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Team High Road - 2009(EXTREME) - January
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 12-06-2008 19:49
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Tour de France - Stage 9
Welcome to the mountains. It's time for the race for the overall win to really start. The stage today has two significant climbs toward the end, but ends with a downhil.
We kind of thought the favorites wouldn't attack until the last climb but race leader Cadel Evans attacked half way up the mountain before. Kirchen tried to follow.
But he couldn't get there. He dropped back to the pelaton and Evans crested the summit alone.
As they started up the final climb, Evans had built up a sizeable lead and it was slowly growing.
And nobody would catch him by the top... the lead was still getting larger.
An elite group was chasing on the downhill. Leipheimer, Kirchen, Kloden, Menchov, Popovych, A. Schleck, Sastre, Contador and Gesink.
They managed to halt the gains Evans was putting in the group... but nobody would catch Cadel today. Evans wins the stage and takes a solid lead in the overall.
The chase finishes over three and a half minutes back, Gesink winning the sprint to the line. They are nearly caught by a second chase group, but do earn a small gap.
Evans really showed his form with the time trial and now the first mountain stage.
Stage Results:
1 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 5h38'49
2 Robert Gesink Rabobank + 3'36
3 Chris Horner Team Astana s.t.
4 Kim Kirchen Team High Road s.t.
5 Alberto Contador Team Astana s.t.
6 Carlos Sastre Team CSC s.t.
7 Andy Schleck Team CSC s.t.
8 Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto s.t.
9 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana s.t.
10 Denis Menchov Rabobank s.t.
11 Andreas Klöden Team Astana s.t.
12 Tadej Valjavec AG2R - La Mondiale + 4'08
13 Bernhard Kohl Gerolsteiner s.t.
14 Christophe Moreau Agritubel s.t.
15 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner s.t.
16 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
17 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas s.t.
18 Thomas Lövkvist Team High Road s.t.
19 John Gadret AG2R - La Mondiale s.t.
20 Janez Brajkovic Team Astana s.t.
21 Alexandr Kolobnev Team CSC s.t.
22 Morris Possoni Team High Road s.t.
23 Sylvain Chavanel Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 5'58
24 José Iván Gutiérrez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
25 Stijn Devolder Quick·Step + 7'28
26 Leonardo Piepoli Saunier Duval - Scott s.t.
27 Yann Huguet Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 8'18
28 David Moncoutié Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone s.t.
29 Tony Martin Team High Road s.t.
30 George Hincapie Team High Road s.t.
GC:
1 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 37h29'05
2 Alberto Contador Team Astana + 4'14
3 Denis Menchov Rabobank + 4'44
4 Kim Kirchen Team High Road + 4'48
5 Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto + 4'54
6 Janez Brajkovic Team Astana + 4'55
7 Thomas Lövkvist Team High Road + 4'56
8 Andy Schleck Team CSC + 5'08
9 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner + 5'35
10 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne + 5'51
11 Robert Gesink Rabobank + 6'19
12 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana + 7'24
13 Sylvain Chavanel Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 7'34
14 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas + 7'48
15 Andreas Klöden Team Astana + 8'12
16 Christophe Moreau Agritubel + 8'24
17 Carlos Sastre Team CSC + 8'25
18 Stijn Devolder Quick·Step + 9'15
19 George Hincapie Team High Road + 9'22
20 John Gadret AG2R - La Mondiale + 9'38
Points:
1 Kim Kirchen Team High Road 179
2 Óscar Freire Rabobank 136
3 Gerald Ciolek Team High Road 128
4 Mark Cavendish Team High Road 126
5 Erik Zabel Team Milram 122
Mountains:
1 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 56
2 Alexander Efimkin Quick·Step 50
3 Denis Menchov Rabobank 32
4 Taylor Phinney Team High Road 30
5 Chris Horner Team Astana 26
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| popkorn |
Posted on 12-06-2008 20:00
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Neo-Pro
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How come the AI riders can attack on the uphill when I do it myself with a top rider he loses his energy before he's out of the peloton? |
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 12-06-2008 20:14
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Breakaway Specialist
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Tour de France - Stage 10
Today's stage has two main climbs like yesterday. The difference is we end on an uphill... which will likely cause a bigger discrepency in times. Everyone will be working for Kim Kirchen today.
The break went like normal today. Nobody attacked on the first climb... but there was some significan action on the downhill.
First, young rider classification leader and Astana captain Alberto Contador went down on the descent.
And then Kirchen went down! We dropped almost our entire team back... everyone except Possoni who would stay at the front to help Kirchen once he regained the lead group. Lovkvist was sacrificing his own position to help. Astana sent everyone but Kloden and Leipheimer back and the two teams were giving their all.
But they hadn't regained the pelaton by the first climb. Evans took the initiative again today and attacked, building a small lead on the chasing favorites.
This was bad news. Kirchen worked his butt off and was able to weave through the riders dropping off the pelaton to rejoin the main group. Still, the leaders were minutes up the road. Possoni went to work at the front to try to bring them back while Kirchen just tried to hold on.
Evans put in another powerful effort and lengthened his lead in the overall.
The top favorites were a minute behind.
And Kirchen crossed with the Pelaton... FIVE MINUTES back from Evans.
The crash was a real blow to our hopes of a top 5. It's still possible thanks to a courageous ride by Kirchen, but we have a lot of work to do and can't handle any more mistakes. Thankfully, Kirchen had no major injuries. It looks like Contador might be suffering though, he was unable to follow Kirchen back up to the pelaton and finished ten minutes back of Evans, effectively ending his hopes as repeating as Tour de France champion.
Stage Results:
1 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 4h38'35
2 Andy Schleck Team CSC + 1'01
3 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana s.t.
4 Thomas Dekker Rabobank s.t.
5 Andreas Klöden Team Astana s.t.
6 Denis Menchov Rabobank s.t.
7 Robert Gesink Rabobank s.t.
8 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas + 1'27
9 Tadej Valjavec AG2R - La Mondiale + 2'43
10 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner s.t.
11 Rémy Di Gregorio Française des Jeux + 3'01
12 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne + 4'04
13 Carlos Sastre Team CSC + 5'13
14 Morris Possoni Team High Road + 5'24
15 Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto s.t.
16 Pieter Weening Rabobank s.t.
17 Christophe Moreau Agritubel s.t.
18 Bernhard Kohl Gerolsteiner s.t.
19 Leonardo Piepoli Saunier Duval - Scott s.t.
20 Janez Brajkovic Team Astana s.t.
21 Sandy Casar Française des Jeux s.t.
22 Kim Kirchen Team High Road s.t.
23 Xavier Zandio Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
24 Manuel Beltrán Liquigas s.t.
25 Vladimir Efimkin AG2R - La Mondiale s.t.
26 Laurens Ten Dam Rabobank s.t.
27 Jurgen Van den Broeck Silence - Lotto s.t.
28 Juanma Gárate Quick·Step s.t.
29 Bobby Julich Team CSC s.t.
30 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
31 Stijn Devolder Quick·Step s.t.
32 David Cañada Saunier Duval - Scott s.t.
33 Sylvain Chavanel Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone s.t.
34 Peter Velits Team Milram + 6'40
35 John Gadret AG2R - La Mondiale s.t.
36 Sébastien Joly Française des Jeux s.t.
37 José Iván Gutiérrez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
38 Óscar Pereiro Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
39 David Arroyo Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
40 Joaquim RodrÃguez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
41 Alexandr Kolobnev Team CSC s.t.
42 Alberto BenÃtez Saunier Duval - Scott s.t.
43 Patxi Vila Lampre s.t.
44 Pierrick Fédrigo Bouygues Télécom s.t.
45 Samuel Sánchez Euskaltel - Euskadi + 7'29
46 David Moncoutié Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone s.t.
47 Steve Zampieri Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 8'37
48 Chris Horner Team Astana s.t.
49 Thomas Lövkvist Team High Road s.t.
50 Dioni Galparsoro Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
GC:
1 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 42h07'20
2 Denis Menchov Rabobank + 6'05
3 Andy Schleck Team CSC + 6'17
4 Robert Gesink Rabobank + 7'40
5 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana + 8'37
6 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner + 8'38
7 Andreas Klöden Team Astana + 9'33
8 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas + 9'35
9 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne + 10'15
10 Kim Kirchen Team High Road + 10'32
11 Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto + 10'38
12 Janez Brajkovic Team Astana + 10'39
13 Sylvain Chavanel Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 13'18
14 Thomas Lövkvist Team High Road + 13'53
15 Carlos Sastre Team CSC + 13'58
16 Christophe Moreau Agritubel + 14'08
17 Alberto Contador Team Astana + 14'52
18 Stijn Devolder Quick·Step + 14'59
19 John Gadret AG2R - La Mondiale + 16'38
20 Bernhard Kohl Gerolsteiner + 17'09
Points:
1 Kim Kirchen Team High Road 179
2 Óscar Freire Rabobank 136
3 Gerald Ciolek Team High Road 128
4 Mark Cavendish Team High Road 126
5 Erik Zabel Team Milram 122
Mountains:
1 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 96
2 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana 92
3 Carlos Sastre Team CSC 61
4 Thomas Dekker Rabobank 56
5 Andreas Klöden Team Astana 53
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 12-06-2008 20:18
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 997
Joined: 20-09-2007
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Zimao91 wrote:
How come the AI riders can attack on the uphill when I do it myself with a top rider he loses his energy before he's out of the peloton?
Well it can be done... but it's tough. First you have to be near the front of the pelaton. Second, you have to be in a pelaton traveling slow enough that you can escape. And third you have to get a big enough gap that you can ride slowly for a bit to get your heart rate down before starting your "climbing pace"... otherwise your red bar goes up too much and you're toast.
If you aren't one of the better riders in the race you won't be able to do it often. Evans is one of the top climbers. |
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| popkorn |
Posted on 12-06-2008 20:30
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Posts: 307
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Awesome story Kurtin!!
And thanks for the tip, Very strong by Kirchen to get back and by Lövkvist to still be 14th  You're a very good manager. KUTGW |
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 12-06-2008 20:32
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 997
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Tour de France - Stage 11
Okay... we've got a fairly easy hilly stage and Kirchen is the favorite. Time to get some of that time back we lost yesterday.
The break was pulled back just before the last intermediate sprint. Just after the sprint, Kirchen attacked on the first hint of an incline. Be agressive Kim!
Coming down the downhill after the mountain sprint, Kirchen still had a 45 second lead on the pelaton. People kept placing attacks and getting pulled back. Keep that gap!
Just under the 1 KM to go banner, and Kirchen is still holding on to a lead. He's got the stage won, the question is will he get a gap on the pelaton.
And he does! 30 seconds on the group, in addition to bonus seconds. It's a good start boys.
The time gained was enough to pass Luis León Sánchez and move into 9th place. We're on our way.
Stage Results:
1 Kim Kirchen Team High Road 4h02'51
2 Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto + 30
3 Karsten Kroon Team CSC s.t.
4 José Iván Gutiérrez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
5 Pieter Weening Rabobank s.t.
6 Jurgen Van den Broeck Silence - Lotto s.t.
7 Fabian Cancellara Team CSC s.t.
8 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto s.t.
9 Leif Hoste Silence - Lotto s.t.
10 Alessandro Ballan Lampre s.t.
GC:
1 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 46h10'41
2 Denis Menchov Rabobank + 6'05
3 Andy Schleck Team CSC + 6'17
4 Robert Gesink Rabobank + 7'40
5 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana + 8'37
6 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner + 8'38
7 Andreas Klöden Team Astana + 9'33
8 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas + 9'35
9 Kim Kirchen Team High Road + 9'42
10 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne + 10'15
Points:
1 Kim Kirchen Team High Road 214
2 Óscar Freire Rabobank 136
3 Gerald Ciolek Team High Road 128
4 Mark Cavendish Team High Road 126
5 Erik Zabel Team Milram 122
Mountains:
1 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 96
2 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana 92
3 Carlos Sastre Team CSC 61
4 Thomas Dekker Rabobank 56
5 Andreas Klöden Team Astana 53
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| Macquet |
Posted on 12-06-2008 20:46
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Domestique
Posts: 655
Joined: 28-09-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Hold that Top 10 placing!!! Great job after the crash karma hit you finally(more crashes in this race than I've seen, looks like this year's Giro). |
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| wackojackohighcliffe |
Posted on 12-06-2008 21:09
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7681
Joined: 19-02-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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unlucky in the mountains
and Zimao you do protect your riders don't you
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 12-06-2008 21:43
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Tour de France - Stage 12
A flat sprint stage. We'll sit back and relax and let the other sprint teams bring back the break, then line up our train.
As the stage went on, the break grew and grew. It seemed they expected us to bring the break back as Kirchen was wearing the green. The thing is... flat stages hurt Kirchen in the points race... so we didn't really care.
In the end... nobody tried to pull them back. The break won by more than 15 minutes. Astana's Sergei Ivanov wins the stage from the break.
Ciolek ended up winning the bunch sprint. Kirchen sat at the back and didn't participate with few points available. Perhaps a missed opportunity for a stage win, but we're okay with it.
Stage Results:
1 Sergei Ivanov Team Astana 3h45'01
2 Javier AramendÃa Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
3 Nick Nuyens Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone s.t.
4 Jesús Del Nero Saunier Duval - Scott s.t.
5 Franck Rénier Bouygues Télécom s.t.
6 Stéphane Bonsergent Bretagne - Armor Lux s.t.
7 Mikel Gaztañaga Agritubel s.t.
8 Frederic Guesdon Française des Jeux s.t.
9 Niels Brouzes Auber 93 + 1'44
10 Gerald Ciolek Team High Road + 15'34
GC:
1 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 50h11'16
2 Denis Menchov Rabobank + 6'05
3 Andy Schleck Team CSC + 6'17
4 Robert Gesink Rabobank + 7'40
5 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana + 8'37
6 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner + 8'38
7 Andreas Klöden Team Astana + 9'33
8 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas + 9'35
9 Kim Kirchen Team High Road + 9'42
10 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne + 10'15
Points:
1 Kim Kirchen Team High Road 214
2 Óscar Freire Rabobank 150
3 Gerald Ciolek Team High Road 144
4 Mark Cavendish Team High Road 138
5 Erik Zabel Team Milram 137
Mountains:
1 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 96
2 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana 92
3 Carlos Sastre Team CSC 61
4 Thomas Dekker Rabobank 56
5 Andreas Klöden Team Astana 53
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 12-06-2008 21:52
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Tour de France - Stage 13
A pancake flat stage, perfectly suited to our sprinters.
The stage itself was typical, with a break going and getting reeled in by the sprint teams this time around. When we moved in to the last 10 kilometers, thre distinct trains formed, the High Road train in the lead.
We seemed to be in perfect position... but Boonen was on form today. He shot up from 6th place in the train to take a commanding win. Cavendish held on to second and Ciolek took 4th.
Stage Results:
1 Tom Boonen Quick·Step 4h02'03
2 Mark Cavendish Team High Road s.t.
3 Heinrich Haussler Gerolsteiner s.t.
4 Gerald Ciolek Team High Road s.t.
5 Robbie McEwen Silence - Lotto s.t.
6 Óscar Freire Rabobank s.t.
7 Erik Zabel Team Milram s.t.
8 Koldo Fernández de Larrea Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
9 Thor Hushovd Crédit Agricole s.t.
10 Mirko Lorenzetto Lampre s.t.
GC:
No change.
Points:
1 Kim Kirchen Team High Road 221
2 Óscar Freire Rabobank 170
3 Mark Cavendish Team High Road 168
4 Gerald Ciolek Team High Road 168
5 Tom Boonen Quick·Step 156
Mountains:
No change.
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 13-06-2008 04:20
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Tour de France - Stage 14
Another sprint stage. Kirchen will take part today as Friere is starting to get close in the points race again and we don't want to have to worry about it on the last stage.
The break went away like normal and was pulled back. We had some trouble setting up our train as Hincapie had a bad day and couldn't get the sprinters away from the bunch. Boonen took advantage and won his second stage in a row.
Stage results:
1 Tom Boonen Quick·Step 3h58'39
2 Sébastien Chavanel Française des Jeux s.t.
3 Gerald Ciolek Team High Road s.t.
4 Thor Hushovd Crédit Agricole s.t.
5 Erik Zabel Team Milram s.t.
6 Óscar Freire Rabobank s.t.
7 Mark Cavendish Team High Road s.t.
8 Kim Kirchen Team High Road s.t.
9 Wouter Weylandt Quick·Step s.t.
10 Koldo Fernández de Larrea Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
GC:
No change
Points:
1 Kim Kirchen Team High Road 239
2 Gerald Ciolek Team High Road 194
3 Tom Boonen Quick·Step 191
4 Óscar Freire Rabobank 190
5 Mark Cavendish Team High Road 187
Mountains:
No change |
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 13-06-2008 04:36
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Tour de France - Stage 15
Back into the mountains. We'll see if Cadel's form is still on or if he peaked in the first week and someone will be able to make a run at him. Today's stage ends on a climb to the finish... we expect all the action to be on that climb.
Early on, a break forms with some noteable riders in it... Alberto Contador and Thomas Dekker. This break bears watching.
On the downhill after the climb in the middle of the race, Evans manages to get a slight gap. Once he sees he's got something, he tries to push away. A small break forms.
Evans has Popovych push the pace then takes over himself. One after another all the riders with him fall off and Evans is riding alone. His gap is staying constant at around a minute though.
As the pelaton just begins the final climb, Contador and Dekker and brought back in. Evans is still in fron though.
Evans just doesn't have the strength to ride away though. His lead shrinks bit by bit on the climb until he's about to get reeled in. Just as he's coming back, Leipheimer places a devastating attack and pulls away from the pelaton. Menchov and Schleck try to follow.
But Leipheimer is the strongest today. He wins the stage and narrows the gap to Evans.
Menchov takes second and Schleck takes third.
And Evans leads the remaining Pelaton (all of 12 riders) across the line.
Menchov cuts Evans' lead to less than 4 minutes. Kirchen finishes in a group ahead of Kreuziger and moves up into 8th place. The top 5 may still be in reach.
Stage results:
1 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana 5h25'16
2 Denis Menchov Rabobank + 44
3 Andy Schleck Team CSC + 1'38
4 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto + 2'38
5 Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto s.t.
6 Kim Kirchen Team High Road s.t.
7 Andreas Klöden Team Astana s.t.
8 Robert Gesink Rabobank s.t.
9 Thomas Lövkvist Team High Road s.t.
10 Christophe Moreau Agritubel s.t.
11 Tadej Valjavec AG2R - La Mondiale s.t.
12 Chris Horner Team Astana s.t.
13 Bernhard Kohl Gerolsteiner s.t.
14 Carlos Sastre Team CSC s.t.
15 Stijn Devolder Quick·Step s.t.
16 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas + 3'25
17 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner s.t.
18 Sylvain Chavanel Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 3'46
19 Pieter Weening Rabobank s.t.
20 George Hincapie Team High Road + 4'21
21 Óscar Pereiro Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
22 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne + 4'36
23 Jurgen Van den Broeck Silence - Lotto + 4'50
24 Juanma Gárate Quick·Step s.t.
25 Tony Martin Team High Road + 5'32
26 Yann Huguet Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone s.t.
27 Alexandr Kolobnev Team CSC s.t.
28 Sandy Casar Française des Jeux + 8'15
29 Sébastien Joly Française des Jeux + 10'30
30 Bobby Julich Team CSC s.t.
GC:
1 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 63h39'52
2 Denis Menchov Rabobank + 3'59
3 Andy Schleck Team CSC + 5'09
4 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana + 5'39
5 Robert Gesink Rabobank + 7'40
6 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner + 9'25
7 Andreas Klöden Team Astana + 9'33
8 Kim Kirchen Team High Road + 9'42
9 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas + 10'22
10 Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto + 10'24
11 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne + 12'13
12 Thomas Lövkvist Team High Road + 13'53
13 Carlos Sastre Team CSC + 13'58
14 Christophe Moreau Agritubel + 14'08
15 Sylvain Chavanel Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 14'26
16 Stijn Devolder Quick·Step + 14'59
17 Bernhard Kohl Gerolsteiner + 17'09
18 Tadej Valjavec AG2R - La Mondiale + 17'16
19 Alexandr Kolobnev Team CSC + 20'56
20 Jurgen Van den Broeck Silence - Lotto + 21'19
Points:
1 Kim Kirchen Team High Road 249
2 Gerald Ciolek Team High Road 194
3 Tom Boonen Quick·Step 191
4 Óscar Freire Rabobank 190
5 Mark Cavendish Team High Road 187
Mountains:
1 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana 122
2 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 114
3 Thomas Dekker Rabobank 91
4 Denis Menchov Rabobank 78
5 Andy Schleck Team CSC 73
Edited by KurtinSC on 13-06-2008 05:06
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 13-06-2008 04:51
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 997
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PCM$: 200.00
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More signings
High Road has two more signings to announce.
First, we'd like to introduce Nico Keinath, a young rider formerly of the Ista team out of Germany.
Nico has had some success on the track, and done well in some smaller one-day races in Germany. Last year he won the Stuttgardt race. Nico's got a lot of Time Trialing talent and does okay on climbs as well. He's another rider we feel like we could go in several directions with.
Our second (and probably final) signing is the extremely talented Lars Boom.
Lars can do almost anything except sprint at this point. We believe he could develop into one of the best cobbled classics riders... or into one of the best hilly classics riders... or even develop into a dominant stage racer.
Lars is an excellent cyclocross rider, winning the world championships this past year. He's also the world under-23 champion in the time trial, and has already won stages in the Olympias Tour, Tour de Bretagne and Tour de Normandie. he won the Tour de Bretagne in 2007. He'll be a great addition. |
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 13-06-2008 05:05
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 997
Joined: 20-09-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Tour de France - Stage 16
This mountain stage has two big climbs, but finishes on a long downhill which often keeps gaps to a minimum. We'll be working all out for Kirchen again.
Things were relatively quiet on the first climb. Nobody important made an attack that stuck and the pack was together at the base of the final climb. As they began to ascend, the pelaton really stretched out and started to fracture.
Leipheimer was the agressor again today and attacked when the pelaton had shrunk to only the best climbers. Kirchen, Menchov, Schleck and Evans tried to counter.
They couldn't quite get to Levi though. The chase ended up with those four plus Kreuziger, Valjevec, Efimkin and Fothen.
But Leipheimer had the legs today. At the summitt he had a large lead.
And wins the stage comfortably.
But how far ahead was he... could he take the yellow?
Kirchen led the chasers across the line....
Just over four minutes behind Leipheimer. Evans still has the lead... but it's very tight now. Kirchen moves all the way up the 6th... Kim could pull this off, he's riding great.
Stage Results:
1 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana 4h48'32
2 Kim Kirchen Team High Road + 4'04
3 Andy Schleck Team CSC s.t.
4 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas s.t.
5 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto s.t.
6 Tadej Valjavec AG2R - La Mondiale s.t.
7 Vladimir Efimkin AG2R - La Mondiale s.t.
8 Denis Menchov Rabobank s.t.
9 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner s.t.
10 Thomas Lövkvist Team High Road + 8'25
GC:
1 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 68h32'28
2 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana + 1'15
3 Denis Menchov Rabobank + 3'59
4 Andy Schleck Team CSC + 5'01
5 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner + 9'25
6 Kim Kirchen Team High Road + 9'30
7 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas + 10'22
8 Robert Gesink Rabobank + 13'23
9 Andreas Klöden Team Astana + 14'06
10 Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto + 14'57
Points:
1 Kim Kirchen Team High Road 279
2 Gerald Ciolek Team High Road 194
3 Tom Boonen Quick·Step 191
4 Óscar Freire Rabobank 190
5 Mark Cavendish Team High Road 187
Mountains:
1 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana 162
2 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 133
3 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner 101
4 Andy Schleck Team CSC 99
5 Thomas Dekker Rabobank 97
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 13-06-2008 14:07
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 997
Joined: 20-09-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Tour de France - Stage 17
Here we are... the Alpe d'Huez... one of the signature climbs of the Tour. The first two ascents will soften the pelaton up... someone can deliver a knockout blow on the final ascent up the historic climb. Will it be race leader Evans? Will Leipheimer continue his streak? Could Menchov suprise? Let's see.
When the race began, Dekker attacked early and like yesterday Contador went with him.
But Contador rode away from Dekker and took the mountain sprint, going on a long solo ride for the day. It's really a shame Contador fell on the second mountain stage... he's obviously feeling very strong now.
Going up the second climb, Sastre and Evans took part in the mountain sprint. The two would get a gap, but Sastre would sit up while Evans continued riding.
It turned out to be a poor decision though. Evans was reeled in on the flat prior to the final clim. The strenght he displayed in the first set of mountains has seemed to desert him.
At the beginning of the Alpe d'Huez, Contador is finally reigned back in by the tiny lead pelaton.
And almost immediately Levi attacks... great tactics by Astana to tire out the chase with Contador's attack and immediately capitalize!
Levi gets away, but a strong chase forms with Kirchen, Gesink, Menchov, Sastre, Kloden and Popovych.
Evans isn't able to make the first chase after his earlier effort... he hasn't had time to recover. His group has Fothen, Schleck and Valjevec.
Leipheimer is too strong. He rides up the Alpe d'Huez for a triumphant stage win.
But what's the gap?
A minute and 15 seconds late the chasers cross... and Evans isn't there! Leipheimer takes the leader's jersey!
Kirchen takes second yet again. Evans and Fothen cross two minutes after Leipheimer. Levi has a lead of over a minute with just four stages to go.
And the big news for us... having gained 45 seconds on Fothen and taking second in the stage... Kim Kirchen moves into the top 5! Amazing recovery for the High Road team leader.
Stage results:
1 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana 6h14'55
2 Kim Kirchen Team High Road + 1'14
3 Robert Gesink Rabobank s.t.
4 Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto s.t.
5 Carlos Sastre Team CSC + 1'34
6 Andreas Klöden Team Astana s.t.
7 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto + 2'06
8 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner s.t.
9 Denis Menchov Rabobank + 2'40
10 Andy Schleck Team CSC + 3'10
11 Tadej Valjavec AG2R - La Mondiale + 3'56
12 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas + 4'20
13 Vladimir Efimkin AG2R - La Mondiale s.t.
14 Christophe Moreau Agritubel s.t.
15 Thomas Dekker Rabobank + 4'59
16 José Iván Gutiérrez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
17 Thomas Lövkvist Team High Road s.t.
18 Chris Horner Team Astana + 5'40
19 Alberto Contador Team Astana + 5'50
20 Rémy Di Gregorio Française des Jeux + 7'53
GC:
1 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana 74h48'18
2 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto + 1'11
3 Denis Menchov Rabobank + 5'44
4 Andy Schleck Team CSC + 7'16
5 Kim Kirchen Team High Road + 9'37
6 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner + 10'36
7 Robert Gesink Rabobank + 13'34
8 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas + 13'47
9 Andreas Klöden Team Astana + 14'45
10 Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto + 15'16
11 Carlos Sastre Team CSC + 19'10
12 Tadej Valjavec AG2R - La Mondiale + 20'17
13 Christophe Moreau Agritubel + 22'06
14 Thomas Lövkvist Team High Road + 22'18
15 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne + 23'44
16 Sylvain Chavanel Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone + 28'05
17 Stijn Devolder Quick·Step + 28'13
18 Bernhard Kohl Gerolsteiner + 29'14
19 Chris Horner Team Astana + 33'37
20 Pieter Weening Rabobank + 33'53
Points:
1 Kim Kirchen Team High Road 296
2 Gerald Ciolek Team High Road 194
3 Tom Boonen Quick·Step 191
4 Óscar Freire Rabobank 190
5 Mark Cavendish Team High Road 187
Mountains:
1 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana 210
2 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 175
3 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner 154
4 Carlos Sastre Team CSC 135
5 Thomas Dekker Rabobank 120
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 13-06-2008 14:30
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 997
Joined: 20-09-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Tour de France - Stage 18
A hilly stage, this will be Kirchen's last chance to pad his lead over Fothen before the final time trial. Kirchen is tabbed as the favorite.
Kirchen was agressive and made several attacks... but he couldn't get away. After his last one was reeled in, Levi Leipheimer attacks, perhaps showing off the jersey.
But no... he's serious about it! And Evans is slow to set up a chase....
Leipheimer wins again!
Evans leads the chase across 30 seconds later. His chances at winning went from remote to miniscule... that's a lot of time to recover on the last time trial.
Stage:
1 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana 4h55'24
2 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto + 31
3 Kim Kirchen Team High Road s.t.
4 Tony Martin Team High Road s.t.
5 Alberto Contador Team Astana s.t.
6 Thomas Lövkvist Team High Road s.t.
7 Bobby Julich Team CSC s.t.
8 Martin Elmiger AG2R - La Mondiale s.t.
9 Bernhard Kohl Gerolsteiner s.t.
10 Andy Schleck Team CSC s.t.
GC:
1 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana 79h43'22
2 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto + 1'50
3 Denis Menchov Rabobank + 6'35
4 Andy Schleck Team CSC + 8'07
5 Kim Kirchen Team High Road + 10'20
6 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner + 11'27
7 Robert Gesink Rabobank + 14'25
8 Roman Kreuziger Liquigas + 14'38
9 Andreas Klöden Team Astana + 15'36
10 Yaroslav Popovych Silence - Lotto + 16'07
Points:
1 Kim Kirchen Team High Road 316
2 Gerald Ciolek Team High Road 194
3 Tom Boonen Quick·Step 191
4 Óscar Freire Rabobank 190
5 Mark Cavendish Team High Road 187
Mountains:
1 Levi Leipheimer Team Astana 210
2 Cadel Evans Silence - Lotto 176
3 Markus Fothen Gerolsteiner 155
4 Thomas Dekker Rabobank 140
5 Carlos Sastre Team CSC 135
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| Deadpool |
Posted on 13-06-2008 14:38
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Team Leader
Posts: 7357
Joined: 06-10-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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I think you'll stay at 5th |
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| ember |
Posted on 13-06-2008 14:40
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Team Leader
Posts: 6867
Joined: 27-03-2008
PCM$: 700.00
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Amazing riding, good luck in the rest of the Tour.
I hope this story will last long |
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| G_Larsson |
Posted on 13-06-2008 15:28
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Sprinter
Posts: 1779
Joined: 25-03-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Good results in the Tour
Team Manager of Team IKEA-Bianchi
[url=(color=#0000ff] Team Info[/url]
Media Room
You'll Never Walk Alone |
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| KurtinSC |
Posted on 13-06-2008 16:15
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 997
Joined: 20-09-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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ember wrote:
Amazing riding, good luck in the rest of the Tour.
I hope this story will last long
Well I'm currently playing the Vuelta... I feel pretty certain it will make it through at least one season.
We'll see after that... with PCM 08 coming out I don't know if my interest in '07 will hold up. I may switch right away or I may wait for a good DB to be released (I'm to lazy to use an editor and do it myself). |
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