We take part for the first time in the Tour of Britain, the last stage race before the World Championships. Last year, the race was won by Sky's Juan Antonio Flecha, beating Fabian Cancellara and Nick Nuyens.
The favourites *** Fabian Cancellara (Radio Shack), Sylvain Chavanel (Garmin), Geraint Thomas (Sky) ** Nick Nuyens (Saxo), Thor Hushovd (BMC), Sébastien Rosseler * Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky), Tejay van Garderen (Colnago), Jakob Fuglsang (Radio Shack)
The first stage is between Tavistock and Glastonbury. Too bad for the cyclists that the legendary music festival isn't held, as they would surely love to hear some great music!
Anyway, the stage starts a bit hilly, but the last 50 kilometres are pancake flat.
Tom Dumoulin is present in today's BOTD, in a group of 14 riders. He collects the most points in the 3 KOTM-sprints, and secures himself of the KOTM-jersey!
The peloton miscalculates the chase, once again. So the 14 will sprint for the stage win. 14.... No 12. 2 of them, including Dumoulin get dropped when the sprint starts. Jimmy Engoulvent (Garmin) is the strongest sprinter of the 12, beating Saïd Hassou and Jimmy Casper (yes, on paper way better sprinters!). The peloton follows at 2 minutes.
Results
1
Jimmy Engoulvent
Garmin - Barracuda
2h50'50
2
Saïd Haddou
Team Europcar
s.t.
3
Jimmy Casper
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
4
Philip Lavery
An Post - Sean Kelly
s.t.
5
Elia Favilli
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
s.t.
6
Stuart O'Grady
Team Qantas
s.t.
7
Rubén Martínez
Caja Rural
s.t.
8
Justin Williams
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
9
Andrea Pasqualon
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
10
Hugo Houle
SpiderTech powered by C10
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Martin Gilbert
SpiderTech powered by C10
s.t.
12
Tom Dumoulin
Monster Energy - Ford
+ 34
13
Esteban Chaves
Colombia es Pasión - Café de Colombia
s.t.
14
Jacopo Guarnieri
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 2'00
15
Kevin Lacombe
SpiderTech powered by C10
s.t.
16
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
s.t.
17
Pim Ligthart
Monster Energy - Ford
s.t.
18
Oscar Gatto
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
s.t.
19
Juan Antonio Flecha
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
20
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
Stage 2
The 2nd stage is between Newton and Swansea. It includes some hills in the middle part of the stage.
Just as yesterday, Tom Dumoulin is in the attack. Halfway the stage, when an early breakaway has got caught, he forms a new breakaway together with Simone Ponzi (Liquigas) and Danail Petrov (Saur). But at the 2nd climb of the day, he has to let the 2 go and settles himself in the peloton.
Ponzi and Petrov battle it out for the win, and Ponzi easily takes it. The peloton finishes at 1'51. Greg van Avermaet wins the sprint for the 3rd place, followed by Jacopo Guarneri and Pim Ligthart.
Engoulvent stays in the leader's jersey, Dumoulin jumps to the 8th place.
Stage 3
The 3rd stage from Rochdale to Blackpool is very difficult in the last 50 kilometres. First the climb of the Black Mountain, and short before the finish the Constitution Hill.
For the third day in a row, a breakaway will make it to the finish, Gustav Erik Larsson (Saxo) leads a group of 9 over the Black Mountain. Together with Federico Canuti (Colnago), Mark Cassidy (An Post), Sheldon Deeny (Spidertech), Kristian House (Kingspan), Cameron Meyer (Qantas), Shawn Milne (Garmin), Giacomo Nizzolo (Radio Shack) and Rasmus Quaade (Sony Ericsson). he will battle for the win.
The leading group falls apart in the ascend of the Constitution Hill. It's Colnago's Federico Canuti who takes the stage win, followed by Kristian Houe and Cameron Meyer. Sébastien Rosseler wins the sprint of the peloton at 4'02 (and even finishes '5 in front of it). Giacomo Nizzolo takes over the lead in the GC, and to our surprise, Tom Dumoulin is in 2nd place, only 6 seconds behind!
Stage 4
Stage 4 with start and finish in Stoke-on-Trent is again a difficult one. With 2 bigger climbs in the begining of the stage, and a lot of short steep climbs in the last part, it will be difficult for the peloton to control this one. The last few kilometres contain a few parts that are ascending with about 15%!
Guess what? Breakaway wins! After our team leads Tom Dumoulin over the first 2 climbs, to take some more KOTM-points, Sebastian Langeveld attacks. Michael Matthews is chasing him for over 80 kilometres, but can never close the gap. Eventually Langeveld wins the stage, 1'42 in front of Matthews.
In the last ascending kilometres, Giovanni Visconti and Jakob Fuglsang manage to attack out of the peloton and create a gap of '34 (Visconti) and '23 (Fuglsang) to it. Tom Dumoulin is the second-to-last rider to finish in the peloton, while GC-leader finishes '46 behind it. This means that Tom Dumoulin is the new leader in the Tour of Britain!
Results
1
Sebastian Langeveld
Team Qantas
4h30'02
2
Michael Matthews
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
+ 1'42
3
Giovanni Visconti
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 2'30
4
Jakob Fuglsang
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 2'41
5
Alessandro Ballan
BMC Racing Team
+ 3'04
6
Pim Ligthart
Monster Energy - Ford
s.t.
7
Maxime Monfort
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
8
Antonio D'Aniello
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
9
Baden Cooke
Team Qantas
s.t.
10
Simone Ponzi
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
...
36
Tom Dumoulin
Monster Energy - Ford
s.t.
GC
1
Tom Dumoulin
Monster Energy - Ford
15h08'16
2
Giacomo Nizzolo
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 40
3
Jakob Fuglsang
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 1'03
4
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'18
5
Sébastien Rosseler
Monster Energy - Ford
+ 1'21
6
Pim Ligthart
Monster Energy - Ford
+ 1'26
7
Kim Kirchen
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
8
Juan Antonio Flecha
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
9
Rigoberto Urán
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
10
Marco Frapporti
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
Points
1
Jimmy Engoulvent
Garmin - Barracuda
0
35
2
Michael Matthews
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
24
34
3
Simone Ponzi
Liquigas - Cannondale
6
31
4
Sebastian Langeveld
Team Qantas
31
31
5
Federico Canuti
Colnago - CSF Inox
0
29
KOTM
1
Tom Dumoulin
Monster Energy - Ford
20
47
2
Mark Cassidy
An Post - Sean Kelly
16
36
3
Kristian House
Kingspan - Alpro
0
26
4
Gustav Erik Larsson
Saxo Bank SunGard
0
26
5
Federico Canuti
Colnago - CSF Inox
0
20
Word from the DS
Halfway up the Tour of Britain, and who would have thought that Tom Dumoulin would be leading the GC (and the KOTM!). The hardest stages are done, but we have to work hard to keep him in the leaders jersey!
Stage 5
After 4 hilly stages, the last 4 can be considered as flat. The 5th stage goes from Bury St. Edmunds to Colchester, over 179 kilometres.
A BOTD of 11 riders get a maximum lead of 6 minutes, among them Jesse Sergent (Radio Shack), Robbie Hunter (Garmin) and Tomas Vaitkus (Astana), but get caught within the last 10km.
The battle for the win in, finally, the mass sprint is between Thor Hushovd and Oscar Gatto. It's the Italian that wins it, taking his 2nd season win. A big peloton, including GC-leader Dumoulin, finishes within the same time.
Results
1
Oscar Gatto
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
4h27'09
2
Thor Hushovd
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
3
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
4
Nick Nuyens
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
5
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
s.t.
6
Daniele Callegarin
Team Type 1
s.t.
7
Marco Frapporti
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
8
Giovanni Visconti
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
s.t.
9
Michael Matthews
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
s.t.
10
Grégory Rast
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
...
12
Pim Ligthart
Monster Energy - Ford
s.t.
Stage 6
The 6th stage between Minehead and Teignmouth i the first of 3 almost pancake flat stages.
Of course, this stage ends in a mass stage. This tim, Matthew Goss takes the win, beating Thor Hushovd and Greg van Avermaet in the sprint. Again, a big peloton finishes within the same time and no time losses for the top 10 of the GC.
Stage 7
Stage 7 is again pancake flat. After the start in King's Lynn, the penultimate stage ends in Great Yarmouth.
For the 3rd stage in a row, this stage ends in a mass sprint. Before the finish, when the BOTD gets caught, Sylvain Chavanel attacks, for the 3rd day in a row. And again, it's a fruitless attempt.
The sprint for the win is this time won by Liquigas' Jacopo Guarneri. The Italian beats Michael Matthews and Greg van Avermaet. Again, no changes in the GC
Results
1
Jacopo Guarnieri
Liquigas - Cannondale
3h12'57
2
Michael Matthews
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
s.t.
3
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
4
Alberto Loddo
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
5
Murilo Fischer
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
6
Kevin Lacombe
SpiderTech powered by C10
s.t.
7
Elia Rigotto
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
8
Matthew Goss
Team Qantas
s.t.
9
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
s.t.
10
Oscar Gatto
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
s.t.
...
23
Sébastien Rosseler
Monster Energy - Ford
s.t.
Stage 8
The last stage in London is only 101 kilometres long. In fact, it's a criterium.
Of course, the final stage ends in a mass sprint. This time, the win goes surprisingly to Canadian Kevin Lacombe, from the Spidertech-team. He beats Alberto Loddo and Jacobo Guarnieri in the sprint.
Tom Dumoulin finiishes the stage in 50th position, and is the new winner of the Tour of Britain. Everybody who placed bets in him, should be a millionaire now!
Results
1
Kevin Lacombe
SpiderTech powered by C10
2h15'41
2
Alberto Loddo
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
3
Jacopo Guarnieri
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
4
Thor Hushovd
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
5
Michael Matthews
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
s.t.
6
Elia Rigotto
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
7
Giacomo Nizzolo
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
8
Bernhard Eisel
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
9
Jimmy Casper
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
10
Matthew Goss
Team Qantas
s.t.
GC
Nobody could have predicted this. As a member of a succesful breakaway in stage 1, Tom Dumoulin was the only one who could stay in the peloton in every stage, and win the Tour of Britain 2012!
1
Tom Dumoulin
Monster Energy - Ford
29h15'57
2
Giacomo Nizzolo
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 40
3
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
+ 54
4
Jakob Fuglsang
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 1'03
5
Oscar Gatto
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 1'06
6
Sébastien Rosseler
Monster Energy - Ford
+ 1'21
7
Pim Ligthart
Monster Energy - Ford
+ 1'26
8
Kim Kirchen
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
9
Nick Nuyens
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
10
Juan Antonio Flecha
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
Points
1
Michael Matthews
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
12
87
2
Jacopo Guarnieri
Liquigas - Cannondale
16
69
3
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
0
64
4
Thor Hushovd
BMC Racing Team
14
64
5
Oscar Gatto
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
5
53
KOTM Dumoulin also wins the KOTM-ranking!
1
Tom Dumoulin
Monster Energy - Ford
0
57
2
Mark Cassidy
An Post - Sean Kelly
0
36
3
Kristian House
Kingspan - Alpro
0
26
4
Federico Canuti
Colnago - CSF Inox
0
20
5
Elia Rigotto
Colnago - CSF Inox
0
16
The overall winner
Word from the DS
We came here without expectations for the GC, and ended up with the win, as well as the KOTM-jersey. The team did an unbelieveable job in protecting and helping Dumoulin. But is this a first step in his career, or already the highlight? We'll see in the fututre!
baia wrote:
Congratulation...another great victory for the books.
Thank you. What makes this one pretty special, is that is such an unexpected win. A domestique who was in the breakaway, can hang on in every other stage. Never won a race like this before.
Miguel98 wrote:
What an great win for Dumoulin, it should be the start of a eventfull carrer.
Don't think so, he hasn't got many potential / stars left.... Should be a good domestique for the flat races and a decent timetrialist, nothing more than that (in my game).
The 2012 road cycling World Championships are organized in Italy, at the isle of Sicily. The TT takes place in Catania, the RR in Agrigento.
Time Trial
In 2011 in Copenhagen, Fabian Cancellara won the TT, beatin Tony Martin and Luis León Sánchez.
This year's route is 45 kilometres long. The first 15km are pancake flat, and next to follow is a pretty hard climb. After a 10km descend, 8 flat kilometres remain.
It's a strange TT this year. With Cancellara and Martin not participating, and Gustav Erik Larsson sidelined due to injury, the race is all open. Juan José Cobo brings his great form from the Vuelta and surprises everybody with the win (well, he won the last ITT in the Vuelta, so the surprise isn't that big). Young Dane Rasmus Quaade takes the2nd place, beating his team mate Edvald Boasson Hagen. Best placed rider from our team is Joost Posthuma, who finishes in 16th. Further some disappointing resuts for Vincenzo Nibali (15th), Cadel Evans (29th), Bradley Wiggins (30th) and Denis Menchov (41st).
1
Juan José Cobo
Nespresso
52'17
2
Rasmus Quaade
Sony Ericsson
+ 24
3
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sony Ericsson
+ 25
4
David Zabriskie
Garmin - Barracuda
+ 46
5
Christophe Riblon
Garmin - Barracuda
+ 1'01
6
Tejay Van Garderen
Colnago - CSF Inox
+ 1'13
7
Adriano Malori
Lampre - Generali
+ 1'16
8
Kim Kirchen
Sky ProCycling
+ 1'25
9
Maxime Monfort
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 1'39
10
Svein Tuft
Team Qantas
+ 1'53
...
16
Joost Posthuma
Monster Energy - Ford
+ 2'49
Road Race
The 2011 race in Copenhagen ended in a mass sprint. Mark Cavendish took the win, beating André Greipel and Tyler Farrar.
This years race won't end in a mass sprint. 16 laps over 251 kilometres, with a tough hill in it. This one will go to the better puncheurs.
Without our 2 best hilly riders (Gesink and Schleck didn't want to race), we can only dream of a podium place. Niki Terpstra dos very well, finishing in 12th. The win goes to Philippe Gilbert. After wins in the Amstel, Fleche Wallone and Liege - Bastogne - Liege, Phil has a dream season. Boasson Hagen takes another WC-medal, beating Matti Breschel in the sprint for the 2nd place.
The first of many Italian autumn classics we participate in, is the Giro di Toscana. Last year, the race was won by Enrico Gasparotto.
After the start in Arezzo, the peloton has to climb the Passo della Consuma (18.7km at 6.2%) halfway the stage. After a long descend, the riders will arrive in Terranuova for 4 laps on a local circuit, including a short steep climb with the summit 3km before the finish.
The favourites ***Jelle Vanendert, Jure Kocjan (Team Type 1), Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago) ** Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre), Maurizio Biondo (Pisanellastoria), Simone Ponzi (Liquigas) * Federico Canuti (Colnago), Danilo Di Luca (Katusha), Marcel Kittel
Our goal
We'll aim for a top 5.
The race
92km to go
An early breakaway is joined in the ascend of the Passo della Consuma by some strong climbers. The group breaks into a few pieces, and a group of 8 reach the summit 1 minutes before the peloton. Among them are Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago), Danilo di Luca (Katusha) and Diego Ulissi (Lampre).
As we see the danger of this group, our domestiques with good mountain skills (Poels & Ruijgh) set a high pace in the ascend.
3km to go
The leading group gets caught in the descend. Back on the flat, the pace drops a bit, and more riders come back from behind. Eventually, a group of 64 riders starts the last lap in Terranuova.
After an attempt by Sergeuï Ivanov & Danilo di Luca (Katusha) and Enrico Franzoï (Adria) even before the final climb starts, it's Jelle Vanendert who tries to win the race with a jump at that short steep hill.
Finish
There are to many good hilly riders, with way better sprint skills than Vanendert present. He can lead untill entering the last kilometre. At that point, Jure Kocjan (Team Type 1) and Maurizio Biondo (Pisanellastoria) overtake him, followed by more riders.
Kocjan and Biondo battle it out for the win, with Biondo being the strongest today. Federico Canuti (Colnago) gets 3rd, while Marcel Kittel manages to finish in 6th place. He lost too many places in the climb (about 20th place at the summit), but made up for it in the last part.
Results
1
Maurizio Biondo
Pisanellastoria - Guerciotti
5h05'03
2
Jure Kocjan
Team Type 1
s.t.
3
Federico Canuti
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
4
Daniele Callegarin
Team Type 1
s.t.
5
Antonio D'Aniello
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
6
Marcel Kittel
Monster Energy - Ford
s.t.
7
Marco Corti
Nespresso
s.t.
8
Cayetano Sarmiento
Acqua & Sapone
s.t.
9
Francesco Gavazzi
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
10
Simone Ponzi
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
...
14
Jelle Vanendert
Monster Energy - Ford
s.t.
The winner
Word from the DS
Knowing that the climb would be too hard for Kittel to race for the win, the only option would be a late attack. In the end, 6th is okay.
Pity Gesink and Andy didn´t wanted to race...even if Cobo won Itt at the Vuelta,its still a surprise for me that he won here too....Kittel did good in Toscana.
