It's time for Willunga. And we won't have any other objectives - everyone will be working on getting Salmon over the top first.
Having reeled in the break, Salmon decides its now or never, and accelerates.
6 guys formed the front group over the top - and Salmon was one of them. However, Hushovd was there too, and he has great position as the sprint begins
Yep, Hushovd wins by miles.
But Salmon comes 3rd, getting a bonus that gives him 3rd in the GC!!! Cornu is 2nd, and he takes the race lead
Stage: 1 Thor Hushovd CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 3h38'20
2 Dominique Cornu PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t. 3 Benoît Salmon AGRITUBEL s.t.
4 Chris Anker Sørensen TEAM CSC s.t.
5 Francesco Bellotti CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
6 Andrei Grivko TEAM MILRAM s.t.
7 Benjamin Brooks NAVIGATORS INSURANCE CYCLING TEAM + 1'19
8 Simon Pearson SAVINGS & LOANS CYCLING TEAM s.t.
9 Phillip Thuaux DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM s.t.
10 Jelle Vanendert CHOCOLADE JACQUES - TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN + 2'23
Tour Down Under
Stage 5
Well, after the drama of yesterday, a short and totally flat stage ends the Tour. Feillu and Dekkers will be going for the stage win, whilst Salmon will just stay out of the way.
After a typically suicidal break, we set up a nice chain - Berges-Feillu-Dekkers. In fact, 4km to go, and we're out in front. Then a tight corner, Berges takes a tumble, and all hell breaks loose. Feillu falls, and doesn't get up - he's looking pretty bad - Dekkers is down, and isn't looking good too, but gets back on his bike. Second placed Hushovd is down, but races back up to rejoin the group. Of the 25 riders hitting the deck, 6 are ours. Damn.
Man down!
Carnage
Back up front, with no Hushovd, Petacchi eases to victory. The final GC does not change.
Stage:
1 Alessandro Petacchi TEAM MILRAM 2h08'54
2 Brett Aitken SAVINGS & LOANS CYCLING TEAM s.t.
3 Enrico Degano BARLOWORLD s.t.
4 Damion Drapac DRAPAC PORSCHE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM s.t.
5 Stuart O'Grady TEAM CSC s.t.
So overall, it's been quite a good Tour. Some good sprinting, a fantastic third spot and some adventurous attacks have been slightly marred by the crash of the last stage. Feillu has a busted hand, and won't be back for some months. Which is a shame, cos he was looking great and building up some great form.
Next stop for me is Qatar, where David really wants to see how I handle the TTT, although given how short it is, it'll be difficult to get it right.
Board: Ok, we've discussed it, and we've decided you can have him
David Forne: Great news - you really will not regret it
B: So what's your plan for him?
DF: Plan?
B: You know - what will he be doing throughout the season?
DF: Oh, he will be learning the ropes through the first part of the season. You kinow, administration, race rules, decorum, stuff like that
B: And the second half?
DF: We'll see
B: We want to know now
DF: I am afraid I can't tell you yet
B: Why not?
DF: I just can't. Trust me, it's complicated
B: Ok, we'll leave it there
[everyone rises to leave]
B: And by the way David, what sort of person is he like
DF: Like?
B: You know, determined, quiet, loud, passionate. What is his personality?
Df: How should I know - I've never met him
[DF leaves, leaving an incredulous Board standing there]
Well, I've spent the past month or so stuck at HQ. The management has made me take a crash course in the whole lifestyle of being a DS, and that means throwing me in at the deep end after showing me what a race is like - I've had to organise the whole team from base, whilst the others just saunter off around the world!
But hey, I get to train (and sometimes ride!) with some of the best cyclists in France, and I am, for the first time in my life, actually happy. I love this job, even the tedious paperwork. It's all worth it when we start getting into real cycling, the sports science, training, everything.
So what does the next few months hold for me? Well, I'll be taking control for a few races soon, all by myself - it's daunting, but it's what I've been waiting for!
Here's a recap of our recent races:
Tour of Qatar - Hans Dekkers 5th GC
GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise - Emilien-Benoît Bergès 18th
Etoile de Bessèges - Hans Dekkers Stage win
26th March
Well, it's been two months of hard work and boredom. I spent nearly two whole months sitting at HQ, and yes, it was great at first, but the novelty factor soon wore off. Everyone else went gallivanting off picking up some impressive results, whilst I was stuck doing a "desk job". Not what I wanted, and I have my limits. So I rang up David yesterday, and demanded to be put into action. He made some vague response about calling me later, then bid me frantically join up with the team in Vallodolid for the last 2 stages of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon. And I'll be leading the team! What a big contrast from the day before - yesterday I was bored as hell, thinking of quitting, and now I'm on top of the world, leading a team in an actual mountain stage! I phoned up my bro, who's on a business trip to Spain, and he says he may be able to see me, which is great as well.
Recent Results
The results have been impressive, and we currently lie 2nd in the Continental standings. Our feature in Paris-Nice was poor, but the highlight has to be Salmon's domination in the 3 Jours du Vaucluse - the GC, points jersey plus 2/3 stage wins was incredible! Plus, Coppel was 2nd in the GC, and Dekkers won the first stage so we won every single stage.
Vuelta a Castilla y León Stage 4
Well, it's great to be back in the job I love, and is it a great stage today or what?
The Puerto de Navacerrada should be an opportunity for Mercado to stretch his legs and take 3rd place, but can he do any better? And can Salmon hold onto the KOM?
The flat part leading up to the last 16km climb was decidedly boring, and I just made sure everyone stayed in the pack and got ready for the climb.
The climb started, and the two major teams, Liquigas and Saunier Duval hit the front. We stayed calm, and waited in the bunch, moving up towards the front.
The tough pace continued, and with no moves still, the pack was beginning to disintegrate rapidly as the hurt was piled on
It wasn't until 5km to go that the moves were made - yellow jersey Pellizotti stole a march on everyone, launching a blistering attack. Mercado responded, along with several others, but Pellizotti was away
The attacks are launched
So from then on in, Mercado hit the front, with Posthuma struggling on the back. I told him to give it a little acceleration, and it worked! Posthuma fell off the back, but Mayo, 2nd in the GC stuck on Mercado's wheel, it was just a case of Mercado making sure he took 2nd in the stage to claw a few seconds.
Mercado wins...oh bugger, Pellizotti has already won
Mercado was shattered as he crossed the line, but he gave me a quick grin as I helped him off his bike, but he knew the profile of tomorrow meant he would be on the bottom step. Which is a shame, cos it would have been nice to see him against the likes of Mayo on a real tough mountain stage.
Stage:
1 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS 3h48'45 2 Juan Miguel Mercado AGRITUBEL + 49
3 Iban Mayo SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
4 Benjamin Noval DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO CYCLING TEAM s.t.
5 Iñigo Landaluze EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
GC:
1 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS 11h10'38
2 Iban Mayo SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 2'28 3 Juan Miguel Mercado AGRITUBEL + 3'07
4 Benjamin Noval DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO CYCLING TEAM + 3'32
5 Leonardo Bertagnolli LIQUIGAS + 5'16
Points:
1 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS 25 89 2 Juan Miguel Mercado AGRITUBEL 20 48
Tomorrow will be an interesting day. The uphill finish means Mercado could steal some seconds on Mayo, but we both know it won;t be enough. It's the mountain jersey we're really interested in. If we can sneak Salmon into the break, he has the ascending skills to hang on for those points, and he seems up for it at the moment - lets hope he feels the same when he greets the climbs.
Vuelta a Castilla y León
Stage 5
The last stage with 2 rather tame climbs and an uphill finish, our focus today was to see Mercado get through and hold onto his podium, but for Salmon to take the climber's jersey too.
Salmon immediately attacked, and had some company too - fortunately, he was the strongest climber of the lot, and easily took the first mountain sprint, securing the jersey - a cause for celebration.
Salmon ticks off one of our aims
However, the chase was anything but tame now, and riders were getting shredded in the pack - at the base of the second climb, Mercado only had one helper remaining. I told Mercado to just sit in and wait this out, and mark any moves made.
Mercado gets to wear the points jersey, but Pellizotti has it all sown up
Back up front though, Salmon decided to take the final mountain points, but he only had a 3 minute advantage with 50km to go, so he sat in and waited to be caught, then worked for Mercado.
Salmon gets caught after a successful day off the front - in fact, he would climb the GC too
As we approached the hill top finish, I pulled up to Mercado, and asked him to give it everything he had in the sprint, but he said he wasn't feeling great. I told him to go up front anyone, and just wheel suck then, and see how it goes.
Despite an incredible effort, he just got edged out for third, but was pleased he'd given a good account of himself.
So close! Mercado just misses the stage podium
Stage:
1 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS 4h09'01
2 Benjamin Noval DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO CYCLING TEAM s.t.
3 Iban Mayo SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t. 4 Juan Miguel Mercado AGRITUBEL s.t.
5 Iñigo Landaluze EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
So a good Tour all in all - I'm back to doing what I love, Mercado takes a great 3rd spot, we have a stage win plus the mountain jersey. David has just rang me, said he has a great surprise for me for when I get back.
I arrived back at base, to find a note from David to tell me to meet him at some dead posh restaurant in the centre of the town. It was a short walk there, but it gave me time to think about what he would say. My best bet as I walked in and met him was that a family member had died, or he was getting rid of me.
"Hello Ryan, nice of you to join me. This is Fabian, you'll be getting to know him better in the coming months." The man he introduced me to was a towering 6 footer, who must have weighed nearly 20 stone, but looked like he didn't have an ounce of fat on him as he crushed my bones in a firm handshake. The man was dressed smartly in a suit, and wore dark sunglasses. The kind bodyguards wear. Or hitmen.
"You are probably wondering what ma petite surprise is, my little surprise. Well Ryan, I want to tell you what the future holds for the Agritubel cycling team."
We took our seats in a corner of the restaurant, and given the size of this new person, my current thoughts was that I was about to be taken out, but I followed anyway.
"Is it okay if I order for all of us?" David said. No objection came forward, and he spoke to a hovering waiter.
"Agritubel is rising as a team. We currently lie 1st in the Continental standings, as you know. We are all agreed that ProTour promotion is a must this season, and we already want to start planning for that eventuality. And now, I must bring sad news."
This was it, I was about to be fired. All my dreams shattered. Or worse. All my legs shattered.
"I shall no longer be leading the team next year."
I couldn't keep it in. "Then who is?"
"You"
"Me?!?" I spluttered.
A nod.
I was still spluttering, so David continued.
"It had always been my intention to move on after this season, and I'm already signed up to take over Credit Agricole. The board knew this, and instructed me to look for a replacement. Given the rest of the staff would be going with me, I had to look for a new face, and it was you."
"Why me?"
He smiled. "You would not know how often I've had to answer that question. When you are ready to hear the answer, you will already know it."
The huge stranger, Fabian, then came in. "I represent the board that will take over when you have taken over the reigns. We expect something special from you, given what David has been telling us."
I looked exasperatedly at David.
"Do not worry, I have not told any lies." He stated simply.
"But have you told any truths?" I retorted. Both of them laughed.
"Seriously though Ryan," he took on a more serious tone, all signs of mirth lost from his face, "the future of this team is in your hands. From the moment we are promoted, it will be your job to run this team."
The enormity of that statement struck me.
"I am ready." I stated simply
An approving nod from both of them.
"Good," David said, "As Fabian here would have thrown you out of this window were you not."
I laughed nervously, but stopped when I saw the expression on Fabian's face. Not one to argue with.
"From now on in, you will prepare for next season. I will look at your progress from time to time, but it is your team you are building. Now let us enjoy dinner."
Fabian nudged David
"Oh yes, one last thing - you will be leading the team at Paris-Roubaix."
I nearly fainted with that last shock. I would be leading the team in the Hell of the North.
Paris - Roubaix
15th April 2007
Welcome to Cycling24's comprehensive coverage of this year's Paris - Roubaix! The course is as wet and miserable as ever, and for those not up front, it'll be a cold, tough day. But glory awaits 1 rider in Roubaix velodrome. The riders are ready to begin, so lets get going:
Start - The favourite today is Boonen by far - if he gets in that front group when they enter the Roubaix velodrome, it would be a bold man to bet against him. But challengers there are - Cancellara, Hincapie, Flecha, Hoste...it's a very open race as ever
188.6 km to go - well, an uneventful race so far, with everyone thinking of those cobbles, but now Agritubel have sent 3 riders off to attack - Coppel, Balciunas, and, yes that's their leader, Blot (all Agritubel). Well, DS Joey Jones told us earlier their plan was to get out in a break, but I don't think anyone expected a TTT
166.7 km - It's the first cobbled section, Troisvilles, and the 3 Agritubel riders take a 2 minute lead.
Cancellara (CSC) punctures! But he easily gets back into the group, a nervous moment fro him there
147.5 km - Our fist fallers! And it's not even on the cobbles, that's just how wet and slippery it is out there - Roberts (CSC) and Hivert (C.A.)
135.4 km - Quickstep have set up an successful bordure! The front group of 65 has fractured, and now 9 riders are 30 seconds in front - 6 Quickstep riders, and 3 T-Mobile riders
133.9 km - Well that didn't go well, they're all back together, now a minute behind Blot and Coppel, Balciunas didn't last long
117.2 km - A valiant effort, but that's the end of the break. Time to just sit back and hold on for as long as possible after a lonely and unpleasant ride for Blot
98.3 km - Quickstep have done it again, ut no wait, a quick response from the pack
87.1 km - Van Petegem punctures - will Quickstep help him, or is it to be Boonen as sole leader?
80 km - Nope, Van Petegem is guided in
58.1 km - This is the move! The bunch has threatened to snap a couple of times, and now we have a serious group of 7 off the front, no, make that 13 now. Who's not there - Flecha, Hincapie, Ballan and Hoste have all failed to make that cut, they know unless some miracle occurs, this may be it for them
39.4 km - O'Grady attacks over the cobbles! Who can follow?
28.6 km - We have our leading group - Klier, Burghardt (T-Mobile), Boonen, Van Petegem (Quickstep), Backstedt (Liquigas), O'Grady (CSC) are there, you have to admit, it looks like a winner will come from them
26.7 km - Klier and O'Grady are dropped on Carrefour de l'Arbre, just 3 cobbled sections left
18.6 km - BOONEN PUNCTURES! Now this race is wide open, he looks disgusted, he punctures just inches before the end of the cobbles
9.3 km - Sensational - O'Grady and Klier join the front 3 as the Roubaix Velodrome looms into view
5.2 km - A fall, a fall! Both T-Mobile riders go down, Burghardt and Klier. Just outside the velodrome, 5 km to go, and both take a tumble - they're almost in tears. A couple more from the next group go down trying to avoid them, now there's cyclists all over the road
3.8 km - Here we go, the Velodrome is about to host another classic finish - Backstedt, Van Petegem, O'Grady are the gladiators preparing themselves for the final effort.
2.1 km - Backstedt leads them out, Van Petegem is behind him, but O'Grady now is coimng round them...
Finish - Backstedt wins! He held off the two companions to take an incredible victory.
Well, that's it for today's coverage, another incredible day of racing which sums up the legend that is the Hell of the North. Now everyone waits for those who have the less glamorous task of trying to finish, just to say they conquered the Hell of the North. We on the other hand, are going to go back to our nice, warm hotel. Join us next time for more fantastic racing, live on Cyling24.
Well, Paris - Roubaix was one of the best days of my life. The whole atmosphere, the build up, then the race itself were an experience I most certainly not forget.
Blot was disappointed he didn't get into the top 50, but when you see the riders who won it, I can safely say that at the moment, they are simply in a different class. But he's only 22, so maybe we can see him finishing up front in the velodrome in a couple of years. You never know...
So onto the racing. Only 9 teams lined up for the race, and only 50 riders. Dekkers was there if it finished in a sprint, but Coppel was more likely to succeed if he could get clear on one of the hills.
The story of the day was of a peloton that was simply too small and too weak. 2 riders went clear. The chase was led by us, but we simply had the wrong team, as all of our sprinters were dropped, leaving us with 2 riders to chase alone.
So, with defeat looming, Coppel attacked, and he managed to get clear. He rap[idly brought down the gap, catching one rider, but not the other, so he had to settle for second
So disappointment for me, I wanted a victory on my return to my home country, we were just too slow to react, and the squad I was given not suited.
Cycling24.co.uk caught up with new Agritubel DS Joey Jones after the race:
C24: Hi Joey, a good day for you?
JJ: Not great, we were looking for the win today, but second was a good achievement from Jerome once we realised the break would make it
C24: How do you feel about the rumours about Agritubel?
JJ: What rumours?
C24: According to our sources, Agritubel looks like it may have a new sponsor for next season
JJ: I haven't heard that
C24: You do realise that the current deal ends this year?
JJ: Nope.
C24: What do you think your future is if they do stop?
JJ: I have it on the best authority this team will continue
C24: But don't you feel you may be sacked after your controversial appointment as a complete and utter rookie when new sponsors come in?
JJ: LISTEN, THERE ARE NO NEW SPONSORS, I'M DOING WELL AS A DS, AND I MOST CERTAINLY NOT GETTING SACKED!
C24: Well that Was British Agritubel DS Joey Jones. One wonders how he managed to go from obscurity to such a team so quickly, and why he got so angry, so quickly, when questioned about next year.
From:
To:
Subject: Next Season?
David.
Some reporter said that the sponsorship for next season won't be Agritubel. Is this true? Will I still be the team manager whatever happens? I need to know, David, I've been offered a couple of jobs by British teams whilst I was here today. I'm getting a bit worried, that reporter has set off a nerve within me.
Regards
Joey
From:
To:
Subject: Next Season?
Don't worry Joey - everything is all set for next season - Agritubel will still be sponsoring the team, we may just have a couple of new co-sponsors, but we're only in negotiations - and don't worry, you will definitely be the team manager - just don;t tell anyone yet, the board are nervous as it is
David
P.S. Fancy taking on the Clásica a Alcobendas?
Alcobendas
Well, David has kinda set my mind at ease. At least I know I've got job security next year, but he's a bit mysterious and vague when it comes to next tears sponsorship. In fact, he keeps giving me these lame and useless excuses, I'll have to press him soon. Onto racing. Here's our recent results:
We're still 2nd in the CT rankings, and promotion looks like it may just happen. I could be managing a ProTour team!
Anyway, back to today's race - the Clásica a Alcobendas is only 3 stages long, but it's an interesting stage race - it starts with the mountain stage today, hills tomorrow, and ends with a time trial. I've seen that Pereiro is here as heavy favourite, but our own Moises Dueñas is going to try and give him a run for his money, especially today
172 km long, with a series of climbs in the middle - and then onto the killer, a huge climb topping out at over 2500m at the Puerto de Navacerrada, where everything would be won or lost. Our game plan was to hold on for as long as possible, and see how it went, how we felt on that beast of a finish
95km to go, and the 2 PT teams, Caisse and Saunier shredded the peloton over the first climbs, as they chased down the break that had been given a long leash
By the end of the middle set of hills, only 22 riders formed the main bunch - we only had Martinez Trinidad left to protect Duenas.
And at the base of the monster finish, Trinidad was dropped
After the gradient steepened up to around 10%, Pereiro was off, dragging Iker Camaño, Ruben Plaza and Amets Txurruka with him. Duenas was struggling, so was forced to let them go, just riding tempo.
With 3 km left, Duenas was leading a group of 5, trying to shake them off
Which he did, leaving 1 rider (Iván Melero) with him, as the sprint begun
Pereiro eventually won with ease, securing himself the points and leaders jersey
Duenas finished strongly to take 6th spot - a great result from him in a world class field
Climber:
1 Ramon Troncoso KARPIN GALICIA 24 24
2 Denis Kudashev RELAX - GAM 20 20
So a good stage for the team - we did what we set out to do, which was to take it as we felt, and Duenas showed some very good climbing skills and determination to stick in there. The next 2 stages won't drastically alter the GC, today's time differences are too significant, but Duenas is determined to ride a good TT no matter what - it's the right attitude, and I'm making sure people are listening to him
