Stage 5 of the race, is the most boring day of the tour, and entirely flat profile was in store for the riders, and as a result, for teams such as Youtube-Twitter, without a named sprinter, today would be an uninteresting affair, with the only job to stay in the main group over the line.
The breakaway today was large, and without a threat to the GC, it seemed to have a good chance of victory today, unless the sprinters teams decided to haul them back, which would be difficult with todays profile, and the size of the break.
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The break had a lead of over 9minutes with 60km to go, when Farnese Veni came to the fore, working to bring them back, 6minutes would be enough to take the leaders jersey, and Farnese took the job of reeling them in, with some help from Quickstep and Katusha.
Gent-Wevelgem
The next of the big classics races took the team to Gent, for a 218km route including some hills and cobbles on the path to Wevelgem, the race sometimes allows a late break to claim the victory, though more often than not, it is a sprinter who can place there name at the top of the pile when the days racing is complete. The opener to the Flanders Classics may not have the toughest profile, but it is a sure sign of form, headed to the bigger races later in the year.
The standard group of guys travelled to Gent, though 8 rather than 7 travelled, with Mike Pye joining the squad, hoping for a potential sprint at the death where he may propel his name up the rankings.
As is customary in bicycle racing, a small group attacked right at the start, hoping to make there team mates lives easier, though with small chance of personal success, simply due to the distance of the race.
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The group passed over the first cobbled section of the race quickly and the gap had been opened to 5minutes as they passed entered the Bergs for the first time. As such Eric Chen, the TYT puncheur, attacked the peloton, and closed the gap, joining the front group around 9km later.
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The group were steadily being reeled in, and Eric Chen attacked the front group, he pulled away at first, but as he entered the final 10km of the route, he was joined by race favourites, including Pal and Cavendickx from Team Youtube Twitter, along with- Stijn Devolder, Filippo Pozzato and Thor Hushovd.
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Pozzato seemed to have more than his competitors left in the tank, and pulled rapidly away from the front group, Hushovd was in second 30" back, with Cavendickx and Pal perched on his wheel, Chen, tired from the days efforts had dropped back to the main group, who were out of contention, more than 2minutes back.
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Pozzato never needed to sprint, maintaining his gap to the other favourites, and with arms raised in celebration, Pozzato crossed the line, opening his classics account for the season, following 3rd place to Youtube rider Peter Pal in the Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne, earlier in the month.
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Second place went to the man in the rainbow bands, Thor Hushovd, but 3rd and 4th places were both held by TYT men as they crossed the line, a fantastic achievement for the boys, who are enjoying an incredible start to the teams debut season.
The final stage of the Settimana Coppi El Bartali, is a 2 part criterium event, and sadly, just as I finished the race, my PC crashed, and as a result, we have no screen shots, just some of the final standings, meanwhile i shall try to recreate the day without pictures...
As the riders set up for the final stage, a 176km criterium, there was clearly going to be serious competition, made clear right from the start, with around 15 riders attacking multiple times in attempt to break away, most of the group were kept under control, but eventually 4 did manage to get away and opened a gap of around 2 minutes to the peloton.
The final hill loomed in view, and suddenly a small gap appeared giving a line for a Youtube rider to get away, not a name that has featured much so far in the tour, but one of a pair of friends, who have been extremely successful, ever since joining Youtube-Twitter. The riders name was Alexander Il Cassano, and sure enough, he surged through the gap, maintained a large enough gap back to the peloton down the final descent, and beat the sprinters to the finish.
Not the start that TYT had predicted for today, but none the less, an excellent late attack by the Italian youngster, and finally Youtube had something to take away from the race, in many ways it seems fitting that it be our Italian rider, who was finally able to give the side something to cheer about, in an other wise, fairly unsuccessful tour, considering the hopes we arrived with.
The team have recieved today, some news ragarding British GT leader Gary Sutton, it would appear that Team Radioshack, have decided to target him for the upcoming season, we will fight to try and keep Gary, but they are the second UWT team to declare interest, following Team Sky earlier in the month.
The second of the Flanders Classics, and the next of our teams races, the course profile is much tougher than its earlier counterpart, the Gent-Wevelgem, and features many more cobbled section, totalling around 28km, and featuring some steep, if short climbs as it winds round 254km of cobbles, hills and tight roads, all in the howling wind and rain.
Alex Zhou found himself able to get into the 12 man break of the day, saving the legs of his team mates for later on, and the group of riders were able to claim quite a large gap over the peloton, who were setting a rather lazy pace for teh druation of the first 75km.
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Finally a team did step up to the front, and between them very quickly started to reduce the gap, which had peaked at 9 minutes, Omega-Pharma Lotto were the squad in question, trying to create an opportunity for Philippe Gilbert, there leader, who had unfortunately been taken out of contention by a crash in the Milan-San Remo, and as a result had missed the Gent-Wevelgem due to injury.
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The front group were caught on the cobbles, nearing the end of the stage, with 20km to go, the 78man peloton was the leading group, leaving many to trail behind, out of contention, having come so far. The riders of the front group tried to hold onto the main pack, but most were too tired, and after a small amount of time, were also dropped due to the rapid pace being set up front.
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With just under 10km to go, the Race hopefuls attacked, Cavendickx and Pal were present, but Heinrich Leinstein, was suffering from awful form (-5) and could not keep up with this leading group.
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Initially it seemed like a bunch sprint for this group would decide the victor, until the recent winner of the Gent-Wevelgem put his foot down, and took the race by the bit, he surged out of the group, and opened a gap of just over a minute with 3k to go.
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The sprint would be for second place, and the two Youtube-Twitter riders, Pal and Cavendickx couldn't stay in the top few positions, having to settle for 11th, and 16th respectively.
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There is an air of dominance currently surrounding Katusha and there Leader, almost daring anyone to take them on, and it will be in just a weeks time that Pozzato will mount his challenge in the final race, possibly to repeat the successes of Rik Van Looy, in 1962, the only rider in history to take the Flanders Triple.
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For TYT, today was a moderate success, two finishers in the top 20 is a strong result for any team, especially a side in its debut year in Pro-Cycling, the target for next week, is quite simple, beat our performance here, in the Ronde Van Vlandaaren.
The Paris-Roubaix is the last of the so-called Flanders classics, more commonly known as the Hell of the North, it is an immensely challenging race covering more than 250km, including 45.8km of cobblestone racing, finishing in the famous Roubaix Velodrome, where the winner is crowned champion.
The race favourites for today were as follows-
Tom Boonen- 3 time winner of the prestigious race, his skill on the cobbles, and deadly pace in the final few metres may prove enough to grant him the victory.
Fillippo Pozzato- Currently in fabulous form, Fillipo will be looking to take the 3rd and Final Flanders Victory this season, and propel himself into the record books.
Jey-Cy Cavendickx- Team Youtube Twitter may be a continental tour side, but Jey-Cy has already proved himself at the top level, well placed in the Gent-Wevelgem, and a top 20 placing the Ronde Van Vlandaaren.
Missing again today was Fabian Cancellara of Leopard Trek, the rider is still suffering from the broken hand he sustained whilst riding in the Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne race, earlier this year.
The race kicked off with a surprisingly high pace being set right from the start, and despite the distance still to ride, there were many riders trying to from a breakaway. Key teams involved were the likes of FDJ, along with Saur-Sojasun and AG2R, the French it would seem, were here in force.
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Rabobank and Quickstep came to the fore to give chase, and no break of any size was given more than a minutes advantage, as the riders finished the first 100km, they were still travelling as one large pack.
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When the cobbles arrived, they were met by a new threat, the heavens opened, making the already treacherous ground, slippy under the tyres of the riders attempting to traverse these dangerous obstacles, and many fell. Included in the casualties, was Mark Cavendish, though he was able to continue fortunately.
Alexander Il Cassano, attacked, and was able to break away at this point, making life difficult for other sides, forcing them to chase the lone rider out in front, was this a bid for victory with a daring attack? or just an attempt to aid his leader for later in the race?
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Unhappy with the pace of Il Cassano, the leaders and there protectors came forwards, and over the cobbles the peloton started to thin, with group after group fell of the back, while riders tried to reduce the 7minute lead the Italian was holding over the pack.
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With just 2 cobbled sections left to ride, Il Cassano was caught, by the remaining 19riders, most however were to exhausted to follow, and 2 front groups began to form ahead of the rest, right in front were Devolder and Boonen, attacking earlier, the question was whether they had enough left to hold on. Behind them was a group of 9, including Peter Pal and Jey-Cy Cavendickx, the winner was destined to come from one of these two groups, the rest falling further and further behind.
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The two out in front lead the riders onto the velodrome, and with the lead still at over a minute, they seemed set to contest the finish, they were followed on by the second 9, with Cavendickx protecting Pal for a hopeful dash on the final lap of the Velodrome.
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Sure enough, the two held on, and Boonen, the stronger sprinter was able to force his way past Stijn Devolder in the final lap, to claim his fourth victory in the Hell of the North, now it was a case of who would be joining them on the podium...
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Peter Pal was the strongest in the second group, taking 3rd from his own leadout man, Jey-Cy Cavendickx, thus sealing an excellent 3-4 for Team Youtube Twitter, yet another strong result for the lads, and forcing our way up to 7th place in the team CQ rankings, at this point in the season.
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Boonen it was, who would stop Pozzato from the treble, though in reality, the rider looked far from his best today, barely able to stay with he second group and having to make do in the end, with 8th place. Cancellara will be rueing the chances he has missed in Flanders following his broken hand, and todays race once again showing it's difficulty, with over 50 riders abandoning along the route.
This small Spanish tour, will hopefully provide good training both for Gary Sutton, back and hoping to make a better push this time around, or alternatively, for Debutant and leader for the next 5 days, Jakab Zoltan!
The General Classification will likely be determined during days 3 and 4, with a steep summit finish, then followed up by a hilly time trial on day 4. Team Youtube Twitter will be hoping to dominate the race, and will be strongly represented throughout the race, both with Zhou and Pye in the sprints, and Zoltan and Sutton on the more complex days.
Todays stage will almost certainly end up with a bunch sprint finish, though a small hill just before the 4km mark, may prove a hiccup for some of the sprinting hopefuls.
The race kicked off in the traditional fashion, and after much kicking and screaming, 6 riders eventually managed to escape, Radioshack had taken a firm grip on the race, and fought against an escape, though 6 weaker riders did manage to get a lead of around 3 minutes early on.
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Team Radioshack were unwilling to release the riders from in front, and restricted the break after less than 40km, meaning that at the first KOM sprint of the tour, the two riders contesting the points both broke from the peloton.
As the riders passed the 12km mark, Pye found the wheel of opposition sprinter, Robbie McEwen, hoping to benefit from there control and expected leadout, before hoping to nick the stage win, and start tomorrow as race leader.
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However, the expected leadout never arrived, and both McEwen and Pye started to slip down the field, could it be that neither of the pre-race favourites would be involved in the big sprint?
Alex Zhou didn't think so, he rode back, and collected his sprinter, before driving back towards the front of the peloton, and releasing Pye, who was reasonably positioned, though still with a lot to do, having to launch early due to the distance to the front of the pack.
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Pye was able to surge away from the other front runners, the small hill had prevented any key names from getting to the front, and as a result, Pye was the only well placed sprinter, he was able to pull away from the competition, and take a very high quality stage win thanks to his leadout man, Alex Zhou!
Zhou was able to hold onto 3rd place, and will start tomorrow in the under 25 jersey, a justified reward for his services, sacrificing a potential stage win for his friend, as they pulled towards the line for the finish!
Yet another team appear to be adding themselves to the Gary Sutton race, with the World Tour team, Team Radioshack declaring there interest- Clearly they were impressed with our leader, and have made him there number one recruitment policy.
This is bad news for Youtube-Twitter, it seems more and more likely that we will be starting next season without either Peter Pal, or Gary Sutton, both of whom are expected to star widely this year.
PCM crashed whilst taking photo's but in many ways, this was a good day to lose the images as the race was fairly dull for the most part, before a bunch finish.
It is worth mentioning today, that Mike Pye was not going to be sprinting today, he was suffering a bit pre-race, and was having a gentle today hoping to improve before the race came to completion, (-5 form.) As such, his leadout man, the 22 year old Alex Zhou would be hoping for a strong result today, attempting to show his worth as a sprinter,instead of just the leadout role he is currently being used for?
Robbie McEwen once again tipped as a favourite was boxed in, back in 20th position, and unable to make his presence felt during todays stage, meaning that Alex Zhou, after a perfect leadout, was able to sprint away from the bunch and take his first ever professional victory, since turning 22, and receiving his first ever Pro-contract, from Team Youtube-Twitter!
Mike Pye retains the leaders jersey as the race heads to tomorrows stage, where Zoltan and Sutton hope to shine, and thanks to his 3rd and 1st's, Alex Zhou takes over as leader in the points competition! Great cycling by the young chinese sprinter!
Stage 3, is likely to be decisive this year, and our two key riders, Sutton and Zoltan, will be looking to shine on todays climb, in order to find some form before the Giro D'Italia in the beginning of next month, the race features two climbs, though the 15km grind to the finish line, will likely thin out the race, and possibly confirm the overall winner.
Youtube-Twitter sent a strong side, and they didn't arrive with intent too lose, with most of the best climbers in the CT, and Radioshack without any big name climbers, nothing less than stage victory will be acceptable today, as we set about making ourselves known on a wider scale.
However, those without representation, were unwilling to let such a large group escape, and thanks to work right from the start by Caja Rural, and UHC, the break were brought back to the main group after around 25km.
With the KOM jersey secured, the riders of Youtube-Twitter took control at the front, pushing a high tempo, in order to stop a late attack from another team, ruining our push for the GC, by forcing us to attack too hard, too early, the lads were able to carry the group to the base of the climb, without further breaks being attempted, it seemed that most riders were more interested in surviving the stage than a potential victory, over strong opposition.
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When the final climb began, the Youtube riders continued to push the pace for several kilometres, thinning the front group to just 31.
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With 5km left to the summit, we suffered casualties in our two sprinters, but todays target was to place the leaders as well as possible, and with just under 4km left, Sutton and Zoltan attacked, leaving the trailing group, and trying to gain extra valuable seconds.
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On the line, it was the teams declared leader, Jakab Zoltan who took the victory, and with it the leaders jersey going into tomorrows stage, an excellent ride by the Youtube Duo, after a great setup from the squad who surround them, and in the second group back, Timo Bern was also able to take 3rd place, really showing our dominance in the mountainous stages.
The 5th stage is the only time trial stage of the race, and whilst Sutton and Zoltan would seem to be away, there will be questions regarding Bern's 3rd place, and also the final owner of fourth, as both are weak time triallists, the stage is a 15km hilly time trial, so many riders who do not appear likely contenders, could find themselves higher in the rankings than they might expect.
The first strong TT'er to ride the course, was Rory Sutherland of UHC, he was out of contention for the final classification, but was hoping to take the stage victory, the rider took the lead early on, but his time never looked too threatening, as he is not the strongest of climbers.
Rosselers time was beaten as the top 15 set off, but by an unexpected rider, who found some brilliant form on the day, Dominique Cornu of Topsport-Vlaandaren pipped the previous time by 2 seconds to take top spot, leaving only Sutton and Zoltan, with a chance to claim the stage following such a high paced ride by the Belgian.
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Gary Sutton, actually proved to be a minor disappointment, suffering from some poor form, and tired after yesterdays high placed time, he finished up ten seconds behind the leader, no danger of dropping through the places, but not exactly the result he had hoped for today.
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Jakab Zoltan was the last rider to leave the start hut, adorning the purple leaders jersey following his success yesterday, he set a high pace on the hill at the start of the stage, but couldn't quite pip the time of Belgian Cornu, finishing with an equal time to that of Sebastien Rosseler, 2" from stage victory.
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Tomorrows stage brings the hills in a stage which looks perfectly created for a breakaway victory, the task in hand for Youtube-Twitter will be to monitor breaks, and work to protect the great lead we have on the top of the General Classification.
, but not the best in the ronde. Good luck in Roubaix, i hope survive to the Hell
