sutty68 wrote:
Vanendert being very unlucky this season
Yes and no
Not a single victory yet,
but he's currently 2nd in the Pro Tour, with 3 times 2 in the classics, 3th in Catalunya, top 10 in Basqua Country and top 10 in Paris - Nice, that's not so bad
But it is unfortunate that the day he beats Gilbert, Cunego is there to take the win
sutty68 wrote:
Vanendert being very unlucky this season
Yes and no
Not a single victory yet,
but he's currently 2nd in the Pro Tour, with 3 times 2 in the classics, 3th in Catalunya, top 10 in Basqua Country and top 10 in Paris - Nice, that's not so bad
But it is unfortunate that the day he beats Gilbert, Cunego is there to take the win
When you see his reults you then realise that he has some very good form indeed
That win will definantly come soon
Today was the final preparation for the Giro. You know what would be the best way to end a preparation, and the best thing that could happen for my self-esteem? That's right, a win. That would be incredible. I was still waiting for my first win, and here is how I WON MY FIRST RACE!
Well, this is a great profile. I felt great when I woke up tomorrow, and I decided to test my legs one last time before the Giro. So I wanted to set a good pace on the hills, and see if maybe I could split the peloton, like I once did before. If you can do that, you're a decent climber. And I was in the best shape of my life today.
There was a big audience today. All Italian fans waiting to see their heroes. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for me, there weren't any Italian top riders present today.
On the second climb of the day, I found a nice pace. To my surprise, the peloton didn't find it necessary to come with me. I wasn't much of a threat. After all, there were still 72km to go.
The biggest surprise of the day came when I suddenly saw my name written on the ground, very largely. I wonder who did it. If it is one of you (someone who reads this blog) do let me know! It was awesome, especially during a solo!
On the top of the third mountain I had 1'46" on a (smaller) peloton, but now they had started chasing! So my distance was decreasing a bit.
By some kind of miracle I kept a good distance and when I had descended the final mountain and I still had 16km of flat road ahead of me, I was 1 minute ahead of Brambilla and 2 minutes ahead of Gerdemann!
Brambilla came closer to 45 seconds, but at about 6km from the finish he finally cracked, victory was to be mine!
In my opinion, this is a great way to approach the Giro, with a lot of confidence. A solo win of 72km is something special, I've never won a sprint but I think it's much more satisfying than winning a sprint. What a great day. We'll see you at the Giro d'Italia!
Stijn Van Gent
What a great win for Eric! Now we both have one win on our palmares, which is super. One photo I'd like to share:
This is me dying in the peloton, at about the same time that Eric killed the peloton himself.
Dennis Vanendert ended on a 14th place in this race, a good result for him!
Other news: Van Den Broeck ended 14th in Romandie, nothing special. Valverde took the GC, right in front of Wiggins.
Well, there's nothing left to say. The Giro starts with 3 stages that I like, a prologue and 2 flat stages.
I wonder what I can do, and especially what Eric can do! See you there!
Finally it is here, the long-expected Giro d'Italia!
Being one of the 3 Grand Tours, it is a special race to compete in. This year's edition will be the first for the both of us. It will also be our first Grand Tour. The expectations for many experienced riders are high, and pink glory is in the air, while we younglings look for a chance to prove ourselves. Let's take a look at this year's Giro d'Italia!
The Giro takes us to Denmark for the first 3 days, where Lars Bak will try and get a stage win, without a doubt. However, it won't be easy, as the sprinters will gather around for a feast of speed.
With many mountain stages, average time trial km and some hilly stages, there are many riders lurking for pink. Our biggest favorites: De Gendt, Scarponi and Nibali, Froome won’t be competing, strangely enough. Also, BMC decided to send Van Garderen as their leader, a big candidate for the young jersey.
As for sprinters (unlucky for Stijn), Cavendish is present, as is Petacchi, Boeckmans, McEwen, Goss and Farrar.
What will winner of Giro 2011 Scarponi do? And what about big talent Nibali?
So who marked what days on their calendar?
Stijn Van Gent
Well, I've been able to prove myself on the cobbles so far, now I want to prove myself as a fast man. Stages 2 - 3 - 5 - 9 - 11 - 13 and 18 are all possible mass sprints. Stage 11 is the one where I see myself having the best chance. The race is 242.7km long and, being a classic rider, I get better the longer a race is, as I already noticed in Paris - Roubaix.
The prologue should've been a bit shorter for me, but imagine that I happen to have to greatest day of my life. Could pink be a reality? I'll definitely try, so keep your fingers crossed!
Eric Lombaerts
Besides the prologue, I haven't much to do the first week, except stay out of trouble and try not to lose time. However, the TTT could be catastrophic. I will try to ride for the GC as good as possible (I dream of a top 20 place), but since I've never raced 3 weeks before, I don't know what to expect. Normally I should survive it, I get better by the day, as I once said.
If I were to lose a lot of time, under unpredictable circumstances, I have a back-up plan: try to get a stage win (however impossible that seems now, there are 21 stages to win).
Good stages for a breakaway are:
Stage 12
Stage 16
Stage 16 could be excellent because the main contenders will spare their strength for the coming mountain stage, following a day later.
Well, we'll see you at the kick-off of this Giro, the prologue!
Edited by Ian Butler on 08-08-2012 22:21
