Our next race was in Italy, the Tre Valli Varesine. We had a strong team, relying on our all round power rather then on a songle leader, but Jorge Cristobal Riquelme had the best shot of winning. We rode a good race, but only got 4th by Jorge, while Robert, Tom-Jelte, Paul and Stef al finished in the points. To make thing ever worse, the race organisation didn't know the difference between China and Chili, meaning Jorge had to ride with the wrong jersey.
Meanwhile in Burgos, our young talent Moreno Hofland showed himself in the break on stage 1, claiming all the intermediate sprints.
Unfortunately his job was to be our main sprinter, as the stage went to John Degenkolb. We don't mind our competition grabbing a win, but their tactics to block Bauke Mollema on stage 2 were outrageous. Bauke was lucky not to crash, but could only manage 8th position.
Still, we look ok for the GC. But we could really use another win, as we haven't won anything yet this season part. We would really like to hold on to our third position in the rankings, but with big teams like Omega Pharma - Quick Step and BMC chasing us, it will be very hard.
The day after the time trial, we had another relatively flat stage. Our hope was to get in the breakaway, but since that failed, we had to rely on Jorge Cristobal Riquelme for the sprint. He did an excellent job, defeating many top sprinters and finishing third behind Ciolek and Davis.
Then came a stage very much to our liking. A few bumps towards the end to sap the energy of the real sprinters. Jorge did his best and came close, but we had the same problem as yesterday: Gerald Ciolek. The German won his second stage, but the margin by which we lost is very frustrating.
Only a few centimetres seperated us from achieving our first goal this season part. We got second in the opening team time trial, losing by a few seconds. Now we have two podiums in the sprint, third and second. We've been really close to that much needed win, but it wasn't meant to be just yet. With only a few stages to our liking left, this may be another lost goal, but we won't give up until we hit Madrid!
Another very busy month for us, as we have a bunch of classics simultaneous with the Vuelta. We start of in Germany with the Vattenfall Classic, where Willem Brouwer will lead the team. Wimpie will be very busy this season part, as all the other upcoming races really favour a sprinter with puncheur abilities. He will also lead the team in GP Plouay, the race he might like best. Paris-Bruxelles and the GP Fourmies are two flatter races, so it will be hard if one of the top sprinters shows up, though with Hofland and Bos as leadouts, we still expect a good result. Next up are the Canadian Classics in Quebec and Montreal, where we have a strong team including Slagter, Nordhaug, Martens and Vanmarcke, with Brouwer again in a finishing role. Finaly we have the GP Wallonie, and as the Vuelta is over, Jorge Cristobal Riquelme will lead the team.
Desperate for the stage win, Luis Leon Sanchez takes care of most if not all of the Belkin action in the Spanish mountains. Always on the attack, he grabs a bunch of mountain points as well.
Unfortunately he tends to give it a bit too much in the breakaway, and other take advantage of his work to get in the break. Bouet takes the stage.
Here he goes again, trying hard to get in the break two days later. Again he picks up some mountain points, but not enough yet to be a threath.
Another attack to lose his compagnions on the descent, but again he was not the strongest today. Victory went to Tiralongo.
But it's a good thing he keeps trying, the same cannot be said from Laurens Ten Dam, who cannot even hold on to a top 20 classification. After he already failed us at the Tour, we are open to offers from teams who could use this passive climber.
In the mean time we have a stage coming up today that might suit Jorge Christobal Riquelme, let's hope he can get us that stage win, as the rest of the Vuelta doesn't seem that fit for us.
We've had our share of 2nd places in the past, but it's really getting out of hand recently. In the GP, we had Nordhaug in the break, trying to find redemption for his Giro failures earlier this season.
In a parallel universe, Nordhaug might have been able to hold on and sprint for the win, but today will be a mass sprint. We got a good leadout from Paul Martens, but Willem Brouwer opened too soon and got overtaken by Kristoff. Too bad, a win here could've helped securing our third place in the rankings.
In the GP Fourmies, we decided not to go for a break, but rather to control the race. And control we did.
Then we set up our strong sprint train for Willem Brouwer, with Theo Bos as leadout, he can relax a bit, but a late attack by Eisel messed up our plans and Willem may have gone a tad too early again, considering Greipel is on his wheel.
And indeed, on the line it's another second place for us. Getting beaten by Greipel in a sprint isn't a disgrace, but more was definitely possible here. Wimpie hasn't checked in for training in a while, and you can see it's starting to influence his results, as he doesn't seem to find the right timing anymore.
Ollfardh wrote:
... Getting beaten by Greipel in a sprint isn't a disgrace, but more was definitely possible here. Wimpie hasn't checked in for training in a while, and you can see it's starting to influence his results, as he doesn't ...
With all the second places, we almost forgot our Vuelta disappointment. As a reminder, Renshaw was invisible, Ten Dam was climbing as well as Robbie McEwen once did, Sanchez was trying and failing, and Jorge Cristobal Riquelme was inches away from a stage win. We had a few other guys who were doing pretty much nothing, one of them was Stef Clement, who decided it was his turn to go in the break.
And he was clearly the strongest in the leading group. He accelerated and no one could keep up with him. The peloton got close, but they were too late. Great work from Stef to accomplish our goal of a stage win. He chose his stage carefully, and added a fantastic victory to our list.
After narrowly missing the top 10 in the Giro and Tour, this was out last chance to show ourselves in a Grand Tour. Yet most importantly, we wanted a stage win. Overal, our team looked solid, though we lacked a true superstar. Yet with Renshaw and Cristobal Riquelme in the sprints, some strong time trialers and Sanchez and Ten Dam in the mountains, a lot was possible. Let's review this race
Team rating
Jack Bobridge- 7
A good team time trial where we finished second, after which he became invisible Lars Boom - 6
Strong in the opening time trial, but one breakaway isn't enough for him. Stef Clement - 9
A very strong opening team time trial, present in the mountains, and finaly a stage win. Excellent work, Stef! Jorge Cristobal Riquelme - 8
He came really close a few time, but his lack of training made the difference between a stage win and a podium. Juan Manuel Garate - 5
He did his job, but as it was his home race, we expected slightly more. Will probably leave the team. Marc Goos - 6
Also did what was expected of him, but we would've liked to see a little bit more Mark Renshaw - 3
Completely invisible, no points, a shame for the team. Most likely leaving as well. Luis Leon Sanchez - 8
An excellent attacking spirit, but limited results. Still a good amount of points for us. Laurens Ten Dam - 1
He earned that one point for trying something on the Angliru, but he was far below expectations. Definitely traded out this winter.
General rating
Best rider: Oreste Ghita
While Froome and Valverde were good, they were never great. Oreste Ghita finished 10th and won the youth jersey in his first (and probably only) year. A true epic performance! Biggest surprise: Mitchell Birt
A lot of people never heard of him, but you'll know him now, Two great stage wins before crashing out. Definitely a rider we need to keep an eye on in the World Tour next year. Greatest disappointment: Joaquim Rodriguez
It's not that he was riding a bad race, but blowing yourself up in the penultimate stage, well. He tried the impossible, but he failed and it cost him everything. Best team: NetApp - Endura
Again Sky would be the obvious choice, but if you look at what the this German Continental Tour team pulled off, that's just amazing. Two stage wins and a 6th place despite a horrible first week. Most surprising team: Astana
With Nibali not starting and lacking a sprinter, you don't expect them to do much. But with 4 stage wins in 6 days the last week, they scored a great amount of points. Most disappointing team: Lampre - Merida
We all know they were in trouble with the racedays limit, but the team they sent here was unworthy of a Grand Tour. Only a few breakaway results and a poor 42th spot in the final GC.
Edited by Ollfardh on 21-10-2014 15:50
Good news and bad news on the same day, so mixed feeling while writing the latest blog entry of our team. In the Brussels Cycling Classic, previously known as Paris-Bruxelles, we had a great position for the sprint, with Brouwer and Bos glued to Hanzen's wheel.
But instead of making a great sprint train, we waited too long. Hanzen got a victory over us, and with Brouwers lack of training recently, we can't be too happy with this. Yet with a 3rd from Brouwer and a 5th from Bos, we easily accomplished our goal.
The really bad news came from Canada, the GP de Quebec. We were the only team that scored points in every race for half the season already. We never failed to deliver anywhere, but it all ended here, so close to the end of the season. It was something that gave us pride, that despite the absence of a true superstar, our team efforts always gave us points. Today it ended with Paul Martens finishing 22th, 2 places outside of the points. Lars Petter Nordhaug finished 23th and Brouwer came in 28th, again far below our expectations.
No wins, but a very good result by our July Rider of the Month,
Wilco Kelderman
For his great Osterreich Rundfhart, beaten only by the suspicious Christian De Vries! Runner up is Jorge Cristobal Riquelme, for his great work in the Clasica San Sebastian, while Luis Leon Sanchez gets 3rd for the same reasons!
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
We have the "Valverde" Team here...
