|
The WGG Project
|
| the_hoyle |
Posted on 07-03-2019 23:22
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
|
Impressive results from the team in the cobbled classics. Nice riding in RvV
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
 |
| |
|
|
| Ian Butler |
Posted on 08-03-2019 09:50
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
|
jandal7 - We'll get that wildcard next year  Dierickx certainly pushed his limits on the Ronde and put our entire team on the map, for sure!
VoetsT - It would not be fair to ask for more. In fact, we would have been happy with way less. But this is wonderful!
Tamijo - Yes, the boys are showing their potential!
Croatia14 - Almost, almost! I think they lack that bit of consistency to be up to WT standards. But that result in the Ronde (and the E3) certainly show us that WT won't be many years ago. Maybe in 2 seasons we could already be in the World Tour, who knows!
the_hoyle - Thanks. We have the advantage of not being any favorite, so we can hide rather well. I think after this performance, Dierickx won't be able to sneak his way in the front group anymore  |
| |
|
|
| Ian Butler |
Posted on 08-03-2019 09:50
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
|
6th of May, 2019
Been a while. We've been super busy with a whole heap of one day races. Unfortunately, we've not been able to add another win to our counter. Some races have gone downright bad for us. Others, on the other hand, have gone surprisingly well.
So here's a list of the one day races we've competed it. We've also entered two stage races, but both were very forgettable races for us, unfortunately.
First, the Scheldeprijs. A sprinter's festival. Huyge found the right wheel to follow and finished a respectable 13th place.
Scheldeprijs - Top 15
| 1 | Arnaud Démare | Groupama - FDJ | 4h37'03 | | 2 | Dylan Groenewegen | Team Jumbo-Visma | s.t. | | 3 | John Degenkolb | Trek - Segafredo | s.t. | | 4 | Niccolo Bonifazio | Direct Energie | s.t. | | 5 | Giacomo Nizzolo | Team Dimension Data | s.t. | | 6 | Caleb Ewan | Lotto Soudal | s.t. | | 7 | Jonas Rickaert | Corendon - Circus | s.t. | | 8 | Danny Van Poppel | Team Jumbo-Visma | s.t. | | 9 | Andrea Pasqualon | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 10 | Fabio Sabatini | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. | | 11 | Mark Cavendish | Team Dimension Data | s.t. | | 12 | Sam Bennett | BORA - hansgrohe | s.t. | | 13 | Roel Huyge | Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team | s.t. | | 14 | Pascal Ackermann | BORA - hansgrohe | s.t. | | 15 | Elia Viviani | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
The beauty of leading a team of 20 neopros is that you have 20 potential leaders. Riders get in and out of form, and always some rider will stand up in great shape. Louis Gaerdelen sort of missed his early season, but the last few weeks, he's been in amazing shape. Remember his name for the final result for today!
But anyway, in Paris- Camembert, he played a very active role and made the top 5, a noteworthy result!
Paris - Camembert Top 10
| 1 | Kenny Elissonde | Team Sky | 4h48'50 | | 2 | Odd Christian Eiking | Cycling Team Wallonie-Bruxelles | + 25 | | 3 | Peter Kennaugh | BORA - hansgrohe | s.t. | | 4 | Leopold König | BORA - hansgrohe | s.t. | | 5 | Louis Gaerdelen | Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team | s.t. | | 6 | Anthony Roux | Groupama - FDJ | + 45 | | 7 | Lilian Calmejane | Direct Energie | s.t. | | 8 | Quentin Pacher | Vital Concept - B&B Hotels | s.t. | | 9 | Guillaume Martin | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | s.t. | | 10 | Axel Domont | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. |
The Brabantse Pijl was more disappointing. We had hoped that Roets might've been able to ride himself in the top 20, perhaps. Maybe that's too much to expect of these young men. But we've worked with them for years and they are not just any riders. All of these boys have potential and can be great!
Anyway, the race didn't go our way and our first placed rider was Maxime Thomas, 32th.
Brabantse Pijl - Top 10
| 1 | Michal Kwiatkowski | Team Sky | 5h05'39 | | 2 | Magnus Cort Nielsen | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 3 | Patrick Konrad | BORA - hansgrohe | + 9 | | 4 | Stefan Küng | Groupama - FDJ | s.t. | | 5 | Felix Grosschartner | BORA - hansgrohe | s.t. | | 6 | Jhonatan Narváez | Team Sky | s.t. | | 7 | Georg Preidler | Groupama - FDJ | + 20 | | 8 | Robert Gesink | Team Jumbo-Visma | s.t. | | 9 | Andrea Pasqualon | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 10 | Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen | Team Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
Moving away from the races where the startlists are dominated by WT riders, we entered the Tour du Finistère. Both Gaerdelen and Thomas Cuyper were very attentive and they managed to get in the right attack at the end. Four riders would sprint for the win. Unfortunately, mostly due to inexperience, they were unable to exploit their numeral adventage and finished 3rd and 4th, but still, not bad!
Tour du Finistère - Top 10
| 1 | Anthony Roux | Groupama - FDJ | 4h27'22 | | 2 | Pieter Weening | Roompot-Charles | s.t. | | 3 | Louis Gaerdelen | Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team | s.t. | | 4 | Thomas Cuyper | Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team | s.t. | | 5 | Xandro Meurisse | Cycling Team Wallonie-Bruxelles | + 11 | | 6 | Julien Bernard | Trek - Segafredo | s.t. | | 7 | Nick Van Der Lijke | Roompot-Charles | s.t. | | 8 | François Bidard | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. | | 9 | Jesper Hansen | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | s.t. | | 10 | Brice Feillu | Arkéa - Samsic | + 21 |
Tro-Bro Léon was another one of those races where you wonder if we were even in the race. The pace was brutal and our best finisher was Brouwers at 34th, followed by Chang Li at 81th place. Not our best showing.
Tro-Bro Léon - Top 10
| 1 | Mathieu Van der Poel | Corendon - Circus | 5h01'33 | | 2 | Christopher Latham | Vitus Pro Cycling | s.t. | | 3 | Zico Waeytens | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | s.t. | | 4 | Matej Mohoric | Bahrain - Merida | s.t. | | 5 | Geoffrey Soupe | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | s.t. | | 6 | Luis León Sánchez | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 7 | Jan Tratnik | Bahrain - Merida | s.t. | | 8 | Anthony Maldonado | St Michel - Auber 93 | s.t. | | 9 | Clément Venturini | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. | | 10 | Emils Liepins | Cycling Team Wallonie-Bruxelles | s.t. |
Then it was time for the World Tour Classics. First was Flèche Wallonne. (we missed a wildcard for the Amstel, unfortunately). Roets had good legs and we made him co-leader for the day. He made it in the pack until the final climb of the Mur de Huy, but he was badly positioned for the climb. He did his best to move up places, but it was tough.
In the end, he had to be happy with a 27th place. We think it's a very promising spot for his first time here. He was less happy.
Flèche Wallonne - Top 30
| 1 | Daniel Oss | BORA - hansgrohe | 4h55'57 | | 2 | Julian Alaphilippe | Deceuninck-Quick Step | + 12 | | 3 | Alex Kirsch | Trek - Segafredo | s.t. | | 4 | Sergio Luis Henao | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. | | 5 | Alejandro Valverde | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 6 | Bert-Jan Lindeman | Team Jumbo-Visma | s.t. | | 7 | Michael Woods | EF Education First p/b Cannondale | s.t. | | 8 | Mathieu Van der Poel | Corendon - Circus | s.t. | | 9 | Rui Alberto Costa | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. | | 10 | Dylan Teuns | Bahrain - Merida | s.t. | | 11 | Patrick Konrad | BORA - hansgrohe | s.t. | | 12 | Pavel Kochetkov | Team Katusha- Alpecin | s.t. | | 13 | Thomas Degand | Bahrain - Merida | s.t. | | 14 | Enric Mas | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. | | 15 | Daniel Martin | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. | | 16 | Marco Frapporti | Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | s.t. | | 17 | Enrico Gasparotto | Team Dimension Data | s.t. | | 18 | Vincenzo Nibali | Bahrain - Merida | s.t. | | 19 | Romain Bardet | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. | | 20 | Jelle Vanendert | Lotto Soudal | s.t. | | 21 | Wilco Kelderman | Team Sunweb | s.t. | | 22 | Wout Poels | Team Sky | s.t. | | 23 | Tim Wellens | Lotto Soudal | s.t. | | 24 | Michael Matthews | Team Sunweb | s.t. | | 25 | Maxime Bouet | Arkéa - Samsic | s.t. | | 26 | Simon Yates | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. | | 27 | Arthur Roets | Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team | s.t. | | 28 | Bob Jungels | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. | | 29 | Cesare Benedetti | BORA - hansgrohe | s.t. | | 30 | Lilian Calmejane | Direct Energie | s.t. |
And finally, Liège - Bastogne - Liège.
Remember what I said about form? We start every race with 6 or 7 riders, and we almost never have a clear leader in our head before the start. Instead, we rely on the riders' feelings to guide them, to be honest with each other and let the form of the day decide who'll be protected near the finale.
Today, Louis Gaerdelen fairly quickly came over the radio, saying: I have the best legs I've ever had! You gotta trust me.
Obviously, we did. Our entire team trusted him and everyone went to work for Louis. It was incredible to see all egos shoved aside for a team member.
And, you know what, the gamble totally payed off. Louis was iron strong and never let the peloton go! He hung on, sometimes barely, until the final climb, the final kilometer!
Only at the very last acceleration, the one leading up to the sprint, he had to leave a gap. He was totally spent. But we can only be proud of him. A 17th spot in our 2nd monument. Congratulations, Louis.
Roets was our second best rider, coming in at a 45th position.
Liège - Bastogne - Liège - Top 25
| 1 | Julian Alaphilippe | Deceuninck-Quick Step | 7h07'36 | | 2 | Enrico Gasparotto | Team Dimension Data | s.t. | | 3 | Michael Woods | EF Education First p/b Cannondale | + 7 | | 4 | Daniel Martin | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. | | 5 | Fabio Aru | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. | | 6 | Alejandro Valverde | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 7 | Sergio Luis Henao | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. | | 8 | Jelle Vanendert | Lotto Soudal | s.t. | | 9 | Michael Matthews | Team Sunweb | s.t. | | 10 | Dylan Teuns | Bahrain - Merida | s.t. | | 11 | Wout Poels | Team Sky | s.t. | | 12 | Patrick Konrad | BORA - hansgrohe | s.t. | | 13 | Rui Alberto Costa | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. | | 14 | Domenico Pozzovivo | Bahrain - Merida | s.t. | | 15 | Davide Formolo | BORA - hansgrohe | s.t. | | 16 | Wilco Kelderman | Team Sunweb | s.t. | | 17 | Louis Gaerdelen | Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team | + 33 | | 18 | Roman Kreuziger | Team Dimension Data | + 1'07 | | 19 | Rigoberto Uran | EF Education First p/b Cannondale | + 1'17 | | 20 | Simon Yates | Mitchelton-Scott | s.t. | | 21 | Tim Wellens | Lotto Soudal | s.t. | | 22 | Bjorg Lambrecht | Lotto Soudal | s.t. | | 23 | Bob Jungels | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. | | 24 | Thomas De Gendt | Lotto Soudal | s.t. | | 25 | Andrey Amador | Movistar Team | s.t. |
So, some ups and some downs in these races. In these longer races, you can see age does matter. Louis is one of the older boys in the squad, and he performs best here.
We have no doubt about the capacities of our squad, though. They'll all get there.
Currently we hold the 5th place in the Continental Team Rankings, and 22nd in the CQ Team Rankings.
See you later!
- Ian |
| |
|
|
| VoetsT |
Posted on 08-03-2019 11:08
|
Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 851
Joined: 29-06-2013
PCM$: 200.00
|
Some very good results! This squad will definitely achieve something big in the future
|
| |
|
|
| Kiserlovski01 |
Posted on 08-03-2019 11:20
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4058
Joined: 26-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
Can't believe how many beautiful results I've missed already! Truly impressive racing on some occasions, keep it up!
|
| |
|
|
| valverde321 |
Posted on 08-03-2019 15:41
|
World Champion
Posts: 12986
Joined: 20-05-2009
PCM$: 530.00
|
Hopefully Alaphilippe can repeat those results at LBL in my story 
Great result at RvV, and not bad elsewhere.
|
| |
|
|
| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-12-2024 01:28
|
Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
|
|
| IP: None |
|
|
| tsmoha |
Posted on 08-03-2019 20:38
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11819
Joined: 19-07-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
Well, at this pace, I already have to do a catch-up this weekend
|
| |
|
|
| the_hoyle |
Posted on 08-03-2019 21:43
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
|
The classics providing some fine results for the team. The young guns are really performing well some bigger name opposition
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
|
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 08-03-2019 23:35
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
The team are getting some nice top ten finishes |
| |
|
|
| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 09-03-2019 02:18
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7300
Joined: 11-04-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
Amazing start to the season and the story for the team!!
I love the idea of this story and always your writing Ian!
Welcome back!! Can not wait to see more of this story!
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 09-03-2019 11:08
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
Louis Gaerdelen on fire !
Nice variation with a story where the hierarchy is flat, as oppose to the World Tour story’s me and others do where things are set in stone.
|
| |
|
|
| Ian Butler |
Posted on 09-03-2019 12:55
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
|
Wow, everyone. Thanks so much for the overwhelming support. This reminds me of the time I was doing my first stories. It feels great to get so much back from you, writing this!
Thanks!
VoetsT - I hope so. Some definitely have not missed their start, that's for sure!
Kiserlovski01 - Thanks very much
valverde321 - Either Alaphilippe will win in your story, or someone from Wanty 
tsmoha - Yeah, sorry about that but after a blitz start, things will take a much more casual flow now!
the_hoyle - Some are certainly knocking on the door of some WT team already. If we don't get to WT ourselves within a few seaons, it might be hard to keep the squad together.
sutty68 - We value those greatly! They'll turn into more wins eventually
Jakstar22 - Thanks a lot, man, I really appreciate it!
Tamijo - Cheers! Yes, that's exactly what I like about it, too, playing. I'm very used to playing with a team with 1 or 2 star riders and focusing on them. Now, a lot of these guys are very similar in abilities (though not in potential), and every race is a new chance for anyone to show themselves.
It also allows me to use daily form best. For example, Louis Gaerdelen had a +5 daily form in Liège, hence his great result.
I expect that the flat hierarchy will continue for 1 or 2 seasons. After that, potential'll probably come into play and the difference between riders will become more clear, and I think we'll go to a more traditional set-up, with a few leaders.
But until then, every man has a shot at being a leader!
Also, I'm already thinking ahead about the first GT next year. Let me know if anyone has good ideas. I think TDF is out, because too much pressure, too much circus. Let the boys start more casually in a GT. I'm thinking Vuelta or Giro, or perhaps try to get wildcards for both and send 2 different teams. |
| |
|
|
| VoetsT |
Posted on 11-03-2019 07:03
|
Breakaway Specialist
Posts: 851
Joined: 29-06-2013
PCM$: 200.00
|
I would go for the Giro. It's is the perfect Grand Tour to start imo. Not to much pressure like TdF and the Vuelta is more for climbers. I think a young team has more chance of success on a Giro route.
|
| |
|
|
| jandal7 |
Posted on 11-03-2019 07:38
|
World Champion
Posts: 11406
Joined: 17-12-2014
PCM$: 1120.00
|
Ian, you're right, this is like a classic Ian story with pace and love from the followers, I've been thinking - it's missing something: I wonder what TMM would think about Dierickx's stats to get so good in RVV?
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
5x  x5
2x  x2
2x  x2 |
| |
|
|
| Ian Butler |
Posted on 11-03-2019 16:09
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
|
VoetsT - Excellent suggestion. Giro is also generally more fun than Vuelta, and like you said, more chances there. Vuelta, especially in PCM, is mostly top climbers winning.
jandal7 - Thanks for the love  the pace started wild, but as you can clearly see, my "break/holiday" from work is over and now I hope to bring 1-2 updates per week, it won't be more.
Still, it's fun to be back, with this squad.
Dierickx 85, obviously! |
| |
|
|
| Ian Butler |
Posted on 11-03-2019 16:09
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
|
19th of May, 2019
Another few races have finished, and we're slowly looking towards the bigger stage races. Especially around July, we'll enter in some races with real mountains, and we hope there our boys will shine!
Yet we are still racing in the neighbourhood at the moment, and our boys are already shining, especially in the lower-category races.
La Flèche Ardennaise was the perfect race for some of our boys to show themselves. and show themselves they did, with no less than 4 riders in the top 20!
La Flèche Ardennaise - Top 20
| 1 | Ivar Slik | Monkey Town – à Bloc CT | 3h53'45 | | 2 | Toon Aerts | Telenet Fidea Lions | s.t. | | 3 | Chang Li | Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team | s.t. | | 4 | Kirill Pozdnyakov | Tarteletto - Isorex | + 46 | | 5 | Daniel Silva | Radio Popular - Boavista | s.t. | | 6 | Antonio Santoro | Monkey Town – à Bloc CT | s.t. | | 7 | Bart De Clercq | Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | s.t. | | 8 | Jonathan Clarke | Floyd's Pro Cycling | + 59 | | 9 | Joris Cuyper | Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team | s.t. | | 10 | Daniel Pearson | Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes | s.t. | | 11 | Keegan Swirbul | Floyd's Pro Cycling | s.t. | | 12 | Andreas Leknessund | Uno-X Norwegian Development Team | + 1'09 | | 13 | Maximilian Stedman | Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes | s.t. | | 14 | Damien Michaud | Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team | s.t. | | 15 | Noah Poulin | Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team | s.t. | | 16 | Mathieu Van der Poel | Corendon - Circus | + 1'25 | | 17 | Alexander Krieger | Leopard Pro Cycling | s.t. | | 18 | Pierre Gouault | Natura4Ever - Roubaix Lille Métropole | s.t. | | 19 | Lennert Teugels | Cibel - Cebon | s.t. | | 20 | Maxime Vantomme | Tarteletto - Isorex | s.t. |
A great performance from our Hero from China!
On to 5 Jours de Dunkerque. What was remarkable there? Well, Sagan won 5/6 stages and came in 3rd on the other, so a mediocre performance from him.
Our boys didn't really stand out, beside two accounts of being in the breakaway of the day.
Roel Huyge managed to finish inside the top 10 twice in the sprint, but only just.
However, Dierickx did perform at a constant level and managed to finish 11th overall. Not in a most glorious fashion, but a result nonetheless. Especially looking at some of the names before and just behind him.
5 jours de Dunkerque - GC - Top 15
| 1 | Peter Sagan | BORA - hansgrohe | 23h29'51 | | 2 | Marc Sarreau | Groupama - FDJ | + 55 | | 3 | Pawel Bernas | CCC Team | s.t. | | 4 | Lilian Calmejane | Direct Energie | + 57 | | 5 | Nathan Van Hooydonck | CCC Team | + 59 | | 6 | Ramon Sinkeldam | Groupama - FDJ | + 1'01 | | 7 | Silvan Dillier | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. | | 8 | Jan-Willem Van Schip | Roompot-Charles | s.t. | | 9 | Stefan Küng | Groupama - FDJ | s.t. | | 10 | Dries Devenyns | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. | | 11 | Daniel Dierickx | Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team | s.t. | | 12 | Damien Gaudin | Direct Energie | s.t. | | 13 | Fabio Jakobsen | Deceuninck-Quick Step | + 1'02 | | 14 | Preben Van Hecke | Sport Vlaanderen - Baloise | + 1'20 | | 15 | Søren Kragh Andersen | Team Sunweb | + 1'30 |
|
| |
|
|
| Tamijo |
Posted on 11-03-2019 16:18
|
Team Leader
Posts: 7406
Joined: 14-07-2015
PCM$: 599.00
|
Nice podium for Chang Li, but I guess Dierickx actually raced better in Dunkerque, just on a very different competitive level.
|
| |
|
|
| tsmoha |
Posted on 11-03-2019 16:20
|
Directeur Sportif
Posts: 11819
Joined: 19-07-2010
PCM$: 300.00
|
Nice podium for Li and respectable results in Dunkerque. Looking forward to your stage races then!
|
| |
|
|
| the_hoyle |
Posted on 11-03-2019 23:35
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
|
Podium is great for Li and Dunkerque is always going to be hard with a Top 10 like that
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
|
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 11-03-2019 23:39
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Nice to see Li grab a podium in La Flèche Ardennaise |
| |
|
