The penultimate stage in the Paris – Nice will be pretty uncomfortable for the riders. It is a long stage with few flat parts. Some small hills will lead the riders to the two climbs in the middle of the stage: the Cote de Cabris and the Col du Ferrier. After the tough climb, the descent towards the sea will leave the riders in hilly circuit where the sprinters won’t probably stand a chance as the finish is uphill.
The break of the day arrived at the top of the Col du Ferrier with around 6’ 30’’ on the bunch. They had 106 kilometers still to the finish and a lot of work remaining. The group of 12 had slimmed to 9 in the two climbs, its main components being: Robbie McEwen (Garmin), John Gadret (Sky), Alberto Contador (Euskaltel) and Beñat Intxausti (Katusha).
The peloton reached the final circuit with 3’ 10’’ lost on the break. Saxo Bank and Vacansoleil were going to need a hard work to catch the break, as there were only 39 km left in the first passage through the finish line.
The bunch was having a hard time chasing the break and Alberto Contador took advantage of it to attack with 15 km to go. The Spaniard soon opened a small gap and the peloton was 2 minutes behind.
Contador was all for the stage win and pushed very hard. With 5 km to go he looked good, as he had 50 seconds on the other escapees and 2’ 35’’ on a bunch that had stopped looking for the stage win.
Alberto Contador wins in Biot! The Spaniard was the strongest among those in the break in the last lap and showed it. Even though the understanding was good among the other in the break, they didn’t have the legs to catch Contador in the hilly course.
John Gadret leads the second group ahead of Robbie McEwen and Jure Kocjan 43 seconds behind Contador. The bunch arrives led by Vinokourov 1’ 44’’ behind. Today’s stage leaves Contador 7th overall 1 minute behind Peter Sagan.
The already packed GC is a bit tighter with the rise of Contador to the top 10. Meanwhile, Brajkovic lost a good chance to earn some bonus seconds in the sprint, what would have given him the yellow jersey. The finish was uphill enough to leave the sprinters out of the equation.
The last stage is the typical short circuit around the city of Nice. The riders will have to overcome 5 categorized climbs in only 124 kilometers, with the typical La Turbie and Col d’Eze finish. Considering the small differences in the GC, the ground could allow some changes in the first positions.
Rob Ruijgh (Rabobank) slipped into the break of the day and was closing in on Vinokourov for the mountains jersey by the time they topped the Col de Calaison (55 km to the finish). He was in a group of 7 riders with Matthew Goss, Tiago Machado or Marco Pinotti. They had 3 minutes on Bjorn Leukemans (Lotto); 3’ 20’’ on Zaugg, Hushovd, Van Leijen and Mondory and 4’ 10’’ on the bunch.
The second group of escapees, including Leukemans, is caught halfway through the climb to La Turbie (9.8 km, 4.5%). The peloton loses 2’ 20’’ on the break as Discovery and HTC seem to be preparing the race for Janez Brajkovic and Pieter Weening.
Marco Pinotti (Radioshack) was the strongest of the break in the last climb of the day, the Col d’Eze. He went through the top (16 km to the finish) with a few meters on Tiago Machado and 35’’ on the group. The fight in the bunch was rather disappointing, as no one was able to pull away. Brajkovic and Weening didn’t even try a serious attack and things soon slowed a bit. They lost 2’ 30’’ at the top.
The chasers reeled Machado back in on the descent of the Col d’Eze but Pinotti still had 25’’ on them with 4 km to go. As the riders were entering Nice the Italian looked good for the stage win.
Marco Pinotti wins in Nice! The Italian was able to hold off the charge of the chasers and he made it over the line with a slim advantage. Behind him Heinrich Haussler took second and Tiago Machado third on the same time as the winner.
Jakob Fuglsang (Radioshack) led the bunch over the finish line in Nice 2’ 08’’ after the winner. They took things so easy that the time loss allowed Machado, Goss and Rebellin to jump into the top 10 in the GC. Davide Rebellin (Movistar) won the white jersey in the process. Rob Ruijgh was in the end able to grab the mountains jersey.
Vacansoleil couldn’t have dreamed of a better start than this. Peter Sagan won the Paris – Nice for the Dutch team in their first appearance. He was also very close to getting the green jersey, only Vinokourov was better in that classification. The disappointment of the last two races is Janez Brajkovic. The Slovenian only needed to in 1 second on Sagan, but he never tested him.
Tyler Farrar start this new section of the story where we will learn a bit more about the riders. The American is the most successful sprinter so far, as he accumulates as many as 10 stage wins in the story including the pretigious Giro di Lombardia in 2009. If you add to that the win in the GC of the Tour Down Under 2010 and the first place in the UCI World Tour rankings you have one of the best records in the story.
This year has already started well for Farrar, who won the 2nd stage in the Paris - Nice ending in Amilly and was 9th in the overall results. However, the calendar of races this year doesn't suit a sprinter as there are not many classics or tour that they can win. Therefore, the main target for Farrar in this season are the stage wins in the Giro, the Road World Champioships and the Tour of Beijing.
He will have it easier this year with his leadout train. Matthew Goss will be the best leadout for a sprinter in the field and the Australian can even try to sprint for himself when Farrar is not feeling good. It must be very reassuring for Farrar that Saxo bank has brought him such a good helper, as this demonstrated that the team believes in him.
Wins:
2009
- 1st Giro di Lombardia
2010
- 1st Stages 1 and 4 Tour Down Under
- 1st GC Tour Down Under
- 1st Stage 7 Tirreno - Adriatico
- 1st Stages 2, 3 and 7 Tour of Poland
- 1st Points Jersey Tour of Poland
- 1st Stages 2 and 7 Vuelta a España
- 1st in the UCI World Tour
2011
- 1st Stage 2 Paris - Nice
Other notable results:
- 4th 2009 Ronde van Vlandereen
- 3rd 2009 Tour de Suisse
- 3rd 2010 Tour de Pologne
- 2nd 2010 Vattenfall Cyclassics
The Volta a Catalunya arrives in late March as the second test of the season. The route will be the same as two seasons ago, what means that the race will probably be decided by the fourth stage. The climbers will probably be the best suited to win the Volta, as the arrival to Vallnord will be quite tough.
Favorites:
- Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil): Vacansoleil started its career in the best way possible in Nice and their are looking forward to add. Bauke Mollema is the best suited to this type of route in the Dutch team and he has marked this race in his calendar.
- George Hincapie (BMC): For one reason or another, George Hincapie didn't perform as good as he should last season. Nevertheless, he is one of the best climbers in the world and he means to prove it in Catalunya. He will also have the help of Mikel Nieve in the mountains, what could prove very useful.
- Xavi Tondo (Euskaltel): Xavi Tondo is the local hero in Catalunya. Euskaltel has a much stronger team to help the Spaniard, so his chances of doing something special increase.
- Hubert Dupont (Saxo Bank): The French is always dangerous in the mountains, but so far he has barely proved it outside the three week tours. Last year his best result in a 1-week race was 4th overall in Romandie.
A prologue welcomes the riders in Catalunya. A time trialist will be the first leader of the race, but the short distance won’t let the differences be very big. The favorites will be the likes of Samuel Sanchez, Rigoberto Uran, Marco Pinotti and Bauke Mollema.
Samuel Sanchez (Saxo Bank) was the first of the favorites to hit the track. The Spaniard recorded a time 6 seconds better than Pieter Weening to grab the lead from him: 6’ 32’’.
Oscar Freire (Rabobank) was supposed to do well, but with few riders in the track he could only manage to get the 7th best time, 4 seconds behind Sanchez.
Marco Marcato (Liquigas) copied Freire’s performance, as he crossed the line in 8th position on the same time as the Spaniard. That is not an impressive result by the Italian, who may not be one of the favorites for the overall win but should do well nevertheless.
Levi Leipheimer (Discovery) was yet another rider who clocked a time 4 seconds behind Sanchez. Leipheimer had been 2nd in the Paris – Nice time trial, but he didn’t look as fit in Catalunya.
Lars Ytting Bak (Liquigas) was strong in this opening of the Volta, as he recorded the third best time, only 3 seconds behind Samuel Sanchez. The Dane will probably be nowhere in the mountain stages, but this could be his best result in a stage in 2 years.
Marco Pinotti (Radioshack) had a good time trial and matched Bak’s time, 3 seconds behind Sanchez. The Italian was 4th when he crossed the line.
Rigoberto Uran (Sky) looked very strong through the circuit in Lloret. He was very close to recording the best time but he was one second late in the finish line. The Colombian will probably be second in the GC after the stage.
The last of the favorites to go through was Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil). The Dutch was solid and stopped the clock 3 seconds later than Samuel Sanchez, in the 7th place.
Samuel Sanchez wins the prologue in Lloret de Mar and grabs the leader’s jersey. The most surprising results are the 3rd and 4th by Chris Froome and Xavi Tondo, whereas the favorites for the overall win are all really close.
The first long stage in the Volta takes the riders north from the capital of the province, Girona, to a coastal town close to France, Roses. In the surroundings of Roses, there will be two climbs, what should make difficult the mass sprint. The second one is quite tough, Sant Pere de Rodes. A break could make it to the finish today, or maybe one of the second tier riders.
A group of 6 riders got through the first climb (Alto de Els Angels) ahead, including Yauheni Hutarovich (Lampre), Daniel Martin, Alessandro Ballan and Jacob Fuglsang. They hay 50’’ on a group of 4 including Francisco Ventoso and 4’ 55’’ on the peloton. They had a lot of work ahead, as they were 114 km from the finish yet.
Marco Pinotti (Radioshack) suffered a fall several kilometers after the climb. It didn’t look too serious, but he was losing 3 minutes by the time he recovered. Four teammates waited for the Italian to bring him back.
The peloton started the last climb, Sant Pere de Rodes, 2 minutes later than the break. The two groups in front had joined in the flat middle part of the stage. Meanwhile, Pinotti was still behind and he didn’t look good enough to get back in the pack.
Steven Kruijswijk (Movistar) was the first to try an attack with 6 km to the top of the climb. That brought a lot of attacks in the peloton, including the favorites for the GC, as Kruijswijk can be a bit dangerous.
The break had split in many parts during the climb. Hutarovich and Jure Kocjan (HTC) were the first in the top. Behind them came Alessandro Ballan, 50 seconds back. The first riders that started the climb in the bunch come at 1’ 05’’, in a group including Bauke Mollema, Kruijswijk and Daniel Martin. Another group of 5 riders come 1’ 40’’ behind including Xavi Tondo, Filippo Pozzato and Chris Froome.
Hutarovich and Kocjan held the lead very well in the descent. With 6 kilometers remaining the duo had 45’’ on a group of favorites that had 15 riders. 25 seconds later was another small group, including Dupont, Hincapie and Marcato, that was closing in the favorites group.
Yauheni Hutarovich wins in Roses! The Belarusian outsprints Jure Kocjan after a long break and wins with a small margin on the peloton. Even though the difference will be small, this means that Hutarovich will grab the leader’s jersey tomorrow.
Dries Devenyns (Quickstep) leads the group 34 seconds behind the winner. This group grew a lot in the last 6 kilometers, so all of the favorites arrived in the finish line of Roses in the same time. Pieter Weening and Bauke Mollema grabbed the fourth and fifth positions in the stage.
We had a very entertaining stage, but it is clear that the riders still have their strength intact. The last climb would have made much more damage had it been climbed in the last days of the race. Yauheni Hutarovich is now the dominant force of the race, as he holds the leader, mountain and young jerseys.
A group of favorites should take over the first places of the GC today unless a break makes it to the finish. The final 40 kilometers of the stage are fairly tough, with the climbs to Jou and the Collada Sobirana. The climbers have a chance to put time on other, and also the riders that go well through the hills should stand a chance.
A group of 6 riders were in the break of the day while climbing the Alt de Coubert. The group included some dangerous riders, such as: Gregory Rast (Discovery), Michael Albasini and Francisco Ventoso. They had opened a gap pretty fast over the bunch, as it was 7’ 30’’ in the mountain sprint.
The peloton didn’t think a break was a good idea and Vacansoleil, BMC and Lampre put a good pace in the middle part of the stage. The delay at the foot of the Alt de Jou is only 1’ 25’’, so the break will have it almost impossible to make it to the finish.
Michael Albasini (BMC) tried to go solo in the climb, but even though he got the points at the mountain sprint he was caught right after. Meanwhile, the bunch was starting to lose a lot of riders; several big names were increasing the pace for their leaders, including the Paris – Nice winner Peter Sagan.
The bunch started to break to pieces at the start of the climb towards the Collada Sobirana. A group of only 26 riders remained in front with 14 km remaining and 5 km of ascent left. On the group behind, 55’’ later, Hutarovich starts to realize that he will lose the leader’s jersey.
Pieter Weening (HTC) crosses the KoM sprint first with 12 seconds on a group of five riders: Bauke Mollema, Steven Kruijswijk, Dries Devenyns, Bart de Clerq and Bjorn Leukemans. However, almost 20 riders are inside the 30 seconds frame. They have 9 km to the finish, almost all of them downhill.
18 riders got together on the descent towards La Pobla de Lillet. The sprint in the small town is uphill, and the first riders to start the sprint were Dries Devenyns, Bauke Mollema, Steven Kruijswijk and Sylvain Chavanel.
Sylvain Chavanel wins in La Pobla de Lillet! Better than that for Quickstep, the French leads a 1-2 as Dries Devenyns is second in the finish line. Right behind the duo ended Steven Kruijswijk and Bjorn Leukemans. Devenyns will also get the leader’s jersey in tomorrow arrival in Andorra, but it will be difficult for him to defend it.
Among those important names that lost the favorites groups were: Laurens Ten Dam (+ 1’ 09’’), Marco Pinotti (+ 1’ 46’’), Janez Brajkovic (+2’ 11’’) or Frank Schleck (+ 2’ 11’’). It looks very unlikely that any rider that wasn’t today in the front group will challenge for the stage victory tomorrow or for the GC.
The climb to Vallnord is the most decisive point of this year’s Volta. The climb in Andorra is the toughest in the route and could leave the race settled with 3 stages to go, as they are very favorable for a mass sprint. The stage today is purely for the climbers and it will have more than 3.500 meters of accumulated climbing.
There was quite a lot of fighting to get the break of the day. The final group of 6 riders was completely set until shortly before the first categorized climb of the day, the Coll de Port. The main riders in the break were Rinaldo Nocentini (Katusha), Giovanni Visconti (Lampre) and Robbie McEwen (Garmin). The bunch, where Quickstep was setting the pace, was 4 minutes behind.
A shocking fall from Sylvain Chavanel made yesterday’s winner abandon in the descent of the Coll de Port. That is very bad news for Quickstep, as Chavanel was in good shape. In the following uncategorized climb, Jelle Vanendert and Luis Leon Sanchez tried to bridge the gap to the break. At the top the break had 2’ 05’’ on the duo; 3’ 20’’ on Ballan and 5’ 40’’ on the bunch.
Jose Rodolfo Serpa (Radioshack) was first in the Alto de la Comella, already in the Principality of Andorra. Vanendert and Sanchez suffered a bit in the flat part and were losing 1’ 45’’ at the top. The bunch came strong, as BMC showed some muscle to go through the banner 3’ 05’’ behind Serpa.
The chasing pace of BMC increased in the Alt de la Massana, as even Hincapie is acting as a domestique. It seems like they are plying for Mikel Nieve. Vanendert and Sanchez ended his adventure in the last slopes of the climb. The bunch is down to less than 100 units as they get through the banner 1’ 30’’ after the break.
Cadel Evans (Discovery) is the first to go into attacking mode with 9 kilometers remaining. He soon leaves the break behind. After him, Bart de Clerq and Pieter Weening come 10 seconds behind.
Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil), in the green jersey, attacks hard with 6 km to go. In one kilometer he gets to Pieter Weening. Meanwhile, Evans and De Clerq are ahead, 30 seconds behind are Weening and Mollema; +1’ 00’’ Mikel Nieve and +1’ 30’’ the bunch.
Mollema’s climb is so good that with 2 km to go he catches Evans and De Clerq and leaves them behind. Mikel Nieve is also progressing and is now 35 seconds behind the Dutch. Weening is alone 50 seconds back and a group of 24 riders is 1’ 45’’ behind Mollema.
Bauke Mollema wins in Vallnord! The Dutch completes a great climb to grab his first win of the season. He will also get the leader’s jersey and the chances to win the GC have increased dramatically for him.
Cadel Evans grabs the second place in the stage ahead of Mikel Nieve and Bart de Clerq. They all lose 24 seconds on Mollema. Pieter Weening takes 5th 1’ 13’’ behind the Dutch, while a group of 13 riders cross the line 1’ 52’’ late.
Bauke Mollema has become the clear dominator of the Volta, as he now leads the General, Points and Mountain classifications. Meanwhile, Bart de Clerq has built himself a comfortable lead in the young classification. From now on, it will be difficult to see changes in the GC, so Mollema should have no problems to win the Volta.
The fifth stage is the first one for the sprinters, so don’t expect a break to have an easy time making it to the finish. This will also the first day when the GC contenders can take it easy, the only problem is that they have few options left in the race. The usual favorites for the sprints: Farrar and Vinokourov.
The riders weren’t keen on a fight for the break of the day, so a fairly big group soon took shape. Among the group of 10 riders were Carlos Barredo (Katusha), Alberto Contador, Rob Ruijgh and Vasili Kiryenka. When Garmin started chasing, with 100 km to go, they had opened a gap as big as 7 minutes.
The bunch was very determined to get a mass sprint today and Garmin, Sky and BMC took the main responsibility for the chase. Vasili Kiryenka was the last man to be chased down, with only 10 kilometers to go. That’s were the sprint trains started to fight for the best position in front.
The BMC train was the strongest today with a surprising Mikel Nieve being dragged. However, he soon was out of contention. With 1 km to go Marco Marcato (Liquigas) was first ahead of Tyler Farrar, Alexandre Vinokourov and Matthew Goss.
Alexandre Vinokourov wins in Torredembarra! The Kazakh was the strongest as he went past Farrar and held off the charging Peter Kennaugh, who grabbed second. Farrar had to settle for third after he seemed to run out of fuel in the last meters.
The GC doesn’t have any changes and the most interesting fight for the last stages will probably be the point’s jersey. Vinokourov has jumped to third in that classification and looks set to challenge Mollema.
Another very flat stage takes the riders to the capital of Catalunya, Barcelona. There are three categorized climbs in the route, but they will only be relevant if some KoM jersey contender gets into the break of the day.
Two riders interested in the KoM points were in the break of the day: Yauheni Hutarovich (Lampre) and Jure Kocjan (HTC). Hutarovich had already matched Mollema's points in the second climb of the day, the Alt Font-Rubi. The group of 10 riders, including Marco Pinotti, Alberto Contador and Rob Ruijgh, had 6' 10'' on the bunch.
However, the break couldn't make it to the finish. It was again Garmin, Sky and BMC who did the hard work in front of the bunch and reeled them back in. The last of them to be caught was Marco Pinotti (Radioshack), who was in front until they entered the streets of Barcelona.
Saxo Bank's train failed again to set up correctly, so Farrar was a bit back. Peter Kennaugh (Sky) was in front with 1 km to go ahead of Andre Greipel, Xavi Tondo and Lloyd Mondory.
Tyler Farrar wins in Barcelona! A tremendous comeback from the American, who won by the slightest margin ahead of Xavi Tondo and Peter Kennaugh. This is the second win of the season for Farrar, who rarely leaves a stage race without a win.
As there is nothing in contention in the GC, the attention has concentrated in the points and KoM competitions. Yauheni Hutarovich has accumulated enough points to grab the first place from Mollema and is looking good for the overall win ahead of Kocjan. In the points competition, Mollema's lead has narrowed to 1 point ahead of Xavi Tondo and 9 ahead of Vinokourov with only one stage remaining.
