The Volta Ciclista de Catalunya is a 7-stage World Tour-race in the Spanish region of Catalunya. The race isn't a big favourite among the riders, although the terrain is entertaining, but not that difficult. It is mostly used by riders as the first big preparation for the Ardennes classics, so it's always difficult to predict who's going for the GC, and who's going for the training kilometres.
Last year, Sky's Rigoberto Uran won the Volta, beating 2 Spanish riders, Igor Antón and Carlos Barredo.
The route
The Volta starts with a stage around Lloret de Mar, featuring some nice hills in it, difficult enough to make sure it won't be a mass sprint. Stage 2 from Salt to Banyoles is more easy, and is one of the 3 chances for the sprinters.
The 3rd stage is probably decisive in the GC, as it brings the riders to a mountain top finish in Andorra, at the La Seu d'Urgell. But the climb ain't difficult to create big gaps in the GC. We leave the Pyrenées again in stage 4 towards Ascó, which could be for the sprinters again.
The riders with GC-ambitions have 2 more shots to do so. First in stage 5 towards Cabacés, with a few climbs in the middle part, and secondly in the 6th stage to Barcelona, although the climbs are probably located to far from the finish to shaken up the GC.
The last stage towards Montmeló is pretty flat again, and finishes a week in beautiful Catalunya.
Sony Ericsson
211. N.Keinath
212. W.Clarke
213. S.Hernandez
214. M.Koch
215. G.Mannion
216. R.Quaade
217. S.Radochla
218. M.Reimer
Our team
The favourites *** Igor Antón (Euskaltel), Luis Leon Sánchez (Rabobank), Cadel Evans (BMC). ** Samuel Sánchez (Lampre), Wilco Kelderman, Roman Kreuziger (Astana). * Vincenzo Nibali (Radio Shack), Maxime Monfort (Lotto), Robert Gesink.
Our goal
For sure, Wilco Kelderman is our leader here, and with the 2nd place in the Tirreno in his legs, he's eager to win the GC. He'll have 1 very luxury helper, namely Robert Gesink.
So the goal is the win, but considering the native bonus and riders as Antón and Sánchez and Sánchez, we'll be stoked with a 3rd place.
The first stage of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya starts and finishes in Lloret de Mar. The route enters the countryside with some tough hills in it, with the Alt de Sant Hilari (9.1km at 5.9%, 104km to go) and the Alt de San Grau (5.2km at 6.1%, 35km to go) as the most difficult ones.
104km to go
7 riders form today's BOTD, and as none of them is seen as a threat for the GC considering their climbing abilities, the peloton isn't eager to start a chase.
Jelle Wallays (Lotto) leads the 7 over the first categorized climb, the Alt de Sant Hilari and is followed by Raffaele Ferrara (Androni), Benoit Vaugrenard (FDJ), Marcel Wyss (Red Bull), Aitor Galdos (Caja Rural), Brent Bookwalter (BMC) and Ian Bibby (Qantas). The peloton follows at 3'39.
19km to go
Julien El Fares (Omega Pharma) and Jérémie Galland (Saur) feel that they are about to miss a great chance at a World Tour-stage win, and go in the counter attack. They manage to close the gap to the 7. The pace in the leading group increases, and Bookwalter, Bibby and Wyss get dropped in the ascend of the Alt San Grau.
No team in the peloton wants to chase them, and this time, we can say no when the other teams look at us. So when the last 20 kilometres have started, the leading 5 have a margin if 2'55, what should be save enough to stay out of reach. But in the peloton, several riders try to attack, in an attempt to take some precious time, namely Maxime Monfort and Luis León Sánchez.
8km to goThe leadin group has start to ascend the small climb just before entering Lloret de Mar. Jelle Wallays is the first to attack here. The peloton follows at 3'00, with Monfort and LLS being caught again.
6km to go
Wallays can't get away, and when he gets caught by the other 4, Vaugrenard is the next to attack.
In the peloton Wilco Kelderman does the same thing in the same point of the route, perfectly launched by Robert Gesink.
2km to go
A crash happens in the peloton, when Saxo's Vladimir Karpets misjudges a corner and rides into Bauke Mollema (BMC). The 2 will loose 3'38 today, just as Vincenzo Nibali and José Rujano. Janez Brajkovic and Pierre Rolland will loose even more time, 6'07!
Finish
Benoit Vaugrenard is caught in the descend towards Lloret de Mar and the 5 leaders make up for a sprint for the stage win. Big favourite to win is Caja Rurals Aitor Galdos (Hi 74, Sp 75), but he misjudges his jump and is too late to prevent young Belgian Jelle Wallays from the taking the most important win his short career.
Wilco Kelderman manages to create a little gap and in the descend he made it even bigger. As a result, he finishes in 6th at 1'30, 29 second before the peloton!
Results
1
Jelle Wallays
Lotto - Belisol
3h54'50
2
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
s.t.
3
Julien El Fares
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
4
Jérémie Galland
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
5
Benoît Vaugrenard
FDJ
s.t.
6
Wilco Kelderman
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 1'30
7
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 1'59
8
Michael Albasini
Red Bull - Cervélo
s.t.
9
Vasil Kiryienka
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
10
Roman Kreuziger
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
GC
Thanks to bonus seconds taken inthe Intermediate sprints, not Wallays, but Galdos becomes the leader in the GC!
1
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
3h54'38
2
Jelle Wallays
Lotto - Belisol
+ 2
3
Julien El Fares
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
+ 8
4
Benoît Vaugrenard
FDJ
+ 11
5
Jérémie Galland
Saur - Sojasun
+ 12
6
Wilco Kelderman
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 1'42
7
Ian Bibby
Qantas Airways
+ 2'07
8
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 2'11
9
Michael Albasini
Red Bull - Cervélo
s.t.
10
Vasil Kiryienka
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
Points
1
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
26
2
Jelle Wallays
Lotto - Belisol
25
3
Julien El Fares
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
16
4
Jérémie Galland
Saur - Sojasun
14
5
Benoît Vaugrenard
FDJ
13
KOTM
1
Jelle Wallays
Lotto - Belisol
22
2
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
18
3
Benoît Vaugrenard
FDJ
18
4
Julien El Fares
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
16
5
Raffaele Ferrara
Androni Giocattoli
16
Today's winner ]
Word from the DS
This is one unexpected surprise, a bonus of 29 seconds, that can be vital for the GC-win!
Edited by dienblad on 29-05-2012 18:11
The 2nd stage between Salt and Banyoles is 172 kilometres long, and except for 2 short climbs, almost entirely flat.
Finish
The race is pretty boring. 8 riders form the BOTD, and no team wants to chase them. Caja Rural from GC-leader Aitor Galdos isn't strong enough to do so, what means that the winner of the stage is to be find in the breakaway.
Even in that breakaway, nothing happens untill the sprint. There, Anthony Roux (FDJ) sprints to an easy win, beating Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma) and Martin Reimer (Sony Ericsson). The peloton finishes at 2'15, with Marcel Kittel being the best from our team n 16th place.
Results
1
Anthony Roux
FDJ
4h13'02
2
Zdenek Stybar
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
3
Martin Reimer
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
4
Dominik Nerz
Red Bull - Cervélo
s.t.
5
Richie Porte
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
6
Nelson Oliveira
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
7
Alexei Markov
Katusha Team
s.t.
8
Damiano Caruso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
9
Giacomo Nizzolo
Lampre - Generali
+ 2'15
10
Koldo Fernández
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
...
16
Marcel Kittel
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
GC
No changes.
1
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
8h09'55
2
Jelle Wallays
Lotto - Belisol
+ 2
3
Julien El Fares
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
+ 8
4
Benoît Vaugrenard
FDJ
+ 11
5
Jérémie Galland
Saur - Sojasun
+ 12
6
Wilco Kelderman
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 1'42
7
Ian Bibby
Qantas Airways
+ 2'07
8
Ángel Vicioso
Androni Giocattoli
+ 2'10
9
Jonathan Castroviejo
Saur - Sojasun
+ 2'11
10
Maxime Monfort
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
Points
1
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
27
2
Jelle Wallays
Lotto - Belisol
25
3
Anthony Roux
FDJ
25
4
Zdenek Stybar
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
22
5
Julien El Fares
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
16
KOTM
1
Jelle Wallays
Lotto - Belisol
22
2
Anthony Roux
FDJ
22
3
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
18
4
Benoît Vaugrenard
FDJ
18
5
Julien El Fares
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
16
Today's winner
Word from the DS
Sleepy....... Tomorrow will probably decide the DC, with a mtf.
Stage 3 is the queen's stage in the Volta Catalunya. The riders have to conquer over 3800 height metres in the 173 kilometres between La Vall d'En Bas and La Seu d'Urgell, the Vallnord to be more precise. With the only uphill finish, the Volta will probably decided today.
97km to go
Arriving at the summit of the 2nd climb of the day, the Collada de Toses, Radio Shack's Janez Brajkovic is leading a 6-rider BOTD consisting of Enrico Zen (Androni), Amaël Moinard (BMC), Alessandro Vanotti (Liquigas), Johan Le Bon (Saur) and Tom Jelte Slagter (Rabobank). They have a margin of 9 minutes to the peloton.
16km to go
After the penultimate climb, the margin of the 5 leaders has decreased to 2'20. But with especially Brajkovic still looking pretty fresh, it will be hard to close the gap.
10km to go
But with Astana and Euklatel doing a pace that isn't very high, the gap stays the same in the next kilometres.
4km to go
When the final climb starts, Brajkovic, Slagter and Zen are quickly being the only ones left up front. And the gap to the peloton is 1'44.
2km to go
The pace Brajkovic is riding is too high for Slagter and Zen, and with 2 kilometres to go, he drops them. The first part of the peloton is 1'24 behind Brajkovic, and it looks like he's gonna take the win.
1700m to go
Entering the last 2 kilometres, and being perfectly by Robert Gesink again, Wilco Kelderman attacks out of the peloton. Only Roman Kreuziger is looking to be able to counter.
Finish
Although Kelderman is passing Zen and Slagter, he can't beat the Slovenian rider. But with Janez Brajkovic not being a GC-contender, he does a great job in gaining some time to his GC-opponents.
He finishes in 2nd at 32 seconds. 14 seconds behind finish Antón and Kreuziger.
Results
1
Janez Brajkovic
Radio Shack - Nissan
4h40'01
2
Wilco Kelderman
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 32
3
Enrico Zen
Androni Giocattoli
+ 46
4
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
5
Roman Kreuziger
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
6
Tom Slagter
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 1'00
7
Robert Gesink
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
8
Ángel Madrazo
Movistar Team
+ 1'16
9
Vladimir Karpets
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
10
David Arroyo
Movistar Team
s.t.
GC Kelderman is in the GC-lead, with over 30 seconds!
1
Wilco Kelderman
Monster Energy - Subway
12h52'04
2
Julien El Fares
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
+ 36
3
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
+ 41
4
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 49
5
Roman Kreuziger
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
6
Jérémie Galland
Saur - Sojasun
+ 53
7
Robert Gesink
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 1'03
8
Benoît Vaugrenard
FDJ
+ 1'16
9
Maxime Monfort
Lotto - Belisol
+ 1'19
10
Daniel Moreno
Katusha Team
s.t.
Points
1
Wilco Kelderman
Monster Energy - Subway
30
2
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
27
3
Janez Brajkovic
Radio Shack - Nissan
26
4
Jelle Wallays
Lotto - Belisol
25
5
Anthony Roux
FDJ
25
KOTM
1
Janez Brajkovic
Radio Shack - Nissan
64
2
Enrico Zen
Androni Giocattoli
39
3
Tom Slagter
Rabobank Cycling Team
33
4
Amaël Moinard
BMC Racing Team
31
5
Wilco Kelderman
Monster Energy - Subway
25
Today's winner
Word from the DS
This was a perfect situation for us: Kelderman being strong and gaining time at his opponents to win the GC. Well, his fitness level of 99 (!) helped perfectly. Too bad that Brajkovic won the stage, but man, we're happy with this!
Edited by dienblad on 30-05-2012 19:19
The 4th stage form Oliana to Ascó, is probably the most easiest one in this Volta a Catalunya. The road goes mostly downhill, except one climb in the middle part.
60km to go
9 riders form today's BOTD. And as we don't want to chase them too early, the margin increases to a maximum of 12'30! This makes Stef Clement (GC + 7'37) the virtual leader. Since the other teams really don't want to help us with the chase, the entire team except GC-leader Kelderman has to work in the chase.
Members of the BOTD are Igor Abakoumov (Lotto), Stef Clement (Rabobank), Marcel Fischer (Red Bull), Florian Guillou (Saur), Ben Jacques-Maynes (Garmin), John Murphy (BMC), Richie Porte (Saxo), Juraj Sagan (Liquigas) and Ángel Vicioso (Androni).
Finish
With the lead decreasing, Stef Clement does one desperate attempt to stay in the virtual lead. He attacks with 12km to go, but has no chance against the other 8. In the sprint for the stage win, Ángel Vicioso pretty easily beats Lotto's Igor Abakoumov and Ben Jacques-Maynes (Garmin). The wait starts for the peloton to arrive. Will the gap be bigger or smaller than 7'37?
A big crash happens in that peloton, with Vincenzo Nibali, Pierre Rolland and Janez Brajkovic being the most important vicitims. The peloton finishes at 6'30, with Koldo Fernández being the first one. Marcel Kittel finishes in 18th place.
Results
1
Ángel Vicioso
Androni Giocattoli
4h45'03
2
Igor Abakoumov
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
3
Ben Jacques-Maynes
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
4
Florian Guillou
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
5
Richie Porte
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
6
Marcel Fischer
Red Bull - Cervélo
s.t.
7
John Murphy
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
8
Juraj Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
9
Stef Clement
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
10
Koldo Fernández
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 6'30
...
18
Marcel Kittel
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
GC
1
Wilco Kelderman
Monster Energy - Subway
17h43'37
2
Julien El Fares
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
+ 36
3
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
+ 41
4
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 49
5
Roman Kreuziger
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
6
Jérémie Galland
Saur - Sojasun
+ 53
7
Robert Gesink
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 1'03
8
Stef Clement
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 1'04
9
Benoît Vaugrenard
FDJ
+ 1'16
10
Maxime Monfort
Lotto - Belisol
+ 1'19
Points
1
Wilco Kelderman
Monster Energy - Subway
30
2
Ángel Vicioso
Androni Giocattoli
30
3
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
27
4
Janez Brajkovic
Radio Shack - Nissan
26
5
Jelle Wallays
Lotto - Belisol
25
KOTM
1
Janez Brajkovic
Radio Shack - Nissan
64
2
Enrico Zen
Androni Giocattoli
39
3
Tom Slagter
Rabobank Cycling Team
33
4
Amaël Moinard
BMC Racing Team
31
5
Wilco Kelderman
Monster Energy - Subway
25
Today's winner
Word from the DS
We immediately get punished for having the leaders jersey in our team, as the other teams don't want to help us. Apparantly, trying to trick us, is more important than getting a stage win.... Edited by dienblad on 30-05-2012 19:18
Lucky with the crash....still leading but has Miguel98 says, Monster must be carefull with breakaways....and needs to form an alliance with other teams to work in the pack when chasing breaks down...or self go in breakaways with co-leader or some other important rider...maybe this works..
Really enjoying it Dienblad, keep this going forever
About the break well. 10 teams were represented in the break. There aren't many great sprinters in this field for one team to chase very much I think too. So usually in real life too the leader's team has to do all the work. Best example of that was PN with Sky leading the peleton on queen stage for almost the whole stage with little help. Still you kept the jersey but you have to use your team early to catch the breaks imo. That can be problematic when you have many great riders and don't want to use them much on such stage, but it's necessary sometimes.
Still, loving this Edited by Alakagom on 30-05-2012 20:08
@ baia: The crash had no influence on the race. The Monster-riders were in front of them, and the riders that crashed had lost time already. About being in the breakaway: tried it several times, but somehow no team wants to let a rider of mine to be part of the BOTD. But you know all about that!
@ Alakagom: As I have 3 young riders in the team (Mulder, Bernard, Lootes) I didn't want them to chase to early, considering they would be burned out because of the climb in the route. After that, I chased with all but Gesink and Kittel (okay, them in the last 20km), untill I saw that the time gap was save.
But I know, I have to be careful in the next stages.
