This year's Tour saw a war of attrition though the Alps, Rigoberto Uran would take the jersey out of the alps. But Simon Spilak wore him down in the hills and broke away from close rival Dekker on the Port to Bales stage in the Pyrenees. Crashes marred Taylor Phinney's tour but he proved his pedigree by romping home in the final ITT.
Winner: Simon Spilak (Warner Brothers)
2nd: Thomas Dekker (Phillips-TDC)
3rd: Juroslav Popovich (Carmeuse Cyclisme)
Danielle Benatti won the battle of the sprinters down the Champs Elysees and also took three other stages.
Points: Danielle Benatti (La Gazzeta)
KoM: Alberto Contador (Festina)
Youth: Simon Spilak (Warner Brothers)
Team: B and O
Giro d'Italia:
The Giro was won by the little prince for the sixth time in a row, but it was not without its drama with Cunego crashing in the first week and looking decidedly average on the first mountain climb. Cunego though put on the after burners on Monte Grappa at the beginning of the second half of the race and never looked back. He took the Pink jersey on the Plan de Corenas Mountain Time Trial and even beat team mate Rogers on the flatter TT in Verona.
Winner: Damiano Cunego (La Gazzeta)
2nd: Emmanuelle Sella (Lipton Iced Tea)
3rd: Vincenzo Nibali (Domina Vacanze)
Points: Damiano Cunego (La Gazzeta)
KoM: Emmanuella Sella (Lipton Iced Tea)
Youth: Sergia Henao Montoya (Nespresso)
Team: La Gazzetta dela Sport
Vuelta d'Espana:
The Vuelta saw Valverde return to the Protour in style taking the race after a ding dong battle with Intxausti until the key day where Intxausti crashed and lost his way on stage 17. Valverde eased his way through that one and proved his worth winning the last hilly stage.
Winner: Alejandro Valverde (Cafe de Columbia)
2nd: Andy Schleck (Domina Vacanze)
3rd: Jose Rujano (Pearl Adidas)
Points: Jurgen Roelandts (Carmuese Cyclisme)
KoM: Alejandro Valverde (Cafe de Columbia)
Youth: David Abal (Santander)
Team: Jack Wolfskin
The Ardennes:
Amstal Gold: Edvald Boesson Hagen (B and O)
Fleche Walloone: Damiano Cunego (La Gazzetta)
L-B-L: Frank Schleck (Vesuvio)
Amstel Gold took place in wet conditions this year and it was Edvald Boesson Hagen who had come into the Cauberg with Jan Bakelandts (Pearl Adidas) and kicked away from him to sprint to a fine win. It was a two up move at the Fleche Wallonie as well as absent from Amstel Gold Cunego went with Robert Gesink with 5km to go and eased away from the Dutchman on the Huy - Tour de France winner Spilak could not close it.
La Doyanne saw Frank Schleck in utterly dominant mood, saving his strength in the Ardennes season for the last 20km of this race. After bringing the favourites out he toyed with them on the Cote de St Nicholas ahead of clearly jaded Amstel winner Boesson Hagen and Fleche champ Cunego.
Cobbles:
Omloop: Marcus Burghadt
Strade Bianchi: Nick Nuyens
G-W: Alessandro Ballan
RvV: Alessandro Ballan
Paris Roubaix: Tom Boonan
This year's cobbles season opened with a false dawn really at the Omloop race with the previous year's big cobbled success taking the win, but Marcus Burghardt would be edged off of the winner's podium in the big two. It was Alessandro Ballan who won the Gent Wegelum by timing his move to perfection and gave a masterclass at the Tour of Flanders. He attacked well before the main climbing difficulties and no-one could get near him. But Boonan won the queen of the classics making the biggest attack and getting away from the crowd. Nothing for Cancellara this year.
San Remo/Lombardie
MSR: Alessandro Ballan (Sony Ericsson)
Lombardie: Frank Schleck (Vesuvio)
No joy for the sprinters in their classic as Italian northern classics expert Ballan excaped their clutches in the finale. Meanwhile Frank Schleck was on top form in the season finale, confirming Vesuvio's top five Teams position.
Trofimov Sony's star
Winner of Tirrano Adratico, Classique de Grand Duche and Tour of the Basque country
Master of the hilly stages Sony Ericsson's big weapon landed two early season tours in Italy and Spain and the pre tour classic in Luxembourg. If that was not enough the Russian took a very decent 6th place in the Vuelta.
Phinney Mania
Winner of the Tour de Suisse and the Tour of Califiornia
Taylor Phinney is going to be the Wikipedia star of future seasons he went from strength to strength this year winning two stage races and pulling himself back from a crash to top ten in the Tour de France.
Frankie's Adventures
Winner of the FDB Eire Tour, Yeketingberg and Badaling International
Schleck the elder managed to rescue his Ardennes season with a determined perfomance at La Doyenne. He then dominated the field in Ireland to take the Eire Tour and took some podiums and a fine win on the Olympic course at the Badaling International. Then cam his zenith with two superb victories in Russia and Italu
Hungry like a wolf?
Robert Gesink takes the Tour of Romandie and Team blast to TTT victory in Eindhoven.
Sony Ericsson may be the promoted team that everyone was talking about, but Jack Wolfskin have also had a very fine year. Known for their expertise against the clock it was hardly surprising that they were one of the challengers in the Team Time Trial at Eindhoven. They won a thrilling (for a TTT) victory there and it was a team time effort that kept Gesink in contention for a winning break on the fifth stage in the Tour of Romandie.
Late season charge from Pearl Adidas
GP de Fourmies and Deutschland Tour
Rather than dwell on a poor TdF performance where Vanderbeist did not win a stage and Fothen failed to defend his crown badly, the Pearl boys picked themselves up to charge back up to 3rd place on the teams classification. Fothen took his home tour in a close battle and Vanderbeist took the lone Protour sprinting classic in France.
Early season stage races
Tour of Qatar: William Ford (Auber)
Paris Nice: Emmanuelle Sella (Lipton Iced Tea)
Volta: Alejandro Valverde (Cafe de Columbia)
Crit Int.: Samuel Sanchez Gil (Festina - Corona)
The season opener in Qatar saw Auber 93 give a demonstration in how to win the small races by dominating the team time test - the final stage's wind though dramatically altering the final classification. In the Paris Nice we saw Sella show everyone that he just could break Cunego's legacy with an impressive attack on the queen stage, likewise Valverde put down a Vuelta marker at the Volta. Festina's team are known for its all round consistency and the Criterium International proved the perfect foil for this as Sammy Sanchez surprised the pure Time Triallist by putting enough time into them in the hilly stage.
Mid season
Rund um Koln: Leonardo Duque (Energie Diesal)
Dauphine: Simon Spilak (Warner Brothers)
Siene-Marne-Siene: Tejay Van Garderen (Wikipedia)
One of the biggest surprises of the season came in Germany as Energie Diesal's Leonardo Duque took the win at the Rund um Koln hilly race. They needed another couple of results like these though to stick around in the big leagues. Tom Boonan just about got Warner brothers through the early season though they were all about Spilak in June and July as the Slovenian gave early warning of what was ahead in the Dauphine. Likewise for the worlds when Tejay Van Garderen won the more selective than expected Siene-Marne-Siene.
Late Season stage racing:
Asturias: Damiano Cunego (La Gazzetta)
Northern Europe: Fabian Cancellara (Carmuese Cyclisme)
Herbiers: Michael Rogers (La Gazzetta)
The mountains Angilira based route in Asturias was always going to suit the best climbers, so fitting the best climber in the world in Cunego won it. La Gazzetta were a couple of better classic results away from defending their Protour crown they still managed second though as Rogers took them to that position overpowering Zabriskie and Phinney in their yearly TT battle. Northern Europe tour looked like one made for the joint TTing and cobbled skills of Cancellara, he won comfortably with the cobbled stage causing chaos once again.
They are actually my favourite protour team with probably Cafe du Columbia a close second, so I am biased.
I like the way you have a national focus without going overboard (not that an all Dutch protour team is really possible). I wonder if you can shave off some of Gesinks/Cornus wage to maybe afford another big hitter in your team?
They are actually my favourite protour team with probably Cafe du Columbia a close second, so I am biased.
I like the way you have a national focus without going overboard (not that an all Dutch protour team is really possible). I wonder if you can shave off some of Gesinks/Cornus wage to maybe afford another big hitter in your team?
It's nice to hear that. Oh, and we are much cooler than Colombia
I expected Gesink's wage to stay where it is at this moment, but Cornu should accept a lower one for sure. And there's also Ruben Plaza. But with 2 certain Belgian riders not looking to good to continue with the team, I should have some space to bring in another 'big' rider, probably a third stage racer.
Edited by alexkr00 on 13-03-2011 08:18
