Bosskardo wrote:
Have you had a story before (can't remember) because you are pretty good, with both writing and racing?
I had a 4 year career (and wrote up some of the 4th year on the site) with Team Columbia in PCM 08. Thanks for the compliment - I'm not that good at racing, but I pick and choose my races well!
A flat stage, probably ending in a bunch sprint, with 2 small climbs. We’ll send Rolland out in the break if we can try to get the KOM jersey.
There’s no action for the first 30km, as the riders are content to ride as a bunch. Several km before the sprint, Bideau of the Bretagne team attacks, and Rolland covers, before sprinting past him to take the first mountain sprint.
The peloton returns together after the sprint, and again, the riders are content to ride as a bunch. 5km before the second and final KOM sprint Rolland again attacks out of the bunch to take the points. He’ll be in the jersey tomorrow
The predicted bunch sprint occurs, and Quickstep get their lead-out in motion with Steven De Jongh. Fedrigo of BBO is lying second with Roche in 3rd place in the white Continental Tour leader’s jersey. Allan Davis is on Roche’s wheel.
De Jongh is fighting for this! Fedrigo can’t quite make it past him, and they are both blocking Roche!!! Allan Davis comes powering round the other side. But where is Tom Boonen? There he is, in the middle of the screen in the Gold Jersey! Surely he’s too far away!
At the line its so close, but De Jongh holds on for the win. Davis comes through to make it a Quickstep 1-2, and Fedrigo holds on to third place! Boonen gets sixth.
De Jongh takes the win and the overall lead away from Lloyd Mondory. Allan Davis moves up to third place in the GC, and Roche is fifth. DE Jongh also takes the lead in the points classification. Rolland will wear the KOM jersey for Credit Agricole tomorrow.
This stage is the most important in terms of the overall GC, as the Puncheurs will get a chance to attack up the final two climbs with less than 20km to ride. Nic Roche is obviously our man in form at the moment, and Jose Rujano will be protecting him until the final climbs.
Rolland breaks clear in the early stages, and secures some more points in the mountain category to extend his lead
The initial break is brought back and a second group goes up the road halfway through the stage, including Brice Feillu, Dimitri Champion and Christophe Riblon, who could be dangerous!
Quickstep take up the chase, but they’ll have to work hard if they are to keep the lead today
With 20km to ride, Gutierrez of Caisse d’Epargne, one of today’s favourites, attacks. Roche is forced to respond
At the top of the final climb, all of the favourites are in the lead group, including Champion as the last remaining breakaway rider, Gadret, LL Sanchez, Gutierrez, Voeckler, Fedrigo and our own Roche and Rujano. No Quickstep riders have made it across, although Boonen is trying to bridge the gap! Both of our riders are strong, so we’ll try an attack by Roche, and if he gets caught a counter by Rujano!
9km remaining, and Roche attacks! He is immediately countered by Vermeltfoort of Rabobank CT, and the rest of the front group increase their pace to pull them back. Boonen is in no-mans-land, a minute ahead of the peloton, and a minute behind the leaders.
The group is just about pulled back, but the two final breakaway riders have enough energy to cling on to the lead. Vermeltfoort wins, and Roche comes in second, with John Gadret taking the sprint for third.
Stage Results
1
Coen Vermeltfoort
Rabobank CT
3h36'50
2
Nicolas Roche
Credit Agricole
s.t.
3
John Gadret
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
4
Luis León Sánchez
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
5
Johan Mombaerts
Auber 93
s.t.
6
Thomas Voeckler
Bbox Bouygues Télécom
s.t.
7
Pierrick Fédrigo
Bbox Bouygues Télécom
s.t.
8
José Iván Gutiérrez
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
9
Aleksandr Kuschynski
Liquigas
s.t.
10
Matthieu Ladagnous
Française des Jeux
s.t.
11
Vladimir Miholjevic
Liquigas
s.t.
12
Nicolas Vogondy
Agritubel
s.t.
13
Daniele Callegarin
Centri della Calzatura
s.t.
14
Tiago Machado
Madeinox Boavista
s.t.
15
Yann Huguet
Agritubel
s.t.
16
Dimitri Champion
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
17
José Rujano
Credit Agricole
s.t.
18
Tom Boonen
Quick·Step
+ 1'34
19
Zsolt Der
Centri della Calzatura
+ 1'47
20
Scott Nydam
BMC Racing Team
+ 2'28
The top 17 riders had a 1’34” lead over the next rider on the road, Tom Boonen, and the race winner will undoubtedly be from that group. Due to our time bonus from today and earlier stages, Nic Roche takes the race lead, but on the same overall time as Vermeltfoort. Roche is the best sprinter in the GC-capable riders, so we have a decent chance of taking the overall race win
GC
1
Nicolas Roche
Credit Agricole
10h16'07
2
Coen Vermeltfoort
Rabobank CT
s.t.
3
Pierrick Fédrigo
Bbox Bouygues Télécom
+ 6
4
John Gadret
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
5
Daniele Callegarin
Centri della Calzatura
+ 10
6
Yann Huguet
Agritubel
s.t.
7
José Iván Gutiérrez
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
8
Luis León Sánchez
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
9
Aleksandr Kuschynski
Liquigas
s.t.
10
Thomas Voeckler
Bbox Bouygues Télécom
s.t.
11
José Rujano
Credit Agricole
s.t.
12
Nicolas Vogondy
Agritubel
s.t.
13
Tiago Machado
Madeinox Boavista
s.t.
14
Matthieu Ladagnous
Française des Jeux
s.t.
15
Johan Mombaerts
Auber 93
s.t.
16
Vladimir Miholjevic
Liquigas
s.t.
17
Tom Boonen
Quick·Step
+ 1'38
18
Zsolt Der
Centri della Calzatura
+ 1'57
19
Steven De Jongh
Quick·Step
+ 2'28
20
Lloyd Mondory
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
Roche also takes the lead in the Points classification
1
Nicolas Roche
Credit Agricole
20
50
2
Coen Vermeltfoort
Rabobank CT
25
42
3
Steven De Jongh
Quick·Step
0
39
4
Allan Davis
Quick·Step
0
32
5
Tom Boonen
Quick·Step
0
30
But Dimitri Champion takes the KOM jersey from Rolland due to the points he gained today
The final stage of the Tour of Qatar, and we occupy most of the top GC slots. All we have to do is get Travis Meyer to the line in the front group, and stop Tom Leezer from getting a time bonus and we will have won the race!
A small but powerful break forms, with our own Vlad Gusev joined by Ignatiev and Muravyev
But these three have no chance against the peloton, and are swallowed up in the final 20km. 5km to ride and Meyer is being shepherded to the front by Jack Bobridge. Can the pair of young Aussies get the win for Credit Agricole?
The sprint begins and a lot of riders are in the hunt
Inside the final few metres and Goddaert of Topsport Vlaanderen has the lead, but Leezer is powering through – Meyer isn’t in the hunt. Are we losing the race in the final sprint?
Yes we are! Goddaert wins the sprint easily, but Leezer gets second place, and wins the overall GC!
Meyer, not being a great sprinter, could only manage 9th place.
Stage results
1
Kristof Goddaert
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
2h33'56
2
Tom Leezer
Rabobank
s.t.
3
Enrico Gasparotto
Lampre - N.G.C
s.t.
4
Bert De Waele
Landbouwkrediet - Colnago
s.t.
5
Robert Förster
Team Milram
s.t.
6
Grégory Rast
Astana Cycling Team
s.t.
7
Jesús Del Nero
Fuji - Servetto
s.t.
8
Maarten Neyens
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
9
Travis Meyer
Credit Agricole
s.t.
10
Markus Zberg
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
A disappointing end to a very successful Tour of Qatar for Credit Agricole with us losing the overall race lead – but 6 top 10 spots in the GC is a great achievement, even if it is a bit artificial due to the TTT on stage 1.
GC results
1
Tom Leezer
Rabobank
14h56'30
2
Travis Meyer
Credit Agricole
+ 6
3
Laszló Bodrogi
Credit Agricole
s.t.
4
Jean-Christophe Peraud
Credit Agricole
+ 12
5
Romain Sicard
Credit Agricole
s.t.
6
Jack Bobridge
Credit Agricole
+ 13
7
Nikolas Maes
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
+ 16
8
Jesús Del Nero
Fuji - Servetto
+ 17
9
Adriano Malori
Credit Agricole
+ 18
10
Tom Veelers
Skil - Shimano
+ 20
Del Nero wins the points classification for Fuji-Servetto, due to a consistent showing in the sprints
Points classification
1
Jesús Del Nero
Fuji - Servetto
17
108
2
Tom Leezer
Rabobank
27
101
3
Bert De Waele
Landbouwkrediet - Colnago
23
88
4
Kristof Goddaert
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
30
82
5
Tom Veelers
Skil - Shimano
10
80
And, not surprisingly, there wasn’t a Mountains classification! Obviously, Credit Agricole won the Team classification!
A fairly flat stage will encourage Quickstep’s sprinters again. We need to shadow Vermeltfoort of Rabobank as he is our nearest GC rival
A large 13 man group goes away early on in the stage, and although Rolland is unable to get into the break, Sergio Henao is, and he will aim to get some mountain points today.
Sure enough, Henao rides clear in the approaches to the first sprint
With 30km to ride, the bunch is back together again, and the pace calms down a little
Inside the final 30km, and Voeckler goes down!! Although he gets back on the bike, he will go on to lose over 4 minutes today, which puts him well out of the GC hunt!
The sprint begins, and Verneltfoort is in a great position – does he have the pace to get a podium slot and thus take the race lead? Ominously though, there are three Quickstep riders in the hunt
Davis and Boonen come steaming through the pack, although Mondory (winner of stage 1) still holds the lead! Vermeltfoort is holding third place at the moment.
And on the line its Allan Davis of Quickstep! Davis gets his 5 stage win of the season! Mondory comes in 2nd place, and Boonen edges out Vermeltfoort into 3rd.
Roche gets another top 10 finish, and fortunately keeps the race lead
Stage results
1
Allan Davis
Quick·Step
3h41'27
2
Lloyd Mondory
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
3
Tom Boonen
Quick·Step
s.t.
4
Coen Vermeltfoort
Rabobank CT
s.t.
5
Steven De Jongh
Quick·Step
s.t.
6
Sébastien Chavanel
Française des Jeux
s.t.
7
Daniele Callegarin
Centri della Calzatura
s.t.
8
Nicolas Roche
Credit Agricole
s.t.
9
Sven Nys
Landbouwkrediet - Colnago
s.t.
10
Kenny Van Hummel
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
GC
1
Nicolas Roche
Credit Agricole
13h57'34
2
Coen Vermeltfoort
Rabobank CT
s.t.
3
Pierrick Fédrigo
Bbox Bouygues Télécom
+ 6
4
John Gadret
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
5
Daniele Callegarin
Centri della Calzatura
+ 10
6
Yann Huguet
Agritubel
s.t.
7
José Iván Gutiérrez
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
8
Luis León Sánchez
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
9
Aleksandr Kuschynski
Liquigas
s.t.
10
Nicolas Vogondy
Agritubel
s.t.
Roche keeps the lead in the points classification, just!
Points Classification
1
Nicolas Roche
Credit Agricole
8
58
2
Allan Davis
Quick·Step
25
57
3
Coen Vermeltfoort
Rabobank CT
14
56
4
Steven De Jongh
Quick·Step
12
51
5
Lloyd Mondory
AG2R La Mondiale
21
50
And there is no change in the overall Mountain Classification – Champion remains in the lead!
Another flat stage to finish off the race, although there are enough mountain points on offer to make a breakaway an option for Henao or Rolland
Henao breaks clear for the first mountain sprint, but can’t get into the break of the day. And here is the break at the end of the first circuit riding through the start-finish line
Credit Agricole do the work at the front protecting Roche’s leader’s jersey (you can see Roche just keeping out of trouble on the left of the picture!
Inside the final 20km, and everything is back together and the sprint teams are at the front
The wind picks up in the final few km, and the peloton fractures. Fortunately, Roche is in the front group of 30 riders
The sprint is lining up, and Roche sticks like glue to Vermeltfoort’s wheel! He is our main danger!
The sprint is on and Van Hummel of Skil-Shimano and Riblon of AG2R are in the best position. Vermeltfoort in the white jersey has clear air in front of him though, and Roche is being blocked by Theo Bos (hmmmmm! ). Are we going to lose our second race in a row in the final sprint?
But on the line we are safe! Van Hummel takes the sprint, with Riblon and Offredo of FdJ taking the minor places. Roche muscled his way through into 5th place, and Vermeltfoort could only manage 12th in the end!
Stage results
1
Kenny Van Hummel
Skil - Shimano
3h40'01
2
Christophe Riblon
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
3
Yohan Offredo
Française des Jeux
s.t.
4
Luis León Sánchez
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
5
Nicolas Roche
Credit Agricole
s.t.
6
Cyril Lemoine
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
7
Geoffroy Lequatre
Agritubel
s.t.
8
Theo Bos
Rabobank CT
s.t.
9
Thomas Voeckler
Bbox Bouygues Télécom
s.t.
10
Steven De Jongh
Quick·Step
s.t.
Nic Roche takes his second race win of the season so far, and what a season!
Final GC
1
Nicolas Roche
Credit Agricole
17h37'35
2
Coen Vermeltfoort
Rabobank CT
s.t.
3
Pierrick Fédrigo
Bbox Bouygues Télécom
+ 6
4
John Gadret
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
5
Daniele Callegarin
Centri della Calzatura
+ 10
6
Yann Huguet
Agritubel
s.t.
7
Luis León Sánchez
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
8
José Iván Gutiérrez
Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
9
Tiago Machado
Madeinox Boavista
s.t.
10
Matthieu Ladagnous
Française des Jeux
s.t.
He also won the points classification
Points Classification
1
Nicolas Roche
Credit Agricole
12
70
2
Coen Vermeltfoort
Rabobank CT
4
60
3
Allan Davis
Quick·Step
0
57
4
Steven De Jongh
Quick·Step
6
57
5
Lloyd Mondory
AG2R La Mondiale
0
50
6
Tom Boonen
Quick·Step
1
47
7
Kenny Van Hummel
Skil - Shimano
25
40
8
Luis León Sánchez
Caisse d'Epargne
14
35
9
Sébastien Chavanel
Française des Jeux
2
30
10
Pierrick Fédrigo
Bbox Bouygues Télécom
0
27
Champion kept the Mountain jersey though for Bretagne
Mountain Classification
1
Dimitri Champion
Bretagne - Schuller
0
24
2
Christophe Riblon
AG2R La Mondiale
0
18
3
Sergio Henao
Credit Agricole
3
15
4
Brent Bookwalter
BMC Racing Team
9
15
5
Pierre Rolland
Credit Agricole
0
12
Race summary
Unfortunately, our young Belgian rider Jasper Stuyven fell in the last couple of km of the final stage, and has fractured his skull. He’ll be out until April, and we wish him a speedy recovery.
baia wrote:
Great start of season..but isn´t Roche´s form going up a little too quickly?
Not sure what you mean? His stats haven't chaged, and his fitness is just at the max it can be for this time of the season. the reason he is doing so well is that in each race he has stated he's been ahead of the curve in terms of race fitness!
Roche's goals are to peak for the Criterium International, and then later on in the year for some of our later goals. Some of our riders who haven't played a part in the season - Le Mevel for instance, will start their season soon, but peaking later on (May/June).
Arrgghh! Just been away for a few days over the weekend, came back and played the next few days of the career - Tour Mediterranean - got to the end of the race, tried to advance a day to get to the Tour Haut Var......and the game froze.
Reloaded.....and the same thing happened.
tried editing the game to advance a day.......it worked, but then the game froze next time I advanced a day in the game!
Going to try editing again tonight, but any other suggestions are welcome!
facmanpob wrote:
Arrgghh! Just been away for a few days over the weekend, came back and played the next few days of the career - Tour Mediterranean - got to the end of the race, tried to advance a day to get to the Tour Haut Var......and the game froze.
Reloaded.....and the same thing happened.
tried editing the game to advance a day.......it worked, but then the game froze next time I advanced a day in the game!
Going to try editing again tonight, but any other suggestions are welcome!
You're welcome to upload it / send it by e-mail, and I'll see what I can do.
Goddaert wins the sprint easily, but Leezer gets second place, and wins the overall GC!
