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March 27, 2010: 53th E3 prijs Harelbeke
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27.03.2010 Harelbeke - Harelbeke (203 km)
Cancellara shows his power
Results:
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Fabian Cancellara
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53rd at 3'16"
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Kim Kirchen has said it several times, the Tour of Flanders was among his most liked races and, in order to prepare for the Ronde, Kim participated this weed-end at the E3 Prijs in Harelbeke. The goal was of course to ride in the wind and on the cobbles ahead of Flanders, but also in regard to the first stages of the Tour de France in this region. After a very fast start, 24 riders broke away early in the race, among them Hulsmans, Rosseler, Hunt, Sutton or Tjallingii, but they never got a big advantage on the rest of the peloton. While the key sections of the race approached, Saxo-Bank was very present at the head of the bunch and it wasn't a huge surprise that Fabian Cancellara was the first rider to respond after a terrific acceleration of Tom Boonen on the Taaienberg. Only the Swiss champion and Juan-Antonio Flecha were able to follow Booenen and the three of them soon swallowed up the remaining riders of the early break to take over the lead of the race, with about thirty kilometres to go. Behind, it was Rabobank and Philippo Pozzato chasing, but Boonen, Cancellara and Flecha were simply the strongest today. They arrived at Harelbeke in the lead, but in the last kilometre, Cancellara put in a powerfull acceleration which nobody was able to follow. He arrived at the finihs line three seconds ahead of Boonen and Flecha in this order. Defending champion Pozzato was the Best of the rest and he took 4th place, 50 seconds late, followed by Lars Boom and Sebastian Laangeveld. In 10th position, Italian rider Fabio Fellini crossed the finish line at the head of a first bigger peloton of about fifty riders. In this group, Kim Kirchen finished the race in 53rd place, 3'16" behind the winner. Once again, the rider from Luxemburg has worked a lot for the team in the first part of the race.
28.06.10 6: EsportParc - Circuit de Catalunya (118 km)
Another win for Saxo-Bank
Results:
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Juan-José Haedo
Joaquim Rodriguez
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96th at 0"
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22nd at 2’14"
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It was known in advance, the last stage of the Tour of Catalunya wasn't meant to change anything in the overall classification since it had only one single climb on the menu at the beginning of the course and the final was dead flat, leaving the fast sprinters with a perfect opportunity to show their talents on the Formula One circuit of Catalunya. A few riders tried to avoid the bunch sprint, of course, but the only notable break of the day was the one by Jeremy Roy and Haimar Zubeldia, between kilometre 53 and kilometre 110. With a maximum advantage of three minutes, the gap was perfectly controlled by the peloton on the tarmac of the automobile race-track and the regroupement happened less than 10 kilometres from the finish. The preparation of the massive sprint was on the go and, while it was Milram leading through the last kilometre, Sebastian Haedo perfectly brought his older brother into position and Juan-José Haedo took the stage win ahead of Robert Förster and all-round talent Nicolas Roche. It was the fith win for Saxo-Bank this week and, of course, Frank Schleck was happy with that. On this last day, he was again very attentive in order to avoid crashes like the one that took place in the last kilometre and he was eager to end the stage safely, securing a 22nd place overall that shows again that his form is on a very decent level. Kim Kirchen certainly was also happy with the outcome of this race, since it was his team-mate Joaquim Rodriguez who won the overall classification, ahead of a very promising Taaramae and Tondo, who seems to be hungry for top rankings since Paris-Nice.
27.06.10 5: El Vendrell - Barcelona (162 km)
The riders from Cofidis thank their sponsor
Résultats:
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Samuel Dumoulin
Joaquim Rodriguez
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12th at 0"
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22nd at 2’14"
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Last opportunity for the climbers or complete riders to win a stage, since it finished by a very hilly local course in the streets of Barcelona. Action was expected though and from the beginning, there were lots of attacks. Jan Bakelandts was very active at the front and he was able to break away with Dario Cataldo. After an hour of racing, the two hours had more than 2 minutes gap on the pleoton an Bakelandts was riding virtually in the white leader jersey. The gap increased a little bit more with a maximum of four minutes, causing the riders from Katusha to react. After some hard work at the head of the peloton, the break was caught with 12 kilometres to go. Jens Voigt and Eros Cappechi immediately tried thei luck, but they were also caught again shortly before the finish line. About fifty riders finally battled for the stage win in a sprint and Frank Schleck was in the first line. He took 12th position at the end in an uphill sprint that was dominated by the riders from Cofidis, who wanted to thank their sponsor for investing in the team during two additionnal years. Frenchman Samuel Domoulin was the strongest and he won ahead of team-mate Rein Taaramae, of Rodriguez and Loosli. With his third place, Joaquim Rodriguez of course remains in the overall leading position, while Frank Schleck moved up one spot to 22nd place.
26.06.10 4: Asco - Cabaces (182 km)
Big performance for Malacarne, Top 10 for Schleck
Results:
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Davide Malacarne
Joaquim Rodriguez
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8th at 40"
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23rd at 2’14"
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After Lars Boom and Peter Sagan, here is another cyclo-cross specialist who shows good skills on the road. Former junior world champion Davide Malacarne has realized a big performance today during stage number four of the Volta Catalunya, being at the front of the race from the beginning until the end. Malacarne, Sergio De Lis, Gustavo Veloso and Javier Ramirez broke away shortly after the start and gained a maximum advantage of 10 minutes towards mid-race. With 20 kilometres to go, the peloton was still 3 minutes late and victory seemed within reach for the four leaders. Davide Malacarne thought that this could be his chance and he left the three other riders behind him, rapidly building up a lead of more than a minute. After a solo ride of 20 kilometres and a total of 180 kilometres in the lead, the Italian reached the finish line as brillant stage winner, 36 seconds ahead of Andreas Klöden, Luis-Leon Sanchez and the other chasers. This first bigger group had formed on the Alt de la Figuera, last climb of the day, and consisted of around 40 riders, among them also Frank Schleck. The rider from Luxemburg crossed the finish line on top of a short, steep climb in 8th position, just behind overall leader Joaquim Rodriguez. This is his first Top 10 position in the race and in the overall classification, Frank also moves up a few spots to 23rd place, still a little bit more than 2 minutes behind Rodriguez.
25.06.10 3: Oliana - Asco (210 km)
Voigt takes revenge for Saxo-Bank
Résultats:
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Jens Voigt
Joaquim Rodriguez
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50th at 34"
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27th at 2’14"
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Another stage for the climbers as the final local loop around Asco, which the riders had to tackle twice, came up with a second category climb, Alt de Paumerès. Lots of contenders wanted of course to anticipate the last 50 kilometres and their nearly 1000 metres of change in altitude and there were several attacks in the first kilometres. Finally, they were 8 to break away but at the foot of the last difficulty, Efimkin, Pinot, Van de Walle, Bellotti and company only had 40 seconds left of their advantage. Not enough to resist of course, since Jens Voigt launched a big attack on the climb. The German rider crossed the summit of the Alt des Paumerès 10 seconds ahead on the next chasers before being joined in the descent by Rein Taaramae. But the Estonian champion couldn't do anything against a powerfull Voigt, who won the stage in the sprint and thereby took revenge for his team after a rather disappointing stage on the previous day. 34 seconds later, Paul Voss won the sprint of the next chasers for third position, a group of around 60 riders in which Joaquim Rodriguez retained his white leader jersey and in which Frank Schleck crossed the line in 50th position, truly happy about the victory of his friend and team-mate.
24.06.10 2: La Vall d'En Bas - La Seu d'Urgell (186 km)
Tondo and Rodriguez: winning tandem
Résultats:
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Xavier Tondo
Joaquim Rodriguez
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27th at 2’05"
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26th at 2’14"
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Some of the big names showed themselves today on the second stage, where the roads in the mountains took them to altitudes of 1000 metres and more. Luis-Leon Sanchez and Joaquim Rodriguez were up there at the front, but also Frank Schleck who crossed the highest point of today’s course, the Alt de la Josa del Cadi at 1.620 metres above sea level, at the head of the main group. 13 riders dominated the first part of the race, including the former winner of GP Ostfenster Cyril Dessel as well as Jurgen Van de Walle and Christophe Kern, but Katusha worked hard in the peloton to bring them back even before half-race. It became soon obvious why when Joaquim Rodriguez attacked with 50 kilometres to go, taking with him Oscar Perreiro and Xavier Tondo. The three riders quickly gained one minute and a half of advantage on the Luiquigas and Saxo-Bank led peloton and, even if Perreiro was dropped later on, even if Luis-Leon Sanchez launched a counter-attack in the chasing group, Rodriguez and Tondo stayed clear until the end. At the finish in La Seu d’Urgell, Xavier Tondo was the fastest of the two, taking his second big win this year after the penultimate stage of Paris-Nice. Luis-Leon Sanchez resisted to the next chasers and finished third at 48 seconds, while Frank Schleck arrived 2 minutes and 5 seconds late in 27th place. After having lost contact with the first chasing group due to some riders crashing in front of him, Frank was part of the second bigger group of 10 riders, containing among others also Leipheimer and Basso. Joaquim Rodriguez didn’t leave to his hotel with empty hands, since he is the new overall leader after today’s stage, 10 seconds ahead of Tondo and 2’14” ahead of Frank Schleck in 26th position.
23.06.10 1: Salt - Banyoles (183 km)
Andy Schleck not at the start
Results:
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Mark Cavendish
Paul Voss
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84th at 0"
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50th at 15"
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DNS
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The second stage between Salt and Banyoles brought some very bad news for Luxemburg, as Andy Schleck did not show up at the start this morning after having had awfull pain in his stomach during the night. No knee problems though for the Luxemburg champion, but another setback in his season debut that could possibly mean that he will be lacking some race kilometres in a months time for the Ardennes classics. But the destiny of Schleck the younger was the least thing that Peter Stetina and Jonathan Castroviejo had to worry about, the two riders that opened the road during most of the stage after breaking away very early. Despite having had up to 8 minutes advantage however, their chances for success were very low considering the dead flat finale of the course. The sprinter teams fulfilled their duty and the two riders were caught again with 10 kilometres to go, after 161 kilometres at the head of the race. The bunch sprint was on track and superstar Mark Cavendish showed that after a Tirreno-Adriatico without success, his form is getting better and better. He won the stage ahead of Juan-José Haedo, the team-mate of the Schleck brothers, as well as Galdos, Dumoulin and Kreder. Frank Schleck finished the stage in 84th position inside the peloton and in the same time than the winner, just like Paul Voss who thus retained the leader jersey today.
22.06.10 P: Llorret de Mar - Llorret de Mar (3,6 km ITT)
Voss is the boss
Results:
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Paul Voss
Paul Voss
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53rd at 15"
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53rd at 15"
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131st at 27"
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131st at 27"
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The Tour of Catalunya is shedulded this year two months earlier as for the previous editions and thus offers an additionnal opportunity as preparation for the ardennes and flemish classics. As a result, the race has attracted a bunch of big names in cycling, among them the Schleck brothers. While Andy wants to do some serious progress towards the right form after his early-season setback due to a knee injury, Frank will use his good condition after Paris-Nice to target a result on the hilly stages of the next few days. If the date of the "Volta" has changed, the opening modus has stayed the same and the race took off today with a short prologue in the "party-town" of Lloret de Mar. Dominik Nerz of Milram was on top of the rankings when Frank Schleck took off for his loop and the rider from Luxemburg needed 12 seconds more than the young and talented German for the 3,6 kilometres, being clocked in 5'13" (average speed 41,5 km/h) well outside of the provisionnal Top 10. Germany stayed on top of the list since both Klöden and Paul Voss had just signed a new best time when Andy Schleck arrived in 5'24", far behind his brother at an average speed of 40 km/h. It was obvious that the two brothers didn't take any risks in rainy conditions on the twisty and slippery roads of Lloret and in the result list of the day, they appear at positions 53 (Frank) and 131 (Andy), 15 respectively 27 seconds late on the winner. This one is suprisingly called Paul Voss since none of the favourites was able to do better than the former cyclo-cross ace, who competed against Jempy Drucker in the off-road races a few years ago. Voss finally wins the prologue in 4'57" (average speed 43,6 km/h) ahead of Levi Leipheimer (4'58"), Klöden, Nerz and the young and talented Belgian Jan Bakelants, while riders like Sanchez, Kreuziger, Voigt, Karpets, Martin, Sastre, Vandevelde, Zabriskie, Basso or Menchov don't appear in the top of the rankings today, just like the Schleck brothers.
20.03.2010 Milano - San Remo (298 km)
Much work for nothing
Results:
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Oscar Freire
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DNF
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DNF
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On the first day of spring, nearly 200 riders headed off for the Primavera with a long, long way to go between the dome of Milan and the pretty town on the Riviera. The weather however was anything else than spring-like and it was in the rain that Kim Kirchen, Andy Schleck and the others have made the first pedal strokes. Led by Kim's Katusha team, the riders did not wait long to start the action, behind an early break made of Fabrice Piemontesi, Aristide Ratti and Diego Caccia, so that the peloton was split into several parts during a while on the Passo Turchino, after 160 kilometers. Most of the favorites were the first group of about 80 units, but some others like Cunego, Cavendish, Petacchi, Bennati but also an ill-feeling Andy Schleck were trapped in the second group. However, all of them managed to get back to the front in time after some hard chasing. Kim Kirchen and his team-mates remained truly active in the pack: relentlessly, they made life hard for the sprinters and they tightened the race even further as the final began. Kirchen took a long, long turn ahead of the group before entering the Cipressa and this work earned some fruit: defending champion Mark Cavendish was in trouble on the climb and only thirty competitors were still left at the head of the race, among them no rider from Luxembourg. But all the sprintes were not eliminated yet: Tom Boonen was there at the front, stronger than ever, Petacchi was still surrounded by some teammates while Hushovd and Freire were hiding inside the group without having spoken their last word yet. On the Poggio, Filippo Pozzato made a first move to try and finalize the the work of his teammates, but he and Phlippe Gilbert never gained more than a few meters advantage on the rest of the group. The Italian National champion made a second attempt right after the descent from the Poggio, with 3 kilometers to go, but many riders were still chasing behind him: the bunch sprint was unavoidable and the collective effort of Katusha remained without reward today. Daniele Bennati was the first to launch the rush to the line, but Oscar Freire was the strongest and he won his third Milano - San Remo in front of Boonen, Petacchi, Modolo, Hushovd and Bennati. After completing their job of luxury team-mates under difficult conditions, Kim Kirchen and Andy Schleck have both decided that it was useless to go until the end and they did not finish the race.
March 2010
racing resumes again
A little bit more than a month after having finished his cyclo-cross season with a nice performance at the world championships in Tabor, Jempy Drucker resumes racing again for the start of his road season.
Results:
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Jens Keukeleire
119th at 1'25"
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| Club championships
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Pit Schlechter
2nd at 6"
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The rider from the team of CC Differdange wants to combine road and cyclo-cross and in the two disciplins, he isn't afraid of challenging the Flemish riders in order to progress. He lined up at the Nokere Koerse in the cycling-mad region of Oudenaarde, against some very famous teams like Quickstep, Rabobank, Cofidis, Omega-Lotto of Vancansoleil. 5 out of the 7 last editions of this race ended in a massive sprint and this year wouldn't be an exception to the rule, despite a very long break of four riders: Cusin, Van Groen, Neirynk and Verraes. With 10 kilometres to go, the regrouped peloton was on its way to the bunch sprint when a massive crash in the pack sent some riders onto the ground and handicapped some others. Jempy Drucker was one of the around 40 riders trapped in a second group and he finished the race in 119th position, only one minute and a half down on the winner. Nice result for an opening race of 193 kilometres with nearly 200 hungry riders competing for the win. In the final sprint, nobody was able to rival with the upcoming Belgian star Jens Keukeliere. The young man of 21 years of age took his fourth victory already in his first year as a professionnal on the cobblestones in Nokere, crossing the line two bike lengths ahead of Kris Boeckmans and of Bobby Traksel, winner of Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne. At home again, Jempy Drucker has lined up in the regional club championships, where his team was riding in a league of its own. Eventually, there were three riders of Differdange in the break of four that dominated most of the race, with Jempy being among them. In the last lap, young Pit Schlechter had the best legs in the slightly uphill finish and he won 6 seconds ahead of Drucker and Bob Jungels. The excellent junior rider from Dippach was the only one on the podium who was not member of the Differdange continental team, the team that also took places four and six in this event.
16.06.10 7: Civitanova Marche - San Benedetto del Tronto (164 km)
Garzelli takes overall
Results:
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Edvald Boasson Hagen
Stefano Garzelli
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56th at 0"
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46th at 14'53"
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121st at 1'17"
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83rd at 47'27"
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Stefano Garzelli has won unexpectedly the 45th edition of Tirreno-Adriatico by inverting the situation on the last stage despite a completely flat final. The rider from Aqua e Sapone eventually still was two seconds late on Michele Scarponi this morning and, assuming that the stage would end in a bunch sprint, he had to go for the bonus seconds in the intermediate sprints to have a chance for the win. Whith the only break of the day by Frenchman Biel Kadri being reeled in after 100 kilometres, the whole bunch went for the bonusses in the two intermediate sprints. Of course, Scarponi sent the fast Ginanni, Rodriguez and Androni to the front to take the first positions, but each time, Garzelli managed to take the third place with the help of his team-mate Luca Paolini. After the second sprint, he was thus noted with an equal time overall than Scarponi. Led by Saxo-Bank and Sky, the peloton rode full speed ahead to a bunch sprint that would not only decide on the stage win, but also on the overall victory, depending on the places of the two main protagonists on the line. Edvald Boasson Hagen proved to be the fastest ahead of Petacchi, Modolo, Eisel, Gavazzi, Farrar, McEwen and Cooke, while the race commissars had to take out their pocket calculators. Finally, Stefano Garzelli was awarded overall winner, finishing 28th in the stage rankings while Scarponi in was 22nd but had less points on his accounts at the beginning of the stage. World champion Cadel Evans is noted in 3rd position overall, only 12 seconds late on the winner. Kim Kirchen and Andy Schleck have finished the stage in 56th and 121st position inside the bunch, in the same time than the winner, and both of them were happy to avoid the crashes during the last lap. Just like Frank Schleck in Paris-Nice, they didn't reach any top placing during the week, but with all those kilometres under very tough race conditions in their legs, they should be in good condition for the next races to come, including Milano - San Remo next Saturday.
15.06.10 6: Montecosaro - Macerata (134 km)
stage win for Katusha
Results:
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Mikhail Ignatiev
Michele Scarponi
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26th at 33"
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46th at 14'53"
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44th at 1'17"
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84th at 47'27"
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A short stage of only 130 kilometres with half a dozen of small climbs, this promised of course some action, also given the fact that the overall gaps still were very small at the beginning of the stage. A group of 12 riders provided most of the animation in the stage with Burghardt, Bazayev, Maaskant, Martens, Lövkvist, Ignatiev, Boonen, Ruben Perez, Rui Costa, Spilak, Velits and Breschel. Very strong riders indeed and in the peloton, Androni-Diquigiovanni and Aqua et Sapone, the teams of the two first riders overall, formed a coalition to decrease the gap towards the end of the race. At the beginning of the last local lap around Macerata, with 20 kilometres to go and while there were several attacks in the break, their advantage was till about a minute. It was Mikhail Ignatiev who escaped out of the group at 8 kilometres from the finish and the team-mate of Kim Kirchen managed to make it to the finish line, despite having to dig deep on the last climb and despite the attacks in the peloton, which had swallowed up the remaining riders of the break. Because Stefano Garzelle put the hammer down on the uphill in Macerata and he finished second of the stage, ahead of world champion Cadel Evans and Robert Gesink, while Scarponi arrived only 2 little seconds later in 6th place. In the overall classification, Garzelli now is only 2 seconds late on the blue jersey and he can still hope on the bonus seconds in tomorrow's stage to invert the positions. For the Luxemburgish riders, the days are looking the same, Kim Kirchen was in the first group when they rode into the last climb, but he wasn't able, or didn't want, to follow the best on the uphill for a Top 10 position. Andy Schleck is getting better from day to day and signed his best performance so far in this Tirreno-Adriatico, when he took 44th place, 18 positions and 40 seconds behind Kim Kirchen.
14.06.10 5: Chieti - Colmurano (216 km)
Gasparotto on top of the wall
Results:
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Enrico Gasparotto
Michele Scarponi
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32nd at 57"
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51st at 14'27"
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70th at 9'47"
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104th at 46'17"
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It was another very difficult stage of more than 200 kilometres in snow covered landscapes and with lots of climbs, but the two riders from Luxemburg did a good job today since Kim Kirchen was in the first group of around 50 riders that hit the final climb for the stage win, while Andy Schleck was in a second group at that moment, after havin lost contact in one of the numerous uphills of the last 50 kilometres. The team Androni of leader Michele Scarponi controlled the race petty well and they took care of the different attacks, amongst others a big break of 11 with Pinotti, Hammond, Van Summeren and Klostergaard, team-mate of Andy Schleck. There was a short, but very steep climb with slopes up to 20 % just inside the last 5 kilometres and Enrico Gasparotto wanted to anticipate this obstacle. The Italian broke away with Juan Oroz at around 15 kilometres from the finish and tackled the wall of Colmurano with a small advantage. Gasparotto fought hard on the climb, but had to assist to the return of Stefano Garzelli, who launched an strong attack out of the peloton with the overall lead in mind. World champion Cadel Evans and Maxim Inglinskyi were also able to jump onto the train and so they were four to battle out the stage win in a sprint. Despite all the efforts he made in the final kilometres, Gasparotto was fastest and took the stage win ahead of Garzelli. After a crash and some difficulties on the final climb, blue jersey Michele Scarponi finally managed to finish ninth in the stage and thus maintained his overall lead with now 10 seconds advantage on Garzelli. Kim Kirchen was in the move for the stage win until the foot of the last climb, but he did not manage to hold onto the wheel of Garzelli and company on a wall which normally could have suited him very well. Kim finshed in a third group of 10 riders in 32nd position, just a minute late on the winner of the day. Andy Schleck arrived ten minutes later and finished the stage in 70th place with among others Franco Pellizotti.
13.06.10 4: San Gemini - Chieti (243 km)
Scarponi scores double
Results:
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Michele Scarponi
Michele Scarponi
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97th at 13'28"
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78th at 13'38"
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103rd at 20'03"
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125th at 36'38"
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Today was the first of three uphill finishes in the race of the two seas, after a long, long stage of more than 240 kilometres, very hilly with three categorized climbs. Philippo Pozzato, one of the most cited favourites for Milano - San Remo, tested himself today and he went into a long break with Ruben Perez, Maarten Wynants, Vasil Kiryienka, Vladimir Efimkin and Marco Frapporti. But despite a huge gap of more than 8 minutes, despite the long turns from Pozzato, the six were swallowed up again at the foot of the last climb, after nearly 200 kilometres in the lead. Gasparotto and Nibali launched some attacks and immediately, it was last year's overall winner Michele Scarponi who reacted and went past the two. In the narrow streets of Chieti, Scarponi was able to maintain his lead and he took the stage win 14 seconds ahead of Benoît Vaugrenard, Bertagnolli, Garzelli and Uran. The Italian scored double today since he took also the overall lead and made a big step towards his own succession. For Kim Kirchen, it wasn't a good day since he had to give up his overall ambitions today. He wasn't with the best on the climb of Petoro, 40 kilometres from the finish and he arrived in Chieti in a group of around 30 riders with among others Burghardt, Bruzeghin, Ballan or O'Grady. On top of the final climb, Kim finished at the back of his little peloton in 97th place, 13 minutes late on Scarponi. Andy Schleck, on his side, feels better from day to day. Of course, he looses again 20 minutes today, but his legs improve more and more and he moves up the rankings little by little. Today he finished in 103rd position, in group with among others Johann Van Summeren, Lars Bak and team-mate Frank Hoj.
12.06.10 3: San Miniato - Monsummano Terme (159 km)
Bennati made it right
Results:
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Daniele Bennati
Daniele Bennati
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20th at 0"
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36th at 14"
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117th at 6'55"
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144th at 16'34"
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Three riders have animated the stage to Monsummano Terme, namely Cameron Wurf, Sebastian Lang and Diego Caccia. After a long while in the lead, they presented themselves with 30 kilometres to go with only 2 minutes advantage on the main field. Australian Cameron Wurf clearly was the strongest of the three and he dropped the two other a little bit later. But on the penultimate climb of the day, Francesco Ginnani launched an attack in the peloton and, while Andy Schleck was dropped out of the main field, the gap melted like snow in the sun that shined over the riders after a they had started in the rain this morning. A prominent group took the lead fof the race with among others Ginanni, Pellizotti, Nibali, Garzelli or Scarponi, last year's overall winner, but the eight riders were caught again with just under 3 kilometres to go. The stage ended in a bunch sprint and this time, Daniele Bennati made everything rihgt and won clearly ahead of Petacchi, Eisel and Farrar. 87 riders were still in this first group, among them Kim Kirchen in 20th position, where he finished between Paul Martens and Tom Boonen, the two first in yesterday's stage. The rider from Luxemburg has done a perfect race so far and he is still in good position overall ahead of the deciding stages of this Tirreno Adriatico. Kim lies in 36th place and is only 14 seconds late on the new overall leader Daniele Bennati. Andy Schleck has finished the stage in 117th position and in good company (with Terpstra, O'Grady and Klier). He arrived nearly 7 minutes behind the winner but still a long time before the Gruppetto of about 50 contenders, which he couldn't avoid on the day before.
11.06.10 2: Montecatini Terme - Montecatini Terme (165 km)
Tom Boonen wins first bunch sprint
Results:
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Tom Boonen
Linus Gerdemann
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77th at 0"
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55th at 10"
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155th at 8'37"
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154th at 9'40"
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The riders have left the Tyrrhenian Sea today, but before heading towards the Adriatic coast, they stayed in Montecatini Terme for a hilly stage in and around the small town in Tuscany. Four riders have dominated the stage for a long while, but with four kilometres to go, Alan Perez, Mikhail Ignatiev, Alan Marangoni and Diego Cacchia were swallowed up by the main peloton. Most of the big sprinters were up there and prepared for a bunch sprint under control of the Liquigas team. Daniele Bennati opened the sprint very early, but then Tom Boonen made his effort and on the slightly uphill finish, the Belgian champion was able to hold off the upcoming Paul Martens and Bennati for the win. In the next positions followed McEwen, Rojas and Ginanni, while Kim Kirchen rolled in the same time on position 77 over the line. With one valuable team-mate up at the front for more than 150 kilometers, his day had been more of a quiet one. Andy Schleck, on the other hand, had to learn that the level is very high at this race, even as early in the season, and that the difference is huge between those who have already completed three stage races and those who were forced to train on the rollers at home due to injury. After a very bad day, Luxmburg's National champion arrived at the finish in 155th positon in the Gruppetto, together with 20 other riders and more than 8 minutes behind the winner. For sure, there will be better days coming soon.
10.06.10 1: Livorgno - Rosignano Solvay (148 km)
Clever Gerdemann sprints to stage win
Results:
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Linus Gerdemann
Linus Gerdemann
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41st at 0"
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42nd at 2"
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122th at 53"
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123rd at 1'03"
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Closer to Milano-San Remo than Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico is often used by the Top-Sprinters and other favourites to prepare for the Primavera. But this year, Cavendish, Boonen, Farrar, Petacchi, Freire and company won't have that many occasions to shine, since most of the stages present some hills near to the finish. Just like the first one, where the double climb of Rosignano Maritimo in the last 20 kilometres provided ideal opportunities for attacks. Despite the snow and the cold, Kim Kirchen and Andy Schleck will also find some ideal courses for them on this race between the two seas, helping them to improve the form for the next goals to come and, why not, have some nice results. In rainy conditions during the first stage, not all the teams were motivated to keep the peloton together and the chase behind the lone leader Dimitri Grabovsky started late, initiated by Garmin and Saxo-Bank around Andy Schleck. With 10 kilometres to go, Grabovsky was swallowed up by a peloton in which Liquigas did most of the work. Kim Kirchen was also present in the first positions and while several sprinters were dropped like Cavendish, Mc Ewen or, less expected, Oscar Freire, they were still more than hundred together on top of the last climb, including the two Luxemburgers. But in the downhill to the finish line, four riders escaped and were able to battle out the stage win with a few seconds advantage: Linus Gerdemann won surprisingly and in very clever manner ahead of the fast Pablo Lastras, Matti Breschel and Luca Paolini. Yauheni Hutarovich was strongest in the first peloton, where Kim Kirchen took 41st position in the same time than the winner. Andy Schleck, on his side, lost contact on the last downhill and he finished the stage as 122th a few seconds behind the main peloton. The Luxemburg champion felt good today but he didn't want to take any risks on the wet and slippery roads.
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du 7 au 14 mars 2010: 68th Paris-Nice
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14.06.10 7: Nice - Nice (119 km)
Contador had to fight until the end
Results:
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Amael Moinard
Alberto Contador
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24th at 59"
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16th at 3'02"
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The last stage of the race to the sun promised some suspense, with only 119 kilometres of length and narrow gaps overall, the action was thrilling from beginning to the end. There were lots of attacks in the first part of the race, including from Laurent Didier, but also Jens Voigt and Alejandro Valverde. Shortly before the col de Porte, main climb of the day, Thomas Voeckler and Amael Moinard were able to break away and they still had two minutes of advantage when the final part of the race around the picturesque city of Eze was about to begin. The col d'Eze was the last opportunity for the GC favourites to gain some time and it was Joaquim Rodriguez, 7th overall, who started the battle. Alberto Contador himself reacted, followed by Valverde, while Frank Schleck wasn't able to hold on to them. The three riders crossed the summit only 15 seconds late on Moinard and Voeckler and Valverde tried several times to get rid of Contador in the following kilometres. On the downhill to Nice, he was joined by team-mate Sanchez and around 10 other riders including Jens Voigt. In the lead, the two Frenchmen went full throttle on the descent and they were able to keep a small advantage of 3 seconds on the promenade des Anglais in Nice. Voeckler opened the sprint, but Amael Moinard was able to come around him and to take a stage win in addition to the overall victory in the mountains competition. Behind them, there were attacks in the group of the favourites until the last kilometre, but despite a third place of Alejandro Valverde in the stage, it was Alberto Contador who wrote his name into the palmares of the 68th Paris-Nice. He tops the final overall classification 11 and 25 seconds ahead of two more riders from Spain, Valverde and Sanchez. Frank Schleck didn't follow the acceleration of Contador in the col d'Eze and was in a second group with Chavanel, Leipheimer and Millar at the summit, only a few seconds down. A few kilometres later, the rider from Luxemburg crossed the finish line in 24th position, 59 seconds behind the winner of the day. In the overall classification, Frank moves up to 16th position, 3'02" behind the overall winner Alberto Contador. Of course, this wasn't the result that he had hoped for at the start in Paris since he judges his form as very good. But possibly because of the extreme cold in the first day, Frank wasn't able to deliver his power onto the pedals. But he has some reasons to be happy with his performance since he felt good on the last days and since he has done some important work in order to be fit for the upcoming goals.
13.06.10 6: Peynie - Tourettes-sur-Loup (220 km)
Tondo stayed away
Results:
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Xavier Tondo
Alberto Contador
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29th at 5"
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20th at 2'05"
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Autant elle pouvait séduire par ses paysages, autant l'étape dans l'arrière pays de la côte d'Azur a dû être éprouvant pour les coureurs, dont les organismes fatigués par une semaine de course dans le froid on dû supporter une multitude de côtes avec notamment le col de Vence, classé première catégorie, dans le final menant à la ville perchée de Tourettes-sur-Loup. L'étape n'allait cependant pas bouleverser le classement général puisque le peloton des favoris est arrivé groupé derrière le vainqueur du jour, Xavier Tondo Volpini de l'équipe Cervélo. L'Espagnol faisait partie d'une échappée d'une vingtaine de coureurs qui s'était détaché après 40 kilomètres et comprenait entre-autres Martin, Cunego, Chavanel, Montfort, Van den Broeck, Leipheimer ou encore Sörensen, le coéquipier de Frank Schleck. C'est dans le col de Vence, à une trentaine de kilomètres du but, que le groupe de tête a explosé et seul Cunego a réussi à rester un moment dans la roue de Tondo, avant de céder également face au braquet emmené par l'Espagnol. Dans le peloton, c'étaient les Caisse d'Epargne qui ont fait la plupart du boulot, espérant mettre Contador et les Astana en péril, mais malgré le train soutenu des complices de Valverde et Sanchez, une trentaine de coureurs sont restés ensemble dans Vence avec une bonne minute de retard sur Tondo, parmi eux Frank Schleck et tous les principaux favoris. Le Luxembourgeois semblait à l'aise dans la pente, il est resté près de Contador et était en mesure de répondre à toutes les accélérations dans le peloton, prenant même de temps à autre la tête du groupe pour un bref relais. L'écart avec Tondo allait évidemment en diminuant, mais le suspense restait intact: à cinq kilomètres du but, l'Espagnol avait toujours 30 secondes d'avance. Mais malgré les attaques de Voeckler, de Fofonov ou de Voigt chez les poursuivants, Xavier Tondo a tenu bon et il a franchi la ligne d'arrivée avec 5 secondes d'avance sur Valverde, plus rapide au sprint que Sagan et Sanchez. Statu quo au classement général, si ce n'est que Valverde s'est rapproché de quelques secondes suite au jeu des bonifications et compte maintenant 14 secondes de retard sur Contador, avant l'étape du col d'Eze demain. Frank Schleck, qui était tout-à-fait content de retrouver de bonnes jambes après quelques journées difficiles, s'est bien gardé de se mêler à la lutte pour la deuxième place et il a terminé l'étape en 29ème position dans le premier groupe de poursuivants, fort d'une quarantaine d'unités.
12.06.10 5: Pernes-les-Fontaines - Aix-en-Provence (157 km)
Incredible Sagan did it again !
Results:
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Peter Sagan
Alberto Contador
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25th at 2"
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20th at 2'05"
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The peloton arrived in the Provence region and finally met some acceptable weather conditions, even if the temperature was still below the 10 degree mark today on the road of Paris-Nice. Of course, this inspired many attacks at the beginning of the stage, but no one was able to get away, even if Pierrick Fedrigo opened the road during a few kilometres or Gustov, Barrredo, Calzati and Taaramae had a gap of a minute at one moment. Eventually, the race was full gas from the beginning to the end with no moment of rest and it was only normal that the peloton bursted on the last 20 kilometres. At the front, the yellow jersey was well present with Frank Schleck and Jens Voigt, while the
Peter Sagan down in 2008
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main victims of the move were called Leipheimer, Cunego and Voeckler, who had shown a very strong performance on the day before. On the narrow streets in the finale, Frank Schleck was constantly up front in the first group but he wasn't able to do anything against the attack from Peter Sagan. On a small rise with three kilometres to go, the young supertalent jumped away with incredible ease and, even if he had to dig very deep in the last kilometre, he was able to keep two seconds advantage on the next group, led by Lorenzetto and Valverde. At the end of this small group, Frank Schleck took 25th place in the stage, while young Laurent Didier wasn't far behind in a second group. Despite a very, very tough stage where a lot of riders suffered intensely, the Top 7 overall remain unchanged, but Frank Schleck moved up several positions to the 20th place, still two minutes and five seconds late on yellow jersey Contador.
11.06.10 4: Maurs - Mende (174 km)
Contador dominated Spanish stage
Results:
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Alberto Contador
Alberto Contador
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30th at 1'09"
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28th at 2'05"
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It was one of the most expected stage of this Paris-Nice between Maurs and Mende, since the finish was uphill after a 3 kilometre climb and was the similar to the one that the riders will face on stage 12 at the next Tour de France. For Saxo-Bank, it meant of course lots of work because it was up Frank Schleck and his team-mates to control the race for the new yellow jersey Jens Voigt. During the first part of the race, it was all about handling the gap between the peloton and a break consisting of Pineau, Loubet, Nieve, Moinard, Marcato, Marino and Timmer that went clear after around 10 kilometres. The were given a helping hand by the Astana boys and the advantage of the break never exceeded 5 minutes: they were caught again before the final difficulty. Astana also led the field on the climb of La Croix Neuve, indicating that their team captain wanted to make a big move today. Alberto Contador attacked with 2 kilometers to go and nobody was able to follow him, even though Voigt and Cunego tried hard. At the end, Contador won the stage 10 seconds ahead of Valverde and Samuel Sanchez, while the 4th place was taken by another Spaniard, Joaquim Rodriguez. The overall classification also looks very Spanish because Contador and Valverde are respectively first and second, followed by Kreuziger and the two Sanchez', Samuel and Luis-Leon. Jens Voigt is now down 34 seconds down in 6th position, while Frank Schleck is 28th, 2'05" down. The rider from Luxembourg certainly didn't have his best legs today and wasn't able to follow the very best. He finished the stage together with Levi Leipheimer and Janez Brajkovic around position 30, a little bit more than a minute behind Pistolero.
10.06.10 3: Saint-Junien - Aurillac (208 km)
Sagan finally wins
Results:
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Peter Sagan
Jens Voigt
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42nd at 6"
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38th at 1'06"
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First contact with the mountains with a whole bunch of climbs programmed on this third stage, among them three of second category and a nice, steep hill with only 3 kilometres to go. But after some snow fall during the night, it wasn't possible to ride the first part of the stage. Only 150 kilometres and 4 climbs remained between the new start place Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche and the finish in Aurillac.With very chilly conditions, the riders started again very fast today and despite lots of attacks, it was only at kilometre 33 that the break of the day formed around Yann Huguet, Jurgen Roelandts and Nicolas Maes. But of a maximum of 7 minutes, they retained only one little minute of advantage when it came into the last 15 kilometers and they were caught before the foot of the climb of Martinie. On this last, steep hill, Nicolas Roche performed an attack, he was followed by Alberto Contador and four more riders. The six of them (Roche, Contador, Martin, Voigt, Rodriguez and Sagan) crossed the summit in the lead and arrived at the finish with a small margin of 6 seconds on the next chasers. After having finished fifth in the prologue and failed to win the stage on the day before, Peter Sagan finally managed to take a stage win on this Paris-Nice, ahead of Rodriguez and Roche. Frank Schleck finished in 42nd position inside the first bigger peloton of around 60 riders. He didn't loose any time on the main CG contenders except 6 seconds on Contador and Martin which should be the main outcome of the day concerning his own person. On the other hand, due to his presence in the lead group, team-mate Jens Voigt was able to take the yellow leader jersey, he is now in top of the overall rankings, 6 seconds ahead of Sagan and 1'06" ahead of Frank Schleck in 38th position.
09.06.10 2: Contres - Limoges (201 km)
Hat off for Bonnet
Results:
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William Bonnet
Lars Boom
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90th at 0"
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58th at 1'07"
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While most of the contenders in the peloton needed a little rest at the beginning, after yesterday’s extremely tough ride, the four riders Mauro Finetto, Jens Mouris, Koen de Kort and Laurent Mangel animated the stage with a long break. But soon, the speed also increased again in the main pack (47 km/h average in the first two race hours) and by mid-race, the gap was well beneath the three minutes mark. Despite a last and brave attempt from Laurent Mangel, the four leaders were swallowed up with about 15 kilometres to go, a moment when Frank Schleck was very attentive at the head of the peloton to avoid any bad surprise. An attempt from Cyril Gauthier during several kilometres didn’t succeed because the sprinters were decided to have their chance today and despite a crash that disturbed the preparation in the very dangerous final with some traffic islands, the final rush to the line was on track. In the end, Frenchman William Bonnet was fastest ahead of Peter Sagan and Luis-Leon Sanchez, while Frank Schleck crossed the finish line in 90th position alongside team-mate Laurent Didier. Both riders from Luxemburg managed to come safely around the dangers of this stage and Frank is now 58th overall, still a little bit more than a minute late on leader Boom.
08.06.10 1: Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines - Contres (202 km)
Collective effort from Caisse d'Epargne
Results:
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Greg Henderson
Lars Boom
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68th at 17"
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63rd at 1'07"
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201 kilometres without a single climb, the sprinters were of course favourites for the first stage which headed towards the South between Saint-Arnould-en-Yvelines and Contres. Romain Feillu and Albert Timmer tried a long escape with a maximum advantage of 6'20", but the sprinter teams quickly opened the chase. With a strong tailwind, the speed was temendous troughout the stage (nearly 100 kilometres covered in the first two hours) and the peloton splitted into several parts during the crazy poursuit. Despite some crashes and riders in difficulty, there was a general regroupement with about 40 kilometres to go, but the stage was far from over yet. An attack by Philippe Gilbert and Tom Veelers, followed by a collective move from Caisse d'Epargne opened the battle again. The riders of the team from defending champion Luis Leon Sanchez were at the number of four (Sanchez, Garcia Acosta, Gutierrez and Valverde) in a leading group of 17 where some other serious rouleurs like Voigt, Martin, Boom, Millar or Ivanov smelled their chance for a stage win. This group finally arrived in Contres with 17 seconds advantage on a first peloton of around 100 riders, in which Contador, Leipheimer and Frank Schleck are the losers of the day. The rider from Luxemburg won't be too unhappy though since most of the climbers lost some time and the presence of Jens Voigt in the first group is a good thing for his team. The German rider is well placed overall and Saxo Bank certainly wasn't unpleased with the way things went. The winner of the day is called Greg Hendersen, the rider from New Zealand who sprinted faster than Grega Bole and Jeremy Galland on the line. After a very hard stage with a surprising outcome, Frank Schleck crossed the finish line in 68th position in the peloton and is now 1'07" late in the overall classification, where Lars Boom retained the yellow jersey with perfect tactical skills.
07.06.10 P: Montfort-l'Amaury (8 km ITT)
Boom's winter program pays off
Results:
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Lars Boom
Lars Boom
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85th at 48"
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85th at 48"
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As usual, Paris-Nice has opened with a prologue near Paris, namely in Montfort-l'Amaury. One after another, the riders headed out into the Yvelines countryside on a nice course with long straight lines, a few turns and two small climbs. After his second place overall from last year, Frank Schleck of course has some ambitions in this race. But he will have to gain some seconds in the next days to be able to dream of the podium, because after a bad prologue, Frank has already lost 48 seconds on the winner of the day and barely less on Contador, Leipheimer and Sanchez, the other overall favourites. After only one and a half kilometre, the Luxemburger was already 12 seconds late and the gap increased more and more towards the end. With a very big gear, Schleck finished his prologue in 11'44" for 8 difficult kilometres, meaning an averages speed of 41 km/h and 85th position in the rankings. The winner of the day is called Lars Boom. The former cyclo-cross and U23 time-trial world champion didn't participate in many events this winter because he wanted to prepare specially for the road season and this paid off: at 44 km/h average speed, Boom finished his loop in 10'56", leaving the powerfull Jens Voigt 3 seconds behind him as well as Contador and Leipheimer at 6 seconds. The cyclo-cross riders did especially well today since young and very talented Peter Sagan, another medal winner from Treviso 2008, finished the opening time-trial in fifth place.
06.03.2010 Gaiole in Chianti - Siena (190 km)
Iglinskyi faster than defending champion
Results:
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Maxim Iglinskyi
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59th at 6'48"
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DNF
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In only 3 years, the "race of the white gravel roads" has become a real classic in the spring calendar, providing the fans with spectacular pictures: riders coming out of big dusk clouds and riding on roads of another age through the beautifull countryside of Tuscany. Kim Kirchen and Andy Schleck have participated for the second time in this weird race, where Andy left a very good impression last year. He was in the group of the strong riders at the end and finished in a good eigth position. This year however, the situation was not the same and, with less race kilometres in his legs, the young Schleck knew that he wasn't meant to play a key role in this race. Just like in Friuli, he worked for the team during most of the race and climbed off his machine before the end, after having done his job. Saxo Bank played a deciding role in the race and a few times, they accelerated at the head of the peloton and created a selection. With Breschel and Cancellara, they had two of the favourites in the group of around 30 riders that broke away with 40 kilometres to go. But it was defending champion Thomas Lövqvist who created the decision with an attack in the final kilometres, taking with him Rogers, Iglinskiy, Pozzato and Hesjedal. It looked like the rider from Sweden was able to win again, but on the last few hundred metres, Maxim Iglinskyi rushed past him and, taking some risks in the narrow turns inside the city of Siena, he was first across the line, ahead of Lövqvist and Rogers. Kim Kirchen had a good race today and in the strategic sector of Monte Santa Maria, after 150 kilometres, he was able to hold on to the group of the 30 strongest riders, together with his team-mate Pozzato. It was only later that he lost contact with the good group and he finished the race at the back of the main peloton in 59th position, nearly 7 minutes behind the winner.
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March 3, 2010: 32nd Giro del Friuli
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03.03.2010 Brugnera - Sacile (190 km)
Fast Ferrari
Results:
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Roberto Ferrari
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DNF
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After a little month of forced rest due to an aching knee, here's Andy Schleck finally starting his road season at the Giro del Friuli in Norhtern Italy. And it wasn't an easy day on a tough course with six ascents of the Castello di Caneva climb and some boys in tremendous early-season form. Like Roberto Ferrari, who won in Lugano a few days ago and took another victory today in a sprint ahead of Guarnieri, Rossi, Modolo, Pozzato and about 50 other riders. Despite a selective course on the final local circuit, despite an animated race, it all ended in a bunch sprint. 24 riders were leading the race half-way, among them people like Ignatiev, Baliani, Ratti, Bertogliati or young Frenchman Arnold Jeannsson, but the teams of Saxo-Bank (for Matti Breschel) and Katusha (for Philippo Pozzato) raised the speed in the peloton and worked for a regroupement, which happened about 10 kilometres from the finish. Andy Schleck also lend a helping hand at the head of the chasing group, but after having done his share of the job in the peloton, Luxemburg's National champion stopped the race with about 30 kilometres to go, preferring not to do too much for an opening race with an injured knee.
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