The first road stage is flat, which is a good opportunity for the GC contenders to get into a better shape before the mountains. Thor Hushovd, Allan Davis or Tom Boonen are the favorites today.
Km 10: The stage is very long, so the pack kept calm until now. Seven riders try their best now.
Km 26: Very fast, the escapees establish a nice gap. Vitaly Kondrut (Lampre) has already more than four minutes of advance, behind him, the other escapees are split up.
Km 63: Four men lead now, and the pack is down by more than six minutes.
Km 103: Nine minutes are enough: Sky does the pace now, they don't want to lose the lead after only one stage.
Km 139: Paul Martens (Rabobank) and Roman Kireyev (Astana) share the mountain points and have both 8 points now. The lead decreased to 5'30.
Km 186: With the lead being only at a minute, the escapees try their luck and attack another time.
Km 198: Already 30 km in front of the finish, the escapees are caught. Will anyone try another attack? Or is the mass sprint unpreventable?
Km 224: The pace was held very high in order to prevent further attacks, and lots of riders suffer now. Among them is Dominik Nerz.
Km 227: Within the last kilometre, Grega Bole leads in front of the French trio William Bonnet (FDJ), Jimmy Casper (Saur) and Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis). Wiggins is surprisingly there as well.
Km 228: The Slovak couldn't hold his speed, and so Jimmy Casper takes the win.
Km 228: Jacopo Guarnieri finishes 19th, and Dominik manages to stay within the same time as the pack.
Fourth season win for the French.
Result
1
Jimmy Casper
Saur - Sojasun
5h08'38
2
Grega Bole
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
3
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
4
William Bonnet
FDJ
s.t.
5
Filippo Pozzato
Katusha Team
s.t.
6
Tom Boonen
Quick·Step
s.t.
7
Bradley Wiggins
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
8
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil - DMC
s.t.
9
Thor Hushovd
Team Garmin - Cervelo
s.t.
10
Yukiya Arashiro
Europcar
s.t.
...
141
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
Dominik's Comment
What I mentioned a couple of weeks ago still aplies for me: I obviously need to improve my flat skills. And my resistance, too. I mean, I can't fall back everytime the pace increases on flat finishes.
But anyway. Tomorrow will be another more or less flat stage, so I have to deal with it. But then, the serious business begins: A long time trial and three mountain stages await us.
Yours,
Dominik
Edited by cunego59 on 16-07-2011 15:27
Not the best start for Nerz, but his time will come in the mountains. However I've spotted that you're using the slovakian flag for Grega Bole and Simon Spilak but they are from Slovena just like Brajkovic. Sagan and the Velits twins are from Slovakia Here is an slovenian flag:
Although it's classified as flat, the hills in the second half of the stage provide some difficulties for the sprinters. It will be interesting to see how this stage turns out to end.
Km 6: Inaki Isasi (Euskaltel) launches the first attack of the day. One of the followers is Sylvester Szmyd.
Km 17: HTC and BMC weren't satisfied with the break and reeled them back in.
Km 23: Another break tries to establish itself under the lead of Johan Van Summeren (Garmin).
Km 66: 10 men lead with 5 minutes to the pack. Christiano Salerno is in between them, 2 minutes behind the leaders.
Km 83: Imanol Erviti (Movistar) takes the first mountain points of today.
Km 99: Salerno is back in the pack again, while the advance decreased to 4 minutes. Still 84 kilometers to go.
Km 140: Over the third mountain, the escapees are still 2 minutes in front.
Km 159: Only five riders approach the last mountain together. But in the pack, many teams work together to catch them.
Km 164: Johan Van Summeren takes the points over the last climb, and overtakes the lead in the mountain classification.
Km 166: Dominik Nerz suffers a lot now at the back of the peloton. He will have to let go soon.
Km 168: The escapees are caught now, and 113 riders are going on the last 15 kilometers.
Km 180: The sprint begins and it's Bradley Wiggins who is in the lead. Ivan Basso is in a good position.
Km 182: On the last kilometer, Wiggins keeps his lead, but Ivan Basso accelerates! On the other side of the road, it's Samuel Dumoulin, who tries to take them over.
Km 183: And it's indeed the Cofidis sprinter, who is not surprisingly a lot faster than the GC contenders. Ivan Basso finishes on a quite good eleventh.
Km 183: Dominik Nerz comes in with one of the grupettos.
Cofidis has a great season, and thanks to Dumoulin's second season win, they're now the best continental team in the CQ-Ranking.
Result
1
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
4h30'48
2
Grega Bole
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
3
Bradley Wiggins
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
4
Tomas Vaitkus
Astana
s.t.
5
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil - DMC
s.t.
6
Pierrick Fédrigo
FDJ
s.t.
7
Thor Hushovd
Team Garmin - Cervelo
s.t.
8
José Iván Gutiérrez
Movistar Team
s.t.
9
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
10
Yukiya Arashiro
Europcar
s.t.
...
148
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 4'08
Dominik's Comment
I have to add „hills“ to my list from yesterday... Damn, by and by, it becomes pretty anoying that I can't keep up with the pack. Sure, I'm not in the best shape yet, but on the other hand, I guess that the Tour de France is even harder than this...
But well, we'll see it then. Tomorrow, I can't keep up with anyone or anything, as it's a time trial.
A long time trial will shape the GC more. After his great performances so far, Bradley Wiggins is the top favorite for today. Ivan Basso will have to minimize his time losses.
12:00: Ben Swift starts the race.
12:03: Christiano Salerno is the first Liquigas rider on the course.
12:14: David Arroyo starts. He was meant to be Movistar's leader, but is already nearly 20 minutes down.
12:16: The same applies for Robert Kiserlovski (Astana).
13:04: Dominik Nerz starts the race.
13:15: Steven Cummings (Sky) sets a great best time. He currently leads with 48 seconds to Paul Martens (Rabobank) and two minutes to Carlos Sastre (Geox).
13:24: Sebastien Minard (AG2R) lowers Cummings time by 24 seconds.
13:36: On the second checkpoint, Dominik is provisional seventh. That looks quite good.
14:04: Nerz finishes 10th, 2'39 behind Minard.
14:26: Janez Brajkovic seems to be out of shape: 33 seconds slower than the French.
14:30: The French riders are great today: Damien Monier comes close to his compatriot. Only 16 seconds slower.
14:49: Fränk Schleck was supposed to be Leopard's leader, but he loses a lot of time today. Eventually, he'll finish 3'40 behind the winner.
14:57: Igor Anton is a bad time trialist, too. He's down 2'50.
15:10: Ivan Basso starts now. Let's see what he can do.
15:40: On the second checkpoint, Ivan Basso takes the lead! What's up with him? Can he keep that on the downhill?
16:07: No. But being only 18 seconds behind the leader is really great for him.
16:26: Another surprise: German oldie Grischa Niermann (Rabobank) shoots through the parcour and comes in provisional second.
16:34: We have a new best time: Kanstantin Siutsuo (HTC) beats Minard by 13 seconds.
16:37: One new best time after another now: Doyen Lance Armstrong takes the lead!
16:51: It is just not Tony Martin's year. He couldn't get a single podium position yet, today neither: + 25'
16:53: Levi Leipheimer is in a great shape. He is only one single second slower than his team mate.
16:58: Australian champion Richie Porte does a good job. Provisional fifth, 19 seconds slower than Armstrong.
17:05: Marco Pinotti does great as well. Only five seconds are missing.
17:07: But then came Bradley Wiggins. And suddenly, none of the other times look that good. Wiggins crushes all of them and finishes 37 seconds faster than Armstrong!
He keeps yellow and has good chances to defend it: Bradley Wiggins!
Result
1
Bradley Wiggins
Sky ProCycling
56'06
2
Lance Armstrong
Team RadioShack
+ 37
3
Levi Leipheimer
Team RadioShack
+ 38
4
Marco Pinotti
HTC - Highroad
+ 42
5
Kanstantsin Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
+ 50
6
José Iván Gutiérrez
Movistar Team
s.t.
7
Richie Porte
Saxo Bank - Sungard
+ 56
8
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana
+ 1'02
9
Tony Martin
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
10
Sébastien Minard
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 1'03
...
21
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 1'21
...
96
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 3'43
General Classification
1
Bradley Wiggins
Sky ProCycling
10h48'26
2
Marco Pinotti
HTC - Highroad
+ 52
3
Levi Leipheimer
Team RadioShack
+ 53
4
Lance Armstrong
Team RadioShack
+ 1'10
5
Richie Porte
Saxo Bank - Sungard
s.t.
6
Jérôme Coppel
Saur - Sojasun
+ 1'16
7
José Iván Gutiérrez
Movistar Team
+ 1'20
8
Tony Martin
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
9
Nicolas Vogondy
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 1'28
10
Kanstantsin Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
...
123
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 9'07
Dominik's Comment
Now that's what I call a strange result. What the heck is Lance Armstrong doing there? Congrats to him, not bad what he did today. Also, we're very glad about Ivan's result. He's now about 2 minutes behind Wiggins, all of the others are within maximum one and a half minutes. That seems possible.
I'm quite happy with myself, too. It feels good to be at least within the Top 100 again.
Tomorrow, we hit the mountains. A summit finish on the Mont Ventoux! That'll be tough!
Stay tuned,
Dominik
Edited by cunego59 on 17-07-2011 16:48
@ chuftek: As Freitas already told you, Dominik will try to support Ivan Basso at the Tour. You can see his racing schedule on page 1 (although the Tour will be his last race for this year.)
@ FreitasPCM: Yes, after the Tour, he'll have quite a bit of time to improve himself. I hope, he'll do.
This summit finish on the Mont Ventoux is the possibility for riders like Ivan Basso to make up some time on the leader Bradley Wiggins.
Km 1: The first attacks begin early as usual. Mountain jersey wearer Johan Van Summeren is accompanied by Christiano Salerno.
Km 19: Salerno is back in the pack, and the attacks keep going.
Km 31: 10 riders are in front now. The most notable member is Janez Brajkovic, who has already 6 minutes behind in the GC.
Km 60: After the second mountain, only seven riders are left in front.
Km 79: The group leads by more than five minutes now.
Km 129: Winning the fourth mountain sprint, Mikel Nieve overtakes the mountain lead. But he would have to get some points on the finish to really wear the jersey tomorrow.
Km 133: The break enters the last climb with still five minutes. That doesn't look bad, especially for someone like Janez Brajkovic.
Km 142: With 15 kilometers to go, Francesco Belotti ups the pace in the peloton, but the advance decreases only slowly.
Km 146: Dominik Nerz falls back in one of the grupettos.
Km 147: The first attacks start out of the peloton: GC's ninth, Nicolas Vogondy (Cofidis) attacks along with Igor Anton.
Km 148: Countering Marco Pinotti, Ivan Basso attacks! Surprisingly, Samuel Dumoulin, usually known as a sprinter, tries to follow.
Km 149:Basso, Pinotti and some others catch up with the rest of the escapees, except for one: Janez Brajkovic is still in the lead, with 8 km to go, the chasers are down by 3 minutes.
Km 152: Basso is in front of a rather large group of riders. Only Pinotti and Brajkovic are still in front of them.
Km 155: Michele Scarponi attacks from the favorite's group.
Km 157: Brajkovic saves a small advance into the finish! He wins the stage.
Km 157: Pinotti comes in second, still in front of the main group, who splits in the final sprint.
Km 157: Basso declines a little, and finishes nineth.
First notable result and the climax of an impressive RadioShack performance for Janez Brajkovic.
Result
1
Janez Brajkovc
Team RadioShack
4h41'27
2
Marco Pinotti
HTC - Highroad
+ 32
3
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
+ 46
4
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 52
5
Jérôme Coppel
Saur - Sojasun
+ 57
6
Bradley Wiggins
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
7
Richie Porte
Saxo Bank - Sungard
s.t.
8
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Quick·Step
s.t.
9
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 1'15
10
Levi Leipheimer
Team RadioShack
+ 1'22
...
83
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 8'35
General Classification
1
Bradley Wiggins
Sky ProCycling
15h30'50
2
Marco Pinotti
HTC - Highroad
+ 27
3
Richie Porte
Saxo Bank - Sungard
+ 1'10
4
Jérôme Coppel
Saur - Sojasun
+ 1'16
5
Levi Leipheimer
Team RadioShack
+ 1'18
6
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
+ 1'35
7
Lance Armstrong
Team RadioShack
+ 1'40
8
Kanstantsin Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
+ 1'58
9
Jean-Christophe Peraud
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 2'08
10
Tiago Machado
Team RadioShack
+ 2'10
...
13
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 2'30
...
90
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 16'45
Dominik's Comment
I think, today was quite ok. Sure, Ivan should be able to keep up with the likes of Jerome Coppel or Kevin Seeldraeyers, but he still has some time to get in shape until the Tour, and our team goal (Top 5) is still in reach.
I'm also satisfied with myself. 83th in my shape is ok, and I also improved a lot in the GC. Maybe, that trend keeps up tomorrow. I'd be happy!
After yesterday's summit finish, this mountain stage features a long descent. So there probably won't be that big time gaps. Also, the stage is very short.
Km 1: The first riders attack.
Km 2: Some riders follow, Dominik Nerz is among them.
Km 17: Dominik is still fighting for a place in the break.
Km 37: And he did it: Dominik is in the biggest of several breakaway groups, but he looks quite tired.
Km 57: Some prominent riders attack out of the pack, among them Fränk Schleck and GC's third Richie Porte.
Km 66: The 10 men leading group are with 4 minutes in front.
Km 77: Gesink and Porte reach the escapees, who are only a bit more than one minute in front. The advance decreased very fast.
Km 79: The front group splits, and Dominik finds himself in the second group.
Km 80: GC's second and fifth, Marco Pinotti and Levi Leipheimer, attack!
Km 82: Nerz is back in the pack, while Leipheimer leads solo.
Km 84: Ivan Basso reacts to an attack of Igor Anton.
Km 88: Basso fights within the second chasing group. Leipheimer has still a comforting advance.
Km 91: On the descent, the situation is as follows: Leipheimer leads with a little more than a minute to three riders around Cadel Evans. Half a minute behind them is the group around Ivan Basso and Bradley Wiggins.
Km 102: Evans got rid of Pinotti, who chases him now. Anton got caught by Basso's group.
Km 108: Levi Leipheimer with the second RadioShack stage win in a row.
Km 108: Basso comes in eigth. Another mediocre day for him.
He's part of a great RadioShack team here in France: Levi Leipheimer.
Result
1
Levi Leipheimer
Team RadioShack
2h51'46
2
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 33
3
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
4
Bradley Wiggins
Sky ProCycling
+ 42
5
Sandy Casar
FDJ
s.t.
6
Marco Pinotti
HTC - Highroad
+ 1'11
7
Jean-Christophe Peraud
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 1'33
8
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
9
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
+ 1'47
10
Lance Armstrong
Team RadioShack
+ 1'55
...
82
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 7'31
General Classification
1
Bradley Wiggins
Sky ProCycling
18h23'18
2
Levi Leipheimer
Team RadioShack
+ 26
3
Marco Pinotti
HTC - Highroad
+ 56
4
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 2'16
5
Jean-Christophe Peraud
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 2'30
6
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 2'52
7
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
+ 2'53
8
Lance Armstrong
Team RadioShack
+ 3'06
9
Richie Porte
Saxo Bank - Sungard
+ 3'16
10
Jérôme Coppel
Saur - Sojasun
+ 3'38
...
87
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 23'47
Dominik's Comment:
It's a little pity that I had to put so much effort to get into the break. Otherwise, I might have been able to do a little more. Nevertheless, it felt good to show myself again. And I finished at a respectable place, I think.
Regarding our captain, Ivan Basso came a lot closer to our goal. He's now only 22 seconds away from the fifth place. Maybe, he can do that tomorrow.
This might already be the decisive stage, as the last one isn't too hard. Wiggins will try to defend his overall win while Ivan Basso has to do something to get into the Top 5.
Km 2: A couple of riders try to form the break of the day.
Km 13: The riders are caught again and the next riders try their luck. Sylvester Szmyd is among them.
Km 28: Szmyd soloed for quite a bit, but his advance never grew to more than 45 seconds. So he fell back to the pack.
Km 33: Interesting: Ivan Basso goes for the mountain sprint. He takes a full 40 points in front of Kevin Seeldraeyers.
Km 85: Sergio Paulinho (RadioShack) and Nicolas Vogondy (Cofidis) attack.
Km 103: Dominik falls back into the grupetto.
Km 119: 41 riders enter the descent together. Only Ivan Basso is the only Liquigas rider left, while Paulinho and Vogondy are still more than 3 minutes in front.
Km 148: Already before the climb really starts, Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), Levi Leipheimer and Marco Pinotti attack!
Km 153: They soon create a gap of more than a minute.
Km 156:Ivan Basso and a couple of other attack.
Km 158: Basso finds himself in a group of 6 in front of the peloton.
Km 160: The front group consists of 15 riders now. With Peraud missing, Basso is in the Top 5 at the moment...
Km 163: Some of the favorites attack now. Basso isn't able to counter.
Km 165: Anton and Scarponi will fight for the win. Which is bad for Basso, as both of them are behind him in the GC.
Km 167: Scarponi takes the win.
Km 167: Basso finishes eigth, will that be enough for the Top 5? No! He even loses a spot.
The first stage win for the Italian.
Result
1
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
4h50'11
2
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 5
3
Marco Pinotti
HTC - Highroad
+ 12
4
Levi Leipheimer
Team RadioShack
s.t.
5
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 40
6
Jérôme Coppel
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
7
Juan Mauricio Soler
Movistar Team
+ 1'09
8
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 1'17
9
Richie Porte
Saxo Bank - Sungard
s.t.
10
Bradley Wiggins
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
...
83
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 13'41
General Classification
1
Levi Leipheimer
Team RadioShack
23h14'08
2
Bradley Wiggins
Sky ProCycling
+ 25
3
Marco Pinotti
HTC - Highroad
+ 30
4
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'53
5
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
+ 2'01
6
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 3'10
7
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 3'17
8
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Quick·Step
+ 3'18
9
Jérôme Coppel
Saur - Sojasun
+ 3'26
10
Lance Armstrong
Team RadioShack
+ 3'31
...
85
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 36'36
Dominik's Comment
This Dauphiné isn't really getting much better. Basso is most probably missing our goal. Not that this is too bad, but we would have hoped for a little more.
I was again pleased with my performance, but I was a little unattentive, otherwise, I could have been in the pack a little longer. Tomorrow won't be that hard, and then, we're done here.
Today's last stage isn't very hard, but you never know what happens on stages like this. Nevertheless, a bigger change in the GC is not very probable.
Km 1: Jonathan Bellis is the first one to attack.
Km 8: The attacks don't stop and no group is stable yet.
Km 20: Carlos Sastre gives it a try now. He had some ambitions, but lost a lot of time and goes for a stage win now.
Km 31: Shortly after the first mountain sprint, Sylvester Szmyd attacks.
Km 40: Szmyd is in a group of six in front of the peloton now, but the attacks keep going.
Km 47: The group is too big now, and the pack chases them. So Szmyd tries another attack.
Km 50: He succeeded. Again, seven riders are in front, Sastre is still there as well.
Km 68: On the descent, the seven riders are 3'30 in front of the peloton. Another ten riders from the original break follow half a minute behind.
Km 77: With the seventeen rider reunited and more than five minutes in front, Remi Pauriol attacks from the pack.
Km 98: Pauriol is caught again, but his attack did the trick: The pack started chasing and the advance decreases.
Km 114: On the bottom of the last climb, the group has only three minute of advance left. 35 to go.
Km 116: Jean-Christophe Peraud gives it a final try to get into the Top Ten. Richie Porte follows.
Km 118: They both got only a small gap, and now the Belgians Kevin Seeldraeyers and Jurgen Van den Broeck attack.
Km 119: Following GC leader Levi Leipheimer, Ivan Basso tries his luck.
Km 121: Along with Seeldraeyers, Pinotti and Levi Leipheimer, Basso finds himself a little in front of a larger group of favorites. The escapees with Sylvester Szmyd are still more than a minute in front.
Km 123: Dominik climbs over the mountain within the peloton.
Km 126: Only four riders are left in front of the favorites. Szmyd suffers a lot. Can he keep contact?
Km 135: Szmyd lost contact and is in the favorite's group half a minute behind the last escapees.
Km 146: With only three kilometers, Remi di Gregorio, Amael Moinard and Luis Mate are still 20 seconds in front. In the group behind them, the sprint preparations begin.
Km 147: By the way: Both Evans and Wiggins aren't present in the group of Basso. They are quite a time behind. Evans will definetely be passed, but Wiggins could keep his Top 5 position. That'll be close.
Km 148: The sprint for the win begins and Di Gregorio is quickly passed by Moinard. It'll be him or Mate!
Km 150: Moinard wins this easy. Basso fights for a good place...
Km 150: And ends up fourth! A really good concluding result. Now, he has to wait for Wiggins' time...
Km 150: … and he has it! He gets in fifth position by 5 seconds!
Km 150:Dominik stays within the pack and finishes 4'45 behind the winner.
A great win for the French!
Result
1
Amaël Moinard
BMC Racing Team
3h38'45
2
Luis Ángel Maté
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 14
3
Robert Gesink
Rabobank
s.t.
4
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
5
Jurgen Van den Broeck
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
6
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
s.t.
7
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Quick·Step
s.t.
8
Rémy Di Gregorio
Astana
s.t.
9
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
10
Marco Pinotti
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
...
107
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 4'45
General Classification
1
Levi Leipheimer
Team RadioShack
26h53'07
2
Marco Pinotti
HTC - Highroad
+ 30
3
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
+ 2'01
4
Igor Antón
Euskaltel – Euskadi
+ 3'10
5
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 3'17
6
Bradley Wiggins
Sky ProCycling
+ 3'22
7
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Quick·Step
+ 3'28
8
Richie Porte
Saxo Bank - Sungard
+ 3'41
9
Jean-Christophe Peraud
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 4'15
10
Lance Armstrong
Team RadioShack
+ 4'42
...
85
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 41'07
Points Classification
1
Bradley Wiggins
Sky ProCycling
145
2
Marco Pinotti
HTC - Highroad
98
3
Levi Leipheimer
Team RadioShack
68
4
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
65
5
Grega Bole
Lampre - ISD
60
Mountain Classification
1
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
126
2
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
114
3
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
91
4
Marco Pinotti
HTC - Highroad
89
5
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
84
Young Riders Classification
1
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Quick·Step
26h56'25
2
Jerome Coppel
Saur – Sojasun
+ 1'55
3
Robert Gesink
Rabobank
+ 9'45
4
Rob Ruijgh
Vacansoleil – DCM
+ 12'45
5
Benat Intxausti
Movistar Team
+ 13'15
Team Classification
1
Team RadioShack
.
80h50'36
2
HTC – Highroad
.
+ 17'39
3
Team Garmin – Cervelo
.
+ 22'46
4
FDJ
.
+ 27'16
5
Liquigas – Cannondale
.
+ 27'29
Dominik's Comment:
A really good conclusion for us. Fourth is great for Ivan and he also achieved the sponsor's goal.
For me, it's the best GC placement in a ProTour race so far this year. So I'm relatively pleased with myself. Also, it's good for me to see that I achieve better places in mountain stages. I think, all in all, we can be pleased with this race as a Tour preparation.
Nice result for Basso in both final stage and GC! Quite surprising to see Wiggins that far behind in this stage, but it's good news Now let's hope for more Dominik-action in Slovenia. His shape is getting better, good luck!
again, I'd like to provide you with some transfer rumours:
On the one hand, Nick Nuyens is gone from the transfer market. He extended his contract with SaxoBank for two more years.
Also, Evans extended his contract with BMC for one more year, as well as Paolo Tiralongo with Astana, as they promoted him to one of the team's leader.
On the other hand, Igor Anton officially announced that he won't be riding for Euskaltel next season. The same applies for Danilo Di Luca (Katusha), Sylvain Chavanel (Quick·Step), Roman Kreuziger (Astana) and Damiano Cunego (Lampre).
From what I've heard, our DS is interested in signing the latter two. As Ivan Basso is probably leaving our team, they would be a great strengthening for our team. But I think it won't be easy: Quick·Step for example has declared their interest in Cunego as well.
The Tour de Slovenie starts with a pretty long mountain stage. Two climbs towards the end, followed by a descent into the finish in Beljak await the riders. The field is pretty weak, Liquigas is the only ProTour team, and Ivan Basso is the top favorite.
Km 6: The first attack was long in coming, but now Marko Ivancic (Meridiana) and Vojtech Dlouhy (PSK Whirlpool) try it.
Km 7: A couple of other riders follow.
Km 15: 8 riders are about 40 seconds in front now.
Km 19: But the pack reeled them in.
Km 22: The next attacks, mostly by riders who were part of the earlier break.
Km 32: Now, six rider got away, split in two groups. They are already three minutes in front.
Km 57: The advance has already grown to seven minutes.
Km 75:Constantino Zaballa attacks and takes the full points on the first mountain sprint. The advance of him and his fellow escapees is now at about 10 minutes.
Km 105: With the advance increasing over 14 minutes, Liquigas starts to increase the pace.
Km 122: Their efforts show the first effects. Only 11'30 left.
Km 145: For the first time since many kilometers, the advance of the escapees is below ten minutes.
Km 171: Some other teams relieve Liquigas and take part in the relay now.
Km 186: The climb begins and Francesco Belotti and Sylvester Szmyd set the pace.
Km 188: Without attacking, Szmyd and Belotti got loose from the peloton, which consists of only 50 riders.
Km 193: The two Liquigas riders climb away and increase their advance. They have nearly caught up with the last remaining escapee.
Km 194: Following Marcus Eibegger, Ivan Basso attacks from his group, in which Dominik Nerz is present as well.
Km 194: And Nerz attacks now, too!
Km 198: Basso caught up with his two team mates.
Km 208: Three Liquigas riders are present in the leading group. Constantino Zaballa managed to cling on as well as Marcus Eibegger (Trabriz) and Miguel Rubiano (Meridiana).
Km 210: Belotti has to let go. But he didn't look that good the whole day.
Km 215:Basso increased the pace on the last mountain, and only Rubiano and Szmyd are left on his side.
Km 217:Dominik Nerz shows an impressive performance by the way. He attacked several times and is only 3'30 behind.
Km 230: On the last flat part, Rubiano resignes and can't follow Szmydand Basso anymore.
Km 238: Although Rubiano came a little closer on the last kilometers, he couldn't prevent the Liquigas double victory! Basso takes the stage win.
Km 238: Dominik finishes on a strong eleventh place! He therefore leads in the young riders classification!
Now that is what I call a good preparation for the Tour: Stage win for Ivan Basso!
Result
1
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
6h34'26
2
Sylwester Szmyd
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
3
Miguel Rubiano
Meridiana Kamen Team
s.t.
4
Markus Eibegger
Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team
+ 1'57
5
Tomasz Nose
Adria Mobil
+ 3'46
6
Ghader Mizbani
Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team
+ 4'10
7
Hossein Askari
Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team
s.t.
8
Francesco Bellotti
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
9
Mitja Mahoric
Adria Mobil
+ 4'33
10
Jaroslaw Dabrowski
Amore & Vita
s.t.
11
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 4'58
Young Riders Classification
1
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
6h39'24
2
Jakub Danacík
PSK Whirlpool - Author
+ 4'12
3
Sergej Fuchs
Team Nutrixxion Sparkasse
+ 5'08
Dominik's Comment:
What a great day! An impressive team result and my best stage result so far this year. And more important, I was on the podium on the victory ceremony again, as I'll be wearing the young riders jersey tomorrow! We are all very happy!
It felt really good to be able to attack even in the last kilometers of a stage, and to compete for a good place instead of struggling to keep up with the peloton. A nice warm up and moral boost before the Tour.
I hope, tomorrow will be similar.
Yours,
Dominik
Edited by cunego59 on 21-07-2011 11:37
Here is an slovenian flag: 
Will Dominik participate at the Tour this year?
