Welcome to the start of the 2013 Lisbon Classic, the next installment of PT racing this season. A race that could be crucial to many, there’s plenty of discussions about who might win here and in the process give their team an advantage in the end of season rankings. The big favourites are sprinters like Boonen and Bennati, but puncheur Boasson Hagen also is being mentioned.
As the peloton rolls out of the start, the attacks begin almost straight away. Soon enough a group of five has been established off the front, consisting of Skujins, Rojas, Bar, Tolleson, Fouquet.
They get brought back though by Prio - Porto, who look determined to control the race early on.
Over the next few kilometres, more attacks come but a break never materializes. With 130kms left the attackers change, from chancers to real threats. The next group to go up the road contains Bakelants and Claeys, who are definitely no pushovers, part of a 10-man group!
But that is pulled back as well, with that obviously being too dangerous to be let go, even at this stage.
Eventually though, a break of three is let go with the peloton needing to rest its legs. Bar, Offredo and Pichon all are a part of the group which grows the gap to over 3’00” as the race moves into its second half.
The peloton keeps the gap controlled and set a steady pace as the race moves towards the closing stages. Quite a few teams are helping to pace, with Milka, Wikipedia, Wiggle and Bacardi all involved.
They cooperate well as the kilometres tick away. Entering the last 50 kilometres, the trio of attackers, led by Pichon, see their gap has come down from as high as 6’30” to 3’30”. It doesn't look like they will stay away.
Back in the peloton, this landmark signals the start of the business end of the race. Soon enough some more riders go on the offensive, namely Van der Hughenhaben, who leads an attack, followed by Verbist and Langeveld.
Those three set off in pursuit of the front three, quickly gaining a small gap over the bunch which looks reluctant to commit to a full-blooded chase at this stage.
Soon enough these two groups of six both join thanks to some good relaying, and with 30kms to go the gap is at 1'30". Everything is under control though, with Wiggle doing a good job of reeling in the gap.
The chase proves to be too strong in the end for the group of six. Into the final 25kms, everything is almost back together with the six attackers only holding a small advantage now.
They are swept up a couple of kilometres later, and the whole startlist bar a couple of weaker riders are in the front group. Everything has gone to plan so far for the sprinters.
But that outcome isn't ensured just yet. Ballan decides to attack next as the pace drops a little. Pozzato, Burghardt and Summerhill give chase, showing off their huge power on the flat to distance the peloton.
Behind, the peloton is struggling to put a chase together! With the final hill approaching, things could get tricky for the sprinters if this move isn't pulled back!
Hitting the climb, Burghardt, Ballan and Summerhill are working well together, after Pozzato decided not to continue up the road. They hold a 40" gap with under 15kms left.
A chase is put together as the peloton hits the climb, with Pozzato now contributing the pace and slowly reeling the trio up the road back. However, the group has significantly shrunk, with over a hundred riders being dropped!
Those riders seem to have given up as well, with no chase being put on to try and catch up. The chance of a good result is over for many, including a couple of big names! Claeys, Ciolek and Corioni all won't get any results here for their teams, while Gasparotto, Vedel Kvist and Mohs won't be able to assist their big sprinter teammates.
Back at the front the attack has finally been caught, making a selective sprint to decide victory the most likely outcome again. Lots of teams contribute to the pace, taking the race towards its climax.
Another small group of riders is dropped as another hill is hit, and there are some big casualties once more. In this group are Goss and Granjel Cabrera, who both would have been contenders in a sprint.
Back at the front, riders are preparing for a sprint. Even at this point however, the attacks still come. Burghardt goes solo this time, with no chance in a sprint this is the only way he can win.
Coming into town, the big German has a crucial gap! Summerhill also senses an opportunity and tries to jump across the gap.
Burghardt sets a high pace off the front, taking advantage of his Classics skills. His gap of now 35" will be hard to shut!
Ballan is forced onto the front for the bunch, with other riders gambling by waiting for the sprint. Wait any longer though and the opportunity for a victory could be gone.
Moving into the last couple of kilometres, Burghardt still holds a good gap. Only something extraordinary can stop him now, surely.
As the leader rides under the kite ahead of Summerhill, who still sits in the gap, there is still a waiting game being played by the group. It looks to be too late for them, and will finish second at best.
Bennati is the first to launch his sprint from further back, while other favourites like Pozzato, Boonen, Bewley, Ulissi and Boasson Hagen prefer to wait in strong positions, and launching their sprint at the right time.
Other fast sprinters who have held on like Swift, Guerao, Avelino, Rowe, Richeze and Van Heerden prefer to sit further back, a decision they could regret. Or maybe they are just too tired?
They definitely won’t catch Burghardt though, only a few metres remain for him!
Under the kite most riders in the main group still haven’t started their sprint. Out of those who have started their final kick, Bennati is leading with Grillo just behind.
Burghardt takes victory for Bacardi! The German made his attack stick in the end, and held off the sprinters to take a deserved win here in Portugal.
Behind, the sprint for the remaining podium spots is in full swing. Summerhill is still hanging onto second, but Oss is putting in a great sprint, closing the gap.
Others behind him like Boonen, Pozzato and Bewley are also all still looking strong, except Bennati who is now fading after starting his sprint too early!
They manage to catch Summerhill on the line, with Oss sprinting away to take a great surprise second for drop favourites Venchi.
Pozzato just edges a podium finish in third, only a few centimetres ahead of Bewley and Summerhill, who completes the top five after an aggressive ride today.
Boonen takes sixth for Pokerstars, while behind him the minor top ten spots are being filled in another close finish. Aker get two in the remaining spots, with Impey in seventh and Boasson Hagen in tenth sandwiching Ulissi and McEvoy who both get good finishes for their team.
That means a few teams get surprise results here like Bacardi, Venchi, and Pendleton’s, while other teams like Puma, Simply, Lotto, Vesuvio, UBS and Wiggle all get less than expected ones, and will be disappointed with their performances today. Most of them were relying on sprinters that lost too much energy on the climbs.
On a lighter note, every rider finished the race today, which is surprising after a long day in Portugal.
Result:
1
Marcus Burghardt
Team Bacardi
5h02'25
2
Daniel Oss
Pro Team Venchi - Sugoi
s.t.
3
Filippo Pozzato
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
4
Sam Bewley
Milka - AVG
s.t.
5
Danny Summerhill
Wikipedia
s.t.
6
Tom Boonen
Pokerstars.com
s.t.
7
Daryl Impey
Aker - MOT
s.t.
8
Diego Ulissi
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
9
Jonathan McEvoy
Pendleton's
s.t.
10
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Aker - MOT
s.t.
11
Paride Grillo
Koenigsegg
s.t.
12
Sebastian Langeveld
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
13
Jukka Vastaranta
Pearl Adidas
s.t.
14
Daniele Bennati
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
15
Laurens Ten Dam
Project 1t4i
s.t.
16
Robin van der Hugenhaben
Koenigsegg
s.t.
17
Luke Rowe
Wiggle Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
18
Ronan Van Zandbeek
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
19
Domenik Klemme
Team B&O
s.t.
20
Salvatore Mancuso
Team Bacardi
s.t.
21
Marcel Wyss
Wiggle Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
22
Sten Stenersen
Team B&O
s.t.
23
Juan Van Heerden
Simply Red Bull
s.t.
24
Kevin Van Impe
Pokerstars.com
s.t.
25
Alessandro Ballan
Koenigsegg
s.t.
26
Jose Goncalves
Pearl Adidas
s.t.
27
Evert Verbist
Milka - AVG
s.t.
28
Ben Swift
Vesuvio - Accumalux
s.t.
29
Morgan Kneisky
Pearl Adidas
s.t.
30
Greg Van Avermaet
Pro Team Venchi - Sugoi
s.t.
31
Maximiliano Richeze
UBS - BMC
s.t.
32
Morten Reckweg
Team B&O
s.t.
33
Santo Anza
Koenigsegg
s.t.
34
Frantisek Rabon
Milka - AVG
s.t.
35
Jay McCarthy
Wikipedia
s.t.
36
Óscar Guerao
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
37
Óscar Avelino
Prio - Porto
s.t.
38
Laurent Pichon
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
39
Rubén Plaza
Prio - Porto
s.t.
40
Romain Vanderbiest
Pearl Adidas
s.t.
41
Ioannis Tamouridis
Festina-Canal+
+ 1'55
42
Ethan Weiss
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
43
Nick Kinney
Wikipedia
s.t.
44
Darwin Atapuma
Wikipedia
s.t.
45
Raúl Granjel Cabrera
Koenigsegg
+ 4'16
46
Steven Caethoven
Vesuvio - Accumalux
s.t.
47
Matthew Goss
Wikipedia
s.t.
48
Danilo Wyss
UBS - BMC
s.t.
49
Alexandr Nepomnyachsniy
Milka - AVG
s.t.
50
Jure Kocjan
Team Bacardi
s.t.
51
Martijn Maaskant
Pokerstars.com
s.t.
52
Sep Vanmarcke
Pro Team Venchi - Sugoi
s.t.
53
Matteo Trentin
Project 1t4i
s.t.
54
Kevin Eeckhout
Wikipedia
s.t.
55
Jetse Bol
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
56
Yoann Offredo
Pearl Adidas
s.t.
57
Chiaffredo Grippo
Wiggle Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
58
Elia Viviani
Simply Red Bull
s.t.
59
Mikel Landa
Wikipedia
s.t.
60
Kiril Yatsevich
Team Bacardi
s.t.
61
Tom Thill
Team Bacardi
s.t.
62
Arnold Jeannesson
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
63
Jocelyn Bar
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
64
Aidis Kruopis
Team Bacardi
s.t.
65
Dimitri Claeys
Lotto - Cervelo
+ 11'09
66
Kobe Vanoverschelde
Aker - MOT
s.t.
67
Julien Simon
Project 1t4i
s.t.
68
Andreas Stauff
Lotto - Cervelo
s.t.
69
Wesley Kreder
Project 1t4i
s.t.
70
Taylor Tolleson
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
71
Jose Mendes
Prio - Porto
s.t.
72
Anthony Lavoine
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
73
Gert Dockx
Pro Team Venchi - Sugoi
s.t.
74
Benoît Sinner
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
75
Kevin Ista
Simply Red Bull
s.t.
76
Kevin Fouquet
Koenigsegg
s.t.
77
Roman Kreuziger
Milka - AVG
s.t.
78
Jakub Novak
Milka - AVG
s.t.
79
Toms Skujins
Vesuvio - Accumalux
s.t.
80
Meron Russom
Pendleton's
s.t.
81
Richie Porte
Vesuvio - Accumalux
s.t.
82
Jon Aberasturi
Project 1t4i
s.t.
83
Leigh Howard
Milka - AVG
s.t.
84
Evan Huffman
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
s.t.
85
Chris Opie
Simply Red Bull
s.t.
86
Thomas Koep
Vesuvio - Accumalux
s.t.
87
Mickaël Delage
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
88
Bruno Silva
Prio - Porto
s.t.
89
Gerald Ciolek
Lotto - Cervelo
s.t.
90
Matthieu Ladagnous
Pendleton's
s.t.
91
Lars Croket
Lotto - Cervelo
s.t.
92
Marco Corti
Pro Team Venchi - Sugoi
s.t.
93
Claudio Corioni
Pro Team Venchi - Sugoi
s.t.
94
Maciej Paterski
Vesuvio - Accumalux
s.t.
95
Javier Moreno
Santander
s.t.
96
Michael Albasini
UBS - BMC
s.t.
97
Vicente Reynès
Santander
s.t.
98
Enrico Gasparotto
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
99
Thomas Vedel Kvist
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
100
Alexander Krieger
Simply Red Bull
s.t.
101
Paul Martens
Project 1t4i
s.t.
102
Tom Diggle
Wiggle Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
103
Mathieu Bernaudeau
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
104
Maurizio Biondo
Aker - MOT
s.t.
105
Nikola Aistrup
Team B&O
s.t.
106
Travis Meyer
Wikipedia
s.t.
107
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Koenigsegg
s.t.
108
Paolo Locatelli
Wiggle Professional Cycling Team
s.t.
109
Thomas De Gendt
Vesuvio - Accumalux
s.t.
110
Jan Bakelants
Pearl Adidas
s.t.
111
Michael Mørkøv
Team B&O
s.t.
112
Geert Steurs
Festina-Canal+
s.t.
113
Pieter Ghyllebert
Heineken presented by California Giant Berry Farms
