12th. Ballan just not trying hard enough for that 11th spot.
No mention at all of Pinotti until the results. Having said that, he was awful as usual.
And Britain was an EPIC clusterfuck. Rubbish, Rubbish, Rubbish, Rubbish, Rubbish, Rubbish, Rubbish, AI as usual but at least the best rider out of the break won it and Birtles proved he's the 2nd best rider in the country (1st if you take out the aliens) .
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
Welcome back ladies and gentlemen. We're back to part of the same course which we were treated to in the time-trial. I'd think that by the time this race is finished the riders will never want to see this section of road ever again. This 8km circuit is rode so so many times in this 208km race. However, this section also includes the 15% climb from the TT, which should certain distance some of the riders by the end.
And as with the Time Trial, Belkin are really going all out here again on the road race with an incredibly strong squad that covers all the bases. The big question is though, with so many stars, who will lead?
Of the others here there are still a few who shouldn't be discounted. Last years winner Terpstra is back to try and continue his time in the jersey. Other men to watch are Pieter Weening, Tom Dumoulin and Christian de Vries. Each of these men have the ability to help make this a really entertaining race.
Spoiler
Belkin
Lars Boom
Willem Brouwer
Robert Gesink
Wilco Kelderman
Bauke Mollema
Tom-Jelte Slagter
Bram Tankink
Maarten Tjallingii
Garmin
Thomas Dekker
Michel Kreder
Raymond Kreder
Martijn Maaskant
Lotto Belisol
Dirk Bellemakers
Brian Bulgac
Joost van Leijen
Pieter de Vries
Omega Pharma
Niels de Vries
Niki Terpstra
Orica GreenEDGE
Sebastian Langeveld
Jens Mouris
Pieter Weening
Argos Shimano
Roy Curvers
Tom Dumoulin
Koen de Kort
Tom Stamsnijder
Albert Timmer
Tom Veelers
Saxo - Tinkoff
Karsten Kroon
Caja Rural
Nicky Van Drenthe
Champion System
Christian de Vries
Bobbie Traksel
So here we are at the start line here in Kerkrade. The weather looks changable which may well play a key role in procedings here today. The flag drops and we're off. As expected, Belkin come straight to the front. Surprisingly though, there are no attacks. The riders are wanting to weigh each other up before they start to put on the pressure.
And so it's not a problem for Tom Stamsnijder to get back into the peleton after his puncture only 15km into the race. He should have made a better tire choice though.
And here we go, finally some attacks. We've already been around the circuit once, and some riders feel ready to give this a go. We have a trio of men heading out in front. We've Lotto's Bellemakers, Caja Rural's van Drenthe and Champion System's Traksel. De Vries must feel like he doesn't need his help at this stage of the race.
Traksel is definitely the best known of the 3 riders, as a former winner of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in 2010. Though his star has dwindled in recent years, he could still provide an upset here today.
And here we are now with 100km to go. The gap is holding steady at 4'30''. If a Belkin rider wins today, they owe a huge thank you to Tankirk and Brouwer who have done all the work on the front for half the race now!
A further 37km later, and the gap starts to come down now. Belkin have thrown Slagter and Boom into the chase as things start to heat up. The question is who they are working for? Is Kelderman heading for the double?
With still 42km to go, the gap is down to 2'48''. And things are a bit clearer now. Both Tjallingii and Kelderman are aiding in pulling back the break, who are proving more resistant than first thought. This leaves Mollema and Gesink to pack the punch for the Belkin squad.
37km to go, and we have our first riders distanced. 10 men fall off the back, none of them with much of a chance of winning. It was definitely coming, as they'd barely been hanging on for the past few circuits.
29km to go and the gap is still 2'07''. And here we go! Weening is off and he's tracked by the leading Belkin duo! No-one else is able to follow, and the Belkin chase which has been constant in the peleton stops immediately. This is the move!
And it only takes 1 circuit for Gesink to make it up to the break. He's distanced the other 2 by about 20 seconds. He comes straight through to the front. And the break away start to get jumpy and try to attack Robert! None of them even get close to getting clear, as Gesink draws them right back.
Weening and Mollema are well distanced now. It's down to these 4. And on the penultimate climb, Gesink just rides 2 of them off his wheel. Traksel is holding on! He's giving his all here today, will he be able to stick with him all the way?
Sadly for him, after hours in front, he has to let Robert go. Gesink is used to these tougher gradients, with impressive wins in Oman and California, as well as a win on Stage 18 of the Giro this year. And there's no stopping him now! He is the Dutch National Champion! He'll be the one pulling on the jersey today!
The break of the day take places 2-4, while Mollema just pips Weening in the sprint for 5th. The peleton basically stopped altogether after the earlier attacks, finally coming in well over 10 mins.
Welcome to the Belgium National Championships in Maldegem. First, we’ll cover the 44 long TT at Maldegem, and then move on to the Road Race.
Since the profile is utterly and completely flat, there’s hardly need for an image of it. But what may be interesting, is the list of contenders. GC aspirant Jürgen Van den Broeck and some of OPQ engines are amongst the main ones. Belgium isn’t particularly known for its Time Trial supremacy, so the fight should be open enough to make daily form an important factor.
As a member of the best time trial team in the world, Vermote does his team justice on the parcour by setting the first intermediate best time. In the back, we see Harald Totschnig casually pedaling around on a Sunday ride.
Though he may look great in his TT suit, it’s particularly strange to see Verboven here in this discipline. 2 minutes down on the first intermediate, poor boy. But his day will come soon hopefully.
Whilst Vermote set the obligatory best time in the finish, Monfort is the first rider to beat his time at the first intermediate. However, shortly later, Vandewalle takes best intermediate best time for OPQ.
Van den Broeck is likely to finish in the Top 5, a good sign for the upcoming Tour de France.
After 44 kilometers, Vandewalle heads into Maldegem. Monfort came in… zero seconds behind Vermote, so either way, the jersey is surely Omega Pharma’s by now. And after getting the two previous best times on the intermediates, it’s all obvious that he is to defend his National Champion jersey and is to claim another TT triumph. Congratulations to him and Omega Pharma!
Belgian NC TT, Results
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Kristof Vandewalle
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling
1h00'49
2
Julien Vermote
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling
+ 19
3
Maxime Monfort
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
4
Stijn Devolder
RadioShack - Leopard
+ 31
5
Jurgen Van den Broeck
Lotto Belisol
+ 46
Spoiler
6
Philippe Gilbert
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'04
7
David Boucher
FDJ.fr
+ 1'15
8
Ben Hermans
RadioShack - Leopard
+ 1'16
9
Jan Bakelants
RadioShack - Leopard
+ 1'17
10
Gaetan Bille
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
11
Tom Boonen
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 1'22
12
Olivier Kaisen
Lotto Belisol
+ 1'35
13
Nick Nuyens
Garmin - Sharp
+ 1'53
14
Bart De Clercq
Lotto Belisol
+ 2'06
15
Francis De Greef
Lotto Belisol
+ 2'13
16
Kevin De Weert
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 2'14
17
Maarten Wynants
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
+ 2'29
18
Johan Vansummeren
Garmin - Sharp
+ 2'39
19
Sep Vanmarcke
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
+ 2'46
20
Serge Pauwels
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 3'33
21
Thomas Peeters
Team Europcar
+ 4'09
22
Jens Keukeleire
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 4'15
23
Rudy Verboven
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 5'45
24
Harald Totschnig
Tirol Cycling Team
+ 6'39
Road Race
Moving from circuit of Maldegem, the peloton moves to La Roche en Ardenne, ready for some Ardennes action and the fight for the three coloured jersey, that usually makes every dull jersey look great. If cycling was a fashion statement, than the Belgian NC jersey probably were to be the classic, that never runs out of fashion.
Well, with only 34 riders registered since some teams forgot to send in their riders, the Belgium Championships run risk of becoming a dull breakaway affair. However, Lotto Belisol and Omega Pharma are both strong teams, who should be willing and able to chase them down, especially if they get some help from BMC and RadioShack. The parcour is hilly and demanding, and most of all: It’s very, very long. 240 kilometers for a national championship competition is not for the faint of heart. Stage racers may have a disadvantage here as they are not used to such long races, whereas the classics specialists look forward to some serious mileage in their legs.
Favourites include reigning world champion Philippe Gilbert and his dearest companion Greg Van Avermaet, recent winner of Ronde van Vlaanderen. Belgian’s export in the basque country, Rudy Verboven, has a bit embarrassed himself in the time trial prior, but his bravery to at least show himself may win the heart of the fans for today’s stage. Roelandts and Boonen are two classic specialists but with a great sprint, they have chances. Bakelants, Vanendert, Van den Broeck, Monfort or Devenys are some other allouring sounding names for the win. My tip pre-race is Gianni Meersman.
Vansummeren, Wynants and Maes made the start right on. With the many times of climbing this hill, the breakaway demands some determination and effort if it is to succeed. Omega Pharma may play it tactical here, but Maes has actually the best cards on this parcours to win from the three riders.
Well, we make a time jump and its half point of the race and BMC and Lotto Belisol are still leading the peloton. It’s over 120 kilometers but if they want the jersey, they may have to increase the pace a bit soon. 9 minutes lead is quite something.
Lotto Belisol and BMC are obviously smarter than SKY were at their british National Championships: They are gradually decreasing the gap and with about 6 minutes left, at 100 kilometers left going, it’s hard to believe that the break will make it today.
Another time jump, and we have about reached the time slot where normal people tune in to follow the race: And Philippe Gilbert is fully aware of that and getting some good feedback as he opens up the coverage with an attack in the third last round (40 kilometers left). The break is still ahead, roughly 3 minutes.
Gilbert’s move has caused some good old hysteria in the peloton, as Lotto Belisol and RadioShack set up the pace drastically. As a consequence, various riders dropped and the peloton shrinked to a easily overlookable size of 15 riders. Gone are Nuyens and Vanmarcke for example.
The riders want to fight off the onslaught of the rainbows, but oh boy, they are gettin’ passed one by one, as Gilbert rides in great shape and effortlessly his own rhythm, straight to domination. About a minute lead onto the peloton with 25 kilometers left, will it be enough?
All cut down by Lotto Belisol! The peloton has been once again drastically decreased, and Vansummeren is just spending some quality time on the back of the group after getting caught previously. Monfort, Bakelants and Verboven can’t react onto Van den Broeck’s attack yet, whilst GVA does not want to, since he’s a good teammate and does not want to harm Gilbert’s chances…
Due to Van den Broeck’s move, the other riders though aren’t sure of who should do the work. RadioShack don’t really have the strength left, and Verboven does not want to work for the others. This results in the group Boonen coming back.
And just as Group Boonen comes back, Peeters launches his attack and surprises everybody with their pants pulled down. Great initiative by the young Belgian.
The last time climbing La Roche En Ardenne. Gilbert hardly minds those two guys at his wheel, but rather prefers to ride his own race and keeping Van den Broeck at bay. His rival is coming closer and closer. 16 kilometers left, one final ascent… and descent.
After the climb, Gilbert is in the clear, alone. A few kilometers and he’s once again Belgian Champion. Shame he can’t show off the jersey though due to his rainbows. Well – tough luck. Meanwhile, Bakelants and Van Avermaet have attacked in the final climb and look for a good result themselves.
Gilbert takes the jersey, congratulations to him and BMC!
Bakelants leads the first chasing group into the finish and thus takes second, Maes, a rider from the breakaway, gets third. Van den Broeck faded a little bit in the descent and came in only 7th, whilst Verboven made his move too late and finished 8th. Peeters on fifth is another nice result for Team Europcar at one of their National Championships. In the end, all those riders lost quite some time in the last lap, due to Gilbert’s superior endurance and their own little tactical games.
The lack of management at Astana have resulted in a situation where strong riders like Nibali, Guardini and Gasparotto won’t be riding the NC this year even though the route should have been perfect for both Nibali and Gasparotto. *** Favourites ***
Visconti (MOV), Nocentini (ALM), Ulissi (LAM), Ballan (BMC), Scarponi (LAM)
* Can’t be underestimated *
Cunego (LAM), Moser (CAN), Oss (BMC), Reda (AND), Paolini (KAT) Salerno is the first rider to go on the attack today
When his gap reached 1’30 it looked like he was in for a 240 km solo ride if he wanted to win, but then stuff started happening in the peloton with lots of riders trying to bridge the gap.
In the end three rider get up to Salerno and when they hit the climb for the first time they have built a gap of 5 minutes. The three others are Guido (MTN), Tosatto (TST) and Nizzolo (RLT).
A classic group of riders needing an advantage before the finale on a route like this one.
They are up against two strong teams working together in Androni and Lampre. They keep the break firmly under control at a five-minute gap for a long time.
None the less with 150 km to go the gap has suddenly expanded to 8 minutes.
After having been up to just over 9 minutes the gap is shrinking again and with 106 km to go it is down to 6’45
75 km and 4’30 Lampre looks like they know what they’re doing…
This was their big plan: Scarponi attacks 38 km out with the break 2 minutes ahead!
The other favourites are slow to react and when Scarponi catches the front quartet 4 km later this is the situation: Scarponi keeps the pressure high with Nizzolo only just managing to hang on to his wheel – on the flat!
Cataldo is struggling to catch up with the duo about 20 seconds behind, while the rest is more or less united just over 2 minutes further back.
Will we get a repeat of the ITT-duel? Pellizotti is not giving up his jersey without a fight and is joined by Visconti in an attack on the penultimate ascent.
The situation when Scarponi starts the descent towards the final round:
With exactly one circuit left the riders are shattered all over the road, but no one seems able to match Scarponi.
Looks like we’ll have to concentrate on the battle for second if we want things to get exiting…
A clear win for the Lampre-rider ahead of the hardest fighting rider today while Pellizotti has to make do with the final spot on the podium this year.
, still 2nd and 3rd was a Great outcome for Lampre 
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Netherlands National Road Race Championships 
Campionata de Italia – RR 
