Gustavovskiy wrote:
great story you got there the fast pace is really pleasant
thanks - it will slow down a bit during the Giro though, as I'll be providing more detailed stage reports and then it'll be back up to race pace for the Dauphine!
So here we go, the whole point of the story! The reports from the Grand Tours will be more detailed than for previous races, and I will try to paint a picture of the ebb and flow of the race as it affects our Team.
Past Editions
The Giro has been heavily contested in previous years, and has always been one for the climber, with Time Trials having a major, but not all-encompassing effect.
Alejandro Valverde, Ivan Basso and Ricardo Ricco have won it previously, and here is the breakdown of those results:
We’ve been pretty successful in past Giros, with Kirchen finishing in the top 5 in 2008, Ricco 2nd in 2009, and winning it last year. Ricco has left our team, as his wage demands were too high to justify re-signing him, so it’s down to the youngsters to pick up the slack.
Squad Plans
This year’s Giro should be an interesting affair, and one for the climbers, with 6 Mountain stages and only 2 time trials (1 hilly and 1 mountain). To contest it we will send out the following riders
Gesink and Devine will, obviously, be our strongest GC contenders. Gesink’s higher hill stat is offset by Devine’s better downhill stat! Devine has been very patient in recent years, riding the Giro two years running as Lieutenant, and gaining some pretty good results, and Gesink is new to the team this season. Due to Robert Gesink’s markedly better showing in the Tour of Romandie, he will lead the team at the start of the Giro, with Devine as his Lieutenant.
King of the Mountains contenders will be Moreno, Blanco or Voeckler. All 3 have won KOM jerseys for me in PT races over the last few years, and we will send them out in breakaways this year and see what happens. The two who don’t end up contesting for the KOM jersey will stay with Devine and Gesink as mountain helpers, assisted by Rabon.
The sprint train is strong, with Southerland leading out, Boom starting the sprint, and Pacheco finishing off with the win…..(or so I hope!). Pacheco has won Giro and Vuelta stages in the last couple of seasons and hopefully he will add to the tally this year.
On a final note, this will be Lars Boom’s first ride in a Grand Tour, and I am hoping that his good all-round stats will provide a platform for a stage win in an intermediate stage midway through the race.
Goals
There are no sponsor goals associated with the Giro this year, but personally I am trying for a podium place in the GC, to win the KOM jersey, and stage victories in each of the stage types (flat, hilly and mountain).
Gustavovskiy wrote:
great story you got there the fast pace is really pleasant
thanks - it will slow down a bit during the Giro though, as I'll be providing more detailed stage reports and then it'll be back up to race pace for the Dauphine!
Rather than do a complete startlist, I'll list the main riders (in pink if they are GC capable, purple for sprints and green for KOM)
Astana I.Basso T.Brigaud
E.Sella
S.Sánchez
Quick·Step M.Lund T.Boonen D.Champion
Saunier Duval H.González J.Cobo L.Pagliarini
Agritubel R.Riccò
Caisse d'Epargne D.Di Luca V.Efimkin
Team Columbia R.Gesink J.Devine F.Pacheco T.Voeckler
D.Moreno
D.Blanco
Liquigas V.Nibali C.Knees B.Riccio
Lampre K.Linde
Rabobank Á.Ardila H.Machado
Euskaltel H.Zubeldia L.Bertagnolli
CSC Saxo Bank G.Larsson
Barloworld M.Soler
Silence - Lotto G.Bortolas A.Passeron
Française des Jeux Seb.Chavanel
Serramenti - Androni I.Cuesta
Acqua e Sapone K.Fernández de Larrea
P.Seyffert
Flaminia
...err no-one really
Gerolsteiner A.Greipel
D.Rollin
Tinkoff
.....
Bouygues Télécom H.Clarke
E.Pütsep
AG2R J.Nazon
Mitsubishi P.Nielsen
Overall, though, the favourites for the race are Ivan Basso (Astana), Hector Gonzalez (Saunier) and Ricardo Ricco (Agritubel).
Ccadel Evans was gearing up for the race, but retired injured with a fractured vertebra in the Tour off Romandie and will not ride.
Edited by facmanpob on 22-01-2009 20:14
Here we are, at the start line of the 1st stage of the 94th edition of the Giro d’Italia. This edition takes us from Genoa on the Mediterranean Coast, through mountains and valleys to Milan, less than 150km as the crow flies! The riders, though will be taking the scenic route, several thousand kilometers of sunshine and pain!
Stage 1 is 200km along the coast to historic Pisa in Tuscany, site of wobbly towers and a 1,000 year old cathedral! The stage is a flat one, with 5 small uncategorized climbs and 1 mountain sprint, 1 intermediate sprint 30km before the end, and a perfectly flat and straight run in to the finish. One for the sprinters!
And they’re off! The man at the front is liable to be disqualified – he’s on a motorbike!
50km into the stage, and the peloton is all together, trundling along the beautiful coastline. Several attacks have been made, but at this early stage, no team is willing to let anyone get away.
20km before the hills and a group of 5 riders attack. Voeckler is near the front of the peloton and goes with them. We hadn’t planned to do anything today, but why not? We might even be able to get the mountain points!
Voeckler is seen here in the break wearing the French Champions jersey
The first hill separates the 6 riders into 2 groups, with Voeckler safely in the first. There are no great climbers in the leading group so Voeckler should be safe for the mountain points
And he is! Voeckler takes the 3 points and will wear the Maglia Verde tomorrow
As we near the end of the hills, with 80km to go, the leading 4 riders have 3’30” on the pack, and the chase is on
Lampre, Caisse and Agritubel do the work on the front as the day clouds over
The break’s lead is rapidly coming down, and with 30km to go they lose their cohesion at the intermediate sprint (won by Leleuso of Liquigas).
Its only a matter of time now before they all come together, and Voeckler has sat up and let the pack swallow him up
And with 20km to run, the peloton finally comes back together
With the sprint teams building up for the lead out, disaster strikes for Soler, as he falls inside the last 10km. The Barloworld leader will lose 3 minutes on the peloton today. Pineau, Efimkin, Champion, Ochoa and Cuesta (probably due to his advanced years ) all fall too, and it remains to be seen if any have picked up injuries!
Southerland and Boom are near the front in the last 4km, but Pacheco has lost Boom’s wheel. Passeron of Silence Lotto goes to the front and Pacheco tries to latch on to him
Pacheco gets onto Passeron’s wheel as the sprint begins, but has he left himself too much to do?
Pacheco is back on Boom’s wheel in the centre, but its Nazon of AG2R on the near side and Rollin of Gerolsteiner on the far side who are flying today
Nazon and Rollin lead, but Passeron and Pacheco are powering through after their bad start to the sprint, and look, Nielsen of Mitsubishi is gaining on the rails
And it’s a photo finish on the line, but Nazon gets it for AG2R! Rollin gets 2nd place, Passeron gets 3rd spot and Pacheco has to settle for 5th place behind the onrushing Nielsen
All the main contenders finish safely in the pack, with the exception of those earlier fallers, and there is one retirement – Jeremy Roy of FdJ.
Stage 1 Results
1 Jean-Patrick Nazon - AG2R La Mondiale - 4h35'17
2 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - s.t.
3 Aurélien Passeron - Silence - Lotto - s.t.
4 Philip Nielsen - Mitsubishi - Jartazi - Protech - s.t. 5 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - s.t.
6 Michael Albasini - Gerolsteiner - s.t.
7 Hilton Clarke - Bouygues Télécom - s.t. 8 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - s.t.
9 Davide Viganò - Quick·Step - s.t.
10 Koldo Fernández de Larrea - Acqua e Sapone - s.t.
General Classification
1 Jean-Patrick Nazon - AG2R La Mondiale - 4h34'57
2 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - + 8
3 Aurélien Passeron - Silence - Lotto - + 12
4 Philip Nielsen - Mitsubishi - Jartazi - Protech - + 20 5 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - s.t.
6 Michael Albasini - Gerolsteiner - s.t.
7 Hilton Clarke - Bouygues Télécom - s.t. 8 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - s.t.
9 Davide Viganò - Quick·Step - s.t.
10 Koldo Fernández de Larrea - Acqua e Sapone - s.t.
Pacheco and Passeron are the two fastest sprinters in the field so should have done better, but Pacheco's fitness is only 84 at the moment because he hasn't had many warm-up races - I have to save him for the Vuelta! Once he gets over 90 fitness in a few days he should get some podiums/wins for us! B)
Stage 2 & 3 complete, but v. busy with restoring the parquet floor at home this weekend (amongst other things.....exciting! ), so will probably post them tomorrow or Monday....
Stage 2 of the Giro takes us from Pisa to Follonica, 195km further down the coast towards Rome. No categorized climbs today means that Thomas Voeckler will keep the KOM jersey for a second day. Another flat finish will suit the sprint teams.
And they’re off….
And almost immediately an attack comes from 3 riders
Meanwhile, in the pack, the jersey holders settle in for the day – Voeckler in green, Rollin in mauve, and Nazon in pink
The front 3 riders are joined by more attackers, and a stable group of about 10 riders make up the day’s break
With 50km to go, the pack has put the hammer down, and the break is doomed
30km from the finish, Crosbie makes one last bid to keep away from the peloton
But its all to no avail and the pack comes together with 20km remaining
The pace is all too much for Cuesta, who must have picked up an injury in yesterdays crash, and he drops off the back of the peloton
The sprint trains form and Team Columbia is well placed, unlike yesterday! The race leader, Nazon, has taken Pacheco’s wheel…..
The sprint starts, and Boom hits the fron leading out Pacheco, with Nazon in his slipstream. Benfatto of Acqua e Sapone is to our left, and stage favourite Passeron is being led out behind the Quickstep boys. Liquigas also has a train going for their sprinter Bernardo Riccio
Inside the last km, Boom pulls out of the way and Pacheco hits the front!
With only a few hundred metres to go, surely Pacheco will hang on?
But no, Nazon has more stamina in the sprint and moves clear , and Benfatto is challenging for 2nd place
And on the line, its Nazon, Benfatto and then Pacheco. Once again we have missed out!
Nazon gets his second win in as many days, and I can't think that anyone would have predicted that!
Stage Result
1 Jean-Patrick Nazon - AG2R La Mondiale - 4h17'22
2 Marco Benfatto - Acqua e Sapone - s.t. 3 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - s.t.
4 Aurélien Passeron - Silence - Lotto - s.t.
5 Bernardo Riccio - Liquigas - s.t.
6 Philip Nielsen - Mitsubishi - Jartazi - Protech - s.t. 7 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - s.t.
8 André Greipel - Gerolsteiner - s.t.
9 Davide Viganò - Quick·Step - s.t.
10 Pieter Seyffert - Acqua e Sapone - s.t.
General Classification
1 Jean-Patrick Nazon - AG2R La Mondiale - 8h51'59
2 Marco Benfatto - Acqua e Sapone - + 28
3 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - s.t.
4 Bram De Groot - Rabobank - + 30
5 Aurélien Passeron - Silence - Lotto - + 32 6 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - s.t.
7 Philip Nielsen - Mitsubishi - Jartazi - Protech - + 40
8 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - s.t.
9 Bernardo Riccio - Liquigas - s.t.
10 Davide Viganò - Quick·Step - s.t.
Points Classification
1 Jean-Patrick Nazon - AG2R La Mondiale - 25 - 50
2 Aurélien Passeron - Silence - Lotto - 14 - 30 3 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - 16 - 28
4 Philip Nielsen - Mitsubishi - Jartazi - Protech - 10 - 24
5 Marco Benfatto - Acqua e Sapone - 20 - 20
KOM Classification
1 Thomas Voeckler - Team Columbia - 0 - 3
2 Marco Corti - Barloworld - 0 - 2
3 Stefano Leleuso - Liquigas - 0 - 1
Edited by facmanpob on 26-01-2009 10:00
2km from yesterday’s finish in Follonica, the town of Grossetto hosts the start of today’s stage. 187km of coastal roads to the outskirts of Italy’s capital city, Rome. Once again, no mountain points are available, meaning that Voeckler keeps the jersey for another day! .
As the riders move away from the start line, the attacks come thick and fast again!
A stable break of 7 riders forms rapidly
And the peloton takes it easy and gives them a few minutes advantage
At the intermediate sprint, with 60km to ride, the break has 4 minutes advantage. Ramirez takes the sprint, from Corti of Barloworld and Leleuso of Liquigas
Several km back down the road, the pack starts to reel them in
And with 30km to run, only 2 riders are left of the breakaway
Once again, Cuesta drops off the back – will he retire or will he recover?
With 6km to go, a massive crash takes out the back of the peloton, with 16 riders falling. None of the favourites fall however.
At the front of the race, the sprint trains are lining up, and we are well placed again. Race leader Nazon has it all to do today – he is 6 places behind Pacheco in the train! Boonen makes his first appearance in a sprint however, directly behind Pacheco!
The sprint starts, and we are determined not to mess up today. Yesterday we almost got it correct, but Pacheco broke from behind Lars Boom too early. This time we will hold on as long as we can, especially with Boonen in our wheel!
Pacheco starts his sprint, and Passeron in the mauve jersey blocks Boonen! A piece of luck for us as Tom has to find another way round! But Machado of Rabobank is piling on the pressure, with Dominique Rollin of Gerolsteiner with him. Nazon is nowhere!
And its between Pacheco, Machado and Rollin for the victory, can we hold on?
Yes we can!......just!
Team Columbia gets its first win in the Giro d’Italia, and with the time bonus Pacheco moves up into 2nd pace overall! In addition, Nazon's awful positioning kept him out of the points today, and Pacheco takes the lead in the Points Classfication B) Finally, my first personal goal, of a sprint victory, has been achieved!
Stage Result
1 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - 3h59'24
2 Honorio Machado - Rabobank - s.t.
3 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - s.t. 4 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - s.t.
5 Tom Boonen - Quick·Step - s.t.
6 Mauro Facci - Gerolsteiner - s.t.
7 Aurélien Passeron - Silence - Lotto - s.t. 8 Phil Southerland - Team Columbia - s.t.
9 Luciano Pagliarini - Saunier Duval - Scott - s.t.
10 Hilton Clarke - Bouygues Télécom - s.t.
General Classification
1 Jean-Patrick Nazon - AG2R La Mondiale - 12h51'23 2 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - + 12
3 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - + 20
4 Honorio Machado - Rabobank - + 28
5 Marco Benfatto - Acqua e Sapone - s.t.
6 Bram De Groot - Rabobank - + 30
7 Jesús Ramírez - Tinkoff Credit Systems - s.t.
8 Aurélien Passeron - Silence - Lotto - + 32 9 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - + 40
10 Philip Nielsen - Mitsubishi - Jartazi - Protech - s.t.
Points Classification
1 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - 25 - 53
2 Jean-Patrick Nazon - AG2R La Mondiale - 0 - 50
3 Aurélien Passeron - Silence - Lotto - 9 - 39
4 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - 16 - 36 5 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - 14 - 31
Mountain Classification
1 Thomas Voeckler - Team Columbia - 0 - 3
2 Marco Corti - Barloworld - 0 - 2
3 Stefano Leleuso - Liquigas - 0 - 1
Edited by facmanpob on 26-01-2009 11:18
Another day, another Euro! Stage 4 takes us away from the coast, to the small town of Sora 148km across the hills of the Lazio region.
Today, Pacheco will be wearing the mauve sprint jersey, and Voeckler will still be in the Mountain jersey. Voeckler will be looking to get himself in the break today, to try to get some more mountain points
The stage has a flat run in, but finishes with a very sharp 6% uphill gradient in the final km. This will suit the puncheurs more than the sprinters, and although Pacheco has a decent hill stat, Lars Boom will be better for the sprint today. The stage favourite will undoubtedly be either Ricco (Agritubel) or Sammy Sanchez (Astana)
Almost immediately, 4 riders went up the road, and when it became clear that the pack would allow them to go, Voeckler went aswell with half a dozen others
Over the first set of hills and the breakaway has nearly 5’ on the peloton
Voeckler attacks up to the mountain sprint, and again comes away with the 3 points – he’ll be in the mountain jersey again tomorrow
With 50km to ride, and the pack reducing the break’s advantage down to 2’30”, a number of riders attack to cross the gap and keep the break alive, including Dimitri Champion of Quick-Step
But the pack is now flying at over 50km/hr, and the break looks doomed
We pick up the action in the last few km, and the pack is back together again. Boom is well placed for us, but that train of Astana riders, with Pineau of FdJ and Ricco in the Italian Champions jersey looks strong
The sprint begins as the riders make the turn into the climb, and Boom and Pacheco are in good positions for Team Columbia. But Pineau has gone off like a rocket and he leads with Ricco and Sanchez close behind
Inside the last hundred metres, Pineau still has an advantage over Ricco and Sanchez, but is starting to fade…..did he go off too early?
No he didn’t! Pineau hangs on for an unlikely win over the hard charging Ricardo Ricco and Sammy Sanchez. Lars Boom is our best finisher in 6th, with Pacheco gaining a few more sprint points in 10th place
Incredibly though, Sanchez is given 2nd place ahead of Ricco
Stage Result
1 Jérôme Pineau - Française des Jeux - 3h23'16
2 Samuel Sánchez - Astana Cycling Team - s.t.
3 Riccardo Riccò - Agritubel - s.t.
4 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - s.t.
5 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - s.t. 6 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - s.t.
7 Rinaldo Nocentini - Liquigas - s.t.
8 Martin Elmiger - AG2R La Mondiale - s.t.
9 Maxim Iglinskiy - Astana Cycling Team - s.t. 10 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - s.t.
General Classification
1 Jean-Patrick Nazon - AG2R La Mondiale - 16h14'39 2 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - + 12
3 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - + 20
4 Samuel Sánchez - Astana Cycling Team - + 28
5 Honorio Machado - Rabobank - s.t.
6 Marco Benfatto - Acqua e Sapone - s.t.
7 Jesús Ramírez - Tinkoff Credit Systems - + 30
8 Bram De Groot - Rabobank - s.t.
9 Riccardo Riccò - Agritubel - + 32
10 Aurélien Passeron - Silence - Lotto - s.t.
Points Classification
1 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - 6 - 59
2 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - 14 - 50
3 Jean-Patrick Nazon - AG2R La Mondiale - 0 - 50
4 Aurélien Passeron - Silence - Lotto - 5 - 44 5 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - 10 - 41
Mountain Classification
1 Thomas Voeckler - Team Columbia - 3 - 6
2 Marco Corti - Barloworld - 0 - 2
3 Joshua Soberon - Mitsubishi - Jartazi - Protech - 2 - 2
4 Stefano Leleuso - Liquigas - 0 - 1
5 Nicolas Crosbie - AG2R La Mondiale - 1 - 1
Tomorrow will see us enter the mountains for the first time, and knowing the way that the Giro allocates mountain points (i.e. very few for the intermediate mountain sprints and loads for the mountain-top finishes), tomorrow will be Voeckler's last day in the mountain jersey for a while!
and then it'll be back up to race pace for the Dauphine!
Old man
