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FDJ.fr : Go BIG or Go Home
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| AP |
Posted on 10-07-2015 12:20
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cyclingnews.com
Quintana Pegged by Weg'
By: cyclingnews
A thrilling event came to a dramatic climax as the race favourite Nairo Quintana would start his season on the end of a surprise loss, with CULT Energy's Fabian Wegmann able to outlast him on the sprint and secure the victory.
CULT Energy worked hard all race to position themselves for Fabian Wegmann
The riders faced a gruelling 138km race in fairly hot conditions for the time of year, unsettling a few and leading to an early crash which left 10 riders chasing their tails. Further incidents came when Anthony Maldonado (Auber 93) who had led the early breakaway, would fall foul of a puncture, leaving him well down the finishing order.
Quintana can only watch as Wegmann celebrates the unlikeliest of wins
However all the excitement would come in the dramatic decent into the finish, Quintana would show his hand early as he had little team support, whilst the CULT Energy riders rode hard to get Wegmann into a favourable position. Behind them, the FDJ.fr quartet of Vichot, Pinot, Geslin and Courteille all set themselves up for a sprint to the finish, alas falling short in the final meters.
With Wegmann racing clear, Quintana would settle for a 2nd place and a smile. He said "I came here to tune up and be part of a competitive race, we didnt get the win, but that happens and you have to congratulate the other team for how they stuck together. Maybe if I had a few more of my guys around me, then things would be different, but they aren't and we move on from this"
Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseilaise 2015 Results |
Edited by AP on 10-07-2015 12:21
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| AP |
Posted on 10-07-2015 12:30
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Close, But not Enough
Back in Europe and the FDJ.fr riders can look back on a semi-succesful run in the Grand Prix la Marseillaise, as they fell just shy of a podium place with Vichot and Geslin riding in 5th and 6th at the finish.
With 4 riders sat nicely at the front of the chasing Peloton, FDJ.fr would have felt confident about their chances, especially with Thibaut Pinot one of those 4. However he would fall away in the dramatic decsent, whilst Geslin and Vichot just didnt have enough road ahead of them to make up the gap to the breakaway riders.
Marc Madiot was pleased after the race "This is better for me and for the team. I have had a bad few days after our efforts in Australia just failed to meet my criteria, but today, we put out a strong group of riders and they delivered somewhat"
FDJ.fr will have further news to come today as they compete in the Cadel Evans Road Race to complete their stay in the Southern Hemisphere.
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| AP |
Posted on 10-07-2015 13:00
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cyclingnews.com
De Gendt is Lotto' Winner
By: cyclingnews
The end of a brief spell in Australia for many of the top teams and riders as a relatively flat and scenic race in honor of the former Tour de France Winner 'Cadel Evans, saw a dominant win by Lotto Soudal's Thomas De Gendt.
The Belgian would win by a clear margin over fellow Belgian Laurens De Vreese, as the field became spread out following a fast finish. De Gendt who has just signed for the Lotto Soudal team, collected his first win for over 12 months and said "It was a hot day and I knew that if I could get some distance on those behind me, that not many fancied chasing me down in this heat"
It has been a tough couple of weeks for some riders in the Australian summer, none more so than that of the FDJ.fr boys who once again failed to deliver and sauntered home at the tail end of the race.
Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race 2015 Results |
Edited by AP on 10-07-2015 13:00
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| AP |
Posted on 10-07-2015 13:05
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Bordélique
Sometimes there is little to talk about and you just have to look at the results to understand why. FDJ.fr completed a miserable time in Australia by rolling around the coastline in the Cadel Evans Road Race.
At no point did any rider spark into live, though a bike change for Chavanel didnt help his chances much, albeit limited.
The riders who 'competed' here will have questions to answer, as news of a positive effort back home will be somewhat tempered by yet more lackluster riding down here.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 04-12-2024 09:22
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| AP |
Posted on 10-07-2015 20:32
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cyclingnews.com
Navardauskas is Cannoned to Victory
By: cyclingnews
The old cliche, you cant win it alone, rang true on the challenging 6-stage Etoile de Besseges, as Team Cannondale-Garmin could celebrate a successful event thanks to claiming the GC crown via Lithuanian Ramunas Navardauskas.
A busy Peloton with a gaggle of cyclings 'lesser knowns' looking to make their mark in 2015
With near on half the Peloton suffering thanks to a crash in the opening stage, the race opened up with alot of riders falling way off the pace. Cannondale-Garmin were fortunate to have 2 riders in contention and with a solid support cast, they were able to bring them home in 1st and 2nd, with Moreno Moser also going on to claim the Young Rider Jersey.
FDJ.fr 'Arnaud Demare and Cofidis' Nacer Bouhanni would light up the event in the 3rd and 4th stages, sharing 1st and 2nd in dramatic sprint finishes, that gives both teams their first highlight of a somewhat drab start to the year.
Demare (FDJ.fr) said "It was important for the team to come away from here with something. We had hopes of more and going closer in the GC, but the early crash caused us problems and we couldnt recover as a group from that. However im personally delighted to get the win and cant thank the team enough for helping me out in the run-in"
Whilst the Trek Factory team would go home happy with a pair of stage wins, including the Individual Time Trial on the final day as Belgian 'Kristoff Vandewalle beat out the competition by over 10sec.
Success for Navardauskas as he claims a hard earned title
Etoile de Besseges 2015 Results |
Edited by AP on 10-07-2015 20:33
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| Selwink |
Posted on 10-07-2015 20:37
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Great! First win of the season in the pocket already. Beating Bouhanni is of course extra nice 
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| AP |
Posted on 10-07-2015 20:40
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Demare Delight!
Current French National Champion; Arnaud Demare is setting up to take his stage win in the Etoile de Besseges
It proved to be a troubled effort by the FDJ.fr team that was sent out to ride the Etoile de Besseges, yet with one major highlight, that being the Stage 3 win by Arnaud Demare who then almost backed that up in Stage 4, coming up short behind Nacer Bouhanni.
Demare who thanked the team for their contribution to his stage win, would himself get praise from Principal Marc Madiot, as he stated "We are delighted for Arnaud (Demare), he has worked hard for us and we feel he has all the right talent to be a top quality sprinter. It was important to get the setup right, so I will credit our team for that, but overall I cannot offer too much praise for our efforts in the past 6 days racing"
The team will now focus on a training camp before those selected for the Tour of Oman fly out to race in desert conditions.
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| AP |
Posted on 10-07-2015 20:41
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Selwink wrote:
Great! First win of the season in the pocket already. Beating Bouhanni is of course extra nice
Its a relief to get some success and with a little more luck, we could have beat him in Stage 4 as well... but I cant grumble 
Thanks for checking in. |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 10-07-2015 21:06
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Very nice lay-out, and result, too, of course  |
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| AP |
Posted on 11-07-2015 10:27
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Ian Butler wrote:
Very nice lay-out, and result, too, of course
Thanks mate, appreciate it and as always, a win is a nice way to kick things off. |
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| AP |
Posted on 11-07-2015 10:49
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cyclingnews.com
Roux Rides It!
By: cyclingnews
Anthony Roux (FDJ.fr) opened his account for 2015 with a dominant ride in the Tour du Haut Van-Matin by securing both stages, including an impressive 1km ride out to beat his nearest rival Enrico Gasparotto in the 2nd stage.
Roux riding in the Yellow Jersey after an impressive win in the opening stage, would have to rally back on his own, as his team mates fell away, with only Jeremy Roy hanging on in until the final 10km. However once the race came down to a spring between Roux and Gasparotto, there was only going to be one winner.
Roux lets go and sprints away to finish his dominant ride in winning fashion
"It was another tough test for me today" exclaimed Roux, "The team kept me going as long as they could but I knew there would come a point that I had to take this on and forutnately I had enough about me to finish the job"
A delighted Marc Madiot of FDJ.fr said "This is brilliant for us and the Anthony (Roux), he put in the effort here and although people will argue that lack of depth in the competition, we came here to win and put some good riders out of shape"
For Roux, it was an all round success and whilst he celebrated the main honours, another Frenchman got in on the act as Ag2r La Mondiale could also look upon a successful 2 days racing, with a team win and also the Young Riders jersey on the back of Romain Bardet.
Tour du Haut Var-Matin 2015 Results |
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| AP |
Posted on 11-07-2015 10:57
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Success For Roux!
Roux sprints away from his team mates who put him in place to win the opening stage
A fantastic 2 days of racing for the FDJ.fr team as Anthony Roux proved dominant, as the 28 year old took to the front to claim both stages and the GC crown in the Tour du Haut Van-Matin.
With the 1st stage setup for him following a solid team effort, he would then take things on his own shoulders in the 2nd stage to lead out in the final Km to beat his nearest rival in a head to head race to the finish.
However for all the positive news, the FDJ.fr team doctors would relay some bad news as Laurent Pichon who had to abandon during the early part of the opening stage has a confirmed broken wrist. Diagnosis as to when he will be able to ride again is unsure.
To compound that, Anthony Geslin would withdraw in the midst of the 2nd stage, citing breathing difficulties as he dropped back from the Peloton dramatically. Further investigation is required to see whether anything serious caused this problem for Geslin.
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| AP |
Posted on 11-07-2015 14:42
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cyclingnews.com
W'incenzo!
By: cyclingnews
Astana Pro and current Tour de France 'Maillot Jeune' Vincenzo Nibali fought back to take the Tour of Oman, part in thanks to his burst at the climb at the end of Stage 4 that took out so many of his rivals.
With the early stages going to the way of the sprinters Greipel and then a pair for Cavendish, the fate of the Tour was always going to rest in that final climb at the end of the 4th stage. Nibali came prepared and managed to break away and although Bauke Mollema gave chase, there was never any doubt that Nibali would have the legs to ride it home.
The final 2 stages fell into the laps of the Etixx-Quick-Step team who wrapped up 4 of the 6 available, this time Julian Alaphillipe would come through with the surprise wins, as his teammate Mark Cavendish did enough to ensure he would win the Points Jersey from rival Andre Greipel.
Mark Cavendish spoke after the event "Its great to come here and dominate the stages like we did, in all honesty I was close to beating Greipel in the opening stage, so it could have been more. We are disappointed not to have pushed ourselves into GC contention, but you saw how Nibali broke everyone in stage 4 and I dont think there are many riders who could counter that attack"
Tour of Oman 2015 Results |
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| AP |
Posted on 11-07-2015 15:05
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FDJ.fr find it tough in the heat!
For a brief moment, Demare was King!
With alot of the bigger teams bringing in their better riders, the 8 man offering from FDJ.fr was unable to bring back any success to add to that found recently in Europe.
As the sprinters collected the early stages, a spin off meant that Arnaud Demare would wear the KoM Jersey for the 4th stage. He was unable to maintain his placing in this category, but it was a bonus for the team for pushing him to the fore in the earlier stages.
Team Director at the event Frederic Guesdon said "The 8 riders we had here have competed well, our objective was to try and get Demare involved in the sprints and we just came up short against some of the top riders in the sport"
A brief break in racing for the team now, before 3 one day races including the Omloop set the team up ready for the classics and a chance to make a mark on the grandest of stages.
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| AP |
Posted on 12-07-2015 11:11
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cyclingnews.com
Giant Steps for Degenkolb!
By: cyclingnews
A race for the purists in this years Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as the treacherous rain, compounded the already tough racing conditions across road and cobble, to give fans a real taste of what is to come in this years Classics.
For the riders, it was a case of multiple falls causing the Peloton to thin out and in the end a small group of riders including Degenkolb, Boonen and Kristoff would take the pace and not relent until the finish.
It would prove to be Giant-Alpecin's day, as they would collect the win with Degenkolb managing to fend off the dual challenge from Etixx-Quick-Step and the shock emergence of Edward Thuens who came a close 2nd.
A soaked Degenkolb said "We had to push the bike and ourselves to the limit at times, just trusting our instinct and getting past the sections that just didnt want you to ride. It is always nice to collect that first win of the season, especially in tough conditions as we head into the spring calender"
Degenkold sits nicely in a rain and mud covered peloton, waiting to pounce for his win
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2015 Results |
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| AP |
Posted on 12-07-2015 11:21
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Madiot: Its time to get serious!
A miserable day in the rain for FDJ.fr as the majority of their squad became entangled and caught up in the crashes that occurred and put paid to many riders efforts in this years race.
With only William Bonnet having a successful ride, Marc Madiot the Team Principal said "We can point to excuses, we can blame others, but what I want is my riders to question themselves and what they want to get from the season. We had 7 men give up out there and that is below the standards we set as a group"
In other news, the Team Doctors can confirm that Anthony Geslin has no serious ongoing condition and is available immediately, whilst the news regarding Laurent Pichon is that his broken will mean he is unlikely to ride again until late-March.
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| jandal7 |
Posted on 12-07-2015 11:28
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Wow, great story so far! Keep up your great in-game and in writing!
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT]  Xero Racing
5x  x5
2x  x2
2x  x2 |
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| AP |
Posted on 12-07-2015 11:43
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jandal7 wrote:
Wow, great story so far! Keep up your great in-game and in writing!
Thanks mate, appreciate the comments and glad you are enjoying the story. |
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| AP |
Posted on 12-07-2015 11:52
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cyclingnews.com
FDJ.fr face a Night'De'Mare
By: cyclingnews
In a story that looks set to run throughout the summer of cycling, FDJ.fr and their French protege Arnaud Demare look to have come to a stalemate in terms of negotiating a new deal.
Demare the current French National Champion and having also won a stage of the Etoile de Besseges earlier this season, is out of contract at the end of 2015. Currently as negotiations are unable to be officially put in place until June this year, the signs are that the parties are not even close to putting down and informal agreement. [IMG-r]https://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t374/wimmer09/demare_zps8yj66umd.png[/IMG-r]
The 23 year old could have many suitors out there, potentially those with bigger budgets than FDJ.fr and although he is one of the teams biggest earners, any new deal could put him past Thibaut Pinot in terms of earnings, causing a new issue among-st the group.
Marc Madiot who has been relatively tight lipped about the situation said "Right now we have dialogue between us and the parties representing Arnaud (Demare). I think from knowing him, that he would be happy to remain with FDJ.fr but sometimes these things are not as easy as they should be"
Demare himself has yet to comment on his status due to his racing commitments, but there is more to come from this situation, especially as the deadline closes in. |
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| AP |
Posted on 12-07-2015 19:31
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cyclingnews.com
Jap' Sinks French Resistance!
By: cyclingnews
Japanese Champion 'Arashiro shot himself to the front of the queue and victory at a rain-soaked Classic Sud Ardeche, as he survived the near on 200km slog to edge out Montaguti of Ag2r.
Arashiro (left) outguns the challenge of Montaguti and snags the win at the line
Team Europcar will be delighted with the win to give them something to build on this year, but for Arashiro, its a personal highlight as the 30 year old claims his first win outside of Asia since 2010.
Simon Yates of Orica-GreenEDGE had been favoured for the race, but saw his chance slip away as he failed to cling onto the sprinters on the slippery tarmac. Yates said "It was a challenge today for all the riders, personally this was a goal of mine to win, but it wasnt to be. I left it all out there though and cant have any complaints as to how the race ended"
With February now in the books, the teams will move on to bigger and better races, all with an eye on the Classics and Grand Tours ahead to ignite their seasons.
Classic Sud Ardeche 2015 Results |
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