Today's hilly course provided some opportunities for our GC guys, Philippe Gilbert and Thomas De Gendt, to rise a bit in the rankings. The day started well with Stijn Devolder in the breakaway again, trying to get us some points for the KoM. Of course, they were brought back, as no LPU break ever makes it to the finish.
Attacks came and went, and unlike yesterday, our guys did their best not to go too soon, but in the end, it turned out they weren't going to launch at all. In the sprint, they seemed to be all empty, getting no points for us today. That leaves us with only 2 more days to try something, so better luck tomorrow!
2 GC top 10's aren't that bad either.
In fact, that has became my tactic. I only have Boonen as real, real, top-rider(Veenhof is also great Luigi, don't kill me now ), and for most other WT races, I send 2 good riders, because 2 Top 10's in GC > GC win. Edited by Jesleyh on 08-05-2013 20:23
We really wanted to shine in our first continental race of the season, so we sent in a strong sprinters squad, combined with a few guys that could set a good pace on the flat. As expected, the other teams left it up to us to get breakaways back.
Once again, we made it in the break, Jan Bakelants's turn again. He grabbed some points for the mountain jersey, but just fell short in the end. He would stay at the front though.
Next up it was Thomas De Gendt's turn to attack, he and Philippe Gilbert would finaly use "the old 1-2", with Thomas attacking and Phil waiting and let the other do the work. Add Jan in the mix and the plan was going well. As soon as De Gendt reached the leaders, Bakelants set a strong place.
Lots of favourites closed the gap, and if you know Sagan's there, you also know it will probably be nothing. He had another impressive win, while De Gendt got 4th and Bakelants 9th. Some good results, but the GC revolution didn't happen. It'll be everything or nothing tomorrow.
If our leaders had some support, they might have had the chance to controle the damage, but it was just not happening today. 11th and 12th on the stage, resulting in a 11th and 12th spot on the GC. Furthermore, we have lost the team classicifation. We have to look forward to Milan - San Remo, knowing that it can't get any worse then this.
The first monument of the season was one with mixed feelings. Humbled after Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico, our team realised winning would be hard. We tried to make it a hard race, but unfortunately, only ING was interested in doing the same. We got Mitch Thompson in the break. It was maybe still a bit early, but he said he had strong legs.
Eventually everything was brought back, and it was Philippe Gilbert setting the pace. The sprinters were dieing, but did not break.
With everyone looking at Gilbert on the Poggio, a breakaway was impossible and we went for our sprinters card, Jurgen Roelands. Against the best sprinters in the world, he did an awesome job getting a 5th place.
A 5th in the sprint is more than we could've hoped for. Of course our odds would've gone up with a tougher race, but we can't fight against an entire peleton wanting a sprint. The team did really well, with everyone doing their part. It's a much needed boost for the cobbles, where we probably will not be partiipating for the win.
As per usual, we give our fans the startlists first. They will be send in to the race organisers later today.
Next up is in the World Tour is the Volta a Catalunya. We're hoping for some points here, after the debacle of the previous stage races. The team has a lot of debutants:
Alfredo Balloni Ivan Basso Bart De Clercq Kevin De Weert Egidijus Juodvalkis Simone Ponzi Matteo Rabottini Kevin Seeldraeyers
Alfredo Balloni will be the main helper of our leader. That will Ivan Basso, who should like the mountains here. Bart De Clercq will want revenge for a bad Tirreno. Kevin De Weert gets his own chances when not supporting Basso. Egidijus Juodvalkis will be carrying bottles all day long. Simone Ponzi is here to recover after his nasty fall. Matteo Rabottini is our guy for the breakaways. Kevin Seeldraeyers will be his stand in.
Jan Bakelants Alfredo Balloni Bart De Clercq Kristof Goddaert Cameron Meyer Simone Ponzi Kevin Seeldraeyers Kristof Vandewalle
Jan Bakelants will be our man for a breakaway, as he did in Paris-Nice. Alfredo Balloni will be a domestique again. Bart De Clercq could try somethiing in the mountain stage. Kristof Goddaert will like the flat stage. Cameron Meyer will be our guy for the general classification. Simone Ponzi will also go for the sprint stage. Kevin Seeldraeyers will be the mountain domestique here. Kristof Vandewalle will go for a good result in the time trial.
Another race we really wanted to win, though we knew it would be hard with Rodriguez starting. It started out well, with different riders scoring points, but a dramatic last day turned this into the worst race we ever had. It's realy disappointing with such a strong tema to score so few points. While there was some positive feeling after the Tirreno, it's all negative here.
Best rider: Joaquim Rodriguez
He was the main favourite, and did not disappoint. Not once was his yellow jersye in danger after he took it in an impressive way. Hopefully this win will make his manager very happy after the unfortunate events in Almeria. Biggest surprise: Thibaut Pinot
It was close between Adreas Kloden and him, but we felt his age made the difference. This young rider grabbed an impressive win and rode strong in the last days to give his team points. Greatest disappointment: Philippe Gilbert
This was probably the best chance to win a major small stage race in his carreer, and he blew it. Too passive on the stages that were perfectly fit for him, and too weak in the end. Best team: ING-InBev
They're not winning, but Veenhof, Voeckler and Schleck got them the points they need to stay high on the rankings. We gave them a 9 for a reason. Most surprising team: Tulip - Guinness
All their big shots were in Tirreno, but somehow they managed to revive Rebellin and Hushovd and get a fair share of points with a B-team Most disappointing team: Globant - Telefe
It started with a nice 4th for Kim Po-ding, but the North Korean could not hold onto it and the rest of the team could not step in. They struggle if Contador doesn't start.
Time for two more startlists, those of E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem. We think that our cobbles squad is wide, but lacking a real superstar to finish. Our main guy will be Mitch Thompson, with people like Philippe Gilbert, Jurgen Roelandts and Stijn Devolder getting free roles, all have shown they can do something on cobbles. Our tactics will be to anticipate, cause if you wait for Cancellara to attack, we're gonna leave empty handed. Good teamwork will be the key here.
E3 will be the big test before the Ronde, results should be similar. This will be the team competing on friday.
Our next World Tour race was going to be a hard one, for the first time we had to admit our opponent's startlists are way stronger then ours. We will have to fight for every point here!
Kevin Seeldraeyers followed instructions and joined the morning breakaway. He gathered some bounties on the way, and survived until the final climb.
Then of course the big canons fired. Again it was Kloden performing very strongly for his team. Our guys finished safe in the peloton, no time lost, but unfortunately no points for us today. Beter luck tomorrow!
Our Continental Tour started well in Almeria, and the boys in Criterium International aren't doing bad either. Next up will be the Driedaagse De Panne - Koksijde. Here's the startlist:
With this very international team, we're hoping for a stage win here. Mitch Thompson will lead the team with Giacomo Nizzolo as main sprinter. The rest of the team is to support them on the way, but can also join breakaways.
We're also very pleased to inform you Cameron Meyer will be starting the time trial in his new NC jersey, curtosy of our sponsor BikeX Jerseys.
Coming up next in our continental calendar are some more classics. We start in Spain with the GP Indurain. Here's our team:
Jan Bakelants Ivan Basso Bart De Clercq Stijn Devolder Francesco Gavazzi Philippe Gilbert Ben Hermans Maxime Vantomme
This race can go either way, but with Gilbert you're usualy safe in a classic. Basso will be there as well and the rest of the team is capable as well. A win would be nice here.
Next up will be the Scheldeprijs in Schoten. A local race is always important, so we're sending a very strong team.
Lastly, we would have liked to announce the team for Brabantse Pijl, but unfortunately we did not receive a wild card. This is of course very painful for us as a Belgian team, and especialy for Philippe Gilbert, who was planning to defend his title.
Our first Continental Tour stage race was a short one, with a flat stage, a short time trial and a mountain stage. Jakab Zoltan decided to show up, and we know our chances would be slim with this. there is little known about this obscure east-European, but for now we are just going to assume he's really talented. Our leader would be Cameron Meyer, with the other riders each picking a stage to try something.
On stage 1, the flat stage, it was Kristof Vandewalle who joined the break of the day.
But the sprinters teams brought them back, Kristof Goddaert decided to save the day with finishing 9th, getting us a few points.
The next day was the time trial. Unfortunately something went wrong with the organiasation, and Cameron Meyer was not allowed to start in his NC jersey. Out for revenge, he gave us another continental tour podium, finishing 3rd.
On the last day, it was Jan Bakelants anticipating the final climb, unfortunately, no one dared to go with him, and he was forced into an impossible solo.
When the attacks came, we realised we could not follow without our real climbers. Bart De Clercq sacrificed himself to keep Cameron Meyer into the group, and we got rewarded with a 7th place in the final standings. Well done from the team!
The only real sprinters stage in this years Volta a Catalunya, so we did not send our best sprinters, and focus more on the climbs. As did many teams. Simone Ponzi was there though, still recovering from his injury, but he assured the team he would be ready for this.
We did not get in the break of the day, saving ourselves for the tough mountain stages to come. Preparing for the mass sprint, Simone was pretty much alone against an impressive ING train. They still had faith in Mr. Second Place Johan Veenhof, and it finaly payed off. He took the sprint pretty much uncontested.
Good news for Simone though, he grabbed a nice 6th place. Clearly he has not found his top speed back, but we're happy he's racing again, and bringing in some points for the team. Back to the mountains tomorrow!
), and for most other WT races, I send 2 good riders, because 2 Top 10's in GC > GC win. 
Alfredo Balloni
Bart De Clercq
Egidijus Juodvalkis
Cameron Meyer
Mitch Thompson
Arnaud Démare
