roturn wrote:
Congrats to 100k views.
You almost reach my combined Garmin story in views and posts and I am quite sure you will top it.
Awesome.
From a PCMstory-legend like you to hear it: Thanks!!!! But I must admit that sometimes, I lack motivation, like times with the Olympics, hot summer days, now Vuelta. Less time to play PCM, less time to make a report, and of course I want to spend time with the wife and kid.
So reports are a little slower now, but don't worry!
Real life always has higher priority.
And stories can only work when you enjoy playing and writing. So don`t care about slower reports or anything like this.
Yup, everyone who has a long(er) story loses motivation every now and then. Main thing is not to push it then, take things a little slower. If the story is great (which it definitely is), people will wait
Germany's only WT race is the Vattenfall Cyclassics, in the surroundings of Hamburg. It's the 18th edition of a race, that is traditionally won by a sprinter. Only Tyler Farrar has managed to win the race twice. Last year, Fabian Cancellara surprised the sprinters and became the first Swiss rider to win the Vattenfall Cyclassics.
The route
The riders will face 219 kilometres, with 3 times the Waseberg (700m at 11.0%) as the key point. Further, the route is pretty flat.
Startlist
Spoiler
Monster Energy - Ford 1. T.Bos
2. J.Babbel
3. G.Bernard
4. M.Lefèvre
5. P.Ligthart
6. M.Maaskant
7. S.Rosseler
8. C.Veldkamp
Sony Ericsson
11. T.Boonen
12. M.Koch
13. B.Leukemans
14. S.Radochla
15. M.Reimer
16. S.Schumacher
17. G.Van Avermaet
18. P.Zajicek
The favourites *** Tom Boonen (Sony Ericsson), Theo Bos, Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank). ** Philippe Gilbert (Lotto), Mark Renshaw (Rabobank), Ben Swift (Sky). * Grega Bole (Lampre), Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha), Tomas Vaitkus (Qantas).
Our goal
We hope that Bos has a good day and can stay in the peloton after the 3 ascends of the Waseberg. If so, a Top 3 is possible!
The race
54km to go
With the first 70 kilometres being very nervous, with lots of attacks, finally a soil rider gets the blessing from the peloton. It's our young Luxembourg puncheur Gregory Bernard! He gets joined by Roman Kreuziger (Astana), Jesse Sergent (Radio Shack) and Arthur Vichot (FDJ) and they create a maximal margin of 7'30.
54 kilometres before the finish, with still the 3 ascends of the Waseberg to go, the margin decreases to 4'40. So strangely on a flat part of the road, Kreuziger attacks and continues solo. Bernard cracks and will finish the race 155th place, 10 minutes behind the winner.
25km to go
Sony Ericsson does the most work in the chase, but while ascending the Waseberg for the 3rd time, and 25km to go, it looks like Kreuziger won't be caught. The Czech has a margin of 3'20, and at the same moment, Sylvain Chavanel attacks. The attack by the French champion gets countered by the current World champion Philippe Gilbert.
7km to go
Chav and Gil close the gap to Sergent and Vichot and with 7km to go, they are 1 minute behind Kreuziger. The peloton, with Bos, Ligthart & Maaskant among the 75 riders in it, follows at 1'45. But Kreuziger is suffering, he must be having cramps being in the attack for more than 100km and 50 solo.
3km to go
Already along the river Elbe, and still '39 behind Kreuziger (and '20 behind Chav/Gil). So we decide to launch our train, increasing the pace of the peloton. Because of it, the margin decreases rapidly and a mass sprint seems to be inevitable. Only bad thing, is that Tom Boonen, probably the biggest favourite to win, has settled himself in the wheel of Theo Bos...
1km to go
Kreuziger has stalled and is falling back. Chavanel and Gilbert have already passed him and the 2 have started the sprint. A few metres behind them, also Theo Bos has, but at this moment, Tom Boonen has ignited his turbo, flying past our Dutch sprinter.
Finish
And without any problems, Tom Boonen wins the Vattenfall Cyclassics 2013! He gives his Sony Ericsson-team an early farewell present, also his 7th win of the season. Behind him, Bos finishes in a great 2nd place, definitely more than we hoped for! Gilbert manages to finish in 3rd place.
Results
1
Tom Boonen
Sony Ericsson
5h03'50
2
Theo Bos
Monster Energy - Subway
s.t.
3
Philippe Gilbert
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
4
Fabian Cancellara
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
5
Tomas Vaitkus
Qantas Airways
s.t.
6
Grega Bole
Lampre - Generali
s.t.
7
Rigoberto Urán
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
8
Mark Renshaw
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
9
Maxime Monfort
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
10
Sylvain Chavanel
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
The winner
Word from the DS
Although the 2nd place is the first loser, we must admit that this was the maximum result today. We did nothing wrong: saved our energy in the climbs, and launched a good sprint train. But Boonen had too good legs today for Theo Bos.
Nice 2nd. I must admit I found this race always very difficult with sprinters to perform well. Always lost it on the last Waseberg climb. So with a rider like Bos this result is superb.
roturn wrote:
Nice 2nd. I must admit I found this race always very difficult with sprinters to perform well. Always lost it on the last Waseberg climb. So with a rider like Bos this result is superb.
Thanks. Well, this is the first time to get a result like this here. Bos started the last ascend within the first 5 of the peloton, and lost only a few places. But also the field wasn't that strong and not too many attacked. Still, happy with it!
Meanwhile, I've collected a lot of screens from the Vuelta-stages and the finish towns, as well as from the favourites. So I hope to start the preview-report today (Wednesday is my free day, no work!
La Vuelta Ciclista a España, the last of the 3 Grand Tours. Some use it as a revenge for a not so good Giro or Tour, others have planned their season to peak here. It is also used as a preparation race for the World Championships in September.
It's the 68th edition, thus the youngest of the 3 GT's.
The history
31 of the previous 67 editions were won by a Spaniard, with Roberto Heras being the record holder with 4 wins. Swiss Tony Rominger is 2nd on the list with 3 wins. The last 2 editions were dominated by Monster Energy-riders. Robert Gesink won in 2011, and last year, Andy Schleck won his first ever GT.
The route
3352.6 kilometres, including 1 TTT, 1 ITT, and 6 mountain top finishes. That's the recipy for this edition of La Vuelta.
Stage 1-3
The Vuelta kicks off with a 16.5 kilometre Team Time Trial in the streets of Sevilla, and immediately creates some gaps in the GC. You can't win the Vuelta here, but can loose it! The next stage to Marbella is classified as a flat stage, although the riders climb to an altitude of 1130 metres above sea level, before the long descend to Marbella. The 3rd stage is a difficult one, with 2 times the ascend of the Puerto del Léon (905m, 1st cat) before the finish in Málaga.
Stage 4-6
We continue with the hilly stages, as in the 4th stage to Valdepeñas de Jaen, the Puerto de Valdepeñas (2nd cat) awaits with the summit only 6km before the finish. Stage 5 from Guadix to Lorca should be for the sprinters again, as it is descending mor the most of the time. The difficult part of stage 6 awaits in the last 15km, with the ascend of the Alto de la Cresta del Gallo (2nd cat), before the arrive finish in Murcia.
Stage 7-9
The 7th stage to Orihuela is one for the sprinters, whereas stage 8 is for the climbers. These 188 kilometres between Villena and Xorret Del Catí feature 1 3rd categorized climb, 3 2nd categorized ones and the immense steep Alto de Xorret Del Catí, 4km at 11.5 % with maximum gradients up to 22%!. The 9th stage will suit the more adventurous riders, with 6 categorized climb (2 from the 3rd cat and 4 from the 2nd cat), before the riders arrive in Alcoy.
Stage 10-12
If it wasn't for the the Alto del Rat Penat (1st cat, 4.4km at 10.3%, max 18%, summit at 30km), stage 10 to Vilanova I La Geltrá would have been an easy one. Question is, if the sprinters can hang on on that steep climb. The next day, stage 11, we have the first real mountain stage, with the finish in Andorra at the Vallnord / Sector Pal (1900m), although not the steepest climb. The 11th stage towards Lleida should be for the sprinters, as it descends most of the time.
Stage 13-15
One more for the sprinters, before the GC-contenders have to show up. Stage 13 to Burgos features 2 small climbs, but these shouldn't be a problem for the sprinters. The 14th stage to Peña Cabarga has another dreadful steep finish climb, 6km at an average gradient of 9.2%, with a maximum of 19%!. And if that isn't enough, the Lagos de Covadonga awaits in stage 15. The first 155 kilometres of the stage are flat, but the last 15 are ascending with an average gradient of 7.4%, with max 15%. For sure, the GC will be shaken up after these 2 stages.
Stage 16-18
The toughest stage in Asturias, and probably of this Vuelta is the 16th with the start in Gijón. The riders have to face 3 1st categorized climbs: the Alto de San Lorenzo (10km at 8.5%), the Puerto de la Cobertoria (8.1km at 8.5%) and the finish at the summit of the Cotobello (10.1km at 8.2%). The climbers must attack, as the next day awaits a 46km flat ITT around Peñafiel. After these 46km, the GC-contenders can "rest" the next 153 flat kilometres between Valladolid and Salamanca.
Stage 19-21
Also stage 19 to Toledo is an easy one, so all the GC-contenders can take some rest before their final showdown. As in stage 20 awaits the Bola del Mundo! Earlier in the stage, the Alto del Léon and the Puerto de Navacerrada have to be climbed. When the riders have climbed the Navacerrada for the 2nd time, the organisation sends them up a concrete road to an altitude of 2250 metres. The last 3 kilometres have an average gradient of 13% and a maximum of 20!. The GC will be decided here, as stage 21 takes them to Madrid, for the final duel between the sprinters.
Andy Schleck
It's no surprise that Andy Schleck is the big favourite, as he is last year's winner and he won Le Tour one month ago. In his last GT for the Monster Energy-team, he wants to give the team a superb farewll present.
Igor Antón
Euskaltel's Igor Antón is that other GT-winner this year. After 2 times winning the Giro, he now is looking for the win in his homerace. But the amount of racedays so far will count against him.
Vincenzo Nibali
If there is 1 thing, the Sicilian shark wants, it is revenge! Revenge for the Tour de France, where he lost it with 1 second against Andy Schleck. Nibali, the 2010 winner, again has a strong team, probably the strongest in this Vuelta, to help him taking the last GT-win this season.
Fränk Schleck
Fränk Schleck finished in 4th place in the Tour and now wants to end in the Top 3. The story is, he's back on speaking terms with brother Andy. Will this be enough to help him get on that podium?
Nicholas Roche
Irish Nicholas Roche in the Top 3 of a GT, his last one with AG2R (he moves to Radio Shack in 2014), why not? What he lacks in pure climbing, will he make up with his attacking style.
Bradley Wiggins
Bradley Wiggins is the best time trialist of all the GC-contenders, but the question is if he gets a free roll. If so, he can end at the podium.
Samuel Sánchez
The old fox is up for his last trick. Already 35 years old, Sammy Sánchez is eager to surprise in his home race.
Bauke Mollema
Young Bauke Mollema has had a pretty lame season so far. But as the Vuelta is a race to take revenge, so it is for the young Dutch rider from BMC.
Ezequiel Mosquera
37 year old Ezequiel Mosquera has focussed completely on the Vuelta. Luckily, his Caja Rural team has been given a wildcard, so the pure climber can surprise, as he did in 2010 with taking the 2nd place behind Nibali (and this time without the doping).
Matthias Frank
Swiss Red Bull - Cervélo rider Matthias Frank is probably the freshest of all GC-contenders. With only 16 racedays in his legs, he can use taht as an advantage to enter the Top 10, and maybe top 5.
Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen won 3 stages in Le Tour, as well as the green jersey. That Tour was a disaster for Mark Cavendish, as he finished outside the time limit in 2nd stage. The German gorilla André Greipel will ride his first GT of 2013.
Where Hagen dominated Le Tour, Marcel Kittel did the same in the Giro. Also José Joaquín Rojas had a good Tour with 2 wins. The season of Matthew Goss is pretty disappointed so far, but al can change in Spain.
Although not the fastest sprinter, Heinrich Haussler is in a good form recently. Jurgen Roelandts is finally the main sprinter of the team, and JJ Haedo... Well, he can always surprise!
Thanks!!!! But I must admit that sometimes, I lack motivation, like times with the Olympics, hot summer days, now Vuelta. Less time to play PCM, less time to make a report, and of course I want to spend time with the wife and kid.
![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
