And the official review, courtesy of our reporter SSJ2Luigi
__________________________________________________________________________________________ Elites of Professional International Cycling
La Vuelta a España 2013, 68th edición
Three weeks ago, Garmin opened the Vuelta when they started their team time trial and now 3298 km later Yoeri Havik closes the Vuelta after dropping in the last stage. We have excitement and drama. Teams goals being achieved and failed. We had cheers and jeers. All in all, Vuelta got it all.
La Vuelta in 20 sentences
The Vuelta started with a team time trial in Vilanova de Arousa which was won by Garmin – Sharp. the teams that had a bad day and lost some time were NetApp (König), Sky (Froome), and Astana (Fuglsang) losing 30 seconds. The rest of the first week was dominated by Movistar, with 5 stage wins and the red jersey in the first 8 stages. Valverde (3x), Castroviejo and Inxausti won in different ways. Only Matthews and Degenkolb were the only non-Movistar riders winning in the first week.
one of the many Movistar victories from the first week; this one is from Castroviejo
Everything changed after 9th stage however, Valverde started to show fatigue in a stage. In the same stage EPIC history was written when Mitchell Birt of Team NetApp made himself the first rider to win after being introduced by the EPIC youth development program. He made his Vuelta even better the next day when he won again. this also marked the day that Valverde lost the race lead when Joaquim Rodríguez took the red jersey.
Rodriguez and Froome showing that they are the strongest in the Vuelta
Stage 11 - The time trial was surprisingly not won the current time trial world champion Tony Martin but Oreste Ghita was the one that beat the already legendary German. Proving that EPIC youth development program isn’t something that made a one-hit wonder with Birt. The EPIC youth development program got close to more stage wins but the Chilean Jorge Cristobal Riquelme got stopped by Ciolek, who won stages 12 and 13 in a row. The red jersey wasn’t in danger besides the time trial but Rodríguez only lost 1 second to Froome in the time trial.
Jorge Cristobal Riquelme on the right get’s beaten by Gerald Ciolek in stage 13
However the mountain came and that’s when Tour de France winner Chris Froome started to show himself that he was the main contender. He took the red jersey from Rodríguez on the 14th stage that was won by Bouet from the AG2R team after a long breakaway, that would put Bouet into the top 10 of the GC. In the last week of the Vuelta, the fatigue showed in the peloton as all the following stages were won from breakaways. The big winners thanks to this was Astana that took 4 wins (Seeldraeyers-15, Tiralongo-16, Kashechkin-19, Silin-20) including the finish on the legendary Angliru.
Silin showing he’s the boss on the Angliru
Garmin, Belkin and Omega Pharma also took a stage win home, Vande Velde for Garmin in stage 18, Clement for Belkin in stage 17 and Rabon for Omega Pharma in stage 21. Froome however was never threaded after he took the red, Rodríguez tried and got a few seconds back but it was all for not when Rodríguez had to abandon on stage 20. Froome was joined on the podium by Alejandro Valverde and teammate Rigoberto Urán, who secretly made his way upward helping Froome on his way to the front. The surprises in the top 10 in the GC are of course the 41 year old Chris Horner from RadioShack; The Irishman Daniel Martin who proved that top 5 in a GC and youngsters Leopold König and Oreste Ghita surprised the world by finishing within the top 10.
Froome finishes in the 21th stage, winning the Vuelta
stage winners and GC leaders
Stage
Stage Winner
GC Leader
#1: Vilanova de Aruosa – Sanxenxo
Garmin – Sharp
Rohan Dennis (GRS)
#2: Pontevreda – Alto do Monte da Groba
Alejandro Valverde (MOV)
Alejandro Valverde (MOV)
#3: Vigo – Mirador de Lobeira
Jonathan Castroviejo (MOV)
Alejandro Valverde (MOV)
#4: Lalin – Finisterra
Alejandro Valverde (MOV)
Alejandro Valverde (MOV)
#5: Sober – Lago de Sanabria
Beñat Intxausti (MOV)
Alejandro Valverde (MOV)
#6: GuiJeulo – Cáceres
Michael Matthews (OGE)
Alejandro Valverde (MOV)
#7: Almendralejo – Mairena de Aljarafe
John Degenkolb (ARG)
Alejandro Valverde (MOV)
#8: Jerez de la Frontera – Estepona
Alejandro Valverde (MOV)
Alejandro Valverde (MOV)
#9: Antequera – Valdepeñas de Jaén
Mitchell Birt (TNE)
Alejandro Valverde (MOV)
#10: Torredelcamp – Güéjar Sierra
Mitchell Birt (TNE)
Joaquím Rodríguez (KAT)
#11: Tarazona – Tarazona
Oreste Ghita (ARG)
Joaquím Rodríguez (KAT)
#12: Maella – Tarragona
Gerald Ciolek (MTN)
Joaquím Rodríguez (KAT)
#13: Valls – Castelldefels
Gerald Ciolek (MTN)
Joaquím Rodríguez (KAT)
#14: Bagà – Andorra
Maxime Bouet (ALM)
Chris Froome (SKY)
#15: Andorra – Peyragudes
Kevin Seeldraeyers (AST)
Chris Froome (SKY)
#16: Graus – Sallent de Gállego
Paolo Tiralongo (AST)
Chris Froome (SKY)
#17: Calahorra – Burgos
Stef Clement (BEL)
Chris Froome (SKY)
#18: Burgos – Peña Cabarga
Christian Vande Velde (GRS)
Chris Froome (SKY)
#19: St. Vicente Barquera – Oviedo
Andrey Kashechkin (AST)
Chris Froome (SKY)
#20: Avilés – Alto de L’Angliru
Egor Silin (AST)
Chris Froome (SKY)
#21: Leganés – Madrid
Frantisek Rabon (OPS)
Chris Froome (SKY)
Team by Team review
Garmin - Sharp stage wins: 2, GC: 5th
the American team started the Vuelta great by winning the team time trial and winning their first team goal immediately. their second goal of a top 20 in the GC was never in doubt as Irishman Daniel Martin never left the top 10 with a 5th finishing place as a result. A second stage win in Peña Cabarga when American Christian Vande Velde was able to hold of Joaquín Rodríguez from the Peloton. 3,5/5
Team Saxo-Tinkoff stage wins: 0, GC: 9th
The Danish team have been pretty invisible in the first two weeks but Roche and Majka have been hard to miss in the last week. the two have been charging up the GC and it ultimately ended in 9th place for Roche and 12th place for Majka. enough for Saxo to complete their top 10 goal. 3/5.
Belkin Pro Cycling Team stage wins: 1, GC: 18th
Belkin took a risk for sending Ten Dam as only GC rider to the Vuelta leaving Kelderman, Gesink and Mollema home. this risk didn’t work out as the 18th place in the GC was the team’s best and it wasn’t even Ten Dam but Luis León Sánchez that achieved it. if it wasn’t for Stef Clement winning stage 17, the Vuelta would have been a disaster. 3/5
Movistar Team stage wins: 5, GC; 2nd
the team of the first week but faded when Valverde faded as well. when Valverde came back in the third week, Movistar seemed to do better as well but even despite several breakaway tries, they couldn’t take another win. not that they were short of any. their top 4 goal was easily achieved with second place. 4.5/5
AG2R La Mondiale stage wins: 1, GC: 15th
AG2R was only seen in the picture twice. both times was it Bouet that was in the breakaway that succeeded in week three. this gave him a top 10 in the GC but wasn’t able to hold on to it, making them miss their top 10 goal. a stage win is all they got from the Vuelta. 2.5/5
Astana Pro Team stage wins: 4, GC: 11th
where Movistar ruled the first week, the third week was ruled by Astana. 4 stage wins in the last week hid however the fact that their leader Fuglsang wasn’t able to complete the top 10 goal set by the team, he finished 11th. 3.5/5
Katusha Team stage wins: 0, GC:16th
Katusha was so close to having a good Vuelta but when Rodríguez was forced to abandon, so did any change of Katusha having a good Vuelta. Daniel Moreno did try the redeem Katusha’s Vuelta but with no stage wins and only a 16 place in the final ranking, it’s surely one of the more disappointing teams in the Vuelta. 2/5
RadioShack – Leopard stage wins: 0, GC: 4th
The Shack had hoped on a stage win but the closest they got was 2nd place on stage 9 so they missed their goal. they can be happy about Chris Horner that finishes in 4th place which could have been higher if not for a really bad 16th stage. 3.5/5
Cannondale Pro Cycling stage wins: 0, GC: 20th
Cannondale with Peter Sagan isn’t a team that could be expected to win every other day but with riders like Moser, De Marchi and Caruso it was expected that they could at least one stage win. they failed to deliver however with only two 5 places on stages 3 and 9. Caruso with 20th place on the GC isn’t something great either. 2/5
FDJ.fr stage wins: 0, GC: 29th
aFDJ is known for their attacking spirit and they surely showed it in the Vuelta again. it didn’t however deliver as with numerous podium placings but no win. the UCI crushed FDJ with a top 10 goal but Fédrigo in 29th place must have been surprising for the French team. 1.5/5
MTN - Qhubeka stage wins: 2, GC: 19th
2 of the three wildcards teams have shown that they are worthy of being invited again. MTN had some hard goals set up by themselves. 2 stage wins and 4 breakaway attempts. they succeeded in both mainly thanks to Ciolek when he took back to back wins. it was thanks to Meintjes that they succeeded in their breakaway goal. Hintermuller showed himself by finishing 19th place. 4/5
Omega Pharma - QuickStep stage wins: 1, GC: 52th
they did what everybody expected to do: winning at least one stage. it wasn’t however world champion Tony Martin that took the stage win in the time trial but Frantisek Rabon that took the honors in the last stage. This was however one of the few times someone from Omega Pharma was in sight. 2/5
Caja Rural – Seguros RGA stage wins: 0, GC: 41th
The Spanish team is known for their attacking spirit but even despite them showing it, it didn’t really work out as the best they got was two 3rd places by Marcs García. 1.5/5
Lotto Belisol stage wins: 0, GC: 7th
Secretly but steadily Belgian Jurgen Van den Broeck made his way up into the top 10 of the GC and showed himself to be able to keep up with the lead trio at occasions. However the side of the team that they are known for was relaying on Roelandts in the sprints and he didn’t deliver. 2.5/5
BMC Racing Team stage wins: 0, GC: 14th
With the exceptions of breakaway attempts, BMC was barely seen in front of the race. They had a stage win goal but there best result was a 4th place in stage 17. The 14th place in the GC for Santaromita however is one of the bigger surprises in the Vuelta. 2/5
Sky Procycling stage wins: 0, GC: 1st
With a first and third place in the GC, you would think that they would be considered to be the team of the Vuelta. The lack of stage wins are the only remarks on the British team so it’s not a perfect Vuelta yet. 4.5/5
Lampre - Merida stage wins: 0, GC: 42th
The Italians were pretty much the abodiement of invisible. The only noticeable performances where from Durasek and Serpa. A 3rd place on the last stage was maybe more than they deserved. 1.5/5
Team NetApp - Endura stage wins: 2, GC:6th
The last wildcard team in this review and they also showed that they are worthy of the wildcard. In the first look on the team during the team time trial, we mentioned that if König and Birt don’t perform the team could be in trouble. Thanks to 2 stage wins from Birt and a 6th place overall from König, they delivered and with that completed NetApp’s top 10 goal. 4/5
Euskaltel - Euskadi stage wins: 0, GC: 8th
After a horrible Tour and a not much better Giro, it was time for the relegation-fighting Basque team to redeem themselves and thanks to Sánchez they achieved their Top 10 goal so the Vuelta can’t be a complete disaster for them. Lobato mixed it up in the sprints but sadly, that didn’t led to a stage win. 3/5
Team Argos - Shimano stage wins: 2, GC: 10th
Thanks to John Degenkolb and Oreste Ghita, the second Dutch team won two stages and a top 10 overall goal. More was expected however as Degenkolb was easily the biggest sprinter here and Ghita surprised everybody with the stage win and a top 10. 3.5/5
Orica - GreenEDGE stage wins: 1, GC: 17th
The public expected more from the Australians but with only 1 stage win and a 17th place in the GC from Weening it isn’t much to write home about. Michael Matthews had problems with his lead-out as Impey frequently either got better results or left Matthews with one man short. 2.5/5
Shonak wrote: -ALL YOUR FRUSTRATION BELONGS TO US!-
Some of the ragiest posts during the past 3 weeks, right out of the team cars into our living rooms!
Spoiler
brewers90 wrote:
Damn, I took Jeremy Powers out instead of Lander. WHY?!?!?!
Bikex wrote:
Purito
nacho63 wrote:
What the fuck, Ghita, what the, even Luke Rowe made the dam selection, bet he was protecting Degenkolb...........
Selwink wrote:
Seriously MTN. You have a wildcard for your first GT ever and then don't join the break? Next on all your riders drop, including your GC hope, and all are beaten by De Backer.
brewers90 wrote:
Yeah, I'm out. Enough of this bullshit now.
brewers90 wrote:
Decent effort from Blythe, appalling shitefest from Van Avermaet.
Shonak wrote:
Whaaaat. No, no, no! Screw this shit. Argos and Euskaltel gnaaaah, such crash profiteers, phew ... oh poor König, backstabbed: Et tu, Euskadi?
8 Minutes, jeez... RIP NetApp Endura.
Ollfardh wrote:
Come on Belkin, try harder!
mvhoogdalem wrote:
Really Moser.... dammit. You're lucky I like you.
brewers90 wrote:
Meanwhile, on planet BMC, I'm gonna go and bang my head against the wall for a few hours. WILL SOMEBODY TRY TO GO FOR A STAGE WIN. Morabito has still done nothing all season!!!
brewers90 wrote:
Wow. This AI sucks. I like NetApp but this is some straight up bullshit.
Good try by Ivan again. The rest aren't going to do anything for the whole race are they?
The Rider wrote: I really should have gone for a top5 in GC goal instead of a stage win, as it is harder but more realistic for this team.
brewers90 wrote:
We can't even win the lanterne rouge. I thought Lander would be shit enough to win it but there's six Lotto riders below him. Grand Tours hate me and I'm starting to hate them.
Luis Leon Sanchez wrote:
Are you fucling serious
sutty68 wrote:
This race is just a farce for the Lampre boys
sutty68 wrote:
The sooner the better that this race ends so Lampre can stop causing me embarrassment
Shonak wrote:
FML, this stage must have been the aquivalent of a bitch slap.
Selwink wrote:
Come on MTN, join a break. There's no use defending a 16th GC and then dropping to 21st when breaks are free to go
Ollfardh wrote:
Guys, can we at least try to get in a break? And it seems Ten Dam can't even get a top 20..
Great reports though, I really enjoy reading as long as I forget I'm managing Belkin.
brewers90 wrote:
I give up.
The problem I have is that my riders are doing so badly, I won't even be able to sell them at the end of the season.
"Here you go guys, this is a rider who will really make your team stronger if you want to be anonymous for three weeks in a row."
brewers90 wrote:
Santaromita up to 13th. I'm so, so confused.
brewers90 wrote:
Did Owniak crash?? I hope he did, otherwise that's dreadful.
Nice try by Nerz (finally ) but I'm so past frustrated, I don't care. I've long given up on getting a stage win. The AI hates BMC for a reason I'm not sure of.
mvhoogdalem wrote:
Disappointing post nr. 18
brewers90 wrote:
What a pile of wank.
nacho63 wrote:
Feel totally mugged off by Ghita after the last stage ffs
sutty68 wrote:
mvhoogdalem wrote:
This can't end soon enough.
Totally agree with you on that
brewers90 wrote:
Though Santaromita finishing the Vuelta in 14th position has got to be one of the most ridiculous results of the year. He's the only one of my riders within an hour of Froome.
And Frank can fuck right off. Done nothing all season.
Selwink wrote:
Ah ffs, join a break in mountain stages
Bikex wrote:
Ollfardh wrote:
Auch, I predict a bad few weeks for ICL, as Bikex just smashed his computer
Not only, I accidently burned my entire house. Nevermind SSJ2Luigi's house is next.
The bad luck I have and the indignation of my riders really sucks so much, first Spilak and Kristoff pretending they are on a training ride at the Tour de France and no Purito abandoning on the penultimate stage just because he feels like it. He didn't even crash or something, just stopped pedaling his bike.
brewers90 wrote:
So, so disappointed with how the AI handles outsiders in GTs. Pathetic. Just got to wait to hear from Damian now to find out why he fell off a cliff in the final week. He was in the top 20 with a week to go and he's finished 38th, over 20 minutes behind 20th.
sutty68 wrote:
I totally agree with all the others, Great reports and all done at a nice pace too , pity about my results though
Alright the previous comments might not have been the most ragiest but we were selecting the comments to be used in the review and half way through we shifted the criteria. Basically it’s now a list of our favorites. I’ll close the Vuelta by changing my profile picture and signature and leave you with one final table.
As the end of the season approaches, we are preparing for the 2013 World Championships in Firenze. The following 24 countries were chosen to participate, and most of them found a national coach already
Countries and confirmed national coaches
Australia: Cycleman123 Belgium: Ollfardh Canada: JoeArmstrong13 Chile: ? Colombia: The Schleck Fan Czech Republic: Bikex Denmark: trekbmc Estonia: Selwink France: TheManxMissile Germany: knockout India: The Rider Ireland: Dippofix Italy: mvhoogdalem Netherlands: SSJ2Luigi North Korea: ? Norway: Paul23 Poland: sgdanny Portugal: Luis Leon Sanchez Slovakia: jaxika Slovenia: Marcovdw Spain: Atlantius Switzerland: Silvio Herklotz UK: sutty68 USA: brewers90
The final monument of the year had a great startlist, almost all puncheurs and stage races turned up. The biggest name missing is Michal Kwiatkowski, rumour has it he's having some problems with his manager. Delfi Cervero was also missing, but is expected to return for the U23 World Championships. Looking at the season so far, the two real favourites are Philippe Gilbert and Peter Sagan.
Diego Rosa is the last to survive from the early breakaway. After some early attacks by Purito an elite groups forms. Notable names missing are Sagan and Valverde
But Sagan comes back in the descend with a few others, meaning a group of 16 will be sprinting for the win.
It's close, but Gilbert just takes it ahead of Uran. Costa takes the third podium spot.
The team time trial is usualy a prestige race for the sponsors and bike manufacturers, but the defending champions, Omega Pharma - Quick Step, did not even show up. On the other hand, Team Sky managed to bring peace between Froome and Wiggins, and added Thomas, Boasson Hagen, Porte and Kiryienka. Sky did not disappoint and confidently took the win. Movistar and Astana took the remaining podium spots after an exciting contest with BMC, RadioShack and Orica.
Men's Team Time Trial World Championships, Results
Rank
Team
Time
General Time
Sky Procycling
43'14
43'14 (1)
Movistar Team
+ 19
+ 19 (2)
Astana Pro Team
+ 23
+ 23 (3)
The U23 Time Trial saw Luke Durbridge slip past the UCI's restrictions, however the Australian could not beat the Beast from Korea. Kim Po-ding took the first ever world championship win for his country. Jordan Birtles took the third podium spot, just ahead of Pennarossa.
Men's Time Trial World Championships, Results U23
Rank
Name
Team
Time
Po-ding Kim
North Korea
1h08'04
Luke Durbridge
Australia
+ 38
Jordan Birtles
Great Britain
+ 56
Finaly the main time trial event. Tony Martin did show up here, with Wiggins and Cancellara as main challengers. Froome was back, as was Kim for his third race of the week. Chavanel set an excellent time that only these five could beat. Martin had a good lead for most of the course, but on the hill, Wiggings came really close. An incredibly risky descent from Cancellera put even more pressure on the German, but he did not crack and extended his title!
Men's Time Trial World Championships, Results Elites
Yes, though you better ask that in the general thread. This one is to tell the story, so I wouldn't like to see this banned to the games section for too many offtopic remarks
I was planning to give another short review about the U23 road race, but that would dishonour the great report by Shonak, so you get it in its full form!
~~~
World Championships
U23 Road Race
Welcome to Tuscany once more. We start in Lucca and will head then onto a circuit course through Firenze. With around 96 riders at the start, the U23 Road Race hosts a nice number of talent and future greats. With a little bit delay, the race finally starts.
We havn’t even left Lucca yet and the first attack already happens. It’s Boivin from Canada. Italy’s Agostini and the American Jakob Rathe are about to follow. Nowak from Poland and dutch rider Van Drenthe complete the five men group until Bobridge makes a late effort to bridge the gap and join as well.
Ospina, Lander and Sanz are other riders who want to get into the break today. Germany and France have taken a loose control of the race yet. Some control, but little chasing obviously. It’s a long way to Firenze still.
As they ride up the first climbs of the day, they continuously increase their lead. With roughly 4 minutes lead, they have a great lead and can work together without any hassle. Spaniard Sanz might be the fastest man in the bunch but regardless of that, neither of those riders has the legs for such a hilly, very long classic route. But hey – maybe it’s their turn to get lucky. Either way, with them being at front, their countrymen have to invest little energy at this point.
Delfi Cervero got the Number One on his pack. And some really class him as a favourite here today. Nonetheless, he got 10th at Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Firenze isn’t all too different for Delfi. However, similar to Po-Ding Kim or Riquelme, who have to be named as favourites too, he lacks teammates as well. As such it is up to France, Germany, Belgium and Great Britain to keep the peloton in check.
His countryman is up front and he’s all at the end: Hugo Houle up-ended himself, lying on the floor now. Still a bit dizzy, he will continue the race and surely has no problem to catch up with the peloton again.
Thomas Schwabe, Dermot Walker and Peter Pal are amongst the riders who do the pace early on.
Over 10 minutes lead at the moment but it’s still 190 kilometers to go. I swear if the AI fucks this up… grrr.
Regardless of this, the race has arrived in Firenze now and the circuit will be raced 11 times if I havn’t miscounted. Long way and with the Fiesole climb it won’t be easy at any point.
Italian Drago Di Silvestro has crashed too now. Hopefully the last one for today. He will continue the race though. Meanwhile, Germany and Belgium have taken up responsibility and decrease the gap ever so slightly.
Belgium and Germany really do some work back there. Especially Van Keirsbulck does major pulls. As a result the gap reduces to 8 minutes. The two guys from Team Tirol are even about to get lapped.
Hanzen even has his fans in Italy. Or maybe they came over. We hit the 100 kilometers mark. 6 minutes left for the group upfront. Slowly the faces get more and more tired. The endurance effect comes to kick in. Germany and Belgium still do all the work back there.
Almost 200 kilometers are in the legs of those youngsters. Some begin to tremble. The peloton stretches long, Russell from USA has been already dropped.
The break hits magic number 200. This is maybe the most for some that they have covered in a race. Or it will be at the end of the day. The break has clearly lost its momentum, as Nerz and Wellens pace remorseless back there. Under 5 minutes with still 69 kilometers to go.
Some of the polish riders have to let go, certainly not to the pleasing of Owniak. Di Silvestro gets dropped too after his previous crash. The American squad has had to endure some losses already as well. In total 3 riders have dropped by them, King is the latest.
Walker and many others ride with their heads buried deep. They really have to fight to keep the pace of the peloton, the Fiesolo shows little mercy at this point and neither do the leading teams.
Hintermüller and Schwabe make excellent teammates for Schröder, they really deliver some pain. The lead of the breakaway is down to 2 minutes by now. Yet still 50 kilometers left to race. Hopefully we see some early attacks.
With the breakaway in catching distance, Delfi Cervero takes position behind the pacers. Very little of a fighting heart is in the Costa Rican, but he still has a natural talent for those hilly, very long races. Riquelme comes close behind him. Kakhi is prominent featured at the front of the peloton too throughout the race.
Walker and Brookes get dropped this time around at the Fiesolo. They are not built for these kind of races.
But don’t linger too much at the back with your cameras! Muriel from Colombia is the first to attack now! About 40 kilometers out. Cervero and Riquelme follow! However none of those guys are particularly great at downhills and I guess they overestimated their talents there a bit. Or have never heard particularly much about tactics. Warren Barguil shortly thereafter makes the same move. All are to be caught by – a fantastic as usual - Tim Wellens.
Over the Ponte Alla Badia, the peloton gets closer to the breakaway. Each passing kilometer just features a time loss for them. Those guys upfront are at their limits, whilst Germany and Belgium can really clap themselves on the backs for their performance so far. What is important now is for their captains to perform.
Van Drenthe, Owniak, Boivin and Lander don’t just want to give up yet and try a late dash to make a miracle happen. As a result numerous attacks happen in the breakaway. Every rider seems to try it at some point. But all of those guys are rather wasted by now.
With two laps to go, 62 riders are still featured in the peloton. Quite a number. The work is still not done for Germany and Belgium. With their late attacks, the breakaway gained some ground. All too typical. It’s important to stay concentrated now and work consequently. Belgium and Germany have the numbers on their side. Little help is to expected at this point from other nations though.
Rajesh Kakhi comes to the front and attacks easily from the pack. He seems a bit like he’s flying up Fiesolo at this point, compared to all those tired faces. Hintermüller must be rolling with his eyes a bit at least. Although Cervero has in theory the perfect shot at following Kakhi’s wheel, he prefers not do anything, until…
Until there, Cervero goes! The breakaway is well within sight. Barguil and Hanzen are close to the Costa Rican. Owniak appears too and has even a teammate upfront who might be of help later on.
With Cervero’s move, Kakhi has been caught, but whilst the Costa Rican sees that as a reason to stop, Owniak goes full throttle into the downhill and rushes by his EPIC rivals. A wide variety of riders react though, almost anyone with winning aspirations is quick enough to cover the moves at this point. Especially Kakhi looks particularly strong in this downhill. Eventually though, Wellens and Nerz take control of the peloton – yet again.
Wow, horrible for Belgium. Verboven has crashed. We see his countrymen immediately pulling back but the race must be almost over for the young Flemish rider under Euskaltel – Euskadi’s guidance. Meanwhile with ALL of Belgium pulling back to help Verboven, Germany tasks is clearly cut out for them: Get the breakaway. Those guys are still ahead!
There goes the typical scene again! Muriel attacks this time around, followed by Schröder and Hanzen. Riquelme, Kakhi, Cervero are right there too. Hinault gets into the action too. Slagter and Barguil chase a bit later.
Bimm! Bimm! Bimm! Of all people, Cervero catches the break. The bell rings for the final round. 9 riders are in this group of favourites, who will want to decide the victory behind them. Po-Ding Kim tries to bridge over to the group with a late effort. Prominent names missing are of course Verboven, but also Owniak missed the jump. De La Montagne, De Las Campos and Löwenherz are all back in the peloton.
We see here Calzone riding next to the Belgium team. Hardly any hope of coming back there. Weird move by the Belgiums though, but when you invest everything in one rider, it’s maybe the only card you can play. To let all your riders work even harder.
As Po-Ding Kim has caught up with the group, Schröder almost naturally takes over the pace as if this is the thing he is demanded to. Cervero looks at him, some words exchange between the two puncheurs and Delfi takes first position behind the German. Various riders prefer to be at the back of the group now. For example, Kakhi, Hanzen, Riquelme or Owniak.
The race isn’t over for the peloton yet as De Las Campos works for Spain to bring the big bunch back. Schröder meanwhile maybe doesn’t know himself if it’s really up to him to make all the work. The only nations to feature two riders are Netherlands and France. However, only France have with Hinault and Barguil two relatively fresh riders.
And Schröder sees how Riquelme wants to attack, but he prefers to do it himself. As a reaction, only HInault, Muriel and Hanzen follow. This could well be the decisive move as Cervero – always in second position – just did not react at all to this move.
The only initial reaction follows a bit later from Tom Jelte Slagter who is followed by an ambitious Po-Ding Kim, who lacks the acceleration at this point in the race. Kakhi looks without orientation but may still have the legs to make something happen.
It’s all close now. Slagter’s move has proven good enough to almost get hold of Schröder & Co. Po-Ding Kim leads a second group then right after Slagter. Owniak, Kakhi and Barguil are featured there. Cervero demands for a water bottle at this mark. Fischer from Denmark leads the peloton. Landa and Herrada from Spain may have energy left. Ratto might try something as well. But maybe little can be expected at this point still.
Verboven is at the end of the peloton and thus has caught up. He quickly passes a ton of rider, flying up there. Is that anger at his own crash that makes him fly? Probably. If he manages to get in front in the next kilometers, maybe he can still get a good result.
Schröder leads the bunch over the Fiesolo. Slagter has caught up for good and with a late punch by Kakhi the second group might make it too. Hanzen is doing a great Gerrans impersonation by doing shit nothing all throughout the race but probably really outsprinting everybody in the end. Riquelme takes the lead in the downhill.
But wait – that’s actually an attack! Kakhi has joined the small group now too alongside Slagter by the way. The others are quite behind though. Verboven is in a small group with Barguil and Owniak.
No one else than Schröder was willing to close the gap. As a revenge move, Schröder directly attacks! But those are quickly responded by many counterattacks. Kakhi is the first one to lose it here though. Hanzen, Hinault and Slagter are in the group close to chase Schröder. Muriel and Riquelme managed to hold Schröder’s wheel. Cervero and Po-Ding Kim ride together to get back to the front but they already have 20 seconds onto Kakhi.
The last 5 kilometers, the group is back together. Schröder just can’tkeep himself from attacking. Over and over he tries it. Again and again he fails though. Maybe the Ponte Alla Badia will bring more luck to him.
There is the gap he always demanded and he forced himself over and over again. At over 10% gradient, Schröder breaks free, but… BUT…
Shortly thereafter, he makes THE look to the ground. Shit! He has been racing in the red zone for almost 10-15 kilometers, approximately. Figures. Riquelme back there may take successfully advantage of that. If he makes it to Schröder. The German still has a few meters lead and at this stage, few meters make all the difference.
Hinault is the third over the Passo Alla Badia. Hanzen then shortly thereafter finally has to take some initiave if he wants Gold today. Crazy too, Cervero has caught up with this group in the Badia climb! Kakhi looks down for good,whilst Slagter may get Cervero’s wheel and makes a comeback too as well. Stunning ride by Muriel.
Three kilometers, never going to stop. Riquelme and Schröder can’t wait to fight it out and start damn early. Schröder must feel the lack of power, Riquelme passes him easily. Now it’s up to the Chilean to show how much he got left in his tank. Hinault is in third position, he played it wonderfully cool and may surprise the two fighting cats there.
In the background we see the other group, but those don’t matter now. Riquelme leads the race with a clear gap to Schröder and Hinault. Two kilometers to go.
Riquelme on his way to U23 Road Race World Championship GOLD! Schröder and Hinault have nothing left than to fight for the remaining podium spots, whilst Hanzen comes out of the last turn with some amazing punch and may surprise one of the two others on the line!
There it is, Gold for Chile and Belkin and most importantly, Cristobal Riquelme. The young, promising rider has set an example today by riding both cleverly and aggressive at times but ultimately prevailing with a late attack against the onslaught of Germany’s Schröder.
Spoiler
The rainbow jersey has to wait for now but we are sure there’ll be enough shots of Riquelme in the future hopefully! Hinault outsprinted Schröder on the line to take Silver, whilst the ever so active German takes bronze. Considering his race strategy, it’s hard to imagine that anything else than Gold counted for Schröder today. Hinault crowns France very good overall team performances meanwhile with his silver medal.,
Hanzen gets the same time as the three podium spots, however has finished a bit behind. This also marks the first competition without medal for Great Britain. Luigi must be happy to see Slagter coming 5th after a decent run. The Dutch leads the next group consisting of Muriel, Cervero, Kakhi and Verboven! Whilst Kakhi has been probably the most featured and daring rider next to Schröder, huge credits go to for Verboven for his stunning comeback ride from the late crash. Po-Ding Kim eventually completes the Top 10.
U23 World Championships Road Race, Results
Rank
Name
Team
Time
Jorge Cristobal Riquelme
Chile
7h10'55
Thomas Hinault
France
s.t.
Christian Schroder
Germany
s.t.
4
Adrien Hanzen
Great Britain
s.t.
5
Tom Slagter
Netherlands
+ 49
6
Christian Muriel
Columbia
s.t.
7
Delfi Cervero
Costa Rica
s.t.
8
Rajesh Kakhi
India
s.t.
9
Rudy Verboven
Belgium
s.t.
10
Po-ding Kim
North Korea
+ 1'31
Spoiler
11
Alex Fischer
Denmark
s.t.
12
Warren Barguil
France
s.t.
13
Damian Owniak
Poland
s.t.
14
Daniele Ratto
Italy
+ 2'50
15
Arnaud Demare
France
+ 3'59
16
Lue Khamse Khamphan
Laos
s.t.
17
Sebastian Lander
Denmark
s.t.
18
Peter Pal
France
s.t.
19
Naveed Alinejad
Iran
s.t.
20
Silvio Pennarossa
San Marino
s.t.
21
Jens Debusschere
Belgium
s.t.
22
Salvatore Puccio
Italy
s.t.
23
Nicky Van Drenthe
Netherlands
s.t.
24
Jesús Herrada
Spain
s.t.
25
Pierre De la Montagne
France
s.t.
26
Guillaume Boivin
Canada
s.t.
27
Mario Guido
Italy
s.t.
28
Richard Löwenherz
Austria
s.t.
29
Mitchell Birt
Australia
s.t.
30
Joseph Dombrowski
USA
s.t.
31
Rüdiger Selig
Germany
s.t.
32
Mikel Landa
Spain
s.t.
33
Dominik Nerz
Germany
s.t.
34
Ian Boswell
USA
s.t.
35
Nikias Arndt
Germany
s.t.
36
Erik McDermott
Denmark
s.t.
37
Jordan Birtles
Great Britain
s.t.
38
Enrique Sanz
Spain
s.t.
39
Julian Kern
Germany
s.t.
40
Jakob Rathe
USA
s.t.
41
Kenny Elissonde
France
s.t.
42
Josef Hintermuller
Germany
s.t.
43
Cristiano De las Campos
Spain
s.t.
44
Tim Wellens
Belgium
s.t.
45
Mateusz Nowak
Poland
s.t.
46
Garikoitz Bravo
Spain
s.t.
47
Thomas Schwabe
Germany
s.t.
48
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Netherlands
s.t.
49
Johann Nokkvason
Iceland
s.t.
50
Josh Burton
Great Britain
s.t.
51
David De la Cruz
Spain
s.t.
52
Jelle Wallays
Belgium
s.t.
53
Mattia Cattaneo
Italy
s.t.
54
Stefano Agostini
Italy
s.t.
55
Argiro Ospina
Columbia
s.t.
56
Karol Domagalski
Poland
s.t.
57
Jack Bobridge
Australia
s.t.
58
Carlo Calzone
Italy
+ 5'36
59
Ramon Sinkeldam
Netherlands
s.t.
60
Heimdal Hägg
Sweden
s.t.
61
Tosh Van der Sande
Belgium
s.t.
62
Tom Van Asbroeck
Belgium
s.t.
63
Julien Vermote
Belgium
s.t.
64
Luca Wackermann
Italy
s.t.
65
Hugo Houle
Canada
s.t.
66
Wesley Kreder
Netherlands
s.t.
67
Michel Koch
Germany
s.t.
68
Gorka Nieve
Spain
s.t.
69
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Belgium
s.t.
70
Luke Durbridge
Australia
s.t.
71
Joshua Edmonson
Great Britain
s.t.
72
Johan Le Bon
France
s.t.
73
Danny Van Poppel
Netherlands
+ 8'23
74
Tom O'Callaghan
Ireland
s.t.
75
Larry Warbasse
USA
s.t.
76
Nattrapon Miles
Great Britain
s.t.
77
Duber Quintero
Columbia
s.t.
78
Marc Goos
Netherlands
s.t.
79
Evan Huffman
USA
s.t.
80
Fabian Brookes
Australia
+ 9'34
81
Raymond Kreder
Netherlands
s.t.
82
Jon Aberasturi
Spain
s.t.
83
Dermot Walker
Great Britain
+ 10'06
84
Erik Bousche
France
s.t.
85
Łukasz Owsian
Poland
+ 12'49
86
Ben King
USA
+ 13'24
87
Drago Di Silvestro
Italy
+ 15'01
88
Daniel Summerhill
USA
s.t.
89
Josef Cerny
Poland
+ 16'08
90
Piotr Gawroński
Poland
+ 17'28
91
Grzegorz Stepniak
Poland
+ 23'49
92
Stephen Clancy
Ireland
+ 25'06
93
Branden Russell
USA
+ 30'10
94
Clemens Fankhauser
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
See you at the Elites' Race!
Edited by Ollfardh on 29-11-2014 12:05
Finaly, it was time for the big event. Spain was the team to beat with Rodriguez and Valverde leading a team of great domestiques. The main challengers were Gilbert, Sagan, Kwiatkowski, Nibali and the Colombians.
The race has the typical early breakaway with the small countries, but it exploded much earlier then expected, as Gilbert and Sagan attacked with several laps to go. Sagan won Liege-Bastogne-Liege this way, and Gilbert doesn't want that to happen again.
But Spain controls the race, with Intxausti, Moreno, Contador and Sanchez as domestiques, it's hard for even Gilbert and Sagan to hold a gap.
And just as the leading duo is caught, Purito goes with a stunning attack. No one has a response against this incredible power.
Spain played this perfectly and Joaquim Rodriguez can celebrate early, he'll be wearing the World Champion jersey next year. Sagan wins the sprint for second, Gilbert gets third. Perhaps those two didn't ride the smartest race.
The final race of the season. Argos brings both Degenkolb and Kittel, making them the favourites for this race. You can underestimate home rider Démare either, while Orica brings their strongest sprint train here. On the other hand, Belkin bring its full classics squad, what could make this windy race interesting.
Immediatly the attack waves and crosswinds cause huge splits in the peloton. Euskaltel, fighting for the last WT spot, seems to be the biggest victim. But even the bigger names arre hit by the winds.
Finaly a moment of peace. Argos and FDJ are exhausted from all the chasing and they see Lars Boom attacking. Can they bring him back in time?
Argos can't close the gap and in his despair, Kittel goes from way, way, waaaay out. The sprint is total chaos, but Boom is still leading.
Lars Boom holds on for the win. Belkin wins the first and the last race of this season. Kittel gets overwhelmed and it's Bozic coming in as a surprising second and Degenkolb as 3rd.
Australia: Cycleman123
Belgium: Ollfardh
Canada: JoeArmstrong13
Chile: ?
Colombia: The Schleck Fan
Czech Republic: Bikex
Denmark: trekbmc
Estonia: Selwink
France: TheManxMissile
Germany: knockout
India: The Rider
Ireland: Dippofix
Italy: mvhoogdalem
Netherlands: SSJ2Luigi
North Korea: ?
Norway: Paul23
Poland: sgdanny
Portugal: Luis Leon Sanchez
Slovakia: jaxika
Slovenia: Marcovdw
Spain: Atlantius
Switzerland: Silvio Herklotz
UK: sutty68
USA: brewers90
