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Vuelta a Guatemala Discussion
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| Mhaley45 |
Posted on 08-03-2012 12:03
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The D2 boys are sticking to the team strategy. Somebody new, with fresh legs, in the breakaway every day. Today it was Logan Hutchings, who like Shapiro and Serrano before him, Hutchings challenge for points .
In the GC Laverde-Jiminez edged up to 7th place, Serrano is now in 22nd, Esmaeli is 33rd and Shapira is 35th. Serrano has the most sprint points with 31, Shapira the most KOM points with 14 and Esmaeli has moved into 5th place in the young rider catagory +5'06".
The team moved up another slot from 8th to 7th. Another solid day as the d2 riders attack daily in the breaks but they are also protecting Laverde-Jiminez. Stage #4 was an easy day for Laverde-Jiminez.
Stage #5 is 136km long. It starts flat but then they drop off the plateau into a downhill section and the finish is a long climb. Today just might be Esmaeli's turn in the breakaway as his downhill skills would help them stay away, but in the long run he would be bridge for Laverde-Jiminez and Serrano to get a good jump on the climb. This looks to be a good stage for the D2 with 4 steady climbers.
Attack-Attack-Attack |
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 08-03-2012 16:37
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Looking at the results, appears a contingent of the Vespa team waited for Matteo Carrara and then managed to finish a minute ahead of him.
Crap race so far - Carrara loses a minute or so on a flat stage, then crashes on another one and loses nearly 3 minutes. Good chance he's injured too for the rest of the race now. Very poor. |
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| mb2612 |
Posted on 08-03-2012 19:58
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fenian_1234 wrote:
Looking at the results, appears a contingent of the Vespa team waited for Matteo Carrara and then managed to finish a minute ahead of him.
Crap race so far - Carrara loses a minute or so on a flat stage, then crashes on another one and loses nearly 3 minutes. Good chance he's injured too for the rest of the race now. Very poor.
Yep, they slowed down, but he crashed so close to the line they just rolled over slowly before he got to them.
 [url=www.pcmdaily.com/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=33182] Team Santander Media Thread[/url]
Please assume I am joking unless otherwise stated |
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 08-03-2012 22:20
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| tyriion |
Posted on 09-03-2012 06:09
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Stage 5 with Nozal in the break, nice to see we are at least present somewhat. And 8th is almost as good as Serrano earlier on  . Also improves to 30th in GC, so a good finishing stretch might see him into the top 25.
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| viking90 |
Posted on 09-03-2012 07:53
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Lövkvist looks strong, and the rest of the team looks good to!
And Lövkvist is slighty better in the TT´s and the hills except Paulinho. |
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| brownwm |
Posted on 09-03-2012 08:20
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Not sure why Laverde Jimenez decided to attack prior to getting dropped, but on the plus side he is up to 13th in the GC. It is looking quite good for Div2. 
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| ember |
Posted on 09-03-2012 08:55
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Slightly disappointing to see Vasquez dropped due to bad positioning, but hopefully this opens up for another crazy attack from him
And well done to Hirschlein, nice to see us continue beeing in the breakaways |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 24-11-2024 06:10
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| Christer |
Posted on 09-03-2012 11:20
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Voeckler in KoM!  Also making the race more entertaining by being offensive, and I think Paulinho deserved a little better.
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| Mhaley45 |
Posted on 09-03-2012 11:54
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Once again on stage #5 the D2 team stays with the team's strategy. Nozal was the man in the break today and he rode well, staying up front all day and finishing in 8th place and picking up 8 KOM points.
In the GC standings:
Laverde-Jiminez moved up a notch from 14th to 13th, inching his way toward the top 10.
Esmaeli finished 18th today but moved up 7 positions in the GC from 33rd to 26th.
Nozal's breakaway ride helped him move up 9 positions from 39th to 30th
Serrano after two hard days already lost 3'49" on stage #5 and dropped from 22nd to 34th in the GC - Serrano will rally later in the race.
Shapira also had a strong day climbing from 49th to 40th.
Hutchings held on and only dropped two spots from 47th to 49th.
Bonnafond held his 65th spot
This was the D2 best day in Guatamala so far with 4 of thier 7 riders improving thier GC standings
Esmael stong day also moved him up from 5th position in the young rider category to 4th +5"56"
Stage #6 is much like a short hilly classic. At 127km the distance will not deter many but the hilly terrain and the next day's uphill time trial may make this a perfect opportunity for a breakaway win. Serrano may have just be resting in stage #5 for another breakaway run in stage #6. At 26th place in the GC Esmaeli may also be allowed to get away and this would be a great chance for him also.
Look for Laverde-Jiminez to be more cautious today. In stage #6 he tried to attack along but the CT riders controlled him easily. Look for him to easily stay with the leaders and very possibly inch up another GC spot or two. |
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| jack888 |
Posted on 09-03-2012 16:30
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wohooooo! 2/3 not bad! Hope my guys can keep this up. Our goal is top 5 but 2 in the top 5 would be perfect. |
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| rycadinho |
Posted on 10-03-2012 00:12
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Dupont have just secured himself a new contract, this race is defiantly a success no matter how it will end thanks to him.
Also great to see Saldarriaga try himself against the best and with four relative decent riders inside top 20, I can only hope they will continue to get in the breakaways like today 
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| Christer |
Posted on 10-03-2012 11:56
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3rd place is good. KoM is good. Team ranking leaders is good. All is good, it seems. Also: 33,3333% of the 12 first riders came from Team WWE, if I have my maths correct. Also known as one third!
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| MrDemus |
Posted on 10-03-2012 12:01
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I can haz TT plz?
Logan Hutchings has been pretty much invisible, so I seriously hope he will do something in the TT.
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| brownwm |
Posted on 10-03-2012 12:12
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Wow, another stage of Laverde Jimenez repeatedly attacking and yet going nowhere, but I am very happy with him slowly moving up the rankings. Now in 11th hopefully he can hold on to a top 15 now. Also very good to see Div2 chasing at the end. So far this race has been a big success for the team.
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| ember |
Posted on 10-03-2012 12:18
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Great to have 2 riders in the top 15, that's 50% of our team here, which I'm extremely satisfied with.
Though, I do think Vasquez and Ortega will drop seriously in the coming stages, both in the MTT and in the coming hilly stages. I'll be happy if one of them can finish inside top 15. And I'm still dreaming of another surprising breakaway/attack making it to the finish, containing a rider from Aker Solutions - Bergans
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| fenian_1234 |
Posted on 10-03-2012 12:40
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This should have been such a good race for Carrara. What a race to go and fall in.  |
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| Smowz |
Posted on 10-03-2012 12:45
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A really close battle in GC, with it changing hands daily. Kiserlowski is probably favoourite just in the mountain TT he looks to have better form going in.
This race is going to be hard to control after the MTT, Emu export could be dangerous without a rider in the top three following the MTT - which Nazaret could also win.
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| rycadinho |
Posted on 10-03-2012 12:54
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Fantastic to see Kinney race like that, again - and to have two guys in top 15 is more than decent, though I wonder if that will keep up for the whole race.
Kiserlowski looks to be in great shape, though nothing is over.
- Great reports mb2612.
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| Mhaley45 |
Posted on 10-03-2012 15:32
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The D2 team continues to follow form. Shapira does not catch the start of the day's breakaway but he quickly bridges over and then gives the team another great ride staying up front until very late. The young Isreali picked up 12 sprint points and 8 KOM points before fading to 28th place. Luis Filipe Laverde-Jiminez was once again on the attack. I am not sure this is the team's strategy, but you have to give him kudo's for effort and boldness. Laverde-Jiminez finished 13th on the day.
The D2's best hill rider Ricardo Serrano gave way to his leader and finished one slot back in 14th place. Tareq Esmaeli, who has yet to go for a breakaway, again showed his consistency finishing 23rd but in the same time as Laverde-Jiminez and Serrano.
Nozal may ahve looked a bit tired today but do not believe it. He was jsut resting up for the Time Trial that is stage #7. Izzie lost 6'43 on the day but based on the D2 strategy that make now differecne what so ever. Izzie will be asked to give his max effort in the Time Trial tomorrow as will Logan Hutchings. Logan finished stage #6 in 51st place.
Only Guillaume Bonnafond appears to be struggling. The rest of the team appears to be healthy and in good form and following the teams game plan.
There was a good deal of speculation about the decision to have a consolidated team entered here in Guatamala. The media speculated that a consolidated team would not work together and they would forsake the team for individual showcasing. After six stages it is apparent that is not the case. D2 leadership picked a strategy that can be both a cohesive team and a showcase of individual skills. In today's stage, D2 leader Luis Filipe Laverde-Jiminez called for help three times and all three times the D2 riders came forward and bid his calling. Ricardo Serrano, Tareq Esmaeli and Izzie Nozal all took turns as support riders.
Stage #7 is a 14 kilometer time trial but it is all uphill. Logan Hutchings is the D2's best time trialer, but few think he can produce the kind of effort needed to top ten on this uphill course. Logan will be one of the early riders and look for him to use this as one of his two showcase days. He will blaze a hot intermediate time, maybe even the best of the stage to that point. He will fade some in the second half but he wants a top 10 finish. D2 brought a sleeper for this stage in Izzie Nozal. Izzie is a solid TT guy and he just might fair well on this course. Maybe two D2 guys in the top 20.
The D2 top two GC men will suffer in the TT. Laverde-Jiminez and Esmaeli will likely both drop down in the GC but there is a lot of racing that does suit thier skills left for them to climb back into the running. How far they fall will be a big key to top 10 and top 20 finishes. Nozal should get back into the top 30 after the TT. |
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