the Italian much better than Milano Sanremo (which he won), therefore we should see him in the battle.
- Dries Devenyns (Quickstep): Quickstep will be looking for a good result in their first race in home soil. Dries Devenyns Is their best chance for a good result, although he lacks a bit of speed if the riders arrive in a group.
- José JoaquÃn Rojas (Omega): The other Belgian team also has lots of chances with the Spaniard, and he will have a good helper in Jelle Vanendert, as the team leader prepares for Romandie.
|
|
|
|
alexanderlens |
Posted on 16-12-2011 15:52
|
Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 990
Joined: 08-07-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
Which team are you managing? And are there any transfers ever happening?
Guess who's back?
Lets see how many friens are still around...
|
|
|
|
mpardo |
Posted on 17-12-2011 16:54
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
alexanderlens wrote:
Which team are you managing? And are there any transfers ever happening?
I manage a team that only has a bad rider. You'll never see him. Besides, I run stage races (not a career), so all transfers are done by myself. I put the transfer dealings between the seasons.
|
|
|
|
mpardo |
Posted on 19-12-2011 10:05
|
Sprinter
Posts: 1738
Joined: 06-09-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
Liege - Liege
Welcome to the Liege-Bastogne-Liege. The fairly hilly terrain should allow for plenty of action today, with renowned climbs, such as La Redoute, Roche aux Faucons, Stockeau or Ans.
A group of 8 riders settled in front after a bit of fighting at the start of the race. They had built a gap of 6’ 50’’ in the first 110 kilometres. Among them were Rigoberto Uran (Sky), Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank), Andreas Kloden (Radioshack) and Ivan Basso (Leopard).
Two teams were keen to reduce the distance to the break, Omega Pharma Lotto and Lampre. They were able to reduce the gap to a bit more than 3 minutes by the time they started climbing Wanne, with 91 kilometres to go.
The group of chasers had reduced dramatically by the time they were climbing Rosier, and they still had 70 kilometres to go. No more than 30 riders stayed with the group led by Omega. There was a drama moment when 5 riders of Omega, including Rojas, took away. However, they were soon reeled back to the group.
At La Redoute it was already clear who wasn’t going to win the Liege. The break was already back in the group and names like Frank Schleck, Tom Danielson, Jelle Vanendert, Hubert Dupont and Gregory Rast were already losing 3’30’’.
No big attacks happened before the Roche aux Faucons, but the group continued losing riders. It was now down to 25 with 25 kilometres to go. The tries to bridge the gap to this group were all unsuccessful.
The riders left the big attacks for the last two climbs. At Saint Nicolas a dangerous trio departed: Dries Devenyns, Jose JoaquÃn Rojas and the Milano Sanremo winner Filippo Pozzato. They managed to go through the top with 25 seconds on the already broken group.
Although the trio looked not that strong on the small way to Ans, it was enough to start the sprint ahead and fight for the victory among them.
Dries Devenyns wins the Liege-Bastogne-Liege! This is the first victory of Quickstep and what a victory! The Belgian was able to hold to the attack from Rojas in Saint-Nicolas and was fastest in the uphill sprint at Ans. Behind him were Filippo Pozzato, who can be very satisfied of his last two performances, and José JoaquÃn Rojas.
One surprise was the fifth from the rookie Giovanni Visconti, who surprisingly was able to stay in front for the whole race. Devenyns climbs now to 6th overall in the World Tour, while Pozzato is now up to 5th.
Today's Winner
Stage Results
1 | Dries Devenyns | QUICKSTEP | 7h46'11 | 2 | Filippo Pozzato | LAMPRE - ISD | s.t. | 3 | José Joaquin Rojas | OMEGA PHARMA-LOTTO | s.t. | 4 | Janez Brajkovic | TEAM RADIOSHACK | + 44 | 5 | Giovanni Visconti | LAMPRE - ISD | s.t. | 6 | Nick Nuyens | SAXO BANK SUNGARD | s.t. | 7 | Greg Van Avermaet | QUICKSTEP | s.t. | 8 | Xavier Tondo | EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI | s.t. | 9 | Pierre Rolland | QUICKSTEP | s.t. | 10 | Chris Anker Sørensen | SAXO BANK SUNGARD | s.t. |
|
|
|