Alakagom wrote:
Goss doing great, hope he can manage the miracle Qatar looking strangley similar to the real one, with Haussler and Renshaw looking to battle it out, hope Renshaw can repeat his victory, this time in game
Goss is showing good form after a poor TdU where he struggled to get to the finishes. Sadly did not make it over the mountains in Mallorca. Good show from Velits though
Im hoping Renshaw can show something in qatar. rasmussen is a good lead-out, but can do the same job, so might have to swap them around if renshaw cant get his finishing kick just right!
9th February 2011 - Tour of Qatar Stage 2 (Camel Race Track-Doha Golf Club)
Stage 2 of the Tour of Qatar 2011 takes the riders 135km from the Camel Race Track to the Golf Club in Doha. Yet again, the route will be pan flat in profile, but the strong winds and hot sun will play it part in the final outcome.
After his win yesterday, Heinrich Haussler will be looking for the same outcome, knowing that victory could be enough to give him the Gold Leaders Jersey at the end of the day. But no doubt RadioShack will not just let it go without a fight, so expect a fiery end to this stage
On a surprise calm day in the desert, it was a break of 8 riders who set off up the road early in the stage. The peleton seemed very content on letting them go, and with only Fumiyuki Beppu (RadioShack) and Tom Stamsnijder (Leopard-Trek) as the big names in it, you could clearly see why. Despite this, they worked well and soon had a lead of 6'19" over the chasing pack. But with over 100km til the finish, it did not look like it would last.
HTC-Highroad started the chase back, hitting the front with less aggression than yesterday. The gap was soon dropping at a steady rate, and within just 25km, only 2'48" separated the two groups on the road. This prompted more attacks off the front of the peleton, but there was nothing to significant, and the combination of HTC and Garmin had it well under control.
With 18km to go, the breaks were finally caught, after spending almost 30km dangling in front of the chase at a gap of around 1'00". And so for the second stage running, a mass sprint would decide the outcome. It was Vacansoleil-DCM who organised themselves the best, and put the Frenchman Romain Feillu in prime position. Just behind them was HTC, and splitting the lead-out trains across the road were Garmin.
As the sprint kicked, Feillu looked like he had it. He went early and hard, opening up a large gap behind him. HTC struggled to stay with him, for a while so did Garmin. It was only in the closing 50m which Haussler came around the Frenchman to take the win. Meanwhile, Sky's Ben Swift had come from nowhere to take third ahead of a disappointed Mark Renshaw. The HTC man had yet again failed to show his pace when it came to the crunch, missing out on bonus seconds at the same time.
So after 3 stages, Heinrich Haussler now tops the GC leaderboard. He will wear Gold tomorrow, and Romain Feillu will be wearing the Silver Points Jersey. The bonus seconds for 3rd is enough for Ben Swift take top spot in the Young Riders Classification, so will be in white.
Yet another tight finish is won by Haussler
The Day's Race in Photos
Spoiler
It was a calm start at the Race Track
The day's first break out on the route
The break did not get far thanks to the well controlled peleton
It would be Sebastian Rosseler's final day in Gold
9th February 2011 - Vuelta a Mallorca (Trofeo Sóller)
The Trofeo Sóller looks set to be a stage for the climbers. Almost identical in its route to yesterday's Trofeo Pollença, the day begins with a very flat profile before ending with two difficult climbs.
Following his victory yesterday, Peter Velits will be looking to stretch his legs again at the finish. He did well to see off the Astana pair of Kiserlovski and Vinokourov, but other riders will be watching him more carefully on at the finish in Deia
PCM Stage Favourites
A. Contador (SaxoBank-Sungard), I. Anton (Euskatel-Euskadi), A. Vinokourov (Pro Team Astana), L.L. Sánchez (Rabobank)
9th February 2011 - Vuelta a Mallorca (Trofeo Sóller)
Sánchez dominate in Deia
Luis León Sánchez (Rabobank) took victory in Deia, closing the gap at the top in the GC to just 4" behind Peter Velits (HTC-Highroad). The Spanish rider was the best of the bunch at the finish, sprinting in ahead of Thomas Löfkvist (Sky ProCycling) and Overall Leader Velits.
Heading into the final day of racing, Peter Velits holds a slender lead in the Overall GC. Matt Goss (HTC) continues to wear the Points Jersey, and Egoi MartÃnez will be in the Mountain Classification Jersey going into Stage 5. Rounding up the Jerseys, Robert Kiserlovski will be wearing the Young Riders Jersey
I had problems loading the stage so I had to simulate the race
10th February 2011 - Tour of Qatar Stage 3 (Al Wakra-Mesaieed)
Stage 3 takes the riders from Al Wakra to Mesaieed. Based around a two and a half lap circuit just to the south of Doha, the riders will have a flat stage ahead of them.
sobota wrote:
1. Simulation suck , but 3rd place with Velits is good
2. Good Luck on 3rd stage
3. I really like your story
1. simulation does suck... and as a quick preview, it is the same for the final stage of vuelta a mallorca
2. thanks for the luck...
3. glad you are liking the story! im enjoying the writing of it. gonna start really planning out my season after qatar
10th February 2011 - Tour of Qatar Stage 3 (Al Wakra-Mesaieed)
Renshaw storms to victory
HTC-Highroad's Mark Renshaw finally found his sprinting legs today, taking a great victory in Mesaieed. The Australian, who normally rides a top lead-out man to Mark Cavendish, burst out from behind his man Alex Rasmussen, taking the win ahead of Frenchman Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Mirco Lorenzetto (Pro Team Astana). The biggest talking point at the finish however was the complete disappearance of GC Leader Heinrich Haussler.
Yet another calm day fell over the desert route just outside Doha. Low wind speeds and cooler heats meant easier riding for the peleton, and it was four riders that went off the front early on. Arnoud Van Groen (Veranda's Willems - Accent), Alexey Shmidt (Team Type 1), Stanislav Kozúbek (PSK Whirlpool - Author) and Pieter Vanspeybroeck (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator) hit the road hard, and within 35km, they had a lead of over 4'00.
The peleton did not seem to be worried about the four escapees, but when they got to over 8'26" gap over the main pack, HTC-Highroad reacted. The time started to drop quickly, but it was going to be a tight finish in store. With 25km to go, 3'12" still separated the break and the now HTC and BMC led peleton. At 10km, however, it was just 59" and the tireless determination to stay away only prolonged the inevitable capture.
And it worked out perfectly, as Renshaw burst across the line with a big gap back to his rivals. But where was Haussler? Looking at replays, he just could not hold onto the wheel of lead-out man Tyler Farrar, and disappeared back into the group, eventually crossing the line in 36th place.
With two stages left, just 2" now separates GC Leader Haussler and Renshaw. Renshaw will go into stage 4 with the Silver Points Jersey on his shoulders, and Ben Swift continues to wear the White Young Riders Jersey.
Great win for Renshaw, but what happened to Haussler?
The Day's Race in Photos
Spoiler
Another calm day in the Qatari Desert
The 4-man break on the road
BMC and HTC worked very hard today
Gold Jersey wearer Heinrich Haussler was well protected by his Garmin team
The last desperate attempts to stay away by the break
HTC and Vacansoleil-DCM trains in full motion at the finish
10th February 2011 - Vuelta a Mallorca (Trofeo Calvià )
And so we come to the final stage of the Vuelta a Mallorca, the Trofeo Calvià . Seen as the most difficult stage out of the five, it will be a tough day for all but the best climbers in the peleton.
With just 20" separating Alexandre Vinokourov in 6th place and GC Leader Peter Velits, victory in the Overall Classification is still up for grabs. The same can be said for the Points Jersey, Mountains Jersey and the Young Riders, so expect a hot day of racing, with plenty of action!
PCM Stage Favourites
L.L. Sánchez (Rabobank), A. Vinokourov(Pro Team Astana), A. Contador (SaxoBank-Sungard), T. Löfkvist (Sky ProCycling)
10th February 2011 - Vuelta a Mallorca (Trofeo Calvià )
Kiserlovski steals the show, and takes the Overall victory in Palmanova
Robert Kiserlovski (Pro Team Astana) took a great win on the final stage of the Vuelta a Mallorca, breaking the heart of Peter Velits at the finish. The HTC-Highroad rider fought like his career and life depended on it to stay with the lead group over the last few mountains, only to have his Yellow Jersey taken from him at the end.
Kiserlovski finished the stage ahead of Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Velit's HTC team-mate Michael Albasini.
Thanks to the 20" bonus at the finish, Kiserlovski takes the Overall Victory by 4" ahead of the Velits in 2nd, and Luis León Sánchez in 3rd. The Astana man also takes the home the Points Jersey by 2 points ahead of Matt Goss (HTC). The Astana man completes a Hat-Trick of Jersey, with Overall Victory in the Young Riders Classification. The Mountain Classification Jersey goes to Alexandr Kolobnev (Katusha) after he picked up 34 points on the final stage.
Again I had problems loading the stage so I had to simulate the race
11th February 2011 - Tour of Qatar Stage 4 (West Bay Lagoon-Al Kharaitiyat)
The penultimate stage of the 2011 Tour of Qatar takes the peleton 152km through the desert from West Bay Lagoon to Al Kharaitiyat.
After two calm days in the desert, the chance of a third would be a miracle, but yet again a welcome relief to the guys in the main pack.
HTC's Mark Renshaw was the man who halted Heinrich Haussler's winning streak in Qatar yesterday, and with just 2" now separating the two Australian Sprinters, the Overall leader in the GC will change hands if Renshaw finishes ahead of the Garmin man in 3rd place or above.
Qatar looking strangley similar to the real one, with Haussler and Renshaw looking to battle it out, hope Renshaw can repeat his victory, this time in game 
