The final of the cobbled season is Paris - Roubaix, also called the Hell of the North. It's the 111th edition of this cycling monument and of the most prestiguous races to win. Belgian Roger de Vlaeminckx is the record holder with 4 wins, but both Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara are willing to equalize with him.
Cancellara won the race last year, after a great solo in the final 20km. Tom Boonen won the sprint for the 2nd place, with Niki Terpstra taking the third.
The route
After the start in Compiègne, the riders start to ride to the North. After 98 kilometres, they reach the first of 27 cobbled sections. Highlights are as usual the Trouée d'Arenberg (after 172km) and the Carefour de l'Arbre (only 17km before the finish). Eternal glory awaits after 258 kilometres at the cycle track in Roubaix.
The favourites Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank), Tom Boonen (Sony Ericsson), Matti Breschel. Filippo Pozzato (Katusha), Johan Vansummeren (Garmin), Alessandro Ballan (BMC). Sylvain Chavanel (Garmin), Niki Terpstra, Thor Hushovd (Lotto).
Our goal
Some people see our team as the favourite, as we took the win in De Ronde a week before. But as we are a bit over our peak (fitness of 94), we consider ourselves as outsiders for the win. So we'll aim for a top 3.
Edited by dienblad on 14-06-2012 14:21
I think you are able to get at least a podium-spot with Matti here!
What are you going to do with the story, when PCM 12 is released? I hope you will continue it, but I understand if you want to play the new game instead.
253km to go
The riders can be lucky today, as the weather is absolutely beautiful! 18 degrees and sunny are not bad considering you have to ride a lot off cobbled sections.
It takes 5 kilometres before the irst attack of th erace occurs. Monsalve (Androni), Grosjaen (BMC) and Niermann (Rabobank) are the first riders that try to leave the peloton. They get joined by many other non-cobblers, get caught by the peloton, attack again, get caught, etcetera. For sure, the peloton doesn't want any group to ride away.
157km to go
As a result, a entire peloton arrives at the first cobbled section of the day. Murilo Fischer is the first one to enter the Troisvilles à Inchy-section.
86km to go
What happens in the next 70 kilometres, is riders getting dropped in every single cobbled section. The pace of the peloton is that high, no riders try to attack.
Entering the Trouée d'Arenberg, Matti Breschel has taken the lead of the 50-rider peloton, minimizing the change of loosing time because of a crashed rider in front of him.
30km to go
The next 56 kilometres: no action, only riders getting dropped. For the 2nd Sunday in a row, the tv-viewers get bored because of the development of the race. What they probbaly don't see, is the enormous pace, that makes even great cobblers getting dropped.
Only 28 riders are present in the first group, with Manuel Quinziato (Co 76), Lars Boom (Co 78, puncture) and Gregory Rast (Co 78) being the most important riders missing in this group.
21km to go
At the moment, people start to prepare for a "mass-sprint" at the track in Roubaix, the Carrefour de l'Arbre brings action. Formerly wheel-sucker wants to definietly shake off his old reputation and is the first to attack at this difficult section.
The attack gets countered by Alessandro Ballan. For sure, the 2 Italians don't want the other to win this race!
18km to go
Ballan has misjudged his energy, and falls back. For a moment, Pozzato thinks that he made the succesful attack, but out of nowhere comes Tom Boonen. Boonen overtakes Pozzato and drops him. Thor Hushovd, the 2011-winner, tries to hang to the Belgian wheel, but has to let go as well.
13km to go
But when Boonen starts to stall a bit on the last difficult cobbled section, the Willems à Hem, Hushovd closes the gap. The 2 have a margin of 24 seconds to a group of 12. At this moment, Fabian Cancellara unleashes his powers. He has waited very long, and now he starts to close the gap to the 2 leaders.
There are 3 Monster Energy - Subway riders left in this group, namely Niki Terpstra, Martijn Maaskant & Matti Breschel. Terpstra tries to counter the attack from Spartacus, but has no chance in following him. The daily form of our riders is too bad today (between -2 and 0..... damn you PCM!!! ).
12km to go
Cancellara shows some real display of power! He closes the gap to Boonen and Hushovd at the Willems à Hem, attacks and drops them. In the chasing group, Sylvain Chavanel tries to bridge the gap, followed by Juan Antonio Flecha.
9km to go
And with 9km to go, we have a leading group of 4. Even Cancellara has to search for some air, and first gets joined by Hushovd, and shortly after by Chavanel and Flecha. The 3 reigning National champions and a Flandrien born as a Spaniard have a 20-second gap, while they already can smell Roubaix!
4km to go
Thanks to hard working by Terpstra and Pozzato, the gap decreases to 20 seconds. But the 4 up front cooperate perfectly. Hushovd has made a huge tactical error, as he enters the track in first place. He has to think of some trick now, to win this one, even he is the best sprinter of the 4.
1km to go
The chasing group can't close the gap anymore, so the win will be decided by the 4 leaders. Hushovd tries to make it a long sprint, but starts to stall under the flame rouge. At this moment, Cancellara, who has found the 2nd breath he needs, takes over. Chavanel is in his wheel, desperately seeking immortality when winning this race. Flecha is too far behind.
Finish
But it is Spartacus who takes the win. Cancellara easily beats Chavanel in the sprint and takes his 4th Roubaix win, and equalizes with Roger De Vlaeminck! This is the reason why Bjarne Riis brought him back to Saxo Bank!
39 seconds behind the winner, Tom Boonen sprints to the 5th place, followed by Alessandro Ballan and Matti Breschel. With Maaskant in 11th and Terpstra in 14th, we have 2 more riders in this group, but unfortunately couldn't take part in the battle for the win.
Results
1
Fabian Cancellara
Saxo Bank SunGard
6h44'39
2
Sylvain Chavanel
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
3
Thor Hushovd
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
4
Juan Antonio Flecha
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
5
Tom Boonen
Sony Ericsson
+ 39
6
Filippo Pozzato
Katusha Team
s.t.
7
Matti Breschel
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
8
George Hincapie
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
9
Alessandro Ballan
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
10
Steve Chainel
FDJ
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Martijn Maaskant
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
12
Johan Vansummeren
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
13
Nick Nuyens
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
14
Niki Terpstra
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
15
Bernhard Eisel
Sky ProCycling
+ 3'58
16
Coen Vermeltfoort
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
17
Geraint Thomas
Qantas Airways
+ 5'16
18
Greg Van Avermaet
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
19
Jürgen Roelandts
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
20
Jan Kuyckx
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
21
Tomas Vaitkus
Qantas Airways
s.t.
22
Mitchell Docker
Qantas Airways
s.t.
23
Björn Leukemans
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
24
Sebastian Langeveld
Qantas Airways
s.t.
25
Sep Vanmarcke
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 5'53
26
Lars Boom
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
27
Yohan Offredo
FDJ
+ 7'00
28
Staf Scheirlinckx
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
29
Manuel Quinziato
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
30
Lloyd Mondory
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
31
Leonardo Duque
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 10'52
32
Kristof Goddaert
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
33
Martin Elmiger
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
34
Guillaume Blot
FDJ
s.t.
35
Óscar Freire
Movistar Team
s.t.
36
Jens Keukeleire
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
37
Jimmy Engoulvent
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
38
Geoffroy Lequatre
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
39
Grega Bole
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
40
Xavier Florencio
Nespresso - Algarve
s.t.
41
Dominique Rollin
FDJ
s.t.
42
Mark Cavendish
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
43
Kristof Vandewalle
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
44
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
45
Ian Stannard
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
46
Ronan Van Zandbeek
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
47
Bert De Waele
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
48
Pieter Serry
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
49
Cees Veldkamp
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 12'25
50
Sébastien Rosseler
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
51
José Joaquín Rojas
Garmin - Barracuda
+ 12'58
52
Matthew Goss
Lotto - Belisol
+ 13'20
53
Murilo Fischer
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
54
Adrien Petit
Team Europcar
s.t.
55
Anthony Ravard
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
+ 14'30
56
Tosh Van der Sande
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
57
Mirco Lorenzetto
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
58
Grégory Rast
Team Europcar
s.t.
59
Damien Gaudin
Team Europcar
s.t.
60
Vincent Jérôme
Team Europcar
+ 14'57
61
Gustav Erik Larsson
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 15'52
62
Tony Gallopin
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 16'23
63
Jonas Aaen Jørgensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
64
Sébastien Turgot
Team Europcar
s.t.
65
Markel Irizar
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
66
Zdenek Stybar
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
67
Thomas Löfkvist
Sky ProCycling
+ 17'54
68
Yuriy Krivtsov
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 21'03
69
Kim Kirchen
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
70
Joost Posthuma
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 21'58
71
Matthew Hayman
Qantas Airways
+ 23'04
72
Bert Grabsch
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
73
Aurélien Passeron
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
74
Arnaud Demare
FDJ
s.t.
75
Rui Costa
Movistar Team
s.t.
76
Ignatas Konovalovas
Movistar Team
s.t.
77
Clément Lhotellerie
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
78
Mikhail Ignatiev
Katusha Team
s.t.
79
Jelle Wallays
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
80
Bjorn Selander
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
81
Dario Cioni
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
82
Arnoud Van Groen
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 25'13
83
Alex Rasmussen
Nespresso - Algarve
s.t.
84
Nicki Sørensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
85
David Arroyo
Movistar Team
s.t.
86
Denis Galimzyanov
Katusha Team
s.t.
87
Yury Trofimov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
88
Luca Solari
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
89
Maxime Vantomme
Katusha Team
+ 29'35
90
Arkaitz Durán
Nespresso - Algarve
s.t.
91
Rafael Valls
Nespresso - Algarve
s.t.
92
Nelson Oliveira
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
93
Massimiliano Gentili
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
94
Wim Van Huffel
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
95
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Nespresso - Algarve
s.t.
96
Evgeni Petrov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
97
Gorka Verdugo
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
98
Anders Lund
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
99
Chris Barton
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
The winner
Word from the DS
The conclusion is easy: we weren't strong enough to follow the 4 big guns today. At the moment they attacked, our 3 leaders were gasping for oxygen. We decided to let Terpstra & Maaskant do the chase, and save Breschel for the sprint, but it simply wasn't enough.
Oh well, we can look back at a fantastic cobbled season, with winning the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and of course De Ronde Van Vlaanderen!
Edited by dienblad on 14-06-2012 15:07
The Blues wrote:
I think you are able to get at least a podium-spot with Matti here!
What are you going to do with the story, when PCM 12 is released? I hope you will continue it, but I understand if you want to play the new game instead.
Sorry to let you down.....
I probably won't buy PCM 12. I don't know if it will play well on my current laptop. I think I'll skip 12, just as I did with 10.
Great news that you'll stick with this
7th place isn't all that bad, considering who you're up against, Cancellara, Boonen, Flecha...
At least it's a top 10!
The first race of the 4 Ardennes classics, is the Brabantse Pijl. Last year we were succesful, with the win for Peter Sagan.
The route
After the start in Leuven, the route heads to Overijse, with 4 climbs in the local circuit. A total of 28 short climbs have to be climbed, so a good preparation for the Amstel Gold Race.
The favourites ***Peter Sagan, Philippe Gilbert (Lotto), Andy Schleck. **Jelle Vanendert, Stijn Devolder (Vacansoleil), Michel Kreder (Garmin). * Daniele Pietropolli (Omega Pharma), Kim Kirchen (Sky), Jens Voigt (Radio Shack).
Our goal
We prepare for a battle against Philippe Gilbert. The question is, if we are willing to give the full 100& to win?
The race
33km to go
12 riders are in the BOTD, and one of them is Rob Ruijgh. Together with riders as Michel Kreder (Garmin), Geoffroy Lequatre (Cofidis), Nelson Oliveira (Radio Shack) and Bart De Clerq (Accent.Jobs), he gets a maximum lead of 5 minutes. But with th efinish approaching, the margin is decreasing. So with 33km to go (and a lead of 3 minutes), Ruijgh attacks, and only gets countered by Oliveira.
8km to go Ruijgh drops Oliveira in the last lap, but sees Philippe Gilbert closing the gap. The world champ attacked out of the peloton only a few kilometres earlier. At this point, Ruijgh knows that he won't keep up with Gilbert, and tries to hold on as long as possible. The 2 get joined by Continental Tour-leader Stijn Devolder 1 km after this.
Finish
In the last few climbs, Gilbert easily drops the other 2 and cruises to his 2nd win of the season (Gent-Wevelgem). Devolder finishes in second place at '30, while Daniele Pietropolli wins the sprint of the peloton, in front of Andy Schleck and Peter Sagan. An what about Rob Ruijgh? He finishes in 23rd place.
Results
1
Philippe Gilbert
Lotto - Belisol
4h45'03
2
Stijn Devolder
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 30
3
Daniele Pietropolli
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
4
Andy Schleck
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 39
5
Peter Sagan
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 48
6
Bert Scheirlinckx
Accent.Jobs - Veranda's Willems
s.t.
7
Michel Kreder
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
8
Bobbie Traksel
Landbouwkrediet - Euphony
+ 57
9
Sandy Casar
FDJ
s.t.
10
Jens Voigt
Radio Shack - Nissan
s.t.
The winner
Word from the DS
When we've learned 1 thing today, is that Gilbert is the biggest favourite for the win in the AGR. Fleche and LBL. We saved some energy, but Phil will be a really tough nut to crack.
That's quite a challenge ahead. It'll be interesting to see what you can do against Gilbert.
Maybe his old helper, Vanendert, can overthrow his old master
Next stop is the Profronde van Drenthe, a 2 stage race in the North of the Netherlands. It's a sprinter race, as last year William Bonnet (FDJ) won the race.
Startlist
Spoiler
Monster Energy - Ford
1. M.Kittel
2. J.Bobridge
3. T.Dumoulin
4. P.Ligthart
5. J.Posthuma
6. R.Ruijgh
7. C.Veldkamp
8. R.Zingle
The favourites ***Marcel Kittel, Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), Kenny van Hummel (M&M's). ** Francesco Chicchi (Eddy Merckx), Bobbie Traksel (Landbouwkrediet), Sebastian Siedler (Differdange). *Pim Ligthart, Gene Michael Bates (Lotto), Michael van Staeyen (Topsport).
Our goal
Kittel has a fitness of 77, so we should be lucky with a top 3, if that is possible...
Stage 1
We want to practice the sprint train in the Profronde van Drenthe, knowing that a win is almost impossible. To do this, we sent some domestiques to help catching the breakaway. The train will both days be Joost Posthuma, who rides on dot 99 from 4.0 till 2.5km, then Pim Ligthart, who starts to sprint agressively on 99 at 2.5km, before Marcel Kittel takes over at 1.5km, also at 99 and aggresive.
The first stage goes pretty well, but we can see that Kittel is still missing a few km/h top speed. He takes the 5th place today, while the win goes to M&M's with Kenny van Hummel, who beats Samuel Dumoulin and Bobbie Traksel.
Results
1
Kenny Van Hummel
M&M's
4h14'03
2
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
3
Bobbie Traksel
Landbouwkrediet - Euphony
s.t.
4
Sebastian Siedler
Differdange - SES Astra
s.t.
5
Marcel Kittel
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
6
Gene Michael Bates
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
7
Pim Ligthart
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
8
Shawn Milne
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
9
Michael Van Staeyen
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
10
Chris Opie
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
Stage 2
The result in stage 2 is pretty bad, as Kittel has to settle with the 9th place. The daily form of our entire train was miserable (all below zero), so we had no chance. Only thing we did was blocking Kenny van Hummel, who had no chance in defending his GC-lead.
Samuel Dumoulin won the stage, and as a result the GC.
Results
1
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
3h55'27
2
Bobbie Traksel
Landbouwkrediet - Euphony
s.t.
3
Sebastian Siedler
Differdange - SES Astra
s.t.
4
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
5
Cyrille Heymans
Differdange - SES Astra
s.t.
6
Kenny Van Hummel
M&M's
s.t.
7
Sergey Lagutin
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
8
Bauke Mollema
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
9
Marcel Kittel
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
10
Michel Kreder
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
GC
So another French winner in Drenthe.
1
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
8h08'58
2
Bobbie Traksel
Landbouwkrediet - Euphony
+ 12
3
Kenny Van Hummel
M&M's
s.t.
4
Rafal Ratajczyk
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 20
5
Dariusz Batek
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 22
6
Sebastian Siedler
Differdange - SES Astra
+ 24
7
Chris Barton
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
8
Remco Broers
Differdange - SES Astra
s.t.
9
Nico Eeckhout
An Post - Sean Kelly
+ 26
10
Fabio Polazzi
Wallonie Bruxelles - Crédit Agricole
s.t.
...
17
Marcel Kittel
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 32
Today's and overall winner
Word from the DS
Despite the bad fitness, this was a disappointing showup....
We watched the Ronde van Vlaanderen for U23 with great interest, looking for future stars. Our eyes were fixed on the number 3 of the race, the 18-year-old Canadian Justin Audet.
He already is built for the cobbled races, being 188cm long and 90 kilos. He lacked a bit of stamina, but looked the strongest in the race. That's why we immediately offered him a contract as a trainee, and he signed it!
He refused offers from other World Tour-teams as Radio Shack, Garmin and Rabobank!
Before the Ardennes classics start a group of 8 riders take part in the Vuelta Ciclista Castilla y Léon. For some of our riders, it's the first step in the route to the Giro, for the others it's to gain experience. The vuelta is a nice mix, with flat stages, a time trial and a mountain stage.
Last year, the race was won by Iván Gutiérrez from the Andalucia-team.
The Vuelta Castilla y Léon starts with a hilly route from Medina de Rioseco to Palencia. Question is if the hill shortly before the finish will bring some gaps.
Young Luxembourg Gregory Bernard is in the BOTD. When the breakaway is about to get caught, he attacks again, and continues solo. That solo lasts untill 2100 metres before the finish. Great job, but sadly.
Pisanellastoria's Enrico Rossi is dominant in the sprint, and wins the stage in front of Koldo Fernández and Yukiya Arashiro. Theo Bos finishes in 9th.
Results
1
Enrico Rossi
Pisanellastoria - Guerciotti
3h54'42
2
Koldo Fernández
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
3
Yukiya Arashiro
Team Europcar
s.t.
4
Maurizio Biondo
Pisanellastoria - Guerciotti
s.t.
5
Jonathan Castroviejo
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
6
Jimmy Casper
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
7
Enrique Sanz
Movistar Team
s.t.
8
Manuel Cardoso
Caja Rural
s.t.
9
Theo Bos
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
10
Alberto Loddo
Colnago - CSF Inox
s.t.
Today's winner
Stage 2
The 2nd stage from Valladolid to Salamanca is 215km long and alomst flat.
Today. the peloton miscalculates the chase, so the breakaway will win. Ángel Vallejo from the Burgos 2016-team wins the sprint-a-deux with Daniel Freitas (Barbot). Koldo Fernández wins the sprint for 3rd at 1'19, with Theo Bos finishing in 6th. Vallejo also takes the lead in the GC.
Results
1
Ángel Vallejo
Burgos 2016 - Castilla y León
5h00'18
2
Daniel Freitas
Barbot - Efapel
s.t.
3
Koldo Fernández
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 1'19
4
Yukiya Arashiro
Team Europcar
s.t.
5
Davide Appollonio
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
6
Theo Bos
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
7
Enrique Sanz
Movistar Team
s.t.
8
Enrico Rossi
Pisanellastoria - Guerciotti
s.t.
9
Cândido Barbosa
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
10
Adrien Petit
Team Europcar
s.t.
Today's winner Edited by dienblad on 15-06-2012 19:41
).
