Thor Hushovd- Who else than the World champion? Hushovd will be the leader of the squad in the cobble-classics. After that he will relax and prepare for the Tour.


Ryder Hesjedal- Ryder is our best stage racer at the moment. The staf thinks that the Tour startlist will be to strong to get a good GC-result, so he will probably ride the Giro.


Tyler Farrar- Farrar will be our main sprinter this season. The staf decided that Farrar will ride both Giro and Vuelta, aiming for stage wins and perhaps a pointjersey.



Johan Vansummeren- Johan is our second cobble-leader. He will probably ride many races, because he is a good helper for nearly every race.


Heinrich Hausler- Heinrich will be our main man in the Santos Tour down Under. He will be important for our sprinttrain.



Sep Vanmarcke- one of the biggest cobble talents in the world. He will get lots of race days to develop.

Michel Kreder- Michel is a classic and a sprinting talent. He will get his chances for sure!

So, it is time for my first race of the season!


This is an easy day. Protect Tyler, chase the BOTD, and make sure that Farrar is in an excellent position!


155 km to go- An attack of Routley (SpiderTech) followed by Caccia (Farnese Vini) and Adrenacci (D'angelo). Three riders would be a nice BOYD, so Jonathan told us to let them go.


150 km to go- The break is joined by another nine riders, and we decided that we won't take the risk to let them go.


144 km to- We have some luck here, because without a good reason Landbouwkrediet started to chase. Soon the break is catched and we are all together again.


135 km to go- After some new attacks a group of eight riders are in front, and the peloton let them go. So far, everything is under control.


88.2 km to go- the break has now 6'31 on the peloton, as we started to chase. Sky is helping us.


14.5 km to go- The break was strong, but at the end, we catched them. My job for today is over, let's hope Farrar can finish it.


7 km to go- Our train dominates the sprint. Sky's train is gone, and Hagen is far back in the peloton. Our train is still complete:
Vansummeren-Maaskant-Haussler-Farrar.

2.4 km to go- All of a sudden, Hagen starts the sprint and with a mighty jump he is in front now.


1km to go- Under the banner, Farrar leaves the wheel of Haussler. Hagen is still in front, it's going to be close!


0.1 km to go- Hagen dropped back eight places and Farrar is on fire! Haussler holds on on second spot. Galymzianov is third.

There was a small break, but with 13 km to go we caught them. When the sprint started, Haussler got boxed in by Henderson. This probably took us the win. Hagen was the fastest. Lucky for us, Farrar still has the Pointsjersey

The main stage of the Tour of Oman. The final climb should make the difference.


140 km to go- This is probably the most dangerous rider of the break of the day. Masciarelli (Astana) is a good climber, and if he can reach the climb with an advantage, he could win this stage.


32 km to go- But that never happened. We catched the break with 25 km to go until the final climb. I still felt well in the middle of the peloton, protecting Danielson.


7.5 km to go- The start of the final climb. The whole team is in front of the peloton, where Movistar sets a high pace. The sprinters are slowly fallling away.


2.5 km to go- It took a while, but there is the first attack. R. Sutherland launches an attack.


1.5 km to go- Movistar caught Sutherland. All of a sudden there was a gap between the main group and the guys in front. Plaza, Lopez, Herrada, Soler (all Movistar), B. Wiggins (Sky) and Sutherland (United Health care) are fighting for the win.


0.1 km to go-Plaza takes the win. Sutherland came in second, in front of Lopez. But the gap with the main group is not big enought. Ricci Bitti remains the leader


I did well, finishing 13th, losing 49 seconds to Plaza. Danielson had a dramatic day and ended up in the middle of the peloton. Haussler rode a brilliant stage ending up 7th, in the second group.


Stage result: