This is our second race with a sponsor objective: a 176.5 km hilly race from Gaiole in Chianti to Siena.
I appointed our best available climbers for this race, because our sprinters wouldn't stand a chance, due to the many climbs. We plan to join the expected breakaway and try to make it to the finish in front of the peloton. If the breakaway is reeled back, the riders in the peloton will have to react to attacks on the last kilometers or try to escape by themselves.
As expected, right after the start the first attack occurs and two riders break away. So I order Donà to follow. As the peloton doesn't react, I order Ragnoli to follow the next attack to join the breakaway and help Donà. He really does and succeeds only a few kilometers later. This way, only 15 km after the start, Donà and Ragnoli are in the breakaway with Maksym Averin, Cesare Benedetti, Juan Esteban Arango, Anton Storchous and Grégory Habeaux. Here you see the escapees on the "strade bianche", the "white streets".
Because there is still a long way to go, nobody in the peloton reacts and the escapees can easily increase their lead. 50 km after the start, the advantage is already 8'35". But now some teams start the chase.
20 km later, the lead is diminished to 7'30". Because none of the other escapees help with the relays, I tell my riders to raise the pace in the next climb and break free. They do as they are told and after the climb are 1'24" in front of the breakaway, which is now 6'08" in front of the peloton.
Unfortunately, Ragnoli reports that he has heavy legs today. Also Donà doesn't feel really well. So this will be tough to the end, as there are still 100 km to go.
So I tell Ragnoli to help and relay with high effort as long as he can and Donà to conserve energy as long as possible. This way they ride until 60 km to the finish. Then Ragnoli is done and slows down. Now Donà is all alone and has to go his pace on his own. He has still 4 minutes advantage to the peloton. The other escapees are scattered in between, but are reeled back by the peloton one after the other.
Donà has much energy left and can hold this lead of 4 minutes for the next 10 km. But then Joaquím Rodríguez, Philippe Gilbert, Diego Ulissi, Daniel Oss and José Serpa attack and break free from the peloton. The other riders react and try to follow. So do our riders and therefore the speed is getting very high and these escapees and the peloton close in to Donà.
I order Donà to give everything he has and try to hold the lead. Meanwhile the peloton has reeled back the escapees. So at 27 km to the finish, Donà is quite out of power but still 3'48" in front of the peloton! Also Ragnoli is still 44" in front of the peloton, but he won't be able to ride at high speed again and will be reeled back soon.
5 km later Joaquím Rodríguez and Philippe Gilbert attack again and again break free. I order Flaborea and Savastano to follow, because the others are almost done due to the high pace and the several attacks before.
Now with 23 km to go, Donà is 2'29 in front of Gilbert, who is 32" in front of Rodriguez, who is 40" in front of the peloton. Flaborea and Savastano are reeled back. Then Stefano Garzelli and Franco Pellizotti break free and chase the lead. None of our riders has the power to follow.
At 15 km to the finish, Gilbert overtakes Donà. It is clear, that Donà cannot win. But he tries to follow Gilbert. He still has 47" to Rodriguez, 1'27" to Garzelli, 2'05" to Pellizotti and 2'25 to the peloton.
But Donà cannot hold the pace of Gilbert and at the 10 km mark also Rodriguez overtakes.
Now everybody in the peloton goes at full speed and so do our riders. Flaborea, Acevedo and Possoni can stay in front, but cannot follow the escapees.
Gilbert is way in front and will win this race. Donà now manages to hang on the wheel of Garzelli. He has the finish almost in sight, Rodriguez only 12" in front and Ulissi and Pelizotti one minute behind.
And that is the way they finish: Garzelli and Donà cannot catch Rodriguez anymore: in the end they are 16" behind.
But it is a very good 4th position for Donà and it is what the sponsor expected. So everybody can be happy.
On this 3rd March we have the next important race with a sponsor objective: it is the 179.6 km long hilly Roma Maxima. We will start with most of our best climbers and Ginanni as Sprinter.
After the start there is an early breakaway with 13 riders. But the peloton doesn't want to let them go. Their lead doesn't exceed 1'20".
In the first long climb, the breakaway is reeled back in. But then another five riders attack and break away: Francesco Failli, Sergio Pardilla, Julian Arredondo, Sergey Firsanov and Gatis Smukulis can build up a lead of 3'45".
Now we have to react and start the chase together with other teams. Lunini leads the peloton at high speed and reels back the escapees to 2 minutes.
In the last long climb, 40 km to the finish, Ryder Hesjedal and Alessandro De Marchi attack and break away from the peloton. Di Gregorio follows, but can't hold the pace of the escapees. So do Fredrik Kessiakoff, Matteo Rabottini and Paul Voss, who follow Di Gregorio 20" arrear.
The peloton also tries to follow and gets scattered to pieces: Guerrisi and Reggiasnini are not so strong today and remain in the peloton with 126 other riders, while the rest of our team is in a chasing group only 1'48" behind the leading group with Hesjedal.
Now there are only 26 km downhill and flat to go. And Hesjedal is the first one to finish the last short climb. So we have to accelerate to catch him.
Our riders build a train to pull Ginanni to the front. Ginanni has good legs today and has been protected all the way, so he has much energy left. As our train is in front and all except Ginanni are out of power, I order him to attack: With 8 km to go and 1'25" behind Hesjedal, he has to give everything.
And Ginanni is in good form today: he diminishes the lead and closes in quick. At 3 km to the finish he has almost caught Hesjedal and he is still going strong. Other riders have caught his wheel and are following. But there is no time for tactics now: I tell him not to wait or hesitate and just give everything. We can only hope the others will be too tired to overtake him on the final straight.
With 1.7 km to go, Ginanni passes by Hesjedal!
But now the others start their sprint. In the last corner, only 600 meters to the finish, Sergey Firsanov it at the backwheel of Ginanni and Julian Arredondo is even slightly in front.
But Ginanni is still strong and fast and fights himself back to the lead!
Another fantastic victory for Ginanni and another front page for our sponsor Mercatone Due. That is a lot of publicity that will make them happy.
Our second race on this 3rd March is the Trofeo Zssdi from Trieste to Trieste.
Because the finish will be uphill, I allow Iacobucci to take part in the early breakaway together with Roman Katyrin, Sjoerd Kouwenhoven, Mike Terpstra, Jan Sokol and Merijn Korevaar. I tell him to help gain as much advantage as possible until the climbs begin. Who knows: If they can get away far enough, they might make it to the finish, although there are not good climbers in the group.
But their lead doesn't exceed 5 minutes and gets smaller as soon as the climbs begin. 15 km to the finish, the breakaway is reeled back and the peloton raises the pace.
Then in the last climb, with about 5 km to go, Enrico Battaglin attacks and pulls away. Everybody tries to follow and the peloton splits apart. From our riders only Possoni, Donà and Marzocchi have the power to stay in the first chasing group 12" behind.
2 km later, the first chasing group has caught Battaglin and is now the leading group with Nuno Ribeiro, Oscar Gatto and Gabriele Bosisio. Our don't relay anymore and prepare for the sprint, which starts at the 1 km mark.
Today it is Marzocchi who has the best legs of our riders and wins a podium. And with three riders in the top 10, we also win the team classification.
1
Nuno Ribeiro
Efapel - Glassdrive
2h55'38
2
Enrico Battaglin
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
3
Porrozzi Marzocchi
Scuderia Mercatone Due
s.t.
4
Morris Possoni
Scuderia Mercatone Due
s.t.
5
Oscar Gatto
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
s.t.
6
Fabricio Donà
Scuderia Mercatone Due
s.t.
7
Gabriele Bosisio
Utensilnord - Ora24.eu
s.t.
8
Miguel Rubiano
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 31
9
Óscar Sevilla
EPM - UNE
s.t.
10
Sondre Holst Enger
Team Gourmetfein - Simplon
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Riccardo Chiarini
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
12
Fabio Felline
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
13
Alessandra Savastano
Scuderia Mercatone Due
s.t.
14
Jaroslaw Dabrowski
Amore & Vita
s.t.
15
Kristian House
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
16
Edgar Pinto
LA Alumínios - Antarte
s.t.
17
Arkaitz Durán
Efapel - Glassdrive
s.t.
18
Markus Eibegger
Team Gourmetfein - Simplon
s.t.
19
Ricardo Vilela
Efapel - Glassdrive
s.t.
20
Riccardo Zoidl
Team Gourmetfein - Simplon
+ 1'08
21
Hugo Sabido
LA Alumínios - Antarte
s.t.
22
Hernâni Brôco
Efapel - Glassdrive
s.t.
23
Gianguglielmo Giordani
Scuderia Mercatone Due
+ 1'36
24
Jan Sokol
Team Gourmetfein - Simplon
+ 1'59
25
Giudo Iacobucci
Scuderia Mercatone Due
+ 2'32
26
Merijn Korevaar
Rabobank Development Team
s.t.
27
Sjoerd Kouwenhoven
Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks
s.t.
28
Roman Katyrin
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
29
Mike Terpstra
Team 3M
s.t.
30
Jesper Hansen
Team Cult Energy
s.t.
31
Steven Tronet
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 3'34
32
Sérgio Sousa
Efapel - Glassdrive
s.t.
33
Marco Frapporti
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
34
Stéphane Rossetto
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
35
Mauro Finetto
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
s.t.
36
Patrick Clausen
Team Cult Energy
s.t.
37
Andrea Pasqualon
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
38
Sacha Modolo
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
39
Alessandro Proni
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
s.t.
40
Benoit Drujon
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
41
Kevin Hulsmans
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
s.t.
42
Rui Sousa
Efapel - Glassdrive
s.t.
43
Cristiano Monguzzi
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
s.t.
44
Magnus Cort
Team Cult Energy
s.t.
45
Edoardo Zardini
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
46
Eduard Beltran
EPM - UNE
s.t.
47
Giairo Ermeti
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
48
Donato De Ieso
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
49
Artemio Montorfano
Scuderia Mercatone Due
s.t.
50
Michael Reihs
Team Cult Energy
s.t.
51
Loreno Simoncelli
Scuderia Mercatone Due
s.t.
52
Lars Andersson
Concordia Forsikring - Riwal
s.t.
53
Mike Teunissen
Rabobank Development Team
s.t.
54
Mads Würtz
Team Cult Energy
s.t.
55
Luigi Miletta
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
s.t.
56
Rasmus Guldhammer
Blue Water Cycling
s.t.
57
Marco Canola
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
58
Huub Duyn
Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks
s.t.
59
Patrick Facchini
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
60
Guillaume Faucon
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
61
Ramiro Rincón
EPM - UNE
s.t.
62
Thomas Nybo Riis
Blue Water Cycling
s.t.
63
Alexander Kamp
Team Cult Energy
s.t.
64
Matija Kvasina
Team Gourmetfein - Simplon
s.t.
65
Antonio Santoro
Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest
s.t.
66
Omar Bertazzo
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
67
Michael Berling
Concordia Forsikring - Riwal
s.t.
68
Ivar Slik
Rabobank Development Team
s.t.
69
Hossein Alizadeh
Amore & Vita
s.t.
70
Márcio Barbosa
LA Alumínios - Antarte
s.t.
71
Marco Minnaard
Rabobank Development Team
s.t.
72
Junya Sano
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
s.t.
73
Kasper Klostergaard
Concordia Forsikring - Riwal
s.t.
74
Martin Mortensen
Concordia Forsikring - Riwal
s.t.
75
Amir Rusli
Drapac Cycling
s.t.
76
Nikolai Trussov
Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks
s.t.
77
Daan Olivier
Rabobank Development Team
s.t.
78
Marco Zanotti
Utensilnord - Ora24.eu
s.t.
79
Yuriy Agarkov
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
80
Luke Grivell-Mellor
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
81
Martijn Tusveld
Rabobank Development Team
s.t.
82
Angelo Pagani
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
83
Daniel Foder
Blue Water Cycling
s.t.
84
Christoph Pfingsten
Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks
s.t.
85
Niels Wubben
Rabobank Development Team
s.t.
86
Théo Vimpere
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
87
Tomás Gil
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
88
Bruno Silva
LA Alumínios - Antarte
s.t.
89
Florian Bissinger
Team Vorarlberg
s.t.
90
Stan Godrie
Rabobank Development Team
s.t.
91
Federico Rocchetti
Utensilnord - Ora24.eu
s.t.
92
Christofer Stevenson
Concordia Forsikring - Riwal
s.t.
93
Adam Phelan
Drapac Cycling
s.t.
94
Romain Bacon
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
95
Bernard Sulzberger
Drapac Cycling
s.t.
96
Oleksandr Sheydyk
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
97
Vladyslav Bakumenko
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
98
Andrea Di Corrado
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
s.t.
99
Omar Lombardi
Utensilnord - Ora24.eu
s.t.
100
Oleksandr Martynenko
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
101
Lasse Norman Hansen
Blue Water Cycling
s.t.
102
Felix Grossschartner
Team Gourmetfein - Simplon
s.t.
103
William Walker
Drapac Cycling
s.t.
104
Mattia Pozzo
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
s.t.
105
Bob Schoonbroodt
Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks
s.t.
106
Dmytro Volovod
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
107
Christoph Springer
Team Vorarlberg
s.t.
108
Marius Bernatonis
Team 3M
s.t.
109
Marco Zamparella
Utensilnord - Ora24.eu
s.t.
110
Oscar Rivera
EPM - UNE
s.t.
111
Amaro Antunes
Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest
s.t.
112
Zsolt Der
Utensilnord - Ora24.eu
s.t.
113
Jorge Castiblanco
EPM - UNE
s.t.
114
Weimar Roldan
EPM - UNE
s.t.
115
Uri Martins
Amore & Vita
s.t.
116
Andrea Manfredi
Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest
s.t.
117
Joop De Gans
Team 3M
s.t.
118
Bostjan Rezman
Team Vorarlberg
s.t.
119
Edwin Carvajal
EPM - UNE
s.t.
120
Rafael Silva
LA Alumínios - Antarte
s.t.
121
Michael Stevenson
Concordia Forsikring - Riwal
s.t.
122
Jaime Castañeda
EPM - UNE
s.t.
123
Mikkel Mortensen
Concordia Forsikring - Riwal
s.t.
124
Filippo Baggio
Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest
s.t.
125
Oleksandr Polivoda
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
126
Søren Pugdahl
Blue Water Cycling
s.t.
127
Péter Palotai
Utensilnord - Ora24.eu
s.t.
128
Dion Beukeboom
Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks
s.t.
129
Botond Hollo
Utensilnord - Ora24.eu
s.t.
130
Dominik Brändle
Team Vorarlberg
s.t.
131
Dominik Hrinkow
Team Vorarlberg
s.t.
132
Will Stephenson
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
133
Kess Heytens
Team 3M
s.t.
134
Tom Goovaerts
Team 3M
s.t.
135
Aaron Buggle
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
136
Sergey Nikolaev
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
137
Patrick Bosman
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
138
António Amorim
LA Alumínios - Antarte
s.t.
139
Nicolas Winter
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
140
Bas Stamsnijder
Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks
s.t.
141
Kai Reus
Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks
+ 6'37
142
Elliott Porter
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
143
Rafael Reis
Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest
s.t.
144
Florian Salzinger
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
145
Felix Baur
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
146
Temesgen Teklehaimanot
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
+ 7'15
147
Niv Libner
Amore & Vita
s.t.
148
Daniel Paulus
Team Gourmetfein - Simplon
s.t.
149
Luboš Pelánek
Team Vorarlberg
s.t.
150
Konstantin Yakimov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
151
Thomas Vanhaecke
Team 3M
s.t.
152
Jens Schuermans
Team 3M
s.t.
153
Konstantin Kuperasov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
154
Anton Storchous
Amore & Vita
s.t.
155
Patric Schultus
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
156
Malcom Rudolph
Drapac Cycling
s.t.
157
Mats Andersson
Concordia Forsikring - Riwal
s.t.
158
Edward Laverack
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
159
Tizian Rausch
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
160
Daniel Rinner
Team Vorarlberg
s.t.
161
Mario Schoibl
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
162
Antonio Barbio
Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest
s.t.
163
Pedro Paulinho
Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest
s.t.
164
Gregor Mühlberger
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
165
Daniel Biedermann
Team Vorarlberg
s.t.
166
Evgeny Zverkov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
167
Maksim Razumov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
168
Jacob Kjeldsen
Blue Water Cycling
s.t.
169
Maximilian Kuen
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
170
Denys Karnulin
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
171
Dennis Paulus
Team Gourmetfein - Simplon
s.t.
172
Kirill Egorov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
173
Michael Vingerling
Team 3M
+ 8'01
174
Manuel Stocker
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
s.t.
175
Denis Zhuykov
Itera - Katusha
s.t.
176
Hannes Kapeller
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
177
Martin Weiss
Tirol Cycling Team
+ 9'24
178
Marc Obkircher
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
179
Thomas Palmer
Drapac Cycling
s.t.
180
Eugenio Bani
Amore & Vita
s.t.
Spoiler
1
Scuderia Mercatone Due
8h46'54
8h46'54 (1)
2
Efapel - Glassdrive
+ 1'02
+ 1'02 (2)
3
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 1'33
+ 1'33 (3)
4
Team Gourmetfein - Simplon
+ 2'10
+ 2'10 (4)
5
LA Alumínios - Antarte
+ 5'13
+ 5'13 (5)
6
Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox
+ 7'08
+ 7'08 (6)
7
Vini Fantini - Selle Italia
s.t.
+ 7'08 (7)
8
Utensilnord - Ora24.eu
s.t.
+ 7'08 (8)
9
EPM - UNE
+ 7'39
+ 7'39 (9)
10
Amore & Vita
s.t.
+ 7'39 (10)
11
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
+ 7'39 (11)
12
Team Cult Energy
+ 9'40
+ 9'40 (12)
13
Rabobank Development Team
s.t.
+ 9'40 (13)
14
Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks
s.t.
+ 9'40 (14)
15
Team 3M
s.t.
+ 9'40 (15)
16
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 10'42
+ 10'42 (16)
17
Concordia Forsikring - Riwal
s.t.
+ 10'42 (17)
18
Blue Water Cycling
s.t.
+ 10'42 (18)
19
Drapac Cycling
s.t.
+ 10'42 (19)
20
ISD Continental Team
s.t.
+ 10'42 (20)
21
Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest
s.t.
+ 10'42 (21)
22
Team Vorarlberg
s.t.
+ 10'42 (22)
23
Itera - Katusha
+ 13'21
+ 13'21 (23)
24
Atlas Personal - Jakroo
+ 13'45
+ 13'45 (24)
25
Tirol Cycling Team
+ 18'04
+ 18'04 (25)
With this outcome, we now have four riders in the top 10 of the continental ranking and are the best team there.
After the last race, the group from Trieste came to Rome to meet the others there, because we had to travel to Ajaccio to the training camp the other day. The evening in Rome we went to a noble club to celebrate our good results. Our boys had a good time and enjoyed themselves. But it seemed I had the wrong clothes on: none of the girls wanted to dance with me.
On the other hand, Loreno Simoncelli did very well and met Gabriella Napolitano: she is actress in a soap opera about young people in Rome, where she plays a rich girl, the daughter of the owner of a wine-growing estate. They danced and laughed. So I took some pictures with my handy. Then I went outside to get some fresh air.
When I saw the paparazzi, I stood close to them, took my handy and tipped in a random number to call my "friend". To my surprise the call was answered and so I told my "friend" about the love affair between the cyclist and the actress. The guy on the other end was quite upset that I woke him up in the middle of the night and told me some ugly things. Fortunately the paparazzi couldn't hear that part of the conversation. I invited my "friend" to lunch the next day to show him my pictures and finished the call.
Now the paparazzi were eager to now more and asked about the pictures. I told them my story again and bluetoothed the pictures to them.
In our training camp in Ajaccio we then heard the rumors about a love affair between the actress and the cyclist. And now there were articles about Scuderia Mercatone Due not only in the sports papers, but also in youth magazines and the yellow press. Loreno and Gabriella of course repeatedly denied to have a love affair. But as it is with those stories: the more you deny, the more people believe it is true.
Hello and welcome to the GP Nobili Rubinetterie Coppa Citta di Stresa of the 14th March 2013. Today we have this mostly flat race over 187.4 km. But there are two climbs on the last third of the race and so we expect some attacks from the strong climbers.
As usual there is a early breakaway and I order Savastano to join. Maybe they gain so much advantage until the last climbs, that they make it to the finish? Together with Savastano are Dominique Cornu / Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise, Stijn Steels / Crelan - Euphony, Jurgen Van Goolen / Accent Jobs - Wanty, Leonardo Giordani / Vini Fantini - Selle Italia, Marco Zamparella / Utensilnord - Ora24.eu and Fortunato Baliani / Team Nippo - De Rosa. The breakaway works fine and gain a lead of 6 minutes within short time.
But then the peloton speeds up and until the second last climb the breakaway has only 3'30" advantage left. After this climb the pace of the peloton raises again and some riders attack on the crest, but cannot break away. But now the race gets even faster.
At the last climb, Savastano is only 2 minutes in front and now attacks to get rid of his mates. In the peloton we don't want to wait for the others to attack and so Acevedo and Donà accelerate and pull away.
The peloton tries to follow and falls apart. So we get rid of most of the sprinters. On the last crest, with 22 km to go, Savastano is 2'30" ahead of the peloton. Acevedo and Donà are one minute ahead of the peloton, which isn't enough to make it to the finish.
At the 10 km mark, Savastano still in front, but almost out of energy and with only 10" lead to Fortunato Baliani. Donà and Acevedo are reeled back by the peloton.
We form a sprint train with Flaborea, Marzocchi, Di Gregorio and Ginanni
Flaborea raises the pace and takes our train to the lead. They overtake Baliani and Savastano and start the sprint. Ginanni and Di Gregorio are in good shape today and pull away. At the 1 km mark it is clear that no other sprinter can follow. Ginanni wins and Di Gregorio comes in on second place.
So we win another race and get another precious front page.
There is an early breakaway with 11 riders. Our Ragnoli is among them, but the peloton doesn't want to let them go: They cannot gain a lead of more than one minute and are then reeled back in 30 km later. Only Miguel Rubiano can escape out of this group and stays in front.
On the last third of the race, the peloton chases him hard. Due to the high pace, many riders cannot keep up and fall behind.
At 13 km to the finish also Rubiano is reeled back again. And the peloton is going fast and everybody prepares for the sprint.
After the 10 km mark, Oscar Gatto attacks and breaks free. Now Acevedo accelerates and pulls our train in front. Then at 5 km Flaborea attacks and overtakes Gatto. Only Donà can follow and takes the second place. Because now there comes the last climb, we hope that Flaborea can make it to the finish.
But in the climb Gatto can close in again hold the wheel of Flaborea. Then on the final straight he can use the slipstream and overtake. So close for Flaborea!
The first stage of the Tour de Normandie is a flat ITT over 4.8 km. There is not much to tell about it: everybody gives his best and Reggianini finishes on good second position.
Tour de Normandie Stage 2: Colombelles - Forges les Eaux
The second stage is a 190.4 km long merely flat stage with some mountain and intermediate sprints.
Reggianini, who is already wearing the young rider shirt, wants the mountain shirt and some bonus seconds and so attacks soon after the start. I order Savastone to help him. They get away and surprisingly nobody follows.
So they win all the intermediate sprints and mountain points. And they build up a lead of up to 9 minutes, because nobody in the peloton wants to work. But although Savastano und Reggianini relay with only little effort, they use quite some energy. So they will have to relax tomorrow or at least will not be able to attack again.
After the last intermediate sprint the breakaway is reeled back and at the 20 km mark, the preparations for the sprint begin. Our men are in good position, but Reggianini and Savastano have to fight to stay in the peloton. At the 10 km mark, the pace is high and our riders are on their limit.
At 5 km to the finish, Ginanni attacks and really can break away.
But this time he doesn't make it to the finish. There are too many good flat riders and sprinters in the peloton. They catch him 3 km later and the sprint begins. Our sprinters are doing right, but it isn't enough for the podium: Marzocchi on 10th place is our best.
MrTeamSky wrote:
Wow what a lot of great results there with so many podiums in a short space of time.
It seems to me that our squad is almost too strong for a continental team, especially after the training camps, which had quite some effect. I will post an actual picture with the stats later.
sutty68 wrote:
A nice start from Reggianini in Normandie
