In the span of two days, my #1 espoir of this season, Dylan van Baarle (Rabobank Development), turned the Olympia's Tour on its head and took over the race lead by winning the 4th stage, placing 3rd in the 5th stage TT and then sewed up his lead on the 6th and final stage of the race.
The 4th stage of the race was described as hell by many riders as the course featured 27 hills, 15 of which were KOM points, along with windy and wet conditions that made it absolutely brutal to be on the bike. Even though the conditions were absolutely shit, van Baarle said post-stage that he had to control himself because he felt so good on the bike. The road conditions, because of the rain, were horrible as Shimano neutral support ran out of spare wheels just halfway through the race.
Van Baarle tried to get away early in a breakaway move but he flatted out of it, which he said was probably for the better as it saved his legs for later in the race. It wasn't until 50km to until the split was made with van Baarle getting away with Stefan Poutsma, Dylan Groenewegen, Peter Koning, Elmar Reinders and Arno van der Zwet. The group worked well together and with van der Zwet in 3rd overall and van Baarle in 4th, it would come down to these two riders to decide who would be the next leader.
With 15km to go, it was van Baarle who jumped out of the pack with only Groenewegen was able to hold onto his wheel but unfortunately, a flat took him out of contention and van Baarle was clear for a solo finish. The Dutchman kept extending his lead and by the time he crossed the line, it was up to 29 seconds over the chasing group and nearly 3 minutes on the next group behind them.
Saturday's morning TT was nearly a mere formality for van Baarle, who is a specialist in the discipline. It was Campbell Flakemore (Australia) who was able to take the win in Reuver over teammate (and World's silver medalist) Damien Howson with van Baarle finishing in 3rd and extending his overall G.C. to 1:29. Peter Koning (Metec) moved up to 2nd overall with van der Zwet going to 3rd and Elmar Reinders (Metec) in 4th.
The race wrapped up with a fast split stage on Saturday evening with only 80 kilometers on tap.
The pace was fast with multiple attacks but nothing got a big gap as Koga was deadset on getting Wim Stroetinga a stage win after being denied multiple times by points leader Jeff Vermeulen (Metec). Keeping an average speed over 47 km/h, it was Koga who led it into the final kilometer and delivered Stroetinga to the line for his first stage victory this year.
Dylan van Baarle finished safely and wrapped up his 2nd in a row Olympia's Tour overall, the first rider to go back to back in the race since Servais Knaven in 1992-93. Van Baarle had some other exciting news announced on Saturday but you will have to wait for a little bit and another article...
After trying his hardest to keep the leader's jersey over the past few days, Coen Vermeltfoort finally ceded the Royal Smilde Olympia's Tour lead to Metec's Jeff Vermeulen as the man from Rotterdam took the sprint win on stage three in Gendringen. Vermeltfoort, who has been a one-man show as his De Rijke-Shanks team has lacked some depth, tried valiantly to keep the white leader's jersey but only managed one bonus sprint win and thanks to the finishing bonus seconds, Vermeltfoort sits at 3 seconds behind Vermeulen.
The Thursday stage was water logged as it rained from kilometer zero until the end of the stage. The rain gave the riders in the peloton a brief respite as the average speed for the stage was just 45.5 km/h average for the 158 kilometer stage. (The average speed for this race, as it stands now, is a whopping 46.65 km/h.) A group including Rens Te Stroet (Jo Piels), Leander Schreurs (RDW), Joey van Rhee (Metec) and Patrick Ruckert (Parkhotel) were the main breakaway of the day but with the rain and poor conditions, they were being reeled in relatively early with 50km to go as the race hit the local laps around Gendringen. Jim van den Berg (Koga) lept out of the pack and it was Te Stroet and Schreurs who joined him as the other two were swallowed by the peloton.
Being just 32 seconds down on GC, Te Stroet assumed the leader on the road status as the gap grew to over a minute for the Jo Piels rider. His lead was short lived as De Rijke-Shanks, 3M and Ked-Stevens ramped up the pace and took the break back with one lap left to race. Coming into the finale, Vermeulen had decided to go solo and said post stage that he told his team that he's "got this". The cockiness was backed up with legs because when Wouter Wippert (3M) hit out, Vermeulen went past him and then easily held off Wim Stroetinga (Koga) to take the win. In the last three days, Vermeulen has gone 1st, 2nd and 1st in an impressive display of sprinting. The question is will it get him the attention he needs to get a pro contract...
Stage 4 will be the decider (probably..what do I know?) as the race has 15 "KOM" sprints as it goes around Massright and Valkenburg in the heart of Limburg. It will be a doozy and my money is on Raboabnk Development to blow the doors off the race.
Coen Vermeltfoort making faces at his dinner (Photo: Olympia's Tour Twitter)
I will never say that I was a normal child. Reserved and shy, I tended to hang on the fringe when I was in school and unless I was comfortable with my surroundings, I would be quiet albeit for the random teenage-charged political outburst. I guess that is what drew my to cycling in my teen years; the solitary hours out in the countryside where I could get lost in my thoughts. Before this goes into a long diatribe about my youth...when I graduated high school a bit early, I asked to go to see the Ronde van Vlaanderen in person for my birthday/graduation present and ended up going to some surrounding areas during my sojourn.
Well, I ended up staying a few days in Noord-Holland and I found it to be a very gorgeous place. I was racing my bike at that point and even though I was in good shape, there is one thing that sticks out to me about the place. The wind. My god...I would go on a ride from Edam to Hoorn along the coast and it could be incredibly easy or insanely difficult, just do to the fact that my pace was dictated by the direction and force of the wind. I would love to go back there sometime...
Just riding in these conditions makes me feel for guys and girls who are racing in this stuff that aren't the best in windy conditions where one position could mean the front group or being spit out the back. A very windy, flat stage that causes big echelons can sap someone's energy just like a a hard stage in the Tour de France. The Olympia's Tour is the antithesis of these racing conditions and Stage 2 was no different.
Starting in Rhenen at a zoo, it was a group of four that dominated the majority of the early racing. Berden De Vries (Jo Piels) Dries Hollands (Metec) Ritchie Motke (Baby Dump) and Joeren Segers (3M) got away after Johim Ariesen (Jo Piels) took the two "hill" points on the course. The quartet of riders got only a minute before the peloton started to reel them back in because Motke was only 49 seconds down on Coen Vermeltfoort (De Rijke-Shanks).
As the race reached Almere, the breakaway was neutralized but that doesn't mean that the pace let up. In fact, the race went into tatters. Nearly half the field was dropped as the pace was ramped up before the race hit the 27-kilometers long Houtribdijk dam that links Flevoland and Noord-Holland. The race split into three groups but the front group was still 60 riders long after the crossing the long dam. To say that this race was fast was an understatement. As the front group went over the bridge, they were over 20 minutes ahead of the fastest time check.
And then the race hit Noord-Holland...
After Vermeltfoort and Rabobank Devo's Dylan van Baarle duked out some bonus sprints, the race blew to pieces as it went through Hoorn. That group of 60 was cut in half with only 26 riders making the fron echelon for the finale, with Rabobank Devo and Koga each having 5 riders but once again, Coen Vermeltfoort was isolated after his De Rijke-Shanks teammate couldn't hang with the nearly 48 km/h average speed.
The gap was tenuous as the 2nd echelon, made up of nearly 20 riders, was trying to reconnect. It looked like it would be down to a sprint into Theo Bos' home of Alkmaar but there was a stick thrown into the wheel by an unlikely name. Even with 5 riders in the front group, the Koga team was missing their sprinter Wim Stroetinga, who was stuck in the 2nd group. Robin Chaigneau can sprint on occasion but he was having some troubles in the final kilometers. So what to do?
With two kilometers left, it was Arno van der Zwet who attacked the race and instantly got a big gap. A former Dutch points race champion and primarily a track rider, van der Zwet put the suffering skills to good use here as Metec and others gave him too much room in the end to take a fine solo victory. Just two seconds behind, it was Jeff Vermeulen taking the sprint once again, this time over Wouter Wippert (3M) and Clinton Avery (New Zealand).
Thanks to taking some bonus seconds, Vermeltfoort kept his overall lead over Vermeulen but it is now only four seconds.
Stage 2 Olympia's Tour Rhenen-Alkmaar
Arno van der Zwet (Koga) 3:37'07"
Jeff Vermeulen (Metec) +2"
Wouter Wippert (3M) all s.t.
Clinton Avery (New Zealand)
Johim Areisen (Jo Piels)
Mitchel Heunders (Park Hotel)
Joris De Boer
Cameron Karwowski (New Zealand)
Jim van der Berg (Koga)
Mike Teunissen (Rabobank)
G.C.
Coen Vermeltfoort (De Rijke-Shanks)
Vermeulen +4"
van der Zwet +6"
Dylan van Baarle (Rabobank Development) +9"
Campbell Flakemore (Australia) +13"
Jesper Asselman (Metec) +14"
Cameron Karwowski (New Zealand) +15"
Adam Phelan (Australia) s.t.
Robin Chaigneau (Koga) +20"
Jasper Bovenhuis (Rabobank Development) +22"
Fact on today's winner:
Arno van der Zwet is in a relationship with German cyclist Lisa Brennauer of Specialized Lululemon
On the opening road stage of the 2013 Royal Smilde Olympia's Tour, there were no holds barred as the peloton laid down the gauntlet early and when the dust settled, it was Jeff Vermeulen (Metec) taking the win over track man and former Milram rider Wim Stroetinga (Koga) and Wouter Wippert (3M) in a group of only 37 riders, meaning 80 riders finished over 2 minutes down on the leading group.
The day started under some cloudy conditions with the riders leaving Noordwijkerhout in a large peloton but it wouldn't be for too much longer. After a fairly neutral rollout, the race exploded with a group of 20 going off the front including names such as race leader Coen Vermeltfoort and Rabobank Devo rider Dylan van Baarle. Vermeltfoort won the day's first two bonus sprints to extend his lead but eventually, this group was brought back into a reduced peloton.
With 100 kilometers to go, van Baarle got off the front again, this time with a group of 18 but Vermeltfoort and his De Rijke-Shanks squad were caught off guard and entirely missed the move. Van Baarle was able to win a bonus sprint ahead of Campbell Flakemore and Rabobank teammate Mike Teunissen to move himself up the G.C. into a tie for 5th place.
Behind the leading group, it was De Rijke-Shanks and Koga, who was working for Wim Stroetinga, who laid their chips on the table to bring back the front group. They finally were able to bridge with just 5 kilometers to go and the chips were laid down. In the final kilometer, Peter Koning (Metec) put in a strong attack to try and foil the sprinters but was brought back at around 500 meters. Even with a man of Vermeulen's strength, he had just spent the last 50 or so kilometers riding hard in the breakaway so they had no idea how his legs would even go in the sprint. That question was quickly answered...
Vermeulen took to the front and Wim Stroetinga tried but couldn't come around him in the final 100 meters. Wouter Wippert charged to the line and was going very quickly at the end but ran out of road. In the front group, many of the overall favorites stayed in the front group including Vermeltfoort, van Baarle, Adam Phelan, Remco Te Brake, etc.
Remember the Australian domination of the prologue? Only 2 out of the 7, Flakemore and Phelan, made the front group with Alex Morgan getting time cut and the rest finishing in the big peloton at 5'34".
Top 10 Stage 1 Noordwijkerhout - Hoofdorp
Jeff Vermeulen (Metec) 3:52'30"
Wim Stroetinga (Koga) all s.t.
Wouter Wippert (3M)
Dylan Groenewegen (De Rijke-Shanks)
Johim Ariesen (Jo Piels) **KOM**
Remco Te Brake (Metec)
Adam Phelan (Australia U23)
Rick Zabel (Rabobank Development)
Clinton Avery (New Zealand National)
Coen Vermeltfoort (De Rijke-Shanks)
G.C. Top 10 after Stage 1
Vermeltfoort 3:56'20"
Vermeulen +6"
Campbell Flakemore (Australia U23) +9"
Jesper Asselman (Metec) +10"
Dylan van Baarle (Rabobank Development) s.t.
Cameron Karwowski (New Zealand National) +11"
Phelan s.t.
Stroetinga +12"
Arno Van Der Zwet (Koga) +14"
Groenewegen +16"
To be honest, it was a bit disappointing to see many of the Australia and New Zealand guys get dropped today but a crosswind is one of cycling's most honest places, where one can be one great form but if they are in bad position, forget about it. Vermeltfoort nearly paid the price for this today but was able to claw his way back. It wasn't so lucky for Damien Howson, Mitchell Mulhern or even natives such as Tom Vermeer, who all fell on the wrong side of the sharp edge of the blade.
The 2nd stage of the race heads west of Amsterdam, where the race starts in Rhenen (outside of Veenendaal) and makes its way northwest, heads over the 27km Houtribdijk dam over the Markermeer and then finishes in the Noord-Holland city of Alkmaar, the home of Blanco Pro Cycling's Theo Bos. There are two KOM sprints early on but after that, it will be the wind that takes over and if you have ever been to Noord-Holland, you will know that it is a cruel mistress.
Are we back in 2010? Did the flux capacitor hit 1.21 gigawatts while he went 88 mph? Okay, maybe Coen Vermeltfoort didn't go that fast today but the De Rijke-Shanks rider looks to be back to the form that got him a place on the Rabobank World Tour team in the first place. Vermeltfoort absolutely stomped the breezy prologue in Katwijk today as he was one of only four riders to go under 4 minutes on the 3.2 kilometer course and beat a trio of Australians on his way to his 6th Olympia's Tour stage win.
The prologue in Katwijk started off the 61st Olympia's Tour and even though there was a lot of strong riders here to contend for the win, there was no clear favorite. Obviously the Australians would be strong as the majority of them have a pursuit background but with riders such as Vermeltfoort, Dylan van Baarle (Rabobank Development) and others, there were no guaranteed victoires.
Early on in the race, it was Australian Alex Morgan who took the lead and was the first man to go under four minutes. Morgan was 4th place in the junior world TT championships last season in Valkenburg and was World Champion this year in the elite men's team pursuit at just 18 years of age. It wasn't until Vermeltfoort stormed across the line until the Australian was unseated.
Vermeltfoort and his treetrunk quads in the hot seat (via Olympia's Tour twitter)
There was a strange event during today's race that paused the action for a while. A plastic inflatable, the ones that are usually seen at the side of the road with 1km to go banners and other places, blew over onto the road and neutralized the race for a while. Once the proceedings got underway again, it was the Australians that were knock, knock, knocking on the Dutch door as Damien Howson and Mitchell Mulhern came within two seconds of Vermeltfoort.
Last year's reigning champion Dylan van Baarle was no match for the strong man from Overijssel as he only managed 13th, 9 seconds back, which is still a very good performance and van Baarle will have his eyes set on the longer TT later in the week. Vermeltfoort got his 3rd UCI win in the last month and yet another boost of confidence after his bad luck-ridden two years at Rabobank.
In one of the most astonishing team performances that I can remember, the Australian national team put 7(!!) riders in the top 10. Seven. Seven riders finished within 4 seconds of each other. Wow.
Top 10 Prologue Katwijk-Katwijk
Coen Vermeltfoort (De Rijke-Shanks)
Damien Howson (Australia) +2"
Mitchell Mulhern (Australia) s.t.
Alex Morgan (Australia) +3"
Cameron Karwowski (New Zealand) +5"
Jesper Asselman (Metec) s.t.
Campbell Flakemore (Australia) s.t.
Glenn O'Shea (Australia) s.t.
Adam Phelan (Australia) s.t.
Bradley Linfield (Australia) +6"
Other notables include...
13. Dylan van Baarle (Rabobank Devo) +9"
18. Robin Chaigneau (Koga) +10"
25. Brian van Goethem (Metec) +13"
43. Berden De Vries +19"
104. Jesper Hansen (CULT Energy) +34"
Tuesday's stage is a flat affair which should end up in a bunch sprint at the finish in Hoofdorp but this being the Netherlands, a crosswind could break that up fairly quickly.
With about 935 races finishing up this weekend, it was busy on the results watching front. Lots happened so let us catch up with the weekend that was...
Flèche du Sud
Michael Valgren takes the stage 3 win (Photo:feltet.dk)
When we left off last, Michael Valgren (CULT Energy) won the 3rd stage in a breakaway ahead of Mirco Saggriorato (EKZ) and Joey Rosskopf (Hincapie Devo). Valgren took over the overall lead from fellow Dane Kristian Haugaard (Leopard-Trek).
Saturday's stage was a taste of Luxembourg with short, punchy hills abound and an uphill finish. With 40 meters gained in the final half kilometer, the peloton or what was left of it broke up and only a group of 15 made it to the line together. It was Alberto Cecchin (Nippo-De Rosa) who took the win over (who else) Eugenio Alafaci (Leopard-Trek) and Johan Coenen (Differdange). All three GC contenders stayed with the front group.
Sunday's stage saw an incredibly fast finish (nearly 60 km/h average for the final 3km) but a bunch sprint was foiled by a crafty move on the finishing loops. With three laps to go in the race, Oscar Clark (Hincapie Devo), Alex Kirsch (Leopard-Trek) Clemens Fankhauser (Tirol), Alexander Foliforov (Helicopters) and Nikola Aistrup (Concordia) made a move together and got a gap. It was Clark and Foliforov who managed to attack the bunch and held off the bunch with Clark winning Hincapie Devo's first European race. Behind, it was the beastly Simon Yates (Team GB) winning the bunch sprint for 3rd.
Michael Valgren wrapped up the overall GC with Saggiorato in 2nd and Rosskopf in 3rd. Thanks to ever consistent finishes (albeit with no wins), Eugenio Alafaci (Leopard-Trek) wrapped up the points jersey while teammate Alex Kirsch got the KOM crown. This is Valgren's 3rd UCI win of the season and I will be surprised if he isn't picked up by a Pro Conti/World Tour squad for next year.
Giro della Regioni Friuli-Venezia Giulia
After Friday's uphill finish into Claut, it was time to go into the mountains on Saturday. It wasn't a particularly 'epic' stage with only two categorized climbs but the finish was on the Monte Matajur, right on the border with Slovenia.
After a scenic, rainy journey to the base of Monte Matajur, the group was wittled down to only 6 with approximately 5km to go when Daniele Dall'Oste (Trevigiani) attacked. At 3km to go, it was Slovenian Jan Polanc (Radenska) and Austrian Riccardo Zoidl (Gourmetfein-Simplon) who bridged up to the Italian. With two km to go, it was Polanc who put in a hellacious attack that dropped Zoidl immediately and then dropped Dall'Oste soon after. Polanc went through the red kite with a gap and climbed up through the picturesque forest of the Julian Alps and as he climbed to the summit of the mountain that straddled the border with his home country, Polanc let loose an exuberant celebration as he won brilliantly. Dall'Oste hung on for 2nd while Ivan Rovny (Ceramica Flaminia) passed Riccardo Zoidl for 3rd.
With Polanc resplendent in the white leader's jersey, the race wrapped up Sunday with a 40-rider sprint into Corno di Rosazzo with Zalf-Euromobil's Paolo Simion and his ginger hair taking the victory. It was Simion's 4th victory of the season and for his efforts, he took home the points jersey. Polanc finished safely in the bunch and took his first overall stage race win in his career.
Top 10 overall
Jan Polanc (Radenska)
Daniele Dall'Oste (Trevigiani) +25"
Ivan Rovny (Ceramica Flaminia) +28"
Riccardo Zoidl (Gourmetfein-Simplon) +35"
Andrea Manfredi (Ceramica Flaminia) +1:07"
Davide Orrico (Colpack) +2:07"
Andrei Krasilnikau (Belarus) +2:25"
Matija Kvasina (Gourmetfein-Simplon) s.t.
Matteo Fedi (Ceramica Flaminia) +3:16"
Roberto Giacobazzi (General Store) +3:22"
**U23 riders in bold
Tour de Berlin
While the G.C. was essentially all said and done, the main reason that the Tour de Berlin should be followed was still to come...the sprints. Berlin and its surrounding area are not known for their hills and, while not to discount the G.C. riders here, the sprinters are really the main attraction. Past winners and high finishers in sprints here in the recent past include Bryan Coquard (Europcar), Rüdiger Selig (Katusha), Kris Boeckmans (Vacansoleil), Leigh Howard (GreenEdge) and superstars such as Mark Cavendish (OPQS) and Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol).
The next big German sprinter?
Willi Willwohl of LKT Brandenburg
After finishing 6th on the first stage, Willi Willwohl (LKT Brandenburg) took out Friday's bunch gallop and being only 18, it was a fantastic result. But really...could he win another stage? Well to prove any doubters wrong, the young man from Cottbus took the final two stages during the weekend. Willwohl took out stage four ahead of Stölting's Phil Bauhaus and Rad-Net Rose's Pascal Ackermann while on Sunday, the speedster beat out Philipp Zwingenberger and Ackermann again to cap off an amazing week.
It should be noted that the team that Willwohl rides for, LKT Brandenburg, is primarily a track squad and Willwohl has track roots in the pursuit and points race. Willwohl was 2nd in the German junior national RR last year but he never had any huge results as a junior that screamed "Talent over here!". His track background and team shouldn't bother anyone in terms of development. LKT Brandenburg also had guys such as Nikias Arndt and Roger Kluge in the past and both have transferred to the road well.
Mathias Møller (Blue Water) wrapped up the overall GC ahead of Sjors Roosen (Jo Piels) and Blue Water teammate Lasse Norman Hansen, winner of the stage two TT.
Other results from around the world...
Bontrager teammates Jasper Stuyven and Tanner Putt went 5th and 10th in the first stage of the Amgen Tour of California. On what was an incredibly hot day, the Bontrager team performed better than most teams as they got 5 riders into the front group. Beastly performance by Axel Merckx's men and keep looking for them in the week ahead.
Niccolo Bonifazio (Viris Maserati) took another win, his 3rd of the year, in a sprint over Trevigiani's Liam Bertazzo and Marco Mazzetto (Coppi Gazzerra) in the GP Camon on Sunday. Bonifazio signed an agreement with Lampre-Merida last season, along with Jan Polanc, that should see them stagiaire with the squad this fall and turn pro with them in 2014. The only reason I say should is because I know deals such as this can fall through so nothing is set in concrete.
Mark Dzamastagic (Sava) took out the final stage of the Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour in a bunch sprint over former World Junior cyclocross champion Clément Venturini and Kevin Reza (Europcar). Dzamastagic can be remembered for his 2nd place in the ZLM Tour behind Yoeri Havik this April. Martijn Tusveld (Rabobank Development) won the youth classification overall for the race, finishing 17th behind winner Nico Sijmens (Cofidis) at 3'26".
Triptyque Ardennaise is a three-day stage race through, you guessed it, the Ardennes of Wallonie. Dylan Teuns (Ventilair-Steria) won the first day out of a group of 8 including Jèrôme Baugnies (ToWin-Josan) with Boris Vallee (ColorCode-Biowanze) took the field sprint for 9th, 14 seconds back. Baugnies got his revenge on Saturday's stage two by taking an impressive win in Eupen over Frederik Backaert (EFC-OPQS) and Stefan Küng (BMC Development) after the trio broke away from their breakaway group on a stage that saw 12 categorized climbs. With a nice lead but without a strong team, Baugnies was isolated on stage three. Starting the stage only 1 second ahead of Backaert, Baugnies spent his day covering the EFC-OPQS man but while he did that, a breakaway including Silvan Dillier (BMC) and Stig Broeckx (Lotto-Belisol) got away up the road to contest the stage win. Baugnies, to protect his lead, took over the pace making to keep Broeckx from usurping him. Dillier beat out Broeckx in the sprint for the stage win while Baugnies kept his slender lead. This was Baugnies' 10th win in a season that is a tale of redemption for the former Pro Continental rider with Topsport Vlaanderen and NetApp, who is trying to get back to that professional level and doing his best to show off his skills.
Alright, that'll do for now. Read my twitter timeline @Vlaanderen90 to see a short preview of the Olympia's Tour, which starts Monday with a prologue. Until next time.
As the title states, Danish riders have been doing quite well for themselves the past couple of days since we last spoke. After Kristian Haugaard won the opening stage to Flèche du Sud, the Leopard-Trek rider went 2nd on the 2nd stage of Fléche du Sud, which was won by Mauro Richeze of Nippo. Do you think the Danes were done in Luxembourg? NOPE.
The 3rd stage of the Fléche du Sud, a lumpy and rolling stage to Clervaux, saw double Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner Michael Valgren drop his breakaway companions of Mirco Saggiorato (EKZ) and Joey Rosskopf (Hincapie Development) right near the end and take the win and the overall lead. The Danes are taking over Luxembourg! To be fair, Dane Lasse Bøchman won this event in 2010 and 2011 so this isn't their first invasion. The trio above gained 1:08 over the chasing peloton, which totalled only 34 riders. These three should be vying for GC unless someone goes on the attack.
-Another interesting note from this stage is Eugenio Alafaci's 5th place. Yeah, yeah I know...5th place. Woop di do. Well we are only in May and this is Alafaci's 17th top 10 stage placing. Another interesting point is that Alafaci hasn't come 1st or 2nd in a race yet this year. The Leopard-Trek rider is incredibly consistent but he hasn't overcome the hump yet in terms of victories.
Were the Danes done? NOPE. The Scandanavian invasion went to Germany next for the Tour de Berlin. The first stage was a relatively flat loop around the Berlin suburb of Birkenwerder but even with this, a breakaway was still able to get away. A group of 4 including Timo Roosen (De Jonge Renner), Mathias Moller (Blue Water), Odd Christian Eiking (Norway) and Sjors Roosen (Jo Piels) took it to the line with Timo taking the win over Moller.
The 2nd day featured with a split stage with a short morning TT followed by a road stage. You should already know who won seeing as this is a theme post. You're right! A Dane! This time it was the fast man from Faaborg, Lasse Norman Hansen, the Olympic Gold Medalist in the track omnium, who beat out Sjors Roosen and Blue Water teammate Mathias Moller. With his 2nd place on stage two, Moller took the overall lead with Roosen only 6 seconds back and Hansen in 3rd. On a down note, one of the big favorites, Stölting's Silvio Herklotz, had to pull out because of an overnight sickness, which is a bummer seeing as this is his home race. The afternoon stage saw alliterative first year espoir Willi Willworth (LKT Brandenburg) take the bunch sprint win over the Stölting duo of Jan Dieteren and Phil Bauhaus.
The current GC looks like this:
1) Mathias Moller (Blue Water)
2) Sjors Roosen (Jo Piels) +4
3) Lasse Norman Hansen (Blue Water) +18
4) Steven Lammertink (Jo Piels) +29
5) Jochem Hoekstra (Jo Piels) +35
Okay, I promise I am done with the Danes for now. Quickly, let us fly south to Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
Thursday's 2nd stage saw Colpack's Niccola Ruffoni take a 2nd stage win in a row, this time ahead of Ruben Geerinckx (Ovyta-Eijssen) and Paolo Simion (Zalf-Euromobil). If we take a look at the video, you can see that Simion (center-green) got an amazing leadout from his teammate Gianluca Milani but didn't have the finishing power to go from 200 meters out and was overhauled before the line.
Friday's stage finally said goodbye to the flats and headed for the hills. A slight uphill into Claut saw the practically ancient Paolo Colonna (1987) keep the Colpack train rolling as he edged out rival Trevigiani rider Daniele Dall'Oste and former Russian wunderkind Ivan Rovny (Ceramica Flaminia). Thanks to bonuses, Michael Schweizer (NSP-Ghost) took the overall lead over Edward Theuns (VL Techniks) and future Lampre rider Jan Polanc (Radenska). As of now there are about 27 riders left with a chance for GC and with no TT, it will come down to the weekend to decide the tight race.
P.S. Watch that video ^^ Some spectacular scenery. Really, what other race has strade bianchi and a road that goes through a tunnel that pops out on a spectacular lake?
There is so much racing this weekend that it'll be hard to keep up. All three of these races will be going on while there is racing all over the place in Europe and the Tour of California starts this week, which will need to be watched because of Bontrager's presence in the race. I'll be trying to keep up but we shall see how that goes.
