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Vacansoleil - DCM |2012 and Beyond|
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| Skippy17 |
Posted on 07-07-2012 09:23
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Under 23
Posts: 58
Joined: 29-05-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Database: RSM-News DB 2012
Race Difficulty: Hard
Financial Difficulty: Normal
Development of attributes 0.3
I've decided that i'm a bit impatient to wait for the pcm.daily db (:p) to make a story so i'm using the RSM-News one which i've been using for the past week or so and am quite enjoying it so far.
So I decided to go for a bit of a change on the team I will play. I usually play with Orica-GreenEDGE, Sky or Garmin but decided to give myself a bit more of a challenge by taking on Vacansoleil.
A team intoduction will be posted shortly, hope you enjoy :) |
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| Skippy17 |
Posted on 07-07-2012 09:47
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Under 23
Posts: 58
Joined: 29-05-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Squad Overview
We have a pretty strong list, a decent amount of depth in most areas. We aren't as strong as other teams like BMC and Sky but we are certainly capable of scoring some strong results.
Sponsor Goals
Some fairly tough goals covering most of the big pro tour races. We're not actually expected to win anything (aside from stages in the Tour Down Under) here so scoring those top 5's and top 10's are definitely possible.
Key Riders
Tommy de Gendt, a pretty strong all round rider. No big GT result to his name but this will hopefully be his breakout year. He'll lead the team when the Giro comes around.
Leukemans, probably our strongest rider, has the ability to perform during the classics and will definitely be our leader for the cobbled classics and the Ardennes classics.
Wout Poels, despite being only 24 years of age is a very strong climber. Whether he has what it takes to be a big GT rider is another question as his time trial ability is lacking just a bit. He still has plenty of years to improve on that though.
Denifl is a strong punchy rider, he will help Leukemans in the Ardennes but will get his opportunities throughout the year.
Like Denifl, Devolder will be a key helper to Leukemans, instead for the cobbled classics.
Feillu is one of our strongest sprinters, only van Hummel comes close to being as fast as Romain. Feillu will look to Milan - San Remo and the Tour de France as his main goals this year.
Marcato will have a similar tole to Denifl, but will probably get more opportunities then Denifl. Both are very similar in their abilities though.
A pure sprinter, he will look at the Giro and some races in March to score some good results.
Westra is a strong time trialist but can also climb pretty well, he'll be an important rider throughout the season.
A look ahead
We kick off our season in Australia with the Tour Down Under where we will look to please our sponsors with a stage victory or two. Then we'll spend February trying to build up our riders fitness in preparation for march where we're expected to perform at Paris - Nice, Tirreno and Milan - San Remo. |
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| Kemawir |
Posted on 07-07-2012 11:20
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Amateur
Posts: 3
Joined: 18-07-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Good luck !  |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 07-07-2012 11:21
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Who'll be the leading man for TDF?
Nice choice of team, I'll be following for sure!
Maybe you could take Poels to the Vuelta this year, since TT aren't as important as mountains there? |
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| Skippy17 |
Posted on 07-07-2012 11:28
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Under 23
Posts: 58
Joined: 29-05-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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@Kemawir - thankyou
@Ian - I was planning on having Poels as leader but it's not confirmed at the moment. Vuelta is definitely a possibility, I will consider that.
Race Preview
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Stage 5
Stage 6
Vacansoleil squad
Startlist
This years startlist is a bit weaker compared to previous years, in terms of sprinters at least. van Hummel enters this tour as of the strongest sprinters in the field. Van Hummels competition will include Bozic, Roelandts, Steegmans, Nizzolo, Blythe, Hondo, Bole, Bonnet, Brown, Matthews, Appollonio, Sutton, Swift, Keukeleire and Oss. The climbing field however is still quite the same so Westra will definitely have to work hard to score a good result in the 2 hilly stages. |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 22-11-2024 18:14
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 07-07-2012 11:34
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Team Manager
Posts: 6508
Joined: 14-09-2008
PCM$: 1090.00
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Looks very nice so far. It'll be interesting to see what you can do with those riders.
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| Skippy17 |
Posted on 07-07-2012 11:46
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Under 23
Posts: 58
Joined: 29-05-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Stage 1
The opening stage is flat and so we'll look to score a victory with van Hummel today.
The peloton set off on the first race of the season.
We tried to get Markus into the break today but he wasn't successful and so instead we have 4
riders that have pulled open a gap.
60km in and they have already have 5 minutes on the peloton.
Canuti takes the first intermediate sprint.
Sulzberger wins the only mountain sprint today, he'll wear the KotM jersey tomorrow.
Sulzberger wins the last intermediate sprint.
With 40km to go we're assisting Movistar in the chase and the gap has come down to 2'20.
With 20km to go you can see the peloton just through the trees. Astana and Rabobank have started helping with the chase.
The riders have been caught as we pass under the 10km banner.
Larrson, Ligthart and van Hummel are placed well at the moment with 5km to go. The trains of Astana and Rabobank are in front at the moment.
Larrson hits the front as the sprint begins but Ligthart is having trouble keeping up with him.
However, Ligthart has done well and brings van Hummel into a good position with about 1.5km to go. Porsev and Bole have jumped early.
van Hummel drops back behind a few others as we pass under the 1km banner. He's yet to make his final kick for the line.
van Hummel moves up....
And he's won it!! What a fantastic victory for the team, the first race of the season and we've already satisfied our sponsors.
Stage Results
| Rank | Name | Team | Time | | 1 | Kenny Van Hummel | Vacansoleil - DCM | 3h25'55 | | 2 | Jonas Aaen Jørgensen | SaxoBank | s.t. | | 3 | Geoffrey Soupe | FDJ - BigMat | s.t. | | 4 | Manuel Belletti | Ag2r - La Mondiale | s.t. | | 5 | Gert Steegmans | OmegaPharma - Quick Step | s.t. | | 6 | Adam Blythe | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 7 | Jens Keukeleire | Orica - GreenEDGE | s.t. | | 8 | Christopher Sutton | Sky Professional Cycling Team | s.t. | | 9 | Lloyd Mondory | Ag2r - La Mondiale | s.t. | | 10 | Alexander Porsev | Katusha Team | s.t. |
Overall Classification
| Rank | Name | Team | Time | | 1 | Kenny Van Hummel | Vacansoleil - DCM | 3h25'45 | | 2 | Jonas Aaen Jørgensen | SaxoBank | + 4 | | 3 | Geoffrey Soupe | FDJ - BigMat | + 6 | | 4 | Wesley Sulzberger | Orica - GreenEDGE | s.t. | | 5 | Federico Canuti | Liquigas - Cannondale | s.t. | | 6 | Marcel Sieberg | Lotto - Belisol | s.t. | | 7 | Manuel Belletti | Ag2r - La Mondiale | + 10 | | 8 | Gert Steegmans | OmegaPharma - Quick Step | s.t. | | 9 | Adam Blythe | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 10 | Jens Keukeleire | Orica - GreenEDGE | s.t. |
Edited by Skippy17 on 08-07-2012 05:49
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| purepasd |
Posted on 07-07-2012 11:53
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Domestique
Posts: 541
Joined: 23-01-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Nice victory.. I've also started a career with VCD, and i can tell that TDU was a success 
But good luck with the story |
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| PCM rulezz |
Posted on 07-07-2012 12:06
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1467
Joined: 21-05-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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Nice story I'll follow.
Nice victory for Van Hummel 
Winners never quit, quitters never win.
It's difficult not to be happy when you're surrounded by Belgians. - Mark Cavendish
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 07-07-2012 15:22
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Good Luck with this story
And what a Great start with Van Hummel |
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| Skippy17 |
Posted on 07-07-2012 17:12
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Under 23
Posts: 58
Joined: 29-05-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Stage 2
The stage gets quite hilly towards the finish so this will give Westra an opportunity, the main goal however is to protect van Hummels overall lead.
We move to the front early on to control the pace.
Once again we have 4 riders in todays break.
Soon after the first intermediate sprint happens. Beppu takes first place. GreenEDGE doing well in the intermediate sprints so far this tour.
The road really kicked up towards the top of the KotM sprint but once again Beppu takes full points.
Beppu takes the final sprint point.
With the gap at 5 minutes with 70km to go we send some of our riders at the front to bring the gap down.
Nathan Haas attacks from the peloton with 30km to go.
Chainel, Roelandts and van Winden attack and are now chasing Haas.
A group of 23 riders were left off the back containing some important riders such as Oss, Sutton, Swift and Matthews.
Haas, Roelandts and the others have bridged the gap to the original 4 breakaway riders. The peloton led by us are chasing behind just under a minute down.
BMC have given us a hand in the chase and we're right behind them heading up the final big incline. van Hummel is there and is feeling good.
As we head towards the 1km banner it's Cherel and Gallopin who lead but Kreder is moving fast along the left side of the road and we have Westra following him. van Hummel is still up in the top 20 at the moment.
Westra in a good spot right now.
Lastras has come up on Westras right, Kreder is still leading.
Danilo Hondo, Roy and Burghardt are finishing fast, Westra is starting to fade.
But it's Roy who takes the stage win today. Westra comes in for 4th place while van Hummel finishes comfortable inside the peloton.
Stage Results
| Rank | Name | Team | Time | | 1 | Jérémy Roy | FDJ - BigMat | 3h43'56 | | 2 | Danilo Hondo | Lampre - ISD | s.t. | | 3 | Marcus Burghardt | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 4 | Lieuwe Westra | Vacansoleil - DCM | s.t. | | 5 | Pablo Lastras Garcia | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 6 | Dries Devenyns | OmegaPharma - Quick Step | s.t. | | 7 | Simone Ponzi | Astana | s.t. | | 8 | Karsten Kroon | SaxoBank | s.t. | | 9 | Dmitriy Muravyev | Astana | s.t. | | 10 | Mauro Santambrogio | BMC Racing Team | s.t. |
General Classification
| Rank | Name | Team | Time | | 1 | Kenny Van Hummel | Vacansoleil - DCM | 7h09'41 | | 2 | Jérémy Roy | FDJ - BigMat | s.t. | | 3 | Danilo Hondo | Lampre - ISD | + 4 | | 4 | Fumiyuki Beppu | Orica - GreenEDGE | s.t. | | 5 | Marcus Burghardt | BMC Racing Team | + 6 | | 6 | Geoffrey Soupe | FDJ - BigMat | s.t. | | 7 | Wesley Sulzberger | Orica - GreenEDGE | s.t. | | 8 | Hayden Roulston | Radioshack - Nissan | + 8 | | 9 | Denys Kostyuk | Lampre - ISD | s.t. | | 10 | Victor Cabedo Carda | Euskaltel - Euskadi | s.t. |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 07-07-2012 17:19
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Nice to see Kenny holding on to his GC Lead |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 07-07-2012 18:40
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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I dig your shots, very nice! |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 07-07-2012 23:30
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Ian Butler wrote:
I dig your shots, very nice!
Totally agree, nice photos indeed |
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| PCM rulezz |
Posted on 08-07-2012 09:24
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Protected Rider
Posts: 1467
Joined: 21-05-2011
PCM$: 200.00
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It's good to see that Van Hummel is still in the lead. Let's win some sprints now 
Winners never quit, quitters never win.
It's difficult not to be happy when you're surrounded by Belgians. - Mark Cavendish
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| Skippy17 |
Posted on 08-07-2012 13:20
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Under 23
Posts: 58
Joined: 29-05-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Stage 3
A flat stage today, we'll look to get another stage victory for van Hummel.
2 riders breakaway early, Sulzberger and Guitirrez.
Guitirrez beats Sulzberger to the KotM point.
Sulzberger doesn't lose the sprint point though and ge gains a few more bonus seconds. Bozic beat Soupe to the line for 3rd place.
Sulzberger comfortably takes the final intermediate sprint point. Bozic once again takes 3rd place.
With help from Katusha and Astana, we've started to reel the 2 riders in.
The 2 riders sit up as they are caught with just under 20km to go.
Larrson has done an awesome job to bring us into this position as we hit 5km to go. There's a short incline before we head to the finish, we need to keep our lead.
2.5km to go and Larrson has pulled off. Westra is in the lead now with Ligthart behind ready to lead van Hummel out.
Ligthard leads van Hummel into the final kilometer. R. Kreder, Brown and Appolonio are coming up on the right.
Gallopin hits the lead, van Hummel is trying to come back.
And it's Gallopin who takes the win, had van Hummel kicked earlier I think he would have won but it wasn't to be. He comes in 4th.
Stage Results
| Rank | Name | Team | Time | | 1 | Tony Gallopin | Radioshack - Nissan | 3h16'46 | | 2 | Davide Appollonio | Sky Professional Cycling Team | s.t. | | 3 | Christopher Sutton | Sky Professional Cycling Team | s.t. | | 4 | Kenny Van Hummel | Vacansoleil - DCM | s.t. | | 5 | Graeme Brown | Rabobank | s.t. | | 6 | Simone Ponzi | Astana | s.t. | | 7 | Fabio Sabatini | Liquigas - Cannondale | s.t. | | 8 | Borut Bozic | Astana | s.t. | | 9 | Geoffrey Soupe | FDJ - BigMat | s.t. | | 10 | Raymond Kreder | Team Garmin - Barracuda | s.t. |
General Classification
| Rank | Name | Team | Time | | 1 | Kenny Van Hummel | Vacansoleil - DCM | 10h26'27 | | 2 | Tony Gallopin | Radioshack - Nissan | s.t. | | 3 | Danilo Hondo | Lampre - ISD | + 4 | | 4 | Davide Appollonio | Sky Professional Cycling Team | s.t. | | 5 | Geoffrey Soupe | FDJ - BigMat | + 6 | | 6 | Hayden Roulston | Radioshack - Nissan | + 8 | | 7 | Borut Bozic | Astana | s.t. | | 8 | Simone Ponzi | Astana | + 10 | | 9 | Raymond Kreder | Team Garmin - Barracuda | s.t. | | 10 | Dries Devenyns | OmegaPharma - Quick Step | s.t. |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 08-07-2012 15:30
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Nice result for Van Hummel, to be able to keep the GC lead |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 08-07-2012 16:53
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Nice sprinting, a great victory for Gallopin, though! |
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