Will try to update K-B-K this afternoon, just raced it and boy it was a crazy race.
I can also announce a wildcard for the Tirreno, the only WT stage race we will participate in. (At least in the first half of the season, might target Eneco Tour later on)
The second race in the Belgian openingweekend is also a top 10 goal for us. Not the same team as yesterday, as some guys have flown in from Italy. Pozzato, Hulsmans, de Patre, Mazzanti, Favilli, Gatto, Bertolini and Ricci Bitti will try to make it into the top 10 to keep the sponsors happy.
OPQS will compete here, as opposed to yesterday, but without Boonen in their squad. RadioShack won't be here, so no Cancellara today. The biggest name for today has to be Hushovd then. Breschel is also missing from the Rabo line up.
K-B-K isn't as tough as de Omloop, but still takes it's toll on pure sprinters. The hills and cobbles are all safely concentrated around the middle part of the race though and so there will probably be a sprint.
The race starts with strong winds and rain, so a perfect day to ride around in Belgium. It takes 45 km to establish a break, the peloton has been stretched quite a bit. This might influence riders later on. There are 13 riders in the break, only Jeannesson has to be remembered for later on.
There's some drama at the beginning as well. Haussler has been dropped during the opening stages, so that doesn't bode well. And another rider who might do well is Traksel. He gets a flat tire, but as the speed drops after the break has gone and his team helps him he quickly rejoins the peloton.
Meanwhile it's Vacansoleil who manage the peloton, with an impressive show of force. 7 riders are at the front.
As the hills start Farnese sends two guys to push up the tempo a bit to tire out sprinters and increase Pozzatos chances. With 100 km to go the break is at an easy 3' advantage. This situation stays the same until the Oude Kwaremont rears its head. It's the sign for a second wave of attackers, who fancy their chances to hold off the peloton over this legendary hill.
Their names are de Vreese (TOP), Hincapie (BMC), Bak (LTB) and Veelers (1TI). They make good speed up to the cobbles and catch the break there.
But the peloton, more specific Vacansoleil, reacts to this move. It's Devolder himself who powers up to the break and drags the peloton with him.
De Patre and Bertolini watch in awe as Devolder catches the 2 breaks singlehandedly.
This increase in speed means the peloton breaks into several pieces, with 76 in the front big group with all big names except Haussler there. From this group a new attack is made. This time early escapee Jeannesson, Boom, Bak and Veelers try to get away.
And they succeed. The group of favorites is waiting for their helpers and lets the 4 go over the last real difficulty of the day. On this hill they extend their lead to 2'25". Over the next cobbles they drop Jeannesson, who must have been tired after all.
With 55 km to go the peloton has bunched up again and organizes the chase. The front trio has 4' advantage and seems well within reach to make this end in a mass sprint. And then there's an unusual sight when Cavendish relays in his world championship jersey.
At 11 to go the gap has been reduced to 1'30" and Bak figures it's time to go solo.
But Boom and Veelers quickly pull him back. The three then work well together and keep the gap over 1 minute with 6 to go. As the rain starts again on the final lap Flecha attacks, but is quickly reeled in. And then there's disaster...
Pozzato goes down. And he takes several riders with him, though no big names.
It's starting to look ever better for the break as they still hold a minute at the 3 km mark. Several attacks from the peloton, with Flecha, Leukemans and Langeveld active. Meanwhile the break starts their sprint.
It's Boom leading out Bak and Veelers sitting in last wheel. This is also the sign for an ultimate attack by Flecha. Langeveld tries to follow, but quickly fades.
And it's a strong Flecha, he powers up almost to the breakaway, who have taken the last corner.
Veelers makes his move and pulls up next to Boom, Bak seems empty. And it's indeed Veelers who pulls clear from his fellows. But the big guns in the peloton also make a jump and Flecha is closing in as well.
Goddaert, Hushovd and Goss seem to be the freshest sprinters as they jump to Flecha, Bak and Boom. But Veelers maintains his speed and can celebrate early.
After Pozzatos crash Gatto was our best positioned rider, but unfortunately he had been working to chase Veelers, Boom and Bak. So in the sprint he faded and got a 22nd position as our best rider. Bad day for us.
While all eyes are on Belgium and the start of the cobbled season there's also racing elsewhere. On the same day as K-B-K we also ride the Classica Sarda. It's a hilly one day race with a steep incline to the finish. Failli will be the leader helped by Ascani, Benenati, Guardini, Giordani, Caccia, Balloni and Andriato.
As there are so many races on this day (4 in total) there's only 86 riders in the peloton today. This means a break stands a better chance of making it. The fight to get in is fierce, especially from the 4 big teams Liquigas, Katusha, OPQS and Farnese. It takes 64 km for 10 men to get away after numerous tries. Benenati is in there and proves to be the strongest by far as he drops and splits up the break on the big climb with moderate effort.
Meanwhile the peloton relaxes somewhat as OPQS has to work as they missed out. They allow Chernetskiy to ride up to the break though. With 90 to go the gap is 6'36" and Katusha comes to help as their breakaway rider didn't make a strong impression.
With about 40 km to go we arrive at the hills that start the finale. Benenati and Chernetskiy quickly drop the others while the peloton also starts to split. At 25 to go the duo still has 4' on 16 favorites who are chasing hard now. Still with those 16 are Ascani and Failli.
Over the next climbs that comes down quickly though and at the start of the long drag to the finish they have 1' left as Brutt attacks. This is at the 7 km mark. But at 3 to go all has come together again.
With the final ascent starting it's Cataldo who opens up the sprint, but Ascani brings Failli into a great position. But from further back it's Brutt with the biggest punch and indeed the win. Cataldo fades badly so Failli safely gets 2nd. Ascani manages to come in 4th.
Time for another of our sponsor goals and we're eager to please as always. This time the target is a top 5 in this tough hilly classic. We've been scoring consistently over the past few weeks, so we have confidence that we can deliver. The squad will consist of Pozzato, Failli, Gatto, Ascani, Hulsmans, Guardini, Benenati and Andriato.
The field isn't overly strong, although Katusha has a very strong team too with Vicioso, Brutt and Florencio all candidates. Also Astana has a great team with a dangerous sprinter in Gasparotto.
The course is flat for the first half and hilly for the second, with a loop over a steep hill that's done 6 times before finishing.
And at the start there is a strong wind blowing. Combined with a furious start where Astana won;t allow a Katusha rider in the break it's not surprising the peloton is stretched.
When a group of 12 finally gets a minute it's Liquigas who brings it back again. Then a group of 17 gets a gap, but with 2 Astana riders we decide that it's too dangerous to let them go and Guardini chases it down. Ascani makes a solo try but is quickly shut down and finally after 90 km and the hilly circuit almost in sight a group of 11 from the minor teams can establish a gap.
5 riders bridge, only big name is Hondo, but Astana lets it happen. Then the riders reach the hilly part of the race and 2 more minor riders try to make it to the break. They get a minute initially, but in the second half of the climb Astana ramps up the pace again with 6 riders at the front. This brings back those 2, but more importantly it splits the peloton, with only 40 riders in the first group after the summit.
And it's Failli missing the split! He has some helper left, but with the gap at 2'27" once they reach the valley it's looking bleak for one of our captains.
Astana keeps working at the front and this results in the break being caught on the 2nd climb. On the descent the pace now drops as no one is out there. Some riders make it back, but Failli has been somewhat inattentive and is a bit further back. No one attacks during the 3rd ascent though so at the start of the 4th climb Failli finally makes contact with the peloton again.
Unlucky for him the riders at the back of the peloton are now so tired out that they loose contact at the top and he misses out once again. So at the start of the 5th climb we have 46 riders in the first group where Astana have been keeping a steady pace for a long time now.
And that's the sign for Katusha to start attacking. Both Florencio and Brutt try several times, but only the last time sees some kind of gap forming near the top. It's Florencio with a big effort to finally outrun the Kazakhs.
But it's all for nothing as he's easily caught on the final descent. This means that 31 riders go to the final ascent, with 15 km left to the finish.
Astana keep working at the front, but then the big guns show up. It's Vicioso who attacks, followed by Pietropolli and Bertogliati. And all of a sudden Astana disappears.
Bad news for us, as only Pozzato and Gatto are left in the front group. We have to rely on others to chase it down. With 5 to go Vicioso leads solo with 24" to Pietropolli, Brutt and Florencio. They've got 21" over 13 riders. But luckily Lampre, Astana and Team Type 1 all jump on the chase.
Only 1 km later Brutt and co are caught and Vicioso has 20" left. That shrinks to 16" with 3 to go as the sprint is started.
Pietropolli is the first to try and jump to Vicioso. He has Florencio on his wheel. Brutt leads out Gasparotto and Bertagnolli in the middle, while on the right it's Bertagnolli with Schumacher and Bosisio. And on the left we've got Pozzato moving up Gatto into a better position.
Vicioso has remarkable staying power, but under the kite it's clear he won't make it.
While everyone starts to fade it's Pozzato who comes through and catches the Spaniard. And this means Gatto is in a prime position.
When he launches with 700 m to go no one has anything left.
A very nice victory for Gatto after a race where we took maximum advantage of others.
Thanks, I was indeed very happy with this result. Both Astana and Katusha made it a very tough race and there were splits every time we went over the summit there. Sometimes even with Gatto dropping, but he could rely on others to bring him back.
Here are the Continental Rankings
Pretty dominant at the moment, but as I take part in every Italian race that's only to be expected. There will be less of those now and in the Belgian races I will face a lot more competition. And after April I won't race for a month to rest my riders. Most important months after spring will be September/October, so I expect to drop quite a bit over summer.
Other than that I can announce another wildcard. After the Tirenno we will also be allowed into Milano - San Remo!
Thanks a lot. After the somewhat disappointing races in Belgium this is a nice boost for morale. Next up will be the Strade Bianchi, expect it sometime tomorrow morning. After that it's the Tirreno!
And it's time for our win goal. This race is very young, but already attracts big names. Coupled with a challenging route with narrow roads and steep climbs this is a very hard race indeed. The goal will be hard to achieve as it will take some luck.
Failli will be our leader, seconded by Pozzato. These two aren't in the biggest form yet, but they will be able to handle the tough climbs a lot better than the other 6 who support them. Gatto, Ascani, Hulsmans, Giordani, Benenati and Favilli will look to bring the two leaders into the final.
Some big names have indeed shown up for this race, such as Cunego, Kreuziger, Mecnhov and Garzelli, but they all haven't had too many race days so far. Gasparotto and Florencio have and we have encountered them in some races before where they were always tough opponents.
The main difficulties of the route are the sharp climbs and most importantly the narrow gravel roads that will have to be crossed.
This race starts with some more leisure than the passed few races have. After only 25 km it seems we have the break of the day when 7 riders have a gap of 2 minutes. Their names are Hulsmans, Pellaud, Baggio, Mori, Segina, Margutti and Guarnieri.
But more riders want to ride up front. several riders try to bridge one by one, first of those is Franzoï, who reaches the break as we get to the first gravel section of the day.
But as more and more riders reach the break it gets clear that Katusha won't allow it. With 15 riders in the break they shut it down. As they are caught Hulsmans immediately goes again. He doesn't get any companions though and has to face the remaining 150 km alone.
As the tempo in the peloton drops so does the alertness of some riders. This leads to a split where 39 riders miss out. Most important names in there are the Acqua e Sapone leaders Garzelli and di Luca. The dropped riders get back to the peloton on the Montalcino (big climb) but it is an ominous sign for those involved.
Meanwhile Lampre, Katusha and Astana share the work at the front and Farnese can relax somewhat thanks to Hulsmans
Hulsmans slowly builds his lead to about 7 minutes with 85 km to go. At this point the peloton reaches another gravel section and a decisive split occurs. 59 riders remain in the peloton and it's goodbye Garzelli and di Luca.
The gap starts dropping steadily now and the pack also drops riders frequently. Each time there's a gravel section some riders are dropped. Gatto isn't feeling well today (-5) so he also misses out. With 50 to go Hulsmans has 3'37" on 32 riders in the peloton. We only have Pozzato and Failli left at this point.
Now Katusha really ramps up the speed. With 16 km left Hulsmans is caught. This opens up the opportunity for attacks. Soon after the catch Augustyn makes his move.
But with all 8 Katusha riders still at the front he doessn't stand a chance. The increase in speed drops Brajkovic however, so another contender down.
The next attack is from a Katusha rider and so it gets dangerous. Florencio attacks on a very steep section and is followed by Gasparotto.
Pozzato immediately chases, but it's a strong move. With 5 to go they have gained 36" on the small group of favorites. This drops down to 25"with 2 to go, but they seem to be clear.
Pozzato then starts the sprint for Failli and while Florencio wins the race these 2 drop all others on the final climb.
Pozzato gets 3rd as Failli isn't strong enough to pass him. The pre-race favorites are nowhere to be seen, Kreuziger is 5th and Cunego 6th.
As this is one of the biggest races I will compete in this season I will do a preview of the Tirreno-Adriatico.
This edition is quite mountainous, with a big climb on the long stage to Chieti on day 4 and the mountain top finish in stage 5. There's only 1 stage classified as flat that isn't a time trial on day 3, so chances for sprinters are few.
Everything starts off with a TTT. All eyes will be on Sky, but this early in the season it will be hard to predict an outcome. Sure is that Farnese won't get the win, as Ascani is the only one who is able to TT to some extent.
Stage 2 is long and has a sharp climb to eliminate some sprinters in the closing stage of the day. Sprinters like Cavendish or Farrar probably won't be put off by this, but it looks too hard for Guardini. Our best bet here will be Gatto.
Stage 3 is the flat one and has mass sprint written all over it. Guardini will target this day to shine. Earlier in the season he has beaten several top sprinters, but with everyone better in form it will be hard to get a win here.
Stage 4 is a mixed affair, with a big mountain early in the second half and a steep hill as finishing stretch. What sets it apart is it's huge length. Pozzato might be able to do something here, maybe even go in a break if he dropped some time in the earlier stages.
Stage 5 will bring the decision most likely. Two tough climbs in the last half will seperate the climbers and GC men from the rest. This is Ascanis day to show what he is made of. If he's good enough today a nice GC position might be doable.
Stage 6 is for the puncheurs or maybe even a break. We will make sure to bet on both options. If Failli is still fresh enough he will target this.
A short 'epilogue' will sort the GC. Only small difference can be overcome here though.
The field is very strong, with big climbers like Gesink and Rujano or the more steady Nibali. Cunego and Valverde are very strong on the hills and will be dangerous for the GC as well. And then there's a host of outsiders led by Monfort and Porte.
And even though sprint opportunities are few the worlds best sprinters have come to Italy. Cavendish, Farrar, Goss and Greipel are all here.
We will hope for some good breaks for our riders and nice daily forms. Wins will be very hard, but we will try to be active and show our colors. (not very hard with this yellow) This will be our Giro this year, so we will give it everything.
