We started Paris-Nice today, and our team leaders definitely were ready. Without a real prologue specialist, we're very happy with our two top 10 finishes on the 4km time trial. National champion Philippe Gilbert, considered to be one of the main favourites, got some TV time on his way to the 9th place.
Yet it was Thomas De Gendt, our co-leader, who was just a few microseconds faster, claiming the 8th spot. The guys will just have to fight it out on the next few stages before we decide who our main GC guy will be.
Finaly a stage where our team could show themselves. No breakaways today and it was for Lucas Gonzalez to show what he could do against the best of the best of the world. The team supported him well at the start, but he got isolated maybe a bit too soon. Yet a lot of favourites were dropped, leaving Lucas left in an elite group. The stage win and leader jersey went to Contador, who was just a bit better then Froome.
But Lucas did well, though he was not the beast we originaly thought he was. He got a nice 6th place on the stage and 3rd overall, with a worse time trialist in front of him. The podium is definitely possible here!
We had a tactical plan today, getting in the breakaway. We made it with Stijn Devolder launching a powerfull attack.
Unfortunately, the peleton decided to get the breakaway back and set a hard pace. At least we tried. The next breakaway did make it through, but in the end got reeled in as well. It would be a mass sprint today!
The best of the world are dominating the Tirreno, and we're still hanging in there. Lucas Gonzalez was once again able to hold on until the final punch came. A nice 5th place was his reward. Contador, Scarponi and Froome seem to be a class above the others, but Lucas is just below them. A good time trial might give him a podium, but it will be very had to do.
In other news, the Milan - San Remo startlist is very strong. We have to hope for a tough race, as the world's top sprinters will be there.
Again we tried something with the breakaway, Gianni Meersman was there to represent our team. They got a good lead, but in the end he could not hang on to the two strongest riders in the group, who would fight it out at the finish line. Later on, Lucas Gonzalez dropped a bomb on the penultimate hill.
Yet is was not meant to be for u today. Gonzalez got caught again and did not have enough energy to answer the final attacks, finishing 9th. This means that the podium is now far away for him. Meersman also could not hold on in the end, getting passed by the big guys and eventualy finishing 13th.
Edited by Ollfardh on 04-05-2013 10:22
But there was just no stopping Peter Sagan, who won with relative ease. Gilbert tried to get a podium, but he was stopped by Allianz-BMW riders who were blocking the road en masse. We're not going to post a complaint, but if they want war, they can get one!
It was the last stage of the Tirreno - Adriatico 2012. We were hoping for a podium and with a miracle, Lucas Gonzalez might win a spot in the GC. Unfortunately we got neither. Lucas got beaten by 4 world class riders, which is no shame of course. But his 5th place was only a bit better than Scarponi, eliminating any podium chances. We'll be looking forward to the results of his doping test, as his performance this race has been suspicious to say the least.
So our Tirreno was decent, though maybe not what we expected of it. Our full review of the race will follow tomorrow!
The day started so well for us. Mitch Thompson decided this would be a good day for a break and attacked early on, gathering mountain points everywhere. Eventually he would be caught again, but he did a great job for the team.
But then the bad news came. There was a crash during the sprint preparation and our very own Simone Ponzi was in the middle of it. Warning: the following picture might not be suited for sensitive viewers.
Simone was immediatly evacuated to a hospital, where the first reports are indicating a broken neck. Of course this is horrible news for him and his family. We wish him a rapid recovery!
Just to finish with some good news, Mitch Thompson has earned the Mountain jersey by his courageous attack. He will be wearing it tomorrow, and who knows, maybe until the end?
It was a very important race for us, so we sent a strong squad, including our best climber and best sprinter. The support was decent as well, with a few people who could handle both the team time trial and the mountains. We started with a 3rd place on that even, after which Lucas Gonzalez collected some top 10's and ended 4th in the GC. Not bad, but not good either, so there's some mixed feelings here.
Best rider: Chris Froome
After losing time on Contador early on, no one believed in him anymore, but he fought back on the last stages, gaining time on Contador both uphill and in the time trial. Just enough to get him the GC, he'll be very happy. Biggest surprise: Michele Scarponi
Of course he's a great rider, but what he showed in Italy was impressive, getting a stage win and a podium overall against guys that should be better then him. Greatest disappointment: Bradley Wiggins
He only managed 1 top 10 spot, which is disappointing for him. He'll need to work a lot on his form if he wants to win a GT this year. Best team: Tulip-Guinness
They brought a perfect support team for Froome, and it payed of as their time trial skills gave him the overall win and some nice extras in the last stage. Most surprising team: Domino's - ASR
We pretty much thought they were dead, but lo and behold, they got a stage win and a podium here. That should give them a boost for the next races. Most disappointing team: SGL - Magix
Time trials, breakaways and summit finishes resulted in no points for them. Is the all-sprinters concept failing already? This could go bad for them with the classics coming up.
La Course au Soleil Stage 5 - Where's the teamwork?
We got in a breakaway again, this day the credit went to Jan Bakelants. But as predicted, everything was brought back together. What happened next was a bit weird, as both Gilbert and De Gendt got into a break, while the instructions were to attack in turns. After that, a lot more breakaways came, until finaly Rodriguez showed he was smartest by waiting until the end.
He won and grabbed the yellow jersey alnog the way. Phil and Thomas did not have a reply at that point, and could only sprint their way to 5th and 6th. Not bad, but with better tactics, a win should have been possible here. Now we'll just have to attack that leader's jersey in the last few days.
Edited by Ollfardh on 08-05-2013 19:59
I might bring up Veenhof as greatest dissapointment from P-N
Not what I meant
And Veenhof already got 2 podiums there
Veenhof is basically doing the same as in Tour Down Under, how can you tall somebody that is consistant a dissapointment Edited by SSJ2Luigi on 07-05-2013 12:43
For the first monument of the season, La Primavera, we are sending the strongest squad we can. This race is obviously very important to our Italian sponsor Pizza Ullo, so we want to show ourselves. Most top sprinters will be there, including Cavendish, Greipel, Sagan, Boonen and Boasson Hagen, so our aim is to make it a tough race, and leave them behind. In order to do this, we decided to go for a classics squad rather then a sprinters squad.
In other news, we're proid to announce our new national champion jersey for Philippe Gilbert. He'll be wearing it on sunday thanks to our new sponsr, BikeX jerseys.
Today's hilly course provided some opportunities for our GC guys, Philippe Gilbert and Thomas De Gendt, to rise a bit in the rankings. The day started well with Stijn Devolder in the breakaway again, trying to get us some points for the KoM. Of course, they were brought back, as no LPU break ever makes it to the finish.
Attacks came and went, and unlike yesterday, our guys did their best not to go too soon, but in the end, it turned out they weren't going to launch at all. In the sprint, they seemed to be all empty, getting no points for us today. That leaves us with only 2 more days to try something, so better luck tomorrow!
