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Standard Bank - Aegon | Taking an indefinite break
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 24-03-2013 20:48
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 Classic Loire Atlantique
This flat classic in France looks designed for the sprinters, and should be an exciting race to follow. The big pre-race favourites are Gavazzi (Andrioni), Bagdonas (AG2R) and our very own Barry Markus, who is hoping to build on his 8th place at the Ronde Van Drenthe.
155kms to go
The break was let go pretty much straight away, it contains Vrecer (Euskatel), Courteille (FDJ) and Delfosse (Crelan). The trio has quickly gained 3’50” over the soft-pedaling peloton.
19kms to go
Vacansoleil and Cofidis are pulling hard on the front of the bunch, and keeping the break’s gap in check. The three men have 1’20” over the peloton but it surely won’t last with all the sprinters wanting a bunch sprint.
5kms to go
The break is caught, but strangely there are no sprint trains today, and La Pomme’s Vaubourzeix is on the front of the peloton. Bagdonas is directly behind the Frenchman for AG2R. Markus is in Poulhies wheel further back, and Janse Van Rensburg is following Stauff.
2000m to go
Amorison goes early, along with four others. The quintet has got a small gap over the sprinters, who are struggling to pull them back. It is also worth noting that Van Niekerk is in the front group, in fifth position.
400m to go
Markus has started his sprint, and is the best placed rider in the peloton. However, it looks as if he will be denied the win by the remaining two attackers, Bagdonas and Amorison. Van Niekerk faded after a while.
Finish
Bagdonas wins it for AG2R with Amorison 2nd for Crelan. 150m behind Markus has run out of juice, but is just about holding on for a podium. Can he withstand the last few meters?
Finish
He can! Markus takes his first big result result of the season for us in 3rd, a job well done on our part. A shame the attackers got away. Vachon takes a surprising 4th for Bretagne and Bernadeau is 5th, which rounds out the top 5. Janse Van Rensburg eventually finishes 14th.
| 1 |  Gediminas Bagdonas | AG2R La Mondiale | 4h31'23 | | 2 |  Frédéric Amorison | Crelan - Euphony | s.t. | | 3 |  Barry Markus | Standard Bank - Aegon | s.t. | | 4 | Florian Vachon | Bretagne - Séché Environnement | s.t. | | 5 | Giovanni Bernaudeau | Team Europcar | s.t. | | 6 |  Jake Keough | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 7 | Laurent Mangel | FDJ | s.t. | | 8 |  Alexander Serebryakov | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. | | 9 | Gaël Malacarne | Bretagne - Séché Environnement | s.t. | | 10 | Stéphane Poulhiès | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | s.t. |
Comments
Finally Barry came good today, and got a well-deserved podium. This is his final race before he takes a rest, so it is good that he can carry some confidence with him into the later season, as well as some good points.
The team worked really well as a whole today, and the core of it will stay together in France of our next race, the Criterium International.
Edited by FroomeDog99 on 24-03-2013 20:50
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 24-03-2013 23:12
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A very good performance from Markus  |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 25-03-2013 08:53
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Like you said yourself, a well-deserved podium place here! |
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 25-03-2013 18:34
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Criterium International Preview
***
Voeckler (Europcar),  Sanchez (Euskatel),  Pozzovivo (AG2R) **
 Quintana (Movistar), Taaramae (Cofidis),  Martin (Garmin) *
Duarte (Standard Bank), Casar (FDJ), Rolland (Europcar)
Fabio Duarte
 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg
Nolan Hoffman
Dennis Van Niekerk
Marc Goos
 Tsagbu Grmay
This race is not lacking in class, with plenty of big WorldTour riders here, as their preparation for the Ardennes and the Giro. Still, we have a chance of coming away with a good result. Firstly, we have brought Fabio here to mount a GC challenge. He will hope not to lose lots of time in the short TT while picking up a high placing on the final stage’s mountain top finish.
So we are not anonymous on the first couple of stages, we have brought Reinardt. The first stage will suit him, but that won’t be his best chance for a good finish. The short TT suits him perfectly so hopefully he will do a good job there. The rest of our riders are just here to help our two leaders, Dennis and Nolan especially.
Edited by FroomeDog99 on 25-03-2013 18:35
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 25-03-2013 21:25
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Criterium International Stage 1
The first stage in sunny France is almost completely flat, and is only 72kms long so it should favor the sprinters. There is however a slight uphill finish which should suit the slightly hillier riders. It should be interesting to see how the stage pans out. The bookies favorites are all flat men and the biggest names include Howard (GreenEdge), Keough (UHC) and Von Huff (Garmin). Our best hope for a high finish is Janse Van Rensburg.
45kms to go
Despite the short stage distance, a five man break is let go. The biggest threats in the group look to be youngster Kern (AG2R), Sanz (Movistar) and Vanspeybrouck (Topsport). The quintet is kept at an arm’s length though and only has 2’20” on the bunch.
10kms to go
The break is almost caught and only a small 20” gap remains. There will definitely be a bunch sprint it seems. Behind Vini are the main driving force. The Italian team must be trying to set something up for Andriato.
4kms to go
The break is all pulled back and Cofidis have taken control with their train for Petit. He is the best placed of the sprinters, with Janse Van Rensburg a bit further back behind Roux (FDJ).
1000m to go
Taborre was leading Andriato out for Vini but he has pulled away and is looking the fastest at the moment. Petit is in second provisionally, while Janse Van Rensburg is catching him in his slipstream. The South African is looking good for a high finish.
Finish
Andriato eventually passes his teammates and takes the win for Vini. Sulzberger and Kreder take second and third respectively, while Janse Van Rensburg takes a disappointing 10th after being boxed in by a fading Petit. He will hope to do better tomorrow.
| 1 |  Rafael de Mattos Andriato | Vini Fantini - Selle Italia | 1h38'45 | | 2 |  Wesley Sulzberger | Orica - GreenEdge | s.t. | | 3 | Raymond Kreder | Garmin - Sharp | s.t. | | 4 | Adrien Petit | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | s.t. | | 5 | Steele Von Hoff | Garmin - Sharp | s.t. | | 6 | Michael Matthews | Orica - GreenEdge | s.t. | | 7 | Cyril Lemoine | Sojasun | s.t. | | 8 | Leigh Howard | Orica - GreenEdge | s.t. | | 9 | Anthony Roux | FDJ | s.t. | | 10 | Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg | Standard Bank - Aegon | s.t. |
Full standings should be up after stage stage 2
Comments
Not Reinardt's best day, but he will hope to do better tomorrow in the short TT. A top 10 isn't the end of the world, though against some stern opposition.
Edited by FroomeDog99 on 25-03-2013 21:26
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 25-03-2013 22:57
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A steady start from Reinardt today |
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| fcancellara |
Posted on 25-03-2013 23:06
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The TT will definitely suit Reinardt better! 
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 26-03-2013 20:50
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Sutty: Thanks alot 
fcancellara: Hopefully!
Criterium International Stage 2
This short TT won’t decide the GC here, with the mountain stage doing that. The 7km TT however does prove a chance to see who is in good form, and a chance to win a stage for the best roulers. Favorites are the best Prologue riders like Dowsett (Movistar), Sanchez (Euskatel) and Navardauskas (Garmin). Our best hope for a high finish is, like yesterday, Janse Van Rensburg. A top 5 should be possible.
Navardauskas gets the best time on the day, a good result from the Lithuanian Champion. He stopped the clock at 11’10”, which was 2” faster than second-placed Roux. Race favorite Sanchez rounds out the podium a further 1” back.
Janse Van Rensburg rides a good time trial and is fifth. His time for us was 11’22”, which put him 12” behind Navardauskas. A decent finish for the South African, which puts him in sixth overall ahead of the mountain stage tomorrow.
Andriato rode a poor TT so Navardauskas picks up the leaders jersey. Our GC leader Duarte is seventieth in the rankings, 46” behind the Lithuanian. He should be able to make up that margin tomorrow.
| 1 | Ramunas Navardauskas | Garmin - Sharp | 11'10 | | 2 | Anthony Roux | FDJ | + 2 | | 3 | Samuel Sánchez | Euskaltel - Euskadi | + 3 | | 4 | Michael Matthews | Orica - GreenEdge | + 7 | | 5 | Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg | Standard Bank - Aegon | + 12 | | 6 | Leigh Howard | Orica - GreenEdge | s.t. | | 7 | Ben Day | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | + 13 | | 8 | Sylvain Georges | AG2R La Mondiale | + 14 | | 9 | Adrien Petit | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | + 17 | | 10 |  Christian Meier | Orica - GreenEdge | + 21 |
| 1 | Ramunas Navardauskas | Garmin - Sharp | 1h49'55 | | 2 | Anthony Roux | FDJ | + 2 | | 3 | Samuel Sánchez | Euskaltel - Euskadi | + 3 | | 4 | Michael Matthews | Orica - GreenEdge | + 7 | | 5 | Leigh Howard | Orica - GreenEdge | + 12 | | 6 | Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg | Standard Bank - Aegon | s.t. | | 7 | Ben Day | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | + 13 | | 8 | Sylvain Georges | AG2R La Mondiale | + 14 | | 9 | Adrien Petit | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | + 17 | | 10 | Christian Meier | Orica - GreenEdge | + 21 |
| 1 | Anthony Roux | FDJ | 27 | | 2 | Rafael de Mattos Andriato | Vini Fantini - Selle Italia | 25 | | 3 | Ramunas Navardauskas | Garmin - Sharp | 25 | | 4 | Michael Matthews | Orica - GreenEdge | 24 | | 5 | Adrien Petit | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | 21 |
| 1 | Pieter Vanspeybrouck | Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 6 | | 2 | Enrique Sanz | Movistar Team | 4 | | 3 |  Julian Kern | AG2R La Mondiale | 2 |
| 1 | Ramunas Navardauskas | Garmin - Sharp | 1h49'55 | | 2 | Michael Matthews | Orica - GreenEdge | + 7 | | 3 | Leigh Howard | Orica - GreenEdge | + 12 |
| 1 | Orica - GreenEdge | 5h30'25 | | 2 | FDJ | + 21 | | 3 | AG2R La Mondiale | + 21 |
Comments
A good ride from Reinardt, he did pretty much what was achievable here. He has certainly made up for yesterday. We will now turn our attention to tomorrow's mountains with Fabio, who is hoping to get his first good result in our colours.
Edited by FroomeDog99 on 26-03-2013 22:04
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 26-03-2013 22:00
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JvR with a good day here |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 08-12-2025 21:01
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 26-03-2013 22:01
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Navarsaukas is not Italian. Btw, great result for Rensburg in the TT. |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 26-03-2013 22:44
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Reinardt put in a good TT performance and is looking good on the GC |
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 27-03-2013 19:51
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Ian & Sutty: Thanks, alot. He did well, but definetly won't hold on in the mountains.
Miguel: Fixed
Critérium International Stage 3
The race’s final stage should decide the winner. There are two major climbs, before the big summit finish up the Col d’Ospedale. The biggest favorites are the best climbers like Sanchez (Euskatel), Voeckler (Europcar) and Taaramae (Cofidis). Probably our best hope for a high finish is Duarte, who could maybe achieve a top 10.
110kms to go
It takes a while, but eight men are eventually let go by the peloton. There are no decent climbers in the group, but the closest on the GC is Dean (Orica), who can sprint decently. He still won’t challenge today though. The gap is currently at 3’22”.
50kms to go
On the final climb of the day, we are on the front of the bunch with Garmin, because the other teams are refusing to work. The gap peaked at 6’50” but has shrunk now to a manageable 3’35”. The peloton has slowly dropped in size and only 65 riders remain.
18kms to go
At the foot of the climb, the break has a large 2’09” over the peloton, which has been further reduced to 58 riders. The front group has lost two men over the first two major climbs, but still looks quite strong. They will most probably be caught though.
9kms to go
The break has been reeled in, so the battle for the stage can proberly commence. Young Franchman Bardet (AG2R) makes the first move by attacking. The gradient is at 6%, and the climb is really getting tough. Duarte is holding on well in the peloton, bu can't seem to move forward.
3500m to go
Quintana and Pozzovivo have both really split up the race and have got a gap. The duo have 19” on six men behind, which include Sanchez and Rolland. Goos, Van Niekerk and Duarte are all together in a group behind in thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth, 1’04” behind the leaders.
1000m to go
Sanchez has caught the front two, and is going past them. Duarte has fallen back out of our team’s trio but Van Niekerk and Goos are 2’10” behind now. They positioned in twelth and thirteenth.
Finish
Sanchez powers through and takes a dominant win for Euskatel which wins him the GC as well. Pozzovivo is second for AG2R, while Colombian Quintana is third. Georges also surprises for AG2R in fourth.
Finish
Van Niekerk is our best finisher in fourteenth, which is ok from him. Goos is also in the same group in seventeenth. Duarte eventually fell back due to him not completely reaching top form yet. Overall, a disappointing day for us.
GC-wise Sanchez comes out on top. Our best rider is Goos in sixteenth, which is disappointing to say the least. At least this race is over now, so we can move on fast.
| 1 | Samuel Sánchez | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 4h55'40 | | 2 | Domenico Pozzovivo | AG2R La Mondiale | + 12 | | 3 | Nairo Quintana | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 4 | Sylvain Georges | AG2R La Mondiale | + 23 | | 5 | Mikel Nieve | Euskaltel - Euskadi | + 1'24 | | 6 |  Rein Taaramäe | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | s.t. | | 7 | Romain Bardet | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 8 | Pierre Rolland | Team Europcar | s.t. | | 9 | Daniel Martin | Garmin - Sharp | + 2'00 | | 10 | Ramunas Navardauskas | Garmin - Sharp | s.t. |
| 1 | Samuel Sánchez | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 6h45'18 | | 2 | Domenico Pozzovivo | AG2R La Mondiale | + 42 | | 3 | Nairo Quintana | Movistar Team | + 50 | | 4 | Sylvain Georges | AG2R La Mondiale | + 54 | | 5 | Romain Bardet | AG2R La Mondiale | + 2'03 | | 6 | Rein Taaramäe | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | + 2'09 | | 7 | Ramunas Navardauskas | Garmin - Sharp | + 2'17 | | 8 | Pierre Rolland | Team Europcar | + 2'26 | | 9 | Mikel Nieve | Euskaltel - Euskadi | + 2'29 | | 10 | Daniel Martin | Garmin - Sharp | + 2'52 |
| 1 | Samuel Sánchez | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 41 | | 2 | Ramunas Navardauskas | Garmin - Sharp | 31 | | 3 | Anthony Roux | FDJ | 27 | | 4 | Rafael de Mattos Andriato | Vini Fantini - Selle Italia | 25 | | 5 | Michael Matthews | Orica - GreenEdge | 24 |
| 1 | Julian Dean | Orica - GreenEdge | 14 | | 2 | Eliot Lietaer | Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise | 12 | | 3 | Julien Fouchard | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | 10 | | 4 | Samuel Sánchez | Euskaltel - Euskadi | 6 | | 5 | Gaël Malacarne | Bretagne - Séché Environnement | 6 |
| 1 |  Nairo Quintana | Movistar Team | 6h46'08 | | 2 | Romain Bardet | AG2R La Mondiale | + 1'13 | | 3 | Ramunas Navardauskas | Garmin - Sharp | + 1'27 |
| 1 | AG2R La Mondiale | 20h19'45 | | 2 | Euskaltel - Euskadi | + 2'46 | | 3 | Standard Bank - Aegon | + 7'30 |
Comments
A very bad day for us, which turned this tour into an unsuccessful one. Fabio was clearly off form, while Marc and Dennis couldn't keep up with the quality of the field. We'll hope to move on from this quickly. |
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| fcancellara |
Posted on 27-03-2013 19:55
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Mhm 
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 27-03-2013 19:57
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Not a good race. |
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 27-03-2013 20:22
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It wasn’t the best race was it Anyway, I now have a two and a half week holiday starting tomorrow so this story can really progress. Expect more frequent updates
Volta Limburg Classic Preview
***
 Henderson (Lotto), Renshaw (Blanco), Steegmans (OPQS) **
Gavazzi (Astana),  Mezgec (Argos), Kluge (NetApp) *
Van Staeyen (Topsport), Van Poppel (Vacansoleil), Janse Van Rensburg (Standard Bank)
Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg
Nolan Hoffman
 Tarik Chaoufi
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Martijn Keizer
Tsagbu Grmay
Our last race in March, this is a chance for us to redeem ourselves after a poor showing in France. There is a startlist packed with decent sprinters but no superstars. Positioning will be important. Our leader here is Reinardt, who will be hoping to get a good placing today. A top 5 could be achievable if all goes smoothly.
The rest of our riders are just here for the ride, although Tarik and Nolan can sprint decently as well. Bert-Jan is racing his first race of the season, in preparation for one of his big targets, Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Report should be done for tomorrow morning.
Edited by FroomeDog99 on 27-03-2013 22:12
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 27-03-2013 20:31
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While your's is starting,mine are finishing.  |
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| kadtagenero |
Posted on 27-03-2013 20:49
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Bad time for Duarte in France...
Just like in real life... here in Colombia people are getting tired of him, the last two years have been really hard for him... I still support Fabio...
I hope you make him win a GT very soon.... Good luck!
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 27-03-2013 21:29
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kadtagenero wrote:
Bad time for Duarte in France...
Just like in real life... here in Colombia people are getting tired of him, the last two years have been really hard for him... I still support Fabio...
I hope you make him win a GT very soon.... Good luck!
Would be cool if he won a GT, but he only has 1* potential in mountains, meaning he will reach at max 78, which isn't that standard  |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 28-03-2013 06:39
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Have a nice holiday
That one stage was quite bad, bye bye Standard Bank in all rankings! |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 28-03-2013 08:31
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Good Luck with the Volta Limburg Classic |
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