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Sky - Professional Cycling Team
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 21-02-2010 13:38
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World Champion
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The opening stage in Catalunya is a short individual time - trial. On paper Gustav Larsson and Contador are the main favorites but the route is less than 5 kilometers long so we could see a surprise
Valverde was an early started and finished the race with a very good time of 6 minutes and 18 seconds. Cobo and Xandio also came up with some great times and for the first half of the stage, Caisse d'Epargne had 3 riders on the provisional podium
Lovkvist was rather disappointing today, losing 20 seconds to Valverde, in a stage where he should have won some time
Gerdemann won the prologue in Paris - Nice but today doesn't seem to be a great day for him as he was 18 seconds slower than Valverde
Contador didn't shine in Paris - Nice, where Valverde was clearly better than him. And it looks like that isn't going to change today as he wasn't even able to beat Cobo's time
Armstrong wasn't able to beat Valverde's time either, finishing 26 seconds behind the Spaniard. Great day today for Caisse who got the first 2 places on the podium
Results
| 1. | Alejandro Valverde | Caisse d'Epargne | 6'18 | | 2. | Juan José Cobo | Caisse d'Epargne | + 8 | | 3. | Alberto Contador | Astana | s.t. | | 4. | Gustav Erik Larsson | Team Saxo Bank | + 9 | | 5. | Sebastian Langeveld | Rabobank | + 12 | | 6. | Xabier Zandio | Caisse d'Epargne | + 14 | | 7. | Manuel Quinziato | Liquigas - Doimo | + 16 | | 8. | Jürgen Van de Walle | Quick·Step | s.t. | | 9. | Jussi Veikkanen | Française des Jeux | + 17 | | 10. | Christophe Riblon | AG2R La Mondiale | + 18 | | 11. | Linus Gerdemann | Team Milram | s.t. | | 12. | Ruslan Pidgornyy | ISD - Neri | + 19 | | 13. | Michael Rogers | Team HTC - Columbia | + 20 | | 14. | Dimitri Champion | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 15. | Matthieu Ladagnous | Française des Jeux | s.t. |
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| brownwm |
Posted on 21-02-2010 13:41
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Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 873
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unlucky there
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 21-02-2010 13:41
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World Champion
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wow valverde won a tt
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 25-02-2010 19:09
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World Champion
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The second stage in Catalunya should end in a mass sprint even with a quite steep climb inside the last 25 kilometers of the stage. Valverde should have no problems keeping the leader's jersey as the best sprinter yesterday was Mark Cavendish, who was 36 seconds slower than him
The former German Champion, Fabian Wegmann, went in a solo breakaway. He obviously had no problems taking the KoM jersey at the end of the day and after more than 100 kilometers spent in a solo lead, he was caught at the foot of the last climb of the day
At the end of the climb, Albasini attacked from the pack and was quickly followed by Joaquim Rodriguez, Gerdemann, Lovkvist and Garate. Even though at the summit he was only the third, Lovkvist was the only one that got away from the pack
Being alone on the downhill helped him and he managed to enter the last 10 kilometers of the race with an advantage of 1 minute over the pack. 5 kilometers later he still had more than 30 seconds left, but he was starting to get tired after an amazing solo effort...
He was caught right before the last kilometer by a pack lead by Valverde, O'Grady and Pellizotti. Freire and Cavendish didn't get a train from their teams so they were caught a few meters behind Valverde
Cavendish and especially, Freire, were really fast in the final meters but it was too late to beat Valverde, who gets quite an unexpected win. After 2 stage wins from 2, Valverde is clearly the man to beat in this year's Volta a Catalunya
Stage
| 1. | Alejandro Valverde | Caisse d'Epargne | 3h58'43 | | 2. | Stuart O'Grady | Team Saxo Bank | s.t. | | 3. | Óscar Freire | Rabobank | s.t. | | 4. | Franco Pellizotti | Liquigas - Doimo | s.t. | | 5. | Mark Cavendish | Team HTC - Columbia | s.t. | | 6. | Daniel Moreno | Omega Pharma - Lotto | s.t. | | 7. | Greg Van Avermaet | Omega Pharma - Lotto | s.t. | | 8. | Xavier Florencio | Cervélo Test Team | s.t. | | 9. | Lieuwe Westra | Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 10. | Ángel Vicioso | Andalucía Cajasur | s.t. | | 11. | Allan Davis | Astana | s.t. | | 12. | Damiano Cunego | Lampre - Farnese Vini | s.t. | | 13. | Mirco Lorenzetto | Lampre - Farnese Vini | s.t. | | 14. | David De la Fuente | Astana | s.t. | | 15. | Aitor Galdos | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. |
Overall
| 1. | Alejandro Valverde | Caisse d'Epargne | 4h04'51 | | 2. | Alberto Contador | Astana | + 18 | | 3. | Juan José Cobo | Caisse d'Epargne | s.t. | | 4. | Gustav Erik Larsson | Team Saxo Bank | + 19 | | 5. | Xabier Zandio | Caisse d'Epargne | + 24 | | 6. | Jürgen Van de Walle | Quick·Step | + 26 | | 7. | Jussi Veikkanen | Française des Jeux | + 27 | | 8. | Linus Gerdemann | Team Milram | + 28 | | 9. | Christophe Riblon | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 10. | Ruslan Pidgornyy | ISD - Neri | + 29 | | 11. | Dimitri Champion | AG2R La Mondiale | + 30 | | 12. | Thomas Lövkvist | Sky Professional Cycling Team | s.t. | | 13. | Michael Rogers | Team HTC - Columbia | s.t. | | 14. | Franco Pellizotti | Liquigas - Doimo | + 31 | | 15. | Damiano Cunego | Lampre - Farnese Vini | s.t. |
Points
| 1. | Alejandro Valverde | Caisse d'Epargne | 50 | | 2. | Juan José Cobo | Caisse d'Epargne | 20 | | 3. | Stuart O'Grady | Team Saxo Bank | 20 | | 4. | Alberto Contador | Astana | 16 | | 5. | Óscar Freire | Rabobank | 16 |
Mountain
| 1. | Fabian Wegmann | Team Milram | 26 | | 2. | Linus Gerdemann | Team Milram | 16 | | 3. | Michael Albasini | Team HTC - Columbia | 15 | | 4. | Matthieu Ladagnous | Française des Jeux | 12 | | 5. | David García Da Pena | Xacobeo - Galicia | 10 |
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| Tombola |
Posted on 25-02-2010 20:12
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Domestique
Posts: 473
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Valverde wins all the stages! 
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| jaccan |
Posted on 25-02-2010 20:23
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Neo-Pro
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Too bad Löfkvist couldn´t keep the lead for you there |
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 25-02-2010 22:08
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World Champion
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Dominance by Alejandro! He looks tough to beat but i know you will pull something off
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| bfreire |
Posted on 25-02-2010 22:17
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Domestique
Posts: 538
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hehe pellizoti and valverde before cavendish
, We love cyanide |
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 25-02-2010 22:19
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World Champion
Posts: 12986
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well there was a big hill before the finish.........
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| bfreire |
Posted on 25-02-2010 22:21
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Domestique
Posts: 538
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valverde321 wrote:
well there was a big hill before the finish.........
i know but they had 23 km to recover .. |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 26-12-2024 00:44
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 25-02-2010 22:23
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World Champion
Posts: 13928
Joined: 05-08-2008
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In RL, Cavendish or Freire wouldn't have had any problems taking that stage so yeah we all love Cyanide 
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| purepasd |
Posted on 26-02-2010 07:46
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Domestique
Posts: 541
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Yes especially freire  |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 26-02-2010 19:48
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World Champion
Posts: 13928
Joined: 05-08-2008
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Valverde won the first 2 stages even though the profile didn't really suit him. Looking at today's route, Valverde should be again the big favorite, while Contador and the others will try to limit the time lose. Unfortunately the game crashed at the end of the stage so there's only one picture and no exported results
Zabriskie and Mollema were the biggest names in the day's breakaway, with the American also becoming the new KoM leader. At the foot of the last climb of the day, Valverde attacked and no one was able to catch him. He passed the summit with an advantage of 1 minute over Contador, while a group with Gerdemann, Lovkvist, Gesink, Kolobnev and Joaquim Rodriguez was 1 minute and a half behind him. On the downhill Rodriguez crashed, bringing Gerdemann and Kolobnev down with him as well, leaving Gesink and Lovkvist alone in the third group. Valverde got his third stage win from 3 possible so it looks impossible to beat him now
After not a great start, Lovkvist managed with today's performance to take a provisional third place, but tomorrow's the queen stage of the race and he might be in trouble on the high mountain finish
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| purepasd |
Posted on 26-02-2010 21:15
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Domestique
Posts: 541
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Nice 4th with løvkvist  Lucky for him that gerdemann and co. crashed... |
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| jaccan |
Posted on 26-02-2010 21:42
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Neo-Pro
Posts: 306
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A good result for Löfkvist and a Very good performace by Valverde that has won 3 of 3 |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 27-02-2010 11:01
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World Champion
Posts: 13928
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Boasson Hagen already won 2 cobbled classics this season, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, which makes him the big favorite today along with his team - mate Juan Antonio Flecha since no other big names are present here
There was like always a breakaway of the day but no cobblers were there so it didn't last for too long. 65 kilometers before the finish, Hagen made his move, just like in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. But this time he didn't have a great day and he wasn't able to get more than 2 minutes in front of the pack
25 kilometers later Flecha attacked from a chasing group dominated by Landbouwkrediet riders, who did an amazing job not letting Boasson Hagen get to far
Flecha soon caught Hagen and they rode together for an while in front. But Hagen had some problems keeping it up with his team - mate and he was left behind on the penultimate cobbled section of the day. He was also caught and left behind by Amorison and De Waele, who broke away from the chasing group in order to catch Flecha
But they didn't stand a chance in front of the Sky rider, who entered the last cobbled section of the day with one minute and a half advantage over the Landbouwkrediet duo and one minute more in front of a second chasing group made by Hagen and Vissers
And Juan Antonio Flecha wins Dwars door Vlaanderen 2010! With this win and the third place in Milano Sanremo, he is definitely the big favorite for Gent - Wevelgem. De Waele and Amorison followed him on the podium, while Hagen and Arvesen won the sprints for the 4th and the 6th place
Results
| 1. | Juan Antonio Flecha | Sky Professional Cycling Team | 5h34'50 | | 2. | Bert De Waele | Landbouwkrediet | + 1'43 | | 3. | Frédéric Amorison | Landbouwkrediet | + 1'53 | | 4. | Edvald Boasson Hagen | Sky Professional Cycling Team | + 2'38 | | 5. | Job Vissers | Skil - Shimano | + 2'55 | | 6. | Kurt-Asle Arvesen | Sky Professional Cycling Team | + 4'13 | | 7. | Kristof Vandewalle | Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | s.t. | | 8. | Coen Vermeltfoort | Rabobank CT | + 4'42 | | 9. | Floris Goesinnen | Skil - Shimano | s.t. | | 10. | David Kopp | Team Kuota - Indeland | + 5'18 | | 11. | Johan Coenen | Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | s.t. | | 12. | Koen Barbé | Landbouwkrediet | + 5'36 | | 13. | Kevin Peeters | Landbouwkrediet | s.t. | | 14. | Geert Verheyen | Landbouwkrediet | + 6'02 | | 15. | David Boucher | Landbouwkrediet | s.t. | | 16. | Stefan Van Dijk | Verandas Willems | + 6'50 | | 17. | Jonas Vangenechten | Verandas Willems | s.t. | | 18. | Stijn Neirynck | Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | s.t. | | 19. | Geert Omloop | Palmans Cras | s.t. | | 20. | James Vanlandschoot | Verandas Willems | s.t. |
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| purepasd |
Posted on 27-02-2010 11:05
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Domestique
Posts: 541
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Nice Win with Flecha But it is also pretty easy when there arent any big cobble riders... =) |
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| Batista15 |
Posted on 27-02-2010 11:13
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Great win by Flecha!!Looking forward to Gent-Wevelgem |
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| alexkr00 |
Posted on 27-02-2010 14:53
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World Champion
Posts: 13928
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Today's the queen stage of Volta a Catalunya. Contador is the main favorite to take the stage win but he is already more than one minute behind Valverde in the overall rankings, who will look for his 4th stage win in row
Wegmann was again in the breakaway but he wasn't even close to take the Kom jersey back. Moreno was also in the breakaway group and he was the only one able to maintain in front of the pack before the last ascents of the day
At the end of the penultimate climb of the day, Armstrong went away from the pack. He caught Moreno quite easily and even though he entered the last 10 kilometers of the stage with 1 minute and a half advantage over the pack, he was caught only a few kilometers later
With Armstrong caught a new bunch of attacks started. Pellizotti was the strongest and with just 5 kilometers to go he made a gap. Two kilometers later, Gesink joined him in the leading group
But behind Gesink, Contador made his move and brought Valverde and Menchov with him. Frank Schleck was also struggling to keep it up with them
The late 3 attackers had no problems to join Gesink and Pellizotti in the leading group as they head to a sprint in 5 for the stage win. Inside the last kilometer the Spaniards got away, while the Rabobank duo didn't seem able to challenge Pellizotti for the third place
Contador won quite surprising the sprint in front of Valverde, but the Caisse d'Epargne rider lost only 4 seconds and is most likely going to win this year's Volta a Catalunya as the next stages are all made for sprinters.
Lovkvist finished in the pack, 1 minute and 40 seconds behind Contador, right in Armstrong's wheel. Lovkvist lost the third place to Gesink but he keeps an advantage of 3 seconds in front of Pellizotti in the battle for the fourth place
Stage
| 1. | Alberto Contador | Astana | 5h14'35 | | 2. | Alejandro Valverde | Caisse d'Epargne | + 4 | | 3. | Franco Pellizotti | Liquigas - Doimo | + 23 | | 4. | Robert Gesink | Rabobank | s.t. | | 5. | Denis Menchov | Rabobank | s.t. | | 6. | Fränk Schleck | Team Saxo Bank | + 1'13 | | 7. | Johan Van Summeren | Garmin - Transitions | + 1'27 | | 8. | Damiano Cunego | Lampre - Farnese Vini | s.t. | | 9. | Maxime Monfort | Team HTC - Columbia | + 1'40 | | 10. | Lance Armstrong | Team RadioShack | s.t. | | 11. | Thomas Lövkvist | Sky Professional Cycling Team | s.t. | | 12. | Daniel Navarro | Astana | s.t. | | 13. | Haimar Zubeldia | Team RadioShack | s.t. | | 14. | Joaquím Rodríguez | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 15. | Linus Gerdemann | Team Milram | s.t. |
Overall
| 1. | Alejandro Valverde | Caisse d'Epargne | 13h59'23 | | 2. | Alberto Contador | Astana | + 1'07 | | 3. | Robert Gesink | Rabobank | + 2'46 | | 4. | Thomas Lövkvist | Sky Professional Cycling Team | + 3'30 | | 5. | Franco Pellizotti | Liquigas - Doimo | + 3'33 | | 6. | Damiano Cunego | Lampre - Farnese Vini | + 4'17 | | 7. | Lance Armstrong | Team RadioShack | s.t. | | 8. | Linus Gerdemann | Team Milram | + 4'51 | | 9. | Maxime Monfort | Team HTC - Columbia | + 4'56 | | 10. | Fränk Schleck | Team Saxo Bank | + 5'07 | | 11. | Johan Van Summeren | Garmin - Transitions | + 5'11 | | 12. | Haimar Zubeldia | Team RadioShack | + 5'14 | | 13. | Daniel Navarro | Astana | + 5'17 | | 14. | David De la Fuente | Astana | + 5'18 | | 15. | Jurgen Van den Broeck | Omega Pharma - Lotto | + 5'34 |
Points
| 1. | Alejandro Valverde | Caisse d'Epargne | 90 | | 2. | Alberto Contador | Astana | 58 | | 3. | Franco Pellizotti | Liquigas - Doimo | 32 | | 4. | Robert Gesink | Rabobank | 29 | | 5. | Damiano Cunego | Lampre - Farnese Vini | 21 |
Mountain
| 1. | Alejandro Valverde | Caisse d'Epargne | 43 | | 2. | Alberto Contador | Astana | 42 | | 3. | José Alberto Benítez | Footon - Servetto | 40 | | 4. | Linus Gerdemann | Team Milram | 38 | | 5. | David Zabriskie | Garmin - Transitions | 37 |
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| jaccan |
Posted on 27-02-2010 15:28
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A nice race by Löfkvist finish just outside top 10. Unlucky for Valverde, it would bee cool if he would have won all the stages |
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