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Modern Times, Old Roads | The End
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 12-04-2014 09:38
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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 GP Costa degli Etruschi
I can talk all I want about how great the team is and how I want to prove myself, but now it's about time to put it into action. My first race of the season was GP Costa degli Etruschi, the new opener to the Italian season.
Temperatures were cold at the start, but luckily the 190 km wouldn't invite to a long wait. Many teams and riders were keen on reeling in this particular fish. We were all ready to race!
Profile I spend the last three days here. The final hill is not very long, but after 180 km, it might invite certain punchers to attack. The roads leading up to the climb are not too wide, so we should be at the front in time.
I had enjoyed a nice breakfast but I had some problems with missing shoes in the hotel. I arrived at the start just in time, I took my place at the back of the peloton and got ready to race.
As tradition dictates, several riders got busy forming the break of the day. We tried to get Santaromita in the break.
And he was successful. The biggest name in his group was Tiralongo, winner of two Giro stages.
Giant - Shimano, here with sprinter Tom Veelers, took most of the workload in the chase.
I stayed in the middle of the pack for the most part of the race, but having reconned the route, I came to the front just in time for the final climb of the day. I started the climb in about 20th position.
We had the breakaway riders in sight on the climb.
However, we were unable to catch them on the climb. At the top, we were still half a minute behind. Things would get tight! I survived the climb quite well, you can see me taking the bend right there, before the Astana rider.
At the front, Tiralongo went solo. Nobody could or wanted to follow.
Strong Luke (Luke Durbridge) helped organize our sprint train. I was right behind him, ready to lead out Leigh Howard. At that moment, we couldn't find Caleb Ewan and there was no time to wait, either.
Caleb found our train just in time. I started the sprint, but there were still riders ahead. We wouldn't be going for the victory today, I fear.
And, indeed, Tiralongo finished off a brilliant solo. Santaromita did good by finishing on the podium.
In the sprint for place 10, we came in 2nd and 3rd (so 11th and 12th overall) with Caleb and Leigh. I finished a surprising 14th!
| 1 | Paolo Tiralongo | Astana Pro Team | 4h22'43 | | 2 | Alberto Losada | Team Katusha | + 21 | | 3 | Ivan Santaromita | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 4 | Kristjan Fajt | Adria Mobil | s.t. | | 5 | Mattia Cattaneo | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 6 | Diego Rosa | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. | | 7 | Francesco Gavazzi | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 8 | Marco Marcato | Cannondale | s.t. | | 9 | Michal Golas | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 10 | Nikolas Maes | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 11 | Caleb Ewan | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 12 | Leigh Howard | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 13 | Fabio Felline | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 14 | Matthias Vleminckx | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 15 | Wout Poels | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. |
Spoiler | 16 | Tom Veelers | Team Giant - Shimano | s.t. | | 17 | Julian Arredondo | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 18 | Dominik Nerz | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 19 | Jesús Herrada | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 20 | Giovanni Visconti | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 21 | Daniel Oss | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 22 | Simone Ponzi | YellowFluo | s.t. | | 23 | Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg | Team Giant - Shimano | s.t. | | 24 | Luke Rowe | Team Sky | s.t. | | 25 | Alessandro De Marchi | Cannondale | s.t. | | 26 | Alessandro Bisolti | Vini Fantini Nippo | s.t. | | 27 | Gert Steegmans | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 28 | Koen De Kort | Team Giant - Shimano | s.t. | | 29 | Taylor Phinney | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 30 | Andrey Amador | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 31 | Luke Durbridge | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 32 | Christophe Riblon | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 33 | Ian Stannard | Team Sky | s.t. | | 34 | Francesco Chicchi | YellowFluo | s.t. | | 35 | Tobias Ludvigsson | Team Giant - Shimano | s.t. | | 36 | Nikias Arndt | Team Giant - Shimano | s.t. | | 37 | Jérôme Pineau | IAM Cycling | s.t. | | 38 | Carlos Verona | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 39 | Dario Cataldo | Team Sky | s.t. | | 40 | Lieuwe Westra | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 41 | Eros Capecchi | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 42 | Elia Favilli | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 43 | Peter Kennaugh | Team Sky | s.t. | | 44 | Davide Villella | Cannondale | s.t. | | 45 | Ion Izagirre | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 46 | Cameron Wurf | Cannondale | s.t. | | 47 | Vasil Kiryienka | Team Sky | s.t. | | 48 | Stijn Devolder | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 49 | Jacopo Guarnieri | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 50 | Matteo Pelucchi | IAM Cycling | s.t. | | 51 | Andrew Fenn | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 52 | Rinaldo Nocentini | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 53 | Vladimir Gusev | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 54 | Hugo Houle | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 55 | Salvatore Puccio | Team Sky | s.t. | | 56 | Stefano Pirazzi | Bardiani CSF | s.t. | | 57 | Fabio Sabatini | Cannondale | s.t. | | 58 | Kristjan Koren | Cannondale | s.t. | | 59 | Andrea Zordan | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. | | 60 | Omar Bertazzo | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. | | 61 | Fabio Silvestre | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 62 | Jay Thomson | MTN - Qhubeka | s.t. | | 63 | Pablo Lastras | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 64 | Christopher Sutton | Team Sky | s.t. | | 65 | Rüdiger Selig | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 66 | Danilo Wyss | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 67 | Matteo Rabottini | YellowFluo | s.t. | | 68 | Vitaliy Popkov | ISD Continental Team | s.t. | | 69 | Linus Gerdemann | MTN - Qhubeka | s.t. | | 70 | Daan Olivier | Team Giant - Shimano | s.t. | | 71 | Manuel Quinziato | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 72 | Johannes Fröhlinger | Team Giant - Shimano | s.t. | | 73 | Sergey Chernetskiy | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 74 | Matthias Frank | IAM Cycling | s.t. | | 75 | Bert De Backer | Team Giant - Shimano | s.t. | | 76 | Hayden Roulston | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 77 | Luigi Miletta | YellowFluo | s.t. | | 78 | Danilo Hondo | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 79 | Emanuele Sella | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. | | 80 | Romain Bardet | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 81 | George Bennett | Cannondale | s.t. | | 82 | Matej Mugerli | Adria Mobil | s.t. | | 83 | Klaas Lodewyck | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 84 | Alexey Lutsenko | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 85 | Jonathan Castroviejo | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 86 | Stefan Denifl | IAM Cycling | s.t. | | 87 | Yaroslav Popovych | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 88 | Danny Pate | Team Sky | s.t. | | 89 | Kristian Sbaragli | MTN - Qhubeka | s.t. | | 90 | Matthias Brändle | IAM Cycling | s.t. | | 91 | Marcel Wyss | IAM Cycling | s.t. | | 92 | Pavel Brutt | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 93 | Sebastian Lander | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 94 | Mikhail Akimov | Itera - Katusha | s.t. | | 95 | Alexsandr Dyachenko | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 96 | Patrik Sinkewitz | Meridiana Kamen Team | s.t. | | 97 | Alessandro Malaguti | Vini Fantini Nippo | s.t. | | 98 | Enrico Barbin | Bardiani CSF | s.t. | | 99 | Matteo Montaguti | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 100 | Sébastien Reichenbach | IAM Cycling | s.t. | | 101 | Francesco Bongiorno | Bardiani CSF | s.t. | | 102 | Gianluca Brambilla | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 103 | Sam Bewley | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 104 | Volodymyr Dzhus | ISD Continental Team | s.t. | | 105 | Davide Mucelli | Meridiana Kamen Team | s.t. | | 106 | Giampaolo Caruso | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 107 | Sébastien Minard | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 108 | Pierpaolo De Negri | Vini Fantini Nippo | s.t. | | 109 | Nicola Boem | Bardiani CSF | s.t. | | 110 | Artur Kovsh | Itera - Katusha | s.t. | | 111 | Alessandro Vanotti | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 112 | Tsgabu Grmay | MTN - Qhubeka | s.t. | | 113 | Pirmin Lang | IAM Cycling | s.t. | | 114 | Pavel Kochetkov | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 115 | Stefano Locatelli | Bardiani CSF | s.t. | | 116 | Nicola Dal Santo | Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest | s.t. | | 117 | Filippo Baggio | Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest | s.t. | | 118 | Anatoliy Pakhtusov | ISD Continental Team | s.t. | | 119 | Takashi Miyazawa | Vini Fantini Nippo | s.t. | | 120 | Angelo Pagani | Bardiani CSF | s.t. | | 121 | Guillaume Bonnafond | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 122 | Sergey Nikolaev | Itera - Katusha | s.t. | | 123 | Winner Anacona | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 124 | Aljaz Hocevar | Adria Mobil | s.t. | | 125 | Victor Manakov | Itera - Katusha | s.t. | | 126 | Jan Polanc | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 127 | Valerio Conti | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 128 | Diego Ulissi | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 129 | Luca Dodi | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 130 | Gang Xu | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 131 | Gorka Izagirre | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 132 | Matteo Di Serafino | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. | | 133 | Martin Wesemann | MTN - Qhubeka | s.t. | | 134 | Youcef Reguigui | MTN - Qhubeka | s.t. | | 135 | Maxim Pokidov | Itera - Katusha | s.t. | | 136 | Antonio Di Battista | Amore & Vita - Selle SMP | s.t. | | 137 | Dimitry Ignatiev | Itera - Katusha | s.t. | | 138 | Artem Topchanyuk | Amore & Vita - Selle SMP | s.t. | | 139 | Oleksandr Sheydyk | ISD Continental Team | s.t. | | 140 | Yuya Akimaru | Vini Fantini Nippo | s.t. | | 141 | Viesturs Luksevics | Amore & Vita - Selle SMP | s.t. | | 142 | Giorgio Cecchinel | YellowFluo | s.t. | | 143 | Jackson Rodríguez | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. | | 144 | Mitchell Docker | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 145 | Bob Jungels | Trek Factory Racing | s.t. | | 146 | Nicola Testi | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. | | 147 | Zsolt Der | Utensilnord | s.t. | | 148 | Alberto Bettiol | Cannondale | s.t. | | 149 | Johann Van Zyl | MTN - Qhubeka | s.t. | | 150 | Gianfranco Visconti | Utensilnord | s.t. | | 151 | Federico Rocchetti | Utensilnord | s.t. | | 152 | Klemen Stimulak | Adria Mobil | s.t. | | 153 | Antonio Santoro | Meridiana Kamen Team | s.t. | | 154 | Alessandro Mazzi | Utensilnord | s.t. | | 155 | Bernard Bendeguz | Utensilnord | s.t. | | 156 | Oleksandr Grygorenko | Amore & Vita - Selle SMP | s.t. | | 157 | Bruno Maltar | Adria Mobil | s.t. | | 158 | Alfonso Fiorenza | Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest | s.t. | | 159 | Riccardo Stacchiotti | Vini Fantini Nippo | s.t. | | 160 | Abel Kenyeres | Utensilnord | + 4'22 | | 161 | Roberto De Patre | YellowFluo | + 4'51 | | 162 | Andrea Dal Col | YellowFluo | s.t. | | 163 | Edoardo Zardini | Bardiani CSF | s.t. | | 164 | Silvan Dillier | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 165 | Donato De Ieso | Bardiani CSF | s.t. | | 166 | Ben Gastauer | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 167 | Patrick Facchini | Androni Giocattoli | s.t. | | 168 | Leonardo Pinizzotto | Amore & Vita - Selle SMP | s.t. | | 169 | Yury Trofimov | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 170 | Aidis Kruopis | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 171 | Arman Kamyshev | Astana Pro Team | + 5'40 | | 172 | Dmitry Kosyakov | Itera - Katusha | s.t. | | 173 | Mauro Finetto | YellowFluo | s.t. | | 174 | Petr Vakoč | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 175 | Daniele Scampamorte | Utensilnord | + 7'14 | | 176 | Mariano Giallorenzo | Meridiana Kamen Team | s.t. | | 177 | Marko Ivancic | Meridiana Kamen Team | s.t. | | 178 | Mamyr Stash | Itera - Katusha | s.t. | | 179 | Konstantin Klimiankou | Amore & Vita - Selle SMP | s.t. | | 180 | Uri Martins | Amore & Vita - Selle SMP | s.t. | | 181 | Giuseppe Fonzi | Vini Fantini Nippo | s.t. | | 182 | Anatoliy Budyak | ISD Continental Team | s.t. | | 183 | Domen Novak | Adria Mobil | s.t. | | 184 | Luca Taschin | Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest | s.t. | | 185 | Matteo Belli | Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest | s.t. | | 186 | Antonio Viola | Vini Fantini Nippo | s.t. | | 187 | Davide Gabburo | Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest | s.t. | | 188 | Alexander Cataford | Amore & Vita - Selle SMP | s.t. | | 189 | Loris Paoli | Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest | + 8'01 | | 190 | Bruno Carvalho Sá | ISD Continental Team | s.t. | | 191 | Endi Sirol | Meridiana Kamen Team | s.t. | | 192 | Giacomo Forconi | Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest | s.t. | | 193 | Gianfelice Fonte | Utensilnord | s.t. |
For me, this is a good start. I survived the hill extremely well and I did a decent job in bringing Leigh and Caleb for the sprint. Too bad we didn't get a chance to sprint for the victory, though.
Well, maybe next time!
Matt
Edited by Ian Butler on 12-04-2014 10:00
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 12-04-2014 09:38
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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baia - Great to be back, too  I agree, there are lots of quality stories at the moment. I hope to contribute, too! Thanks!
Jakstar22 - Thanks, mate  Tour Down Under is a big sponsor goal for an Australian team, so it's amazing to start the season this way. |
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| Dippofix |
Posted on 12-04-2014 09:42
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3904
Joined: 29-01-2013
PCM$: 300.00
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Ah, Matt already showing what he's worth in the first race of the season.
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 12-04-2014 09:46
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Team Leader
Posts: 7293
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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A great first race for Matt. Great job!
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| baia |
Posted on 12-04-2014 11:27
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5398
Joined: 04-10-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Good stage, Matthias did a good job but Caleb was better..
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 12-04-2014 12:08
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Dippofix - So it seems I had a good position on the climb, which helps a lot!
Jakstar22 - Thanks! A good start is always important!
baia - Caleb is the boss  still only 19, that guy. But Matthias is a bit more polyvalent. Caleb is just a monster sprinter
Thanks for the support here! |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 12-04-2014 12:08
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Hi again! It's time to report back from my first stage race of the season. The Tour of Oman counts six stages, the first three are classified as flat, but don't let that fool you. Then we move into the mountains and the hills, to finally end the Tour with a final stage for the sprinters.
We're right in the middle of the Tour now. Here's the report from the first three stages, it's been one hell of a ride so far.
 Tour of Oman - Stage 1
Oman is a real hot country. I never thought I'd say this but I miss good old cold, wet Belgium. But we're not here to lay in the sun, we're here to race!
Profile This will go fast. The sprint is pancake flat. Today I'm listed as the last lead-out for Matthews. It's an important moment for me. I hope to do well.
Simon Yates is a talent and he's keen to prove it. He attacked as soon as the flag went down.
Together with Goesinnen and Claeys, he formed the break of the day.
It was an easier day than I had participated. The peloton took it easy for a while and the breakaway never went too far, either. Simon won the mountain sprint. When the break was caught, we knew we had to move forward and prepare the sprint.
Our train got caught up in the pack for a while, but fortunately we had a good pilot to get us out of there. Matthews stuck to my wheel. Luckily I was riding purely on instinct, if I had thought about how important it was to get Matthews into the perfect position for the sprint, I might've become too nervous to do my job properly.
As soon as Meyer brought us to the front, I took the wheel of Cavendish. Things were moving fast, now.
Then my job was only getting started. I got up from my seat and started my lead-out sprint. I think I did an okay job. I didn't accelerate too quickly, but I built up speed gradually.
Matthews went at the perfect moment, but he couldn't beat Mark Cavendish. We had to be happy with a second place.
We were disappointed for only a little while. After all, coming in second after the best sprinter of the past 5 years is not a bad achievement. Matthews specifically thanked me for my work on the team bus. What a great guy.
| 1 | Mark Cavendish | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | 3h26'39 | | 2 | Michael Matthews | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 3 | Daniele Bennati | Tinkoff - Saxo | s.t. | | 4 | Mark Renshaw | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 5 | Heinrich Haussler | IAM Cycling | s.t. | | 6 | Taylor Phinney | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 7 | Sébastien Chavanel | FDJ.fr | s.t. | | 8 | José Joaquín Rojas | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 9 | Daryl Impey | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 10 | Jérôme Pineau | IAM Cycling | s.t. | | 11 | Matthias Vleminckx | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. |
Tour of Oman - Stage 2
There are many different teams; teams with strong leaders, teams with base strength... What makes Orica - GreenEdge so strong is the fact that we're not just team mates. No, we're a team, and we're mates. Big difference. After a second place, we were ready to bounce back!
Profile This is a flat finish, but the final 30 kilometers are up and down. There is one slope which will prove decisive. It's my job today to bring Matthews over the top. It'll be hard, we'll have to fight to stay at the front.
Once again we got a man in the breakaway. this time it was Mouris, the strong Dutchman.
The stage was uneventful, which is good. But when we came to the final climb, I felt I wasn't up for today's task. The heat was too much for me to handle. I looked at Matthews and he knew by the look of my eyes I wasn't going to take him to the top today. Luckily Impey was around.
Impey and Matthews stayed at the front wonderfully. They even crossed the mountain point first. The peloton was disorganised and Impey smelled a golden opportunity. Instead of waiting, he threw himself in the downhill, with Matthews stuck to his wheel.
Meanwhile, I found my way to the top. I was quite exhausted and had some trouble breathing. Who the hell can race in temperatures above 40°C?
Impey and Matthews sped to the finish and the peloton was too late to react. What an amazing victory today. I feel like I didn't contribute at all, but we celebrated the victory all together on the bus like we had all won.
This is a beauty, a victory to frame. The entire team has gotten a morale boost now, I'm sure!
| 1 | Michael Matthews | Orica GreenEdge | 3h18'23 | | 2 | Daryl Impey | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 3 | Chris Froome | Team Sky | + 29 | | 4 | Sam Bennett | Team NetApp - Endura | s.t. | | 5 | Maxim Belkov | Team Katusha | s.t. | | 6 | Nairo Quintana | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 7 | Nikolai Trussov | Tinkoff - Saxo | s.t. | | 8 | Peter Kennaugh | Team Sky | s.t. | | 9 | Alejandro Valverde | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 10 | Yury Trofimov | Team Katusha | s.t. | | (...) | | 51 | Matthias Vleminckx | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. |
Tour of Oman - Stage 3
The third day. Weather predictions are to my advantage. Clouds might block the sun later in the afternoon, temperatures may drop. Let's hope they do!
Profile After my bad day yesterday, I won't be leading out Matthews as final guy. Instead, I'll be fourth man in the lead-out. This finish is made for Matthews, we can win this. He's the best when it comes to uphill sprints.
To my great joy, it cooled down, almost 10°C down from yesterday. The clouds were grey and I was feeling so much better already. We set up the lead-out for Matthews. The order of the day was: Mouris - Docker - Vleminckx - Meyer - Impey - Matthews.
If you look at the profile closely, you'll notice a tiny but very steep bump near the finish. That was my point to go. I had to drag the lead-out over the bump as fast as possible. Just when I got to the front to do my job, we rolled up the break of the day, one by one.
I felt amazing today, what a little sunshine (or the lack of it) can do! Our team was in perfect position and we rolled up the final breakaway member.
Then I heard a crash. I looked behind me and saw Meyer had gone down! Impey and Matthews were able to avoid him, luckily. Impey leeched himself to my wheel and shouted: "Go!" Normally, it was up to Meyer now, but it was too early to let Impey take the front. I took a double shift. But I was hurting bad now!
Impey launched the sprint and finally I could hold my legs still for a moment. They were burning up, but I had done well today, extremely well!
In uphill sprinting, Matthews knows no equal. He proves this once again here. what a victory!
Today was a beautiful example of great team work. This sort of feels like my victory, too. I had a hand in this. And it feels great.
| 1 | Michael Matthews | Orica GreenEdge | 4h35'19 | | 2 | José Joaquín Rojas | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 3 | Daniele Bennati | Tinkoff - Saxo | s.t. | | 4 | Gianluca Brambilla | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 5 | Daryl Impey | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. | | 6 | Chris Froome | Team Sky | s.t. | | 7 | Gert Steegmans | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | 8 | Gerald Ciolek | MTN - Qhubeka | s.t. | | 9 | Luke Rowe | Team Sky | s.t. | | 10 | Nicolas Roche | Tinkoff - Saxo | s.t. | | (...) | | 76 | Matthias Vleminckx | Orica GreenEdge | s.t. |
General Classification after Stage 3 | 1 | Michael Matthews | Orica GreenEdge | 11h19'29 | | 2 | Daryl Impey | Orica GreenEdge | + 40 | | 3 | Mark Cavendish | Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team | + 57 | | 4 | Daniele Bennati | Tinkoff - Saxo | + 1'05 | | 5 | José Joaquín Rojas | Movistar Team | + 1'09 | | 6 | Kevin Claeys | An Post - Chain Reaction | s.t. | | 7 | Chris Froome | Team Sky | + 1'13 | | 8 | Daniel Teklehaimanot | MTN - Qhubeka | + 1'15 | | 9 | James Vanlandschoot | Wanty - Groupe Gobert | s.t. | | 10 | Bobbie Traksel | An Post - Chain Reaction | + 1'19 | | (...) | | 31 | Matthias Vleminckx | Orica GreenEdge | + 1'21 |
Well, we took a flying start here in Oman. Two out of three, that's not bad. Personally I'm very happy with my work here. I let the team down on the second day a bit but I more than made up for it today.
Tomorrow we finish on the Green Mountain, not exactly my terrain. But we'll do our best to keep that jersey around Matthews' shouders!
I'll report when I get back in Belgium, because the internet here is just terrible.
See you then,
Matt
Edited by Ian Butler on 12-04-2014 12:09
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 12-04-2014 12:17
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Team Leader
Posts: 7293
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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What a great turn from Matt in Stage 3. Amazing!! Keep it up
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| The Hobbit |
Posted on 12-04-2014 12:32
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2730
Joined: 18-08-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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Great racing from Matthias, and a few strong wins from Matthews
(Not on the 'The Hobbit Banana Scale' though ) |
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| Cycleman123 |
Posted on 12-04-2014 12:41
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4478
Joined: 30-07-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Great racing so far. Hopefully Cameron can take over when the road goes up. How's his support?
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 12-04-2014 12:44
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Jakstar22 - Stage 3 was indeed a good one by Matt. Hope the next 3 can be equally good
The Hobbit - What does a man have to do to earn a banana 'round here?
Cycleman123 - Unfortunately Cameron lost quite some time on the third stage. So he'll have to go for a stage win. He's got decent support in the form of Chaves. Hope it's enough |
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| Cycleman123 |
Posted on 12-04-2014 12:45
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4478
Joined: 30-07-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Ahh Chaves, some nice moments with him and Fabio Maybe he should take the lead?
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 12-04-2014 13:05
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Hmm we'll have to see how the race pans out. With Froome and Quintana and Valverde here, we'll be happy to take a top 5 on a mountain finish |
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| Cycleman123 |
Posted on 12-04-2014 13:14
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4478
Joined: 30-07-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Jesus...
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 12-04-2014 13:50
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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It has not been a bad start to the season for Matthias |
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| baia |
Posted on 12-04-2014 15:17
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5398
Joined: 04-10-2007
PCM$: 200.00
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Matthews is doing great..
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| MrUfo87 |
Posted on 12-04-2014 16:23
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2803
Joined: 06-01-2012
PCM$: 700.00
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You've already started, but good luck! Looks very promising so far. And a nice team choice for the Belgian rider. The start of the season is good for the team.
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| the_hoyle |
Posted on 12-04-2014 17:57
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Amazing start to life in the team for Matt. Some good results all around as well
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 12-04-2014 19:18
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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sutty68 - Not at all
baia - Yeah, his national jersey gave him the confidence he needed!
MrUfo87 - Thanks a lot We're off to a good start indeed!
the_hoyle - I agree. Orica doing well so far. Hope we can keep this up a long time!
The rest of Oman probably later today |
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| Batista15 |
Posted on 12-04-2014 20:40
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2704
Joined: 29-04-2007
PCM$: 900.00
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Just saw, that you´re back Ian! Good to see a new story, good luck. |
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