9/5-12/5
Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour (category 2.2)
9/5 Stage 1, Vaulx Milieu – Saint Savin 163.3 km
Profile:
Rasmussen Hi, im here in Saint Savin, Isére, not to be confused with the other Saint Savin’s in France, the destination of today’s stage.
Today we would like to be part of a break, to gather mountain/sprint points, and maybe even an easy win. Besides that, we expect that the finish is too hard for a mass sprint, so Schumacher or Zaballa could attack on the last climb.
Church of Saint Savin, Isère.
Riders :
Angelo Furlan
Constantino Zaballa
Daniele Aldegheri
Jimmi Sørensen
Marc Hester
Mitchell Lovelock-Fay
Stefan Schumacher
The stage began as we expected, we got Jimmi Sørensen in a break with Norwigian rider A. Fløtten (Joker), a rider not too strong, Jimmi should be able to take some mountain and point sprints.
Jimmi wins a sprint.
A break of two riders was doomed to be reeled in. So we tried to attack in the last two climb, first with Zaballa, later with Schumacher. But it turned out that the finish was not to hard for the peloton, and it ended in a mass sprint. Do to our wrong estimations, we were not prepared, and our best was Angelo Furlan, 11th.
Mass sprint for the line:
Race Result:
1
Adrien Petit
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
3h49'26
2
Mathieu Drujon
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
3
Julien Simon
Sojasun
s.t.
4
Kevin Reza
Team Europcar
s.t.
5
Giorgio Brambilla
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
The sprint bonus seconds places Jimmi Sørensen high in general classification, but not likely he will be able to hold that position.
1
Adrien Petit
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
3h49'06
2
Mathieu Drujon
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 8
3
Jimmi Sørensen
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 10
4
Audun Fløtten
Joker Merida
s.t.
5
Julien Simon
Sojasun
+ 12
Mountain:
On the other hand he took a lot of mountain points, so he is free to try holding that jersey.
1
Jimmi Sørensen
Christina Watches - Onfone
40
2
Audun Fløtten
Joker Merida
26
3
Adrian Gjølberg
Joker Merida
8
4
Stefan Schumacher
Christina Watches - Onfone
8
5
Javier Ramírez Abeja
Rádio Popular - Onda
6
Jimmi Sørensen is 7th in points.
The Team is 3rd. overall.
Edited by Tamijo on 30-08-2015 08:33
9/5-12/5 2013
Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour (category 2.2)
10/5 Stage 2, Charvieu Chavagneux - Toussieu 154.1 km
Profile:
Rasmussen : We have moved the team bus to Charvieu Chavagneux, another small town near Lyon, for the start of today’s race. We think it may end in a sprint, but with some climbs on the route, anything can happen. We want to be in a break, preferably with Sørensen, to defend our polka dots.
La chapelle de Chavagneux.:
After a wild start of the stage, with a lot of unsuccessful attacks, everyone is together at the foot of the cat. 1 climb. Near the top Sørensen attacks to grab the points, and gets away. Shortly after Petr Vakoc (Etixx) attacks and bridge the gap to Sørensen. Vacok sets a high pace to get rid of the Peloton, eventually dropping an empty Sørensen behind.
Sørensen wins on the cat.1:
Vakoc can’t keep up with a very fast peloton, led by Cofidis in defend of their Yellow jersey.
Peloton led by Cofidis:
It ends in a mass sprint! Our sprinters Furlan and Hester, are not in the best shape today, and can’t follow the pace in front, so our best today is Schumacher.
Stage Result:
1
Adrien Petit
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
3h44'48
2
Tony Hurel
Team Europcar
s.t.
3
Mathieu Drujon
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
4
Stefan Schumacher
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
5
Kevin Reza
Team Europcar
s.t.
6
Julien Simon
Sojasun
s.t.
7
Stian Remme
Joker Merida
s.t.
8
Marc Hester
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
9
Stéphane Poulhiès
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
10
Constantino Zaballa
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
Jimmi Sørensen is still 3rd. in general, because of the bonus he has collected in his breaks.
General Result:
1
Adrien Petit
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
7h33'34
2
Mathieu Drujon
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 20
3
Jimmi Sørensen
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 22
4
Tony Hurel
Team Europcar
+ 28
5
Petr Vakoč
Etixx - iHNed
s.t.
6
Audun Fløtten
Joker Merida
+ 30
7
Julien Simon
Sojasun
+ 32
8
Daniel Klemme
Leopard - Trek Continental Team
s.t.
9
Uri Martins
Amore & Vita
+ 34
10
Giorgio Brambilla
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
+ 36
Jimmi Sørensen has now got a huge lead in mountain points. 68 point, 42 more than Audun Fløtten.
Edited by Tamijo on 30-08-2015 15:18
9/5-12/5 2013
Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour (category 2.2)
11/5 Stage 3, Chaponnay - Saint Maurice l'Exil. 142.1 km
Profile:
Rasmussen : Here in the town of destination for today’s stage Saint Maurice l'Exil. Today it should be impossible that we get a mass sprint, so the plan is to watch the stage from the peloton, and maybe attack on the climb, if we got the legs. Sørensen is free to attack if he feels good.
Salle Omnisport Saint Maurice l'Exil :
After the usual turmoil in the beginning of the stage, a group of 5 gets away. Polivoda (Atlas Personal) Vennell (Bissell) Méderel (Sojasun) Laengen (Bretagne) and Pfingsten (De Rijka). As we have no one in the break, we take part in the pursuit.
The Break is almost caught just as we hit the first cat.1. Stefan Schumacher feels good and Constantino Zaballa seems to have fantastic legs today. So Stefan attacks first to catch the front group, Dabrowski (Amora) and Ramirez Abeja (Rádio Popular) follows. Zaballa follows as soon as the Peloton explodes.
Stefan, Dabrowski, Abeja, Zaballa.:
Stefan burns himself out, to create as much distance as possible to the followers. Halfway up the last cat.1, Stefan pulls out, time for Zaballa to attack, and get rid of the others, at the top he has got more than 2 minutes.
Zaballa over the highest point, Col de L’Oeillon – alone:
Zaballa flies down the descend, and claims his 2nd victory of the season, 2’55 minutes in front of Brice Feillu (Soyasun).
9/5-12/5 2013
Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour (category 2.2)
12/5 Stage 4, Saint Maurice l'Exil – Charvieu Chavanneux. 172.2 km
Rasmussen: I am back here in Charvieu Chavanneux, the destination of the last stage on the Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour. No reason to take any chances, so today we will just set a fast pace in the peloton, and try to defend the yellow jersey.
A break of seven riders was created early on the stages, so we followed the plan, set a high pace in the peloton, without over extending the team.
Christina Watches leading the peloton down the descend:
The break was caught at the last 15 km, and it all ended in a sprint. The winner was again Adrien Petit (Cofidis), clearly the fastest sprinter on this tour.
Stage result:
1
Adrien Petit
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
4h09'26
2
Kevin Reza
Team Europcar
s.t.
3
Mathieu Drujon
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
4
Julien Simon
Sojasun
s.t.
5
Dan Craven
Synergy Baku Cycling Project
s.t.
6
Dylan Groenewegen
Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks
s.t.
7
André Steensen
Team Cult Energy
s.t.
8
Angelo Tulik
Team Europcar
s.t.
9
Stéphane Poulhiès
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
10
Stian Remme
Joker Merida
s.t.
General Result:
1
Constantino Zaballa
Christina Watches - Onfone
15h12'42
2
Brice Feillu
Sojasun
+ 3'05
3
Florian Guillou
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
+ 3'40
4
Adrien Petit
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 5'56
5
Mathieu Drujon
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 6'28
6
Kevin Reza
Team Europcar
+ 6'44
7
Tony Hurel
Team Europcar
s.t.
8
Petr Vakoč
Etixx - iHNed
s.t.
9
Audun Fløtten
Joker Merida
+ 6'46
10
Julien Simon
Sojasun
+ 6'48
Points Jersey Winner : Adrien Petit (Cofidis, Solutions Crédits)
Mountin Jersey Winner : Jimmi Sørensen (Christina Watches - Onfone)
Team Winner : Christina Watches - Onfone
Young Jersey Winner : Adrien Petit (Cofidis, Solutions Crédits)
Christina on skype from Copenhagen: Fantastic tour in Rhône-Alpes, congratulations to everyone on a splendid team effort ! Im so proud !!!
Rasmussen (on the phone from france):, the boys are in Köln (Cologne), In 2009 Martin Pedersen won the race, and he is here with us today, trying to win it again. The race has a few cobble sections, and is pretty hilly, but could also end in a sprint. We don’t have an exact plan, let’s just see what happens.
Riders:
Francisco José Pacheco
Frederik Wilmann
Jordan Kerby
Martin Pedersen
Morten Høberg
Sebastian Balck
Simon Bigum
After the usual wild attacks and pursuits at the start, a rather strong break of 9 riders was formed including Martin Pedersen. The break had good rider for the hills, and might just hold, they got about 7 minutes.
It turned out that they could not work together, and the pace was not enough to keep distance to the peloton, the break was over about 10 km before the line.
The Break:
Francisco José Pacheco is not in scape at the moment, and lost contact with the peloton on the last cobble section, so our best shot was Morten Høberg. The sprint was confusion, because the line was crossed several times, mixing the front with the grupetto, 25 years old Morten Høberg was strong today, coming in 3.rd, his best result of the season; very satisfying sprint from him, in a 1.1 race.
The winner was Kevin Hulsmans (Vini Fantini - Selle Italia):
16/5-20/5 2013
Glava Tour of Norway (category 2.1)
Stage 1 Sandefjord – Tønsberg: 187.6 km
Christina: I am here in Tønsberg, the destination of the first stage of Glava Tour of Norway. We had hoped for a stage win on this tour, but with Cavendish, Quintana, Chavanel and other Pro Tour Riders in this one, I guess we have to settle with a little less.
Tønsberg harbor:
Rasmussen: Yes, it a small field, only 13 teams, but with a lot of strong riders. Moviestar, AG2R, Saxo Bank, Quick-Step are all present with strong teams.
A small but strong field:
Riders:
Constantino Zaballa
Frederik Wilmann
Jordan Kerby
Marc Hester
Sebastian Balck
Simon Bigum
Stefan Schumacher
Norwigian rider Frederik Wilmann, wanted to try to get in a break today, in this important race in his own country. He got away with Bystrøm (Øster Hus), Sterobo (Cult Energy) Wilson (Joker). The break was not strong, so not much hope for a cheap win, but he got some mountain points and bonus seconds.
Wilmann took the mountain sprint:
To no surprise, Cavendish was unbeatable in the sprint, and won the stage.
Stefan Schumacher (8) and Marc Hester (12) crosses the line:
16/5-20/5 2013
Glava Tour of Norway (category 2.1)
17/5 Stage 2, Oslo – Drammen: 149.5 km
Profile:
Christina : Here in Oslo, the capital city, for the start of today’s race. Still hope we can be lucky today, even though the odds are not great.
Rasmussen :
Frederik Wilmann attacked on the foot of the cat.4 climb, to grab the mountain points, otherwise a stage where there was not much we could do, again Cavendish displayed how strong a sprinter he is.
16/5-20/5 2013
Glava Tour of Norway (category 2.1)
18/5 Stage 3, Lillestrom– Eleverum: 168 km
Profile:
Christina : Here in Elverrum the destination of today’s stage, with no category climbs, Rasmussen decided to let the team rest today, just sitting in the Peloton. Seems we have not got sprinter able to compete in this race.
Elverum hospital :
The team was resting in the middle of the peloton all day.
16/5-20/5 2013
Glava Tour of Norway (category 2.1)
Stage 4, Hamar– Lillehammer: 196,7 km
Profile:
Christina : Lillehammer a beautiful town in the middle of Norway, is the setting for today’s finish. Today we get a different stage, not likely there might be a mass sprint, maybe we can do something.
The weather is not good, we can expect wet roads on most of the route, let’s hope none of the riders is hurt our there today.
Lillehammer railway station. Opened in 1894:
Rasmussen: A relative weak break was formed; we did not react expecting that the stronger teams would. The break was reeled in, near the last sprint and the fight for positioning in the front began. On the top is the last cat.4, about 40 riders was left in the front group, we had Zaballa, Wilmann and Schumacher.
Zaballa, Wilmann, Schumacher in front on the descent:
At the beginning of the last climb, Constantino Zaballa and Stefan Schumacher attacked, trying to shake as many competitors of as possible.
It worked; they got a nice gap from the main group, and came in with a small group of only the best riders. Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale) won the stage, over Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team)
16/5-20/5 2013
Glava Tour of Norway (category 2.1)
20/5, Final Stage, Gjovik– Hønefors: 164,5 km
Profile:
Christina : The weather is much better today, I am enjoying myself in Hønefors. Waiting for the Race to reach its final destination.
Rasmussen: We have decided to stay in the peloton, trying to defend our GC positions of Schumacher and Zaballa. Hopefully while keeping the polka dots.
A Sculpture in the river Begna, that runs through Hønefoss.
Rasmussen: the morning break included Rasmus Guldhammer (Blue Water Cycling) a contender for the Polka Dot Jersey, and we did not get anyone in the break, it was not a good situation. We tried to hunt the break down, but after a while we had to give up, to stay focused on the GC.
Trying to catch the break:
At the foot of the last small hill Quintana attacked, trying to shake off Nocentini, and win the CG. Our GC contenders followed, a bad idea, Nocentini followed too and it was all neutralized, now we had not much energy left to sprint.
Attack:
It ended in a mass sprint, Bennati (Saxo) won, Stybar (Quick·Step) came 3rd., earning important bonus seconds for the GC.
Stage result:
1
Daniele Bennati
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
3h50'18
2
Davy Commeye
Accent Jobs - Wanty
s.t.
3
Zdenek Stybar
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
4
Jure Kocjan
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
5
Oscar Gatto
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
s.t.
6
Manuel Belletti
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
7
Jempy Drucker
Accent Jobs - Wanty
s.t.
8
Matteo Trentin
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
9
Marko Kump
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
s.t.
10
Jonathan Castroviejo
Movistar Team
s.t.
GC:
1
Rinaldo Nocentini
AG2R La Mondiale
20h31'09
2
Nairo Quintana
Movistar Team
+ 8
3
Zdenek Stybar
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 12
4
Jean-Christophe Peraud
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
5
Stefan Schumacher
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 20
6
Constantino Zaballa
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
7
Sylvain Chavanel
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
8
Davy Commeye
Accent Jobs - Wanty
+ 1'42
9
Mark Cavendish
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 1'49
10
Oscar Gatto
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
+ 1'56
Points:
1
Mark Cavendish
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team
4
79
2
Davy Commeye
Accent Jobs - Wanty
20
77
3
Daniele Bennati
Team Saxo - Tinkoff
25
71
Mountain:
1
Rasmus Guldhammer
Blue Water Cycling
6
11
2
Frederik Wilmann
Christina Watches - Onfone
0
10
3
Sven Erik Bystrøm
Team Øster Hus - Ridley
0
6
We came 2nd. in Team Clasification.
Christina: Too bad that we lost a position in the GC, and the KoM jersey, but all in all a good race, thanks boys.
Rasmussen, the strategy today was not great, sorry!
Edited by Tamijo on 01-09-2015 14:23
Christina: I am here in Plumelec, Brittany region, in north-western France. For the Grand Prix de Plumelec-Morbihan, single-day race, another very important race for the team. Some important business contact here today, so I would appreciate a good result, even though I know, is a hard 1.1 race.
Rasmussen: Some strong Pro Tour teams here today, but we will try.
The Church of Saint-Maurice, in Plumelec:
A morning break of 4 was established, we didn’t want to react, relaxing in the peloton, expecting the stronger teams to take over. The strongest rider in the break was Arnaud Gérard (Bretagne).
A protected Stefan Schumacher in the peloton:
Simon Bigum had a bad crash about 50 from finish, but he got up, and back in the peloton.
Most of the break was caught but Arnaud Gérard (Bretagne) was still in front of the race, when Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R) and other top riders started to attack. Schumacher was able to hold on to the front. When passing the 5km mark there was 6 in the group, Gérard still 40 sec. ahead.
Schumacher under 5 km. mark.
They could not catch Gérard. Schumacher made an excellent sprint, a great 2nd.
Result:
1
Arnaud Gérard
Bretagne - Séché Environnement
4h20'49
2
Stefan Schumacher
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
3
Rinaldo Nocentini
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 15
4
Tom Dumoulin
Team Argos - Shimano
s.t.
5
Warren Barguil
Team Argos - Shimano
s.t.
6
Alex Howes
Garmin - Sharp
s.t.
7
Jure Kocjan
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
8
Daniel Navarro
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
9
José Herrada
Movistar Team
s.t.
10
Guillaume Bonnafond
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
Christina: WOW Stefan, you are realy peaking at the moment, fantastic!
Roster:
Frederik Wilmann
Jimmi Sørensen
Jordan Kerby
Marc Hester
Martin Pedersen
Morten Høberg
Sebastian Balck
Stefan Schumacher
Tartu University's old observatory:
Rasmussen: Today a less important race for the team, Morten Høberg got the chance to attack, and was in a break most of the day, but they didn’t succeed. Enrico Battaglin (Bardiani Valvole) made a late attack, and got away with it. We did not time our sprint train very well; our best was Martin Pedersen (17).
Rasmussen: Now we are here in beautiful northern Italy, in Bassano del Grappa.
For “Il Trofeo Alcide Degasperi” one day race. Not an important race for management, but we always want to win.
Morten Høberg get in today’s morning break, they work together fine and they get almost 6 min, but they are caught in the last few km.
The front group, passes through a small town in Northers Italy:
It ends in a sprint, our best was Stefan Schumacher (5)
9/6-2013 Flèche ardennaise (category 1.2)
Herve-Herve: 187.9 km
Profile:
Rasmussen: Here in Herve in eastern Belgium. For the Flèche ardennaise. We don’t bring a very strong squad here; we must try a break away.
Church of St John Baptist.
Roster:
Jimmi Sørensen
Jordan Kerby
Marc Hester
Martin Pedersen
Mitchell Lovelock-Fay
Morten Høberg
Sebastian Balck
Simon Bigum
A big break of 12 riders, got away. After the peloton calmed down, Mitchell Lovelock-Fay attacked, and slowly bridges the gap to the front group. The break was over, at the last few kilometers. Janier Acevedo (Jamis - Hagens Berman) made a late attack and got a solo win.
12/6, Stage 1, Lac-Etchemin - Lac-Etchemin 157,7 km
Profile:
Rasmussen: Here in Canada for the Tour de Beauce. In the small town of Lac-Etchemin. Jordan Kerby is in very good form right now, so we want him to attack, for the mountain Jersey. Otherwise is up to either Stefan Schumacher or Martin Pedersen to place them self in the CG.
Sanctuaire Notre-Dame d'Etchemin:
Roster :
Frederik Wilmann
Jimmi Sørensen
Jordan Kerby
Marc Hester
Martin Pedersen
Morten Høberg
Simon Bigum
Stefan Schumacher
We have got a very limited field, with only 9 teams.
An early sprint right from the start, but no reaction from other teams, and Schumacher took it for free.
As planed Jordan Kerby got in a break, with Nakane (Nippo) and Carvalho (LA – Antarte). The break got about 7 minutes, and when the Peloton started to speed up, it was too late. Kerby attacked in the last climb, right before the finish, not a good idear, he could not get away, an lost sprint energy. He crossed the line third.
Schumacher attacked late, and sprinted in at 4th., taking time on other GC contenders.
13/6, Stage 2, Thetford-Mines-Thetford-Mines 162,2 km
Profie:
Rasmussen, moved the team bus to Thetford-Mines, for the second stage of the race. We intent to try and secure the “polka dots”, while not losing time in the GC.
Rue Notre Dame, Thetford-Mines:
Today’s stage, was without the usual morning break away, so it was possible for Schumacher to grab the first sprint, and Jordan Kerby to take the first Mountain sprint. Ever Rivera (4-72 Colombia) later made a solo break, and Martin Pedersen followed in between to get some bonus points, but got back in the peloton after the sprint, to help the team with the finish.
Martin attacks to get bonus seconds:
Morten Høberg had fine legs today, out best in a close sprint finish. Won by Juan José Haedo (Jamis - Hagens Berman)
14/6, Stage 3, Saint-Georges – Mont Mégantic 164,4 km
Profile:
Rasmussen: I am standing here at the top of Mont Mégantic, the target of today’s stage, waiting for the riders to arrive. The strategy today, was to get Kerby in a break, to defend the polka dots, and defend or even better improve Stefan Schumacher’s GC position.
The stage has a hard mountain finish, so I would think it’s impossible to defend Kerby’s GS, he will most like fall back a lot.
Mont Mégantic:
Kerby tried to get in the morning break, but no luck, a small break got away without any of our riders. Plan b. was to lead the peloton.
Christina Watches and Team Nippo leading the peloton forward:
At the foot of the last climb, the break was almost caught, the race exploded, most of the GS contenders tried to attack, first to get a good gab was Janier Acevedo (Jamis - Hagens Berman), Stefan Schumacher was not in a good position to react, but shortly after he attacked.
Stefan Schumacher tries to catch the front riders:
Janier Acevedo takes a solo win. Today’s big looser was Hideto Nakane (Nippo), he attacked to early, and lost 3’25, moving from first to 6th. in the GC.
Janier Acevedo celebrates, a solo win, and a yellow jersey:
Schumacher comes in second, just in front of Ryan Anderson (Optum), enough to 2nd. in the GC and he's keeping the sprinter jersey. Kerby did great still in top 10. Frederik Wilmann came in 9th. on today’s stage, fine result for him.
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