While I was busy in the Basque country, our cobbled squad used the Scheldeprijs to prepare for Paris – Roubaix.
The Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen is usually one for the sprinters, but this year's edition features some tricky cobblestone sections towards the end, so the classic riders might get their chances as well.
After strong fields and popular winners like Mark Cavendish or Alessandro Petacchi, the concurrence this year is remarkably weak. With Liquigas being the only ProTour team, the top favorite is Staf Scheirlickx (Verandas), but Paolo Longo Borghini might get his chances, too.
The first interesting attack was made with about 20km to go. Favorite Staf Scheirlickx was followed by Tom Veeler (Skil). We kept calm and hoped for the strong Landbouwkredit team.
That group split, and Bert De Waele was able to catch up to Traksel. He outsprinted his teammate for the podium, while Staf Scheirlinckx easily took the win. Longo Borghini comes in sixth, Oss finishes 10th, a good day for Liquigas.
Already the third win in a successful season for the Belgian.
Fabian Cancellara: With third places at Milano – San Remo and Gent – Wevelgem, he proved a good form lately. Although he disappointed a little in Flandres, he is the top favorite!
Tom Boonen: On the paper, he is the second best cobblestone rider. He won the Driedaagse de Panne, but also finishes only fifth in De Ronde. When it comes down to a group sprint, he will be the main favorite.
Thor Hushovd: The world champion already celebrated a major win in Milano – San Remo. After a good performance during the Driedaagse, he wants to do better than his sixth at De Ronde.
Fillippo Pozzato: He showed great results, winning Gent – Wevelgem, and finishing third last week. But he has to have special day to repeat that.
Stijn Devolder: His win at De Ronde was a huge surprise. A repetition is very unlikely, but a Top 10, maybe even a Top 5, should be in reach
Juan Antonio Flecha: Usually one of the best cobblestone riders, the Spaniard has had a bad season so far. The only notable result was his eigth place at Paris – Roubaix last week, so he's kind of a surprise bag.
Other notable riders: Heinrich Haussler, Alessandro Ballan, Sylvain Chavanel, Matti Breschel, Nick Nuyens
Team Liquigas
Our team is again built around Paolo Longo Borghini. We are aware of the fact that he has no chances for a good result, he aims for a Top 30.
Km 120: While the first riders have some trouble with punctures and crashes, the pack lengthens under the efforts of Leopard and Garmin.
Km 127:Sebastian Langeveld has a puncture. A heavy blow for Rabobank.
Km 162: The pack is decreasing now. Only 43 riders enter the last 100km together.
Km 174:Stijn Devolder, winner of De Ronde is on the ground. That is a pity!
Km 181: The pack slowed down a little, and a couple of groups were able to reconnect.
Km 189: Fabian Cancellara crashed, too. Luckily for him, he is able to recontact with the peloton soon again, as well as Devolder did by now.
Km 205: Marcus Burghardt (BMC) attacks!
Km 211: He has a small advance of half a minute, but isn't likely to succeed.
Km 229: Burghard's small adventure is over, and now Stijn Devolder attacks. He obviously recovered from his accident earlier. Ballan, Pozzato and Breschel follow.
Km 240: Those four establishe a lead of 1'30. Will we see another surprise win today?
Km 241: The world champion reacts. Hushovd follows another attack by Hincapie (BMC) and Sylvain Chavanel.
Km 243: Some other riders attack from the favorite's group, among them Cancellara, Boonen and Haussler.
Km 247: There's movement in the front group: Pozzato attacks, Breschel can't follow anymore.
Km 250: With 19km to go, Pozzato is in the lead. He's followed by nine men around Cancellara and Haussler.
Km 253: As Pozzato's advance grows over a minute, Hushovd attacks and tries to follow him alone. Cancellara, Boonen and Devolder counter.
Km 257: Boonen and Cancellara bridge the gap to Pozzato, the world champion and Devolder follow a little behind.
Km 259: Only 10 km left. ProTour leader Heinrich Haussler managed to catch up with the leaders. Pozzato has problems to follow.
Km 261: Boonen had no interest in holding the pace high, so a couple of other rider contacted again with the front group.
Km 265: Seven riders enter the velodrome together to fight for the win here. Those are: Sylvain Chavanel, Tom Boonen, Heinrich Haussler, Thor Hushovd, Alessandro Ballan, Fillipo Pozzato and Fabian Cancellara. Many good sprinters, that could be an interesting finish!
Km 267: The sprint begins and the Garmin sprinters shoot away like rockets!
Km 268: On the straight, Tom Boonen tries to fight back. He is the only rider who could spoil the Garmin triumph!
Km 269: The Belgian takes it! Obviously, Garmin went for it too early.
Tom Boonen takes his fourth victory in the velodrome of Roubaix!
The Vuelta a Castilla y Leon is often used as a preparation race for the Giro d'Italia. Therefore, some strong riders were there. Vincenzo Nibali had to challenge Samuel Sanchez and Andy Schleck.
The first stage was characterized by strong winds, which caused the peloton to split and a lot of riders were very tired in the end. Thanks to a great lead out, Daniel Oss could grab the win in front of Samuel Sanchez. Alan Marangoni with his first notable result of this season.
The time trial showed that Nibali wasn't in good shape yet. He lost almost 2 minutes to winner Levi Leipheimer. Samuel Sanchez and Andy Schleck on two and three showed good performances.
Andy Schleck overtook the leader's jersey on stage 3, where he took the win after a late attack. Nibali got seventh.
Schleck underlined his supremacy with another stage win. Nibali came in fourth, but remained overall eigth.
On the last stage, Assan Bazayev got himself the stage win. Mauro Finetto finished a good fifth.
All in all a mediocre tour for us. We surely expected more than an eigth overall, but the stage win is a nice thing for Daniel Oss.
The first one of the three Ardennes classics leads the riders over 250 hilly kilometres from Maastricht to Valkenburg, where it ends with the short but steep climb up to the Cauberg!
The top favorite is last year's winner Philippe Gilbert, who is supported by a good team. But the power density is very high, and lots of other riders hope for good positions, most notable are Damiano Cunego, who already won this race in 2008, Alexandre Vinokourov and Fränk Schleck.
Liquigas' captain is Peter Sagan. He would usually only have outside chances, and in addition, he's not yet in a good shape. So we don't expect too much.
The first interesting attacks began with about 30km to go. Alexandre Vinokourov tried his luck and got away. As his advance grew to more than a minute, Philippe Gilbert decided to go after him.
Over the Keutenberg, the penultimate hill, they got an advance of one minute to their chasers, a rather large group containing all other favorites. It seemed like they would fight for the win among themselves.
But with a strong attack, Damiano Cunego broke free from the second group, and really managed to catch up with the leading duo. Those three saved a minute to the final climb.
And despite his former efforts, the Italian turned out to be the freshest and decided the sprint for himself.
The second win for Damiano Cunego at the Amstel Gold Race!
Also, there is again a lot of transfer rumour recently. Euskaltel stands to lose one of his two stage racing captains: Both Astana and RadioShack are keen on signing Igor Anton! Meanwhile, Damiano Cunego is linked to Quick·Step, but I heard that our administration also has an eye on him. Maybe as a reaction to that possible loss, Lampre is interested in signing Leopard's sprinter Daniele Bennati. But Garmin let it be known that they want him as well.
I have to say that I'm quite happy that my contract lasts still a couple of time, and that I don't have to cope with all that negotiation stuff. At the moment, all my concentration is for the preparation for my next races.
The Ardennais week continues. The peloton traveled to Belgium for La Fleche Wallonne. The race is shorter than the Amstel Gold Race, and there are fewer hills as well, but those hills are a little longer instead. The culmination is the Mur de Huy, which features gradients up to 27%.
Last year's winner Cadel Evans is here to defend his win, but he's challenged by a strong field. The most dangerous riders for him will be those three who stood on the podium at the Amstel Gold Race: Damiano Cunego, Philippe Gilbert and Alexandre Vinokourov. But also guys like Fränk Schleck or Joaquim Rodriguez hope for a good place.
No favorite made a move until the penultimate hill, the Cote de Ahin, where Damiano Cunego attacked! Vinokourov, Gilbert and a couple of minor favorites countered.
Shortly before the Mur de Huy, Ryder Hesjedal and Alexandr Kolobnev maintained a small gap in front of the group of Gilbert, Cunego, Vinokourov and Pineau. Sandy Casar, Enrico Gasparotto and Rigoberto Uran follow a little behind. No other rider could intervene anymore.
The sprint began and Kolobnev was in the lead. But Vinokourov and Gilbert came closer very fast. Soon, it became clear that Gilbert is the strongest today. Behind him, the other three fight for the podium.
Eventually, Russian champion Kolobnev was able to keep himself in front of his chasers and got second. Vinokourov completed the podium again being third.
The only Ardennais classic that was still missing in his palmares: Philippe Gilbert conquers La Fleche Wallonne.
I noticed that there are few comments recently. That's probably because Dominik has no races at the moment, but if there's something else, just say it
It may be the reason But I can only speak for myself and tell you, that it's not (!) my reason to not comment that often atm! I really like your story, especially the whole lay-out. Keep it going like this and a few weeks after the "PCM11-is-released-time", you'll get more comments again
I noticed that there are few comments recently. That's probably because Dominik has no races at the moment, but if there's something else, just say it
really like your whole story.... but i m waiting for dominiks next race too he has quite a long brake at the moment
maybe he has a nice chance in a break in the Tour de Slovenie
Thank you all, I really appreciate the comments. Glad you like the story and his participation in the Tour de Slovenie. Basso has some other strong helpers on his side (as it's the TdF squad, so I guess, Dominik will get his chance
With a time trial, two mountain top finishes and a flat stage, the Giro del Trentino serves as a perfect preparation for the Giro d'Italia. After the Vuelta a Castilly y Leon last week, Vincenzo Nibali faced a weaker concurrence in his home country. The only possible threat was Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone).
The time was a little surprisingly won by Giovanni Visconti (Farnese Vini), two seconds in front of Dominique Cornu (Topsport Vlaanderen). Nibali came in third, 13 seconds in front of his biggest rival, Stefano Garzelli.
The second stage became an easy one for Nibali. First, Eros Capecchi destroyed the field, then Nibali attacked, and no one was able to follow. Garzelli on two lost more than 2'30!
The third stage was won from a breakaway. Luckily, it was our breakaway. Paolo Longo Borghini was solo in front for the whole stage, and eventually saved 45 seconds on his chaser, Elia Favilli.
Longo Borghini celebrates his third win this season.
The GC was decided, but nevertheless, Vincenzo Nibali attacked again on stage four. It wasn't as clear as on stage two, but he won the stage without too much trouble.
Really nice story,i like the idea very much, good luck for Nibbles in the Giro and of course for Dominik in June then
There is only one thing i miss in the last reports, and that is Sagans results form the Ardennes (they were not probably great,but Dominik should mention his team-mate placement)
But maybe this challenge will let him progress even more. 
