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One in a Billion | Rise to the Summit
Kiserlovski01
Already like the team choice! Guess the no beer policy didn't last too long. Pfft
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Tamijo
Good luck with the new season, GREAT START !
 
AbhishekLFC
@Ripley: Thanks. Yes our squad is very good Smile

@Aquarius: You bet!

@Kiserlovski: When there is beer on the line, the wins will (hopefully) keep on coming Wink

@Tamijo: Thanks. Hopefully just the start of bigger things!
 
Ollie23
Couldn't have asked for a better start than that! Congratulations! Careful with the beer Smile
 
AbhishekLFC
'Official' two beer policy from the team management Wink
 
AbhishekLFC
February

The second month on the calendar brings about the second race on my schedule. I'm still on a high (Wink) following my GC win, only the second ever, in San Luis.

Tour of Oman
'
My second ever outing in this race. Our team was strong once again, with Barguil, Ulissi, Degenkolb, Craddock and Oliviera among the starters. Could we see a repeat? Let's find out...

Stage 1 was flat with two of our riders among the favourites. However, there would be no joy for them as they finished just outside the top 10. Gaviria won.

Stage 2 was again mostly flat with with a small climb before the finish. The early three break stayed away till just 9 km to go. At the decisive moment, I got boxed in the middle of the pack as a fourteen man group went away. Eleven of them were caught on the downhill. The three who stayed away included Barguil and the trio got half a minute over the pack. Barguil finished 3rd and also moved up to 3rd in the GC.

Stage 3 was another flat stage where a four rider break built up an eight minute lead. They were caught with a mere 7 km left and Gaviria won again.

Stage 4

i.imgur.com/mnRGkYJ.png

This stage was touted to be the decider. I was one of the favourites for the stage win but I had promised Barguil to look after his GC position. After the effort he had piut in for me in San Luis, I owed him this much. The early break were kept on a short leash and were caught with 19 km to go. We set the pace in the approach to the climb to the finish with Ulissi, Degenkolb and Oliveira. I ensured that I kept Barguil out of the wind for as much as possible. At the base of the climb, with 6 km left, Gallopin and Barguil attacked. Formolo and Pinot followed and caught up to them. They were caught by Robert Power before the finish and the sprint was won by Pinot. Barguil finished 2nd and took the lead in the GC! I finished 8th on the stage and moved into 8th in the GC.

Stage 5

i.imgur.com/Xm2uCFH.png

This stage was not supposed to cause too many problems for the peloton. As it turned out, the pack split behind the break on the first climb. 3 more riders attacked in the hope of joining up with the break. The lead group down to just forty five riders on the second climb. The break was now five riders strong. Barguil was dropped on this climb. Degenkolb, Ulissi and Craddock dropped back to pace him into the group as I tried desperately to slow down the peloton. By the top of the third climb, the lead group had sixteen riders and Barguil had just made his way back. Gallopin and Dunbar attacked immediately, followed by Bardet. I chased them with all my strength but could only catch Dunbar. Serry survived from the break to win the stage followed by Gallopin, who took the lead in the GC. Barguil and I finished in the larger group, nearly a minute behind. Barguil lost a place in the GC.

Stage 6 was flat but the sprinters were outfoxed by the early break. I tried to gain some seconds by attacking at the end, but it did not succeed. I did finish 7th in the sprint.

General Classification

1Tony GallopinTinkoff-Saxo21h02'32
2Warren BarguilDuvel+ 1'00
3Thibaut PinotTinkoff-Saxo+ 1'29
4Robert PowerIstanbul+ 1'35
5Merhawi KudusTEAM Kodak+ 2'24
6Eddie DunbarTEAM Kodak+ 2'43
7Abhishek SinhaDuvels.t.
8Dominik NerzTeam Giant-Alpecin+ 3'13
9Romain BardetHuawei+ 3'26
10Tejay Van GarderenTinkoff-Saxo+ 5'37

Spoiler


Points Classification

1Fernando GaviriaTEAM Cepsa88
2Tony GallopinTinkoff-Saxo65
3Arnaud DemareLapierre63
4Giacomo NizzoloHuawei46
5Wouter WippertMTN-Qhubeka44


Mountain Classification

1Warren BarguilDuvel18
2Pieter SerryUnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team18
3Thibaut PinotTinkoff-Saxo16
4Tony GallopinTinkoff-Saxo10
5Davide FormoloTinkoff-Saxo10

i.imgur.com/TzVdDOO.png


Young Riders Classification

1Eddie DunbarTEAM Kodak21h05'15
2Abhishek SinhaDuvel+ 0
3Anastasio AniaTinkoff-Saxo+ 12'22
4Alton McArtherTEAM Kodak+ 12'58
5Giovanni PedrettiIstanbul+ 13'55


Team Classification

1Tinkoff-Saxo63h11'06
2TEAM Kodak+ 7'36
3Duvel+ 8'10
4Huawei+ 15'54
5Team Giant-Alpecin+ 24'22


One thing's for sure, Barguil is a much better domestique than I am! Stage 5 turned out to be our undoing as I wasn't able to sufficiently support my teammate in those last few kilometers. The minute lost on that stage was the difference between first and second place in the GC for my French teammate. He did pick up the KOM title, a consolation prize. I managed 7th place in the GC, which continues my good start to the season. The obverall performance from the team was quite good except for the failure of our sprint trains to be effective.
 
Tamijo
All in all a good race for the team, 2nd is always bittersweet but it beats 3rd dosent it.
 
AbhishekLFC
Off course it does Grin
 
AbhishekLFC
March

I hoped to continue my early season form with the first big race of the season. I would be leading the team in the Tirreno-Adriatico while Barguil and Alaphilippe led in Paris - Nice.

Tirreno - Adriatico

The management once again sent a strong team capable of competing for top honours to this race. Dumoulin, Uran and Ulissi were the leading names among my teammates. This would be my first ride alongside Uran, who would be my super-domestique! I'm starting to feel a little awkward with the caliber of support the team is providing me.

Stage 1 featured a few climbs on the profile. The early break had three riders. the peloton was down to less than a hundred riders after the fourth climb. The break had four minutes to us at this point. Two riders from the break were caught on the fifth climb before Dan Martin, Aru and another rider attacked. They were before the top of the climb. The solo break had a minute's lead as the pack was down to fifty. The break was cuaght at the base of the last climb. The peloton stabilized as a group of twenty on the climb with Dumoulin and Ulissi my only teammates. The group swelled in size on the descent and a reduced bunch sprint decided the stage. Dumoulin finished 10th.

Stage 2 was flat with Geuens one of the favourites. The early break were caught with over 10 km to go. Geuens managed 8th at the finish.

Stage 3

i.imgur.com/1AL9iIz.png

I was one of the favourites for the stage win here. The five man break was down to two one the first category climb. The peloton was down to fifty at the top of that climb, and caught the break going down. I attacked at the base of the climb to the finish. Others followed and we formed a select group of eleven riders 5 km from the finish. Nairo Quintana and Aru attacked with only me and Jungels chasing. The others were dropped. Jungels got away with Aru eventually while I caught up to Quintana. I finished 4th on the stage and moved up to 7th in the GC. I became the leader in U25s classification.

The alternation of mountains and flat stages continued on Stage 4. The six man break had a ten minute lead at a time but were reeled in eventually. The peloton was reduced to just sixty riders at the line, where Geuens took 5th while Degenkolb's lead-out rewarded him with 10th place.

i.imgur.com/hr25imK.png

(Wearing the U25s jersey)


Stage 5

i.imgur.com/OaOOSgq.png

Mogni joined the early break for us, along with six others. The pack split up after a couple of falls but came together before the second climb. The break split up into four groups on that same climb. Mogni led the field along with another rider. The peloton was down to forty riders on the third climb, with three riders in the break. Mogni was dropped from the head of the race with 20 km to go. Pinot attacked with 15 km to go. I followed Kwiatkowski's counter and we got a gap to the pack. The pack finally caught up to us with around 7 km to go but Pinot still had a gap. I attacked with 3 km to go with Jungels and Mohoric following. We got thirty seconds to Quintana and forty-five to Aru as the pack disintegrated behind us. I finished 4th once again, unable to get some bonus seconds. I moved up to 5th in the GC. Ulissi was forced to retire from the race after a late crash.

Stage 6

i.imgur.com/FLWZOYq.png

A total of ten climbs littered the landscape on this stage. Mogni joined the break once again and was engrossed in a battle with Wyss for the KOM. The pack split on the fifth climb. On the category 2 climb, the pack split again, with the number reduced to around seventy in the peloton. Mogni got the KOM lead after reaching the top of the seventh climb. The break now had two and a half minutes over us with 60 km to go. Mogni was caught on the ninth climb. The peloton was now fifty riders strong. Zardini was the lone surviving break at this point, still holding a two minute lead. He was finally caught with 12 km to go. When the decisive attack came from seven riders, I found myself too far back in the pack to respond in time. I chased but it wasn't useful. I finished 10th on the stage, in the fourth group on the road and slipped to 8th in the GC.

The ITT on Stage 7 was a final chance to improve. Dumoulin started out as top favourite but burned himself out too early. I couldn't do very well either, managing 34th more than a minute down on the stage winner.

General Classification

1Thibaut PinotTinkoff-Saxo29h21'45
2Fabio AruHuawei+ 33
3Bob JungelsTinkoff-Saxo+ 39
4Nairo QuintanaDe Konincks.t.
5Michał KwiatkowskiOrica-GreenEDGE+ 1'31
6Wilco KeldermanTeam LottoNL - Jumbo+ 2'01
7Louis MeintjesSwissair+ 2'59
8Abhishek SinhaDuvel+ 3'18
9Fabio FellineAlcatel+ 3'39
10Moreno MoserAg2r La Mondiale+ 3'42

Spoiler


Points Classification

1Bryan CoquardTeam Europcar30
2Fabio AruHuawei29
3Bob JungelsTinkoff-Saxo27
4Thibaut PinotTinkoff-Saxo26
5Caleb EwanDe Koninck25


Mountain Classification

1Massimo MogniDuvel38
2Marcel WyssNike33
3Bernard ThielDrapac Professional Cycling20
4Matteo BusatoMartini17
5Clément VenturiniCCC Sprandi Polkowice15


Young Riders Classification

1Abhishek SinhaDuvel29h25'03
2Graham TrainoRoth - Skoda+ 14'44
3Patrick MüllerRoth - Skoda+ 22'54
4Philip O'DonnellSwissair+ 27'48
5Simon RaffinAg2r La Mondiale+ 28'29

i.imgur.com/fwOLKwL.png


Team Classification

1Tinkoff-Saxo88h09'22
2De Koninck+ 15'04
3Huawei+ 15'51
4Duvel+ 17'15
5Team Giant-Alpecin+ 34'26


Bad positioning on Stage 6 cost me the chance of a top 5 in this race, and maybe even a shot at the podium. It wasn't a bad race for me overall as I did quite well on the other two mountain stages. The ITT was a bit of a disappointment, but I was too tired from my efforts earlier in the week. The U25s win is something I'm used to by now and I secured that here too. On to the next race then.

The good news from Paris - Nice is that Alaphilippe finished 2nd in the GC!
Edited by AbhishekLFC on 27-08-2017 06:46
 
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Tamijo
Not the best race, was looking good mid way, but lost a bit too muck on the last few stages. Good new with Alap in Paris Nice.
 
Kiserlovski01
Disappointing result in the end, taking into account how things went down. You simply don't stop learning at the top level. Wink
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Ripley
T-A can be the most difficult race of the year, lots of strong riders, everybody's still fresh... 8th isn't a bad result.
 
Aquarius97
Slowing down a bit, but maybe is better if you want to be at 100% for Giro
Manager of [MG] Repsol - Netflix


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AbhishekLFC
@Tamijo: I thought I had it till before the last mountain stage. That's where it went downhill, literally!

@Kiserlovski: No we don't, and I hope I don't stop learning for my own good.

@Ripley: It could have been better though...

@Aquarius: Yeah, I hope that works out!
 
Ollie23
I wouldn't be too disappointed though. You won another jersey in a very difficult race and only one stage messed up a top 5 finish for you. Good job!
 
AbhishekLFC
@Ollie: Yeah the jersey win was good but there's always a disappointment associated with dropping down the GC.

A correction to the earlier reply to Aquarius, I'm not going to the Giro this season. The Tour-Vuelta combo for me this year.
 
Aquarius97
AbhishekLFC wrote:
@Ollie: Yeah the jersey win was good but there's always a disappointment associated with dropping down the GC.

A correction to the earlier reply to Aquarius, I'm not going to the Giro this season. The Tour-Vuelta combo for me this year.


Yeah, that was a bold statement by me, as you didn't reveal this season calendar Wink
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AbhishekLFC
April

My run of a single race every month continues in April. I'm off to Spain for the first time this year in the next race. My early season is incomplete without racing in my favourite country.

Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco

The team management did not hold back with the startlist! Alaphilippe, Barguil, Dumoulin and Uran were all in the team. Not to mention Craddock and Van Avermaet! I hoped that this was more as a prep for the Tour than the Giro. No word on either startlist yet. Except the last ITT stage, all stages had a lot of climbs.

Stage 1

i.imgur.com/3aslCtH.png

The early seven man break survived the first climb but was down to four after the descent. Uran and Hardouin both fell in a multi-rider crash. Both were dropped from the peloton, but while Uran continued, Hardouin had to retire because of injuries. The peloton was down to just twenty riders following the second climb. Good news for us was that we still had four riders there. The break was caught on the third climb, with 45 km left. There were no attacks of consequence till the base of the last climb. I attacked with 3 km left, 1.5 km from the top of the last climb. I had 15 seconds to the chasing group of six riders at the top. I held my lead through the descent and crossed the line 1st! My first stage win of the season. I led in all calssifications following this stage.

i.imgur.com/wyV7NhJ.png

i.imgur.com/q9zd1cT.png


Stage 2 saw all of our riders assigned free roles.

i.imgur.com/Q0p2ARn.png

(Here I am with the yellow jersey)

The strong three man early break was joined by another on the first climb. The peloton was reduced to seventy riders on the fourth climb while the break was down to two. The peloton was further reduced to fifty on the next climb, Dumoulin also dropped here. Amador was the lone surviving break. The ever reducing peloton were a minute behind Amador on the sixt climb. Amador was finally caught with 12 km to go. With 8 km left, Dan Martin and Kwiatkowski attacked. There were a few who could follow and a six man group reached the finish together. I lost a minute to them, finishing in 7th on the stage in the next group and moving down to 6th in the GC. Alaphilippe was the next best teammate, finishing 12th, more than two minutes down.

Stage 3 and more climbing later, I found myself in a sixty rider peloton after the forst climb. Four riders broke from the pack but three were caught soon. Wellens was the lone break who built up a two minute gap. Pinot was dropped a long way back on the first climb itself but he slowly made his way back. The seventy rider peloton caught Wellens with 30 km to go. Incredibly, Wellens attacked again. I went away from the pack on a high gear with Aru in tow. We were joined by Kwiatkowski and Oomen. On top of the last climb, Aru was out ahead by a minute to my group of six. I attacked again but it wasn't successful this time. I settled for 7th at the finish, while Aru won. I moved up to 4th in the GC.

Stage 4 was flat for the first half and crazy in the second. The early break saw some strong riders join in with Pinot, Amador and Craddock to name a few. The peloton was down to fifty riders on the second climb. Pinot, dropped from the break, was back in the pack. A group of GC contenders went away from the pack. I missed the move and had to chase with Dumoulin and Craddock, who we caught up to. Barguil was in the group out ahead initially, but he too was dropped. I could not make it back and lost a lot of time, almost six minutes! Amazingly, I just lost two places in the GC.

The break on Stage 5 included Dunabr, Amador and Betancur join. We picked up the pace on third climb to put some pressure on our rivals. The peloton reduced in size to about thirty five riders. Kwiatkowski was the only significant casualty from the exercise. The peloton was back to sixty riders strong on the next climb with a five man break still out ahead. With 2 km to go, Kwiatkowski, who had recovered launched a late attack, with Gallopin following. The Pole was caught but the Frenchman leapfrogged the break in the final kilometer to take the win and 30 seconds to the pack. I stayed safe, finished in the larger group and held on my GC position.

Stage 6

i.imgur.com/ZOLpQRr.png

I have become quite good at tackling hilly ITTs and this one was right down my alley. I reached the first intermediate 20 seconds ahead on Van Garderen, who had set the fastest till then. I lost a few seconds in the second sector but still managed to cross the line nine seconds better than the American.

i.imgur.com/Zf1nx2E.png

(Riding the ITT)

It ended as such, after everyone had finished. I'd won again! But it wasn't enough to make up any places in the GC.

General Classification

1Fabio AruHuawei21h15'41
2Tony GallopinTinkoff-Saxo+ 2'49
3Louis MeintjesSwissair+ 3'01
4Adam YatesSwissair+ 4'59
5Sam OomenTeam Giant-Alpecin+ 5'41
6Abhishek SinhaDuvel+ 6'10
7Nairo QuintanaDe Koninck+ 8'10
8Alexis VuillermozTinkoff-Saxo+ 10'46
9Daniel MartinLiqui Moly+ 11'09
10Tejay Van GarderenTinkoff-Saxos.t.

Spoiler


Points Classification

1Tony GallopinTinkoff-Saxo76
2Fabio AruHuawei73
3Abhishek SinhaDuvel63
4Louis MeintjesSwissair63
5Sam OomenTeam Giant-Alpecin57


Mountain Classification

1Andrey AmadorMTN-Qhubeka94
2Eddie DunbarTEAM Kodak46
3Tim WellensDe Koninck20
4Louis MeintjesSwissair15
5Fabio AruHuawei14


Young Riders Classification

1Abhishek SinhaDuvel21h21'51
2Eddie DunbarTEAM Kodak+ 8'56
3Gregorio IbañezTEAM Kodak+ 14'41
4Graham TrainoRoth - Skoda+ 15'47
5Anastasio AniaTinkoff-Saxo+ 29'23


Team Classification

1Tinkoff-Saxo64h02'59
2Swissair+ 8'43
3Duvel+ 19'27
4TEAM Kodak+ 27'11
5Huawei+ 31'30


Two stage wins and the U25 jersey, not a bad return from the week in the Basque country. Another case of 'one bad stage' too unfortunately. My gap to the top of the standings is just slightly more than what I lost on stage 4. I have to work on my consistency and learn how to grind out results even when I'm not at my best. The solid start to 2021 continues but it could've been so much better already. I'm off racing for a couple of months but it's not a complete holiday for me. In addition to training, there is a sensitive issue that I need to take care of. Not sure how that will turn out at the moment. See you in June.
 
Aquarius97
Wow! 2 stage wins! Sinha is killer mode. Again a bad day preventing you from a mucn better GC. That's something he needs to stop if he wants to fight for a GT
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Tamijo
Great race with two stage wins.
 
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