|
In The Pursuit of Glory | Thank You!
|
|
| Ad Bot |
Posted on 25-11-2024 19:15
|
Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
|
|
| IP: None |
|
|
| the_hoyle |
Posted on 15-01-2015 23:37
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
|
@jandal: That's the plan  L-B-L could be the main race when the peak hits
@HuDCC: AGR put necessary miles in the legs, and Martijn will be wanting to improve. Top 5 is a minimum
@sutty: It is a good result, but it could have been better with a better rhythm
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
 |
| |
|
|
| the_hoyle |
Posted on 18-01-2015 21:36
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
|
Hoping for a Little Bit More
Race Two in the Ardennes, and I am still not feeling like I am at 100%. The legs are fresh, but I am lacking the racing from a gap between San Remo and teh Ardennes. Amstel Gold was a good result, but I felt like it should have been better.
Next is La Flèche Wallonne, a race where I have raced well in the past, but not fantastically. In 2014, I witnessed Tommy Voeckler take a surprise win, with a tactic that was brilliant in my eyes. Every since, I have wanted to replicate it, and take my own glory. The only problem... everyone else is gunning for the same prize!
On the first passage of the Huuy, my elgs felt good, and with teammates around me, I climb up the famous ascent near to the front.
As the pace of the peleton was upped by the main teams, I had to make sure that I was not caught out by any splits. Gilbert (OmegaPharma) and Kreuziger (Orica) were also attentive to this, and soon as chase group formed off the front.
On the run into the finish, the break was caught, as the favourites began to attack. I was able to follow the accelerations, but unable make any of my own. I was like a sitting duck, ready to be blown out the back.
I lasted until the final climb before the Huuy! Gesink (Belkin) lost the back of the group, and I didn't have enough to come around him and stay with them. Just like at Amstel Gold, I knew that my chase of victory went with that moment.
Making his own amends for Amstel Gold, Philippe Gilbert would be victorious, outsprinting Peter Sagan (Movistar) to take his own personal revenge. I would cross the line, 1'23" down on the Belgian, in 6th... again!
| 1 |  Philippe Gilbert | OmegaPharma - Quick Step | 4h38'28 | | 2 |  Peter Sagan | Movistar Team | + 11 | | 3 |  Roman Kreuziger | Orica - GreenEDGE | + 23 | | 4 |  Diego Ulissi | Cannondale Pro Cycling | s.t. | | 5 |  Robert Gesink | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | + 55 | | 6 |  Martijn North | Team HTC-Highroad | + 1'23 | | 7 | Moreno Moser | Cannondale Pro Cycling | + 1'45 | | 8 |  Simon Geschke | MTN - Qhubeka | s.t. | | 9 |  Carlos Betancur | Ag2r - La Mondiale | s.t. | | 10 |  Daniel Martin | Garmin-Sharp | s.t. |
Edited by the_hoyle on 18-01-2015 21:55
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
|
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 18-01-2015 21:52
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
A tough bit of luck for Martijn near the end but 6th place is still a great show
By the way pictures 2 and 3 are the same  |
| |
|
|
| the_hoyle |
Posted on 18-01-2015 21:57
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
|
@sutty: Another 6th is good. Not what the sponsors wanted though...  and oops! Thanks for that. I have updated it now
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
|
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 18-01-2015 21:58
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
The sponsors will just have to lump it  |
| |
|
|
| HuDCC |
Posted on 18-01-2015 22:11
|
Domestique
Posts: 515
Joined: 07-02-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
6th place is good, but not what Martijn and sponsors expected, I think
Thank you Andy for everything!
Thanks to the_hoyle for banner! |
| |
|
|
| the_hoyle |
Posted on 18-01-2015 22:41
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
|
@sutty: If only...
@HuDCC: You are correct on both parts
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
|
| |
|
|
| jandal7 |
Posted on 18-01-2015 22:49
|
World Champion
Posts: 11395
Joined: 17-12-2014
PCM$: 1020.00
|
Unlucky so far this week, but L-B-L looks like a peak. I have a feeling Martijn's monument victories are like buses. None for ages, but then a quick one-two!
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT]  Xero Racing
5x  x5
2x  x2
2x  x2 |
| |
|
|
| the_hoyle |
Posted on 18-01-2015 22:53
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
|
@jandal: You will find out next... L-B-L report to come tonight
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
|
| |
|
|
| the_hoyle |
Posted on 18-01-2015 23:10
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
|
The final race in the Ardennes, and my final chance to salvage something more than finishing 6th. I had started this season in high hopes, and suddenly nothing is going right for me. Have I peaked too soon?
Liège - Bastogne - Liège was next and it would be the first time I would take on the famous parcours. It looks challenging, but I am hoping that the rides in Amstel Gold and La Flèche will give me the miles my legs are craving.
A group of 8 riders formed the day's break, with Chris Butler being the HTC representative. I had learnt in the past, that having a man in the break can be useful later in the stage. With any luck today, that would also be the case.
Just like in Wallonne, the pace of the peleton was really high, and my legs were struggling to kept up at the front. I didn't want to miss any attacks, and I could only be thankful of Thomas, who looked over me all day.
When the attacks came, the break was long gone, and I had nothing in reply. I looked to go with Sagan (Movistar) initially, but as others raced past, I would never be in contact again.
I was in trouble with over 10km to go, and somehow I was still hanging off the front of the reduced peleton. Alex Howes was our back-up in case I struggled and he was riding well in the chase group. Riding along in no-man's land, I was in a world of pain, begging for it to end.
Roman Kreuziger (Orica) would finally get his Ardennes victory, as a late attack on the Côte de Saint-Nicolas was enough for him to comfortably take the win. Sagan won the sprint for 2nd, and Betancur (AG2R) in 3rd. I would finish nearly 3 minutes, and I'll give you 3 chances to guess what position...
| 1 | Roman Kreuziger | Orica - GreenEDGE | 6h33'50 | | 2 | Peter Sagan | Movistar Team | + 20 | | 3 | Carlos Betancur | Ag2r - La Mondiale | s.t. | | 4 | Diego Ulissi | Cannondale Pro Cycling | s.t. | | 5 | Philippe Gilbert | OmegaPharma - Quick Step | + 1'17 | | 6 | Martijn North | Team HTC-Highroad | + 2'58 | | 7 |  Alberto Contador | Tinkoff-Saxo | s.t. | | 8 | Daniel Martin | Garmin-Sharp | s.t. | | 9 |  Alex Howes | Team HTC-Highroad | + 3'24 | | 10 |  Rui Costa | Belkin Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
|
| |
|
|
| HuDCC |
Posted on 18-01-2015 23:14
|
Domestique
Posts: 515
Joined: 07-02-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Kreuziger  but wait, Orica?  interesting
It's a pity that Martijn didn't bring something more than 6th place...
Thank you Andy for everything!
Thanks to the_hoyle for banner! |
| |
|
|
| jandal7 |
Posted on 18-01-2015 23:15
|
World Champion
Posts: 11395
Joined: 17-12-2014
PCM$: 1020.00
|
Dammit!
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
5x x5
2x x2
2x x2 |
| |
|
|
| the_hoyle |
Posted on 18-01-2015 23:19
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
|
@HuDCC: Interesting transfer indeed  Let's hope the 6th place finishes don't continue...
@jandal: Yeah...
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
|
| |
|
|
| the_hoyle |
Posted on 18-01-2015 23:38
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
|
I rung Brian Holm, needing to talk to someone and get everything off my chest. With no-one else around to talk to, a lot of emotion had bottled up inside. Brian was understanding and he could feel my frustration and disappointment.
Almost immediately, my schedule was changed. May would be a rest month, with any races between now and the Critérium du Dauphiné, including the Amgen Tour of California, would be removed from my proposed calendar. I had aimed to peak for the Ardennes, so I was only going to be playing a bit part anyway. Any issues from the Management about this would dealt with by Brian, and he would explain the reasoning behind it.
Hanging up the phone, I was happy, and Brian even offered to keep me company for a few days when I was ready to get back on my bike. Next, I decided to call Louis Meintjes, and find out if he was in town for a coffee. It had been 2 months since the meeting with SA Cycling, and there was more I wanted to put to him.
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
|
| |
|
|
| jandal7 |
Posted on 18-01-2015 23:49
|
World Champion
Posts: 11395
Joined: 17-12-2014
PCM$: 1020.00
|
What a nice guy Brian is, hopefully you can have a great chat with Louis.
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
5x x5
2x x2
2x x2 |
| |
|
|
| HuDCC |
Posted on 19-01-2015 00:02
|
Domestique
Posts: 515
Joined: 07-02-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
I think it's very good decision to take some rest! Hopefully, Martijn will come back even stronger!
Thank you Andy for everything!
Thanks to the_hoyle for banner! |
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 19-01-2015 08:21
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
To suffer so much in L-B-L and still manage (another) 6th placed finish shows Martijn's strength of character
And i'm sure a month away from racing will be beneficial |
| |
|
|
| the_hoyle |
Posted on 19-01-2015 21:27
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
|
@jandal: We all know that Brian is a good guy
@HuDCC: Let's hope so!
@sutty: Somehow Contador nor Martin could come past Martijn in the last 10km. They were suffering just as much!
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
|
| |
|
|
| the_hoyle |
Posted on 19-01-2015 22:46
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7651
Joined: 28-05-2009
PCM$: 200.00
|
The Building Blocks Are In Place 
Today, Louis and I were meeting in a small café in the Swiss Alps to put into plan a team for the riders of this generation. For the last month, either over the telephone or when we were riding in the same race, we had been coming up with the idea of launching a new South African team for 2017.
Discussions with proposed sponsors was going well, and we were happy to have agreements on the table with Cell C, a Cellular Network Provider, as well as Travelstart, an online travel company, and the Energy and Chemical company, Sasol. Louis was still in discussion with other minor sponsors, but it looked probable that the team would riding on Felt bikes should everything go to plan.
The thought of this team put a raised smile on my face. After the disappointment of the Ardennes, this had been a nice distraction. Next would be looking at who could ride on the team. Both of our commitments to HTC and MTN for 2017 could be an issue, but there would be plenty of other great riders out there who could give the team a great backbone to work from.
.: Manager of :.
.: My Awards :.
|
| |
|
|
| jandal7 |
Posted on 20-01-2015 00:26
|
World Champion
Posts: 11395
Joined: 17-12-2014
PCM$: 1020.00
|
Good to hear!
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant."
[ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
5x x5
2x x2
2x x2 |
| |
|
