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In The Pursuit of Glory | Thank You!
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 04-08-2014 09:03
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Tour de France Champion
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Mixed emotions in the Tour de France  but lets hope the new signings (especially Dennis) will add strength and depth to the squad  |
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| mvhoogdalem |
Posted on 04-08-2014 21:21
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Missed a few updates, shame for Martijn that he crashed out of ToL.
Tour was great, even though it's a pity Rolland crashed out. A stage win and KoM is great for Europcar.
Nice to see Turgot back at Europcar. Also Meintjes and Dennis should add some quality to the squad. |
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 10-08-2014 22:32
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Grand Tour Champion
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@all: Rolland was riding really well, which made the crash even worst. Terrible conditions, and happened in a similar way to Contador IRL. Moving up the peleton on a fast descent, and down he went. Happy with the new signings as well. Some I didn't expect to be available / sign for the team, but a good signal for the future 
*****
Apologies for lack of updates over the last week. Been on holiday in France, and got back today. I am going to keep the story on hold for a little longer, due to another longer holiday in 2 weeks time, and I don't want to start up to suddenly stop again. Martijn will be back, and in the meantime to keep me ticking over on the site, my Bianchi Factory Team story may return
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 10-08-2014 23:54
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Tour de France Champion
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Holidays everywhere  |
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 11-08-2014 20:38
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Grand Tour Champion
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@sutty: A nice couple of days away in France and then 2 1/2 weeks island hopping in Azores in 2 weeks time haha
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 11-08-2014 23:17
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Tour de France Champion
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Very niceeeeeee  , suppose i may get a weekend away in Rhyl |
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 26-08-2014 21:07
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Grand Tour Champion
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Getting Back In The Saddle
A small change to my race schedule, meant that I would end my mid-season break at the Tour du Limousin instead of the Tour du Poitou Charentes. I was happy with that decision from management, as the route suited me more.
Whilst I was Leader for the race, my lack of racing and form could rule me out of the Overall GC fight. The hillier profiles fell on stages 2 and 3, with Stage 2 being my main target. The short climbs before the finish could be a good launch pad, before a fast decent to the line.
The first stage was flat and offered a chance for the sprinters to shine at their first opportunity. Jerome Cousin was part of the break for the team, and in the Mass Sprint at the finish, our new South African neo-pro Goredema Chisiza finished a very respectable 4th place.
I finished the first stage safely in the peleton, and stage 2 was about protection over the early stages. Again, we had a man in the break, Alexandre Pichot, aiming to come away with the KoM jersey. Sadly, his legs weren't with him out on the stage, and he struggled against José Iván Gutiérrez (Movistar) and Tom Stamsnijder (Giant).
My plan was to attack as the break was pulled back on the first steep climb towards the finish. With Gautier as pilot, we hit the front, opening a small gap. On the descent, it opened a little more. With 3km to go, on the final climb, I attacked.
Over the top, I had 30 seconds, and with a fast descent to the finish, there was no catching me. There were no words to describe the feeling with 10 metres to go. I looked to the heavens as the rain came down, and threw my hands in the air. My first victory in the Rainbow Flag Jersey, and there is no greater feeling than this!
General Classification after Stage 2 | 1 |  Martijn North | Team Europcar | 8h53'10 | | 2 |  Julien Simon | Cofidis Solutions Crédits | + 46 | | 3 | Yoann Offredo | FDJ.fr | + 50 | | 4 | Armindo Fonseca | Bretagne - Séché | + 52 | | 5 |  Ramunas Navardauskas | Garmin-Sharp | s.t. |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 07:34
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| fernando97 |
Posted on 26-08-2014 21:15
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Easy win for Martijn, a great moment to win in the NC jersey. |
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| mvhoogdalem |
Posted on 26-08-2014 23:22
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Excellent racing from Martijn. Now he just has to hang on, on stage 3. |
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 27-08-2014 20:39
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@fernando: I wouldn't say it was easy! For some reason, Martijn wasn't seen as a Favourite for the stage, so I guess that helped.
@mvh: The climb on stage 3 is far enough from the finish to hopefully not cause any issues
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 27-08-2014 22:59
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After two stages in France, both the team and I were going well. Chisiza was riding well in the Sprints, and following my late attack on Stage 2, I was sat in Yellow, by less than a minute to the other GC favourites. Being in lead at this stage was completely new to me, and I honestly didn't know how I should feel or act either pre-race or after the finish.
A strange feeling or not, we had to defend the Leader's Jersey, and it came with a very testing Stage 3. Hilly in profile, the main challenge would be the larger climb around 20km from the finish. It was steep enough to cause attacks, but hopefully far enough from the finish to make it difficult for them work.
Should that go well, Stage 4 will be making sure I stay out of trouble, stay calm and avoid any stupid time losses and gaps in the predicted Sprint Finish.
As expected, the big climb of the day would be where the attacks would happen. The break was pulled back at the base of the climb, and all the way up to the summit, there was countless accelerations from my GC rivals. Watching every move carefully, not a single one was let go. It would take more than this to take my Leader's jersey. A group of 40 riders crossed the line, with myself sprinting for 6th. The bonus seconds would only be a small dent in my lead for the likes of Julien Simon (Cofidis) and Yoann Offredo (FDJ).
I went into the final stage thinking job done on my part. I had been strong to defend the lead, but I still had to be careful. A mechanical or puncture at the wrong moment could result in a big time loss.
Learning from when I challenged for the Leader's Jersey in the Grand Prix of Sochi with Team GB, I stayed close to the front. I wanted to see exactly what was happening, reacting to any threats if needed. As it would turn out, it wouldn't be threatened at all. Fabian Wegmann (Garmin) won te bunch sprint, to earn himself a Podium finish on GC, as I rolled across the line safely in 15th. Chisiza again did his reputation as a future great sprinter, with another impressive 5th place finish.
It was a great race for the Europcar team, and Jean-René made sure he knew how proud he was in the entire squad who rode the race. For me, I just had the feeling that this is going to be a good end to a great season in the WorldTour.
| 1 | Martijn North | Team Europcar | 16h48'03 | | 2 | Julien Simon | Cofidis Solutions Crédits | + 32 | | 3 |  Fabian Wegmann | Garmin-Sharp | + 46 | | 4 | Armindo Fonseca | Bretagne - Séché | + 48 | | 5 | Yoann Offredo | FDJ.fr | + 50 |
| 1 | Julien Simon | Cofidis Solutions Crédits | 73 | | 2 | Fabian Wegmann | Garmin-Sharp | 58 | | 3 | Yoann Offredo | FDJ.fr | 56 | | 4 | Armindo Fonseca | Bretagne - Séché | 46 | | 5 | Ramunas Navardauskas | Garmin-Sharp | 40 | | ... | | 7 | Martijn North | Team Europcar | 36 |
| 1 |  Benjamin King | Garmin-Sharp | 16 | | 2 |  José Iván Gutiérrez Palacios | Movistar Team | 14 | | 3 | Omar Fraile Matarranz | Caja Rural - Seguros RGA | 12 | | 4 |  Tom Stamsnijder | Giant-Shimano | 12 | | 5 | Imanol Erviti | Movistar Team | 11 |
| 1 | Martijn North | Team Europcar | 16h48'03 | | 2 | Armindo Fonseca | Bretagne - Séché | + 48 | | 3 | Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg | Giant-Shimano | + 56 | | 4 | Lawson Craddock | Giant-Shimano | s.t. | | 5 | Tom Dumoulin | Giant-Shimano | s.t. |
| 1 | Team Europcar | 50h26'56 | | 2 | Giant-Shimano | + 1 | | 3 | Ag2r - La Mondiale | s.t. | | 4 | Garmin-Sharp | s.t. | | 5 | FDJ.fr | s.t. |
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| Roextro |
Posted on 27-08-2014 23:02
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Great ride by Martijn to keep his maillot jaune |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 27-08-2014 23:39
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Tour de France Champion
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Martijn seems to be really enjoying himself in Limousin |
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| OZrocker |
Posted on 28-08-2014 16:20
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Wow, what a great comeback! Fingers crossed for stage 4
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 28-08-2014 21:27
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@hardy: Thanks once over the top of the climb, it was a case of watching for further attacks approaching the finish
@sutty: It was a good race A late addition to the calender, but it paid off. Wanting to hit top form for the Canadian WT races
@oz: Stage 4 is in the report my reports with Martijn are different to Bianchi and are an overview of several stages in one There is no more racing in Limousin
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 28-08-2014 23:28
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Tour de France Champion
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On current form the Canadian WT races shouldn't cause Martijn any problems |
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| OZrocker |
Posted on 29-08-2014 04:50
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Oops, I'm sure I read it earlier but when I came back to comment I forgot that it was finished! Congrats and good luck in Canada
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| mvhoogdalem |
Posted on 29-08-2014 07:02
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Great result for Martijn. Hopefully he can do well in Canada. |
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| Re Leone |
Posted on 29-08-2014 09:46
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Pity to see your Bianchi story come to an end, but good luck with this one. I'm liking the reports you're putting out. And North really seems to be coming of age.
One Rider Story
Team Story |
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 16-09-2014 20:57
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Grand Tour Champion
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@sutty: The WT races are a big step up, but Martijn is developing nicely to be able to compete in them. This year might to be too soon, so it will all about learning. Similar to at Fleche Wallonne
@OZ: That's not a problem, so don't worry. A few races before Canada but that is where Martijn should be at his peak
@mvh: Thanks. It will be a race to gain experience and build for next season
@ReLeone: Thanks Eventhough I loved the Bianchi story, my heart is with Martijn. It deserves my full 100% attention. Glad you like the reports, and Martijn is showing real promise for the future
*****
As you can guess, I am back from my break and I have no more holidays planned until the end of the year The story will be back up and running on Thursday with any hope and I plan to be in 2015 by the other side of this weekend. I have many plans for the future of Martijn
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