Team Managers 1st Tom Boveree 2nd Daan Luijkx, Michel Cornelisse, Hilaire Van der Schueren
Bicycles Batavus
Budget
€ 6.000.000
UCI Stats
VAC (UCI-code)
Nation: the Netherlands
Pro Continental League
Team Managers: 4
Cyclist: 22
Medical staff: 5
Welcome to my career story of the Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team. The season is just about to start and we are glad were in it! We hope to show our jerseys, everybody who knows Vacansoleil, knows we are a team of attackers. With our two main leaders we hope to ride some nice results, Björn in the smaller Belgian classics and with Johnny we have rider for smaller stages. We hope to get invited to a stage race like Paris-Nice so we can show our potential. Because potential we have, this is 2009 but in 2011 we set ourselves a goal of racing in the Pro Tour League. But still a lot has to be done, we need a few new riders, who can win a spring classic and one who can hit the podium at a stage race. First we will see what will happen to us this season, my boys and me are really excited!
Here they are…
Cyclist
Leaders Johnny Hoogerland (attack) Björn Leukemans (hill/cobble)
Helpers Wouter Mol (flat) Sergei Lagoetin (hills) Wim de Vocht (flat) Arnoud van Groen (flat/sprint) Reinier Honig (flat) Jens Mouris (flat) Martin Mortensen (cobble) Matthé Pronk (flat) Frederik Veuchelen (flat)
Cyclo-cross Thijs van Amerongen (attack)
Goals
Sponsor
Top 10 in Bayern Rundfarht
Top 10 in GP Chiasso Achieved Wout Poels, 5th
Top 5 in Ronde van het Groene Hart
Top 5 in Rund um den Henninger Turm
Top 10 in Rund um Köln
Other favorite sponsor races Dutch Championships Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne Nokere Koerse Nationale Sluitingsprijs Omloop door het Houtland
Own Goals Become a Pro Tour team for the season of 2011 Win the Dutch Road Race Championships Top 5 of the Pro Continental team ranking Get invited to at least one Grand Tour Top 10 of the Pro Continental individual ranking
Others Sign a spring-classic rider for the season of 2010 Find two new sponsor for the season of 2010 Sign a young talent for the season of 2010 Sign two trainers with a higher level for the season of 2010 Sign a stage-racer for the season of 2010
Transfers
Out Bobbie Traksel (probably renewal)
In
Non
Contact With Free Agents Vladimir Gusev (cobble/timetrial) Thomas Dekker (stages) Rob Ruijgh (talent/mountain) Ben Hermans (talent/flat/cobble) Sergio Ghisalberti (mountain) Pieter Vanspeybrouck (talent/flat) Joost van Leijen (attack) Fabio Sacchi (flat) Magnus Bäckstedt (flat/cobble)
Contract Ends Alex Rasmussen (timetrial)
Contract Brice Feillu (mountain) Serge Pauwels (mountain) Boy van Poppel (talent/sprint) Jurgen Vandenbroeck (stages) Kevin Seeldraeyers (talent/mountain) Ricardo van der Velde (talent/attack) Peter Velits (talent/mountain)
Tomorrow, my main riders wil be introduced!Edited by Tombola on 30-01-2010 08:31
Name: Björn Leukemans
Nickname: Zorro
Date of Birth: 1 juli, 1977
Place of Birth: Deurne, Belgium
Height: 177cm
Weight: 68 kg
Favorite Races
Amstel Gold Race & Paris-Roubaix
Best Abilities
Hill, Cobbles and Attack
History Teams
Palmans-Colstrop, Predictor-Lotto
History Wins
1999, 2nd stage, Tour of Navarra
2004, 5th stage, Tour of Belgium
2007, 4th stage, Tour of Austria
Name: Johnny Hoogerland
Nickname: De Bull van Beveland, Hooligan
Date of Birth: 13 mei, 1983
Place of Birth: Yerseke, the Netherlands
Height: 179cm
Weight: 65 kg
Favorite Races
Amstel Gold Race, Eneco Tour, Tour of Germany
Best 3 Abilities
Attack, Mountain and Hills
History Teams
Van Hemert-Eurogifts, Jartazi, Van Vliet
History Wins
2001, Tour of Flanders (Junior)
2004, 2nd stage, Ruban Granitier Breton
2006, GP Briek Schotte
2007, 2nd stage, Tour of Slowake
2008, Wanzele koerse / Tour of Limburg / Tour of Midden-Brabant / Lus van Roden
Bobbie Traksel, a winner on the flat and windy races. He really likes bad weather and can be a good help for his teammates. He was a part of the Rabobank team for several years but his talents never showed up. Despite his win in the Tour of Flanders for u23, in 2008 he really did a step forward by winning the “Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen” and outsprinting Nico Eeckhout in a stage. He also had great results in Olympias Tour. He want to be in shape for the spring classic’s, especially the Dutch and Belgium ones.
Gerben Lowik, he was part of Giant, Bankgiroloterij and Rabobank for a long time. A professional since 1996 with a lot of nice results but not really a winner. But he is a real teamplayer and that what makes him so important for Vacansoleil. He has experience and learns our young talents a lot. Maybe he is able to ride some great results this year. Gerben is more a hard-rider then a finisher so we will see.
Aart Vierhouten is a true captain, was also part of Rabobank for several years. But also from our biggest opponent, Skil-Shimano. Like Gerben he is really a teamplayer and a good help! He didn’t win a lot in his career but he has so much experience that he plays a important role in the team.
Mateo Carrara, a good sprinter with nice hill abilties. But also not really a winner, a lot of nice results but since he was a professional cyclist he didn’t win a lot. The years 2000 and 2003 were the big years for him, maybe now, almost 6 years later we can help him back to the winning spirit. The team staff and I now he has the abilities for it!
Borut Bozic, this guy won a lot for several years. A true sprinter with ferm legs! We hope we get invited to a Grand Tour so Borut can win a stage for Vacansoleil. We are counting on Bozic for a lot of victories and will help him ride to the finish as much as the team can.
Baden Cooke, has seen a lot from the World. Has been in several teams, but still is a good rider. Unless he is a “Aussie” he likes bad weather the most, same as riding on cobble stones. Baden is not a mass-sprinter like Bozic but in a small group he is able to take the victory.
Lieuw Westra, this is a guy people. He quit cycling for several years because house parties and drinking were way more important. But in 2007 he came back in the peloton, more focused then ever! Did a great Olympias Tour and his a hell of a timetrialist, they call him the Beast!
Marco Marcato, a great help on the flat. Same as Baden he is a killer in the sprint with a small group. But he defiantly doesn’t like bad weather. Marco’s problem is that he doesn’t like to do his training, that’s a shame otherwise he could be a great winner!
Wout Poels and Clement l’Hottelerie, two young guns who are the future of Vacansoleil. Both with climbing abilities and a fantastic spirit. We let them ride some nice stages races so they can see what is about to happen when they are in the lead for the future.
The rest are all good helpers, flat and classic racers. Lagoetin is a nice help in the hills, with some changes to win for himself, and the team of course. Mortensen is a great help on the cobbles with aspects for the future, the rest of them are riders for the flat with a firm sprint in their legs. Then we have Thijs van Amerongen, the future of cyclocross in Holland. We will see what he is up to in the road season!
Edited by Tombola on 28-01-2010 13:50
Januari
11th Australia ITT / NC
14th Australia RR / NC
28th Tour of Quatar / 2.1
Not anything big, maybe Cooke is able to get back to Europe but a top 10 place would be nice. We heard that Evans and O'Grady are already in a good shape...
I'm only reporting about major races or goals, because of school and work únfortunatly I am not able to make a report of every race! But when I do one, it will be huge First one will be GP Chiasso, our sponsor wants us in the Top 10.Edited by Tombola on 29-01-2010 12:39
Date 11-01-09 National Championships of Australia IT
1st Cadel Evans – Silence Lotto – 42’53
2nd Mark Renshaw – Columbia-HTC + ‘43
3rd Cameron Wurf – Fuji +1’06 9th Baden Cooke – Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 2’44
Good result, we had Baden on the phone while he said that Evans was absolute amazing. But he was also amazed of Renshaw, he turned from sprinter to timetrialist this winter?
Date 14-01-09 National Championships of Australia RR
1st Cadel Evans – Silence Lotto – 3h47’26
2nd Cameron Wurf– Columbia-HTC + ‘0
3rd– Mitchell Docker – Skil Shimano + ’0 13th Baden Cooke – Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 2’36
Baden was disappointed, he would like to have the Australian jersey but nobody was able to keep the bunch together. Evans was just way to strong and easily outsprinted Wurf and Docker, Baden said his legs were not the problem but he was just alone without any team mates. Maybe we can help him in Qatar!
Date 28-01-09 till 02-02-09
Tour of Quatar
General Classification
1 Tom Boonen Quickstep 16h26'53
2 Steven De Jongh Quickstep + 20
3 Kurt Hovelynck Quickstep s.t.
4 Sébastien Rosseler Quickstep s.t.
5 Stijn Devolder Quickstep s.t.
6 Dominique Cornu Quickstep s.t.
7 Grégory Rast Astana Cycling Team + 25
8 Dimitri Muravyev Astana Cycling Team s.t.
9 Maxim Iglinskiy Astana Cycling Team s.t.
10 Chechu Rubiera Astana Cycling Team s.t. 13 Baden Cooke Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 28
Points Classification 1 Baden Cooke Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 136
2 Romain Feillu Agritubel 133
3 Tom Boonen Quickstep 119
4 Mark Renshaw Team Columbia - HTC 104
5 Hilton Clarke Fuji - Servetto 64
6 Murilo Fischer Liquigas 64
7 Greg Van Avermaet Silence - Lotto 56
8 Christian Kux Team Milram 49
9 Marcel Sieberg Team Columbia - HTC 47
10 Bernhard Eisel Team Columbia - HTC 46
We are very happy with our Points jersey! It was the best we could get. After the TTT the General Classification wasn’t doable for Baden but luckily he stayed in front of Agritubel sprinter Romain Feillu to take the white jersey!
Monthly Results at 1st of February Continental Individual Standings
1st Romain Feillu - Agritubel – 63 points 2nd Baden Cooke - Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team – 44 “
3rd Slawomie Kohut – Amore & Vita – McDonalds – 44 “
Continental Team Standings
1st Cervélo Test Team – 117 points
2nd Amore & Vita – McDonalds – 82 “
3rd Agritubel – 63 “ 5th Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team – 50 “Edited by Tombola on 29-01-2010 15:36
Februari
6th GP d’Ouverture des Marseillaise / 1.1
11th – 15th Challenge Vuelta a Mallorca / 2.1
18th – 25th Amgen Tour of California / 2.HC
25th Tour de Haut Var 1.1
Still nothing big, but California and Mallorca are important preparing races for our first goal on March the 3rd!
Edited by Tombola on 29-01-2010 13:14
Thanks! For now I have to work, just ride Challenge Mallorca and the Amgen Tour. After work I will do a report WITH screens about the GP Chiasso!!!
Edited by Tombola on 29-01-2010 15:38
Here is a report of the events in Februari! Not a long time left to the first full report of this story, GP Chiasso! After that, the team management has another surprise!
Date 6th GP d’Ouverture la Marseillaises 1 Gerben Löwik Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 3h18'38
2 Baden Cooke Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team ‘14
3 Lieuwe Westra Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
4 Florian Vachon Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
5 Xavier Florencio Cervélo Test Team s.t.
6 Greg Henderson Team Columbia - HTC s.t.
7 Alexandre Lemair Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
8 Paul Moucheraud Roubaix Lille Métropole s.t.
9 Lilian Jégou Bretagne Schuller s.t.
10 Mathieu Ladagnous Française des Jeux s.t. 56 Clément L'Hottelerie Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
58 Johnny Hoogerland Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
60 Wout Poels Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
92 Arnoud Van Groen Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
A really nice result! It looked like we were overwhelming the race but that isn’t true. Gerben Lowik was in the early breakaway and by not putting all his effort in it he could survive with Frenchman Paul Moucheraud from the Roubaix Lille Métropole team. But Moucheraud was caught by the bunch. Westra did a lead out for Baden Cooke and was riding so hard that a few sprinters already cracked before the sprint was even beginning. Lieuwe told me he was in tip-top-condition to ride a solid Amgen Tour of California, especially the two time trials. Maybe the General classification because the stages are not so hard this year.
Date 11th – 17th Challenge Vuelta a Mallorca General Classification
1 Chris Horner Astana Cycling Team 13h16'34
2 Xavi Tondo Andalucia - Cajasur + 17
3 Carlos Barredo Quickstep + 26
4 Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Épargne + 28
5 Christophe Moreau Agritubel + 58
6 Michael Barry Team Columbia - HTC + 1'28
7 Joaquim Rodríguez Caisse d'Épargne + 1'30
8 Josep Jufré Fuji - Servetto + 1'39
9 José Iván Gutiérrez Caisse d'Épargne s.t.
10 Ezequiel Mosquera Xacobeo Galicia + 1'52 52 Björn Leukemans Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 7'41
64 Thijs Van Amerongen Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 11'14
105 Martin Mortensen Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 16'59
106 Matthé Pronk Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 17'04
116 Wim De Vocht Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 17'54
118 Wout Poels Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 18'00
127 Borut Bozic Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 18'58
130 Aart Vierhouten Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
137 Frederik Veuchelen Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
Points Classification
1 Romain Feillu Agritubel 6
2 Freddy Bichot Agritubel 6
3 Mark Renshaw Team Columbia - HTC 5
4 José Antonio Redondo Andalucia - Cajasur 4
5 David Herrero Xacobeo Galicia 3
6 Frederik Willems Liquigas 3
7 Xavi Tondo Andalucia - Cajasur 3
8 Dominik Roels Team Milram 2
9 Valery Kobzarenko Team Type 1 2
10 Christophe Moreau Agritubel 1
Mountain Classification
1 Aleksandr Kuschynski Liquigas 27
2 Valery Kobzarenko Team Type 1 21
3 Aitor Hernández Euskaltel - Euskaldi 20
4 Xavi Tondo Andalucia - Cajasur 20
5 Freddy Bichot Agritubel 20
6 David García Dapena Xacobeo Galicia 20
7 Francisco José Martínez Andalucia - Cajasur 17
8 José Antonio Redondo Andalucia - Cajasur 14
9 Mirko Selvaggi Amica Chips - Knauff 8
10 Francisco Pacheco Contentpolis - Ampo 7
In the results you can see this really was a preparing stage race for the opening season of ours. Björn had no pressure on him and only tested his legs for one day, that was the last stage were he became 4th. He attacked with Moreau and two others but Leukemans isn't a good sprinter, but it seems like his condition is quit good.
Date: 18th – 25th Amgen Tour of California General Classification 1 Lieuwe Westra Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 25h34'11
2 Philip Deignan Cervélo Test Team + 41
3 Jeff Louder BMC Racing Team + 1'19
4 Daniel Lloyd Cervélo Test Team + 2'23 5 Matteo Carrara Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 2'25
6 Bauke Mollema Rabobank + 2'29
7 Charles Wegelius Silence - Lotto + 2'34
8 Victor Hugo Peña Rock Racing Team + 2'36
9 Jens Voigt Team Saxo Bank + 2'50
10 Johan Vansummeren Silence - Lotto s.t.
27 Johnny Hoogerland Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 4'32
29 Wout Poels Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 4'36
36 Björn Leukemans Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 4'54
41 Sergei Lagutin Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 6'08
42 Clément L'Hottelerie Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 6'13
53 Marco Marcato Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 9'46
Points Classification 1 Lieuwe Westra Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 110
2 Tyler Farrar Garmin - Slipstream 67
3 Stuart O'Grady Team Saxo Bank 62
4 Murilo Fischer Liquigas 61
5 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank 60
6 Edvald Boasson Hagen Team Columbia - HTC 50
7 Stef Clement Rabobank 48
8 Matteo Carrara Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 40
9 Alexandr Kolobnev Team Saxo Bank 37
10 Markus Zberg BMC Racing Team 35
Mountain Classification
1 Fabian Cancellara Team Saxo Bank 56 2 Matteo Carrara Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 54
3 Stef Clement Rabobank 50
4 Alexander Boyd Rock Racing Team 32
5 Timothy Johnson OUCH presented by Maxxis 28
6 Jeff Louder BMC Racing Team 26
7 Tom Stubbe Silence - Lotto 24
8 Ignas Konovalovas Cervélo Test Team 20
9 André Greipel Team Columbia - HTC 18
10 Chad Beyer BMC Racing Team 18
What a race is was, it started good already. In the prologue Lieuwe became second just 1 second after Quinziato. We know this stage race wasn’t really tough and hoped that Westra could hang on in the hardest stage, but he had the peloton go. Then their were his teammates, l’Hottelerie and Carrara were riding like a rocket on the downhill section and with only one kilometer to go they closed the gap with the peloton of 30 riders. At that same moment Lagutin won the sprint of the small bunch giving us our second victory of the season! In the first stage the bunch let the breakaway go and they got three minutes behind already. But Westra had a great timetrial, with a condition of 91 and a form of the day of 5+ he won the timetrial 55 seconds ahead of Zabriskie. Still he was second behind Jeff Louder, the lucky breakaway boy from the BMC Racing Team. But then the last stage was a hell, really nothing was happening and in the last 9 kilometer there was a huge crash. More then 40 riders were on the ground including leader Louder, it was not the most fair way to win but I can’t help it in this situation. Carrara thanks his 5th place to a breakaway, he and Cancellara were the only ones left, but Mateo won the sprint easily and stayed more then 2 minutes in front of the peloton. Cancellara was tired of riding for the mountain jersey.
Date: 25th Tour du Haut Var
1 Heinrich Haussler Cervélo Test Team 4h23'22
2 Luca Paolini Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo s.t.
3 Stefano Garzelli Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo s.t.
4 Carlos Sastre Cervélo Test Team s.t.
5 Wladimir Miholjevic Liquigas s.t.
6 José Angel Gómez Marchante Cervélo Test Team + 29
7 Gianpaolo Caruso Ceramica Flaminia - Bossini Docce s.t.
8 Pierre Rolland BBOX - Bouygues Telecom s.t.
9 Luca Mazzanti Team Katusha + 1'01
10 Gorazd Stangelj Liquigas s.t. 12 Gerben Löwik Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 1’28
30 Borut Bozic Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 3'17
63 Baden Cooke Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 8'28
81 Thijs Van Amerongen Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 9'31
92 Frederik Veuchelen Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 11'04
120 Bobbie Traksel Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 17'31
126 Wouter Mol Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 19'55
134 Reinier Honig Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 21'45
Gerben did well in du Haut Var and Borut did the best he can. It was not really a race for us, we had no one there who could go for a podium spot so attacking was the only option. Cyclocross van Amerongen did that very well but never came really far, to much hills for him…
Other news!
We got invited to Paris-Nice, our first Pro Tour race of the season. This thanks to Lieuwe and the squad in California, we are second in the team ranking and the organization would like to have some attacking teams, well here we are! One of our leaders, Björn Leukemans also got invited for the Belgian cobble race “E3-prijs Vlaanderen”. But the first goal of Björn is Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, one of his favorite races…
Monthly Results at 1st of March
Continental Individual Standings
1st Thor Hushovd – Cervelo Test Team – 553 points
2nd Lieuwe Westra - Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team – 344”
3rd Heinrich Haussler – Cervelo Test Team – 274”
Continental Team Standings
1st Cervélo Test Team – 1053 points
2nd Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team – 553“
3rd Serrameti PVC Diq. – Androni Giocatteli 153“
The team is now looking forward to our first goal, top 10 in the Swiss GP Chiasso! You will see a full race report of the Swiss race, but also from Paris-Nice were we are going to show our yellow-blue jerseys!
Edited by Tombola on 29-01-2010 23:35
GP Chiasso
The Gran Premio di Chiasso is an annual road bicycle race held annually in Chiasso, Switzerland. It has been organised since 1995 and since 2005 as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It has famous winners like Pellizotti, Rebellin and Kirchen. Last year there was no winner because the race wasn’t held because of financial issues.
C. Sastré (CTT), D. Cunego (LAM), J. Cobo (Fuji) R. Nocentini (AG2R), F. Wegmann (MRM), M. Scarponi (SDG) B. Leukemans (VAC), L. Mazzanti (KAT), S. Joly (FDJ)
Here is the start-list;
lampre
1. D.Cunego
2. P.Caucchioli
3. M.Da Dalto
4. F.Gavazzi
5. M.Marzano
6. M.Mori
7. M.Santambrogio
8. S.Spilak
Matthé Pronk was standing in the front but will be the first Vacansoleil rider who has to let the peloton go. Also because he was a few days in Februari.
Hinault (AG2R) at the front of the peloton, pulling the pack over the first hills, nothing happening jet…
First happening! Steven Cummings took the corner with a speed which was to high…
Well, off they go! It’s Sestili (CMF), followed by Wout Poels (VAC) and Capelli (Fuji). Wout is in a nice form so hopefully he could keep up with all those grown up guys around him, he is only 20 years old!
There are more people who wanted to join the breakaway, Rabon is followed by Impey, Wynants. The gap was not even a minute so within a few kilometer the two groups are together.
Roulston is pulling the pack forward, Sastre must be in shape because they pull hard. Do they want to tire everybody? Is Sastre such a good shape…
The two groups are together and the peloton sets a easy pace, they are letting the breakaway go! It are Rabon, Sestili, Santambrogio, Capelli, Wynants, Rodriguez, Impey, Pichot and Giordani. Their maximum lead is 4.26’ with 70k to go, looks like their not going to make it because AG2R and Cervelo Test Team are reducing the advantage.
More attacks to come, this time it is Stortoni who is trying to get away, along with Stangelj, Wisler and Brändl. It is starting to be a bit more serious now!
Here comes the train, like I said, Cervelo, AG2R, few Katusha’s and a lost Serrameti rider for Scarponi probably. Reducing the gap to 3’00 with 60k to go, doesn’t look bright for the escapee’s.
Here are the names of the 15 leaders, Rabon, Sestili, Santambrogio, Capelli, Wynants, Rodriguez, Impey, Pichot, Giordani, Stortini, Wisler, Senac, Brändl, Bodnar and of course Poels!
Finetto can’t wait and I trying to close the gap, going like a stone in the descent! In his wheel are Stangelj, Glomser, Van de Walle and Oekranian Champion Pidgornyy.
First group which have the peloton to let go, not soon later Matthé Pronk will follow…
The breakaway boys are starting to feel their legs now, it’s the 7th time they ride up this hill. I’m very glad that Wout was in the breakaway so we can rest in the peloton. With 40k to go the gap is still 2.40’, they didn’t reduce it a lot. I told Poels to rest and let the new comers like Pidgornyy do the job, maybe he could make it to the end, he has a condition of 86 after all.
This is serious, with 30k to go it are the favorites who attack, first is Cobo, followed by Cunego, Miholjevic and Wegmann. The German can attack for the longest time but when he looks back, he sees Cervelo Leader Sastre attacking a few seconds after them. In Sastres wheel its Scarponi, I told that or Hoogerland, or Leukemans had to follow those guys!
Leukemans couldn’t reach it to the 6 strong men of the day, Sastre looks in a good condition and steamed through the breakaway with Scarponi. But Sastres attack lasted longer, the other 4 like Cobo, stayed in the group of Wout. We liked that because we had to ride top 10 today! But there are two guys in front, and Poels rides in a group of 13… The winner was Sastre, that was clear, but more important for us, could Wout save the team!
Yes he did! As you see on this shot, I told Wout to get in the wheel of Wegmann because he was one of the fastest, just to make sure for top 10. But Mazzanti was boxing Wout, so Wout stayed in the wheel of Luca. He had to give it all because he has 55 sprint ability! But as you can see, he even finished in front of Cunego. In the back of the group, you just see Leukemans arriving.
The results of today’s race
1 Carlos Sastre Cervélo Test Team 4h30'32
2 Michele Scarponi Serramenti PVC Diq. - Androni Giocattoli + 35
3 Fabian Wegmann Team Milram s.t.
4 Luca Mazzanti Team Katusha s.t. 5 Wout Poels Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
6 Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R - La Mondiale s.t.
7 Gerrit Glomser Vorarlberg - Corratec s.t.
8 Damiano Cunego Lampre - N.G.C. s.t.
9 Mauro Finnetto CSF group - Navigarre s.t.
10 Ruslan Pidgornyy ISD s.t. 14 Björn Leukemans Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
17 Matteo Carrara Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 1'58
22 Sergei Lagutin Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
42 Johnny Hoogerland Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
79 Gerben Löwik Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
83 Thijs Van Amerongen Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team s.t.
125 Matthé Pronk Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team + 7'24
We are happy with the results, there were some strong leaders there but thanks to our young talented Dutchman we have Achieved our first goal!
The next race will be Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, one of the favorite races of leader Björn Leukemans! The next full report will be about Ronde van het Groene Hart, another sponsor goal!
