Long and bumpy, this is the type of stage that riders lose time, not gain it:
A normal break got away, and included Linus Gerdemann of High Road, Pietro Cauchiolli of Credit Agricole, and Leonardo Piepoli:
At the beginning of the race, we had two suprises, first of all Tecos, for no apparent reason, was wasting stamina at the front, and also Rock Racing had sent up Mario Cipollini to do some work on the front, that never would have happened back in the day:
As CSC started the chase over the hilly course, everybody began hurting, and by the time the break was picked up, the Peloton had thinned to 50 riders, and Bookwalter was alone (I had protected him all day). In the sprint, Davide Rebellin edged out Mateo Carrera for the win, and Toni Colom importantly edged out O'Grady for third:
Tommorow is the 42 km TT in Solvang, and hopefully Bookwalter will keep his top 5 (with Cancellara 7 sec back, he will not keep second).
Luckly the stage was 25 km, not 42 km, so hopefully Bookwalter could keep a top 10
Not suprisingly, the Lantern Rouge was a Bouygues rider, and started the day:
Galvin, 2nd in the prolouge, was my first rider off, and took a provisional first at the intermediate and final checks:
However, both of those times were quickly demolished by the next rider on the course, Lazlo Bodrogi.
After a long, uneventful period, with the time on the course changing often, we got to the top 15, with a number of good riders. In 13th, Joost Posthuma:
In 12th, French National TT Champion, Stef Clement:
Although he is normally geared towards prolouges, Thor Hushovd took off at 7th:
He was followed by the British National TT Champion, David Millar:
Third to last, Fabian Cancellara, today's (and possibly the race) favorite, took off, as Bookwalter got into the starting block:
Bookwalter took off next, and was feeling great (+4):
Although he was gaining time on O'Grady, he was losing badly to Cancellara, and despite riding well, he knew as he crossed the line that it wouldn't be enough:
Although it had been a disappointing day, we hoped that Bookwalter could gain some time tommorow on the hill stage where we will be protecting him. He is only 17 sec back of Millar in fourth.
Edited by Deadpool on 02-05-2008 00:46
With a maximum 58 KOM points, our goal today would be to grab as many as possible, while protecting Bookwalter to the line:
Initally I had Lill move for the KOM points, but he was followed by all of the riders with KOM points, and they were quickly brought in before the first climb. I then told Louder to take a dig at the beginning of the first climb, and he pulled away with a few other riders, and was on front as they went over the first climb:
The chase groups would catch up, and a break of 12 got away:
Over the course of the stage, it seemed that at the beginning of each climb, another rider would attack, and Louder would counter, to either win the KOM sprint by himself, or at the head of the group. Here he is taking the second KOM sprint:
And the third:
And finally the fouth, which gave him 58 points, and the lead in the KOM classification, which is a sponsor goal to win!
However, the luck was not all ours, as Bookwalter, despite being protected by the entire team all day, wasn't feeling good, and was dropped back to the first chase group, In the end, Stuart O'Grady would outsprint Mateo Carrara and Freddy Rodriguez to take the win, as Bookwalter finished far enough back to fall to 35th in the G.C.:
Although I am thrilled with having the jersey, there are 48 KOM points on tommorow's "flat" stage, so Louder and I will have to plan smart if we wish to keep the jersey.
I have no clue how this stage is considered flat, and with a max of 48 KOM points, Louder would be on the attack:
After a flat start, Sutherland would atack past Louder to take first in the first KOM sprint but Louder taking second was a big piece of holding the jersey:
After the climb though, Louder would power away from Sutherland, and had a 1 min gap as he crossed the second KOM sprint:
Louder was joined by another rider, but he was weak, and as the massive climb got going, the other rider was dropped, and would sit around 20 seconds back of Louder for the entire climb, and as Louder went over the top first, he was thrilled to know he had won the competition:
He was caught, and the intermidate sprint was won by Stuart O'Grady. With 12 km to go, I told Moos to attack, and by the time the attack was finished, he had a large gap on the peloton, however, Arvesen, with O'Grady following, were very close to him:
During the sprint, Arvesen, followed by O'Grady reached Moos, and O'Grady flew past, however, Arvesen stopped sprinting, so Moos would end up secondon the day, with Arvesen third!
Also amazingly, O'Grady's 26 seconds in time bonuses was enough to lift him past Cancellara into first.
However, for some reason, the sponsors said I had not completed my goal, despite Louder having more than twice the KOM points as the next rider in the competetion, and I couldn't figure it out:
To the two day stage race, of identical criteriums, the team that I sent was my second best sprinter, Jackson Stewart, along with all the riders on my team who hadn't raced yet this season:
The route for both days is one of the most difficult I have seen, and will require great tactics to win on:
The day began with a basic four-man break getting off the front:
I let them go for a while, but then, as I began to chase them back in, two riders lept out of the bunch, but I was on front, and pulled them, and eventually the break back in. Here is my team doing the chasing:
With 12 km to go, I had Cruz form a train for Stewart, and by the time the sprint had started, they actually had a 10-second gap on the rest of the peloton. However, Cruz had been on the dot at 99 for almost 10 km by now, and ran out of gas quickly, so Stewart had to make his move with 1.7 km to go. Despite late charges by MacDonald of Team MTN, and Van Heeden of Konica Minolta, Stewart was able to coast across the line for victory #1 of the season for him:
Results: 1 Jackson Stewart BMC Racing Team 2h20'29 2 Christoff Van Heerden Team Konica Minolta - Bizhub s.t.
3 Neil MacDonald Team MTN s.t.
4 Iván DomÃnguez Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team s.t.
5 Stefan Löffler Giant Asia Racing Team s.t.
6 Brad Huff Jelly Belly Cycling Team s.t.
7 Kirk O'Bee Health Net presented by Maxxis s.t. 8 Antonio Cruz BMC Racing Team s.t.
9 Durwan Benjamin Team Konica Minolta - Bizhub s.t.
10 Frank Pipp Health Net presented by Maxxis s.t.
With the same profile, but different route then yesterday, we are hoping for the same result. As expected, three riders got off, but they never settled down together, instead splitting:
After BMC and Konica Minolta chased them down, Cruz took a dig, and got a nice gap:
They had him down to a two-second gap when the sprint began, and having solo'ed at 99 on the dot for 8 km, I knew he couldn't hold on. But Stewart, despite being well placed, couldn't keep up, and Van Heerden, this one of MTN, not Konica Minolta took the win. The Van Heerden of Konica Minolta was coming around Stewart, and ended up bringing down himself, Stewart, and two other sprinters, including yesterday's third placed rider, Niel MacDonald. So yesterday's entire podium was involved in the crash. Stewart got up and finished in the pack, but had to be restrained after the race, when he went after Van Heerden. Because he finished behind the MTN Van Heerden in the final stage, he took second in the overall:
Results:
Stage: 1 Juan Van Heerden Team MTN 2h17'26
2 Kayle Leo Grande Rock Racing s.t.
3 Matt Wilson Team Type 1 s.t. 4 Iván DomÃnguez Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team s.t.
5 Rahsaan Bahati Rock Racing s.t.
6 Stefan Löffler Giant Asia Racing Team s.t.
7 Emile Abraham Team Type 1 s.t.
8 Brad Huff Jelly Belly Cycling Team s.t.
9 Gustavo Artacho Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light s.t.
10 Jesse Anthony Team Type 1 s.t.
G.C.: 1 Juan Van Heerden Team MTN 4h37'35 2 Jackson Stewart BMC Racing Team s.t.
3 Kayle Leo Grande Rock Racing + 8
4 Christoff Van Heerden Team Konica Minolta - Bizhub s.t.
5 Matt Wilson Team Type 1 + 12
6 Neil MacDonald Team MTN s.t. 7 Iván DomÃnguez Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team + 20
8 Stefan Löffler Giant Asia Racing Team s.t.
9 Brad Huff Jelly Belly Cycling Team s.t.
10 Rahsaan Bahati Rock Racing s.t.
Sprint: 1 Iván DomÃnguez Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team 14 28 2 Juan Van Heerden Team MTN 25 27
3 Kayle Leo Grande Rock Racing 20 25 4 Jackson Stewart BMC Racing Team 0 25
5 Stefan Löffler Giant Asia Racing Team 10 22
6 Matt Wilson Team Type 1 16 20
7 Christoff Van Heerden Team Konica Minolta - Bizhub 0 20
8 Brad Huff Jelly Belly Cycling Team 8 18
9 Neil MacDonald Team MTN 0 16
10 Rahsaan Bahati Rock Racing 12 15
Today's long, hilly, and occasionaly cobbled route would be tough, and without a great rider for these races, would be tough to win on:
Because their were only a few cobbled sections, the plan was for Moos, with 73 Hill and 65 COB, to breakaway late, and try to last over the cobbles for the win. Here is the team:
An inital break of 6 riders, including Louder got away, but when 10 riders tried to bridge, the pack, led by Quick-Step, for top favorite Barredo, and Landbouwkredit brought the large group back in. Eventually, four riders, none of them threats, and they would be allowed to go:
They were eventually chased down, but by after the last cobbled section no one had moved. So I had Moos drink and prepare to attack, but 5 riders - Weseman of Cycle Collstrop, Barredo of Quick-Step, Tombak of Mitsubishi, De Waele of Landbouwkredit, and Eeckhout of Topsport-Vlaanderen, attacked while Moos was drinking, and got a gap, this would be the winning move:
Obviously, Moos attacked as soon as he finished drinking, but by now there was very little chance of him riding them down:
He would not get far from the pack, and would now be fighting to hold on to sixth. Meanwhile, ahead, Weseman out sprinted Tombak and Eeckhout, in that order, for the win:
Moos was able to hold off the pack to come in sixth at 1:13, which is decent for a rider who wasn't a favorite at all, with all three and two star favorite's finishing ahead of him. The pack was on his heels though, so they would be given the same time:
The sixth was a good result, better than expected, and Moos and the sponsors were happy.
Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen - Stage 1 - Flat - 228 km
All three of the days are flat, however, they are very long, and there will be high winds. Here is the team:
The first stage is prototypical of the race:
A break went away early, composed of 5 riders, including Kohler (a rider for the Sean Kelly team is not pictured):
They were chased by Glomser and Knees, but the pair never got anywhere near the leaders, and would finish 30 min back, well outside the time limit:
The break was caught near the second KOM sprint, just after Kohler took second in the intermidate sprint:
In the final sprint, Wyss was well placed in third on Pollack's wheel, which was one of three equally positioned trains. A strong ride from Janek Tombak was enough to take the win, with Roetlands and Pollack 2nd and 3rd respectively. Wyss took fourth, after just being edged out by Pollack:
Incredibly, the fourteen sprinters were given 43 seconds on the pack, so it appears now that, baring a succesful breakaway, that the winner of the race wil come from this group.
The G.C. is in the following format: 1 Janek Tombak Mitsubishi - Jartazi - Protech 5h31'59 2 Jurgen Roelandts Silence - Lotto :+4
3 Olaf Pollack Team Volksbank :+6 4 Danilo Wyss BMC Racing Team :+10
15 Detlef Moerman Willems Veranda's Continental Team + 53
However, for some reason, the sponsors said I had not completed my goal, despite Louder having more than twice the KOM points as the next rider in the competetion, and I couldn't figure it out:
Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen - Stage 2 - Flat - 175 km
Here is today's route, the goal is to get in the break, and then set-up Wyss:
A 11-man break, including Kohler, got away:
They were caught easily, and Wyss was feeling great (+4), so he found a wheel, and ended up second to a Silence-Lotto rider on the massive train that was leading. Unfortunetly, Roetlands was brilliantly placed on his wheel:
Wyss moved around with 1 km to go, and was going strong, but Roetlands rocketed past him:
In the end, Roetlands took the win, while Wyss easily held on for a great second. Tombak finished well down, but will still be in second place:
Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen - Stage 3 - Flat - 182 km
Here is today's route, with the plan being the same as the previous days, but with Nydam attacking:
A three man break went early, including Nydam, but after the first intermidate sprint the Sean O'Kelly Team rider dropped back, so Nydam and the Rabobank CT rider had to ride with one less body to block the wind:
They were caught, and as the sprint neared, Wyss was feeling decent, and he caught Tombak's wheel, for what seemed to be possibly the most interesting sprint yet. On the right side, the two top trains, were Train A with a Silence-Lotto rider, with Roetlands in second, and Train B with a Mitusbishi rider, Tombak second, and then Wyss in third. This was going to be a fight between the podium:
That was affirmed with .8 km to go, as the top 3 spots on the road were Tombak 1st, Roetlands 2nd, and Wyss 3rd:
And that is how they would finish, but with Roetlands beating out Wyss, he remained in first for the overall, with Tombak 2nd:
A completely flat, 36 km criterium, this race meant nothing to me, but I was going to go for the win with Stewart. A group of three got away, and they were caught as the sprint was going with 1.4 km to go. Stewart was in a great spot, but lost it, and in the end, Huff of Jelly Belly barely, barely outlasted Rollin of Toyota-United:
Results:
1 Brad Huff Jelly Belly Cycling Team 48'34
2 Dominique Rollin Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team s.t.
3 Alex Candelario Kelly Benefit Strategies - Medifast s.t.
4 Iván DomÃnguez Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team s.t.
5 Ivan Stevic Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team s.t.
6 Rahsaan Bahati Rock Racing s.t.
7 Matt Wilson Team Type 1 s.t.
8 Fred Rodriguez Rock Racing s.t. 9 Jackson Stewart BMC Racing Team s.t.
10 Kyle Wamsley Colavita - Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light s.t.
Good to see you:
1) Not have to stop a story for whatever reason
2) Get some good realistic results. I did think as you are playing on normal you'd be ripping the races apart, but you're doing well
The two-day stage race starts with a decisive 33 km TT, followed by a 60 km criterium. Here is the team:
Today's route is mainly flat, with a few bumps:
Bookwalter would be my first man off, but behind was the bane of my day, we were being followed by Slipstream, who took 4 of the top 6, and gained time on all of my riders on the day:
Personally I was suprised that the riders were able to navigate the course, as they had a few pretty big barriers in there way, in the form of two houses and a Win-e-bago that had been driven on to the course:
I rode well, but even with my top TT riders my team wasn't good enough to break the top 5, but I did take alot of spots between 10 and 15.
Results: 1 Tom Danielson Slipstream - Chipotle powered by H3O 44'53
2 Magnus Bäckstedt Slipstream - Chipotle powered by H3O + 11
3 Steven Cozza Slipstream - Chipotle powered by H3O + 33
4 David McCann Giant Asia Racing Team + 34
5 Tom Zirbel Bissell Pro Cycling + 35
6 Danny Pate Slipstream - Chipotle powered by H3O + 42
7 Christopher Baldwin Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team + 50
8 Michael Creed Rock Racing + 51
9 Dominique Rollin Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team + 55 10 Taylor Phinney BMC Racing Team + 57 11 David Galvin BMC Racing Team + 58
12 Daniel Holt Team Type 1 + 1'06 13 Darren Lill BMC Racing Team + 1'07
14 Bernard Van Ulden Jelly Belly Cycling Team s.t. 15 Brent Bookwalter BMC Racing Team + 1'12
16 Jonathon Clarke Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team + 1'13
17 Chris Wherry Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team + 1'14 18 Ian McKissick BMC Racing Team + 1'22
19 Richard England Bissell Pro Cycling s.t.
20 Durwan Benjamin Team Konica Minolta - Bizhub + 1'29
21 Tim Johnson Health Net presented by Maxxis + 1'30
22 Graham Howard Bissell Pro Cycling s.t.
23 Ivan Stevic Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team s.t.
24 Juan Van Heerden Team MTN + 1'31
25 Adam Switters Rock Racing + 1'37
