Pre-Race
186km of flat roads: perfect recipe for one very common scenario. Break goes away early, break gets a good gap, pack chases, pack catches the break, sprint finish. With the strong field present in this Paris-Nice, the odds that the scenario differs considerably from the one above are tiny.
My prediction for the day: Cavendish is the ultimate favourite, but I'll go with GreenEdge asserting their suthority on the sprint: Matthew Goss is the man, for me.
Race Report
The weather at today's start was in stark contrast to yesterday's blue skies. A gloomy rainy day would surely make this stage very tense as riders try to remain upright on their bikes throughout the stage.
Sky's yellow jersey, British national champion jersey, and World champion jersey
As the peloton reached km12 in today's stage, off went 7 riders. The very first attempt at a breakaway was successful. Alessandro Ballan was one of the riders who got into the break. He's certainly here in preparation for the early spring classics.
Break of the day
The peloton rolled along at a steady pace for the first 60km of the race, letting the gap grow to 8'30". Sky then sent two men to the front of the bunch to up the pace slightly so as not to let the breakaway too far out of reach.
Sky coming to the front
As the break went atop the Côte de Saint-Aignan with nobody disputing the mountain points, Alessandro Ballan found himself on the front and would wear the climbers' jersey tomorrow. Meanwhile, Sky were still leading the peloton, having done so for quite a few kilometres now.
Break reaching third cat. climb
Movistar and GreenEdge soon came to the front to increse the pace as the Sky men were getting tired. they were intent on pushing it on and Intxausti was victim of that. As he was falling back off the line in the front, he wrongly negotiated the bend and his front wheel slipped. Down he went, taking two other riders down with him.
Intsauxti loses control
The break, albeight having lost a man, were doing a magnificent job. They had over a minute's lead with still 11km to go. The peloton was gonna have to work hard to catch them.
The bunch never let up the pace and a surge in nervousness was felt every time the road took a turn. Soon, the inevitable happened: another crash. The fight for positioning was intense and Matthews threw caution to the wind in a right-hand turn. The consequences were disastrous, there was a massive pile-up involving over 50 riders.
Massive pile-up
A number of favourites waved their chances goodbye here. Sanchez was one of them, as was Wiggins, and Nibali, and Scarponi. The list is fairly extensive!
Fortunately for the front group, the remaining few km didn't bring more trouble. The chasing group of 60 so riders wasn't so fortunate though. In yet another dangerous bend, half of the riders in that group went down. Today was definitely a bad day for them..
Pile-up again
In front the sprint was well-contested, there were two world class champions leading: Mark Cavendish vs. Matthew Goss! Leigh Howard, having shown excellent form recently, delivered a perfect lead-out for Goss!
Howard lead-out
Mark Cavendish, in addition to being too late, just wasn't good enough! Matthew Goss takes the stage with a very comfortable margin, which apparently he wasn't aware of, as he gave it his all, all the way to the line. A third stage victory for the Aussie in the early stages of the 2012 season!
Goss ahead of Cavendish
Results
Stage Results:
1
Matthew Goss
GreenEdge Cycling
4h13'50
2
Mark Cavendish
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
3
Matti Breschel
Rabobank
s.t.
4
Geraint Thomas
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
5
Tony Gallopin
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
6
Leigh Howard
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
7
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
s.t.
8
Jonathan Hivert
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
9
Fabien Bacquet
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
10
Pim Ligthart
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Jose Joaquin Rojas
Movistar Team
s.t.
12
Juan Jose Haedo
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
13
Nacer Bouhanni
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
14
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
15
Luca Paolini
Katusha Team
s.t.
16
Julian Dean
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
17
Oscar Freire
Katusha Team
s.t.
18
Lucas Sebastian Haedo
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
19
Marcello Pavarin
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
20
Kris Boeckmans
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
21
Francesco Chicchi
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
22
Blel Kadri
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
23
Adam Blythe
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
24
Gert Steegmans
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
25
Rui Costa
Movistar Team
s.t.
26
Aliaksandr Kuschynski
Katusha Team
s.t.
27
Troels Vinther
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
28
Wesley Sulzberger
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
29
Jetse Bol
Rabobank
s.t.
30
Pavel Brutt
Katusha Team
s.t.
31
Bauke Mollema
Rabobank
s.t.
32
Pieter Weening
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
33
Nicolas Roche
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
34
Michel Kreder
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
35
Jerome Pineau
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
36
Maxime Bouet
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
37
Maarten Tjallingii
Rabobank
s.t.
38
Sergio Paulinho
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
39
Gatis Smukulis
Katusha Team
s.t.
40
Niki Terpstra
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
41
Matteo Tosatto
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
42
Mickael Cherel
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
43
Mitchell Docker
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
44
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
45
Michael Rogers
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
46
Svein Tuft
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
47
Mathieu Perget
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
48
Stef Clement
Rabobank
s.t.
49
Geoffroy Lequatre
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
50
Tony Martin
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
51
Karsten Kroon
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
52
Jean-Eudes Demaret
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
53
Julien Berard
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
54
Johan Vansummeren
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
55
Edwig Cammaerts
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
56
Francis De Greef
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
57
Kalle Kriit
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
58
Petr Ignatenko
Katusha Team
s.t.
59
Romain Bardet
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
60
Sebastien Minard
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
61
Travis Meyer
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
62
Diego Ulissi
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
63
Dimitri Fofonov
Astana
s.t.
64
Jesus Herrada
Movistar Team
s.t.
65
Pierrick Fedrigo
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
66
Jens Voigt
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
67
Vladimir Karpets
Movistar Team
s.t.
68
Nicki Sorensen
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
69
Haimar Zubeldia
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
70
Nicolas Rousseau
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
71
Christophe Le Mevel
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
72
Grischa Niermann
Rabobank
s.t.
73
Gianni Meersman
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
74
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana
s.t.
75
Alexsandr Dyachenko
Astana
s.t.
76
Jan Bakelants
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
77
Roman Kreuziger
Astana
s.t.
78
Gregory Rast
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
79
Alessandro Ballan
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
80
Paulo Tiralongo
Astana
s.t.
81
Rob Ruijgh
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
82
Anthony Roux
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
83
Laurent Mangel
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
84
Thomas De Gendt
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
85
Valerio Agnoli
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
86
Hayden Roulston
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
87
Moreno Moser
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
88
Renaud Dion
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
89
Mahdi Sohrabi
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
90
Guillaume Faucon
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
91
Jelle Vanendert
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
92
Remi Pauriol
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
93
Davide Appollonio
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
94
Thomas Rohregger
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
95
Anthony Delaplace
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
96
Cristiano Salerno
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
97
Damiano Caruso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
98
Jonathan Thire
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
99
Jimmy Engoulvent
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
100
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
101
Kenny Elissonde
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
102
Christophe Laborie
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
103
Florian Vachon
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
104
George Bennett
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
105
Jean-Lou Paiani
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
106
Johan Mombaerts
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
107
Flavien Dassonville
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
108
Fabio Sabatini
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
109
Pierre Cazaux
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 2'47
110
Richie Porte
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
111
Bradley Wiggins
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
112
Ruben Perez Moreno
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
113
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
114
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
115
Eros Capecchi
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
116
Manuel Quinziato
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
117
Marco Pinotti
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
118
Sergio Henao Montoya
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
119
Evgeni Petrov
Astana
s.t.
120
Adam Hansen
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
121
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
122
Samuel Sanchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
123
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
124
Peter Velits
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
125
Adrien Petit
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
126
Tejay Van Garderen
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
127
Jeromy Roy
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
128
Amael Moinard
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
129
Gustav Larsson
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
130
Eric Berthou
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
131
Ricardo Garcia Ambroa
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
132
Jan Ghyselinck
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
133
Thibaut Pinot
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
134
Vitaliy Buts
Lampre - ISD
+ 3'39
135
Daniele Pietropolli
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
136
Grega Bole
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
137
Yury Trofimov
Katusha Team
s.t.
138
Zdenek Stybar
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
139
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
140
Gorka Verdugo
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
141
Benoit Vaugrenard
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
142
Romain Zingle
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
143
Ramunas Navardauskas
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
144
Tosh Van der Sande
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
145
Julien Simon
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
146
Sep Vanmarcke
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
147
Gorka Izagirre
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
148
Tom Danielson
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
149
Egor Silin
Astana
s.t.
150
Brian Bulgac
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
151
Anders Lund
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
152
Robert Kiserlovski
Astana
s.t.
153
Johan Le Bon
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
154
Oleksandr Sheydyk
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
155
David Millar
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
156
Dimitri Le Boulch
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
157
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
158
Romain Hardy
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
159
Yoann Bagot
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
160
Nicolas Bazin
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
161
Dmytro Krivtsov
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
162
Jean-Marc Bideau
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
163
Mikel Landa
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
164
Michael Matthews
Rabobank
s.t.
165
Lars Petter Nordhaug
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 7'14
166
Laurens Ten Dam
Rabobank
+ 8'08
167
Kristof Vandewalle
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
168
Benat Intxausti
Movistar Team
+ 10'00
169
Gael Malacarne
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 10'42
170
David Le Lay
Saur - Sojasun
+ 11'50
General Classification:
1
Geraint Thomas
Sky Professional Cycling Team
4h21'51
2
Tony Martin
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
3
Jens Voigt
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 6
4
Maarten Tjallingii
Rabobank
+ 8
5
Svein Tuft
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
6
Roman Kreuziger
Astana
+ 9
7
Alessandro Ballan
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
8
Tony Gallopin
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 11
9
Blel Kadri
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
10
Travis Meyer
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Matthew Goss
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 12
12
Bauke Mollema
Rabobank
s.t.
13
Michael Rogers
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
14
Thomas De Gendt
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
15
Moreno Moser
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
16
Mark Cavendish
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 13
17
Leigh Howard
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
18
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana
s.t.
19
Jimmy Engoulvent
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
20
Vladimir Karpets
Movistar Team
+ 14
21
Haimar Zubeldia
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
22
Alexsandr Dyachenko
Astana
s.t.
23
Remi Pauriol
FDJ - Bigmat
+ 15
24
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
25
Gert Steegmans
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
+ 16
26
Pim Ligthart
Vacansoleil - DCM
+ 17
27
Rui Costa
Movistar Team
s.t.
28
Stef Clement
Rabobank
s.t.
29
Romain Bardet
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
30
Niki Terpstra
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
+ 18
31
Maxime Bouet
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
32
Petr Ignatenko
Katusha Team
s.t.
33
Anthony Roux
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
34
Hayden Roulston
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
35
Marcello Pavarin
Vacansoleil - DCM
+ 20
36
Jan Bakelants
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
37
Anthony Delaplace
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
38
Aliaksandr Kuschynski
Katusha Team
+ 21
39
Pavel Brutt
Katusha Team
s.t.
40
Adam Blythe
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
41
Mitchell Docker
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
42
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
43
Diego Ulissi
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
44
Christophe Le Mevel
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
45
Grischa Niermann
Rabobank
s.t.
46
Jean-Lou Paiani
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
47
Pieter Weening
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 22
48
Nicolas Roche
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
49
Jean-Eudes Demaret
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
50
Sebastien Minard
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
51
Nicki Sorensen
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
52
Gregory Rast
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
53
Nicolas Rousseau
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
54
Valerio Agnoli
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
55
George Bennett
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
56
Jose Joaquin Rojas
Movistar Team
+ 23
57
Matti Breschel
Rabobank
s.t.
58
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
59
Gatis Smukulis
Katusha Team
s.t.
60
Jetse Bol
Rabobank
s.t.
61
Johan Vansummeren
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
62
Francis De Greef
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
63
Fabio Sabatini
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
64
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
+ 24
65
Sergio Paulinho
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
66
Paulo Tiralongo
Astana
s.t.
67
Laurent Mangel
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
68
Jelle Vanendert
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
69
Mahdi Sohrabi
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
70
Jonathan Thire
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
71
Julian Dean
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 25
72
Lucas Sebastian Haedo
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
73
Troels Vinther
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
74
Karsten Kroon
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
75
Geoffroy Lequatre
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
76
Davide Appollonio
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
77
Cristiano Salerno
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
78
Fabien Bacquet
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 26
79
Mickael Cherel
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
80
Kalle Kriit
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
81
Jesus Herrada
Movistar Team
s.t.
82
Gianni Meersman
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
83
Rob Ruijgh
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
84
Thomas Rohregger
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
85
Christophe Laborie
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
86
Florian Vachon
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
87
Oscar Freire
Katusha Team
+ 27
88
Kris Boeckmans
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
89
Matteo Tosatto
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
90
Mathieu Perget
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
91
Pierrick Fedrigo
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
92
Dimitri Fofonov
Astana
s.t.
93
Renaud Dion
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
94
Damiano Caruso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
95
Jonathan Hivert
Saur - Sojasun
+ 28
96
Luca Paolini
Katusha Team
s.t.
97
Jerome Pineau
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
98
Guillaume Faucon
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
99
Juan Jose Haedo
Saxobank - Sungard
+ 29
100
Nacer Bouhanni
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
101
Francesco Chicchi
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
102
Edwig Cammaerts
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
103
Johan Mombaerts
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
104
Wesley Sulzberger
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 30
105
Flavien Dassonville
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
106
Michel Kreder
Team Garmin - Barracuda
+ 31
107
Julien Berard
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
108
Kenny Elissonde
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
109
Peter Velits
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
+ 2'48
110
Richie Porte
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 2'50
111
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
+ 2'52
112
Samuel Sanchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 2'53
113
Tejay Van Garderen
BMC Racing Team
+ 2'55
114
Gustav Larsson
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
115
Marco Pinotti
BMC Racing Team
+ 2'56
116
Bradley Wiggins
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 2'57
117
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
118
Jeromy Roy
FDJ - Bigmat
+ 2'59
119
Jan Ghyselinck
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
+ 3'02
120
Adam Hansen
Lotto - Belisol
+ 3'03
121
Amael Moinard
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
122
Manuel Quinziato
BMC Racing Team
+ 3'05
123
Adrien Petit
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
+ 3'06
124
Ricardo Garcia Ambroa
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 3'08
125
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
+ 3'09
126
Eric Berthou
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
127
Eros Capecchi
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 3'10
128
Evgeni Petrov
Astana
s.t.
129
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 3'11
130
Thibaut Pinot
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
131
Sergio Henao Montoya
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 3'12
132
Pierre Cazaux
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 3'13
133
Ruben Perez Moreno
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 3'16
134
Tom Danielson
Team Garmin - Barracuda
+ 3'47
135
David Millar
Team Garmin - Barracuda
+ 3'51
136
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
137
Ramunas Navardauskas
Team Garmin - Barracuda
+ 3'52
138
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
+ 3'55
139
Johan Le Bon
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
140
Benoit Vaugrenard
FDJ - Bigmat
+ 3'57
141
Yury Trofimov
Katusha Team
+ 3'58
142
Tosh Van der Sande
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
143
Sep Vanmarcke
Team Garmin - Barracuda
+ 3'59
144
Michael Matthews
Rabobank
s.t.
145
Gorka Verdugo
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 4'00
146
Zdenek Stybar
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
+ 4'01
147
Vitaliy Buts
Lampre - ISD
+ 4'02
148
Gorka Izagirre
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
149
Dmytro Krivtsov
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
150
Robert Kiserlovski
Astana
+ 4'03
151
Grega Bole
Lampre - ISD
+ 4'04
152
Egor Silin
Astana
s.t.
153
Mikel Landa
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
154
Oleksandr Sheydyk
Lampre - ISD
+ 4'05
155
Dimitri Le Boulch
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
156
Yoann Bagot
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
157
Romain Zingle
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
+ 4'06
158
Julien Simon
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
159
Brian Bulgac
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
160
Romain Hardy
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
161
Nicolas Bazin
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 4'08
162
Daniele Pietropolli
Lampre - ISD
+ 4'09
163
Anders Lund
Saxobank - Sungard
+ 4'11
164
Jean-Marc Bideau
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
165
Lars Petter Nordhaug
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 7'36
166
Laurens Ten Dam
Rabobank
+ 8'30
167
Kristof Vandewalle
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
+ 8'37
168
Benat Intxausti
Movistar Team
+ 10'22
169
Gael Malacarne
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 11'07
170
David Le Lay
Saur - Sojasun
+ 12'08
Points Classification:
1
Geraint Thomas
Sky Professional Cycling Team
43pts
2
Matthew Goss
GreenEdge Cycling
25pts
3
Tony Martin
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
22pts
4
Mark Cavendish
Sky Professional Cycling Team
22pts
5
Peter Velits
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
20pts
Mountains Classification:
1
Alessandro Ballan
BMC Racing Team
4pts
2
Mahdi Sohrabi
Lotto - Belisol
2pts
3
Renaud Dion
Bretagne - Schuller
1pts
Young Riders Classification:
1
Geraint Thomas
Sky Professional Cycling Team
4h21'51"
2
Roman Kreuziger
Astana
+9
3
Tony Gallopin
RadioShack - Nissan
+11
4
Blel Kadri
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
5
Travis Meyer
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
Post-Race
GreenEdge did, as expected, stamp their authority on the stage. They are looking unbeatble in the sprints this season. Mark Cavendish, on the other hand, didn't have the support of his team, as they had other matters to deal with: Thomas in yellow, who brilliantly defended his jersey by taking fourth on the stage, and both Wiggins and Porte involved in the disastrous crash.
A number of favourites are now out of contention. Samuel Sanchez, Vincenzo Nibali, Tom Danielson, Bradley Wiggins, Michele Scarponi, Lieuwe Westra, Peter Velits and Tejay Van Garderen all lost more than 2'30" with the crashes.
Edited by nightguy on 06-06-2012 19:28
Katusha wrote:
Ni nightguy ı have got a suggestion foor you
Your climbers should go to hill training camp.Good development happen.Try and tell here.So I read
Well, no, I consider this as cheating, it just boosts the stats for a few weeks. Just my personal opinion though. And anyway, it makes the game too easy, takes away some of the charm of being on the edge!
I remember one Tour of Flanders I played, where I attacked at some place with Cancellara, with quite a bit to go. My heart was really racing the more I was staying in front!
Pre-race
Today's stage heads to the commune of Limoges. Barring a repeat of yesterday's weather, we should have a beautiful stage across beautiful landscapes. A few innocuous climbs will be present on the way. There will also be some ups and downs near the finish, but nothing too hard for the sprinters to deal with. The finish is, however, slightly uphill, and this will favour riders like Goss and Breschel over the likes of Cavendish and Haedo.
My prediction for the day: Goss. His team has shown their supremacy in the first stage, I can't see today being any different.
Race Report
Well, "La Course Au Soleil" is turning out to be "La Course Sous La Pluie" here! If French is gibberish to you, this picture taken at the stage start today says it all!
Rain and grey clouds again!
From the get-go, 10 riders tried to break clear of the peloton. A number of teams were not happy letting this move go and it was all back together fairly soon.
A few kilometres further, 3 riders broke clear. That was a weak enough group for the peloton not to have any interest in chasing them straight away.
3 riders getting a gap
Several more teams were interested in getting a man in the break, for what would certainly prove to be nothing more than television time. The peloton was content to let 6 more men bridge the gap to create the 9-men break of the day.
Break of the day
Over the next 30km, the race was incident-free as the gap was allowed to stretch to 7'30" before Sky and Astana started upping the pace to stabilise the gap.
Sky and Astana at the front
Wiggins was clearly feeling the effects of his crash yesterday. The British rider pulled over, got into the car, and wasn't seen again during the day.
Wiggins abandons
Scarponi and Nibali, who occupied the first and second steps of the final podium of the Giro last year after Contador's suspension, had also sustained injuries which had not healed very well overnight. As Katusha, GreenEdge and Sky combined on the front, the Italians could not follow anymore, dropping off on the second categorized climb of the day.
Scarponi and Nibali suffer
Meanwhile the gap had gone down considerably, the break leading the peloton by only 4 minutes as the bunch went over the second climb. The strong pace set by those 3 teams gradually cut the gap. A few more riders lost contact over the next 10km, most notably Tom Danielson.
With Saur-Sojasun and Rabobank adding in their contribution at the front and the gap being only 1'45" with 30km to go, the break away was all but doomed.
More teams at the front
As Bulgac went alone to make the Lotto-Belisol's sponsors happy, nobody followed. Seconds separated the rest of the break and the peloton, who would soon be catching up.
Bulgac goes alone
The peloton caught and passed the break in no time at all and the sprinters started fighting for wheels to get into the finale in a good position.
Both Cavendish and Goss had a good lead out, from Appollonio and Howard respectively, heading into the final uphill portion. Gallopin had meanwhile managed his way onto the wheel of Matt Goss, looking for his first big stage win.
Sprint leadouts
Goss clearly showed why he won the first stage. As soon as he leaves Howard's wheel, he opens a gap to the rest of the pack except Gallopin, who was glued onto his wheel!
Goss gets a gap
In the dying metres, Gallopin desperately tried to come around, but he simply couldn't match the Australian's speed. Goss is the boss here! While Cavendish faded in a finish that didn't suit him, Dumoulin finished strong to get on to the podium.
Goss takes it with ease
Results
Stage Results:
1
Matthew Goss
GreenEdge Cycling
4h22'03
2
Tony Gallopin
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
3
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
4
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
5
Luca Paolini
Katusha Team
s.t.
6
Yury Trofimov
Katusha Team
s.t.
7
Geraint Thomas
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
8
Lucas Sebastian Haedo
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
9
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
s.t.
10
Matti Breschel
Rabobank
s.t.
General Classification:
1
Geraint Thomas
Sky Professional Cycling Team
8h43'54
2
Tony Martin
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
3
Matthew Goss
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 6
4
Jens Voigt
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
5
Tony Gallopin
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 7
6
Maarten Tjallingii
Rabobank
+ 8
7
Svein Tuft
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
8
Alessandro Ballan
BMC Racing Team
+ 9
9
Roman Kreuziger
Astana
s.t.
10
Travis Meyer
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 11
Points Classification:
1
Geraint Thomas
Sky Professional Cycling Team
57pts
2
Matthew Goss
GreenEdge Cycling
50pts
3
Tony Gallopin
RadioShack - Nissan
40pts
4
Matti Breschel
Rabobank
31pts
5
Mark Cavendish
Sky Professional Cycling Team
31pts
Mountains Classification:
1
Brian Bulgac
Lotto - Belisol
7
2
Manuel Quinziato
BMC Racing Team
6
3
Alessandro Ballan
BMC Racing Team
4
4
Geoffroy Lequatre
Bretagne - Schuller
4
5
Mahdi Sohrabi
Lotto - Belisol
2
Young Riders Classification:
1
Geraint Thomas
Sky Professional Cycling Team
8h43'54
2
Matthew Goss
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 6
3
Tony Gallopin
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 7
4
Roman Kreuziger
Astana
+ 9
5
Travis Meyer
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 11
Post-Race
Matthew Goss takes a second consecutive stage victory and looks really strong heading into Milan - San Remo in 10 days' time. The young Tony Gallopin is proving his earlier performance in Australia wasn't a fluke!
Geraint Thomas keeps his leader's jersey, but Goss has got an awful lot closer to that now.
Edited by nightguy on 06-06-2012 19:26
Indeed, I hope he can hold on to a place on the podium. There are still some strong contenders up there, Thomas, Martin, Kreuziger, Mollema, De Gendt for instance.
Sadly a number of favourites crashed, it would have been fun to see them battling it out too. But then, on the other hand, Jens would certainly not be able to follow them. Well, I have mixed feelings!
Well, I need a bit of help, if any of you have any ideas!
There's something funny about my Tirreno, for some reason there are riders who are being double-counted, so there are many teams with only 4-5 riders. anybody have any ideas about how to solve that?
