matt493 wrote:
Pretty good results. I hope you get promoted.
That's the easy part (we're miles ahead of 3rd). The hard part is trying to fulfil the sponsor goal - stage win and wear the climber's jersey for a day in the Tour de France. Talk about optimistic
matt493 wrote:
Pretty good results. I hope you get promoted.
That's the easy part (we're miles ahead of 3rd). The hard part is trying to fulfil the sponsor goal - stage win and wear the climber's jersey for a day in the Tour de France. Talk about optimistic
Well for the tour de france goal, usually you can get mountain points on the 1st few flat stages. Just send I guy in the break and then you have the KOM jersey.
Or you can just fix some stats and make a rider perfect. You would just have to live with yourself for cheating. I'm just joking in case you didn't know.
Clasica a Alcobendas
After a solid first stage, we were looking to just stay up front for stage 2 - easily done by Moises Dueñas (47th) in a stage won by Aitor Perez Arrieta.
The final stage 3 time trial was too short for any real GC change up top.
Emilien-Benoît Bergès was our first rider off, and actually took the lead. He would end up 7th, a great result for him.
Alberto Martinez Trinidad went even better to end up 6th for day.
Moises Dueñas finally finished in 15th, keeping his 6th spot in the Gc, whilst Pereiro was the overall winner.
The highlight of my day came after the race. I managed to found a certain member of press from Cycling24 who had made up some rumours:
C24: Nice to see you again Joey
JJ: I would have liked to have said the same thing about you
C24: After recent announcements quashing rumours of your lack of job security and lack of sponsor next season, do you have anything to say?
JJ: Is this live?
C24: Of course
JJ: I'd like to say thank you Cycling24 for making completely made up rumours about me. It's nice to see some members of the press who don't believe honesty and actually doing a bit of work to look up facts still exist. I'd also like to add your coverage pretty much sucks, your interviews are awful, and having read an article on your website recently, you obviously cannot even speak English well. I am not Joeph Johns, I don't coach the team Agritabell, and I most certainly am not a directing sporteeth. Thanks for watching viewers, go over to Eurosport, that's a lot better than this trash
C24: [stands there speechless as Joey Jones walks off]
Leading up to the first categorised climb, a break formed, but we were more concerned with a puncture for Romain Feillu. Luckily, the pack was moving slowly, so he easily made it back in.
Up the first climb, the Montgauch, some riders were struggling up the 8.9% slopes, so Jerome did a turn up front, and proceeded to shred the pack in half (including 4 out of our 6 riders!!!)
The next climb was the Cote de Saleich, and I decided we should make a bold move. I pulled up to our two riders in the bunch
"How are you feeling Jerome?"
"Great"
"And Eduardo?"
"Not so great boss, but I can hang on in." He didn't look great, but then again, he didn't look great when he was flying up mountains easily.
"Ok Jerome, go for it"
"What?!?"
"Attack, this stage is yours"
And off he went, accelerating hard and fast and settling into a blistering rhythm
He made short work of the TV break
But with 40km to go, after 60 km all alone off the front, the pack had made serious inroads into his lead - it stood at just 20 seconds with 3 climbs left. I pulled up to him.
"Jerome, how are you feeling?"
"I don't think I can make it boss"
"Look, there's just 40 km's to go, and it's all your terrain. This race is yours, now come on, and get yourself up this hill, and make this your finest day in your cycling career so far! You can do this, I know you can!"
The pep talk worked. Over that hill, he stretched his lead back up to 50 seconds, with just 20km and two hills left.
On the slopes of the next climb, disaster happened, as we missed the move that would take the day - race favourite VÃctor Hugo Orozco slipped into a 3 man break with a team mate - no one would see him again.
I asked Coppel to sacrifice himself there and then, to try and pull him back in - he didn't succeed in that, but what he did do was absolutely wreck the peloton, turning it into just 10 riders.
The final climb went poorly. Orozco took an easy win by over 10 minutes, but back down the mountain, Eduardo was suffering awfully. He was cold, soaked through, and struggling to cling on with riders he should have been able to stay with, and finally fell off the back of the chase group with just 2.5 km left.
He crossed the line in 4th, over 10 minutes down on the winner, but somehow only a minute behind Jeremy Maartens, who came in 2nd (who isn't U23 by the way).
So a disappointing stage. Just outside a podium spot, Eduardo has his work cut out if he wants to make up his deficit.
It was a dejected team that entered the team bus after the stage. Soaked through, cold, crestfallen. That wasn't the team I wanted to see, especially after the delights of yesterday. I wanted to say some words, words of encouragement, words that would fire up the riders again - but none came. It wasn't the best night's sleep I've ever got. I really thought we could do better than this, I really did.
matt493 wrote:
good results. How do you get u23 races. Was that just on PCM 06?
Plakker created the category in the PPDB. He also made it so only teams which have a majority of young riders would be selected to race them, although he couldn't stop riders over 23 from racing completely
After yesterday's disappointment, it was time to go onto the flat, so Romain Feillu would lead the team, and try and go for the stage win.
Unfortunately though, a break of 6 went up the roda, and we were the only team willing to chase. It was left to Sinner and Ravard to try and pull them back in. But as time went on, it was obvious that wasn't going to happen, and the gap was 2 minutes with 7km left.
Romain got himself up front, and sprinted hard and fast. It was simply incredible just how quick he was, he tore up the road, and even managed to get onto the back of the breakaway group to take 7th. A very good 7th, but not a win as Brochard won.
Another poor day, Feillu would have won had we had fresher legs and more team mates. Tomorrow is a TT, which Coppel is very heavy favourite for. I hope that pressure doesn't get the better of him.
So we are all looking forward to tomorrow. Our strategy is simple - follow that yellow jersey, attack when it attacks, work when it does, and hope for a strong finish. Of course, a plan rarely works. It rarely does.
But tomorrow, it must.
