Cunego, Hushovd and Chavanel all finished in the top10. So with a bit more luck a win would have been possible here.
But 2nd is still great with a non sprinter.
The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya is the next in a row of traditional and important races in March and April. Just as the Tour of the Basque Country a couple of days later, it's characterized by the local, patriotic spirit and the enthusiasm of the crowd. In it's long history since 1911, the winner was consequentally mostly Spanish, record winner is Mariano Canardo with seven wins between 1928 and 1939.
Six of the seven stages are mostly a bit hilly including possibilities of bunch sprints. Probably decisive will be the third stage with a mountain top finish on the Vallnord in the Pyrenees.
Spoiler
Result in 2011
1
Alberto Contador
Saxo Bank - Sungard
2
Luis Leon Sanchez
Rabobank
3
Fränk Schleck
Leopard - Trek
4
Haimar Zubeldia
Team RadioShack
5
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
Favorites
Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel) , Igor Antón (Leopard)
Ivan Basso (Katusha)
Cadel Evans (BMC) , Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas)
Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana)
Chris Horner (Unicef) , Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank)
AG2R La Mondiale
211. B.Kadri
212. D.Champion
213. S.Houanard
214. D.Le Lay
215. S.Minard
216. L.Mondory
217. A.Ravard
218. C.Riblon
A quite strong startlist although last year's winner Alberto Contador is missing. On the moderatly hard course and with such a close starting field, one strong day could be enough to decide the tour to your favour.
Team Liquigas
After our strong results in the early season, we feel like we have reached another level of difficulty, now that the season is in full play. Still we hope for a good placement with Roman Kreuziger, a Top 3 would be awesome. Also, we think that Peter Sagan might have good chances for a stage win here.
Report – Part One
A strong seven men break including Marco Marcato went clear after a couple of kilometers and were soon too far away. Although Unicef and Quick·Step led the chase, they couldn't do more than reducing the loss. They eventually finish 2 minutes behind the winner.
Marcato takes both mountain sprints and the jersey. On the last hill, he attacks and breaks free. But the gap isn't large enough and his companions catch him sprinting towards the line. The winner is no surprise: Grega Bole (Lampre) outsprints Anthony Roux (FDJ) and Ruben Perez (Euskaltel).
Unspectacularly, a thirteen men break is reeled in 12 kms in front of the finish. It was mostly Eukaltel and Liquigas who did the work.
In the sprint, Sagan and Ponzi get stuck and can't compete for the win. Euskaltel leads out Koldo Fernandez but he's in front too early. From his wheel, Russian youngster Denis Galimzyanov jumps to the front and takes the win. No one could challenge him today.
With his first professional win ever, Denis Galimzyanov finally proves his potential.
1
Denis Galimzyanov
Katusha Team
4h12'26
2
Mirco Lorenzetto
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
3
Oscar Freire
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
A rather strong break came free over the first climb. 12 riders including Igor Anton (Leopard) and Wout Poels (Vacansoleil) open a gap of 7 minutes which is almost completely closed by Liquigas on the long descent towards the last climb. Only Anton is left in front as the pack enters the Vallnord.
The first favorites who attack are Vinokourov and Sammy Sanchez. They catch up with Anton but they're all caught by Movistar and a strong Peter Sagan. The pack then remained calm until the last 3 kms when Roman Kreuziger gives it a try. But he doesn't get away at all. Instead, it's Jelle Vanendert (Omega Pharma), Chris Horner (Unicef) and Jakob Fuglsang (Leopard) who open the decisive gap. The Belgian wins with 36 seconds in front of the 20 men main peloton.
It's Ivan Gutierrez from the break of Stage 1 who overtakes the yellow jersey. Grega Bole finishes very well, too.
A surprising winner on a stage that was expected to be much harder: Jelle Vanendert.
You chose a difficult race to switch to extreme, there barely are gaps in the Volta a Catalunya.... Hope you can get Kreuziger in the top 10, or maybe 5!
cunego59 wrote:
I'm happy with that choice as well, this way I will be more pleased with wins as well.
That's it You will still be able to go for wins, and this wins will feel much better. Sprints will be tough, but I'm sure we will see Liquigas and - of course - Dominik succeeding! Good luck with Kreuziger, he's in good position.
Another break dominated this stage and again, Marco Marcato was present there. It soon became obvious that they would stay clear. Marcato could take the points on the mountain sprint but then fell back and held himself between the break and the pack.
In the sprint for the win, Lieuwe Westra edged out Kristof Vandewalle and Robert Kiserlovski. Marco Marcato was completely empty but saved some centimeters in front of the sprinting pack which finishes 2'42 behind the winner.
Lieuwe Westra scores his first season win, the second for his team.
1
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil – DCM Pro Cycling Team
4h33'17
2
Kristof Vandewalle
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
3
Robert Kiserlovski
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
Another stage, the same picture: A rather strong, large break of eleven riders got away and achieved a maximum lead of 13 minutes. Again, the pack showed no interest in bringing them back and eventually finished 7'45 behind the escapees.
On top of the last hill, David Zabriskie attacked and created a gap to his fellow companions. Although it was a long ride, he used his terrific time trialing skills and saved 29 seconds into the finish. Vladimir Gusev won the sprint among the rest of the break. No changes in the overall.
Breakaways experience a boom here in Catalunya. Again, a strong time trialist takes the win: David Zabriskie.
Early on the stage, Oss and Longo Borghini gave up to compete in Gent – Wevelgem the next day. Then, a strong break of eleven riders including Wout Poels and Igor Anton got away but as some of the riders were a threat for Marcato's mountain jersey, Liquigas brought them back just before the mountain sprint. It's then Marcato himself who takes the full points and opens a gap.
He is joined by David Tanner (GreenEdge) and David Le Lay (Ag2r). They got a large advance and it seemed like they would stay clear. On the last hill, Le Lay attacked and left the other two behind. He extended his lead and took the stage win. Also, three riders escaped from the pack: Aitor Galdos (Caja Rural), Cadel Evans (BMC) and Tony Martin (T-Mobile). They're no threat for the GC and catch up with Tanner and Marcato.
Galdos eventually outsprints Evans and Marcato – who has secured his mountain jersey and will inherit the jersey from Dominik Nerz - for place two. In the pack, Sagan leads out Ponzi perfectly and the Italian takes place 7. A good day for Liquigas.
Third solo winner in a row: David Le Lay.
1
David Le Lay
AG2R La Mondiale
4h47'24
2
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
+ 2'26
3
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
4
Marco Marcato
Liquigas – Cannondale
s.t.
The last stage was expected to end in a mass sprint but the break seemed to have a real chance: Again, Marco Marcato was in it, joined by Robert Hunter (Unicef), Kevin Impe (Quick·Step) and Ben Swift (Sky). They still led by 4 minutes with 40 kms to go. But the sprinter teams were eventually too keen on a sprint and they were caught.
In the sprint, Koldo Fernandez soon overtook the lead and didn't give it away anymore. Gerald Ciolek and Denis Galimzyanov complete the podium while Simone Ponzi had a terrible day and finishes 16th. With his 14th, Roman Kreuziger overtook the overall nineth from Luis Leon Sanchez, who had the same time.
You wouldn't have thought that this race was decided by a breakaway. But Ivan Gutierrez managed to hold on to some of the advance he created on stage one. He ads one of the most important results to his palmarès with this win on his old days.
Well, nineth place. Not quite what we aimed for but for the first race on a new level, it's decently good. Plus, without the breakaway, Kreuziger would have been fourth. And of course, Marcato won the mountain jersey and a couple of Top 10 positions through his breakaway tries. All in all, we're pleased with the outcome.
Great report! I know how long it takes to make such report, because of my own story experiences. So great you have kept it going for so long - I like it a lot
. March 26, 2012 – E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Harelbeke
The Race
The E3 Prijs Vlaanderen is one of the important cobblestone classics in spring. It's held one week before the Ronde van Vlaanderen and one day before Gent – Wevelgem and lots of riders use it as a preparation race. Most recently, Tom Boonen won the race four years in a row from 2004 to 2007.
Eight cobblestone sections aren't that much but lots of hills will provide lots of difficulty and separation for the riders.
Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara, the top favorites for the big classics, will test their respective strenghts today. Other outside shots are here as well, but some strong riders like Haussler are missing.
Team Liquigas
Due to some misplanning, Daniel Oss and Paolo Longo Borghini are still in Catalunya. Now our leader is Juraj Sagan, and of course we don't expect anything from him.
Report
Quickly after the start, seven riders made the jump from the pack and formed the break of the day. By and by, more riders bridged the gap and eventually, 14 riders were in front. Surprisingly, strong cobblestone riders like Lars Boom (Vacansoleil), Dominik Klemme (Leopard) and Preben Van Hecke (Topsport) were there and the pack gave them more than six minutes of advance.
On the last cobblestone section, Stijn Devolder opened the race for the favorites. He attacked from the 20 riders group behind the six escapees who are left in front. He soon closes the gap but the advance of the front group is already under a minute.
The chasing group caught up with the front within the last 8kms. 22 riders are now in front and as no one makes a strong last move, a sprint would decide. As the sprint starts, Leopard is in front with Dominik Klemme and Fabian Cancellara. Spartacus soon is in the wind and no one can follow him. Stijn Devolder tries to catch his wheel but is too exhausted and falls back again.
Cancellara takes the win in a dominant way. Danish champion Matti Breschel finishes second. Juraj Sagan finishes 90th, Matthew Busche 94th, the other riders from Liquigas have to abandon.
After his second spot last year, Fabian Cancellara was unstoppable today. Muddy, but unstoppable.
Fabian Cancellara sets a bang with this win and proves his ambitions for the upcoming big classics. It will be an interesting fight as we saw today that lots of riders are within a small range of strength.
Although I said we didn't expect anything, this result is still a bit disappointing. We thought that Juraj would be able to at least enter the Top 50 and we hoped for all our riders to finish. But well, we don't attach much importance to this race. For Gent - Wevelgem, Longo Borghini and Oss will hopefully be back again.
