Some great, quick, results coming in. Super Gent Wevelgem win.
- F Cancellara @ + 3, was that a true finish time? If so well done Cyanide!
I think you should fire that doctor though ' a fracture '. That is the most vague diagnosis I have ever heard! Fracture of what! Will be interesting who gets the best results in the Ardennes for the team with the injury.
The Rider wrote:
Some great, quick, results coming in. Super Gent Wevelgem win.
- F Cancellara @ + 3, was that a true finish time? If so well done Cyanide!
I think you should fire that doctor though ' a fracture '. That is the most vague diagnosis I have ever heard! Fracture of what! Will be interesting who gets the best results in the Ardennes for the team with the injury.
Thanks mate. I'm rather surprised at PCM 2013 sometimes: They sometimes take in absolutely realistic, perfect time gaps... and then, time gaps are just shit. Here's hoping one day it will always be realistic.
Yeah, Doc sucks. And he has some big wage. Might as well throw him out as season end and save some cash.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
Another great ride and report... love to read it mate.
Pity for Sagan but like Raphael said, it´s an opportunity that some want to grab and Raphael will do for sure a great job..
Happy Birthday.
@baia: Thanks mate. Sure is an opportunity, and Raphael says thank you very much for the birthday wishes.
@Ian Butler: Sure happened at the wrong time, but alas, guys will have to pick up his torch.
@atlanta: Will do.
Gran Prix de Cerami Doing it without Sagan, and doing it right
Cannondale, who lost their captain Sagan for an entire month, surely had to prove something to themselves at this year’s Gran Prix de Cerami; mostly the fact that they are not a one-man team. After fantastic performances in the spring season so far (Total of CBS-victories: 4), the team wants to continue its spell of success.
"All I can say: We ain’t back, because we never left."
-Raphael Visconti, Pre-Race Interview
Because the competition wasn’t too stiff, Koren and I took early control around the last 100 kilometers. The steep cobble hill around Frameries featured quite some challenges, but the competition wasn’t so tough. We were up there and profited from our flourishing confidence of last week. Eventually Trek and Omega Pharma joined in.
We only lost control when Astana started shaking things up. The Italian performed an incredible pace and really put up quite a fight. We ended with 4 Omega Pharma and 3 Cannondale riders in the second group, working together to catch the breakaway. We finally got them at around 15 kilometers left, just after the second last time climbing Frameries’ tough cobblestoned hill.
It was therefor then Steegmans vs Marcato and Gatto since the 3 riders set themselves apart. I was following them close by and they eventually also catched the last of the breakaway riders, Sjoerd Kouwenhoven from Tinkoff Saxo. In fact, it was really close as they outsprinted both of their competitors and took a remarkable 1-2 in the race’s finale.
With me coming in 5th, I feel like we are ready for the biggest one of them all, Paris-Roubaix.
The Rider wrote:
Some great, quick, results coming in. Super Gent Wevelgem win.
- F Cancellara @ + 3, was that a true finish time? If so well done Cyanide!
I think you should fire that doctor though ' a fracture '. That is the most vague diagnosis I have ever heard! Fracture of what! Will be interesting who gets the best results in the Ardennes for the team with the injury.
It's like in hockey - terminology when you don't want to give information to your opponents, like upper/lower body injury.
Die hard fan of Tom Boonen and Quickstep since 2004.
@kubys: Nah, the doc just is just incompetent, no tactical ploy here. The Rider is right.
Alright, so writing this story takes way less time than Gora Euskadi ever did (and way less time than you may think). It's all about organization and also thanks to skipping some races. Before Paris-Roubaix will be posted today, let's catch up on the spanish stage races, which were a one-sided domination by Movistar.
(Spanish) World Tour News
Since the spring classics kept me busy I didn’t have time to follow the two Spanish stage races as much as I would have liked. You have to make sacrifices somewhere I guess if you want to be successful.
Vuelta Ciclista a Catalunya
The Tour of Catalunya was early on dominated by Movistar as they took the Team Time Trial. From there on out, things got simple: Only one man was there to win this race, Alejandro Valverde. The Spaniard has shown his great form throughout the race and was always in control of simply everything. With two stage wins, he has been highly successful against tough competition such as Froome, Van den Broeck, Horner, Daniel Martin, Roman Kreuziger, Cadel Evans, Ivan Basso or Paris-Nice winner Michal Kwiatkowski.
Eventually Jürgen Van den Broeck, who has proven his form is alright with his victory at Tour de Langkawi, was the best of the rest, while Chris Horner lost narrowly close the stage 3 to Valverde and came in third overall. Various riders thus could hold up the Spaniard here and there, but none was consistent enough over the week.
Stage
Name
Team
Leader’s Jersey
1, FL TTT
Movistar Team
Movistar Team
Benat Intxausti
2, FL
Rafael Andriato
YellowFluo
Alejandro Valverde
3, MT
Alejandro Valverde
Movistar Team
Alejandro Valverde
4, HL
Alejandro Valverde
Movistar Team
Alejandro Valverde
5, FL
Ramunas Navardauskas
Garmin-Sharp
Alejandro Valverde
6, HL TT
Johan Le Bon
FDJ.fr
Alejandro Valverde
7, FL
Pieter Weening
Orica GreenEdge
Alejandro Valverde
Vuelta Ciclista a Catalunya, Results
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Alejandro Valverde
Movistar Team
19h00'28
2
Jurgen Van den Broeck
Lotto Belisol
+ 2'21
3
Chris Horner
Lampre - Merida
+ 2'39
4
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 3'07
5
Michał Kwiatkowski
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 3'12
6
Thomas De Gendt
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 3'35
7
Chris Froome
Team Sky
+ 3'39
8
Maxime Monfort
Lotto Belisol
+ 3'47
9
Sergio Henao
Team Sky
+ 3'58
10
Cameron Meyer
Orica GreenEdge
+ 4'57
11
Dries Devenyns
Team Giant - Shimano
+ 4'58
12
Jakob Fuglsang
Astana Pro Team
+ 5'20
13
John Gadret
Movistar Team
+ 5'25
14
Tiago Machado
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
Spoiler
15
Matthias Frank
IAM Cycling
+ 5'48
16
Maxime Bouet
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 5'54
17
Alberto Losada
Team Katusha
+ 6'03
18
Laurens Ten Dam
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
+ 6'12
19
Ivan Basso
Cannondale
+ 6'20
20
Igor Antón
Movistar Team
+ 6'55
21
Pierre Rolland
Team Europcar
+ 6'57
22
Ben Hermans
BMC Racing Team
+ 7'53
23
Ion Izagirre
Movistar Team
+ 8'10
24
Wout Poels
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 9'26
25
Daniel Moreno
Team Katusha
+ 9'41
26
Haimar Zubeldia
Trek Factory Racing
+ 9'48
27
Tom Danielson
Garmin Sharp
s.t.
28
Jelle Vanendert
Lotto Belisol
+ 9'55
29
Ryder Hesjedal
Garmin Sharp
+ 9'59
30
Thomas Löfkvist
IAM Cycling
+ 10'14
31
Pieter Weening
Orica GreenEdge
+ 10'18
32
Jonathan Castroviejo
Movistar Team
+ 10'19
33
Gianluca Brambilla
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
34
Beñat Intxausti
Movistar Team
+ 10'20
35
Sébastien Reichenbach
IAM Cycling
+ 10'23
36
Ivan Santaromita
Orica GreenEdge
+ 10'28
37
Dominik Nerz
BMC Racing Team
+ 10'32
38
Kenny Elissonde
FDJ.fr
+ 10'42
39
Sylwester Szmyd
Movistar Team
+ 10'52
40
Rubén Plaza
Movistar Team
+ 10'53
41
André Cardoso
Garmin Sharp
s.t.
42
José Serpa
Lampre - Merida
+ 10'54
43
Kanstantsin Siutsou
Team Sky
+ 11'00
44
Alexis Vuillermoz
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 11'12
45
Giampaolo Caruso
Team Katusha
+ 11'15
46
Pierrick Fédrigo
FDJ.fr
+ 11'23
47
Leopold König
Team NetApp - Endura
+ 11'27
48
Daniel Martin
Garmin Sharp
+ 11'30
49
Roman Kreuziger
Tinkoff - Saxo
+ 11'31
50
Andrey Zeits
Astana Pro Team
+ 11'34
51
Luis León Sánchez
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
+ 11'43
52
David López
Team Sky
+ 11'47
53
Philip Deignan
Team Sky
+ 11'50
54
Fabio Felline
Trek Factory Racing
+ 11'51
55
Wilco Kelderman
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
+ 12'16
56
Xabier Zandio
Team Sky
+ 12'25
57
Janier Acevedo
Garmin Sharp
+ 12'31
58
Thomas Damuseau
Team Giant - Shimano
s.t.
59
Arnold Jeannesson
FDJ.fr
+ 12'42
60
David De la Cruz
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
61
Hubert Dupont
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 12'43
62
Matteo Rabottini
YellowFluo
+ 12'53
63
Kristijan Durasek
Lampre - Merida
+ 13'02
64
Matthew Busche
Trek Factory Racing
+ 13'19
65
Michael Schär
BMC Racing Team
+ 14'13
66
Simon Gerrans
Orica GreenEdge
+ 14'15
67
Riccardo Zoidl
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
68
Mikel Landa
Astana Pro Team
+ 14'24
69
Mikaël Chérel
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 14'45
70
Alex Howes
Garmin Sharp
+ 14'48
71
Carlos Verona
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 14'58
72
Winner Anacona
Lampre - Merida
+ 15'11
73
Francis Mourey
FDJ.fr
+ 15'12
74
Jan Barta
Team NetApp - Endura
+ 15'16
75
Egor Silin
Team Katusha
+ 15'21
76
Valerio Agnoli
Astana Pro Team
+ 15'27
77
Marcos García
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
+ 15'51
78
Yannick Eijssen
BMC Racing Team
+ 15'55
79
Rafael Valls
Lampre - Merida
+ 16'09
80
Johan Le Bon
FDJ.fr
+ 16'19
81
Stijn Devolder
Trek Factory Racing
+ 16'21
82
Matteo Montaguti
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 16'22
83
Petr Ignatenko
Team Katusha
s.t.
84
Amaël Moinard
BMC Racing Team
+ 16'31
85
Fabio Aru
Astana Pro Team
+ 17'03
86
Bartosz Huzarski
Team NetApp - Endura
+ 17'10
87
Eduard Vorganov
Team Katusha
+ 17'13
88
Cayetano Sarmiento
Cannondale
+ 17'14
89
Gianni Meersman
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 17'17
90
Davide Malacarne
Team Europcar
+ 17'20
91
Julian Arredondo
Trek Factory Racing
+ 17'30
92
Chris Anker Sørensen
Tinkoff - Saxo
+ 17'46
93
Thierry Hupond
Team Giant - Shimano
+ 17'47
94
Jan Polanc
Lampre - Merida
+ 17'50
95
Steven Kruijswijk
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
96
Enrico Gasparotto
Astana Pro Team
+ 17'51
97
Pim Ligthart
Lotto Belisol
+ 18'01
98
Paul Martens
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
+ 18'30
99
Iker Camaño
Team NetApp - Endura
+ 18'42
100
Sebastian Henao
Team Sky
+ 18'49
101
Pello Bilbao
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
+ 19'22
102
Salvatore Puccio
Team Sky
+ 19'27
103
Ramunas Navardauskas
Garmin Sharp
+ 19'51
104
Mattia Cattaneo
Lampre - Merida
+ 19'54
105
Jesús Hernández
Tinkoff - Saxo
+ 20'35
106
Juan Manuel Gárate
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
+ 20'41
107
Adam Hansen
Lotto Belisol
+ 20'46
108
Manuel Quinziato
BMC Racing Team
+ 21'03
109
Daan Olivier
Team Giant - Shimano
+ 21'11
110
Serge Pauwels
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 21'22
111
Cameron Wurf
Cannondale
+ 21'23
112
Iván Velasco
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
+ 21'28
113
Christian Meier
Orica GreenEdge
+ 21'52
114
Larry Warbasse
BMC Racing Team
+ 22'00
115
Jonathan Monsalve
YellowFluo
+ 22'09
116
Thomas Voeckler
Team Europcar
+ 22'10
117
Bruno Pires
Tinkoff - Saxo
+ 22'20
118
Ben Gastauer
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 22'34
119
Mitchell Docker
Orica GreenEdge
+ 23'09
120
Maxim Belkov
Team Katusha
+ 23'11
121
Cristiano Salerno
Cannondale
+ 23'22
122
Jussi Veikkanen
FDJ.fr
+ 24'06
123
Reto Hollenstein
IAM Cycling
+ 24'12
124
Oliver Zaugg
Tinkoff - Saxo
+ 24'13
125
Chad Haga
Team Giant - Shimano
+ 24'42
126
Stefan Denifl
IAM Cycling
+ 24'45
127
Fabrice Jeandesboz
Team Europcar
+ 24'49
128
Svein Tuft
Orica GreenEdge
+ 25'12
129
Alexey Lutsenko
Astana Pro Team
+ 25'17
130
Maciej Bodnar
Cannondale
+ 25'19
131
Koldo Fernández
Garmin Sharp
+ 25'38
132
Dimitry Kozontchuk
Team Katusha
+ 25'56
133
Jonathan Fumeaux
IAM Cycling
+ 26'00
134
Ivan Rovny
Tinkoff - Saxo
+ 26'02
135
Giovanni Bernaudeau
Team Europcar
+ 26'20
136
Cédric Pineau
FDJ.fr
+ 26'35
137
Yukiya Arashiro
Team Europcar
+ 26'42
138
Evan Huffman
Astana Pro Team
+ 26'48
139
Julien Bérard
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 26'59
140
Luca Wackermann
Lampre - Merida
+ 27'00
141
Fabio Silvestre
Trek Factory Racing
+ 27'27
142
Rory Sutherland
Tinkoff - Saxo
+ 27'31
143
Tosh Van der Sande
Lotto Belisol
+ 27'53
144
Thomas Peterson
Team Giant - Shimano
+ 28'02
145
Tom Leezer
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
+ 28'22
146
Antonio Piedra
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
+ 28'48
147
Alan Marangoni
Cannondale
+ 29'01
148
Maxime Méderel
Team Europcar
+ 29'11
149
Lawson Craddock
Team Giant - Shimano
+ 29'31
150
Karsten Kroon
Tinkoff - Saxo
+ 29'37
151
Luigi Miletta
YellowFluo
+ 29'53
152
Johannes Fröhlinger
Team Giant - Shimano
+ 29'54
153
Stig Broeckx
Lotto Belisol
+ 30'05
154
Fabricio Ferrari
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
+ 30'06
155
Yannick Martinez
Team Europcar
+ 30'08
156
Cesare Benedetti
Team NetApp - Endura
+ 30'37
157
Moreno Hofland
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
+ 30'39
158
Rafael Andriato
YellowFluo
+ 32'43
159
Guillaume Boivin
Cannondale
+ 33'44
160
Jean-Marc Marino
Cannondale
+ 34'07
161
Amets Txurruka
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
+ 34'57
162
Nick Van der Lijke
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
+ 34'59
163
Mirko Tedeschi
YellowFluo
+ 35'12
164
Sean De Bie
Lotto Belisol
+ 37'18
165
Michael Schwarzmann
Team NetApp - Endura
+ 37'46
166
Marcel Aregger
IAM Cycling
+ 39'15
167
Francesco Chicchi
YellowFluo
+ 44'25
168
Vicente Reynès
IAM Cycling
+ 44'53
169
Mattia Pozzo
YellowFluo
+ 45'47
170
Ramón Domene
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
+ 47'33
171
Murilo Fischer
FDJ.fr
+ 49'40
172
Ramon Carretero
YellowFluo
+ 57'38
Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco
A team lead by Moreno Moser experienced an uneventful Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco – for them. For everybody else, it was quite an exciting race to watch, although it already ended like the Catalunya a week before.
That means it turned into another Alejandro Valverde show. The Spaniard proves his compelling form by taking two stage wins and dominating the opposition thanks to his team. With nearly 2 minutes lead on second place Rui Costa, it sure was another perfectly executed race by Movistar. However, they sure played a bit of weird tactical game since Nairo Quintana claimed a clear lead on stage 4. On the following day, Valverde sort of attacked his teammate, and because no one else was reacting initially, the Spaniard got away and claimed the jersey from his teammate. Quintana lost big time on that stage though, so it may have been the best decision by Movistar.
Disappointing performances by Grand Tour contenders like Chris Froome or the other two Sky riders Bradley Wiggins and Richie Porte or T.J:. Van Garderen were oftentimes laughed at in internet forums, while Valverde is now seriously considered a candidate for the Tour de France again. But firstly, Valverde will be hot for the Ardennes.
@Ian & sutty: He sure is. Looks dangerous this season.
Paris – Roubaix The secret is to keep breathing
So this is it. The big one. Hell of the North. And what am I? The boy from the South.
With Sagan injured, Cannondale resembles a lawless state for me. We are out of control and no more rules. We just ride there. Or at least, I can ride there freely, and thus I ended up in the break of the day of Paris-Roubaix, and I was one of the best cobble riders in the rather larger group. 11 more men were with me and we put in quite some time into the peloton onwards.
Of course, there lay a plan towards these things. As much as I have liked, if push came to shovel, I would have to work for Gatto, but until then, I could enjoy my spell in the break as much as it was possible for a 21 year old. Each time we hit the legendary pave on the way to Roubaix, I moved up naturally upfront and paced the group. I considered it my privilege to have this honour, nevermind the wind…
Who’s that guy upfront? He’s riding way too much in the wind #Cannondale #ParisRoubaix
Sagan should be more often injured. Allows Cannondale riders to go for break and stage wins rather just to pace all day long. #Cannondale #NotLameForOnce #ParisRoubaix
Mark my words, Visconti’s going to end up either hurt by riding so recklessly or he gets a Top 25 #Visconti #ParisRoubaix
That dude is the next big thing for Italian cycling. But we have said that about the myriads of other guys before him as well. #Hype #PrepareForDisappointment #Visconti
Some twitter users rambling on about me, jeez.
With around 100 kilometers left Delage from FDJ attacks from inside the peloton and quickly closes the gap of 5 minutes to my group. Enough for me to consider him a helpful hand and both of us end up doing most of the work from here on out as one section of pave follows the next one in this intense build-up to the finale. It still took its fair share of time and effort though until our big breakaway group was splitting up. Delage and I made those wheelsuckers suffer.
I heard the news of the attacks back in the peloton when I reached around the 40 kilometer sign. Boonen and Cancellara blew in their horns of fanfare and battle, and launched their devastating speed where it hurt the most. Hardly anybody thought of going with them, even less riders actually could even try. Vanmarcke and Turgot are the quickest to follow, however the French soon drops behind. The hectic in the peloton is apparently dominating, and Oscar Gatto for example is one of the riders that tries to take advantage of it by riding his own race at this moment and trying to set himself apart as well.
When Cancellara, Vanmarcke and Boonen passed me, there was no way in heaven I could catch their wheel. They were just too fast. I was fighting there and turned my head and I thought, if I get into the slipstream, but no way… they just left me there on the spot. At least things went a bit better with Turgot and Haussler, since I could hold their pace. That was until Delage left a little gap and I already went over my limit to close this little, so important gap. That’s when the pain kicked in. When I couldn’t go on, when I just wanted to stop my bike and get off it. Just call it quits, for now and forever. But then, fuck it, I thought. Paris-Roubaix has never been nice and lovely and cozy to anybody in its history. Guys have been far worse off than you, Raphael. Get a grip of yourself. It doesn’t even rain.
I was reeled in eventually when there were roughly 20 kilometers left. Gatto was there too, as well as riders such as Van Avermaet or Langeveld. They set a good pace but I managed to hang in there for a few kilometers until I dropped. While Cancellara, Boonen and Vanmarcke started to play a bit of tactical games, the group around Van Avermaet came closer and closer. Gatto dropped unfortunately out of it as well but still achieved a 8th rank, while Van Avermaet & Co. even got the same time in the sprint as the leading group. A bit weird if you ask me. In any case, the Velodrome saw a thrilling finish in which Tom Boonen prevailed and took his FIFTH victory and pave as trophy. Surely Tom Boonen is not only the King of Flanders and France by now, but a true legend of cycling by now.
Considering myself: I improve one place compared to Ronde and finish on a freaking great 22nd. I’m proud of myself and with the effort I have committed to my performance today. I struggled throughout the race, pain and legs were just part of the deal… I’m skinny as hell afterwards, drained of all sorts of power. Is there somewhere a fast food joint? I hate that stuff, but god damn it… give me meat…
At some moment, I thought my legs were radioactive material. Just pulsing, pumping, insane poison in them. The only medicine was to finally lie down.
I’m glad it’s over. Until next year.
That was an absolutely stunning ride from Raphael today, he should be pleased with the way he performed and just at those big names he finished in front of
I'm rather surprised at PCM 2013 sometimes: They sometimes take in absolutely realistic, perfect time gaps... and then, time gaps are just shit. Here's hoping one day it will always be realistic. 
