Next race up is the Giro di Sardegna. As the name suggest it is held on the island of Sardinia. The race counts 5 stages. 4 stages which should be for the sprinters, and one hilly stage. The race will probably be decided here, but the last hill is still 40 km away from the finish. The finish is slightly uphill though, and might make small time gaps. This is one of our last race before Tirreno-Adriatico, so it's vital in our preparation. We have Ginanni here as our leader with Caruso and Gusev as possible back-up. Petrov is here aswell. He wants to get some race rhythm for Tirreno.
Stage 1
A flat stage. This time, the break was reeled in properly as quite a few good sprinters were here. Petacchi being the most famous. When the sprint preparation started, we formed our train again. Oss - Gusev - Ongarato and ... Petacchi. Petacchi jumped on Ongarato's wheel taking Ginanni's place. But Ongarato stopped following Gusev and the whole sprint train wiith all the big names fell back in the pack. Ginanni took the wheel of another train and easily beat the non-sprinters. Petacchi would have won if he had just followed Ginanni, seeing he came from place 20-25 to finish 7th. A good start though, and Ginanni getting in awesome shape ahead of Tirreno and Milan-San Remo.
Ginanni leaving the pack behind him
1
Francesco Ginanni
Team Bianchi
5h20'57
2
Gianluca Mirenda
ISD - Neri
s.t.
3
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Doimo
s.t.
Stage 2
The queen stage with a very steep hill on 40 km from the finish. The main favorite is Damiano Cunego, who is preparing for Paris-Nice. If Ginanni can limit the time loss he might have a chance of taking it via bonification seconds. However, we had to catch the break first, and they still had 2 minutes left at the foot of the decisive hill. But Cunego attacked almost immediatly, Roche followed him and so did Ginanni. A bit later also Vona and Marzoli attacked away form the peleton. Cunego was the strongest and was first on top of the hill, but the other 4 joined the Lampre rider on the flat part. They worked well togheter and extended their lead to 2 minutes.
Cunego being the engine of the break
Cunego was clearly the strongest rider and the lead extended even further. Ginanni could recover a bit on the downhill and was watching Cunego closely. As the sprint started, Cunego was leading with Ginanni in his wheel. But Cunego was amazingly strong, and no one could pass him. Ginanni got the same time as Cunego while Roche and Vona lost 17 seconds. Marzoli even lost over a minute.
Cunego winning easily
1
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - Farnese Vini
7h05'21
2
Francesco Ginanni
Team Bianchi
s.t.
3
Nicolas Roche
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 17
Stage 3
From now on, we had to make sure that Cunego wouldn't take any bonification at the finish, seeing the remaining stages weren't so easy. Bianchi controlled the peleton, caught the break and put Ginanni in an ideal position for the sprint. Cunego indeed sprinted and started first. Than Ginanni went, with Bennati in his wheel. Bennati won with more than a bike lenght, but the most important thing was; Ginanni extended his lead.
1
Daniele Bennati
Liquigas - Doimo
4h24'52
2
Francesco Ginanni
Team Bianchi
s.t.
3
Nicolas Roche
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
Stage 4
Another though stage, and we worried a little here as Ginanni didn't have a good day at all. On top of that Cunego placed third, while Ginanni was 8th. Petacchi won the stage.
1
Alessandro Petacchi
Lampre - Farnese Vini
5h22'47
2
Nicolas Roche
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
3
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - Farnese Vini
s.t.
Stage 5
If Ginanni didn't lose any time here, we would be sure of the overall. And he didn't. Bianchi protected the overall perfectly and Ginanni even finished second in the sprint, after Vona. And to make the Bianchi party complete, Ongarato finished on 3th on the stage.
The team, registered in Italy, will start of as a Pro Continental team, hoping to move up to the Pro Tour in a maximum of 2 years. The main focus will be Italian races. While not guaranteed access to the bigger races, the team has confidence that they will be able to participate in them.
I know i typed a lot, but ctrl + f might do the trick.
Out last race in february. And for some of our riders it's also the last race in front of Tirreno, as the only remaining race we will ride in front of Tirreno is the Strade Bianchi. We have a team here without Ginanni, seeing the course is more for the climbing-puncheurs. In other words, a very hard course. Caruso is our leader here supported by riders such as Ovechkin and Marzano.
Early on in the race there were a lot of attacks, and it took a long time before the good break took off. But when it did, it had some quality. Grivko, Bertolini and home-rider Frank are just a few of the names. But quality is not everything. After those 3, the best riders in the break, left the other 5 on the second last climb, Bertolini was dropped aswell on the final climb. Grivko and Frank got over the top together with a lead of 1 minute on a small group lead by Caruso. And it was enough, they made it with a 40 second lead. And the winner? Grivko took serious risks in the downhill, and they payed off. He got a small gap just before the sprint, but it was enough to give him the win. A well deserved one! After being one of the most active riders of the race. Caruso won the sprint of a regrouped peleton.
A month mostly dominated by Ginanni, Vinokourov and Farrar. And from those 3 it was Farrar who dominated the most, he received the rider of the month award. Not a suprise, after dominating the Middle-east by winning 7 stages in the Tour of Oman and the Tour of Qatar. Vinokourov dominated the more mountainous stage race in Spain while Ginanni dominated in Italy. In general, the French and Belgians can't complain either. The French riders won most of the races on their home soil. And the Belgians took both the opening cobbled classics.
Team Bianchi certainly can't complain. Achieving their first goal and achieving good results in the races they were in. However, march will show their true potential, with Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo. Although, with Ginanni's current shape they could do well in both.
March also marks the return of the Cobra, Riccardo Riccò. To many suprises, he won't be starting his season in Milan-San Remo, although his ban ends 2 days before it. Bianchi apperently opts for more fit riders. However, Riccò will debut in the Settimana internazionale. We're looking forward to the "new" Riccò!
Edited by Kami on 17-08-2010 14:15
Francesco Ginanni Giampaolo Caruso Vladimir Gusev Roman Klimov Davide Malacarne Simone Ponzi Marco Marzano Daniel Oss
The Strade Bianche is our second goal of the season. A top 3 is expected. The race takes places in Sienna and is a warm-up race for Tirreno-Adriatico. But it aren't just the hills that make this race though, no, we also have to ride on 50km of gravel roads. Let's hope we don't run out of luck on the Strade Bianche!
The favorites for the win are Ginanni, Roche, Kroon, Sagan, Visconti and Finetto. But how will it turn out? A peleton sprinting for the win, a small leading group or maybe a sole victor? As usual, there was an early break and the first one was the good one.
Behind them, Klimov, Marzano and Malacarne controlled the race. We didn't have any problems taking back the break, and before the final hill, the whole pack was back together.
But from the moment we hit the hill, Pozzovivo launched an attack. He was followed by Palumbo, Caruso, Kuschynski and Roche.
The riders worked well together, except for Caruso who was given the orders not to relay. As a result the break was caught again and it was time for the sprint.
Oss was leading out Ponzi and Ginanni. Palumbo did put himself before Ponzi, but after his attack it would be surprising if he still had enough energy left to sprint. When the sprint started, he was indeed completely dead.
Ponzi gave Ginanni a perfect lead-out. Only one rider could fight for the win with Ginanni. It was Peter Sagan, the young Slovakian talent. In the last corner, Ginanni was still in the lead, but Sagan was coming awfully fast.
But luckily for us, not fast enough! A great win by Ginanni in a race that has already become a semi-classic! Sagan ended in his back wheel, with Ponzi also making the podium. Ginanni looks in good shape for Tirreno.
For a lot of riders it's the last preparation before Milan-San Remo. While it's the same for us, it's also the first Pro Tour race of the reborn Team Bianchi. We have a strong line-up here, but before discussing that, let's take a quick look at the competitors for the 7 stages and the overall.
There are quite a few top sprinters here preparing for Milan-San Remo. Most famous ones? Freire, Bennati, Farrar, Cavendish, Davis, Ciolek, Napolitano, Petacchi, Steegmans, ... Basically a sprinters field that could go right to the Tour de France. They have about 4 opportunities to fight for a win.
For the 2 hilly stages, either Vinokourov or Gilbert seem a save bet. Ginanni, Chavanel or Kolobnev might do good aswell.
And then, the queen stage. A hard mountain in the middle, but it gets a bit "easier" when you come closer to the finish. Vinokourov, Garzelli and Klöden are the favorites for the stage.
So, for the overall, Vinokourov seems the best bet, especially after him dominating his 2 previous stage races. Klöden, Chavanel and Garzelli might be his closest competitors, and who knows, maybe Gilbert can survive the mountain stage without to many time loss.
So, now that we have had the preview, let's check out our team.
Francesco Ginanni Giampaolo Caruso Vladimir Gusev Evgeni Petrov Davide Malacarne Marco Marzano Daniel Oss Alberto Ongarato
We've sent a strong team here, as we also want to impress the Giro-organization, to get some extra points for a wildcard. We are hoping for a top 10 spot in the GC at least. Caruso is our man for that. Gusev and Petrov might do ok to.
For the sprints we have the same team as always, as it has proven very successful. Oss starts, then Gusev takes over and Ongarato launches Ginanni for the final sprint for the line. We hope to get a stage win, and who knows, a point jersey?
So, with the new patch, i'm wondering what to do. Continuing this story is unlikely as i've lost all my replays and i'm using a new DB atm.
I will probably start a new story with a custom team. (The team has a nice concept, which interests me.)
But do you want to know what happened further in this Bianchi-carreer? I've raced untill the Vuelta and i could post the general line if you're interested.
Kami wrote:
So, with the new patch, i'm wondering what to do. Continuing this story is unlikely as i've lost all my replays and i'm using a new DB atm.
I will probably start a new story with a custom team. (The team has a nice concept, which interests me.)
But do you want to know what happened further in this Bianchi-carreer? I've raced untill the Vuelta and i could post the general line if you're interested.
You wouldn't be able to keep up with my awesome custom team compared to yours.
Spoiler
Just Joshin. Go for it. Custom. But don't stack your team.
You wouldn't be able to keep up with my awesome custom team compared to yours.
Spoiler
Just Joshin. Go for it. Custom. But don't stack your team.
Your story is very fun to read. A good team and very good reports. Won't stack it though. Going for something close to this. Maybe a bit less talents though and a bit more older riders.
