@ those wondering about the continuation: I will of course continue this into the next season. I'm really enjoying it and I'm looking forward to playing with the new improved squad. I'll add the new teams like GreenEDGE by replacing folding ones like HTC, so I'll make my own 2012 DB. I'll also change the too PCM-esque transfers to more realistic ones. So no need to worry, I haven't planned to quit this.
Thats good to hear then. I totally forgot about the Sponsor Changes, so of course there probably isn't any point in switching if all the sponsors will change in a few years anyway.
Thanks guys. I'm glad to hear you want the story to continue.
I decided to also give you this final report of the year, and start the new one with the World Championships tomorrow. Kinda nice start to the new year I'd say, since pretty much everyone loves the worlds.
Geschke and Huguet jumped into a late breakaway together with Fabio Duarte and surprised the peloton enough to be able to hold them off. Geschke dropped the other two up one of the razor steep climbs on the final lap and then rode home solo to a big victory. Unfortunately some lapped riders destroyed the finishing picture.
Duarte and Huguet also held off the closing pack, the latter with just a few metres in the very steep final. Two Skil's on the podium made this a day to remember for us, and also a very lucrative day in terms of points.
Result:
1
Simon Geschke
Skil - Shimano
6h02'10
2
Fabio Duarte
Geox - TMC
+ 1'59
3
Yann Huguet
Skil - Shimano
+ 2'41
4
Cristiano Salerno
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
5
Oliver Zaugg
Leopard Trek
s.t.
6
Stephen Cummings
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
7
Nicki Sørensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
8
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
9
Mauro Santambrogio
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
10
Sergey Lagutin
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Sérgio Paulinho
Team RadioShack
s.t.
12
Christian Knees
Sky ProCycling
+ 2'59
13
Matthias Frank
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
14
Marcello Pavarin
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 3'25
15
Martin Pedersen
Leopard Trek
+ 4'06
16
Morris Possoni
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
17
Andriy Grivko
Pro Team Astana
+ 4'54
18
Kevin De Weert
Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 5'22
19
Chris Anker Sørensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 5'33
20
Dario Cioni
Sky ProCycling
+ 5'44
21
Matteo Carrara
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
22
Fabian Wegmann
Leopard Trek
s.t.
23
Alberto Losada
Katusha Team
+ 6'08
24
Daniel Martin
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
25
Pim Ligthart
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 6'35
26
Kristjan Koren
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
27
Johann Tschopp
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
28
Paul Martens
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
29
Kjell Carlström
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
30
Addy Engels
Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 7'24
31
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
32
Andrew Talansky
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 7'56
33
Lucas Sebastián Haedo
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
34
Francesco Reda
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
35
Xavier Florencio
Geox - TMC
s.t.
36
Dario Cataldo
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
37
Enrico Gasparotto
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
38
Dmitriy Fofonov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
39
Pablo Lastras
Movistar Team
s.t.
40
Marco Marzano
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
41
Serge Pauwels
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
42
Olivier Kaisen
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
43
Anthony Roux
FDJ
s.t.
44
David Gutiérrez Gutiérrez
Geox - TMC
s.t.
45
Francesco Gavazzi
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
46
Bram Tankink
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
47
Philip Deignan
Team RadioShack
s.t.
48
Christophe Le Mével
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
49
Roy Curvers
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
50
Ruslan Pidgornyy
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
51
Frantisek Rabon
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
52
Joost Posthuma
Leopard Trek
+ 9'03
53
Kanstantsin Sivtsov
HTC - Highroad
+ 9'34
54
Michael Albasini
HTC - Highroad
+ 9'55
55
John Gadret
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 10'42
56
Tiago Machado
Team RadioShack
+ 11'03
57
Gatis Smukulis
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
58
Laurens Ten Dam
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
59
Jeff Louder
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
60
Pierrick Fédrigo
FDJ
s.t.
61
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
62
Amaël Moinard
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
63
Ivan Rovny
Team RadioShack
+ 12'06
64
Daniele Pietropolli
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
65
Francis De Greef
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
66
Timothy Duggan
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 12'34
67
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 12'55
68
Marc De Maar
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
69
Michael Matthews
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 14'02
70
David Arroyo
Movistar Team
s.t.
71
Denis Menchov
Geox - TMC
s.t.
72
Pierre Cazaux
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
73
Amets Txurruka
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
74
Angel Vicioso
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
75
Luca Solari
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
76
Mario Aerts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
77
David Loosli
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
78
Craig Lewis
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
79
Jussi Veikkanen
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
80
Branislau Samoilau
Movistar Team
s.t.
81
Giampaolo Caruso
Katusha Team
s.t.
82
Danilo Di Luca
Katusha Team
s.t.
83
Egor Silin
Katusha Team
s.t.
84
Grischa Niermann
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
85
Carlos José Ochoa
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
86
Thomas Rohregger
Leopard Trek
s.t.
87
Mathieu Perget
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
88
Anthony Ravard
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
89
Cyril Dessel
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
90
Michel Kreder
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 15'24
91
Gianni Meersman
FDJ
s.t.
92
Giampaolo Cheula
Geox - TMC
s.t.
93
Mauro Da Dalto
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
94
Alexsandr Dyachenko
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
95
Andrey Amador
Movistar Team
s.t.
96
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
97
Matteo Bono
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
98
Andrey Zeits
Pro Team Astana
+ 16'34
99
Zdenek Stybar
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
100
Ion Izagirre
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
101
Mauricio Alberto Ardila
Geox - TMC
s.t.
102
Murilo Fischer
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
103
Volodymir Gustov
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
104
John Degenkolb
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
105
Andreas Stauff
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
106
Michael Schär
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
107
Tejay Van Garderen
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
108
Tom Jelte Slagter
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
109
Christophe Riblon
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
110
Sergio Pardilla
Movistar Team
+ 17'50
111
Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
112
Arnold Jeanneson
FDJ
+ 18'12
113
Jürgen Van de Walle
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 18'29
114
Iván Velasco
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 19'15
115
Dominique Rollin
FDJ
s.t.
116
Egoi Martínez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
117
José Serpa
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
118
Manuele Boaro
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 19'48
119
Francesco Masciarelli
Pro Team Astana
+ 20'24
120
Jesse Sergent
Team RadioShack
s.t.
121
Dimitry Kozontchuk
Geox - TMC
s.t.
122
Mikhail Ignatiev
Katusha Team
s.t.
123
Tom Danielson
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
124
Anders Lund
Leopard Trek
s.t.
125
Marzio Bruseghin
Movistar Team
s.t.
126
Francis Mourey
FDJ
s.t.
127
Vladimir Isaychev
Katusha Team
+ 21'11
128
Jason McCartney
Team RadioShack
s.t.
129
Jonathan Monsalve
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
130
Bart De Clercq
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
131
Kurt-Asle Arvesen
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
132
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
133
Luke Roberts
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
134
Artem Ovechkin
Katusha Team
s.t.
135
Carlos Oyarzun
Movistar Team
s.t.
136
Matteo Montaguti
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
137
Marcel Sieberg
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
138
Alan Pérez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 22'12
139
Nelson Oliveira
Team RadioShack
+ 22'22
140
Ignatas Konovalovas
Movistar Team
s.t.
141
Balint Szeghalmi
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
142
Julien Vermote
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
143
Fabio Sabatini
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 23'36
144
Thibaut Pinot
FDJ
+ 23'49
145
Laurent Didier
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 24'13
146
Jonas Aaen Jørgensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 24'34
147
Thomas Damuseau
Skil - Shimano
+ 24'44
148
Robin Chaigneau
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
149
Tom Veelers
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
150
Federico Cesare
Androni Giocattoli
+ 26'13
151
Guillaume Bonnafond
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 27'01
152
Martijn Keizer
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 27'15
153
David Boucher
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 27'47
154
Kristof Goddaert
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
155
Michał Kwiatkowski
Team RadioShack
s.t.
156
Alexander Mironov
Katusha Team
+ 28'30
157
Riccardo Chiarini
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
158
Timothy Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 30'15
12.09: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
Geschke once again played it smart and once again got rewarded for it in the shape of another prestigious victory. This time he used a part of narrow road to attack just as we caught the early breakaway on the last lap. The others got blocked behind them and couldn't respond to Geschke's move in time. The two Italians Salerno and Caruso was the fastest in the mass sprint behind Geschke, rounding off the podium.
Result:
1
Simon Geschke
Skil - Shimano
4h53'33
2
Cristiano Salerno
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 17
3
Giampaolo Caruso
Katusha Team
s.t.
4
Hayden Roulston
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
5
Rinaldo Nocentini
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
6
Lucas Sebastián Haedo
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
7
Nicki Sørensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
8
Sergey Lagutin
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
9
Kanstantsin Sivtsov
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
10
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Chris Anker Sørensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
12
Francesco Gavazzi
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
13
Matteo Carrara
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
14
Paolo Longo Borghini
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
15
Rafal Majka
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
16
Mauro Santambrogio
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
17
Mauricio Alberto Ardila
Geox - TMC
s.t.
18
Marcello Pavarin
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
19
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
20
Frederik Veuchelen
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
21
Matthias Frank
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
22
Yann Huguet
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
23
Matteo Rabottini
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
s.t.
24
Philip Deignan
Team RadioShack
s.t.
25
Bram Tankink
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
26
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
27
Sérgio Paulinho
Team RadioShack
s.t.
28
Christian Knees
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
29
Yohann Gène
Team Europcar
s.t.
30
Leonardo Giordani
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
s.t.
31
Dominik Nerz
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
32
Amaël Moinard
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
33
Laurent Didier
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
34
Fabian Wegmann
Leopard Trek
+ 2'21
35
Addy Engels
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
36
Marc De Maar
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
37
David Millar
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
38
Paul Martens
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
39
Travis Meyer
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
40
Roy Curvers
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
41
Valerio Agnoli
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
42
Anders Lund
Leopard Trek
s.t.
43
Daniele Pietropolli
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
44
Enrico Gasparotto
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
45
Rémy Di Gregorio
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
46
David Zabriskie
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
47
Tanel Kangert
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
48
John-Lee Augustyn
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
49
Marco Marzano
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
50
John Gadret
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
51
Morris Possoni
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
52
Stephen Cummings
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
53
Jeff Louder
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
54
Kevin De Weert
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
55
Johann Tschopp
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
56
Christophe Le Mével
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
57
Brian Vandborg
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
58
Timothy Duggan
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
59
Mads Christensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
60
Caleb Fairly
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
61
Michael Matthews
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
62
Volodymir Gustov
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
63
Oliver Zaugg
Leopard Trek
s.t.
64
Evgeni Petrov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
65
Daniel Martin
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
66
Luis Pasamontes
Movistar Team
s.t.
67
Gorik Gardeyn
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
68
David Arroyo
Movistar Team
s.t.
69
Pablo Lastras
Movistar Team
s.t.
70
Ben Hermans
Team RadioShack
s.t.
71
Egoi Martínez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
72
Bart De Clercq
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
73
Martijn Keizer
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
74
Yannick Eijssen
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
75
Ivan Santaromita
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
76
Thomas Peterson
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
77
Thomas Damuseau
Skil - Shimano
+ 3'53
78
Maxim Belkov
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
79
Dario Cataldo
Quick·Step Cycling Team
+ 4'39
80
Leonardo Bertagnolli
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
81
Enrico Magazzini
Lampre - ISD
+ 5'14
82
Alexsandr Dyachenko
Pro Team Astana
+ 6'11
83
Daniele Righi
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
84
Dmitriy Fofonov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
85
Iljo Keisse
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
86
Emanuele Vona
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
s.t.
87
Alberto Losada
Katusha Team
s.t.
88
Tiago Machado
Team RadioShack
s.t.
89
Michael Schär
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
90
Vitaliy Buts
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
91
Andrew Talansky
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
92
Francis De Greef
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
93
Ion Izagirre
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
94
Craig Lewis
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
95
Kristjan Koren
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
96
Marcel Sieberg
Omega Pharma - Lotto
+ 7'00
97
Zdenek Stybar
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
98
Francesco Failli
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
s.t.
99
Rubén Pérez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
100
Jussi Veikkanen
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
101
Davide Ricci Bitti
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
s.t.
102
Martin Pedersen
Leopard Trek
s.t.
103
Christopher Sutton
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
104
Thomas Rohregger
Leopard Trek
s.t.
105
Perrig Quemeneur
Team Europcar
s.t.
106
Alan Pérez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
107
Francesco Reda
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
108
Vladimir Isaychev
Katusha Team
s.t.
109
Jürgen Van de Walle
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
110
Fabio Duarte
Geox - TMC
s.t.
111
Joost Posthuma
Leopard Trek
s.t.
112
Roberto De Patre
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
s.t.
113
Iñaki Isasi
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
114
Sergio Pardilla
Movistar Team
s.t.
115
Aidar Karazhanov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
116
Mario Aerts
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
117
Cyril Dessel
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
118
Martin Mortensen
Leopard Trek
s.t.
119
Ivan Rovny
Team RadioShack
s.t.
120
Amets Txurruka
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
121
Sven Vandousselaere
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
122
Hubert Dupont
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
123
Beñat Intxausti
Movistar Team
s.t.
124
Laurens Ten Dam
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
125
Dario Cioni
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
126
Pierre Rolland
Team Europcar
s.t.
127
David Gutiérrez Gutiérrez
Geox - TMC
s.t.
128
Serge Pauwels
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
129
Davide Malacarne
Quick·Step Cycling Team
s.t.
130
Pieter Weening
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
131
Olivier Kaisen
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
132
Marzio Bruseghin
Movistar Team
s.t.
133
Danilo Di Luca
Katusha Team
s.t.
134
Iván Velasco
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
135
Jorge Azanza
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
136
Christophe Riblon
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
137
Grischa Niermann
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
138
Pierpaolo De Negri
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
s.t.
139
Andrey Zeits
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
140
Vladimir Gusev
Katusha Team
s.t.
141
Matthew Busche
Team RadioShack
s.t.
142
Matthew Brammeier
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
143
Tejay Van Garderen
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
144
Ignatas Konovalovas
Movistar Team
s.t.
145
Egor Silin
Katusha Team
s.t.
146
Denis Menchov
Geox - TMC
s.t.
147
David Veilleux
Team Europcar
s.t.
148
Steve Houanard
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
149
Gatis Smukulis
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
150
Carlos Oyarzun
Movistar Team
s.t.
151
Mikaël Chérel
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
152
Jason McCartney
Team RadioShack
s.t.
153
Pavel Brutt
Katusha Team
s.t.
154
Cyril Gautier
Team Europcar
s.t.
155
Tom Jelte Slagter
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
156
Geoffroy Lequatre
Team RadioShack
s.t.
157
Julien Loubet
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
158
Robin Chaigneau
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
159
Damien Gaudin
Team Europcar
s.t.
160
Christophe Kern
Team Europcar
s.t.
161
Mathieu Claude
Team Europcar
s.t.
162
Marco Corti
Geox - TMC
s.t.
163
Dimitry Kozontchuk
Geox - TMC
+ 9'07
164
Luboš Pelánek
Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
+ 11'19
165
Arkimedes Arguelyes
Katusha Team
s.t.
166
Noe Gianetti
Geox - TMC
s.t.
167
Kjell Carlström
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
168
Tom Veelers
Skil - Shimano
s.t.
169
Daniele Ratto
Geox - TMC
s.t.
170
Stef Clement
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 13'39
14.09: Grand Prix de Wallonie
Geschke was unable to make it a triple here after jumping with an attack from Taaramae up the penultimate hill. That attack wasted too much of his energy, forcing him to just watch when Mathias Frank motored away in the uphill final, gunning out Taaramae and future Skil rider Paul Martens. Geschke even missed the Top 10, by the smallest of margins. A disappointment.
Thanks valverde and alexanderlens. The Canadian Classics are probably the easiest races to win in PCM.
20.08 - 11.09: Vuelta a España
During the recent month, Juan José Cobo has managed to repeat what he did in real life by winning the Vuelta also in PCM. The Geox rider proved to be without competition in a race with a very weak startlist. It was still an incredibly impressive performance by Cobo, picking up a total of four stage wins added to his overall prevail.
The Geox rider seized the red jersey already on stage four by taking his first stage win atop Sierra Nevada. After that he just strengthened his lead more and more with every stage, killing all excitement in the fight for the overall victory. This was a pure domination from the thirty year old, and a level above the competition.
Veni, Vidi, Cobo. No one could match the Spaniard.
Behind the Cobo machine, another surprise proved quite superior to the others as well. Vacansoleil's rising star Wouter Poels showed impressive consistency and recovery by riding a very solid Vuelta after completing the Tour. Poels was the only one except Cobo who never had a disaster day where he blew up completely. Thanks to that, the young Dutchman was able to clasp strong control over the second place in the general classification, where he stayed for the whole race.
Poels showed his big talent in this Vuelta.
The third and last spot on the final podium went to a huge surprise. After some huge blowups from the likes of Schleck, Soler and similar, Caja Rural's Javier Moreno was able to sneak past them in the GC and then stay in front of them. The other favourites obviously underrated his capacity a lot, costing some of them a place on the podium. Anyway, Moreno never came close to Cobo or Poels, but a third place is for sure more than anyone could ever even imagine from him.
Moreno demonstrated earlier unknown capacity.
Rounding off the podium did two other recent Tour finishers. Both French hero Thomas Voeckler and especially Joaquim Rodriguez had strong Tours, and proved here that they had been able to recover from it in order to take on the Spanish challenge too. However, while Voeckler is probably very happy with his fifth place here, I think Rodriguez is a slight bit disappointed. Once again it was the long time trial that spoiled his GC ambitions. Without it, he would have taken Moreno's spot on the podium with ease. Still, a result the Catalan should be proud of after taking on a very hard GT double in a short time. He'll be back, aiming for the top.
Rodriguez missed the podium once again.
The rest of the Top 10 keyed two other big surprises. The presences of Juan Manuel Gárate and Belgian champion Philippe Gilbert in there was a huge chock for most cycling fans. Especially Gilbert, who rode through the Tour just a month ago. While Gárate gained huge time through some breakaways, Gilbert showed a new part of himself, able to keep the pace for a whole three week race. Sure, he lost time on the hardest mountain top finishes, but not such a lot as usual. Maybe his plans on becoming a Grand Tour contender in the future isn't totally impossible after all.
Gilbert proved himself as a decent GT rider.
After the never occuring battle between arch rivals Mark Cavendish and André Greipel in the Tour, everyone was expecting it here in the Vuelta instead. It did, but none of them came even close to the points jersey. Cobo's domination was just too big, handing him the green jersey in addition to his red one. Cavendish and Greipel at least got a stage win each, but I doubt they're satisfied at all.
The former team mates Cavendish and Greipel both won a stage.
In the battle for the white and blue dotted mountains jersey, we saw for the first time in three years a winner that wasn't David Moncoutié. Instead, it was Caja Rural's Julian Sanchez Pimienta who prevailed in that classification, after being very active in several breakaways. The Spaniard also crowned his Vuelta by winning two stages, with one of them being atop the mighty Manzaneda on stage twelve.
King of the mountains.
Then we have the U25 classification. That was a one man show from the beginning of the race to the end. Wouter Poels was just one level above the other youngsters, taking a crushing twenty-six minute victory over his nearest rival. Yes, most of the best youngsters in the cycling world weren't here, but to win with half an hour is quite impressive by Poels.
Best of the youth.
Lastly, the team classification. It also ended up with a huge surprise, and with Caja Rural taking a gigantic victory over nearest challenger, Geox. On the other hand, it wasn't that unexpected, seeing how brilliant the team rode in this race. With Moreno in the Top 10 and Sanchez Pimienta and Cuesta in the Top 15, they proved to be by far the most consistent team in the race.
Caja Rural clashed by becoming the best team.
Final standings:
GC:
1
Juan José Cobo
Geox - TMC
84h38'47
2
Wouter Poels
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 5'47
3
Javier Moreno
Caja Rural
+ 12'29
4
Joaquim Rodriguez
Katusha Team
+ 14'30
5
Thomas Voeckler
Team Europcar
+ 14'57
6
Frank Schleck
Leopard Trek
+ 19'15
7
Juan Manuel Gárate
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 24'49
8
Juan Mauricio Soler
Movistar Team
+ 27'10
9
Philippe Gilbert
OmegaPharma - Lotto
+ 27'40
10
Ruben Plaza
Movistar Team
+ 27'51
Spoiler
11
Julian Sanchez Pimienta
Caja Rural
+ 28'49
12
Antonio Piedra
Andalucia Caja Granada
+ 29'58
13
Robert Kiserlovski
Pro Team Astana
+ 31'59
14
Jakob Fuglsang
Leopard Trek
+ 34'35
15
Iñigo Cuesta
Caja Rural
+ 39'41
16
Jan Tratnik
Quickstep Cycling Team
+ 40'36
17
Daniel Moreno
Katusha Team
+ 43'34
18
Eros Capecchi
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 45'04
19
Rafael Valls
Geox - TMC
+ 45'36
20
Rui Costa
Movistar Team
+ 46'24
21
Marco Marcato
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 50'35
22
Rigoberto Urán
Sky ProCycling
+ 51'30
23
José Herrada
Caja Rural
+ 52'24
24
Peter Kennaugh
Sky ProCycling
+ 52'40
25
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Quickstep Cycling Team
+ 54'05
26
David de la Fuente
Geox - TMC
+ 54'19
27
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 55'07
28
Christian Vande Velde
Team Garmin - Cervélo
+ 58'15
29
Josep Jufré
Pro Team Astana
+ 1h06'49
30
Simon Spilak
Lampre - ISD
+ 1h07'23
Points:
1
Juan José Cobo
Geox - TMC
197
2
Joaquim Rodriguez
Katusha Team
131
3
Marco Marcato
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
125
4
Wouter Poels
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
107
5
Philippe Gilbert
OmegaPharma - Lotto
95
6
Julian Sanchez Pimienta
Caja Rural
92
7
Maxime Bouet
AG2R - La Mondiale
89
8
Mark Cavendish
HTC - Highroad
88
9
Juan Mauricio Soler
Movistar Team
84
10
André Greipel
OmegaPharma - Lotto
80
KoM:
1
Julian Sanchez Pimienta
Caja Rural
127
2
Philippe Gilbert
OmegaPharma - Lotto
119
3
Maxime Bouet
AG2R - La Mondiale
115
4
Joaquim Rodriguez
Katusha Team
103
5
Gorka Verdugo
Euskaltel - Euskadi
102
6
José Herrada
Caja Rural
100
7
Juan José Cobo
Geox - TMC
86
8
Juan Manuel Gárate
Rabobank Cycling Team
70
9
Wouter Poels
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
61
10
Eros Capecchi
Liquigas - Cannondale
56
U25:
1
Wouter Poels
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
84h'44'34
2
Robert Kiserlovski
Pro Team Astana
+ 26'12
3
Jan Tratnik
Quickstep Cycling Team
+ 34'49
4
Eros Capecchi
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 39'17
5
Rafael Valls
Geox - TMC
+ 39'49
6
Rui Costa
Movistar Team
+ 40'37
7
Rigoberto Urán
Sky ProCycling
+ 45'43
8
Peter Kennaugh
Sky ProCycling
+ 46'53
9
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Quickstep Cycling Team
+ 48'18
10
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 49'20
Team:
1
Caja Rural
253h20'29
2
Geox - TMC
+ 41'41
3
Movistar Team
+ 1h00'55
4
Leopard Trek
+ 1h38'10
5
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 1h38'38
6
Andalucia Caja Granada
+ 1h40'05
7
Katusha Team
+ 2h05'07
8
Quickstep Cycling Team
+ 2h15'19
9
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 2h49'58
10
SaxoBank - SunGard
+ 2h52'09
Stage results:
Stage 1
Benidorm (TTT)
1
HTC - Highroad
17'52
2
Movistar Team
+ 4
3
AG2R - La Mondiale
+ 18
4
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 28
5
Lampre - ISD
+ 36
6
Pro Team Astana
+ 37
7
Sky ProCycling
+ 42
8
Geox - TMC
+ 50
9
SaxoBank - SunGard
+ 59
10
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'07
Stage 2
La Nucía - Playas de Orihuela
1
Ian Stannard
Sky ProCycling
4h04'26
2
José Ivan Gutiérrez
Movistar Team
s.t.
3
Andreas Klier
Team Garmin - Cervélo
s.t.
4
Stijn Devolder
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
5
Theo Bos
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 42
6
Mark Cavendish
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
7
Bernhard Eisel
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
8
Tomas Vaitkus
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
9
Gerald Ciolek
Quickstep Cycling Team
s.t.
10
André Greipel
OmegaPharma - Lotto
s.t.
Stage 3
Petrer - Totana
1
Jérôme Pineau
Quickstep Cycling Team
3h44'02
2
Mark Cavendish
Sky ProCycling
+ 39
3
Alexander Kristoff
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
4
Theo Bos
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
5
Tomas Vaitkus
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
6
André Greipel
OmegaPharma - Lotto
s.t.
7
Leigh Howard
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
8
Alex Rasmussen
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
9
Robbie McEwen
Team Radioshack
s.t.
10
Marco Marcato
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
Stage 4
Baza - Sierra Nevada
1
Juan José Cobo
Geox - TMC
4h53'48
2
Wouter Poels
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
3
Robert Kiserlovski
Pro Team Astana
+ 16
4
Frank Schleck
Leopard Trek
s.t.
5
Antonio Piedra
Andalucia Caja Granada
+ 37
6
Juan Mauricio Soler
Movistar Team
s.t.
7
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Quickstep Cycling Team
s.t.
8
Daniel Navarro
SaxoBank - SunGard
s.t.
9
Pablo Lechuga
Andalucia Caja Granada
s.t.
10
Joaquim Rodriguez
Katusha Team
s.t.
Stage 5
Sierra Nevada - Valdepeñas de Jaén
1
Marco Marcato
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
5h02'09
2
Javier Moreno
Caja Rural
+ 24
3
Juan José Cobo
Geox - TMC
+ 32
4
Joaquim Rodriguez
Katusha Team
s.t.
5
José Herrada
Caja Rural
s.t.
6
Wouter Poels
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
+ 44
7
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
s.t.
8
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
9
Eros Capecchi
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 57
10
Antonio Piedra
Andalucia Caja Granada
s.t.
Stage 6
Úbeda - Córdoba
1
Juan José Cobo
Geox - TMC
4h24'56
2
Philippe Gilbert
OmegaPharma - Lotto
+ 25
3
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
4
Marco Marcato
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
5
Jakob Fuglsang
Leopard Trek
s.t.
6
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
+ 48
7
Nicolas Roche
AG2R - La Mondiale
s.t.
8
Thomas Voeckler
Team Europcar
s.t.
9
Jérôme Pineau
Quickstep Cycling Team
s.t.
10
Richie Porte
SaxoBank - SunGard
s.t.
Stage 7
Almadén - Talavera de la Reina
1
André Greipel
OmegaPharma - Lotto
3h49'49
2
Mark Cavendish
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
3
Tomas Vaitkus
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
4
Theo Bos
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
5
Marco Marcato
Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
6
Giacomo Nizzolo
Leopard Trek
s.t.
7
Matteo Pelucchi
Geox - TMC
s.t.
8
Baden Cooke
SaxoBank - SunGard
s.t.
9
Philippe Gilbert
OmegaPharma - Lotto
s.t.
10
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
Stage 8
Talavera de la Reina - San Lorenzo de El Escorial
Nice to hear you liked that one luigi. Here's the worlds as you wanted.
Unfortunately all the Dutch riders I picked were out of form. Therefore the result from them really sucked here. Nothing to do.
21.09: World championships - Time Trial
Forgot to export the startlist, sorry.
A strong time already by the third starter, Anthony Roux of France. The promising youngster knocked down earlier starters Marco Pinotti and Luis Leon Sanchez to many people's surprise. In the end an 11th place for Roux.
1h01'24
We soon got a new provisional leader though, in the shape of home star and next season Skil rider Jakob Fuglsang. Motivated by a huge amount of fans along the route, the Leopard rider managed to knock down Roux by a quite large margin of 37 seconds. Still not enough though, and a final 8th place for the Dane.
1h00'47
Fuglsang too didn't get to sit in the provisional leader's seat for any longer time though, as Britain's Steve Cummings outclocked him just a few minutes later. Cummings' time proved strong, resulting in a final fifth place.
1h00'29
Sweden's only hope Gustav Larsson couldn't match Cummings, but still set a strong time, eventually placing him in sixth. With Larsson on the course, the big names had started the race.
1h00'39
A quite big surprise then, with Cam Meyer knocking down Cummings from the lead with ease. The Aussie is definitely not a bad timetriallist, but a time like this couldn't have been expected. Actually good enough to secure Meyer a prestigious bronze medal.
1h00'13
Next Briton then, Chris Froome. Expected to fill the absence of superstar Bradley Wiggins, Froome did score a nice result here, but missed out on the medals by just eight seconds. Probably very bitter for the former Kenyan.
1h00'21
Only two men left on the course then, with the first of those grabbing the provisional lead from Cam Meyer. No surprise tho, as real life winner Tony Martin is one of the two biggest favourites. Not exactly an amazing time from the German though, beating Meyer by just two seconds.
1h00'11
That leaved only one rider left, three time winner Fabian Cancellara. This turned out to be a usual Spartacus show, as he easily knocked down Martin from the lead, stealing back the gold medal after failing in real life. A real "like a boss" performance from the Swiss, taking his fourth gold.
Not a really good performance from your riders at the Worlds... but the Vuelta's really got the most WTF-est GC yet. Edited by FreitasPCM on 01-01-2012 16:45
Did Cancellara start the celebrations a 100m away from the line as well?
Not the best ITT for the Dutch riders, but hopefully in the RR there'll be more guys in the good shape. Good luck!
After some hectic first kilometres at an insane pace, a breakaway was finally allowed to go. The names in it were: Hoogerland (Netherlands), Lacombe (Canada), Szczawinski (Poland), Cardoso (Portugal), Busche (USA), Hammond (Great Britain) and Tratnik (Slovenia).
They later also got company from Peña (Colombia), Van Garderen (USA), and to everyone surprise, Hushovd (Norway)!
The members of the group refused to work together at any serious level, so Hoogerland figured that it would be better on his own and went for with just a few laps to go. No immediate reaction from his companions.
The nine others were unable to organize a working chase behind Hoogerland, so he was able to stretch out a lead of over two minutes on just a few kilometres. The rest of the early escapees soon got swallowed by the peloton, but Hoogerland held his advantage in a strong way.
An advantage that soon decreased a lot thanks to a real speed-up from especially the Italians. The Dutchmen stayed cool just behind the blue army, waiting for a moment to pounce.
That moment came on the first climb on the last lap, just as Hoogerland's advantage dropped down to under a minute. Poels set off in pursuit, immediately followed by another man in blue, Marcato.
Marcato was really strong and easily jumped over Poels once he slowed down the acceleration. The Italian then continued his rampage, catching Hoogerland in no time, while distancing Poels by twenty seconds and the peloton by double that in just two kilometres.
Hoogerland was so empty that he couldn't even follow Marcato on the flat. With five kilometres to go, the elastic finally snapped, and the Italian continued on with his assault.
There was nothing to do about him, and Marcato could just cruise home over the last five kilometres, dancing his way up the final climb to his career's biggest victory. What an incredible surprise!
Hoogerland dropped like a stone in the final kilometres and got gobbled up by the peloton. Poels, on the other hand held all the way until with ten metres to go, where he got overtaken by an insanely fast Philippe Gilbert. Still a bronze medal for Poels and Netherlands, much better than expected.
