Today we just completed the hardest stage of the Vuelta a Andalucia. Well I know now that although again I can take positives out of today, I still have a long way to go in order to be in Tour de France shape, but that's all part of the early months of the season!
Today I woke up feeling a little nervous, this was the first real mountain finish against the world's best, and I wasn't sure how it was going to go! The team like always was absolutely phenomenal looking after me. I mean Moreno Hofland was hugging the toilet, so sick this morning but he still toughed it out for me and looked after me on the flats all day. I now will repay him in the final 2 stages which should be sprint stages, I hope he is feeling better tomorrow!
Anyways like most mountain stages in smaller races, the first 75% of the stage is monotonous and its just about staying out of trouble, as a break went up the road, I was wishing I could fall asleep and wake up just as the climb was starting, haha. And as the climb was preparing to start, I was in the perfect position, right behind the Tinkoff-Saxo domestiques, I knew that I would need to be way up near the front when dealing with guys like Nibali, Contador, and Quintana.
After 5 km it was still all together, and very quiet, I knew that would change soon but I still sat near the front with Laurens Ten Dam sitting doing a great job of pacemaking. Within sight of the 5km to go banner, Alejandro Valverde, and Dani Navarro took off and knowing that I wanted to stay as far ahead of Quintana for the White Jersey I immediately took off in pursuit.
As I caught up to the two leaders, immediately Nibali and Contador bridged, and took off leaving the rest of us in the dust....I knew that I would just have to set my own pace and grind away if I wanted to maintain my high placing on GC and the white jersey. But with about 1500 meters to go, Quintana came up to my back wheel, when I looked back and saw him, my heart sank a bit, but I knew that I couldn't stop, I just had to keep going. My battle for white with Nairo was on
Well ahead, Contador kicked and danced on the pedals to victory ahead of Valverde, unfortunately I can say he kicked away from me quite easily as well!
Back to me, Quintana refused to come thru for a pull, I flicked my elbow about 15 times but all I heard from his was "I can't do it," I thought maybe just maybe i'd survive, but with 600 meters to go, Quintana attacked me and I was unable to respond....I fought all the way up to the line, I had 15 seconds on him, and when I hit the line I knew it would be close, but I had a bad feeling. First and foremost I was extremely pissed at Nairo, what an asshole move it was. And yep, a check of the sheet, he had me by 6 seconds, he was in white and in the Top 5 while I sat 6th in GC, and 6 seconds back in white.
As I write this, I still have not got over the anger and disappointment those last 600-700 meters caused on an otherwise solid day. Well, I will not give up the fight, maybe I can find a place to attack and gain those seconds back on a finish somewhere, since there are no bonus seconds at the sprint. Either way, I will be fighting on, and looking to support Moreno tomorrow, but other than that I really just don't have anything else to say....I am extremely mad at Nairo, and I plan on letting him hear it tomorrow. I will fight on for you and my team, my friends!
Hey man,
Great stoey you have going, W1lco () with some great form right now and some amazing writing.
The only thing may be the way in between some pictures you have 10-20 lines of pure text, that can be boring for some (the spoilers not working doesn't help) but even if you don't want to break it up with photos you can just do something like paragraphing to make it easier
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
jandal7 wrote:
Hey man,
Great stoey you have going, W1lco () with some great form right now and some amazing writing.
The only thing may be the way in between some pictures you have 10-20 lines of pure text, that can be boring for some (the spoilers not working doesn't help) but even if you don't want to break it up with photos you can just do something like paragraphing to make it easier
Awesome! Thank you so much for the suggestions, they're always welcome! I'll work on that!
Sorry all for the delay in posts, I was in the process of moving the past few days but I will have the next 2 stages (4 and 5) up within the hour!
But first to preface the next stages, I would like to retreat one. For whatever reason, PCM decided to act like I have never played Stage 3 so I had to re-do the stage....well I made sure not to make any of the same mistakes I had earlier on. Instead followed Rodriguez with 5 km to go and just as I attacked, Quintana, Navarro, Ten Dam , Edet, and Nibali all went down, so it became a 4 man race between Kelderman, Contador, Valverde, and Rodriguez.
Valverde took the stage ahead of Rodriguez who celebrated a bit too early
And because of my 4th place just 5 seconds back, Kelderman took over the race lead! Haha although I am a bit feeling bittersweet about it, I guess I'll take it, so we'll see if Wilco can hold on with a 4 second lead over Contador and no time bonuses.....I kind of don't like this, but what can I do? Haha
Well the cycling Gods looked down on me yesterday, and reversed my fortunes allowing me to pull on the red jersey today, what a feeling it is, again I am thrilled to pull this wonderful tunic on, and I look forward to hopefully defending it over the course of the next 3 stages, mostly sprint stages, but it will be important to stay vigilant on the front and make sure that we keep out of trouble.
Today is a mostly flat stage so we would naturally be working for Moreno Hofland, but he came down with a nasty illness last night, so it will either be him or his leadout man, Robert Wagner, the former German champ. The team did a phenomenal ride on the front for me today, and I have to give special thanks for Bert-Jan Lindeman who kept me out of the wind for most of the day today, what a teammate he is!
Today a very small break of 3 went up the road today, nobody was within 17’00” today so the only real enjoyment was watching the battle royale between Eduardo Prades (Caja Rural), and Frederick Brun (Bretagne-Seche) for the lead in the KoM category, which the punchy Spaniard from Caja Rural would win. So chapeau to him.
As the break was reeled in with 10 km to go, a very small group of 36 were the ones who would contest the sprint, all of the major contenders were there, Contador, Valverde, Rodriguez, Quintana, etc. I made sure to stay up near the front, although there are no bonus points seconds available, I wanted to avoid all of the crashes, and the chance of being left behind. Because of his sicknss we decided to go ahead and work for Wagner in the sprint, he was probably one of the fastest men in the abbreviated group.
In the sprint, it was an extremely easy victory for Wagner, really the only “sprinter” in the group. A thrilling day for us! We are so proud, Contador, Valverde, and Nibali all contested the sprint so I made sure to put a kick in coming home 7th behind all of those guys, but it was great because there were no time bonuses to worry about and I could enjoy my teammates victory!
FORGOT TO EXPORT RESULTS FOR STAGE 4
Today’s stage was a very interesting one, with a very rolling stage ahead of us, I had to make sure to keep a keen eye on my main rivals namely Valverde, and Contador who are less than 10 seconds down.
It was great to celebrate Robert Wagner’s victory yesterday, its so nice to see a loyal teammate take a fine victory, but today he again sacrificed his chances to look after me, and keep me out of trouble!
We took a page out of Bora-Argon 18’s book today sending De Weert up in the break much like they did with their riders when Jan Barta had the lead. That way we did not have to set the pace, and we left it up to other teams like Tinkoff and Movistar to do the hard work at the front. He was in a very strong group of 7 that we let gain over 12 minutes advantage, meaning Kevin was taking my lead off my shoulders, but we felt that we could reel them back under his time to keep me in Red.
As the break’s gap decreased to under 5 minutes (meaning my lead was safe) Kevin and Kristijan Koren of Cannondale took off knowing that they were doomed in a reduced group sprint because the break was going the distance.
As we took the uncategorized climb shorly before the end of the climb, bang! Alberto shot out like a cannon trying to take back the 4 seconds he had on me, and I immediately had to react! I chased relentlessly, eventually catching Alberto with just 5 km before the finish, whew! Panic avoided, and the order of the world was restored!
Eventually, up ahead De Weert and Koren were pulled back by the other 5 and Igor Boev of RusVelo blasted away in the sprint and took basically a solo victory while De Weert as expected couldn’t keep the pace in the sprint, eventually coming home 5th, still a great race for him!
As I rolled across the line, I was extremely exhausted, what a hard race this has been, but thankfully it is just a simple <100km flat stage tomorrow, so it will be a good, hopefully easy day in order to keep the race lead!
As I sit here and write this, I think about how thankful and blessed I am to be in the position, I am extremely happy to be on this phenomenal form. I am happy to be coming into my own nowadays, and I look forward to flying my team, personal, and country colors come the larger races that will be coming up soon after the conclusion of this wonderful, hot Spanish race!
Hello my friends! Well for a <100 km day today, it sure was a stressful one here at the final day of the Ruta Del Sol, I must say that after everything has happened this week, it has again been a great week, but I am glad to be getting out of Spain and getting ready to hit my next part of the season soon! Much like I have been all week, I was protected superbly by my team during the early portion of the race as a breakaway slipped up the road, again it was a very harmless group, and although Moreno Hofland was feeling good and wanted to have a go today, we were more than content if they went all the way.
Today flew by on the bike and when I looked up I saw the 20km to go banner, and though, “oh yay! Victory is certain now!” but my friends do not count your chickens before they hatch! As I suffered a puncture with a mere 17km to go, I tried to play it cool on the outside but on the inside I was a wreck. As the mechanic replaced my back wheel and sent me on my way, Bert-Jan Lindeman was there to guide me back to the group, who was really moving, trying to catch the breakaway! The chase was on!!
We left Wagner and Hofland up front to contest the sprint if it came down to a field sprint but we told them not to pull on the front as I was going to need to really move now! I was worried the race lead and win was slipping out of my hands on what was the easiest day of my season so far!! Up ahead, it seemed almost if there was disorganization between the sprinters teams as the breaks lead advanced back out to over a minute, and my disadvantage decreased, there was still a chance to save it!
The break made the stage stick and the Kiwi from Trek Jesse Sergent displayed a powerful punch to take the day! But behind I was within eyesight of the ass end of the peloton inside 1 km to go, and i turned myself inside out and could reach out and touch them almost as I was about 20 meters behind them when I hit the line, I had hoped it was enough to save my win!
I immediately hopped off of my bike as I hit the finish line and race over to the officials tent in the staging area and frantically tried to figure out if I had won or not! And the officials gave me the nod, YES!! Overall victory for me! What a feeling, and a rush of happiness came over me! I immediately found Lindeman, he was my hero for the day, busting his ass to get me back into contention, he for sure will be getting a huge dinner on me tonight!
AHH what a day, and what a race for me, and the team, I am thrilled to win here in Spain! Today I have never been happier to finish 110th in any capacity, because that was one of the last times that received the same time as the first man in the peloton to cross the line! I’m just super thankful that I’ve had this opportunity to lead this team, and win this race! I am super happy with my form, and I can’t wait to continue building up for the Tour and continuing this push this season!
My next race will be Tirreno-Adriatico, I have chosen this over Paris-Nice because it has more climbs, more rolling terrains, less flat stages, and a few nice mountains, and TTs that will test my abilities, plus I expect a stronger field there, from there I am racing Cataluyna, before some one day races building up to the Ardennes classics. I also plan on potentially trying to fit a cobbled classic into my schedule, so I can know what I am getting myself into at the tour!
Talk to you soon friends, hope you enjoy my victory with me!
Trying a bit of a new format here, hope you all like it!
Hello my fans and friends, and welcome to Italy!
I am here sitting in the Team LottoNL-Jumbo bus writing this after 2 rather simple stages here at the Tirreno-Adriatico race. The prologue was trying to set myself up nicely in the GC, while Stage 2 was about not losing any time and preparitng for the hillis that loom ahead.
Following my victory in Andalucia I came down with a nasty case of food poisoning, and that prevented me from doing the training that I wanted for 3 days. So I come into this race rather unsure about my form, so my goal of a Top 10 might be compromised. I will shoot for a Top 20 to start off, hoping that my form increases day by day, but I possibly will be working for my teammate Steven Kruijswik, who comes into this race on great for, he will be shooting for a Top 5 or Top 10.
We brought a very strong, and very well-rounded team here to Italy to chase a number of differnet goals. Because Steven and I will be battling for true leadership in the Grand Tours (along with Gesink and Ten Dam) management didn’t want to give either one of us the captainship this early in the season so the 1 dossard was given to our classics man Sep Vanmarcke:
71-Sep Vanmarcke- Sep will look to potentially get into some breakaways, and look for the classics type stages to shine. He will also be an important pacesetter for us heading up the climbs 72-Kevin De Weert- Kevin was a huge helper for me in Andalucia, so again he will be a guy who will be invaluable in the mountains for both me and Steven 73-Rick Flens-Our road captain, he will be the leader on the flats, pacemaking, and keeping our leaders out of trouble 74-Martijn Keizer-Martin has a free role this race, he has tipped himself for a podium spot on the prologue TT 75-Me 76-Steven Kruijswik- My Co-GC leader, depending on how my fitness progresses, he may be the outright leader come Stages 4-6. He is a very capable climber, and a good TT rider which could benefit him in bookending this race. 77-Barry Markus- will be sprinting for Top 10’s again 78-Paul Martens- our leadout man again for Markus, he will also be instrumental in protecting Steven and myself in the hills.
Like always Tirreno-Adriatico attracted a star studded field, a fine mix of sprinters (Kittel, Kristoff, Demare, Sagan), Time Trial experts (Dumoulin, Peraud, Cancellara, Malori), and GC contendors (Kwiatkowski, Rodriguez, Nibali, and Contador), so we definitely had our work cut out for us in every discipline of the sport.
The prologue was a very flat one, with one major turn, so it was a straightforward day as Antonio Viola from Nippo was the first down the start ramp.
My teammate Steven Kruijswik set the provisional best time with a very solid ride of 6’53” he went better than guys like Contador, and Van Garderen, which was a nice ride and a nice confidence booster for our team, and my teammate.
As I sat in the start house, I felt a bit nervous, I have never really been nervous before a Prologue before, but I wasn’t sure how my legs would respond today.
As I rolled down the ramp, I had Steven’s time of 6’53” locked into my mind, and I had the full ambition to try to beat his time, and hopefully get a Top 10 on the stage, as a lot of great Time Trialists were still to come. As I navigated the streets of Lido di Camaiore I felt confident that I had a good ride going, and I was confident heading under the flamme rouge, but when I hit the line I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed in my time of 7’01” although it was 3rd best provisionally, I lost 8 seconds to my teammate, and Co-leader, but in doing so I went faster than Contdor and Nibali, but 3 seconds slower than Van Garderen.
The heavy hitters TT-wise finally started setting off, and Immediately Kiryienka set the best time but it didn’t last long as Kwiatkowski then Cancellara flew threw beating the Belarussian’s time.
In the end it turned out to be a show-down between two national TT Champions in Adriano Malori who set a time of 6’49”
And the man that I envy most, Tom Dumoulin (6’46”), who gets to rock the national champs jersey in one of my favoirte disciplines. I so want to take that jersey from him this year. But nonetheless I was happy for my friend for his stage victory and the opportunity to pull on the first leader’s jersey of the race.
For me, I finisehd 15th, 16 seconds down, although that wasn’t where I expected to be, I can’t say I’m too terribly disappointed with my ride because it set me up ahead of a few GC contenders, and even if I can’t compete to my fullest, it gave Steven the provisional GC lead because he beat all of the big guns, all in all it was a very solid day for us, and I can’t wait to hopefully get better as the days go on and be in contention come the conclusion of the race!
See you all soon!
Wilco
Stage/GC:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Tom Dumoulin
Team Giant-Alpecin
6'46
2
Adriano Malori
Movistar Team
+ 3
3
Fabian Cancellara
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
4
Michał Kwiatkowski
Etixx - Quick-step
+ 5
5
Steven Kruijswijk
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 7
6
Vasil Kiryienka
Team Sky
s.t.
7
Luke Durbridge
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 11
8
Tejay Van Garderen
BMC Racing Team
+ 12
9
Leopold König
Team Sky
s.t.
10
Peter Sagan
Tinkoff-Saxo
+ 13
Spoiler
11
Sylvain Chavanel
IAM Cycling
s.t.
12
Alex Dowsett
Movistar Team
+ 15
13
Manuel Quinziato
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
14
Marcel Kittel
Team Giant-Alpecin
s.t.
15
Wilco Kelderman
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 16
16
Matthias Brändle
IAM Cycling
s.t.
17
Julian Alaphilippe
Etixx - Quick-step
+ 17
18
Tiziano Dall'Antonia
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 18
19
John Degenkolb
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 19
20
Vladimir Isaychev
Team Katusha
+ 20
21
Lars Boom
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
22
Jean-Christophe Peraud
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
23
Sep Vanmarcke
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
s.t.
24
Paul Martens
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 21
25
Kanstantsin Siutsou
Team Sky
s.t.
26
Alberto Contador
Tinkoff-Saxo
s.t.
27
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
28
Matthias Frank
IAM Cycling
+ 22
29
Christian Meier
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
30
Maciej Bodnar
Tinkoff-Saxo
s.t.
31
Salvatore Puccio
Team Sky
s.t.
32
Giovanni Visconti
Movistar Team
+ 23
33
Dylan van Baarle
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
34
Moreno Moser
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
35
Martijn Keizer
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
s.t.
36
Rick Flens
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
s.t.
37
Alexander Kristoff
Team Katusha
+ 24
38
Davide Appollonio
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
39
Ivan Basso
Tinkoff-Saxo
s.t.
40
Filippo Pozzato
Lampre-Merida
s.t.
41
Philippe Gilbert
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
42
Sebastian Langeveld
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+ 25
43
Bauke Mollema
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
44
Peter Kennaugh
Team Sky
s.t.
45
Manuele Boaro
Tinkoff-Saxo
s.t.
46
Gediminas Bagdonas
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
47
Damiano Cunego
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
48
Jan Bakelants
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
49
Maxime Monfort
Lotto Soudal
+ 26
50
Michael Rogers
Tinkoff-Saxo
s.t.
51
Jay McCarthy
Tinkoff-Saxo
s.t.
52
Johan Le Bon
FDJ
s.t.
53
Michael Albasini
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
54
Ian Stannard
Team Sky
+ 27
55
Rein Taaramäe
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
56
Jarosław Marycz
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
s.t.
57
Nathan Brown
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
58
Arnaud Demare
FDJ
s.t.
59
Patrick Gretsch
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
60
Haimar Zubeldia
Trek Factory Racing
+ 28
61
Chad Haga
Team Giant-Alpecin
s.t.
62
Simon Yates
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 29
63
Barry Markus
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
s.t.
64
Paolo Simion
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
65
Alan Marangoni
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
66
Stefan Denifl
IAM Cycling
s.t.
67
Jürgen Roelandts
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
68
Cameron Meyer
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
69
Christophe Riblon
Ag2r La Mondiale
+ 30
70
Jens Keukeleire
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
71
Borut Božic
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
72
Stefan Küng
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
73
Simon Gerrans
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
74
Branislau Samoilau
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
+ 31
75
Jasha Sütterlin
Movistar Team
s.t.
76
Daniel Martin
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
77
Samuel Sánchez
BMC Racing Team
+ 32
78
Alberto Bettiol
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
79
Luca Paolini
Team Katusha
+ 33
80
Luka Pibernik
Lampre-Merida
s.t.
81
Kenny Dehaes
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
82
Chun Feng
Lampre-Merida
s.t.
83
Manuel Senni
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
84
Eduard-Michael Grosu
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
85
Gianluca Brambilla
Etixx - Quick-step
s.t.
86
Franco Pellizotti
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
87
Igor Antón
Movistar Team
s.t.
88
Tomás Gil
Southeast
+ 34
89
Sean De Bie
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
90
Christian Knees
Team Sky
s.t.
91
Enrico Battaglin
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
92
Alessandro De Marchi
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
93
Valerio Agnoli
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
94
Alessandro Petacchi
Southeast
s.t.
95
Carter Jones
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 35
96
Davide Formolo
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
97
Sander Armee
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
98
William Bonnet
FDJ
s.t.
99
Davide Rebellin
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
s.t.
100
Martin Elmiger
IAM Cycling
s.t.
101
Joaquím Rodríguez
Team Katusha
s.t.
102
Loïc Vliegen
BMC Racing Team
+ 36
103
Cédric Pineau
FDJ
s.t.
104
Oscar Gatto
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
105
Marco Haller
Team Katusha
s.t.
106
Marco Coledan
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
107
Julian Arredondo
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
108
Boris Vallée
Lotto Soudal
+ 37
109
Jesús Herrada
Movistar Team
s.t.
110
Rubén Fernández
Movistar Team
s.t.
111
Ben Gastauer
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
112
Stefan Schumacher
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
s.t.
113
Luca Wackermann
Southeast
s.t.
114
Tom Stamsnijder
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 38
115
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Etixx - Quick-step
s.t.
116
George Preidler
Team Giant-Alpecin
s.t.
117
David De la Cruz
Etixx - Quick-step
s.t.
118
Francesco Gavazzi
Southeast
s.t.
119
Adrian Honkisz
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
s.t.
120
Luca Chirico
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
121
Tiesj Benoot
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
122
Grega Bole
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
s.t.
123
Kevin De Weert
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
s.t.
124
Giampaolo Caruso
Team Katusha
s.t.
125
Andrea Zordan
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
126
Rinaldo Nocentini
Ag2r La Mondiale
+ 39
127
Ivan Santaromita
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
128
Daniel Moreno
Team Katusha
s.t.
129
Alberto Nardin
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
130
Maciej Paterski
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
s.t.
131
Andrea Manfredi
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
132
Jussi Veikkanen
FDJ
+ 40
133
Matteo Trentin
Etixx - Quick-step
s.t.
134
Dries Devenyns
IAM Cycling
s.t.
135
Eugenio Alafaci
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
136
Mattia Cattaneo
Lampre-Merida
s.t.
137
Edoardo Zardini
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
138
Marc Sarreau
FDJ
+ 41
139
Hayden Roulston
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
140
Alessandro Malaguti
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
141
Matteo Bono
Lampre-Merida
s.t.
142
Roy Curvers
Team Giant-Alpecin
s.t.
143
Sonny Colbrelli
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
144
David Tanner
IAM Cycling
+ 42
145
Vicente Reynès
IAM Cycling
s.t.
146
Fränk Schleck
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
147
Andrea Piechele
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
148
Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
149
Kris Boeckmans
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
150
Daniele Colli
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
151
Fabio Taborre
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 43
152
Marek Rutkiewicz
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
s.t.
153
Michał Gołaś
Etixx - Quick-step
s.t.
154
Elia Favilli
Southeast
s.t.
155
Jacopo Guarnieri
Team Katusha
s.t.
156
Mirko Tedeschi
Southeast
+ 44
157
Mattia Pozzo
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
158
Simone Ponzi
Southeast
s.t.
159
Hubert Dupont
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
160
Maxime Bouet
Etixx - Quick-step
s.t.
161
Matteo Tosatto
Tinkoff-Saxo
+ 46
162
Paolo Tiralongo
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
163
Alessandro Tonelli
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
164
Winner Anacona
Movistar Team
s.t.
165
Carlos Gálviz
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 47
166
Valerio Conti
Lampre-Merida
s.t.
167
Kevin Reza
FDJ
s.t.
168
Rafael Valls
Lampre-Merida
s.t.
169
Ilya Koshevoy
Lampre-Merida
+ 50
170
Diego Rosa
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
171
Lorenzo Manzin
FDJ
s.t.
172
Alessandro Bisolti
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
173
Manuel Belletti
Southeast
s.t.
174
Bernhard Eisel
Team Sky
s.t.
175
Riccardo Stacchiotti
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
+ 51
176
Antonio Viola
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
+ 53
Points:
Rank
Name
Team
Points
1
Tom Dumoulin
Team Giant-Alpecin
12
2
Adriano Malori
Movistar Team
10
3
Fabian Cancellara
Trek Factory Racing
8
4
Michał Kwiatkowski
Etixx - Quick-step
7
5
Steven Kruijswijk
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
6
Youth:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Tom Dumoulin
Team Giant-Alpecin
6'46
2
Michał Kwiatkowski
Etixx - Quick-step
+ 5
3
Luke Durbridge
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 11
4
Peter Sagan
Tinkoff-Saxo
+ 13
5
Wilco Kelderman
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 16
Hello all!
Well Stage 2 is in the books, and it was a rather easy day for me, my form feels as if it has picked up a tad from the start of the race yesterday, and I am thankful we have 2 sprint stages before we reach the hills because it will allow me to get better and better before the stages start to really matter! Today for me was just about staying out of trouble, staying upright, and getting ready for the days to come, so all in all it was a rather easy, and enjoyable on the bike!
With 2 mountain sprints coming very early in the stage, Martijn Keizer, who was disappointed with his 23rd place in the prologue (when he thought he could achieve a podium spot) set off in hopes of salvaging his race already on Stage 2. Keizer soloed to the summit of the first climb taking maximum points ahead of Manfredi from Barniani, who quickly joined Martijn making the day’s breakaway a dynamic duo!
The second climb was a battle royale for the KoM lead, as whoever summited the climb first was the leader in the competiton. Manfredi hit out way early, attacking 2 km before the climb, but Keizer kept his cool, pumped out his own cadence, caught Manfredi 800 meters from the top, and surged past him easily to take the first Mountains jersey of the race, a nice accomplishment for Martijn and our team. The 2 worked well together before finally being caught with 8km to go by the sprinters teams ammassing for the bunch kick to the line.
Katusha and Giant-Alpecin were the teams who had the most organization at the front of the field, were looking to set up Kristoff, and Kittel respectively. For us, we had a decent set up for Markus who was feeling good, coming under the flamme rouge. But much like before, the major sprinters were much too strong for our man, and it was Kristoff who took a fairly easy victory ahead of a very surprising challenger, Sonny Colbretti of Bardniani, and Kittel in 3rd. Markus who was just out matched in the sprint managed a solid 10th place finish, while I rolled home 33rd safely ensconced in the main field. On to tomorrow!
All in all it was a nice day for the team, a Top 10 in the sprint, and the KoM jersey. A day to be proud of, but tomorrow is another sprint stage so hopefully we can move Barry up even higher! And for me and Steven we are loooking even further to the future, to the rolling terrains of Italy when the road kicks upward! Oh well, only one more day to wait!
See you guys!
Today’s stage was one that was a lot harder than it initially appeared on the race profile, so it was not as I had said yesterday, “a nice and relaxing day” it was a day that could’ve been more considered to a transitional day in the Tour de France rather than a flat out sprinter stage, so it was impossible to get a real rest prior tomorrow heading up into the mountains.
Again today Martijn Keizer was feeling rather frisky about getting into the break and defending his King of the Mountains lead, so we again sent him up the road, he was resplendent in green today!
Joining Martijn in the break were 6 other riders on today’s hilly day, Manuel Beletti of Southeast, Marc Sarreau (FDJ), Alberto Nardin of (Androni), Paolo Simion (Bardniani), and Luke Durbridge (Orica), the escapees gained an advantage of 9 minutes placing Durbridge in the virtual race lead.
Keizer went strong into the break today claiming both KoM checkpoints ahead of a vigorious Marc Sarreau, the Frenchman was very combative as he took off and attempted to go solo after he was defeated by Keizer at the second mountain sprint, but he was quickly reeled back by his fellow attackers.
Inside the final 20 km we had to tackle an extremely steep hill, not just once or twice but 5 different times including the run up to the finish. My legs were absolutely burning after just 2 ascensions, but Keizer had the strength after 3 times up the hill to attack his breakaway members and hunt for the stage win….this man is quite strong, which bodes well for July where he could be an invaluable asset to our Tour team!
Keizer was reeled in with 4 kilometers today, and Katusha and Saxo took over working for the clear cut favorites today, Kristoff and Sagan, but we massed right behind them working today for Vanmarcke who is much better at traversing the hills as opposed to Markus, who would be tackling lead-out duty today. I made sure to stay right up near the front just to avoid any time splits, I slotted in right behind Joaquim Rodriguez, a man who I expected to compete fully for the win today.
In the sprint, Markus did a phenomenal job to slot Sep right on the back wheel of Alexander Kristoff, a great wheel to be on if you ask me! Sep did a great job kicking fiercely on the lower slopes and opening up a small gap to the peloton, but as the gradient kicked up to over 18% Sep began to tire out, and a hard-charging Peter Sagan soared past him in the final 50 meters and took the victory with ease. Sep dug deep, and held on to take 2nd place, a great result for him and for our team! I coasted in around 20th spot, feeling great despite not contesting the finale, which makes me feel very confident for tomorrow! Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come this race!
Well tomorrow will be a big day for me and Kruijs, we both are very eager to get rolling, this will be my first true test this season where I will be splitting GC duties with my teammate. Obviously, I want to show that I am the rider who deserves full leadership in races like the Tour, but I also want to help my friend and teammate succeed as he builds up for the Giro. I guess we will just let the road decide what happens between he, and I, but regardless I am excited to see what happenes, and I know it will bring a spot of success for our team!
Well today was our first foray into the mountains here at Tirreno Adriatico and although it was not a summit finish, it was still a very challenging day in the saddle, and one that leaves me with extremely sore legs leading up to tomorrow’s hugely challenging summit finish, but that’s how it goes in cycling, I definitely have to get used to it if I want to be competitive in the Tour de France come July.
As racing got under way we again sent Keizer up the road to collect the day’s first mountain sprint just 15km into the stage, once he secured his prize, he gave a thumbs up to the camera, and retreated back to join the 7 others of us in the peloton as we hunkered down for what was to be a long, almost mini-classic type-day.
A harmless 4 man breakaway went up the road, Tiziano Dall’Antonia from Androni was the biggest beneficiary in the group as he was the virtual blue jersey on the road, he was joined by yesterday’s attacker Marc Sarreau from FDJ, Tomas Gil from Southeast, and Allessandro Bisolti from Nippo. The group never got more than 3 minutes lead and was reeled back in well over 60km from the finish on the Cat 1 climb mid way through the stage.
That Cat 1 destroyed the peloton as a small group of maybe 40 riders or so survived the climb, and from Lotto-Jumbo, only myself, Steven Kruijswik, and yesterday’s runner-up Sep Vanmarcke survived in the main group, everyone of out other teammates were shot out the back and in the grupetto for the day. This meant we had an even harder challenge ahead of us with the same steep Cat 2 awaiting us twice in the final 25 km, including it summiting just 4.5km from the finish after the second ascention.
On the very helter-skelter descent, we saw a number of counter attacks, and only one survived away off the front, but it was an extremely dangerous one with Giovani Visconti, and Michael Albasini, both proven winners off the front with 2 minutes lead.
The first trip up the climb was very tense as there were a few attacks but none of the big guns showed their hand on the first go-round.
As we hit the climb for the second time with just 8km to go, Sep was immediately shot out the back of the leading group of contenders, so it was just down to me and Kruijs. Contador was the first to launch off the front, and his attack ripped the group to shreds, only leaving about 19 of us at the front, including both of us Lotto-Jumbo boys.
From there Joaquim Rodriguez, and the World Champion Michal Kwiatkowski just unleashed hell and used their puncheur skills to break clear of the leading group, on the decent to the line they took the chances that they needed to stay away and in the end it was Purito out sprinting the Pole for the win.
Only around 10-15 seconds behind, the sprint was on for the minor placings, and I made sure to stay up near the front, in fact I was able to take 4 in the best of the rest sprint behind Sagan, Chavanel, and Degenkolb, meaning that I finished the day 6th, a quick peek back saw Dumoulin, Contador, Mollema, Kruijswik, and the other typical heads of state in this race in the same group, no time gained…..DAMN! But it wasn’t really to be expected, instead tomorrow is the day where the real gaps will come into play. However, guys like van Gaderen, Frank Schleck, and JC Peraud lost copious amounts of time, so they can kiss their overall hopes goodbye.
As I said before, the day really took a toll on me and I know it did for the rest of the team, because of my result I was able to move up into the Top 10 overall, a great move for me, but I am still around 35” down on the race lead/white jersey of Kwiatkowski, Kruijswik is up in the Top 5, so right now we are still co-leaders, but I do feel as if in the finale I was able to show stronger than him, so I’m hoping to maybe have the designation as team leader tomorrow, but again the final mountain will show not only who the team leader is, but who the race leader is, so it will be quite the showdown you don’t want to miss!!
Well, today was the most brutal day I think I have ever encountered on a bike, the nastiest climb I’ve met so far in my career, the Terminillo, I must preface this by saying, after two Giro d’Italia’s I absolutely hate the Italian mountains, but this one I think was the worst I’ve ever faced. I am nearly asleep as I write this, but I am in sheer pain and agony, and not to mentioned I am fatigued way out my ass but let me tell you, nothing feels better! Haha!
At the start today Steven and I spoke with Kevin De Weert and Sep Vanmarcke and said we wanted the yellow army to be present on the front right after the intermediate sprint point leading up to the climb, although Kruijs and I aren’t as strong of climbers as Contador, Nibali, and Rodriguez, if we dictated the tempo and ride at our pace, we might stand a chance to take down the big boys today.
Well after a lowkey first half of the race, that included a 20 man break getting 3 mins leash, all hell broke loose a mere 60km from the end of the day….the sneaky bastard that is the World Champion (and race leader) Michal Kwiatkowski burst off the front of the field with 2 teammates, Brambilla, and Alaphillipe, trying to gain as much of an advantage before the climb started, well we wisely sent De Weert to contest the move, he acted as an anchor slowing the Etixx train down, and pulling us back into the fold, but it was a scary moment not only for us, but for the rest of the peloton.
The race finally came back together at the intermediate sprint point we had targeted, about 17km before the climb proper began, and after letting Sagan take the points to consolidate his lead in the points jersey, we immediately sent our troops to the front.
As the climb began, it was obvious who was a contender and who wasn’t as a group of 15 formed, most of the main contenders were there, Contador, Nibali, Rodriguez, Mollema, Dumoulin, Arredondo, Konig, Kiryienka, and us Lotto Boys, but interestingly enough the race leader had missed the split, the energy he used in that failed attack earlier, really hurt his chances today!
As the climb grinded on, I was shocked that Alberto Contador was setting the pace at the front himself! My god he was strong, he started really thinning the field as Mollema, Arredondo, Kiryienka, Chavanel, Zardini, Yates, Sanchez and more were dropped from the leading group, and with 6km to go, unfortunately Kruijswik was dropped from the front, leaving me as the man to carry the banner for us
Realizing that I was strong as well, Alberto motioned for me to come forward and do a bit of the pacemaking myself, so I reluctantly obliged, little did I know I would be stuck on the front of the group for pretty much the remainder of the race, not because of stubbornness by the others, but by sheer fatigue. I looked back with about 3km to go and noticed something absolutely incredible, Nibali, and Purito Rodriguez were gone, they were about 25 meters behind us, and there were just 4 of us remaining at the front, myself, Contador, Konig, and Dumoulin, who was second in GC. I knew that if I wanted a shot at the race lead I would have to try to dispose of Conta and Dumoulin, but I didn’t have the legs for an attack so I was hoping they would pop before I did!
With 2 km to go, Konig was gone, and Dumoulin was teetering of the back, but somehow he managed to fight back onto the back of Alberto and myself, and that was the situation as we came underneath the flamme rouge.
As I grinded away towards the finish line, I was seeing red, I was exhausted mentally and physically, I was just about ready to just give the stage to one of the other 2, they had just had a 5 km free ride up to the line, I was expecting them to blow right by me, but as the line approachd, closer and closer, neither of them had come past me, was I going to win? Did they not have the legs to come by? I just turned myself inside out and at the line I took one quick look through my legs and saw the dogged faces of me who’s legs could go no more….yes! I used the last little bit of energy I had to raise my arms in victory…the biggest victory in my career! Unbelievable!
Right past the finish line I collapsed to the ground, and actually vomited, I was just dogged. I could not move, could barely breathe, and couldn’t speak but I was smiling on the inside….well kind of, I couldn’t tell if it was happiness or pain. I just couldn’t believe it, that climb was deadly, it destroyed me and everyone else in the peloton, but I was the one who lasted longest, I withstood the pain the most, this was my proudest moment in my career and probably in my life.
In the staging area I congratulated Tom and Alberto on an incredible race and I asked them if they just couldn’t come around me or if I was gifted the victory because of my extremely long pull up the climb, and they just said simply “we didn’t have it in us.” I was stunned.
After letting this sink in for a few hours I am extremely proud of my day, but I am still in immense pain, but that is the price for glory. Although I was not able to shed Tom for the race lead, I sit 2nd on GC only 11 seconds behind him, I realize I will most likely finish here with only a flat stage and a TT remaining, and obviously I am nowhere near Tom’s TT ability, but I will fight all the way to the end. I am just thanking God for this moment, and although I am #2 on GC, I am on cloud 9 after today!
After a rather simple sprint day where Arnaud Demare took a fine stage victory, it was time for the race deciding TT around San Benedetto Del Tronto, I needed to pick up 11 seconds on the man who was the silver medal at the World TT Champs last season, a tall ask, but if I was not to overtake him for the GC win, I was sure as hell gonna hold off Contador for 2nd overall, I had earned that no question in my mind or anyone elses’
As the day drug along I eagerly awaited my chance to go for the win, but there were a few GC battles ahead of me that were also very intriguing as well, namely Kruijswik’s fight for 5th overall. A very solid top 25 ride by him was enough to hold off some very fine challengers behind him, and he was able to hold 5th in the GC, 2 in the Top 5 overall, it was a great race for us!
But the real GC battle was about to commence, and as I rolled down the start ramp in white (on loan), I was feeling good about my chances to make this a real fight for Tommy.
Unfortunately when I hit the intermediate checkpoint with the 30th best time, the exact same as Contador’s I knew that it wouldn’t be enough, and sure enough Dumoulin hit with the 2nd best time, just a mere second off the lead, and 20+ better than me…..Shit
I focused in and kept a good rhythm, I wanted to make sure that I did not have a mental collapse, I kept my cadence, and finished up with an improved time, up into the Top 30 which meant that I secured second place overall. As Tommy finished up, I could do nothing but tip my hat to the master, 3rd on the stage, and 1st overall, nearly everyday in blue, he was a beast, and deserved this win more than I did…chapeau.
An absolutely great week of racing for me and the team, a podium, a stage win, the KoM win, Team competition, and 2 in the Top 5 in GC, I couldn’t be more proud of the work we were able to put in and I cant wait to get back at it in Spain in a few weeks for the Tour of the Basque Country!
See you soon!
Wilco
Stage:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Fabian Cancellara
Trek Factory Racing
13'03
2
Peter Sagan
Tinkoff-Saxo
s.t.
3
Tom Dumoulin
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 2
4
Adriano Malori
Movistar Team
+ 8
5
Michał Kwiatkowski
Etixx - Quick-step
+ 9
6
Martijn Keizer
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 13
7
Matthias Brändle
IAM Cycling
+ 18
8
Sylvain Chavanel
IAM Cycling
s.t.
9
Alex Dowsett
Movistar Team
+ 20
10
Leopold König
Team Sky
+ 23
Spoiler
11
Matthias Frank
IAM Cycling
+ 26
12
Marcel Kittel
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 27
13
Luke Durbridge
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 29
14
Philippe Gilbert
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
15
Vasil Kiryienka
Team Sky
s.t.
16
Alberto Contador
Tinkoff-Saxo
s.t.
17
Alexander Kristoff
Team Katusha
s.t.
18
Lars Boom
Astana Pro Team
+ 31
19
Kanstantsin Siutsou
Team Sky
+ 32
20
Manuel Quinziato
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
21
Sebastian Langeveld
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+ 33
22
Wilco Kelderman
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 34
23
Paul Martens
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 35
24
Maxime Monfort
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
25
John Degenkolb
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 36
26
Giovanni Visconti
Movistar Team
s.t.
27
Maciej Bodnar
Tinkoff-Saxo
+ 38
28
Manuele Boaro
Tinkoff-Saxo
s.t.
29
Martin Elmiger
IAM Cycling
s.t.
30
Jean-Christophe Peraud
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
31
Tejay Van Garderen
BMC Racing Team
+ 41
32
Peter Kennaugh
Team Sky
s.t.
33
Simon Yates
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
34
Michael Albasini
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 42
35
Nathan Brown
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+ 43
36
Jasha Sütterlin
Movistar Team
s.t.
37
Patrick Gretsch
Ag2r La Mondiale
+ 44
38
Stefan Küng
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
39
Christian Knees
Team Sky
s.t.
40
Moreno Moser
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
41
Filippo Pozzato
Lampre-Merida
+ 46
42
Dries Devenyns
IAM Cycling
s.t.
43
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
44
Steven Kruijswijk
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
s.t.
45
Kevin De Weert
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
s.t.
46
Dylan van Baarle
Team Cannondale - Garmin
+ 47
47
Jarosław Marycz
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
+ 48
48
Vladimir Isaychev
Team Katusha
s.t.
49
Igor Antón
Movistar Team
s.t.
50
Jan Bakelants
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
51
Johan Le Bon
FDJ
+ 49
52
Gediminas Bagdonas
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
53
Alan Marangoni
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
54
Michael Rogers
Tinkoff-Saxo
s.t.
55
Sep Vanmarcke
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
s.t.
56
Ian Stannard
Team Sky
+ 50
57
Julian Alaphilippe
Etixx - Quick-step
s.t.
58
Tiesj Benoot
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
59
Samuel Sánchez
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
60
Bauke Mollema
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
61
Arnaud Demare
FDJ
+ 51
62
Haimar Zubeldia
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
63
Tiziano Dall'Antonia
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 52
64
Christian Meier
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
65
Franco Pellizotti
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
66
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Etixx - Quick-step
+ 53
67
Borut Božic
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
68
Chad Haga
Team Giant-Alpecin
s.t.
69
Davide Formolo
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
70
Jesús Herrada
Movistar Team
s.t.
71
Alessandro Petacchi
Southeast
s.t.
72
Salvatore Puccio
Team Sky
+ 54
73
Matteo Trentin
Etixx - Quick-step
s.t.
74
Simon Gerrans
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
75
Luca Paolini
Team Katusha
s.t.
76
Jay McCarthy
Tinkoff-Saxo
s.t.
77
Rein Taaramäe
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
78
Carter Jones
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 55
79
Cameron Meyer
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
80
Sonny Colbrelli
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
81
Gianluca Brambilla
Etixx - Quick-step
s.t.
82
Ivan Basso
Tinkoff-Saxo
s.t.
83
Alessandro De Marchi
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
84
Barry Markus
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 56
85
Jens Keukeleire
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
86
William Bonnet
FDJ
s.t.
87
Kenny Dehaes
Lotto Soudal
+ 58
88
Cédric Pineau
FDJ
s.t.
89
Elia Favilli
Southeast
+ 59
90
Davide Rebellin
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
s.t.
91
George Preidler
Team Giant-Alpecin
s.t.
92
Davide Appollonio
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 1'00
93
Daniel Martin
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
94
Christophe Riblon
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
95
Branislau Samoilau
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
s.t.
96
Winner Anacona
Movistar Team
+ 1'01
97
Tom Stamsnijder
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 1'02
98
Joaquím Rodríguez
Team Katusha
s.t.
99
Hayden Roulston
Trek Factory Racing
+ 1'03
100
Alberto Bettiol
Team Cannondale - Garmin
s.t.
101
Ben Gastauer
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
102
Damiano Cunego
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
103
Rinaldo Nocentini
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
104
Sean De Bie
Lotto Soudal
+ 1'04
105
Jussi Veikkanen
FDJ
s.t.
106
David De la Cruz
Etixx - Quick-step
s.t.
107
Daniel Moreno
Team Katusha
s.t.
108
Fränk Schleck
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
109
Tomás Gil
Southeast
+ 1'05
110
Luca Chirico
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
111
Paolo Simion
Bardiani CSF
+ 1'06
112
Alberto Nardin
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
113
Andrea Manfredi
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
114
Stefan Denifl
IAM Cycling
s.t.
115
Edoardo Zardini
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
116
Sander Armee
Lotto Soudal
+ 1'07
117
Alessandro Malaguti
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
118
Maxime Bouet
Etixx - Quick-step
s.t.
119
Grega Bole
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
s.t.
120
Matteo Bono
Lampre-Merida
+ 1'08
121
Paolo Tiralongo
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
122
Valerio Agnoli
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
123
Luka Pibernik
Lampre-Merida
s.t.
124
Julian Arredondo
Trek Factory Racing
+ 1'09
125
Eduard-Michael Grosu
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
+ 1'10
126
Hubert Dupont
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
127
Maciej Paterski
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
s.t.
128
Daniele Colli
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
+ 1'11
129
Loïc Vliegen
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
130
Mattia Cattaneo
Lampre-Merida
s.t.
131
Jacopo Guarnieri
Team Katusha
s.t.
132
Oscar Gatto
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 1'12
133
Giampaolo Caruso
Team Katusha
s.t.
134
Stefan Schumacher
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
+ 1'13
135
Michał Gołaś
Etixx - Quick-step
s.t.
136
Diego Rosa
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
137
Vicente Reynès
IAM Cycling
+ 1'14
138
Manuel Senni
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
139
Enrico Battaglin
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
140
Boris Vallée
Lotto Soudal
+ 1'15
141
Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
142
Ilya Koshevoy
Lampre-Merida
+ 1'16
143
Valerio Conti
Lampre-Merida
s.t.
144
Andrea Zordan
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 1'17
145
Ivan Santaromita
Orica-GreenEDGE
s.t.
146
Rick Flens
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 1'18
147
David Tanner
IAM Cycling
s.t.
148
Kevin Reza
FDJ
s.t.
149
Carlos Gálviz
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
+ 1'19
150
Roy Curvers
Team Giant-Alpecin
s.t.
151
Manuel Belletti
Southeast
s.t.
152
Marco Coledan
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
153
Luca Wackermann
Southeast
+ 1'20
154
Rubén Fernández
Movistar Team
s.t.
155
Chun Feng
Lampre-Merida
+ 1'21
156
Rafael Valls
Lampre-Merida
s.t.
157
Mattia Pozzo
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
158
Alessandro Tonelli
Bardiani CSF
+ 1'22
159
Kris Boeckmans
Lotto Soudal
s.t.
160
Fabio Taborre
Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec
s.t.
161
Marco Haller
Team Katusha
+ 1'24
162
Matteo Tosatto
Tinkoff-Saxo
s.t.
163
Marek Rutkiewicz
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
+ 1'25
164
Lorenzo Manzin
FDJ
+ 1'26
165
Marc Sarreau
FDJ
s.t.
166
Eugenio Alafaci
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
167
Simone Ponzi
Southeast
s.t.
168
Francesco Gavazzi
Southeast
s.t.
169
Alessandro Bisolti
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
+ 1'27
170
Adrian Honkisz
CCC Sprandi Polkowice
+ 1'28
171
Andrea Piechele
Bardiani CSF
+ 1'29
172
Mirko Tedeschi
Southeast
+ 1'30
173
Bernhard Eisel
Team Sky
+ 1'32
174
Riccardo Stacchiotti
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
+ 1'33
175
Antonio Viola
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
+ 1'38
GC:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Tom Dumoulin
Team Giant-Alpecin
23h30'35
2
Wilco Kelderman
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 43
3
Alberto Contador
Tinkoff-Saxo
+ 50
4
Leopold König
Team Sky
+ 1'07
5
Steven Kruijswijk
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 2'07
6
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana Pro Team
+ 2'21
7
Joaquím Rodríguez
Team Katusha
+ 2'25
8
Bauke Mollema
Trek Factory Racing
+ 2'57
9
Sylvain Chavanel
IAM Cycling
+ 4'06
10
Michał Kwiatkowski
Etixx - Quick-step
+ 4'17
Points :
Rank
Name
Team
Points
General
1
Peter Sagan
Tinkoff-Saxo
10
51
2
Tom Dumoulin
Team Giant-Alpecin
8
34
3
Arnaud Demare
FDJ
0
23
4
Michał Kwiatkowski
Etixx - Quick-step
6
23
5
Fabian Cancellara
Trek Factory Racing
12
23
KoM:
Youth:
Rank
Name
Team
Time
General Time
1
Peter Sagan
Tinkoff-Saxo
13'03
+ 7'47 (6)
2
Tom Dumoulin
Team Giant-Alpecin
+ 2
23h30'35 (1)
3
Michał Kwiatkowski
Etixx - Quick-step
+ 9
+ 4'17 (3)
4
Luke Durbridge
Orica-GreenEDGE
+ 29
+ 32'40 (22)
5
Wilco Kelderman
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 34
+ 43 (2)
Team:
JUST AS A SIDE THANK YOU ALL FOR READING AND COMMENTING! I APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT, SO MUCH! ANY SUGGESTIONS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME!
) with some great form right now and some amazing writing. 
, Edet, and Nibali all went down, so it became a 4 man race between Kelderman, Contador, Valverde, and Rodriguez. 
