Hi all. Sorry for the break in the story, but I have been away on a charity trek in the Sahara. Unfortunately I must have played stages 4 & 5 before I left, I have the pics but can't remember how they panned out.
So moving on to stage 6... Matty is the highest placed member of the team on GC in 12th, and Sasha has 11 points in the KOM competition. A fairly uneventful race so far, so today the team will have to ride hard to show in this race !
The peleton is controlled from the start by Stolting who are riding for race leader, Markus Eichler. Jasha sits on the front waiting for break to form with some serious points on offer in the KOM.
At 176km two riders jump out of the bunch and Jasha latches on to the wheel
Jasha leads over the first two climbs getting some much needed points in the bank
After the second climb of the day, some of the riders well placed in the KOM classification realize Jasha is becoming a threat and break out of the bunch
Jasha is forced to do all the work on the front of the leading break to maintain the advantage to the next climb, which he manages to lead over, gaining more valuable points
As Jasha reaches the bottom of the last climb, the chasing group are closing the gap fast
He manages to hold the gap to the top of the climb, but riding on the front all day takes its toll and he is dropped just before the top
However he can have the satisfaction that he has accrued enough points to take him into the lead of the KOM classification. He manages to get back onto the group, but with 10km to go, the front of the bunch comes to life
With 8km to go, he is finally reeled in and the days work is over. Now Matty has to stay at the head of the bunch to the line
Despite help from his faithful lieutenant Sven, Matty just doesn't have the legs today
Eduardo Sepulveda of Bretagne takes the stage and the overall race lead
Wile Matty comes home just outside the top ten, moving him up to eleventh in the GC.
Sorry, forgot to take screenshots of Jasha's podium... DOH !!
Edited by Jaywol on 06-12-2014 22:08
With nobody in contention for the overall and the KOM jersey safely on the back of Jasha, there was not much for the team to ride for today. Airtime for the sponsors was about the only team goal for the day and so Sven volunteered to try and make the days break.
He managed to join on after a short chase
As Jasha sat in the bunch and basked in the polka dot jersey
Sven managed to pick up some points and some well earned prize money on the intermediate sprints
But didn't have the legs as the sprint came to the line, as Eduardo Sepulveda took the stage to cement his overall victory
Winning the GC by almost a minute over his nearest rival
While for the team, Jasha yet again showed his determination and climbing prowess
A trip East for the team, to take part in the one day Memorial of Oleg Dyachenko, a series of 14km laps in Moscow. The finish is at the end of a short climb, so the team had several options today. Jelle would try to make the break and Romain would be given his chance if he could stay with the bunch into the final.
A two man break went early and Jelle tried to latch on
However, he was quickly reeled in by the peleton
The rest of the team moved towards the front of the bunch and sat in, waiting for the final. With just under 30km to go, several guys were still well placed, with the break holding a 90 second advantage
As the bunch hit the final climb Romain attacked, with the break at just over 30 seconds
The break managed to hold on and Romain could only manage 3rd... must be a tail ender in this group ?
