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Omega Pharma - Quick-Step 2014
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| Adamb |
Posted on 23-02-2014 21:52
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Domestique
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Unlucky on stage 1 but you got what you deserved on stage 2. Good luck in Australia |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 24-02-2014 08:22
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Tour de France Champion
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I am sure Renshaw will enjoy riding in Australia  |
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| Batista15 |
Posted on 24-02-2014 14:37
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Thanks a lot guys 
 Santos Tour Down Under
The first stage is mostly flat except for a small increase 10 kilometers from the finish. We hope that our sprint train is able to survive the hill without any problems and can intervene in the final sprint.
Today's breakaway enclosed three riders, McCarthy (Tinkoff - Saxo), Kochetkov (Katusha) and Nikolas Maes (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step). Maes worked a lot to get a big lead. However, the group was caught even before the climb began.
Unfortunately, Mark Renshaw wasn´t able to save enough energy for a mass sprint. Because of that, we changed the tactics. Meersman was our main sprinter for this stage with Renshaw pulling the sprint for him.
There were just 1700 metres left and when Gianni Meersman noticed that Diego Ulissi was coming pretty fast on the left side, he had to make his move.
Meersman wasn´t able to follow Ulissi, there was no chance for us today. On the right side, it was Julian Kern sprinting very fast with De Kort next to him.
Julian Kern is celebrating a win but...he was too hasty. In the middle, Simon Clarke got the stage win in front of Kern and De Kort. That one was pretty close! Meersman finished in 19th place, Mark Renshaw was 32nd.
Stage results
| 1 | Simon Clarke | Orica GreenEdge | 2h55'24 | | 2 |  Julian Kern | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 3 |  Koen De Kort | Team Giant - Shimano | s.t. | | 4 |  Tony Gallopin | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 5 |  Marco Marcato | Cannondale | s.t. | | 6 | Francesco Gavazzi | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 7 | Oscar Gatto | Cannondale | s.t. | | 8 | Diego Ulissi | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 9 |  José JoaquÃn Rojas | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 10 | Christophe Riblon | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | |
Overall
| 1 | Simon Clarke | Orica GreenEdge | 2h55'14 | | 2 | Julian Kern | AG2R La Mondiale | + 4 | | 3 |  Pavel Kochetkov | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 4 | Koen De Kort | Team Giant - Shimano | + 6 | | 5 | Jay McCarthy | Tinkoff - Saxo | s.t. | | 6 | Tony Gallopin | Lotto Belisol | + 10 | | 7 | Marco Marcato | Cannondale | s.t. | | 8 | Francesco Gavazzi | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 9 | Oscar Gatto | Cannondale | s.t. | | 10 | Diego Ulissi | Lampre - Merida | s.t. |
Points
| 1 | Pavel Kochetkov | Team Katusha | 12 | | 2 | Jay McCarthy | Tinkoff - Saxo | 8 | | 3 | Simon Clarke | Orica GreenEdge | 8 |
Mountain
| 1 |  Lars Ytting Bak | Lotto Belisol | 10 | | 2 |  George Bennett | Cannondale | 6 | | 3 | Tony Gallopin | Lotto Belisol | 4 |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 24-02-2014 15:31
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A quiet start in Australia  |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-12-2024 07:35
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| VoetsT |
Posted on 24-02-2014 18:24
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Not the best start here 
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| baia |
Posted on 24-02-2014 19:41
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I really wasn´t expecting such result... .. hope to see some reaction next stage.
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| Adamb |
Posted on 25-02-2014 18:10
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Domestique
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not a good start in Australia. Unlucky |
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| Batista15 |
Posted on 25-02-2014 21:36
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Well guys, that wasn´t the best way to start in Australia for sure
 Tour de San Luis Stage 3
It is becoming serious now in Argentina. After two flat stages with some sprint action, today is the first hard chapter for the pack. We will see some attacks on the final climb for sure. Hopefully Thomas De Gendt is strong enough to show his skills there.
Again a very small group left the pack in the beginning of this stage. Calderon (4-72 - Colombia), King (Garmin Sharp), Selvaggi (Wanty - Groupe Gobert) and Salvatore Puccio (Team Sky). Puccio took the KoM jersey but the whole group was brought back with more than 10 kilometres to go.
The final climb was reached and we had not wait too long for the first move. Herrara and Denifl left the pack with Cataldo trying to follow. Our team was leading the pack with a good speed.
Anyway, there was no reason to stay in the peloton anymore. Thomas De Gendt started an attack. That one was looking good so far, as he reached the group with Denifl, Herrara and Cataldo with ease.
One of the biggest favourites for today´s stage was Wilco Kelderman. He was waiting a bit in the pack. But after a while he joined De Gendt´s group in a pretty relaxing way....he wasn´t really attacking.
Finally the sprint began and unfortunately De Gendt was a bit behind. Herrara started sprinting with a good speed, while Kelderman and Denifl were in a good position, too.
Thomas was able to close the gap to Herrara and Kelderman a bit. The last metres were breathtaking but the Movistar rider was still in front. Is there enough energy left, to pass our opponents?
Unfortunately not! But we don´t care about that, Thomas De Gendt showed an impressive performance. Kelderman passed Herrara on the last few metres. A third place is pretty good and we are optimistic to get some more of it the following stages!
Stage results
| 1 | Wilco Kelderman | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 3h41'32 | | 2 | José Herrada | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 3 |  Thomas De Gendt | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 4 | Giovanni Visconti | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 5 | Dario Cataldo | Team Sky | s.t. | | 6 |  Stefan Denifl | IAM Cycling | s.t. | | 7 |  Kanstantsin Siutsou | Team Sky | s.t. | | 8 | Dominik Nerz | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 9 | John Gadret | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 10 |  David Millar | Garmin Sharp | + 42 |
Overall
| 1 | Wilco Kelderman | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 11h38'08 | | 2 | José Herrada | Movistar Team | + 16 | | 3 | Thomas De Gendt | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | + 20 | | 4 | Giovanni Visconti | Movistar Team | + 28 | | 5 | Dominik Nerz | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 6 | Dario Cataldo | Team Sky | s.t. | | 7 | Kanstantsin Siutsou | Team Sky | s.t. | | 8 | John Gadret | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 9 | Stefan Denifl | IAM Cycling | s.t. | | 10 | Mark Cavendish | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | + 1'07 |
Points
| 1 | Mark Cavendish | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | 45 | | 2 | Wilco Kelderman | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 41 | | 3 | Laurens De Vreese | Wanty - Groupe Gobert | 37 |
Mountain
| 1 | Salvatore Puccio | Team Sky | 18 | | 2 |  Edson Calderon | 4-72 - Colombia | 18 | | 3 | Wilco Kelderman | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 16 |
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| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 25-02-2014 21:49
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Good riding from De Gendt, hopefully he can hold into that high GC position. Should be a good signing for the team if he can replicate his 2012 form. |
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| VoetsT |
Posted on 25-02-2014 21:55
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Very strong race of De Gendt 
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| Adamb |
Posted on 25-02-2014 22:21
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Domestique
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De Gendt has placed himself well in the first climbing stage. Well done. |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 26-02-2014 09:26
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A good ride from De Gendt today and nice to see Cavendish grab the lead in the Points Competition |
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| Batista15 |
Posted on 26-02-2014 15:36
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FroomeDog99 - You are right, De Gendt was a great signing, hopefully he can keep that GC position.
Adamb - Thanks mate, I was really pleased with that performance.
VoetsT - Thanks a lot
sutty68 - Thank you and of course Cav is wearing his favourite jersey |
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| Batista15 |
Posted on 26-02-2014 15:58
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Santos Tour Down Under Stage 2
Back in Australia on the second day of this beautiful tour. Today´s stage is pretty tricky with some short climbs. Usually the sprinters should made it today, but we don´t think that Mark Renshaw is strong enough to sprint on such an uphill finish. Because of that, Gianni Meersman is going to sprint for the win.
Only two riders were brave enough to get into a break. Smukulis (Katusha) and Sutherland (Tinkoff - Saxo) were showing a big fight but they had no chance against the sprinter teams. Anyway Sutherland got 20 mountain points, which brought him the KoM jersey.
With only 5 kilometres to go, our train was built by Maes, Renshaw and of course Meersman. The preperation wasn´t perfect, because Renshaw lost the wheel of Maes. So it was up to Meersman to come to the front on his own.
The sprint train by Astana worked brilliantly. Gavazzi made a great final move with a lot of speed, while Meersman lost his energy, trying to follow those guys.
Finally we missed another chance to get a nice result in Down Under. Gavazzi took the stage and the leader´s jersey. Rojas and Coquard managed to finish on the podium, too. Gianni Meersman was our best rider in 10th position.
Stage results
| 1 | Francesco Gavazzi | Astana Pro Team | 3h24'33 | | 2 | José JoaquÃn Rojas | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 3 | Bryan Coquard | Team Europcar | s.t. | | 4 | Marco Marcato | Cannondale | s.t. | | 5 | Tony Gallopin | Lotto Belisol | s.t. | | 6 | Julian Kern | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 7 |  Thor Hushovd | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 8 | Samuel Dumoulin | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 9 | Fabio Felline | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 10 | Gianni Meersman | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. |
Overall
| 1 | Francesco Gavazzi | Astana Pro Team | 6h19'47 | | 2 | Simon Clarke | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 3 | Julian Kern | AG2R La Mondiale | + 4 | | 4 | José JoaquÃn Rojas | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 5 | Pavel Kochetkov | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 6 | Bryan Coquard | Team Europcar | + 5 | | 7 | Jay McCarthy | Tinkoff - Saxo | + 6 | | 8 | Tony Gallopin | Lotto Belisol | + 10 | | 9 | Marco Marcato | Cannondale | s.t. | | 10 | Samuel Dumoulin | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | ... | | 13 | Gianni Meersman | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. |
Points
| 1 | Pavel Kochetkov | Team Katusha | 12 | | 2 |  Gatis Smukulis | Team Katusha | 12 | | 3 | Simon Clarke | Orica GreenEdge | 8 |
Mountain
| 1 | Rory Sutherland | Tinkoff - Saxo | 20 | | 2 | Gatis Smukulis | Team Katusha | 12 | | 3 | Lars Ytting Bak | Lotto Belisol | 10 |
Edited by Batista15 on 26-02-2014 22:55
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 26-02-2014 16:03
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A Good top ten for Meersman |
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| Batista15 |
Posted on 26-02-2014 16:05
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sutty68 wrote:
A Good top ten for Meersman
It can only get better from now on |
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| VoetsT |
Posted on 26-02-2014 20:40
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To bad the train derails
But a top 10 is still good.
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| Batista15 |
Posted on 26-02-2014 23:32
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Tour de San Luis Stage 4
After the first showdown of some GC favourites on the last stage finish, we are going on with another important step. With 19 kilometres, most of them are flat, today´s time trial will bring more light into the darkness. Maybe the biggest favourite for the stage win should be Kelderman, after his amazing performances so far. Another great time trialist is Dowsett and of course don´t forget our leader Thomas De Gendt.
Dowsett was the first big name on the road and he confirmed his role as a favourite. Great ride by the National Champion and of course the first really good time to beat. 25´29
David Millar is also known for his time trial skills. He started pretty good but lost some seconds on the second part of the stage. 25´41
Another National Champion, this time from Belarus. Siutsou made a good race today, but nothing special for his standards. He missed Dowsett´s time by 15 seconds! 25´44
Stef Clement started his race in a good way. He was acutally pretty close to Dowsett at the first intermediate time. That was going to be very exciting! He crossed the line and set a new best time with only 1 second in front of Dowsett. 25´28
Finally the fight for the leader´s jersey began. Cataldo was the first one, setting a time of those GC contenders. The Sky rider had a good day and with only 8 seconds behind Clement, he might be pretty happy. 25´36
Thomas De Gendt was on his way after a great stage yesterday. He began quite relaxed on the first half of the race, but the second one was outstanding. He finished the stage with a great speed and he actually took the lead by only 1 second to Clement! 25´27
Last but not least, Wilco Kelderman. He already showed his strength last stage but what about today? He began pretty strong and had a big advantage to De Gendt at the first time measurement. Anyway, Thomas De Gendt´s second part must have been just incredible. Kelderman finished in 4th position, loosing 6 seconds to De Gendt. 25´33
Stage results
| 1 | Thomas De Gendt | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | 25'27 | | 2 | Stef Clement | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | + 1 | | 3 | Alex Dowsett | Movistar Team | + 2 | | 4 | Wilco Kelderman | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | + 6 | | 5 | Dario Cataldo | Team Sky | + 9 | | 6 | David Millar | Garmin Sharp | + 14 | | 7 | Anton Vorobyev | Team Katusha | + 16 | | 8 | Kanstantsin Siutsou | Team Sky | + 17 | | 9 |  Brent Bookwalter | BMC Racing Team | + 21 | | 10 | Dominik Nerz | BMC Racing Team | + 30 |
Overall
| 1 | Wilco Kelderman | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 12h03'41 | | 2 | Thomas De Gendt | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | + 14 | | 3 | Dario Cataldo | Team Sky | + 31 | | 4 | Kanstantsin Siutsou | Team Sky | + 39 | | 5 | Dominik Nerz | BMC Racing Team | + 52 | | 6 | José Herrada | Movistar Team | + 55 | | 7 | Giovanni Visconti | Movistar Team | + 1'07 | | 8 | David Millar | Garmin Sharp | + 1'18 | | 9 | Stefan Denifl | IAM Cycling | + 1'23 | | 10 | Stef Clement | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | + 1'25 |
Points
| 1 | Wilco Kelderman | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 55 | | 2 | Mark Cavendish | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | 45 | | 3 | Thomas De Gendt | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | 41 |
Mountain
| 1 | Salvatore Puccio | Team Sky | 18 | | 2 | Edson Calderon | 4-72 - Colombia | 18 | | 3 | Wilco Kelderman | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 16 |
Edited by Batista15 on 27-02-2014 20:10
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 26-02-2014 23:58
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Another Great stage win from Thomas |
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| baia |
Posted on 27-02-2014 18:10
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De Gendt is doing great..
Meersman is doing what he can, good top10.
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