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A Tale of Two
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| Eden95 |
Posted on 15-08-2012 14:48
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This story is moving so fast, i can hardly keep up.
I like your attacking style, all or nothing 
Indosat - ANZ HQ
"This Schleck sandwich is going to cause serious indigestion for Evans" - Phil Liggett |
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| fcancellara |
Posted on 15-08-2012 15:12
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4 U25 riders in the top 10, crazy!
And what an effort by Eric!
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-10-2026 20:53
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| FreitasPCM |
Posted on 15-08-2012 15:30
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Lombaerts looking very good at this stage. Top-10 might be possible, and I think the top-15 is secured. |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 15-08-2012 16:13
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What a ride by Eric today
Lets hope he can stay in the top ten until the end of the race  |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 15-08-2012 17:35
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Thanks, everyone Flat stage coming up! |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 15-08-2012 17:45
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Giro d'Italia - stage 18
Today was the last day for the sprinters. So it was my last chance, although my Giro is already a big success with the stage win and all. It's too bad that most sprinters stayed, even though the points jersey is long gone (De Gendt will take that). So I had to sprint against the likes of Goss, Cavendish... again.
A typical view of the day: descending riders. Dennis Vanendert opened the race and took along 7 man.
However, GreenEdge, Sky and Lampre were all set on a mass sprint, so the breakaway had little chance.
Dennis was on fire today. As he saw the peloton nearing, he attacked, and attacked, and attacked... (what a great day/Giro for the sponsors)
But even a Dennis on fire couldn't stop the Sky-rocket...
Cavendish came a bit short, it was Goss who reached out and grabbed his stage win!
I come in a poor 15th place. I feel I could've done more, but this is it for me in this Giro.
However, I'm very happy, I won a stage here, and that's impressive! I'm ready for next year, to take even more than one!
Result
| 1 | Matthew Goss | Orica-GreenEDGE | 3h02'49 | | | 2 | Mark Cavendish | Sky Pro Cycling | s.t. | | | 3 | Tyler Farrar | Team Garmin-Barracuda | s.t. | | | 4 | Alessandro Petacchi | Lampre-ISD | s.t. | | | 5 | Francesco Chicchi | Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team | s.t. | | | 6 | Elia Viviani | Liquigas-Cannondale | s.t. | | | 7 | Romain Feillu | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | s.t. | | | 8 | Francisco Ventoso | Movistar Team | s.t. | | | 9 | Robbie McEwen | Orica-GreenEDGE | s.t. | | | 10 | Graeme Brown | Rabobank Cycling Team | s.t. | | | 11 | Roberto Ferrari | Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela | s.t. | | | 12 | Manuel Belletti | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. | | | 13 | Grega Bole | Lampre-ISD | s.t. | | | 14 | Alexander Kristoff | Katusha Team | s.t. | | | 15 | Stijn Van Gent | Lotto-Belisol | s.t. | IanButler |
Eric's really nervous now, he's pacing around the room. What's left are two more mountain stages (his jersey is 85% safe, but he doesn't trust it, he really wants that jersey) and the final TT, which should suit Eric just fine! I think he can stay in that top 10, although he'll keep on denying it until we reach Milan!
See you tomorrow, as I'll try to survive the trip to Milan, my job here is done!
Edited by Ian Butler on 15-08-2012 17:48
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 15-08-2012 23:39
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Eric can do this 
btw, nice first pic |
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| slbmangas |
Posted on 16-08-2012 02:08
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Let's go Eric and Stijn
Edited by slbmangas on 16-08-2012 02:08
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| maxime86 |
Posted on 16-08-2012 03:45
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amazing story I love you reporting style and how did you come up with this idea?
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 16-08-2012 08:45
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Thanks a lot 
To answer the question: I was just looking for a story and I couldn't decide whether I'd take a classic rider or a climber and then I thought: why not both? Lotto seemed like the best team for 2 young riders to join, with their youth program etc... |
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| PCM rulezz |
Posted on 16-08-2012 09:54
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Good luck for the next 3 stages, I hope you can defend the KOM jersey
Winners never quit, quitters never win.
It's difficult not to be happy when you're surrounded by Belgians. - Mark Cavendish
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 16-08-2012 13:40
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Giro d'Italia - stage 19
A day in the Dolomites as we near the end of this Giro.
There are many points to be earned today for the mountain jersey, but I decided to wait a little, as I am comfortably ahead.
Our coalition with Vacansoleil continued into this stage.
Pretty soon the was no one left of the team, so I was on my own today.
It looks like Pozzovivo isn't content with a 3th place, clearly he came here to win this tour!
And this man keeps surprising, as he slips away with the attackers: Thomas De Gendt.
They form a group of 16, while I'm in a chasing group of 10.
We came close to the front group but unfortunately we stayed the distance.
Pozzovivo realizes that staying with De Gendt won't win you the Giro, so he goes at it again!
And sure enough, he makes it to the finish line, what a great day for him! It's enough to bump him to 2nd place overall.
I end 8th, which secures my 9th place in the GC.
Result
| 1 | Domenico Pozzovivo | Colnago - CSF Inox | 6h13'10 | | | 2 | Ivan Basso | Liquigas-Cannondale | + 40 | | | 3 | Mikel Nieve | Euskaltel Euskadi | + 49 | | | 4 | Michele Scarponi | Lampre-ISD | s.t. | | | 5 | Thibaut Pinot | FDJ-BigMat | s.t. | | | 6 | Thomas De Gendt | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | + 1'07 | | | 7 | Vincenzo Nibali | Liquigas-Cannondale | + 1'31 | | | 8 | Eric Lombaerts | Lotto-Belisol | + 2'58 | IanButler | | 9 | Ryder Hesjedal | Team Garmin-Barracuda | + 3'12 | | | 10 | Rigoberto Uran | Sky Pro Cycling | s.t. | | | 11 | Robert Kiserlovski | Astana Pro Team | + 3'20 | | | 12 | Haimar Zubeldia | Radioshack Nissan Trek | s.t. | | | 13 | Rémi Pauriol | FDJ-BigMat | s.t. | | | 14 | Sergio Luis Henao | Sky Pro Cycling | + 3'47 | | | 15 | Hubert Dupont | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. | | | 16 | Daniel Navarro Garcia | Team Saxo Bank | + 4'21 | | | 17 | Damiano Cunego | Lampre-ISD | s.t. | | | 18 | Tejay Van Garderen | BMC Racing Team | + 4'38 | | | 19 | John Gadret | Ag2r La Mondiale | + 4'46 | | | 20 | Roman Kreuziger | Astana Pro Team | + 5'02 | |
GC
| 1 | Thomas De Gendt | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 84h10'29 | | | 2 | Domenico Pozzovivo | Colnago - CSF Inox | + 1'59 | | | 3 | Ivan Basso | Liquigas-Cannondale | + 2'40 | | | 4 | Thibaut Pinot | FDJ-BigMat | + 3'34 | | | 5 | Michele Scarponi | Lampre-ISD | + 4'23 | | | 6 | Sergio Luis Henao | Sky Pro Cycling | + 6'35 | | | 7 | Mikel Nieve | Euskaltel Euskadi | + 7'18 | | | 8 | Rigoberto Uran | Sky Pro Cycling | + 7'53 | | | 9 | Eric Lombaerts | Lotto-Belisol | + 8'34 | IanButler | | 10 | Stefano Garzelli | Acqua & Sapone | s.t. | | | 11 | Ryder Hesjedal | Team Garmin-Barracuda | + 9'09 | | | 12 | Vincenzo Nibali | Liquigas-Cannondale | + 9'43 | | | 13 | Jakob Fuglsang | Radioshack Nissan Trek | + 11'46 | | | 14 | Hubert Dupont | Ag2r La Mondiale | + 14'20 | | | 15 | John Gadret | Ag2r La Mondiale | + 15'42 |
KoM
| 1 | Eric Lombaerts | Lotto-Belisol | 73 | IanButler | | 2 | Domenico Pozzovivo | Colnago - CSF Inox | 30 | | | 3 | Ivan Basso | Liquigas-Cannondale | 29 | | | 4 | Thomas De Gendt | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 18 | | | 5 | Michele Scarponi | Lampre-ISD | 16 | | | 6 | Thibaut Pinot | FDJ-BigMat | 14 | | | 7 | Mikel Nieve | Euskaltel Euskadi | 14 | | | 8 | Steven Kruijswijk | Rabobank Cycling Team | 12 | | | 9 | Moreno Moser | Liquigas-Cannondale | 12 | | | 10 | Rémi Pauriol | FDJ-BigMat | 11 | |
Well, this is looking good. I'm 43 points ahead and tomorrow there are 48 points to win. So unless Pozzovivo takes them all, I got the jersey!
See you tomorrow, on the Stelvio! |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 16-08-2012 13:42
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Eric did well to arrive in 8th place |
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| Kritzo |
Posted on 16-08-2012 13:45
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Fantastic story, and seems like you have a lot of succes |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 16-08-2012 13:47
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Thank you both
Stelvio coming up! |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 16-08-2012 14:04
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Giro d'Italia - stage 20
Well, possibly the highlight of this year's Giro: Passo del Stelvio!
The first climb was early in the race, so I thought: if I take these points, I'm safe.
And voilà , this jersey is to be mine! Brilliant, I love it! Now let's see what I could do for the GC, so in the descend I waited for the peloton.
Everything was tranquil until the Stelvio, where everyone was waiting for.
This was the day of the last chances. Anyone who doesn't count on his TT abilities has to attack, so we had a lot of them: Hesjendal, Pozzovivo, Fuglsang, Pinot, Heado, Scarponi...
I ended up a bit behind, I was just riding my own pace, I have an excellent TT I can count on, so I don't want to blow the TT by blowing up my legs today.
As I watched the summit, I realized these were my last kilometers in the mountains for this Giro. These mountains, who've been so kind to me, and so rough at the same time.
And the last to tame a summit in the Giro in 2012 is Scarponi, what a way to win in your home country.
Is anyone surprised that this man came in second, I don't think so...
My verdict: 15th
I drop down to a 10th place in the overall, but I still have the TT!
Result
| 1 | Michele Scarponi | Lampre-ISD | 7h09'26 | | | 2 | Thomas De Gendt | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | + 39 | | | 3 | Thibaut Pinot | FDJ-BigMat | + 46 | | | 4 | Mikel Nieve | Euskaltel Euskadi | s.t. | | | 5 | Domenico Pozzovivo | Colnago - CSF Inox | s.t. | | | 6 | Ivan Basso | Liquigas-Cannondale | s.t. | | | 7 | Tejay Van Garderen | BMC Racing Team | s.t. | | | 8 | Vincenzo Nibali | Liquigas-Cannondale | s.t. | | | 9 | Rigoberto Uran | Sky Pro Cycling | + 2'16 | | | 10 | Hubert Dupont | Ag2r La Mondiale | + 2'51 | | | 11 | Ryder Hesjedal | Team Garmin-Barracuda | + 3'14 | | | 12 | Haimar Zubeldia | Radioshack Nissan Trek | + 3'25 | | | 13 | Steven Kruijswijk | Rabobank Cycling Team | s.t. | | | 14 | Sergio Luis Henao | Sky Pro Cycling | s.t. | | | 15 | Eric Lombaerts | Lotto-Belisol | s.t. | IanButler | | 16 | Stefano Garzelli | Acqua & Sapone | s.t. | | | 17 | Robert Kiserlovski | Astana Pro Team | s.t. | | | 18 | John Gadret | Ag2r La Mondiale | s.t. | | | 19 | Damiano Cunego | Lampre-ISD | + 3'49 | | | 20 | Jakob Fuglsang | Radioshack Nissan Trek | s.t. | |
GC
| 1 | Thomas De Gendt | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 91h20'22 | | | 2 | Domenico Pozzovivo | Colnago - CSF Inox | + 2'18 | | | 3 | Ivan Basso | Liquigas-Cannondale | + 2'59 | | | 4 | Michele Scarponi | Lampre-ISD | + 3'36 | | | 5 | Thibaut Pinot | FDJ-BigMat | + 3'45 | | | 6 | Mikel Nieve | Euskaltel Euskadi | + 7'37 | | | 7 | Sergio Luis Henao | Sky Pro Cycling | + 9'33 | | | 8 | Rigoberto Uran | Sky Pro Cycling | + 9'42 | | | 9 | Vincenzo Nibali | Liquigas-Cannondale | + 10'02 | | | 10 | Eric Lombaerts | Lotto-Belisol | + 11'32 | IanButler | | 11 | Stefano Garzelli | Acqua & Sapone | s.t. | | | 12 | Ryder Hesjedal | Team Garmin-Barracuda | + 11'56 | | | 13 | Jakob Fuglsang | Radioshack Nissan Trek | + 15'08 | | | 14 | Hubert Dupont | Ag2r La Mondiale | + 16'44 | | | 15 | John Gadret | Ag2r La Mondiale | + 18'40 |
KoM
| 1 | Eric Lombaerts | Lotto-Belisol | 83 | IanButler | | 2 | Michele Scarponi | Lampre-ISD | 36 | | | 3 | Domenico Pozzovivo | Colnago - CSF Inox | 34 | | | 4 | Thomas De Gendt | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 33 | | | 5 | Ivan Basso | Liquigas-Cannondale | 31 | | | 6 | Thibaut Pinot | FDJ-BigMat | 24 | | | 7 | Vasil Kiryienka | Movistar Team | 21 | | | 8 | Mikel Nieve | Euskaltel Euskadi | 20 | | | 9 | Kanstantsin Siutsou | Sky Pro Cycling | 13 | | | 10 | Steven Kruijswijk | Rabobank Cycling Team | 12 | |
Points
| 1 | Thomas De Gendt | Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 188 | | | 2 | Michele Scarponi | Lampre-ISD | 132 | | | 3 | Matthew Goss | Orica-GreenEDGE | 120 | | | 4 | Ivan Basso | Liquigas-Cannondale | 109 | | | 5 | Mark Cavendish | Sky Pro Cycling | 108 | | | 6 | Eric Lombaerts | Lotto-Belisol | 103 | IanButler | | 7 | Francisco Ventoso | Movistar Team | 91 | | | 8 | Gianluca Brambilla | Colnago - CSF Inox | 75 | | | 9 | Thibaut Pinot | FDJ-BigMat | 75 | | | 10 | Domenico Pozzovivo | Colnago - CSF Inox | 74 | |
KoM is mine, which I'm extremely happy about.
GC is probably for De Gendt, as he happens to be a great TT rider, however, many things can change tomorrow so we'll have to see. I should be able to keep that 10th place, but I'm very tired already, sO i can't tell for sure, it's not just TTing, it's riding against fatigue and 3 weeks of pain.
I do think it's strange I'm tied for the 10th place, that doesn't happen often in a GT, I think. But my TT abilities should be better than his, I believe.
Congrats to Thomas for the points, anyway!
Well, I'll see you tomorrow for the grand final of the Giro! |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 16-08-2012 14:44
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Great for Eric to wrap up the Mountains jersey
Now lets have a good time trial to secure that top ten finish |
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| slbmangas |
Posted on 16-08-2012 15:16
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Congratulations to Erin. Good Luck for the TT to secure the top 10
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 16-08-2012 15:49
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Giro d'Italia - Stage 21
Well, it's flat. So let's see who had the most energy left after 3 weeks of hard work.
I was ready for take-off in my beautiful jersey! Milan is a great city so it's the perfect ending for this Giro.
At the first checkpoint, I was second, 18 seconds behind Van Garderen! This was going good. I had great legs today!
Then the last man took off, De Gendt.
At the second checkpoint is was second yet again, this time 19 seconds behind Van Garderen, I was losing time, so I pushed myself a little extra. I got 30 seconds on Nibali, so I wouldn't be taking his place. However, Uran was already 1'25" behind me, so his place was up for grabs!
Suddenly, nearing the end, I saw Garzelli, that gave me an incredible kick. I passed him! Well, we're not tied for 10th place anymore.
I couldn't believe my ears (I speak some Italian) when I heard through the microphone that the best time had been beaten. I even took 18 seconds on Van Garderen, what a last part I'd raced!
Nibali lost 1'21", not enough!
However, the two Sky Columbians lost over 2 minutes and a half, I moved up 2 places!
A True Campion
Having beaten all checkpoint times, it was certain that this man would win the final stage and the overall classification of the Giro. The revelation of this year, and a mighty strong rider: Thomas De Gendt!
He broke my time with 7 seconds.
General Classification
Points Classification
King of the Mountains
Young Rider Classification
Well, that's it for this Giro. I had the best time of my life. Both Stijn and I really made a name for ourselves here, despite the overshadowing of De Gendt's performance for the Belgians (a Belgian GT winner, that's a long time ago). I end up 8th overall, have a stage win and a mountain jersey to take home, that's unbelievable! Stijn won a sprint against the greatest sprinters in the peloton, amazing!
De Gendt blew everyone away, what a performance. He's got a great future ahead of him.
As for me and Stij, we're off to a nice vacation now, as our next race is the Tour of Pologne, which is more than a month away.
See you then, and thanks for having been with us here in Italy! |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 16-08-2012 15:53
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8th place overall and the Best climber
What a Great Giro for Eric, a massive well done indeed |
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