Just.... Wow..... I have no words for the following.... Just... Wow... speechless... Its made me cry with laughter..... Just wow!
Karl Hammarling
Halfords Tour Series
Round 1 Kirckaldy
Team: Rowe, Cronshaw, Lavery, Rogers, Hammarling
81km to go - The small 44 man peloton heads out to start the day
73km - Towards the end of Lap 1 English(RCS) and Van Empel(RB3) attack, but don't get away
71km - At the start of Lap 2 Mullen(IGS), Cooper(OPM) and Hammarling attack and go clear
28km - And the trio lap the peloton... The gap is over 16'00
10km - The gap is 21'49
8km (22km) - Grivell-Mellor(RCS) attacks the peloton
6km - The break eases up as the mind games start. Hammarling is the strongest in the group by some considerable distance
1.5km - Cooper opens up the sprint. Mullen is caught napping, but Hammarling is straight onto the wheel!
1000m - Hammarling hits the power and opens his sprint up
800m - Hammarling sits down and then kicks again
600m - Hammarling sits down and then kicks again
400m - Hammarling sits down and then kicks again
200m - Hammarling sits down and then kicks again
FINISH Cooper wins! Hammarling second and Mullen third
Race Result
1
Marsh Cooper
Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
2h12'16
2
Karl Hammarling
Node 4 - Rexona
s.t.
3
Ryan Mullen
Team IG - Sigma Sport
s.t.
Comment - Not written by Karl
Just wow... Maximum gap of 24'55, in an 81km race! Wow...
Every other rider timed out
I pressed sprint with 1km to go, having sat on Coopers wheel since 3km to go. But for the whole time he just followed..... Never moved, except to sit down then make an attacking animation... Crossed the line with FULL yellow and red bars
I think that the game broke...
On the plus side, Karl reached a goal and Node4 picks up another podium
86km to go - The 50 man peloton sets out for a tough hilly day
79km - Following a spate of failed attacks, Rowe launches! Simon(UNA), Handley(RCS) and Young(OPM) follow behind. But Rowe distances them on the climb and sets off solo, not waiting.
63km - Handley falls, and loses contact with Simon and Young. He will spend the rest of the day in no-mans land
35km - Handley is caught by a RAL and MGT lead peloton
20km - Simon and Young are caught. The gap to Rowe is 1'48
15km - The gap is increasing, now at 2'05 as Rowe ups his tempo.
10km - Romero(JSH) sets off solo now!
7km - Bibby(MGT) and Britton(RAL) try to get free, but N4R keep them back
3km - Rowe leads Romero by 1'20, and the Peloton is a further 31" back
2km - At the base of the final climb Kwiatkowski attacks! A host of riders try and follow him as the pace increases
FINISH - And its a solo win for Luke Rowe! Romero holds on for second, and Kwiatkowski just edges thrid
Race Result
1
Luke Rowe
Node 4 - Rexona
2h20'43
2
Luis Alberto Romero
Jamis - Hagens Berman
+ 1'28
3
Michał Kwiatkowski
Node 4 - Rexona
s.t.
4
Ian Bibby
Madison Genesis
s.t.
5
Rob Britton
Team Raleigh
+ 1'51
6
Wouter Sybrandy
Team IG - Sigma Sport
s.t.
7
Kristian House
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
8
Andrew Tennant
Madison Genesis
s.t.
9
Gabriele Bosisio
Utensilnord - Ora24.eu
s.t.
10
Yanto Barker
Node 4 - Rexona
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Mark Christian
Team Raleigh
s.t.
12
Scott Thwaites
Node 4 - Rexona
s.t.
13
Janier Acevedo
Jamis - Hagens Berman
s.t.
14
Dean Downing
Madison Genesis
s.t.
15
David Clarke
Node 4 - Rexona
s.t.
16
Alexandre Blain
Team Raleigh
s.t.
17
Benoit Drujon
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
18
Luke Grivell-Mellor
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
19
Michael Creed
Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
s.t.
20
Nicolas Bazin
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
21
Jack Wiles
Team UK Youth
s.t.
22
Thomas Moses
Team Raleigh
s.t.
23
James Moss
Team IG - Sigma Sport
s.t.
24
Brennan Townshend
Madison Genesis
+ 2'38
25
Zsolt Der
Utensilnord - Ora24.eu
+ 2'59
26
Fabien Bacquet
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
27
Chris Snook
Madison Genesis
s.t.
28
Ryan Mullen
Team IG - Sigma Sport
s.t.
29
James McCallum
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
30
Chase Pinkham
Jamis - Hagens Berman
+ 3'43
31
Tom Scully
Team Raleigh
+ 3'54
32
Ruben Companioni
Jamis - Hagens Berman
s.t.
33
Peter Simon
Utensilnord - Ora24.eu
+ 4'51
34
Eric Young
Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
s.t.
35
Carson Miller
Jamis - Hagens Berman
s.t.
36
Jonathan Mould
Team UK Youth
+ 5'25
37
Romain Bacon
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
38
Jeremy Durrin
Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
s.t.
39
Flavien Dassonville
BigMat - Auber 93
+ 5'45
40
Joseph Perrett
Team IG - Sigma Sport
s.t.
41
Andrew Griffiths
Team IG - Sigma Sport
s.t.
42
Richard Tanguy
Team UK Youth
+ 7'03
43
Mate Radonics
Utensilnord - Ora24.eu
s.t.
44
Greg Mansell
Team UK Youth
s.t.
45
Niklas Gustavsson
Team UK Youth
s.t.
46
Cheyne Hoag
Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
s.t.
47
Thomas Soladay
Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
s.t.
48
Richard Handley
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
49
Marco Zanotti
Utensilnord - Ora24.eu
+ 8'24
50
Felix English
Rapha Condor - JLT
+ 8'51
Comment
A great day for the team! Rowe was absolutely outstanding, going solo for 79km to take the win. It was beautifully measured ride, probably the best any of us could do all season. Kwiatkowski showed his class in 3rd, and Yanto did well for 10th. Tour Series is going well.
Node4: 9/10
Edited by TheManxMissile on 06-03-2013 01:05
An Post Ras. My next race is the biggest yet. 8 stages across Ireland will certainly test my ability as a DS, and the riders as well. With teams limited to 5 riders it raises even more of a challenge. Kwiatkowski leads the way along with Thwaites, Davis, Lavery and Williams. We are targeting a high GC, and stage wins. Looking at the route, those two are pretty much the same thing. Its going to be interesting and action packed.
Its been a bit of time since i last wrote. Spent a lot of the last month working with the scout network. A lot of UK races have been happening and we have been looking at who could be a transfer target. A few names have been thrown around, and we will be making approaches to at least Brits come July. We have also been watching the U23 league with interest. While it seems to be dominated by the Americans, there have been some good performances from one Brit in particular, and decent ones from some Polish as well.
It's that time of season to start thinking about transfers and renewals. Malcolm has final say on all decisions, but he does want our advice. The big questions with the team are whether anyone is going to retire. Rico has been thinking about it strongly, Yanto might move to a less active schedule and Lee is just about done as well. But those decisions need to be made by themselves, and we are trying to not influence them. At least we still have plenty of youth locked in for another season or two.
Anyway, time for me to go and chat with the mechanics and make sure the riders are happy with the kit for tomorrows start.
Signing off
Team: Kwiatkowski, Thwaites, Lavery, Davis, Williams
138km to go
Ok, here we go. Pete get up near the front ready to counter. Lee guard Scott while the pace is high
137km
First attacks. BPC man solo. Wait for more
136km
Got a TIK rider trying to cross. Still wait in Pete
134km
Pete now! Follow wheels of TIR and PRT riders. You're with them and clear, get to work building a gap.
108km
Pace is still very fast. KoM1 goes to Zverkov ahead of Dalheim and Derler. A TRS rider has joined your group Pete.
98km
Ok so thats all back together. Pete you good? Get ready to try again. EFG raising pace for IS, do not contend
96km
Cardoso took the IS, thats fine. Pete... Soon...
93km
Ok Pete unleash! TIR ride coming... Its... Muhlberger. Gaining gap now, no chase. Its going to be the two of you.
42km
Let Muhlberger take the IS, save the energy.
Cardoso takes the peloton sprint again
27km
Perfectly climbed there Pete, full points on the KoM.
Gap is 2'22 to Peloton.
Splits over summit, OPM taking up pace... Cardoso behind!
20km
Pete your gap is 1'42. Cardoso group is 2'53 to Peloton
13km
Have a dig Pete, see if you can shake him.
Nothing? Ok, sit up and wait for Peloton.
10km
Ok Pete, jobs just starting. Need you to set pace on front. Lee follow him, Michal follow then Philip then Scott. OPM still making pace
3km
And Michal take the front! Inject pace. Few guys staying with you.
1000m
Scott you need to move, tight turns don't get boxed!
400m
Turns finished! Need one last kick Scotty boy!
FINISH
Thank you very much! Nicely timed sprint Scotty, congratulations. Good lead out Michal and Phil. Pete great ride, and well hung on at the finish as well.
Chase group timed in 10'05 down!
Cardoso group further at 11'03!
Stage Result
1 Scott Thwaites Node 4 - Rexona 3h15'20
2 Dylan Groenewegen Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t.
3 Nick Van der Lijke Rabobank Development Team s.t.
4 Rick Zabel Rabobank Development Team s.t.
5 Eric Young Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t.
6 David Belda Burgos BH - Castilla y León s.t.
7 Ricardo Vilela Efapel - Glassdrive s.t.
8 Michał Kwiatkowski Node 4 - Rexona s.t.
9 Tomas Swift Metcalfe Carmim - Tavira s.t.
10 Kai Reus Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t.
General Classification
1 Scott Thwaites Node 4 - Rexona 3h15'00
2 Dylan Groenewegen Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks + 8
3 Nick Van der Lijke Rabobank Development Team + 12
4 Gregor Mühlberger Tirol Cycling Team + 14
5 Peter Williams Node 4 - Rexona + 16
6 Rick Zabel Rabobank Development Team + 20
7 Eric Young Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t.
8 David Belda Burgos BH - Castilla y León s.t.
9 Ricardo Vilela Efapel - Glassdrive s.t.
10 Michał Kwiatkowski Node 4 - Rexona s.t.
Comment
Excellent start to the race. Scott is one of the top sprinters here, and he showed it. Pete rode well in the break, and i hope to give him chances for that KoM. Just hope we can keep it up over the other 7 stages.
80km - Handley(RCS) attacks, taking Mullen(IGS), Dassonville(BIG), Wren(JSH), Kriek(JBC) and Bialablocki with him
78km - RAL organise a chase with MGT
70km - The break finally snaps the elastic, but Bassonville is no longer in it.
20km - The gap is 12'14...
15km - The break laps the peloton
7.5km - Mullen, Wren and Bialoblocki attack!
5km - But they can't cooperate and Handley drags Kriek across
3km - Wren ups the pace, and the rest line up behind. Bialoblocki is 3rd wheel behind Mullen
1.5km - Kriek jumps out and takes the lead!
1000m - Kriek still leads, but its a close fight. Wren is losing ground
300m - Bialoblocki edges ahead
FINISH - Bialoblocki wins in Round 3! Kriek holds second, with Mullen 3rd.
Race Result
1
Marcin Bialoblocki
Node 4 - Rexona
2h01'04
2
Christiaan Kriek
Jelly Belly p/b Kenda
s.t.
3
Ryan Mullen
Team IG - Sigma Sport
s.t.
4
Richard Handley
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
5
Tyler Wren
Jamis - Hagens Berman
s.t.
Comment - Not by Karl
Lol again. Everyone else timed out...
The mind games in the break were fun, and the sprint pretty damn close with everyone clearly out of energy at the line
For some reason the results didn't export, so sorry for that
Mikel Hammarling
An Post Ras - Stage 2
Dundalk - Carrick-on-Shannon
We begin the day wearing both the Yellow Jersey (Thwaites) and the KoM Jersey (Williams). The plan is to get Scott to a sprint finish in a good position, and then also try and keep Pete in the KoM for another day.
173km to go
And we're off! Get towards the front, we want to select the break today. No-one with KoM points if possible. Lee, thats your job to manage.
169km
Attacks now, from TIK, TIR and PRI. You can let them go, no threats.
167km
Arrgh! Pfiefer(TRS) has slipped across. He has 2pts and can take jeresy. Damn... Still let them go away
105km
Right, we've got EFG, RB3 and RIJ starting a chase. Pete go help, always good to look active. Gap is 9'04
55km
KoM1 Egorov(TIK), Weiss(TIR), Casamiro(PRT)
Pete hit front... Keep pulling... aaaannnnd 2pts to you Pete! Well done you hold the jersey for tomorrow
20km
Gap is 1'28. RB3 doing all the work
15km
Gap is 1'10 and RIJ doing all the work. Get into order now guys.
10km
Down to 44". Pete hit front hard now!!!
5km
Lee, gap is 18". Still ahead. Lee ramp it up, full power to the engines!
3km
You're being swamped!!! Where did they come from! Open it up!!!
1000m
In the lead! Scotty turn on the burners! Guys coming hard at ya from behind!!!
FINISH
You got passed there by a couple of guys... Groenewegen (RIJ) took the win, Zabel (RB3) second, but you are on the podium. Good race just unlucky
Groenewegen moves to the race lead, Thwaites is +4" in second.
Comment
I take full resposibility for that one. I put Michal at 3rd man over Phil. That was the wrong call. Michal burned Phil out too early and made Scott do too much too early. If they were swapped i think we would have won by a length or two. Otherwise really nice day. We'll switch it tomorrow and hope that works
Again An Post didnt export...
Also i only got about 20% of the Tour Series action, i could not stop concentrating on playing!
Mikel Hammarling
An Post Ras - Stage 3
Carrick-on-Shannon - Oughterard
All in for Scotty today. Williams is 99% guaranteed to loose the KoM today so we wont bother defending it. Focus now on the long term GC. See how Michal is coping on the climb and look ahead to stage 5.
163km to go
Lets go guys. Eventually head forward. No rush, no responsibility to chase so we won't.
159km
Attacks! Usual teams, TIK, TIR, TRS and PRT.
No reaction so they will form the break. Will update with names when i get them
155km
Ok go the names. Katryin, Wert, Pereria and Derler.
90km
Pace increasing. This is the start of the chase boys
37km
KoM1 Werst(TRS), Katryin(TIK), Derler(TIR)
21km
KoM2 Katryin(TIK), Werst(TRS), Derler(TIR). There goes the jersey, so lets focus on the stage win. Gap is 1'48
15km
Ok its down to 1'31. Form up
10km
1'00 only! Falling still, will come to a sprint. Pete you can move forward
5km
Gap is 30", but they've sat up. Sprint is on boys! Davis hit the front now!
3km
Swamped again!! What the hell are they doing! Thats blocking, straight and clear!
Fight as best you can to the front
1000m
Behind... This has not gone well... Just do what you can Scotty...
FINISH
Its Cardoso that wins! Zabel second and Groenewegen thrid. 5th is not bad Scotty. We just did not feature in that battle at all. I have no idea where we are going to find that extra power...
1st Cardoso (EFG)
2nd Zabel (RB3)
3rd Groenewegen (RIJ)
4th Young (OPM)
5th Thwaites (N4R)
6th Retschke (TQI?)
7th Mas (BCL?)
8th Vilela (EFG)
9th Van der Lijke (RB3)
10th Godrie (RB3)
Groenewegen leads the race. Thwaites is second +12", Zabel third +16". Williams, Kwiatkowski and Lavery all in Top10 still.
The race is rated as flat, but there are two climbs. The main one has the main part at 6% for 1km. That is also the finishing straight, so its not a simple sprint race.
86km to go - The 47man peloton sets off
84km - Wren(JSH) is first to attack. Hammarling is straight onto his wheel, along with Sweeting(5HR), Kerby(CWO) and Horton(UKY)
82km - Mullen(IGS) bridges the small gap to the leaders
79km - Hammarling fires down the decent and goes solo!
77km - The rest of the early attackers are caught buy a RAL lead peloton
67km - Hoag(OPM) makes a move
55km - Schumacher(CWO) the race favorite attacks! Creed(OPM) goes with him!
then pretty much every km there is an attack. Hammarling is caught with about 35km to go.
21km - Hammarling ups the pace of the peloton. Schumacher is 28" ahead, and he can't be allowed free this late on
13km - N4R bring back Schumacher. Surely the favorites day is done now
7km - As we top the climb for the final time we have a group of 7 going clear!! Britton(RAL) attacked on the climb with Bibby(MGT). Rogers has bragged both Cronshaw and Rowe across. Also Holohan(RAL) and McCallum(RCS) are in the move! This has got to be the winning move on the final lap
5km - They have 51" on the peloton and growing! Rowe and N4R have got to be favorites to win now
2.5km - And Bibby jumps early!! He's got a some meters on a scrambling Rogers with the climb just ahead!
1000m - Bibby still leads under the banner! But he is losing ground on this steep road!
600m - This is so close up front!!!
FINISH - Luke Rowe wins in Redditch! Holohan puts in a great sprint for second, and Cronshaw snatches third
Race Result
1
Luke Rowe
Node 4 - Rexona
2h09'34
2
Liam Holohan
Madison Genesis
s.t.
3
Matt Cronshaw
Node 4 - Rexona
s.t.
4
James McCallum
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
5
Ian Bibby
Madison Genesis
s.t.
6
Rob Britton
Team Raleigh
+ 16
7
Rico Dene Rogers
Node 4 - Rexona
+ 29
8
Ross Edgar
Team IG - Sigma Sport
+ 2'30
9
Kristian House
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
10
Jack Wiles
Team UK Youth
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Ed Clancy
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
12
Joshua Hunt
Team UK Youth
s.t.
13
James Moss
Team IG - Sigma Sport
s.t.
14
Ryan Mullen
Team IG - Sigma Sport
s.t.
15
Marc Hester
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
16
Sebastian Balck
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
17
Mark Christian
Team Raleigh
s.t.
18
Michael Creed
Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
s.t.
19
Tyler Wren
Jamis - Hagens Berman
s.t.
20
Robert Sweeting
5-Hour Energy
s.t.
21
Tobyn Horton
Team UK Youth
s.t.
22
Jake Hales
Team IG - Sigma Sport
s.t.
23
Frederik Wilmann
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
24
Sebastian Salas
Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
s.t.
25
Cheyne Hoag
Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
s.t.
26
Dean Downing
Madison Genesis
s.t.
27
Luis Alberto Romero
Jamis - Hagens Berman
s.t.
28
Janier Acevedo
Jamis - Hagens Berman
s.t.
29
Russell Hampton
Team Raleigh
s.t.
30
Stefan Schumacher
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
31
Jordan Kerby
Christina Watches - Onfone
s.t.
32
Chris Snook
Madison Genesis
s.t.
33
Luke Grivell-Mellor
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
34
Jeremy Durrin
Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
s.t.
35
Richard Tanguy
Team UK Youth
s.t.
36
Karl Hammarling
Node 4 - Rexona
s.t.
37
Graham Briggs
Team Raleigh
s.t.
38
Sebastian Baylis
Madison Genesis
s.t.
39
James Lowsley-Williams
Team UK Youth
s.t.
40
Greg Brandt
5-Hour Energy
s.t.
41
Ruben Companioni
Jamis - Hagens Berman
s.t.
42
Peter Hawkins
Team IG - Sigma Sport
s.t.
43
Richard Lang
Team Raleigh
s.t.
44
Chase Pinkham
Jamis - Hagens Berman
s.t.
45
Marcin Bialoblocki
Node 4 - Rexona
s.t.
46
Max Jenkins
5-Hour Energy
s.t.
47
Edward Laverack
Rapha Condor - JLT
s.t.
Comment - Not by Karl
That was such an amazing race! I'm sorry the report missed a good 80% of the action, but i was constantly trying to focus on making sure N4R were in the mix for the win. Karl and Marcin put in insane amounts of work in the final 30km to keep the race together. Then such luck that the group of 7 went away. It was such a fun race to play, really agressive and engaging.
Karl would have commented, but i'm saving it for a blog coming soon.
Thanks for the comments, really motivating as always. May is the peak month but this streak is way above expectations. Extreme may be called for!
Mikel Hammarling
172 flat kilometers. And a fourth jersey for Thwaites to wear (normal, yellow, green and white) in 4 days. Hopefully we can switch it again for tomorrow.
172km to go
Absolutely no helping today! The other teams are better than us, so let them do the work.
169km
Attacks going. Usual teams, TIK, TIR, TRS, PRT and BPC all involved. No chase coming, will get you names when i see them
165km
Egorov(TIK) Pfeifer(TRS) Dalheim(BPC) Weiss(TIR) and Casimira(PRT) again. No worries to us at all
100km
Ok chase starting to form. RB3 and RIJ main players, but also EFG up there. Pete you ok? You look uncomfortable...
93km
KoM1 taken by Dalheim. Werst second Pfeifer third
85km
KoM2 won by Werst. He will wear KoM tomorrow. Gap is 6'00 and falling
20km
Gap is 3'00 and rising. Chase is off... Don't take over, we have no responsibility
16km
Weiss is having a dig up the front, will keep you informed.
Phil have a go, see what happens!
10km
Weiss leads by 16". Break has 3'00 on peloton. Phil sit up, not working.
7km
Weiss has been caught by the break, that should be a good sprint.
1000m
Sprint is on for the win! Egorov is leading, but others are coming fast.
FINISH
Dalheim takes the win! Pfeifer second and Casimiro third. Young took the peloton sprint. Well saved on energy today guys, will benefit us later in the race.
Comment
Hmmm... Well we saved energy and forced the other teams to chase and work. But the break won the day. As our focus is long term GC i'm gonna count today as a good day.
Node4: 7/10
Karl Hammarling
Halfords Tour Series
Round 5 Aberystwyth
Team: Rowe, Cronshaw, Barker, Clarke, Hammarling
It's a very very tough day this. The main climb is a brute! Topping out at over 15% and averaging over 10%. Certainly a hilly day for certain.
87km to go - The 47 man peloton sets off on a long tough day
85km - The first attacks come now. But no-one gets a gap
81km - Hammarling attacks on the descent! Miller(JSH) Jones(IGS) and Sweeting(5HR) try and follow
77km - And Jones, Miller and Sweeting are caught, but Hammarling is still clear
43km - Creed(OPM) Acevedo(JSH) Sybrandy(IGS) and Grivell-Mellor(RCS) attack the peloton. They pull clear and start hunting Hammarling
25km - Time for an update on the race.
E1 Hammarling
+1'06 E2 Creed, Acevedo and Grivell-Mellor
+ 1'11 P 13 man including Barker and Clarke
+ 1'27 A2 including Rowe and Cronshaw
15km/16.5km - Hammarling is joined by Acevedo and Creed. At the same time behind Holmes(RAL) attacks the peloton
12km - Creed is dropped from the lead goup
10km - Acevedo is dropped by Hammarling
5km - Hammarling leads by 16" over Acevedo. Then its 22" to Creed and 42" more to the Peloton. The Peloton is only 6 men Bibby(MGT), Salas(OPM), Holmes and Berthou(RAL) Romero(JSH) and Clarke. 30" back is Barker who is closing fast
3km - Karl extends his lead. RAL set the pace in the Peloton, just as Barker catches them!
1000m - Karl Hammarling pushes under the banner! He is rocking hard but powers up the slope regardless.
Behind Bibby leads the main group, but Acevedo is still ahead... Just
Comment - Not by Karl]
Holy crap on a cracker! He made it!
Will keep this short for the following blog. Great race, really aggressive and fun again. Great ride from Yanto and David as well actually.
Karl blog coming soon.