Sutty Thanks, I know, but maybe better news coming?
Ian Thanks for following, and yeah it's still early. But in the New Zealand NC I thought the group was going to do something, but they didn't and all were put out of the race because they exceeded the time limit. Normally some riders make some pace but nobody seemed to do so, and when I went (120kms till the end) it was too late unfortunately...
Andy Thanks for following the story, glad you like the screenshots! I think 4th is not too bad considering a form of 55 for Porte and 59 for Roulston. I figure things can only go better!
Aidan Thanks for your comment, and your creations are necessary to start this story so thank you very much, haha! They look very nice ingame in my opinion. Don't know what the other guys think tho.
---
Australian NC ITT:
Richie Porte will participate for us, with a fitness of 57 we don’t expect too much, but seeing he finished 4th in the road race and the fact that Cadel Evans seems to be in bad shape, there’s a small chance maybe. He’ll do the best he can to win!
It’s a 52km long flat time trial. Ideal for real timetriallers like Evans.
Favorites in my opinion:
Jake Bobridge: great timetrialler has proven himself to be a big talent in that field. Richie Porte: He’s a good timetrialler, but with a very low fitness. It will be interesting to see what he can do after his 4th in the road race. Luke Durbridge: a very good timetrialler and just like Bobridge a big talent! Rory Sutherland: Rory has proven to be a great all-round rider and a great timetrialler. He’s an experienced rider and always good when it comes to NC’s. Michael Rogers: Rogers is the biggest favorite to win. Cause he’s the best timetrialler on the start list. (I know some people have a db where Evans is better, but I have Stanos db and it’s based on real life performances.)
The race:
Porte is one of the last riders to start; only Michael Rogers is behind him.
The “grand” depart of Porte.
Cameron Meyer is quite early in the start list so he’s setting the best provisional times in the beginning of the race. Later on Bobridge and Durbridge are the better riders. But everyone knows Porte and Rogers still have to start. We told Richie to start relatively slow, so he would have enough energy saved for the last part of the race. He still set the best provisional in the first and second point. But then the machine Rogers comes along… He sets the best time on the 1st section and second section. He’s 5 seconds in front of Porte… But in the last part Rogers goes on a rampage, he is definitely the strongest rider today and he wins.
Porte giving everything he’s got.
Porte accelerates in the last part of the race, he has something left. It won’t be enough to beat Rogers but the fight for the second place is with Durbridge now! Durbridge rode a very good time trial. It is close but Durbridge takes the second place with just 5 seconds margin on Porte. So the first podium place for VVV-Venlo Pro Cycling is achieved! Bobridge and Sutherland rode a very good TT aswell. They finish 5th and 4th!
Porte totally exhausted at the end of the time trial.
Comment from Honda, manager:
“we are quite satisfied with the podium place. Too bad Richie’s daily form wasn’t good enough to come in second but hey, at least it’s not 4th!
Congratulations to Michael Rogers, he was surely the best timetrialler out there today!”
Abdjouparov, coach of VVV-Venlo Pro Cycling gives his opinion about the early-season NC’s:
“I’m quite happy with the results. One 7th place, two 4th places and one 3rd place is not bad. Also considering we had only one rider in the race per country. We know they can do better so we are going to work with them to improve them! We are confident that we can achieve great things with this team."
Wow, we were definitely looking forward to this race! The first of the season for our new team! VVV-Venlo Pro Cycling will finally be shown to the public! At first I’d like to give you the results of the Tour down Under (unfortunately we didn’t participate as we didn’t receive a wild-card) and the Tour de san Luis:
In the Tour down Under Moser is the surprising winner, everyone knows he’s a great talent but this is a WT GC-win for him. A great result for the Liquigas youngster. Bakelants is just in 2nd with only 10 seconds behind Moser. Third place goes to Nacer Bouhanni with just 11 seconds behind GC-winner Moreno Moser.
Top 10:
In the Tour de san Luis Sergio Henao is victorious. A great win for the youngster. His form is looking good already! Stephen Cummings comes in 2nd with just 31 seconds behind Henao. Christian Knees makes the top 3 complete with 40 seconds behind Henao.
Top 10:
On to the race:
After we had a trainingcamp we’ll choose the riders who are in best fitness. As it’s still early in the season nobody has a great fitness, but we still feel we can win this thing!
Startlist (of VVV-Venlo Pro Cycling):
As you can see Sander Bos, great northern classics talent, with 69 rating for cobbling and 6 stars potential, gets his chance right away! He’ll mainly be doing work for our leader for this race, Lieuwe Westra. He’s in best shape and the stageprofile suits him very well!
As we try to get someone in the BOTD Matteo Trentin is the first attacking rider for our newly formed team! Just like a lot of other riders he tries to get away, but he does not succeed.
Trentin attacking for us.
So it was plan B for us, we’d like Trentin to get in the BOTD, but hey, it was clear that we had to try something else. Burghardt was feeling good so we let him attack at a good point. He gets 4 companions with him and quickly creates a gap.
Burghardt with a strong attack.
Burghardt eventually gets away with:
G.Malle
T. Hurel
F. Bacquet
I. Camanõ
Meanwhile, Westra, Trentin and S.Bos (who’s protecting Westra) are taking it easy in the front of the peloton. Sander Bos is doing very well in this hilly terrain, as he only has 51 mountain stats! Seeldraayers is also riding good, protected by Taylor Phinney.
Chilling in the peloton.
The 5 guys ahead share the pace and nobody seems to be a jerk. They know they need to work together if they want to stay up front.
With 75 kilometers to go they have a 4 minute lead.
This stays the same with 60 kilometers to go.
But with 45 kilometers to go it’s only 3 minutes. But at the last climb before the final descent of 10 kilometers they still have 1 minute. It's about 15 kilometers till the finish now!
Burghardt knows he’s got to make a move as the peloton is rapidly closing in, so he attacks. The others can’t follow at first but they come back. But at the steeper part of the climb Burghardt decides to just ride his own pace and he manages to create a gap! In the descent he just gives everything he has and he takes some more seconds at the peloton. Will it be a mass sprint or will Marcus Burghardt make it?
Burghardt with an extremely high pace.
With 2 kilometers the lead is 20 seconds but Burghardt doesn’t have a lot of power to sprint left! With 500 meters he has 5 seconds but he makes it!
He has no seconds left, but his incredible power gives him the victory here! Also the first victory for VVV-Venlo Pro Cycling in their first race! Incredible! Lieuwe Westra , leaded out by Seeldraayers, sprints to a nice 6th place aswell, making a top 10 for the team!
Burghardt winning our first race!
View from Honda, team manager:
“of course we are extremely happy that we have won in our first race! Marcus did an incredible job and we are satisfied with this result. I would like to note that Sander did a great job aswell, his first race as a pro and he already shows he will be a great rider for the future! This gives us a confidence boost this early in the season. Our initial plan was to let Westra ride away at the last climb, but things changed as the peloton was too late with catching the BOTD. So we had to change plans and it worked out perfectly.”
Not much to say about stage 1. We got in the BOTD with Jani Tewelde.
Escapees with Tewelde: G.Blot
J.Mombaerts
W.Mol
Tewelde in the front group.
He did a great job and secured the KOTM-jersey for tomorrow! He was the first to arrive at the 2nd category mountain. But, as expected, the front group got caught and it was going to be a mass sprint.
Preparing for the mass sprint.
As you can see it was a struggle to get our train right. In the end the road was way too narrow to pull off a good sprint for Kruopis. Vanmarcke couldn’t get him out of the crowdedness.
He still rode a top 10 place, 8th.
As his form is not good yet we expect he’ll do a lot better next time! Daniel Oss wins for Liquigas, with a mighty display of power. Old fox, Oscar Freire, comes in 2nd.
Great result for him. Tom Veelers makes the top 3 complete. Vanmarcke comes in 16nd after leading out for Kruopis.
The winning sprint.
Comment from Honda:
“this was a disappointing race, however, there are some good things. Sander Bos and Marc Goos were of great help for carrying water for our leaders. Also Jani Tewelde secured the KOTM-jersey for tomorrow, a great achievement for him! The sprint didn’t turn out to be successful, we have to find another way to form the train or maybe follow today’s winner, Oss.”
We tried to get in the BOTD with Tewelde, to get him some KOTM points. He arrived in 2nd place at the first summit. At the second summit he arrived in 5th place, wich means he receives another 2 points. In total he got 10 points today, R.Curvers got 18 points which means Tewelde only has 2 points lead on Curvers.
Finally a BOTD gets formed:
F.Dassonville
T. Valentin
R. Curvers
M. Delaroziere
The BOTD cruising through France.
But they won’t make it again, the peloton has kept the pace just soo high for the whole race. Rabobank and Katusha must feel confident today!
Onto the sprint:L.L Sanchez is trying to get Kruopis and Vanmarcke in a good position, but as he does so, Kruopis and Vanmarcke lose a lot of energy, so when they start to sprint their energy is quickly out... Kruopis finishes in 10th place, while Vanmarcke finishes in 15th place. This finish was just too hard for Kruopis, he has bad mountain and hill stats.
Only 75 out of 192 riders finish in the first group! This shows that it was a very hard final today! The winner is –as expected with this profile- Oscar Freire! He’s showing great form this early in the season! The 2nd place goes to Matthews, who’s a great talent and a great hilly sprinter as well! Samuel Dumoulin completes the top 3.
Freire showing his power.
Comment from Honda:
“I’m not too disappointed today; this race was just very tough. In the final we had to climb a short, steep hill 7 times! With attacks from Evans and El Fares it was tough to get into a good position. We did get into a good position, but Aidis (Kruopis) had no energy left, as the mountains drained energy from him. Still he managed to get a top 10 result, which is not too bad. We’re looking forward to the next stage! I’d like to give Tewelde a big compliment as well. He managed to keep the KOTM-jersey and that’s a very good achievement! Our young guns, Goos and S.Bos did well also, with getting us a lot of water bottles and helping the leaders!”
Our goal for this stage is to give Tewelde the KOTM points to secure his KOTM-jersey, and to get a stage win, with BOTD or sprint (Kruopis). Our first goal succeeded, as we got Tewelde to attack immediately after the start. He is 1st at summit 1 and he’s –as you can see- very happy about that!
Tewelde screaming of joy!
At the second summit he’s in a small group with Jetse Bol and Kevin van Impe. He takes 3rd or 2nd at this summit (I can’t remember). Atleast he gets some more mountain points. 94kms from the finish Kelderman decides to attack. He feels good and goes for it. Tewelde and van Impe dropped Bol in the meantime. Tewelde is now giving his best for Kelderman. Kelderman finishes in 1st place at the 3rd summit. Tewelde gets the 5th place and (almost) secures his KOTM! Great success for our young sprinter! He’s done his work so he can sit back now.
As van Impe doesn’t work some other riders join Kelderman. Van Impe gets dropped now. Kelderman decides to attack again, 30kms from the finish. Only G.Blot can follow. After a couple of kilometers Blot gets dropped aswell. Kelderman has some advantage left but his energy is getting low, it’s clear that he won’t make it!
We’ll have to settle for another mass sprint. L.L Sanchez is having difficulties getting Vanmarcke and Kruopis up front, as it’s really crowded and the pace is just unbearable. Eventually he gets them in a decent position. Vanmarcke leads Kruopis out and Kruopis goes with 1 km to go! Ravard, Matthews and Freire are too fast but maybe a top 5 for Kruopis? The answer is no; Guarnieri takes 5th place… The finish is an exciting one. Will it be Matthews or Ravard? Ravard is the strongest today! Impressive performance! He beats Matthews by a wheel length. Oss takes third but he doesn't come too close.
I’m sorry guys, I lost the screenshot, but here is a picture of Ravard celebrating.
Ravard celebrating his stagewin.
Comment from Honda:
“We are still not where we want to be, but there is improvement! Kruopis takes 6th now. We were hoping for a stagewin, but with riders like Matthews, Oss, Ravard and Freire that’s really tough. The GC is still up for grabs with a TT as the last stage. L.L Sanchez will have to perform well in tomorrow’s hilly stage to maintain his position in the GC. Tewelde is doing great! As a non-climber he’s about to take the KOTM-jersey. Really impressive but we have to hang on to it next stage!”
Top 10 GC:
Spoiler
GC Top 10:
Rank Name Team Time Player
1 Óscar Freire Katusha Team 10h53'30
2 Daniel Oss Liquigas - Cannondale + 2
3 Michael Matthews Rabobank Cycling Team + 4
4 Anthony Ravard Ag2r - La Mondiale + 6
5 Samuel Dumoulin Cofidis, le Crédit en Ligne + 12
6 Tom Veelers Team Argos - Shimano s.t.
7 Aidis Kruopis VVV-VENLO PRO CYCLING + 16 TimoMennen
8 Rubén Pérez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
9 Jacopo Guarnieri Astana Pro Team s.t.
10 Sep Vanmarcke VVV-VENLO PRO CYCLING s.t. TimoMennen
54 riders with the same time (16 seconds behind Kruopis)
Results:
Spoiler
Rank Name Team Time Player
1 Anthony Ravard Ag2r - La Mondiale 4h01'07
2 Michael Matthews Rabobank Cycling Team s.t.
3 Daniel Oss Liquigas - Cannondale s.t.
4 Óscar Freire Katusha Team s.t.
5 Jacopo Guarnieri Astana Pro Team s.t.
6 Aidis Kruopis VVV-VENLO PRO CYCLING s.t. TimoMennen
7 Lloyd Mondory Ag2r - La Mondiale s.t.
8 Geoffrey Soupe FDJ - BigMat s.t.
9 Sébastien Chavanel Team Europcar s.t.
10 Robert Hunter Team Garmin - Sharp s.t.
11 Adam Blythe BMC Racing Team s.t.
12 Sep Vanmarcke VVV-VENLO PRO CYCLING s.t. TimoMennen
13 Rubén Pérez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
14 Samuel Dumoulin Cofidis, le Crédit en Ligne s.t.
15 Michel Kreder Team Garmin - Sharp s.t.
16 Luis León Sánchez VVV-VENLO PRO CYCLING s.t. TimoMennen
17 Jonathan Castroviejo Movistar Team s.t.
18 Giovanni Visconti Movistar Team s.t.
19 Tom Veelers Team Argos - Shimano s.t.
20 Mikhail Ignatiev Katusha Team s.t.
21 Tony Gallopin RadioShack Nissan Trek s.t.
22 Martin Elmiger Ag2r - La Mondiale s.t.
23 Carlos Barredo Rabobank Cycling Team s.t.
24 Julien El Fares Team Type 1 - Sanofi s.t.
25 Anthony Roux FDJ - BigMat s.t.
26 Raymond Kreder Team Garmin - Sharp s.t.
27 Ángel Madrazo Movistar Team s.t.
28 Cadel Evans BMC Racing Team s.t.
29 Mikaël Chérel Ag2r - La Mondiale s.t.
30 Nicolas Roche Ag2r - La Mondiale s.t.
31 Steve Chainel FDJ - BigMat s.t.
32 Maarten Tjallingii Rabobank Cycling Team s.t.
33 Jan Bakelants RadioShack Nissan Trek s.t.
34 Markel Irizar RadioShack Nissan Trek s.t.
35 Rémy Cusin Team Type 1 - Sanofi s.t.
36 Timofey Kritskiy Katusha Team s.t.
37 Jérémy Roy FDJ - BigMat s.t.
38 Ben Hermans RadioShack Nissan Trek s.t.
39 Jan Ghyselinck Cofidis, le Crédit en Ligne s.t.
40 David Millar Team Garmin - Sharp s.t.
41 Fabio Sabatini Liquigas - Cannondale s.t.
42 Sébastien Minard Ag2r - La Mondiale s.t.
43 Jérôme Coppel Saur - Sojasun s.t.
44 Maxime Vantomme Katusha Team s.t.
45 Tom Slagter Rabobank Cycling Team s.t.
46 Vladimir Karpets Movistar Team s.t.
47 Andriy Grivko Astana Pro Team s.t.
48 Maciej Bodnar Liquigas - Cannondale s.t.
49 Koldo Fernández Team Garmin - Sharp s.t.
50 Danilo Wyss BMC Racing Team s.t.
51 Christophe Riblon Ag2r - La Mondiale s.t.
52 Federico Canuti Liquigas - Cannondale s.t.
53 Tiago Machado RadioShack Nissan Trek s.t.
54 Víctor Cabedo Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
55 Michael Schär BMC Racing Team s.t.
56 Ramunas Navardauskas Team Garmin - Sharp s.t.
57 David López Movistar Team s.t.
58 Frédéric Amorison Landbouwkrediet - Euphony s.t.
59 Simon Spilak Katusha Team s.t.
60 Anthony Delaplace Saur - Sojasun s.t.
61 Jackson Rodríguez Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela s.t.
62 Flavien Dassonville Auber 93 + 1'17
63 Mathieu Delaroziere La Pomme Marseille s.t.
64 Gatis Smukulis Katusha Team + 2'25
65 Kristof Goddaert Ag2r - La Mondiale s.t.
66 Marc Goos VVV-VENLO PRO CYCLING s.t. TimoMennen
67 Simone Ponzi Astana Pro Team + 3'19
68 Wilco Kelderman VVV-VENLO PRO CYCLING s.t. TimoMennen
69 Murilo Fischer Team Garmin - Sharp s.t.
70 Dimitriy Muravyev Astana Pro Team s.t.
71 Sander Bos VVV-VENLO PRO CYCLING s.t. TimoMennen
72 Mauro Santambrogio BMC Racing Team s.t.
73 Dennis Van Winden Rabobank Cycling Team s.t.
74 Iván Gutiérrez Movistar Team s.t.
75 Maciej Paterski Liquigas - Cannondale s.t.
76 Alessandro Ballan BMC Racing Team s.t.
77 Yukiya Arashiro Team Europcar + 3'58
78 Benoit Drujon Auber 93 s.t.
79 Yann Huguet Team Argos - Shimano s.t.
80 Bert De Backer Team Argos - Shimano s.t.
81 Alexander Porsev Katusha Team s.t.
82 Matteo Pelucchi Team Europcar s.t.
83 Kevin Denis Véranda Rideau - Super U s.t.
84 Marcello Pavarin Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team s.t.
85 Rafaâ Chtioui Team Europcar s.t.
86 Leonardo Duque Cofidis, le Crédit en Ligne s.t.
87 Alan Pérez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
88 Justin Jules Véranda Rideau - Super U s.t.
89 Pim Ligthart Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team s.t.
90 Klaas Lodewyck BMC Racing Team s.t.
91 Robert Wagner RadioShack Nissan Trek s.t.
92 Denis Flahaut Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
93 Florian Vachon Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
94 Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy Astana Pro Team s.t.
95 William Bonnet FDJ - BigMat s.t.
96 Jetse Bol Rabobank Cycling Team s.t.
97 Kevin Peeters Landbouwkrediet - Euphony s.t.
98 Aleksejs Saramotins Cofidis, le Crédit en Ligne s.t.
99 Francesco Gavazzi Astana Pro Team s.t.
100 Sébastien Turgot Team Europcar s.t.
101 Tobias Ludvigsson Team Argos - Shimano s.t.
102 Romain Hardy Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
103 Mathieu Drujon Auber 93 s.t.
104 Christophe Laborie Saur - Sojasun s.t.
105 Andrey Zeits Astana Pro Team s.t.
106 Vincent Jérôme Team Europcar s.t.
107 José Herrada Movistar Team s.t.
108 Toms Skujins La Pomme Marseille s.t.
109 Emanuele Sella Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela s.t.
110 Frédéric Guesdon FDJ - BigMat s.t.
111 Dimitri Champion Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
112 Jean-Lou Paiani Saur - Sojasun s.t.
113 Matteo Carrara Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team s.t.
114 Alexander Serebryakov Team Type 1 - Sanofi s.t.
115 Barry Markus Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team s.t.
116 Michał Olejnik Véranda Rideau - Super U s.t.
117 Koen De Kort Team Argos - Shimano s.t.
118 Matthieu Halleguen Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
119 Adrien Petit Cofidis, le Crédit en Ligne s.t.
120 Valentin Iglinskiy Astana Pro Team s.t.
121 Tom Stamsnijder Team Argos - Shimano s.t.
122 Maxime Méderel Saur - Sojasun s.t.
123 Romain Zingle Cofidis, le Crédit en Ligne s.t.
124 Wouter Mol Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team s.t.
125 Tom Leezer Rabobank Cycling Team s.t.
126 Egoi Martínez Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
127 Javier Iriarte Movistar Team s.t.
128 Daniele Colli Team Type 1 - Sanofi s.t.
129 Julien Fouchard Cofidis, le Crédit en Ligne s.t.
130 Andreas Klier Team Garmin - Sharp s.t.
131 Rony Martias Saur - Sojasun s.t.
132 Antonino Parrinello Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela s.t.
133 Benoît Vaugrenard FDJ - BigMat s.t.
134 Kevin Lalouette Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
135 Cyril Bessy Saur - Sojasun s.t.
136 Julien Antomarchi Team Type 1 - Sanofi s.t.
137 Guillaume Malle Véranda Rideau - Super U s.t.
138 Romain Matheou Véranda Rideau - Super U s.t.
139 Stijn Devolder Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team s.t.
140 Ramon Sinkeldam Team Argos - Shimano s.t.
141 Laszló Bodrogi Team Type 1 - Sanofi s.t.
142 Rüdiger Selig Katusha Team s.t.
143 Pablo Urtasun Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
144 Eric Berthou Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
145 Jean-Marc Bideau Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
146 Daniele Callegarin Team Type 1 - Sanofi s.t.
147 Roy Curvers Team Argos - Shimano s.t.
148 Jesse Sergent RadioShack Nissan Trek s.t.
149 Tomás Gil Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela s.t.
150 Stefan Cohnen Landbouwkrediet - Euphony s.t.
151 Bert-Jan Lindeman Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team s.t.
152 Renaud Dion Bretagne - Schuller s.t.
153 Kevin Claeys Landbouwkrediet - Euphony s.t.
154 Amaël Moinard BMC Racing Team s.t.
155 Riccardo Chiarini Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela s.t.
156 Rubens Bertogliati Team Type 1 - Sanofi s.t.
157 Miguel Rubiano Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela s.t.
158 Damien Gaudin Team Europcar s.t.
159 Guillaume Levarlet VVV-VENLO PRO CYCLING s.t. TimoMennen
160 Perrig Quemeneur Team Europcar s.t.
161 Maxime Le Montagner Véranda Rideau - Super U s.t.
162 Matthieu Ladagnous FDJ - BigMat s.t.
163 Jonathan Monsalve Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela s.t.
164 Laurent Didier RadioShack Nissan Trek s.t.
165 Egidijus Juodvalkis Landbouwkrediet - Euphony s.t.
166 Jonathan Thiré Auber 93 s.t.
167 Loïc Desriac Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
168 Joeri Stallaert Landbouwkrediet - Euphony s.t.
169 Jorge Azanza Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
170 Omar Bertazzo Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela s.t.
171 Anthony Colin Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
172 Yannick Talabardon Saur - Sojasun s.t.
173 Yannick Martinez La Pomme Marseille s.t.
174 Grégoire Tarride La Pomme Marseille s.t.
175 Benjamin Giraud La Pomme Marseille s.t.
176 Tristan Valentin Cofidis, le Crédit en Ligne s.t.
177 Morgan Kneisky Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
178 Guillaume Blot Bretagne - Schuller + 5'54
179 Daniele Ratto Liquigas - Cannondale s.t.
180 Mathieu Drouilly Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
181 Vincent Baestaens Landbouwkrediet - Euphony s.t.
182 Johan Mombaerts Auber 93 s.t.
183 Kevin Van Impe Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team + 6'20
184 Romain Sicard Euskaltel - Euskadi s.t.
185 Yohan Cauquil La Pomme Marseille s.t.
186 Steven Tronet Auber 93 s.t.
187 Mauro Da Dalto Liquigas - Cannondale s.t.
188 Juraj Sagan Liquigas - Cannondale s.t.
189 Jani Tewelde VVV-VENLO PRO CYCLING + 10'09 TimoMennen
190 Sven Nys Landbouwkrediet - Euphony + 11'34
Today we want to send a rider in the BOTD and try to win the sprint with Kruopis. As Tewelde gets to rest today, we try to let Marc Goos go in the BOTD. Our young Dutchman succeeds as he rode away with Méderel.
Goos attacking out of the peloton.
Later on Claeys joined the 2 musketeers, making it “the three musketeers”. But the attacking didn’t stop as a 4-man group joined the 3 guys up front. The full group:
Marc Goos
Kevin Claeys
Eric Berthou
Damien Gaudin
Egoi Martinez
Julien Fouchard
Maxime Méderel
The group didn’t get a lot of space from the peloton. The maximum gap was 4 minutes. Marc Goos succeeded in protecting our KOTM-jersey for Tewelde. He was the first rider to pass the first and the second summit of the 2nd category climbs. At the third summit he arrived in 2nd place.
Mountain GC top 5:
Spoiler
Rank
Name
Team
Mountain
General
1
Jani Tewelde
VVV-VENLO PRO CYCLING
0
48
2
Jetse Bol
Rabobank Cycling Team
0
28
3
Kevin Van Impe
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
0
26
4
Marc Goos
VVV-VENLO PRO CYCLING
24
24
5
Roy Curvers
Team Argos - Shimano
0
20
As the race tomorrow does not have a categorized climb, the jersey is for us! A great success for Tewelde, normally a sprinter!
As the group didn’t get a lot of space from the peloton they get caught about 10kms from the finish. This time we succeeded fairly well in getting Kruopis a good place to start his sprint.
The final sprint of stage 4.
He gave it his best shot and comes fairly close this time, another 6th place. He’s still not good enough, but this is a better sprint, as he’s way closer to the number 1, Sébastian Chavanel. 2nd place goes to Guarnieri, who came really close! Oscar Freire makes the top three complete.
Note: Jackson Rodriguez lost 5 minutes today, due to a fall.
Comment from Honda:
“not much to say about this stage, ofcourse I’m really happy we secured the jersey, great result from Tewelde, our young sprinter! Another top 10 finish for Kruopis, he still has not reached his good form so at least he’s consistent and things can only get better! Tomorrow will be D-Day for L.L Sanchez and Vanmarcke, whom I believe can win this Etoile de Bessèges!”
Australian NC ITT:
.
Etoile de Bessèges:
