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Discovery Channel - TdF 2011
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| FreitasPCM |
Posted on 13-11-2010 09:51
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Grand Tour Champion
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Sensational win!  |
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 13-11-2010 10:01
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World Champion
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Yes! Very smart tactics, by letting Kreuziger attack at the bottom of the slope.
With one mountain stage left, everything is possible, but it looks a bit too hard though. |
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| baia |
Posted on 13-11-2010 11:12
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Grand Tour Specialist
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Great ryde,great win.
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| Squire |
Posted on 13-11-2010 22:40
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18.09.2010: Vuelta a España
Stage 19
Teruel - Guadalajara: 225.0km
Tactics meeting
We are getting close to Madrid and the end of the Vuelta. But before tomorrow's mountainous finale, this long transition stage must be done away with. It could well turn out to be a breakaway stage, and we aim to put a rider in the break. We're just one win away from our goal of five stage wins, following Pereiro's great win yesterday.
We had Vaitkus in the break of the day, and despite some desperate attempts to stay away, the escapees were caught in the last climb. It didn't matter much, we also had people who could go on late attacks.
So did Caisse d'Epargne! Chasing his 6th stage win, Valverde tried to jump out of the pack.
He doesn't have the same spark as earlier in the race, so quite a few riders managed to follow him.
Heading down towards the finish, we had several riders in the front group! A lot of opportunities for us here.
Pereiro's downhill capabilities was one of them! Oscar towed Kreuziger away from the others!
Well into the home stretch, Pereiro and Kreuziger had a solid lead over Valverde & co! Could we get a 1-2?
Oh yes! Pereiro's third win in four days! When we win, we do it in superb style: This is our third 1-2 in the Vuelta! Peter Velits jumped out of Valverde's wheel to take the sprint for 3rd, so this was actually a total domination of the podium! The quest for five stage wins is accomplished.
One who missed out on the action today was Xavi Tondo. He lost his 3rd place overall to Castaño, as he finished in a group 1'48 behind Pereiro, Valverde, Castaño & co.
Today's winner
Results
1 Óscar Pereiro Discovery Channel 5h29'30
2 Roman Kreuziger Discovery Channel + 0
3 Peter Velits Discovery Channel + 0
4 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne + 0
5 John Gadret AG2R La Mondiale + 0
6 Carlos Castaño Xacobeo - Galicia + 0
7 David De la Fuente Fuji - Servetto + 0
8 Benjamín Noval Discovery Channel + 0
9 Egoi Martínez Discovery Channel + 0
10 Kai Reus Rabobank + 0
GC
1 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 76h15'20
2 Óscar Pereiro Discovery Channel + 6'29
3 Carlos Castaño Xacobeo - Galicia + 9'33
4 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur + 10'42
5 Roman Kreuziger Discovery Channel + 12'11
6 Thomas Lövkvist Team Columbia - High Road + 13'25
7 José Angel Gómez Marchante Cervélo Test Team + 17'18
8 Kai Reus Rabobank + 21'59
9 Ángel Vicioso Andalucía Cajasur + 22'34
10 Iker Camaño Fuji - Servetto + 23'28 |
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| janne_837 |
Posted on 13-11-2010 22:41
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1-3 goes to Discovery! Great work!
And tomorrow, Valverde crashes and has to give up  |
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| Squire |
Posted on 13-11-2010 23:52
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19.09.2010: Vuelta a España
Stage 20
Guadalajara - Destilerias DYC: 221.0km
Tactics meeting
Let me tell you something interesting. In 1985, before the penultimate stage to, you guessed it, DYC Distilerias, Pedro Delgado was trailing race leader Robert Millar by 6'13. After a long breakaway over several mountains, Delgado took enough time to get the leader's jersey and win the race overall. The similarities to the 2010 edition are baffling. We have one mission today: Have Pereiro try 'a Delgado'. Why not? We have nothing to lose.
The first step in our masterplan was putting Egoi Martinez out in front. He was there for another reason as well, he secured his King of the Mountains jersey today!
On the penultimate mountain, we made our move! Kreuziger took off with Pereiro (dressed in green for the day) stuck to his wheel. They left behind a lot of surprised faces in the peloton. Could Pereiro get back anything near 6 minutes on Valverde?
This was a truly determined effort! On the descent, our attacking duo caught Martinez, who offered some additional help.
Martinez didn't last long though, and onto the last climb, even Kreuziger felt the pressure. He had to let Pereiro continue on his own with 18km remaining. That would be 18 tough and lonely kms for Pereiro if he was going to make it. The deficit to the rest of the favourites was 1 minute at this point.
Pereiro kept going, and was still in the lead under the 10km banner. This was when he hit the steeper gradients though, and his 1 minute gap unfortunately started coming down.
The inevitable catch happened at the 9km mark. Pereiro's attack had lasted halfway up the final climb. Valverde seemed a bit rejuvenated today. Castaño and Tondo were also lurking just behind now.
Valverde decided to show who's boss, and immediately rode away from Pereiro. He's obviously back to his usual self, as he opened up a big gap in no time!
Pereiro got company from Tondo, and the chasing duo was 1 minute behind Valverde with 7km remaining.
Valverde continued to increase his lead, and by the time he lifted his arms in celebration for his 6th stage win, he was nearly 3 minutes in front of Pereiro & Tondo!
Pereiro crossed the line as 3rd, 2'49 behind winner Valverde. His Delgado attack had failed, but at least he has consolidated his 2nd place overall. Some astronomous time gaps were seen today. Lövkvist, for example, finished 10'28 behind Valverde. Amazingly, the Swede keeps his 6th overall.
Today's winner
Results
1 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 6h15'20
2 Óscar Pereiro Discovery Channel + 2'49
3 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur + 2'49
4 Carlos Castaño Xacobeo - Galicia + 3'42
5 Jaume Rovira Pous Andalucía Cajasur + 5'00
6 José Angel Gómez Marchante Cervélo Test Team + 6'36
7 Ángel Vicioso Andalucía Cajasur + 6'44
8 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne + 6'52
9 Xavi Florencio Cervélo Test Team + 7'11
10 Roman Kreuziger Discovery Channel + 7'21
GC
1 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 82h30'20
2 Óscar Pereiro Discovery Channel + 9'30
3 Carlos Castaño Xacobeo - Galicia + 13'35
4 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur + 13'39
5 Roman Kreuziger Discovery Channel + 19'52
6 Thomas Lövkvist Team Columbia - High Road + 24'13
7 José Angel Gómez Marchante Cervélo Test Team + 24'14
8 Ángel Vicioso Andalucía Cajasur + 29'38
9 Kai Reus Rabobank + 30'20
10 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne + 32'03 |
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| lluuiiggii |
Posted on 14-11-2010 00:09
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Grand Tour Champion
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yeah, you see that... they forgot the blood bags for the last week of the vuelta in another laboratory, but they brought it back for valverde in time for the penultimate stage!!
at least you got the kom jersey =] |
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| zambeaux |
Posted on 14-11-2010 01:09
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Well, the fact is that the famous Destilerías DYC are quite close to Segovia and certainly not on a mountain top finish, so maybe the designer of this stage got a little carried away . You had already fulfilled your stage wins goal, so you had nothing to lose: well done. |
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| Squire |
Posted on 14-11-2010 01:42
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@luigi: That must surely be the explanation
@zambeaux: Yeah, I reacted to that as well when I saw youtube videos of Delgado from 1985. Certainly didn't look like a mountain to me. But I can only report what the almighty Vuelta organizers give me in terms of details  This variant is a bit sloppy, as there are no names for any of the mountains throughout the race.
Another thing I want to say, is that I hate certain hilly GT stages. Tondo, who's done a brilliant Vuelta, lost his podium spot (unless he surprises everyone in the TT, not impossible in this crazy Vuelta) because of a hilly stage where he should have had no problems hanging on the the leaders (stage 19). |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 18:54
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 14-11-2010 09:12
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World Champion
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Too bad Valverde was so strong on the last climb. But at least you got a 2nd overall, 5 stage wins and the KOM jersey, so a good Vuelta for you anyway. |
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| lukaas |
Posted on 14-11-2010 09:35
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Domestique
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Great second place! I love this story. This is the best story on pcm!! |
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| FreitasPCM |
Posted on 14-11-2010 09:48
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8389
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Valverde back to the wins. :/
At least, Pereiro got second. |
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| baia |
Posted on 14-11-2010 13:59
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That was a very nice try but i think you did attack just a little too early,but still nice try.As said before,this is really one of the best storys,congrats.
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| Squire |
Posted on 14-11-2010 16:04
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Thanks for all nice comments! It's appreciated
@pellizotti: Don't forget the best young rider jersey
@baia: It was always going to be a doomed attempt, but the only way to possibly get 6 minutes was to attack from far out. Didn't really believe it would work, but I thought 'why not just try?'
Last Vuelta stage coming up today! |
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| CasperVg |
Posted on 14-11-2010 17:29
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Stagiare
Posts: 182
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Nice Vuelta! Too bad you couldn't get GC nr 1, but 2nd is pretty good too, especially considering all the other jerseys you got & the stage wins!
Who knows.. maybe Valverde will fall and give up in the last stage.. |
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| Squire |
Posted on 14-11-2010 20:21
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20.09.2010: Vuelta a España
Stage 21
Madrid - Madrid: 28.0km
Tactics meeting
With Valverde back to winning ways yesterday, everything seems like it's the way it should be as the Vuelta ends in Madrid. With the time gaps from outer space that are between the top riders in the GC, this TT won't affect much except the battle for 3rd between Castaño and Tondo. 4 seconds separate them, but Castaño was a lot better in the first long TT. For us, Kreuziger has a good chance of grabbing the win, but judging by form, LL Sanchez will be a tough nut to crack.
Lars Bak, who has suffered like a pig in the mountains lately, was finally back to his own terrain today. He celebrated that by recording the early time to beat.
The Caisse d'Epargne riders have no Valverde to take care of today, so they can go flat out. Kiryienka did just that, and sliced 4 seconds off Bak's time.
Gustavo César Veloso has been surprisingly good in the mountains, and sits 12th overall. He followed that up with a good performance today in the TT. Veloso took the provisional lead after beating Kiryienka by 20 seconds. That actually brings him up to 11th overall.
Luis Leon Sanchez did was what expected of him, taking the lead that is. But not by much, as the clock counted him in 6 seconds faster than Veloso.
Lövkvist obviously wanted this win more than Sanchez, as the Swede gunned through the 28km course in lightning speed, crushing Sanchez by 41 seconds! Did we have a winner?
Kreuziger could unfortunately do nothing about Lövkvist. Provisional 2nd for the best young rider of this race, 24 seconds behind.
Xavi Tondo rode the time trial of his life, and actually beat his podium rival Castaño on the day. But only by 4 seconds, the same as the deficit in the GC. Castaño keeps the 3rd place by less than a second!
Pereiro cruised through the course to secure his 2nd overall. He's not good enough to challenge for the stage win, but enjoyed this day nevertheless. He crossed the line as the 6th best rider on the day.
Pereiro was knocked down to 7th by Valverde, but the six-time stage winner is not a great time trialist. His form took him a long way though, and he finished 4th, in the same time as teammate Sanchez.
A popular home winner is celebrated in the sunshine in Madrid! Valverde's first ever Grand Tour victory, and he won it in dominant fashion.
Today's winner
Results
1 Thomas Lövkvist Team Columbia - High Road 35'02
2 Roman Kreuziger Discovery Channel + 24
3 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne + 42
4 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne + 42
5 Gustavo César Veloso Xacobeo - Galicia + 48
6 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur + 49
7 Óscar Pereiro Discovery Channel + 53
8 Carlos Castaño Xacobeo - Galicia + 53
9 Vasil Kiryienka Caisse d'Epargne + 1'08
10 Lars Bak Team Saxo Bank + 1'12
Final GC
1 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 83h06'04
2 Óscar Pereiro Discovery Channel + 9'41
3 Carlos Castaño Xacobeo - Galicia + 13'46
4 Xavi Tondo Andalucía Cajasur + 13'46
5 Roman Kreuziger Discovery Channel + 19'34
6 Thomas Lövkvist Team Columbia - High Road + 23'31
7 José Angel Gómez Marchante Cervélo Test Team + 25'18
8 Ángel Vicioso Andalucía Cajasur + 30'34
9 Kai Reus Rabobank + 30'55
10 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne + 32'03
11 Gustavo César Veloso Xacobeo - Galicia + 33'25
12 Jaume Rovira Pous Andalucía Cajasur + 33'56
13 Peter Velits Discovery Channel + 35'22
14 David López Euskaltel - Euskadi + 36'16
15 Iker Camaño Fuji - Servetto + 37'30
16 Juanma Gárate Astana Cycling Team + 38'26
17 Vasil Kiryienka Caisse d'Epargne + 38'37
18 Xavi Florencio Cervélo Test Team + 40'56
19 Marcos García Xacobeo - Galicia + 41'32
20 David Arroyo Caisse d'Epargne + 44'16
Points ranking
1 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 328
2 Óscar Pereiro Discovery Channel 196
3 Carlos Castaño Xacobeo - Galicia 185
Mountain ranking
1 Egoi Martínez Discovery Channel 174
2 Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne 133
3 Thomas Lövkvist Team Columbia - High Road 124
Youth ranking
1 Roman Kreuziger Discovery Channel 83h25'38
2 Kai Reus Rabobank + 11'21
3 Peter Velits Discovery Channel + 15'48
Team classification
1 Discovery Channel 250h19'20
2 Caisse d'Epargne + 10'50
3 Andalucía Cajasur + 15'26
If the WADA don't disagree, Valverde is the clear winner of the Vuelta a España 2010! The amazing Spaniard won six stages and the points jersey along the way. In my time as a directeur sportif, this is the second biggest GT winning margin, only beaten by Basso's 12 minutes to 2nd placed Scarponi in the Giro 09. Valverde had a lot of help from his team, which had four riders among the top 20.
The stage wins didn't see much distribution in this race. There were only ten different stage winners, with only five teams represented! That must be some kind of record. Xacobeo - Galicia were really successful, taking five wins, three of them by David Herrero.
What we bring back to the Discovery trophy room is quite a lot. Our goals were fulfilled: A podium placing overall and five stage wins. In addition to that, Martinez took home the KoM jersey and Kreuziger the white jersey. As has become a habit, we won the team competition. It was slightly disappointing that Ciolek didn't dominate the sprints, but that was more than made up for by Pereiro's exploits in the mountains.
Now our Vuelta riders will take their good form with them as they travel to the other side of the world. The World Championships in Melbourne, Australia await! Stay tuned!
Edited by Squire on 15-11-2010 22:12
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| Squire |
Posted on 14-11-2010 21:56
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24.09.2010: World Championships
While all eyes were on the Vuelta this month, other Discovery riders have also raced. Lance Armstrong came a disappointing 4th in the Tour of Missouri, where he couldn't defend his victory from last year. That was probably his last race in the rainbow jersey. Vladimir Gusev is on good form for the Worlds after winning the time trial in GP da Estremadura and thereby the overall.
The World Championships are in Melbourne, Australia this year, or Geelong to be more precise. The RR circuit is fairly flat, with just a small climb to test the riders. With that climb repeated enough times though, the race could prove too demanding for the pure sprinters. Strong attackers are probably favoured.
For the time trial, Cancellara is a big favourite after winning the Eneco Tour last month. Discovery duo Leipheimer & Gusev are going strong at the moment, and Lövkvist comes to Australia on the back of a TT win in the Vuelta. Defending champion Cadel Evans is on home soil and must be reckoned with, but we haven't seen much of him during the last months.
In-form riders expected to shine at the road race include Vattenfall winner Pozzato, Valverde, Ciolek, Velits and TT favourite Cancellara. We should also not forget people like Boonen, Ballan, Gilbert, Cunego, Cavendish and Hushovd.
The United States put their trust in Tyler Farrar for the road race, with the course deemed too flat for defending world champion Lance Armstrong. Farrar will get able support from mainly Discovery riders. Dave Zabriskie is nowhere near top form, so he was left out of both the RR and TT lineup. TT replacements Phinney and Pate did well in the US championship and in the Tour of Missouri, where Pate won the TT.
United States of America
Time trial
 Levi Leipheimer
Danny Pate
Taylor Phinney
Road race
Tyler Farrar
Lance Armstrong
Levi Leipheimer
George Hincapie
Danny Pate
Taylor Phinney
Tom Danielson |
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| valverde321 |
Posted on 14-11-2010 22:58
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World Champion
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Wow we're here again, already.
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| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 15-11-2010 06:28
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World Champion
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Wow! Tondo and Castaño on the same time  |
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| hans_kristian |
Posted on 15-11-2010 06:32
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Stagiare
Posts: 243
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Go Farrar hope he or Armstrong wins |
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