May 8th: 5 Jours de Dunkerque
Stage 4: Noeux les Mines - Parc d'Olhain, 195.2 kms
Today's stage is arguably the toughest one, and very probably will decide the race. Seven ascents shall be climbed, the last one being Col du Rosier, and the last 8 kilometers are downhill. This would be the crucial stage for Kangert's mountain jersey, but we've changed our plans: the Estonian will stay in the peloton trying to hold his nice GC position (4th). Bonnet (1st) and Walker (3rd) ain't good climbers and probably won't finish with the first group. Mondory (4th), though, is better in hills, almost as good as Kangert, and should be a problem. There is even a chance we get Kangert in pink jersey by the end of the day, but that would require a podium position so that a +40" rider who wins the stage don't pass him.
The early breakaway was formed by 11 riders. The most surprising name was Longo Borghini, who tries to get something in the race after his GC hopes were lost with yesterday's crash, where he lost more than three minutes and a half. ISD also sent Mancuso on the break to help him. Representing Seara/Vivo was Jorge Giacinti, who is there looking to give Kangert support later on the day.
Giacinti was feeling very well in the first mountain, so we decided he could have a shot in the KOM competition after the decision of Kangert going for GC. He successfully gets max 5 points on the first categorized climb.
The same scene repeats on the next two KOM climbs, so he already has 15 points and is trailing the leaders by only 1 point.
A split happened in the non-categorized climb before the next KOM one, with 3 riders dropping off the break. The peloton was close by the time we started the King of the Mountains climb. Fearing being caught, Camaño and Mourey attacked. Giacinti attacked later, but couldn't catch them in time, so he only got 2 points. It was already enough to take virtual lead, though, with 17 points.
The three were caught by the peloton right on the next KOM sprint, with Giacinti still able to collect more 6 points. He had now 23 and very probably had secured his jersey!
Kangert suffered a lot in this small climb, and we feared that on the Col du Rosier, the last climb,8 km long, he could get into real problems. The group was down to 46 riders, with Bonnet and Walker nowhere to be seen. Mondory was still in the group, though, but we hoped he would drop on the last climb.
The riders enter Col du Rosier. Already in the beggining of the climb, Christophe Kern with a serious acceleration! Tonti and Soler tried to join him.
Their attempt failed, though, and with 5 km to the top, the big group was already in the lead again. Kangert still had Nazaret to help him now, and our Estonian was performing much better on this climb than on the last one.
As the kilometers passes, no more attacks are tried. Near the top of Rosier, we have good news: Lloyd Mondory is suffering a lot and is sliding to the back of the group! He has a bit more than a kilometer of climbing, will he lose contact with the group that was now down to only 30 riders?
Unfortunately, no. Although for several times he looked like to have dropped, especially on the beginning of the descent, the points-jersey wearer was able to recover on the descent and keep with the group. Pretty bad.
Some riders, like Constantino Zaballa, tried a last moment attack on the downhill. Fortunately for us, the peloton was very alert and didn't let them have success.
It wasn't the perfect stage, but still a very good stage! Kangert gets a Top 5, which makes now 3 podiums and one Top 5 in four days, and now moves up to 3rd in GC. Nazaret also enters Top 10 on GC, but its not yet secured as a lot of riders have the same time as him. Jorge Giacinti has success in his mountain task, getting another jersey for our team in this great race and Kangert/ Nazaret get the double on the Young classement! What a brilliant race for us. By the way, the perfect stage would see Mondory dropping and Kangert getting a podium so he would lead the race. It was surely impossible not to think that in the beginning of the stage with all the great results in France
Thanks for all the comments, this is really been a great race
May 9th: 5 Jours de Dunkerque
Stage 5: Boulogne sur Mer - Boulogne sur Mer, 99.8 kms
To conclude the amazing race this has been so far, a flat and short stage. We already have two podiums with Nicholas Walker in France, and surely expect a nice result of today's stage. We would be very satisfied with a Top 10, but considering his current form and recent results, we sure will be looking for something more, looking for a great finish to the race.
It's a beautiful sunny day as the riders begin today's stage.
And here are our jersey wearers of the race: Giacinti in his polka dot jersey and Kangert in his young rider jersey.
Did I say anything about an easy day? If yes, I was totally wrong. Since the beginning, the riders faced a very tough enemy: the wind. Very high values were registered today, and it only took a few kilometers on road for the peloton to get completely stretched out.
Seven brave riders decided to face the wind by themselves and formed today's early break. Francisco Chamorro was among them for us, even though the stage is probably too short for a breakaway.
But soonly the wind factor turned against us: some kilometers later, another split happened in the front group, with 14 riders on front and 40 left behind. Among these 40 were all Seara/Vivo riders, and some other important ones, such as leader Lloyd Mondory. And I though it was gonna be an easy, calm day.
*didn't take screenshot, sorry*
AG2R worked to put their leader in front, so the two front groups eventually had contact again. It only lasted for a few meters, though: enough for Mondory to put himself in the head of the peloton, and not enough for any of our riders to move up. Meanwhile, the break was caught quite early, with 22 km left.
I've no idea how, but no. Lloyd Mondory didn't even need an lead out to pass them both together with Kenny Van Hummel in the last kilometers and celebrate his second win of the race! What a brilliant finish for this man's race. The four riders had a gap to the others, but the judges didn't think it was enough to be considered.
Tanel Kangert was trying to pull Walker in the last kilometers. The Aussie couldn't follow Kangert. In the end, our Estonian bridged the gap to the front group and got just short of a Top 10, with a 13th. Walker in the end didn't even sprint and finished 40th, unable to re-enter the Top 3 on Points classement.
Very confusing stage, with riders everywhere. In the end, Walker couldn't get himself in the front group to try another nice position in the sprint. This was the bad part about the wind. The good part is that some good GC riders got caught by it, so Nazaret goes from 9th to 7th in GC. William Bonnet was again nowhere to be seen; the Bbox rider finished 33rd. Mondory proved to be the most consistent on the flat stages with his second victory today.
Team Goals:
- 1 out of 3 Top 10 (Walker);
- Mountain jersey (Kangert)
Expectation
Outcome result
Rider
1 out 3 Top 10
4 out 5 Top 10 (3 podiums)
Kangert, Walker
KOM Competition win
KOM Competition win
Giacinti
-
3rd Overall Clasification
Kangert
-
7th Overall Clasification
Nazaret
-
1st, 2nd Young Rider
Kangert, Nazaret
Well.. it says it all. Three consecutive podiums, one Top 5 (stages). 3rd and 7th in GC, 2 jerseys... what an awesome amazing race for us. Our list of achievements before this was very short: one podium in a stage, a points jersey here, a mountain jersey there. After the race, add the above results. A bit better, huh? Without a doubt our best race of the year so far, and in a very good moment. Sponsors are very happy with this results
For GC, we talked about the climbers. Also about the cobblestoners. Or the climbers with good cobble stats. Nah. The winner is Lloyd Mondory, a sprinter. He passed the cobbles stage, collected a few bonus seconds here, a few more there, and survived the hills on stage 4. With 2 stage wins, he proved to be, if not the strongest rider of the race, one of them. The beginning of the race was dominated by William Bonnet, and it looked like he would have an easy time in the points classification. But the Bbox rider disappeared on the easy flat stages without scoring a single point. Also, this was a race with only 3 stage winners for 5 stages. Quite unusual.
Our next race will be the Amgen Tour of California. It will be both a preparation race for late month goals but also an important race. We have no written goal for it, but our squad will have our strongest riders in top of their game. Of course, the expected startlist should be very strong, but nevertheless, we want to show ourselves to the rest of the cycling world. That could be a very good race for it. Let's hope we bring to America the good results we are having in France, so stay tuned!!
Arguably our highest level race so far, the Amgen Tour of California brings as often the biggest stars on the cycling world. Although created in 2006 and having only 4 editions so far, the race has already gone up to 2.HC classification, being the highest rated race in USA together with Tour de Georgia and Tour of Missouri. Between those three, the AToC, as it's often called for short, is the biggest one.
The race used to occur in mid February, but this year the organizers decided to change it to mid May, in the same time as the Giro di Italia. By changing this, the organizers look for making the race a preparatory event for the Tour de France. Floyd Landis won the race in the debut year of the race while Levi Leipheimer took home the jersey for the last three years. The American also holds the record for stage wins, with 6. Will we see him shine again in 2010?
The 8-stage race kicks off in Nevada City with an easy flat stage, which together with stage 5 should be the biggest chance for the sprinters. Stage 2 and 4 offers some small climbings, but probably not enough for any significant GC change. Stage 3 also has almost 30 km of descent and flat from the last climb to the finish, so also tough for a rider to get the glory alone. The GC should be decided on stages 6 and 7, featuring the Big Bear climb and the Los Angeles ITT. Last stage features a circuit that includes 4 climbs on the Mulholland Highway, but the GC should be pretty much decided by then.
- Mountain jersey (Kangert);
- 1 stage Top 15 (Walker).
We actually didn't get the last numbers, so I'm already happy. I mean, we got the last register numbers on 5 Jours de Dunkerque but not on Amgen Tour of California. Probably thanks to British/American small teams taking part here. Anyway, our goal will be to be on top of the podium for the King of the Mountains competition after the last day. Tanel Kangert is our man for that, and will count with the suport of VÃtor and Nazaret on the climbings. Hopefully with the great form he is in plus the motivation we bring from Europe we can get this one. Yesterday (March 1st) was my birthday too, hope the riders give me a small present in PCM
May 16th: Amgen Tour of California
Stage 1: Nevada City - Sacramento, 169.3 kms
Our first stage takes us to Sacramento where we'll probably see a mass sprint finish. Today is one of the 2 days where we will have biggest chances of completing the Top 15 goal. Walker form decreased a bit on the last few days due to no races, but luckily he can do well here.
Here is the 2010 edition of the race kicking off in Nevada City. For the next 8 days, we should see some interesting racing, not to mention the Giro di Italia.
9 riders try their luck today. Among them was our Francisco Chamorro. Sebastian Langeveld was the most known name there.
With so many great sprinters in the peloton, it was quite obvious the break had no chances of success at all. Paced by HTC, Katusha and Garmin, the pack caught the escapees 13 kilometers before the finish. By seeing Greipel doing the pace we already knew who was Columbia's main sprinter.
And as the teams start to get ready for the sprint, there is a big split on the main field! 75 riders are on the back group, including the likes of Lance Armstrong, Yaroslav Popovych, Michael Rogers and Mark Renshaw! None of the big favorites was stuck in it. Our Seara riders were just on front of the splitting point.
It's a whole new level here, so of the course the speed is much higher than what our riders are used to. They are still trying to get Walker in front, but they suffer a lot and with about 4 kilometers to go things aren't looking really good for us.
When the sprint started, the Caisse d'Epargne train was the main one having a position advantage. Giacinti did a great work to put our men in better position, and now Walker found himself in a nice position on Francesco Chicchi's wheel.
Cavendish moved with a bit less than 2 kilometers left, taking some riders such as Farrar with him. They had already created a big gap to Chicchi and Walker, so things weren't looking good even for a Top 15.
But if Walker was bad positioned, the opposite happened to Tanel Kangert. He was only supposed to help Walker today, but inside the last kilometer he found himself in Mirco Lorenzetto's slipstream. The Italian rider was 10th on the road, could Kangert pass him for a Top 10?
Tyler Farrar tried but couldn't pass Cav, so the Manx Missile takes the win today! The first step towards another green jersey win in California?
If the battle on the front was already decided, our Kangert-Lorenzetto battle for a Top 10 was on fire! With only a few meters to the line, Tanel Kangert tries to pass Lorenzetto! Could our Estonian compensate his lack of sprinting abilities with his great current form for an impressive Top 10?
Unfortunately, no. He was coming faster then the Lampre rider but didn't have time enough to grab a Top 10 position. Still, 11th is an awesome position with such high level riders in the race, especially for a non-sprinter like Kangert!
Chicchi couldn't show a good performance today, which was pretty bad for us. Still, Walker passed him as you can clearly see on the picture. We though our Aussie had gotten something about 13th, but he actually got 18th. Francesco Chicchi, though, who you can clearly see behind Walker, got 13th. Pretty strange.
Well, we have almost achieved a Top 10, and it would have been with Kangert, not even Walker, so I'm pretty happy. With that we also complete our Top 15 stage goal. Walker was going to get 13th, but as you can see a bug stopped him from getting another Top 15 for us. This results at least gives us nice hopes for the next flat stage. By the way, the ones caught on the split with about 11 km left lost 1'15 by the end of the day. That could be somewhat bad for us, as riders with no more GC hopes could try a stage win in a breakaway and mess our plans for the KOM jersey.
@tsmoha
Thanks. Kangert is in great shape, so I believe he will do well =)
May 17th: Amgen Tour of California
Stage 2: Davis - Santa Rosa, 182.4 kms
The climbs start already on the second day of the race. Four steep categorized ascents will be climbed today, giving a maximum of 31 KOM points. Of course, Kangert has intentions to get as much as possible from those, so he'll try to be in the breakaway since the beginning. The last climb is 40 km away from the finish so we hope the peloton let the break pass on the lead through all today's climbs.
Tanel Kangert made it into the early leading group together with 4 other riders. The others were Mauro Finetto, Steve Morabito, Matthew Busche and Dan Bowman.
Although most of the other riders were better than Kangert, our Estonian counts with a great form, and easily led the group up the first climb to collect max 5 points. The same scene repeated on the second KOM climb, this time giving 10 points.
At the foot of the penultimate KOM ascent, the group was still together, and the peloton was getting closer and closer. The gap was already less than 2 minutes.
Kangert had to increase to not be caught by the peloton before the 2 KOM sprints. Only Morabito was able to follow him while he collected more 6 points. There was only one Mountain sprint left now, but the peloton was very close; would they catch our Estonian before the top?
Tanel kept pulling hard, dropping Morabito on the way for collecting 10 more points and full 31 on the day! And it was just in time, as JoaquÃm RodrÃguez, attacking out of the peloton, passed Morabito to grab 2nd position on the KOM sprint.
As the last attackers where caught on the beginning of the descent, the 40-rider peloton prepared for the sprint. Kangert was alone on the group for us, but had a great position in the wheel of Samuel Sánchez. Could he still produce a good result after being in a breakaway for 120 kms?
Unfortunately, no. He was feeling very good while the speed was about 50km/h. But with 5 km left, the group accelerated, passing the 60km/h average for some kilometers. In that pace, Kangert struggled, lost contact to Sánchez and slipped to the back of the group.
At least, we had done the right choice: Sánchez owned the sprint since the beginning for an easy win. Bajadali got a great 2nd for Kelly Benefit while Portuguese Rui Costa finished the podium. Kangert crossed the line 37th.
A very good stage for us! Tanel Kangert collects all possible KOM points today and shows himself as a very strong rider for the mountain jersey, which he will already be wearing tomorrow. He easily overtook better riders on his way, and that's where hard training pays off! Well done for him, but we still have a lot of climbing left and that means a lot of points left, so the battle is still opened and very wide.
Additional notes, not told in screenshots:
* Some attempts were made but the peloton arrived together in the first intermediate sprint, 24 km after the start. Cavendish got 6 points there, and also 6 bonus seconds, so he keeps the leader jersey thanks to these bonus ahead of Sánchez.
* The first group with 40 riders did not have Cavendish, but the second group, containing about 50 riders, did. In the end, they both got all the same time (winner's time) so Cav is still in the leader's jersey.
May 18th: Amgen Tour of California
Stage 3: San Francisco - Santa Cruz, 186.6 kms
Bring on the first mountain stage! As the riders continue to head south on the Golden State, we'll see some of the biggest climbs on the race, such as
the Tunitas Creek Road and the final climb Bonny Doon. The last one might see GC attacks, but with 25 kilometers of downhill to the finish gaps shouldn't be too big. The stage will again give maximum 31 points for the mountain competition, so it's sure Kangert will try to make his way into the breakaway today.
For the most part of the day, the riders will go alongside the sea. That usually means strong winds, but fortunately for the water carriers and the rest of the riders that wasn't the case today.
We thought Kangert would need some help today, so we sent VÃtor in the breakaway to help our Estonian. Here you can also see him in his new mountain jersey. Right now, the leading group was only our two boys and George Hincapie.
With only VÃtor and Kangert doing the work in the group, we reached the top of Tunitas Creek Road. Kangert collected 10 points, VÃtor was 2nd.
Three more riders joined the breakaway on the descent from Tunitas. They were no danger for Kangert KOM intentions, though, and he easily got more 6 points for the mountain classification with VÃtor on 2nd position. The same scene would be repeated on Pescadero Road, the next categorized climb.
Hincapie tried to go solo about 15 kilometers before Boony Doon. He was arguably the strongest rider in the breakaway, especially when it came to the flat road, so we should keep an eye close on the gap.
The BMC rider easily gained ground on us, so Kangert and VÃtor had to increase a lot the pace in the breakaway. They also had other reasons for that: the peloton was coming in very fast, and would easily catch us before the top of Boony Doon if they wanted to. The gap was already less than 2 minutes with 18 kilometers to the KOM sprint.
With three kilometers into Boony Doon, the peloton caught all escapees. Pace on the pack was very high, and a lot of riders were having problems.
A couple kilometers further ahead, the peloton splitted. No big favorite was out of the leading 16-rider group. Kangert and VÃtor were part of it, too.
The battle for the mountain points on the top was big. A lot of riders, including our own Kangert, attacked seeking the sprint. JoaquÃm RodrÃguez was the one collecting 10 points ahead of Contador and Zabriskie. Kangert didn't stand a chance to get any points against such riders.
Some riders tried an attack on the descent, but the group entered the city of Santa Cruz together. Kangert managed to keep with the group, now down to 13 riders.
Kangert couldn't get a good position for the sprint. He was last of the group, on the wheel of Gesink. Still, we were confident on the possibility of a Top 10. He would only need to finish in front of three other riders in the group.
When the sprint started, Leipheimer, Evans, Martin, Gesink and consequently Kangert instantly accelerated, while Contador, Sanchez and Basso decided to wait a bit more. Inside the last km, Gesink and Evans had a gap to the others and battled for the win, with Kangert being the 3rd on the road!
In a close finish, the current world champion took the win one wheel ahead of the Dutch! And look who is coming third!!
YES, Tanel Kangert crosses the line in 3rd position!! What an amazing result, I can't even believe it, what a podium for us!! In the middle of all the big stars Contador, Sánchez, Evans, shines the name of Tanel Kangert!! What a result, incredible!!
Today winner is Stage Results
1
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
4h46'20
2
Robert Gesink
Rabobank
s.t.
3
Tanel Kangert
Rio es Carnival/Seara/Vivo
s.t.
4
Levi Leipheimer
Team RadioShack
s.t.
5
Alberto Contador
Astana
s.t.
6
Andriy Grivko
Astana
s.t.
7
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Doimo
s.t.
8
Marzio Bruseghin
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
9
Rui Costa
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
10
Beñat Intxausti
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
Oh my god, excellent stage for us!! Tanel Kangert gets more 21 mountain points, which puts him in a very safe position on the mountain classement, and also conquers a podium for us in the middle of so many big names!! What a ride by our Estonian, the team can be very proud of not only him but all the riders in the last few weeks. Also, with the bonus seconds of being 3rd, Tanel Kangert leads the young rider classement... at least for one day, and is 3rd on GC. Amazing stage for us, simply unbelievable how much we were able to achieve today.
Well, Kangert has done a fantastic job in the last two days, so today he will get some deserved rest. The stage is classified as hilly, but the last half of it is completely flat, so I expect a mass sprint. Of course, we hope Walker can get to the finish in conditions to sprint. The stage will also give 21 KOM points, 16 on the first climb, Sierra Road, that is just 24 kilometers after the start. So, actually, Kangert will go for the breakaway looking to collect those points, and with that done, he should slip back to the peloton and relax.
Several riders, including our own Kangert tried an attack on the flat beginning section, but as we approached the climb, no group had established in the lead.
Strong riders, such as Ballan and Moerenhout, were on the move up the Sierra climb. It was up to Kangert to bring them back. With the support of Morandi, he was successful in that task.
Kangert attacked 2 km away from the top. Some riders followed, including Moerenhout, on the move again. These two were side by side in the KOM sprint, but Kangert managed to cross first by less than half a wheel! Mission accomplished, our Estonian should now slip back to the pack and rest a bit.
Some more kms into the stage, a breakaway containing 5 riders finally established itself. Giacinti represented us in it. It was a strong break, with Ballan, Boom and Fothen. Last name was Kelly Benefit's Boyd.
The break knew there was other factor helping them: thanks to Kangert fast speed on Sierra Road, the peloton was down to about 80 riders, with not all best sprinters on it. Also, the best rider on GC was Giacinti, 5'26 down on Sánchez.
All these factors certainly helped the escapees to stay away, and although they never opened a big gap, with 35 kilometers left the break was 5 minutes ahead of the peloton! Was it enough for a breakaway win?
When passing the 20 km mark, the leading group 4 minutes and a half ahead of the pack, so yes, the winner today would be one of those 5!
3 km later, Ballan and Fothen attacked. This was a serious move, but would it be the winning one?
Despite the other escapees efforts, the attackers easily built a minute gap on us, and were going to sprint for the win. Would it be Ballan or Fothen today's winner? Inside Modesto, they prepared for the sprint. Fothen had the BMC rider's wheel.
Ballan! He started to sprint quite early considering the situation, with 2 kilometers left, but proved to have the best legs and even having the slipstream advantage, Fothen couldn't pass him!
On the other group, the expected happened: Boom got the last podium position, with Giacinti being 4th and Boyd, 5th.
The peloton arrived 3 minutes after the winner, with the sprinters that finished with it contesting the sprint. Cavendish 'won' it collecting some more points for his green jersey. Walker tried something, but had to stick with 22th.
After the stage, on the podiums, we had a big surprise: following the fact we had a man in the break today, Rio es Carnival/Seara/Vivo takes over the lead in the teams classement!!
Today winner is Stage Results
1
Alessandro Ballan
BMC Racing Team
5h02'52
2
Markus Fothen
Team Milram
s.t.
3
Lars Boom
Rabobank
+ 1'02
4
Jorge Giacinti
Rio es Carnival/Seara/Vivo
s.t.
5
Alexander Boyd
Kelly Benefit Strategies
s.t.
6
Mark Cavendish
Team HTC - Columbia
+ 2'59
7
Gerald Ciolek
Team Milram
s.t.
8
Mirco Lorenzetto
Lampre - Farnese Vini
s.t.
9
Danilo Napolitano
Team Katusha
s.t.
10
Ian Wilkinson
Endura Racing
s.t.
Amazing!! Not only we get a Top 5 by being part of a lucky breakaway, but also Kangert succesfully collects more 16 points for the KOM classification and Seara/Vivo is now leading the teams classement!! Of course, that will last only one or two stages, but it's still amazing!! What a great race this has been for us, we are showing ourselves to the rest of the world in the middle of all the big PT teams, with their best riders!!
Hi,
First of all, I'd like to thank everybody who has followed, or maybe is still following the story. As you can see, I've had no updates for exactly 2 weeks now. This comes from some lack of time plus some lack of motivation.
Having this said, I'd like to announce that I intend to come back to writing this in... a few minutes. I've just finished stage 5 of AToC, just getting the final details right.
It's not being easy to find free time to keep the story updated like, once or twice a day, but I promise you I'll be doing my best and probably playing a bit more on the weekends to post the updates on normal week days. Excuse me for future lack of posts, and thanks for the attention.
(Ps.: the beginning was supposed to make it look I was finishing the story, I hope I fooled at least one 'cause I spent some time thinking on what to write =P)
