The Brabantse Pijl is a Flanders Classics held in the region of Brabant in Belgium. Often hilly sprinters are able to win here but also the favourites of the next 3 PT classics use it as preparation. Record winner is Edwig Van Hooydonck with 4 wins followed by 3 wins of Oscar Freire.
Result in 2012
1
Ryder Hesjedal
Garmin - Cervelo
4h44'19
2
Thomas De Gendt
Omega Pharma-Lotto
3
Jelle Vanendert
Omega Pharma-Lotto
4
Rémy Di Grégorio
FDJ
5
Francis De Greef
Omega Pharma-Lotto
6
Romain Sicard
Team Europcar
7
Bobbie Traksel
Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team
8
Jan Bakelants
Omega Pharma-Lotto
9
John Gadret
Ag2r La Mondiale
10
Thibaut Pinot
FDJ
After being 2nd behind Gilbert in 2010, Ryder Hesjedal won the last two editions. The hard course in 2011 and a much easier one in 2012.
In 2013 the difficulty is somewhere in between and Hesjedal is back. But it`s the first time, where he is not really a favourite.
Garmin squad 2013
It`s the same roster than in Paris Camembert and also the tactic will be the same. Roche to test himself before the Ardennes and Kessiakoff with a free role. Hesjedal can ride on his own as long as the others can stay with the leading group, then he might have to work as well.
*** Maartens
** Roche, Hermans
* Veelers, Knees, De Waele
Without the real big guns and also Vaugrenard isn`t here different to Paris Camembert. Therefore other top riders like Hermans, Veelers or Knees are here. None of them will be a real challenger for the Ardennes but on this easier course and a slower pace they might have big chances.
Leuven - Overijse
The biggest difficulty is the 2nd half with lots of short climbs and no real rest in between. Still these hills are not hard enough to get rid of all riders. So sprinters with a decent uphill kick are big favourites.
A first group is allowed to go. Sky`s Dowsett and RadioShack`s Oliveira put the pressure on the other teams.
So it`s Rabobank (Martens), Skil (Veelers), Cofidis (Duque) and Landbouwkrediet (De Waele) to do the pace. Also one RadioShack rider in between. Not too sure if he is really helping or annoying the others.
For Garmin it`s quite calm at the moment as it`s too early in the race and we are happy with the group to run for a while.
Sven Nys is the first rider to attack in the middle of the stage. The weather is really terrible here but the cross specialist seems to like all the mud.
This also makes it dangerous for all riders. But of course it`s again a Garmin rider falling first. And not just anyone. It`s our leader in the Irish National jersey.
Hopefully Roche is not injured after this crash. Would be a brilliant time so close to his first peak.
Luckely he was able to stay at the very end of the peloton and was coming to the front after a while.
Time for Garmin to become active. Together with Rabobank they are doing the pace now.
With ~20km to go Bert De Waele attacks. A good moment to send one of our 3 puncheurs. Ryder Hesjedal immediately follows. Big pressure now on Rabobank.
But it was too early. Soon they were caught again and so Butler is going to the front again doing a high pace hoping for the weaker puncheurs to exhaust.
With 12km to go all our riders including Roche, Hesjedal and Kessiakoff accelerate the pace.
Leonardo Duque still feels good to attack and Roche immediately joins the Colombian.
But one rider overtook both. Tom Veelers is one of the strongest roleurs in cycling. Roche and Kessiakoff try to follow the Dutchman.
With 1km to go Veelers looks like the winner. Kessiakoff being 2nd still has a small gap, while Roche is back in the peloton now for the sprint.
Big win for Skil Shimano. Veelers really has a nice season so far.
But also Kessiakoff is bringing awesome results at the moment. A 2nd for him in a classic. Very well done by the Swede.
Hermans sprinting on the last podium spot ahead of Martens and Roche on a respectable 5th today. Hesjedal again finishes 10th and seems to be a solid helper for the Ardennes.
Good to see that Roche seems to be without injury. Still he will need to go into hospital for a short check.
Coming to the first of the three Ardennes Classic.
The Amstel Gold Race is a hilly classic around Maaskant. It`s named after the Amstel brewery. Since the finish is on the Cauberg in Valkenburg the race is normally won by the best puncheurs. Earlier versions had less hills and a flat finish, so many sprinters were able to win this race, too.
Record champion with 5 wins between 1977 and 1982 is Jan Raas.
Result in 2012
1
Fränk Schleck
Astana
2
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
3
Alexander Kolobnev
Team Katusha
4
Damiano Cunego
Lampre-ISD
5
Benoît Vaugrenard
FDJ
6
Fabian Cancellara
Leopard Trek
7
Nicolas Roche
Ag2r La Mondiale
8
Filippo Pozzato
Astana
9
Philippe Gilbert
Liquigas - Cannondale
10
Thomas Lövkvist
Omega Pharma-Lotto
After two consecutive wins by Kolobnev the Russian "just" managed a podium in the last year as Frank Schleck and Sagan were the strongest this day. He won`t get the chance for a 3rd win as he retired after having a positive. (Unfortunately I forgot to add him like he was active in my PCM10 story, now I won`t add him again)
For Garmin it was a big disappointing having a really bad day with Hesjedal being our best as 28th.
With Roche being 7th here we decided to sign him and we hope he can bring us similar results as he did in previous years.
Garmin squad 2013 Nicholas Roche is our clear leader here as he already proved to be a solid classic rider. Next to him Kessiakoff and Vansummeren will co-lead the team. Both of them already showed great performances on hilly terrain. Last years leader Hesjedal will have some freedom but in general he is supposed to be Roche`s last helper.
Last 4 will try to do as good as possible staying with the leaders until they fall back.
Some big surprises in this startlist. Many big names are missing.
The fact that 4 riders from last years top 5 are missing says enough. Where`s top favourite Peter Sagan? Also Kolobnev, Cunego and surprisingly also Vaugrenard are missing. Last one had a solid form as shown in Paris - Camembert. And also Martens isn`t here as Rabobank goes for Gesink. Might be a mistake as the former Ardennes winner showed a great form in the two preparation races.
Lampre obviously goes for the duo Pozzato-Basso as Cunego and Nibali are not in their squad. HTC still sends a strong squad with Ricco and Van Garderen but Sagan would have been THE favourite.
Also Astana is going all in with 2012 winner Frank Schleck. No Contador or Velits at the start line.
Especially the French are missing their stars in Vaugrenard or Gautier. So it`s up to Pauriol to perform well here.
WildCards
Geox takes this race serious sending a strong squad. Cobo is an outside favourite and with Valls, Zubeldia, Ardila and De La Fuente he has big support. BMC sends some of their best puncheurs but none of them is able to challenge the best. So surely they are expected in the breakaway. Skil has Jose Serpa. The Colombian is more a climber than a good puncheur. Still they might want to try something, especially in the break. Maybe they should have sent Veelers to his home race. It`s a bit disappointing that they didn`t use all 8 spots and just filled their roster with mainly weak riders.
No question for the first 3 favourites. All of them proved to be great puncheurs. Young Gesink and Kreuziger will try to step into their level.
Roche will try to challenge the best and aims a top 10 here.
Thanks batista. Nice to see you around here again. Hope you find motivation for a new story.
Thanks sutty. Will give my best.
I changed the final a little bit. Not sure how the real 2012 route will be but I also have 1-2km less flat part before the final Cauberg. So late attacks in the hilly area might become more sucessful.
Maastricht - Valkenburg
Who will take the 2013 win on the Cauberg? Lots of great puncheurs starting in Maaskant today. Just one can win.
Several riders try to join the early groups. Interesting that Leopard, Liquigas and Rabobank always try to send their helpers into the group although they are some of the biggest favourites.
But especially Lampre and Vacansoleil are not happy with such a situation and are doing a high pace over the first third. Still this group is managing a small gap.
With 150km to go a serious attack. Rodriguez (Katusha), Rabon (HTC) and especially Cobo (Geox) attack. Last one is a top 10 contender here while first two are surely top25 riders. So they put a lot of pressure on the other teams now.
It takes 15km until the three reach the lead group, where they do most of the pace now.
FDJ for their duo Kreuziger and Leopard obviously for Cancellara are doing the pace now together with Lampre.
Surprisingly Andy Schleck is also doing the pace here although he is one of the best puncheurs. Either he is not yet in form or Cancellara has a super form after the Flanders classics.
Still 112km to go. 8'50 for the group.
This causes the first splits. Some big names are left behind:
Ricco, Anton, Lövkvist, Van Garderen, Vanendert, Hermans, Bakelants, Evans. Rogers is even further behind.
Leopard is still powering to avoid a fusion again. Good to see all Garmin puncheurs being in this group.
83km. 6min to the breakaway and 1'40 to the late favourites.
Some kilometers later the pace became slower again and so a group of 55 is coming back. All favourites are back in the group again.
For the first time Astana is working today with 70km to go. Frank Schleck seems to feel good today. Also Pauriol comes to the front working hard for Kreuziger. 2 potential top 10 riders doing the pace now. Bad for many riders behind.
With 33km to go Cancellara sees the former breakaway ahead of him and attacks. Sanchez and Pozzato try to follow him. But it was not strong enough and all 3 of them are caught again.
But three riders are still a bit ahead. Cobo, Rabon and Rodriguez are still trying to win the race.
Sanchez with another attack. The Spaniard is no longer a real contender for the podium but today he rides very well.
Again Pozzato and Cancellara are the only one to follow. These 3 spend lots of energy already. Maybe too early? It`S still 26km.
Indeed. FDJ and Astana are bringing these 3 back again.
But Spartacus still has some energy somehow. He starts the next row of attacks. And this time Gilbert, Van Den Broeck, Sanchez, Monfort are following.
This is also the time when Hesjedal falls back. The Canadian did a lot to protect his leaders today. Strange situation for him as he was used to lead our team in the Ardennes in the past 3 years.
But he is not alone. Favourites like Andy Schleck and Pauriol have done enough today and fall back, too.
Surprising tactic by Leopard but on the other side they still have Gesink, Cancellara and Gerdemann in the first group.
Time for the World Champion. Devolder attacks. Pozzato and Van Den Broeck are following.
Slowly a first selection of big favourites. Kreuziger and Frank Schleck also attack now trying to join the first group. And for the first time you can see some Garmin riders in the 2nd group. Roche, Vansummeren and Kessiakoff are still here. Also Euskaltel, Sky and RadioShack are interested in bringing these two groups together.
And so with 11km to go and the last hill before a short flat part a group of ~25 riders is back together.
But just 13 make it into the first group after the top. 3 Leopard riders in Cancellara, Gesink and Gerdemann. 2 Quickstep riders in Monfort and Seeldraeyers. Plus Gilbert, Lövkvist, Sanchez, F.Schleck, Kreuziger, Pozzato, Devolder, Van Den Broeck and good for us also Roche, who has a very unseen race so far but obviously found the best moment to be in front.
Vansummeren being in the next group with some prominent names here like Sanchez, Hermans or Anton.
Kessiakoff is another group back. Both of them did good today.
The lead group is coming to the Cauberg starting the sprint. Gilbert in first position with Cancellara next to him. And directly behind this strong duo it`s Nicholas Roche finding a good wheel for the sprint. But also Pozzato is in a dangerous position knowing he might be the fastest sprinter while Frank Schleck might be too much behind.
What an acceleration by Cancellara. After all these attacks he is still the strongest. No one is able to follow him.
And so he is undoubtful the deserved winner of the Amstel Gold Race 2013.
Top favourite Gilbert sprints on the 2nd. Surely a small disappointment for him but Spartacus was just too strong today.
And another surprise. Leopard`s Gerdemann makes the fine team result perfect coming in 3rd. Lövkvist 4th, Schleck 5th and with Gesink already the 3rd Leopard rider being 6th and Pozzato being 7th. Then it`s Garmin`s Roche, who did really well here bringing us another top 10 in the Ardennes after 2 years without. Unfortunately he missed the final punch in the end losing some spots again on the hard climb. Kreuziger and Devolder complete the top 10 with Quickstep not having one rider in there although they had two in the group.
Surely a great day for Leopard, who obviously did best by sending their expected leader Schleck to the front. But also a good day for us as we hoped to get a top 10 with Roche`s signing and he delivered.
Now that's a pretty dominant display by Cancellara, so much energy. I just wonder sometimes if you had control Cancellara in this race after the first attack he did, he would have already be probably totally spent, oh well those are the joys of playing at extreme
Good result from Roche, you didn't have luck in past years with Hesjedal, but Roche is looking good already. Good luck in the following two classics
Thanks all. Roche really did well here being 8th, while Spartacus was stronger than anyone else.
@ tsmoha: Gerdemann was indeed one of the biggest surprise. Probably +5 and luck that he wasn`t working during the stage.
Actually it`s the 2nd time. In 2010 Hesjedal was 4th with a late attack in a small group. @ Freitas: I hope so. FW could be the hardest as the mountain stat is a bit more important there. @ Alakagom: True. He was never stopping to attack and still being the strongest in the sprint. Not possible for you if you play on hard or extreme. @ valverde: You might be right. Different to the last seasons Roche had 3 great helpers. Hesjedal for a pretty long time, while Kessiakoff and Vansummeren just did a bit in the end when he felt back. @ MitchNL: Sure it`s Maastricht. Must have mixed it. And yes, I know these guys from Maaskantje or so. ^^
The Giro del Trentino is a mountaineous four stage race in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol.
It`s often used by the favourites on the bit later starting Giro d`Italia. So it`s Damiano Cunego with 3 wins being the most successful rider here. But also Basso, Nibali or Scarponi already won this race.
Result in 2012
1
Vincenzo Nibali
Lampre-ISD
2
Dario Cataldo
Quick Step - Innergetic
3
José Rujano
Farnese Vini - Neri
4
Michele Scarponi
Quick Step - Innergetic
5
Francesco Masciarelli
Ceramica Flaminia
6
Mathias Frank
BMC Racing Team
7
Yury Trofimov
Team Katusha
8
Ivan Basso
Lampre-ISD
9
Bauke Mollema
Colnago - CSF Inox
10
Joaquím Rodríguez Oliver
Team Katusha
Most of them also showed a strong performance in the Giro, which has been won by Michele Scarponi ahead of Nibali. For Garmin it was really just preparation with Stetina being our best as 24th and Martin (30.)
Garmin squad 2013
It`s pretty similar to last year. Martin will lead us here with Stetina and Peterson supporting him. Different to last year we aim a top 10 here this time. Bobridge and Meyer are mainly looking to perform well in the opening prologue as there aren`t many time trialists expected here. Murphy, Dao and young French Souchon complete the roster.
*** Nibali
** Scarponi, Martin
* V.Efimkin, Pozzovivo, Mollema
All these favourites here are also expected to ride the Giro this year. Nibali might be the big favourite for both races but especially the Colnago duo Mollema/Pozzovivo will be interesting to watch as they have some great potential. Except of Mollema all riders finished the Giro in the top 10 last season, while the Dutchman wasn`t participating but he already showed in 2011 how to fight for a top 5 in the Giro and he looks even stronger than his team mate this year.
