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Konica Minolta: "African cycling taking over the world."
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| snoep_de_hond |
Posted on 12-03-2009 19:12
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 310
Joined: 10-03-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling (3,7 and 10 June)
Reading Classic 1.1 (7 June)
Profile
The second race of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling is 144 km long. The race consist out of 8 laps on a 18 km long circuit. Despite a 4 km long climb on the circuit the race is categorized as flat.
Team
Daryl Impey
Chris Froome
Dan Craven
Pieter Seyffert
Rodney Green
Dennis Van Niekerk
Antar Buadis
Benhadj Zahouania
Goals
We must be able to pick up a top 5 spot here with this team.
Tactics
We have a stronger team here then in the Lancaster Classic 1.1 (3 June). Daryl, Chris and Dan have joined the team.
Daryl comes from the Tour de Belgique 2.1 (30 May-3 June) were he showed to be in top shape. With Daryl we have one of the races favorites in our team, he will be our team leader. However Chris and Dan are also in good shape and both of them have a free role for this race.
Race
A large break of 11 riders has gotten away and currently has a lead of 7 minutes with only 65 km to go. Luckily Dan was alert and with him we have a strong rider in the break.
With 25 km to go, at the foot of the penultimate climb, the peleton has only been able to close the gap to 3'30.
At that moment two riders, Jos Van Emden (SAI) and Pieter Vanspeybrouck (TUT), attack the peleton. Chris counters and the three immediately get a gap with the peleton.
18 km later, at the foot of the last climb (with 7 km to go), van Emden, Vanspeybrouck and Chris have reached 4 riders that couldn't keep up with the rest of the break. Chris' group now trails the break, still containing Dan, with 1'23 and has a lead of 47 seconds on the peleton.
Dan is the strongest of the front group and decides, that with 5 km to go, it is time to leave the others behind.
Just over the top, with 3,3 km to go, van Emden and Chris reach the front group. Dan is still in the lead, but doesn't have a big gap.
The peleton is also not far behind, but will definitely come to late.
1 km to go and Dan still has a small gap. It's Matt Cooke (NIC) who tries to close the gap. Can Dan hold him off?
Yes, Dan wins it. None of the chase group could even reach Dan's wheel.
With Chris, who comes in 5th, already cheering for Dan, it's Daryl who wins the bunch sprints and takes 10th place. This is a great result for us. We do not only win the race, but we also have 3 riders in the top 10.
Results
1 Dan Craven TEAM KONICA MINOLTA 3h45'47
2 Matt Cooke NAVIGATORS INSURANCE s.t.
3 Jos Van Emden SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS s.t.
4 Sean Sullivan TOYOTA - UNITED PRO CT s.t.
5 Chris Froome TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
6 Javier González UNE - ORBITEL s.t.
7 Sergio Luis Henao COLOMBIA ES PASIÓN - COLDEPORTES s.t.
8 Michael Ford SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS s.t.
9 Scott Moninger BMC CYCLING TEAM s.t.
10 Daryl Impey TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
11 Marco Bandiera DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
12 Pieter Seyffert TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
13 Andrew Pinfold SYMMETRICS CYCLING TEAM s.t.
14 Chad Hartley BMC CYCLING TEAM s.t.
15 Jackson Stewart BMC CYCLING TEAM s.t.
16 Iván DomÃnguez TOYOTA - UNITED PRO CT s.t.
17 Eric Baumann T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
18 Rony Martias TEAM SLIPSTREAM s.t.
19 Pedro Pablo Pérez HEALTH NET PRESENTED BY MAXXIS s.t.
20 Bobbie Traksel TEAM CSC s.t.
21 Michael Friedman TEAM SLIPSTREAM s.t.
22 Andrew Randell SYMMETRICS CYCLING TEAM s.t.
23 Sebastian Forke T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
24 Hayden Roulston NAVIGATORS INSURANCE s.t.
25 Stephen Wooldridge SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS s.t.
45 Rodney Green TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
52 Antar Buadis TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
59 Benhadj Zahouania TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
80 Dennis Van Niekerk TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
Conclusion
Daryl, Chris and especially Dan show the strength of our team here and all three finish in the top 10. It's Dan who does us and himself a big favor and wins the race after being at the front for the entire race.
This is an important win for the team. It keeps us in the top of the continental rankings. If we're able to get a good result in our last race before our summer vacation, the Philadelphia International Championship 1.HC (10 June), we might even pass Barloworld and take over the lead in the continental rankings. |
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| snoep_de_hond |
Posted on 13-03-2009 02:21
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 310
Joined: 10-03-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling (3,7 and 10 June)
Philadelphia International Championship 1.HC (10 June)
Profile
This the last race of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling. With over 250 km and containing several short but steep climbs, this race is the toughest of the three races.
Team
Daryl Impey
Chris Froome
Dan Craven
Rodney Green
Dennis Van Niekerk
Antar Buadis
Benhadj Zahouania
Mario Ganuchi
Goals
We start here with almost the same team as the Reading Classic 1.1 (7 June) and the rest of the field is also not much different, so we're again expecting at least a top 5 spot from the team.
Tactics
Daryl is again one of the race favorites, however with all the climbs Chris and Dan perhaps have a better chance here. Nonetheless our tactics will pretty much be the same as last race: Daryl is our man for the sprint and Chris and Dan are free to attack or counter when they feel its necessary.
Race
A break of 4 gets away and has build up a lead of 9 minutes when, with 120 km to go, the peleton decides it is time to start to chase them down. We again had one of our riders in the break. Mario Ganuchi saves the rest of our team a lot of work.
30 km to go, the initial 4 breakaway riders are already caught, but Albasini (SAI) and a rider from Navigotars have taken over. However on the slopes of the last climb, they are also about to get caught by the bunch.
Dan and Chris decide this is the time to force something and they both attack the peleton. Adam Hansen (TMO) reacts.
Hansen, Chris and Dan manage to get a gap, but Hansen tries to lose Chris and Dan before they reach the top and puts in another attack. He does surprise our riders, but, with 23 km to go, it was first Dan who manages to reach Hansen's wheel again and Chris isn't far behind.
So when Chris catches up with Hansen and Dan again, the 3 of them manage to build up a gap of 1 minute with the first chase group, only containing about 25 riders. Daryl, who still is feeling strong, was still in this chase group, but it is clear the 3 in front will fight it out for the win.
With 3 km to go Huub Duyn (TSL) starts his sprint early in attempt to pick up 4th place, but Daryl immediately jumps to his wheel.
In the lead group it is two against three, however Hansen proved to be too strong to get rid off. Dan starts the sprint in front. Chris is the least sprinter of the 3 and has to settle for 3th, but can Dan hold of Hansen and take his second win in 4 days?
No, Hansen passes Dan in the last 100m. Saidly Dan and the team has to settle for 2th. It's even more disappointing when Daryl shows we perhaps put our money on the wrong 'horse' as he sprints away from the rest of the chase group and even finishes in the same time as the Hansen.
Results
1 Adam Hansen T-MOBILE TEAM 7h25'56
2 Dan Craven TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
3 Chris Froome TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
4 Daryl Impey TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
5 Huub Duyn TEAM SLIPSTREAM + 35
6 William Ford SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS + 55
7 Burke Swindlehurst TOYOTA - UNITED PRO CT s.t.
8 Ignas Konovalovas T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
9 Thomas Ziegler T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
10 Sylvain Chavanel T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
11 Tomás Gil NAVIGATORS INSURANCE s.t.
12 René Weissinger BMC CYCLING TEAM s.t.
13 Jonathan Patrick McCarty TEAM SLIPSTREAM s.t.
14 Shaun Higgerson SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS s.t.
15 Benjamin Noval UNE - ORBITEL s.t.
16 Giovanny Báez UNE - ORBITEL s.t.
17 Jeff Louder HEALTH NET PRESENTED BY MAXXIS s.t.
18 Michael Albasini SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS s.t.
19 Michael Creed TEAM SLIPSTREAM s.t.
20 Nicki Sörensen TEAM CSC s.t.
21 Edwin Parra COLOMBIA ES PASIÓN - COLDEPORTES s.t.
22 Ryder Hesjedal HEALTH NET PRESENTED BY MAXXIS s.t.
23 Volodymyr Gustov TEAM CSC s.t.
24 Julián Rodas UNE - ORBITEL s.t.
25 Luis Orán Castañeda COLOMBIA ES PASIÓN - COLDEPORTES s.t.
59 Dennis Van Niekerk TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 8'52
71 Benhadj Zahouania TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 16'44
88 Mario Ganuchi TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 20'36
DNF Rodney Green TEAM KONICA MINOLTA
DNF Antar Buadis TEAM KONICA MINOLTA
Conclusion
It is very disappointing we weren't able to win this. Nonetheless we have 3 riders in the top 5 and pick up a lot of points here.
I guess we just need to remember Dan's win in the Reading Classic 1.1 (7 June) and the strength the team has displayed in these last two races.
Edited by snoep_de_hond on 16-06-2009 04:56
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| snoep_de_hond |
Posted on 13-03-2009 02:37
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 310
Joined: 10-03-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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After these two great last weeks, with wins in Belgium and the U.S.A., it's time again to look at the Continental rankings.
This is exactly what we hoped for. We have taken the lead in the continental rankings. Now we can enjoy a well deserved summer vacation and when we start our next race at the end of the next month, the GP Cristal Energie 1.2 (21 July), we'll more then likely still be in with a good chance to get promoted to the ProTour at the end of the season. |
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 13-03-2009 19:12
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7681
Joined: 19-02-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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any chance of a pic of the squad?
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| snoep_de_hond |
Posted on 15-03-2009 04:25
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 310
Joined: 10-03-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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wackojackohighcliffe wrote:
any chance of a pic of the squad?
You mean a screen shot of rider's stats? I'll try to post it tomorrow. |
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 15-03-2009 12:02
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7681
Joined: 19-02-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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thanks
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| snoep_de_hond |
Posted on 16-03-2009 03:23
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 310
Joined: 10-03-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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These are the riders stats on the 11th of June. |
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 16-03-2009 07:49
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7681
Joined: 19-02-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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you're insane if you can do so well with a squad like this
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| snoep_de_hond |
Posted on 16-03-2009 13:42
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 310
Joined: 10-03-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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wackojackohighcliffe wrote:
you're insane if you can do so well with a squad like this
Thanks, but I think the trick is peaking. I pick out a 1, 2, or sometimes 3 riders to get them to peak around 75 training fitness for a (couple of) race(s).
And don't forget that I'm not racing in the ProTour. If you compare the stats to other continental teams, the team it is actually becoming one of the better continental teams. There are a lot of riders in the squad that have high potential and are still under 23 and only in experience level 3. That's why I'm also confident I can survive the ProTour.
And if anybody is wondering I'm still playing on hard and the only thing I've edited is, that I gave the team a wild card for the tour of California (This was one of our goals and I subscribed for it 2 days before we got our first good results of the season and it got denied. I don't know if your place in the continental ranking plays a role in getting a wild card, but I thought it did and of course I wanted to play the race).
Edited by snoep_de_hond on 16-03-2009 13:44
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| olabj |
Posted on 16-03-2009 13:53
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1105
Joined: 17-09-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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your position in the CT hasn`t any effect on CT races. But if the arrangeur dosn`t find you good enough then you`ll be declined |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 13:19
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Bot Agent
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 16-03-2009 20:15
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7681
Joined: 19-02-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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i meant that your results in the PT ardennes classics were phenomenal with such relatively week riders
and the squad is gonna take a huge boost when you complete level 3 xp
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| snoep_de_hond |
Posted on 16-06-2009 03:44
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 310
Joined: 10-03-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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It's now the 20th of July and it has been about 40 days since the team's last race, but it feels like months have gone by. 
We've had an excellent first half of the season. The team succeeded in all our goals:
- Chris Froome finished 3th overall in the Amgen Tour of California 2.HC (18-25 February).
- Abdelkader Belmokhtar came in 2th in the Trofeo Laigueglia 1.1 (20 February).
- Juan van Heerden won Nokere-Koerse 1.1 (21 March).
- Hassen Ben Nasser and Abdelkader Belmokthar finished 4th and 5th in the Tour du Finistere 1.1 (21 April).
- Abdelkader Belmokthar won the KOM-jersey in the Vuelta Ciclista a Asturias 2.1 (3-7 May)
- Rafaâ Chtioui and Daryl Impey both won a stage in the Tour de Belgique 2.1 (30 May-3 June).
- David George won two stages and the overall classification in our home race the Giro del Capo 2.2 (6-11 March).
Other notable results were:
- Erik Hoffman winning the KOM jersey in Paris - Nice PT.1 (11-18 March).
- Hassen Ben Nasser finishing 8th in the Amstel Gold Race PT.2 (22 April).
- Daryl Impey winning Neuseen Classics 1.1 (28 May)
- Dan Craven winning Reading Classic 1.1 (7 June)
- Tiaan Kannemeyer winning 1 stage and the GC in the 3 Jours du Vaucluse 2.2 (2-4 March).
After our last race, Philadelphia International Championship 1.HC (10 June), our team was leading the continental rankings. Let's see were we are now on the 20th of July:
It looks like it going to be an exciting battle for those two promotion spots.
Our goals for the second part of the season are:
- Pick up enough points to finish top 2 in the continental rankings or in other words get promoted to the ProTour.
- Get wild cards for at least 2 ProTour races.
Today we arrived in France for tomorrows GP Cristal Energie 1.2 (21 July). Most of our riders are still on their vacation break. However our teamleader here, Juan van Heerden, hasn't raced since his win in Nokere-Koerse 1.1 (21 March), so it's time for him to get back to racing.
Let's pick this up again. |
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| snoep_de_hond |
Posted on 16-06-2009 05:06
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 310
Joined: 10-03-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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GP Cristal Energie 1.2 (21 July)
Profile
This 174km long course is more or less flat. There are a few very shorts uphill section, but they're more then likely too short to split up the pack.
Team
Juan Van Heerden
Christoff Van Heerden
Travis Allen
Abderraman Nurani
Dion Botha
Jean Robben
Taufik Ben Ali
Goals
No high expectations. It's Juan's first race since 4 months. That doesn't mean he hasn't trained in the meantime. Juan is in good shape and only missing race fitness, so if the race comes down to a mass sprint top 10 or even top 5 might be possible in this field without any ProTour teams.
Tactics
Travis and Chris will try to get in the break. The rest of the team will protect Juan. We'll definitely not be going chase any break.
Race
Travis, who isn't certain jet of a contract for next season, shows himself and manages to pick out the right break. They get 7 minutes before Agritubel starts working for their sprinter Romain Feillu, who is the big favorite here.
7,5 km to go and the peleton catches the break, but 1 rider is missing. It's Yannick Maus (TRS), who jumped away from his breakaway companions. He has build up almost a minutes lead. Will this be enough
4km to the finish and Maus still has over half a minute lead, can he win this? In the peleton Juan has positioned himself in the front of the peleton and is ready for the sprint.
1km to go and Maus is not going to make it. At the left side Feillu is powering past Dawson (SAI), while Juan is still in the wheel of Zhak (PCH).
Can Feillu fulfill his role as favorite and has Juan anything left?
It's indeed Feillu who wins for his home crowd. Juan does better then expected and sprints to 2nd place.
Results
1 Romain Feillu AGRITUBEL 4h14'05
2 Juan Van Heerden TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
3 Michael Morkov TEAM GLS s.t.
4 Andrey Zhak TIME - VAN HEMERT s.t.
5 Zak Dempster SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS s.t.
6 Kasper Jebjerg TEAM DESIGNA KOKKEN s.t.
7 Raúl Turano FONDAS P3TRANSFER TEAM s.t.
8 Cyril Gautier BRETAGNE - ARMOR LUX s.t.
9 Peter Dawson SOUTHAUSTRALIA.COM - AIS s.t.
10 Anuar Manan TIME - VAN HEMERT s.t.
37 Christoff Van Heerden TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
60 Abderraman Nurani TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
61 Travis Allen TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
82 Taufik Ben Ali TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
87 Jean Robben TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
88 Dion Botha TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
Conclusion
It's a bit of a mxed feeling, because it's always disappointing to finish second. However this is Juan first race in months, so we're very happy with his performance. His and our next race will be the Post Danmark Rundt 2.HC (1-6 August). We can expect some heavier competition there with 6 ProTour team at the start. |
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| snoep_de_hond |
Posted on 16-06-2009 05:41
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 310
Joined: 10-03-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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While Alberto Contador wins the Tour de France for the second year in a row, we received a exciting email.
Final GC Tour de France 2008
1 Alberto Contador DISCOVERY CHANNEL 12h53'01
2 Andy Schleck TEAM CSC + 4'22
3 Robert Gesink RABOBANK + 5'09
4 Thomas Dekker RABOBANK + 5'17
5 Vladimir Karpets CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 6'38
6 Levi Leipheimer CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 6'48
7 José Angel Gómez Marchante SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 7'13
8 Yaroslav Popovych RABOBANK + 7'38
9 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 8'30
10 Denis Menchov RABOBANK + 10'24
It's funny to see that the top 4 are all u25 riders. An other youngster, Haussler (GER), has won the green jersey, while an 'oldie', Moncoutie (COF), takes home the polka dot jersey. With 4 riders in the top 10 it's no surprise Rabobank wins the team classification.
Perhaps next year we'll have a team participating in the most famous cycling race in the world.
But back to the mail we received. We've gotten an invitation to the Deutschland-Tour PT.1 (10-18 August)! This is very good news. This will be a change for Juan to test himself against some top sprinters.
Edited by snoep_de_hond on 16-06-2009 05:42
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 16-06-2009 07:43
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7681
Joined: 19-02-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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deutschland tour should be cool and will help you progress towards level 4 xp with some riders
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| snoep_de_hond |
Posted on 16-06-2009 21:15
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Posts: 310
Joined: 10-03-2008
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Post Danmark Rundt 2.HC (1-6 August)
Profile
This is a 6 day stage race that starts with 4 flat stages, then a 11 km long ITT and to finish it off a 186km long hilly stage.
Team
Juan Van Heerden
David George
Abdelbasset Hannachi
Jay Thompson
Travis Allen
Dennis Van Niekerk
Christoff Van Heerden
Dion Botha
Goals
The main goal for the team is to pick up race fitness. Juan, Hanna, Jay, Dennis and Christoff will be going to the the Deutschland-Tour PT.1 (10-18 August) and David is preparing to be in good shape for the Vuelta a Burgos 2.HC (14-18 August).
However this is a 2.HC-race and last week in France Juan showed that he is in good shape, so we're hoping he can come up some top finishes here and earn us some valuable points for the continental rankings.
Tactics
The team will protect Juan and try to get him as fresh as possible to the mass sprint.
Race
STAGE 1
Nothing notable happened during this stage and the break was caught well in time, so let's jump ahead to the mass sprint.
1 km to go and Jochen Summern (ELK) is leading out for his teammate Ljungblad (ELK). Behind him Steegmans (RAB), Juan, Kristoff (TMB) and Morkov (TPH) are side by side. Pollack (UNI) is in Steegmans' wheel. O'grady (CSC) is even further back and looks beaten, however...
In the last km O'Grady powers past everyone and wins the stage in front of Morkov and Steegmans. Juan comes in 5th.
Strong performance from O'Grady even more if you take in to account that he had to do it all by himself, because he is the only CSC rider on the start list.
We already didn't have high GC aspirations and, because of a gap of 36 seconds between the first 20 riders and the rest of the peleton, they have become even lower.
RESULTS
1 Stuart O'Grady TEAM CSC 4h09'42
2 Michael Morkov TEAM GLS s.t.
3 Gert Steegmans RABOBANK s.t.
4 Jonas Ljungblad ELK HAUS - SIMPLON s.t.
5 Juan Van Heerden TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
6 Olaf Pollack UNIBET.COM s.t.
7 Kasper Jebjerg TEAM DESIGNA KOKKEN s.t.
8 Alexander Kristoff TEAM MAXBO BIANCHI s.t.
9 Jochen Summer ELK HAUS - SIMPLON s.t.
10 Nick Ingels PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
60 Abdelbasset Hannachi TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 36
61 David George TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
75 Travis Allen TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 1'41
82 Dennis Van Niekerk TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 5'18
92 Dion Botha TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 10'58
94 Christoff Van Heerden TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
95 Jay Thompson TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
Conclusion
Well 5th is not bad, hopefully Juan can do even better in one of the next days. However with Steegmans, O'Grady, Pollack, Morkov and Ljungblad a stage win might be difficult. A podiumspot on the other hand must be possible. |
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| SportingNonsense |
Posted on 16-06-2009 21:26
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Team Manager
Posts: 33046
Joined: 08-03-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Great to see the updates return! |
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| G_Larsson |
Posted on 16-06-2009 21:29
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Sprinter
Posts: 1779
Joined: 25-03-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Great to see this back 
Team Manager of Team IKEA-Bianchi
[url=(color=#0000ff] Team Info[/url]
Media Room
You'll Never Walk Alone |
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| snoep_de_hond |
Posted on 16-06-2009 22:10
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 310
Joined: 10-03-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Nice to notice the story still is appreciated.
Post Danmark Rundt 2.HC (1-6 August)
STAGE 2 (2 August)
O'Grady leads the GC, but hasn't any teammates. We told our riders to try and get in the break, because if non of the other teams wanted to help O'Grady out a break might have a real chance of success today.
Jay manged to make the breakaway of the day, but unfortunately he had only 1 breakaway companion, Evert Verbist (JAC)
Jay and Verbist got a lead of 10 minutes on the peleton, but when Team GLS (for Morkov) and Rabobank (for Steegmans) joined forces and started chasing, they were already reeled back in 30km before the finish line.
3 km to go and Juan is in a good position in the wheel of Ghyllebert (JAC), but O'Grady, and Steegmans aren't far behind him.
1 km to go and Ghyllebert is in the lead and Juan is trying to pass him on the right side. On the left side it's Steegmans who is coming up fast.
Steegmans is too fast for everyone today and wins comfortably. Juan is the best of the rest and holds off Pollack and O'Grady for second place.
Steegmans is also the new overall leader.
STAGE 2
1 Gert Steegmans RABOBANK 4h37'25
2 Juan Van Heerden TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
3 Olaf Pollack UNIBET.COM s.t.
4 Stuart O'Grady TEAM CSC s.t.
5 Michael Morkov TEAM GLS s.t.
6 Pieter Ghyllebert CHOCOLADE JACQUES - TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN s.t.
7 Nick Ingels PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
8 Clemens Frankhauser ELK HAUS - SIMPLON s.t.
9 Kasper Jebjerg TEAM DESIGNA KOKKEN s.t.
10 Jonas Ljungblad ELK HAUS - SIMPLON s.t.
66 Abdelbasset Hannachi TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
67 Christoff Van Heerden TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
70 Travis Allen TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
76 David George TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
84 Dennis Van Niekerk TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
95 Dion Botha TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 4'32
98 Jay Thompson TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 14'32
GC
1 Gert Steegmans RABOBANK 8h46'33
2 Stuart O'Grady TEAM CSC + 14
3 Michael Morkov TEAM GLS + 18
4 Juan Van Heerden TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 22
5 Olaf Pollack UNIBET.COM + 26
57 Abdelbasset Hannachi TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 1'10
61 David George TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
74 Travis Allen TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 2'15
79 Dennis Van Niekerk TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 5'52
90 Christoff Van Heerden TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 11'28
95 Dion Botha TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 16'04
98 Jay Thompson TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 25'52
Conclusion
Their was no stopping Steegmans today, so were happy with 2nd. After today a stage win from Juan looks possible. Juan still has 2 chances left. |
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| snoep_de_hond |
Posted on 16-06-2009 22:54
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 310
Joined: 10-03-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Post Danmark Rundt 2.HC (1-6 August)
STAGE 3 (3 August)
With 210km today is the longest stage of the race. However with 210km of mostly flat road the Rabobank team has no problem controlling the race, so it's again a mass sprint.
4,5km to go and it's again Kenny de Haes (JAC), who does the best job as lead out man for his sprinter Ghyllebert (JAC). Morkov (TPH) and Juan sit in 3rd and 4th place, while Steegmans (RAB) is in the wrong train.
But Steegmans turns on the turbo again, blasts past everyone and is storming to victory. Behind him Juan and Morkov have to battle it out for 2nd.
That's Steegmans' second stage win of this race. Juan fails to pass Morkov and has to settle for 3rd.
With this win Steegmans extends his overall lead.
STAGE 3
1 Gert Steegmans RABOBANK 4h46'25
2 Michael Morkov TEAM GLS s.t.
3 Juan Van Heerden TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
4 Olaf Pollack UNIBET.COM s.t.
5 Pieter Ghyllebert CHOCOLADE JACQUES - TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN s.t.
6 Alexander Kristoff TEAM MAXBO BIANCHI s.t.
7 Blazej Janiaczyk ACTION - UNIQA s.t.
8 Daniel Foder TEAM DESIGNA KOKKEN s.t.
9 Stuart O'Grady TEAM CSC s.t.
10 Jonas Ljungblad ELK HAUS - SIMPLON s.t.
55 Abdelbasset Hannachi TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
62 David George TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
76 Jay Thompson TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 3'33
86 Christoff Van Heerden TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 7'18
89 Dennis Van Niekerk TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 9'34
90 Dion Botha TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
93 Travis Allen TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 10'54
GC
1 Gert Steegmans RABOBANK 13h32'38
2 Michael Morkov TEAM GLS + 26
3 Juan Van Heerden TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 34
4 Stuart O'Grady TEAM CSC s.t.
5 Olaf Pollack UNIBET.COM + 46
52 Abdelbasset Hannachi TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 1'30
57 David George TEAM KONICA MINOLTA s.t.
82 Travis Allen TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 13'29
88 Dennis Van Niekerk TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 15'44
89 Christoff Van Heerden TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 19'06
94 Dion Botha TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 25'58
96 Jay Thompson TEAM KONICA MINOLTA + 29'45
Conclusion
Their is stiill a chance for Juan tomorrow in the last flat stage of the race, but beating a Steegmans with this from will be difficult.
Edited by snoep_de_hond on 19-06-2009 02:19
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