dienblad wrote:
Thanks guys. And dear Maddrengen just send me a pink Petronas-jersey, so Kelderman can shine at least 1 stage in it!!
Sp waht you're saying is that yu already rode the next stage and that he'll loose the jersey!
En that case, i'm gonna have to make a white young-rider version to!
I said at least 1, that means 1 or more Played the ITT already, but apparently did something wrong with the adverts and jersey, as Kelderman was riding in the "old" gear.. But since I go to the 1st birthday of my sisters little girl, no report this afternoon. Maybe tomorrow.
We're almost halfway with the Giro and it's time for the first of 2 ITT's. Today's route from Rimini to Cesena in Emilia - Romagna is 36 kilometres and pretty flat, so the climbers know they'll loose time today.
The first rider who sets a time fast enough to end in the top 10 is Frantisek Rabon. The Czech TT-champion needs 49'29 for the 36 kilometres.
But he can't enjoy the fact of being the fastest so far. German Christian Knees crushes his time by 40 seconds: 48'49.
Edvald Boasson Hagen was the favourite to win the TT, but after his crash yesterday, the question is if the minor injuries (bruises and superficial skin tears) will harm him. He sets the fastest time so far, 48'19,but it probably won't be enough for a 5th stage win.
Times at first split: 1. Taaramäe 13'04; 2. Brajkovic +9; 3. Hagen +12; 4. Nibali +16, 5. Löfkvist +19; 7. Mollema & Scarponi +21; 37. Antón +54; 54. Kelderman +1'08.
Rein Taaramäe rides the time trial of his life. The Estonian is 45 seconds faster than Hagen, and can take place in the hot seat with the time of 47'33.
His team mate
Thomas Löfkvist
des a great job as well, finishing in the 3rd place so far at 1'09.
The winner of the previous 2 editions of the Giro can forget the 3rd consecutive win. Igor Antón is 3'10 slower than Taaramäe, 40th time of the day.
GC's current number 5 is Bauke Mollema. He rides better than expected, finishin in the 5th time so far at 1'16. He keeps his great position in the GC.
Janez Brajkovic is 2nd in all the sector times, and looses time at Taaramäe in all the sector. This means the 2nd time for him at '34, with only the top 3 to go.
Times at the second split: 1. Taaramäe 28'35; 2. Brajkovic +21; 3. Hagen +28; 4. Nibali +36; 5. Löfkvist +43; 7. Mollema & Scarponi +48; 27. Kelderman +1'38; 36. Antón +1'59.
Last year's Vuelta winner Vincenzo Nibali is on a mission to take over the maglia rosa. The Sicilian Shark disappoints a bit, with "only" the 4th time, '58 behind Taaramäe.
Michele Scarponi showed some great climbing at the slopes of Monte Carpegna, and with many mountain stages to go, he has to limit his losses today. And he manages to do so, with the time of 48'49, only 1'16 behind Taaramäe and '18 behind Nibali. Still he gets passed by Nibali in the GC.
With a margin of '27 in the GC to Nibali, Wilco Kelderman knows he has to finish before the clock hits 48'58. His legs feel bad (daily form -2), so the start his pretty slow, loosing already '52 in the first sector. After 2/3 of the race, the gap has increased to 1'02. But he has built his time trial differently, saving energy for the last part of the race. And he manages to ride the fastest time in the last sector, needing '59 more than Taaramäe over the 36 kilometres. This means only 1 second behind Nibali, so he keeps the pink!!
Results
1
Rein Taaramäe
Sony Ericsson
47'33
2
Janez Brajkovic
Sky ProCycling
+ 34
3
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Dexia
+ 45
4
Vincenzo Nibali
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 58
5
Wilco Kelderman
Petronas - Monster Energy
+ 59
6
Thomas Löfkvist
Sony Ericsson
+ 1'09
7
Christian Knees
Sky ProCycling
+ 1'16
8
Bauke Mollema
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
9
Michele Scarponi
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
10
Frantisek Rabon
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
+ 1'56
GC
1
Wilco Kelderman
Petronas - Monster Energy
34h59'19
2
Vincenzo Nibali
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 26
3
Michele Scarponi
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 36
4
Janez Brajkovic
Sky ProCycling
+ 54
5
Bauke Mollema
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'44
6
Thomas Löfkvist
Sony Ericsson
+ 2'11
7
Rein Taaramäe
Sony Ericsson
+ 3'00
8
Simon Spilak
Lampre - Alitalia
+ 3'21
9
Bruno Pires
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 3'30
10
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 4'04
Today's Winner
Word from the DS
What a relieve, really thought Wilco was about to loose 2 minutes. But only 1 second..... Delighted!
What a brilliant time trial from Wilco! Although now that he's still riding in the Pink Jersey, it's all about defending the jersey. It's a long way to Milan (or wherever the hell this Giro ends )
@ all: I had to start slowly (first sector at 55, 2nd at 58, and 3rf at 60 with the last 6km at 62, with th eenergy bar empty when crossing the finish). I'd tried with others like Rosseler (TT 79) to start faster (everything on 60), but he just faded in the last 6km. So this was the only option....
After the first rest day of the Giro, the riders head to the North again to the town of Ferrara. The 189 kilometre route is pancake flat. So expect another mass sprint.
32km to go
With the maglia rosa in the team, we know that we are expected to chase a breakaway. Because we don't feel like doing that, we make sure that one of our riders is in the BOTD. That job today is for Tom Dumoulin. Together with Javier Iriarte (that guy is annoying me, tends to be in every breakaway.....), Valentin Iglinskiy (Astana), Damiano Margutti (Alitalia), Nikolas Maes (Dexia), Job Vissers (Rabobank) and Andrea Pasqualon (Lampre), he takes a maximum lead of 6'30. But with 32km to go, and 2 laps on a circuit near Ferrara, only 2'35 is left.
13km to go
When the peloton is about to catch the BOTD, a crash occurs in a sharp corner. A Katusha-rider looses control of his bike, and the next to crash is the number 4 of the GC Janez Brajkovic! He isn't the only GC-contender that crashes, as also Thomas Löfkvist (6th), Simon Spilak (8th) and Bruno Pires (9th) hit the tarmac.
With the sprinter teams (Garmin and Monster Energy - Petronas) keeping the pace high in the peloton to catch the BOTD, these riders know that they will loose a few minutes today!
9km to go
3 riders have attacked out of the BOTD in a desperate attempt to stay out of reach of the peloton. All 3 of them speak the Dutch language, so this must be communicated! Vissers, Maes and Dumoulin cooperate very well, but the peloton is only about 40 seconds behind them.
1km to go
Vissers has attacked once more in a desperate attempt for glory. But under the red banner, the peloton is close. Peter Sagan has started his sprint on the right side of the road, with Jens Mulder and Wilco Kelderman. In the middle of the road comes the Garmin-train, with Tony Gallopin leading out Tyler Farrar. Theo Bos has jumped on that train. And EB Hagen is nowhere to be seen!
Finish
Sagan hasn't got the power left to sprint for the win. That win goes to Tyler Farrar, who edges out Theo Bos by a half wheel lengths. It's only the first win of the season for the American! Young Jens Mulder takes a great 6th place.
The group Brajkovic-Löfkvist-Spilak-Pires crosses the finish line at 3'04. Brajkovic realizes that finishing on the podium will be very hard now!
I'm happy with today's results. Sagan did a good job for the points jersey with the 3rd place. Mulder has a better form than in the first week and is showing his potential. And Kelderman is very strong. Of course we're happy with opponents loosing time, too bad it was because of a crash, but these things happen....
The first real mountain top finish awaits in stage 12. The first 193 kilometres out of Ferrara are flat, but the last 8.7km have an average gradient of 7.8%, and lead the riders to the summit of the Croce D'Aune. And as the road is pretty narrow, the GC-contenders should pay attention!
While Wilco Kelderman did the right thing and started the climb as one of the first riders, his main rival Vincenzo Nibali must have been sleeping. After almost a kilometre of climbing, he finds himself in about 40th position, almost 2 minutes behind the Maglia Rosa.
5km to go
So I tell to Kelderman and the guys to increase the pace, as this is a great opportunity to gain some valuable time. But there is 1 factor, that will play a very important role today: blocking riders on the way to narrow road.......
Lorenzetto, Kocjan, Martens and Bos (WTF?) are the only riders of the BOTD that remain in the lead, and they have been joined by Pellizotti and Valverder. A group with Kelderman, Van den Broeck, Mollema (GC 4), Antón (GC 7), Taaramäe (GC 5), as well as Sagan, Ruijgh & De Greef, follows at 1'29. Th egroup Niblai (GC 2), Scarponi (GC 3), Brajkovic (GC 6) and Cataldo (GC 8) follows at 3'04, so this means a gap of 1'35 to the gruppo Maglia Rosa!
4km to go
The camera switches back to the lead of the race, and we see why the Italian fans are ecstatic: Franco Pellizotti has attacked out of the leading group!
3500m to go
Then the camera switches to Nibali and the Italian fans go crazy again. Why? Nibali manages to close a 1'35 gap to the group Kelderman within 1500 metres......
Remember the blocking riders? Well, Kelderman had taken over the lead of this group, when they caught some of the former BOTD-members. And they continued to block the Maglia Rosa for more than 800 metres. At the same time, Igor Antón attacked out of the group, and there was nothing Kelderman could do to counter.... So pissed...
2500m to go
2500 metres to go, and Igor Antón has bridged the 1'30 gap to Valverde and almost to leader Pellizotti. The gruppo maglia rosa follows at 1'50, with Kelderman still trying to find an escape route of this group. When Taaramäe tries to attack, he wants to follow him, but this time, the BMC-duo of Van den Broeck and Mollema are about to block him.
1500m to go
Finally, a free road!!!!!!!
It has taken Keldermanmore than 3 kilometres to find himself a free road out of this group. He counters the attack by Taaramäe, and Nibali and friends can't follow him.
This happens 1'25 behind the 3 leaders, as Pellizotti has been joined by the 2 Spaniards.
Finish
The earlier attack has costed Franco Pellizotti the stage win, as the 2 Spanish riders have more energy left. It's Alejandro Valverde with his first victory since returning after his doping suspension. Antón takes the 2nd place and suddenly becomes a contender for the overall podium!
Wilco Kelderman tries to gain as much time as possible in the last 1500 metres. Finishing in 6th place, he crosses the line 22 seconds before Vincenzo Nibali does. Mollema and Scarponi finish at 40 seconds.
Results
1
Alejandro Valverde
Dexia
4h40'59
2
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
3
Franco Pellizotti
Lampre - Alitalia
+ 12
4
Mirco Lorenzetto
Acqua & Sapone
+ 40
5
Jure Kocjan
Sky ProCycling
+ 1'01
6
Wilco Kelderman
Petronas - Monster Energy
s.t.
7
Vincenzo Nibali
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 1'23
8
Rein Taaramäe
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
9
Paul Martens
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
10
Peter Sagan
Petronas - Monster Energy
s.t.
GC
1
Wilco Kelderman
Petronas - Monster Energy
43h53'03
2
Vincenzo Nibali
Radio Shack - Nissan
+ 48
3
Michele Scarponi
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 1'16
4
Bauke Mollema
BMC Racing Team
+ 2'24
5
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 2'51
6
Rein Taaramäe
Sony Ericsson
+ 3'22
7
Francis De Greef
Petronas - Monster Energy
+ 6'22
8
Janez Brajkovic
Sky ProCycling
+ 6'45
9
Dario Cataldo
Omega Pharma - Quick·Step
+ 7'03
10
Rob Ruijgh
Petronas - Monster Energy
+ 7'12
Points
1
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Dexia
147
2
Wilco Kelderman
Petronas - Monster Energy
109
3
Peter Sagan
Petronas - Monster Energy
109
4
Tyler Farrar
Garmin - Barracuda
65
5
Rein Taaramäe
Sony Ericsson
64
KOTM
1
Alejandro Valverde
Dexia
15
2
Tony Gallopin
Garmin - Barracuda
15
3
Vincenzo Nibali
Radio Shack - Nissan
10
4
Michele Scarponi
Saxo Bank SunGard
10
5
Igor Antón
Euskaltel - Euskadi
10
U25
1
Wilco Kelderman
Petronas - Monster Energy
43h53'03
2
Peter Sagan
Petronas - Monster Energy
+ 7'46
3
Luke Rowe
Qantas Airways
+ 11'39
4
Rasmus Guldhammer
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 14'42
5
Tom Slagter
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 15'31
Teams
1
Petronas - Monster Energy
131h48'59
2
BMC Racing Team
+ 9'22
3
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 9'55
4
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 10'37
5
Sony Ericsson
+ 10'41
Today's Winner
Word from the DS
Now this was a controversial final climb. Somehow, even riding in the leaders jersey doesn't save you from being blocked. And not just a short time, no over 3 kilometres of a 9km climb......
But the question is who to blame, the riders, or the tour direction, that sends the riders over these ridiculous narrow climbs? Anyhow, we are happy to have gained time to the 2 main rivals, but feel bad about Antón fiding his way back into the GC.
Edited by dienblad on 17-01-2013 22:07
Played the ITT already, but apparently did something wrong with the adverts and jersey, as Kelderman was riding in the "old" gear.. But since I go to the 1st birthday of my sisters little girl, no report this afternoon. Maybe tomorrow.
Cliffhanger 
Rein Taaramäe
Janez Brajkovic
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Vincenzo Nibali
Thomas Löfkvist
Christian Knees
Frantisek Rabon
Bruno Pires
Igor Antón
)
) And a great Timetrial from WIlco 
Tyler Farrar
Michael Matthews
Denis Galimzyanov
Tony Gallopin
Luke Rowe
Rasmus Guldhammer
BMC Racing Team
