Wow, thanks guys, all these bananas........ This was actually the first time ever I won the TdF in PCM (both 09 and 11) at a level higher than hard (for the record, this was extreme).
dienblad wrote:
Wow, thanks guys, all these bananas........ This was actually the first time ever I won the TdF in PCM (both 09 and 11) at a level higher than hard (for the record, this was extreme).
The 100th edition of the Tour is finished, and what an edition it was!! The smallest time gap ever between number 1 and 2, only 3 seconds, with 10 breakaway wins out of 19 non-TT stages. In the end, a Luxembourg guy won his first ever Tour, beating the title defender and a 3-times former winner.
2. Vincenzo Nibali
Vincenzo Nibali came very, very close in winning his 2nd successive Tour de France. He had a great 3rd week, with 2 stage wins. A farely weak 1st week and the crash in stage 10 costed him the win.
3. Alberto Contador
Last year, when he was stronger than ever, he couldn't take part in the Tour, because of the Clenbuterol-case. This year, riding for his new Movistar-team, he showed the worked that he is back. But while both Schleck and Nibali had some domestiques helping them, Contador had to do it all by himself in the mountains. And that probably costed him too much energy to win this Tour.
4. Edvald Boasson Hagen
With 2 sprint wins, and the maillot verde, the 2013-Tour was a great success for Edvald Boasson Hagen.This Norwegian guy has become one of the big names in the peloton.
Jurgen Van den Broeck
BMC's Jurgen Van den Broeck has great expectations of this Tour. He was dominant in the Tour de Suisse, but screwed the first ITT. After crashing many times, he had to settle with the 9th place. One positive: winning stage 17 to Risoul 1850.
Mark Cavendish
It was a short Tour for former World champion Mark Cavendish. He finished outside the timelimit in stage 2, so he was forced to leave the Tour.
Cadel Evans
A fractured coccyx in stage 5. This and a bad first ITT was the sum of Cadel Evans Tour de France. Probably he will never win the race...
Peter Sagan
Starting the Tour as one of the best sprinters, thus favourites for the green jersey, and ending it with a 7th place as the best result.... Peter Sagan expected much mre from the Tour.
Just as the last 2 years, we take part in the Prueba Villafranca - Ordiziaka Klasika, a hilly classic in Basque country. We dominated th erace last year, with Jelle Vanendert taking the win.
The route
The route is 160 kilometres long and it features 7 climbs. The first 3 laps, only the Alto de Abaltziskieta (4.3km at 5.4%) has to be climbed. The last 2 laps, also the Alto de Alto (2.5km at 7.3%).
The race
Looking at the next screen shot, you could think that the race will be a duel between Andy Schleck and Igor Antón. But in contrary....
The winner of the Tour de France has the Basque in his pocket. Ascending the Alto de Abaltziskieta for the last time, Antón finds himself with 5 Monster Energy-riders, and Hernández and Capecchi, but the last 2 are close to dead empty. Andy has taken the wheel of Antón and his team mates can attack. First, it is Ruijgh, without success. But when Peter Sagan attacks, Antón has no answer and can forget the win.
Peter Sagan has attacked just before the summit of the last cimb, and uses his excellent descending abilities to create a safe margin. Without getting in trouble, the Slovakian takes the win in Ordizia. 1'18 behind him, Breschel, Vanendert, Schleck & Dekker make it a party by taking place 2 to 5.
Results
1
Peter Sagan
Monster Energy - Subway
4h16'58
2
Matti Breschel
Monster Energy - Subway
+ 1'18
3
Jelle Vanendert
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
4
Andy Schleck
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
5
Thomas Dekker
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
6
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
7
Jesús Hernández
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
8
Eros Capecchi
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
9
Rob Ruijgh
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
10
Ezequiel Mosquera
Caja Rural
+ 2'56
The winner
Word from the DS
"Dear DS from the Monster-team. Congratulations with the 3rd win in a row in our race. But with this dominance, we request yu not to come back next year, as our teams want to have a chance to win the race. Thank you, the race direction of the Prueba Vilafranca"
Checked it twice, was on extreme. Apparantly, the fitness off the other riders totally sucked.
Edited by dienblad on 23-08-2012 15:55
For the riders that didn't raced Le Tour and that will prepare for the autumn races, the Tour de Wallonie is the first race in the preparation. Last year, 40+ Nico Eeckhout surprisingly won the 5-stage race, thanks to a succesful breakaway win.
Our goal
Lacking a sprinter, we'll go for a top 3. To do it, we must win one of the stage with a hilly finish and then consolidate.
Stage 1
The Tour de Wallonie starts with the queen's stage, with 147 kilometres from Amay to Banneux, featuring many hills. Before the final hill, the peloton is still compact, when Giovanni Visconti (BMC) attacks. Thomas De Gendt counters him, and even takes over when the Italian stalls. De Gendt has the energy left to continue and stay out of reach of the peloton. He not only wins the stage, but manages to create a 20-second gap to Visconti and Romain Feillu.
The 3rd stage from Sambreville to Perwez is the longest of the Tour de Wallonie, with 205km. The stage ends in a mass sprint, with Lotto's Matthew Goss eaily taking the win. Surprisingly, it's his first win of the season! The 2nd place goes to Kris Boeckmans, the 3rd to Guillaume Boivin.
Another flat stage with a probable mass sprint, that is stage 4 from Enghien to Mouscron. And so it happens... The finish between Matthew Goss and Romain Feillu is that close, that it takes ages for the jury to determine who wins it. In the end, when everybody has gone home, and the riders are lying at the massage tables in thier hotels, the jury decides that Matthew Goss wins the stage.
Results
1
Matthew Goss
Lotto - Belisol
3h03'10
2
Romain Feillu
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
3
Jens Keukeleire
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
4
Guillaume Boivin
Rabobank Continental Team
s.t.
5
Guillaume Blot
FDJ
s.t.
6
Charles Bradley Huff
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
7
Kenny Van Hummel
M&M's
s.t.
8
Kris Boeckmans
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
9
Dominique Rollin
FDJ
s.t.
10
Kurt Hovelynck
Accent.Jobs - Veranda's Willems
s.t.
...
17
Sep Vanmarcke
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
Stage 5
The last stage brings the riders to Thuin with 3 ascends of the Mur de Thuin (0.6km at 8.1%), with the summit 1km before the summit. Romain Zingle is part of the BOTD and collects enough KOTM-points to win the KOTM-jersey!
The BOTD consisting of 12 riders manages to stay out of reach of the peloton. Floris Goesinnen (Rabo CT) attacks at the Mur de Thuin, and wins the stage. '55 behind him, the peloton finishes, with Thomas De Gendt taking the overall win!
Word from the DS
Funny.... You've got a plan before the Tour starts, and it goes exactly like the plan! After De Gendt did a great job in stage 1, the team helped him perfectly so he could win the tour de Wallonie.
!!
