AG2R La Mondiale have also started their season in a fantastic way.
After Farrar's victory in GPCosta degli Etruschi, Romain Feillu has dominated Etoile de Besseges race, winning 3 out of 5 stages, securing the overall and points jersey. Congratulations!
The first of three hilly stages of the race.
Mark Renshaw will spend the day in the leader's jersey, but we aren't looking to protect his lead as it's not part of our plans.
Martijn Maaskant will get a shot at the overall classification, Renshaw just isn't good enough in the hills.
Cobo, Baumann, Arroyo and Schär took the first big leap.
This probably means that Cobo will work for Valverde in the closing kilometers.
Ljungblad, Chainel, Stubbe and Lancaster were chasing the leaders.
Adria Mobil's Koren also tried to reach the break.
Lancaster and Ljungblad were able to get to the front.
While Chainel, Stubbe and Koren seemed to have lost their chance.
My boys set the pace of the main pack. We didn't want the breakaway to gain too much time, as Cobo and Arroyo would be dangerous in the end if not taken seriously.
As the 3 poursivants were caught, new group of riders jumped from the pack.
Deignan, Sanchez Pimienta, Rodriguez and Gonzalo Rabuñal.
Since again we had noone in the breakaway, it was up to us to set the pace.
With Fuji-Servetto also interested in chasing, it was clear that Valverde will look for a win today.
And now the real racing begins.
Astarloza, Bertogliati, Aldape and Daniel Lloyd attacked at the foot of the first climb.
Schär was feeling good today, he was ahead of the Astarloza group on the second climb and looked strong enough to reach the summit on his own.
Sastre was also on the move on the second climb. Fuji's clear intention was to make us work for Valverde. Good tactics.
But my team was on fire. After the second summit, only Baumann, Arroyo, Astarloza and Schär were left in front.
Last climb, and the real favorites start attacking.
First on the run were Matthew Lloyd and Sandy Casar.
Right behind them Kiryienka, Houanard, Østergaard and Maaskant.
Astarloza was alone in the front.
Sanchez Pimienta, Nose, Kangert and Klimov were next.
Luckily for us, Valverde missed his chance and now he is just a part of the peloton.
Maaskant and five more riders are trying to catch Astarloza. Flat terrain works to their advantage.
Other riders in this group are Casar, Bisolti, Kangert, Østergaard and Matthew Lloyd.
Fuji-Servetto and Team Type 1 were working at the front of the main pack, but with no rewards.
A final chance for Valverde to do something, he attacks with Elmiger and Kiryienka.
When Mollema reached the group of leaders, he immediately jumped again.
Maaskant was feeling good and he responded. So did Bisolti and Østergaard.
Mollema eventually exploded, so the other 3 riders including Martijn Maaskant had a good chance of winning.
Valverde was powerless to bridge the gap by himself today.
Lucky for us.
Winning this kind of sprint is no hard work for Maaskant, we celebrate again today.
Valverde and the other favorites are in a group 43" behind.
Great job!
Points Classification:
1 Martijn Maaskant Team Columbia - High Road 25 41
2 Mark Renshaw Team Columbia - High Road 0 39
3 Jason Donald Team Type 1 0 25
4 Alejandro Valverde Fuji - Servetto 14 21
5 Casper Jørgensen Team Capinordic 0 21
I opened the replay of the 4th stage to make screenshots and write a report this morning after I did the 3rd. Unfortunately, I dodn't have time to do it so I turned PCM off.
And when I came back from my lectures an hour ago, the replay of the 4th stage of Vuelta a Mallorca has somehow become the replay of the 3rd stage of Langkawi tour.
How in the heck's name did that happen, and why does that keep happening with all the replays I run?!?!?!
If offense is the best defence, does it mean that defence is the worst defence?
If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord will delete my browser history.
Anyways, I started with a nice introduction to the stage 4 of Challenge Vuelta a Mallorca, but had to go before I actually took any screenshots.
Bunyola - Bunyola
The hardest stage of this year's race around Mallorca, and my boys look good in their jerseys.
Today is all about protecting Maaskant's overall lead, and putting him in a position to sprint for more points.
And so on.
But Maaskant lost his overall lead.
He was too defensive, saving his energy while the tempo was high, and as a result he failed to respond to Valverde's attack.
Alejandro Valverde and his former team mate Dani Moreno worked good to the end, giving the peloton 73 seconds deficit.
Maaskant tried to catch them, of course, but couldn't do it alone.
In the end he was even swallowed by the main bunch because he was dead in the last 5km.
After today's stage, even his green jersey is in question.
A bad day for Maaskant and my team.
Points Classification:
1 Martijn Maaskant Team Columbia - High Road 10 51
2 Alejandro Valverde Fuji - Servetto 25 46
3 Jason Donald Team Type 1 14 39
4 Mark Renshaw Team Columbia - High Road 0 39
5 Matthew Lloyd Garmin - Slipstream 16 24
As the difference between Maaskant and Valverde is only 5 points, Martijn will have to finish better than Alejandro in order to secure the green jersey.
In case of Valverde's second victory, Maaskant will lose the points race too.
We can't let that happen!
If offense is the best defence, does it mean that defence is the worst defence?
If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord will delete my browser history.
After loosing the yellow jersey yesterday, things seemed bleak for us.
This is the final stage, and Valverde is in good form. Maaskant will have to beat him head to head in order to defend his 5 point lead in the green jersey competition.
As far as the sprinting goes, they are almost equal, but my team has to do a lot of work in order to aford him the chance to actually fight for victory.
Today we tried to send someone in the breakaway so we wouldn't have to work hard like in the last 3 stages.
Boasson Hagen wanted to see how his legs were working and attacked.
But because so many riders wanted to go, Fuji-Servetto tried to make sure things were under control.
Eventually, they cooled down.
Normunds Lasis and Gonzalo Rabuñal were left chasing the nine man breakaway.
Edvald Boasson Hagen was in front, but lost a lot of energy in the process.
The escape included riders such as Txurruka, Arroyo, Popovych, and so on.
After a while, another 5 riders including Daniel Lloyd and Sanchez Pimienta also attacked.
To my great joy, nothing really interesting happened in the next 60km or so.
Escapes were in front, Fuji was controling the pack.
And then the first group of favorites attacked.
Kangert, Klimov, Intxausti and Dani Moreno.
After them came Tschopp, Donald, Mollema, Beyer and Taaramae.
Maaskant is moving to the front of the pack, just in time to respond to attacks from Valverde, Casar, Wiggins and Østergaard.
The favorites group is trailing something over a minute and a half behind the leading group of Txurruka, Rodriguez, Daniel Lloyd, Hivert and Schar.
6 or 7 kilometers later, all the big names were in one group at the front. Maaskant must save his energy for the finish, but attacks are imminent.
He is in good form so hopefully all will turn out well.
Then a good chance showed up for Maaskant, as Casar, Rodriguez and Wiggins attacked from the favorites group.
He had enough strength to respond, Valverde was calm for the moment.
But Piti knows his game. Jason Donald's jump to the leading group sounded his alarm, and he was soon there.
Brad Wiggins had a slight advantage, Casar was dropped.
Valverde caught Wiggins, Maaskant was desparate to catch somebody's wheel as the sprint was almost there.
Piti's, if possible.
And there we were.
Less than 5km to go, Maaskant has somehow caught Valverde's wheel, Jason Donald, Bradley Wiggins and Jackson Rodriguez follow.
Maaskant had to use the energy gel to regain even the smallest ounce of strength for the sprint, but on the other hand, he has the slipstream advantage.
And he was amazing! Overtaking Valverde in the last 800 meters, scoring his 2nd win and securing the points classification.
(I've somehow forgot to take the screenshot at the finish line, and when I closed the game, the same thing with the replay happened)
Stage Classification:
1 Martijn Maaskant Team Columbia - High Road 3h38'20
2 Alejandro Valverde Fuji - Servetto s.t.
3 Bradley Wiggins Team Type 1 s.t.
4 Jason Donald Team Type 1 s.t.
5 Jackson RodrÃguez Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli s.t.
6 Beñat Intxausti Euskaltel - Euskadi + 1'15
7 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne s.t.
8 Sandy Casar Agritubel s.t.
9 Rein Taaramäe Cycling Club Bourgas s.t.
10 Bauke Mollema Rabobank s.t.
Points Classification:
1 Martijn Maaskant Team Columbia - High Road 25 76
2 Alejandro Valverde Fuji - Servetto 20 66
3 Jason Donald Team Type 1 14 53
4 Mark Renshaw Team Columbia - High Road 0 39
5 Dani Moreno Caisse d'Epargne 9 29
Team Classification:
1 Fuji - Servetto 52h51'26
2 Team Type 1 + 1'24
3 Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - Androni Giocattoli + 2'33 (3)
In the end, we have a reason not to be disappointed about the previous stage.
We allowed Valverde to make too great of a margin and that cost us the overall victory. In the end, 14 seconds is a matter of time bonifications, but nonetheless, our goals for this race were delivered and my riders have every right to celebrate.
The plan was to win a stage with Renshaw and put Maaskant in the top 5 overall.
Results are 3 stage wins with 2 riders, green jersey and 2nd overall by Martijn Maaskant.
To be completely honest, Valverde is a better puncheur than Maaskant
But in reality, all it takes to put a shadow on a lot of hard work is just one bad day, and that has prevented us to dominate again.
All in all, a job well dan and my riders have deserved a few days rest. Some of them even more!
Next up: Amgen Tour of California
Edited by Deda on 03-11-2009 20:53
If offense is the best defence, does it mean that defence is the worst defence?
If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord will delete my browser history.
Upon returning to the team headquarters, a big bulk of unread mail was blocking the entrance to my office.
Reports from other races, confirmation of Boasson Hagen's 2 year contract extension, and a lot of info about the top riders starting their seasons.
Amgen Tour of California is not one of our big season goals, it wasn't event put into the original racing schedule for the year 2012.
But Columbia High-Road as an American team just has to take part in this race, as it is the only opportunity to present our strengths in front of the home fans.
When talking about other big riders and their start of the season, several very good names have confirmed ther participation in this year's California tour.
Anyways, riders confirmed for Amgen Tour of California: Denis Menchov, Vincenzo Nibali, Thomas Dekker (probably the biggest favorite for the GC because of his punching and time trialing abilities), Nick Nuyens, Damiano Cunego, Schleck bros., Tom Boonen, Filippo Pozzato, Philippe Gilbert and Daniele Bennati.
Our goals for this race are:
1. Green jersey - this is a must! Mark Cavendish is in good form, so is Mark Renshaw. Maaskant and Boasson Hagen will also help him. Last year, Mark has won 2 stages and the points competition, we will try and make sure he wins one more this year.
2. Win (at least) one of the time trials - Stijn Devolder has to prove why he is the current World Individual Time Trial Champion!
3. Top 5 overall - at first, I thought that Tony Martin would be the best choice for this as he is better time trialist than Devolder, but he lacks the explosive climbing ability for this sort of race, and Stijn's form is slightly higher. Devolder will be the leader for the GC. Maaskant will be his lieutenant too, Albasini will jump in just in case, as he is still in the training process, and has to come to form 'till April.
Kanstantin Sivtsov and Bernhard Kohl have also been called up for this race as a part of the preparation for the Tirreno-Adriatico race one month from now, where Kohl will be our GC leader and Sivtsov his main helper.
Goals are not unrealistic, dominance is the name of our game, and we are eager to play it!
And thanks a lot for the support!
I've figured that while I spend time to come up with the story and write the reports, the suspense builds up and I can't wait to start playing again, so it doesn't get boring!
If offense is the best defence, does it mean that defence is the worst defence?
If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord will delete my browser history.
Another race we will take part in this week is Vuelta a Andalucia.
This also wasn't part of the original racing schedule, but it will serve as a great opportunity for the second half of my Northern Classics squad to maintain their race form before Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne.
My team for this race will not have a clear GC contender, as my mountain climbers are still in what you might call a "hibernation".
Tony Martin will probably win the opening time trial, Haussler will probably win one or both sprints. Team mates for Haussler will be Vicente Reynes, Markus Burghardt and Johan Van Summeren.
Morris Possoni and Thomas Lovkvist will ride this race as a preparation for the Paris - Nice, where Lovkvist will try to finish on the podium, unlike the last season when he came 4th.
I'll probably simulate the last two stages, or maybe send a breakaway and hope for the best.
All in all, I'm hoping for 3 stage wins but will settle for two.
If offense is the best defence, does it mean that defence is the worst defence?
If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord will delete my browser history.
On the eve of the race, we've received the full start list.
Two times back to back winner of this race, Samuel Sanchez, has probably forgotten to apply to this race, as he would have also been one of the favorites. Stijn Devolder lost the GC battle to Sanchez last year, so unfortunately this won't be a payback time.
What my inbox didn't inform me was that Stefan Schumacher was also going to be here, but I really have no idea what Astana is doing with Schumacher, Menchov and Nibali at a race like this. Probably just warming up.
Also there is the American time trialing wonder called Taylor Phinney, probably aiming to get revenge on Devolder for being there in the last year's WC. Phinney was out injured and lost his chance to defend the title, Cancellara was absent for no obvious reason, except maybe a serious lack of form.
Based on this start list, this race promises to be full of excitement:
Just before I start playing these races, I guess I've forgotten to post screenshots of all the best riders sorted by their abilities, so that you get the idea where my boys stand against the other high profile riders.
Thought it would be interesting.
So here we go:
Time Trialists:
Sprinters:
Climbers:
Puncheurs:
Northern Classics:
If offense is the best defence, does it mean that defence is the worst defence?
If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord will delete my browser history.
What a start list. Having lived in CA for the entire history of this event I would love to have a start list even half as impressive in real life. Nothing has come close.
It's funny in the game the start list has been amazing every time for this race. As an American team a victory is always a sponsor goal and with start lists like this it is a tough race. Good Luck.
Here is a screenshot for Bosskardo.
These are all the Estonians currently in the game:
On the account of the Schlecks:
Andy hasn't won a one day race in the past three years, although he did manage to win races like Tirreno - Adriatico and Challenge Vuelta a Mallorca.
Frank has won LBL, AGR and MSR in 2009. but has failed to repeat that success ever since. He scored only 3 victories in the last two years.
Expect reports from California and Andalucia this weekend.
I like to play the stages first and than sum all the excitements up by going through the replays
If offense is the best defence, does it mean that defence is the worst defence?
If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord will delete my browser history.
