***Kittel **Phinney, Andriato *Hushovd, Fenn, Hunter
The race
And today we have the final stage in the Tour of Qatar. As you would expect the race is flat. Today it also is just 106.8 kms long. Hushovd is eager to hold his leader jersey. The wind is very hard today, which will cause some riders to drop and maybe even fall off their bikes.
Today, the pack gives the space for a leading group of eight riders, with these riders in it: Loutit, Niyonshuti, Downey, Coledan, McCauley, Serry, De Negri and Breyne. In the pack, the pace is set by BMC, Argos, Movistar, GreeneEdge and Crelan.
They max the lead at 3min39.
Sprint 1 is won by Niyonshuti, ahead of Downey and Breyne.
Sprint 2 exactly the same result..
With 22kms left, at the sprint, the lead is 1min41.
With 6kms left, the break is reeled in.
Bring on the sprint trains!
These strongest are Movistar, Argos and GreenEdge.
At the line it is: Kittel. Finally. Hushovd is second and wins the Tour of Qatar. 3rd is Traksel. Groenewegen got blocked constantly and finished 18th. Law is our best rider in the GC, at place 29.
11 Michele Merlo Vini Fantini - Selle Italia s.t.
12 Taylor Phinney BMC Racing Team s.t.
13 Sebastian Langeveld Orica - GreenEdge s.t.
14 Nico Eeckhout An Post - Chainreaction s.t.
15 Martin Kohler BMC Racing Team s.t.
16 David Millar Garmin - Sharp s.t.
17 Mitchell Docker Orica - GreenEdge s.t.
18 Dylan Groenewegen Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t.
1 Thor Hushovd BMC Racing Team 16h09'38
2 Taylor Phinney BMC Racing Team + 20
3 Marcel Kittel Team Argos - Shimano + 21
4 Andrew Fenn Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team + 27
5 Robert Hunter Garmin - Sharp s.t.
6 Adam Blythe BMC Racing Team + 36
7 Philippe Gilbert BMC Racing Team s.t.
8 Greg Van Avermaet BMC Racing Team s.t.
9 Brent Bookwalter BMC Racing Team s.t.
10 Joost Van Leijen Lotto Belisol + 45
6 Taylor Phinney BMC Racing Team 4 44
7 Nico Eeckhout An Post - Chainreaction 2 42
8 Rafael de Mattos Andriato Vini Fantini - Selle Italia 0 38
9 Allan Davis Orica - GreenEdge 0 32
10 Bobbie Traksel Champion System Pro Cycling Team 16 31
11 Martin Kohler BMC Racing Team 1 29
12 Greg Van Avermaet BMC Racing Team 12 27
13 Gaetan Bille Lotto Belisol 9 22
14 Dylan Groenewegen Scott - Tissot Development Team 0 21
Spoiler
15 Steele Von Hoff Garmin - Sharp 10 19
16 Adam Blythe BMC Racing Team 6 14
17 Sean Downey An Post - Chainreaction 8 14
18 Joeri Stallaert Crelan - Euphony 8 14
19 Mart Ojavee Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0 12
20 Adrien Niyonshuti MTN - Qhubeka 12 12
21 Oscar Gatto Vini Fantini - Selle Italia 0 12
22 Steven Van Vooren An Post - Chainreaction 0 12 23 Scott Law Scott - Tissot Development Team 0 10
24 Darren Lapthorne Drapac Cycling 0 10 25 Patrick Lane Scott - Tissot Development Team 0 10
26 Sebastian Langeveld Orica - GreenEdge 3 8
27 Gordon McCauley Drapac Cycling 0 8
28 Michele Merlo Vini Fantini - Selle Italia 5 6 29 Ben Grenda Scott - Tissot Development Team 0 4
30 Jonathan Castroviejo Movistar Team 0 4
31 Jonathan Breyne Crelan - Euphony 4 4
32 Chan Jae Jang Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0 4
33 Brent Bookwalter BMC Racing Team 0 2
34 Joost Van Leijen Lotto Belisol 0 2
35 Greg Henderson Lotto Belisol 0 2
36 Simon Clarke Orica - GreenEdge 0 2
37 Ryota Nishizono Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0 2
38 Edoardo Zardini Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox 0 2
-25 Riders
1 Marcel Kittel Team Argos - Shimano 2h26'48 + 1 (2)
2 Gaetan Bille Lotto Belisol s.t. + 27 (5)
3 Joeri Stallaert Crelan - Euphony s.t. + 1'30 (20)
4 Adam Blythe BMC Racing Team s.t. + 16 (4)
5 Taylor Phinney BMC Racing Team s.t. 16h09'58 (1) 6 Dylan Groenewegen Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 56 (13)
Spoiler
7 Andrew Fenn Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team s.t. + 7 (3) 8 Ben Grenda Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 56 (14) 9 Derk Abel Beckeringh Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 1'02 (17)
10 Gert Dockx Lotto Belisol s.t. + 27 (6) 11 Caleb Ewan Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 56 (15)
12 Jesse Sergent RadioShack - Leopard s.t. + 34 (9)
13 Ramunas Navardauskas Garmin - Sharp s.t. + 34 (7)
14 Nelson Oliveira RadioShack - Leopard s.t. + 34 (8) 15 Scott Law Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 46 (10)
16 Egidijus Juodvalkis Crelan - Euphony s.t. + 1'36 (22) 17 Adam Phelan Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 6'05 (41)
18 Jesús Herrada Movistar Team s.t. + 1'08 (18)
19 Kevin Claeys Crelan - Euphony s.t. + 1'36 (23)
20 Joeri Bueken Crelan - Euphony s.t. + 5'06 (38)
21 Sam Bennett An Post - Chainreaction s.t. + 1'13 (19)
22 Mark McNally An Post - Chainreaction s.t. + 6'22 (44)
23 Nathan Haas Garmin - Sharp s.t. + 5'58 (40)
24 Chan Jae Jang Champion System Pro Cycling Team s.t. + 4'34 (37) 25 Patrick Lane Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 8'42 (53)
26 Muhamad Othman Champion System Pro Cycling Team s.t. + 6'17 (42)
27 Nairo Quintana Movistar Team s.t. + 4'30 (36)
28 Pieter Serry Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team s.t. + 5'36 (39)
29 Tom Dumoulin Team Argos - Shimano s.t. + 4'11 (35)
30 Jack Wilson An Post - Chainreaction s.t. + 6'22 (46)
31 Alphonse Vermote An Post - Chainreaction s.t. + 6'22 (45)
32 Daniel Teklehaimanot Orica - GreenEdge s.t. + 49 (12)
33 Jonathan Breyne Crelan - Euphony s.t. + 1'32 (21)
34 Ramon Carretero Vini Fantini - Selle Italia s.t. + 6'22 (43)
35 Tobias Ludvigsson Team Argos - Shimano s.t. + 49 (11)
36 Sean Downey An Post - Chainreaction s.t. + 59 (16) 37 Alastair Loutit Scott - Tissot Development Team + 1'44 + 2'40 (25)
38 Marco Coledan Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox s.t. + 6'42 (47)
39 Andrea Di Corrado Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox s.t. + 3'12 (30)
40 Johann Van Zyl MTN - Qhubeka s.t. + 2'40 (26)
41 Louis Meintjes MTN - Qhubeka s.t. + 7'49 (51)
42 Luke Davison Drapac Cycling s.t. + 3'20 (34)
43 Bradley Potgieter MTN - Qhubeka s.t. + 7'49 (50)
44 Malcom Rudolph Drapac Cycling s.t. + 3'20 (33)
45 Edoardo Zardini Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox s.t. + 3'10 (27)
46 Stefano Locatelli Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox s.t. + 3'12 (31)
47 Ben King RadioShack - Leopard s.t. + 7'27 (48)
48 George Bennett RadioShack - Leopard s.t. + 2'18 (24)
49 Bob Jungels RadioShack - Leopard s.t. + 7'27 (49)
50 Enrico Battaglin Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox s.t. + 3'12 (28)
51 Angelo Pagani Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox s.t. + 8'21 (52)
52 Donato De Ieso Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox s.t. + 3'12 (32)
53 Francesco Bongiorno Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox s.t. + 3'12 (29)
Team Results
1 BMC Racing Team 7h20'24 48h05'08 (1)
2 Garmin - Sharp s.t. + 18 (5)
3 Orica - GreenEdge s.t. + 33 (6)
4 Lotto Belisol s.t. + 11 (2) 5 Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 40 (8)
Spoiler
6 Vini Fantini - Selle Italia s.t. + 57 (12)
7 Movistar Team s.t. + 52 (9)
8 Team Argos - Shimano s.t. + 33 (7)
9 Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team s.t. + 11 (3)
10 Crelan - Euphony s.t. + 1'21 (13)
11 Champion System Pro Cycling Team s.t. + 52 (10)
12 RadioShack - Leopard s.t. + 18 (4)
13 An Post - Chainreaction s.t. + 57 (11)
14 MTN - Qhubeka + 3'28 + 4'08 (14)
15 Drapac Cycling + 5'12 + 6'33 (16)
16 Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox s.t. + 6'25 (15)
Next up: Tour of South Africa. Will we get success there?
BTW, if you follow this, would you feel free to comment. If no one is following, I could just as well stop
@SSJ2Luigi: Well, he needed it
@sutty68: Well, a top5 finish is more than exspected and every stage a top-20 plus many breakawys make it a very decent result
I have some days Easter Holiday now, so here we are:
Tour of South Africa
Preview
We will start on another continent today, in South Africa, for the Tour of South Africa. This tour consists of 7 stages and a day of rest, at day 3. The tour consists of some flat and some hilly stages, so it should favor a puncher. Only 92 riders from 12 teams start today.
The race profiles:
Our squad
81. D. Groenewegen
82. D. Beckeringh
83. C. Ewan
84. B. Grenda
85. S. Pellaud
86. J. Prete
87. L. Spengler
88. C. Watson
Today we start the Tour of South Africa with a flat stage. There are however some climbs today, with one categorized. The race should still favor the sprinters however.
The break of the day is formed quite soon. It contains 4 riders: Hamilton, Spengler, Bosman and Gorodnichev.
The pace in the pack is set by MTN, De Rijke and Rabobank.
We now have the time to introduce the riders: Lukas Spengler: This 18-year-old Swiss rider rides for Scott-Tissot. His specialty is breakaways. Ilya Gorodnichev: This Russian rider rides for Ceramica Flaminia. He also likes the breakaways. Nic Hamilton: This Canadian rider rides for Jelly Belly. If necessary, he is a decent sprinter. Patrick Bosman: This Austrian rider rides for Tirol. He also prefers to be in the break.
At KoM1, Spengler beats Bosman and Hamilton. He gets the polkadots for tomorrow.
The lead reaches just for the sprint a max of 7min02.
At the sprint, Spengler beats Hamilton and Gorodnichev.
What now followed was a quiet phase. The lead decreased piece by piece.
With 15kms left, the lead was just 58 seconds.
With 6kms left, it is over for the leaders.
The sprint is very chaotic, resulting in a victory for Ben Jacques-Maynes. He beats Stauff and Zabel. [b]Groenewegen is 6th. After the rest day he should do better in the fully flat stages.
Stage Results 1 Ben Jacques-Maynes Jamis - Hagens Berman 3h50'19
2 Andreas Stauff MTN - Qhubeka s.t.
3 Rick Zabel Rabobank Development Team s.t.
4 Ivar Slik Rabobank Development Team s.t.
5 Óscar Sevilla EPM - UNE s.t. 6 Dylan Groenewegen Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t.
7 Yoeri Havik Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t.
8 Jacobus Venter MTN - Qhubeka s.t.
9 Stian Remme Joker Merida s.t.
10 Jay Thomson MTN - Qhubeka s.t.
1 Ben Jacques-Maynes Jamis - Hagens Berman 3h49'59
2 Andreas Stauff MTN - Qhubeka + 8
3 Rick Zabel Rabobank Development Team + 12 4 Lukas Spengler Scott - Tissot Development Team + 14
5 Nic Hamilton Jelly Belly p/b Kenda + 16
6 Ilya Gorodnichev Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest + 18
7 Ivar Slik Rabobank Development Team + 20
8 Óscar Sevilla EPM - UNE s.t. 9 Dylan Groenewegen Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t.
10 Yoeri Havik Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t.
1 Ben Jacques-Maynes Jamis - Hagens Berman 25 25
2 Andreas Stauff MTN - Qhubeka 20 20
3 Rick Zabel Rabobank Development Team 16 16
4 Ivar Slik Rabobank Development Team 14 14
5 Óscar Sevilla EPM - UNE 12 12 6 Dylan Groenewegen Scott - Tissot Development Team 10 10
Spoiler
7 Yoeri Havik Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks 9 9
8 Jacobus Venter MTN - Qhubeka 8 8
9 Stian Remme Joker Merida 7 7 10 Lukas Spengler Scott - Tissot Development Team 6 6
11 Jay Thomson MTN - Qhubeka 6 6 12 Ben Grenda Scott - Tissot Development Team 5 5
13 Nic Hamilton Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 4 4
14 Eric Young Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 4 4 15 Caleb Ewan Scott - Tissot Development Team 3 3
16 Ilya Gorodnichev Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest 2 2
17 Lars Van der Haar Rabobank Development Team 2 2
18 Kyle Wamsley Jamis - Hagens Berman 1 1
KoM
1 Lukas Spengler Scott - Tissot Development Team 6 6
2 Patrick Bosman Tirol Cycling Team 4 4
3 Nic Hamilton Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 2 2
-25 Riders
1 Rick Zabel Rabobank Development Team 3h50'19 3h50'11 (1)
2 Ivar Slik Rabobank Development Team s.t. + 8 (3) 3 Dylan Groenewegen Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 8 (4)
4 Yoeri Havik Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t. + 8 (5) 5 Ben Grenda Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 8 (6)
Spoiler
6 Eric Young Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t. + 8 (7) 7 Caleb Ewan Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 8 (8)
8 Lars Van der Haar Rabobank Development Team s.t. + 8 (9) 9 Derk Abel Beckeringh Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 8 (10)
10 Rick Ottema Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t. + 8 (11) 11 Simon Pellaud Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 8 (12)
12 Vegard Breen Joker Merida s.t. + 8 (13)
13 Sondre Sörtveit Joker Merida s.t. + 8 (14)
14 Emiel Dolfsma Rabobank Development Team s.t. + 8 (15)
15 Jani Tewelde MTN - Qhubeka s.t. + 8 (16)
16 Johann Van Zyl MTN - Qhubeka s.t. + 8 (17)
17 Matteo Fedi Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest s.t. + 8 (18)
18 Antonio Santoro Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest s.t. + 8 (19)
19 Sjoerd Kouwenhoven Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t. + 8 (20) 20 Calvin Watson Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 8 (21)
21 Gert-Jan Bosman Rabobank Development Team s.t. + 8 (22)
22 Martin Olsen Joker Merida s.t. + 8 (23)
23 Nicola Dal Santo Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest s.t. + 8 (24)
24 Andrea Manfredi Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest s.t. + 8 (25)
25 Martijn Tusveld Rabobank Development Team s.t. + 8 (26)
26 Louis Meintjes MTN - Qhubeka s.t. + 8 (27)
27 Lukas Spengler Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 2 (2)
Today we have a hilly stage, which should make clear who are the favorites for the General at the end. The finish is not uphill, but there is a hill just a few kilometers away from the finish. Since tomorrow is a rest day, everyone will give everything today.
We soon have a break today, with 3 riders in: Spengler, again, Bihel and Wolfe.
At KoM1, easy victory for the Swiss. 2nd is Bihel, 3rd Wolfe.
The pack is lead by Jamis, Rabobank, Ceramica Flaminia and MTN.
Here is a short introduction of the riders: Lukas Spengler: This young Swiss already leads the KoM, he is 4th in the GC, 14 seconds behind. Cesar Bihel: This Frenchman rides for Differdange. He is 62nd in the GC, 20 seconds behind. Benjamin Wolfe: This American rides for Jelly Belly. He is 71st in the GC, also 20 seconds behind.
The trio builds a lead of 7min31, after which the pack is starting to work.
At KoM2, nr2 and 3 switch spots.
At the sprint, Bihel beats Spengler and Wolfe.
At KoM3, same result as KoM1.
At the final sprint, same result as KoM1 and 3.
At the final KoM, Bihel beats Spengler, who will keep the polkadots for tomorrow.
25kms from the line, the group still leads by 1min30.
Now Zwizanski and Pedraza break from the pack. The other teams start to chase harder.
While Zwizanski, Pedraza and Dal Santo reach the group, Spengler leaves them behind.
15 kms from the line, Zwizanski is in front alone, holding a 20second lead.
13kms from the line, at the top of the second-to-last hill, all is over for the American.
10kms from the line, a 3-man group is about to be reeled in.
5kms from the line, Beckeringh is up front alone, followed by a 3man group: Groenewegen, Golcer and Hagman.
1,5 kms from the line, Beckeringh is leading with only one descent to go. Will he make it?
Unfortunately, no. Golcer wins, ahead of Beckeringh and Groenewegen. Jacques-Maynes holds the GC, Spengler is 3rd, Beckeringh 4th. We did not expect that to happen. Another bonus is the -25 jersey for Spengler, which will be worn by the Dutch, due to the KoM.
Stage results 1 Jure Golcer Tirol Cycling Team 4h05'19 2 Derk Abel Beckeringh Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. 3 Dylan Groenewegen Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t.
4 Ben Jacques-Maynes Jamis - Hagens Berman s.t.
5 Jani Tewelde MTN - Qhubeka s.t.
6 Rick Zabel Rabobank Development Team s.t.
7 James Driscoll Jamis - Hagens Berman s.t.
8 Jay Thomson MTN - Qhubeka s.t.
9 Gabe Varela Jamis - Hagens Berman s.t.
10 Jacobus Venter MTN - Qhubeka s.t.
11 Ivar Slik Rabobank Development Team s.t.
12 Jacobus Venter MTN - Qhubeka s.t.
13 Jay Thomson MTN - Qhubeka s.t.
14 Stian Remme Joker Merida s.t.
15 Lars Van der Haar Rabobank Development Team s.t.
16 Kyle Wamsley Jamis - Hagens Berman s.t.
17 Jani Tewelde MTN - Qhubeka s.t.
18 Luis Alberto Romero Jamis - Hagens Berman s.t.
19 Huub Duyn Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t. 20 Simon Pellaud Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t.
21 Emiel Dolfsma Rabobank Development Team s.t.
22 Johann Van Zyl MTN - Qhubeka s.t.
23 James Driscoll Jamis - Hagens Berman s.t.
24 Sondre Sörtveit Joker Merida s.t.
25 Gabe Varela Jamis - Hagens Berman s.t.
26 Vegard Breen Joker Merida s.t.
27 Walter Pedraza EPM - UNE s.t. 28 Caleb Ewan Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t.
29 Rick Ottema Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t.
30 Weimar Roldan EPM - UNE s.t. 31 Calvin Watson Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t.
32 Filippo Savini Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest s.t.
33 Louis Meintjes MTN - Qhubeka s.t.
34 Matteo Fedi Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest s.t.
35 Kai Reus Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t. 36 Ben Grenda Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t.
37 Antonio Santoro Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest s.t.
38 Yoeri Havik Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t.
39 Alex Candelario Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t.
40 Gert-Jan Bosman Rabobank Development Team s.t.
41 Nicola Dal Santo Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest s.t.
42 Kristian Sbaragli MTN - Qhubeka s.t.
43 Ramiro Rincón EPM - UNE s.t.
44 Jeremy Powers Jelly Belly p/b Kenda s.t.
45 Clemens Fankhauser Tirol Cycling Team s.t.
46 Jaime Castañeda EPM - UNE s.t.
47 Demis Aleman Jamis - Hagens Berman s.t.
48 Eric Schildge Jamis - Hagens Berman s.t.
49 Janier Acevedo Jamis - Hagens Berman s.t.
50 Michael Creed Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t.
51 Martijn Tusveld Rabobank Development Team s.t.
52 Kristoffer Skjerping Joker Merida s.t.
53 Scott Zwizanski Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t.
54 Bjorn Selander Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t.
55 Christoph Pfingsten Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t.
56 Jesse Anthony Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t.
57 Martin Olsen Joker Merida s.t.
58 Christiaan Kriek Jelly Belly p/b Kenda s.t.
59 Ricardo van Dongen Rabobank Development Team s.t.
60 Charles Bradley Huff Jelly Belly p/b Kenda s.t.
61 Mario Schoibl Tirol Cycling Team s.t.
62 Patrick Bosman Tirol Cycling Team s.t.
63 Alex Hagman Jelly Belly p/b Kenda s.t.
64 Jan Tratnik Tirol Cycling Team s.t.
65 Thomas Soladay Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t.
66 Federico Pozzetto Tirol Cycling Team s.t.
67 Tom Zirbel Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t.
68 Oscar Rivera EPM - UNE s.t.
69 Marc Obkircher Tirol Cycling Team s.t.
70 Benjamin Wolfe Jelly Belly p/b Kenda + 2'34
71 Patric Schultus Tirol Cycling Team + 2'44 72 Joshua Prete Scott - Tissot Development Team + 4'36
73 Mats Boeve Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t.
74 Bob Schoonbroodt Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t.
75 Ilya Gorodnichev Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest + 6'26
76 Andrea Manfredi Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest + 6'28
77 Andrea Fedi Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest s.t.
78 Eric Young Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies + 10'50
79 Janis Dakteris Team Differdange - Losch + 11'54
80 Jose Nicolas Castro EPM - UNE + 13'14
81 Sjoerd Kouwenhoven Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks + 13'57
82 Bradley Potgieter MTN - Qhubeka s.t.
83 Cristian Peña Meneses EPM - UNE s.t.
84 Sven Fritsch Team Differdange - Losch s.t.
85 Lennard Hofstede Rabobank Development Team s.t.
86 Edvin Wilson Joker Merida s.t.
87 Sjef De Wilde Team Differdange - Losch s.t.
88 Frank Dressler Team Differdange - Losch s.t.
89 Sascha Weber Team Differdange - Losch s.t.
90 Pedro Paulinho Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest s.t.
91 Simon Holt Team Differdange - Losch s.t.
92 Max Losch Team Differdange - Losch s.t.
Points
1 Ben Jacques-Maynes Jamis - Hagens Berman 14 39
2 Rick Zabel Rabobank Development Team 10 26 3 Dylan Groenewegen Scott - Tissot Development Team 16 26
4 Jure Golcer Tirol Cycling Team 25 25
5 Andreas Stauff MTN - Qhubeka 0 20 6 Derk Abel Beckeringh Scott - Tissot Development Team 20 20
1 Derk Abel Beckeringh Scott - Tissot Development Team 4h05'19 + 4 (2) 2 Dylan Groenewegen Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 8 (5)
3 Jani Tewelde MTN - Qhubeka s.t. + 16 (8)
4 Rick Zabel Rabobank Development Team s.t. + 8 (4)
5 Louis Meintjes MTN - Qhubeka s.t. + 16 (17)
Spoiler
6 Ivar Slik Rabobank Development Team s.t. + 16 (6)
7 Kristian Sbaragli MTN - Qhubeka s.t. + 16 (24)
8 Johann Van Zyl MTN - Qhubeka s.t. + 16 (11)
9 Eric Schildge Jamis - Hagens Berman s.t. + 16 (25)
10 Lars Van der Haar Rabobank Development Team s.t. + 16 (7)
11 Emiel Dolfsma Rabobank Development Team s.t. + 16 (10) 12 Calvin Watson Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 16 (16) 13 Simon Pellaud Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 16 (9)
14 Sondre Sörtveit Joker Merida s.t. + 16 (12)
15 Vegard Breen Joker Merida s.t. + 16 (13)
16 Matteo Fedi Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest s.t. + 16 (18)
17 Antonio Santoro Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest s.t. + 16 (20)
18 Nicola Dal Santo Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest s.t. + 16 (23)
19 Gert-Jan Bosman Rabobank Development Team s.t. + 16 (22)
20 Rick Ottema Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t. + 16 (15)
21 Lukas Spengler Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. 7h55'22 (1)
Well, a brilliant result today, much more then we expected. We will return after a deserved day of rest. The sprinters should do well in the coming up stages.
Today we have the first flat stage in a sequence of 3. Apart from a 2nd category hill 12kms from the line, the race should form no difficulty for the sprinters.
At sprint 1, a break of 4 is formed. The sprint is won by Olsen, of Joker. 2nd is Fankhauser, riding for Tirol. 3rd is Pellaud, riding for Scott-Tissot. 4th is Dakteris, riding for Differdange. Apart from the last named, all riders havent lost any time yesterday.
In the pack, the pace is set by Jamis and MTN.
In the next, quiet, phase that follows, the lead grows to 6min38 and decreases.
Then, in the pack, an outsider for today, Duyn, suffers a puncture. He does manage to get in the pack.
Pellaud is solo at the KoM of today, holding a 24second lead to the other breakaway riders and 52 seconds to the pack. We only have 12.5 kms left.
With 6kms left, Pellaud is reeled in.
Only Optum sets up a train.
Lets see how the sprint goes.
At the line it is Groenewegen. After a perfect lead-out by Ewan he crushes his opponents. 2nd was Young, 3rd Havik. Ewan ended up 7th and Beckeringh 10th.
As a bonus, Groenewegen also takes the leader jersey, the points jersey and the -25 jersey. Spengler still leads the KoM, which means we now possess all jerseys and even 1-2-3 at the -25 rankings. We have also reached our sponsor goal of Stage Win.
Stage results
1 Dylan Groenewegen Scott - Tissot Development Team 4h11'56
2 Eric Young Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t.
3 Yoeri Havik Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t.
4 Rick Zabel Rabobank Development Team s.t.
5 Kyle Wamsley Jamis - Hagens Berman s.t.
6 Ben Jacques-Maynes Jamis - Hagens Berman s.t. 7 Caleb Ewan Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t.
8 Andreas Stauff MTN - Qhubeka s.t.
9 Jacobus Venter MTN - Qhubeka s.t. 10 Derk Abel Beckeringh Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t.
1 Dylan Groenewegen Scott - Tissot Development Team 12h07'06
2 Ben Jacques-Maynes Jamis - Hagens Berman + 8
3 Jure Golcer Tirol Cycling Team s.t. 4 Lukas Spengler Scott - Tissot Development Team + 12 5 Derk Abel Beckeringh Scott - Tissot Development Team + 16
6 Andreas Stauff MTN - Qhubeka s.t.
7 Rick Zabel Rabobank Development Team + 20
8 Yoeri Havik Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t.
9 Martin Olsen Joker Merida + 22
10 Clemens Fankhauser Tirol Cycling Team + 24 11 Simon Pellaud Scott - Tissot Development Team + 26
1 Dylan Groenewegen Scott - Tissot Development Team 25 51
2 Ben Jacques-Maynes Jamis - Hagens Berman 10 49
3 Rick Zabel Rabobank Development Team 14 40
4 Andreas Stauff MTN - Qhubeka 8 28 5 Derk Abel Beckeringh Scott - Tissot Development Team 6 26
6 Martin Olsen Joker Merida 6 6
7 Patrick Bosman Tirol Cycling Team 0 4
8 Janis Dakteris Team Differdange - Losch 4 4
9 Nic Hamilton Jelly Belly p/b Kenda 0 2
10 Scott Zwizanski Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies 2 2
-25 Riders
1 Dylan Groenewegen Scott - Tissot Development Team 4h11'56 12h07'06 (1)
2 Eric Young Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies s.t. + 10'46 (45)
3 Yoeri Havik Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks s.t. + 20 (5)
4 Rick Zabel Rabobank Development Team s.t. + 20 (4) 5 Caleb Ewan Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 28 (9) 6 Derk Abel Beckeringh Scott - Tissot Development Team s.t. + 16 (3)
Today we have one of the most difficult 'flat' stages, running from Bloukrans Bridge to George. On the way we climb several hills, but the last one is 17kms away from the line. The race probably still favors the sprinters.
A break of 4 riders is formed today: Spengler, to secure his polkadots, Bihel, Zirbel and Driscoll. The pace in the pack is made by De Rijke.
KoM1 is won by Zirbel, ahead of Bihel and Spengler.
KoM2 is for Spengler, ahead of Zirbel and Bihel. 4th is Dal Santo, who has just joined the group.
While the pack is busy reeling in the group, Driscoll beats Spengler and Bihel in the intersprint.
At the next KoM, Driscoll beats Dal Santo and Spengler.
At the last sprint, Driscoll is solo, ahead of the rest, 36 seconds behind and 52 seconds ahead of the pack. 2nd is Dal Santo, 3rd Spengler.
Afterwards, the group is reeled in.
At the final KoM, Driscoll beats Pellaud, who has attacked, and the pack. 17kms from the line, he leads 1min29 to the pack and 23sec to Pellaud.
12kms from the line, Pellaud is ahead solo. His lead is very small however.
10kms from the line, the lead is 37seconds. We will probably get another mass sprint.
6,5 kms from the line, while the trains are setting up, Pellaud is reeled in.
After some small trains, the sprint starts. Who wins? Groenewegen! Again. 2nd is Havik, 3rd Venter. Grenda, the brilliant lead-out is 6th.
Unfortunately no full results, because my pc was overheated before I could export.
Stage results
1. Dylan Groenewegen (Scott-Tissot)
2. Yoeri Havik (De Rijke)
3. Jacobus Venter (MTN-Qhubeka)
4. Óscar Sevilla (EPM-UNE)
5. Jay Thomson (MTN-Qhubeka) 6. Ben Grenda (Scott-Tissot)
7. Ivar Slik (Rabobank)
8. Kyle Wamsley (Jamis)
9. Ben Jacques-Maynes (Jamis)
10. Rick Zabel (Rabobank)
General Standings
1. Dylan Groenewegen (Scott-Tissot)
2. Ben Jacques-Maynes (Jamis) +0.28
3. Yoeri Havik (De Rijke) s.t.
4. Jure Golcer (Tirol) +0.32 5. Derk Abel Beckeringh (Scott-Tissot) +0.36
6. Andreas Stauff (MTN-Qhubeka) s.t.
7. Rick Zabel (Rabobank) +0.40
8. Jacobus Venter (MTN-Qhubeka) s.t.
9. Martin Olsen (Joker) +0.42
10. Clemens Fankhauser (Tirol) +0.44 11. Simon Pellaud (Scott-Tissot) 0.46
Points
1. Dylan Groenwegen (Scott-Tissot) 76
2. Ben Jacques-Maynes (Jamis) 56
3. Rick Zabel (Rabobank) 46
4. Yoeri Havik (De Rijke) 45
5. Jacobus Venter (MTN-Qhubeka) 37
