"Go, go, go! Now!" Jean-René Bernaudeau knew that Thomas Voekler was aware what he had to do. But he couldn't help himself. They needed a success, and they needed it badly. So far, this race had been a disaster. And not just this race.

The team had amassed a total of one win up until now. One. A sprint stage in the Etoile de Bessèges, the only time Bryan Cocquard had been able to live up to the expectations. Other than that – nothing. And not even that many breakaway appearances either. Sylvain Chavanel had been a disappointment not only in that regard, but also on the opening weekend of the cobbled season.

And Paris – Nice hadn’t been better. Romain Sicard was in a hopeless break on stage two, and that was it. On this last stage, it was Thomas‘ turn to try and turn things around.


Jean-René was relieved as he saw his rider build an advantage. He was accompanied by two other riders, Dries Devenyns and Cameron Meyer. A small, but potent group on a stage that was, on paper, promising for a breakaway. But the GC was ridiculously close with Chris Froome trailing Richie Porte by only seven seconds, it seemed unlikely that the big teams would be idle today.

It didn’t help that Devenyns and Meyer, despite not having any shot at the jersey, really competed for the many mountain sprints that were up for grabs. Consequently, Jean-René saw the gap going down rather quickly after a 7’30 maximum halfway through the stage. On the final ascent, Thomas tried one last attack, but it was all for nothing. The first season highlight had passed without the team making any impact at all. They would have a lot to make up for in the next weeks and months.

1	Richie Porte	BMC Racing Team	29h41‘03“
2	Christopher Froome	Team Sky	+ 5“
3	Simon Spilak	Team Katusha	+ 26“
4	Pierre Rolland	Cannondale Pro Cycling Team	+ 54“
5	Wout Poels	Team Sky	+ 56“

It hasn't been a bad day. But in his opinion, it could have been so much better. Fabio Aru stormed the team bus. "Vino, what the hell, man?! I told you I could win this, didn't I?! And I could've! If you'd let me!" He turned to Vincenzo Nibali. "And you! I told you, too! Why didn't you tell him to let me go, if you can't win it yourself?" Vincenzo raised his eyebrow, but remained silent. "What's wrong with you guys? Would you rather not win that let me do it?"

"Are you done?", Vino asked tonelessly. Fabio stood still for a moment, then he turned around and left without saying another word. He would take a cab to the team hotel.


It didn't take Fabio very long to realize how badly he had presented himself. Later that evening, he called Vincenzo to apologize. "You've come a long way already", his captain told him. "But you need to calm down. There's more to it than having the best legs on a day, you know that. Be patient!" Fabio knew he was right. "Patience isn't my strong suit, though", he replied. "No shit!", Vincenzo laughed, and Fabio had to crack a smile as well, for the first time today. "Patience doesn't equal idleness, though. There's a lot to take away even from these kinds of weeks if you realize that. Good night, mate."

Fabio Aru remained awake for a while, thinking about those last words. So far, his career was all about the greatest success in the immediate future. Maybe that wasn't the way to go anymore. Maybe he had to take a few smaller steps to finally take that big one. Then again, if he thought about it: Potentially winning the Giro wouldn't be that small of a step, would it?

1	Nairo Quintana	Movistar Team	23h39‘36“
2	Fabio Aru	Astana Pro Team	+ 16"
3	Andrew Talansky	Cannondale Pro Cycling Team	+ 33“
4	Vincenzo Nibali	Astana Pro Team	+ 50“
5	Steven Kruijswijk	Team LottoNL - Jumbo	+ 59“

It was almost going too well. It felt like all the pieces fell into place. Pierre Rolland was in the form of his life. And the results reflected it. He’s not only been in the Top 10 of every stage with an uphill finish he participated in. He also scored a few big wins: A stage win and the overall both in Mallorca and Oman, plus a strong fourth overall at Paris - Nice.

Sitting in fifth place before the queen stage of the Volta a Catalunya, he now intended to one-up all that. A 15 kilometer long climb against a peaking Alberto Contador, what better way for a show of force? And indeed: In the stage final, Pierre was able to distance everyone!


Even though it wasn't enough to win the overall, he was happier than ever. An the whole team was doing great: With a few strong performances including a third place at Tirreno - Adriatico, Andrew Talansky had secured the Giro leadership, while Pierre would head to Le Tour in a dual leadership with Rigoberto Uran. The Colombian hadn't performed too well so far, but the team administration still had a lot of confidence in him.

Pierre was actually quite happy with that. His recent success had brought him more attention from media outlets all around the world again, of course especially in France. But the team strategy was clear: They wouldn't put all the pressure on him. And he felt like that was exactly what he needed.

1	Alberto Contador	Tinkoff	29h55‘32“
2	Pierre Rolland	Cannondale Pro Cycling Team	+ 32“
3	Esteban Cháves	Orica - GreenEDGE	+ 45“
4	Thibaut Pinot	FDJ	+ 55“
5	Joaquim Rodriguez	Team Katusha	+ 56“

jandal7 wrote:
Nice to see Rolland doing well, only I'm pretty sure Dayer Quintana won San Luis on page 1

Finally! God damn finally! After all the struggle and disappointment, Jean-René Bernaudeau felt like he caught a break. And it was thanks to Sylvain Chavanel, of all people. The Frenchman had been the main source of Jean-René's pain for the past few weeks.

Brought in with high expectations, he hadn’t been able to deliver on the promise of aggressive, passionate riding, stirring up the crowds and attracting publicity. Hindered by a cold or a stomach upset here and there, lacking the good nose for the right group on other occasions, Sylvain didn’t seem like the rider he used to be. But not today …


Today had been nothing but beautiful. Sylvain had kept a low profile for the first half of the day, only to join a mid-race attack of Marcel Sieberg, Luke Rowe and Matteo Trentin, an interesting move that took three major teams out of charge in terms of the chase.

It took a while for the other contenders to realize the danger of the escapees, but once they did, all hell broke loose. Sagan was the first to lose patience, he attacked with 45 kilometers left, and soon no team was strong enough anymore for an organized chase. It was every man for himself in an unforgiving battle of attrition.

A battle won by Fabian Cancellara, but Jean-René didn’t really care much about that. Because while Spartacus was just too strong for anyone, Sylvain had managed to hold on long enough to score an amazing third place in the vélodrome of Roubaix. And that compensated for a whole lot.

1	Fabian Cancellara	Trek - Segafredo	6h08‘38“
2	Jürgen Roelandts	Lotto - Soudal	+ 28“
3	Sylvain Chavanel	Direct Energie	s.t.
4	Zdenek Stybar	Etixx - Quick-Step	+ 52“
5	Greg Van Avermaet	BMC Racing Team	s.t.

"Not too bad :)" Three words and a smiley face, but all the brotherly love Dayer Quintana needed today. And, he thought to himself, a pretty accurate description of his performance in the Basque Country. On paper, his 12th place didn't seem like a great feat, but it hadn't been an easy ride.

Dayer had lost over a minute after sacrificing himself on the first stage to get his captain Alejandro Valverde back on track after a crash. As the injuries turned out to be too tough and Alejandro abandoned the race the following day, Dayer stepped up and rode valiantly to a sixth overall before the final time trial.


Obviously, the time trialing suit had never been his strong one, so it came as a surprise to no one when he dropped out of the Top 10. But he received a lot of slaps on the back, both literally and figuratively, the most important one just now via text.

And that made him happier than any Top 10 finish could have. The road to Paris was long and winding, as his brother had predicted that night in Argentina, but the French capital was coming closer and closer nonetheless. Dayer knew he was on the right track.

1	Alberto Contador	Tinkoff	20h48‘59“
2	Vincento Nibali	Astana Pro Team	+ 7“
3	Chris Froome	Team Sky	+ 13“
4	Thibaut Pinot	FDJ	+ 32“
5	Richie Porte	BMC Racing Team	+ 1‘11“

This was not good. Joaquim wanted to accelerate, but his muscles didn’t respond. No more swiftness, no punch left. He had felt his legs screaming on La Redoute already, but he had been able to stay in the first group. When Alejandro Valverde attacked at the Cote du Saint Nicolas, though, there was nothing he could do.

Helplessly, he watched Rui Costa, Michal Kwiatkowski and many others fly by. More than a minute behind his compatriot, he crossed the line in 16th place. Joaquim had calculated he would lose a bit of his acceleration due to his extensive training on long climbs. But this was worse than he’d expected. For the first time, he was doubtful about his way.


Up to now, everything was going well. A fifth place in Catalunya despite not peaking for the race; a sixth place in the Basque Country, showing off his improved time trialing. But now, an eigth place at the Flèche Wallonne was the best he could do for this year’s Ardennes.

He shared a cab with Alberto Losada to the airport the next day. After a few minutes, Alberto broke the silence: „You told me in February that you had one goal only this season, right?“ „What’s your point?“, Joaquim responded, slightly annoyed. „If you just have one goal, why worry about anything else? What does it matter how you did yesterday? You knew the consequences when you commited to it, now you have to bear them and move on!“

Joaquim kept quiet after that short lecture, but his team mate had a point. Any thoughts unnecessarily wasted on other races would drain energy from his way to Paris. He had to put his money where his mouth was. All or nothing.

1	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar Team	6h08'35“
2	Julien Alaphilippe	Etixx - Quick Step	+ 43"
3	Rui Costa	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
4	Michal Kwiatkowski	Team Sky	+ 54“
5	Wout Poels	Team Sky	s.t.