Koretzky will team captain, backed up by a good lineup of helpers. Giraud will have a rather free role, and may try to go for a result of his own if the legs respond well on the climbs. I'd like to have one rider in the break too.
It's always hard to predict what's going to happen in races this early in the season, so I'm not sure what to expect. A Top 10 on home soil would be a nice way to start off the season though, so I'll say that that has to be the goal.
Startlist:
Lots of strong names are lined up. Jonathan Tiernan-Locke is in my eyes probably the strongest rider in the race, so I'll name him as the big favourite. Two others I'm flagging for are German national champion Fabian Wegmann and Jonathan Hivert. Both have a very good kick in the finale.
This attack doesn't quite have the power to burst clear of the main field however, and it's all back together quickly. This procedure is repeated several times, since no rider seems to be able to really break free.
The next line of attacks is led by no one else than our Thomas Vauboureix, trying to break the early breakaway curse. This acceleration has another level of power, and slight gaps open up.
With Tony Hurel and Kristof Goddaert for company, Vaubourzeix manages to stretch out a gap of over a minute back to the messy peloton. Lots of riders are trying to leap across to this trio, but they still seem unable to break away from the Movistar-led pack.
Eventually, it's Thomas Damuseau who manages to make the junction, all by himself. All the other riders seems to finally have given up, as the break's advantage has extended to a bit over three minutes.
The four escapees can't seem to get along however, and none of them seems interested in sharing the work. Therefore I tell Vaubourzeix to leave them behind as we hit the day's major climb halfway through the race.
This attack turned into an alarm clock for the other three, who, to my frustration, immediately starts to cooperate perfectly. At the top, Vaubourzeix is just thirty seconds ahead of them.
They clearly don't intend to continue the collaboration though, since it's back to square one as soon as Vaubourzeix is caught. You just have to love the gameplay sometimes, don't you?
Not that it really matters what they do at the front of the race anyway, since several teams seem interested in chasing them down. OPQS are the most active ones, assisted by Movistar and Garmin.
Once the distance between the break and the main field is reduced to just a minute, Vaubourzeix goes for it again. More to show the jersey to the camera than anything else. Also, it's fun to attack.
Unsurprisingly, his three companions again magically starts to share the pacemaking brilliantly. They're four at the front again in no time, still convinced that not working together is the way to go here.
The peloton soon has the four in sight, just as we reach the final climb of the day. Garmin have taken over most of the work, while Koretzky moves his way up to the front end of the field together with Delaroziere.
Matteo Trentin is the first to go, near the top of the climb as the road steeps up a bit more. David Millar and Jan Bakelants joins the party, as they fly past the breakaway. Clearly this is why their teams worked so hard throughout the day.
Koretzky has no problem following the high pace, thanks to a great daily form (+5). I figure that it's smarter to wait for the sprint than follow the attacks here however, so the young Frenchman stays calm.
The attack doesn't get much space and the field regroups in the descent. It's far from over yet however, as Giovanni Visconti is next to go.
Also that attack is neutralized, leaving a rather large group to fight it out for the victory. Delaroziere moves into the lead as we come down towards the finish, keeping Koretzky in a good position.
The sprint is off shortly after, with David Millar catching the others by surprise with an early launch with a kilometer and a half to go. Koretzky is still perfectly positioned however and is one of the first trying to latch onto the Brit's back wheel.
Inside the final kilometer, it's Jonathan Hivert who shoots clear out of nowhere. Koretzky is still in great position, attempting to jump past the fading Millar, with Bakelants nearby.
Koretzky pounces back with amazing speed in the final hundred meters, but it's too late. Hivert holds on and wins the race by a wheel. Michel Kreder completes the podium, ahead of his team mate Millar and Bakelants.
Overall, an incredibly successful race for us. Delaroziere held on to nab a 20th place after leading out Koretzky, and Vaubourzeix showed the team jersey a lot to the spectators. I'd certainly not mind if the season continues like this!
I have always been a fan of stories containing the lesser teams, so this one will definantly have my attention, so Good Luck Pelli and hope it brings you some Great success
BTW - Nice second place for Koretzky in Marseillaise
January may seem to have passed in no time, but several races has already taken place. You already know what happened in Grand Prix Marseillaise, but you may also like to know what happened in the other races. Here's a short summary.
08/01
Australian Road Championships
Simon Gerrans
10/01
Australian Time Trial Championships
Richie Porte
17/01 - 22/01
Santos Tour Down Under
Luis León Sánchez
23/01 - 29/01
Tour de San Luis
Daryl Impey
25/01 - 29/01
New Zealand Cycle Classic
Enrico Franzoi
29/01
Grand Prix la Marseillaise
Jonathan Hivert
Simon Gerrans easily defended his real life national road champion's title, after dropping Richie Porte and Michael Matthews on the course's main climb. Porte took revenge by dominating the TT though.
Rabobank's Luis León Sánchez was the rider who gained the most points this month though. A solo victory in Stirling earned him the leader's jersey, which he then held on to win ahead of Jens Voigt and Matthews, who kept his good form from the nationals.
Daryl Impey and Enrico Franzoi were both rather surprising winners in San Luis and New Zealand, respectively. However, while Impey earned his title through impressive performances on the climbs, Franzoi's result was all thanks to a successful breakaway.
Sánchez is now the record holder for victories in TDU.
The negative news this month has been Frank Schleck's positive test from last year. The Luxembourgian has been found guilty and has been handed a two year suspension. It remains to see how his brother will react to this.
Schleck wont be seen in the field for the next two years.
In the WT rankings, we've obviously got Sánchez at the top. The Spaniard's success in Australia also gave his team, Rabobank, enough points to jump into the lead in the team ranking. These rankings will obviously change a lot throughout the year though.
UCI WorldTour - Individual:
1
Luis León Sánchez
Rabobank Cycling Team
106
2
Jens Voigt
Radioshack - Nissan
84
3
Michael Matthews
Rabobank Cycling Team
83
4
Mitchell Docker
Orica - GreenEDGE
62
5
Leigh Howard
Orica - GreenEDGE
54
UCI WorldTour - Team:
1
Rabobank Cycling Team
221
2
Orica - GreenEDGE
118
3
Radioshack - Nissan
91
4
Team Saxo Bank - Tinkoff Bank
49
5
Movistar Team
31
In the Continental Tour ranking, GP Marseillaise winner Hivert leads the same race's runner-up, Koretzky, and New Zealand Classic's winner, Franzoi. We're sitting in third among the teams, behind Saur and Europcar. This is probably the best position we'll have all year, so enjoy it.
Great start for Koretzky and the team in Marseille!
I know the feeling of Vaubouriex' experience in the break. Same think happened to me with Europcar, so frustrating, ended up riding most of it solo and getting caught with 5 k to go.
But more seriously, I wish this story will be as good as your Skil story. The team you chose is again ideal, nobody really likes it, just like Skil when you started a story with them. So I wish you good luck!
fcancellara wrote:
But more seriously, I wish this story will be as good as your Skil story. The team you chose is again ideal, nobody really likes it, just like Skil when you started a story with them. So I wish you good luck!
I actually liked Skil-Shimano, they were my favourite Pro-Conti team.
Anyway, a good second place with Koretzky, a rider whose name I can't write without looking.
I'm a bit surprised that you find Koretzky's name hard to write, while no one has mentioned Vaubourzeix, who I find far more difficult to spell!
@ valv321 - Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I shouldn't have any problem staying WT with a team that includes more than one rider above 70 AVG.
@ fcancellara - I agree, this was far below expectations.
Actually, I really hope that this wont turn into Skil V2, since I got really tired of all the top results after a while. This should be far more fun in a longer perspective.
I'll try to have stage one from Besseges up later today!
Edited by Pellizotti2 on 16-09-2012 19:08
Our man for the overall will be Koretzky, although we don't expect much due to the flat parcours here. Giraud is probably a more likely source of point, as he attempts to surprise in the sprints.
The sponsors would like us to win a stage, something I doubt will happen. We'll probably have to hope that one of our riders catches a lucky breakaway, since it'll be hard to win anything from the sprints against a fierce competition.
Startlist:
The overall could very well be decided on bonus seconds, since the hardest stage is unlikely to open up gaps and the time trial is quite short. Tom Boonen must be seen as a major favourite for all the flat stages and thus also the overall, since he's the best sprinter in the race.
Lieuwe Westra should also be seen as one of the favourites, as he is probably one of the best timetriallists in the field. If he manages to snatch a few bonus seconds on one of the earlier stages, he could be very dangerous. Danger flag also for Jan Bakelants, who showed strength in GP Marseillaise.
The race:
Several riders are up on the pedals as soon as the race kicks off, with Jan Ghyselinck bringing Martijn Keizer, Arnaud Molmy and Anthony Delaplace along as he tries to break free of the main field.
The quartet isn't allowed any leeway at first, but after a a lot of very fast kilometers, the peloton finally slows down when Jason McCartney catches up with the other four, forming a breakaway of five.
At the top of the day's only King of the Mountains sprint, Molmy proves to be the quickest and takes maximum points and the first KoM jersey, with Delaplace and Keizer following closest behind.
After a very uneventful day, the Argos team starts to reduce the escape group's advantage rapidly as we close in on the finish. The peloton is within a minute already with more than ten kilometers left, so no chance for the five brave men out in front.
Argos makes the catch just as we enter the final ten ks. The Dutch squad really puts a lot of pressure on Tom Veelers' shoulders by doing all this work for him. None of the other teams has helped at any point during the day.
The white and green Argos train continues to push on as the race really starts to get intensive with the line just five kilometres away. Giraud has found himself a brilliant position, at the back end of this huge train.
Alexander Serebryakov successfully sneaks in between Giraud and Veelers just before the sprint is about to be launched. Tom Stamsnijder and Koen De Kort are left in front, while Belgian champion Tom Boonen starts to show his face.
Veelers jumps into the lead with a kilometer left, but is immediately challenged by an ominous-looking Boonen. Giraud gets a little boxed in, and finds himself just behind the man in the black-red-yellow jersey.
As it turns out, that isn't a very bad wheel to catch. Giraud is dragged up into second place as a very strong Boonen starts to shoot clear of the rest. Veelers, meanwhile, is unable to match the acceleration, which means that all of his team's work was for nothing.
Nobody is able to come back at Boonen on the home stretch, allowing him to celebrate a dominant victory. However, more interesting from our perspective is the fact that Giraud manages to stay in second position, just holding off a fast finishing Laurent Pichon.
Well, well, well. We may not have got the stage win we're looking for, but a second place is everything else than disappointing. The bonus seconds also places Giraud in a good position for the overall. A decent result in the final GC may not be out of reach if the race continues like this!
It was great tactical race from Koretzky at Marseillase and another very impressive podium in that field for Giraud. Looking very promising for next stages
I noticed that the La Pomme stats are a bit higher than on my DB, but it's no problem, because you would be chanceless with normal stats.
I like your style of reporting, nice(amount of) screenshots etc.
Jesleyh wrote:
I noticed that the La Pomme stats are a bit higher than on my DB.
Yes i know that is an edited database , no problem , bit unrealistic but no problem.
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Daily Song Contest WINNER! With Foals - Mountain at my Gates with Greece! 1 like 1 girlfriend ''I call you the stage god. You are the stage god.'' -baseballover312, 15.07.2016
Jonathan Hivert
Michel Kreder
David Millar
Jan Bakelants
Simon Gerrans
Luis León Sánchez
Daryl Impey
Enrico Franzoi
Jens Voigt
Radioshack - Nissan
Team Saxo Bank - Tinkoff Bank
