@ Froomedog - It's still on hard. You'll see why below.
2.1: Étoile de Bessèges: Preview
We continue along the same path we took last year in another race on home soil. Five relatively easy stages and one rather hard individual time trial lies ahead. The overall will probably go to a sprinter thanks to the many bonus seconds - as shown by Tom Boonen in 2012.
We're putting a lot of faith in Smukulis, hoping that he might pull off a decent GC result in the final TT. Even if he fails to, we have Evaldas - who'll hopefully snatch a couple of bonus seconds on one or a few occasions.
The field is quite a lot stronger than I expected and hoped - especially in terms of sprinters. Degenkolb will be close to unbeatable with Van Rensburg for support, and riders like Van Poppel and Henderson are likely to mop up the rest of the bonifications behind the German. We're up for a real challenge!
2.1: Étoile de Bessèges: Stage 1
Surprisingly it's Astana in control as the race approaches the finish. Argos completely fails to set up any sort of train for Degenkolb, so instead we have Gavazzi leading it out for Bozic, the Slovenian champion.
Evaldas unfortunstely gets knocked off Chavanel's wheel just before the sprint is kicked off, and has to move forward from a position far back.
Astana's excellent leadout really pays off in the end, as Bozic easily holds off the other sprinters after taking the front himself with a kilometer remaining. Degenkolb gains several positions to finish second, surely pissed knowing he probably could've won with a little help from his team.
Van Rensburg follows his team mate up to the front and finishes third. A great day for Argos, and the complete opposite for us. Evaldas gets boxed in a long way back, locking him in a bad position. 16th place in the end for him.
Evaldas finds the perfect wheel, Degenkolb's, as we again enter the final few kilometers with a sprint ahead. Believe it or not, with Euskaltel in charge!
It's just not meant to be for us, however. A smart manoeuvre from man in the points jersey leaves Evaldas trapped behind a dropping De Kort.
Degenkolb then gets towed to the front by Geschke, from where he destroys the others in the uphill sprint to the line. He also takes over the race lead, due to the fact that Bozic gets beaten to second by Vachon.
Just like yesterday, Evaldas fails to make up the lost ground in the finale and can't do better than 11th. Things can only get better from here.
For the third day in a row, very uneventful up to the final kilometers. FDJ's train proves to be the strongest one, giving Chavanel the perfect position.
Evaldas meanwhile gets a little help from Smukulis, who brings him up to just behind Chavanel, Henderson and Petit. Degenkolb isn't in great position either, and Bozic is nowhere to be seen.
Things change drastically in the tricky final kilometer, and Degenkolb pushes through to take his second straight victory. Schulze and Henderson complete the podium, overtaking a disappointing Chavanel.
A decent finish from Evaldas results in a 7th place. A slight improvement from the previous days, but obviously not quite what we'd like to see.
Still with two possible sprint finishes left, Degenkolb looks very solid at the top of the GC. He'll need to blow up completely on the time trial's climb to lose this I think. Smukulis will hopefully improve a bit when the terrain gets tougher.
Wow, amazing start of the season ( I won't say anything about the Etoile before it has ended) and great reports. If you win the team story of 2012-award instead of me, I'm really happy for you, since you deserve it (when will it be announced, can't wait any longer!!!!!)
Well, that field is just way too strong for your team at the moment. But I have a lot of confidence in Evaldas and I'm sure he'll turn up in a top 5 somewhere
@ dienblad - It's great to hear that from you! I'm pretty sure you've got the team story award wrapped up, though.
Should be announced any day now, as soon as CT returns from Washington.
2.1: Étoile de Bessèges: Stage 4
We change the tactic a bit today, after three failed bunch sprints. Instead of putting all hopes in Evaldas, we send Flaksis into the early breakaway - hoping that it'll stay clear. Cummings, Van Hoecke, Pichot and Flahaut are the other four.
Unfortunately, Argos keeps a tight grip around them, and the gap never reaches more than three minutes. The catch is easily made a long way out from the finish, leaving us with yet another mass sprint.
FDJ charges to the front as we enter the final 5 km. Smukulis places Evaldas in an excellent position just behind them, whilst Euskaltel tries to challenge on the other side. Degenkolb meanwhile finds himself completely isolated a few wheels behind. Not good, Argos!
Things get really messy once the sprint is kicked off on the slight drag up to the finish line. Several riders shoot up early from a position further back, forcing Chavanel and the others to go as well.
Evaldas, Degenkolb and Bozic all find themselves caught in the middle of a chaos - hindering them from moving forward.
A combination of perfect positioning and good form allows Henderson to escape through the mess and win the stage quite easily. Tronet snatches second place after profiting from the Kiwi's slipstream.
Tleubayev nabs the final time bonus after realising that Bozic is too far back. Degenkolb makes an insane jump forward after finding room in the final 100m, but can't get further than 5th. Evaldas meanwhile heavily disappoints - crossing the line all the way back in 14th.
1
Greg Henderson
Lotto-Belisol Team
3h25'18
2
Steven Tronet
BigMat - Auber 93
s.t.
3
Ruslan Tleubayev
Astana Pro Team
s.t.
4
Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg
Team Argos - Shimano
s.t.
5
John Degenkolb
Team Argos - Shimano
s.t.
2.1: Étoile de Bessèges: Stage 5
Degenkolb comfortably stays in the front rows of the peloton all the way up to the top of the big climb on this apparently hilly stage. So much for trying to drop him!
We still play our first card just before the top of the hill. Perichon puts in a dig in a steep section and is gets company from no one else than Valverde! Astarloza also makes the junction after the long descent.
The latter makes one final push when the peloton comes back at them, and the gap suddenly balloons out to half a minute in the final 4 km!
We quickly realise that Degenkolb is down to Van Rensburg, and the other sprinters are all alone as well. Luckily we still have Smukulis, who happily hits the front with Evaldas just behind him.
The other sprinters line up behind our duo, but Van Rensburg can't hold it for very long and launches the sprint well over two kilometers out. This brings Astarloza's attack to an immediate end. Degenkolb meanwhile starts to move up.
The man wearing the orange jersey jumps into the lead as if it was nothing and starts pushing towards the line. Van Rensburg and Pacheco initially tries to follow, but quickly starts fading. Evaldas on the other hand...
Evaldas puts pressure on Degenkolb all the way to the line, but the German express is simply too strong. Second place and plenty of bonus seconds is still obviously all but bad!
Smukulis makes the day even better by finishing fifth - after a three kilometer sprint! The form looks good for the final time trial tomorrow!
Degenkolb's overall lead continues to increase with today's bonus seconds. With more than a minute on all serious timetriallists, this looks solid for him. Evaldas will try his best to stay in the top 10, although it'll be hard.
Finally boy Evaldas has appeared in a decent position. Looking at guys like Barta or Engoulvent it'll be difficult to stay in the top-10, but you never know. Maybe Smukulis can also have a shot at it.
The first few hours pass without any times worth mentioning. Things finally start getting interesting when Marco Pinotti knocks down the earlier leaders by quite a margin. New time to beat: 16'46.
Jonathan Castroviejo, last year's winner of this very stage, can't match the aging Italian champion and thus wont win for the second year in a row.
The next Movistar rider, Alex Dowsett, on the other hand does. He almost falls apart after the finish line, but takes the lead by two seconds.
The Briton survives the next wave of riders, including Mikhail Ignatiev. The Russian comes fairly close, but hits the line a few seconds too late.
Smukulis is next. After clocking a time almost 20 seconds slower than Dowsett at the intermediate check halfway through, we thought that he was having a really bad day.
That turns out to be completely wrong. After an easy start, he rockets up the final climb and tops Dowsett's time by a whopping 18 seconds!
Smukulis' time turns even more impressive when Valverde finishes a couple of minutes later with a great time - but 7 seconds too slow!
Evaldas is soon off, after having a short talk with Smukulis about how to deal with the course. The advice proves to be insanely helpful, as the clock stops at 16'47 - just a second slower than Pinotti!
Van Rensburg was expected to move up the standings after today, but really disappoints. He even drops from fourth to fifth in the GC.
Down to the last three, with third placed Henderson first. As expected, he loses a chunk of time, especially in the final part of the race - the climb. Just like Van Rensburg, he drops in the GC.
Bozic goes one worse and loses three seconds more than his podium pal. Second place in the GC turns into 7th - probably a big disappointment for him.
A so far dominant Degenkolb catches Bozic in his sight inside the difficult final kilometer. The picture really lies however, as the race leader ends up with the exact same time as the man in front of him. What does that mean for the GC?
One thing is for sure: Smukulis destroys the rest on this stage! Not even a Valverde in clearly good form can match him today. Perhaps even more impressive is Evaldas' fifth place - showing that the form is where it should be!
Not even a dominance like this is enough to wrestle down Degenkolb, though. He definitely deserves it anyway, after showing this kind of superiority in the sprints. He was clearly the best in this race.
Can't complain on our part either. Two men in the top 5 is pretty good, especially considering how it looked after the first three or four stages. We just need to get the sprints working now!
So, we might see the French/Baltic team in Italian or Spanish roads... hope that you get invited. 
2.1: Étoile de Bessèges: Preview
