DB: PCM Daily Expansion Pack
Development: .5
Difficulty: Hard
Anything else you want to know just ask
Hey guys, my name is Romain Bardet, and welcome to my blog where I will be sharing about my life as a cyclist with team Ag2r. I was born in Brioude, France, and from a young age I was always riding my bike everywhere I went.
When I was not riding, I was studying my schoolwork. School has always been an important part of my life, as my parents wanted me and my siblings to have a good education. This year, I will be juggling studies at the Grenoble school of Management with my cycling career. I want to show that you do not have to sacrifice your education to be world-class athlete. Hopefully many young cyclists will follow my path in the future.
Pro Career so far
I turned pro in 2012 with French Team AG2R. In my first year I rode mostly smaller non World Tour races and some hilly WT classics, with some highlights being the Tour of Turkey, where I took 4th place in the GC, and 25th place in the Amstel Gold Race, and 29th in Il Lombardia. Last year was a year of growth and learning as I rode my first Tour, taking 15th place in the GC. About a month later, I took my first victory my winning the GC and points classifications at the Tour de I’Ain. I also rode my first elite World Championship race, where I took a solid 28th place. My year ended on a high with 5th place and the U25 jersey in the Tour of Beijing.
Goals: Ardennes, Giro d' Italia, World Championships
Carlos is our number 1 man on the short climbs, and has some ability on the longer climbs. The main concern with him is getting him to train, as he has a habit of being overweight.
Domencio Pozzovivo, , Age 30, GC/Climber
Goals: Giro d' Italia, Vuelta a Espana, Ardennes
Domencio is not a very large man, but he is a one heck of a climber. At only 53 KG, Pozzovivo is built for getting up mountains and he will aim for two top tens in Grand Tours for a second consecutive year.
Jean-Christophe Peraud, , Age 36, Climber/TT
Goals: Tour de France, Criterium du Dauphine, French National TT
Peraud is the oldest of the four leaders here, and also the best against the clock. Jean is aiming for a top 5 in Paris in what will be one of his final Tours.
To be Continued
The Cobblers
Sebastian Turgot is our number one man on the pave, and will be looking for a top 5 in Paris-Roubaix this year.
Damian Gaudin is the backup-plan and he will have a free role come April.
Sprinters
Yauheni Hutarovich is our main man for the flat days this year, and he will be targeting high places in the Tour this year, as well as a high finish in Milan-San-Remo.
Davide Appollonio is our hope for the future when it comes to sprints. His main goals for this year are the Giro, and the fall flat classics.
I will start the year off in Spain with the Vuelta a Mallorca. I will then travel to the Middle East for the Tour of Oman. These two races are my build up for my first goal of the year, Tirreno-Adriatico. After Tirreno I make my debut on home soul with the Criterium International. In April and May I will not being participating in any races, in an effort to save my legs for the end of the year. In June I will get back to racing with the Criterium du Dauphine and the Route du Sud. These two are my main preparation for my biggest goal of the year, Le Tour de France. After Le Tour, my schedule is subject to change, but the current plan is for be to return to the Tour de I'Ain and then ride the Vuelta a Espana. After that I will take part in the World Championships followed by my last race of the year, Giro Il Lombardia.
I really like my schedule, although it might prove to a little much for my legs at age 23. Some highlights are obviously the two Grand Tours, but I think I will challenge at Worlds, and hope to show off my punch in Lombardia.
Goals
***** Top 5 Le Tour de France
**** Top 10 Vuelta a Espana
*** Podium Tirreno-Adriatico
** Top 5 World Championships
* Top 10 Giro Il Lombardia
Edited by welker3257 on 22-10-2014 17:22
This year's Vuelta a Mallorca is a four stage race around the beautiful Spanish island. The race has a little for everyone, two flat days, a mountain stage, and a hill stage. Lots of big names are here like Chris Froome, Vincenzo Nibali, Ryder Hesjedal, and Bauke Mollema. We are mainly here to test our legs, although the weather is certainly a nice bonus. I think a top 5 in GC is manageable.
Vuelta a Mallorca Stage 1
Here's our briefing today. As you can see, no climbs today, and it will be a short fast stage today. Also pictured is our team, Peraud and I are the leaders, and Samuel will be going for the sprints. Sammy said he expects a top 5 today. I just want to stay safe.
Stage 1
We had a very large break for such a short stage, and it was lead by Tanner (Belkin), Kolobnev (Katusha), Rafaâ Chtioui (Dubai), and Petrov (Tinkoff).
Today was an easy day for me. Here I'm having a little chat with Marco Haller, turns out we both support AC Milan!
As always, the breakaway was brought back, and the bunch was gearing up for the final sprint.
Today's sprint was a boring one, Sam Bennett of NetApp shot away with 2 km to go, and no one could get anywhere close to the Irishmen as he takes the stage victory! Our very own Samuel Dumoulin takes second, with Australian Leah Howard rounding out the podium. Interestingly, some GC men got mixed up in the sprint with Nibali taking 9th, Koing 10th, and Froome 11th.
Stage Results
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Sam Bennett
Team NetApp - Endura
1h58'27
2
Samuel Dumoulin
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
3
Leigh Howard
Orica GreenEdge
s.t.
4
Matteo Pelucchi
IAM Cycling
s.t.
5
Daniel Schorn
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
6
Kenny van Hummel
Androni Giocattoli
s.t.
7
Maxim Iglinskiy
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
8
Jens Debusschere
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
9
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
10
Leopold König
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t. ...
30
Romain Bardet
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
Vuelta a Mallorca
The second stage of the Vuelta a Mallorca features the first climbs of the race, and the finish is slightly uphill. Alexis decided he wanted to go for the KOM jersey in this race, so he will try for the points on the first climb before saving his energy for tomorrow's bigger climbs. Another boring day for me, as the last KOM is 30 km out from the finish.
Stage 2
Alexis was successful in his day's mission; as he took maximium points on the first KOM point of the day. The 2-4 finishers would form the day's breakaway, they were: Tewelde (MTN), Hansen (Lotto), and Kolobnev (Katusha).
It was another day with little action on the road, and the break was brought back with little resistance around 8 km after the final KOM po
A wrench got thrown into our team's KOM plans when Janez Brajkovic took out Alexis from behind with 6 km to go. However, they were both all right and were able to finish, although Alexis crossed the line 5 29 back from the stage winner.
Once again; Bennett's strategy was to go early. With 1.8 km to go, he launched his sprint first, and led the peloton under the Flamme Rogue. However, he was fading fast, who would take the victory on stage 2?
Little Sammy Dumoulin takes it! He overtook the big Irishman with only 200m to go as Samuel gives Ag2R their first victory of the season! Bennett took second with the Lotto man Jens Debusschere taking third. Froome mixed it up with the fast men again as he took a solid sixth on the day. I finished comfortably in 30th once again.
Stage Results
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Samuel Dumoulin
AG2R La Mondiale
3h24'21
2
Sam Bennett
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
3
Jens Debusschere
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
4
Leigh Howard
Orica GreenEdge
s.t.
5
Alexey Tsatevitch
Team Katusha
s.t.
6
Chris Froome
Team Sky
s.t.
7
Fabio Felline
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
8
Matteo Pelucchi
IAM Cycling
s.t.
9
Aidis Kruopis
Orica GreenEdge
s.t.
10
Daniel Schorn
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
GC
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Sam Bennett
Team NetApp - Endura
5h22'16
2
Samuel Dumoulin
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
3
Alexandr Kolobnev
Team Katusha
+ 16
4
David Tanner
Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
+ 20
5
Leigh Howard
Orica GreenEdge
+ 24
6
Jens Debusschere
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
7
Jani Tewelde
MTN - Qhubeka
s.t.
8
Rafaâ Chtioui
SkyDive Dubai Pro Cycling Team
+ 28
9
Nikolay Mihaylov
CCC Polsat Polkowice
+ 30
10
Matteo Pelucchi
IAM Cycling
+ 32
Points
Rank
Name
Team
Points
General
1
Sam Bennett
Team NetApp - Endura
20
45
2
Samuel Dumoulin
AG2R La Mondiale
25
45
3
Leigh Howard
Orica GreenEdge
14
30
4
Jens Debusschere
Lotto Belisol
16
24
5
Matteo Pelucchi
IAM Cycling
8
22
KOM
Rank
Name
Team
Mountain
General
1
Alexandr Kolobnev
Team Katusha
28
28
2
Jani Tewelde
MTN - Qhubeka
26
26
3
Alexis Vuillermoz
AG2R La Mondiale
24
24
4
Adam Hansen
Lotto Belisol
22
22
5
Gert Joeaar
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
12
12
U25
Rank
Name
Team
Time
General Time
1
Sam Bennett
Team NetApp - Endura
3h24'21
5h22'16 (1)
2
Leigh Howard
Orica GreenEdge
s.t.
+ 24 (2)
3
Jens Debusschere
Lotto Belisol
s.t.
+ 24 (3)
Team
Rank
Team
Time
General Time
1
BMC Racing Team
s.t.
16h08'24 (1)
2
Movistar Team
s.t.
+ 0 (2)
3
Garmin Sharp
s.t.
+ 0 (3)
It's good to be back! I have to say, it was nice having a few flat days to ease back into racing again. Tomorrow though, it will be time to have some fun, as we will hit the biggest climbs this island as to offer.
Great work, really good to read. I'm following for the next instalment.
Just a quick question, Romain Bardet is French, so I would assume he supports a French team, but he might support Milan, I don't know and it is your story. It is also very small and not worth mentioning,
Time to test my legs after a long winter! It will a hard race, as you can see it is all day. The victory should go to the breakaway, as it will be very hard to chase. That break will not include Alexis, as he doesn't feel up to riding in the wind all day after his tumble yesterday. I don't really care about my placing, as long as I can stay with the other main GC guys.
Stage 3
We had an extremely large break, especially for a day built for the break. Some of the big names include: Szmyd (Movistar), Zoidl (Trek), Mardrazo (Caja Rujal), De La Cruz (NetApp), Hansen (Lotto), and the two Tinkoff riders Petrov and Rovny.
On the descent of the final cat 2 climb, Koing launched a big move that was countered by all the GC guys, except Peraud and I. This was not a good situation.
However, some hard work from Kadri and Gauster brought the attackers back in the early stages of the cat 1 climb. Shortly afterwards, a group of 12 including all the big names rode away from the rest of the bunch.
Meanwhile up the road, Petrov as ridden away from the rest of the break! His closest pursuers are Mancebo (Dubai) and Mardrazo (Caja Rujal).
With 10 km to go, the Russian had extended his gap to over a minute as he solos to victory and potentially the race lead. Meanwhile, Froome, Nibali, Peraud, and I had joined with some breakaway riders to form a group of 9 men around 2 30 back at the 10 km mark.
Petrov managed to negotiate the descent with no problems as he takes a great victory from the breakaway. Madrazo and Mancebo take second and third 1 18 back. My group crosses the finish 2 06 back with Nibali leading us in, with me finishing 10th.
Stage Results
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Evgeni Petrov
Tinkoff - Saxo
4h02'45
2
Ángel Madrazo
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
+ 1'18
3
Francisco Mancebo
SkyDive Dubai Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
4
Jacques Janse van Rensburg
MTN - Qhubeka
+ 1'42
5
Sylwester Szmyd
Movistar Team
s.t.
6
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana Pro Team
+ 2'06
7
Chris Froome
Team Sky
s.t.
8
Simon Clarke
Orica GreenEdge
s.t.
9
David de la Cruz
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
10
Romain Bardet
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
GC Standings
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Simon Clarke
Orica GreenEdge
9h27'27
2
David de la Cruz
Team NetApp - Endura
+ 8
3
Chris Froome
Team Sky
+ 12
4
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
5
Romain Bardet
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
6
David López
Team Sky
s.t.
7
Jean-Christophe Peraud
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
8
Evgeni Petrov
Tinkoff - Saxo
+ 59
9
Fabio Aru
Astana Pro Team
+ 1'52
10
Bauke Mollema
Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
Points
Rank
Name
Team
Points
General
1
Sam Bennett
Team NetApp - Endura
0
45
2
Samuel Dumoulin
AG2R La Mondiale
0
45
3
Leigh Howard
Orica GreenEdge
0
30
4
Evgeni Petrov
Tinkoff - Saxo
27
27
5
Jens Debusschere
Lotto Belisol
0
24
KOM
Rank
Name
Team
Mountain
General
1
Ángel Madrazo
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
44
44
2
Evgeni Petrov
Tinkoff - Saxo
32
32
3
Alexandr Kolobnev
Team Katusha
0
28
4
Jani Tewelde
MTN - Qhubeka
0
26
5
Adam Hansen
Lotto Belisol
4
26
U25
Rank
Name
Team
Time
General Time
1
David de la Cruz
Team NetApp - Endura
4h04'51
9h27'35 (1)
2
Romain Bardet
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
+ 4 (2)
3
Fabio Aru
Astana Pro Team
+ 1'40
+ 1'44 (3)
Team
Rank
Team
Time
General Time
1
Tinkoff - Saxo
12h14'56
28h23'20 (1)
2
Astana Pro Team
+ 2'57
+ 2'57 (2)
3
Team Sky
+ 3'49
+ 3'49 (3)
A have to say that I'm pleased with my ride today, as well as the whole team's performance. I stayed with Nibali and Froome, and dropped guys like Aru and Mollema. We didn't panic when the others rode away, and we got them back into the fold. Tomorrow is the last stage, and is a hilly stage where I will hopefully ride well again.
This is the last stage on this beautiful island in the Mediterranean. However, the last memory of the weather won't be so great as it will be a rainy day, with 50 km/h crosswinds. After a day in the hills, there surely will be splits at the end of the day. I want to ride well again, and maybe move up in the GC.
Stage 4
An eight man group formed shortly after the intermediate sprint point. It included: Jungels (Trek), Zandio (Sky), Rogers (Tinkoff), Fernandez (Caja Rujal), Plaza (Movistar), Langevled (Garmin), and Belkov (Katusha).
The poor weather took victims 1 and 2, as Sergio Henao took out Blel Kadri on the descent of the first climb of the day.
Crash number two also contained a Sky rider and one of my teammates as Peraud, Puccio, and Majka hit the deck on the descent of climb number two.
As the break rolls over the third climb, they still over a five minute gap to the peloton. The best placed rider up the road is Plaza at around 5 minutes back.
As the peloton rolls over the day's final climb, the gap is still sitting at 4 45. It will be a tough chase to get the break back, especially with the high winds.
With 30 km to go, a found myself in a 18 man split from the bunch. The group was mostly made up of the men chasing the breakaway that is still 3 30 min to go.
As the break flies under the 20 km to go banner, they have a 1 15 gap to my little group, and we have 45 seconds back to the main bunch.
With 11 km to go, my group gets hauled back by a coalition of Sky, Astana, and NetApp, as Gilbert launches a move. The break is still 1 30 up the road and they can start thinking of victory.
With 5 km to go, Ruben Fernandez is the first to launch a move as the break will surely take victory, as they still have a 1 15 gap.
Under the flamme rogue and Fernandez is trailed by Plaza only 10 seconds back. Who will take the final stage of the Vuelta a Mallorca?
It's Fernandez! A great win for the Caja Rujal team and the Spaniard! Plaza has to settle with second as Belkov rounds out the podium in third. Gallopin leads the bunch in 1 23 after Fernandez crosses the line.
Stage Results
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Rubén Fernández
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
4h19'45
2
Rubén Plaza
Movistar Team
s.t.
3
Maxim Belkov
Team Katusha
+ 29
4
Marek Rutkiewicz
CCC Polsat Polkowice
s.t.
5
Bob Jungels
Trek Factory Racing
s.t.
6
Xabier Zandio
Team Sky
s.t.
7
Sebastian Langeveld
Garmin Sharp
s.t.
8
Michael Rogers
Tinkoff - Saxo
s.t.
9
Tony Gallopin
Lotto Belisol
+ 1'23
10
Ryder Hesjedal
Garmin Sharp
s.t. ...
17
Romain Bardet
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
Final GC
Rank
Name
Team
Time
1
Simon Clarke
Orica GreenEdge
13h48'35
2
David de la Cruz
Team NetApp - Endura
+ 8
3
Chris Froome
Team Sky
+ 12
4
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
5
Romain Bardet
AG2R La Mondiale
s.t.
6
David López
Team Sky
s.t.
7
Evgeni Petrov
Tinkoff - Saxo
+ 59
8
Fabio Aru
Astana Pro Team
+ 1'52
9
Bauke Mollema
Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
10
Leopold König
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
Points
Rank
Name
Team
Points
General
1
Sam Bennett
Team NetApp - Endura
0
45
2
Samuel Dumoulin
AG2R La Mondiale
0
45
3
Rubén Fernández
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
33
33
4
Rubén Plaza
Movistar Team
32
32
5
Leigh Howard
Orica GreenEdge
0
30
6
Evgeni Petrov
Tinkoff - Saxo
0
27
7
Chris Froome
Team Sky
0
24
8
Jens Debusschere
Lotto Belisol
0
24
9
Matteo Pelucchi
IAM Cycling
0
22
10
Simon Clarke
Orica GreenEdge
0
20
KOM
Rank
Name
Team
Mountain
General
1
Ángel Madrazo
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
0
44
2
Xabier Zandio
Team Sky
34
34
3
Evgeni Petrov
Tinkoff - Saxo
0
32
4
Alexandr Kolobnev
Team Katusha
0
28
5
Adam Hansen
Lotto Belisol
0
26
6
Jani Tewelde
MTN - Qhubeka
0
26
7
Alexis Vuillermoz
AG2R La Mondiale
0
24
8
Bob Jungels
Trek Factory Racing
22
22
9
Michael Rogers
Tinkoff - Saxo
20
20
10
Rubén Fernández
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
20
20
U25
Rank
Name
Team
Time
General Time
1
David de la Cruz
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
13h48'43 (1)
2
Romain Bardet
AG2R La Mondiale
+ 4h21'08
+ 4 (2)
3
Fabio Aru
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
+ 1'44 (3)
4
Rafal Majka
Tinkoff - Saxo
s.t.
+ 2'33 (4)
5
Sam Bennett
Team NetApp - Endura
s.t.
+ 11'08 (5)
Team
[table=100%]Rank Team Time General Time
1 Tinkoff - Saxo s.t. 41h25'50 (1)
2 Team Sky + 29 + 3'49 (2)
3 Astana Pro Team s.t. + 3'51 (3)
4 AG2R La Mondiale + 1'23 + 8'31 (4)
5 Movistar Team 13h02'01 + 8'40 (5)
[/table
I have to say it was a fun day out there minus the crashes. I've never been a part of a crosswind split like that and it was good experience. I think this race went well, I showed all my winter training has been worth it as I was able to stay with Froome and Nibali on the mountain stage. My next race is the Tour of Oman. I hope to continue my good form during my Tirreno build-up.
, Age 24, Puncher/Climber
, Age 30, GC/Climber
, Age 36, Climber/TT
