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LPR Brakes
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 24-04-2008 11:05
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Classics Specialist
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thanks. yeah, i quickly realised that i'd get most of my points in the hillier 1 day races and short tours that have a hilly stage or two. However, Pietropolli isn't a bad sprinter and he's got good climbing stats to so he could be valueble later in the season when he gets up to full fitness.
i'll keep you posted.
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 25-04-2008 17:26
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Classics Specialist
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Trofeo Laigueglia
Squad: Di Luca, Salvoldeli, Pietropolli, Parra, Pidgornyy, Klyuev, Bellis, Ferrara
Aim of todays race is to see who's in the best shape to lead the team at the Tirreno-Adriatico and to give some of my new signings a roll out. Parra, Bellis and Klyuev are all making their debuts for the team. The stage has 3 big hills with the last one only a few k from the finish, but they'll still be enough time for the peleton to chase down any breaks in the final flat few k. In regards to the Tirreno-Adriatico i'm beginning to think that Salvoldelli will lead as i save Di Luca for the Giro.
As expected a large break goes away and are still away on the last decent into the finish.
The peleton is still all together at the top of the final hill and it'll be all out down the other side to catch the break. I send a couple of my riders to the front to try to bring back the group.
On the decent Cunego launches an attack and i send Di Luca on the counter, however Cunego quickly sits up leaving Di Luca and Verbrugghe in no mans land between the peleton and the break.
Di Luca and Verbrugghe catch the break but have no more energy to pass them. At this point a number of riders attack from the peleton behind. Gasparotto, Paolini and Mazzanti launch an attack and quickly pass the break group.
The final sprint is between those 3 and Gasparotto wins from Paolini and Mazzanti. Amazingly, the group that had been away all day manages to hold out and Di Luca finishes within it, however the gaps between the front 3, the breakaway and the peleton were so small at the finish that they were all given the same time.
So another win for barloworld and another strong performance from Acqua e Sapone and Tinkoff, its gonna be a tough season to get promotion. On a positive note all my new signings finished comfortably in the peleton.
Tour du Haut Var
Squad: Di Luca, Salvoldelli, Pietropolli, Parra, Pidgornyy, Ferrara, Klyuev, Marinangeli
Todays field isn't as strong as at the Trofeo Laigueglia and most of my main rivals aren't present. After yesterday i've decided that Salvoldelli will lead my squad at the Tirreno-Adriatico and Di Luca will be his main support in the hills. Salvoldelli will lead todays race which again sees a series of hills at the end that will decide the outcome. I send Pidgornyy into the attack and he stays out all day with his group of 10.
Onces again it comes down to the last hill. Vanendert is the first to attack and 5 riders counter him (Davis, Gadret, Bertagnolli, Salmon and Salvoldelli).
Initially the group of 6 riders splits on the final accent and at the top Gadret, Vanendert and Salmon have a small advantage over the other 3. On the decent however Salvoldelli shows his world class decending skills and the group is brought together for the final sprint out.
Obviously sprinting isn't Salvoldelli's strongest point and as the riders headed into the last 3k i had reigned myself to the fact that he wouldn't win with Davis in the group. Salvoldelli was forced to lead out but the sprint didn't start till the last k.
Davis was perfectly position behind Salvoldelli and jumped out and around him for the win. Salvoldelli managed to hold onto 5th place and proved that he is our strongest rider atm and will lead at the Tirreno-Adriatico next month.
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| Deadpool |
Posted on 25-04-2008 17:30
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Yeah, getting promoted will be tough, even with the best rider in the CT, but good luck |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 25-04-2008 17:47
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Classics Specialist
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some of the continental teams are just too strong atm. They just win every race, even against the pro-tour teams. hopefully they're strategy is to pick up as many points as podssible in the first few months of the season and they'll get fatigued a bit later on. plus my riders aren't at full fitness yet so it's just about staying in touch with the leaders atm. |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 28-04-2008 10:06
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Classics Specialist
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Tw races on the same day saw me split my team into 2. The GP di Lugano had a hilly finish and was led by Salvoldelli while the Classica de Almeria had a flat finish and Pietropolli led that squad.
GP di Lugano
Squad: Salvoldelli, Di Luca, Parra, Pidgornyy, Ferrara, Golcer, Ermeti, Bailetti
The stage was mostly flat but a couple of largish hills at the end would most likely settle the result. Pidgornyy went with the early attack and stayed away until the second to last hill.
The peleton was now back together and the pace was high on the final flat section before the final climb of the day. About half way up a number of riders, including Salvoldelli attacked. (Salvoldelli, Barredo, Garzelli, Mazzanti, Halgand, Zberg, Capecchi and Duque)
The group of 8 worked well on the climb and built a nice lead over the peleton.
Once again i knew that Salvoldelli's only chance of getting the win was to drop the others on the long descent. Salvoldelli set a blistering pace but he was unable to shake off the other breakaway riders.
Once again it came down to a final sprint and once again everyone went past Salvoldelli like he wasn't there. Duque was the fastest on the day and claimed the win. Salvoldelli's weak finishing could prove to be his downfall at the Tirreno-Adriatico which doesn't have any mountain stages this year.
Classica de Almeria
Squad: Pietropolli, Marinangeli, Klyuev, Smukulis, Bellis, Montaguti, Cucinotta, Ferrari
As i said, Pietropolli would lead us in todays race. i was keen to get a rider into the break. First Smukulis tried to get into one but it was soon caught...
...then Montaguti got into the next one that went away. This break proved to be much more sucessful and stayed away right till the end.
With about 10k to go the break was finally caught and it looked like the race was going to come down to a sprint. Pietropolli was being led out by Klyuev and Marinangeli and a couple of other trains were begining to form. However, Gutierrez of Caisse d'Epargne had other idea's. He launched a ferocious attack that no-one could counter.
A number of other riders tried to stay with him but he was simply too strong. The only rider to come close was Landaluze of Euskaltel, While Pietropolli got stuck behind a couple of riders in the final sprint and just missed out on a top ten place.
So Salvoldelli is looking good with less then two weeks to the Tirreno-Adriatico. Next up for him and his Tirreno squad will be the tour of Murcia (can't remember it's proper name) for his last bit of fitness work. Di Luca won't be riding anything until the Tirreno-Adriatico because i don't want to over race him this early in the season and risk him peaking too soon for the Giro. |
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| Crommy |
Posted on 28-04-2008 16:12
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World Champion
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Looking good with Savoldelli - and good plan with Di Luca, it's always tempting to over-race your team leader
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 28-04-2008 20:16
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
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just realised i keep calling Savoldelli SaLvoldelli ops:ops:ops: |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 29-04-2008 10:18
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
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Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia
A testing 5 day stage race with a mountain stage and time trial and a couple of strong pro-tour squads to race against. Caisse d'Epargne and Euskeltel have obviously sent squads to win this event so Savoldelli and the team will have their work cut out. An important race to get my Tirreno-Adriatico squad up to full race fitness and to get some valuble points in our quest for promotion.
Squad: Savoldelli, Pietropolli, Parra, Pidgornyy, Ferrara, Golcer, Marinangeli, Montaguti
Stage1
A flat stage that will end in a bunch sprint. There are a couple of mountain sprints early in the stage so i send Ferrera up the road with the break and he claims the two to take the mountain jersey.
As expected the race comes down to a sprint and Pietropolli is led out by Marinangeli and Montaguti and he just scrapes into the top 10. The stage is won by Galdos of Euskaltel who just holds of Paulini on the line.
Stage 2
A mountain stage that could go a long way to deciding the overall gc. It is hilly throughout with a long climb at the end followed by a long fast descent to the finish which could suite Savoldelli perfectly. Once again there are a couple of early mountai sprints so Ferrera goes with the break and takes the maximum points for the first 3 sprints to firmly put him in first place.
Just realized that Ferrera wasn't wearing a jersey for some reason? Anyway, by now the peleton was moving fast thanks to the combined efforts of Euskaltel, Caisse d'Epargne and LPR. A number of riders were shelled out the back including the race leader Galdos (who also wasn't wearing a special jersey?) As the break was finally caught as the final climb kicked up a number of riders attacked and Savoldelli countered.
A large lead group of 12 formed going up the hill but the pace was high and a few riders were dropped.
Savoldelli was looking good at the top and moved to the front as soon as the descent started. A small gap quickly opened as the others in the break couldn't hold his wheel.
At the bottom of the descent the gap was around 30 seconds and with just a couple of k's to go Savoldelli looked like he would pick up LPR's forst win of the season.
Savoldelli rolled over the line 23 seconds ahead of the break to claim the win and the overall lead and move LPR into the top 10 on the continental rankings table. An excellent days racing from the team who now needed to focus on protecting the lead through tomorrow's hilly stage.
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| Deadpool |
Posted on 29-04-2008 14:05
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Team Leader
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Solid win |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 30-04-2008 16:56
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
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Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia
stage 3
Another hilly stage with a nice hill right at the end which will more then likely decide the stage. There was an important mountain sprint early in the stage so once again Ferrera went with the break but could only claim 3rd in the sprint as Menchov attacked to get the points before dropping back into the peleton.
The break included Samual Sanchez of Euskaltel and he must have fancied his chances because despite being in the break all day he launched an attack on the final hill. The breakaway group was caught by the peleton and Savoldelli launched his attack before he could be attacked.
With a daily rating of -2 it was always going to be a struggle to stay away but i thought that to attack early would be his best chance. Pereiro saw the danger and countered instantly, blowing straight passed Savoldelli.
Savoldelli settled into a group of 7, including Samuel Sanchez, and together they worked to pull Pereiro back. At the top of the climb Pereiro had a lead of 30 seconds.
Once again on the decsent Savoldelli pulled away from the rest of the chasing group and built up a lead of 20 seconds, however with his low daily rating he couldn't catch Pereiro and was eventually caught by the chasing group on the line. Pereiro rolled over the line for a solo victory and the overall lead.
Savoldelli hung on for 2nd, but in finishing 31 seconds behind Pereiro he lost the overall lead.
So Pereiro now leads by 8 seconds from Savoldelli with Petrov and Abal at 31 seconds. Tommorows 21k mountain tt will be descisive.
Tour Ivorian de la Paix
A six day stage race through the Ivory Coast i think? Every stage is pan flat and will be won by the best sprinter. Klyuev will be our leader.
Squad: Klyuev, Smukulis, Bellis, Cucinotta, Celli, Ferrari, Proch
Stage 1
A 50k criterium would see a fast and furious race finish in a mass sprint. A group of 4 went away early, including Ferrari who i sent to disrupt the break and slow them down. Klyuev had been made favourite for the stage and so he was a marked man in the peleton and we would have to work hard for him. As expected the race came down to a sprint and Klyuev was led out well by Smukulis and Bellis. However when the sprint started i hadn't realised that i was controlling Smukulis and so Klyuev missed the start of the sprint and was always trying to make up for it. It was a close sprint that went down to the line.
However, Haddou of B. Telecom proved to be the stongest and came out on top.
Klyuev finished a dissapointing 10th and will be hoping to do better in the next 5 stages.
Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia
Stage 4
A crucial stage in the overall result of the race. The 21k stage see's and undulating start before the mountain kicks up in the last 5 or 6k's. While most of the other riders seemed to be going flat out from the start before slowing down on the hill, my tactic was to take it a bit easier on the flatter sections before going all out up the mountain. Time and time again i saw my riders being caught at the foot of the hill before sprinting away and posting a fast time. By the time Savoldelli started we had 3 riders in the top 5 and Pidgornyy would soon find the top 10 too. As with my other riders Savoldelli was caught by Pereiro at the foot of the mountain when i put his work rate up to 99% Savoldelli kicked up the mountain and by the time he reached the top had caught his minute man Petrov and put a minute into Pereiro. Savoldelli took the stage win and LPR dominated the top 10 placings. Savoldelli was back in yellow and only a major disaster on the last flat stage would stop hi from picking up the jersey. To show how much we've dominated this race Savoldelli is also garanteed the points jersey and Ferrera is garanteed the KOM comp. We also lead the team classification by over 3.30 mins.
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 30-04-2008 17:07
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Team Manager
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Great TT there!
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 30-04-2008 19:04
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7681
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yer superb
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 01-05-2008 16:38
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
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Nothing to interesting to report today i'm afraid, but i guess thats cycling 
Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia
Stage 5
The final stage was completely flat and would end in a bunch sprint. After his excellent performance in the mountain tt yesterday Savoldelli is garanteed the overall win unless he crashes so the whole team will be protecting him. A group of 6 go away but the highest ranked rider is Levi Liepheimer who is over 9 mins down. The gap grows slowly before i send my team to the front to chase them back down. With about 50k to go the sprinter teams move to the front and finish the job so my boys drop back and reflect on a job well done. The race comes down to a sprint which is won by Galdos of Euskaltel.
This is unimportant however as Savoldelli has won the race and proudly accepts his jersey on the final podium. Pidgornyy has also finished in the top 10, Savoldelli has won the points comp, Ferrera wins the KOM and LPR take the team comp. A perfect race.
The riders get a 4 day rest now before the start of the Tirreno-Adriatico. I'm still undecided whether or not to include Di Luca in the squad.
Tour Ivorien de la Paix
Stage 2
Another flat stage ends in a bunch sprint. Once again Klyuev struggles but Ferrari gets a nice 7th place. The race is won by Manan of the LeTua team.
Monte Paschi Eroica
Today sees a third race for the squad but with our best riders of at the other two races i have just 7 riders left to send to this gruelling cobbled race. The profile is hilly and there are several long sections of cobbles. I'm not expecting anything from the race and this is proven as all my team hit the wall at the half way stage.
I'm not the only team struggling as is turns into a race of who can keep going the longest. One by one the lead group is whittled down until just Chavanel and Maaskant remain. In the last 5k Chavanel cracks leaving Maaskant to roll home on hs own.
Another bad day as Slipstream and Barloworld score big points to cancel out my performance in Murcia.
To be honest though the race descends into farce as only 15 riders complete the circuit. Has this ever happened to anyone else?
Edited by ringo182 on 01-05-2008 17:07
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 01-05-2008 17:20
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To be honest though the race descends into farce as only 15 riders complete the circuit. Has this ever happened to anyone else?
Yeah, I had one were only 23 finished in my story. It might have been the same race.
Essentially in a small race without a lot of good cobblers, a few good ones can set a pace that just wipes out everyone but the good cobbled riders. |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 02-05-2008 09:08
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
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Tour Ivorien de la Paix
Stages 3-6
The next 4 stages follow the same pattern as the previous 2 with a break going away, getting caught and then Klyuev struggling in the sprint. He did manage to finish 6th on the last stage but thats probably because everyone else couldn't be bothered to sprint again. The race was won by Furlan of Credit Agricole who finished on the same time as Clerc of B. Telecom. Klyuev struggled into 14th overall, quite dissapointing as we've missed out on picking up some points when none of the big rivals are racing.
It's looking like it's going to be a very difficult task to get promoted, esp if i won't get any points for the Tirreno-Adriatico and the Giro which are the seasons two biggest goals. I think my team lacks a quality sprinter which is where the likes of Barloworld, Acqau e Sapone are and Mitsubishi are getting most of there points from. I started a search for a quality sprinter to lead my attack next season. Hopefully i can keep hold of Di Luca and Savoldelli too, but it'll be hard if we don't get promoted. |
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 02-05-2008 12:16
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I'm not sure about the Giro but you should get points for Tirenno-Adriatico for a continental team. It's a HC race now like any other.
A lot of times with continental teams you can save a few of your better racers for races starting in July and beyond. Many of the top racers will be out of form and you can win a lot. Also until the pro tour races start you'll run into a lot more top riders from other teams at continental races, while in the middle of the pro-tour it's just continental teams.
If I were you I'd focus on getting ready for races that are goals and building experience for your riders that are below level 3 until at least April... then start entering more races and trying to be in good form to get wins later in the year. |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 02-05-2008 12:32
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Classics Specialist
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thanks Kurtin, thats pretty much what i've been doing. All my racing up to this point has been in preperation for the Tirreno-Adriatico and once thats finished my preperation will start for the Giro as i try to get Di Luca into top shape. After the Giro i don't have any goals until September and October so it'll be a case of trying to build up as many points as i can. Hopefully some of the other big continental teams will be doing the Tour or the Vuelta and i can make up some points then. |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 02-05-2008 16:27
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
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hey guys, can someone just clear up once and for all whether or not i'll get any continental points for racing in the Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo or the Giro. There seems to be some confusion on the subject and everyone seems to have a different answer at the moment. maybe one of the admins could help out?
cheers |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 03-05-2008 10:11
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3472
Joined: 03-01-2008
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hey guys, i've done the first two stages of the Tirreno-Adriatico and the stories should be up tomorrow at the latest. My exams start next monday and last until the following wednesday so i prob won't be updating to often until then. i'll try and keep the story kicking over, maybe a stage every couple of days or so. don't worry though, the story will be back in full in a couple of weeks. |
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 03-05-2008 16:45
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7681
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Milan San Remo and Tirreno = Points
I don't know about the Giro
i would like someone to clarify wether you get conti points for a grand tour
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