Criterium International - Stage 1
Porto-Vecchio - Col de l'Ospedale
Lots of climbingon the first stage. We won`t see a big group here in the end.
Instead of Schleck and Menchov Hesjedal`s biggest opponents might be Contador and Gesink. So a quite similar situation for him. Nevertheless we want to win as his form is very good.
A small group breaks out of the field. It`s Sprick (Bbox), Codol (Acqua), Minguez (Footon), Vachon (Bretagne) and Van Vooren (Landbouwcredit).
Climbing the "Col de Mela", ~680 meters of height. The peloton is very long now and some riders might have problems to reach the top again. All favourites are of course in the first third to avoid surprisings.
The last climb on the "Col de l`Ospedale" begins and the last guys are caught.
~950m climbing expects the riders now. Who will be in best shape today?
Hesjedal increases already in the first half of the mountain and Danielson can follow him surprisingly. Might be because of his very good +5 daily form.
Vinokourov, Zandio, Moreau, D.Martin were following these 2 with a small gap, but most "favourites" weren`t.
So Contador attacks as he sees that Hesjedal is almost 2 corners further.
Also Danielson couldn`t follow no longer.
First stage win and the overall lead for Hesjedal. Also Danielson was able to create a gap to the 3rd Contador, who overtook everybody else but them.
A perfect day for Garmin. That`s a big step for the overall win here.
Critérium International - Stage 2
Porto-Vecchio - Porto-Vecchio
A very short flat stage. But there aren`t many sprinters here and the last 2km are uphill, so we might see some puncheurs here winning today.
A group with many smaller teams attack. Giannetti (Footon), Ricci-Poggi (Landbouwkredit), Auge (Cofidis), Mombaerts (Big Mat), Bideau (Bretagne), Dion (Roubaix), Gerard (Ag2r) and Simon (Saur).
Nice picture with Hesjedal in yellow and Danielson in green.
No dangerous riders in the group but nevertheless some teams are doing a high pace to avoid a break win.
The riders starting to sprint and now it`S up to 4% on some parts and so it`s also Hesjedal next to Voeckler in first line.
Other riders we expected here are a few meters back like Paolini, Ventoso or Dumoulin.
It`s Voeckler in a close sprint ahead of Hivert and Hesjedal.
So we defended the yellow jersey but will lose the green to Voeckler.
Not the worst actually. This afternoon is the deciding short ITT. But we hope that both, Hesjedal and Danielson have enough room to Contador even he is the better time trialist.
Result
1
Thomas Voeckler
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
1h40'18
2
Jonathan Hivert
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
3
Ryder Hesjedal
Garmin - Transitions
s.t.
4
Yann Huguet
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
5
Francisco Ventoso
Team RadioShack
s.t.
6
Cyril Lemoine
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
7
Frédéric Amorison
Landbouwkrediet
s.t.
8
Manuel Cardoso
Footon-Servetto
s.t.
9
Alberto Contador
Astana
s.t.
10
Luca Paolini
Acqua & Sapone - D'Angelo &
Antenucci s.t.
Spoiler
11
Thomas Danielson
Garmin - Transitions
s.t.
12
Rigoberto Urán
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
13
Robert Gesink
Rabobank
s.t.
14
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
15
Dominique Cornu
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
16
Daryl Impey
Team RadioShack
s.t.
17
Martial Ricci-Poggi
Landbouwkrediet
s.t.
18
Mikhail Ignatiev
Team Katusha
s.t.
19
Maarten Tjallingii
Rabobank
s.t.
20
Laurent Mangel
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
21
David Deroo
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
22
Tiago Machado
Team RadioShack
s.t.
23
Cadel Evans
Team Katusha
s.t.
24
Tony Gallopin
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
25
Sven Nys
Landbouwkrediet
s.t.
26
Guiseppe Palumbo
Acqua & Sapone - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
27
Alexander Kolobnev
Team Katusha
s.t.
28
Daniel Martin
Garmin - Transitions
s.t.
29
Amaël Moinard
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
30
Ruggero Marzoli
Acqua & Sapone - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
31
Mirko Selvaggi
Astana
s.t.
32
Johan Le Bon
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
33
Leonardo Giordani
Ceramica Flaminia
s.t.
34
Andrey Amador
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
35
Paul Martens
Rabobank
s.t.
36
Julien Simon
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
37
Christophe Moreau
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
38
Dimitri Champion
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
39
Pablo Lechuga
Andalucia - CajaSur
s.t.
40
Jimmy Engoulvent
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
41
Nikolas Maes
Quick Step
s.t.
42
Florian Vachon
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
43
Massimo Codol
Acqua & Sapone - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
44
Cameron Meyer
Garmin - Transitions
s.t.
45
Mathieu Sprick
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
46
Jean-Eudes Demaret
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
47
Manuel Ortega
Andalucia - CajaSur
s.t.
48
Noe Gianetti
Footon-Servetto
s.t.
49
Steven Van Vooren
Landbouwkrediet
s.t.
50
Ivan Rovny
Team RadioShack
s.t.
51
Vladimir Miholjević
Acqua & Sapone - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
52
Raivis Belohvoščiks
Ceramica Flaminia
s.t.
53
Svein Tuft
Garmin - Transitions
s.t.
54
Alessandro Donati
Acqua & Sapone - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
55
Guillaume Blot
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
56
Antonio Piedra
Andalucia - CajaSur
s.t.
57
Xavier Zandio
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
58
Stijn Vandenbergh
Team Katusha
s.t.
59
Fumiyuki Beppu
Team RadioShack
s.t.
60
Paolo Ciavatta
Acqua & Sapone - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
61
Dirk Bellemakers
Landbouwkrediet
s.t.
62
David Gutiérrez Gutiérrez
Footon-Servetto
s.t.
63
Steve Houanard
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
64
Miguel Mínguez
Footon-Servetto
s.t.
65
Frank Høj
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
66
Stijn Joseph
Landbouwkrediet
s.t.
67
Vojtěch Dlouhý
Team RadioShack
s.t.
68
Jérémie Galland
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
69
Dmytro Arkhynos
Ceramica Flaminia
s.t.
70
Roy Curvers
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
71
David Boucher
Landbouwkrediet
s.t.
72
Jean-Marc Bideau
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
73
Stéphane Augé
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
74
David López García
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
75
Arturo Mora
Andalucia - CajaSur
s.t.
76
Manuel Calvente
Andalucia - CajaSur
s.t.
77
Job Vissers
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
78
David Millar
Garmin - Transitions
s.t.
79
Laurent Lefèvre
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
80
Damien Gaudin
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
81
Perrig Quemeneur
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
82
Lilian Jégou
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
83
Fabien Bacquet
Big Mat - Auber 93
s.t.
84
Laurent Pichon
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
85
Philipp Klein
Rabobank
s.t.
86
José Luis Roldán
Andalucia - CajaSur
s.t.
87
Hans Dekkers
Rabobank
s.t.
88
Sergio Carrasco
Andalucia - CajaSur
s.t.
89
Gaël Malacarne
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
90
Romain Hardy
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
91
Florian Guillou
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
92
Elbrus Maximchuk
Team RadioShack
s.t.
93
Didac Ortega Orts
Acqua & Sapone - D'Angelo & Antenucci
s.t.
94
Pavel Brutt
Team Katusha
s.t.
95
Arnaud Gérard
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
96
Johannes Löw
Garmin - Transitions
s.t.
97
Julien Loubet
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
98
Gorazd Štangelj
Astana
s.t.
99
Romain Mathéou
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
100
Imanol Erviti
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
101
Alexander Vinokourov
Astana
s.t.
102
Rifat Shishelov
Astana
s.t.
103
Fabrizio Lucciola
Ceramica Flaminia
s.t.
104
Jean-Marc Marino
Big Mat - Auber 93
s.t.
105
Guillaume Le Floch
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
106
Andrey Zeits
Astana
s.t.
107
Rémi Pauriol
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
108
Alexandre Botcharov
Team Katusha
s.t.
109
Johan Mombaerts
Big Mat - Auber 93
s.t.
110
Addy Engels
Quick Step
s.t.
111
Renaud Dion
Roubaix Lille Metropole
s.t.
112
Angel Morant
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
113
Alex Blanckaert
Quick Step
s.t.
114
Franck Bouyer
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
s.t.
115
Roman Kireyev
Astana
s.t.
116
Niels Brouzes
Big Mat - Auber 93
s.t.
117
José Ángel Gómez Marchante
Andalucia - CajaSur
s.t.
118
Jaan Guy
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
119
Marcin Urbanowski
Ceramica Flaminia
s.t.
120
Thierry Hupond
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
121
Christophe Kern
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
122
Wojciech Ziółkowski
Ceramica Flaminia
s.t.
123
Nicolas Jouanno
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
124
Rafael Valls
Footon-Servetto
s.t.
125
Tom Van Den Haute
Landbouwkrediet
s.t.
126
René Mandri
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
127
Jakub Danačík
Ceramica Flaminia
s.t.
128
Cédric Pineau
Roubaix Lille Metropole
s.t.
129
Guillaume Bonnafond
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
130
Valentin Iglinskiy
Big Mat - Auber 93
s.t.
131
Anthony Charteau
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
+ 1'37
132
Jocelyn Bar
Roubaix Lille Metropole
s.t.
133
Yohann Gène
Big Mat - Auber 93
s.t.
134
Benoît Daëninck
Roubaix Lille Metropole
s.t.
135
Arkaitz Durán
Footon-Servetto
s.t.
136
Maxime Méderel
Big Mat - Auber 93
s.t.
137
Matthieu Boulo
Roubaix Lille Metropole
s.t.
138
Arnaud Molmy
Roubaix Lille Metropole
s.t.
139
Jonathan Thiré
Roubaix Lille Metropole
+ 1'53
140
Francesco Di Paolo
Ceramica Flaminia
+ 2'25
141
Roman Ruslyakov
Rabobank
s.t.
142
Steven Tronet
Roubaix Lille Metropole
s.t.
143
Sierk Mentink
Rabobank
+ 2'33
144
Samuel Auclair
Big Mat - Auber 93
s.t.
145
Gianni Timoteo
Team Katusha
s.t.
146
Ilario Ventimiglia
Quick Step
+ 5'29
147
Julian Dean
Garmin - Transitions
+ 8'07
Criterium International - Stage 3
Porto-Vecchio ITT
A short, hilly timetrial on the afternoon. Hesjedal`s position is very good to take the overall. Also Danielson is a surprise on the podium. Martin with a top10 is the maximum although he is one of the best climbers here, but it`s his first race in this season, so he is still building up his form.
After most of our specialists like Tuft, Meyer or Millar had nice times but not in the first places, where Cornu and Ignatiev were quite long, Contador made the new best time.
Danielson finished as 10th just 12s back and so he is at least 2nd.
Hesjedal with a good ride and the 27th with +16s takes the overall.
He was even able to celebrate in the end before the finish line. (Couldn`t find a yellow Garmin or Hesjedal ITT picture)
Daniel Martin finished far in the end. Hope he will have better ITT`s in the Giro.
Both had fitness ~85-88
Hesjedal +2 and Danielson +5, Martin had fitness 68 and -1.
But except of the first 5-6 riders the field was quite weak.
Hope I can beat Contador in the Tour Last year I lost about half an hour on him ^^
The E3 Prijs Vlaanderen – Harelbeke is an annual cycling race in the Flanders area of Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke over 210 kilometres. The first E3 Prijs Vlaanderen took place in 1958.
The E3 classic is preparation for the Ronde van Vlaanderen. The route is shorter but many of the climbs are tackled. The conditions are also comparable as cobbles, wind and climbs decimate the bunch. The route takes a large lap around East Flanders including 12 hills.
Record champ with 4 wins are Tom Boonen and Rik Van Looy
Result in 2010:
1
Philippe Gilbert
Omega Pharma-Lotto
2
Fabian Cancellara
Team Saxobank
3
Greg Van Avermaet
Omega Pharma-Lotto
4
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky Professional Cycling Team
5
Leif Hoste
Omega Pharma-Lotto
6
Sylvain Chavanel
Quick Step
7
Tom Boonen
Quick Step
8
Sebastian Langeveld
Rabobank
9
Martijn Maaskant
Garmin - Transitions
10
Lars Boom
Rabobank
Garmin squad
We participate with a very strong squad. As Maaskant is more focussing on Paris Roubaix this year our leader will be Vansummeren, who is in a almost perfect shape. But also Maaskant, Boom and Farrar can get a good result, if they have a good day.
Liquigas-Doimo
Frederik Willems
Nick Nuyens
Philippe Gilbert
Daniel Oss
Peter Sagan
Maciej Paterski
Omega Pharma-Lotto
Greg Van Avermaet
Leif Hoste
Staf Scheirlinckx
Olivier Kaisen
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Jelle Vanendert
Jurgen Van Goolen
Tom Stubbe
Quick Step
Tom Boonen
Maarten Wynants
Stijn Devolder
Sylvain Chavanel
Kevin Van Impe
Branislau Samoilau
Rabobank
Björn Leukemans
Sebastian Langeveld
Rick Flens
Joost Posthuma
Juan Manuel Gárate
Dmitriy Kozontchuk
Kai Reus
Skil - Shimano
Tom Veelers
Bert De Backer
Floris Goesinnen
Mitchell Docker
Frederik Wilmann
Robin Chaigneau
Sky Professional Cycling Team
Juan Antonio Flecha
Ian Stannard
Christopher Sutton
Nicolas Portal
Mathew Hayman
Robert Hayles
Serge Pauwels
Volodymir Gustov
Team HTC - Columbia
Bernhard Eisel
Rasmus Guldhammer
Hayden Roulston
Adam Hansen
Eduard Vorganov
Jan Ghyselinck
Gert Dockx
Michael Albasini
Team Katusha
Filippo Pozzato
Vladimir Gusev
Manuel Quinziato
Evgueni Petrov
Team RadioShack
Sébastien Rosseler
Simon Spilak
Geoffroy Lequatre
Ben Hermans
Bjørn Selander
Matthew Busche
William Grégoire
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
Pieter Vanspeybrouck
Kris Boeckmans
Klaas Lodewyck
Maarten Neyens
Thomas De Gendt
Kevin Neirynck
Oleg Chuzhda
Grégory Habeaux
Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team
Frederik Veuchelen
Marco Marcato
Alberto Ongarato
Matteo Carrara
Jens Mouris
Frantisek Rabon
Brice Feillu
Verandas Willems
Pascal Hossay
James Vanlandschoot
Jonas Vangenechten
Sjef De Wilde
Fabio Polazzi
Dieter Cappelle
Robin Steenuit
210 km of cobbles, wind and hills expect the riders.
Although there were several attacks the peloton is together on the first cobbles. It`s very dangerous to ride today. It`s like a storm with lots of rain and wind here. So all favourites try to ride in the front and so lots of crashes are foreseen.
With 90km to go the first successful attack. Gusev (Katusha), Willems (Liquigas) and Valjavec (Ag2r). Especially first 2 are good cobble riders and so the teams should have an eye on them.
First hills and lots of cobbles on the next kilometers. Valjavec is as expected not longer with them and also Willems seems to have problems to follow Gusev`s pace on the hilly cobbles, but they keep staying together.
67km -> 5'27
Because of the wind and hard terrain the peloton splits in several groups. Luckily we have all our leaders in the first group.
55km -> 4'57
The favourites reach on of the hardest part of this race. The "Patersberg". 500m cobbled climb with an average of 12,5%.
Quickstep made a very high pace up there and so the group splits again. A group of 6 riders are in front . 4 Quickstep riders with Boonen, Wynants, Chavanel and Devolder, Pozzato for Katusha and Avermaet for Omega.
Then Vansummeren solo directly behind them. But it will be very hard to be faster than 4 Quickstep guys.
Then comes a bigger group with the other favourites around Gilbert, Hoste and Maaskant.
20km: Nuyens, Ballan and Hoste attack. Vansummeren`s solo lasts already 16km and he is exactly between both groups. He was very strong today but missed the contact to the Quickstep train unfortunately.
Boonen`s group catches Willems and Gusev, who try to keep contact to them on the flat part.
Vansummeren gets support by some guys now and unfortunately all of them look stronger than him after 22 km windy solo.
Quickstep`s domination ends with the expected win for Boonen. Now he is the single record champ with 5 wins. Vansummeren is just 18th as he was oversprinted by the whole group. Maaskant, Boom and Farrar were in the next bigger group.
Although we had a good team here, we couldn`t get a nice result.
But if Vansummeren is in a similar form tomorrow he is definitely a bet for Gent-Wevelgem.
La Gazzetta dello Sport just announced the teams for this years Giro.
Just 16 Protour Teams are invited and so 4 smaller teams got a wildcard.
The teams are:
So all wildcard teams have very good riders, who could participate. Ceramica has 2 strong riders in their squad. F.Masciarelli and Vandevelde, who was 3rd in 2010 and so he might show a good performance again even if he isn`t on the same level than last year.
Scarponi (Androni) of course can fight for the overall win.
Colnago has an interesting transfer with Bauke Mollema. Together with Pozzovivo they will be strong in the mountains. With Modolo they also have one of the strongest sprinters in the 2010 Giro.
ISD is probably a team with the best chances in breakaways and hard hilly stages.
So the missing teams this year are Caisse d`Epargne and Cervelo as Protour teams.
But both teams have lost many GC riders, so they will probably concentrate on the other two GT`s and especially on the Vuelta.
Also Acqua e Sapone and Skil got no wildcard or didn`t ask for. Garzelli is without a team in 2011 and Ricco transfered to Skil, which have no interest in the Giro although he could get a podium after the 2nd in 2010.
Also the route is presented very late actually I will play with Emmea`s Giro version. Just changed all tables in my database. So I expect a quite interesting Giro with many mountain top finishes but also some flat stages.
Edited by roturn on 31-10-2010 21:01
The Gent–Wevelgem is a Flanders Classics cycle road race held in Belgium including two ascents of the cobbled, difficult, and often selective Kemmelberg with lots of wind and rain. The event was first run in 1934.
Record champs with 3 wins are Robert Van Eenaeme (BEL), Rik Van Looy (BEL), Eddy Merckx (BEL) and Mario Cipollini (ITA).
Result in 2010
1
Johan Vansummeren
Garmin - Transitions
2
Martijn Maaskant
Garmin - Transitions
3
Matti Breschel
Team Saxo Bank
4
Filippo Pozzato
Team Katusha
5
Greg Van Avermaet
Omega Pharma-Lotto
6
Bernhard Eisel
Team HTC - Columbia
7
Nick Nuyens
Rabobank
8
Leif Hoste
Omega Pharma-Lotto
9
Sebastian Langeveld
Rabobank
10
Sergey Ivanov
Team Katusha
Garmin squad 2011:
Our leader is Johan Vansummeren with a better shape than Maaskant.
Also he wants to defend his victory from last year.
With Boom we have a new option in the classics this year. Also Van Der Velde developed quite well and will be able to help longer.
Our neo pro Trent Rowe is supposed to learn riding with extremely rainy and windy conditions.
Full startlist:
Spoiler
Ag2r La Mondiale
Kristof Goddaert
Saïd Haddou
Julien El Fares
Gatis Smukulis
John Gadret
Tadej Valjavec
Julien Bérard
Hubert Dupont
An Post - Sean Kelly
Jürgen Roelandts
Andy Cappelle
Stijn Minne
Gil Suray
Kim Borry
Iljo Keisse
Maxim Debusschere
Kenny Lisabeth
Astana
Allan Davis
Dmitriy Fofonov
Paolo Tiralongo
Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy
Alexandr Dyachenko
Daniel Navarro
Maxim Gourov
Valeriy Dmitriyev
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
Cyril Gautier
Alexandre Pichot
Pierre Rolland
Freddy Bichot
Romain Sicard
Anthony Ravard
Nicolas Vogondy
Giovanni Bernaudeau
Caisse d'Epargne
Rubén Plaza
Rui Alberto Fario Da Costa
Vasil Kiryienka
Mathieu Drujon
Mathieu Perget
Alberto Losada
Mathieu Claude
Arnold Jeannesson
Cervélo Test Team
Roger Hammond
Dominique Rollin
Ignatas Konovalovas
Daniel Lloyd
Jeremy Hunt
Oscar Pujol Muñoz
Xavier Tondo
Theo Bos
Euskaltel - Euskadi
Koldo Fernández
Iñaki Isasi
Marcos García
Joaquín Novoa
Artem Ovechkin
Rodrigo García
Mathieu Drouilly
Sergio De Lis
FDJ
Anthony Geslin
Yoann Offredo
Gianni Meersman
Yauheni Hutarovich
Jussi Veikkanen
Jérémy Roy
Thibaut Pinot
Jérôme Cousin
Garmin - Transitions
Johan Vansummeren
Martijn Maaskant
Lars Boom
Matthew Wilson
Ricardo Van Der Velde
Christian Meier
Timothy Duggan
Brent Rowe
Lampre-Farnese Vini
Gilberto Simoni
Grega Bole
Danilo Napolitano
Mirco Lorenzetto
Marcin Sapa
Andrea Grendene
Andrey Kashechkin
Vitaliy Buts
Liquigas-Doimo
Nick Nuyens
Frederik Willems
Daniel Oss
Peter Sagan
Kristijan Koren
Brian Bach Vandborg
Francesco Chicchi
Ivan Santaromita
Omega Pharma-Lotto
Leif Hoste
Greg Van Avermaet
Staf Scheirlinckx
Alessandro Petacchi
Francis De Greef
Jelle Vanendert
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Glenn D'Hollander
Quick Step
Tom Boonen
Stijn Devolder
Kevin Hulsmans
Maarten Wynants
Dries Devenyns
Kurt Hovelijnck
Branislau Samoilau
Romain Zingle
Rabobank
Óscar Freire Gómez
Rick Flens
Joost Posthuma
Dmitriy Kozontchuk
Kai Reus
Juan Manuel Gárate
Arne Seegers
Skil - Shimano
Tom Veelers
Bert De Backer
Piet Rooijakkers
Robin Chaigneau
Robert Kišerlovski
Frederik Wilmann
Albert Timmer
Jacob Jongen
Sky Professional Cycling Team
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Ian Stannard
Serge Pauwels
Nicolas Portal
Ben Swift
Dario Cioni
Kurt-Asle Arvesen
Stephen Cummings
Team HTC - Columbia
Bernhard Eisel
André Greipel
Jan Ghyselinck
Mark Cavendish
Adam Hansen
Matthew Harley Goss
Gert Dockx
Michael Albasini
Team Katusha
Filippo Pozzato
Manuel Quinziato
Nikolay Trusov
Gianpaolo Caruso
Sergey Klimov
Evgueni Petrov
Luca Mazzanti
Maxime Vantomme
Team RadioShack
Tom Leezer
Ben Hermans
Sérgio Paulinho
Bjørn Selander
Geoffroy Lequatre
Matthew Busche
William Grégoire
Andrew Wool
Team Saxo Bank
Fabian Cancellara
Matti Breschel
André Steensen
Chris Anker Sørensen
Juan José Haedo
Laurent Didier
Steven Kruijswijk
Casper Jørgensen
Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team
Frederik Veuchelen
Gorik Gardeyn
Wouter Mol
Matteo Carrara
Joost Van Leijen
Marco Marcato
Peter Wrolich
Alberto Ongarato
After yesterdays win Tom Boonen might be the top favourite.
With some guys missing like Gilbert, Flecha or Chainel, other riders in their squad like Nuyens or Hagen get their chance.
Vansummeren showed a good performance yesterday but had a bit bad luck in the end.
Maaskant and Boom are unfortunately a bit out of form to their first season peak, so they totally concentrate on Paris Roubaix where they are supposed to be in a good form.
The riders must climb the hilly roads twice. Hardest part there is the cobbled Kemmelberg.
Although there were several attacks the peloton crosses the first little cobble section together. 48km/h wind speed and a bit foggy. But at least it`s still dry. But obviously it`s supposed to rain in the afternoon.
A small group attacks and the pack let them go as there are no dangerous riders.
Simoni (Lampre), Gautier (Bbox), Caruso (Katusha), Steensen (Saxobank) and Plaza (Caisse). So Saxobank and Katusha can save more energy and let Quickstep and Liquigas do the pace alone in the peloton.
The group reaches the first cross of the Kemmelberg. It`s very steep and very bad roads. Their advance is 5'30 to the field but this won`t be enough.
Led by Quickstep and Liquigas the pack also crosses it now. They do a high pace there, so we might see some riders fall back.
The split was much bigger than expected. Just 17 riders are in the first group then a 39 rider group.
Luckily we were able to put Vansummeren and his protection Van Der Velde in this group. Maaskant and Boom are just in the 2nd group. But there are also Pozzato, Hagen and Eisel, so Sky is doing the pace now and strangely no one from Katusha is helping.
All other favourites are in the 19 rider group with 5 of Quickstep and Liquigas, 2 Saxobank.
The gap to the chasing group becomes bigger and so the first Kemmelberg obviously decided the race more than expected.
They cross the Kemmelberg again and now also the breakaway is caught.
Will there be another split now?
The split halfs the group.
With 26km to go there are just Willems and Nuyens (LIQ), Boonen, Devolder, Hulsmann (QST), Cancellara, Breschel (SAX), Hoste (OME) and Vansummeren in front, who still feels very good.
Pozzato, Hagen, Avermaet and Wynants are attacking from behind, but probably this comes much too late and so they will just fight for the last top 10`s.
With 4km to the finish Vansummeren attacks. HE knew that he wouldn`t have a chance against Breschel, Cancellara and especially Boonen in a sprint.
The others looked a bit surprised and so nobody followed him. Not even Hoste who should have done the same against all the better sprinters.
Absolutely brilliant. Vansummeren wins Gent Wevelgem again. Boonen and Hoste came too late. Saxobank and Liquigas couldn`t even made it on the podium.
This is another great win for Garmin - Transitions. Hopefully Vansummeren can give us some more wins. Last year this here was the only one although he rode a strong season.
Was glad to win this. Was a bit shocked when just 17 riders came over the first time Kemmelberg, but in the end everything worked perfect.
March 2011:
Dario Cataldo dominating in early March, Boonen in the late classics.
Biggest race in March, Milano San Remo was won by Cancellara in a great way.
For Garmin this month was very successful. Overall in Paris Nice and Criterium International and the win in Gent Wevelgem. Hope we can continue like this in April.
It was a close decision between Gardeyn, Cancellara, Boonen and Cataldo, but in the end the win in MSR was enough for Cancellara who also showed a great performance in Tireeno Adriatico with 2 stage wins.
Y. Nepomnyachsniy, what a name. was a litle bit surprising as he had no podium in March, but obviously the March was dominated by the more experienced riders and so a 13th in the Tour de Langkawi and the U25 ranking there was wnough to get the March award.
That Cancellara dominates End March - April is normal, but Dario cataldo is really impressive.
