Whoow you are fast, I'm one day not on PCM daily and you finished Tirreno But that's not bad because I like the way you write the reports, they are easy to read.
Very very good result for Lotto btw
Winners never quit, quitters never win.
It's difficult not to be happy when you're surrounded by Belgians. - Mark Cavendish
Thanks to all, it's great that you're all following!
@francopell: Normally Dwars door Vlaanderen, E3 prijs and Gent-Wevelgem should be uploaded tomorrow, let's see what Stijn can do there @Sutty68: 10th place feels like 1000x better than an 11th place, I was really glad when I saw the results @PCM rulezz: great to hear you read the blogs easily. as I'm trying to improve my English
A beautiful profile. Many favorites appear on this special day for the Belgians. Boonen is the name that impresses me the most.
Like it usually goes, a breakaway was formed soon after departure.
But today was also a special occasion for me and for Eric. Anonymously hidden inside the peloton we rode into our very own town: Oudenaarde
Some friends of mine really tried their best to keep me motivated during the race, just take a look at that:
And, of course, the scenery was beautiful today.
Today we saw an aggressive Boonen, with some incredible attacks.
Boonen's attack cleared the path for many, unfortunately, neither I or Jurgen (Roelandts) were amongst them.
The group that made it to the finish contained race winner Nuyens, follow-up Boonen, Boom, Thomas and Breschel
In an attempt to bring the attackers back, Roelandts and I got away from a bigger group, we didn't see the attackers again yet we were rewarded with a 6th and 7th place. Roelandts was so kind to give me 6th.
A successful day, if you'd ask me. Another great one for me, at least. Eric ended up on the 186th place, but I think he's still enjoying himself from Tirreno - Adriatico!
See you in a couple of days for my first World Tour race: E3 prijs - Harelbeke!
Good result for Lotto, Van Gent and Roelands are really on fire. As a Boonen fanboy it's a shame he didn't win
But let's hope Roelands can win in the E3, good luck there
Winners never quit, quitters never win.
It's difficult not to be happy when you're surrounded by Belgians. - Mark Cavendish
Well, this is the profile of my first World Tour race. Looked pretty great to me, I couldn't have been more motivated! I wanted to perform well and help Roelandts as much as possible. I was in a great shape so everything was possible! Although we had to be careful, there were many great riders present, just to name a few: Boonen, Cancellara, Nuyens, Breschel...
This was the breakaway of the day.
Thomas showed everyone how great a talent he is by accelerating on the Muur. Nobody could follow him, he got reeled in minutes later, though.
I was having a very good day and I found myself in a good group, many favorites behind.
Unfortunately, of those left behind was also Roelandts, here with Cancellara and Vanmarcke.
I felt like I was on top of the world... until I hit the bottom.
Another crash that took away all my chances of the day. I saw many a rider passing me by till the time I got up.
Meanwhile Roelandts had joined the front group near the end, but Devolder had another attack ready.
In the end it was Langeveld who crossed the finish line first, right before Eisel and Boonen, who's still looking for another great win after winning 3 stages in Paris - Nice!
I stranded on a 28th place, not a good day for my first World Tour race.
Well... Let's hope Gent - Wevelgem brings another chance. I was in a really great shape until I fell. I don't think it'll have any consequences, I feel fine now, so I should be able to ride to my maximum potential in Gent - Wevelgem. See you there!
@Teddy The Creator: Yeah, it's a good place despite of the crash, but it could've been even better and he's a young guy, so of course he's very disappointed after another fall, so he blogs that his result sucks
Good that you like the screens and reports
Today was a much better day than E3 prijs, I can tell you that in advance. Let's take a look at the profile of this year's Gent - Wevelgem.
To my surprise not many cobblestones (which is too bad) and not too much hills (which I'm in favor off). However, this has a big chance of ending with a small or even a bigger group, so I might be able to count on my sprint!
The scenery was again very beautiful today, the sun was shining and the roads were cleaned up for the race.
The winner of the E3 prijs 2012, Langeveld tried his luck from far out, there were still 90km to go.
Unfortunately Roelandts had another bad day. (I hope nothing's wrong with him, the Ronde is coming close now) He dropped to a big group behind the peloton. I was instructed not to stay with him, but to do anything I can to get a good result. The management was now counting on my sprint. I couldn't let them down!
I was having an excellent day yet again.
Nearing the sprint, I chose fast Sagan's wheel, and I got it right before Ballan did, who then said something in Italian that might've been a curse word, but I wouldn't know about that.
Ready for the final sprint I gave it my everything!
And sweet revenge for me today. I'm on the podium of this beautiful race (3th), only a couple of days after my fall in E3 prijs! I end up right behind Visconti (who came in first, don't let the aerial photo mislead you) and Hushovd!
This is a great day for me. In the last World Tour race before the Ronde Van Vlaanderen, I was finally able to prove what I'm worth. I think they'll watch out for me a little more in the future. The day after tomorrow I'm racing in De Panne - Koksijde, where I should be able to build up even more for the Ronde and a week later Paris - Roubaix, where glory awaits me, if not this year, than the next! (It is true, I am an optimist)
On another note: Jelle Vanendert ended on an impressive 3th place in the Tour of Cataluña. He's building up for the hilly classics there. Wiggins won yet another stage race.
Edited by Ian Butler on 07-08-2012 11:59
Awesome 3rd place! Visconti has a stupidly overpowered sprint so no worries there.
I also like the reporting style, only doing interesting stages and giving short notices on other races. Nice work. Bring on De Ronde!
EDIT: Oh, and why don't you replace the stupid fake jerseys with the real ones? And why aren't you using the Daily DB?
Edited by Teddy The Creator on 07-08-2012 13:16
@Teddy: I'm glad you like my reporting style, I wasn't too sure about it at first, but I think it's working fine I'm not good at all these file-things etc, so I'm just glad I was able to download a realname database and play the game without crashing I hope it doesn't bother you too much about the jerseys. @sutty68: Thanks a lot! I think it's great that you follow (nearly?) everyone's story, it's easier to stay motivated that way @FreitasPCM: Thanks for the banana, I've never received many bananas before Now you and Teddy, that's a lot of bananas
Panne - Koksijde will be up in a second, I hope the Ronde by tonight, otherwise definitely tomorrow
For Stijn this is the final build-up race before the Ronde, so it's very important. The tour of the Panne - Koksijde consists of 4 races, rode in 3 racing days. The first day is rather hilly, the next two stages are more flat and the tour ends with a time trial of just over 11km. This is what we had to do today
Eric Lombaerts
Quite a hilly stage, going through Oudenaarde! What mattered for Stijn today is surviving the hills and not lose any time. I tried my luck with an attack with 20km to go.
My attack didn't go far, but I created some small gaps and enough confusion to take advantage of it. As Sky dominated the last km, I ended up on a 9th place, the last one to end within the 0". Stijn, lost about 20". I also took the young jersey, maybe I can hold on to it!
Like I said, Sky dominated, with 4 riders in the top 10: Siutsou(1st), Knees(2nd), Flecha(4th) and Thomas (8th)
Tomorrow is a day for the sprinters, so my job tomorrow is getting water and possibly making the pace, although I believe Sky will do that. All that matters for me now is the final time trial, so I won't be blogging until then, tomorrow you'll hear Stijn.
See you!
My biggest worry of the day was surviving that final, short hill.
Fortunately and thanks to Jonas Vangenechten, I did, and I found myself in the perfect position for the sprint, right behind Jonas, Hushovd, Degenkolb and Veelers. I was in excellent form, so this could be just my day! Still waiting for that first professional victory, maybe my waiting days are over?
In the sprint Hushovd rode like a madman and I got stuck to the side in the wheel of Degenkolb. I got out of it and started my real sprint, I went looking for Hushovd, who was still going strong!
I came closer and close!
However, I never came close enough. I ended up on the 2nd place, what a bummer! And it’s always Hushovd who seems to be one step ahead of me. Still, it's a great result, I'm in front of the likes of Degenkolb, Veelers... How great is that! Yet I'm still waiting for that first victory. Today I was so close I could smell it. Next time might be my turn to shine, who knows, tomorrow is yet another day!
Well, this is as flat as they come. And seeing there are only 120km to ride, everyone will be quite fresh, a pure sprint. Although the wind (we're riding along the shore for quite a while) could get in the way of many a rider!
To my surprise I was almost out of the running just 15km before the finish! Almost blown away by the strong wind, I had a hard time staying up front. But I made it and this time I went looking for the wheel of Degenkolb, which wasn't easy to take!
A crash happened behind me, but I was too preoccupied with the sprint to notice it, I only heard after the race. Luckily, nobody of Lotto - Belisol was a part of it, and because of the 2km rule, nobody lost any time.
The sprint was off, and it felt like flying. I passed Degenkolb with a speed I never thought to be possible, and as an enthusiastic neopro I raised my hands high as I cried out victory. However, I wanted to be sure of the win, so I raised my hands a bit late, causing a somewhat strange picture. Somehow I still think it's the best picture of me yet...
My first victory as a pro, this is incredible. I even took the young jersey, with mixed feelings (as I took it away from Eric). He assured me it's not a problem, though, we'll battle for it in the final time trial, he said, jokingly.
See you later today for the time trial!
Hope Stijn can have the same success on the cobbles 
But that's not bad because I like the way you write the reports, they are easy to read.
Good luck for the next races
Awesome 3rd place! Visconti has a stupidly overpowered sprint so no worries there. 
