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[EPIC] AG2R La Mondiale
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| Neillster |
Posted on 30-07-2014 21:33
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Domestique
Posts: 713
Joined: 13-10-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Silvio Herklotz wrote:
I don't really get why a Top10 GC in Le Tour should be hard. I mean you got like 4 riders capable of doing that 
With all the favourites expected to make a showing at Le Tour, it'll be hard to see my main man there doing much better than a top 10. Stage wins and KOM are too unpredictable, so a top 10 while still difficult is attainable. |
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 19-08-2014 21:22
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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 Le Faucon
Hi, this is just a short announcement concerning recent transfer rumors. My hope is to stay here at AG2R. The team is French and almost the whole team can speak french which makes life a lot easier. They also really committed to me as a future GT winner.
Any team who wants to contact me must reach a similar level of personal and professional support
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| Forever the Best |
Posted on 20-08-2014 08:55
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3803
Joined: 27-06-2014
PCM$: 400.00
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And we just couldn't do it. After a full 3 weeks battling it out with Nibali, on the roads, today was the first stage where Carlos really blew up. He just couldn't give anymore. He was still able to manage yet another 7th place finish, but with the shark taking first with Quintana biting at his heels, the points jersey has slipped away. Chapeau to Carlos, he really did give his all, and can still be extremely pleased with 2nd place and 1st in the U25 classification, achieving our team goal for this race.
Results:
| 7 | Carlos Betancur | AG2R La Mondiale | + 2'56 | | 22 | Domenico Pozzovivo | AG2R La Mondiale | + 6'00 | | 25 | John Gadret | AG2R La Mondiale | + 6'14 | | 28 | Christophe Riblon | AG2R La Mondiale | + 7'14 | | 44 | Hubert Dupont | AG2R La Mondiale | + 12'01 | | 100 | Lloyd Mondory | AG2R La Mondiale | + 29'56 | | 117 | Samuel Dumoulin | AG2R La Mondiale | + 34'17 | | 120 | Anthony Ravard | AG2R La Mondiale | + 37'11 | | 182 | Davide Appollonio | AG2R La Mondiale | + 55'13 |
[/quote]
Actually you did it because Betancur got rd n last stage and stole the points jersey from Nibbles
The user formerly known as 'The Schleck Fan'
Gracias Alberto.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 04-09-2014 19:50
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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Le Faucon
Bonjour,
This post is here mostly to confirm that i will be leaving AG2R at the end of the current season. My time here so far has been excellent and the team has given me just terrific support and opportunity. I will fondly remember working with the other riders but it is the right choice for me to move.
As this season has shown i can win and that is what Europcar has seen. They have promised me incredible support and i feel the team and i have similar goals and ambitions. To me Europcar i the French team to be at.
The Tour is currently happening but unfortunately it's not going great. The level of competition is huge and each day it gets harder and harder to keep going. Luckily Romain and JCP are easing the pressure with good riders. My hope from here is to get the experience of completing the Tour, and ideally to get into a few breakaways.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 01:20
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Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 22-09-2014 10:53
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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Le Faucon
Bonjour. I don't want to linger talking about Le Tour. It was tough, really really tough. The race is a level above anything else i could have imagined, and i struggled for three straight weeks. Perhaps it was naive to expect so much in my first pro-season. Anyway i did make it to Paris, and my final position was not terrible my any stretch. Next year i'll be back with Europcar and i will be better.
The three weeks of effort were hard and have taken a real toll on me. I'm having a bit of a break to recover energy, and from a cold i picked up. Following my announcement i'm leaving i don't know what races the bosses will have me rider, if any. I guess all i can do is try and keep a solid level of fitness up and plead my case come the Worlds.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 04-10-2014 13:09
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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Le Faucon
Bonjour,
Well it is clear that i have not been racing. The curse of EPIC management seemed to hit Ag2r recently and the boss has gone AWOL. But i did discover that since i was going to leave the team he did not want me gaining points to take elsewhere. I don't find this professional at all, but it does validate my forthcoming move to Europcar.
I decided to head home to Pau and attack training in the Pyrenees. I have not been packing my training with as many climbing meteres as in the past, instead focusing on length and consistency over a number of days. That has been my weakness this season and it's something i hope to rectify over the coming period, at least slightly.
I can see the Worlds starting to be considered on the horizon. It's a hilly route this year, and whilst not my best terrain the short inclines are hardly my worst area. I will increase my training tempo once we hit September and attempt to force my way into the french squad.
TMM Sports Management have been very helpful in the time, linking my up with all the support i need. They even put in contact with some of the FDJ riders who have been down here as well, and in the coming weeks i'll be meeting up with a new young rider called Krista Marcus. So there'll be more to hear from me soon!
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 13-10-2014 17:47
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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Le Faucon
Well i just spent some training time with Krista Marcus. She's the new rider contracted with TMM Sports Management, the same company i'm contracted with. Krista has her first pro contract for next season with Androni and last week she came down to the Pyrenees to do some training with me.
I'm still working on my endurance and recovery abilities so the rides were long and at a steady pace. Krista doesn't have the same climbing ability as myself so this approach really helped out. While she isn't as good on the steep slopes she wasn't too bad either, i'd say there is a solid room for improvement there. Her best strength was on the flatter roads where i'm not as strong. In fact she could drop me on the highways when she put the hammer down, and for a girl that was very impressive.
I also took her around a few of my contacts in the region, mechanics, trainers, nutritionists and the like. It was a good networking opportunity for her and a nice way to increase my own value as a charitable person helping out promising talents.
Overall i was very impressed with Krista. She has some real talent and a huge passion for the sport. Part of me doubts how well she could last across a season, and how well parts of the peloton will respond to her. But with the right support from her team and few guys like me, and in a few years she will be a genuine person of note in the cycling world.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 28-10-2014 11:55
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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Le Faucon
Good news reached me today. I've been selected to race at the World Championships in Tuscany in September. The French selector has chosen me to, hopefully, lead the U23 Road Race. Luckily he's left me out of the time trial events, as has ALM from the team time trial. I've been working towards this event since Le Tour and i pray that effort pays off. The U23 teams i packed with interesting riders like Favre and the Feunard trio, but there will be some big names taking part in the event. Without knowing the full startlist i won't set personal goals yet and just keep training hard.
To aid the preperation i'll head over to Tuscany soon and base myself out of a hotel. I can train on the course, probably with some help from a few of the other French guys who's calendars are fairly light. Some people think that i should do the Elite race as well, but the selector has made it clear that event's "talent quota" has been taken by Bardet and Barguil with a serious goal of challenging for a strong result.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 16-11-2014 21:11
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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Le Faucon
My preparations for the Worlds continue. I'm not sure how i'll split my efforts between the U23 and Elite races. Ideally i'd give more to the U23 event where i'd have more of a personal chance of a result, but the national manager really wants a good result in the Pro race. Either way i'll be fully prepared to give it everything when the call is made.
In the meantime i've been keeping busy. No Europcar riders have been available to stop by so i'll ride with them seriously after the season ends. Luckily TMM Sports Management has been here for me. They arranged for Krista to come by for an extended period to help with training. She's been a big morale boost, constantly pushing me further and harder.
This period if time together has developed into more than just comradery. We are now officialy dating, much to the displeasure of the management types. Still she's a great girl and really invested in the sport. It won't be long now before she can start making blog updates of her own, and i'm certain she'll have a lot to say. Least of all the appointment of Faye to the FDJ manager role.
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| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 17-11-2014 01:11
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Team Leader
Posts: 5533
Joined: 12-06-2013
PCM$: 500.00
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Haha TMM, you are the man.
Travi Rujano, Manager of the Androni Team, is pleased to see that Krista is doing some good training with a solid partner prior to the 2014 Season. We will obviously keep an eye on her and I am sure her mind will be on the job when it comes to racing next season.
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| Ollfardh |
Posted on 17-11-2014 08:19
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World Champion
Posts: 14563
Joined: 08-08-2011
PCM$: 9100.00
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So, TMM f*cks himself now?
Changed my sig, this was getting absurd.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 17-11-2014 09:00
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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Ollfardh wrote:
So, TMM f*cks himself now?
Weird things happen when you've spent a month alone in a hotel in Florence 
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 21-11-2014 12:35
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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Le Faucon
And so the Worlds are finally underway. More and more riders arrived over the last week or so and set about riding the race routes and training. As a result the course has been packed out with a mix of pros and fans causing serious congestion. Anyone hoping to run the route at a race speed will be sorely dissapointed until much closer to race day.
I'm glad i made the call to get here a while ago as i've had plenty of time to learnt the route. I'll run it again a few times close to race day just to make sure there have been no major changes. For now my rides will take me north of town where it's that bit quieter and i can just get on with riding.
AG2R did not take part in the TTT event, but i was watching my French companions. Both FDJ and Europcar put down decent performances and there was a handfull of other Frenchmen scattered around. What does this mean for us? Not a clue! I think we can challenge the Top10 in the four remaining events realistically.
Now that the startlists have also been confimed i'm setting my personal goals. I will be at least co-leader on the French U23 team and with that in mind will be looking towards the Top10. My biggest issue will be the race length but in terms of th competition i see no reason why i should not be there or therabouts entering the final laps.
For the Elite Race i expect almost nothing. Our team is a lot stronger and after the exertions in the U23 race i'll just be out fo experience and to provide support where needed. I'd happily take just finishing, and finishing in the "peloton" group would be a good result.
I'll give some updates after each race, and that will be all from me here. Once the Worlds conclude i'll no longer be an AG2R rider and will move over to Europcar. I just want to go out on a high!
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 29-11-2014 11:08
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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Le Faucon
Silver b*tches! A motherf*cking medal! Hells yes!
It was a tough and long race. The whole team was excellent. Pal really put down the work early on to help control the break. Demare and Barguil were there late on to allow us to split tactics. Demare was excellent in pace setting and protection. Barguil and me split attacks.
I jumped with the right moves and pushed hard on the final climb to keep myself in contention. Jorge was just better on the day and i just had more left in the tank than Schroder come the sprint. It could have gone very differently, but things just worked out.
I'll definately put some of it down to my extra route training. A silver fricking medal, just wow. I'll probably take it easy in the Elite race now. I used up a lot of energy and the more established pros will be better. Still it's a great way to round out an interesting debut season.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 06-12-2014 20:52
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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Le Faucon
This will be my last post here as part of AG2R. My neo-pro season has come to an end and it was certainly mixed and incredible. The high point coming right at the end with Silver in the U23 RR. I also loved the Crit Int taking my first ever stage, jersey and GC wins all at the same time, which lead to me picking up a BMC run award as best EPIC rider for Part I.
Low point was probably the Tour. I struggled for three weeks amongst much stronger and more prepared riders and teams. It didn't help that the manager went AWOL around that time as well, leaving me without any real guidance or support.
Luckily my agency TMM Sports Management were able to pick up the slack and give me new focus. That took me to my medal and also found me a great new team for next season in Europcar. Not only that but the managed to negotiate me Tour leadership at the same time.
Thus concludes season 1 for me. I'm looking forward to some time away from the bike kicking back with Krista and catching some well needed rest. I'll be back firing on full next year so until then, au revoir!
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![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
