Official Cycling Thread

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by goheels10, Jan 2, 2012.

  1. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    So I realize that the majority of ya'll don't give a shit but I'm a huge pro cycling fan. Just curious to see if there are any fellow enthusiasts here on TMB.

    I'll try to keep this thread updated with news and links to races and results throughout the season if folks are interested. If no one is interested, I'll just let the thread fizz out.

    With that said, the 2012 season season starts in two weeks at the Tour Down Under. A lot of transfers happened this offseason with a number of big names switching teams and a few big teams dissolving.
     
    cyclist likes this.
  2. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
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    I don't really follow until right before the TdF. I follow a lot of cyclists on twitter, though, so I do get some snippets here and there. What's happening to HTC-Highroad?
     
  3. clemsontyger04

    clemsontyger04 Two offensive coordinators are better than one
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  4. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Transfers that occurred during the offseason:

    Big changes in bold

     
  5. broXcore

    broXcore cat
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  6. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    HTC High Road, the winningest team in Pro cycling over the past 5 years, couldn't find funding and it dissolved. Really fucking sad.

    * Mark Cavendish and Bernie Eisel (his leadout man) went to Team Sky (British team).
    * Mark Renshaw, Cav's #1 leadout man, went to Rabobank
    * Tony Martin, who recently won the World Time Trial championships by skunking Cancellara, went to Omega Pharma-Quickstep.
    * Matt Goss, who won the Milan-San Remo last year, went to team Greenedge (the new Australian team)
     
  7. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    World Tour team updates:

    * Team HTC Highroad dissolved. Riders from this team went in a bunch of different directions. Some went to Sky following Mark Cavendish but most decided to go their own way.

    * Team Radioshack dissolved and merged with Team Leopard-Trek (the team of the Schleck brothers and Cancellara). The team is now named Radioshack-Nissan

    * Omega Pharma-Lotto split in two, half creating a new team Lotto-Belisol and another joining forces with team QuickStep (team is now named team Omega-Pharma Quickstep)

    * Greenedge is the newest team in the World Tour ranks. They're based in Australia and tried really hard to have a completely Australian roster. They plucked riders from just about every team in the pro peloton. Their biggest signing was Matt Goss from HTC.
     
  8. Wicket

    Wicket Fan: ND, PSV, Pool FC, Cricket, Urquel, Dog Crew
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    rabobank had a dissapointing free agency for me
     
  9. cyclist

    cyclist King of the Mountains
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    [​IMG]

    It really ticks me off that the Tour of Missouri is gone. :angry:
     
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  10. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
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    BMC and Leopard Trek are going to be sick.
     
  11. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    New kits for 2012:

    Team Saxo Bank
    [​IMG]

    Greenedge - not sure if this is the official kit yet. May be changed before the big races...
    [​IMG]

    Katusha
    [​IMG]

    Lotto-Belisol
    [​IMG]

    Vacansoleil
    [​IMG]

    Omega-Pharma Quickstep
    [​IMG]

    Radioshack-Nissan - first look. More coming soon....

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    Team Garmin-Barracuda (formerly Garmin-Cervelo)
    [​IMG]

    Largely unchanged:

    Team Sky
    BMC
    Euskatel-Euskadi
    Rabobank
    Astana
    FDJ - Bigmat: just a tiny change by adding Big Mat as a sponsor on the front of the jersey.
    Movistar
    Ag2R
    Liquigas
    Lampre

    Edited on Jan 4th to move Liquigas to the Largely unchanged category.
     
  12. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Renshaw is a huge pickup and a healthy Matti Breschel should cheer you up. He's gonna win a classic this year. They had to let Freire's old ass go and Weening was offered too much money by Greenedge that they couldn't counter-offer.
     
  13. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
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    I like that Quickstep Kit. Tom Boonen is going to look like a UNC power forward in it.
     
  14. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    BMC is definitely the team to beat on paper this year with Hushovd, Gilbert and Ballan for the classics and Evans going for the tour again. Remember though that Garmin was in the same position last year being a super team and it really f-ed up their team chemistry. A lot of egos on that BMC team.

    As for Radioshack-Trek (Leopard), we'll see what Brunyeel can do. The Schlecks still can't time trial to save their life and this years Tour has a shit-ton more of time trialing than last years and not nearly as much climbing.

    I think the teams to watch out for this year are Garmin and Rabobank. I expect big seasons from both.
     
  15. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
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    Yeah, I can see how egos would be a problem, but I think they're better than Garmin was last year. I think a lot of the Garmin guys are overrated (namely, Farrar). Hushovd is a beast. Also, I think Hincapie has more experience with egos than any other professional cyclist; he'll keep them in check.

    I didn't know that the Tour has more time-trialing. I can see definitely how that would hurt Radioshack-Trek.

    As for Rabobank, I think you're right. I'm a big fan of Renshaw. I don't think he's gotten the credit he's due.
     
  16. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    You're right, Farrar is so fucking overrated. He only gets the attention because he's the only american who has a shot in the sprints... Garmin is gonna be a sneaky team this year because they went back to their roots of sticking with smaller name guys. Haussler could have a big year. He was recovering from injuries all last season and was out of shape.

    last years tour had a 23 km team time trial and a 42.5 km individual time trial (ITT). the 2012 tour has a 38 km ITT and a 52 km ITT. Its tailor made for Cadel Evans to win it again. Contador could be a big favorite too but there isn't as much climbing so he's going to have to blow the shit out of Evans on a few of the hills. should be exciting.

    the London olympics are going to make the 2012 season super-interesting. A lot of guys may be saving form and going for the gold.
     
  17. Wicket

    Wicket Fan: ND, PSV, Pool FC, Cricket, Urquel, Dog Crew
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    beshel is nice, renshaw isnt that big of a pickup if bos becomes what he should be able to do. the guy im really bummed to lose is langeveld
     
  18. gopack2104

    gopack2104 Well-Known Member
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  19. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Provisional start list for the Tour Down Under which runs from Jan 15th through the 22nd. The race is historically one for the sprinters but this year has a little twist with stage 5 finishing on top of Willunga Hill. While it won't shatter the peloton, it will create enough gaps between riders to win the race. Look for a sprinter who can climb (i.e. Heinrich Haussler or Cameron Meyer - last years winner) or an overall rider (i.e. Simon Gerrans or Edvald Boassen Hagen) to be in contention.

    While the event is largely a tune-up race, being the first World Tour race of the season, everybody will be gunning for a win here. The winner of this race gets the same amount of UCI points as the winner of Paris-Roubaix (absolutely ridiculous). Those points are essential for teams applying for the top level licenses next year and are important to the riders too b/c it gives them leverage for future contracts.

    Ag2r La Mondiale (France)
    Martin Elmiger (Swi)
    Manuel Belletti (Ita)
    Kristof Goddaert (Bel)
    Blel Kadri (Fra)
    Romain Lemarchand (Fra)
    Matteo Montaguti (Ita)
    Boris Shpilevskiy (Rus)

    Astana (Kazakhstan)
    Dmitri Muravyev (Kaz)
    Borut Bozic (Slo)
    Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita)
    Francesco Masciarelli (Ita)
    Assan Bazayev (Kaz)
    Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz)
    Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz)

    BMC Racing Team (USA)
    Alessandro Ballan (Ita)
    Mathias Frank (Swi)
    Adam Blythe (GBr)
    Marcus Burghardt (Ger)
    Martin Kohler (Sui)
    Manuel Quinziato (Ita)
    Greg Van Avermaet (Bel)

    Euskaltel-Euskadi (Spain)
    Romain Sicard (Fra)
    Gorka Izagirre (Spa)
    Victor Cabedo (Spa)
    Pablo Urtasun (Spa)
    Ruben Perez (Spa)
    Adrian Saez de Arregui (Spa)
    Riccardo Garcia (Spa)

    FDJ-Big Mat (France)
    Sandy Casar (Fra)
    William Bonnet (Fra)
    Arnaud Courteille (Fra)
    Frederic Guesdon (Fra)
    Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr)
    Jeremy Roy (Fra)
    Jussi Veikkanen (Fin)

    Garmin-Cervelo (USA)
    Ruder Hesjedal (Can)
    Jack Bauer (NZl)
    Robbie Hunter (RSA)
    Natahn Haas (Aus)
    Heinrich Haussler (Aus)
    Andreas Klier (Ger)
    Martijn Maaskant (Ned)

    GreenEdge (Australia)
    Cameron Meyer (Aus)
    Robbie McEwen (Aus)
    Jack Bobridge (Aus)
    Simon Gerrans (Aus)
    Matt Goss (Aus)
    Stuart O'Grady (Aus)
    Leigh Howard (Aus)

    Katusha (Russia)
    Oscar Freire (Spa)
    Maxim Belkov (Rus)
    Giampaolo Caruso (Ita)
    Luca Paolini (Ita)
    Xavier Florencio (Spa)
    Eduard Vorganov (Rus)
    Gatis Smukulis (Lat)

    Lampre-ISD (Italy)
    Alessandro Petacchi (Ita)
    Grega Bole (Slo)
    Davide Cimolai (Ita)
    Massimo Graziato (Ita)
    Danilo Hondo (Ger)
    Matthew Lloyd (Aus)
    Davide Vigano (Ita)

    Liquigas-Cannondale (Italy)
    Stefano Agostini (Ita)
    Daniele Ratto (Ita)
    Federico Canuti (Ita)
    Kristijan Koren (Slo)
    Alan Marangoni (Ita)
    Mauro Da Dalto (Ita)
    Fabio Sabatini (Ita)

    Lotto-Belisol (Belgium)
    Andre Greipel (Ger)
    Vicente Reynes (Spa)
    Marcel Sieberg (Ger)
    Adam Hansen (Aus)
    Greg Henderson (NZl)
    Jurgen Roelandts (Bel)
    Olivier Kaisen (Bel)

    Movistar (Spain)
    Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa)
    Imanol Erviti (Spa)
    Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Spa)
    David Lopez (Spa)
    Angel Madrazo (Spa)
    Javier Moreno (Spa)
    Alejandro Valverde (Spa)

    Omega Pharma-QuickStep (Belgium)
    Gerald Ciolek (Ger)
    Matthew Brammeier (Irl)
    Serge Pauwels (Bel)
    Andrew Fenn (GBr)
    Gert Steegmans (Bel)
    Matteo Trentin (Ita)
    Julien Vermote (Bel)

    Rabobank (Netherlands)
    Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa)
    Michael Matthews (Aus)
    Tom Leezer (Ned)
    Mark Renshaw (Aus)
    Jos Van Emden (NEd)
    Graeme Brown (Aus)
    Wilco Kelderman (Ned)

    RadioShack-Nissan (USA)
    Daniele Bennati (Ita)
    Linus Gerdemann (Ger)
    Jan Bakelants (Bel)
    Tiago Machado (Por)
    Hayden Roulston (NZl)
    Jesse Sergent (NZl)
    Jens Voigt (Ger)

    Saxo Bank (Denmark)
    Sergio Paulinho (Por)
    Anders Lund (Den)
    Luke Roberts (Aus)
    Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol)
    Jonas Jorgensen (Den)
    Jonathan Cantwell (Aus)
    Takashi Miyazawa (Jpn)

    Team Sky (Great Britain)
    Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor)
    Geraint Thomas (GBr)
    Chris Sutton (Aus)
    Alex Dowsett (GBr)
    Michael Rogers (Aus)
    Danny Pate (USA)
    Mathew Hayman (Aus)

    Uni SA-Australia (Australia)
    Steele Van Hoff (Aus)
    Jay McCarthy (Aus)
    Rohan Dennis (Aus)
    Lachlan Norris (Aus)
    Tom Palmer (Aus)
    Plus two further riders to be confirmed

    Vacansoleil-DCM (Netherlands)
    Romain Feillu (Fra)
    Thomas De Gendt (Bel)
    Sergey Lagutin (Uzb)
    Marcello Pavarin (Ita)
    Kenny Van Hummel (Ned)
    Mirko Selvaggi (Ita)
    Wouter Mol (Ned)
     
  20. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Radioshack-Nissan is having their team presentation today. The first look at their new team kit is out and linked above.
     
  21. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
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    Radioshack kit looks kind of retro. I'm not sure how much I like it.
     
  22. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    yea, its pretty weird. Now it looks like everyone on the team is the Luxembourg national champion. I'll be interested to see Matt Busche's US champion jersey... I have a feeling they butchered it.

    edit.. here's the 2012 US National Champion's jersey. I can't wait to see Busche on a different team....
    [​IMG]
     
  23. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Simon Gerrans of team Greenedge won the Australian National Road Race championships today. Thats no small feat as the race is stacked full of good pros. He showed really good form heading into next weeks Tour Down Under.

    Look for the sprinter-heavy Greenedge team to contest every stage of the TDU being that they're an Australian team and this is the only major race on their home turf all year long (not to mention its the first major race of the 2012 season).

    [​IMG]
     
  24. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Team Garmin-Cervelo announced that they've picked up a new team sponsor and will be named Garmin-Barracuda this year. Here is their kit.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  25. clemsonvianj

    clemsonvianj Well-Known Member
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  26. gopack2104

    gopack2104 Well-Known Member
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    I like that kit. I'm a big fan of the argyle.
     
    wes tegg likes this.
  27. Jean-Ralphio

    Jean-Ralphio A real toe-tapper
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    Saxo Bank smug [​IMG]
     
  28. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    me too :respek:

    i like simplicity with a hint of style and Garmin's kit does it best.
     
  29. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Team bikes for 2012...

    BMC - BMC impec
    [​IMG]
    Team Sky - Pinarello Dogma
    [​IMG]
    Radioshack-Nissan - Trek Madone
    [​IMG]
    Rabobank - Giant TCR Advanced SL
    [​IMG]
    Liquigas-Cannondale - Cannondale SuperSix Evo
    [​IMG]
    Greenedge - Scott Foil
    [​IMG]
    Vacansoleil - Bianchi Oltre
    [​IMG]
    FDJ-BigMat - Lapierre Xelius
    [​IMG]
    Katusha - Canyon Ultimate CF SLX
    [​IMG]
    AG2R-la-Mondaile - Kuota KOM
    [​IMG]
    Euskaltel-Euskadi - Orbea Orca GDi2
    [​IMG]
    Lotto-Belisol - Ridley Noah FAST
    [​IMG]
     
  30. samarrand

    samarrand Miami Heats repeat under way
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    use a proper pct...
     
  31. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    just a few more days of this boring shit before the racing gets underway...

    Greenedge's official kit

    [​IMG]
     
  32. Jean-Ralphio

    Jean-Ralphio A real toe-tapper
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    The new Saxo Bank kit is awesome.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  33. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    The Down Under Classic, the so called "prologue" for the Tour Down Under, finished up really early this morning (East Coast time). While the race technically isn't part of the TDU, the winner does get to start the race wearing the leaders jersey. Also, it gives us spectators a clear idea of who's in tip-top sprinting form.

    Watch the results here or click the spoiler button to see a list of the top 10.



    1 Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol 1:03:16
    2 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky
    3 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda
    4 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Movistar
    5 Steel Von Hoff (Aus) UniSA-Australia
    6 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) SaxoBank
    7 Chris Sutton (Aus) Sky
    8 Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Spa) Movistar
    9 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto-Belisol
    10 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-ISD

    [​IMG]
     
  34. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Stage 1 Complete​

    I'll try to find a better video but here's the final km.​

    Results:​

    [​IMG]

    Greipel makes it two in a row. That nasty crash with 900 m remaining took out some big names and led to some serious injuries (multiple broken collarbones, Frederic Guesdon fractured his hip and Jurgen Roelandts fractured his 6th vertebrae).​

    Stage Results

    1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol 4:33:40​
    2. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD​
    3. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ - BigMat​
    4. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale​
    5. Daniele Bennati (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan​
    6. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling​
    7. Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank​
    8. Xavier Florencio Cabrè (Spa) Katusha​
    9. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank​
    10. Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale​

    Overall

    1. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol 4:33:30
    2. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD -0:00:04
    3. Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC
    4. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ - BigMat -0:00:06
    5. Rohan Dennis (Aus) UNI SA - Australia -0:00:07
    6. Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha -0:00:08
    7. Marcello Pavarin (Ita) Vacansoleil -DCM -0:00:09
    8. Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale -0:00:10
    9. Daniele Bennati (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan
    10. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling
     
  35. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Stage 2 Complete


    Results:
    Will Clarke rode like a mad man today soloing away at the 1 km mark and going the distance during todays 148 km stage. Its a huge win for him, his first World Tour win, and for the UNISA team. Martin Kohler takes over the general classification lead after winning a few intermediate sprints in stage 1 and then winning two more today. Those sprints give riders bonus seconds which he used to pull the jersey from the shoulders of Griepel.

    Stage Results:
    [​IMG]



    1 William Clarke (Aus) UNI SA - Australia 3:58:35
    2 Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank 0:01:02
    3 Simon Gerrans (Aus) GreenEDGE
    4 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar
    5 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
    6 Oscar Freire (Spa) Katusha
    7 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC
    8 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
    9 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
    10 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda

    General Classification after Stage 2:
    [​IMG]


    1 Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC 8:33:05
    2 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol 0:00:02
    3 Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank 0:00:04
    4 Simon Gerrans (Aus) GreenEDGE 0:00:08
    5 Rohan Dennis (Aus) UNI SA - Australia 0:00:09
    6 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha 0:00:10
    7 Xavier Florencio Cabrè (Spa) Katusha 0:00:12
    8 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
    9 Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan
    10 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
     
  36. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Stage 3 Complete:


    Greipel wins again for the 3rd time in 4 days to re-take the overall lead.

    [​IMG]

    Results:


    1 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol 3:21:55
    2 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ - BigMat
    3 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
    4 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank
    5 Robbie Mcewen (Aus) GreenEDGE
    6 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana
    7 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda
    8 Daniele Bennati (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan
    9 Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale


    Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling

    Overall:



    1 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol 11:54:52
    2 Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC 0:00:08
    3 Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank 0:00:12
    4 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil -DCM 0:00:14
    5 Simon Gerrans (Aus) GreenEDGE 0:00:16
    6 Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan
    7 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
    8 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha (Rus) Katusha
    9 Rohan Dennis (Aus) UNI SA - Australia 0:00:17
    10 Xavier Florencio Cabrè (Spa) Katusha 0:00:20
     
  37. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Stage 4 complete:



    Oscar Freire pulls out an impressive win on the uphill sprint to win Stage 4. Greipel blew up with about 10k to go and finished 7 minutes down on the day. Tonight/tomorrow morning is the Queen stage of the race that will decide the overall. Kohler, Gerrans and Boasson Hagen are in perfect position to win this thing. It should come down to one of those three, unless theres a major surprise coming. Watch out for how well Freire or Michael Matthews (Rabobank) climb though as they could snag the overall if they can hold the climbers wheels. Also, watch out for Alejandro Valverde of Movistar and a few of the other big climbers in the race like Ryder Hejesdal.

    [​IMG]

    Stage results:
    1 FREIRE, Oscar Katusha 3:08:34
    2 CIOLEK, Gerald Omega Pharma-QuickStep st
    3 BENNATI, Daniele RadioShack-Nissan st
    4 BOASSON HAGEN, Edvald* Sky Procycling st
    5 MATTHEWS, Michael* Rabobank st
    6 ROJAS, Jose Joaquin Movistar st
    7 ROBERTS, Luke Team Saxo Bank st
    8 KOREN, Kristijan Liquigas – Cannondale st
    9 LAGUTIN, Sergey Vacansoleil -DCM st
    10 HAUSSLER, Heinrich Garmin-Barracuda st

    General Classification:
    1 KOHLER, Martin BMC 15:03:34
    2 MATTHEWS, Michael* Rabobank at 0:02
    3 FREIRE, Oscar Katusha st
    4 CIOLEK, Gerald Omega Pharma-QuickStep at 0:06
    5 GERRANS, Simon GreenEDGE at 0:08
    6 BENNATI, Daniele RadioShack-Nissan st
    7 BOASSON HAGEN, Edvald* Sky Procycling st
    8 BAKELANTS, Jan RadioShack-Nissan st
    9 VORGANOV, Eduard Katusha st
    10 DENNIS, Rohan* UNI SA – Australia at 0:09
     
  38. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Stage 5 Complete:



    [​IMG]
    Stage results:
    1 VALVERDE, Alejandro Movistar 3:45:48
    2 GERRANS, Simon GreenEDGE st
    3 MACHADO, Tiago RadioShack-Nissan at 0:02
    4 ROGERS, Michael Sky Procycling at 0:04
    5 DENNIS, Rohan* UNI SA – Australia at 0:07
    6 BOASSON HAGEN, Edvald* Sky Procycling at 0:12
    7 MORENO, Javier Movistar at 0:13
    8 BAKELANTS, Jan RadioShack-Nissan st
    9 BAUER, Jack Garmin-Barracuda at 0:26
    10 VORGANOV, Eduard Katusha st

    [​IMG]
    General Classification:
    1 GERRANS, Simon GreenEDGE 18:49:24
    2 VALVERDE, Alejandro Movistar st
    3 MACHADO, Tiago RadioShack-Nissan at 0:08
    4 ROGERS, Michael Sky Procycling at 0:14
    5 DENNIS, Rohan* UNI SA – Australia st
    6 BOASSON HAGEN, Edvald* Sky Procycling at 0:18
    7 BAKELANTS, Jan RadioShack-Nissan at 0:19
    8 MORENO, Javier Movistar at 0:23
    9 MATTHEWS, Michael* Rabobank at 0:29
    10 VORGANOV, Eduard Katusha at 0:32
     
  39. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Stage 6 (Final Stage) Complete



    Stage results:
    Greipel wins again for the 3rd time in 6 stages. Simon Gerrans of Greenedge wins the overall notching a big victory for the rookie team. Gerrans gets a shit-ton of UCI points too and will likely be the #1 ranked rider in the world from now until the spring classics.

    [​IMG]
    1 GREIPEL, André Lotto-Belisol 1:56:48
    2 RENSHAW, Mark Rabobank st
    3 PETACCHI, Alessandro Lampre – ISD st
    4 HUTAROVICH, Yauheni FDJ – BigMat st
    5 ROJAS, Jose Joaquin Movistar st
    6 BOASSON HAGEN, Edvald* Sky Procycling st
    7 FEILLU, Romain Vacansoleil -DCM st
    8 CANTWELL, Jonathan Team Saxo Bank st
    9 SABATINI, Fabio Liquigas – Cannondale st
    10 BELLETTI, Manuel AG2R La Mondiale st

    [​IMG]

    Final General Classification:
    1 GERRANS, Simon GreenEDGE 20:46:12
    2 VALVERDE, Alejandro Movistar st
    3 MACHADO, Tiago RadioShack-Nissan at 0:08
    4 ROGERS, Michael Sky Procycling at 0:14
    5 DENNIS, Rohan* UNI SA – Australia st
    6 BAKELANTS, Jan RadioShack-Nissan at 0:16
    7 BOASSON HAGEN, Edvald* Sky Procycling at 0:18
    8 MORENO, Javier Movistar at 0:23
    9 MATTHEWS, Michael* Rabobank at 0:29
    10 VORGANOV, Eduard Katusha at 0:32
     
  40. Iron Mickey

    Iron Mickey a guy who posted here like five years ago hates me
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    When you assholes say "share the road" you mean "give me the fucking road" right? At least admit it. I see so many crushed-nut cyclists being all, "Hey bro share the road" but then they run red lights, weave through traffic, and pull all sorts of trifling illegal stunts that are both dangerous and not-at-all in the spirit of sharing.
     
    Red Rover likes this.
  41. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    "share the road" just means acknowledge I'm there. It doesn't mean "don't pass" or "give me the road" or anything like that. Most cyclists are very conscious about obeying traffic laws and not being a nuisance because we realize that we're dead if we fuck up. Just like any other sport though, you'll come across amateurs who feel entitled on their $5000 bikes and let you know so. Ignore them and go about your day.

    Any cyclist who runs a red light is an idiot. I do weave through traffic if I'm stuck in an awkward position in the middle of a line of cars and work myself to a crosswalk or to the sidewalk.
     
  42. Iron Mickey

    Iron Mickey a guy who posted here like five years ago hates me
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    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQttDhgptQk
     
  43. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Alright, so I slacked on a few smaller races that went down last week.

    The first was the Tour de San Luis in Argentina. While the race usually attracts big names, they typically only use it for gearing up for some of the bigger races in Europe that start in a few weeks. This year's race included some big names like Contador, Nibali and Levi Leipheimer.

    Team Omega-Pharma Quick-Step dominated the race winning 4 of the 7 stages (Chicchi won stage 1 & 2, Levi won stage 4 and Tom Boonen won the last stage) and Levi taking the overall with a dominating Individual Time Trial performance all while sticking with Contador on the big climbs. Contador won two of the 7 stages with uphill finishes and the last stage was won by Elia Viviani, a talented sprinter on Team Liquigas.

    The other small race this past weekend was the Grand Prix d’Ouverture – La Marseillaise, a 1 day race. While its held in the south of France, it usually gets cold and wet. The race was won by Samuel Dumolin of Cofidis.

    The next big world tour race is the Tour of Qatar which starts on Sunday. Its usually brutally hot and, like the Tour Down Under, won by a sprinter.

    T-minus 25 days until the pre-classics start with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on February 25th!! My favorite time of year.
     
  44. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Tour of Qatar info: Another race for the sprinters. This one even more so than the Tour Down Under. Every stage of this race is flat and hot and the stages almost always end in bunch sprints. Every so often cross winds split the peloton and a breakaway will stay away and win the day (that's how Wouter Mol won the overall in 2010).

    Past winners:
    2011 - Mark Renshaw - HTC-Highroad
    2010 - Wouter Mol - Vacansoleil
    2009 - Tom Boonen - Quick Step
    2008 - Tom Boonen - Quick Step
    2007 - Wilfried Cretskens - Quick Step
    2006 - Tom Boonen - Quick Step
    2005 - Lars Michaelsen - Team CSC
    2004 - Robert Hunter - Rabobank
    2003 - Alberto Loddo - Lampre
    2002 - Thorsten Wilhelms - Team Coast

    Schedule:
    Sunday, Feb. 5th - 143 km
    Monday, Feb. 6th - 11.3 km - Team Time Trial (TTT)
    Tuesday, Feb. 7th - 147 km
    Wed., Feb. 8th - 144 km
    Thurs, Feb. 9th - 160 km
    Friday, Feb. 10th - 120 km

    Its pretty boring to watch but there's usually high-quality live-streaming for each stage so I'll be sure to post a link for each stage.

    Startlist (* = substitute)
    BMC RACING TEAM (BMC) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : LELANGUE John
    WYSS Danilo
    SCHÄR Michael
    PHINNEY Taylor
    LODEWIJCK Klaas
    KOHLER Martin
    HUSHOVD Thor
    GILBERT Philippe
    BLYTHE Adam
    * SANTAMBROGIO Mauro
    * MOINARD Amaël
    * CUMMINGS Stephen
    * BOOKWALTER Brent

    BRIDGESTONE ANCHOR (BGT) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : KUBO Nobuhito
    YOSHIDA Hayato
    SYS Klaas
    SONNERY Blaise
    SHIMIZU Miyataka
    NISHIZONO Ryota
    LEMAIR Alexandre
    LEBAS Thomas
    ITAMI Kenji
    * INOUE Kazuo

    CHAMPION SYSTEM (CSS) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : BEAMON Edward
    PENGA Jiao
    OJAVEE Mart
    KEMPS Aaron
    GARDEYN Gorik
    GANG Xu
    FRIEDEMANN Matthias
    CLARKE William
    AVERY Clinton
    * JIANG Kun

    FARNESE VINI-SELLE ITALIA (FAR) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : PARSANI Serge
    POZZATO Filippo
    HULSMANS Kevin
    GUARDINI Andrea
    DE NEGRI Pier Paolo
    CACCIA Diego
    BERTOLINI Thomas
    BENENATI Cristiano
    ASCANI Luca
    * DE PATRE Roberto
    * BALLONI Alfredo
    * ANDRIATO Rafael

    FDJ-BIGMAT (FDJ) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : GAYANT Martial
    SOUPE GEOFFREY
    ROLLIN Dominique
    RASCH Gabriel
    OFFREDO Yoann
    LADAGNOUS Matthieu
    DEMARE Arnaud
    DELAGE Mickaël
    BOUCHER David
    * HUTAROVICH Yauheni
    * GUESDON Frédéric
    * BOUHANNI Nacer
    * BONNET William

    GARMIN - BARRACUDA (GRM) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : WELTZ Johnny
    VAN SUMMEREN Johan
    RATHE Jacob
    NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas
    HUNTER Robert
    HOWES Alex
    FISCHER Murilo Antoniobil
    FARRAR Tyler
    DEKKER Thomas
    BAUER Jack
    * VANMARCKE Sep
    * MILLAR David
    * KREDER Raymond

    GREENEDGE CYCLING TEAM (GEC) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : LAPAGE Laurenzo
    TUFT Svein
    MOURIS Jens
    MC EWEN Robbie
    LANGEVELD Sebastian
    KRUOPIS Aidis
    DOCKER Mitchell
    COOKE Baden
    BEPPU Fumiyuki
    * O’GRADY Stuart
    * LANCASTER Brett Daniel
    * GOSS Matthew Harley
    * CLARKE Simon

    KATUSHA TEAM (KAT) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : PIVA Valerio
    TSATEVICH Alexei
    SMUKULIS Gatis
    SELIG Rüdiger
    KUCHYNSKI Aliaksandr
    ISAICHEV Vladimir
    IGNATYEV Mikhail
    HALLER Marco
    GALIMZYANOV Denis
    * VANTOMME Maxime
    * PORSEV Alexander
    * KRISTOFF Alexander
    * GUSEV Vladimir

    LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE (LIQ) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : MARIUZZO Dario
    VANOTTI Alessandro
    SAGAN Peter
    SABATINI Fabio
    OSS Daniel
    MARANGONI Alan
    LONGO BORGHINI Paolo
    DA DALTO Mauro
    BODNAR Maciej
    * PATERSKI Maciej
    * NIBALI Vincenzo
    * NERZ Dominik
    * KOREN Kristjan

    LOTTO-BELISOL TEAM (LTB) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : HEYNDERRICKX Jean-Pierre
    SOHRABI Mehdi
    SIEBERG Marcel
    ROELANDTS Jurgen
    HENDERSON Gregory
    HANSEN Adam
    GREIPEL André
    DEBUSSCHERE Jens
    BAK Lars
    * WILLEMS Frederik
    * VAN GENECHTEN Jonas

    OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP (OPQ) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : PEETERS Wilfried
    VANDENBERGH Stijn
    VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
    STEEGMANS Gert
    RABON Frantisek
    MAES Nikolas
    CHICCHI Francesco
    BRAMMEIER Matt
    BOONEN Tom
    * PINEAU Jérôme
    * GRABSCH Bert

    PROJECT 1T4I (PRO) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : KEMNA Rudi
    VEELERS Tom
    TIMMER Albert
    SINKELDAM Ramon
    KLUGE Roger
    KLEMME Dominic
    DEGENKOLB John
    DE KORT Koen
    CURVERS Roy
    * VAN ZANDBEEK Ronan
    * LUDVIGSSON Tobias
    * BONNIN Thomas

    RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM (RAB) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : DEKKER Erik
    WYNANTS Maarten
    VERMELTFOORT Coen
    VAN WINDEN Dennis
    VAN EMDEN Jos
    TJALLINGII Maarten
    RENSHAW Mark
    LEEZER Thomas
    BROWN Graeme
    * TANKINK Bram
    * FLENS Rick
    * BRESCHEL Matti
    * BOL Jetse

    RADIOSHACK-NISSAN (RNT) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : DEMOL Dirk
    WAGNER Robert
    ROULSTON Hayden
    RAST Gregory
    POSTHUMA Joost
    POPOVYCH Yaroslav
    NIZZOLO Giacomo
    GALLOPIN Tony
    CANCELLARA Fabian
    * IRIZAR Markel
    * DIDIER Laurent

    RTS RACING TEAM (RTS) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : LIN Wen Chin
    RODGERS Lee
    MCCANN David
    KUDENTSOV Serguei
    HUANG Wang Chung
    HUANG Chin-Lung
    CRAWFORD Jai
    COUTTS Alex
    CHANG Wei Kei

    SKY PROCYCLING (SKY) [​IMG] - Sporting Manager : DE JONGH Steven
    STANNARD Ian
    KNEES Christian
    HUNT Jérémy
    FLECHA GIANNONI Juan Antonio
    EISEL Bernhard
    CAVENDISH Mark
    BARRY Michaël
    APPOLLONIO Davide
    * ROWE Luke
    * PUCCIO Salvatore
    * HAYMAN Mathew
    * DOWSETT Alex

    Who to watch for:
    This race was supposed to be all about Cavendish vs. Andre Greipel vs. the rest but Greipel pulled out yesterday with an illness. Who are the other main contenders?

    Taylor Phinney - BMC: along with TJ Van Garderen, he's the next great American cyclist. He needs a pro win though to live up to they hype. Could this be his first? It all depends on what his team role is...

    Andrea Guardini - Farnese Vini - One of the up-and-coming sprinters. He won a shit-ton of races last year in his first year as a pro. Many consider him (and Marcel Kittel) to be the guys most likely to challenge Mark Cavendish. He won a stage at last years race.

    Denis Galimzyanov - Katusha - The biggest sprinter in the peloton has a huge motor. He's fucked if crosswinds come into play.

    Tom Boonen - Quick Step - just finished the Tour de San Luis in great shape with a stage win. Still one of the best and he's in good form.

    John Degenkolb - Project 1T4i - he's likely saving himself for some of the bigger races coming up but this guy is good... damn good.

    Mark Renshaw - Rabobank - The defending champ is looking to keep the jersey for another year. It'll be interesting to see him go up against Cavendish.

    Mark Cavendish - Sky - Is he fat and out of shape like he usually is this time of year or did the change of teams whip him into shape? He's still the world's best sprinter and will be until someone can consistently beat him in the final kick.
     
  45. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Stage 1 results:
    [​IMG]
     
  46. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    the CAS decision on Alberto Contador is coming down tomorrow. We should know the results early in the morning. Early rumor is that he'll be banned for 6 months to 1 year.
     
  47. goheels10

    goheels10 Well-Known Member
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    Contador gets a two year ban for testing positive for clenbuterol and is stripped of his 2010 Tour title. He'll miss this years TdF too.
     
  48. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
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    I know he probably doesn't like winning it that way, but I'm happy for Andy Schleck. I also bet Lance was smuggy as shit when he heard the news after being acquitted.
     
  49. wes tegg

    wes tegg I'm a Guy's guy, guys.
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    What was Boonen's penalty for the cocaine tests? I know he had to sit out the TdF either last year or the year before, but how long was the total sentence?
     
  50. cyclist

    cyclist King of the Mountains
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    Wow.

    From VeloNews:

    UPDATED: Contador banned two years

    • By Andrew Hood
    • Published Feb. 6, 2012
    • Updated 4 hours ago
    [​IMG]

    • Andy Schleck (R) in the best young rider's jersey on his way to winning the 17th stage of the 2010 Tour de France ahead of overall leader, Spain's Alberto Contador, in the French Pyrenees. (file) Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

    LLUCMAJOR, Spain (VN) – Alberto Contador received the worst possible news Monday: a two-year ban and the loss of his 2010 Tour de France crown as well as all results in 2011 and 2012.
    Contador’s ban is back-dated and discounted for time during his provisional ban, meaning he will be able to return to competition on August 6.
    The Court of Arbitration for Sport handed down the long-awaited ruling in the Spaniard’s long-running clenbuterol case as promised Monday (see statement below).
    Contador becomes the second rider in Tour history to have his victory taken away for a doping violation – Floyd Landis was stripped of the 2006 Tour win after testing positive for synthetic testosterone.
    Contador insists traces of clenbuterol entered his system after he ate contaminated steaks.
    After months of deliberation, CAS rejected Contador’s arguments and overturned acquittal by the Spanish cycling federation in the controversial case that dragged on for more than a year and a half.
    There was no immediate response from Contador.
    “This is a sad day for our sport,” said UCI president Pat McQuaid in a statement by the cycling federation released Monday confirming the CAS ruling. “Some may think of it as a victory, but that is not at all the case. There are no winners when it comes to the issue of doping: every case, irrespective of its characteristics, is always a case too many.”
    Contador tested positive for 50 picograms per milliliter of the muscle-building stimulant (a picogram is one trillionth of a gram) in urine samples collected on the Tour’s second rest day. The samples were analyzed in a WADA-approved lab in Cologne, Germany, one of the few labs in the world with the precise equipment to allow the detection of such small amounts.
    Contador’s legal team claimed that the clenbuterol entered his system after eating steaks that were purchased in Irun, near the Spanish-French border, and brought to France, where Contador and some other then-Astana teammates dined on the team bus.
    After the Spanish cycling federation cleared Contador, he immediately returned to competition, winning the Murcia and Catalunya tours ahead of the 2011 Giro d’Italia. He later finished fifth in the 2011 Tour.
    WADA and UCI joined in an appeal and argued that Contador should receive a full ban.
    The CAS statement:
    “The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rendered its decision in the arbitration between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) & the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador & the Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC): the CAS has partially upheld the appeals filed by WADA and the UCI and has found Alberto Contador guilty of a doping offence.

    “As a consequence, Alberto Contador is sanctioned with a two-year period of ineligibility starting retroactively on 25 January 2011, minus the period of the provisional suspension served in 2010-2011 (5 months and 19 days). The suspension should therefore come to an end on 5 August 2012.”