Tactics meeting
Today's stage has got some slight hills, but that's early on the course, and most of the riders will manage to keep up with the peloton. We're just going to sit tight in the pack and watch over Popovych's yellow jersey.
The break of the day consisted of strong riders like Larsson and Bruseghin. The best placed in the GC was Dutchman Kai Reus, who was five minutes behind Popovych before the stage.
The peloton rode slowly up the little climb, and no riders fell off.
When the breakaway got a lead of 10 minutes, we had to take control over the tempo. Reus was right now the leader of the Tour of California on the road, but to cut his lead by five minutes in 70km wouldn't be a problem for us.
It didn't take long before we had done our job and ensured Popovych's lead. Liquigas were interested in a mass sprint for Bennati, and overtook the command.
Meanwhile, two breakaway riders had decided to leave their companions. Bruseghin and Larsson rode away from the others.
Bruseghin failed to keep up with Larsson, and the Swede had three and a half minutes back to the peloton with under 10km left to the finish. Things looked promising for the Saxobank rider.
He crossed the finishing line all alone and claimed Saxobanks second stage win in this race.
The peloton, lead by Arvesen in his Norwegian champ jersey, finished one and a half minute behind.
Today's winner
Results
1 Gustav Larsson Team Saxo Bank 3h43'42
2 Marzio Bruseghin Lampre N.G.C + 24
3 Stefan Denifl ELK Haus + 1'01
4 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Saxo Bank + 1'34
5 Mirko Lorenzetto Lampre N.G.C + 1'34
6 Daniele Bennati Liquigas + 1'34
7 Anthony Geslin Française des Jeux + 1'34
8 Koldo Fernández de Larrea Euskaltel - Euskadi + 1'34
9 Matt Wilson Team Type 1 + 1'34
10 Filippo Pozzato Team Katusha + 1'34
GC 1 Yaroslav Popovych Discovery Channel 27h12'11
2 Levi Leipheimer Discovery Channel + 22
3 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank + 1'05
4 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road + 1'32
5 Damiano Cunego Lampre N.G.C + 2'00
6 Daniele Bennati Liquigas + 2'07
7 Filippo Pozzato Team Katusha + 2'14
8 Fränk Schleck Team Saxo Bank + 2'27
9 Jens Voigt Team Saxo Bank + 2'39
10 Stef Clement Rabobank + 2'46
Tactics meeting
Last stage in California is also the hardest one. The riders are going over a mountain, and there's a little climb closer to the finish as well. In theory, our job is simple: Make sure no dangerous riders get more than a minute's advantage on Popovych. That could be a stressful task, because the other GC contenders will probably attack constantly.
Four brave men broke away today: Zaugg, Casar, Bono and Klimov.
Once again the breakaway got itself a lead of ten minutes before we sent our workhorses to the front of the peloton.
Over the mountain the peloton was still together, but in the last, much smaller climb Schleck, Cunego and Kirchen attacked.
Popovych had to counter them.
Popovych and Leipheimer marked the favourites closely, but our rivals kept on attacking.
When several of the favourites attacked at the same time, a tired Popovych got into trouble. Eventually he fell back to the peloton. Was the victory going to evade him on the last stage?
While all the drama happened behind them, our brave breakaway heroes was still going strong with ten kilometers left. Unfortunately for them, the other riders were closing in fast.
The peloton, lead by an impressive Floyd Landis, managed to catch up with the favourites, and closing in on the finishing line there was only Bono from Lampre left in front.
He was going very slow though, and Bennati, Leipheimer and Voigt was closing in on him rapidly.
Bennati flew past Bono during the last few meters, and got his second stage win in the Tour of California.
An exhausted Popovych was barely able to hang on to the tail of the peloton, but he did, and could celebrate a great overall win in Amgen Tour of California 2009!
Today's winner
Results
1 Daniele Bennati Liquigas 4h12'15
2 Matteo Bono Lampre N.G.C + 0 3 Levi Leipheimer Discovery Channel + 0
4 Jens Voigt Team Saxo Bank + 0
5 Sandy Casar Française des Jeux + 0 6 Floyd Landis Discovery Channel + 0
7 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank + 0
8 Luca Mazzanti Team Katusha + 0
9 Michael Barry Team Columbia - High Road + 0
10 Greg Van Avermaet Silence - Lotto + 0
Final GC 1 Yaroslav Popovych Discovery Channel 31h24'18
2 Levi Leipheimer Discovery Channel + 14
3 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank + 1'05
4 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road + 1'32
5 Daniele Bennati Liquigas + 1'47
6 Damiano Cunego Lampre N.G.C + 2'00
7 Filippo Pozzato Team Katusha + 2'14
8 Fränk Schleck Team Saxo Bank + 2'27
9 Jens Voigt Team Saxo Bank + 2'39
10 Stef Clement Rabobank + 2'46
Points ranking
1 Daniele Bennati Liquigas 130
KoM ranking
1 Fumiyuki Beppu Skil - Shimano 32
The first highlight of the year ended in great success for us. A double victory with Popovych and Leipheimer far exceeded our expectations. We also took two stages. Team Discovery Channel is back in style!
Another team doing well in California was Saxobank. With four men among the eleven best (Arvesen got 11.) and two stage wins, they have every reason to be pleased. They lost the team classification by three small seconds to us, though.
Now we will look forward to the next big race of the season, which is Paris - Nice. There, Popovych will aim for his second stage race win of the year. Reports coming up soon, stay tuned!
Since our double victory in California, we have participated in two small one-day races without any big successes other than a 4th place finish for Popovych. The Ukrainian is our captain for the eight stages of Paris - Nice, and Lance Armstrong starts his season here as Popovych's lieutenant.
This year's Paris - Nice is not the hardest of races, and it's probably only the sixth stage who will make any big difference in the GC. That stage has a mountain top finish. Our goal is to win the GC, but I'm not totally optimistic as Popovych showed some signs of weakness during the last stage of the Amgen Tour of California.
Paris - Nice features a strong field, and the biggest favourites should be the Schleck brothers, Valverde, Kirchen, Gesink, Cunego and Samuel Sanchez. Several strong sprinters also participate, among them Hushovd, Freire and Bennati. If Uros Murn had a hard time in California, he will have an even worse one in France.
Discovery Channel Yaroslav Popovych Lance Armstrong Floyd Landis Steven Cummings Jason McCartney John Devine Uros Murn Ivan Rovny
Tactics meeting
The 9.7 kilometers of the prologue are the only time trial kilometers in the entire Paris - Nice, something which doesn't suit Popovych as he is a better time trialer than most of the other favourites. He will probably try and make good use of today to put himself some seconds in front of his biggest opponents.
Unstoppable Cancellara was once again very fast, and handed in a good application for the stage win.
Ignatiev the Russian actually bettered Cancellaras intermediate time, but he was ten seconds behind the Swiss at the finish.
Popovych was dissapointing todag and finished 13th. Our best rider was Floyd Landis with his 11th place. Lance Armstrong is obviously not in good shape yet as he came in 34th.
I love the way you tell your tactics in the beginning of the stages. It allows us to see if your plans work and also we can learn fromyour tactics which is good for newbies. Great story. Keep it going
Stage 2 St-Brisson-sur-Loire - La Chapelle St-Ursin: 195.9km
Tactics meeting
As usual there is little for us to do on flat stages. We're going to relax and protect Popovych. Murn will probably try his luck in the sprint, but I have no hopes for him to do well against the explosive powder kegs present in Paris - Nice. The weather forecast says rain and strong wind, so it's important that our captain rides in the front part of the peloton to avoid possible splits.
No drama on today's stage, despite the awful weather. A little surprise at the finish line, as Kenny Van Hummel won the sprint for Skil - Shimano after an incredible lead-out by Steve Houanard and Jonathan Hivert. Murn was in the mix, but ended up as 11th. No changes in the GC.
Tactics meeting
An even more boring stage than yesterday, as there is no wind. A little lack of success doesn't put off Uros Murn, and he has said he will be there for the mass sprint today as well, despite no help from any teammates. With that said, we don't have anyone capable of helping him.
A more expected result today. Thor Hushovd beat Rabobank's Ã’scar Freire with a bike length, which meant that the Norwegian took the lead in the points competition.
From the city hosting yesterday's stage finish, we set out on the first hilly stage of Paris - Nice. Because the time differences in the GC are so small, it's unlikely that Cancellara's Saxobank team will let a breakaway win. The stage is perfect for punchers, and even if Popovych is not the fastest just before the finishing line, this stage should suit him fine. The plan is to put him in the final breakaway, so he will be in a good position for the mountain stage the day after tomorrow.
Vicente Reynes was alone in front for most of the day.
A breakaway group were floating around just about a minute behind Reynes, but they didn't cooperate at all and never caught him.
After both Reynes and the breakaway had been reeled in before the penultimate climb, S.Sanchez, Moreau and Voigt attacked from the front of the peloton. Bold move from GC contender Sanchez.
Towards the last climb, Lampre was riding in front. Cunego clearly had good legs today.
Shortly before the top, Gesink, Stubbe, Wiggins and Barredo tried to get away.
Cunego, one of the favourites for the stage win, wouldn't let Gesink&co get a gap and he went after them.
Popovych realised that this was the decisive move, and accelrated at the same time as Cunego.
Who knows what Lampre was thinking when they upped the tempo, because Cunego never reached the Gesink group. But Popovych and Landis did, and when they were closing in on the finishing line, Popovych was in the lead. Not a very strategic position. Could he still take the win?
Luckily he could, and our Ukrainian captain sailed over the finishing line to claim a great stage win! Unfortunately, Cunego had come back to life, and with an amazing sprint just behind the winning breakaway, he dragged the peloton in to the same time as Popovych. Therefore there were no changes in the overall standings, except a few bonus seconds for Popovych. Cancellara in yellow for tomorrow's flat stage as well, before he is likely to lose it on the mountain stage the day after.
Lost the GC standings, as I forgot writing them in the stage report and deleted the exports and the replay after I wrote it. Anyway, there were no significant changes. Cancellara still in yellow, bonifications takes Popovych to 6th and Wiggins to 8th.
Tactics meeting
A relatively flat stage today, and a lot of riders will probably be there for the finish. Most of the sprinters will struggle though. We don't have any hopes of getting time gaps today, so we will save ourselves for the mountain stage tomorrow.
Our eager young Russian, Ivan Rovny, got himself into the break of the day.
More attacks followed. Popovych and Landis decided to follow Cunego when he made his move. Devolder, Gesink and Pliuschin were also on the offensive.
Most riders attacking from the peloton made it up to Rovny's group, and it grew quite large.
Two big names who didn't make it were Gesink and Schleck. Cancellara didn't even get away from the peloton, and his overall lead was in danger, as the front group held a lead of one minute.
When the sprint was about to begin, Pliuschin had got himself a solid advantage, but Wiggins, Stubbe and Devolder were going really fast behind him.
Pliuschin faded and Wiggins went past him!
Bradley Wiggins was the first to cross the line, and Devolder even robbed Pliuschin of his second place.
Poor Cancellara came in over half a minute behind the winner, and this is probably the last he will see of the yellow jersey in Paris - Nice.
Today's winner
Results
1 Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream 5h00'07
2 Stijn Devolder Quick-Step + 0
3 Alexandre Pliuschin AG2R La Mondiale + 0
4 Damiano Cunego Lampre N.G.C + 0
5 Tom Stubbe Silence - Lotto + 0 6 Lance Armstrong Discovery Channel + 0
7 Mario Aerts Silence - Lotto + 0
8 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road + 0
9 Samuel Sánchez Euskaltel - Euskadi + 0 10 Yaroslav Popovych Discovery Channel + 0
GC
1 Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream 18h02'04
2 Mikhail Ignatiev Team Katusha + 2
3 Stijn Devolder Quick-Step + 3 4 Yaroslav Popovych Discovery Channel + 4 5 Floyd Landis Discovery Channel + 8
6 Kim Kirchen Team Columbia - High Road + 13
7 Damiano Cunego Lampre N.G.C + 15
8 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne + 16
9 Alexandre Pliuschin AG2R La Mondiale + 17
10 Carlos Barredo Quick-Step + 19
Same MO stat, Wiggins is better in time trials. But I didn't wanna make him too good, in case the tour was a bit of a one off. Of course it doesn't make much sense that he's around the level of Popovych, but this is how PCM.daily made Popovych and I've adjusted the stats of only a few riders.
Stage 6 St-Paul Trois Chateaux - La Montagne de Lure: 182.9km
Tactics meeting
Today is the decisive stage of this year's Paris - Nice. We're going up La Montagne de Lure for a mountain top finish, a 17km climb with an average percentage of six. Popovych is our main man today, and Armstrong and Landis will pace him up the mountain as far as they can. There are lots of strong climbers in the race, so Popovych really needs to have a good day if he's going to stand on top of the podium after the stage.
Garmin set a high tempo throughout the whole day, and no breakaways managed to establish themselves.
Igor Anton attacked 50km before the finish, and despite many attempts to join him, nobody else could get away from the peloton.
At the foot of the mountain, Cancellara attacked while Anton was being caught. Desperate move from the man who lost the leader's jersey yesterday.
Cancellara was joined by Le Mevel, Kirchen and Valverde. It didn't take long before Valverde decided that he was better off alone, and rode away from them. He looked very strong today.
Moreau and GC leader Wiggins eventually joined Cancellara's group. Our climbers still sat in the peloton, one minute behind the group of five.
Meanwhile, Valverde was flying up the mountain!
Popovych and Armstrong speeded up when Cunego was about to make his way up to the Cancellara group.
But when the two Discovery riders reached Cunego, Cancellara and Wiggins took off. Cunego had nothing to answer with.
Popovych and Armstrong struggled their way up the mountain together with Cunego, Kirchen and Le Mevel.
What had happened to Cancellara? The Swiss climbed as if he had never done anything else. He parked Wiggins down the road, and maintained the 50 second gap up to Valverde.
As the riders were getting close to the top, Armstrong had to let go of the Popovych group. He was accompanied by Voigt, who had tried to get up to Popovych&co.
Wiggins was really struggling a bit further up, and Cunego was about to bring the other three riders left in the group up to the GC leader.
Nobody could do anything about this man, though. Alejandro Valverde won the stage in a convincing manner, with Cancellera 43 seconds behind.
Armstrong recovered towards the end, and caught up with Kirchen who was dropped when Cunego upped the pace.
Tactics meeting
Following Valverdes demonstration of power up Montagne de Lure yesterday, we have to adjust our goals for Paris - Nice. With Popovych sitting 4th in the GC, we aim for a podium finish. If he feels good today, the last kilometer of the stage holds possibilities. It's namely quite steep. The course today is really hilly, and the chances of a breakaway holding out until the finish are fairly good.
Some riders broke away, but they never got any significant lead. The peloton eventually caught them.
The pack was together when they went down the descent towards Fayence. The finishing line can be seen on the hill in the background.
Tom Stubbe had no plans to wait for any uphill finish. He attacked as soon as the peloton hit the flat road leading into the city.
Nicolas Roche and Ignatiev we're also hoping for a stage win, and went after the Belgian.
Into the last little climb, the GC leader took matters into his own hands. In his yellow jersey, Valverde attacked.
It didn't take many seconds before he had caught and passed both Stubbe, Ignatiev and Roche.
Armstrong eyed a good stage placing, and joined the sprint. Popovych just didn't have the legs today.
For the second day in a row, Valverde was first over the finishing line, and he once again proved that he is by far the strongest rider in this race.
