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A Tale of Two
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 16-08-2012 14:44
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Great for Eric to wrap up the Mountains jersey 
Now lets have a good time trial to secure that top ten finish  |
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| slbmangas |
Posted on 16-08-2012 15:16
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Congratulations to Erin. Good Luck for the TT to secure the top 10
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 16-08-2012 15:49
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Giro d'Italia - Stage 21
Well, it's flat. So let's see who had the most energy left after 3 weeks of hard work.
I was ready for take-off in my beautiful jersey! Milan is a great city so it's the perfect ending for this Giro.
At the first checkpoint, I was second, 18 seconds behind Van Garderen! This was going good. I had great legs today!
Then the last man took off, De Gendt.
At the second checkpoint is was second yet again, this time 19 seconds behind Van Garderen, I was losing time, so I pushed myself a little extra. I got 30 seconds on Nibali, so I wouldn't be taking his place. However, Uran was already 1'25" behind me, so his place was up for grabs!
Suddenly, nearing the end, I saw Garzelli, that gave me an incredible kick. I passed him! Well, we're not tied for 10th place anymore.
I couldn't believe my ears (I speak some Italian) when I heard through the microphone that the best time had been beaten. I even took 18 seconds on Van Garderen, what a last part I'd raced!
Nibali lost 1'21", not enough!
However, the two Sky Columbians lost over 2 minutes and a half, I moved up 2 places!
A True Campion
Having beaten all checkpoint times, it was certain that this man would win the final stage and the overall classification of the Giro. The revelation of this year, and a mighty strong rider: Thomas De Gendt!
He broke my time with 7 seconds.
General Classification
Points Classification
King of the Mountains
Young Rider Classification
Well, that's it for this Giro. I had the best time of my life. Both Stijn and I really made a name for ourselves here, despite the overshadowing of De Gendt's performance for the Belgians (a Belgian GT winner, that's a long time ago). I end up 8th overall, have a stage win and a mountain jersey to take home, that's unbelievable! Stijn won a sprint against the greatest sprinters in the peloton, amazing!
De Gendt blew everyone away, what a performance. He's got a great future ahead of him.
As for me and Stij, we're off to a nice vacation now, as our next race is the Tour of Pologne, which is more than a month away.
See you then, and thanks for having been with us here in Italy! |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 16-08-2012 15:53
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8th place overall and the Best climber
What a Great Giro for Eric, a massive well done indeed |
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| slbmangas |
Posted on 16-08-2012 15:53
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A good TT for the Belgians. Good 8th place with Lombaerts. Congratulations
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 16-08-2012 15:54
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Hi everyone,
We're on the recovery holiday now, and the atmosphere is great here, we're all having a good time.
However, we heard some rumors going round while being here. It seems that the team won't be able to keep Greipel and Sieberg. We're not 100% sure, though, it's just a rumor. If that's true, we'll lose a great sprinter.
About other teams, we heard that both Kroon and Voeckler didn't sign a new contract with their team. We also heard the same news about Julien Simon. Maybe the management could try to sign one of these guys, but that's not up to us.
We'll report you on the National Championships when they're there, so see you then! |
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| slbmangas |
Posted on 16-08-2012 15:56
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Voeckler should be a good sign
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 16-08-2012 15:56
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Thank you, it's been one hell of a Giro 
Virtual Belgium most be going crazy |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 06:08
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 16-08-2012 15:56
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Greipel would be a massive loss to the team  |
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| Miguel98 |
Posted on 16-08-2012 15:57
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If it was me, I would sign Simon. He's good punchy sprinter, but you should focus in getting a top sprinter to replace Greipel. |
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| slbmangas |
Posted on 16-08-2012 15:57
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sutty68 wrote:
Greipel would be a massive loss to the team
I agree with sutty68 however Lotto-Belisol has another great sprinters
Edited by slbmangas on 16-08-2012 15:59
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| JuanMotr |
Posted on 16-08-2012 17:28
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Domestique
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You know there is one future Great Sprinter and i don´t think I need to introduce him
btw Eric deserves one  or maybe two  |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 16-08-2012 19:32
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Tour de France Champion
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Later today the Tour of Pologne starts, so we're July 2012. Who's waiting for the Tour of Pologne when the Tour De France is being raced? Well, we are.
We have some news, let's start with the NCs.
National Championships
Lotto-Belisol won't be having any National Champion riding around, unfortunately. Greipel missed the title because of two escapees. Roelandts came close, but Keukeleire came closer.
Very surprising(!), De Gendt won the TT championship.
Transfers
First of all, Hansen will be leaving us for Sky Pro Cycling. This was unexpected and a true loss.
Greipel and Sieberg have confirmed that they won't be racing for Lotto-Belisol in 2013. We don't know where they're going, though.
We tried to get Kittel, but he signed for Rabobank.
So Lotto replaced Greipel by... (drum roll): Mark Renshaw. He may not be quite as fast as Greipel, but he'll surely get this team a lot of victories. One Aussie leaves, another is welcomed.
Another rider we can welcome into the team (we're really excited about it) is Stijn Vanderbergh! He's just great, he'll be of great use in the early classics!
Other contracts:
Evans signs with Radioshack. If the Schlecks will stay, that could get akward...
Cancellara signs with BMC, he and Hushovd could be a golden couple on the cobblestones.
Tour De France
Van Den Broeck tasted the yellow jersey, he took it from Wiggins on the Blanche des Belles Filles (where he won the stage!), only to give it Andy Schleck a day later. Wiggins is getting it back in the time trial today, though. But Jurgen is still in a great place!
Greipel fell bad and is injured, it looks like he won't be racing Eneco Tour...
Well, that's it, folks. See you in Pologne! |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 16-08-2012 19:40
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Maybe you should control the unrealistic transfers a little. 
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| fcancellara |
Posted on 16-08-2012 19:55
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Wow, that was a great time trial by Eric!
You even finished only 9 seconds behind Nibali in the GC, that's something to be proud of.
I think Eric can come back next year for a top 5!
Oh, what about De Gendt's contract? Is he free for next season?
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| TomC |
Posted on 16-08-2012 20:14
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Incredible race fo Eric, well done |
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| JuanMotr |
Posted on 16-08-2012 21:21
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And what about Eric´s and Stijn´s contract? |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 16-08-2012 21:50
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Thank you all for the replies
Sorry Baseballlover, I don't edit those things (mainly because I can't work with editors, the best I can do is edit the team's budget)
But in 2013, Evans is 35, if I'm not mistaken, so maybe Radioshack offered him a big budget to help Schlecks on his older age. And maybe he thought: I won't win the Tour again, so I might as well make money this way. Doesn't sound too plausible but it wouldn't be impossible, I think
Edited by Ian Butler on 16-08-2012 21:58
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 16-08-2012 21:54
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More news coming to you!
We hadn't even shut off the computer after our latest blog when we heard the news, so here is it:
Transfers
It looks like Lotto-Belisol offered a contract to Ian Stannard, the British talent from Sky Pro Cycling. Apparently it's an offer he can't refuse, but you never know. He would be a great addition to the team! (He's one of the hardest working domestiques in the peloton, having raced 93 days and 14 713km in 2011)
Our contracts have been revised during the Giro, so we don't have to tell you what the management decided, do we?
You guessed right, both our contracts have been prolonged. Apparently there was some interest by other teams, but Lotto has been good to us this year, and we're definitely not through here!
See you for the first race of Tour of Pologne!
Edited by Ian Butler on 16-08-2012 21:56
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| FreitasPCM |
Posted on 16-08-2012 23:18
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Fantastic Giro by Lombaerts, a very nice surprise. Also, it's a pity Greipel left, but Renshaw can be a good replacement (though not as good as him, but he can still have decent results ) |
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