Teddy The Creator wrote:
Nice concept and a nicely written review, it's only been one post and one day so don't expect numerous comments immediately. With patience, they will come.
One thing I recommend is cropping the images of your team and the profile so they look more like this. (They're from PCM11)
Just looks a lot neater..
Yeah I know, thanks a lot . Is there a program I can use to do so?
Teddy The Creator wrote:
Nice concept and a nicely written review, it's only been one post and one day so don't expect numerous comments immediately. With patience, they will come.
One thing I recommend is cropping the images of your team and the profile so they look more like this. (They're from PCM11)
Just looks a lot neater..
Yeah I know, thanks a lot . Is there a program I can use to do so?
I use paint but I'm sure there are better places to do that
After my first race, the adrenaline has slightly escaped my body, but I'm still on cloud 9 and I hope I can do even better today.
I started closer to the front this time, and tried to focus on the race ahead.
You'd think that Pasqualon (BAR) would've been tired after yesterday's effort, but he went in the break again with 2 other rider. He came from behind to win the Cat.3 Climb and took the intermediate sprint uncontested.
Again AG2R and GreenEDGE were pushing the pace, this time with help from Lotto Belisol. We were managing to keep our train ahead while also not wasting too much precious energy. Our 3 sprinters were feeling great, and with that in mind, I pulled the pace as hard as possible to put us in a good position to challenge for a Top 10.
The DS was constantly shouting at me not to look back, and when Race Radio said we had a 13" gap on the bunch, I knew why. Even Rusli was struggling to keep up.
After I finished my pull, Floris Goesinnen started to sprint. He couldn't keep up the pace though, and Aidis Kruopis was the first rider to make the pass.
Eventually it was Green Jersey Daryl Impey (OGE) who went one better than yesterday and took the win, and since Manuel Beletti (ALM) couldn't get 2nd, Impey would take the Yellow Jersey too. Goesinnen put in a great distance sprint, and took home 9th place-a great achievement for the team!
Post-Race
I feel really proud of my pull, and it even helped us get a Top 10!
welker3257 wrote:
Lots of guys in the top 15 for Drapac.
Yeah, it's because we made our lead-out train quite late so Will and I had some energy left for the sprint. Amir Rusli disappointed us again and the staff are wondering about what to do.
Well, this is it then. All my training has come down to this moment, my first stage in the professional peloton.
However, rather than being an epic mountainous route that would promise time gaps, it is a short prologue to the Route of the Sun – Vuelta a Andalucia.
I am riding this in support of Huzarski, an experienced climber with good time trialling capabilities. For now I am his domestique, I will be protecting him up the hills which will come soon in the future.
So, without further ado, here is the route for my first professional race. A pan flat 6.8 km course with nothing in it for the climber. Little time will be lost today and it is an opportunity for Jan Barta to seize yellow early on.
Here is the startlist for the race as well. As you can see, there are not any massive names but there are certainly many threats to Huzarski.
Jan Barta is one of the favourites for the stage today with Huzarski standing a chance at gaining early time on some of his rivals. Unfortunately, for us, David Millar is here as well as Vandevelde so victory today is looking unlikely…
Vandevelde set a new best time but did not live up to expectations…
Millar set a new best time soon after, clearing Vandevelde by 20 seconds.
Now it was my turn. I felt nervous but I knew that I could achieve a good result…
I recorded the fifth best time of the day so far. It should hold for a top ten and possibly the white jersey but you never know…
Unfortunately, for us Barta did not have too good a day and came third. Moser finished second with Millar taking the stage. Fortunately, for me, I will ride in white tomorrow after coming sixteenth (not as good as hoped) in the stage. I am currently second in the competition but with Moser in green I will ride in white and when it comes to the hills, I expect a fight between him and me. I am on a par with him and if I am allowed enough freedom, I could cause some problems. Huzarski did well coming in at eleventh and we are second in the team standings despite our helpers slowing down.
Huzarski was rightly pleased, he felt that he had a good chance at victory after the stage. This is what he wrote on his blog:
Great stuff today, unfortunately Jan couldn't get the win but I'm sure he'll have more opportunities soon. Team seems to be fresh after the time trial and if we keep out of trouble tomorrow we could really gain time on stage three. There's a little hill at the end tomorrow and if we play our cards right we could make a gap. Stage three is still the most important though and everyone needs to be ready to ride hard on that day.
After yesterday's stage, we were looking for another strong performance on stage 3. However, the profile is scary for any sprinter and most climbers, so let's see what will happen .
I started towards the back again. Oh well, no harm done .
Three riders got away from the bunch. They were Downing (TNE), Frapporti (AND) and Coledan (BAR) yet again.
The peloton started chasing before the Cat.1 climb, and I was trying to stay up front to avoid being caught on the wrong end of a split. I hate it when that happens, as sometimes you can be feeling great but your positioning is bad and then all of a sudden you're out of it. Not fun.
Downing was able to win both climbs, while in the peloton I was fighting for my first ever mountain points. I managed 2nd (out of 2 attackers) of the bunch on the Cat. 1, which was enough to give me points.
34km To Go The first attacks come from the peloton. Rutkiewicz (CCC), Brambilla (OPQS), Pietropolli (LAM) and Reijnen (UHC) are the guys feeling lucky.
17.5km To Go The four make the catch on the BOTD, forming a group of 7. They now have 1'31" on the peloton.
Inside 10km Orica and Astana are setting a ferocious pace, for the guys at the back it's hell. That is when people are actually at the back long enough without getting dropped. It was actually frightening.
The leaders wouldn't give up though, they held on until the last 4.5km.
Will Walker tried to attack to coincide with the catch, but he couldn't even get past me. I was just riding at the front, hoping that my pace would be enough to make a few riders struggle.
With 3km left, Romain Bardet (ALM) attacked. No-one could follow him, and I was riding at my absolute limit to bring him back.
Will was helping me, and our pace soon caused splits in the peloton.
With 2km to go, Lutsenko (AST) seemed to be the only one who could follow.
With 1.5km left, Will was out, he had burned too much energy in his unsuccessful attack. Immediately riders found it easier to get to the front. Bardet was easily ahead with 16 riders chasing behind to minimise the time gap.
Under the 1km banner, the sprint started. I tried to hang on to Pieter Weening's wheel (OGE), while Lutsenko was leading out his teammate Agnoli to try for 2nd.
I was starting to lose Weenng's wheel anyway, so with 700m left I hopped out, as did Agnoli from Lutsenko.
Needless to say Bardet won.
Unfortunately I couldn't stay in front. Agnoli (AST) took 2nd in front of teammate Lutsenko. Weening grabbed 4th while I managed a Top 5!
Bardet will wear yellow tomorrow.
Post Race
Wow! I can't believe it! A top 5!. I can't rest on my laurels now, as there's a TT tomorrow. Since I'm probably not going to be fighting for the GC or young rider rankings, I might just take it easy so I have more in reserve for the further climbers' stages.
Edited by Cycleman123 on 25-07-2013 10:18
@Jesleyh Thanks for both your comments @Sutty68 Corrigan is indeed looking on form, but has he saved enough energy for the upcoming stages?
Let me take this opportunity to make a quick announcement.
I have the first part of a really important science project due on Friday, so I might not post tonight (it's 7:30 for me now) or tomorrow while I work on the finishing touches.
@Jesleyh Thanks for both your comments @Sutty68 Corrigan is indeed looking on form, but has he saved enough energy for the upcoming stages?
Let me take this opportunity to make a quick announcement.
I have the first part of a really important science project due on Friday, so I might not post tonight (it's 7:30 for me now) or tomorrow while I work on the finishing touches.
My first TT, let's hope I can put in a good performance. I'm also hoping to save energy for the upcoming stages. The team tactic is to go hard on the downhill and save energy on the flat for the climb.
Floris Goesinnen was our best rider. When he went under the checkpoint he was 7th. Ben Day was the provisional leader for the early stages, but Adriano Malori (LAM) held it the longest. Nice to see an Aussie doing well .
As soon as I went off the blocks my goal was just to stay in a good tuck for the downhill and take some time there. You can't see it in the picture but the starting block is just behind me in that one.
Under the first time check I was provisional 10th.
P. Velits (OPQS) was right behind me, and breathing down my neck inside the closing stages of the course. For me it was turning into more of a road race and trying to get to the line before him.
He was gaining, but I had some reserve left in the tank for the last few metres.
And the winner is... Peter Velits! Despite me getting to the line before him that didn't mean that Velits wouldn't take the win.
V. Agnoli (AST) finished just one second ahead of me.
Green Jersey Daryl Impey (OGE) had a shocker.
Yellow Jersey Bardet (ALM) did enough to stay on as the best young rider, but not the GC leader. Peter Velits would wear that at least for tomorrow.
Sorry I don't have the results for you, something weird happened with the s/o
[u]Post-Race
Let's hope that I have enough energy for tomorrow. It's gonna be a tough one!
After a decent stage yesterday, we will be seeing a boring, flat stage today. Do not expect anything interesting to happen today folks; the favourites will all be conserving their energy for tomorrow. There is a little ramp up to the finish favouring punchy sprinters but I am unsure on how much that will affect the race.
I will be protecting Huzarski today; we did not bring a team for the sprints so don’t expect us to be working today. Markus Eichler will be trying his luck for the stage though and seeing if he can take home some mountain points. Huzarski is an outside bet for victory today (according to the bookmakers) but I am unsure over his chances on such a short climb.
Moser and I, side by side. I am in the white and he is in the green. Rivals for white right now and possibly future rivals if he improves in the mountains.
With the break up the road, I manage to catch sight of Millar. I try calling him over but he seems to be in a hurry to get to the front. Oh well, at least I have seen the other two jerseys and I can go back to babysitting Huzarski.
Four riders attack, one of them Eichler who is looking for mountain points…
The break of the day containing Eichler.
The break after the first two climbs, both won by Eichler. Here are their names from the lead to the tail: Linde, Eichler, Bailetti,Jarrier, Vanlandschoot and Dion.
The break and the peloton. 100km to go and the gap is around seven minutes. It seems to be under control but you should never say never!
Endura have taken it upon them to close the gap. 15km to go and there is a gap of on solitary minute.
No more breakaway…
We now set up a train to keep Huzarski out of trouble and to see if he can take the hill better than the sprinters.
We now begin our sprint of non-sprinters…
Now I sprint. The road is definitely rising now…
Huzarski comes through…
Ponzi comes through along with Bozic (closest to camera)…
Kocjan wins. Huzarski misses the time bonuses with a good fifth place....
The team did well and I feel that we really exposed an unexceptional startlist. Huzarski pulled off a good sprint but unfortunately we missed out on time bonuses. Eichler is in the polka dots now which we are all hoping he can hold. He has now been given free reign whilst my team mates and I have to protect Huzarski over the next three stages. He showed he was strong today, and if Hollenstein hadn't been so weak we might have scored a podium. Hollenstein was poor today though and could barely hold my wheel let alone sprint out for Huzarski. This is shown in the stage results with me finishing ahead of him even though I lead him out.
Well we have a summit finish tomorrow so I will be resting up ahead of that. I aim to gain time on Moser and try and rip the white jersey from him... Wish me luck.
Zis is great, look what we found! The others go see nice churches and museums, but me and Nikolay (Zhurkin - the admin) found this beuoatiful...or whatever place!
This is one of the few places in this country where they make their own vodka, we have to try it! The race starts tomorrow, we will surely be fine.
@ sutty68 - Surprisingly good, we were the only team with a lead out train so we managed to beat teams with sprinters. @Trout80 Thanks for the banana
February 21 – Vuelta a Andalucia
This is the first tough stage today and t5he entire team is nervous for it. Well, we all are bar Huzaski who seems to be as cool as a cucumber. Despite his attitude, I am quite jumpy as this is the first stage on terrain that truly suits me (other than the mountains). The climbs are a little to short to suit me but I can still put time into Moser’s lead. Unfortunately, I will not be given the opportunity and although I feel good today, I am being forced to ride in protection of Huzarski. The route has a summit finish and it suits Huzarski but with riders like Wegmann and Tiernan-Locke taking part a win looks unlikely.
The plan for the day is to guard Huzarski and to lay down a fast pace before he goes off alone.
Here you can see Eichler in the mountain jersey. You might also be able to see the dark clouds overhead. It is very cold and wet right now benefitting me due to my upbringing in the mountains. Unfortunately, for the others this weather is not welcomed.
Here I go up the first category hill. It seems to be a breeze for Huzarski in my wheel and I found it quite easy as well. It is fair to say that the climb was easy for the team and I think it was over rated as no one was dropped.
Everyone except Huzarski and me relayed with 50 km to go in an attempt to string out the peloton.
After 20km at the front, the team peels off only to hear that Huzarski has slipped down the peloton!
I did not realise but I go back to him and mange to take him back to the front. He does not seem to want to say why he fell back but I reckon that he isn’t having a good day today…
I lead Huzarski and the peloton up the second to last climb. I’m suffering by now but I can hold on a little longer…
Somehow, I managed to distance the peloton although I am out of ‘fuel’ by now…
It’s all up to Huzarski now as I am now too tired to keep up the pace he wants me to do.
Huzarski attacks…
Wegmann wins. Huzarski couldn’t do anything despite all the work the team did…
It's needless to say that I am annoyed. Everything was ready for Huzarski. I had even created a gap to the peloton. I could have won in his position but he faltered and he could only hold onto the third group. I am now two minutes behind Moser so I have no hope at the young riders jersey now. Tomorrow is classed as flat but it has a hill right before the finish. The team stills has faith in Huzarski and I will continue to support him but he really should have come in at least the top three. I tried speaking to him at the end but he rejected me. The DS said that I rode well on the penultimate climb. I was stronger than Huzarski today but I had to ride in support of him.
I guess the most irritating thing is that I knew he was weak when he lost my wheel in the peloton and I had to bring him back to the front.
Things will go better tomorrow according to the DS although I am quite pessimistic...
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