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Nokia - Ekspla: Project Baltic | Vuelta a Castilla y León
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| Stromeon |
Posted on 24-02-2013 21:24
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sutty: He won all 4 stages in Mallorca 
Ian: Maybe - see how he fares at the Tour 
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| Stromeon |
Posted on 24-02-2013 21:32
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 Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen
 TEAM NOKIA - EKSPLA 
Leader:  Aleksejs Saramotins
Sprinter:  Janek Tombak
Free Element: Gatis Smukulis
Free Element: Ramunas Navardauskas
Team-mate: Ignatas Konovalovas
Team-mate: Raivis Belohvosciks
This race will probably be quite unpredictable, so it's a hard job picking favourites. Will the cobbles create any significant time-gaps? Is it all down to the prologue? I haven't compiled a list of favourites, because I really don't know! There seems to be a very strong field for the prologue, riders like  Andriy Grivko,  Gustav Erik Larsson, and  Patrick Gretsch should do well there, but also there are some good cobbled riders such as Leif Hoste and  Matthew Hayman
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| Stromeon |
Posted on 24-02-2013 21:43
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Stage 1: Middelkerke
The first stage is a prologue, where potentially the race can be won or lost. It is set in the beautiful coastal town of Middelkerke
We'd brought our time-triallists along again and Smukulis was the first one down the ramp
There was a clutch of good TTers who came out near the start. Thomas Lofkvist was the best of these, beating Patrick Gretsch by three seconds to set a formidable provisional time
Ramunas Navardauskas is in good shape coming into this race and so he's probably looking for a top 5 place; but there’s a very strong field here.
However, he crossed the line in a provisional 5th, with still quite a few riders to go.
Raivis Belohvosciks was the last of our riders to go, he set a decent time, 18 seconds down on Andriy Grivko, who had just overtaken Lofkvist at the top by a couple of tenths of a second
And that was it, a late challenge from Larsson fell just short of the podium. However, we did get word that it was in fact Lofkvist who was the winner today, and that they had miscalculated Grivko's time. So it will be the Sky rider who wears yellow tomorrow:
| 1 | | Thomas Löfkvist | Sky Procycling | 9'15 | | 2 | | Andriy Grivko | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 3 | | Patrick Gretsch | Team Argos - Shimano | + 3 | | 4 | | Gustav Erik Larsson | Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 5 |  | Peter Kennaugh | Sky Procycling | + 6 | | 6 |  | Jesse Sergent | RadioShack - Nissan | + 7 | | 7 | | Alex Dowsett | Sky Procycling | s.t. | | 8 | | Stijn Devolder | Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 9 | | Ramunas Navardauskas | Nokia - Ekspla | + 8 | | 10 | | Dominique Cornu | Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | + 9 |
Navardauskas finishes 9th in the end, just a few tenths short of Dowsett and Devolder
1 Navardauskas - 9th is a good result against such a strong field
2 Belohvosciks - another solid, but unspectacular performance from the Latvian veteran
3 Saramotins - Time-trialling isn’t his favourite discipline, but he did well to finish just outside the top 30 and ensure that he stays in contention for the overall
9th seems a little disappointing on the surface for Ramunas, but if you consider the strength of the field around him, it’s not bad - after all he did finish ahead of Posthuma, Kelderman, Kessiakoff, Malori and Hincapie!
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 25-02-2013 03:01
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A top 10 is still good
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 25-02-2013 08:11
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Steady start from Ramunas |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 25-02-2013 08:25
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A decent start. Now pay attention on those cobbles, don't fall back! |
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| Stromeon |
Posted on 25-02-2013 18:25
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Jakstar: Yep hopefully we can improve on that in the next couple of stages 
sutty: He seems to be the team's Mr Dependable at the moment
Ian: Ramunas isn't great on the cobbles so he'll need a bit of help But Saramotins and Tombak look in good shape so they'll be looking for a good result in stage 2
Stage 2 coming up soon - fairly long report 'cause it was a cracking race 
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| Stromeon |
Posted on 25-02-2013 18:45
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Stage 2: Brugge - Kortrijk-Bellegem
The cobbles will make today fairly hard but I doubt they'll cause any major gaps - we'll have to see!
This stage is ideally suited to our sprinter here, Janek Tombak. Fairly flat with cobbles, but just a few hundred metres before the line there's a short steep hill at about 6%
As lots of riders attacked from the start, the big teams like Sky didn't seem keen on pursuit and so a huge break of 16 riders formed and quickly opened a gap of 9 minutes before we hit the first cobbled section!
Coming into the cobbles Astana were now massing themselves on the front and a very fast tempo was set
Jaan Kirsipuu wins the intermediate sprint in the break but their advantage is down to just 4 minutes with still 70 km to go!
Most of the roads in this repeated circuit leading up to the finish are quite narrow so we had to be careful to keep our riders near or at the front
The pack was beginning to split up with favourites like  Lloyd Mondory and  Guillaume Boivin falling off the back
With just over 20km to go, the dangerous Leif Hoste attacked. Aleksejs Saramotins decided to follow him out of the peloton and see what could happen. The duo were then followed by Koen Barbe
However it came to nothing within a few kilometres; having joined the break they were caught by a peloton still lead by Astana
Hoste and Barbe went on the attack again, though, this time they were followed by the in-form Marcus Burghardt and Ian Stannard
With 5km to go Hoste and Stannard, followed by Barbe and Burghardt, were still plugging away just off the front of the peloton, constantly attacking
Suddenly there's a huge crash in the peloton wth some big names involved!  Elmiger of Ag2r seems to have dislocated both his legs and Neiryens of Topsport-Vlaanderen is trying to do a forward roll; while Nico Eeckhout, Jeremy Hunt, and Continental ranking leader Davy Commeyne are also down
The crash really doesn't look too good as more names bite the dust. Ignatas Konovalovas is the first Nokia rider to fall this season, he is accompanied to the ground by  George Hincapie, Kris Boeckmans and Matthew Hayman
Meanwhile up front we're under the Flamme Rouge and the yellow jersey of Lofkvist is out in front but Tombak is powering along after a superb lead-out from Saramotins
Victory for Janek Tombak and Nokia-Ekspla! What a sprint from the Estonian! (sorry for bad finish photo, was so excited that I forgot to press the celebrate button in time or take a photo on the line )
Great result for the team as we finally get our victory count up and running for the season - even more remarkable was that Saramotins the lead-out finished fourth and then Smukulis and Navardauskas, sprinting off their own backs managed to finish inside the top 10 as well!
| 1 | | Janek Tombak | Nokia - Ekspla | 4h30'14 | | 2 | | Ian Stannard | Sky Procycling | s.t. | | 3 | | Marcus Burghardt | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | 4 | | Aleksejs Saramotins | Nokia - Ekspla | s.t. | | 5 |  | Joost Posthuma | RadioShack - Nissan | s.t. | | 6 | | Andriy Grivko | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | 7 | | Gatis Smukulis | Nokia - Ekspla | s.t. | | 8 | | Ramunas Navardauskas | Nokia - Ekspla | s.t. | | 9 | | Sven Vandousselaere | Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | s.t. | | 10 |  | Elia Favilli | Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | s.t. |
However it's not all good news as due to the bonus seconds gained by Burghardt and Stannard at the end, Navardauskas gets pushed out of the GC top 10
| 1 | | Andriy Grivko | Astana Pro Team | 4h39'29 | | 2 | | Thomas Löfkvist | Sky Procycling | s.t. | | 3 | | Ian Stannard | Sky Procycling | + 1 | | 4 | | Marcus Burghardt | BMC Racing Team | + 2 | | 5 | | Patrick Gretsch | Team Argos - Shimano | + 3 | | 6 | | Gustav Erik Larsson | Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 7 | | Peter Kennaugh | Sky Procycling | + 6 | | 8 | | Jesse Sergent | RadioShack - Nissan | + 7 | | 9 | | Stijn Devolder | Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 10 | | Alex Dowsett | Sky Procycling | s.t. |
1 Tombak - Gets our victory count up and running with a great sprint
2 Saramotins - Excellent lead-out was key to the success
3 Smukulis - Finishes 7th after deciding to sprint without any help!
4 riders inside the top 10! We’re doing great, so let’s see if we can continue in this vein of form tomorrow. We don’t really have any GC hopes, unless Ramunas can pick up some more time bonifications. Ignatas hasn’t injured himself much, just a few bruises here and there and so he will be OK to ride tomorrow as water-bottle man or something.
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 25-02-2013 22:43
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What a stage for the team, four in the first eight and a Great win for Tombak  |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 26-02-2013 08:51
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What a brilliant stage, didn't expect this! |
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 26-02-2013 10:39
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Great win
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| Atlantius |
Posted on 26-02-2013 10:45
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Brilliant stage!
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| Stromeon |
Posted on 26-02-2013 20:41
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All: Definitely a great stage for the team - only 30 riders were left in the front group at the end after all the crashes so we seized our chance!
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| Stromeon |
Posted on 26-02-2013 22:10
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Stage 3: Nieuwpoort - Ichtegem
More cobbles today, although it's probably an easier day for the riders than yesterday. Watch out to see if there are any more crashes!
Gatis Smukulis was on the attack today, looking to get in the break to get some time bonifications that might lift him into a top 10 GC place from his current 19th
He managed to get away as another huge break formed - 18 riders today!
Rabobank's Tom Leezer wins the first IS, Smukulis can only finish fourth. The lead has grown to eight minutes already!
The second sprint point comes at the end of a lovely picturesque cobbled hill and Smukulis accelerates away to claim 6 bonus seconds!
Meanwhile Astana were flying at the front of the peloton, causing the group to explode! Just 40 riders were in the lead group as we went over the last hill
Meanwhile up the road again, Smukulis won the last sprint as well, putting him provisionally into the GC top 10
Just after that intermediate sprint, the break was caught with 30km to go, but Smukulis was having none of it! He went on the offensive and quickly built up a 30 second gap
Unfortunately, a group of about 40 including several inside the top 10, came back to the peloton; meaning Navardauskas was unlikely to move up any more places from his 11th.
It's another disaster for the unfortunate Konovalovas, as he gets a puncture during one of the cobbled sections. Meanwhile, Smukulis' advantage had extended to over a minute with 18km to go
Gatis was joined by Martin Elmiger as the peloton started to accelerate
However they were caught with just 10kms remaining! A bunch sprint beckoned, but there were still attacks flying everywhere
Another group attacked, this time consisting of Gustav Erik Larsson, Bert Grabsch, Dominique Cornu, Leif Hoste and Joost Posthuma, all looking to consolidate their positions from the prologue - and this move looked a bit more decisive!
It proved to be the winning move as Leif Hoste won ahead of Posthuma and a charging peloton, who swallowed up the rest of the group
Another great sprint from Janek Tombak means he does claim third place at the front of the peloton as behind, another mass crash strikes! Gert Dockx is obviously very unhappy as he tries to guillotine his leg off on the fence while Belohvosciks considers attempting to bunny hop Ten Dam and Lindeman.
| 1 | | Leif Hoste | Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | 4h21'58 | | 2 | | Joost Posthuma | RadioShack - Nissan | s.t. | | 3 | | Janek Tombak | Nokia - Ekspla | s.t. | | 4 | | Oscar Gatto | Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | s.t. | | 5 | | Kristof Goddaert | AG2R La Mondiale | s.t. | | 6 | | Jan Bakelants | RadioShack - Nissan | s.t. | | 7 | | Ian Stannard | Sky Procycling | s.t. | | 8 |  | Grega Bole | Lampre - ISD | s.t. | | 9 | | Dominique Cornu | Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | s.t. | | 10 | | Gustav Erik Larsson | Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team | s.t. |
The final general classification - Smukulis squeezes in courtesy of his efforts in the break today! After his win today, Hoste jumps from nowhere to claim the overall lead as well!
| 1 | | Leif Hoste | Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | 9h01'22 | | 2 | | Joost Posthuma | RadioShack - Nissan | + 3 | | 3 | | Andriy Grivko | Astana Pro Team | + 5 | | 4 | | Thomas Löfkvist | Sky Procycling | s.t. | | 5 | | Ian Stannard | Sky Procycling | + 6 | | 6 | | Marcus Burghardt | BMC Racing Team | + 7 | | 7 | | Patrick Gretsch | Team Argos - Shimano | + 8 | | 8 | | Gustav Erik Larsson | Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | 9 | | Gatis Smukulis | Nokia - Ekspla | + 10 | | 10 | | Peter Kennaugh | Sky Procycling | + 11 |
A podium place today coupled with his great win yesteday means Janek Tombak wins the points competition!
| 1 | | Janek Tombak | Nokia - Ekspla | | 41 | | 2 | | Joost Posthuma | RadioShack - Nissan | | 37 | | 3 | | Andriy Grivko | Astana Pro Team | | 32 | | 4 | | Thomas Löfkvist | Sky Procycling | | 30 | | 5 | | Leif Hoste | Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's | | 30 |
| 1 | | Ian Stannard | Sky Procycling | 9h01'28 | | 2 | | Patrick Gretsch | Team Argos - Shimano | + 2 | | 3 | | Gatis Smukulis | Nokia - Ekspla | + 4 |
| 1 | | Sky Procycling | 27h04'34 | | 2 | | RadioShack - Nissan | + 14 | | 3 | | Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team | + 24 | | 4 | | Nokia - Ekspla | + 33 |
1 Smukulis - Lifted himself into an unexpected 9th overall through his efforts today in the break
2 Tombak - Another great sprint from the Estonian and he wins the points jersey!
3 Belohvosciks - Just for that bunnyhop
Overall, it's been a great Three Days of West-Flanders for us, with a stage win, a podium place, and a surprising 9th overall in the GC! Most of our leaders look in good shape at the moment and we're really pleased at how the team's going at the moment after our first win of the season!
Next up we head to Croatia for the Trofej Porec followed by the Istrian Spring Trophy. See you there!
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 27-02-2013 09:39
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Smukulis with a great, great race here! |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 27-02-2013 12:55
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Another good performance from Janek
And Great to see Smukulis grab a top ten finish on the GC |
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| Stromeon |
Posted on 03-03-2013 08:54
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Hey everyone, sorry for no reports in the last week or so, just been very busy with non-PCM things and that will continue for another couple of weeks I think, but it's Sunday today so I've got some spare time
Trofej Porec will be up soon - it was a bizarre race 
Ian: It was great to see him grab a GC place in a race that doesn't really suit him
sutty: He's putting in some consistent finishes which is good to see
Edited by Stromeon on 03-03-2013 08:56
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| Stromeon |
Posted on 03-03-2013 09:17
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 Trofej Porec
An interesting profile - fairly hilly with two long cobbled sections. Will probably be won by a sprinter but there are loads of opportunities for cobbled riders and puncheurs to attack. A small and weak field means we will be looking for the win with either Saramotins, Tombak or Bagdonas!
We're underway in some very picturesque Croatian countryside
Having recovered from his crash in Flanders a week ago, Ignatas Konovalovas is on the attack early on
After a few other attacks, a large group of 11 riders formed up front, none of them particularly dangerous
80km to go and the break's lead was 11 minutes! No one seemed interested in pursuit
As we cross the second long cobbled stretch you can see the yellow jersey of Navardauskas out in front, trying to reduce the gap to a sizeable margin - Konovalovas doesn't really fancy his chances in a sprint against the likes of breakaway companions Michele Merlo and  Christer Rake so we thought that we’d better get it under control
Just 10km to go now and the gap is around 2'45. Bagdonas, followed by Saramotins, set off out of the pack to see what they can do
After some help from Bagdonas, Saramotins latches on to the back of the break, but the peloton has suddenly woken up and are not far behind
Everyone joins back up together and this time it's Konovalovas's turn to make an attack, just 3km from the finish
 Reinardt Janse van Rensburg wins in the sprint, Tombak tried to sprint but was too tired from earlier exertions helping to pull back the break and can only manage 8th
| 1 | | Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg | MTN - Qhubeka | 4h02'10 | | 2 |  | Rasmus Guldhammer | Christina Watches - Onfone | s.t. | | 3 | | Dean Downing | Rapha Condor - Sharp | s.t. | | 4 | | Michele Merlo | Team WIT | s.t. | | 5 | | Martin Pedersen | Christina Watches - Onfone | s.t. | | 6 | | Dennis Van Niekerk | MTN - Qhubeka | s.t. | | 7 | | Marko Kump | Adria Mobil | s.t. | | 8 | | Janek Tombak | Nokia - Ekspla | s.t. | | 9 | | Christer Rake | Joker Merida | s.t. | | 10 |  | Jani Tewelde Weldegaber | MTN - Qhubeka | s.t. |
1 Konovalovas - Got in the break and late attack almost worked
2 Juodvalkis - Was great in chasing down the break
3 Saramotins - Attack nearly worked at the end as well
A very disappointing race for us, we had come into this race as clear favourites but only have an 8th place to show for it instead of the win we were looking for. It’s only a 2.1 race but it would have been nice to get another win on the board. The boys stay around here by the sea in Croatia for the Istrian Spring Trophy, where we hope for some success.
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 03-03-2013 09:45
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Janek carried his good form into Croatia |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-03-2013 11:23
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You can't win everything. Good racing and you can be proud of the guys |
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