Ok I'll try and continue the story, and see if something goes wrong down the line. Then I'll start a new one.
I've been working on the stats for the db and I'll test that out at the same time as continuing the story then.
@kadtagenero
I'm looking more towards signing young guys from America, Germany and Switzerland. But some climbing domestiques from Colombia sounds great too!
Race Presentation
The race of the two seas, second biggest stage race in Italy, 7 days in the saddle. With this year's difficult route, there should be great excitement for viewers! A long time-trial and a mountain top finish will certainly be the deciding stages of the race. However, expect fireworks from the more daring riders who can gain some time over the overall contenders in the difficult opening stages.
Race Route
Starting in the town of Tivoli, the race goes northwards, not for long as it heads back to Tivoli for the finish. An uphill finish onto the Piazza Garibaldi will provide an interesting start to the Tirreno as some riders might be looking to attack in the closing kilometres.
Stage 1
The town of Tivoli is being showcased in 2012. The riders will start in Tivoli again and head to Frascati for another interesting finish. Going over the finish line at km159, the riders will ride one lap of a circuit going over the tough Tuscolo climb. A perfect occasion for attackers, or even overall contenders, to attempt something. A fast descent will then be the only thing separating the riders from the slightly uphill finish.
Stage 2
The riders will transfer to Avezzano for the start of the third stage. Yet another difficult stage, full of ups and downs. The race concludes in a circuit with a short hill yet again. The finish is located in Paglieta, near the coast of the Adritic Sea, at the top of the hill. If the sprinters' teams can control things, we could see a battle between those sprinters who pack a decent climb.
Stage 3
A 219km-long ride on the coastline starts where the race ended yesterday, in Paglieta. The riders will have to be very attentive to avoid a split on these coastal roads. The last 70km go over some fairly hilly terrain, but today should see the first major sprint contest in Civitanova Marche.
Stage 4
The battle for the overall will kick into life as the race transfers to Servigliano for the long and difficult time-trial. The 20km ride is not one for the specialist: the road is never really flat, going up and down all the way except for the final 5km section. Time gaps might not be huge between the favourites, but thie stage will certainly show who can potentially win and who is out of contention.
Stage 5
Another long transfer, this time to San Giacomo, for the start of the sixth stage. This stage will be the final piece of the puzzle as to discover this year's winner of the Tirreno. A break could very well succeed but the real battle will be between the overall favourites on the slopes of the Monti Della Laga.
Stage 6
The race ends in San Benedetto Del Tronto. The first hilly 90km will be followed by 75km of entirely flat roads. The seventh stage will be a final opportunity for breakaways, or for sprinters. How much the riders still have in the tank will be the decisive factor as to whose side the race will take.
Our line-up Tiago Machado
Fabian Cancellara
Daniele Bennati
Jakob Fuglsang
Matthew Busche
Yaroslav Popovych
Joost Posthuma
Robert Wagner
Our team has two objectives in the Tirreno. Firstly, Tiago is here to try and fight with the main contenders for the general classification. He has trained well over the past few weeks and he is good against the clock: he should be a challenger.
Fabian and Daniele are both using this race as preparation for the first of the big classics of the season, Milan-San Remo.
We have just received news of an important event in Italy. There has been a severe flood in Roma. Authorities have declared that whilst many people are stuck in their home, there is no imminent danger. Food and supplies have been distributed to people until they can be evacuated from the region.
The cycling race, Tirreno-Adriatico, bound to start tomorrow, will fortunately proceed as planned. However, the bad news is a number of riders will be stuck in their hotels and will not be able to make it to the starting line.
Edited by nightguy on 18-06-2012 11:33
Pre-race
The first stage, in the circumstances of the diminished field, is very likely to go to a strong breakaway as the bunch will find it hard to chase them down, unless there is a real concerted effort from a number of teams. The finish will certainly provide an ideal opportunity for attackers. We might see a strong man getting away and holding the pack off.
Team Idea
201. A.Bisolti
202. L.Barla
203. S.Boifava
204. G.De Maria
205. L.Dodi
206. M.Frapporti
207. R.Karimov
208. A.Palini
Euskaltel
211. J.Azanza
212. M.Minguez
My prediction for the day: Peter Sagan. The young Slovak exploded onto the scene last year and he has shown that he can handle short climbs. In such a finish, he should have the upper hand over guys like Evans or Rodriguez.
Race Report
128 riders is all we had at the start in Tivoli, with the big flood in Lazio holding up a large number of riders. Thankfully, unlike in France, skies were clear blue here for a great day of racing.
Small peloton at the start
8 riders broke clear early into the stage and the peloton decided to let the move go. The break was a strong one with the likes of Nuyens and, especially, Talansky in there. However, chasing early on would tire the rider's legs and they would need them in the finale today.
Break of 8 men
The lead was allowed to grow to six and a half minutes over the following 45 or so kilometres. As the breakaway riders tackled the first climb of the day, a number of teams sent a few men in the front to start the chase, most notably Androni and Katusha, riding for Rujano and Rodriguez respectively.
Androni and Katusha on the front
A few riders were really caught off the pace as the peloton hit the only categorized climb of the day. They tailed off and would lose a big chunk of time by the end of the day.
The lead was further decreased as Sagan sent some of his teammates to the front of the bunch to help the chase. With still 30km to go, the group ahead only had some 2 minutes lead over the bunch. It was looking likely that they would not stay out for very long.
Liquigas help the chase
A few sprinters had trouble following the fast pace over a climb and suddenly there was a lull in the speed. The bunch really slowed down and with only 20km to go, the gap worryingly grew back to 2'30" for the break. Now, these 8 men had a real shot of staying clear!
Peloton slows down
The chase soon lit back up and a marvellous effort by this man on the downhill took out a minute of the break's lead.
Popovych driving it on
However, the now 7-men group upfront still had more than a minute's lead heading into the final five uphill kilometres. The bunch was being hard pressed for the stage victory!
Breakaway in the final climb
The bunch was really going much faster on the climb though as some looking about took place in the front group. With 3km to go, they had the front group within a few tens of metres!
Bunch catching up
The break was inevitably swallowed, with only 1.5km to go, and this would leave place to an exciting sprint finale. Reaching the final 150m, it looked like Fabian Cancellara was in the best position, right on the wheel of Gavazzi. Hushovd was right there too, on the wheel of Fabian.
Final Sprint
A brutal kick from Peter Sagan in the final 50m got him the win though! What a fantastic result for the Slovak, his first big result of 2012. Marcato was right on his wheel and took 2nd place, with Hushovd a close 3rd. Cancellara and Gavazzi both faded in the closing metres of the sprint.
I played all the releases from 2005-2010 (laptop not good enough for 2011) and in truth the 2006 is very much the most fun of these! Didn't very much have to commit to playing a 6 year old game!
@ baseballlover312:
The plan was to keep Machado in the winner's time, that went well. And Cancellara is strong on those tough finishes, suited the guy.
Pre-Race
Today will see the ascent of the first second-category climb of the race. The Côte du Fangas is 42km from the end and should not be enough to separate the favourites. However, some sprinters might suffer to get on to the other side with the main group. Moreover, the remaining terrain is not flat either. Is Goss strong enough to hold on the climb? If he is, it's hard seeing a third consecutive win slipping away from him.
My prediction for the day: I'll go with someone who has become a bit of a home favourite after his early season exploits, Tony Gallopin.
Race Report
Yet another grim day at Paris-Nice, the weather in Limoges having stayed the same as yesterday. Riders will have to be wary of the slippery roads, but even more so, of the nervousness that surely has not faded since the chaotic first stage.
Grim weather in Limoges
A number of early attacks failed as the riders all reached the first categorized climb together. Going right after the first climb, the eight riders who went clear then were then caught before going again and this time, staying away from the Sky-led peleton. Pierre Cazaux had clear intentions, initiating the break on both occasions.
Break of the day
The rainbow jersey himself was the first to suffer consequences of the weather. Mark Cavendish went flat on the road, but, thankfully, he got back up and soon joined up with the peleton.
Cavendish down
Today's stage was a very long one, over 200km and the break were allowed to stretch their lead to over 10 minutes. In the front of the bunch, Sky were getting quite a bit of help, from FDJ and Katusha. 130km from the line, with the lead standing at 10'30", Sky decided to take matters into their own hands to protect Geraint Thomas' yellow jersey, who was under the threat of Matteo Tosatto in the break, who was only 27" back.
Sky leading the bunch
Sky's riders were being given no help whatsoever and 120km of chasing, even for them, was a daunting task. After cutting the gap by a couple of minutes, they peeled off and Lotto and, strangely, Liquigas were the two teams who came through to continue the chase.
Sky peeling off
Still 60km from the line, the break only possessed an advantage of 4'30". Liquigas and Lotto were doing a good job in front of the peleton and unless there was a major let-up, the break would not survive until the finish.
However, the break had gauged their efforts very well and as they reached the final categorized climb of the day, they upped the pace. This had the result of shedding two of the weaker men from the break but they maintained an advantage of 3'30" going into the final 35km. The 6 men now in front gave it their all, they had a great shot at a stage win!
Breakaway in the valley
Katusha, Rabobank and Lotto were burying themselves in the chase behind. However, going into the downhill section, it was always going to be hard for the bunch to catch up big time on the break with the small group in front able to take more risks.
Having kept a two minute lead going into the final 10km, the stage winner was clearly one of the 6 men in front. Tosatto and Capecchi were the ones to watch as they both have a decent sprint. As they went into the final downhill, they had the town of Maurs-La-Jolie in sight.
Breakaway in final downhill
Capecchi was excellent on the descent and, with only Tosatto on his wheel, he had worked a small gap from the rest of the break. The Liquigas rider opened the sprint 300m from the line, Tosatto still following closely.
Capecchi and Tosatto get a small gap
Tosatto desperately tried to come through with 100m to go, but at the end of 210km of testing terrain, Capecchi was the fresher man. He held off the challenge of the Italian veteran to enjoy the biggest win of his career!
Capecchi holds Tosatto off for the win
Van Garderen held on for third place on the podium. Minor disappointment for Tosatto as he failed to grab a stage, but he took the yellow jersey nonetheless!
Behind, the bunch reached the line 1'32" down on the break, with Matt Goss still hanging on. As expected, the Australian beat off his competition to take 7th place and maximum points towards securing the green jersey. Tony Gallopin followed close behind as Geraint Thomas lost his yellow jersey but kept the green jersey he had been lending to people after the prologue.
Pre-Race
This second stage does no favours to the riders here in Italy. A hard stage with a hard finish, including two categorized climbs. The climb to Tuscolo, only 11km from the line, goes up about 6% for about 4km. Being so close to the line, this climb is bound to be decisive. An attack on this ascent could see a rider stay clear on the fast descent and uphill finish. A few of the favourites might stick their neck out. If not, the stage will go to a good sprinter who climbs very well. As the saying goes, it is the riders that make the race!
My prediction for the day: Evans. Pure class on the descent, he could take off near the top and never be seen again.
Race Report
On a day that would doubtlessly suit attackers in Tivoli, proceedings started in earnest with Roelandts initiating the early move. Five others accompanied him and Liquigas decided to defend their jersey by sending a man in the early break; Sarmiento, the young Colombian rider was there.
Early attack
Six other riders countered soon afterwards. And this was not how Liquigas had planned the day. A 12-men break was always going to be very difficult to bring back. So, they set their men on the front to reel the move back in.
More attacks soon followed as several teams tried to get their men into the breakaway. Androni led the chase as they looked to bring it all back together for their leader, Rujano.
Androni chase
Having raced slightly over 20km, it was all back together. The riders barely had time to catch their breath as the last year's Milan-San Remo winner, Simon Gerrans, went off, dragging with him a strong group of riders including the likes of Dekker, who recently returned from suspension, and Maxim Iglinskiy.
Gerrans attacks
Everyone wanted to get in the breakaway it seemed. A counter soon followed! Mori accelerated away, with eight more riders following closely. This was the signal for the bunch to up the pace again.
Bunch closing down
As the peloton reached the start of the climb though, things eased up. At that point, there were all of 14 riders up ahead on the road! Gerrans was all alone by himself, with a small gap of about twenty seconds on the group of 13, who themselves had a minute's lead over the bunch.
Situation midway on the climb
Whoever thought that things would settle down was obviously wrong! Fuglsang was next in line to try and get across to the break. Vandenbergh immediately took his wheel.
Fuglsang attacks
The breakaway didn't slow down one second, trying desperately to catch Gerrans, who was still ahead on the road and had, in fact, increased his lead on the climb. Fuglsang put up a big fight and managed to catch up to the group. The bad news for the Dane was that Katusha and Androni were not happy with him being in the break. As the latter made the junction to the group, the peleton were on to them. As it stood, Simon Gerrans was the only man up on the road.
Peleton catches the group
At the top of the climb, as the gradients eased up, Lars Boom and a number of other riders attacked for the KOM points. Boom was second with Van Leijen third, Gerrans having collected maximum points.
The slight false flat on the downhill section proved to be an ideal launching pad for an attack as the veteran Italian, Massimo Codol timed his move to perfection. He brought along six very strong riders, Luis Leon Sanchez, Sylvain Chavanel, Marcus Burghardt, Rinaldo Nocentini, Sergio Pardilla and Johnny Hoogerland.
Codol attacks
The move was allowed to go. They got a gap and worked very well together to catch Gerrans just before the intermediate sprint.
With 60km to go, the group had a gap of over four minutes. The pack had to react if they were going to bring these eight strong men back. Liquigas, Androni and Katusha joined forces to lead the chase.
Liquigas, Androni and Katusha join forces
Codol dropped off as the breakaway went over the uphill section preceding the valley leading to the Tuscolo climb. The seven men in the breakaway were very strong _ six in truth as Chavanel was merely sitting on the wheels _ as they held on to a two-minute lead heading into the final climb of the day!
To nobody's surprise, as the road ramped up, the frenchman accelerated away, leaving his breakaway companions struggling to find a response. With only 10km to go and 3km from the summit, this could well be a victory for Chavanel!
Chavanel goes off
Androni controlled things behind up until the point Leipheimer attacked. Rodriguez was right onto his wheel and Rujano was not going to lie in wait any longer. He sprang onto the wheels and followed the move.
First big attack
Rodriguez and Rujano were definitely the strongest riders. They caught and passed the remaining escapees, with only Chavanel still in front of them. Rinaldo Nocentini was the only one who managed to hang on to their wheels.
Rujano and Rodriguez on the descent
As the rest of the peleton was reaching the top of the climb, Devolder attacked. Beside the race leader himself following the move, were five others. This small group powered down the other side of the climb in an attempt to claw back some of the time Rodriguez and Rujano had managed to get.
Counter-attack
In the end, Chavanel hung on and inched the victory ahead of a sprinting Rodriguez who took second place, but who will be consoled by the time he made on the other favourites. Rujano was right behind, taking the last place on the podium. Nocentini finished fourth.
Chavanel, arms in the air
Behind the second group that attacked out of the bunch, along with the remnants of the attack initiated by Leipheimer caught the remnants of the breakaway. As they went into the final uphill, Sagan clearly had the strongest sprint and got a small gap over the remaining lads. The peleton finished a minute back on that group.
Sagan on the line
Results
Stage Results:
1
Sylvain Chavanel
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
3h52'39
2
Joaquin Rodriguez
Katusha Team
+ 21
3
Jose Rujano
Androni Giocattoli - CIPI
s.t.
4
Rinaldo Nocentini
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
5
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 1'08
6
Marcus Burghardt
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
7
Steven Kruijswijk
Rabobank
s.t.
8
Tiago Machado
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
9
Johnny Hoogerland
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
10
Stefano Garzelli
Acqua & Sapone
s.t.
General Classification:
1
Sylvain Chavanel
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
7h49'22
2
Joaquin Rodriguez
Katusha Team
+ 25
3
Jose Rujano
Androni Giocattoli - CIPI
+ 27
4
Rinaldo Nocentini
Ag2r - La Mondiale
+ 29
5
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 1'08
6
Johnny Hoogerland
Vacansoleil - DCM
+ 1'15
7
Luis Leon Sanchez
Rabobank
+ 1'17
8
Tiago Machado
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 1'18
9
Steven Kruijswijk
Rabobank
s.t.
10
Marcus Burghardt
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
Points Classification:
1
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
18 pts
2
Sylvain Chavanel
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
12 pts
3
Rinaldo Nocentini
Ag2r - La Mondiale
10 pts
4
Marco Marcato
Vacansoleil - DCM
10 pts
5
Joaquin Rodriguez
Katusha Team
10 pts
KOM Classification:
1
Simon Gerrans
GreenEdge Cycling
5 pts
2
Juan Antonio Flecha
Sky Professional Cycling Team
5 pts
3
Sylvain Chavanel
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
5 pts
4
Sebastian Langeveld
GreenEdge Cycling
3 pts
5
Lars Boom
Rabobank
3 pts
Young Riders Classification:
1
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
7h50'30
2
Steven Kruijswijk
Rabobank
+ 10
3
Daniel Oss
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 1'02
4
Simone Ponzi
Astana
s.t.
5
Yonathan Monsalve
Androni Giocattoli - CIPI
s.t.
Post-Race
Wow, you gotta say, what a stage!! If the rest of the Tirreno builds on what happened today, we are bound to have one of the most exciting races ever seen!
Joaquin Rodriguez proved today, that he will be the man to beat! Rujano seemed pretty much the only one capable of matching him on the climbs. The other men probably still in contention are Sagan and Chavanel. If they can limit their losses on the mountaintop finish, their ability against the clock could well prove to be a decisive advantage over the climbers.
Edited by nightguy on 20-06-2012 19:26
I played all the releases from 2005-2010 (laptop not good enough for 2011) and in truth the 2006 is very much the most fun of these! Didn't very much have to commit to playing a 6 year old game!
@ baseballlover312:
The plan was to keep Machado in the winner's time, that went well. And Cancellara is strong on those tough finishes, suited the guy.
Pre-Race
The one and only mountaintop finish of this Paris-Nice, atop la Croix-Neuve in Mende. High percentages on the first category climb will give a chance to the big guns to battle it out. The second category climb preceding la Croix-Neuve could also play a role, whereby some riders could get a chance to break clear and start the final climb with a bit of an advantage.
My prediction for the day: Romain Kreuziger. Amongst the big favourites out there, he's always been up there and today could be his big day!
Race Report
Many riders will have been very happy to bid farewell to the gloomy weather which had been going on for the past few days. The riders were greeted by blue skies today. Smiles may have been short-lived though as today's stage went up from the very beginning.
Blue skies as the road goes up from the get-go
The riders all arrived at the foot of the first categorized climb together. On the slopes of the Côte de Quotidiane, was an incredible crowd cheering on the riders. The race was going at a real high pace at the start of this fourth stage in Maurs-La-Jolie and even the short climb did not produce a successful attack.
Massive crowds on the first climb of the day
It was not long before the first real attack though. The young Nordhaug from Sky broke clear with six riders following the move, Jeremy Roy, the Frenchman, being amongst those breakaway riders.
As a few more riders attacked out of the bunch to bridge the gap to the seven breakaway men, Saxo Bank assumed their role of race leader and sent their men to the front to give chase.
Saxo Bank on the front
Within a few minutes, it was all back together again. The situation did not last very long as Greg Van Avermaet, who tried to get into the last move but came short, went off at the foot of the second categorized climb of the day. Nordhaug immediately took his wheel, with Rohregger a few bike lengths back.
Van Avermaet attacks
These three men got a small gap and worked well together to stretch it as they reached the top of the climb. In the bunch, the pace went down considerably, with Saxo Bank still controlling things from the front. They cleared the climb without any incident.
As the road flattened out, four men took their chances and broke away from the bunch. Three more followed shortly afterwards. Soon enough, all the riders ahead of the peleton had regrouped and formed a strong break of ten men. The peleton eased up and the gap grew to over three minutes very fast.
Break of the day
The intermediate sprint points and the KOM points were both contested, and Rohregger came out on top both times. As they reached the top of the second category Côte de Biounac, Lequatre lost contact with his companions, not being able to follow the pace on the climb.
The lead stretched to six and a half minutes before the peleton hit the panic switch. Nine men, with decent climbers in the group, having a lead not far from seven minutes with 100km to go, was very, very dangerous. Astana and Rabobank, with Kreuziger and Mollema respectively in their ranks, committed themselves totally, sending a number of men to the front.
Rabobank and Astana chase
The peleton went over the climb, and down the other side having taken back half of a minute of the break's lead. The road kicked up again, and that's the spot Samuel Sanchez chose to make his move. Having lost all hope in the general classification, the Spaniard was chasing a stage win to salvage his Paris-Nice. Off he went, building a big gap very fast. Westra, Trofimov and Velits tried desperately to follow the Spaniard, but he was simply too strong.
Samuel Sanchez on the move
The peleton pressed on behind and the gap was down by another half a minute by the time the road flattened out. The hard pace was felt as the back as riders began to lose contact. Twenty-five odd riders were out the back door, including the likes of Cavendish and Nibali, the latter whose sole aim must have been to make it to the line since his injuries in the first stage. That same climb saw Bagot fall off the back of the breakaway, who were now eight.
The four attackers, unfortunately, each ended up on their own. And that did no good to their chances. Sanchez, who had built a huge two minute lead in the space of the climb was the last to be caught with 40km to go. The long flat roads favoured the peleton and these four men gave themselves no chance with the lack of cooperation.
Despite Saxo Bank joining in the chase, the breakaway riders still had three and a half minutes over the bunch at that point. The peleton looked to be tiring a bit as the gap was going down far more slowly. The breakaway riders, on the other hand, were looking really well. They were cooperating magnificently well, nobody missing their turn on the front. 20km from the line, the eight men still had a three minute advantage!
Breakaway riders cooperating
Herrada and Roy lost contact on the false flats leading to the foot of the penultimate climb. With only 11km to the finish line, the break still had two minutes over the bunch. These final 10km were very very hard though and the peleton still fancied their chances.
Van Avermaet driving it on the climb
One kilometre from the summit, the action sparked into life in the bunch. Cunego launched a strong attack and he was followed by five strong riders, Christophe Le Mevel, Jelle Vanendert, the previous wearer of the yellow jersey Geraint Thomas, Petr Ignatenko and Jens Voigt. These six men certainly thought they would not be able to go with the strongest riders in the finale.
A dangerous move forming
As the peleton reached the top of the penultimate climb, these six men had built a minute's lead. Some fantastic descending by Cunego allowed them not to lose a second of that lead on the descent. As they tackled the final difficulty of the day, they had the breakaway men in sight. Jens Voigt looked like he was suffering though.
Breakaway within reach of the chasing group
Voigt rode back up as the climb begun though. At the same time, Ignatenko put in a strong dig and Vanendert was the only one able to follow. Rohregger was third in line, trying his very best to give all he had left to give Voigt a chance to reach the two leaders.
Ignatenko leading
The action kicked into life in the peleton, Mollema accelerating away on the right on the road. Kreuziger followed suit and the Astana rider attacked too. Basso took the latter's wheel. It was all going down to this final climb to Mende!
The favourites attack
Rohregger did a magnificent job of bringing Voigt back onto the wheel of Ignatenko and as the latter started the sprint, the German looked in perfect position to nick it away.
The Katusha rider was really really strong on the final climb though. He held off the challenge of Voigt and Vanendert who just could not match his kick. Ignatenko took the win, ahead of Vanendert and a fading Voigt. Mollema came really close and took fourth place.
Ignatenko first over the line
Kreuziger, Le Mevel, Cunego all managed to finish in the same time as the winner. A small gap appeared as Rohregger could no longer hand on to the wheels. He came in 29s down, with Basso and Thomas in the same time. Anothre group of three, including two Radioshack riders came a further 18s back as the whole of the bunch, including Tosatto, was given the same time of 1'18" back.
Results
Stage Results:
1
Petr Ignatenko
Katusha Team
3h58'30
2
Jelle Vanendert
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
3
Jens Voigt
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
4
Bauke Mollema
Rabobank
s.t.
5
Roman Kreuziger
Astana
s.t.
6
Christophe Le Mevel
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
7
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
8
Thomas Rohregger
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 29
9
Geraint Thomas
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
10
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Haimar Zubeldia
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 47
12
Thomas De Gendt
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
13
Tony Gallopin
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
14
Vladimir Karpets
Movistar Team
+ 1'18
15
Michael Rogers
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
16
Jose Joaquin Rojas
Movistar Team
s.t.
17
Brian Bulgac
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
18
Richie Porte
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
19
Matteo Tosatto
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
20
Peter Velits
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
21
Gorka Verdugo
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
22
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
23
Mickael Cherel
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
24
Sergio Henao Montoya
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
25
Thibaut Pinot
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
26
Tony Martin
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
27
Pierrick Fedrigo
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
28
Sebastien Minard
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
29
Rui Costa
Movistar Team
s.t.
30
Remi Pauriol
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
31
Leigh Howard
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
32
Mikel Landa
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
33
Anthony Roux
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
34
Pieter Weening
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
35
Jan Bakelants
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
36
Damiano Caruso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
37
Blel Kadri
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
38
Paulo Tiralongo
Astana
s.t.
39
Pierre Cazaux
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
40
Moreno Moser
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
41
Eros Capecchi
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
42
Tom Danielson
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
43
Romain Bardet
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
44
Kristof Vandewalle
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
45
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
46
Tejay Van Garderen
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
47
Ramunas Navardauskas
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
48
Diego Ulissi
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
49
Gustav Larsson
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
50
Rob Ruijgh
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
51
Francis De Greef
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
52
Pim Ligthart
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
53
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
54
Mathieu Perget
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
55
Jerome Pineau
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
56
Sergio Paulinho
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
57
Julien Berard
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
58
Nicolas Roche
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
59
Valerio Agnoli
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
60
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
s.t.
61
Kenny Elissonde
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
62
Karsten Kroon
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
63
Oscar Freire
Katusha Team
s.t.
64
Lars Petter Nordhaug
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
65
Benoit Vaugrenard
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
66
Cristiano Salerno
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
67
Matti Breschel
Rabobank
s.t.
68
Samuel Sanchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
69
Daniele Pietropolli
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
70
Ruben Perez Moreno
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
71
Johan Vansummeren
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
72
Amael Moinard
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
73
Stef Clement
Rabobank
s.t.
74
Egor Silin
Astana
s.t.
75
Ricardo Garcia Ambroa
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
76
Grega Bole
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
77
Alessandro Ballan
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
78
Evgeni Petrov
Astana
s.t.
79
Gorka Izagirre
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
80
Jeromy Roy
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
81
Michel Kreder
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
82
Laurens Ten Dam
Rabobank
s.t.
83
Alexsandr Dyachenko
Astana
s.t.
84
Wesley Sulzberger
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
85
Lucas Sebastian Haedo
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
86
Tosh Van der Sande
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
87
Benat Intxausti
Movistar Team
s.t.
88
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana
s.t.
89
Luca Paolini
Katusha Team
s.t.
90
Nicki Sorensen
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
91
Grischa Niermann
Rabobank
s.t.
92
Marco Pinotti
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
93
Gianni Meersman
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
94
Fabio Sabatini
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
95
Yury Trofimov
Katusha Team
s.t.
96
Maarten Tjallingii
Rabobank
s.t.
97
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
98
Anders Lund
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
99
Marcello Pavarin
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
100
George Bennett
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
101
Pavel Brutt
Katusha Team
s.t.
102
Adam Hansen
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
103
Zdenek Stybar
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
104
Anthony Delaplace
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
105
Jesus Herrada
Movistar Team
s.t.
106
Jetse Bol
Rabobank
s.t.
107
Dimitri Fofonov
Astana
s.t.
108
Troels Vinther
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
109
Gatis Smukulis
Katusha Team
+ 3'53
110
David Millar
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
111
Michael Matthews
Rabobank
s.t.
112
Laurent Mangel
Saur - Sojasun
+ 4'09
113
Vitaliy Buts
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
114
Sep Vanmarcke
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
115
Aliaksandr Kuschynski
Katusha Team
+ 4'23
116
Oleksandr Sheydyk
Lampre - ISD
+ 4'53
117
Juan Jose Haedo
Saxobank - Sungard
+ 5'35
118
Gert Steegmans
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
+ 7'43
119
Mark Cavendish
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
120
Romain Zingle
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
121
Niki Terpstra
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
122
Svein Tuft
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
123
Jean-Eudes Demaret
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
124
Hayden Roulston
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
125
Travis Meyer
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
126
Kris Boeckmans
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
127
Manuel Quinziato
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
128
Mitchell Docker
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
129
Christophe Laborie
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
130
Kalle Kriit
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
+ 8'29
131
Matthew Goss
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
132
David Le Lay
Saur - Sojasun
+ 8'41
133
Adrien Petit
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
134
Jonathan Thire
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
135
Flavien Dassonville
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
136
Jonathan Hivert
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
137
Mahdi Sohrabi
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
138
Davide Appollonio
Sky Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
139
Yoann Bagot
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
140
Nicolas Bazin
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
141
Gregory Rast
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
142
Guillaume Faucon
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
143
Eric Berthou
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 9'05
144
Gael Malacarne
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 9'17
145
Florian Vachon
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
146
Romain Hardy
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
147
Johan Le Bon
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
148
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
+ 9'47
149
Robert Kiserlovski
Astana
s.t.
150
Geoffroy Lequatre
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 10'41
151
Dmytro Krivtsov
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
152
Nacer Bouhanni
FDJ - Bigmat
+ 14'43
153
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
+ 15'57
154
Adam Blythe
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
155
Edwig Cammaerts
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
+ 16'35
156
Dimitri Le Boulch
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 17'23
157
Francesco Chicchi
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
158
Julian Dean
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
159
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
160
Johan Mombaerts
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
161
Nicolas Rousseau
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 17'41
162
Fabien Bacquet
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 17'55
163
Renaud Dion
Bretagne - Schuller
s.t.
164
Jan Ghyselinck
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
+ 18'09
165
Jean-Lou Paiani
Saur - Sojasun
+ 19'01
166
Jimmy Engoulvent
Saur - Sojasun
s.t.
167
Maxime Bouet
Ag2r - La Mondiale
+ 21'25
168
Jean-Marc Bideau
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 30'01
General Classification:
1
Matteo Tosatto
Saxobank - Sungard
17h42'47
2
Jens Voigt
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 6
3
Roman Kreuziger
Astana
+ 11
4
Petr Ignatenko
Katusha Team
+ 14
5
Bauke Mollema
Rabobank
s.t.
6
Jelle Vanendert
Lotto - Belisol
+ 22
7
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
+ 23
8
Christophe Le Mevel
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
9
Geraint Thomas
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 31
10
Ivan Basso
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 46
Spoiler
11
Thomas Rohregger
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 52
12
Tony Gallopin
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 56
13
Thomas De Gendt
Vacansoleil - DCM
+ 1'01
14
Haimar Zubeldia
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 1'03
15
Tony Martin
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
+ 1'20
16
Maarten Tjallingii
Rabobank
+ 1'28
17
Alessandro Ballan
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'29
18
Blel Kadri
Ag2r - La Mondiale
+ 1'31
19
Michael Rogers
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 1'32
20
Moreno Moser
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
21
Fredrik Kessiakoff
Astana
+ 1'33
22
Vladimir Karpets
Movistar Team
+ 1'34
23
Alexsandr Dyachenko
Astana
s.t.
24
Remi Pauriol
FDJ - Bigmat
+ 1'35
25
Rui Costa
Movistar Team
+ 1'37
26
Pim Ligthart
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
27
Stef Clement
Rabobank
s.t.
28
Anthony Roux
FDJ - Bigmat
+ 1'38
29
Jan Bakelants
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 1'40
30
Marcello Pavarin
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
31
Diego Ulissi
Lampre - ISD
+ 1'41
32
Grischa Niermann
Rabobank
s.t.
33
Samuel Dumoulin
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
s.t.
34
Pavel Brutt
Katusha Team
s.t.
35
Sebastien Minard
Ag2r - La Mondiale
+ 1'42
36
Pieter Weening
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
37
Nicolas Roche
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
38
Jose Joaquin Rojas
Movistar Team
+ 1'43
39
Francis De Greef
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
40
Matti Breschel
Rabobank
s.t.
41
Johan Vansummeren
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
42
Fabio Sabatini
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
43
Jetse Bol
Rabobank
s.t.
44
Paulo Tiralongo
Astana
+ 1'44
45
Sergio Paulinho
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
46
Xavier Florencio
Katusha Team
s.t.
47
Karsten Kroon
Saxobank - Sungard
+ 1'45
48
Cristiano Salerno
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
49
Lucas Sebastian Haedo
Saxobank - Sungard
s.t.
50
Mickael Cherel
Ag2r - La Mondiale
+ 1'46
51
Rob Ruijgh
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
52
Gianni Meersman
Lotto - Belisol
s.t.
53
Pierrick Fedrigo
FDJ - Bigmat
+ 1'47
54
Damiano Caruso
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
55
Oscar Freire
Katusha Team
s.t.
56
Dimitri Fofonov
Astana
s.t.
57
Jerome Pineau
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
+ 1'48
58
Luca Paolini
Katusha Team
s.t.
59
Wesley Sulzberger
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 1'50
60
Julien Berard
Ag2r - La Mondiale
+ 1'51
61
Michel Kreder
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
62
Tejay Van Garderen
BMC Racing Team
+ 2'32
63
Eros Capecchi
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 2'33
64
Gustav Larsson
Vacansoleil - DCM
+ 2'42
65
Pierre Cazaux
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 3'01
66
Romain Bardet
Ag2r - La Mondiale
+ 3'52
67
Anthony Delaplace
Saur - Sojasun
+ 3'55
68
Valerio Agnoli
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 3'57
69
Mathieu Perget
Ag2r - La Mondiale
+ 3'59
70
Peter Velits
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
+ 4'08
71
Richie Porte
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 4'10
72
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil - DCM
+ 4'17
73
Gatis Smukulis
Katusha Team
+ 4'18
74
Amael Moinard
BMC Racing Team
+ 4'23
75
Kenny Elissonde
FDJ - Bigmat
+ 4'24
76
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
+ 4'29
77
Evgeni Petrov
Astana
+ 4'30
78
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 4'31
79
Thibaut Pinot
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
80
Laurent Mangel
Saur - Sojasun
+ 4'35
81
Ruben Perez Moreno
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 4'36
82
Aliaksandr Kuschynski
Katusha Team
+ 4'46
83
Ramunas Navardauskas
Team Garmin - Barracuda
+ 5'12
84
Benoit Vaugrenard
FDJ - Bigmat
+ 5'17
85
Tosh Van der Sande
Lotto - Belisol
+ 5'18
86
Yury Trofimov
Katusha Team
s.t.
87
Gorka Verdugo
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 5'20
88
Zdenek Stybar
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
+ 5'21
89
Gorka Izagirre
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 5'22
90
Mikel Landa
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 5'24
91
Egor Silin
Astana
s.t.
92
Daniele Pietropolli
Lampre - ISD
+ 5'29
93
Anders Lund
Saxobank - Sungard
+ 5'31
94
Nicki Sorensen
Saxobank - Sungard
+ 5'47
95
George Bennett
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
96
Jesus Herrada
Movistar Team
+ 5'51
97
Samuel Sanchez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 6'28
98
Marco Pinotti
BMC Racing Team
+ 6'31
99
Brian Bulgac
Lotto - Belisol
+ 7'41
100
Travis Meyer
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 7'56
101
Niki Terpstra
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
+ 8'03
102
Matthew Goss
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 8'37
103
David Millar
Team Garmin - Barracuda
+ 8'47
104
Davide Appollonio
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 9'08
105
Jonathan Hivert
Saur - Sojasun
+ 9'11
106
Sergio Henao Montoya
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 9'28
107
Troels Vinther
Saxobank - Sungard
+ 9'32
108
Florian Vachon
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 9'45
109
Laurens Ten Dam
Rabobank
+ 9'50
110
Kristof Vandewalle
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
+ 9'55
111
Svein Tuft
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 10'08
112
Gert Steegmans
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
+ 10'16
113
Vitaliy Buts
Lampre - ISD
+ 10'28
114
Jeromy Roy
FDJ - Bigmat
+ 11'02
115
Geoffroy Lequatre
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 11'05
116
Jonathan Thire
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 11'22
117
Mitchell Docker
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 11'29
118
Ricardo Garcia Ambroa
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 11'39
119
Mark Cavendish
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 12'03
120
Jean-Eudes Demaret
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
+ 12'12
121
Kris Boeckmans
Vacansoleil - DCM
+ 12'17
122
Lars Petter Nordhaug
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 13'24
123
Romain Hardy
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 13'25
124
Manuel Quinziato
BMC Racing Team
+ 14'53
125
Tom Danielson
Team Garmin - Barracuda
+ 15'16
126
Johan Le Bon
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 15'29
127
Oleksandr Sheydyk
Lampre - ISD
+ 15'38
128
Guillaume Faucon
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 15'49
129
Juan Jose Haedo
Saxobank - Sungard
+ 15'54
130
Romain Zingle
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
+ 15'56
131
Leigh Howard
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 16'03
132
Eric Berthou
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 16'21
133
Kalle Kriit
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
+ 16'44
134
Mahdi Sohrabi
Lotto - Belisol
+ 16'55
135
Nacer Bouhanni
FDJ - Bigmat
+ 17'29
136
Adam Hansen
Lotto - Belisol
+ 17'41
137
Sep Vanmarcke
Team Garmin - Barracuda
+ 17'52
138
Adrien Petit
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
+ 17'55
139
Hayden Roulston
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 18'54
140
Grega Bole
Lampre - ISD
+ 19'48
141
Yoann Bagot
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
+ 20'08
142
Adam Blythe
BMC Racing Team
+ 20'25
143
Gael Malacarne
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 20'26
144
David Le Lay
Saur - Sojasun
+ 20'51
145
Edwig Cammaerts
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
+ 21'11
146
Julian Dean
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 21'55
147
Francesco Chicchi
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
+ 21'59
148
Gregory Rast
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 22'23
149
Fabien Bacquet
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 22'28
150
Benat Intxausti
Movistar Team
+ 23'29
151
Maxime Bouet
Ag2r - La Mondiale
+ 24'00
152
Flavien Dassonville
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 26'13
153
Jan Ghyselinck
Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
+ 27'19
154
Christophe Laborie
Saur - Sojasun
+ 28'15
155
Nicolas Rousseau
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 29'51
156
Michael Matthews
Rabobank
+ 30'44
157
Taylor Phinney
BMC Racing Team
+ 32'45
158
Dmytro Krivtsov
Lampre - ISD
+ 33'17
159
Renaud Dion
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 34'02
160
Dimitri Le Boulch
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 34'25
161
Johan Mombaerts
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 39'10
162
Jimmy Engoulvent
Saur - Sojasun
+ 41'34
163
Nicolas Bazin
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 43'57
164
Jean-Lou Paiani
Saur - Sojasun
+ 44'37
165
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - ISD
+ 47'28
166
Robert Kiserlovski
Astana
+ 56'27
167
Vincenzo Nibali
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 1h00'45
168
Jean-Marc Bideau
Bretagne - Schuller
+ 1h21'36
Points Classification:
1
Geraint Thomas
Sky Professional Cycling Team
75 pts
2
Matthew Goss
GreenEdge Cycling
59 pts
3
Tony Gallopin
RadioShack - Nissan
56 pts
4
Matti Breschel
Rabobank
36 pts
5
Jens Voigt
RadioShack - Nissan
34 pts
Mountains Classification:
1
Thomas Rohregger
RadioShack - Nissan
19 pts
2
Brian Bulgac
Lotto - Belisol
13 pts
3
Petr Ignatenko
Katusha Team
10 pts
4
Pierre Cazaux
Euskaltel - Euskadi
8 pts
5
Jelle Vanendert
Lotto - Belisol
8 pts
Young Riders Classification:
1
Roman Kreuziger
Astana
17h42'58
2
Bauke Mollema
Rabobank
+ 3
3
Petr Ignatenko
Katusha Team
+ 3
4
Geraint Thomas
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 20
5
Tony Gallopin
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 45
Post-Race
Tosatto hung on impressively in the end to keep his yellow jersey. The four riders following him are within fifteen seconds of the overall lead though and they all are better climbers than Tossato. There really is nothing much between the overall favourites, of whom Mollema looks the strongest today. This race could well be decided on bonus seconds!
Jens was impressive for us today. Attacking on the penultimate climb was only lookep upon as a possibility, not a strategy. He made a great choice following the move. Hats off to Rohregger, who did a magnificent job pacing Voigt on the final climb. He rode well in the break today and he will have the mountains jersey on his shoulders tomorrow as a reward.
Edited by nightguy on 24-06-2012 00:26
Pre-Race
As the race works its way towards the Adriatic sea, another hilly stage awaits the riders. A climb in the finishing circuit could favour attackers. However, the climb is short and not very steep. A more controlled race is to be expected as the peleton will not let anything get too far out of sight. The finish on the climb is likely to see a similar outcome to the first stage. Sagan prevailed there, with Marcato and Hushovd worthy challengers. The same men are expected to be in the front at the finish today.
My prediction for the day: Peter Sagan. It looks like the Tirreno's finishes were chosen specially for him and on this uphill, nobody should be able to match his finishing kick.
Race Report
The Tirreno had offered some great racing until now. After the interesting uphill finish in stage 1 and the yesterday's attacking racing, today's race was going to be no different. However, today's major obstacle was going to be the wind, which reached speeds in excess of 70km/h in some parts of the course. A very hard day of racing awaited the riders in Avezzano as they headed towards the Adriatic coast.
After some ten kilometres of uneventful racing, came the first attack of the day. 38-year old Guesdon accelerated away and six riders joined him, Thomas Dekker, like yesterday, looking to get into a break.
First attack of the day
A counter involving six more riders was soon launched by Henderson. A few strong riders were there, most notably Burghardt and Igliskiy. Liquigas were one of the teams not quite happy with the current situation and dedicated a couple of men to chase the move.
The riders in front on the road soon reached the first uncategorized climb of the day. The climb averaged gradients of 5% and was not too hard. However, the front riders were going hard to try and get a gap from the peleton. This resulted in the group splitting into three smaller groups. The last of those groups was very quickly reeled back in by the peleton. This left six riders ahead on the road.
Breakaway splits into three groups
Herrada and Knees took advantage of the ease-up in the peleton's pace to make it across to the six riders ahead, who were now all together. Ladagnous was a few bike lengths behind, struggling to close the small gap down to the front group of eight.
Group of eight, Ladagnous chasing
He fought his way to the front group on the downhill and these nine men were allowed to get a good gap. 75km into the stage, the gap had grown to seven minutes.
At the same time, a major incident took place in the peleton. Tiago Machado went down. Not only was he a major player in the overall rankings, but he took out a number of riders with him and amongst those were the two strongest riders from yesterday, Rujano and Rodriguez. A big scare for a number of riders unfortunately saw Vinokourov and Demare pulling out of the race. Rodriguez, Rujano, Machado and Cancellara all got back on their bikes hoping not to have hurt themselves too bad in the process.
Twenty-four riders go down!
Androni paced the group back into the bunch as the leaders extended their lead to eight minutes over the main bunch. The group of thirty riders behind had a hard time making it back to the peleton as OmegaPharma upped the pace to cut down the gap to the leaders.
The strong pace continued on the climb and this stretched the peleton considerably. The group inevitably split. As the riders went over the top of the climb, the peleton was whittled down to a mere fifty riders.
Stretched peleton
The gap to the leaders had gone down extremely fast under the impetus of OmegaPharma. 50km from the line, the gap was less than three minutes. OmegaPharma soon dropped off the front as they did not want to catch the break yet. The bunch was in a bit of disarray as nobody wanted to take up the pace setting.
The front group meanwhile lost two of its members, Mihojlevic early on and Busche further on. They were both swallowed by the bunch as they no longer had anything left in the tank. The lack of organization in the bunch benefited the break as their lead went back up to three minutes with only 17km left to go.
Busche losing contact
As the breakaway men tackled the final climb for the second time, a decisive split took place, three of the riders no longer able to keep up with the rest. Dekker, Burghardt and Ladganous were the victims of the high pace being set largely by Iglinskiy and Langeveld.
Split in the breakaway
With 10km to go, the four leaders had extended their lead over the main bunch to four minutes. The stage win was gone for the bunch, as was the yellow jersey for OmegaPharma with all four riders within 2'10 of Chavanel.
As the leaders started the final climb, Langeveld and Iglinskiy were the freshest of the four and they immediately got a small gap. Langeveld held on strong to Iglinskiy's wheel for as long as he could but as they launched the sprint, the winner was clear. 150m from the line Iglinskiy broke clear from Langeveld, who was nowhere near the Astana rider. He was even caught by the onrushing Lastras who took second place on the podium ahead of the Dutch rider.
Iglisnkiy breaks clear
The valley allowed a group of twenty riders who were left behind to make it back into the peleton as the pace was being set by BMC, a steady but fairly slow pace. Amazingly, nobody took the opportunity to break clear, the wind being the most likely culprit for the lack of action. The mass sprint which ensued proved yet again that Sagan was in excellent form heading into his first Milan-San Remo. He powered away from everyone else, and even got a small gap over the rest of the bunch.
Sagan shows his strength
The main bunch all arrived together twelve seconds down on Sagan, having caught the three remaining breakaway riders as the pace skyrocketed on the final climb.
Pre-Race
Today's stage has far less daunting percentages than yesterday's stage. However, the road is always up and down. Riders who are no threat to the overall general classification have a great chance of getting into a breakaway and staying clear all the way to the line. If the peleton is in the mood to chase, there will likely be a select group together at the finish line. It will be hard for any of the favourites to get away from the rest given the lack of any real difficulties.
My prediction for the day: Tony Gallopin. The young Frenchman can get over the climbs and he is a fairly good sprinter. A good opportunity for him.
Race Report
The riders left the commune of Sorgues into the beautiful countryside under a beautiful blue sky sparsed with clouds.
Riders leaving Sorgues
The riders rolled along for the first 15km under the watch of Saxo Bank, Sky and Lampre before Bazin threw in the first attack. Six riders were keen to follow him. These six included both Thomas Rohregger and Jeremy Roy, both intent on fighting for the KOM jersey.
First attack of the day
A second group soon tried to get out of the peleton. This time, five riders followed as Pinotti accelerated away. The pace immediately went up in the peleton, Saxo Bank leading proceedings, as these thirteen riders would doubtlessly be a dangerous group. Three of the riders in this second group were unable to bridge the gap and were quickly swallowed back into the bunch. The pace eased up as those three were caught and the group of ten escapees had a lead of fifty seconds to build upon.
As the peleton reached the foot of the first climb of the day, Meyer and Intxausti tried their luck again, having failed the first time. Hivert jumped onto their wheels. Saxo Bank were not happy with this attack and upped the pace again. As the road flattened out after a kilometre over the climb, it was all back together.
Back together
The situation did not last for very long as six riders from the group which was caught moments ago attacked again. They got a decent gap as the peleton was happy to let them go. Not everyone was happy with that situation though. When the climbing resumed, Moinard attacked out of the bunch.
Moinard attacks
Of the several riders who tried their luck getting out of bunch after the move by Moinard, Howard, Westra, Pietropolli and Perget were the only succesful ones. Moinard had meanwhile bridged the gap to the group and the seven riders were cooperating well. Roy got the better of Rohregger taking second place behind Moinard on the first climb.
The four pursuers toiled hard on the downhill and they made it across to the front group before the road kicked up slightly towards the day's first intermediate sprint. The eleven riders joined to form the break of the day.
Break of the day
The cooperation was poor over the next 20km as some riders were not contributing much to the breakaway. Attacks flew left and right. Nevertheless, their lead had grown to six minutes as they all tackled the fairly hard Côte des Agnels together. Rohregger, this time, managed to get ahead of Roy, but unfortunately for him, Westra was intent on getting the points too. The Radioshack rider got second behind Westra.
Six and a half minutes was as far as the lead would grow as Saxo Bank sent their men to the front to reel the move back in some 95km from the finishing line.
Saxo Bank chase
Liquigas and Astana soon decided to give some help to Saxo Bank as the gap was not quite coming down as they would like it to. Trofimov and Henao, meanwhile, tried a brief attack which did not produce anything at all.
Astana and Liquigas help the chase on
Freire was the next to try and get away, but the only thing he did was sap his energy over ten kilometres of solo riding. The gap of the peleton to the front had gone down to three minutes as the breakaway was reaching the top of the Côte de Montfuron, 51km from the line. Westra again took maximum points, with Rohregger only second best yet again.
Two minutes was all the breakaway riders were left with, 40km from the line. It seemed like they were doomed to be caught sooner rather than later. The breakaway men had played a canny game though. They had kept a good deal of their forces in reserve. As they crossed the top of the final categorized climb of the day, the lead had grown back over two minutes!
Breakaway on the final climb
2'20 with less than 20km to go. That looked more like something they could defend all the way to the line. Into the final descent they went, and the clock still read 1'30. The breakaway would stay away and the eleven men would fight it out for the stage win.
Hivert led into the final 100m and opened the sprint over the tough uphill finish himself. A brave move, and one which payed off. Jonathan Hivert took the win, holding off the strong challenge of Perget and Moinard, who were closing in fast.
Hivert takes the win
What was left of the peleton, 70 riders, all finished in the same time, 1'27 down on Hivert. The concerted effort of Liquigas, Astana, Saxo Bank and in the later stages, Rabobank were not enough to close down the gap significantly.
Rohregger finished last of the breakaway group, having given most of his energy fighting for KOM points. However, his consolation, more than holding on to the mountains jersey will be the honour of going into tomorrow's stage in yellow! After his wonderful performance yesterday, the Austrian shines again!
Results
Stage Results:
1
Jonathan Hivert
Saur - Sojasun
4h19'36
2
Amael Moinard
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
3
Mathieu Perget
Ag2r - La Mondiale
s.t.
4
Ramunas Navardauskas
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
5
Lieuwe Westra
Vacansoleil - DCM
s.t.
6
Leigh Howard
GreenEdge Cycling
s.t.
7
Jeromy Roy
FDJ - Bigmat
s.t.
8
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel - Euskadi
s.t.
9
Daniele Pietropolli
Lampre - ISD
s.t.
10
Kristof Vandewalle
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
s.t.
General Classification:
1
Thomas Rohregger
RadioShack - Nissan
22h03'15
2
Matteo Tosatto
Saxobank - Sungard
+ 45
3
Jens Voigt
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 51
4
Roman Kreuziger
Astana
+ 56
5
Petr Ignatenko
Katusha Team
+ 59
6
Bauke Mollema
Rabobank
s.t.
7
Jelle Vanendert
Lotto - Belisol
+ 1'07
8
Damiano Cunego
Lampre - ISD
+ 1'08
9
Christophe Le Mevel
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
10
Geraint Thomas
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 1'16
Points Classification:
1
Geraint Thomas
Sky Professional Cycling Team
75 pts
2
Matthew Goss
GreenEdge Cycling
59 pts
3
Tony Gallopin
RadioShack - Nissan
56 pts
4
Matti Breschel
Rabobank
36 pts
5
Jens Voigt
RadioShack - Nissan
34 pts
Mountains Classification:
1
Thomas Rohregger
RadioShack - Nissan
26 pts
2
Jeromy Roy
FDJ - Bigmat
14 pts
3
Brian Bulgac
Lotto - Belisol
13 pts
4
Petr Ignatenko
Katusha Team
10 pts
5
Mathieu Perget
Ag2r - La Mondiale
9 pts
Young Riders Classification:
1
Roman Kreuziger
Astana
22h04'11
2
Petr Ignatenko
Katusha Team
+ 3
3
Bauke Mollema
Rabobank
s.t.
4
Geraint Thomas
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 20
5
Tony Gallopin
RadioShack - Nissan
+ 45
Post-Race
Hats off to Thomas Rohregger! He spent a lot of energy yesterday in the breakaway and was brave enough to go at it again today. His reward: the yellow!
The french performances today will certainly please the crowds as they got 1,2,3 on the stage! Earlier stages all evaded french riders, with Le Mevel and Dumoulin coming close on two occasions.
Edited by nightguy on 29-06-2012 12:26
Pre-Race
Completely flat for the first 140km, the course has a lumpy finale which could provide a chance to attackers. However, the hills in the last 80km are not so hard that the sprinters' teams will not be able to control things. The course runs along the coastline and the wind could pose some serious problems, as it did yesterday. A breakaway will find it hard staying away in such a long stage, especially if there are teams intent on chasing a stage win with their sprinters.
My prediction for the day: Peter Sagan. Although this flat run-in is not very much to his liking, he will conserve more energy than most sprinters over the hilly terrain leading to the finish. The Slovak is likely to prevail and add another stage win to his palmares.
Race Report
The riders leave Paglieta with the Adriatic Sea now in plain view. Moderate temperatures and slightly cloudy skies, without the expected strong winds, certainly guarantee a quiet roll for the riders today.
The riders look upon the Adriatic Sea
The early break of six which went off right after the starting downhill, was allowed to some leeway. However, as they built a minute's lead, Movistar and Lotto, amongst others, tried to send men on the attack too, in an attempt to bridge the gap to the front group.
Herrada of Movistar goes on the attack
The junction was made fairly fast, with GreenEdge seemingly not happy with having missed out on the break. Vaiktus was putting in a strong effort to reel the breakaway back in. OmegaPharma decided to give a hand to GreenEdge and soon they caught the break and the riders were all grouped together.
The next move did not take long to materialize. And this time, GreenEdge paid attention. Gerrans was the first to jump onto Stortoni's wheel as the latter accelerated away. Talansky was the only other rider who followed these two.
Stortoni attacks, Gerrans on his wheel
Five riders, including Sarmiento of Liquigas, went in pursuit shortly afterwards and made it across quite easily. The situation was as follows: eight breakaway riders followed by the big bunch 1'45 behind. The peleton was clearly happy to let this break go.
The five riders bridge the gap to the front group
Over the next 80km, the lead grew and grew, and grew. As the peleton reached the 90km to go mark, the gap stood at an astounding 18 minutes! The bunch was being hesitant as no team was willing to commit to the chase with their small numbers, Astana least of all with Iglinskiy only having three teammates in the bunch.
Radioshack were one of the only teams with numbers in their ranks and they did not have much reason to chase. But with the lead having reached extraordinary proportions, their options were short as Gerrans would get to the finish line with a lead that will be out of reach in the time trial and mountains. Posthuma and Wagner went to the front to make the pace and try to eat away some of the huge lead the front group now possessed.
Radioshack chase
The break had already reached the summit of the first uncategorized climb of the day, which was in fact fairly hard in itself, and made harder by the pace set by Gerrans who was intent on keeping the lead they had alive. Azanza and Di Salvo were the first to suffer the consequences as they lost contact on the later slopes of the climb.
Azanza losing contact
Marycz was the next casualty of Gerrans' pace on the next climb, as he in turn could no longer hang on. The peleton was, meanwhile, being led by Fuglsang who took over the pace setting from his teammates when the road kicked up. He did his best, but over the course of the next climb, he could only claw back a minute and a half, with the break still over 17 minutes out.
Gerrans was clearly the best of the group. As soon as the road kicked up, he left the remaining four riders trailing in his wake. He rode away and easily extended his lead to a minute over the only categorized climb of the day.
Gerrans rides away
Finally, when the peleton went over the categorized climb, Radioshack were relieved of their burden, getting some help, mainly from OmegaPharma.
Help comes from OmegaPharma
The four chasers organized themselves well and chased hard but Gerrans did really well gauging his efforts over the finishing flat as he kept most of the minute's lead he had built over the climbs. The Australian took the win and the lead in the overall rankings.
Simon Gerrans wins
The second group arrived forty seconds behind Gerrans. Stortoni took the sprint for second place ahead of Sarmiento. Talansky and Busche came in the same time as the latter.
Sprint for second place
Roelandts crossed the line all of 11'30 down on Gerrans, followed by Bennati and Sagan in a sprint for nothing more than a test of their ability.
Results
Stage Results:
1
Simon Gerrans
GreenEdge Cycling
4h56'11
2
Simone Stortoni
Lampre - ISD
+ 40
3
Jose Sarmiento
Liquigas - Cannondale
s.t.
4
Andrew Talansky
Team Garmin - Barracuda
s.t.
5
Matthew Busche
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
6
Jaroslaw Marycz
Saxobank - Sungard
+ 3'02
7
Giuseppe Di Salvo
Miche - Guerciotti
+ 4'26
8
Jorge Azanza
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 5'08
9
Jurgen Roelandts
Lotto - Belisol
+ 11'33
10
Daniele Bennati
RadioShack - Nissan
s.t.
General Classifications:
1
Simon Gerrans
GreenEdge Cycling
17h39'49
2
Jose Sarmiento
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 2'26
3
Andrew Talansky
Team Garmin - Barracuda
+ 2'43
4
Simone Stortoni
Lampre - ISD
+ 5'12
5
Maxim Iglinskiy
Astana
+ 6'57
6
Pablo Lastras
Movistar Team
+ 7'31
7
Sebastian Langeveld
GreenEdge Cycling
+ 7'32
8
Sylvain Chavanel
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
+ 7'54
9
Joaquin Rodriguez
Katusha Team
+ 8'19
10
Christian Knees
Sky Professional Cycling Team
+ 8'20
Points Classifications:
1
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
24 pts
2
Marco Marcato
Vacansoleil - DCM
15 pts
3
Simon Gerrans
GreenEdge Cycling
14 pts
4
Sebastian Langeveld
GreenEdge Cycling
13 pts
5
Pablo Lastras
Movistar Team
13 pts
KOM Classifications:
1
Simon Gerrans
GreenEdge Cycling
10 pts
2
Sebastian Langeveld
GreenEdge Cycling
8 pts
3
Juan Antonio Flecha
Sky Professional Cycling Team
5 pts
4
Sylvain Chavanel
OmegaPharma - Quick Step
5 pts
5
Lars Boom
Rabobank
3 pts
Young Riders Classifications:
1
Jose Sarmiento
Liquigas - Cannondale
17h42'15
2
Andrew Talansky
Team Garmin - Barracuda
+ 17
3
Peter Sagan
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 6'24
4
Steven Kruijswijk
Rabobank
+ 6'46
5
Daniel Oss
Liquigas - Cannondale
+ 7'38
Post-Race
The diminished field showed its weaknesses today as Astana just did not have the resources to chase. One team chasing was never enough and the peleton came nowhere close to catching the break.
Simon Gerrans placed himself in perfect position for the remaining stages. Sarmiento is a better climber and he might make some ground back in the mountains. However, it is looking very unlilkely that any of the favourites will be able to seriously threaten the gap these two acquired in this stage.
Edited by nightguy on 30-06-2012 07:56
