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Team MILRAM: March, the real racing starts here.
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 08-05-2009 09:50
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Tour Mediterraneen:
Stage 6:
The last stage of the race. Gerdemann will be aiming to hold onto his jersey. All he has to do is stick with the front group. It's the hardest stage of the race and we'll have to keep an eye on the challengers on the last hill.
A large break goes away early on. I send Knees to keep an eye on it but it gets pulled back quickly.
A smaller group goes away and we let them go. There is one rider who is only 1.30 down on GC so we'll have to keep an eyr on it but none of them are good in the hills.
As the race nears the last climb Knees takes over as our main chaser driving the peleton along. For some reason Fugi are keen to help.
As the peleton reaches the bottom of the final climb the break is still out in front but is being closed down quickly. First attack of the big names as Ardila and Perez try to go clear.
As the break is caught Gerdemann makes his move.
2.5k to go. A group of 7 riders has formed. 1 break rider is still in front but he has just died and won't stay out for long.
Less then 1k to go and only 6 have held onto the front group. Gerdemann isn't interested in the win. He just wants to finish in the same time.
Iglinskiy takes the win. Gerdemann finishes 5th and has achieved his goal.
So Gerdemann wins overall. A great performance from the team and Gerdemann looks delighted as he stands on top of the podium.
Gerdemann also won the points competition so it's been a great week for us. Up next is the rest of the Tour of California and the Treofeo Laigueglia for Gerdemann.
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 08-05-2009 13:49
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Tour of California:
Stage 4:
First flat stage of the tour and as expected Forster will be leading us today as Fothen has a day off. The start of the stage is quite hilly so i hope it doesn't take too much out of Forster.
As expected he struggles up the first hill.
But after that he is fine. A break of 10 riders goes away but the hilly terrain splits them all up and only 3 riders make up the front group. They are easily caught with 20k to go and the peleton prepares for the sprint. At first Forster looks good as he attaches himself to Petacchi's wheel.
However he just doesn't have the legs today and can't maintain the pace.
Cancellara takes the sprint to prove that the hilly start was too much for all of the sprinters.
2 more flat stages coming up so hopefully Forster will do better there.
Edited by ringo182 on 08-05-2009 13:50
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| Kiein |
Posted on 11-05-2009 12:13
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Very good story ! I really want to hear more of this ! |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 11-05-2009 18:25
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it will be continueing later this week. had a lot on this week at uni, also i played the same stage twice and it crashed both times in the same place which slowed the story down a bit. maybe try it once more before i sim it. |
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| viking90 |
Posted on 11-05-2009 18:30
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ringo182 wrote:
it will be continueing later this week. had a lot on this week at uni, also i played the same stage twice and it crashed both times in the same place which slowed the story down a bit. maybe try it once more before i sim it.
when i played tour of Californa almost every stage crashed but i did as CrueTrue said and lower my graphic and it work, but maybe you already test it ? |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 11-05-2009 22:54
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well it's worked fine up to that stage. i'll give it one more try, maybe on lower graphics and then just sim it. |
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| ursul |
Posted on 12-05-2009 00:09
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Really hope for the end of this story. |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 12-05-2009 11:31
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Tour of California:
Stage 5:
Todays stage is classed as flat but the hilly start will probably deaden the legs of Forster and the other out and out sprinters. I'll still try to get him over the hills and to the front for the finish.
Before that I sent Voss into the break of the day. Don't know why, spur of the moment thing. turned out to be a big mistake as the group broke up over the hills, he died and got eliminated from the race. Only 5 riders for the last 4 stages 
In the peleton the hills did prove to be too much for Forster. He, along with the other big name sprinters, all got dropped at some point. Forster held on till the last climb.
So Fothen and Frohlinger were our only riders left in the peleton. Fothen decided he had nothing to loose and had a did just before they reached the sprint point at the finish.
It didn't amount to anything but it did give him the momentum to stay with the lead sprinters.
In the end he took 5th. Not bad at all. Elmiger took the stage as he and Cancellara continue to dominate the Tour.
Thr result means that Elmiger takes over as Tour leader. Fothen is still within striking distance at 40 seconds down. He just has to minimise losses in the tt and then have 2 good days on the hilly stages after that. I'm still hopeful of a top 10.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-12-2024 11:29
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| Kiein |
Posted on 12-05-2009 12:03
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Kep it coming 
Edited by Kiein on 12-05-2009 12:03
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 13-05-2009 08:41
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Tour of California:
Stage 6:
A long stage, and the flattest one of the tour. Will be the last chance for the sprinters to get a stage win so obviously Forster will be our main concern today. Could be tough as we now only have 5 riders left. A group of 7 went away and built up a decent gap but AG2R were never going to let them stay away and they were pulled back in. As expected the stage came down to a sprint and Forster found the wheel of Petacchi.
However, the train didn't seem to be going anywhere so he jumped onto the wheel of McEwen further up the road.
It turned out to be the right decision as McEwen's train proved to be the stongest and pulled out in front. Forster was perfectly placed.
However when the sprint started Forster got boxed in and a number of riders went around the outside of him. His chances of victory had gone.
The sprint went to the line between Elmiger, Dean and Cavendish. With just meters to go Cav had the lead but Elmiger was closing fast.
Cav takes the win. Forster has to settle for 10th. The competition is alot tougher then in Qatar a couple of weeks ago.
Disapointing performance from Forster. Fothen finished in the peleton and there's no real change on GC.
Stage 7:
The Solvang TT was always going to be important to the GC. It is most likely that Cancellara will be back in yellow at the end of the day. Fothen is hoping to move up the GC today. He is a better tester then a handful of those ahead of him on GC but there are also some good testers breathing down his neck. There is a chance of him getting into the top 10 today.
As it happened, Cancellara won as expected to take yellow and Fothen put in a great performance to finish 11th on the stage.
As a result Cancellara is back in yellow and Fothen has moved up to 12th on GC just a couple of seconds outside the top 10.
Up next fothen contiues his quest for a top 10 in California and gerdemann will lead the team at the Trofeo Laigueglia.
Edited by ringo182 on 13-05-2009 08:42
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 14-05-2009 12:52
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Tour of California:
Stage 8:
2 hilly stages left for Fothen to try to get into the top 10. I'm quite confident he can do it. It's just a case of staying with the leaders over these last few days and hoping for a bit of luck. As usual a break goes away. They will prove to be crucial at the end of the stage.
As we reach arond 40k to go the break still has a decent lead and could last the whole distance. However, Cancellara has other ideas and launches an attack from the peleton.
Fothen just sits and watches for a bit but as more and more of the big names attack he finally latches on to the wheel of Pinotti and gets dragged up to Cancellara's group.
A decent sized group forms up the road with a mix of the big name favourites such as Devolder, Gesink, Cancellara, Zubeldia, Elmiger, Fothen, Nibali and Ivanov and a few of the breakaway riders who have been dropped. There are still some riders from the break up the road.
Cancellara still isn't happy and launches another attack. He wants to win this tour today.
Again his break is unsuccessful as the group reforms. But then disaster. As the favourites catch another group of the orriginal break the mixture of tired and fast riders isn't good as a number of riders go down, including the race leader Cancellara. Fothen is almost brought down with him but manages to keep in control of his bike.
In all the confussion Ivanov makes a break for it. He passes the last 2 breakaway riders and goes it alone. Only Nibali tries to go after him.
Fothen and the other big names not affected by the crash form a new group just behind them. This could be Fothens chance of moving into the top 10.
As Ivanov heads under the 1k to go banner it is clear he has won the stage.
A great win for the Russian Champ. But how much of a gap will he get?
Behind Ivanov, Nibali has cought the last 2 break away riders. Elmiger sprints away from Fothens group and also bridges the gap to them while Fothen puts in a decent sprint to take 8th on the stage.
Ivanov gets a 28 second gap on the group behind and because of Elmigers sprint across the gap< Fothens group is also given the same time and about a minute over the next group behind them.
So how has todays stage efected the GC? As a result of todays stage Cancellara looses his leaders jersey which goes to Devolder. Fothen has moved up to 3rd. What a tour the German is having. Now he has to hold onto his podium place for one day. It will be tough because there are plenty of riders just behind him who will want to take his place.
Well this will be my final report for a few days. I'm off to wales foe a few days with my gf. hopefully it will resume next tuesday when i get back. you'll have to wait till then to see if Fothen can hold onto his podium place.
Edited by ringo182 on 14-05-2009 12:54
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| Kiein |
Posted on 14-05-2009 17:13
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Very good
cant wait for the rest |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 18-05-2009 17:45
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Trofeo Laigueglia:
A small 1 day race to distract us before we wrap up the Tour of California. Gerdemann will lead the team looking for form for either the Paris-Nice or Tirreno Adriatico.
Squad: Gerdemann, Knees, Rohregger, Rub, Schroder, Voss
Only days after being eliminated Voss was still in decent form so i sent him into the break. It was a big break but no-one was really willing to work. Despite this the peloton let them go and they built up a lead of almost 10 mins.
As the gap began to fall Voss made his move to try to stay away. No-one in the break had the legs or desire to go with him.
Behind the break the first of the big names were making their move. Roche, Geslin and Rebellin were the first to make their move.
Initially Gerdemann sat back and watched. But as others also attacked he was forced into action.
At the front Rebellin was proving to be the fastest on the final climb and had the legs to maintain his lead on the decent and the flat. He passed the brave Voss with 30k to go.
Behind him the other big names were all strung out along the road. And that would be how it would stay for the rest of the day.
Rebellin rolled home to a great solo victory.
Gerdemann finished in a small group and just lost the sprint for 6th place.
Overall I was quite pleased with the result. We managed to get 3 riders in the top 10 so i can't really complain.
Edited by ringo182 on 18-05-2009 17:46
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 18-05-2009 18:06
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Tour of California:
Stage 9:
The last stage of this 9 stage race. Fothen has had a great week so far but there are a number of riders breathing down his neck on the GC. Initially i wanted to send someone into the break but i decided that all 4 team-mates would be needed to get Fothen to the finish in the best posible condition. A large break went away and built up a nice gap. The pace was really slow up the main climb so the peloton was still quite big at the top meaning they could chase hard on the other side.
As we neared the finish a few big names decided to try to go it alone. The biggest attack came from Cancellar who was determined to make up for his crash the day before.
Fothen sat and watched the others. When Gesink and Devolder tried to go clear Fothen decided to follow the wheels.
At the front the original break was caught by some of the big names. A group formed consisting of the orriginal break along with Fothen, Devolder, Gesink, Ivanov and Zabriskie.
As the race entered the last 10k Fothen moved himself to the front. Did he have the legs to try anything?
5k to go and Fothen is off. Could he hold off the others in the break.
Under the 1k banner and Fothen is still ahead but the group is closing.
Another victory for Milram. What a season this is turning out to be. Thats 6 stages and 7 wins overall already.
I was delighted with the win but for some reason everyone down to 75th got the same time. But in better news the win bonus moves Fothen up to 2nd overall. a great result for the team.
So a great week for the team. I'm very confident that we can pick up some pro-tour points next month.
Edited by ringo182 on 18-05-2009 18:07
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 18-05-2009 21:24
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Omloop Het Nieuwsblad:
Squad: Knaven, Eichler, Schroder, M. Velits, Voss, Wrolich
A second tier cobbled race will give Knaven a rare opportunity to lead the team. He battles hard and stays as far as he can to the front of the race with the help mainly of Eichler. However he just isn't strong enough to compete with the other strong leaders and especially the Cervelo team who dominate the race.
In the end the Cervelo team complete an impressive 1-2-3-4 with Haussler taking the win despite puncturing about 20k from the finish. Knaven scrapes into the top 20 in 18th.
So we got about as much as we could have expected so can't really complain. |
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| beagle |
Posted on 20-05-2009 11:52
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nice domination of Team Cervelo 
great result in ToC with Fothen  |
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| viking90 |
Posted on 20-05-2009 12:21
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domination by Cervelo and not even a pro tour team, but they send their best squad and quick step didn´t and other pro tour teams.
great by fothen !
keep up the good story ! |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 20-05-2009 12:42
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it was great domination. but as viking said, cervelo sent their A team and everyone else sent their B and C teams. I mean look at the other riders in the top 10. In the proper cobbled classics none of them would be anywhere near the top 10, maybe even 20.
Yes, very pleased with Fothen's form. He's gonna lead at the Paris-Nice but i'm undecided whether to send Gerdemann with him for support or send him to lead at the Tirreno-Adriatico instead.
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| Kiein |
Posted on 20-05-2009 13:00
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Very good story.
Nice på Fothen ! |
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| Bosskardo |
Posted on 20-05-2009 13:31
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hehe, Hushovd lost the sprint for 3rd
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