@tsmoha: As you say we are going to try harder in Almería and Lugano.
February 28th, 2011
(1.1) Clásica de Almería
Puebla de Vicar - Almeria (185kms)
An hard race here in the south of Spain. We bring a strong team trying to win this race with our leader Koldo Fernández. The plan is get into the break and don't push too much so the race could be decided in a mass sprint. Team Objective: Win
The race was really hard. We could be in the BOTD with Isasi, but the pack moved just a bit late. In the last kms. Mollema (Rabobank), Ermeti (Androni), Ramírez Abeja (Andalucía) and Íñigo Cuesta (Caja Rural) launched an attack that Isasi and other riders couldn't follow. We decided to attack with Ruben Pérez and Urtasun but it didn't work. The sprint was taken by the strongest man, Bauke Mollema. Ermeti and Ramírez Abeja completed the podium.
Result
1
Bauke Mollema
Rabobank Cycling Team
4h32'11
2
Giairo Ermeti
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
3
Javier Ramírez Abeja
Andalucía Caja Granada
+ 15
4
Íñigo Cuesta
Caja Rural
s.t.
5
Pablo Lastras
Movistar Team
+ 1'05
6
David Moncoutié
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
7
Evgeni Petrov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
8
Paolo Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
9
Dalivier Ospina
Colombia es Pasión - Café de Colombia
s.t.
10
Cyril Bessy
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Josep Jufré
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
12
Aleksejs Saramotins
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
13
Cândido Barbosa
Tavira - Prio
s.t.
14
Damien Monier
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
15
Luis Pasamontes
Movistar Team
s.t.
16
Imanol Erviti
Movistar Team
s.t.
17
Jonathan Hivert
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
18
Juan José Cobo
Geox - TMC
s.t.
19
Aitor Galdos
Caja Rural
s.t.
20
Ludovic Turpin
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
21
Nicolas Vogondy
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
22
Nico Sijmens
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
23
Gorazd Stangelj
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
24
José Vicente García Acosta
Movistar Team
s.t.
25
David López
Movistar Team
s.t.
26
Higinio Fernández
Caja Rural
s.t.
27
Ángel Madrazo
Movistar Team
s.t.
28
Romain Zingle
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
29
Johann Tschopp
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
30
Sébastien Rosseler
Team RadioShack
s.t.
31
Sérgio Ribeiro
Barbot - Efapel
s.t.
32
Laurens Ten Dam
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
33
Jérémie Galland
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
34
Maxim Gourov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
35
Michael Matthews
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
36
Koldo Fernández
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
37
Matteo Tosatto
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
38
Mikel Landa
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
39
João Cabreira
Onda
s.t.
40
Daniel Sesma
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
41
Santiago Pérez
Barbot - Efapel
s.t.
42
Mauro Santambrogio
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
43
José Serpa
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
44
Adrien Petit
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
45
David Bernabéu
Andalucía Caja Granada
s.t.
46
Jesús Herrada
Movistar Team
s.t.
47
Sergey Renev
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
48
Enrique Sanz
Movistar Team
s.t.
49
Daniel Mestre
Tavira - Prio
s.t.
50
Miguel Mínguez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
51
Sérgio Sousa
Barbot - Efapel
s.t.
52
Florent Barle
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
53
Alan Pérez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
54
Baden Cooke
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
55
Martin Kohler
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
56
Hugo Sabido
LA - Antarte
s.t.
57
Christophe Laborie
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
58
Joseba Larralde
Orbea Continental
s.t.
59
Daniel Silva
Onda
s.t.
60
Iñaki Isasi
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
61
Emanuele Sella
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
62
Adrián Palomares
Andalucía Caja Granada
s.t.
63
Arnaud Coyot
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
64
Chad Beyer
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
65
Fabio Duarte
Geox - TMC
s.t.
66
Juan José Lobato
Andalucía Caja Granada
s.t.
67
Jimmy Engoulvent
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
68
Tomas Swift Metcalfe
Tavira - Prio
s.t.
69
Samuel Caldeira
Tavira - Prio
s.t.
70
Anthony Delaplace
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
71
Henrique Casimiro
Tavira - Prio
s.t.
72
Omar Bertazzo
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
73
Rubén Pérez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
74
Vergílio Dos Santos
LA - Antarte
s.t.
75
Márcio Barbosa
LA - Antarte
s.t.
76
Luis Felipe Laverde
Colombia es Pasión - Café de Colombia
s.t.
77
Jackson Rodríguez
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
78
Laurent Didier
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
79
Pablo Urtasun
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
80
Maarten Tjallingii
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
81
Javier Benítez
Andalucía Caja Granada
s.t.
82
Mauricio Ardila
Geox - TMC
s.t.
83
José Vicente Toribio
Andalucía Caja Granada
s.t.
84
Andrey Zeits
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
85
Egoitz García
Caja Rural
s.t.
86
Robinson Chalapud
Colombia es Pasión - Café de Colombia
s.t.
87
Rui Vinhas
LA - Antarte
s.t.
88
Eloy Ruiz
Andalucía Caja Granada
s.t.
89
Darwin Atapuma
Colombia es Pasión - Café de Colombia
s.t.
90
Wilmar Perez
Colombia es Pasión - Café de Colombia
s.t.
91
Kasper Klostergaard
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
92
Roberto Ferrari
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
93
Víctor Hugo Peña
Colombia es Pasión - Café de Colombia
s.t.
94
Michał Kwiatkowski
Team RadioShack
s.t.
95
Geoffroy Lequatre
Team RadioShack
s.t.
96
Jonathan Monsalve
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
97
Paul Martens
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
98
Fumiyuki Beppu
Team RadioShack
s.t.
99
Lluis Guillermo Mas
Burgos 2016 - Castilla y León
s.t.
100
Joaquín Sobrino
Caja Rural
s.t.
101
Arturo Mora
Caja Rural
s.t.
102
Daniel Freitas
Barbot - Efapel
s.t.
103
Riccardo Chiarini
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
104
Álex Cano Ardila
Colombia es Pasión - Café de Colombia
s.t.
105
Michael Schär
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
106
Diego Gallego
Burgos 2016 - Castilla y León
s.t.
107
Manuele Boaro
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
108
Luis Silva
Tavira - Prio
s.t.
109
Hélder Oliveira
Onda
s.t.
110
Matthias Brändle
Geox - TMC
s.t.
111
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
112
Graeme Brown
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
113
Bjorn Selander
Team RadioShack
s.t.
114
Pascual Orengo
Burgos 2016 - Castilla y León
s.t.
115
Sam Bewley
Team RadioShack
s.t.
116
Ricardo García
Orbea Continental
s.t.
117
Jeff Louder
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
118
Óscar Vicente Grau
Burgos 2016 - Castilla y León
s.t.
119
Jose Cano
Andalucía Caja Granada
s.t.
120
David Gutiérrez Gutiérrez
Geox - TMC
s.t.
121
Alexander Kristoff
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
122
Rick Flens
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
123
Carlos Verona
Burgos 2016 - Castilla y León
s.t.
124
Filipe Cardoso
Barbot - Efapel
s.t.
125
Hugo Sancho
LA - Antarte
s.t.
126
Jesse Sergent
Team RadioShack
s.t.
127
Ruben Jimenez
Burgos 2016 - Castilla y León
s.t.
128
Célio Sousa
Onda
s.t.
129
Noel Martín
Orbea Continental
s.t.
130
David Tanner
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
131
Bruno Borges
Onda
s.t.
132
Bruno Lima
Onda
s.t.
133
Jon Aberasturi
Orbea Continental
s.t.
134
Rubén Reig
Caja Rural
s.t.
135
Bruno Sancho
LA - Antarte
s.t.
136
Beñat Urain
Orbea Continental
s.t.
137
Dennis Van Winden
Rabobank Cycling Team
s.t.
138
Garikoitz Bravo
Caja Rural
s.t.
139
Aritz Etxebarria
Orbea Continental
s.t.
140
Rafal Majka
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
141
Carlos Baltazar
Barbot - Efapel
+ 2'49
142
Jonas Aaen Jørgensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 4'44
143
Hugo Salazar
Colombia es Pasión - Café de Colombia
+ 9'22
144
Noe Gianetti
Geox - TMC
+ 14'34
Teams
1
Rabobank Cycling Team
13h38'43
2
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
3
Caja Rural
+ 15
...
9
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 1'05
(1.1) GP di Lugano
Lugano - Lugano (180.7kms)
After Almería's failure, the team comes to Lugano with the strongest riders. Samu Sanchez, Anton, Nieve and company will try to get the second win of the season for Euskaltel. It's a really hard race but we are favourites here and we should take the victory. Of course we are not alone here, Martin (HTC), Karpets (Katusha), Vande Velde (Garmin) and Mosquera will try to fight for the first place at the end. Team Objective: Win
The team did an amazing job today in Switzerland. We kept a man or two in front of the peloton controlling the BOTD not to go away. We kept them in 3 minutes and when any important rider tried to attack we caught it very quick. In the last lap, we pushed really hard with Anton, Nieve and Martínez and just before the last climb Samuel did his job. Attacking downhill and the story was closed.
He arrived solo in front of Sergio Paulinho. Samuel was very happy at the end of the day, pleased of his team work. We worked really hard for this and we took the victory.
The asturian rider couldn't hide his happiness in the podium and neither do we. Excellent ride by the team and by our most important rider.
@Pellizotti2: It's always nice to win. Samuel is starting the season with the mind in the Vuelta al País Vasco.
@Tombola: Thanks! Yes, he will be our leader for the three Ardennes classics.
@tsmoha: Thanks!
I'll be posting the February summary and March calendar, and the Vuelta a la Región de Murcia... the first race before Paris - Nice and Tirreno - Adriatico.
A short stage race, only three, in the region of Murcia. Three stages with three different profiles. First stage will be hilly with possible massive sprint finish. The second stage is a bit harder with a mountain in the end which will see lot of attacks. Mountain specialist must take some time here to face the last TT of 12.3kms. Team Objective: Stage win
Stage 1 - San Pedro del Pinatar (175kms)
Stage 2 - Calasparra - Caravaca de la Cruz (179.4kms)
Stage 3 - Las Torres de Cotillas - Alhama de Murcia (12.3kms)
A very ugly day while a group of 11 riders are allowed to form the BOTD. The pack always had control of the escapees. The finish looked risky and with the wet road we could have crashes at the end.
And that was what we have. Bad luck for Koldo Fernández who couldn't avoid the Astana rider on the floor and felt down meters before the end. I don't think he could win it, but at least a place in the Top5 could be possible.
Xavi Florencio stayed out of any trouble and took the win. Very dangerous a teammate back there raising his arms while the other riders were trying to avoid the crash. Bartlomiej Matysiak and Kevyn Ista completed the podium today.
Result
1
Xavier Florencio
Geox - TMC
4h11'30
2
Bartlomiej Matysiak
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
3
Kevyn Ista
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
s.t.
...
13
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
04/03/2011
Stage 2
Calasparra - Caravaca de la Cruz (179.4kms)
Juanjo Oroz in the break of the day taking some water. We tried to reach the stage win with Juanjo but the break was caught before the last climb. Over the top Carlos Barredo (Rabobank) launched an attack who only could be followed by Marek Rutkiewicz (CCC Polsat Polkowice).
Barredo was strongest than the polish rider who never catch him in the downhill. The spaniard took the victory with Rutkiewicz second and almost a minute and a half later came Cândido Barbosa (Taviro - Prio).
The portuguese led a group of eleven riders with Romain Sicard in it. The french from Euskaltel took the U25 classification lead. Barredo now leads the GC with 37'' over Rutkiewicz and 1'43'' ahead of Vogondy the nearest TT specialist.
Result
1
Carlos Barredo
Rabobank Cycling Team
4h35'05
2
Marek Rutkiewicz
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 29
3
Cândido Barbosa
Tavira - Prio
+ 1'23
...
7
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
05/03/2011
Stage 3
Las Torres de Cotillas - Alhama de Murcia (12.3kms)
Dutch champion Jos Van Emden has made the best time (16'23) of the day so far.
Levi Leipheimer was one of the favourites previously but he's not showing himself in good shape in Murcia. 16'45 in the TT and he will finish almost 5 minutes behind the race winner.
Here comes the real menace for Barredo, Nicolas Vogondy. The french champion did a good TT but was not enough to take the victory (16'24).
Barredo knows he's the winner but he continued pushing really hard. He wanted the stage too!!! He finished really close of his teammate (16'25), and Rabobank completes an excellent race here in Murcia.
Romain Sicard beats Simon Clarke and Robert Gesink and wins the U25 classification!
Result
1
Jos Van Emden
Rabobank Cycling Team
16'23
2
Nicolas Vogondy
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 1
3
Carlos Barredo
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 2
...
14
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 26
General Classification
1
Carlos Barredo
Rabobank Cycling Team
9h02'40
2
Marek Rutkiewicz
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 1'16
3
Nicolas Vogondy
Cofidis, le crédit en ligne
+ 1'42
4
Cândido Barbosa
Tavira - Prio
+ 1'44
5
Markel Irizar
Team RadioShack
+ 1'45
6
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Pro Team Astana
+ 1'48
7
Xavier Florencio
Geox - TMC
+ 2'01
8
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 2'07
9
David Blanco
Geox - TMC
+ 2'08
10
Luis León Sánchez
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 2'13
KoM
1
Carlos Barredo
Rabobank Cycling Team
16
U25
1
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel - Euskadi
9h04'47
Teams
1
Rabobank Cycling Team
27h12'14
Next post: Paris - Nice introduction and first stage.
I will not continue with the story. I have really short time to play... and I don't want to continue with posts that I consider that should have more information.
PCM2011 is here... and the PCM Daily's database is almost here too... so may be in the future I could have more time to make a story at my speed.
It's hard with 9 hours at work... plus girlfriend, football matches... and friend's meetings every week.
I love making stories but hate not having the time I would to write the story like I want.
Would be nice to see you making a story with PCM11, I liked your reports and screens.. and team-choice 
