As we hit March, some would say the real season begins as the first WT races in Europe take place. All the preparation is out of the way and the real racing happens now. Paris-Nice is the first big French race of the season, while Tirreno-Adriatico is the first Italian one. After these two stage races, the first monument arrives, with La Primavera, Milano-San Remo. BMC Racing can now reveal their squads for these three races.
Paris-Nice opens with a prologue and two sprint stages before hitting two more rolling stages, that will allow the puncheurs to have a bit of fun. The GC will almost certainly be decided on stage six though, at the top of the Montagne de Lure, so the climbers should have the final say. Afterwards, we have another undulating stage with the traditional finish on the Promenade des Anglais and the ITT up Col d'Eze. Van Garderen makes his first appearance of the season, as does Frenchman Moinard.
Brent Bookwalter Marcus Burghardt Philippe Gilbert Thor Hushovd Amael Moinard Steve Morabito Michael Schär Tejay Van Garderen
A few days later over in Italy, Tirreno-Adriatico kicks off, with its seven stages testing every discipline. The race opens with a TTT, before two more flat stages that should both end in sprints. Stage four culminates with the tough climb up to Prati di Tivo and stage five has the brutal climb of Chieti for the riders to deal with after 239km and the Passo Lanciano. Stage six is extremely difficult as well, with hardly any flat road for the entire 200km route, with lots of short, sharp climbs to deal with. The race will then conclude with a short ITT. Cadel Evans will lead the team here.
Yannick Eijssen Cadel Evans Matthias Frank Daniel Oss Taylor Phinney Marco Pinotti Ivan Santaromita Manuel Quinziato
Last but certainly not least is Milano-San Remo, with its famous 298km route. The race can be won by a sprinter or an attacker, though in recent years, it has more often than not been a sprinter. However, Simon Gerrans' win in 2012 gives the puncheurs hope. With the likes of Ballan, Gilbert and Van Avermaet in the team, BMC will hope to be aggressive and animate the race.
Alessandro Ballan Marcus Burghardt Philippe Gilbert Thor Hushovd Daniel Oss Manuel Quinziato Ivan Santaromita Greg Van Avermaet
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
BMC started their Italian season with the one-day race, Strade Bianche. An important race for the sponsors, we took a strong team hoping for a top five finish. However, with riders like Sagan, Martin and Albasini present, it was always going to be a big ask. And, sure enough, Sagan was untouchable, the Slovakian attacking 17km from the finish and easily holding the rest off to take a great solo win. Martin, Albasini and Ciolek also broke away from the bunch to claim second, third and fourth, meaning the six riders in the next group, including Ballan, would be sprinting for that all-important fifth place.
Unfortunately for BMC, Ballan isn't exactly known for his sprint speed and had to settle for ninth as Hesjedal took fifth, ahead of Slagter, Bardet and Ulissi. In the next group, Santaromita took a solid twelfth place, while Oss won the bunch sprint for 17th, albeit ten minutes down. A real obliteration from Sagan here.
The "Race to the Sun" got underway with a nice, short prologue of barely three kilometres which would put one of the powerful rouleurs in the leader's jersey. And, in typical Paris - Nice fashion, the race started under cold, grey skies as we look forward to the warmer, brighter climate that should lie ahead.
With Phinney busy in Italy, our eyes were focused on his compatriot Van Garderen. Though he would certainly have preferred the TT to be a bit longer, Tejay did not disappoint, finishing sixth with a time of 3'54". The winner was home favourite Sylvain Chavanel, who beat his teammate Kwiatkowski by two seconds, with newcomer Birtles completing the podium. Gilbert also finished in the top ten, in ninth. Good start for the team.
Results - Stage 1
1
Sylvain Chavanel
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
3'49
2
Michał Kwiatkowski
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 2
3
Jordan Birtles
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 3
4
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
5
Chris Froome
Sky Procycling
s.t.
6
Tejay Van Garderen
BMC Racing Team
+ 5
7
Andriy Grivko
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
8
Cameron Meyer
Orica - GreenEdge
s.t.
9
Philippe Gilbert
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
10
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana Pro Team
+ 6
...
14
Thor Hushovd
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
41
Brent Bookwalter
BMC Racing Team
+ 9
57
Marcus Burghardt
BMC Racing Team
+ 11
78
Steve Morabito
BMC Racing Team
+ 14
86
Michael Schär
BMC Racing Team
+ 15
89
Amaël Moinard
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
Stage 2
The second stage of the race was a 195km flat stage to Nemours, which would give the quick men a chance to pick up a prestigious stage win. With aims later in the race, BMC weren't interested in infiltrating the breakaway as we kept quiet in the bunch all day looking after Tejay and Philippe.
The biggest moment of the day came with 15km to go, as Cofidis rookie Birtles, who had had a great day yesterday and was in third overall, crashed on a wet corner, bringing down many riders behind him. Moinard had nowhere to go and got brought down in the melee. Other big names that would lose time here were Danny Van Poppel, Haussler, Navarro and Van Hummel.
Back at the front, Marcel Kittel took an expected and rather easy victory, ahead of Boonen and Bouhanni. Hushovd just about made his way through the chaos and carnage to finish 14th, while Van Garderen and Gilbert finished safely in the bunch.
Results - Stage 2
1
Marcel Kittel
Team Argos - Shimano
4h12'03
2
Tom Boonen
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
3
Nacer Bouhanni
FDJ.fr
s.t.
4
Gianni Meersman
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
5
William Bonnet
FDJ.fr
s.t.
6
Willem Brouwer
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
7
Nikias Arndt
Team Argos - Shimano
s.t.
8
Moreno Hofland
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
9
Alejandro Valverde
Movistar Team
s.t.
10
Sylvain Chavanel
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
...
14
Thor Hushovd
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
35
Philippe Gilbert
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
39
Tejay Van Garderen
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
56
Michael Schär
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
92
Steve Morabito
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
145
Brent Bookwalter
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
146
Marcus Burghardt
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
180
Amaël Moinard
BMC Racing Team
+ 6'21
Stage 3
The third stage was another flat one, just over 200km to the town of Cerilly. With this being the final flat stage, the sprinters' teams were always going to keep the race under control and the breakaway of four didn't stand a chance, even though they held off the peloton until two kilometres to go.
BMC's quiet day got a big injection of excitement in the final kilometre as Thor Hushovd used all of his power and experience to battle to sixth place in the bunch sprint, as Kittel again won, though Bouhanni embarrassed himself by celebrating too early and gifting the win to the German. Meersman took third for the all-dominating Omega Pharma - Quickstep team. All eight riders came home safely in the bunch today as we look ahead to the harder stages to come.
Results - Stage 3
1
Marcel Kittel
Team Argos - Shimano
4h27'38
2
Nacer Bouhanni
FDJ.fr
s.t.
3
Gianni Meersman
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
4
Peter Pal
FDJ.fr
s.t.
5
Willem Brouwer
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
6
Thor Hushovd
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
7
Moreno Hofland
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
8
Sylvain Chavanel
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
9
Michał Kwiatkowski
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
10
Tom Boonen
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
...
39
Tejay Van Garderen
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
49
Amaël Moinard
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
70
Philippe Gilbert
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
107
Steve Morabito
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
123
Brent Bookwalter
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
152
Michael Schär
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
159
Marcus Burghardt
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
End of Race Review
The rest of the race was mixed with Gilbert excelling on stage five, only Valverde beating the World Champion to the line. He also netted a top ten finish on stage four but the stage win eluded us once again. As for the overall, Van Garderen had a solid week with two top ten finishes in the mountains but his final time trial up the Col d'Eze just wasn't quite enough as he missed out on the white jersey to Kwiatkowski by one second!! Not bad but not particularly great in France.
Due to recent admin issues, we will just be having a quick look back on the recent races. We will only be showing the most important results for the team on each day.
Stage 1 - TTT
1
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
20'58
2
Garmin - Sharp
+ 1
3
BMC Racing Team
+ 2
4
Movistar Team
+ 6
5
Belkin Pro Cycling
+ 9
6
Sky Procycling
s.t.
7
RadioShack - Leopard
+ 12
8
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 14
9
Team Argos - Shimano
+ 17
10
Cannondale Pro Cycling
+ 22
Stage 2
1
John Degenkolb
Team Argos - Shimano
5h53'10
2
Mark Cavendish
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
3
Gerald Ciolek
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
4
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky Procycling
s.t.
5
Fabian Brookes
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
6
Giacomo Nizzolo
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
7
Peter Sagan
Cannondale Pro Cycling
s.t.
8
Nicklas Stromberg
Garmin - Sharp
s.t.
9
Francesco Chicchi
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
s.t.
10
Fabio Felline
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
...
20
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
21
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
25
Ivan Santaromita
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
Stage 3
1
Gerald Ciolek
MTN - Qhubeka
4h08'26
2
John Degenkolb
Team Argos - Shimano
s.t.
3
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky Procycling
s.t.
4
Giacomo Nizzolo
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
5
Peter Sagan
Cannondale Pro Cycling
s.t.
6
Mark Cavendish
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
s.t.
7
Fabio Felline
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
8
Luca Paolini
Katusha Team
s.t.
9
Andrey Amador
Movistar Team
s.t.
10
Giovanni Visconti
Movistar Team
s.t.
...
17
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
19
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
21
Ivan Santaromita
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
Stage 4
1
Nairo Quintana
Movistar Team
4h27'23
2
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
3
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
s.t.
4
Richie Porte
Sky Procycling
+ 16
5
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
6
Alberto Contador
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
s.t.
7
Ryder Hesjedal
Garmin - Sharp
+ 33
8
Mikel Nieve
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
9
Rui Costa
Movistar Team
s.t.
10
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
...
18
Matthias Frank
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'09
Stage 5
1
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana Pro Team
6h03'44
2
Nairo Quintana
Movistar Team
+ 8
3
Haimar Zubeldia
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
4
Alberto Contador
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
+ 22
5
Oreste Ghita
Team Argos - Shimano
s.t.
6
Carlos Betancur
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
7
Richie Porte
Sky Procycling
+ 33
8
Ryder Hesjedal
Garmin - Sharp
s.t.
9
Thomas De Gendt
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 59
10
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
+ 1'34
...
13
Matthias Frank
BMC Racing Team
+ 3'19
14
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 3'43
Stage 6
1
Simon Geschke
Team Argos - Shimano
5h35'29
2
Oscar Gatto
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
s.t.
3
Daniel Oss
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
4
Alessandro De Marchi
Cannondale Pro Cycling
s.t.
5
Benoît Vaugrenard
FDJ
s.t.
6
Vasil Kiryienka
Sky Procycling
s.t.
7
Gorka Izagirre
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 53
8
Francesco Bongiorno
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
9
Peter Sagan
Cannondale Pro Cycling
+ 5'46
10
Carlos Betancur
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
...
18
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
Stage 7
1
Tony Martin
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
12'36
2
Geraint Thomas
Sky Procycling
+ 8
3
Fabian Cancellara
RadioShack - Leopard
+ 12
4
Richie Porte
Sky Procycling
+ 17
5
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky Procycling
+ 18
6
Peter Velits
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
+ 28
7
Andrew Talansky
Garmin - Sharp
s.t.
8
Luke Durbridge
Orica - GreenEdge
+ 29
9
Peter Sagan
Cannondale Pro Cycling
s.t.
10
Stef Clement
Belkin Pro Cycling
+ 30
...
14
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
+ 33
18
Marco Pinotti
BMC Racing Team
+ 35
19
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 36
Final GC
1
Nairo Quintana
Movistar Team
26h48'16
2
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana Pro Team
+ 25
3
Richie Porte
Sky Procycling
+ 31
4
Haimar Zubeldia
RadioShack - Leopard
+ 45
5
Alberto Contador
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
+ 59
6
Ryder Hesjedal
Garmin - Sharp
+ 1'09
7
Oreste Ghita
Team Argos - Shimano
+ 1'20
8
Carlos Betancur
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 1'45
9
Joaquím Rodríguez
Katusha Team
+ 2'14
10
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 2'19
...
13
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 4'10
24
Matthias Frank
BMC Racing Team
+ 8'33
60
Ivan Santaromita
BMC Racing Team
+ 25'01
69
Yannick Eijssen
BMC Racing Team
+ 29'02
77
Daniel Oss
BMC Racing Team
+ 31'52
85
Marco Pinotti
BMC Racing Team
+ 35'25
116
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
+ 46'55
128
Manuel Quinziato
BMC Racing Team
+ 50'31
Review
All in all, a very disappointing race from the team which shows how much we need to strengthen our stage racing department. The likes of Santaromita and Evans were largely underwhelming and Phinney's disappointing result in the ITT sums up the week. The positives are clearly another great TTT from the boys, just two seconds off the win, and a great effort by Oss on stage six, which got us so close to achieving our sponsor goal. Nevertheless, this was not good enough in a race which is very important to our sponsors and we must do better when the Giro comes around.
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
"La Primavera". The ultimate classic for most cycling fans. No weak rider has ever or will ever win this race, with its 300km route. As the highlight of the early-season, the startlist was suitably strong, with everybody wanting a slice of history by claiming the win here, from OPQS and Sky, right down to Bardiani and Crelan, why can't the little guys dream?
BMC were always hoping for an aggressive race with no top sprinter in the squad, and with the likes of Cavendish, Greipel and Kittel needing to be removed from the equation. Therefore it was no surprise to see Ballan kicking things off early with an attack with just under 50km still to go.
Unfortunately, his attack was too early for personal glory and he was back in the peloton twenty minutes later. But the idea was to make the race hard and he was contributing to that. However, with 13km to go, Cancellara put in one of his customary attacks and none of our riders were paying attention. And that was that. No matter how much you plan ahead, a simple lack of concentration can always cost you in professional sport and now it was a battle for second.
As the peloton hit the Poggio, Gilbert decided to prove that he is the World Champion, and he brought his rainbow stripes to the front of the group to lift the pace to an incredible level, though Cancellara was too far ahead now. Somehow, the pure sprinters could still hang on at this speed so it was all in vain but with three riders right at the head of this front group, BMC's plan had almost worked, we just weren't quite aggressive enough.
So Spartacus added another huge win to his impressive palmares, with Greipel winning the sprint for second, ahead of Sagan and Cavendish. For BMC it was a case of what if as Gilbert finished a strong performance by finishing sixth, with fellow Belgian Van Avermaet not far behind. A much better performance from the team.
Results
1
Fabian Cancellara
RadioShack - Leopard
6h42'03
2
André Greipel
Lotto Belisol
+ 59
3
Peter Sagan
Cannondale Pro Cycling
s.t.
4
Mark Cavendish
Omega Pharma - Quick•Step Cycling Team
s.t.
5
Alexander Kristoff
Katusha Team
s.t.
6
Philippe Gilbert
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
7
Adrien Hanzen
Sky Procycling
s.t.
8
Ramunas Navardauskas
Garmin - Sharp
s.t.
9
Sep Vanmarcke
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
10
John Degenkolb
Team Argos - Shimano
s.t.
...
12
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
22
Alessandro Ballan
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
32
Marcus Burghardt
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
51
Thor Hushovd
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
57
Daniel Oss
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
81
Ivan Santaromita
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
129
Manuel Quinziato
BMC Racing Team
+ 5'25
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
BMC returned to the cobbles as the final preparation for the big WT classics took place, the Dwars door Vlaanderen. With a strong team built around Van Avermaet and Ballan, we were definitely hoping to challenge for the top places, even though the ever-present Boonen would be hard to beat for the ultimate prize.
Despite some early disappointment as Omloop hero Phinney was unable to stay with the main group, this was to be a very good day for the team and preparation for De Ronde appears to be right on course. Van Avermaet was keen to show himself on home soil and put in a big attack with 6km to go, where he was joined by Andrews and Gaudin, who were already slightly ahead.
Greg was able to pull these two into the final few kilometres ahead but the attack was soon to prove costly as Boonen did what he always does and flew past him, on towards another win. With Van Avermaet tiring after doing all the work, Andrews and Gaudin both flew past him in the final few metres to knock him off the podium. However, that wasn't it for us as the God of Thunder himself, Thor Hushovd, came from the bunch behind to beat all three of them and claim a magnificent second. He's still got it!
Results
1
Tom Boonen
Omega Pharma - Quick•Step
5h06'31
2
Thor Hushovd
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
3
Robert Andrews
Garmin - Sharp
s.t.
4
Damien Gaudin
Team Europcar
s.t.
5
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
6
Lue Khamse Khamphan
Team Europcar
s.t.
7
André Greipel
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
8
Oscar Gatto
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
s.t.
9
Zdenek Stybar
Omega Pharma - Quick•Step
s.t.
10
Sep Vanmarcke
Belkin Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
...
13
Alessandro Ballan
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
28
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
+ 5'28
31
Marcus Burghardt
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
41
Michael Schär
BMC Racing Team
+ 9'45
45
Klaas Lodewyck
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
124
Martin Kohler
BMC Racing Team
+ 17'19
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
March comes to a close with some big one-day races in Belgium, a tough stage race in Spain and then, to finish it all off, a short but hard race in Belgium again. One of these races is already underway, of course, but BMC Racing Team will reveal the teams for these races as we look to finish the first part of the season strongly.
The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya is a week-long stage race in Spain which will give the stage racers one last chance to show themselves before we enter the short break. With two stages in the high mountains and another few with hills near the end, it will be a strong all-rounder that takes the win. A couple of flat stages also ensures that the sprinters will have some fun in the race. BMC had the intention of sending some of our "lesser lights" to a WT race to get their own chances and gain some experience instead of working for others. Therefore, young American Lewis gets his first taste of leadership, with Nerz also hoping for success in the mountains. Blythe will go for the sprints.
Adam Blythe Steve Cummings Jordan Lewis Dominik Nerz Marco Pinotti Jeremy Powers Larry Warbasse Danilo Wyss
The big cobbled classics start with the E3 Prijs - Harelbeke in Flanders. It is sometimes classed as a "mini De Ronde" with some of the same cobbled climbs in the race but it is nowhere near as long or as hard. Nevertheless, it is an important race psychologically, as the riders who will be challenging for the two cobbled monuments will want to gain an early upper hand. BMC send our strongest lineup for this race, hoping for a top result.
Alessandro Ballan Philippe Gilbert Thor Hushovd Daniel Oss Taylor Phinney Manuel Quinziato Michael Schär Greg Van Avermaet
Gent - Wevelgem is generally considered as a sprinter's classic despite the cobbles, which come far too far from the end to really give the pure northern classics riders a chance of getting away but anything can happen on the tough roads of Belgium. Burghardt replaces Gilbert in our only change from E3.
Alessandro Ballan Marcus Burghardt Thor Hushovd Daniel Oss Taylor Phinney Manuel Quinziato Michael Schär Greg Van Avermaet
The final race of this part of the season is another race in "Flanders Week", Driedaagse De Panne - Koksijde, which is a four stage race, including a short ITT and some more cobbles. Due to the nature of the race, it serves as the final preparation for De Ronde. BMC employ a bit of squad rotation for this race with the likes of Ballan, Oss and Schär being given a well deserved rest with Van Avermaet, Phinney and Hushovd taking up leadership duties.
Thor Hushovd Sebastian Lander Klaas Lodewyck Taylor Phinney Jeremy Powers Greg Van Avermaet
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
The big cobbled classics kicked off in Belgium with the E3 Prijs, a relatively new WT race but one that certainly has its merits as a genuine top race. With the usual group of classics riders present it was always going to be a difficult race, especially with the near impossible task of beating Boonen in a race he loves.
BMC tried a different tactic today, with Van Avermaet attacking halfway through the race and joining up with the early breakaway to try to beat the OPQS horde to the finish line. However, despite the efforts of Greg and his strong companions Tosatto and Roelandts, OPQS had incredibly brought them back with still 20km to go!
Unfortunately, a tactical error by the team meant that only Van Avermaet was present in what was left of the peloton; Ballan, Phinney and Gilbert really letting themselves and the team down. Even though he was outnumbered and tired from his mammoth effort, Van Avermaet was powerful in the sprint and was only beaten by Boonen, Cancellara and Sagan to claim fourth on home soil, agonisingly missing out on the sponsor goal by a matter of inches. Still, it was a good start to the cobbled classics campaign for BMC and we hope for more of the same in the races to come.
Results
1
Tom Boonen
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
5h04'12
2
Fabian Cancellara
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
3
Peter Sagan
Cannondale Pro Cycling
s.t.
4
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
5
Jürgen Roelandts
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
6
Matteo Tosatto
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
s.t.
7
Thabo Jango Sithembile
Sky Procycling
s.t.
8
Sep Vanmarcke
Belkin Pro Cycling
s.t.
9
Nick Nuyens
Garmin - Sharp
s.t.
10
John Degenkolb
Team Argos - Shimano
s.t.
...
24
Alessandro Ballan
BMC Racing Team
+ 3'51
38
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
+ 10'19
58
Philippe Gilbert
BMC Racing Team
+ 14'03
60
Thor Hushovd
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
79
Manuel Quinziato
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
91
Daniel Oss
BMC Racing Team
+ 15'18
135
Michael Schär
BMC Racing Team
+ 18'19
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
The second of the cobbled classics is Gent - Wevelgem and after a solid start for BMC in E3, we were hoping for another podium finish to take us into De Ronde on a high. Once again, though, it wouldn't be easy with Boonen, Cancellara and Sagan, the podium from E3, all here.
Today's tactic was to put Quinziato in the break, the experienced Italian rouleur being allowed a day off from domestique duties. A fitting reward for the fantastic work he has done in this first part of the season. However, unfortunately for Manuel, the wind changed and our vast experience came in hand as the team hit the front hard, the likes of Burghardt, Hushovd, Oss and Phinney creating havoc and putting even the best riders in trouble as no less than Boonen was dropped!
With the favourite out of contention, thoughts turned to a sprint finish and with any attacks being shut down quickly by Saxo Bank and Ballan, this small lead group came in to the final kilometre with the race still undecided. A nice change from the Boonen dominance. However, a reduced bunch sprint in a tough race can only mean one thing: A Peter Sagan victory. And the Slovakian didn't disappoint as he took his first WT win of the season; somewhat surprising that it has taken this long.
Van Avermaet was again fantastic and, after going toe to toe with one of the quickest sprinters in the world, Andre Greipel, he came out on top to claim a superb second place, achieving a big sponsor goal for the team. What a week for Greg!
Results
1
Peter Sagan
Cannondale Pro Cycling
5h16'17
2
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
3
André Greipel
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
4
Maxim Iglinskiy
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
5
Erik McDermott
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
s.t.
6
Lue Khamse Khamphan
Team Europcar
s.t.
7
Yohan Offredo
FDJ
s.t.
8
Maarten Wynants
Belkin Pro Cycling
s.t.
9
Sep Vanmarcke
Belkin Pro Cycling
s.t.
10
Fabian Cancellara
RadioShack - Leopard
s.t.
...
16
Alessandro Ballan
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
29
Daniel Oss
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'22
32
Marcus Burghardt
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
35
Manuel Quinziato
BMC Racing Team
+ 2'12
46
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
+ 3'41
54
Thor Hushovd
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
156
Michael Schär
BMC Racing Team
+ 11'26
Manager of Bunzl - Centrica
ICL's World Tour Champions and Talented Bottlers
After a lot of waiting, we finally received all the files from the Middle East, so we can now tell you all about the Tour of Oman. There are even rumours that Van Avermaet and Pinotti were taking part in the race but we can confirm these reports are bogus. They came straight back to Europe after the Tour of Qatar.
Stage 1
A very strange start to the race as despite a high pace from BMC, as well as Saxo Bank and Lampre, an escape duo make it all the way to the line, comfortably ahead of the peloton. 18-year old Walker of NetApp claims his first pro win to take the leader's jersey, with Evans bringing BMC home in 13th.
Results - Stage 1
1
Dermot Walker
Team NetApp - Endura
3h43'49
2
Tim De Troyer
Accent Jobs - Wanty
s.t.
3
Jonathan Cantwell
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
+ 1'03
4
Sonny Colbrelli
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
5
Spiro Milosevic
IAM Cycling
s.t.
6
Filippo Pozzato
Lampre - Merida
s.t.
7
Lue Khamse Khamphan
Team Europcar
s.t.
8
Thomas De Gendt
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
9
Fabio Duarte
Colombia
s.t.
10
Jonas Stromberg
IAM Cycling
s.t.
...
13
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
34
Steve Morabito
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
59
Sebastian Lander
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
78
Klaas Lodewyck
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
84
Larry Warbasse
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
86
Jeremy Powers
BMC Racing Team
+ 3'04
Stage 2
More of the same on the second stage, even with the harder parcours, featuring a steep climb in the final few kilometres. BMC were driving the peloton along all day with the help of NetApp but the breakaway, or more specifically, El Fares refused to be caught and took a solo win. Evans was again our best placed rider, one place worse off than yesterday, in 14th.
Results - Stage 2
1
Julien El Fares
Sojasun
3h19'40
2
Scott Thwaites
Team NetApp - Endura
+ 52
3
Juan Pablo Valencia
Colombia
s.t.
4
Ryan Roth
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
5
Andy Cappelle
Accent Jobs - Wanty
s.t.
6
Daniele Bennati
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
s.t.
7
Oreste Ghita
Team Argos - Shimano
s.t.
8
Heinrich Haussler
IAM Cycling
s.t.
9
Thomas De Gendt
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
10
Jonas Stromberg
IAM Cycling
s.t.
...
14
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
24
Steve Morabito
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
64
Larry Warbasse
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
74
Sebastian Lander
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
84
Jeremy Powers
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
91
Klaas Lodewyck
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
Stage 3
Incredibly, for the third day in a row, the breakaway made it to the finish to contest the stage win. This despite a lot of hard work from BMC and NetApp again, with Lutsenko of Astana beating young South African Meintjes to the win. Today, Evans could only manage 33rd but was still our highest finisher as sprint duo Lodewyck and Lander continue to disappoint.
Results - Stage 3
1
Alexey Lutsenko
Astana Pro Team
4h21'24
2
Louis Meintjes
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
3
Romain Hardy
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
4
Mirko Selvaggi
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
5
Karl Menzies
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
6
Pello Bilbao
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
7
David Le Lay
Sojasun
s.t.
8
Ivan Kovalev
RusVelo
s.t.
9
Craig Lewis
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
10
Jerôme Gilbert
Accent Jobs - Wanty
s.t.
...
33
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
54
Klaas Lodewyck
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
58
Steve Morabito
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
95
Jeremy Powers
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
121
Larry Warbasse
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
134
Sebastian Lander
BMC Racing Team
+ 4'02
Stage 4
The fourth stage saw the Queen Stage of the race take place, with the finish at the top of the Green Mountain, now a regular part of the early season for many climbers. Again, BMC weren't interested in the breakaway and left Accent Jobs to do the work on the front of the bunch as they had missed the escape and their DS was furious with them.
So as we hit the final climb, our climbers still had plenty left in the tank and, after good work from Morabito, Evans took up the pacesetting, scattering riders all over the mountain. Despite the group being down to just seven riders due to Cadel's strong pace, he was very disappointing in the final few hundred metres as he was beaten by three others to limp home a disappointing fourth. Peeters of Europcar claimed his first pro win, ahead of two other youngsters, Stromberg (IAM) and Ghita (ARG). Youth definitely beat experience today.
Results - Stage 4
1
Thomas Peeters
Team Europcar
3h27'48
2
Jonas Stromberg
IAM Cycling
+ 8
3
Oreste Ghita
Team Argos - Shimano
s.t.
4
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 19
5
Thomas De Gendt
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
6
Ion Izagirre
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
7
Fabio Duarte
Colombia
s.t.
8
Esteban Chaves
Colombia
+ 45
9
Daniel Navarro
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 1'08
10
Jérôme Coppel
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
...
12
Steve Morabito
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'44
53
Larry Warbasse
BMC Racing Team
+ 6'11
79
Sebastian Lander
BMC Racing Team
+ 7'14
92
Klaas Lodewyck
BMC Racing Team
+ 8'48
121
Jeremy Powers
BMC Racing Team
+ 10'15
Stage 5
The penultimate stage in Oman was the final major test of the race with a tough hilly stage that featured three steep climbs near the end. Evans went into this stage in fourth place overall and was looking to move up into a podium position, or even better.
But the stage did not go the way Cadel wanted it to as he missed the key move on one of the climbs and that put paid to any hopes of climbing the GC. He crossed the line in eleventh, alongside Stromberg and De Gendt, dropping him to sixth overall with one stage to go.
Results - Stage 5
1
Luis Ángel Maté
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
3h56'49
2
Ion Izagirre
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 50
3
Sergey Firsanov
RusVelo
s.t.
4
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
5
Oreste Ghita
Team Argos - Shimano
s.t.
6
Chad Beyer
Champion System Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
7
Rémi Pauriol
Sojasun
s.t.
8
Miguel Mínguez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
9
Dennis Van Niekerk
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
10
Thomas Peeters
Team Europcar
s.t.
11
Cadel Evans
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'47
...
32
Steve Morabito
BMC Racing Team
+ 6'18
83
Jeremy Powers
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
90
Klaas Lodewyck
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
103
Sebastian Lander
BMC Racing Team
+ 9'53
107
Larry Warbasse
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
Stage 6
The final stage in Oman was supposed to be a flat stage, with a chance for the sprinters to finish the race with a bang. But nobody told the breakaway, who once again, for the fifth time in the race, made it to the end. Denifl of IAM took the win today, ahead of Balloni.
Behind, most of the GC riders attacked over the final hills, creating a big gap back to the peloton. Evans was in there while Stromberg wasn't, meaning Evans climbs back into the top five, finishing fifth in the Middle East.
Brent Bookwalter
Marcus Burghardt
Philippe Gilbert
Thor Hushovd
Amael Moinard
Steve Morabito
Cadel Evans
Daniel Oss
Peter Sagan
Daniel Martin
Ryder Hesjedal
Tom Slagter
Jorge Cristobal Riquelme
Stephen Cummings
Michał Kwiatkowski
Andriy Grivko
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Alejandro Valverde
Roman Kreuziger
Jakob Fuglsang
Andrey Amador
Nairo Quintana
Rui Costa
Oreste Ghita
Vasil Kiryienka
Ramunas Navardauskas
Lue Khamse Khamphan
Thabo Jango Sithembile
Maxim Iglinskiy
Spiro Milosevic
Louis Meintjes
Ivan Kovalev
Stefan Denifl
