PCM.daily - Discussion Forum: aCross the road: Mud, Sweat & Gears

#181

Posted on 19-03-2014 08:03

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 15615
Joined: 16-07-2013
PCM$: 350.00

Results arn't important at this time since he's merely a domestique, but yeah - cobbles suit him better right now than the hilly roads of Italy.

Kuurne – Bruxelles – Kuurne
On the line!

It’s been a heated Kuurne – Bruxelles – Kuurne that Belgium and cycling fans enjoyed as the second race of the spring campaign. With various attacks throughout the stage, there was never much time to rest. Despite the relatively long flatter part to the finish line in Kuurne, the peloton never fully managed to take control and neither did Cannondale. Especially an attack by Gaudin (ALM) has stirred up the race towards the finale, while up until the last kilometer the race could have gone either way. Eventually John Degenkolb came close to a clear victory in the sprint though if it hadn’t be for Peter Sagan. Our very own superstar at Cannondale fulfilled the expectations by coming from behind and beating Degenkolb just at the line!

What a finish, I just tell you as it is. I think I have never raced at such a pace in a professional race. The finale was just intense, everybody fighting for their places and positions. Being part of a sprint train, even if you’re just the guy early on pacing for the others, is surely something unique. And yes, it feels rather rewarding to know that you have had part of this victory today. Also, reeling back in guys like Boonen and Cancellara in a big collective effort after they have attacked at a cobblestone classic: Well, that’s just something that’s rather fantastic.

The race wasn’t kind on us though. I had to do some very early work when the breakaway got too big. Up to 16 riders were ahead of the peloton, that was just way too much. We couldn’t let it get out of hand and thus I was ordered to some hard work in the wind. It didn’t get better when the rain kicked in with about 55 kilometers left to race. Back then, I wondered if this was really necessary. You know, I could have had an easy day in the peloton but instead I was working my every bone off for the team. To answer: Yes, it’s worth it.

But I notice: Maybe I should stop self-doubting myself during races. Honestly though, I think it’s part of where my current strength comes from. That I have the desperate desire to prove myself wrong over and over again. At around 5, 6 or 7 kilometers left I had done my work for good and finally released into taking off the pain from my legs. At least until I got my massage.

Impressions

Spoiler

Kuuren - Bruxelles - Kuurne, Results

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Peter Sagan	Cannondale	4h36'10
2	John Degenkolb	Team Giant - Shimano	s.t.
3	Greg Van Avermaet	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
4	Jürgen Roelandts	Lotto Belisol	s.t.
5	Sep Vanmarcke	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
6	Elia Viviani	Cannondale	s.t.
7	Tom Boonen	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
8	Alessandro Petacchi	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
9	Mickaël Delage	FDJ.fr	s.t.
10	Nick Nuyens	Garmin Sharp	s.t.

Spoiler

11	Edvald Boasson Hagen	Team Sky	s.t.
12	Geraint Thomas	Team Sky	s.t.
13	Giacomo Nizzolo	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
14	Jacopo Guarnieri	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
15	Zdenek Stybar	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
16	Sébastien Turgot	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
17	Borut Božic	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
18	Mark Renshaw	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
19	Sebastian Langeveld	Garmin Sharp	s.t.
20	Pieter Vanspeybrouck	Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise	s.t.
21	Yohan Offredo	FDJ.fr	s.t.
22	Damien Gaudin	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
23	Fabian Cancellara	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
24	Pieter Jacobs	Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise	s.t.
25	Stijn Vandenbergh	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
26	Steve Chainel	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
27	Taylor Phinney	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
28	Björn Leukemans	Wanty - Groupe Gobert	s.t.
29	Greg Henderson	Lotto Belisol	s.t.
30	Niki Terpstra	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
31	Jasper Stuyven	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
32	Bert-Jan Lindeman	Rabobank Development Team	s.t.
33	Oscar Gatto	Cannondale	s.t.
34	Bert De Backer	Team Giant - Shimano	s.t.
35	Nacer Bouhanni	FDJ.fr	s.t.
36	Andriy Grivko	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
37	Jack Bauer	Garmin Sharp	s.t.
38	Lars Ytting Bak	Lotto Belisol	s.t.
39	Preben Van Hecke	Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise	s.t.
40	Lars Boom	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
41	Wesley Kreder	Wanty - Groupe Gobert	s.t.
42	Mirko Selvaggi	Wanty - Groupe Gobert	s.t.
43	Dries Devenyns	Team Giant - Shimano	s.t.
44	Michael Schär	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
45	Salvatore Puccio	Team Sky	s.t.
46	Rohan Dennis	Garmin Sharp	s.t.
47	Marcus Burghardt	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
48	Alexey Lutsenko	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
49	Paul Martens	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
50	Jesse Sergent	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
51	Gorik Gardeyn	Veranclassic - Doltcini	s.t.
52	Kristof Vandewalle	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
53	Raphael Visconti	Cannondale	s.t.
54	Fabio Sabatini	Cannondale	s.t.
55	Christophe Le Mével	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	s.t.
56	Maarten Wynants	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
57	Sébastien Minard	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
58	Stan Godrie	Rabobank Development Team	s.t.
59	Nathan Haas	Garmin Sharp	s.t.
60	Markel Irizar	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
61	Joren Segers	Team 3M	s.t.
62	Edward Theuns	Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise	s.t.
63	Luka Mezgec	Team Giant - Shimano	s.t.
64	Julien Vermote	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
65	Christophe Riblon	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
66	Gediminas Kaupas	Team Differdange - Losch	s.t.
67	Johan Vansummeren	Garmin Sharp	s.t.
68	Laurent Evrard	Wallonie - Bruxelles	s.t.
69	Rick Flens	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
70	Fränk Schleck	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
71	Dennis Coenen	Leopard Development Team	s.t.
72	Steven Kruijswijk	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
73	Stef Clement	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	+ 2'44
74	Fabian Wegmann	Garmin Sharp	+ 3'39
75	Danny Pate	Team Sky	+ 4'52
76	Haimar Zubeldia	Trek Factory Racing	+ 5'39
77	Wout Poels	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
78	David Boucher	FDJ.fr	s.t.
79	Hubert Dupont	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
80	Caleb Fairly	Garmin Sharp	s.t.
81	Marc Goos	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
82	Guillaume Bonnafond	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
83	Zico Waeytens	Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise	+ 8'07
84	Christopher Sutton	Team Sky	s.t.
85	Laurens De Vreese	Wanty - Groupe Gobert	s.t.
86	Warren Barguil	Team Giant - Shimano	s.t.
87	Dominik Nerz	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
88	Sébastien Rosseler	Veranclassic - Doltcini	s.t.
89	Scott Thwaites	Team NetApp - Endura	s.t.
90	Egoitz García	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	s.t.
91	Tosh Van der Sande	Lotto Belisol	s.t.
92	Klaas Lodewyck	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
93	Christian Knees	Team Sky	s.t.
94	Bobbie Traksel	An Post - Chain Reaction	s.t.
95	Benoît Vaugrenard	FDJ.fr	s.t.
96	Cyril Lemoine	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	s.t.
97	Antoine Demoitie	Wallonie - Bruxelles	s.t.
98	Johan Coenen	Team Differdange - Losch	s.t.
99	Paul Voss	Team NetApp - Endura	s.t.
100	Maxime Bouet	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
101	Jonathan Dufrasne	Wallonie - Bruxelles	s.t.
102	Francis Mourey	FDJ.fr	s.t.
103	Thomas Damuseau	Team Giant - Shimano	s.t.
104	Cheng Ji	Team Giant - Shimano	s.t.
105	Frederik Veuchelen	Wanty - Groupe Gobert	s.t.
106	Chad Haga	Team Giant - Shimano	s.t.
107	Romain Zingle	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	+ 9'30
108	Ronan Van Zandbeek	Cyclingteam De Rijke	s.t.
109	Louis Verhelst	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	s.t.
110	Kenny Elissonde	FDJ.fr	s.t.
111	Tom Van Asbroeck	Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise	s.t.
112	Lieuwe Westra	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
113	David López	Team Sky	s.t.
114	Sander Armee	Lotto Belisol	s.t.
115	Roy Jans	Wanty - Groupe Gobert	s.t.
116	Olivier Chevalier	Wallonie - Bruxelles	s.t.
117	Ben Hermans	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
118	Fabien Bacquet	Veranclassic - Doltcini	s.t.
119	Julien Fouchard	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	s.t.
120	Tom Dernies	Wallonie - Bruxelles	s.t.
121	Egidijus Juodvalkis	Team 3M	s.t.
122	Pit Schlechter	Leopard Development Team	s.t.
123	Sean Downey	An Post - Chain Reaction	s.t.
124	Sébastien Delfosse	Wallonie - Bruxelles	s.t.
125	Olivier Kaisen	Lotto Belisol	s.t.
126	Sjoerd Kouwenhoven	Cyclingteam De Rijke	s.t.
127	Emiel Dolfsma	Rabobank Development Team	s.t.
128	Glenn O'Shea	An Post - Chain Reaction	s.t.
129	Mikel Landa	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
130	Philip Deignan	Team Sky	s.t.
131	Boris Dron	Wallonie - Bruxelles	s.t.
132	Tom Vermeer	Cyclingteam Jo Piels	s.t.
133	Jussi Veikkanen	FDJ.fr	s.t.
134	Christoph Pfingsten	Cyclingteam De Rijke	s.t.
135	Yannick Eijssen	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
136	Kevin Verwaest	Veranclassic - Doltcini	s.t.
137	Edward King	Cannondale	s.t.
138	Davide Formolo	Cannondale	s.t.
139	Ike Groen	Cyclingteam De Rijke	+ 11'19
140	Huub Duyn	Cyclingteam De Rijke	s.t.
141	David De la Cruz	Team NetApp - Endura	s.t.
142	Joaquín Sobrino	Team Differdange - Losch	s.t.
143	Tom Thill	Leopard Development Team	s.t.
144	Marco König	Leopard Development Team	s.t.
145	Evan Huffman	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
146	Gert Dockx	Lotto Belisol	s.t.
147	Bartosz Huzarski	Team NetApp - Endura	s.t.
148	Dennis Vanendert	Lotto Belisol	s.t.
149	Tim Declercq	Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise	s.t.
150	Edwig Cammaerts	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	s.t.
151	Ricardo van Dongen	Rabobank Development Team	s.t.
152	Kevin Van Melsen	Wanty - Groupe Gobert	s.t.
153	Vytautas Kaupas	Team Differdange - Losch	s.t.
154	Andrey Zeits	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
155	Lennard Hofstede	Rabobank Development Team	s.t.
156	Corrado Lampa	Team Differdange - Losch	s.t.
157	Iker Camaño	Team NetApp - Endura	s.t.
158	Jimmy Janssens	Team 3M	s.t.
159	Piotr Havik	Rabobank Development Team	s.t.
160	Florian Salzinger	Leopard Development Team	s.t.
161	Max Losch	Team Differdange - Losch	s.t.
162	Sam Oomen	Rabobank Development Team	s.t.
163	Frantisek Padour	Team NetApp - Endura	s.t.
164	Gerry Druyts	Team 3M	s.t.
165	Quentin Bertholet	Wallonie - Bruxelles	s.t.
166	Christophe Sleurs	Team 3M	s.t.
167	Kristjan Koren	Cannondale	s.t.
168	Simon Schram	Cyclingteam De Rijke	s.t.
169	Gertjan De Vos	Team 3M	s.t.
170	Steven Lammertink	Cyclingteam Jo Piels	+ 13'41
171	Erick Rowsell	Team NetApp - Endura	s.t.
172	Ryan Mullen	An Post - Chain Reaction	s.t.
173	Victor Campenaerts	Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise	s.t.
174	Steve Bekaert	Veranclassic - Doltcini	s.t.
175	Frederik Vandewiele	Veranclassic - Doltcini	s.t.
176	César Bihel	Team Differdange - Losch	s.t.
177	Darijus Dzervus	Veranclassic - Doltcini	s.t.
178	Frederik Backaert	Wanty - Groupe Gobert	s.t.
179	Jack Wilson	An Post - Chain Reaction	s.t.
180	Tim Ariesen	Cyclingteam Jo Piels	s.t.
181	Yoann Bagot	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	s.t.
182	André Looij	Rabobank Development Team	s.t.
183	Emiel Vermeulen	Team 3M	s.t.
184	Stefan Poutsma	Cyclingteam Jo Piels	s.t.
185	Conor Dunne	An Post - Chain Reaction	s.t.
186	Twan Van den Brand	Cyclingteam Jo Piels	s.t.
187	Joel Zangerle	Leopard Development Team	s.t.
188	Joey Van Rhee	Cyclingteam Jo Piels	s.t.
189	Sjors Roosen	Cyclingteam Jo Piels	s.t.
190	Kevin Suarez	Team Differdange - Losch	s.t.
191	Serge De Wortelaer	Veranclassic - Doltcini	+ 14'53
192	Stef Van Zummeren	Team 3M	+ 17'47
193	Berden De Vries	Cyclingteam Jo Piels	s.t.
194	José Mendes	Team NetApp - Endura	s.t.
195	Laurent Van den Bak	An Post - Chain Reaction	s.t.
196	Kieran Frend	An Post - Chain Reaction	+ 22'37

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#182

Posted on 19-03-2014 09:19

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00

Epic win for Sagan at Kuurne

and its nice to know that Raphael helped out in someway to be able for him to achieve it

#183

Posted on 19-03-2014 10:12

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 15615
Joined: 16-07-2013
PCM$: 350.00

He's just doing his job, Sir.

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"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V

#184

Posted on 19-03-2014 10:16

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00

Sagan will be very glad with Raphael in the next years. With Raphael along his side, not much can go wrong, I think

#185

Posted on 19-03-2014 11:53

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 15615
Joined: 16-07-2013
PCM$: 350.00

"Not much can go wrong"... hehe, you do know about Murphy's law, right?

Actually, Sagan's contract is running out (like IRL), but having a young, capable domestique like Visconti in the roster sure is surely a further incentive to sign a possible new contract.

Edited by Shonak on 19-03-2014 11:54

"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V

#186

Posted on 19-03-2014 14:33

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 15615
Joined: 16-07-2013
PCM$: 350.00

GP de Camaiore
Riding for my own – again

After my time in Belgium, which is slowly becoming a second home to me with all those CX and CBS races I attent there, I head back to Italy for some semi-classics.
Today Rinaldo Nocentini (ALM) took a solo-victory by attacking on the last climb at GP de Camaoire. While various riders tried to follow, including Fränk Schleck, no one could actually match my fellow Italian’s performance.

Our race tactic was simple: Cannondale either supports Viviani or we can for our own gains. Therefor today I had the opportunitiy to race for my own again. At least it turned out like that because rather soon it was clear that Viviani's legs couldn't hold up on these climbs.

Unfortunately, neither did mine today.

While I felt good throughout the day and initially had the right amount of instinct, motivation and necessary power to follow the decisive attacks by Nocentini, Schleck & Co, I couldn’t hold up with them. My legs fairly disappointed me because at first I felt more and more confident with each kilometer we mastered. But when the attacks came there was no chance I could react.

I thought, this is in some way different to CX. At CX, you are always aware, always in the game. Moving and watching your opponents. You know each one of them. You know every detail of the route. You're in a position of constantly having to react...
Here, on the road, you ride for hours and in a moment, in flash, flickering moment mostly, the race changes. It turns up-side down. It's more unforgiving as CX, where you always have to fix one, two, three mistakes per race and which is the beauty of CX. Here, one mistake can make you forget the whole race.
Definitely one of the lessons I have to learn the hard way in the future in order to be successful.

So, I took the downhill rather fast and well but couldn't reach the pack up front. Instead of holding the pace though, Caruso and Trofimov from Katusha catched up to me and outsprinted me on the final meters. I narrowly missed the Top 10 that day, but I was satisfied with my result, fully aware of where I have to improve. I am an ambitius little guy, but I am not delusional. 12th is a decent enough result in a minor race against some tough competition. Although the legs don't hold up the promises yet, at least I can still achieve some nice results by riding on my own.

Mohoric came just a few places behind me. He and I had a few good talks throughout the stage, a truly nice guy. Not quite as grim as me, but already U23 world champion at his age. He’s definitely an incredible talent. For now both of us finished somewhere in the Top 15. When saying that this is a success for both of us shows that we are still merely talents.

GP de Camaiore, Results

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Rinaldo Nocentini	AG2R La Mondiale	4h21'53
2	Petr Vakoč	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	+ 22
3	Fränk Schleck	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
4	Lars Petter Nordhaug	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
5	Simone Ponzi	YellowFluo	s.t.
6	Chris Anker Sørensen	Tinkoff - Saxo	s.t.
7	Giovanni Visconti	Movistar Team	s.t.
8	Yuriy Agarkov	ISD Continental Team	s.t.
9	Marc Goos	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
10	Yury Trofimov	Team Katusha	+ 1'33
11	Giampaolo Caruso	Team Katusha	s.t.
12	Raphael Visconti	Cannondale	s.t.
13	Francesco Bongiorno	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
14	Matej Mohorič	Cannondale	s.t.
15	Nikolas Maes	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.

Spoiler

16	Matteo Montaguti	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
17	Miguel Rubiano	Colombia	s.t.
18	Javier Moreno	Movistar Team	s.t.
19	Matthias Frank	IAM Cycling	s.t.
20	Wout Poels	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
21	Romain Bardet	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
22	Karsten Kroon	Tinkoff - Saxo	s.t.
23	Dario Cataldo	Team Sky	s.t.
24	Bob Jungels	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
25	Matteo Rabottini	YellowFluo	s.t.
26	Sébastien Reichenbach	IAM Cycling	s.t.
27	Wilco Kelderman	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
28	Vasil Kiryienka	Team Sky	s.t.
29	Maxime Bouet	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
30	Thomas Löfkvist	IAM Cycling	s.t.
31	Stefano Pirazzi	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
32	Francesco Gavazzi	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
33	Stefan Denifl	IAM Cycling	s.t.
34	Fabio Aru	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
35	Mikel Landa	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
36	Johann Tschopp	IAM Cycling	s.t.
37	Alexsandr Dyachenko	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
38	Rafael Valls	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
39	Sérgio Paulinho	Tinkoff - Saxo	s.t.
40	Matthew Busche	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
41	Jonathan Hivert	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
42	Dominik Nerz	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
43	Marcel Wyss	IAM Cycling	s.t.
44	Joseph Dombrowski	Team Sky	s.t.
45	Manuele Mori	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
46	Andrey Zeits	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
47	Christopher Sutton	Team Sky	s.t.
48	Elia Viviani	Cannondale	s.t.
49	Philip Deignan	Team Sky	s.t.
50	Salvatore Puccio	Team Sky	s.t.
51	Mauro Finetto	YellowFluo	s.t.
52	Diego Rosa	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
53	Martin Elmiger	IAM Cycling	s.t.
54	Peter Stetina	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
55	Kristijan Durasek	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
56	Oliver Zaugg	Tinkoff - Saxo	s.t.
57	Blel Kadri	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
58	Amaël Moinard	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
59	Joshua Edmondson	Team Sky	s.t.
60	John Darwin Atapuma	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
61	Stijn Devolder	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
62	Laurens Ten Dam	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
63	Haimar Zubeldia	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
64	Valerio Agnoli	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
65	Pieter Serry	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
66	Manuel Quinziato	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
67	Julien Vermote	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
68	John Gadret	Movistar Team	s.t.
69	Pierpaolo De Negri	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
70	Rubén Plaza	Movistar Team	s.t.
71	Johnny Hoogerland	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
72	Eduard Vorganov	Team Katusha	s.t.
73	Egor Silin	Team Katusha	s.t.
74	Eros Capecchi	Movistar Team	s.t.
75	Sebastian Henao	Team Sky	s.t.
76	Gorka Izagirre	Movistar Team	s.t.
77	Serge Pauwels	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
78	Maxim Belkov	Team Katusha	s.t.
79	Primož Roglič	Adria Mobil	s.t.
80	Sylwester Szmyd	Movistar Team	s.t.
81	Jarlinson Pantano	Colombia	s.t.
82	Marco Coledan	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
83	Mikaël Chérel	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
84	Jeffry Romero	Colombia	s.t.
85	Juan Pablo Valencia	Colombia	s.t.
86	Adriano Malori	Movistar Team	s.t.
87	Stefano Locatelli	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
88	Ben Gastauer	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
89	Patrick Facchini	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
90	Jan Polanc	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
91	Robinson Chalapud	Colombia	s.t.
92	Dmitriy Gruzdev	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
93	Andrea Zordan	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
94	Mikhail Ignatiev	Team Katusha	s.t.
95	Valerio Conti	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
96	Davide Villella	Cannondale	s.t.
97	Bruno Pires	Tinkoff - Saxo	s.t.
98	Laurent Didier	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
99	Patrik Sinkewitz	Meridiana Kamen Team	s.t.
100	Vitaliy Popkov	ISD Continental Team	s.t.
101	Jonathan Monsalve	YellowFluo	s.t.
102	Alessandro Bisolti	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
103	Silvan Dillier	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
104	Leonardo Pinizzotto	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
105	Winner Anacona	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
106	Eugenio Alafaci	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
107	Yannick Eijssen	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
108	Juan Manuel Gárate	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
109	Paolo Tiralongo	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
110	Yaroslav Popovych	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.
111	Dimitry Ignatiev	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
112	Jackson Rodríguez	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
113	Steve Morabito	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
114	Antonio Santoro	Meridiana Kamen Team	s.t.
115	Luca Wackermann	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
116	Manuele Boaro	Tinkoff - Saxo	s.t.
117	Alfredo Balloni	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	s.t.
118	Luca Dodi	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
119	Eduard Beltran	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	s.t.
120	Peter Kusztor	Utensilnord	s.t.
121	Dimitry Kozontchuk	Team Katusha	s.t.
122	Anatoliy Pakhtusov	ISD Continental Team	s.t.
123	Yonder Godoy	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
124	Evgeni Petrov	Tinkoff - Saxo	s.t.
125	Riccardo Stacchiotti	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
126	Mirko Tedeschi	YellowFluo	s.t.
127	Ildar Arslanov	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
128	Carlos José Ochoa	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
129	Julian Alaphilippe	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	+ 7'31
130	Filippo Fortin	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
131	Alessandro Malaguti	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
132	Francesco Chicchi	YellowFluo	s.t.
133	Andrea Piechele	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
134	David Per	Adria Mobil	s.t.
135	Bernard Bendeguz	Utensilnord	s.t.
136	Denys Karnulin	ISD Continental Team	s.t.
137	Carlos Quintero	Colombia	s.t.
138	Antonio Di Battista	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
139	Aljaz Hocevar	Adria Mobil	s.t.
140	Pawel Poljanski	Tinkoff - Saxo	s.t.
141	Oleksandr Grygorenko	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
142	Kristjan Fajt	Adria Mobil	s.t.
143	Paolo Colonna	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
144	Petr Ignatenko	Team Katusha	s.t.
145	Massimo Demarin	Meridiana Kamen Team	s.t.
146	Davide Mucelli	Meridiana Kamen Team	s.t.
147	Oleksandr Sheydyk	ISD Continental Team	s.t.
148	Paul Martens	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
149	Matej Mugerli	Adria Mobil	s.t.
150	Yuma Koishi	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
151	Carlos Verona	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
152	Enrico Barbin	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
153	Anatoliy Sosnitskiy	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
154	Tom Leezer	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
155	Jonathan Paredes	Colombia	s.t.
156	Patrick Schelling	IAM Cycling	s.t.
157	Igor Frolov	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
158	Alessio Taliani	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
159	Gianni Bellini	YellowFluo	s.t.
160	Alessandro De Marchi	Cannondale	s.t.
161	Jean-Marc Marino	Cannondale	s.t.
162	Gianfranco Visconti	Utensilnord	+ 8'41
163	Mariano Giallorenzo	Meridiana Kamen Team	s.t.
164	Giuseppe Fonzi	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
165	Mamyr Stash	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
166	Rodolfo Torres	Colombia	s.t.
167	Artem Topchanyuk	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
168	Niv Libner	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
169	Matteo Belli	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	s.t.
170	Balazs Rozsa	Utensilnord	s.t.
171	Antonio Viola	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
172	Alfonso Fiorenza	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	s.t.
173	Samuele Conti	YellowFluo	s.t.
174	Shiki Kuroeda	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
175	Sergey Nikolaev	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
176	Antonia Merolese	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	s.t.
177	Aydar Zakarin	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
178	Daniele Scampamorte	Utensilnord	s.t.
179	Marko Ivancic	Meridiana Kamen Team	s.t.
180	Abel Kenyeres	Utensilnord	s.t.
181	Luca Taschin	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	s.t.
182	Alexander Foliforov	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
183	Pavel Ptashkin	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
184	Alberto Bettiol	Cannondale	s.t.
185	Giacomo Forconi	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	s.t.
186	Logan Loader	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
187	Loris Paoli	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	s.t.
188	Gennaro Maddaluno	Utensilnord	s.t.
189	Yukinori Hishinuma	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	+ 9'42
190	Maksym Vasilyev	ISD Continental Team	s.t.
191	Zoltan Lengyel	Utensilnord	+ 11'48

Edited by Shonak on 19-03-2014 14:35

#187

Posted on 19-03-2014 14:36

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00

Raphael is certainly starting to get used to the road judging by his latest result

#188

Posted on 19-03-2014 16:27

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00

Important lesson being learned here. But it says something about Raphael that he can still finish 12th after making that mistake.
It's going the right way, he needs to keep training, keep his focus and have patience

#189

Posted on 19-03-2014 19:15

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 15615
Joined: 16-07-2013
PCM$: 350.00

@sutty68: It apparently doesn't always have to be muddy and glitchy to get something out of the day.

@Ian Butler: It sure was but the school time ain't over yet. Plenty left to learn.

I'll post Strade Bianche presumably after football tonight.

"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V

#190

Posted on 19-03-2014 21:58

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 15615
Joined: 16-07-2013
PCM$: 350.00

Strade Bianche
The Dirt Roads of the Toscana

Ah yes, the road to Siena. Who would have thought back then this race could turn out so popular amongst cyclists and fans alike? There’s this popular saying about races of all kind: “This is an unique race et cetera”. Many times this saying and praise doesn’t hold up to the actual race. Well… Strade Bianche is truly one in a million. It may look from the profile like some other Italian classic, but it’s not.

It’s more fun.

The Sponsor goal was pretty clear. Number 1. Nothing else was acceptable. That’s why we brought Peter Sagan, IvanBasso and Oscar Gatto along. However, except for Sagan, none of our riders were in good shape yet. I myself was still in No Man’s Land between losing form and getting it back. I didn’t know where I had to go much of the way. Sagan himself actually dreams of winning this race since it's one of its favourites. Last year's winner, Cannondale rider Moreno Moser, isn't at the start though.

Koren and Sabatini paced right from the start to keep the lead of the breakaway small. It wasn’t a large group and thus it was easy. I always kept myself in the first third of the peloton, watching out for my captains. When the race came into its heated race, with about 50 kilometers left, I was tasked to do the same. But actually Trek and Astana kept the pace high already. So high that I couldn’t even get upfront no matter how hard I tried. For me, a race of elimination was already well on its way while most of other riders were still fighting for their position or taking piss breaks…

I had already dropped when Geraint Thomas attacked. Gatto, Marcato and Villela worked hard to get them back. But none of them had the shape so far. Basso and I were long-gone by then. I have seen the replay and I think Sagan could have won if he attacked a bit earlier. But he waited until the five last kilometers to go for himself and this was eventually not enough. He got back around a minute on Thomas, a minute we lost as a team despite our strongest efforts. This time it wasn’t enough.

Impressions

Spoiler

Strade Bianche, Results

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Geraint Thomas	Team Sky	4h28'48
2	Peter Sagan	Cannondale	+ 22
3	Francesco Bongiorno	Bardiani CSF	+ 37
4	Przemyslaw Niemiec	Lampre - Merida	+ 54
5	Carlos Betancur	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
6	Giampaolo Caruso	Team Katusha	s.t.
7	Dario Cataldo	Team Sky	s.t.
8	Oscar Gatto	Cannondale	+ 1'22
9	Filippo Pozzato	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
10	Romain Bardet	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.

Spoiler

11	Francesco Gavazzi	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
12	Marco Marcato	Cannondale	s.t.
13	David López	Team Sky	s.t.
14	Fabio Duarte	Colombia	+ 1'27
15	Matteo Rabottini	YellowFluo	+ 1'31
16	Vasil Kiryienka	Team Sky	s.t.
17	Fredrik Kessiakoff	Astana Pro Team	+ 1'35
18	Simone Ponzi	YellowFluo	s.t.
19	Davide Villella	Cannondale	s.t.
20	Sonny Colbrelli	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
21	Miguel Rubiano	Colombia	+ 1'42
22	Manuele Mori	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
23	Alexsandr Dyachenko	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
24	Enrico Battaglin	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
25	Johnny Hoogerland	Androni Giocattoli	+ 1'48
26	Simon Spilak	Team Katusha	s.t.
27	Alexis Vuillermoz	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 1'55
28	Winner Anacona	Lampre - Merida	+ 2'00
29	Nikolas Maes	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	+ 2'04
30	Michal Golas	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
31	Vladimir Gusev	Team Katusha	+ 2'10
32	Alessio Taliani	Androni Giocattoli	+ 2'15
33	John Gadret	Movistar Team	s.t.
34	Davide Cimolai	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
35	Juan José Lobato	Movistar Team	s.t.
36	Andrea Manfredi	Bardiani CSF	+ 2'29
37	Angelo Pagani	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
38	Rinaldo Nocentini	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
39	Enrico Barbin	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
40	Marcos García	Caja Rural - Seguros RGA	s.t.
41	Alexey Lutsenko	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
42	Salvatore Puccio	Team Sky	s.t.
43	David Arroyo	Caja Rural - Seguros RGA	s.t.
44	Francesco Chicchi	YellowFluo	s.t.
45	Raphael Visconti	Cannondale	+ 2'37
46	Alessandro Mazzi	Utensilnord	s.t.
47	Leonardo Duque	Colombia	+ 2'44
48	Omar Fraile	Caja Rural - Seguros RGA	s.t.
49	Ivan Basso	Cannondale	s.t.
50	Yuriy Agarkov	ISD Continental Team	s.t.
51	Marco Canola	Bardiani CSF	+ 3'03
52	Christopher Sutton	Team Sky	+ 3'11
53	Lukas Pöstlberger	Tirol Cycling Team	s.t.
54	Jonathan Monsalve	YellowFluo	+ 3'16
55	Joseph Dombrowski	Team Sky	s.t.
56	Robinson Chalapud	Colombia	s.t.
57	Sascha Weber	Veranclassic - Doltcini	s.t.
58	Kristjan Fajt	Adria Mobil	s.t.
59	Alex Dowsett	Movistar Team	s.t.
60	Damien Gaudin	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
61	Dimitry Kozontchuk	Team Katusha	s.t.
62	Guillaume Bonnafond	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
63	Sébastien Turgot	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
64	Willie Smit	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
65	Steve Chainel	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
66	Kristjan Koren	Cannondale	+ 3'33
67	Vyacheslav Kuznetsov	Team Katusha	+ 3'38
68	Ángel Madrazo	Caja Rural - Seguros RGA	s.t.
69	Aleksandr Kuschynski	Team Katusha	s.t.
70	Rubén Plaza	Movistar Team	+ 4'08
71	Alessandro Vanotti	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
72	Valerio Agnoli	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
73	Matej Mugerli	Adria Mobil	s.t.
74	Dimitriy Muravyev	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
75	Francesco Lasca	Caja Rural - Seguros RGA	s.t.
76	Pierpaolo De Negri	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
77	Justin Jules	Team La Pomme Marseille	s.t.
78	Petr Vakoč	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
79	Jacopo Guarnieri	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
80	Vitaliy Popkov	ISD Continental Team	s.t.
81	Andrew Fenn	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
82	Matteo Pelucchi	IAM Cycling	+ 4'40
83	Gabriel Rasch	Team Sky	s.t.
84	Patrick Schelling	IAM Cycling	s.t.
85	Thomas Vaubourzeix	Team La Pomme Marseille	s.t.
86	Gatis Smukulis	Team Katusha	s.t.
87	Luca Dodi	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
88	Iván Velasco	Caja Rural - Seguros RGA	s.t.
89	Antonio Piedra	Caja Rural - Seguros RGA	s.t.
90	Luca Wackermann	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
91	Matteo Bono	Lampre - Merida	+ 4'57
92	Federico Rocchetti	Utensilnord	+ 5'03
93	Mirko Tedeschi	YellowFluo	s.t.
94	Vicente Reynès	IAM Cycling	s.t.
95	Sébastien Hinault	IAM Cycling	+ 5'11
96	Kevyn Ista	IAM Cycling	+ 5'15
97	Marcel Aregger	IAM Cycling	+ 5'21
98	Juan Esteban Arango	Colombia	s.t.
99	Reto Hollenstein	IAM Cycling	s.t.
100	Nicola Dal Santo	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	s.t.
101	Giorgio Brambilla	Veranclassic - Doltcini	s.t.
102	Grégoire Tarride	Team La Pomme Marseille	s.t.
103	Evaldas Siskevicius	Team La Pomme Marseille	s.t.
104	Dimitry Ignatiev	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
105	Rüdiger Selig	Team Katusha	+ 5'38
106	Alfredo Balloni	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	s.t.
107	Fabien Bacquet	Veranclassic - Doltcini	+ 5'44
108	Alessandro Bisolti	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
109	Gianni Bellini	YellowFluo	s.t.
110	Julian Alaphilippe	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	+ 5'50
111	Davide Viganò	Caja Rural - Seguros RGA	s.t.
112	Matteo Di Serafino	Androni Giocattoli	+ 5'54
113	Roberto De Patre	YellowFluo	s.t.
114	José Gonçalves	Team La Pomme Marseille	+ 6'00
115	Alessandro Malaguti	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
116	Zsolt Der	Utensilnord	s.t.
117	Dominic Klemme	IAM Cycling	s.t.
118	Leonardo Pinizzotto	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
119	Filippo Baggio	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	s.t.
120	Antoine Lavieu	Team La Pomme Marseille	s.t.
121	Anatoliy Sosnitskiy	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
122	Marco Bandiera	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
123	Anatoliy Pakhtusov	ISD Continental Team	s.t.
124	Julien Vermote	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
125	Yonder Godoy	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
126	Oleksandr Grygorenko	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
127	Klemen Stimulak	Adria Mobil	s.t.
128	Jackson Rodríguez	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
129	José Herrada	Movistar Team	+ 6'27
130	Julien Antomarchi	Team La Pomme Marseille	s.t.
131	Kirill Yatsevich	Itera - Katusha	+ 6'34
132	Dayer Quintana	Movistar Team	+ 6'40
133	Victor Manakov	Itera - Katusha	+ 6'43
134	Ildar Arslanov	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
135	Peter Kusztor	Utensilnord	+ 6'52
136	Jasha Sütterlin	Movistar Team	s.t.
137	Antonio Di Battista	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
138	Rodolfo Torres	Colombia	s.t.
139	Josef Benetseder	Tirol Cycling Team	s.t.
140	David Wöhrer	Tirol Cycling Team	s.t.
141	Emanuele Sella	Androni Giocattoli	+ 7'14
142	Aljaz Hocevar	Adria Mobil	+ 7'20
143	Samuele Conti	YellowFluo	+ 7'27
144	Davide Gabburo	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	s.t.
145	Sylwester Szmyd	Movistar Team	+ 7'41
146	Matteo Gozzi	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	+ 7'50
147	Mario Stock	Tirol Cycling Team	s.t.
148	Antonio Viola	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
149	Nicola Testi	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
150	Artem Topchanyuk	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	+ 8'00
151	Viesturs Luksevics	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	+ 8'04
152	Dmitry Kosyakov	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
153	Alexander Wachter	Tirol Cycling Team	s.t.
154	Denys Karnulin	ISD Continental Team	s.t.
155	Antonia Merolese	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	s.t.
156	Kevin Verwaest	Veranclassic - Doltcini	+ 8'18
157	Alexander Foliforov	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
158	Clemens Fankhauser	Tirol Cycling Team	+ 8'24
159	Edoardo Zardini	Bardiani CSF	+ 8'38
160	Matteo Belli	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	+ 10'16
161	Botond Hollo	Utensilnord	s.t.
162	Sergey Nikolaev	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
163	Yuma Koishi	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
164	Genki Yamamoto	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
165	Domingos Gonçalves	Team La Pomme Marseille	s.t.
166	Kevin De Mesmaeker	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.
167	Domen Novak	Adria Mobil	s.t.
168	Stephen Clancy	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.
169	Ruud Cremers	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.
170	Francesco Van Coppernolle	Veranclassic - Doltcini	+ 10'36
171	Benjamin Dilley	Team Novo Nordisk	+ 10'40
172	Rick Ottema	Veranclassic - Doltcini	+ 10'47
173	Gennaro Maddaluno	Utensilnord	+ 10'53
174	Volodymyr Dzhus	ISD Continental Team	+ 11'14
175	Martin Weiss	Tirol Cycling Team	+ 11'20
176	Anatoliy Budyak	ISD Continental Team	s.t.
177	Edward Diaz	Colombia	+ 11'24
178	Darwin Pantoja	Colombia	s.t.
179	Niv Libner	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
180	Cameron Karwowski	Veranclassic - Doltcini	+ 11'30
181	Daniele Scampamorte	Utensilnord	s.t.
182	Pavel Ptashkin	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
183	Fabio Sabatini	Cannondale	s.t.
184	Kim Magnusson	Vini Fantini Nippo	+ 11'37
185	Jure Berk	Adria Mobil	+ 11'43
186	Alex Paoli	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	+ 13'38
187	Charles Planet	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.
188	Zoltan Lengyel	Utensilnord	s.t.
189	Patric Schultus	Tirol Cycling Team	s.t.
190	Joonas Henttala	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.
191	Darijus Dzervus	Veranclassic - Doltcini	s.t.
192	Thomas Raeymaekers	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.
193	James Piccoli	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
194	Nicolas Lefrançois	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.

#191

Posted on 19-03-2014 22:20

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00

Wow. Peter won't be happy

SSJ2Luigi

#192

Posted on 19-03-2014 22:30

World Champion

Posts: 11971
Joined: 21-07-2012
PCM$: 400.00

Ian Butler wrote:
Wow. Peter won't be happy

neither will the sponsors

pcmdaily.com/images/awards/2015/funny.png

Stories: EPIC - Vuelta | Going for White (TdF 2012) | The True Prince (TdF 2013)
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#193

Posted on 19-03-2014 22:40

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 15615
Joined: 16-07-2013
PCM$: 350.00

Hehe. Thankfully Raphael isn't DS or manager so he doesn't have to listen to Sagan or the sponsor's complaints.

"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V

#194

Posted on 20-03-2014 01:02

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00

The gravel roads should have suited Raphael today

But what a Great win for Geraint

#195

Posted on 20-03-2014 09:26

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 15615
Joined: 16-07-2013
PCM$: 350.00

@sutty68: Still missing a bit the top form. It's definitely a race he wants to win one day. And hey, they should have suited him better.

Geraint was really strong, much deserved winner.

Roma Maxima
Unbelievable downhill hunt by Cannondale!

Roma Maxima saw a boost of confidence for our squad for the upcoming Tirreno – Adriatico. We weren’t happy with Strade Bianche but what we accomplished at Roma Maxima makes me feel like we have finally reached decent form.

The hills of Remus and Romulus saw a nice line-up with Sagan being the obvious Superstar at the starting line. However especially Betancur caused for some early excitement as he surprised us and set an early attack at the first big climb. He joined in with the breakaway riders ahead of him. With Betancur was also Sky’s Dario Cataldo as well as some other guys. Cannondale tried to wait it out a bit at first since we failed at Strade Bianche’s finale where we were too over-confident with our abilities. However, when Betancur and so many possible winners attacked Marcato, Gatto and I took over the pacing. I loved it that particular moment.

This time we had to reserve some energy. Over the two steep hills some teams helped us with pacing, but a split in the peloton made things even more difficult. Marcato, Gatto and me were in a upfront, while Peter was trapped behind. However, he set the record straight: Sagan attacked, joined with us upfront and then we all worked together.

From there on out, it was mostly downhill, so we really had to hurry up… And by downhill, I mean it was just downhill. Gone with the wind. We were pretty, pretty fast.
I was the first to be empty though and the guys told me I should just try to recover a bit in their slipstream. Basically I ended up having the best position to see our pursuit for success. Marcato was incredible strong, Gatto reminded me of an antique war machine and Sagan… was just being Sagan. The strongest until the end. The wind was with us. Betancur all alone up front, the guys in the second group exhausted from a long ride and we just kept going. There were some other guys in our group, none of them helped us of course. We didn’t need them. These 30 kilometers came down and down. We were fast as hell. But it seemed it wasn’t enough. Kilometers were tumbling, but the time was not decreasing fast enough. Putting up the effort. Step by step. Go for more. Watch out it works out. And then there was the 5 km mark and I got dropped and Gatto and Sagan just were gone in a matter of seconds as they went past a corner. Dario Cataldo was on his wheel but eventually no one could keep Sagan as he headed into the last 2 kilometers, put on his sprint and caught Betancur on the last 600 meters. Ponzi had Sagan’s wheel, the only rider capable of following Sagan throughout the stage. But the Italian couldn’t overtake Sagan. And thus we celebrated another Sagan victory but this time it is more than anything a true triumph of the team itself!

See you at T-A.

Roma Maxima, Results

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Peter Sagan	Cannondale	4h37'06
2	Simone Ponzi	YellowFluo	s.t.
3	Carlos Betancur	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
4	Francesco Gavazzi	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
5	Manuele Mori	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
6	Miguel Rubiano	Colombia	s.t.
7	Andriy Grivko	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
8	Przemyslaw Niemiec	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
9	Oscar Gatto	Cannondale	s.t.
10	Dario Cataldo	Team Sky	s.t.
11	Ivan Santaromita	Orica GreenEdge	s.t.
12	Matteo Rabottini	YellowFluo	s.t.
13	Giampaolo Caruso	Team Katusha	s.t.
14	Andrey Amador	Movistar Team	s.t.
15	Matthias Frank	IAM Cycling	s.t.
16	Marco Marcato	Cannondale	+ 1'27
17	Francesco Bongiorno	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
18	Raphael Visconti	Cannondale	s.t.
19	Brett Lancaster	Orica GreenEdge	+ 9'31
20	Salvatore Puccio	Team Sky	s.t.

Spoiler

21	Simon Clarke	Orica GreenEdge	s.t.
22	Eduard Vorganov	Team Katusha	s.t.
23	Simon Yates	Orica GreenEdge	s.t.
24	Cameron Meyer	Orica GreenEdge	s.t.
25	Joseph Dombrowski	Team Sky	s.t.
26	David López	Team Sky	s.t.
27	Vladimir Gusev	Team Katusha	s.t.
28	Esteban Chaves	Orica GreenEdge	s.t.
29	Bradley Wiggins	Team Sky	s.t.
30	Jens Mouris	Orica GreenEdge	s.t.
31	Kanstantsin Siutsou	Team Sky	s.t.
32	Joshua Edmondson	Team Sky	s.t.
33	José Joaquín Rojas	Movistar Team	s.t.
34	Maxim Belkov	Team Katusha	s.t.
35	Davide Rebellin	CCC Polsat Polkowice	s.t.
36	Hubert Dupont	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
37	Kristijan Durasek	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
38	Jonathan Castroviejo	Movistar Team	s.t.
39	Jan Polanc	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
40	Stefano Pirazzi	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
41	Johnny Hoogerland	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
42	Guillaume Bonnafond	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
43	Diego Rosa	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
44	Damien Gaudin	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
45	Sylwester Szmyd	Movistar Team	s.t.
46	Fabio Duarte	Colombia	s.t.
47	Marco Frapporti	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
48	Winner Anacona	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
49	Damien Howson	Orica GreenEdge	s.t.
50	José Herrada	Movistar Team	s.t.
51	Alexsandr Dyachenko	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
52	Ian Boswell	Team Sky	s.t.
53	Constantino Zaballa	Christina Watches - Kuma	s.t.
54	Alessandro Vanotti	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
55	Marek Rutkiewicz	CCC Polsat Polkowice	s.t.
56	Robert Vrecer	Team Vorarlberg	s.t.
57	Alessandro Bisolti	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
58	Gianfranco Zilioli	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
59	Leonardo Duque	Colombia	s.t.
60	Reto Hollenstein	IAM Cycling	s.t.
61	Kristjan Koren	Cannondale	s.t.
62	Ángel Vicioso	Team Katusha	s.t.
63	Robinson Chalapud	Colombia	s.t.
64	Matteo Pelucchi	IAM Cycling	s.t.
65	Julien Bérard	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
66	Jonathan Monsalve	YellowFluo	s.t.
67	Alexis Vuillermoz	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
68	Pavel Brutt	Team Katusha	s.t.
69	Mikaël Chérel	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
70	Davide Appollonio	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
71	Vyacheslav Kuznetsov	Team Katusha	s.t.
72	Pierpaolo De Negri	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
73	Merhawi Kudus	MTN - Qhubeka	s.t.
74	John-Lee Augustyn	MTN - Qhubeka	s.t.
75	Andrea Manfredi	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
76	Branislau Samoilau	CCC Polsat Polkowice	s.t.
77	Valentin Iglinskiy	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
78	Nelson Oliveira	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
79	Enrico Barbin	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
80	Leonardo Pinizzotto	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
81	Fortunato Baliani	Christina Watches - Kuma	s.t.
82	Patrick Facchini	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
83	Ruslan Tleubayev	Astana Pro Team	+ 11'38
84	Kiel Reijnen	UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
85	Zsolt Der	Utensilnord	s.t.
86	Enrico Rossi	Christina Watches - Kuma	s.t.
87	Josef Benetseder	Tirol Cycling Team	s.t.
88	Radoslav Rogina	Adria Mobil	s.t.
89	Bartlomiej Matysiak	CCC Polsat Polkowice	s.t.
90	Kristjan Fajt	Adria Mobil	s.t.
91	Martijn Verschoor	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.
92	Juan Esteban Arango	Colombia	s.t.
93	Pablo Lastras	Movistar Team	s.t.
94	Patrick Schelling	IAM Cycling	s.t.
95	Imanol Erviti	Movistar Team	s.t.
96	Alessandro Bazzana	UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
97	Rüdiger Selig	Team Katusha	s.t.
98	Marcel Aregger	IAM Cycling	s.t.
99	Jonathan Bellis	Christina Watches - Kuma	s.t.
100	Angelo Pagani	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
101	Daniele Colli	YellowFluo	s.t.
102	Fabio Sabatini	Cannondale	s.t.
103	Javier Megías	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.
104	Martin Pedersen	Christina Watches - Kuma	s.t.
105	Duber Quintero	Colombia	s.t.
106	Alexander Wachter	Tirol Cycling Team	s.t.
107	Alessandro Mazzi	Utensilnord	s.t.
108	Nicola Ruffoni	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
109	Matteo Bono	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
110	Ildar Arslanov	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
111	Adrien Niyonshuti	MTN - Qhubeka	s.t.
112	Davide Frattini	UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
113	Riccardo Stacchiotti	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
114	Dmitriy Gruzdev	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
115	Giorgio Cecchinel	YellowFluo	s.t.
116	Ben Day	UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
117	Marc Garby	Christina Watches - Kuma	s.t.
118	Josef Cerny	CCC Polsat Polkowice	s.t.
119	Pirmin Lang	IAM Cycling	s.t.
120	David Per	Adria Mobil	s.t.
121	Peter Kusztor	Utensilnord	s.t.
122	Dimitry Ignatiev	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
123	Jonathan Paredes	Colombia	s.t.
124	Nicolas Baldo	Team Vorarlberg	s.t.
125	Primož Roglič	Adria Mobil	s.t.
126	Aaron Perry	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.
127	Jay Thomson	MTN - Qhubeka	s.t.
128	Oleksandr Grygorenko	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
129	Antonio Di Battista	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
130	Tomás Gil	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
131	Andrea Peron	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.
132	Paolo Colonna	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
133	Lucas Euser	UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
134	Meron Russom	MTN - Qhubeka	s.t.
135	Jonathan Clarke	UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
136	Yonder Godoy	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
137	Jacques Janse Van Rensburg	MTN - Qhubeka	s.t.
138	Alexander Kamp	Christina Watches - Kuma	s.t.
139	Tsgabu Grmay	MTN - Qhubeka	s.t.
140	Luigi Miletta	YellowFluo	s.t.
141	Alessio Taliani	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
142	Christopher Jones	UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
143	Artem Topchanyuk	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
144	Anatoliy Sosnitskiy	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
145	Mirko Tedeschi	YellowFluo	s.t.
146	Dmitry Kosyakov	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
147	Jonas Poulsen	Christina Watches - Kuma	s.t.
148	Pawel Charucki	CCC Polsat Polkowice	s.t.
149	Martin Wesemann	MTN - Qhubeka	s.t.
150	Dayer Quintana	Movistar Team	s.t.
151	Adrian Honkisz	CCC Polsat Polkowice	s.t.
152	Dominik Brändle	Team Vorarlberg	s.t.
153	Mamyr Stash	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
154	Yuya Akimaru	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
155	David Wöhrer	Tirol Cycling Team	s.t.
156	Grzegorz Stepniak	CCC Polsat Polkowice	s.t.
157	Giuseppe Fonzi	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
158	Alexander Foliforov	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
159	Dominik Hrinkow	Team Vorarlberg	s.t.
160	Gianfranco Visconti	Utensilnord	s.t.
161	Karl Menzies	UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
162	Gianfelice Fonte	Utensilnord	s.t.
163	Shiki Kuroeda	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
164	Konstantin Klimiankou	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
165	Gang Xu	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
166	Kirill Yatsevich	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
167	Daniele Scampamorte	Utensilnord	s.t.
168	Gianni Bellini	YellowFluo	s.t.
169	Andrea Ciacchini	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.
170	Abel Kenyeres	Utensilnord	s.t.
171	Jure Berk	Adria Mobil	s.t.
172	Genki Yamamoto	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
173	Niv Libner	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
174	Mario Stock	Tirol Cycling Team	s.t.
175	Roman Katyrin	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
176	Patrick Jäger	Team Vorarlberg	s.t.
177	Christoph Springer	Team Vorarlberg	s.t.
178	Daniel Paulus	Vini Fantini Nippo	s.t.
179	Gregor Mühlberger	Tirol Cycling Team	s.t.
180	Tobias Derler	Tirol Cycling Team	s.t.
181	Domen Novak	Adria Mobil	s.t.
182	Hannes Kapeller	Tirol Cycling Team	s.t.
183	Pavel Ptashkin	Itera - Katusha	s.t.
184	David Lozano	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.
185	Alexander Cataford	Amore & Vita - Selle SMP	s.t.
186	Patric Schultus	Tirol Cycling Team	s.t.
187	Christopher Williams	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.
188	Zoltan Lengyel	Utensilnord	s.t.
189	Edoardo Zardini	Bardiani CSF	s.t.
190	Darwin Pantoja	Colombia	s.t.
191	Nicolas Lefrançois	Team Novo Nordisk	s.t.

#196

Posted on 20-03-2014 09:32

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00

Perfect team work here. Raphael did his job more than decently and Sagan was beast enough to finish it off

What a day!

The Rider

#197

Posted on 20-03-2014 09:37

Grand Tour Specialist

Posts: 4543
Joined: 29-02-2012
PCM$: 200.00

Great to see the story has transitioned well from Cross to the road. (But will he be going back?)

Will be interesting to see what Raphael can do in the bigger races. Finishing in the lead group at Kuurne was something special and some top 20s show he is already a decent rider on the road. Who knows maybe Raphael can even lead one later on this season?

-- I hope you can bring back a few of those ' 3 images in 1' screenshots, similar to what I used in TOTC5, as you used earlier in this story.

#198

Posted on 20-03-2014 10:19

Tour de France Champion

Posts: 15615
Joined: 16-07-2013
PCM$: 350.00

@Ian Butler: It was really an exciting finish for the last 30k, especially Visconti. They were truly crushing down the road.

@The Rider: Nice to see you here.

Yes, Raphael will ride CX again. The amount between CX and Road per season will differ depending on goals and events. (e.g. if he rides a Grand Tour he will attend less races in CX).
I havn't really thought about the 3 in 1 image-screenshots, but I sure can make them again. I tend to make many screenshots so it'd be a good way of using them.
Hope you stay onboard.

"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V