|
Standard Bank - Aegon | Taking an indefinite break
|
| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 03-03-2013 10:34
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4461
Joined: 07-10-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
 Tour de Mediterranean Stage 1
The first stage of the Tour de Mediterranean is predominantly flat and only 146kms long, meaning that this is the chance for sprinters to grab a stage win. Not many good sprinters have travelled here, so weaker sprinters should get their chance. The main ones are Borut Bozic (Astana), Sebastien Hinault (IAM) and our lead sprinter Barry Markus. He is hoping for a stage win today.
110kms to go
The break is quickly formed, it contains Keough (UHC), Gilbert (Accent), Rodriguez (Colombia) and Kowalski (Roubaix). They pull out a gap of 2’30” relatively quickly over a relaxed peloton controlled by FDJ.
70kms to go
Over half the race has gone now and FDJ, Bretagne and us control of the peloton. We are now over the day’s early hills, it is flat all the way to the finish now apart from a few speed bumps. The break’s gap peaked at 5’00” but has started to come down. It currently stands at 4’10”.
15kms to go
The break is still 44” up the road but they are slowly being pulled back. IAM have started to set up a sprint train for Hinault, as have Lampre for Favili. Markus is sitting nicely in the wheels.
4kms to go
The break is back and IAM and Lampre both have set up sprint trains, for Favili and Hinault. Lampre look the strongest at the moment, but that could change once they start sprinting. Markus is sitting on the back of IAM’s train.
1km to go
Favili has just come out of Palini’s wheel. Lampre’s train looks to has seemed to have won the battle against IAM, who’s train fell apart. Markus was forced to sprint from 1.7kms out, but he is in 6th and has some energy left.
Finish
Favili takes the win, just in front of Hinault who was coming fast. Arashiro comes in 3rd for Europcar while Markus finishes a respectable 6th, which he will hope to improve on the flat stage 3. The race heads off for a TT tomorrow
The peloton split during the sprint but thankfully Elissionde stayed in the front group. Out of the GC favourites Vacansoleil’s Poels was the only one envolved, losing 1’35” on the pack.
| 1 |  Elia Favilli | Lampre - Merida | 3h32'30 | | 2 | Sébastien Hinault | IAM Cycling | s.t. | | 3 |  Yukiya Arashiro | Team Europcar | s.t. | | 4 |  Borut Božic | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 5 |  Jonathan Cantwell | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | s.t. | | 6 |  Barry Markus | Standard Bank - Aegon | s.t. | | 7 | Anthony Ravard | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 8 |  Grégory Rast | RadioShack - Leopard | s.t. | | 9 |  Marco Haller | Katusha Team | s.t. | | 10 | Mickaël Delage | FDJ | s.t. |
| 1 | Elia Favilli | Lampre - Merida | 3h32'10 | | 2 | Sébastien Hinault | IAM Cycling | + 8 | | 3 | Yukiya Arashiro | Team Europcar | + 12 | | 4 | Borut Božic | Astana Pro Team | + 20 | | 5 | Jonathan Cantwell | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | s.t. | | 6 | Barry Markus | Standard Bank - Aegon | s.t. | | 7 | Anthony Ravard | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 8 | Grégory Rast | RadioShack - Leopard | s.t. | | 9 | Marco Haller | Katusha Team | s.t. | | 10 | Mickaël Delage | FDJ | s.t. |
| 1 | Elia Favilli | Lampre - Merida | 25 | | 2 | Sébastien Hinault | IAM Cycling | 20 | | 3 | Yukiya Arashiro | Team Europcar | 16 | | 4 | Borut Božic | Astana Pro Team | 14 | | 5 | Jonathan Cantwell | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | 12 |
| 1 |  Michael Rodriguez | Colombia | 26 | | 2 | Rudy Kowalski | Roubaix Lille Métropole | 18 | | 3 |  Luke Keough | UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team | 18 | | 4 |  Jerôme Gilbert | Accent Jobs - Wanty | 12 | | 5 | Gaël Malacarne | Bretagne - Séché Environnement | 8 |
| 1 | Elia Favilli | Lampre - Merida | 3h32'10 | | 2 | Barry Markus | Standard Bank - Aegon | + 20 | | 3 | Marco Haller | Katusha Team | + 20 |
| 1 | Lampre - Merida | 10h37'30 | | 2 | FDJ | s.t. | | 3 | IAM Cycling | s.t. |
Edited by FroomeDog99 on 03-03-2013 10:38
|
| |
|
|
| Selwink |
Posted on 03-03-2013 10:44
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8702
Joined: 17-05-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
Shame Markus couldnt win, the opposition isnt the strongest. Better luck on stage 3
|
| |
|
|
| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-03-2013 11:21
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21379
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
|
A decent sprint from Markus! |
| |
|
|
| Pellizotti2 |
Posted on 03-03-2013 11:24
|
Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 9885
Joined: 01-05-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Haven't really been following this, but after a quick look I must say it looks very good. Nice and clear layout for the reports. Will try to catch up with the earlier races at some point soon. 
The Lampre jerseys look a little bright with increased saturation, though. 
|
| |
|
|
| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 03-03-2013 14:51
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4461
Joined: 07-10-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
Selwink & Ian: Thanks, hope he can do well
Pelli: Great to hear from you, and yes they do. I might tone it down a bit
The TT just crashed and I'm not really motivated to write another report, so it will be a quick one before stage 3 |
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 03-03-2013 15:16
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34002
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
A nice start from Marcus  |
| |
|
|
| Ad Bot |
Posted on 08-12-2025 23:22
|
Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
|
|
| IP: None |
|
|
| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 03-03-2013 16:41
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4461
Joined: 07-10-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
Sorry guys on the short report but I wasn't really motivated after the game crashed twice. Things should be back to normal for stage 3
Tour de Mediterranean Stage 2
Today’s stage is a TT which should show who’s in good form for Mount Faron on stage 4. The stage is 24kms in length however so some big time gaps may get created, especially on the final hill which reaches 13%! The favourites today are the main GC riders like Kreuziger (Saxo Bank), Roy (FDJ) and Larsson (IAM). We haven’t brought any specialist time-triallers so today’s goal is to keep Elissionde from losing lots of time.
Jeremy Roy eventually took the win on home soil for FDJ, which gives him the race lead in front of RadioShack – Leopard youngster Nelson Oliviera who finishes 2nd on the day. Vladmir Karpets rounds out the podium for Movistar.
Kenny Elissionde rode a good TT, coming in 28th on the day which puts him 21st on the GC. Markus also put in a good performance, finishing 27th and keeps a high GC placing with 19th. They are both a minute down on Roy.
| 1 | Jérémy Roy | FDJ | 36'54 | | 2 |  Nelson Oliveira | RadioShack - Leopard | + 12 | | 3 |  Vladimir Karpets | Movistar Team | + 21 | | 4 |  Gustav Erik Larsson | IAM Cycling | + 23 | | 5 |  Christian Knees | Sky Procycling | + 28 |
| 1 | Jérémy Roy | FDJ | 4h09'24 | | 2 | Nelson Oliveira | RadioShack - Leopard | + 12 | | 3 | Vladimir Karpets | Movistar Team | + 21 | | 4 | Gustav Erik Larsson | IAM Cycling | + 23 | | 5 | Christian Knees | Sky Procycling | + 28 |
Edited by FroomeDog99 on 03-03-2013 16:42
|
| |
|
|
| Miguel98 |
Posted on 03-03-2013 16:43
|
World Champion
Posts: 10231
Joined: 23-06-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
Oliveira rules. |
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 03-03-2013 17:55
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34002
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
A quiet TT for the team  |
| |
|
|
| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-03-2013 18:31
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21379
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
|
21th on the GC, not too bad. Hope he can move up into top 15, maybe! |
| |
|
|
| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 06-03-2013 19:45
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4461
Joined: 07-10-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
Sorry for the wait guys, was a bit short of time
Tour de Mediterranean Stage 3
Today is classified a flat stage, but with all those hills near the end of the stage anything could happen and it could favour the puncheurs over the sprinters. Still, the favourites are dominated by the flat men with riders who did well on stage 1 like Favili (Lampre), Bozic (Astana) and Hinault (IAM). We are hoping for a good result from Markus, but because of the hills we don't really expect much.
130kms to go
The break is formed and it contains Gretsch (Argos), Thurau (Europcar), Gerard (Bretagne), Belkov (Katusha) and Zingle (Cofidia). Gretsch is the best placed GC rider in the group, at 2’15” behind Roy. The gap is growing and it currently stands at 2’50” in front of a peloton controlled by Astana.
30kms to go
The gap to the break is currently 3’10” so it is looking close to whether this stage will end in a bunch sprint. Us, FDJ and IAM are the main teams pulling the peloton, while the break is co-operating well at the front of the race.
9kms to go
The break are just 45” in front of the peloton and the cars are pulling out of the gap. Astana and Lampre are the main driving forces at the front of the peloton. Markus fell back over the last hill and will have to fight to make it back to the front.
3kms to go
The break are caught but then there is an attack! Race leader Roy, sprinter Favili and Pietropolli have pulled out a 20” gap to a charging peloton. A massive move, though surely they can’t hold on can they?
Finish
They can! Favili points to the sky celebrating a second dominant win. Pietropolli finishes second to make it a Lampre 1-2. Roy comes in second just in front of a disappointed peloton lead home by Palini! A Lampre 1-2-4 is a great achievement and they played the race perfectly today.
Sadly for us Markus was never really in the hunt today due to the hills, where he fell back. 13th on the stage is ok I guess. Tomorrow we turn our attention to Elissionde, who will look to mount a GC challenge on Mount Faron.
| 1 | Elia Favilli | Lampre - Merida | 3h59'31 | | 2 | Daniele Pietropolli | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 3 | Jérémy Roy | FDJ | s.t. | | 4 | Andrea Palini | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 5 | Miguel Rubiano | Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela | s.t. |
| 1 | Jérémy Roy | FDJ | 8h08'47 | | 2 | Nelson Oliveira | RadioShack - Leopard | + 20 | | 3 | Vladimir Karpets | Movistar Team | + 29 | | 4 | Gustav Erik Larsson | IAM Cycling | + 31 | | 5 | Christian Knees | Sky Procycling | + 36 |
Tour de Mediterranean Stage 4
The final stage of the Tour de Mediterranean is probably going to be the decider with many climbers hoping to grab a good finish today en route to a good GC placing. The stage finishes on top of Mont Faron which is 7kms long and peaks at 9%. Favourites are Kreuziger (Saxo Bank), Poels (Vacansoleil) and Quintana (Movistar). We hope to try something with home favourite Elissionde.
125kms to go
After a couple of attempts a break gets away. The biggest dangers in the group look to be Hardy (Cofidis), De Kort (Argos) and Losada (Katusha). De Kort is the closest to Roy on the GC, 1’40” behind the Frenchman. The eight-man group have a growing gap of 1’50” over the peloton, which is controlled by FDJ.
60kms to go
FDJ have the break under tight control and are starting to close the gap. The gap had peaked at 6’10” with about 80kms to go but it has now been brought down to 4’30” as we approach the first serious climbing sections of the day.
20kms to go
The gap is at 2’00” as we start the penultimate climb. The peloton have started to chase hard however so it looks as if the break won’t make it to the finish line on the front. Hope at least. Elissionde is sitting in the pack, conserving energy.
10kms to go
Favili leads the chase of the peloton, who are now only a minute behind the group in front which has been whittled down to 5 men. No leaders have attacked with any real force yet, they seem to be saving energy for the final ascent up Mont Faron
4kms to go
Elissionde is the first rider to make a move, overtaking some of the break as he attacks! He has pulled out a 20” gap pretty quickly which FDJ are trying to shut down.
3kms to go
The gap has increased to 55” now! FDJ are controlling the peloton behind but they can’t seem to close the gap up to Elissionde. It is looking good for the French youngster.
1km to go
Rubiano, Roy and Kreuziger have caught Elissionde but he is still looking strog and isn’t beaten yet. The trio have a 1’12” gap back to the peloton.
Finish
Rubiano takes the win for Andrioni ahead of Roy. The pair finish 20” ahead of Elissionde in 3rd, Kreuziger in 4th and Ulissi rounding out the top 5. A great ride from our young Frenchman who is propelled up the GC. The 42-strong peloton come in 50” behind Rubiano. Our next best finisher is Van Niekerk in 13th.
Roy wins the GC for FDJ, his second big win of the season after the Tour de San Luis. Elissionde finishes 6th overall for us, a great result considering there was a long TT in this tour.
| 1 | Miguel Rubiano | Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela | 3h54'34 | | 2 | Jérémy Roy | FDJ | s.t. | | 3 | Kenny Elissonde | Standard Bank - Aegon | + 20 | | 4 |  Roman Kreuziger | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | s.t. | | 5 | Diego Ulissi | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 6 |  Alexey Lutsenko | Astana Pro Team | + 42 | | 7 | Wout Poels | Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team | + 50 | | 8 | Gustav Erik Larsson | IAM Cycling | s.t. | | 9 | Vladimir Karpets | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 10 | Karsten Kroon | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | s.t. |
| 1 | Jérémy Roy | FDJ | 12h03'09 | | 2 | Miguel Rubiano | Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela | + 1'14 | | 3 | Vladimir Karpets | Movistar Team | + 1'31 | | 4 | Gustav Erik Larsson | IAM Cycling | + 1'33 | | 5 | Diego Ulissi | Lampre - Merida | + 1'34 | | 6 | Kenny Elissonde | Standard Bank - Aegon | + 1'35 | | 7 | Roman Kreuziger | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | + 1'37 | | 8 | Christian Knees | Sky Procycling | + 1'38 | | 9 |  Michael Mørkøv | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | + 1'42 | | 10 | Elia Favilli | Lampre - Merida | + 1'43 |
| 1 | Jérémy Roy | FDJ | 61 | | 2 | Elia Favilli | Lampre - Merida | 50 | | 3 | Miguel Rubiano | Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela | 37 | | 4 | Yukiya Arashiro | Team Europcar | 26 | | 5 | Vladimir Karpets | Movistar Team | 23 |
| 1 | Michael Rodriguez | Colombia | 26 | | 2 | Arnaud Gérard | Bretagne - Séché Environnement | 24 | | 3 | Björn Thurau | Team Europcar | 22 | | 4 | Jérémy Roy | FDJ | 18 | | 5 | Patrick Gretsch | Team Argos - Shimano | 18 |
| 1 | Diego Ulissi | Lampre - Merida | 12h04'43 | | 2 | Kenny Elissonde | Standard Bank - Aegon | + 1 | | 3 | Elia Favilli | Lampre - Merida | + 9 |
| 1 | Team Saxo - Tinkoff | 36h14'55 | | 2 | FDJ | + 15 | | 3 |  Sky Procycling | + 25 |
Edited by FroomeDog99 on 06-03-2013 20:06
|
| |
|
|
| fcancellara |
Posted on 06-03-2013 19:49
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4813
Joined: 18-08-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
@FroomeDog: you should try increasing vibrance instead of saturation, it looks even better!
|
| |
|
|
| Miguel98 |
Posted on 06-03-2013 20:05
|
World Champion
Posts: 10231
Joined: 23-06-2011
PCM$: 200.00
|
Rubiano is not French. Btw, awesome result from Elissode. Here's a  for that. |
| |
|
|
| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 06-03-2013 20:32
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4461
Joined: 07-10-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
fcancellara: Thanks, but I'm not sure that's a feature in Gimp
Miguel: Corrected, and thanks for the banana
 Tour of Oman Preview
Kenny Elissionde
Barry Markus
 Nolan Hoffman
Dennis Van Niekerk
Joshua Edmonson
Marc Goos
 Adrien Niyonshuti
There is a very strong startlist to this to this race with riders like Vincenzo Nibali and Luis Leon Sanchez. We are lead by Kenny Elissionde who will be looking to get a top 10 overall, supported by Van Niekerk, Goos and Edmonson.
We also bring Markus for the sprints who will look to secure top 5's with Hoffman and Niyonshuti in support. Petacchi and co will be hard to beat however.
Edited by FroomeDog99 on 06-03-2013 21:16
|
| |
|
|
| Ian Butler |
Posted on 06-03-2013 20:47
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21379
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
|
Wow, Kenny with a great result!
Hope Markus can have a good race in Oman! |
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 06-03-2013 23:12
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34002
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
A brave ride from Kenny
Good Luck in Oman |
| |
|
|
| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 08-03-2013 20:17
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4461
Joined: 07-10-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
Tour Oman Stage 1
The first stage of the Tour Oman is really flat, meaning the sprinters will get the chance of an early leaders jersey. The favourites include Guardini (Astana), Petacchi (Lampre) and Haedo (Cannondale). Markus will hope to get a good result today, but it will be tough with such a strong field attending. We'll see what he can produce.
130kms to go
The break is formed after a couple of attempts. It contains Maté (Cofidis), Taciak (CCC), Lloyd (Lampre) and Smukulis (Katusha). They quickly pull out an ever-growing gap of 3'20" on the peloton which is controlled by Astana.
60kms to go
GreenEdge and Astana are at the head of the peloton and are keeping the break at an arms length. Strange to see GreenEdge up there, maybe Davis feels good? The gap is now declining and only a gap of 3'10" remains of the 5'00" it was around 90kms to go. It looks as if there will be a bunch sprint today.
20kms to go
The peloton can now see the break with only the last few kilometers remaining. GreenEdge have control and have closed the gap down to 1'15". The break is working well together though so there is still a slim hope for them.
6kms to go
GreenEdge have finally caught the break, so it will be a bunch sprint. Astana and the Aussie's both set up sprint trains, for Guardini and Dean. Markus is doing well, locked into Davis' wheel.
2kms to go
Langeveld is leading out Dean, who is in prime position. Astana set up a train but it is further back. Guardini may fave a tough sprint. Markus is still in a good position behind Dean, waiting to start his sprint.
1km to go
Dean is in front and is looking strong after leaving Langeveld's wheel. Petacchi is in 2nd and Vanmarcke 3rd, while Markus is going well in 5th, having just left Petacchi's slipstream. Guardini is further back after Astana's train failed.
Finish
Dean takes a deserved win for GreenEdge, after his team worked all day on the front. He is rewarded with the GC-lead. Astana's Guardini powered through from further back to finish 2nd and Vanmarcke comes in a surprise 3rd for Blanco. Markus took an average second for us which can hopefully be improved on during the upcoming stages.
| 1 | Allan Davis | Orica - GreenEdge | 3h34'28 | | 2 | Andrea Guardini | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 3 | Sep Vanmarcke | Blanco Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 4 |  Lucas Sebastián Haedo | Cannondale Pro Cycling | s.t. | | 5 | Fabio Felline | Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela | s.t. | | 6 |  Miguel Ubeto | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 7 | Barry Markus | Standard Bank - Aegon | s.t. | | 8 | Alessandro Petacchi | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 9 | Eros Capecchi | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 10 | Martin Reimer | MTN - Qhubeka | s.t. |
| 1 | Allan Davis | Orica - GreenEdge | 3h34'08 | | 2 | Andrea Guardini | Astana Pro Team | + 8 | | 3 |  Luis Ángel Maté | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | + 10 | | 4 | Sep Vanmarcke | Blanco Pro Cycling Team | + 12 | | 5 |  Gatis Smukulis | Katusha Team | + 14 | | 6 | Matthew Lloyd | Lampre - Merida | s.t. | | 7 |  Mateusz Taciak | CCC Polsat - Polkowice | + 18 | | 8 | Lucas Sebastián Haedo | Cannondale Pro Cycling | + 20 | | 9 | Fabio Felline | Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela | s.t. | | 10 | Miguel Ubeto | Lampre - Merida | s.t. |
| 1 | Allan Davis | Orica - GreenEdge | 25 | | 2 | Andrea Guardini | Astana Pro Team | 20 | | 3 | Sep Vanmarcke | Blanco Pro Cycling Team | 16 | | 4 | Lucas Sebastián Haedo | Cannondale Pro Cycling | 14 | | 5 | Fabio Felline | Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela | 12 |
| 1 | Luis Ángel Maté | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | 5 | | 2 | Matthew Lloyd | Lampre - Merida | 3 | | 3 | Mateusz Taciak | CCC Polsat - Polkowice | 1 |
| 1 | Andrea Guardini | Astana Pro Team | 3h34'16 | | 2 | Sep Vanmarcke | Blanco Pro Cycling Team | + 4 | | 3 | Fabio Felline | Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela | + 12 |
| 1 | Orica - GreenEdge | 10h43'24 | | 2 | Movistar Team | s.t. | | 3 | Katusha Team | s.t. |
Edited by FroomeDog99 on 08-03-2013 20:26
|
| |
|
|
| dienblad |
Posted on 08-03-2013 21:17
|
Classics Specialist
Posts: 3709
Joined: 10-09-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
Getting some nice results. Reports look good!!
|
| |
|
|
| FroomeDog99 |
Posted on 08-03-2013 21:35
|
Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4461
Joined: 07-10-2012
PCM$: 200.00
|
dienblad wrote:
Getting some nice results. Reports look good!!
Thanks, nice to hear from you about the reports, I put quite alot of effort into them |
| |
|
|
| sutty68 |
Posted on 09-03-2013 10:20
|
Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34002
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
|
A very nice start from Barry Markus |
| |
|
