My final race of this season part took place in Belgium. It featured a mixture of cobbles and flat, as well as, most importantly for me, a time trial. As always my main goal was to succeed in the time trial, but as a member of the team I wanted to make sure Cofidis succeeded, whether that meant reeling in the breakaway or riding in it.
Stage 1 was a flat cobbled stage. I am inexperienced on the cobbles, and the team didn't really have anyone in contention either. The same goes for the next two stages, which were more built for the sprinters. On stage 2 our sprinters did well, but I didn't have too much work to do.
The final stage was the time trial. It lasted 11.2km, which was just right for me. Personally I am normally strong at shorter time trials, and this sort of distance is perfect for me. Since I wasn't high up in GC I started early, clocking the fastest time at 14:35. I then watched as Kristof Vandewalle beat my time by less than a second. However, surprisingly enough, he was the only one to beat me. I came second in what was only my third professional time trial.
To come second on the final stage was an incredible experience. It felt like I had finally repaid the team for all the trust they put in me. The field in Flanders was very tough and to get so close to a stage win was incredible. However, to lose out by such a small margin is disappointing. When the gap is less than a second you can't help but think what you were doing wrong. Perhaps if I had just taken a turn better or pushed a tiny bit harder I would be celebrating my first stage win. There is no point dwelling in the past though, so now my focus is on being one step higher next time.
Startlist
Yannick Martinez
Anthony Geslin
Julian Alaphilippe
Romain Hardy
Daniel Navarro
Stéphane Poulhiès
Charlie Charneux
Guillaume Levarlet
We were looking for good performances from our youngsters, local Charlie Charneux and hill sprinter Julian Alaphilippe. The parcours proved too hilly for Charlie but not for Yannick Martinez who just squeezed into the top 10 to gain some valuable points.
Your races for part 2:
RVV
Scheldeprijs
Roubaix
Primavera
Brabantse
Koln
Trentino
Turkey
Dunkerkque
California
Norway
Belgie
Luxembourg
Dauphiné
Kanton
Cofidis are very pleased to welcome Tomohori Hatanaka and Maui Kalatoa to the team for the rest of the season.
Tomohori has had some trouble finding a reliable team this season so we are pleased to welcome him to our group and reassure him we will be still here to see Anders win the Chrono des Nations . Tomohori's attacking riding fits very well with the Cofidis style and we are looking forward to seeing him in the break.
Maui is a promising young sprinter from New Zealand who we are hoping will develop into our leader for the sprints.
Both riders have travelled half way round the world to join Cofidis and we will do our best to make them welcome and feel part of the team.
Hi I'm Maui Kalatoa and I'm from a farm in the Bay of Plenty Plateau, near Taupo in New Zealand. I'm a sprinter who is OK up the hills. I'm stoked to be at Cofidis as a sprint leader, I won't let you down and I can't wait to start.
Boss, I was just wondering where you wanted to send me for the season. I'm open to anything, looking at the calendar maybe Scheldeprijs Koln, Aargau and some more hill/sprint classics, I don't know what Primavera is like. Maybe also a short stage race? In the end I'll ride anything, just chucking some ideas around.
Season planning is well advanced and we will be submitting the startlists for part 2 soon. Here are the races planned for Anders Myrvold, Charlie Charneux, Tomohori Hatanaka and Maui Kalatoa (subject to wildcard acceptance for races). We would like to hear what our development riders think of the plans.
Anders
Anders could you choose between the Tour of California and Osterreich Rundfhart please. If you choose California it means a 2 month gap without a race (mid June to mid Aug), chance to work in the wind tunnel perhaps? Let me know your thoughts. Edit - Anders chose Austria.
PART 2 CT.6 Rund um Koln [21 April] CT.6 Giro del Trentino [22-25 April] CT.6 Tour of Norway [21-25 May] CT.6 Ronde van Belgie [28 May-1 June] CT.6 Tour de Luxembourg [4-8 June]
Race Days 20 or 28
PART 3 Osterreich Rundfhart Danmark Rundt Vuelta a Burgos Tour of Britain Chrono des Nations
Race Days 21 or 29
Charlie
Charlie there are a few changes to the previous plan, I have managed to max your race days, hope these changes are OK.
PART 2 WT.1 Ronde van Vlaanderen [6 April] CT.4 Scheldeprijs [9 April] WT.1 Paris-Roubaix [13 April] CT.6 5 Jours de Dunkerque [7-11 May] CT.6 Tour of Norway [21-25 May] CT.6 Ronde van Belgie [28 May-1 June] CT.6 Tour de Luxembourg [4-8 June] CT.0 GP Kanton Aargau [12 June]
Race Days 24
PART 3 Tour de Wallonie Danmark Rundt Eneco Tour Tour of Britain Japan Cup
Race Days 27
Tomohori
Welcome to the team, I have tried to give you plenty of opportunities to get into the breaks and included a home race with the Japan Cup.
PART 2 CT.4 Scheldeprijs [9 April] CT.4 Brabantse Pijl [16 April] CT.6 Rund um Koln [21 April] CT.5 Tour of Turkey [27 April-4 May] CT.6 Tour of Norway [21-25 May] CT.6 Tour de Luxembourg [4-8 June] CT.0 GP Kanton Aargau [12 June]
Race Days 22
PART 3 Tour of Qinghai Lake Danmark Rundt GP de Fourmies Tour de Vendee Japan Cup
Race Days 22
Maui
Welcome and thanks for your race suggestions, I have included them and tried to give you some other hilly sprint races.
PART 2 CT.4 Scheldeprijs [9 April] CT.6 Klasica Primavera [13 April] CT.4 Brabantse Pijl [16 April] CT.6 Rund um Koln [21 April] CT.5 Tour of Turkey [27 April-4 May] CT.6 Tour of Norway [21-25 May] CT.6 Tour de Luxembourg [4-8 June] CT.0 GP Kanton Aargau [12 June]
Race Days 23
PART 3 Tour de Wallonie Danmark Rundt Tour of Britain Tour de Vendee Japan Cup
Race Days 21
Hercule Poulet
Edited by DaveTwoBob on 25-05-2015 17:38
With racing in Part 2 about to start here is some news on which riders have progressed in the early part of the season.
Anders Myrvold's work in the wind tunnel is paying off on the flat and during time trials.
Charlie Charneux has made all round progress including cobbles and hills. Adrien Petit has been working on his all round abilities and climbing so he can hang on better when going over the hills in Flanders. We are hoping to see these two being more competitive in races like the Ronde van Vlaanderen.
Also progressing well is Julian Alaphilippe who has been working on his hill climbing, stamina and sprinting with the objective of targeting hilly classics like the Ardennes races.
After a patchy set of previews in Part 1 I decided to change the approach to previewing the races so here is a look at the whole of Part 2.
Ronde van Vlaanderen Scheldeprijs Paris-Roubaix Tour of Belgium Our fledgling cobbles squad will be trying to improve on the performances in the early part of the season. Young talents Adrien Petit and Charlie Charneux have developed well during Part 1 and will be more competitive in these races.
New signings Tomohori Hatanaka and Maui Kalatoa make their debuts in Scheldeprijs and we are looking forward to see how they perform.
We have Top 10 goals in both Scheldeprijs and Paris-Roubaix, and will need a bit of luck for these like William Bonnet getting in the break in Nokere Koerse to achieve a goal earlier in the season.
Anders Myrvold’s work in the wind tunnel has improved his time trialling and we hope he can turn in a good TT in the Tour of Belgium and maybe hang on to a decent GC place.
Klasica Primavera Dani Navarro is hoping for a good showing in this home race. Nicholas Edet or Emanuale Sella are aiming to get in the break while Maui Kalatoa will be testing his climbing legs to see if he can hang on for the sprint.
Brabantse Pijl Julian Alaphilippe has been working on his climbing and sprinting and we are looking forward to seeing how he copes with this Classic. We think Julian has a bright future over this kind of terrain.
Rund um Koln Adrien Petit has been working on his climbing so he can survive the lumpy early part of the route with Maui Kalatoa. They will be in with a shout if the break is caught but if the break survives Tomohori Hatanaka might be fighting for the stage win.
Giro del Trentino With Anders Myrvold’s help we hope to be not too far off the pace after the TTT to give Franco Pellizotti a fighting chance of a good GC placing on home soil.
Tour of Turkey Not expecting too much from our trip to Turkey. GC chances are with Franco Pellizotti, Tomohori Hatanaka should make it into the breaks and Maui Kalatoa will be competing for the sprints.
5 Jours de Dunkerque The home race for Cofidis and we have chosen a goal of grabbing a stage win. The most likely way we could do this would be in a break so we will be looking for attacking riders like Yannick Martinez to get in the breaks and finish the job.
Tour of California We are looking to repeat the success of the Criterium International by bringing most of the same team of Coppel, Navarro and Myrvold all the way to the USA backed by a team of climbers hoping to achieve the goal of a top 10 in GC.
Tour of Norway Anders Myrvold’s home race, it’s a shame there is no time trial but we hope he can repeat the enterprising riding he showed in the Algave and make it into a break to please the home fans and show the sponsors colours.
Tour de Luxembourg Charlie Charneux’s home race has the team looking to get a stage win to achieve our goal. Charlie has improved his cobbling and sprinting, maybe not enough to win a bunch sprint but he could triumph from a breakaway group, fingers crossed.
Criterium du Dauphine The traditional warm up race for Le Tour will see Jérôme Coppel and Dani Navarro battling with some of the Tour hopefuls. We have a wildly optimistic goal of a top 5 in GC, it would take a very unusual set of circumstances to see that happen.
GP Kanton Aargau This CT only race is a hilly circuit race. If it ends in a bunch sprint Maui Kalatoa and Adrien Petit are our best hopes but they are unlikely to beat the sprint power of teams like FDJ. If the repeated hill climb is selective Franco Pellizotti will be there to compete for the win.
Startlist
William Bonnet
Charlie Charneux
Mickaël Delage
Jan Ghyselinck
Vladimir Gusev
Romain Hardy
Yannick Martinez
Adrien Petit
Charlie Charneux and Adrien Petit were hoping to show well after making good progress in training.
Adrien made a brave attempt to bridge across to the BOTD but was caught during the hilly section, he will have to put in some more work on his climbing to make his attacks stick. Charlie put in a strong performance, we were very pleased he was less than 2 mins down on our best rider and the youngster gained some valuable experience.
Adrien paid for his efforts and Mickaël Delage was our best placed finisher in 28th.
Results
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Peter Sagan
Cannondale
6h25'57
2
Borut Božic
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
3
Fabian Cancellara
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
28
Mickaël Delage
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 14'55
33
Adrien Petit
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
50
Yannick Martinez
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 16'35
53
William Bonnet
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
55
Charlie Charneux
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
58
Vladimir Gusev
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
122
Jan Ghyselinck
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 19'14
183
Romain Hardy
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 26'44
Finally I was very impressed with the race coverage, the cameras picked up all the important moves, great stuff.
Startlist
William Bonnet
Charlie Charneux
Mickaël Delage
Jan Ghyselinck
Vladimir Gusev
Romain Hardy
Yannick Martinez
Adrien Petit
Charlie Charneux did a great job to make it into the break.
The initial pace is very high, many riders want to get into the break. The peloton is eager to not let too many riders away and thus increase the dynamic and shifting of the constellation of break of the day. Eventually, a group of five riders get through: Engoulevent, Charneux, Drucker, Dumoulin and Ponzi.
Charlie was able to hang on as Boonen and co stormed past the break where a group of 20 riders formed. Cancellara made one attempt to get away which was closed down and suprisingly that was it until the velodrome. Charlie was totally out of gas finishing 20th but did a fantastic ride to stay with the big beasts and come to the velodrome in the leading group. Give it a few years and he will have a great shot at the cobble trophy.
Results
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Peter Sagan
Cannondale Pro Cycling
6h00'16
2
Greg Van Avermaet
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
3
Alexander Kristoff
Katusha Team
s.t.
20
Charlie Charneux
Cofidis
s.t.
25
Adrien Petit
Cofidis
+ 10'23
52
Mickael Delage
Cofidis
s.t.
59
Yannick Martinez
Cofidis
s.t.
62
William Bonnet
Cofidis
s.t.
96
Jan Ghyselinck
Cofidis
+ 16'37
123
Vladimir Gusev
Cofidis
+ 22'40
Hercule Poulet
Edited by DaveTwoBob on 25-07-2015 17:00
The attacker’s waste no time in try to get clear, it took almost 40 km to get a clear breakaway. In the end only Neirynck (TopSport Vlaanderen), Pellizotti (Cofidis) , Fumeaux (IAM), Nocentini (Champion Systems).
Franco did a great job to get in the break but he is not so good on the cobbles and faded to 33rd. I underestimated the cobbles in this race and the riders all struggled as it was not their strong point, not a good race for the management but at least the sponsor got some good exposure.
On a positive note new signings Maui Kalatoa and Tomohori Hatanaka were able to stretch their legs and got home safely. They both fitted into the team well despite the language difficulties and we are looking forward to seeing how they get on when they ride on more suitable terrain.
Results
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Peter Sagan
Cannondale Pro Cycling
4h47'09
2
Rudy Verboven
Euskaltel - Euskadi
22
3
Geraint Thomas
Sky Procycling
+ 1'35
33
Franco Pellizotti
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 7'23
46
Anthony Geslin
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 13'15
72
Maui Kalatoa
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 14'16
76
Julian Alaphilippe
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
79
Stéphane Poulhiès
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
97
Romain Hardy
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 15'30
119
Guillaume Levarlet
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 16'38
140
Tomohori Hatanaka
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 18'03
Hercule Poulet
Edited by DaveTwoBob on 26-07-2015 00:24
Startlist
Yannick Martinez
Anthony Geslin
Anders Myrvold
Vladimir Gusev
Maui Kalatoa
Ioannis Tamouridis
Yoann Bagot
Tomohori Hatanaka
Boassen Hagen (SKY) and Modolo (BAR) end the top 5. Guido (COL) is 6th, Abundi (MTN) 7th and Lobato (MOV), Van Hummel (LTB) and a reincarnated Kittel (BEL) finish the top 10!
The team hid in the peloton saving their energy for the bunch sprint. Yannick Martinez just missed out on a top 10 to Marcel Kittel.
We are hoping Franco Pellizotti can perform well on home soil and make a top 10 with help from Anders Myrvold in the TTT and fellow Italian Emanuele Sella on the climbs.
Startlist
Yoann Bagot
Gustavo César Veloso
Clément Chevrier
Vladimir Gusev
Anders Myrvold
Franco Pellizotti
Emanuele Sella
Ioannis Tamouridis
Stage 1
This year the parkour starts of a 13,3 km Team Time Trial which might put some teams on a distance already that maybe be unable to overcome. Teams with only 6 riders might have that problem. We’ll see how Giant, Lampre, IAM, Vacansoleil, Neri Sottoli, and Sojasun overcome this problem.
We have brought good TT performers Gustavo César Veloso, Vladimir Gusev, Ioannis Tamouridis and Anders Myrvold to make sure we are not too far off the lead.
Cofidis puts hope in Pellizotti to perform in his home country, however it’s seems unlikely that the Itailian will crack the top 10 in this race seeing the competition. With a time of 17’46” (2nd) they have a average start.
Happy with this results.
Stage Result
Rank
Team
General Time
1
Team Champion System
17'17 (1)
2
Team Giant - Shimano
+ 7 (2)
3
Movistar Team
+ 20 (3)
4
Lampre - Merida
+ 23 (4)
5
Team Katusha
+ 27 (5)
6
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 28 (6)
7
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 30 (7)
8
Vacansoleil - DCM
+ 30 (8)
9
BMC Racing Team
+ 30 (9)
10
Sojasun
+ 32 (10)
11
Cannondale
+ 34 (11)
12
Team NetApp - Endura
+ 34 (12)
13
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 37 (13)
14
IAM Cycling
+ 38 (14)
15
MTN - Qhubeka
+ 40 (15)
16
Neri Sottoli
+ 44 (16)
17
Colombia
+ 50 (17)
18
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
+ 56 (18)
19
Cyclingteam De Rijke
+ 2'02 (19)
Stage 2
Stage 2 is a 156,8 km from Limone Sul Garda to San Giacomo di Brentonico, where the riders will have an easy start to the stage as it only consist of 2 small climbs and a brutal end climb which will deside the stage.
Franco did a great ride to stay with the contenders up the final climb making it into the Top 10 in GC.
Stage Result
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Nairo Quintana
Movistar Team
4h05'37
2
Damian Owniak
BMC Racing Team
+ 1'56
3
Damiano Caruso
Cannondale
s.t.
8
Franco Pellizotti
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 3'17
24
Vladimir Gusev
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 9'04
27
Emanuele Sella
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
49
Yoann Bagot
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 12'16
63
Gustavo César Veloso
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 13'56
77
Ioannis Tamouridis
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 14'22
83
Clément Chevrier
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
113
Anders Myrvold
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 20'55
GC Top 10
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Nairo Quintana
Movistar Team
4h22'54
2
Damian Owniak
BMC Racing Team
+ 2'14
3
Damiano Caruso
Cannondale
+ 2'22
4
Po-ding Kim
Team Champion System
+ 2'33
5
Ryder Hesjedal
Team Giant - Shimano
+ 2'37
6
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - Merida
+ 2'40
7
Simon Spilak
Team Katusha
+ 2'57
8
Janier Acevedo
Team Champion System
+ 3'18
9
Franco Pellizotti
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 3'46
10
Cristiano De las Campos
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 3'49
Stage 3
Stage 3 is a 169,5 km from Mori to Roncone, where the riders won’t find a flat road all day. the climbs however aren’t challenging enough so we’ll probably see a bunch finish on the end climb.
The final climb was very steep and Franco did a fantastic ride to keep with Quintana and gain significant time over his rivals to ride himself onto the podium. Stage Result
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Cristiano De las Campos
Euskaltel - Euskadi
4h30'26
2
Nairo Quintana
Movistar Team
s.t.
3
Franco Pellizotti
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
19
Emanuele Sella
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 4'01
44
Yoann Bagot
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 7'45
49
Vladimir Gusev
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
63
Gustavo César Veloso
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
s.t.
101
Anders Myrvold
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 10'59
112
Clément Chevrier
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 14'47
123
Ioannis Tamouridis
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 18'20
GC Top 10
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Nairo Quintana
Movistar Team
8h53'08
2
Cristiano De las Campos
Euskaltel - Euskadi
+ 3'41
3
Franco Pellizotti
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
+ 3'50
4
Simon Spilak
Team Katusha
+ 3'57
5
Michele Scarponi
Lampre - Merida
+ 5'14
6
Damian Owniak
BMC Racing Team
+ 5'20
7
Janier Acevedo
Team Champion System
+ 5'39
8
Damiano Caruso
Cannondale
+ 6'02
9
Ryder Hesjedal
Team Giant - Shimano
+ 6'17
10
Po-ding Kim
Team Champion System
+ 6'46
Stage 4
Stage 4 is a 177,3 km from Val Daone to Monte Bondone. This will easily decide the GC as we have two tough climbs, one of which is the end climb. The other climb however is fairly early so it might not have that much of an effect
Franco covered his rivals up the long final climb finishing 4th on the stage and defending his podium position. This is an absolutely fantastic result for Cofidis, the sponsor and management are delighted!
. Tomohori's attacking riding fits very well with the Cofidis style and we are looking forward to seeing him in the break.
Some Random 
CT.6 Rund um Koln [21 April]
CT.6 Giro del Trentino [22-25 April]
CT.6 Tour of Norway [21-25 May]
CT.6 Ronde van Belgie [28 May-1 June]
CT.6 Tour de Luxembourg [4-8 June]
Osterreich Rundfhart
Danmark Rundt
Vuelta a Burgos
Tour of Britain
CT.0 GP Kanton Aargau [12 June]
Eneco Tour
Japan Cup
CT.5 Tour of Turkey [27 April-4 May]
Tour of Qinghai Lake
