Circuit Sarthe - Pays de Loire
Stage 2: Angers - Angers
Just 9km of time trialing, and only 54m of elevation. This was a time trial for the power riders to dig deeper and go hard and fast.
Christophe Moreau was already regarded as favourite for the overall, and his placing yesterday meant he went early. He set a stunning time of 8'57, a time that would give him the stage and GC lead, despite 69 more riders going after him.
Moreau looked in great shape
Marc de Maar was pumped up for this stage, and he set a furious pace, almost exploding down the start ramp. His time was just 24 seconds down on Moreau, giving him 7th on the day and 8th in the GC, beating the likes of Nocentini, Le Mével and Nys – a truly wondrous time trial.
Marc rode out of his skin
David Veilleux's day was all about damage limitation, and he put in a very good time trial by his standards – he was our 4th rider in, coming in 50th, 40 seconds down, shifting him down to 18th in the GC and 9th in the U25 rankings. His focus will now shift to keeping and winning that climber's jersey.
David goes well, but will focus on keeping that polka dot jersey rather than the GC
Circuit Sarthe - Pays de Loire
Stage 3: Angers - Sable sur Sarthe
This stage was surreal. It promised so much, with 188km of cycling including a very tough finishing circuit taken 3 times which included several climbs going in excess of 8%. But nothing really happened, 'twas very surreal. The weather was cold, overcast, and threatened rain (which didn't come luckily) as we go under way in Angers.
With 3 climbs on today's route, David's climber's jersey could have been under threat, so we needed to make sure we had someone in the break when it went, preferably David. Unfortunately, the 12 strong break that did go included precisely 0 Caterpillars, and despite Joshua England trying to bridge across, it was time to cross our fingers and hope – there was no way we had the strength to chase it down, and even then – that was no guarantee David would get in the next break.
Joshua England gets stuck in no mans land
The break was caught 20km out, on the final KOM sprint, and the results were in – David was tied for the lead of the KOM, on 11 ponints with Steven Van Vooren. Cue a ferocious look through the road handbook, and...YES! David would still be wearing the climber's jersey!
And then the surrealism kicked in. The peloton quickly shredded down to 59 riders, and then...nothing – no attacks, no high tempo, just an orderly procession to the finish, and a bunch sprint which Cyril Dessel took. Our two guys left in the peloton, Marc and David were equally as bemused – they had no idea what went in. Ok, they weren't find it easy, but they weren't near their limit, which should have been the case against the likes of Moreau and Le Mével. Marc sprinted to 13th, an excellent result for him, slipping him down a GC position to 9th. David falls to 20th, but his beaming smile on the podium as he received the climber's jersey again was well worth the slip in position.
Circuit Sarthe - Pays de Loire
Stage 4
The weather which had started so well on stage 1, had finished deteriorating and was now driving cold rain. But we'd have to forget the weather, had a job to do today – protect David's KOM jersey, and try to keep Marc in the top 10 of the GC. 3 KOM sprints were on the cards today, so it was imperative that we got somebody in the breakaway, and after Dan Fleeman had tried, Cameron Evans managed to do so, joining 14 others.
Cameron on the attack in the driving rain
The race progressed, and Cameron did his job, especially aided by nobody in the break having any KOM points to their name. Still, Cameron took the climber's sprints, just to make sure.
The break was caught with 20km to go, but unlike yesterday, the attacks were forthcoming on the 5.5% gradient. David and Marc both tried to mark them, and did so, with an elite group of 24 riders contesting the bunch sprint.
Marc goes on the attack to try and stay in contention
The sprint was a close fought contest between Anthony Geslin and Pablo Lastras, but it proved to be Geslin's day, who took the win which moved him up to 4th overall. Marc and David rolled in the front group, meaning Marc finishes 9th overall, David remains 20th but he got a final trip to the podium to collect that climber's jersey to keep! This has been a great race for us
April ProTour round-up
April means the classics, and what a hugely entertaining bunch of classics it proven to be. One name has stood out and established himself as a true legend of cycling: Tornado Tom Boonen. He completed the prestigious triple crown of the cobbles, winning the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Gent – Wevelgem and Paris – Roubaix in an incredible show of force and cycling ability.
Having already won Gent – Wevelgem last month, Tommeke began this month at the Ronde van Vlaanderen, managing to distance himself by 25 seconds from Fabian Cancellara in an epic battle.
Then the day of Paris – Roubaix dawned, the Hell of the North, and hell it proved to be, with crashes, mechanicals and mud galore! 3 riders distanced themselves over the cobbles, then entered the velodrome together – Fabian Cancellara, Leif Hoste, and, despite their best efforts to shake him off, Tom Boonen. The sprint opened up, and there could only be one winner: Tom Boonen had conquered hell, and he'd conquered the triple crown.
At the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, we had an incredible showdown between the two Tour de France favourites, Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador, and it was the Saxo Bank man who put in the first psychological blow, taking victory by 27 seconds from team mate Jakob Fuglsang. Contador was 1'20 down in 6th! That was behind Andy, Fuglsang, Gerdemann, Monfort and even Frank Schleck!
From the cobbles at the beginning of the month, we moved to the Ardenness hills to end the month. First up was the Amstel Gold Race, and it proved to be Sergui Ivanov's day, as he outsprinted Simon Gerrans and Jerome Pineau. La Fleche Wallonne was next, and it was Frank Schleck who managed to win a sprint dual with Thomas Lovkvist, and a worthy 4th for Jens Voigt. The final classic, and Frank Schleck took a memorable solo win by 13 seconds over Samuel Sanchez at Liege Bastogne Liege.
Caterpillar Cycling April Review Posted online at www.catcycling.com direct from Director Sportif Jonny Clayton
This month has not been our best (we only got 5 CT points!), but it's still been a good month, with the team continuing to gel and train well, it's just a shame we haven't got the results to match. We've been involved in 6 classics this month, and whilst the performance has been good, the results haven't been what we've expected or deserved. However, we shone well at the Circuit Sarthe – Pays de Loire, with Marc de Maar continuing his rich vein of form with a great top 10 finish.
Results:
-- Route Adélie de Vitré: Glen A. Chadwick 16th.
-- Grand Prix de Rennes: Ed Clancy 34th.
-- Circuit Sarthe – Paysde Loire: Marc de Maar 9th in GC; David Veilleux 1st in KOM, 20th in GC.
Rankings:
Continental Tour Individual Rankings:
1
Thomas Voeckler
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
353
2
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
283
3
Yury Trofimov
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
263
17
Karl Menzies
Caterpillar
146
76
Hilton Clarke
Caterpillar
33
115
Glen Alan Chadwick
Caterpillar
20
27
Rory Sutherland
Caterpillar
14
140
Ed Clancy
Caterpillar
11
152
Marc de Maar
Caterpillar
10
193
Ben Day
Caterpillar
4
214
David McCann
Caterpillar
2
Continental Tour Team Rankings:
1
Bbox Bougues Telecom
1382
2
Cofidis
891
3
ISD – Neri
785
10
Caterpillar
240
Rider of the Month: David Veilleux
David gave a mature and inspired performance at the Circuit Sarthe – Pays de Loire this month, taking the climber's jersey on stage 1 and then holding it for the remaining 4 stages, as well as finishing in a very respectable 20th overall, and being as high as 3rd in the GC at one point!
Next Month:
May will see us travel to 3 new countries, including a transatlantic flight for the Tour of California, a highlight not only of the month, but of our season! We start the month in Denmark for the GP Herning, then we travel to California before returning to Norway to finish our season at the Rogaland GP. In total there will be 10 days of racing.
Ciao for now!
Jonny Clayton DS for Caterpillar CyclingEdited by Crommy on 22-02-2011 13:53
GP Herning
Break goes, break caught, sprint happens. Your standard flat classic, won by René Weissinger (Vorarlberg – Corratec). Dean Downing was leading out Hilton Clarke, but managed to hold him off to take 9th, with Hilton just behind in 10th.
GP Herning Full Result:
1
René Weissinger
Vorarlberg - Corratec
4h46'56
2
Constantino Zaballa
Centro Ciclismo de Loulé - Louletano
s.t.
3
Alexandre Usov
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
4
Bert Grabsch
Team HTC - Columbia
s.t.
5
Servais Knaven
Team Milram
s.t.
6
Thomas Rohregger
Team Milram
s.t.
7
Sebastian Siedler
Vorarlberg - Corratec
s.t.
8
Dean Downing
Caterpillar
s.t.
9
Hilton Clarke
Caterpillar
s.t.
10
Krzysztof Jeżowski
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Sep Vanmarcke
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
12
Markus Fothen
Team Milram
s.t.
13
Peter Velits
Team HTC - Columbia
s.t.
14
Jesús Del Nero
Centro Ciclismo de Loulé - Louletano
s.t.
15
Denis Flahaut
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
16
Peter Wrolich
Team Milram
s.t.
17
Daniele Callegarin
CDC - Cavaliere
s.t.
18
Bruno Saraiva
Centro Ciclismo de Loulé - Louletano
s.t.
19
David Kopp
Team Kuota - Indeland
s.t.
20
Jarosław Rębiewski
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
21
Kris Boeckmans
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
22
Vicente Reynès
Team HTC - Columbia
s.t.
23
Leigh Howard
Team HTC - Columbia
s.t.
24
Reto Hollenstein
Vorarlberg - Corratec
s.t.
25
Markus Eichler
Team Milram
s.t.
26
Hubert Schwab
Vorarlberg - Corratec
s.t.
27
Preben Van Hecke
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
28
Danilo Andrenacci
CDC - Cavaliere
s.t.
29
Bartlomiej Matysiak
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
30
Karl Menzies
Caterpillar
s.t.
31
Vitaliy Popkov
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
32
Michael Reihs
Team Designa Køkken - Blue Water
s.t.
33
René Jørgensen
Team Designa Køkken - Blue Water
s.t.
34
Matic Strgar
Vorarlberg - Corratec
s.t.
35
Davide D'Angelo
CDC - Cavaliere
s.t.
36
Domenico Agosta
CDC - Cavaliere
s.t.
37
Stijn Neirynck
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
38
Oleksandr Sheydyk
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
39
Stijn Joseph
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
40
Marcel Kittel
Thüringer Energie Team
s.t.
41
Roger Kluge
Team Milram
s.t.
42
Ed Clancy
Caterpillar
s.t.
43
Michael Van Staeyen
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
44
Silvère Ackermann
Vorarlberg - Corratec
s.t.
45
Johannes Fröhlinger
Team Milram
s.t.
46
Yegor Dementyev
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
47
Craig Lewis
Team HTC - Columbia
s.t.
48
Rostislav Mykhaylov
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
49
Patrick Gretsch
Team HTC - Columbia
s.t.
50
Michael Kurth
Team Kuota - Indeland
s.t.
51
Björn Glasner
Team Kuota - Indeland
s.t.
52
Morten Høberg
Team Concordia Forsikring – Himmerland
s.t.
53
Cesare Benedetti
Team NetApp
s.t.
54
Yuriy Agarkov
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
55
John Degenkolb
Thüringer Energie Team
s.t.
56
Łukasz Bodnar
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
57
Tomáš Bucháček
PSK Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
58
Sander Armee
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
59
Celestino Pinho
Centro Ciclismo de Loulé - Louletano
s.t.
60
Volodymyr Rybin
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
61
Christoph Sokoll
Vorarlberg - Corratec
s.t.
62
Clemens Fankhauser
Vorarlberg - Corratec
s.t.
63
Gert Dockx
Team HTC - Columbia
s.t.
64
Marcin Tomaszewski
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
65
Dean Windsor
Caterpillar
s.t.
66
Joshua England
Caterpillar
s.t.
67
Aleksander Dorozala
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
68
Philip Nielsen
Team Concordia Forsikring – Himmerland
s.t.
69
Jan Ghyselinck
Team HTC - Columbia
s.t.
70
Luca Ascani
CDC - Cavaliere
s.t.
71
Daniel Westmattelmann
Team Kuota - Indeland
s.t.
72
Thomas Fothen
Team Milram
s.t.
73
Eugenio Loria
CDC - Cavaliere
s.t.
74
Luciano Pagliarini
Scott - Marcondes Cesar São José dos Campos
s.t.
75
Marcel Barth
Thüringer Energie Team
s.t.
76
Jens Erik Madsen
Team Designa Køkken - Blue Water
s.t.
77
André Schulze
PSK Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
78
Damjan Stankovic
CDC - Cavaliere
s.t.
79
Christian Patron
Team Kuota - Indeland
s.t.
80
Daniel Schorn
Team NetApp
s.t.
81
Stian Remme
Joker Bianchi
s.t.
82
Luca Zanasca
CDC - Cavaliere
s.t.
83
Daniel Foder
Team Concordia Forsikring – Himmerland
s.t.
84
Lucas Schädlich
Thüringer Energie Team
s.t.
85
Stefan Ganser
Team Kuota - Indeland
s.t.
86
Florian Monreal
Team Kuota - Indeland
s.t.
87
Mateusz Mroz
DHL - Author
s.t.
88
Glenn Bak
Team Designa Køkken - Blue Water
s.t.
89
Huub Duyn
Team NetApp
s.t.
90
Sergej Fuchs
Team Nutrixxion Sparkasse
s.t.
91
Taylor Phinney
Trek Livestrong U23
s.t.
92
Michael Christensen
Team Designa Køkken - Blue Water
s.t.
93
Kristof Vandewalle
Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator
s.t.
94
Andreas Dietziker
Team NetApp
s.t.
95
Pedro Lopes
Centro Ciclismo de Loulé - Louletano
s.t.
96
Roy Hegreberg
Sparebanken Vest - Ridley
s.t.
97
Gavin Mannion
Trek Livestrong U23
s.t.
98
Kaspar Larsen
Team Concordia Forsikring – Himmerland
s.t.
99
Cody Campbell
Trek Livestrong U23
s.t.
100
Maximilian May
Thüringer Energie Team
s.t.
101
Daniel Kreutzfeldt
Team Designa Køkken - Blue Water
s.t.
102
Geir Berg
Sparebanken Vest - Ridley
s.t.
103
Sylwester Janiszewski
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
104
Bruno Pinto
Centro Ciclismo de Loulé - Louletano
s.t.
105
Sebastian Forke
Team Nutrixxion Sparkasse
s.t.
106
Jorge Giacinti
Scott - Marcondes Cesar São José dos Campos
s.t.
107
Frode Solberg
Sparebanken Vest - Ridley
s.t.
108
Daniel Rogelin
Scott - Marcondes Cesar São José dos Campos
s.t.
109
Andreas Schillinger
Team NetApp
s.t.
110
Christer Rake
Joker Bianchi
s.t.
111
Erik Mohs
Team Nutrixxion Sparkasse
s.t.
112
Michael Schweizer
Team Nutrixxion Sparkasse
s.t.
113
Alexander Grad
Team Kuota - Indeland
s.t.
114
Wojciech Ziolkowski
DHL - Author
s.t.
115
Radoslav Romanik
DHL - Author
s.t.
116
Ales Broz
PSK Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
117
Jean-Mitja Schlüter
Team Nutrixxion Sparkasse
s.t.
118
Rasmus Quaade
Team Designa Køkken - Blue Water
s.t.
119
František Klouček
PSK Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
120
Kim Lachmann
Team Nutrixxion Sparkasse
s.t.
121
Michael Schwarzmann
Team NetApp
s.t.
122
Sondre Sörtveit
Joker Bianchi
s.t.
123
Jean Zen
Palmans - Cras
s.t.
124
Francois Jurgen
Palmans - Cras
s.t.
125
Egidijus Juodvalkis
Palmans - Cras
s.t.
126
Emil Hovmand
Team Designa Køkken - Blue Water
s.t.
127
Anders Lund
Sparebanken Vest - Ridley
s.t.
128
Michael Stevenson
Sparebanken Vest - Ridley
s.t.
129
Kristian Sobota
Team Concordia Forsikring – Himmerland
s.t.
130
Aidis Kruopis
Palmans - Cras
s.t.
131
Benjamin Sydlik
Team Nutrixxion Sparkasse
s.t.
132
Svein Erik Vold
Joker Bianchi
s.t.
133
Simon Lerbech
Team Concordia Forsikring – Himmerland
s.t.
134
Vegard Breen
Joker Bianchi
s.t.
135
Nathan Brown
Trek Livestrong U23
s.t.
136
Marc Reynès
PSK Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
137
Vojtěch Dlouhý
PSK Whirlpool - Author
s.t.
138
Ben King
Trek Livestrong U23
s.t.
139
Soelito Gohr
Scott - Marcondes Cesar São José dos Campos
s.t.
140
Radoslaw Swiatek
DHL - Author
s.t.
141
Konrad Tomaszewski
DHL - Author
s.t.
142
Geoffrey Coupe
Palmans - Cras
s.t.
143
Fabricio Morandi
Scott - Marcondes Cesar São José dos Campos
s.t.
144
Ingar Stokstad
Joker Bianchi
s.t.
145
Mauricio Morandi
Scott - Marcondes Cesar São José dos Campos
s.t.
146
Mike Willam
Thüringer Energie Team
s.t.
147
Iggy Silva
Trek Livestrong U23
+ 3'24
148
Tom Vanbecelaere
Palmans - Cras
+ 4'12
149
Armando Camargo
Scott - Marcondes Cesar São José dos Campos
s.t.
150
Grischa Janorschke
Team Nutrixxion Sparkasse
s.t.
151
Johan Ziesler
Sparebanken Vest - Ridley
s.t.
152
Tiego Justo
Scott - Marcondes Cesar São José dos Campos
+ 5'08
153
Konrad Czajkowski
DHL - Author
+ 12'16
Tour of California: Preview
To the Golden State for an 8 day stage race, with a mix of time trialling, climbing and sprinting, we brought a team capable of all those things. The team will be led by Rory Sutherland and Marc de Maar, who, whilst not going for the very top of the GC, will be hoping to put in respectable performances. Ed Clancy and Dean Downing are our 2 sprinters, but with the likes of Ciolek and Farrar here, a top 10 placing would be a fantastic achievement.
In terms of our opposition – well, it's bloody good. Andy Schleck, Samuel Sanchez, Bradley Wiggins, Denis Menchov, Cadel Evans... the list goes on, (and on and on). We'll do well just to get any TV time, and our aim is therefore to be as visual as possible, especially in the breaks.
Caterpillar Team: Rory Sutherland, Alexander Boyd, Ed Clancy, Ben Day, Marc de Maar, Dean Downing, Guy East, Karl Menzies.
Edited by Crommy on 01-03-2011 18:27
Tour of California
Stage 1: Nevada City – Sacramento A bumpy start, but the flat run in means a sprint should be seen today.
An American tour, so why not one of our Americans in the first break of the Tour?
Guy East gets us some TV time
12 riders made the cut for the breakaway, going through some spectacular scenery through the hills on the way to Sacramento. And whilst in those hills, the break had a chance to get some glory, with several sprints. Guy East duly took one of them, a very important occurrence it would turn out to be later on.
Guy takes the sprint!
Out of the hills, and it was a journey through flat plains on wide roads – the absolute worst for maintaining a breakaway, which was duly caught perfectly with 10km to go as the pace wound up
Long, flat, straight, wide roads do not make for a happy escape, but some very happy chasers
5km to go, and the pace was absolutely red hot, when around a tight corner – a crash!
Face - meet road
A mass pile-up occurred, and Marc de Maar hit the deck – luckily, he picked himself up, dusted himself off and got riding – he would be sore and have some road rash, but nothing long lasting thankfully. He'd also lose 2 minutes, meaning Rory Sutherland was now the undisputed team leader.
The sprint was a disaster for us. The pace was just too hot, and Ed Clancy and Dean Downing were nowhere near the front when the sprint began, so rolled in mid-pack. Oscar Freire took a commanding win over Koldo Fernandez.
It's all too easy for Oscar
But remember me saying Guy East's bonus seconds would matter later on? Well, he stayed in the peloton after being caught, and with those extra seconds, he sits pretty in 3rd overall, and currently leads the U25 rankings! A trip to the podium equals a happy Guy.
Tour of California
Stage 2: Davis - Santa Rosa Some hills means this will be a very tricky stage
After Marc de Maar's fall yesterday, today's stage was ideal for him to join the breakaway, especially given the terrain awaiting us, and he managed to slip away with 5 others, including American champion George Hincapie (BMC) and Team Sky's Juan Antonio Flecha.
Some impressive competition for Marc
They settled down, but they would be joined by one other, as Rafael Valls (Footon – Servetto) went for a daring solo from the peloton with 105km to go. The now 7 strong break worked well, until they hit the first climb of the day. Cue Valls immediately going clear, this man was on a mission today!
Valls sets off
The pace heated up in the pack too as Valls increased his lead swiftly, causing the peloton to be shredded down to just 31, with not a single Caterpillar in the main bunch over the top of the climb. Rory Sutherland was in the trailing group of 19.
But back up front, and Marc was in the third group on the road with Flecha, 2'47 behind the second group of Hincapie and Ru, who were 1'38 behind Valls.
Marc with Flecha
However, the pace in the pack was excruciatingly hot, and Marc lost a 4 minute lead on the pack within 16km!
But despite the blistering pace, Valls was well clear, and took a stunning solo win, just under 4 minutes in front of a now reduced pack of 22. Rory and Marc rolled in with the second main group, over 8 and a half minutes down on Valls, putting Rory 38th overall.
Valls announces himself to the world in stunning fashion
Tour of California
Stage 3: San Francisco – Santa Cruz
Two big, steep climbs, lets see what we can do.
Our best placed rider, Rory Sutherland, was 38th, 7 whole minutes down, which, to be frank, is absolutely nowhere. He has been feeling good though, so we decided to be positive, sending him into the morning's break.
Rory can enjoy the coast from the point of view of the break
Five others joined him, and they set a decent pace up the first climb of the day. Up at the top, and the pack, led by Footon, was keeping them on a very short leash. Rory took the points, and with 2 more mountain sprints coming up, we decided Rory should go for them. Which he did, and he took both of them.
A quick calculation, and Rory was third in the climbers rankings
The pack continued to keep the gap short, and then on the final climb, the pace ramped up, and the break was caught. Cue Rory going straight out the back, along with the rest of the team.
A decent day out front, now a horrid climb of 8% to get through
A group of 25 went over the top, and contested the stage after a long run in to the finish. Damian Cunego (Lampre) took the victory in a fairly chaotic, every man for himself sprint.
Cunego edges out Callegarin (CDC - Cavaliere) (yes, I have no idea who he is either)
Rory rolled in with the second big group, 3 and a half minutes down.
Tour of California
Stage 4: San José – Modesto Will the sprinters go for this stage?
Sorry about the late update, I may have celebrated a little too hard last night. I also appear to have the hangover from hell, and looking at the laptop made me feel definitely queasy. Anyway, onwards to the reason for the celebration.
Rory Sutherland was up for the breakaway again, and today he had a chance at taking the climber's jersey. The first climb was steep, averaging at about 11%, but Rory still managed to be first over the top.
Rory takes maximum points!
The break established itself as a lead of 8, with a chase group of 3. The lead started to ramp up as the pack set a very sedate pace, and by the second mountain sprint, the gap was over 5 minutes. The break was also happy to let Rory take the climber's sprint uncontested, giving Rory the climber's jersey!
A trip to the podium beckons!
The 3 chasers bridged up to the front, and the break set a good pace. The peloton on the other hand, set a very slow pace, and with the gap at over 6 minutes with 30km left, it was going to make it.
Meanwhile, back in the peloton, a crash took out Cadel Evans, but all our riders managed to avoid it.
Curse of the rainbow jersey?
But now we had to decide tactics – Rory was by no means the best sprinter in the group. Should he attack? The run in was flat though, he could attack and waste himself for a sprint. I talked over the radio to Rory about this, and he proceeded to tell me to shut up, he knew what to do. So I did. And boy did he know what to do.
As the sprint wound up, he immediately went to the front and led out. What on Earth was he doing?
Suicidal attempt at a stage win?
He then set a furious sprint off – too soon I shouted to nobody in particular. But the finish line was getting nearer and nearer, he was still leading, the others tried to come round, but...
GET IN THERE RORY YOU BEAUTY!!!
What a win. It was an incredible way to win a stage, and has made out Tour of California more than successful already! I can't begin to describe the emotions around the team right now, it's such a huge win for us – we could stop our season now and it would have been a fantastic season.
The media were all over Rory, all waxing lyrical over his method of victory. Lots of interviews with Rory, but this was perhaps my favourite (with Cyclingnews' Daniel Benson):
Daniel Benson (DB): Congrats on the win, Rory, how does it feel? Rory Sutherland (RS): Over the moon, can't believe I've won the stage. DB: What were your tactics as you realised the break would make it? RS: Well, my Director Sportif, Jonny Clayton, kept on trying to tell me what to do, changing his mind about whether to attack, whether to sprint, how to sprint, when to sprint, when to attack... DB: And...? RS: I told him to shut up, [with a big grin on his face] because he's an idiot.
[laughing]
In all the excitement, Rory almost forgot to go get the climber's jersey, another great bonus, and something to focus on for the rest of the Tour. And then he completely forgot to go and get the points jersey, which we had no idea he had earned. Cue a five minute delay in the presentation as he was tracked down.
The first of 3 trips onto the podium
And then, after the race, the sponsors (who were as ecstatic as I was) invited me for a few drinks to celebrate.
Hence the hangover. But what a day!
