This stage is a real blinder. The huge pair of climbs to end the race is no doubt going to hurt physically, but also mentally. I may struggle to stay in touch with the front, but I will do my best. If I lose less than 10 minutes I will judge it as a success.
Vinokourov is the clear favourite today, but Euskatel pair Txurruka and Nieve will be right up there I think and Rogers may just hold onto the maillot jaune. We'll just have to see.
Criterium du Dauphine
Stage 7
Les Gets - Le Collet d'Allevard : 175.3kms
My role for the day was clear, follow Michael Rogers. I will monitor him all day, and see how he is looking.
The BOTD formed soon enough, and contained the usual suspects (Bazayev, Marzano, Garcia Acosta) and some suprises such as Murilo Fishcer and Bert Grabsch.
At the third mountain sprint, Marco Mazano of Lampre took 20 precious points to put himself higher in the KoM food chain. The lead was 2'36".
The group was being dominated by Sky at the front and the pace was high as always.
Marzano got the next 12 mountain points on two sprints and will probably wear the polka-dot tomorrow.
On the flat before the penultimate climb, the leading group had a 5'40" break and Rabobank's Pieter Weening joined them, bringing some fresh legs to the BOTD.
In the pack I was feeling good, better than yesterday, and some of the scenery was magnificent!
The penultimate climb began, and Sky's violent pace ripped the peloton part. Tim was positioned badly near the back, and was forced back one group. Schar, Santaromita and Phinney all fell back also. I sped down the mountain incredibly fast, and rode away in my attempt to rejoin the pack.
As he reached the bottom of the final climb, Pieter Weening had gone off unnotice at the front, and was all alone with a 4'48" lead over the main pack! Could he go all the way?
I was still about 2'00" behind the pack, and since I was alone, I was losing energy.
5kms to ride, and the favourites all attacked. Mathias Frank was out of position, and stayed in the peloton.
The favourites were soon caught though, and Weening was all alone, 4kms to ride, and with a 3'00" break! He will take it all the way!
Txurruka, Moncoutie and most favourites attacked again!
The Dutchman hit the finish line with Moncoutie right on his tail! Amazing win, he is so tired he can't even celebrate! Mathias Frank rode admirably, finishing 10th!
On my way up, I was riding with Santaromita and Peter Sagan when the devil himself came and ran up next to us! He must be reading my blog! Tim finished about 11 minutes after Weening. Final Rankings - Stage 7
1
P. Weeming
Rabobank Cycling Team
5h07'26"
2
D. Moncoutie
Cofidis, le credit en ligne
+ 33"
3
A. Txurruka
Euskatel - Euskadi
+ 1'04"
4
M. Rogers
Sky ProCycling
+ 1'14"
5
D. Navarro
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 1'28"
Spoiler
6
A. Vinokourov
Pro Team Astana
+ 1'50"
7
P. Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
8
C. Riblon
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 1'59"
9
B. Mollema
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 2'22"
10
M. Frank
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
11
S. Joly
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
12
C. Le Mevel
Team Garmin - Cervelo
+ 2'31"
13
S. Paulinho
Team RadioShack
s.t.
14
T. Pinot
FDJ
+ 2'39"
15
M. Monfort
Leopard Trek
s.t.
...
54
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 11'14"
Overall Rankings
GC
1
M. Rogers
Sky ProCycling
23h38'26"
2
D. Moncoutie
Cofidis, le credit en ligne
+ 28"
3
C. Riblon
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 1'26"
Spoiler
4
P. Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
+ 1'48"
5
A. Txurruka
Euskatel - Euskadi
+ 2'16"
6
D. Millar
Team Garmin - Cervelo
+ 2'20"
7
D. Navarro
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 2'23"
8
S. Joly
Saur - Sojasun
+ 2'36"
9
P. Weening
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 2'58"
10
S. Paulinho
Team RadioShack
+ 3'21"
11
B. Mollema
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 3'49"
12
R. Sicard
Euskatel - Euskadi
+ 4'35"
13
C. Le Mevel
Team Garmin - Cervelo
+ 4'36"
14
A. Vinokourov
Pro Team Astana
+ 4'40"
15
M. Frank
BMC Racing Team
+ 5'10"
...
63
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 24'16"
King of the Mountains
Spoiler
1
M. Marzano
Lampre - ISD
86 Pts
2
A. Bazayev
Pro Team Astana
74
3
P. Weening
Rabobank Cycling Team
70
4
D. Moncoutie
Cofidis, le credit en ligne
56
5
A. Txurruka
Euskatel - Euskadi
53
Points
Spoiler
1
M. Rogers
Sky ProCycling
71 Pts
2
P. Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
46
3
D. Moncoutie
Cofidis, le credit en ligne
43
4
M. Cavendish
HTC - Highroad
43
5
A. Txurruka
Euskatel - Euskadi
43
...
45
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
6
Young Riders
Spoiler
1
B. Mollema
Rabobank Cycling Team
23h42'15"
2
R. Sicard
Euskatel - Euskadi
+ 46"
3
M. Frank
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'21"
4
G. Thomas
Sky ProCycling
+ 1'30"
5
R. Uran
Sky ProCycling
+ 3'24"
...
17
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 20'27"
I did lose around 11 minutes, but still moved up 11 spots in the GC, so overall I'm happy! Franky did very well with his 10th, and if he can keep that top-20 it would be fantastic! Tomorrow is another biggie, can't wait!
Tim.
P.S. Keep the comments coming!Edited by kitface on 02-09-2011 13:48
Today's relatively short and final stage will again produce some time gaps probably, due to the long uphill finish. It is not too steep, more about rhythm and pace than pure explosiveness. Maybe Moncoutie could make it two wins, or Michael Rogers could cop off his great ride with a stage win. We will have to see!
Criterium du Dauphine
Stage 8
Pontcharra - La Toussuire : 114.2kms
At the start of the first climb, the small break was caught. Sky and Cofidis were setting most of the pace.
Johnny Hoogerland, Danny Pate and Jan Bakelants all attacked on the climb, making a small gap.
Jens Voigt soon attempted to join them, but could not get far.
Bakelants went off alone, and took the 40 points on top of the climb. Hoogerland and Pate followed, with Voigt about 45" back.
Bakelants was 4'30" ahead of the peloton, with the following three about 2'00" behind Jan.
At the start of the final climb, Christophe Riblon attacked, chasing down the four riders ahead. Voigt, who had joined the other two,'s group was about 2'25" ahead of the Peloton. Bakelants was another 1'25" ahead of them.
They were all soon caught, except for Bakelants who was about 1'31" ahead of the lead group.
Tim had fallen back one group, and was with teammates Moinard, Frank and Tschopp, as the rest had fallen back.
In the front group, Tiralongo and Riblon went at it again, and Bakelants was just holding on ahead.
They were all caught though, including Bakelants, and Moncoutie did another of his signature attacks with 2kms left! He developed a small gap, and crossed the line alone! He was only 28" behind Rogers in GC, could he do the impossible, and win overall?
Rogers' group sprints to the line, but they are 36" back!
Moncoutie wins the maillot jaune!
Our group comes over about 3'45" back, I'm happy with that!
Final Rankings - Stage 8
1
D. Moncoutie
Cofidis, le credit en ligne
3h45'11"
2
P. Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
+ 37"
3
M. Rogers
Sky ProCycling
s.t.
4
D. Navarro
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
5
A. Txurruka
Euskatel - Euskadi
s.t.
Spoiler
6
C. Riblon
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
7
S. Joly
Saur - Sojasun
+ 58"
8
J. Bakelants
Omega Pharma - Lotto
s.t.
9
C. Le Mevel
Team Garmin - Cervelo
+ 1'18"
10
R. Kiserlovski
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
11
J. Voigt
Leopard Trek
s.t.
12
R. Uran
Sky ProCycling
+ 1'37"
13
Y. Trofimov
Katusha Team
+ 1'55"
14
C. A. Sorensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
s.t.
15
A. Vinokourov
Pro Team Astana
s.t.
...
32
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 3'43"
Overall Rankings - FINAL
GC
1
D. Moncoutie
Cofidis, le credit en ligne
27h24'05"
2
M. Rogers
Sky ProCycling
+ 9"
3
C. Riblon
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 1'35"
Spoiler
4
P. Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
+ 1'57"
5
A. Txurruka
Euskatel - Euskadi
+ 2'25"
6
D. Navarro
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 2'32"
7
S. Joly
Saur - Sojasun
+ 3'06"
8
P. Weening
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 4'58"
9
S. Paulinho
Team RadioShack
+ 5'21"
10
C. Le Mevel
Team Garmin - Cervelo
+ 5'26"
11
D. Millar
Team Garmin - Cervelo
+ 5'35"
12
B. Mollema
Rabobank Cycling Team
+ 5'49"
13
R. Sicard
Euskatel - Euskadi
+ 6'35"
14
A. Vinokourov
Pro Team Astana
+ 6'40"
15
C.A. Sorensen
Saxo Bank SunGard
+ 6'45"
...
50
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 27'31"
King of the Mountains
Spoiler
1
D. Moncoutie
Cofidis, le credit en ligne
94 Pts
2
M. Marzano
Lampre - ISD
86
3
P. Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
77
4
A. Bazayev
Pro Team Astana
74
5
P. Weening
Rabobank Cycling Team
70
Points
Spoiler
1
M. Rogers
Sky ProCycling86 Pts
2
D. Moncoutie
Cofidis, le credit en ligne
63
3
P. Tiralongo
Pro Team Astana
63
4
A. Txurruka
Euskatel - Euskadi
54
5
D. Navarro
Saxo Bank SunGard
49
...
47
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
6
Young Riders
Spoiler
1
B. Mollema
Rabobank Cycling Team
27h29'54"
2
R. Sicard
Euskatel - Euskadi
+ 46"
3
M. Frank
BMC Racing Team
+ 2'23"
4
G. Thomas
Sky ProCycling
+ 2'45"
5
R. Uran
Sky ProCycling
+ 2'51"
...
12
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 21'42"
Well, what a rollercoaster of emotions that race was! At first I was feeling really down, I was out of shape and riding poorly. But now I feel great, and I finished top-50 in the Criterium du Daphine! I have a rather long rest now before the Tour starts for Cadel, and I ride the Inst. Osterreich Rundfart, where I may well be leader! I'll link you to some updates of the European National Champions results, as well as Le Tour soon!
The Europe and American National Championship Road Races and Time Trials were this week, and there was some great action!
Sylvain Chavanel will wear the French national champion's jersey this year after edging out Jeremy Roy and Jerome Pineau in a sprint after they broke away near the end of the course. Allesandro Pettachi is the new Italiano Campionat after beating Bennati in a bunch sprint.
Tom Boonen beat Phillipe Gilbert on the cobbled course to take the Belgian Champs jersey for the
Mark Cavendish won the British champs jersey too, beating out 2010 champ Geraint Thomas on a flat course while Levi Leipheimer beat SpiderTech's Lucas Euser and Timothy Duggan in a sprint from their breakaway win.
The only riders to achieve the RR and TT double were Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR), Samuel Sanchez (ESP) and Ryder Hesjedal (CAN)
All winners are listed below:
Road Race
Spoiler
Denmark - Matti Breschel
Switzerland - Laurent Beuret
USA - Levi Leipheimer
Russia - Yuri Trofimov
Portugal - Sergio Paulinho
Poland - Krzysztof Jezowski
Czech Republic - Thomas Buchacek
Ukraine - Yaroslav Popovych
France - Sylvain Chavanel
Spain - Samuel Sanchez
Italy - Alessandro Petacchi
Belgium - Tom Boonen
Netherlands - Sebastien Langeveld
Germany - Linus Gerdemann
Britain - Mark Cavendish
Norway - Edvald Boasson Hagen
Canada - Ryder Hesjedal
Time Trial
Spoiler
Spain - Samuel Sanchez
Italy - Allesandro Ballan
France - Jean-Christophe Peraud
Belgium - Sebastien Rosseler
Netherlands - Stef Clement
USA - George Hincapie
Germany - Tony Martin
Portugal - Sergio Paulinho
Russia - Denis Menchov
Ukraine - Yaroslav Popvych
Denmark - Lars Ytting Bak
Czech Republic - Roman Kreuziger
Poland - Michal Kwiatkowski
Switzerland - Fabian Cancellara
Britain - David Millar
Norway - Edvald Boasson Hagen
Canada - Ryder Hesjedal
01/07
BMC Announce Huge Signings!
The transfer season has started with a bang as BMC Racing Team has announced three huge signings, just 1 day before the Tour de France begins in Passage du Gois on Saturday. Fabian Cancellara and Marco Pinotti have both signed on for "the 2012 season and beyond", and Cadel Evans has signed on for the next two years.
Time-trial and cobbled classic specialist Cancellara was expected to renew his contract with current team Leopard Trek, which has been in the news lately around rumours of a merge between Team RadioShack, but immediately signed with the Swiss team BMC after they offered him a huge, four-year deal. He joins many other Swissmen on the team, and it has "been my dream to ride for a Swiss team" in the ProTour, said Cancellara.
Marco Pinotti was linked to many teams, including Quickstep, Farnese Vini and Androni Giocatolla, but the HTC - Highroad rider said "I fell in love with the idea of riding with Fabian, Cadel and many others" in the 2012 season.
Evans, who will lead his BMC outfit for Saturday's Tour de France, has been openly adamant that BMC is the team he will ride for to close out his career.
Cadel hinted at more possible big name signings in the press conference, but said that they have had trouble signing young Australian climber Timothy Roe, who has been reportedly "attracted to the idea of joining (new Australian team) GreenEDGE next season", who are all but guaranteed a ProTour spot next season, with HTC - Highroad disbanding.
03/07
Tour de France - Duque and RadioShack Impress Early
Leonardo Duque was the first rider to wear the maillot jaune after winning stage 1's uphill sprint ahead of French pair Jimmy Engouvelent (SAU) and Christophe Kern (EUR). The three finished 17" ahead of the field, which all finished together.
RadioShack put their team time-trial skills on show in stage 2, winning 7" ahead of Bradley Wiggins' Sky team. Cadel Evans' BMC Racing were third on the 23km ride through Les Essarts. Andy and Frank Schleck’s Leopard Trek team were in 4th place, giving up 10” seconds to BMC. Saxo Bank SunGard were even worse, losing 1’08” to RadioShack and putting Alberto Contador in an awkward position to start his Tour defense. Katusha were last on the day, 10” behind Liquigas, who had an awful start to their tour, with Vincenzo Nibali and Ivan Basso both 1’50” behind leader Andreas Kloden of RadioShack.
Kolden has been tipped to keep the maillot jaune until around stage 12-13, where the massive climbs start to kick in. He may prove them wrong though, and as Phil Ligget says, the yellow jersey makes you ride like two men!
@rorzcp Good to know you've made your mind up! BTW Tim is going to enjoy one of his next stages!
@FreitasPCM Thanks, I think they are terrific signings, but I have more coming after the Tour. This season is going so fast!
The Int. Osterreigh Rundfart in Austria is my first ever race as proper leader! I feel a lot stronger recently, and my form is good too! There are four, big mountain stages in a row after today's flat one, then a flat one, a time-trial, and another flat one. This will be great!
We haven't brought a super-strong squad, and Steve Morabito should be at Le Tour, but after his injury, his form isn't too good.
Not too much to report on this stage, there was a small breakaway, but they were caught with 30kms to ride. In the final sprint, Miche's S. Schumacher won ahead of Polsat's Matsyiak. Karsten Kroon finished 8th.
On the final straight, a big crash occurred and BMC's Morabito and Butler were both involved. Nobody was seriously hurt though, and they only lost a small amount of time.
I finished safely in the pack.
Final Rankings - Stage 1
1
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
3h49'23"
2
B. Matysiak
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
3
T. Kiendys
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
4
Z. Zagorodny
Miche - Guerciotti
s.t.
5
A. Schulze
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
Spoiler
6
B. Jarc
Adria Mobil
s.t.
7
D. Kopp
Team Eddy Merckx - Indeland
s.t.
8
K. Kroon
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
9
K. Sobota
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
10
C. Fairly
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
11
H. Roulston
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
12
E. Baumann
Team NetApp
s.t.
13
D. Impey
Team NetApp
s.t.
14
R. Obst
Team NSP
s.t.
15
K. Jezowski
Bank BGZ
s.t.
...
45
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
Inst. Osterreich Rundfart
Stage 2
Landeck - Kitzbuheler Horn : 160.1kms
And I thought the Dauphine was tough, take a look at today's summit finish! This will be something to behold!
After joining the break, Chad Beyer of BMC set off alone and currently has a 7'00" lead and growing, all alone at the front!
At the top of the first climb, Beyer had the points, and a 6'00" lead.
Once the peloton passed over the climb, the field had split, and a group at the front, incluidng Tim, and teammate Yannick Eijssen, were setting off alone. Favourites Siustsou and Van Garderen were one group back, while Michael Rasmussen was at the front with Tim. Chad Beyer still had a 5'00" break with 45kms to ride.
On the next short climb, the following pack caught Tim's group, and the best climbers, like Siutsou and Rebellin, joined the front pack.
At the bottom of the main climb, Beyer was caught, and Tim's group was now heading up!
The group had split again, and a front group of 6 had now formed. The riders were Tim, Siutsou, Rasmussen, Fothen, Gaia and Schumacher.
With 4kms to ride, Fothen is off! Tim responds, as do the others, and the pace has lifted!
Rasmussen is just alone in front, but as the final sprint begins, Tim speeds past them all! Nobody can follow!
Tim wins the stage! What a great effort by the 21 year old!
Final Rankings - Stage 2
1
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
4h17'56"
2
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 16"
3
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
+ 37"
4
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 1'03"
5
M. Gaia
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 1'09"
Spoiler
6
M. Fothen
Team NSP
+ 1'16"
7
R. Hollenstein
Team Vorarlberg
+ 3'32"
8
C. Zaballa
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 3'41"
9
B. Huzarski
Team NetApp
+ 4'00"
10
V. Zagorodny
Miche - Guerciotti
s.t.
11
J. Mendes
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 4'11"
12
P. Gorenc
Adria Mobil
+ 4'20"
13
L. Bochman
Glud & Marstrand - LRO
s.t.
14
J. Del Nero
Team NetApp
+ 4'28"
15
N. Van der Ljike
Rabobank Conti Team
s.t.
Overall Rankings
GC
1
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
8h06'59"
2
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 18"
3
K. Sutsiou
HTC - Highroad
+ 45"
4
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 1'03"
5
M. Gaia
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 1'29"
Spoiler
6
M. Fothen
Team NSP
+ 1'36"
7
R. Hollenstein
Team Vorarlberg
+ 3'52"
8
C. Zaballa
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 4'01"
9
V. Zagordony
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 4'20"
10
J. Mendes
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 4'31"
11
P. Gorenc
Adria Mobil
+ 4'40"
12
L. Bochman
Glud & Marstrand - LRO
s.t.
13
J. Del Nero
Team NetApp
+ 4'48"
14
N. Van Der Ljike
Rabobank Conti Team
s.t.
15
M. Albasini
HTC - Highroad
+ 5'22"
King of the Mountains
Spoiler
1
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
20 Pts
2
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
14
3
C. Beyer
BMC Racing Team
12
4
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
12
5
B. Tacaks
Team NSP
11
Points
Spoiler
1
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
39 Pts
2
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
26
3
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
25
4
B. Matysiak
CCC Polsat Polkowice
20
5
V. Zagorodny
Miche - Guerciotti
20
Young Riders
Spoiler
1
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
8h06'59"
2
P. Gorenc
Adria Mobil
+ 4'40"
3
N. Van der Ljike
Rabobank Conti Team
+ 4'48"
4
S. Fuchs
Nutrixxion Sparkasse
+ 5'50"
5
R. Guldhammer
Team Concordia Forsikring - Himmerland
+ 6'07"
I'm still pumping with adrenaline! When I saw I was ahead of the rest, and I sprinted past Rasmussen, it was amazing! Yannick Eijssen was an amazing teammate today, and if it wasn't for him, I couldn't have won this stage! I'm just so happy! To step up onto that podium was absolutely amazing! I hope you guys enjoyed that stage as much as I did!
@rorzcp hahah, I'm happy too! There are 8 stages, and that was no fluke, Tim has a good chance of holding onto the yellow. There are three big climbs to go, and 1 time-trial.
This stage has a big, long climb in the middle of the stage, but I except a sprint finish, since most riders will be able to recover on the descent. I will still have lost of fun though, and I will do my best to make it two in a row.
Inst. Osterreich Rundfart
Stage 3
Kitzbuhel - Lienz : 146.0kms
The BOTD formed soon enough, and it contained 14 riders, none of which were threatening to Tim's GC lead.
David Dvorsky, of the breakaway, won the first two mountain sprints and gained 11 points.
On the climb, the pack was staying together, but soon enough, it started to split. All BMC riders but Morabito were at the front, and setting a high pace.
On the descent with 29kms to ride, Siutsou attacked, and Mendes and Tim followed..
Now a front group had established. Roe, Siutsou, De Nero, Guldhammer, Bochman and Mendes made up the group with 18kms to ride.
Shcumacher and Fothen soon joined us at the front, and as they sped off, we joined them!
Siutsou made a good attack, and Tim was the only one who could catch up!
10kms to ride, and the following group caught up.
4.5kms now and again, Siutsou and co. attack, and Tim has to follow!
Roe, Schumacher and Siutsou are alone ahead! They will probably take it all the way! Fothen and Hollenstein were on their tail!
The sprint starts and Tim is on Schumacher's wheel as Siutsou falls back! The Aussie is in perfect position, and with 400 metres to ride, he makes his move!
He takes it! Another win for Timothy Roe! A star is born in Austria!
Final Rankings - Stage 3
1
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
3h55'41"
2
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
s.t.
3
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
4
M. Gaia
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 28"
5
M. Albasini
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
Spoiler
6
R. Hollenstein
Team Vorarlberg
s.t.
7
T. Van Garderen
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
8
M. Fothen
Team NSP
s.t.
9
V. Zagorodny
Miche - Guerciotti
s.t.
10
C. Zaballa
Miche - Guerciotti
s.t.
11
B. Huzarski
Team NetApp
s.t.
12
P. Gorenc
Adria Mobil
s.t.
13
J. Del Nero
Team NetApp
s.t.
14
J. Nielsen
Glud & Marstrand - LRO
s.t.
15
C. Beyer
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
Overall Standings
GC
1
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
3h55'41"
2
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
+ 57"
3
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 1'11"
Spoiler
4
M. Gaia
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 2'17"
5
M. Fothen
HTC - Highroad
+ 2'24"
6
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
3'30"
7
R. Hollenstein
Team Vorarlberg
+ 4'40"
8
C. Zaballa
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 4'49"
9
V. Zagorodny
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 5'08"
10
J. Mendes
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 5'19"
11
P. Gorenc
Adria Mobil
+ 5'28"
12
L. Bochman
Glud & Marstrand - LRO
s.t.
13
J. Del Nero
Team NetApp
+ 5'36"
14
N. Ven der Ljike
Rabobank Conti Team
s.t.
15
M. Albasini
HTC - Highroad
+ 6'10"
King of the Mountains
Spoiler
1
S. Sortveit
Joker Merida
21 Pts
2
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
20
3
M. Schweizer
Nutrixxion Sparkasse
20
4
D. Dvorsky
PSK Whirlpool - Author
19
5
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
14
Points
Spoiler
1
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
59 Pts
2
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
50
3
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
36
4
V. Zagorodny
Miche - Guerciotti
27
5
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
26
Young Riders
Spoiler
1
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
12h02'20"
2
P. Gorenc
Adria Mobil
+ 5'28"
3
N. Van der Ljike
Rabobank Conti Team
+ 5'36"
4
S. Fuchs
Nutrixxion Sparkasse
+ 6'38"
5
R. Guldhammer
Team Concordia Forsikring - Himmerland
+ 6'55"
Another win! Who would have thought I beat Schumacher on a sprint! I timed it perfectly, and now I am in the box-seat for an overall victory! Can't wait for tomorrow's summit finish, maybe even make it a hat-trick! This is amazing!
@tsmoha Thanks! Tim just loves the countries that start with Austr!
@rorzcp Thought you'd like that one!
@GreenEDGEFan I think Tim has what it takes to hold onto the maillot jaune, even with the time-trial. He has shown he's the strongest rider out there!
And I'm assuming you want Tim to sign with GreenEDGE? Hahah.
@LilParka Thanks again for the comment! Threepeat here we come!
The second-last mountain stage, and with another summit finish, I feel confident I can complete my hat-trick! The DS was extremely happy with me, and feels I could be something special in the future! Big talk from the DS!
Inst. Osterreich Rundfart
Stage 4
Lienz - Grobglockner : 164.4kms
The two BOTD's settled around the 120kms to ride mark. A main group in front had 14 riders, and Davide Rebellin was the best rider there. A couple of riders were following them. They were T. Lisowicz and J. Bering, of Bank BGZ and Energi Fyn respectively. The front group had 1'30" over the following pair, and they were 2'22" ahead of the peloton.
Soon enough the following pair caught up, and Maceusk Taciak won the KoM points. Their lead was 7'14".
Taciak won the second KoM set aswell, and their lead was 5'45".
The penultimate climb began, and although the pack was still in one piece, the pace was high, and the lead was only 2'40" for the break.
Taciak again won the points, and had now earned 25 for the day!
The lead got back up to 3'00", and with BMC and HTC - Highroad pushing the pace, it was slowly dropping.
They were caught with 14kms to ride, and a few tried to attack again.
The final climb began, and with a steep incline for 10kms, Jose Mendes attacked.
He was soon caught though, and Tejay Van Garderen and Michael Albasini were setting a high pace for Siutsou.
6kms now, and Rasmussen attacks!
Siutsou had good pace, and developed a small break. Tim made his move to catch the Belarusian!
They were very close, but Siutsou was holding on!
I was pushing so hard, but I saw Siutsou celebrating, and accepted my 2nd place..
Siutsou takes the solo win!
I sprinted to the line, and lost 53" precious seconds! I may just have lost the maillot jaune..
Final Rankings - Stage 4
1
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
5h12'14"
2
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 53"
3
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
Spoiler
4
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 1'26"
5
M. Gaia
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 1'33"
6
M. Fothen
Team NSP
+ 3'24"
7
R. Guldhammer
Team Concordia Forsikring - Himmerland
+ 3'43"
8
C. Butler
BMC Racing Team
+ 4'03"
9
Y. Eijssen
BMC Racing Team
+ 4'16"
10
P. Gorenc
Adria Mobil
s.t.
11
C. Zaballa
Miche - Guerciotti
s.t.
12
R. Hollenstein
Team Vorarlberg
s.t.
13
J. Mendes
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
14
N. Van der Ljike
Rabobank Conti Team
+ 4'28"
15
M. Albasini
HTC - Highroad
+ 4'46"
Overall Rankings
GC
1
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
17h15'11"
2
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
+ 4"
3
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 2'00"
Spoiler
4
M. Gaia
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 3'13"
5
M. Fothen
Team NSP
+ 3'20"
6
M. Rasmussen
Christina - Watches - Onfone
+ 3'38"
7
R. Hollenstein
Team Vorarlberg
+ 8'19"
8
C. Zaballa
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 8'28"
9
J. Mendes
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 8'58"
10
P. Gorenc
Adria Mobil
+ 9'07"
11
N. Van der Ljike
Rabobank Conti Team
+ 9'27"
12
R. Guldhammer
Team Concordia Forsikring - Himmerland
+ 9'42"
13
L. Bochman
Glud & Marstrand - LRO
+ 10'11"
14
M. Albasini
HTC - Highroad
+ 10'19"
15
J. Del Nero
Team NetApp
s.t.
King of the Mountains
Spoiler
1
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
44 Pts
2
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
38
3
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
36
4
M. Taciak
CCC Polsat Polkowice
25
5
M. Fothen
Team NSP
24
Points
Spoiler
1
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
73 Pts
2
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
70
3
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
61
4
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
42
5
M. Gaia
Miche - Guerciotti
38
Young Riders
Spoiler
1
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
17h15'15"
2
P. Gorenc
Adria Mobil
+ 9'03
3
N. Van der Ljike
Rabobank Conti Team
+ 9'23"
4
R. Guldhammer
Team Concordia Forikring - Himmerland
+ 9'38"
5
S. Fuchs
Nutrixxion Sparkasse
+ 12'33"
How disappointing! I think I got a little too used to winning, maybe I should have attacked earlier, who knows..
Tomorrow is another big climb, and I need to get a decent gap on Siutsou if I want to win overall since he is a great TTer. It will be tough..
The final mountain stage is here, and if I want to win (which I do), I will need to establish a gap on Siutsou. My plan is to attack near the top of the final climb, and then speed away downhill, and hopefully get a couple of minutes on the Belarusian. Wish me luck!
Inst. Osterreich Rundfart
Stage 5
Bleiburg - Deutschlandsberg : 109.1kms
BMC were out there with a vengeance today, and weren't allowing any breaks to form.
The first climb started, and Karsten Kroon and Chris Butler were setting a fast pace.
They made it to the top, and the front group was still pretty large, with only the poor domestiques falling back. Simon Zahner, at the front of the relay, took the KoM points.
But oh no! On the first turn on the descent, Tim falls! His teammates join him at the back, as he fights to rejoin the front group!
Phew, that's a relief. I rejoined the pack, and I have 5 teammates to help me out!
Soon, on the final climb, a 4-man front group had assembled. Tim was with Siutsou, Fothen and Rasmussen. Tim attacked with 4kms to ride in the climb.
He never got a good lead though, and the others followed him.
On the top of the climb, Siutsou took the points, while Tim took second, and Rasmussen third. These three sped down the mountain alone.
Soon, Tim's downhill skills gave him a small break. I thought I would get caught immediately, but soon enough i had a 35" break!
I sped down at crazy speeds, and absolutely bolted to the line, all alone! How many seconds would I gain?
And Siutsou's group crosses the line.....
42" behind!
I regain the maillot jaune!
Final Rankings - Stage 5
1
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
3h30'23"
2
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
+ 42"
3
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
Spoiler
4
M. Fothen
Team NSP
s.t.
5
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
s.t.
6
M. Gaia
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 3'54"
7
T. Van Garderen
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
8
R. Hollenstein
Team Vorarlberg
s.t.
9
C. Zaballa
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 4'44"
10
S. Zahner
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
11
S. Morabito
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
12
M. Albasini
HTC - Highroad
s.t.
13
Y. Eijssen
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
14
N. Van der Ljike
Rabobank Conti Team
+ 6'17"
15
J. Del Nero
Team NetApp
s.t.
Overall Rankings
GC
1
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
20h45'18"
2
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
+ 46"
3
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 2'58"
Spoiler
4
M. Fothen
Team NSP
+ 4'18"
5
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
+ 4'28"
6
M. Gaia
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 7'23"
7
R. Hollenstein
Team Vorarlberg
+ 12'29"
8
C. Zaballa
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 13'28"
9
M. Albasini
HTC - Highroad
+ 15'09"
10
J. Mendes
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 15'56"
11
N. Ven der Ljike
Rabobank Conti Team
+ 16'00"
12
J. Del Nero
Team NetApp
+ 16'52"
13
P. Gorenc
Adria Mobil
+ 17'05"
14
R. Guldhammer
Rabobank Conti Team
+ 17'40"
15
Y. Eijssen
BMC Racing Team
+ 17'46"
King of the Mountains
Spoiler
1
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
70 Pts
2
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
52
3
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
48
4
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
34
5
M. Fothen
Team NSP
34
Points
Spoiler
1
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
95 Pts
2
S. Schumacher
Miche - Guerciotti
85
3
K. Siutsou
HTC - Highroad
81
4
M. Rasmussen
Christina Watches - Onfone
58
5
M. Gaia
Miche - Guerciotti
48
Young Riders
Spoiler
1
T. Roe
BMC Racing Team
20h45'18"
2
N. Van der Ljike
Rabobank Conti Team
+ 16'00"
3
P. Gorenc
Adria Mobil
+ 17'05"
4
T. Guldhammer
Team Concordia Forsikring - Himmerland
+ 17'40"
5
Y. Eijssen
BMC Racing Team
+ 17'46"
Another win! It feels great to retain the yellow, and the time-trial will be extremely decisive! Tomorrow's flat stage will be anything but a rest day, as their are many steep and short hills. I will have to stay awake!
And a nice result for Roe after his comeback. 
BTW Tim is going to enjoy one of his next stages!
Make it a threepeat!
