Surprisingly, some of big names are missing here, giving us to try to fight for TOP20 place, which is my main goal. It´s windy, but with no rain, we are looking for exciting battle.
First half of race are mostly flat, without cobble parts, pace is quite slow, there is even no breakaway.
60km to go...George Hincapie jumps out from peloton, but this is not serious yet. There is still almost 90 riders in pack including most of my riders.
48km to go, Hincapie gives up and is caught....still 42 riders in front group, containing all favourites. Vanmarcke, Van Vooren and Maes are in. Van Vooren looks very good today.
Maes and few other drops out from leading group.
34km to go, Hausller attacks, Breschel and Maaskant follow..this could be serious!
29km to go, Van Summeren, Ballan, Langeveld and Gasparotto decided to chase escapees.
Ballan sets murderous pace and it´s enough for his fellows, especially Gasparotto.
Van Impe attack main group. Van Vooren and Vanmarcke are still presented.
O´Grady and Gilbert follow.
Meanwhile Maaskant attacks leading group and continues alone.
Ballan looks superstrong today, he goes past Breschel and Haussler easily!
Bad luck for Alessandro, he punctured in the steepest climb!
Breschel catches Maaskant!
Van Summeren with Langeveld catch Haussler at peak of penultimate climb. Van Summeren doesn´t wait for anything and attack!
Last climb, Maaskant is struggling and can´t follow Matti Breschel!
Ballan joins Haussler and Langeveld again, but with 10km to go, it´s late for him to make some special, gaps are too big.
Van Vooren will fight for 12th place!
Matti Breschel wins famous Ronde van Vlaanderen! Great win for young Dane!
Martijn Maaskant is 2nd...
... Johan Van Summeren 3rd.
Steven Van vooren had no power left for sprint, 16th place is very good for my team though.
1 Matti Breschel Team Columbia - High Road 6h43'41
2 Martijn Maaskant Garmin - Slipstream + 37
3 Johan Van Summeren Silence - Lotto + 1'21
4 Alessandro Ballan Lampre - N.G.C + 2'18
5 Heinrich Haussler Cervélo Test Team s.t.
6 Sebastian Langeveld Rabobank s.t.
7 Philippe Gilbert Silence - Lotto s.t.
8 Stuart O'Grady Team Saxo Bank s.t.
9 George Hincapie Team Columbia - High Road + 3'29
10 Kevin Van Impe Quick Step + 4'08
11 Simon Spilak Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
12 Matthew Goss Team Saxo Bank + 4'57
13 Óscar Freire Rabobank s.t.
14 Enrico Gasparotto Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
15 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Saxo Bank s.t. 16 Steven Van Vooren An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
17 Martin Elmiger Liquigas + 5'50
18 Staf Scheirlinckx Rabobank s.t.
19 Bobbie Traksel Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
20 Frederik Veuchelen Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
21 Kevyn Ista Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
22 Dimitri Claeys Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
23 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
24 Niki Terpstra Team Milram s.t.
25 Stijn Joseph Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
26 Wim De Vocht Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
27 Gert Steegmans Silence - Lotto s.t.
28 Roger Hammond Cervélo Test Team s.t.
29 Xavi Florencio Cervélo Test Team s.t.
30 Huub Duyn Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
31 Lars Bak Team Saxo Bank s.t.
32 Andreas Klier Cervélo Test Team s.t.
33 Steven De Jongh Rabobank s.t.
34 Wouter Weylandt Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
35 Clément Lhotellerie Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
36 Marcus Ljungqvist Team Saxo Bank s.t. 37 Nikolas Maes An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
38 Sep Vanmarcke An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
39 Alexandre Pliuschin Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
40 Anders Lund Quick Step s.t.
41 Ricardo Van der Velde Garmin - Slipstream + 7'35
42 Laurens Ten Dam Rabobank + 8'08
43 Michael Schär Astana Cycling Team + 9'29
44 Frederic Guesdon Française des Jeux s.t.
45 Damiano Cunego Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
46 Jesús Del Nero Fuji - Servetto + 10'32
47 Gatis Smukulis AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
48 Tom Stamsnijder Rabobank s.t.
49 Carlos Barredo Quick Step s.t.
50 Daniele Nardello Fuji - Servetto s.t. 51 Jan Ghyselinck An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
52 Lorenzo Bernucci Liquigas + 11'30
53 Iñigo Landaluze Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
54 Bert De Waele Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
55 Sergei Ivanov Team Katusha s.t.
56 Dimitri Muravyev Astana Cycling Team s.t.
57 Stijn Vandenbergh Team Katusha s.t.
58 Daniele Bennati Liquigas s.t.
59 Andy Cappelle Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
60 Sven Nys Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
61 Mikaël Chérel Française des Jeux s.t.
62 Kurt Hovelynck Quick Step s.t.
63 Maxim Iglinskiy Astana Cycling Team s.t.
64 Robbie McEwen Silence - Lotto s.t.
65 Jonathan Bellis Team Saxo Bank s.t.
66 Sébastien Joly Française des Jeux s.t.
67 Maxime Vantomme Team Katusha s.t.
68 Mark Cavendish Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
69 Yoann Offredo Française des Jeux s.t.
70 Koldo Fernández Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
71 José Joaquín Rojas Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
72 Pierre Rolland Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
73 Enrico Franzoï Liquigas s.t.
74 Danilo Hondo Team Milram s.t.
75 Maxime Monfort Team Saxo Bank s.t.
76 Gabriel Rasch Cervélo Test Team s.t.
77 Wilfried Cretskens Silence - Lotto s.t.
78 Jurgen Roelandts Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
79 Magnus Bäckstedt Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
80 Pablo Lastras Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
81 Wesley Sulzberger Française des Jeux s.t.
82 Frédéric Amorison Quick Step s.t.
83 Tony Martin Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
84 Koen Barbé Silence - Lotto s.t.
85 Murilo Fischer Liquigas s.t. 86 Nico Eeckhout An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
87 Jeremy Hunt Cervélo Test Team s.t.
88 Gorik Gardeyn Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
89 Giovanni Visconti Fuji - Servetto s.t.
90 Björn Schröder Team Milram s.t.
91 Juan José Haedo Team Saxo Bank s.t.
92 Dominique Cornu Quick Step s.t.
93 Nicolas Rousseau AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
94 Francis De Greef Team Katusha s.t.
95 Rick Flens Rabobank s.t.
96 Ryder Hesjedal Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
97 Bradley Wiggins Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
98 Bart Dockx Silence - Lotto s.t.
99 Laszló Bodrogi Team Katusha s.t.
100 Kevin Peeters Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
101 Aurelien Duval Française des Jeux s.t.
102 Brian Vandborg Liquigas s.t.
103 Arnaud Coyot Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
104 Servais Knaven Team Milram s.t.
105 Florent Brard Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
106 Geert Omloop Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t. 107 Jef Peeters An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
108 Benny De Schrooder An Post - Sean Kelly Team + 13'23
109 Marco Bandiera Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
110 Dries Devenyns Quick Step s.t.
111 Fabio Sabatini Liquigas s.t.
112 Bert Grabsch Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
113 Alberto Ongarato LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
114 Olaf Pollack Cervélo Test Team + 14'27
115 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
116 Steven Cozza Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
117 Nico Sijmens Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
118 Valeri Dimitriev Astana Cycling Team s.t.
119 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
120 Francesco Tomei Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
121 Benoit Vaugrenard Française des Jeux + 15'07
122 Guillaume Bonnafond AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
123 Nicolas Roche AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
124 Christophe Moreau AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
125 Gert Dockx Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
126 Olivier Kaisen Silence - Lotto s.t.
127 Bert Scheirlinckx Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
128 Andrea Tonti Fuji - Servetto s.t.
129 Christophe Riblon AG2R La Mondiale + 16'41
130 Lucas Euser Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
131 Sérgio Paulinho Astana Cycling Team s.t.
132 Amets Txurruka Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
133 Serge Pauwels Cervélo Test Team s.t.
134 Markel Irizar Euskaltel - Euskadi + 17'13
135 Geert Verheyen Landbouwkrediet - Colnago + 18'01
136 Robert Förster Team Milram + 18'25
137 Stéphane Augé Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
138 Guennadi Mikhailov Team Katusha + 19'21
139 Arnold Jeanneson Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
140 Jacopo Guarnieri Liquigas + 20'01
141 Sébastien Chavanel Française des Jeux s.t.
142 David Boucher Landbouwkrediet - Colnago + 20'45
143 Xu Huan Team Katusha s.t.
144 Nicolas Portal Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
145 Sergio De Lis Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
146 Chente García Acosta Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
147 Alejandro Ona Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
148 Alexei Kunshin LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
149 Giairo Ermeti LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
150 Carlos Eduardo Alzate Fuji - Servetto s.t.
151 Dominik Roels Team Milram s.t.
152 Sergio Marinangeli LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
153 Roberto Ferrari LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
154 Benjamin Gourgue Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
155 Ben Swift Team Katusha s.t.
156 Ricardo Serrano Fuji - Servetto s.t.
157 Dimitry Kozontchuk Rabobank s.t.
158 Angel 'Litu' Gómez Fuji - Servetto s.t.
159 Greg Henderson Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
160 Mirko Lorenzetto Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
161 Fabio Negri LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
162 Yuri Kozak Team Milram s.t.
163 Rubén Plaza Astana Cycling Team s.t.
164 Walter Júnior Celano Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
165 Addy Engels Quick Step s.t.
166 Chechu Rubiera Astana Cycling Team s.t.
167 Andoni Lafuente Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
168 Gorka Verdugo Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
169 Arkaitz Durán Fuji - Servetto + 22'29
170 Martin Müller Team Milram + 23'29
171 Bolat Raimbekov Astana Cycling Team + 25'25 172 Sandro Kurtz An Post - Sean Kelly Team + 26'25
173 Willi Quagliarella LPR Brakes Farnese Vini + 31'01
174 Sergio Laganà LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
175 Miguel Pantzeska Caisse d'Epargne + 31'41
Race profile is "more friendly" for my team with less hills and cobble sections, on the other side all cycling cobble stars are here, making race much tougher for me than RvV was.
Windy and heavy rain, typical weather for Belgium in March. Noone wants to spend too much energy in suicidal break, peloton is all together. It´s 70km to go.
38km to go, last hill & cobble section...Greg Van Avermaet attacks, Pozzato follows. This is first attack through the race.
4 Quick Step riders jump out from main group.
Strong move of main favourites - Ballan, Hincapie, O´Grady, Devolder. This causes peloton to split to many parts. Who can, go ahead...who can´t, stay behind...
My riders aren´t able to react well and stay out of game.
23-men group of main contenders has formed in front.
Hincapie tries his luck 3km before line!
Devolder counters, but it´s too late!
George Hincapie wins the race! Awesome tactics from him!
1 George Hincapie Team Columbia - High Road 5h17'45
2 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
3 Stuart O'Grady Team Saxo Bank s.t.
4 Martijn Maaskant Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
5 Alessandro Ballan Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
6 Heinrich Haussler Cervélo Test Team s.t.
7 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank s.t.
8 Andreas Klier Cervélo Test Team s.t.
9 Frederic Guesdon Française des Jeux s.t.
10 Stijn Devolder Quick Step s.t.
11 Greg Van Avermaet Silence - Lotto s.t.
12 Filippo Pozzato Team Katusha s.t.
13 Enrico Franzoï Liquigas s.t.
14 Steven De Jongh Rabobank s.t.
15 Marcus Burghardt Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
16 Gianni Meersman Française des Jeux s.t.
17 Staf Scheirlinckx Rabobank s.t.
18 Sebastian Langeveld Rabobank s.t.
19 Tom Boonen Quick Step s.t.
20 Manuel Quinziato Liquigas s.t.
21 Simon Spilak Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
22 Sylvain Chavanel Quick Step s.t.
23 Leif Hoste Silence - Lotto s.t.
24 Gert Steegmans Silence - Lotto + 1'20
25 Matthew Goss Team Saxo Bank s.t.
26 Sébastien Rosseler Quick Step s.t.
27 Matti Breschel Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
28 Ricardo Van der Velde Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
29 Jonathan Bellis Team Saxo Bank s.t.
30 Kurt-Asle Arvesen Team Saxo Bank s.t.
31 Magnus Bäckstedt Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
32 Johan Van Summeren Silence - Lotto s.t. 33 Sep Vanmarcke An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
34 Kevin Van Impe Quick Step + 2'10
35 Anders Lund Quick Step + 2'50 36 Nico Eeckhout An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
37 Mark Cavendish Team Columbia - High Road s.t. 38 Jan Ghyselinck An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
39 Wim De Vocht Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
40 Dimitri Muravyev Astana Cycling Team s.t.
41 Paul Voss Team Milram s.t.
42 Daniele Nardello Fuji - Servetto s.t.
43 Stijn Joseph Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
44 Niki Terpstra Team Milram s.t.
45 Michael Schär Astana Cycling Team s.t.
46 Jurgen Roelandts Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
47 Arnaud Coyot Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
48 Bobbie Traksel Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
49 Andy Cappelle Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
50 Marc De Maar Rabobank s.t.
51 Andrea Grendene Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
52 Grégory Rast Astana Cycling Team s.t.
53 Roger Hammond Cervélo Test Team s.t.
54 Lorenzo Bernucci Liquigas s.t.
55 Gatis Smukulis AG2R La Mondiale s.t. 56 Nikolas Maes An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
57 Michael Friedman Team Saxo Bank s.t. 58 Steven Van Vooren An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
59 Wouter Weylandt Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
60 Mauro Da Dalto Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
61 Dimitri Claeys Landbouwkrediet - Colnago + 5'22
62 Koldo Fernández Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
63 Stijn Vandenbergh Team Katusha s.t.
64 Sergei Ivanov Team Katusha s.t.
65 Alexandre Pliuschin Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
66 Kurt Hovelynck Quick Step s.t.
67 Sven Nys Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
68 Daniele Bennati Liquigas s.t.
69 Koen Barbé Silence - Lotto s.t.
70 Huub Duyn Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
71 Frederik Veuchelen Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
72 Giovanni Visconti Fuji - Servetto s.t.
73 Robbie McEwen Silence - Lotto s.t.
74 Bert Grabsch Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
75 Rick Flens Rabobank s.t.
76 Joost Posthuma Rabobank s.t.
77 Peter Wrölich Team Milram s.t.
78 Frédéric Amorison Quick Step s.t.
79 Rob Peeters Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
80 Murilo Fischer Liquigas s.t.
81 Sébastien Joly Française des Jeux s.t.
82 Óscar Freire Rabobank s.t.
83 Angelo Furlan Lampre - N.G.C + 7'22
84 Stu Hawke Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
85 Kevin Neirynck Team Saxo Bank s.t.
86 Yauheni Hutarovich Française des Jeux s.t.
87 Juan José Haedo Team Saxo Bank s.t.
88 Yoann Offredo Française des Jeux s.t.
89 Stéphane Poulhiès AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
90 Grega Bole Team Katusha s.t.
91 Maxim Iglinskiy Astana Cycling Team s.t.
92 Gerben Löwik Rabobank s.t.
93 Sébastien Minard Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
94 Mikaël Chérel Française des Jeux s.t.
95 Martin Mortensen Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
96 José Joaquín Rojas Caisse d'Epargne + 8'39
97 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
98 Imanol Erviti Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
99 Alessandro Petacchi LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
100 Roberto Ferrari LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
101 Gabriel Rasch Cervélo Test Team s.t.
102 Maxime Vantomme Team Katusha s.t.
103 David Boucher Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
104 Carlos Eduardo Alzate Fuji - Servetto s.t.
105 Olivier Kaisen Silence - Lotto s.t.
106 Geert Verheyen Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
107 Stéphane Augé Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
108 Iñigo Landaluze Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
109 Alexandre Moos Cervélo Test Team s.t.
110 Christophe Riblon AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
111 Walter Júnior Celano Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
112 Jacopo Guarnieri Liquigas s.t.
113 Bart Dockx Silence - Lotto s.t.
114 Markel Irizar Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
115 Claudio Corioni Liquigas s.t.
116 Mirko Lorenzetto Lampre - N.G.C s.t. 117 Benny De Schrooder An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
118 Anthony Geslin Française des Jeux s.t.
119 Brian Vandborg Liquigas s.t.
120 Kevin Lacombe Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
121 Hilton Clarke Fuji - Servetto s.t.
122 Gert Dockx Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
123 Sérgio Paulinho Astana Cycling Team + 9'36
124 Alberto Ongarato LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
125 Wesley Sulzberger Française des Jeux + 10'47
126 Austin Carroll Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
127 Dominik Roels Team Milram s.t.
128 Aurélien Clerc AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
129 Robert Förster Team Milram s.t.
130 Anthony Charteau Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
131 Benjamin Gourgue Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
132 Florent Brard Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
133 Sergio De Lis Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
134 Yuri Kozak Team Milram s.t.
135 Frédérique Robert Landbouwkrediet - Colnago s.t.
136 Rein Taaramäe Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
137 Francesco Ginanni Team Katusha s.t.
138 Julian Dean Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
139 Tony Clément AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
140 Davide Viganò Fuji - Servetto s.t.
141 Andrey Zeits Astana Cycling Team s.t.
142 Sergei Klimov Team Katusha s.t.
143 Ben Swift Team Katusha s.t. 144 Jef Peeters An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
145 Emanuelle Bindi Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
146 Nicolai Ørgaard Cervélo Test Team s.t.
147 Andoni Lafuente Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
148 William Walker Fuji - Servetto s.t.
149 Iván Domínguez Fuji - Servetto + 13'02
150 Tanel Kangert AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
151 Josu Agirre Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
152 Hans Dekkers Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
153 Arnold Jeanneson Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
154 Wim Stroetinga Team Milram s.t.
155 Sergi Idiákez Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
156 Alberto Losada Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
157 Ángel Madrazo Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
158 Jason Donald Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
159 Guillaume Bonnafond AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
160 Chechu Rubiera Astana Cycling Team s.t.
161 Martin Müller Team Milram s.t.
162 Danilo Di Luca LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
163 Alan Pérez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
164 Serge Pauwels Cervélo Test Team + 14'46
165 Mauricio Ortega LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t. 166 Sandro Kurtz An Post - Sean Kelly Team + 15'38
167 Iván Javier Lasa Fuji - Servetto + 16'06
168 Andrey Luschan Astana Cycling Team s.t.
169 Dominique Rollin Cervélo Test Team + 17'18
170 Daniele Ratto LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
171 Jorge Azanza Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
172 Emanuele Lavia LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
173 Willi Quagliarella LPR Brakes Farnese Vini s.t.
174 Charles Spogen Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
175 Ronald Curbelo AG2R La Mondiale s.t.
176 Nico Sijmens Cofidis, le crédit en ligne + 24'38
Unfortunately, our team haven´ t received WC for Paris - Roubaix.
Another cobble classic race with great competition. I´ve exchanged half of my cobble squad, as some riders became a bit tired. Now I have only 3 riders (Vanmarcke, Eeckhout, Ghyselinck) able to fight for higher positions. Unfortunately day form was terrible today (Vanmarcke 0, Eeckhout -4, Ghyselinck -5) and it had negative effect for my results here.
123km to go, Niki Terpstra attacks peloton in descent.
110km to go, Rast, Grabsch and Traksel decided to chase Terpstra.
Another rider with combative spirit, Smukulis...
80km to go, Smukulis joins chasing group, they are 2min behind Terpstra.
35km to go, Terpstra is still in front alone, but his advantage becomes smaller.
29km and real race starts right now with attack of Guesdon and De Jongh.
Rast, Smukulis, Grabsch and Traksel are caught, it´s time for Hoste, Hincapie and Ballan.
22km to go, totally exhausted Terpstra is caught by Ballan and his fellows.
Sep Vanmarcke, last SKT rider in main group in difficulties...at least he showed courage and came back to peloton later on, but hadn´t legs for more succesfull sprint.
10km to go, Van Summeren attacks peloton...
...and is followed by Klier, Maaskant, O´Grady, Breschel, Boonen and Pozzato!
7km to go, all attackers catch Ballan´s group.
Last cobble section, Tom Boonen attacks!
Winner of Paris - Roubaix dominates again!
30s later, O´Grady wins sprint for 2nd place ahead of Maaskant.
1 Tom Boonen Quick Step 4h50'48
2 Stuart O'Grady Team Saxo Bank + 31
3 Martijn Maaskant Garmin - Slipstream s.t.
4 Filippo Pozzato Team Katusha s.t.
5 Leif Hoste Silence - Lotto s.t.
6 Andreas Klier Cervélo Test Team s.t.
7 Alessandro Ballan Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
8 Johan Van Summeren Silence - Lotto s.t.
9 Sebastian Langeveld Rabobank s.t.
10 Matti Breschel Team Columbia - High Road s.t.
11 George Hincapie Team Columbia - High Road + 1'50
12 Steven De Jongh Rabobank s.t.
13 Frederic Guesdon Française des Jeux s.t.
14 Vladimir Gusev Team Katusha s.t.
15 Kevin Van Impe Quick Step s.t.
16 Martin Elmiger Liquigas + 3'15
17 Andy Cappelle Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
18 Tom Stamsnijder Rabobank s.t.
19 Kevyn Ista Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
20 Staf Scheirlinckx Rabobank s.t.
21 Jonathan Bellis Team Saxo Bank s.t.
22 Marc De Maar Rabobank s.t.
23 Wilfried Cretskens Silence - Lotto s.t.
24 Grégory Rast Astana Cycling Team s.t.
25 Paul Voss Team Milram s.t.
26 Bobbie Traksel Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
27 Magnus Bäckstedt Lampre - N.G.C s.t.
28 Carlos Barredo Quick Step s.t.
29 Gorik Gardeyn Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
30 Wouter Weylandt Garmin - Slipstream s.t. 49 Sep Vanmarcke An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
82 Nico Eeckhout An Post - Sean Kelly Team + 5'18
87 Jan Ghyselinck An Post - Sean Kelly Team + 8'15
134 Benny De Schrooder An Post - Sean Kelly Team + 13'59
162 Mark Cassidy An Post - Sean Kelly Team + 22'55
164 Sandro Kurtz An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
165 Kevin De Weert An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
I´ve checked DB and found with huge surprise that 49 (!!) riders have better COB attribute than my best cobble riders
Unfortunately all of my riders are at peak of their potential. Do you guys think I should use training camp to boost COB a little and be more-competitive (and possibly make my story more interesting) or continue with "struggling with material I have"?
I´d never believe, but on this kind of level I´m not able to make satisfactory results in my main discipline
I think that it's interesting when it's pretty hard to do great results. Try to sign better riders from your area after the season if you want to compete with the best
Team Manager of Team IKEA-Bianchi
[url=(color=#0000ff]Team Info[/url] Media Room
I know its hard but the story is fun too, just keep it alive until you manage to win big races. And keep the team realistic with Belgian and British riders. Anyway just keep it going, its the best PCM08 story.
Training camp is a good idea to improve your riders cobble-skills But it is up to you for decide what you will do Whatever you decide to do, I will continue to follow your story, because it's the best story right now
Caretaker wrote:
Training camp is a good idea to improve your riders cobble-skills But it is up to you for decide what you will do Whatever you decide to do, I will continue to follow your story, because it's the best story right now
I have already decided to continue without camps. Hope I´ll lucky and sign riders like Devolder or Gilbert sometimes in future
110km to go and we can see quite surprising attack of 5 good cobble riders. It´s Turgot, Van Hecke, Lund, Sulzberger and Barbe.
50km to go, their advantage is still more than 4min. Can they survived until end?
30km to go, hardest part of race, only about 20 strongest man are continuig to chase escapees. Luckily Vanmarcke, Eeckhout and Ghyselinck are able to keep high pace. Gap between leading group and our group is still more than 2 minutes.
Leading group has divided! Lund and Van Hecke are current leaders.
20km to go, Bazayev attack chasing group!
Next is Duval.
15km to go, Sulzberger, Barbe and Turgot are caught by chasers.
Meanwhile Van Hecke can´t follow Lund.
9km to go, Bazayev and Duval goes past tired Van Hecke.
Brambilla attacks!
Move from Ghyselinck!
Bazayev and Duval catch Lund, Brambilla is close.
Brambilla joins leading group just before sprint.
Bazayev is fastest in sprint!
Jan Ghyselinck finishes on respectable 5th.
1 Assan Bazayev Silence - Lotto 5h07'08
2 Aurelien Duval Française des Jeux s.t.
3 Giorgio Brambilla Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
4 Anders Lund Quick Step s.t. 5 Jan Ghyselinck An Post - Sean Kelly Team + 28
6 Wouter Weylandt Garmin - Slipstream + 1'01
7 Wim De Vocht Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
8 Preben Van Hecke Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator s.t.
9 Maarten Tjallingii Rabobank s.t.
10 Alexandre Pliuschin Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
11 Yoann Offredo Française des Jeux s.t.
12 Julien Belgy Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
13 Jimmy Casper Besson Chaussures - Sojasun s.t.
14 Jimmy Engoulvent Besson Chaussures - Sojasun s.t.
15 Sébastien Turgot Bbox Bouygues Télécom s.t.
16 Wesley Sulzberger Française des Jeux s.t.
17 Koen Barbé Silence - Lotto s.t. 18 Sep Vanmarcke An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
19 Stijn Joseph Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
20 Lloyd Mondory AG2R La Mondiale s.t. 21 Nico Eeckhout An Post - Sean Kelly Team + 2'46
22 Thomas Voeckler Bbox Bouygues Télécom + 3'24
23 Benoit Sinner Besson Chaussures - Sojasun s.t.
24 Max Van Heeswijk Rabobank s.t.
25 Gorik Gardeyn Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
26 Paolo Longo Borghini Barloworld + 4'06
27 Frederik Veuchelen Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 5'00
28 Jos Van Emden Rabobank s.t.
29 Christophe Kern Cofidis, le crédit en ligne s.t.
30 Bert Grabsch Team Columbia - High Road s.t. 84 Benny De Schrooder An Post - Sean Kelly Team + 8'23
145 Sandro Kurtz An Post - Sean Kelly Team + 19'50
Well, instead of showing my abilities, this race was the biggest disappointment so far. We have three of our elite cobble riders here, making the strongest team in pack. However, tactics was very bad, we were ready and active in wrong time and due to fatigue we missed all important in decisive part of race. We really wanted to succeed here and we failed.7th place by Nico can´t satisfy neither me, nor my sponsors.
Juan Van Heerden in nice yellow jersey surprised everyone with attack about 15km to go and took surprising but well deserved win.
1 Juan Van Heerden MTN Cycling 4h38'23
2 Allan Johansen Team Designa Køkken + 45
3 Rory Sutherland OUCH presented by Maxxis s.t.
4 Kasper Jebjerg Team Designa Køkken s.t.
5 Antonio Cruz BMC Racing Team s.t.
6 Olivier Pardini Verandas Willems s.t. 7 Nico Eeckhout An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
8 Chad Beyer BMC Racing Team s.t.
9 Matt Cronshaw Rapha Condor s.t.
10 Tejay Van Garderen Verandas Willems s.t.
11 Aleksandr Kuschynski Auber 93 s.t. 12 Sep Vanmarcke An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
13 Fred Rodriguez Rock Racing s.t.
14 Fabien Taillefer Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t. 15 Jan Ghyselinck An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
16 Aleksejs Saramotins Team Designa Køkken + 1'50
17 Gil Suray Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
18 Malcolm Elliott Plowman Craven - Madison + 3'09
19 David Kopp Team Nutrixxion Sparkasse s.t.
20 Matt Wilson Team Type 1 s.t.
21 Matthew Rowe Candi TV - Pinarello RT s.t.
22 Alejandro Borrajo Colavita / Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light s.t.
23 Chris Jones Team Type 1 s.t.
24 Yuri Metlushenko Amore & Vita - McDonald's s.t.
25 Stefan Van Dijk Verandas Willems s.t.
26 Liam Holoham Rapha Condor s.t.
27 Eric Baumann Team AIS s.t.
28 Pierpaolo De Negri Drapac Porsche Cycling s.t.
29 Aaron Kemps Rock Racing s.t.
30 Simone Masciarelli Plowman Craven - Madison s.t. 34 Benny De Schrooder An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
55 Mark Cassidy An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
78 Kevin De Weert An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
157 Paidi O'Brien An Post - Sean Kelly Team + 5'16
159 Sandro Kurtz An Post - Sean Kelly Team s.t.
Main cobble season is now over, we achieved some nice results, but sponsors expected much more, they are unsettled. Hope next part of season (by eyes of David Millar) will bring us more pleasure and mainly better results Edited by beagle on 11-08-2009 20:56
