Today Hivert was the rider from our team making it into the break. He was riding together with Bazin, Claude and De Weert. Hivert was able to win the first KoM price closely in front of De Weert.
With 1.8 kilometres to the top of the HC climb De Weert decided to try an early attack to get the points.
He was able cross the top with a little gap to the others, Hivert got second. At that point with 120 kilometres to go they had a gap of six minutes.
At the next hill top it was Claude, who could suprise the others and therefore won the maximum points, second place again went to Hivert, who didn't use too much energy for that sprint, because it was only a category two climb with lesser points and he felt like he wasn't having his best day(-5). De Weert got third. Hivert and De Weert both scored 38 points until then. This meant the last KoM sprint would decide, who would take home that jersey. Unfortunately today it wasn't us - well you can't win them all. De Weert was just too strong today, as he won the last sprint as well.
De Weert will be the deserved winner of the mountains jersey.
But the race wasn't over yet. 85 kilometres in front of the finish the group had a six minute lead, but again a second group had formed behind just like yesterday. On the categorized climb it was Zabriskie, who attacked again. He was riding together with Ladagnous and Gatto, but they were still two more minutes behind the leaders.
With 50 kilometres to go we had a group of seven riders in front with only a lead of three and a half minutes.
At the intermediate sprint we could see a motivated performance by Hivert taking third place
Hivert at the back of the group keeping an eye on the attackers
The group only had a small lead left, but then the pace in the peloton dropped down for some reason. This was a good chance for an attack.
Together with Chavanel I decided to try my luck with 12 kilometres to go as the gap to the front group was already quite small.
But it was a little bit like a déjà-vu as Chavanel wasn't really helping me. So with five and half kilometres we were caught again, but also all escapees except for De Weert, who was still twenty seconds ahead, were caught at about the same time.
Three and a half kilometres in front of the finish with De Weert in sight Le Lay decided to give it a try with a strong attack out of the peloton. He passed De Weert easily and had a little gap to the other riders as well, but they were able to get closer again in the final. The steep climb inside the last kilometre revealed that Chavanel and Spilak were slightly stronger than Le Lay as they could outsprint him.
Chavanel is celebrating his victory.
Le Lay with a strong sprint and a nice third place.
I hope you recognized me right behind Champion, Ladagnous and Tiernan Locke in the final kilometre.
Top 10 - Stage
1
Sylvain Chavanel
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
5h40'21
2
Simon Spilak
Katusha Team
+ 16
3
David Le Lay
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
4
Alexandre Geniez
Team Argos - Shimano
s.t.
5
Branislau Samoilau
Movistar Team
s.t.
6
Eros Capecchi
Liquigas-Cannondale
s.t.
7
Dimitri Champion
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 33
8
Rinaldo Nocentini
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
9
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke
Endura Racing
s.t.
10
José Iván Gutierrez
Movistar Team
s.t.
...
12
Jérôme Coppel
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
Top 10 - GC
1
Sylvain Chavanel
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
10h41'07
2
Dimitri Champion
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 29
3
Alexandre Geniez
Team Argos - Shimano
+ 36
4
Rinaldo Nocentini
Ag2r La Mondiale
+ 39
5
Simon Spilak
Katusha Team
+ 52
6
Rémy Di Gregorio
Cofidis, Le Crédit en Ligne
+ 53
7
David Le Lay
Saur - Sojasun
+ 56
8
Eros Capecchi
Liquigas-Cannondale
+ 1'04
9
Branislau Samoilau
Movistar Team
s.t.
10
Dmitriy Muravyev
Astana Pro Team
+ 1'16
...
14
Jérôme Coppel
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
Top 3 - KoM
1
Kevin De Weert
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
54
2
Jonathan Hivert
Saur - Sojasun
48
3
Nicolas Bazin
Bigmat - Auber 93
44
A top 3 in the stage is a good result for the team, so is Le Lays seveth in the GC. We all felt a little pitiful for Hivert, who was sad about the missed opportunity of winning the KoM ranking. But we were also cheering him up nicely, so he will get past it quickly.
For me it was as planned before, a good preparation, nothing more and nothing less.
Now we will have another few weeks of training in front of us. Don't worry I'll keep you up to date, you will here from me soon.
Hi folks,
It's me again, Jérôme.
I hope you still remember me, as it's been a few days.
We have been very busy the last days. But I'll get to that in a moment.
Our team participated in another race. This time in spain, it was the Clasica de Almeria. I wasn't part of our team there, because the profile didn't suit me at all. The last quarter of the race was more or less all downhill to the finish, although the rest of the course was hilly from the start. Clearly it was tailor made for a strong sprinter, who can survive a few climbs.
So the race finished in a mass sprint, our team really has to strengthen our sprint division for the next season... No good result for us here.
Clasica de Almeria - Top 10
1
Tyler Farrar
Garmin - Barracuda
3h58'43
2
Christopher Sutton
Sky Pro Cycling
s.t.
3
Luca Paolini
Katusha Team
s.t.
4
Arnaud Démare
FDJ-BigMat
s.t.
5
Francisco Ventoso
Movistar Team
s.t.
6
Andrea Guardini
Farnese Vini Selle Italia
s.t.
7
Iljo Keisse
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
s.t.
8
Ben Swift
Sky Pro Cycling
s.t.
9
Vicente Reynès
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
10
Danilo Hondo
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
But what's probably more interesting, a few riders from our team went to a training camp in the french alps to have the final preparation in front of Paris - Nice, which will start in a couple of days. I have some nice shots ready for you from our training rides:
We were not starting off easy. It was a lot of climbing from the first day.
On the first two pictures you can see us climbing the Col du Grand Colombier right on our first day of the training camp. It was a very steep climb, but I was able to accelerate in front of the top anyways.
The next pictures are from... I think it was the forth day, but to be honest I am not completely sure anymore. These training days are pretty much all the same, riding your bike all day long. But if you love doing it, like I do, it is just the best job in the world.
Those two pictures were taken on the quite famous climb up to the Col de la Madeleine
This one was taken right after the top of the Madeleine
Luckily we had perfect weather all the time, that made the training much more enjoyable. Tomorrow we will already have our pre-race meeting for Paris - Nice. I'll of course share the new information I get with you afterwards.
Your sincerely, Jérôme
[I can't remember if I wrote it before, of course I DO NOT really use the training camp feature from the game. It's just to illustrate the story a little]
Hi all,
So here are the pre-race information for Paris - Nice. This race is really important for me, but of course also for our french sponsors, as it's one of the most important races in France.
First of all this is the course of this years edition:
Stage 1
The first stage is a short prologue. I hope to not lose much time to the top riders. As I am a decent time trialist myself, but not really an expect for prologs, I'll target a top 20, which should be possible. The team is hoping for an even better result from Engoulvent, though.
Stage 2
A flat stage, with that everything one needs to know is already said.
Stage 3
It's the first hilly stage of the race, but the last climb is not too hard, because of that it will probably be a bigger group fighting for the victory. My goal is to not lose any time to the other GC-riders.
Stage 4
This stage could be interesting. The final gives a possibility for a late attack, although the finish is not that hard.
Stage 5
Stage five is probably the most important stage for the overall, because the climb in Mende could produce some gaps. So it will be important to stay upfront as long as possible. I will aim for a top 10 stage result.
Stage 6
It is a hilly stage, but it is not very probable, that there will be a chance for the overall riders to gain much time on each other. We think a break could decide this stage, so we will most certainly try to get in a break on this stage.
Stage 7
Another stage with quite a lot of climbing, but the last mountain is pretty far away from the finish. So even if there will be gaps on the climbs, its most likely that a bigger group will finish together as the distanced riders will have some time to close the gap to the front.
Stage 8
This stage will be very important as well, if the top riders are still close together in the overall, every second gained will be very important. We were riding the Col d'Eze several times in our preparation and I feel cofident to show a good last stage.
Team targets:
Of course our main target is the overall, so the team will mainly work for me as the single leader. But as we are a smaller team we will also try to get in break away groups as often as possible to get some KoM points or even a stage win.
Our line-up will be the following:
JérômeCoppel David Le Lay
Guillaume Levarlet
Yannick Talabardon
Brice Feillu
Jonathan Hivert
Jimmy Engoulvent
Maxime Méderel
Favorites from the other teams should be:
Klöden (Radioshack), Martin (Omega-Pharma), Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank)
J. Rodriguez (Katusha), Van den Broeck (Lotto), Taaramae (Cofidis)
De Gendt (Vacansoleil), Péraud (AG2R), Rogers (Sky)
Hi,
So today finally Paris-Nice, the race to the sun, started. I am hoping for a great race and a good result in the final GC.
Also I hope you will enjoy my reports from the race every day after the stages, as this blog will probably be finished soon after Paris-Nice is over. But let's not look to far in the future.
This is what happened in todays prolog:
The weather forecast wasn't looking too good for later today. Therefore Luis Leon Sanchez had decided to start early as the first rider of his team. He had to be considered as a favorite for the stage today and also the overall in the end.
He was setting a time, which would hold up long time...
The young Australian timetrial champ Durbridge was up only a few minutes later and he managed a good second place.
But he didn't even come close to Sanchez.
For a while not too much happened.
As our fourth starter Le Lay was speeding through the check-point with a new best time so far, even in front of Luis Leon Sanchez, who was still leading at the finish. Le Lay was losing a bit of his speed in the second part, though. He came in seventh on the preliminary list at the finish.
Le Lay at the intermediate point
Sanchez was still leading, in front of Phinney. Boom then finished the course only two seconds behind Sanchez.
One of the big favorites for today and maybe again the overall, Tony Martin started the race today. He showed a really good performance, but by a tiny margin he wasn't the best today.
Martin finished less then one second behind Sanchez - second place so far
The next interesting rider from our team was Engoulvant. He was the best at the check-point. Would he lose time in the second part like Le Lay?
Only a little bit more then one kilometre to go
Well a little - at the finish he was provisorily in sixth place – a very good ride from him. This will be a nice result for the beginning.
Soon after he finished it was my turn. I felt good and was very concentrated. I had gotten some final hints from Le Lay, how to handle the more difficult corners of the course. The first part suited me a little more as well, because of the little climb. I was fourth at the check-point.
Me under the Flamme rouge
The second part didn't went as good and I lost a few seconds. I fell down to 14. place and there were still a few riders on the road, but I was only 19 seconds behind the best time, which isn't very much. So I was satisfied with my ride.
A small suprise was Cancellara, who started last of his team, he may came in fourth, but was already six seconds behind the winning time, although it was just a short prolog.
Cancellara probably expected more
Stage 1 - Top 10
1
Luis León Sánchez
Rabobank Cycling Team
12'27
2
Tony Martin
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
s.t.
3
Lars Boom
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 2
4
Fabian Cancellara
Radioshack - Nissan
+ 6
5
José Iván Gutierrez
Movistar Team
+ 7
6
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
+ 8
7
George Hincapie
BMC Racing Team
+ 9
8
Jimmy Engoulvent
Saur - Sojasun
+ 12
9
Tom Boonen
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
s.t.
10
Juan Antonio Flecha
Sky Pro Cycling
+ 14
Spoiler
11
Ben Hermans
Radioshack - Nissan
+ 15
12
Maxime Monfort
Radioshack - Nissan
+ 16
13
Sandy Casar
FDJ-BigMat
s.t.
14
Richie Porte
Sky Pro Cycling
+ 18
15
Luke Durbridge
Orica - GreenEDGE
+ 19
16
Lars Ytting Bak
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
17
Marzio Bruseghin
Movistar Team
s.t.
18
Jérôme Coppel
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
19
Rubén Plaza
Movistar Team
+ 20
20
Andreas Klöden
Radioshack - Nissan
+ 21
21
Grégory Rast
Radioshack - Nissan
+ 22
22
Michael Albasini
Orica - GreenEDGE
s.t.
23
Vasil Kiryienka
Movistar Team
+ 24
24
David Le Lay
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
25
Dimitri Champion
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
26
Jérémy Roy
FDJ-BigMat
+ 26
27
Jürgen Van De Walle
Lotto Belisol
+ 27
28
Danny Pate
Sky Pro Cycling
s.t.
29
Martijn Keizer
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
30
Mathias Frank
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
31
Wout Poels
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 28
32
Sébastien Rosseler
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
33
Michael Rogers
Sky Pro Cycling
s.t.
34
Simon Spilak
Katusha Team
s.t.
35
Przemyslaw Niemiec
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
36
Julien Vermote
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
+ 29
37
Kristijan Koren
Liquigas-Cannondale
s.t.
38
Bart De Clercq
Lotto Belisol
+ 30
39
Sébastien Turgot
Team Europcar
s.t.
40
Jaroslaw Marycz
Team Saxo Bank
+ 31
41
Stef Clement
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
42
Andrey Amador
Movistar Team
s.t.
43
Johnny Hoogerland
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
44
Karsten Kroon
Team Saxo Bank
s.t.
45
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas-Cannondale
s.t.
46
Pavel Brutt
Katusha Team
+ 32
47
David Tanner
Team Saxo Bank
+ 33
48
Niki Terpstra
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
s.t.
49
Yukiya Arashiro
Team Europcar
s.t.
50
Simon Clarke
Orica - GreenEDGE
s.t.
51
Maxim Belkov
Katusha Team
s.t.
52
Tony Gallopin
Radioshack - Nissan
s.t.
53
Maxim Iglinskiy
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
54
Jean-Christophe Péraud
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
55
Thomas De Gendt
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
56
Jurgen Van den Broeck
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
57
Damien Monier
Cofidis, Le Crédit en Ligne
+ 34
58
Tanel Kangert
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
59
Martin Kohler
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
60
Enrico Gasparotto
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
61
Andrew Talansky
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
62
Ángel Vicioso
Katusha Team
+ 35
63
Mitchell Docker
Orica - GreenEDGE
s.t.
64
Ben Swift
Sky Pro Cycling
+ 36
65
Rein Taaramae
Cofidis, Le Crédit en Ligne
s.t.
66
Lloyd Mondory
Ag2r La Mondiale
+ 37
67
Frederik Willems
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
68
Baden Cooke
Orica - GreenEDGE
s.t.
69
Alexandre Pichot
Team Europcar
s.t.
70
Robert Gesink
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
71
Mark Cavendish
Sky Pro Cycling
s.t.
72
Pieter Weening
Orica - GreenEDGE
+ 38
73
Tristan Valentin
Cofidis, Le Crédit en Ligne
s.t.
74
Stuart O'Grady
Orica - GreenEDGE
s.t.
75
Arnaud Gérard
FDJ-BigMat
s.t.
76
Ramunas Navardauskas
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
77
Jonathan Hivert
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
78
Gorka Verdugo
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 39
79
Roman Kreuziger
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
80
Jérôme Pineau
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
s.t.
81
Murilo Fischer
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
82
Christophe Le Mével
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
83
Sébastien Chavanel
Team Europcar
+ 40
84
Elia Viviani
Liquigas-Cannondale
+ 41
85
Rafaâ Chtioui
Team Europcar
+ 42
86
Egoi Martínez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
87
Martin Elmiger
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
88
Lars Petter Nordhaug
Sky Pro Cycling
s.t.
89
Andrey Kashechkin
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
90
Jan Ghyselinck
Cofidis, Le Crédit en Ligne
+ 43
91
Volodimir Gustov
Team Saxo Bank
+ 44
92
Borut Bozic
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
93
Joaquin Rodriguez
Katusha Team
s.t.
94
Alexander Kristoff
Katusha Team
+ 45
95
Amets Txurruka
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
96
Wilco Kelderman
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
97
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas-Cannondale
+ 46
98
Marco Bandiera
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
s.t.
99
Bernhard Eisel
Sky Pro Cycling
s.t.
100
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Astana Pro Team
+ 47
101
Franck Bouyer
Team Europcar
s.t.
102
Alessandro Spezialetti
Lampre - ISD
+ 48
103
Peter Velits
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
s.t.
104
Sergey Lagutin
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
105
Denis Kostyuk
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
106
Ben Gastauer
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
107
Danilo Wyss
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
108
Javier Moreno Bazan
Movistar Team
+ 49
109
Luca Paolini
Katusha Team
s.t.
110
Pierrick Fédrigo
FDJ-BigMat
s.t.
111
Rémy Di Gregorio
Cofidis, Le Crédit en Ligne
s.t.
112
Thibaut Pinot
FDJ-BigMat
+ 50
113
Nikita Novikov
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
114
Takashi Miyazawa
Team Saxo Bank
s.t.
115
Nathan Haas
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
116
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
117
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
118
Fränk Schleck
Radioshack - Nissan
+ 51
119
Leonardo Duque
Cofidis, Le Crédit en Ligne
s.t.
120
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, Le Crédit en Ligne
s.t.
121
Manuel Belletti
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
122
Jetse Bol
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
123
Alessandro Vanotti
Liquigas-Cannondale
+ 52
124
Nicki Sørensen
Team Saxo Bank
+ 53
125
Maarten Neyens
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
126
Amaël Moinard
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
127
Andreas Klier
Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
128
Matteo Trentin
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
s.t.
129
Sergio Pardilla
Movistar Team
+ 54
130
Jimmy Casper
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
131
Edwig Cammaerts
Cofidis, Le Crédit en Ligne
s.t.
132
Winner Andrew Anacona
Lampre - ISD
+ 55
133
Arnaud Démare
FDJ-BigMat
s.t.
134
Andy Schleck
Radioshack - Nissan
+ 56
135
Florian Guillou
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
136
Sébastien Duret
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
137
José Herrada Lopez
Movistar Team
s.t.
138
Gianni Meersman
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
139
Jorge Azanza
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
140
Barry Markus
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
141
Johann Tschopp
BMC Racing Team
+ 57
142
Sylvain Georges
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
143
Stefano Agostini
Liquigas-Cannondale
s.t.
144
Oleksandr Sheydik
Lampre - ISD
+ 58
145
Daniele Ratto
Liquigas-Cannondale
s.t.
146
Oleksandr Kvachuk
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
147
Jesus Hernandez Blazquez
Team Saxo Bank
s.t.
148
Romain Bardet
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
149
Yohann Gène
Team Europcar
+ 59
150
Anthony Charteau
Team Europcar
s.t.
151
Allan Davis
Orica - GreenEDGE
s.t.
152
Geoffroy Lequatre
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 1'00
153
Kasper Klostergaard
Team Saxo Bank
s.t.
154
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 1'01
155
Gaël Malacarne
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 1'02
156
Cédric Pineau
FDJ-BigMat
s.t.
157
Tosh Van der Sande
Lotto Belisol
+ 1'03
158
Mauro Santambrogio
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
159
Guillaume Blot
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
160
Tom Jelte Slagter
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 1'04
161
Jean-Luc Delpech
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
162
Brice Feillu
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
163
Florian Vachon
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
164
Pello Bilbao
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 1'05
165
Guillaume Levarlet
Saur - Sojasun
+ 1'06
166
Frederic Guesdon
FDJ-BigMat
s.t.
167
Cayetano Jose Sarmiento
Liquigas-Cannondale
s.t.
168
Pierre Cazaux
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 1'07
169
Maxime Méderel
Saur - Sojasun
+ 1'08
170
Valentin Iglinskiy
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
171
Maxime Vantomme
Katusha Team
+ 1'11
172
Jakob Rathe
Garmin - Barracuda
+ 1'12
173
Pablo Urtasun
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 1'13
174
Yannick Talabardon
Saur - Sojasun
+ 1'14
175
Graeme Brown
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 1'16
In the end the team could celebrate a top 10 stage result, thanks to Engoulvants great ride. That was what we were hoping for today. I am quite pleased with my 18. place in the end, because the gaps aren't too big to any of the top 10 GC-contenders and some others lost more time than me.
Hello again,
Just a short update on the mood in the team: We were really satisfied with yesterdays result, but we also know that we are capable of a lot more. The goal for today was to show ourselves, so probably try to get in the break of the day.
I hope you are ready for the report of stage two, the first „real“ stage after yesterdays short prolog. I will keep it brief, though, as it was a flat stage and not too much happened:
PARIS-NICE - STAGE 2
The weather was horrible all day long. It was raining and pretty cold as well. But I had a great team working for me, especially Feillu, who was riding in front of me the whole day and kept me out of trouble.
There were quite many attacks from the start, but they were all chased down by different teams. It took nearly sixty kilometres for a group to get away for more than a minute. Lukily for us Engoulvant made it in that group, together with Marycz, Lequatre and Txurruka.
As it was pretty obvious that the break would not get through, the main target for everyone in the break probably was the only KoM-sprint of the day, as the winner would be awarded with the jersey. Engoulvant was aiming for it of course.
Engoulvant tried an early attack for the KoM points
But he lost the uphill sprint closely to Txurruka, but at least he won the intermediate sprint a little later.
Txurruka was a little faster
The break at the intermediate sprint
Everything pointed to a mass sprint as the lead was decreasing.
With 10 kilometres to go and a thirty second lead the escapees had more or less all given up. All but one, Engoulvant decided to try it all alone.
Engoulvant heading into the last ten kilometres
He could keep the small lead up for another three kilometres, but he was caught with about five kilometres left.
So we saw the first mass sprint of this years Paris-Nice.
After a great lead-out from his team Boonen took the victory in front of Bozic and Cavendish
Top 10 - Stage
1
Tom Boonen
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
4h11'09
2
Borut Bozic
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
3
Mark Cavendish
Sky Pro Cycling
s.t.
4
Sébastien Chavanel
Team Europcar
s.t.
5
Danilo Wyss
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
6
Elia Viviani
Liquigas-Cannondale
s.t.
7
Allan Davis
Orica - GreenEDGE
s.t.
8
Jimmy Casper
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
9
Lloyd Mondory
Ag2r La Mondiale
s.t.
10
Takashi Miyazawa
Team Saxo Bank
s.t.
Top 10 - GC
1
Luis León Sánchez
Rabobank Cycling Team
4h23'36
2
Tony Martin
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
s.t.
3
Lars Boom
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 2
4
Tom Boonen
Omega Pharma - Quickstep
+ 6
5
Fabian Cancellara
Radioshack - Nissan
s.t.
6
José Iván Gutierrez
Movistar Team
+ 7
7
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
+ 8
8
George Hincapie
BMC Racing Team
+ 9
9
Jimmy Engoulvent
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
10
Juan Antonio Flecha
Sky Pro Cycling
+ 14
KoM - Top 3
1
Amets Txurruka
Euskaltel - Euskadi
4
2
Jimmy Engoulvent
Saur - Sojasun
2
3
Jaroslaw Marycz
Team Saxo Bank
1
Well, we all made it through the stage without crashing or getting too cold. We didn't expect much from this stage, it was a little sad that Engoulvant wasn't able to get the mountains jersey, but we will try it again - I promise!
I hope the form is right, because soon the hills and mountains will start coming!
(I'm going on holiday so I'll read the rest of it when I get back in 3 weeks, just telling you so you know I haven't stopped following)
These training days are pretty much all the same, riding your bike all day long. But if you love doing it, like I do, it is just the best job in the world.
