Breaking the Curse
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the_hoyle |
Posted on 14-09-2012 20:28
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15th - 20th February 2011 - Tour of Oman
My first race of 2011 takes me to the Middle East, and the country of Oman. Strong crosswinds, desert sands and blistering heat, this isn't going to be an easy ride.
Stage wins will be the main aim here, and hopefully the Points Jersey. Sadly the Leader's Jersey will be out of the question, thanks to the Summit Finish and Hilly Time Trial on stages 4 and 5 respectively.
The team come here with the Overall Victory in mind. Peter Velits will lead the team, supported by Marco Pinotti and Kanstanstin Siutsou. My lead out train will be made up of Bert Grabash, Lars Bak and my trusted right hand man, Mark Renshaw. Gatis Smukulis is the final member of the squad, who will given a free role at the race, but will also chip in with Domestique duties on the stages.
Spoiler Saxo Bank
1. A.Contador
2. M.Christensen
3. B.Cooke
4. J.J.Haedo
5. L.S.Haedo
6. M.Mørkøv
7. N.Nuyens
8. R.Porte
Sky
11. B.Wiggins
12. S.Cummings
13. R.Downing
14. J.A.Flecha
15. M.Hayman
16. G.Henderson
17. M.Rogers
18. G.Thomas
Geox
21. D.Menchov
22. J.J.Cobo
23. D.Colli
24. D.De la Fuente
25. M.Kump
26. M.Pelucchi
27. C.Sastre
28. R.Valls
Lampre
31. M.Scarponi
32. F.Gavazzi
33. A.Kashechkin
34. D.Kostyuk
35. M.Mori
36. A.Petacchi
37. S.Spilak
38. B.Szeghalmi
The Shack
41. A.Klöden
42. J.Brajkovic
43. M.Cardoso
44. B.Hermans
45. R.Hunter
46. M.Kwiatkowski
47. G.Rast
48. B.Selander
HTC
51. M.Pinotti
52. L.Bak
53. M.Cavendish
54. B.Grabsch
55. M.Renshaw
56. K.Siutsou
57. G.Smukulis
58. P.Velits
Saur - Sojasun
61. J.Coppel
62. J.Casper
63. J.Engoulvent
64. F.Jeandesboz
65. S.Joly
66. J.Paiani
67. S.Poulhiès
68. J.Simon
Katusha
71. V.Karpets
72. P.Brutt
73. V.Gusev
74. L.Hoste
75. D.Moreno
76. L.Paolini
77. F.Pozzato
78. E.Vorganov
Movistar
81. M.Bruseghin
82. R.Costa
83. B.Intxausti
84. Á.Madrazo
85. C.Oyarzun
86. R.Plaza
87. B.Samoilau
88. F.J.Ventoso
UnitedHealthcare
91. R.Sutherland
92. J.Clarke
93. H.Clarke
94. A.Hegyvari
95. C.Jones
96. C.Meier
97. C.Wegelius
98. B.White
Colnago
101. D.Pozzovivo
102. M.Belletti
103. A.Contoli
104. M.Frapporti
105. P.Locatelli
106. S.Modolo
107. F.Savini
108. S.Stortoni
Astana
111. J.Jufré
112. S.Clarke
113. D.Fofonov
114. M.Gourov
115. T.Kangert
116. F.Kessiakoff
117. G.Stangelj
118. A.Zeits
Endura Racing
121. I.Camaño
122. A.Blain
123. D.Clarke
124. M.De Jonge
125. R.Hayles
126. R.Partridge
127. S.Thwaites
128. C.Wilkinson
D'Angelo
131. M.Rubiano
132. F.Baliani
133. M.Fedele
134. H.Frusto
135. R.Komori
136. J.Sano
137. K.Uchima
138. A.Zdanov
Colombia
141. V.H.Peña
142. J.Atapuma
143. E.Chaves
144. J.Forero
145. C.Martínez
146. W.Perez
147. C.Suárez
148. J.Villegas
Farnese Vini
151. A.Noè
152. A.Bisolti
153. D.Caccia
154. R.De Patre
155. F.Failli
156. A.Guardini
157. D.Ricci Bitti
158. E.Vona
Itera - Katusha
161. S.Firsanov
162. M.Antonov
163. K.Baranov
164. E.Kovalev
165. A.Prishpetniy
166. V.Shmalko
167. A.Tsatevitch
168. A.Vorobyev
Andalucía
171. A.Palomares
172. J.A.Benítez
173. A.Cabello
174. J.Cano
175. P.Lechuga
176. J.J.Lobato
177. A.Piedra
178. J.Rosendo
SpiderTech
181. D.Boily
182. R.Anderson
183. G.Boivin
184. S.Lambert-Lemay
185. J.P.McCarty
186. F.Parisien
187. R.Roth
188. W.Routley
Skil
191. R.Kluge
192. R.Curvers
193. T.Darnuseau
194. B.De Backer
195. C.Ji
196. A.Timmer
197. K.Van Hummel
198. R.Van Zandbeek
Differdange
201. M.Tronborg
202. S.Cohnen
203. C.Gaoua
204. G.Kaupas
205. R.Lesschaeve
206. A.Meenhorst
207. T.Thill
208. J.Zangerle
Edited by the_hoyle on 29-09-2012 12:12
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sutty68 |
Posted on 15-09-2012 13:36
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Good Luck in Oman Mark |
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the_hoyle |
Posted on 15-09-2012 14:08
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sutty68 wrote:
Good Luck in Oman Mark
Thanks Sutty!
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the_hoyle |
Posted on 16-09-2012 19:43
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15th February 2011 - Tour of Oman Stage 1
(Al Sawadi - Al Seeb)
Stage 1 of the Tour of Oman is nice and flat! Looking good for a mass sprint at the end!
7km: A group of 6 attacked off the front, only gaining 45 seconds or so.
11km: As the gap grew to the minute mark, more attacks went off the front of the peleton, making 16 riders in total.
20km: Lampre-ISD and Movistar saw that size of break far too dangerous and it was quickly shut down.
27km: 3 more riders went off the front, including good friend Rob Hayles (Endura Racing). It would be Rob who would take the points at the first and second Intermediate Sprints, as this break opened up a gap of 5'43".
132km: With the day's break away pulled back to 1 minute, and the peleton at almost full gas, Juan Antonio Flecha shocks us all and attacks! He must be either feeling really good or he is just insane!
140km: Time to get the guys into formation. I give the shout, and the HTC train hits the front hard, mopping up the day's break in the process!
145km: I was nicely tucked in behind Renshaw! Man, we are flying along! Sky's Greg Henderson sat behind me, riding on our coat-tails.
156km: Mark drops me off in the perfect position! Clean air in front, and I am ready to go!
157km: But no! Pipped at the end! Ventoso just had something else! I thought I had this, but the legs just left me in the last 25 metres! After all the work from the HTC guys, I come home 4th!
1 | Francisco José Ventoso | Movistar Team | 3h38'10 | 2 | Alessandro Petacchi | Lampre - ISD | s.t. | 3 | Juan José Haedo | Saxo Bank SunGard | s.t. | 4 | Mark Cavendish | HTC - Highroad | s.t. | 5 | Roger Kluge | Skil - Shimano | s.t. |
1 | Francisco José Ventoso | Movistar Team | 3h37'50 | 2 | Alessandro Petacchi | Lampre - ISD | + 8 | 3 | Juan José Haedo | Saxo Bank SunGard | + 12 | 4 | Robert Hayles | Endura Racing | + 14 | 5 | Ryan Anderson | Team SpiderTech powered by C10 | s.t. | ... | 10 | Mark Cavendish | HTC - Highroad | + 20 |
1 | Francisco José Ventoso | Movistar Team | 25 | 2 | Alessandro Petacchi | Lampre - ISD | 20 | 3 | Juan José Haedo | Saxo Bank SunGard | 16 | 4 | Mark Cavendish | HTC - Highroad | 14 | 5 | Roger Kluge | Skil - Shimano | 12 |
1 | Roger Kluge | Skil - Shimano | 3h38'10 | 2 | Andrea Guardini | Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli | s.t. | 3 | Sacha Modolo | Colnago - CSF Inox | s.t. | 4 | Geraint Thomas | Sky ProCycling | s.t. | 5 | Jérôme Coppel | Saur - Sojasun | s.t. |
1 | Lampre - ISD | 10h54'30 | 2 | Saxo Bank SunGard | s.t. | 3 | Saur - Sojasun | s.t. | 4 | Sky ProCycling | s.t. | 5 | Katusha Team | s.t. | ... | 6 | HTC - Highroad | s.t. |
Edited by the_hoyle on 07-10-2012 16:11
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sutty68 |
Posted on 16-09-2012 23:46
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I know you will be disappointed with fourth place, but it is still a good start to the race |
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the_hoyle |
Posted on 18-09-2012 23:40
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sutty68 wrote:
I know you will be disappointed with fourth place, but it is still a good start to the race
Not happy at all! Especially after all the work the guys had put in to put me in such a good position!
Stage 2 report to be posted in the next 30 mins
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the_hoyle |
Posted on 19-09-2012 00:21
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16th February 2011 - Tour of Oman Stage 2
(The Wave, Muscat - Al Wutayya)
Stage 2 is yet another flat stage. After yesterday's disappointing finish, I was more motivated than ever to bring it home for the team!
11km: After a few meaningless attacks, it was group of 6 who were finally able to make their acceleration worthwhile. Slowly, they built up a lead of about 1'32" over the peleton.
19km: Further attacks were launched from the peleton, as we approached the first Intermediate Sprint point. Nick Nuyens (SaxoBank - Sungard) and Matthew Hayman (Sky) were the two big names in the attacks.
26km: With a number of small groups spread across the route, Movistar and Lampre again took control of the chase. Matthew Hayman took the points at the first Intermediate Sprint.
96km: At the second Intermediate Sprint, Roy Curvers (Skil - Shimano) took first place. Only 3'02" separated the lead group on the road and the main peleton, with several smaller groups in the middle.
121km: With the finish fast approaching, all but 2 of the break remained. However, it was only a 23" lead, and on these straight long roads, they were just dangling out in front of the peleton like a carrot in front of a donkey!
126km:With everyone back together, mass sprint finish was certain. But others had different ideas. First Leif Hoste (Katusha), and then Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky) tried little digs of the front, but they were not getting far.
129km: HTC orders given! Hit the front, and hit it hard! I didn't want any more attacks off the front, and I didn't want to any other teams swamping us in the final 1km again!
133km: It is all going to plan. Marco, Bert and Lars do a fantastic job keeping the pace up, and Mark yet again puts me in a great position in the final metres! Time for me to go!
135km: YES!!!! What a Finish!! I take home the victory for the team! They did a superb job in the final 10km to set this up, and I am thrilled to finish off their great work!
1 | Mark Cavendish | HTC - Highroad | 2h58'42 | 2 | Alessandro Petacchi | Lampre - ISD | s.t. | 3 | Francisco José Ventoso | Movistar Team | s.t. | 4 | Filippo Pozzato | Katusha Team | s.t. | 5 | Juan José Haedo | Saxo Bank SunGard | s.t. |
1 | Francisco José Ventoso | Movistar Team | 6h36'24 | 2 | Alessandro Petacchi | Lampre - ISD | + 4 | 3 | Mark Cavendish | HTC - Highroad | + 8 | 4 | Juan José Haedo | Saxo Bank SunGard | + 20 | 5 | Roy Curvers | Skil - Shimano | + 22 |
1 | Francisco José Ventoso | Movistar Team | 41 | 2 | Alessandro Petacchi | Lampre - ISD | 40 | 3 | Mark Cavendish | HTC - Highroad | 39 | 4 | Juan José Haedo | Saxo Bank SunGard | 28 | 5 | Filippo Pozzato | Katusha Team | 24 |
1 | Ryan Anderson | Team SpiderTech powered by C10 | 6h36'46 | 2 | Scott Thwaites | Endura Racing | + 2 | 3 | Alexey Tsatevitch | Itera - Katusha | s.t. | 4 | Juan José Lobato | Andalucía Caja Granada | s.t. | 5 | Tom Thill | Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.de | + 4 |
1 | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 19h50'36 | 2 | Andalucía Caja Granada | s.t. | 3 | Colombia es Pasión - Café de Colombia | s.t. | 4 | Geox - TMC | s.t. | 5 | Pro Team Astana | s.t. | ... | 14 | HTC - Highroad | s.t. |
Edited by the_hoyle on 07-10-2012 16:11
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maxime86 |
Posted on 19-09-2012 02:37
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yeah!! great win! |
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sutty68 |
Posted on 19-09-2012 03:02
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Brilliant result Mr Cavendish and now 3rd on the GC |
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Jakstar22 |
Posted on 19-09-2012 03:27
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Great win Cav. Hope stage 3 brings a win as well.
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Ian Butler |
Posted on 19-09-2012 07:43
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Nice one, the team will be relieved |
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the_hoyle |
Posted on 19-09-2012 23:47
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@maxime86: Thanks a lot!
@sutty68: Yes up to 3rd! Hoping for victory on stage 3. Head into the mountains in the leader's jersey, and also give me a 38" buffer to the main GC guys, thanks to bonus seconds
@Jakstar22: That's the plan!!
@Ian Butler: The team were great. Everything went to plan! I will repay them back when we hit the mountains! I think I will become domestique on stage 4!
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the_hoyle |
Posted on 24-09-2012 14:48
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Sorry for the delay in the story. I have purchased a new laptop, and only just been able to transfer all the information over.
So I will try and update this evening, but just to let you know, that this laptop is a hell of a lot better than my old one, so looking forward to better graphics and smoother gameplay
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sutty68 |
Posted on 24-09-2012 14:55
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Good Luck with the new laptop and lets hope it gives Cav a new lease of life as well |
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the_hoyle |
Posted on 24-09-2012 15:11
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sutty68 wrote:
Good Luck with the new laptop and lets hope it gives Cav a new lease of life as well
I have never had pcm looking so nice before! graphics are maxed out and it is running as smooth as anything! it is almost sexual!!
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Ian Butler |
Posted on 24-09-2012 15:20
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Great, also great news for the story |
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TheManxMissile |
Posted on 24-09-2012 15:45
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i was just thinking why hve there been no updates...
hope the new laptop works out and you can get more wins!
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sutty68 |
Posted on 24-09-2012 17:38
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the_hoyle wrote:
sutty68 wrote:
Good Luck with the new laptop and lets hope it gives Cav a new lease of life as well
I have never had pcm looking so nice before! graphics are maxed out and it is running as smooth as anything! it is almost sexual!!
Why do i get the feeling that there may be some sticky keys before the night is over |
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the_hoyle |
Posted on 24-09-2012 21:07
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17th February 2011 - Tour of Oman Stage 3
(Sur - Sur)
Stage 3 is yet another pan flat day on the road! Looking quite overcast today, so hopefully it won't be as hot. Todays aim is to take the victory and the Leader's Jersey before tomorrow's Summit Finish.
18km: Yet again, the day began with a big group getting away, 15 riders in total. It was safe to say that Movistar were not letting that one get too far ahead.
63km: In fact, the break went nowhere. Gained about 1'12" on the main peleton before it was brought back just after the first Intermediate Sprint.
67km: All was calm for just 4km! Yet another big break, this time 19 riders, went off the front, and yet again it was pulled back by Movistar.
82km: The peleton settled down for a while, before Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky) ignited some pace again. He went off the front with some real venom, and was soon joined by Leif Hoste (Katusha).
97km: Our guys and Movistar saw this as a major threat, to both the GC standings and to today's finish. We wanted a sprint at the end, and by the looks of it, so did Moivstar.
136km: After a long hard fight, we finally caught the Flecha and Hoste. Movistar seemed not to really chase the two riders out front, meaning we had to commit more guys to the relaying and pace setting. I was going to have a much weaker lead out now. Marco was completely spent, and Peter had to hold back in his efforts, with tomorrow's summit finish ahead of him.
144km: Victory for Petacchi! The guys worked great again at the finish. Weakened lead-out or no weakened lead-out, I cannot fault their efforts! Bert did a longer turn to make up for the loss of Marco, and I got my positioning wrong as the sprint started! I was the width of a rim off getting 3rd in the end, but I will take 5th, considering where I started my sprint!
1 | Alessandro Petacchi | Lampre - ISD | 3h05'10 | 2 | Francisco José Ventoso | Movistar Team | s.t. | 3 | Filippo Pozzato | Katusha Team | s.t. | 4 | Juan José Haedo | Saxo Bank SunGard | s.t. | 5 | Mark Cavendish | HTC - Highroad | s.t. |
1 | Alessandro Petacchi | Lampre - ISD | 9h41'18 | 2 | Francisco José Ventoso | Movistar Team | + 4 | 3 | Mark Cavendish | HTC - Highroad | + 24 | 4 | Juan José Haedo | Saxo Bank SunGard | + 36 | 5 | Filippo Pozzato | Katusha Team | s.t. |
1 | Alessandro Petacchi | Lampre - ISD | 65 | 2 | Francisco José Ventoso | Movistar Team | 61 | 3 | Mark Cavendish | HTC - Highroad | 51 | 4 | Juan José Haedo | Saxo Bank SunGard | 42 | 5 | Filippo Pozzato | Katusha Team | 40 |
1 | Ryan Anderson | Team SpiderTech powered by C10 | 9h41'56 | 2 | Scott Thwaites | Endura Racing | + 2 | 3 | Alexey Tsatevitch | Itera - Katusha | s.t. | 4 | Juan José Lobato | Andalucía Caja Granada | s.t. | 5 | Tom Thill | Team Differdange - Magic-Sportfood.de | + 4 |
1 | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | 29h06'06 | 2 | Andalucía Caja Granada | s.t. | 3 | Colombia es Pasión - Café de Colombia | s.t. | 4 | Geox - TMC | s.t. | 5 | Pro Team Astana | s.t. | ... | 14 | HTC - Highroad | s.t. |
Edited by the_hoyle on 07-10-2012 16:12
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the_hoyle |
Posted on 24-09-2012 22:49
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18th February 2011 - Tour of Oman Stage 4
(Sultan Qaboos University - Jabal al Akhdhar)
A summit finish is what awaits us on stage 4. Today it would all be about Peter, and getting him in a string position ahead of tomorrow ITT.
12km: The stage began with a number of big attacks. 12 riders got away in the end, most notably Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky), as well as Lars, who was given a free role today.
18km: Lars set most of the early pace as part of the break, and so went off on his own. He pushed on hard, opening up a 2'23" gap on the other escapees, and taking all the Intermediate Sprint points in the process.
36km: It was Lampre who took up control of the peleton, working for Michele Scarponi.
109km: With the climb to the finish looming in the distance, race leader Alessandro Petacchi attacked of the front, but only gained a handful of seconds before being dragged back by SaxoBank - Sungard.
147km: As Lars hit the base of the climb, only 49" separated him from everyone else, and within 2km of the climb, he was caught. It was a great ride from Lars, and really took the pressure of us in the main group.
149km: First to make the move in the peleton was Daniel Moreno (Katusha). The Spanish rider looked strong as he danced on the peddles.
151km: Next to go was Peter, going off hard in search of Moreno. He was followed by Jérôme Coppel (Saur-Sojasun), Alberto Contador (SaxoBank) and Fredrik Kessiakoff (Astana).
155km: But Moreno held on! Great victory from him, crossing the line 19" ahead of Peter and Coppel, and Contador a further 7" behind them.
155km: I come across the line with the main peleton, some 4'36" behind the winner Moreno.
1 | Daniel Moreno | Katusha Team | 3h49'42 | 2 | Peter Velits | HTC - Highroad | + 19 | 3 | Jérôme Coppel | Saur - Sojasun | s.t. | 4 | Alberto Contador | Saxo Bank SunGard | + 26 | 5 | Fredrik Kessiakoff | Pro Team Astana | + 36 | ... | 99 | Mark Cavendish | HTC - Highroad | + 4'36 |
1 | Daniel Moreno | Katusha Team | 13h31'24 | 2 | Peter Velits | HTC - Highroad | + 27 | 3 | Jérôme Coppel | Saur - Sojasun | + 31 | 4 | Alberto Contador | Saxo Bank SunGard | + 46 | 5 | Fredrik Kessiakoff | Pro Team Astana | + 56 | ... | 51 | Mark Cavendish | HTC - Highroad | + 4'36 |
1 | Francisco José Ventoso | Movistar Team | 68 | 2 | Alessandro Petacchi | Lampre - ISD | 65 | 3 | Mark Cavendish | HTC - Highroad | 51 | 4 | Juan José Haedo | Saxo Bank SunGard | 42 | 5 | Filippo Pozzato | Katusha Team | 40 |
1 | Daniel Moreno | Katusha Team | 20 | 2 | Peter Velits | HTC - Highroad | 14 | 3 | Jérôme Coppel | Saur - Sojasun | 12 | 4 | Alberto Contador | Saxo Bank SunGard | 10 | 5 | Fredrik Kessiakoff | Pro Team Astana | 8 |
1 | Jérôme Coppel | Saur - Sojasun | 13h31'55 | 2 | Beñat Intxausti | Movistar Team | + 1'01 | 3 | Andrey Zeits | Pro Team Astana | + 1'28 | 4 | Geraint Thomas | Sky ProCycling | s.t. | 5 | Pablo Lechuga | Andalucía Caja Granada | + 2'19 |
1 | Movistar Team | 11h32'58 | 2 | Pro Team Astana | + 2 | 3 | HTC - Highroad | + 59 | 4 | Lampre - ISD | + 1'51 | 5 | Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli | + 1'56 |
Edited by the_hoyle on 07-10-2012 16:12
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