Sorry everyone, I have been quite busy with work, trying to find a place to live, etc. and since I get paid a grand total of $0.00 for this blog, there hasn't been an update since the Tour de Bretagne started. But never fear, I always have my eyes on the U23s and I can give a brief update of the week that was. Also, expect a Top 5 (or so) U23 post for the best U23s through April.
Tour de Bretagne
Is there really any way to describe this race other than it being equal parts wind, rain, tiny roads and a jittery pack? Nope, didn't think so. Bretagne ranks up there with Normandie in terms of my favorite 2.2 stage races but Bretagne has a greater mix of older, more experienced riders than the latter does.
It has been a little while since the race has passed so an exhaustive rundown is a bit unneeded in my opinion so I'll just give you some quick hits.
-Mike Teunissen is a boss. Still in his 1st month of racing, Teunissen is getting very close to a major breakthrough. He was making all the right moves in the first half of the race and was 2nd overall heading into the final stage which included a torrential downpour, cold weather and some cobbles. A big breakaway went on the final stage, which included his teammate Bert-Jan Lindeman, and Teunissen missed out. He ended up falling to 13th overall in the standings while his teammate Lindeman won the overall after finishing 2nd on the stage. There was some consolation in that but it was a bitter pill to swallow after being so high on GC for the majority of the week. Teunissen also lost his SRM in a crash earlier in the week so he had that to deal with too. (His DS Arthur van Dongen went two hours out of his way after the stage to try and find it.) Teunissen is right on the cusp of something big and when he gets some more racing kilometers under him, he should be set for a big ride.
-U23s really benefitted from the big breakaway on the last stage of Bretagne with Dylan Teuns (BMC Development), Alexis Guerin (Etixx), Romain Guyot and Frank Bonnamour (BIC 2000) all finished in the top 10 overall. Teuns has been so close to big wins in the last few weeks after going 2nd overall by just 4 seconds in Bretagne and 2nd in Liege-Bastogne-Liege U23. Teuns should be ready for all-comers at the Ronde de l'Isard later this month. Bonnamour is just a first year U23 and the reigning European Junior RR Champion; he has boatloads of talent and will be one to watch in the coming years.
-Props to Vadim Galeyev (Astana CT), Teuns, Daniel Hoelgaard (Etixx) and Andre Looij for taking stage wins. The random nature of the sprints over the week made consistency quite hard thus 3 different U23 sprint winners. Hoelgaard did win the points jersey while Rabobank's Sam Oomen won the KOM classification.
Carpathian Couriers Tour
-For those of you who are tipping Eduard Grosu (and I know there are some of you that exist) I would be cautious about his future even after the great race he had at the Carpathian Couriers Tour. Grosu podium-ed every stage besides the stage 3 time trial, where he finished 6th, including winning the final two stages into Ciezkowice and Tarnow. The Romanian with Vini Fantini-Nippo still came up short on GC, finishing 2nd overall to Austrian Gregor Mühlberger by 4 seconds. Kudos on the great race but to be honest, this was a 2.2 without a lot of big-time teams. It seems like he can get into kicks at bigger races but definitely not as consistent as he was here.
-Gregor Mühlberger has been showing himself well this year after putting everyone in their place in the time trial on his way to overall victory. The young Austrian with Tirol has had a breakout year that has included a prologue win in the Istrian Spring Trophy (on his way to a 4th overall) as well as a win at the Trofeo Piva Banca. Should be a finalist for my upcoming Top U23 riders Early Season edition.
-Patryk Stosz repeated as the KOM winner at this race. The young Pole has now won 3 KOM classifications in major U23 tours (Carpathian Couriers Tour x2, Peace Race).
Tour of the Gila
-Big fucking crash on stage 1 involved about 80 riders.
- U23 Nicolai Brøchner (Bissell) won stage 2 in a sprint over former Little 500 winner Eric Young and Smartstop's Travis McCabe. Brøchner's teammate Ryan Eastman finished 4th.
-The Gila Monster stage proved as decisive as ever. Clement Chevrier couldn't quite make the lead selection and he and Bissell teammate James Oram ended up in the chasing group that came in 3'11" down. Chevrier was the best U23 overall at 4'36" behind overall winner Carter Jones.
-Adrien Costa, the wunderkind superstar for Hagens Berman U23. won the Category 1-2 stage race at Gila by winning three stages and winning the overall by nearly 2 minutes. While the competition was parred down compared to the professional race, there were some hitters present in the field and at just 16, Costa is continuously proving his talent.
Denmark
U23s swept the entire weekend's worth of racing in Denmark that included the Skive Løbet, Himmerland Rundt and the Destination Thy.
-Phil Bauhaus (Stölting) took out the Skive Løbet in a bunch sprint ahead of former WT riders Alex Rasmussen and Rasmus Guldhammer. Bauhaus also finished in the top 10 of the other two races during the weekend to bring his total top 10 finishes in 1.2 races this year up to 6.
-The rest of the weekend was the Magnus Cort show. He had been a bit quiet in the last few weeks leading up to the past week, probably since the Volta Limburg in early April, but he emerged with a vengeance. At the Himmerland Rundt, Cort went on a breakaway with Rasmus Guldhammer with just 10 kilometers left in the race and the two were able to stay away from the peloton, with Cort taking the sprint from the fallen star. While Soren Kragh nipped in for 3rd, it was Thomas Nybo Riis (Bjarne's son) who won the bunch sprint for 4th ahead of Phil Bauhaus to make a Tre-For 2-3-4.
Cort wasn't done as the next day. His teammate Martin Mortensen (ex-Tinkoff-Saxo) was riding impressively off the front but the chasing group was able to bring him back with just 1 kilometer to go. CULT Energy was wanting to take the race and Cort just lept out of the pack on the slight uphill with 500 meters to go. Cort sprinted away from the remnants of the chasing peloton and was able to sit up with 50 meters to go, his win sealed.
Magnus Cort is a prodigious talent and he is probably wise beyond his years for electing to stay another year in the U23 ranks before going off into the professional scene. The real waiting game will be for which team he decided to turn pro with...my money is on Giant-Shimano, as long as they can secure funding for 2015 and beyond.
Everywhere else plus more
-Eschborn Frankfurt U23 was held on May Day like always to commemorate International Workers Day, something which falls on deaf ears in America. The U23 edition of the race had a pretty good mix of German, Belgian, French and Scandanavian talent but was missing a few big names such as Silvio Herklotz, who started the pro race and ended up attacking in the finale, eventually finishing 13th.
A three-man breakaway including former winner Sven Erik Bystrøm, Mads Pedersen and Nils Pollitt ended up deciding the race as all of the major teams (Oster Hus, CULT Energy and Stölting) had representation in the breakaway. First year U23 Pedersen was able to outkick Politt and Bystrøm. Behind them, CULT went 4th and 6th with Mads Würtz and Cort while Daan Myngheer (EFC-OPQS) was sandwiched in between them.
-The Italian Sprint Drama continued over the past week and a half. Jakub Mareczko (Viris-Maserati) beat out both Rino Gasparinni (Mg.KVIS-Trevigiani) and Nicolas Marini (Zalf-Euromobil) at the UCI 1.2 Circuito del Porto in Cremona. The race averaged over 49 km/h and Mareczko seemed quite pleased with his win. While Nicolas Marini was riding high with his 7 wins for a while, Mareczko is quickly catching up to him with 5 wins now.
Marlen Zmorka (Pala Fenice) is coming into form and took out the regional time trial in Mongrando ahead of Davide Martinelli (Colpack) by 26" and Seid Lizde (Zalf-Euromobil) by 47". Zmorka is shooting for at least a podium in his final U23 season at the World Championships while Davide Martinelli is quickly coming to a crossroads. Martinelli was billed as a time trialist from a young age but he has proven himself in many bunch kicks this year and could be at a crossroads that Marcel Kittel once faced. Kittel was a star TTer as a U23 but in his first pro season, he switched to sprinting and the rest is history. Perhaps Martinelli is coming to decision time.
Zalf-Euromobil is on track to break their 59 wins from last year as the Veneto-based team is already at 19 wins this season and with the races beginning to happen more frequently during the week. Just in the last 10 days alone Nicolas Marini, Simone Velasco, Gianni Moscon and Giacomo Berlato all racked up wins.
Colpack is currently on a Basque sojourn at the Bidasoa Itzulia, a four-stage race in the Basque Country featuring some of the best Iberian talent and more. With 15 kilometers to go, a crash ripped through the peloton and left only 57 riders in contention. Manuel Senni was on the attack the majority of the stage but the Colpack Italian flatted with 8 kilometers to go and his attempt was thwarted. Colpack's Iuri Filosi attacked with Tom Bosmans (VL Techniks-Abutriek) and Colombian Steven Calderon. Filosi dropped his companions with a couple kilometers to go and went around the final bend into the finishing straight to take a fine solo win. Behind, Davide Martinelli has snuck away to take 2nd while Oliveiro Troia won the bunch sprint ahead of Antonio Angulo, Ion Insausti and Loïc Chetout. Thursday's stage takes in the Jaizkibel just 10 kilometers from the finish.
Anything else? My brain is fried right now so I think that is all you are getting. Look for a Top U23 post in the next few days. To be honest, it is between a top 5 riders list or a best of list featuring sprinters, climbers, sprinters, most underwhelming, etc.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Italian Sprint Opera: Marini shakes off bad mojo for 7th win
Okay, so Nicolas Marini might have a little stage fright. The Italian sprinter, who took 6 victories in his first 11 races, has been having a rough go of it in the last couple of weeks. After getting a call up for two of the U23 Nations Cups in Northern Europe, he proceeded to go outside the time limit at La Côte Picarde and then crash at the ZLM Tour, where he finished 4'24" behind winner Thomas Boudat. His initial return to Italian racing wasn't much better as he DNFed Friday's GP Liberazione with a whole host of others. Chalk it up to some fatigue from his foray into international racing or just some bad mojo but Marini was looking to turn it all around at the GP Memorial Carlo Valentini.
The race is in the city of Camponogara, which is roughly equidistant between Venice and Padua in the Veneto region. The city is known for its production of Cabernet and Merlot grapes as well as shoes. The race was the sight of a rather bad incident where Zalf-Euromobil's Federico Zurlo was assaulted after the finish by a pissed-off Massimo Coledan, who has since retired from the sport. Zurlo's win was vacated and given to them teammate Paolo Simion (now Mastromarco). With Zalf-Euromobil's headquarters located about 45 minutes away, it was a must win for the team.
The pan-flat race, which is in its 16th edition, took off like a bottle rocket and never let up. Averaging over 48 km/h, the race sped along the while only a few breakaways were able to get any time. Eugert Zhupa (Zalf-Euromobil) was the last one out before being swept up by the peloton with a handful of kilometers to go. The Zalf train was full speed ahead and it was the faithful Davide Gomirato who once again piloted Nicolas Marini into the final 250 meters. Marini lept off the elder Gomirato's wheel and got his chest to the handlebars and off he went. Marini had a clear bike-length advantage before raising his hands in victory with Alessandro Forner just behind in 2nd, Marco Gaggia 3rd and Gomirato posting up in 4th place.
So while it was Marini's 7th win of the year and Zalf-Euromobil's 16th, this is just another example of the point Davide Cassini made in a recent Cyclingnews article about the demise of Italian cycling. Cassini recently took over the Italian national team post and noted how Italian cycling is not as dominate as it once was and looks directly at the development system for the answer.
"We've got lots of easy regional races where riders become big fish in little ponds but we've lost international stage races like the Giro delle Regioni and the GiroBio, where our riders could face the best international competition. Now I fear Italian riders don't have the best possible development and so then struggle when they become professionals."
Marini's victory today is a perfect example of this. The Lombardian sprinter has won 7 races this year but they were more or less all regional events and when he stepped up a level to UCI races, he was not prepared for the uptick in the level. Paolo Simion commented on the Italian team being unprepared for the Nations Cup before the GP Liberazione by saying that while the team was fine on a physical level, they were not prepared for the crosswinds, tight roads and full-gas nature of the races. With UCI races for U23 becoming a premium in Italy, the current system is failing riders. The best Italian riders, usually on amateur teams, are not getting the kilometers they need against the best international talent.
While the race problem is yet to be solved, there could be a different solution to the problem. The number of continental teams in Italy went from 1 to 6 between 2013 and 2014. The huge uptick included two amateur teams, Team Idea and Trevigiani, that took the leap to the continental level so that they would be able to ride in more UCI races in and around Italy. The answer for the Italian development system might be elevating more teams to the continental level, getting out of Italy more and allowing riders to get their teeth get kicked in a bit more. It will expedite the professional teething process and allow teams to better identify talent before signing guys to neo-pro contracts. Andrea Zordan is a great example of this; he signed with Androni this year but has DNFed the majority of his races and not had a meaningful finish all year. Zalf-Euromobil is looking to go up to the continental ranks for 2015, which would be an interesting move as it would most likely mean a dip in their record win total but would improve the value of their riders.
I could continue on about the Italian Federation's laziness on the matter but that can be left for another time.
The race is in the city of Camponogara, which is roughly equidistant between Venice and Padua in the Veneto region. The city is known for its production of Cabernet and Merlot grapes as well as shoes. The race was the sight of a rather bad incident where Zalf-Euromobil's Federico Zurlo was assaulted after the finish by a pissed-off Massimo Coledan, who has since retired from the sport. Zurlo's win was vacated and given to them teammate Paolo Simion (now Mastromarco). With Zalf-Euromobil's headquarters located about 45 minutes away, it was a must win for the team.
The pan-flat race, which is in its 16th edition, took off like a bottle rocket and never let up. Averaging over 48 km/h, the race sped along the while only a few breakaways were able to get any time. Eugert Zhupa (Zalf-Euromobil) was the last one out before being swept up by the peloton with a handful of kilometers to go. The Zalf train was full speed ahead and it was the faithful Davide Gomirato who once again piloted Nicolas Marini into the final 250 meters. Marini lept off the elder Gomirato's wheel and got his chest to the handlebars and off he went. Marini had a clear bike-length advantage before raising his hands in victory with Alessandro Forner just behind in 2nd, Marco Gaggia 3rd and Gomirato posting up in 4th place.
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| "I'm flying...I'm flying" (Photo:ItaliaCiclismo) |
"We've got lots of easy regional races where riders become big fish in little ponds but we've lost international stage races like the Giro delle Regioni and the GiroBio, where our riders could face the best international competition. Now I fear Italian riders don't have the best possible development and so then struggle when they become professionals."
Marini's victory today is a perfect example of this. The Lombardian sprinter has won 7 races this year but they were more or less all regional events and when he stepped up a level to UCI races, he was not prepared for the uptick in the level. Paolo Simion commented on the Italian team being unprepared for the Nations Cup before the GP Liberazione by saying that while the team was fine on a physical level, they were not prepared for the crosswinds, tight roads and full-gas nature of the races. With UCI races for U23 becoming a premium in Italy, the current system is failing riders. The best Italian riders, usually on amateur teams, are not getting the kilometers they need against the best international talent.
While the race problem is yet to be solved, there could be a different solution to the problem. The number of continental teams in Italy went from 1 to 6 between 2013 and 2014. The huge uptick included two amateur teams, Team Idea and Trevigiani, that took the leap to the continental level so that they would be able to ride in more UCI races in and around Italy. The answer for the Italian development system might be elevating more teams to the continental level, getting out of Italy more and allowing riders to get their teeth get kicked in a bit more. It will expedite the professional teething process and allow teams to better identify talent before signing guys to neo-pro contracts. Andrea Zordan is a great example of this; he signed with Androni this year but has DNFed the majority of his races and not had a meaningful finish all year. Zalf-Euromobil is looking to go up to the continental ranks for 2015, which would be an interesting move as it would most likely mean a dip in their record win total but would improve the value of their riders.
I could continue on about the Italian Federation's laziness on the matter but that can be left for another time.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Shalunov breaks away to GP Liberazione victory
Former RadioShack stagiaire Evgeny Shalunov decided to venture out solo at the short but very sweet GP Liberazione in Rome on Friday and his gamble came up spades. The Russian Shalunov with Lokosphinx was apart of a breakaway that went away with 8 laps left in the race and with 25 kilometers to go, went solo.
Behind, an amalgam of Italian teams along with some like Radenska were chasing in vain behind the solo Russian, who had previously won the UCI 1.1 Vuelta a la Rioja in 2012 in a similar fashion. Shalunov was able to make it over the bump on the circuit for the last time with a gap of over 30 seconds and he was able to hold that to the line, where he celebrated with reaching up towards the sky. 25 seconds in arrears, the peloton came in lead by Colpack's Simone Consonni ahead of Liam Bertazzo (Mg.Kvis-Trevigiani) and Paolo Simion (Mastromarco).
Shalunov is the 2nd Eastern European rider in a row to win the famed Rome race, which commemorates the fall of Mussolini's fascist republic in 1945. Far Right-wing Italians, including Francesco Moser and the Lega Nord party, are quick to criticize the race because of the race allowing Eastern Bloc riders to race as early as the late 60's and see it as a veneration of Communism. In any event, the race is one of the only chances we get to have a proper cycle race in the heart of Rome and it should be cherished for what it is, a celebration of cycling.
More to follow...
Behind, an amalgam of Italian teams along with some like Radenska were chasing in vain behind the solo Russian, who had previously won the UCI 1.1 Vuelta a la Rioja in 2012 in a similar fashion. Shalunov was able to make it over the bump on the circuit for the last time with a gap of over 30 seconds and he was able to hold that to the line, where he celebrated with reaching up towards the sky. 25 seconds in arrears, the peloton came in lead by Colpack's Simone Consonni ahead of Liam Bertazzo (Mg.Kvis-Trevigiani) and Paolo Simion (Mastromarco).
Shalunov is the 2nd Eastern European rider in a row to win the famed Rome race, which commemorates the fall of Mussolini's fascist republic in 1945. Far Right-wing Italians, including Francesco Moser and the Lega Nord party, are quick to criticize the race because of the race allowing Eastern Bloc riders to race as early as the late 60's and see it as a veneration of Communism. In any event, the race is one of the only chances we get to have a proper cycle race in the heart of Rome and it should be cherished for what it is, a celebration of cycling.
More to follow...
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Herklotz's Redemption: GP Palio del Recioto
Streaking down the final twisty descent with just 3 kilometers left, 18 year-old Silvio Herklotz went flying off the road. Crashing hard, the Berliner scrambled out of the ditch and set off again, his small lead now evaporated. Rounding the last corner in the leading group of 9, Herklotz was still surprisingly fresh for being out front on his own but Caleb Ewan bested him in the sprint to the line. It was a bittersweet taste in Herklotz's mouth, especially after he came 2nd just the day before in the Giro del Belvedere in another close sprint. That was 2013. He would take revenge in 2014.
2014 didn't start out very well for Herklotz after crashing at 60 km/h thanks to a parked car at Trofej Umag and then he developed bronchitis at the Istrian Spring Trophy, which caused him to DNF the final stage. We saw the beginnings of form at Triptyque Monts et Chateaux and then finally a somewhat return to form at Circuit des Ardennes, where he finished comfortably in 13th overall. He experienced a near repeat from 2013 at the Giro del Belvedere, where he finished 2nd in a two-up sprint with Simone Andreetta. Would Palio del Recioto be different?
Leaving from Negrar, a breakaway of 19 was able to get away early on the eight circuits of 18.2 kilometers. The breakaway, including Alexey Vermeulen (USA/BMC Devo), Christian Mager (Stolting), Campbell Flakemore (Australia), Simone Velasco & Giacomo Berlato (Zalf-Euromobil), Giulio Ciccone (Colpack) and Raimondas Rumsas' son, Raimondas Rumsas. The break got a maximum of 5 minutes but that was still with 100 kilometers to go, long before the peloton really got going.
Notably, Astana Continental missed out on the early breakaway so they felt obliged to chase...and chase...and chase some more. Seriously, the Kazakh squad, who was riding for Michele Scartezzini, just put themselves on the front for the next 50 kilometers and rode the breakaway down until the group came all back together with 50km to go.
With just 52 riders left in the main group, the race headed onto the final 34 kilometer loop that included the tough Corrubio climb, which has two different summits and included a technical downhill to the finish. On the lower slopes of the climb, Iuri Filosi (Colpack) attacked and drew out teammate Manuele Senni, Silvio Herklotz (Stolting), Robert Power (Australia) and Stefano Nardelli (Gavardo-Tecmor). The quintet raced up the Corrubio climb with no rider able to get any distance on the other. It was on the descent where the drama began.
Filosi, who was the impetus that created the breakaway, had a mechanical at the beginning of the descent. Then, in a carbon copy of 2013, Herklotz attacked on the downhill with 6 kilometers to go. Riding like he was in MotoGP, Herklotz was throwing the bike throw the corners and absolutely railing it. Heading into the final kilometer, Herklotz's lead was unassailable and the German U23 champion was able to raise his hands as he crossed the line solo. Redemption is so sweet. Herklotz admitted to some fears about the descent post-race, especially after his tumble in 2013, but he turned off his brain quickly and put his fears out the window. Herklotz's bike handling skills are very high and is one of the best descending riders, not to mention uphill, in the U23 class.
Coming in behind Herklotz was 18-year old Robert Power, who lead in the small group sprint for 2nd ahead of Nardelli and Senni. Lukas Spengler, the 19-year old with BMC Development, has been riding very well over the last two weeks and attacked out of the chasing peloton to take 5th ahead of Filosi. Spengler was 7th at Monday's Giro del Belvedere and 5th at Saturday's ZLM Tour in the Netherlands. Quite a tear for the young Swiss rider. While Luka Pibernik attacked for 7th place, Michele Scartezzini, whose Astana Continental team did all of that work in the build-up to the finale, lead in the sprint for 8th. Woohoo.
Other riders who finished well on both days include Gianni Moscon (Zalf-Euromobil), who finished 6th in Belvedere and 9th in Palio del Recioto, Luca Chirico (Mg.Kvis-Trevigiani), who finished 3rd and 13th respectively, as well as Alessandro Tonelli (Zalf-Euromobil) and Alexey Vermeulen (BMC Development), who both finished in the top 20 on both days of racing.
2014 didn't start out very well for Herklotz after crashing at 60 km/h thanks to a parked car at Trofej Umag and then he developed bronchitis at the Istrian Spring Trophy, which caused him to DNF the final stage. We saw the beginnings of form at Triptyque Monts et Chateaux and then finally a somewhat return to form at Circuit des Ardennes, where he finished comfortably in 13th overall. He experienced a near repeat from 2013 at the Giro del Belvedere, where he finished 2nd in a two-up sprint with Simone Andreetta. Would Palio del Recioto be different?
Leaving from Negrar, a breakaway of 19 was able to get away early on the eight circuits of 18.2 kilometers. The breakaway, including Alexey Vermeulen (USA/BMC Devo), Christian Mager (Stolting), Campbell Flakemore (Australia), Simone Velasco & Giacomo Berlato (Zalf-Euromobil), Giulio Ciccone (Colpack) and Raimondas Rumsas' son, Raimondas Rumsas. The break got a maximum of 5 minutes but that was still with 100 kilometers to go, long before the peloton really got going.
Notably, Astana Continental missed out on the early breakaway so they felt obliged to chase...and chase...and chase some more. Seriously, the Kazakh squad, who was riding for Michele Scartezzini, just put themselves on the front for the next 50 kilometers and rode the breakaway down until the group came all back together with 50km to go.
With just 52 riders left in the main group, the race headed onto the final 34 kilometer loop that included the tough Corrubio climb, which has two different summits and included a technical downhill to the finish. On the lower slopes of the climb, Iuri Filosi (Colpack) attacked and drew out teammate Manuele Senni, Silvio Herklotz (Stolting), Robert Power (Australia) and Stefano Nardelli (Gavardo-Tecmor). The quintet raced up the Corrubio climb with no rider able to get any distance on the other. It was on the descent where the drama began.
Filosi, who was the impetus that created the breakaway, had a mechanical at the beginning of the descent. Then, in a carbon copy of 2013, Herklotz attacked on the downhill with 6 kilometers to go. Riding like he was in MotoGP, Herklotz was throwing the bike throw the corners and absolutely railing it. Heading into the final kilometer, Herklotz's lead was unassailable and the German U23 champion was able to raise his hands as he crossed the line solo. Redemption is so sweet. Herklotz admitted to some fears about the descent post-race, especially after his tumble in 2013, but he turned off his brain quickly and put his fears out the window. Herklotz's bike handling skills are very high and is one of the best descending riders, not to mention uphill, in the U23 class.
Coming in behind Herklotz was 18-year old Robert Power, who lead in the small group sprint for 2nd ahead of Nardelli and Senni. Lukas Spengler, the 19-year old with BMC Development, has been riding very well over the last two weeks and attacked out of the chasing peloton to take 5th ahead of Filosi. Spengler was 7th at Monday's Giro del Belvedere and 5th at Saturday's ZLM Tour in the Netherlands. Quite a tear for the young Swiss rider. While Luka Pibernik attacked for 7th place, Michele Scartezzini, whose Astana Continental team did all of that work in the build-up to the finale, lead in the sprint for 8th. Woohoo.
Other riders who finished well on both days include Gianni Moscon (Zalf-Euromobil), who finished 6th in Belvedere and 9th in Palio del Recioto, Luca Chirico (Mg.Kvis-Trevigiani), who finished 3rd and 13th respectively, as well as Alessandro Tonelli (Zalf-Euromobil) and Alexey Vermeulen (BMC Development), who both finished in the top 20 on both days of racing.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Andreetta beats Herklotz for Giro del Belvedere win
While Zalf-Euromobil has been on quite the roll this year, pretty much none of their victories up until now have meant anything. I went on about Nicolas Marini winning 6 races this spring but the competition was just the best in Italy and while Zalf won some hillier races as well, this race was the Treviso-based squad's first properly big result of the year. Just a mere 1 hour from the team's home base of Castelfranco Veneto, the Giro del Belvedere went around the surrounding area of the hamlet of Cordignano; Villa di Villa to be exact.
While this was a home race for the team, it was something even more to Simone Andreetta. Andreetta is from the town of Vittorio Veneto, which is just 10 kilometers from the start/finish line of this race, and if he is like any other young kid growing up on a racing bike, he went out and did the hardest climbs in his area, ad nauseam. This includes the Montaner climb, which is just a short spin outside of his childhood door and features prominently on the Belvedere course; being hit twice over the final two circuits. It was a trip in the way back machine for Andreetta; back to a simpler time when it was just between the hill and himself.
The peloton clipped in and set off to tackle 10 laps of a 12.1 kilometer course, which included the Conche climb, before hitting two circuits of a longer 16.5 kilometer course, which featured the Montaner climb. 154 kilometers in all and just mere kilometers into the race, the main breakaway was formed. A group of 17, including the like of Davide Martinelli (Colpack), Giacomo Berlato & Gianni Moscon (Zalf-Euromobil) and Phil Bauhaus (Stölting), got away and got a maximum gap of just 1'40" as the peloton was keen on not letting things get too out of hand.
With 45 kilometers to go, the breakaway was shutdown and nothing was able to get away while the race was preparing for the difficult Montaner climb. Zalf controlled it over the top of the first passage, lead over by Moscon and Andreetta, while everyone seemed to be waiting for the final passage of the climb to do anything. A group of roughly 40 reached the bottom of the climb for the 2nd and final time but that number was soon to be reduced. Stölting took the initiative and three of their riders including Silvio Herklotz, Yuriy Vasyliv and who I think was Christian Mager, just decided to ride of the front and try and pound everyone into submission while launching Herklotz. Andreetta lept out of the chasing group as was able to bridge up to the Stölting trio. By the time they summited the climb, it was just Herklotz and Andreetta left for the descent and flat finish. The duo just released the breaks and bombed the descent, getting a gap of nearly 30 seconds by the time they hit the bottom.
With 1 kilometer to go, the duo had 20 seconds but they decided to dick around for a little while until Herklotz opened up the sprint but it was the hometown Italian who was able to come around to take the victory with some ease. It was Andreetta's first big international win since he won a stage of the Giro della Lunigiana as a junior in 2011 and it was Zalf's first international win of the year, which always makes the bosses happy. Herklotz was denied the win here for the 2nd year running, messing up the sprint yet again after losing to Stefan Küng last year. It is a return to form for the young German who had been a bit off the torrid pace that he set last year in his 1st U23 season. Leading in the chasing group for 3rd a couple seconds later was was Luca Chirico (Mg.Kvis-Trevigiani) ahead of Luka Pibernik (Radenska) and Vasyliv.
Andreetta has been close before in major races, going 2nd last year in Trofeo Piva Banca, and is being touted as one of the best Italy has to offer for the future. He is the class of '93 so he still has another U23 season left, if he chooses so, and he rode Tour de l'Avenir last year really well and won the Memorial Gerry Gasparotto earlier this year in a solo breakaway. So if he ends up turning pro, I would be surprised if the Italian Federation tries to get a Worlds bid for Treviso that ends up going through Vittorio Veneto.
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| Homeboy did it (Photo: Italiaciclismo) |
While this was a home race for the team, it was something even more to Simone Andreetta. Andreetta is from the town of Vittorio Veneto, which is just 10 kilometers from the start/finish line of this race, and if he is like any other young kid growing up on a racing bike, he went out and did the hardest climbs in his area, ad nauseam. This includes the Montaner climb, which is just a short spin outside of his childhood door and features prominently on the Belvedere course; being hit twice over the final two circuits. It was a trip in the way back machine for Andreetta; back to a simpler time when it was just between the hill and himself.
The peloton clipped in and set off to tackle 10 laps of a 12.1 kilometer course, which included the Conche climb, before hitting two circuits of a longer 16.5 kilometer course, which featured the Montaner climb. 154 kilometers in all and just mere kilometers into the race, the main breakaway was formed. A group of 17, including the like of Davide Martinelli (Colpack), Giacomo Berlato & Gianni Moscon (Zalf-Euromobil) and Phil Bauhaus (Stölting), got away and got a maximum gap of just 1'40" as the peloton was keen on not letting things get too out of hand.
With 45 kilometers to go, the breakaway was shutdown and nothing was able to get away while the race was preparing for the difficult Montaner climb. Zalf controlled it over the top of the first passage, lead over by Moscon and Andreetta, while everyone seemed to be waiting for the final passage of the climb to do anything. A group of roughly 40 reached the bottom of the climb for the 2nd and final time but that number was soon to be reduced. Stölting took the initiative and three of their riders including Silvio Herklotz, Yuriy Vasyliv and who I think was Christian Mager, just decided to ride of the front and try and pound everyone into submission while launching Herklotz. Andreetta lept out of the chasing group as was able to bridge up to the Stölting trio. By the time they summited the climb, it was just Herklotz and Andreetta left for the descent and flat finish. The duo just released the breaks and bombed the descent, getting a gap of nearly 30 seconds by the time they hit the bottom.
With 1 kilometer to go, the duo had 20 seconds but they decided to dick around for a little while until Herklotz opened up the sprint but it was the hometown Italian who was able to come around to take the victory with some ease. It was Andreetta's first big international win since he won a stage of the Giro della Lunigiana as a junior in 2011 and it was Zalf's first international win of the year, which always makes the bosses happy. Herklotz was denied the win here for the 2nd year running, messing up the sprint yet again after losing to Stefan Küng last year. It is a return to form for the young German who had been a bit off the torrid pace that he set last year in his 1st U23 season. Leading in the chasing group for 3rd a couple seconds later was was Luca Chirico (Mg.Kvis-Trevigiani) ahead of Luka Pibernik (Radenska) and Vasyliv.
Andreetta has been close before in major races, going 2nd last year in Trofeo Piva Banca, and is being touted as one of the best Italy has to offer for the future. He is the class of '93 so he still has another U23 season left, if he chooses so, and he rode Tour de l'Avenir last year really well and won the Memorial Gerry Gasparotto earlier this year in a solo breakaway. So if he ends up turning pro, I would be surprised if the Italian Federation tries to get a Worlds bid for Treviso that ends up going through Vittorio Veneto.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Weekend Update: Gomirato recompensed in Cimetta; Arden Challenge & everything else plus more
While the weekend was dominated by two bigger events on Saturday, that was by no means everything that happened. With Easter Sunday, it was a much lighter racing calendar as many of the races were pushed to Easter Monday, which is still celebrated in Europe but for many in the USA, it is just another work day.
Circuito del Termen
While Nicolas Marini, Davide Martinelli and the rest of the Italian National Team was still getting their heads kicked in up in Northern Europe, it was business as usual on Sunday for Zalf-Euromobil. While head hunter Jakub Mareczko (Viris Maserati) was present, the ever faithful lead-out man Davide Gomirato and Daniele Cavasin held down the fort with aplomb for the Veneto-based team.
While the race was pretty short at just 98 kilometers, Zalf-Euromobil and Viris-Maserati kept it together for the big bunch sprint. Gomirato, who usually is the last man on the Zalf-Euromobil train and drops off Marini on a regular basis, had the favor returned to him by Cavasin and the older Venetian, who is 26 this year, was able to topple Mareczko, who had beat both Caleb Ewan and Marini in the last couple of weeks. It was Gomirato's first win in nearly 4 years and it was well deserved after all of the work he puts in on the sprint train. Mareczko was definitely grumpy in 2nd place as he thought he would easily take the sprint while Cavasin was in 3rd ahead of Romanian Andrei Voicu.
I do not have many details because there was no live ticker and next to no coverage. Stage 1 was won by Jan Lof, who I have never heard of before now. I see he finished 14th in the Elite Men's National TT for the Netherlands last year and has raced throughout Europe, Asia and Africa. American U23 Dan Eaton, who was a sensation this spring in the US, finished 5th, which was good enough for best U23.
Stage 2 was dominated by the USA National Team as Jeff Perrin won the 136 kilometer race while Dan Eaton finished in 3rd while Niels Vandorsselaer (Baguet Bicycle Center) was sandwiched between the two for 2nd.
Eamon Franck thought he won stage 3 on Sunday but inside the last 30 meters, Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bissell) came through to take the victory while Jasper Dult (CT 2020) finished 3rd to make it the 2nd-all U23 podium of the weekend.
The Arden Challenge finished up today with Antoine Warnier taking the victory while American Jeff Perrin (USA National) took 3rd place overall to secure the overall classification as well as the best U23 competition.
-Russian and Ukranian teams were messing around in the 5-stage GP Adygeya. U23 Alexander Foliforov won the queen stage to Lago Naki outside of the provincial capital of Maykop, which featured a finishing climb of ~14 kilometers and nearly 900 meters of elivation gain. Ilnur Zakarin (RusVelo) won the overall (you might remember Zakarin as the doper who came back in 2012 as a U23 and went on to start his pro career with RusVelo) while Oleg Zemlyakov (Vino!4Eva) was the best U23 rider, finishing 11th overall at 4'33" behind Zakarin. I do have to say that it would be fucking hell to be a Ukranian racing in Russia right now, especially if you were not in favor of Putin. Some people say sports should transcend politics or whatever but I'm sure there were some terse moments in the peloton.
Coming later: Giro del Belvedere report
Circuito del Termen
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| The contrast between Gomirato (c) and Mareczko (green, l) is quite amusing. (Photo: ItaliaCiclismo) |
While the race was pretty short at just 98 kilometers, Zalf-Euromobil and Viris-Maserati kept it together for the big bunch sprint. Gomirato, who usually is the last man on the Zalf-Euromobil train and drops off Marini on a regular basis, had the favor returned to him by Cavasin and the older Venetian, who is 26 this year, was able to topple Mareczko, who had beat both Caleb Ewan and Marini in the last couple of weeks. It was Gomirato's first win in nearly 4 years and it was well deserved after all of the work he puts in on the sprint train. Mareczko was definitely grumpy in 2nd place as he thought he would easily take the sprint while Cavasin was in 3rd ahead of Romanian Andrei Voicu.
G-Skin Arden Challenge
Why do i get the worst images in my head when I read the word, G-Skin? Seriously, I've tried acting like an adult but obviously that doesn't keep me from shaking my head and chuckling. Anyways, the Arden Challenge is a series of four one-day road races in the Luxembourg province of Belgium. Last year, Simon Yates won the overall competition (based upon points) and past winners include David Boucher, Thomas Rabou and Niels Albert.I do not have many details because there was no live ticker and next to no coverage. Stage 1 was won by Jan Lof, who I have never heard of before now. I see he finished 14th in the Elite Men's National TT for the Netherlands last year and has raced throughout Europe, Asia and Africa. American U23 Dan Eaton, who was a sensation this spring in the US, finished 5th, which was good enough for best U23.
Stage 2 was dominated by the USA National Team as Jeff Perrin won the 136 kilometer race while Dan Eaton finished in 3rd while Niels Vandorsselaer (Baguet Bicycle Center) was sandwiched between the two for 2nd.
Eamon Franck thought he won stage 3 on Sunday but inside the last 30 meters, Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bissell) came through to take the victory while Jasper Dult (CT 2020) finished 3rd to make it the 2nd-all U23 podium of the weekend.
Boys rocked it today! @jeffperrin_72 3rd on the day takes overall at Arden Challenge! @USACyclingU23 awesome day! pic.twitter.com/LFc2zVDzAz
— Billy Crane (@erabu) April 21, 2014
The Arden Challenge finished up today with Antoine Warnier taking the victory while American Jeff Perrin (USA National) took 3rd place overall to secure the overall classification as well as the best U23 competition.
Other Results
-While he missed out at the Liege-Bastogne-Liege U23, Pierre-Roger Latour took out his fury on peloton at Saint Lye, located in the Champagne region, on Sunday. Latour got away with his Chambery CF teammate Nans Peters and Bruno Chardon (ASPTT Nancy) and they got a lead of over 6 minutes ahead of the chasing peloton before Latour dropped the hammer and went solo to take the victory 48 seconds ahead of Peters and 1:34 ahead of Chardon with the peloton remnants coming in 6:43 down.-Russian and Ukranian teams were messing around in the 5-stage GP Adygeya. U23 Alexander Foliforov won the queen stage to Lago Naki outside of the provincial capital of Maykop, which featured a finishing climb of ~14 kilometers and nearly 900 meters of elivation gain. Ilnur Zakarin (RusVelo) won the overall (you might remember Zakarin as the doper who came back in 2012 as a U23 and went on to start his pro career with RusVelo) while Oleg Zemlyakov (Vino!4Eva) was the best U23 rider, finishing 11th overall at 4'33" behind Zakarin. I do have to say that it would be fucking hell to be a Ukranian racing in Russia right now, especially if you were not in favor of Putin. Some people say sports should transcend politics or whatever but I'm sure there were some terse moments in the peloton.
Coming later: Giro del Belvedere report
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Anthony Turgis takes shocking win in U23 Liege-Bastogne-Liege
Why do I have this pang of dread somewhere inside me that the peloton is going to get really fucking French here in the next couple of years. I admire the French but really, can some other nation start churning out young riders like The Hexagon is? I only say this because it seems like everything the French have been touching lately has been turning to gold in terms of rider development and they have been winning a lot on the U23 side. After Thomas Boudat's win in the ZLM Tour, of course just an hour or so later Anthony Turgis (CC Nogent-sur-Oise) lept off of Tao Geoghegan Hart's wheel to win the Liege-Bastogne-Liege U23. Greedy French.
The U23 edition of L-B-L is basically the 2nd half of the pro course; starting in Bastogne, the race winds around lower Wallonie before heading back towards Liege, hitting 9 climbs including La Redoute, Saint-Nicolas and the Cote d'Ans before finishing in the Ans velodrome in Alleur, which sits on the northern outskirts of Liege.
A breakaway of 6 went away early in the race before many of the climbs and got a maximum of 6 minutes. To be honest, I was still sleeping during the first half of the race so I couldn't really tell you much that happened. Mathieu Le Lavandier (CC Etupes) crashed with 60 kilometers to go in the race and broke his collarbone. The race really began to touch off at this point as TJ Eisenhart (BMC Development) attacked and was joined quickly by Antoine Warnier (Color Code-Biowanze). The duo set off in pursuit of the breakaway, whose gap was plummeting. As the race hit the mythical La Redoute, Warnier went right past the breakaway and went solo over the top of the climb. Warnier's bid for freedom was short-lived as he was brought back into the fold by the pack, which was now split due to La Redoute, shortly after with 40 kilometers left in the race. Between La Redoute and the Cote de Tilff, multiple attacks were launched by riders including Loic Vliegen & Dylan Teuns (BMC Development), Magnus Cort (CULT Energy) and Paco Ghistelinck (Etixx) but all were brought back before the Tilff climb.
On the Tilff with 21 km to go, Louis Vervaeke (Lotto-Belisol U23) launched a solo move and quickly got a gap of 20 seconds. Tao Geoghegan Hart (Bissell) tried to bridge briefly but was brought back into the fold. Vervaeke held out for another 8 kilometers before being brought back in with 13 km to go. At the base of the Saint-Nicolas, Pierre-Roger Latour (Chambery CF) attacked but was quickly passed by Derk Abel Beckeringh (Croford), who puttered out right as he summited the climb.
Just as there was a lull in the peloton after the summit, Dylan Teuns (BMC Development) attacked solo and pulled out an advantage over the bunch. A counter-attacked was launched by Geoghegan Hart and Anthony Turgis (CC Nogent-sur-Oise) and the duo was able to latch onto Teuns, who was 5th in the same race last year, with 6 kilometers left. On the Cote d'Ans, the trio had 11 seconds on a small group of favorites and the gap was just beginning to wane ever so slightly.
Safely over the final climb, Loic Vliegen took a flier and was able to latch himself onto the group just before they were getting ready to enter the velodrome. The peloton was right on their ass so Geoghegan Hart took the initiative to keep the pace high before the sprint. The Hackney rider lead the sprint from way out, starting at around 400 meters to go, just to ensure the breakaway was not caught by the chasing peloton. Turgis, who was last wheel, popped out from behind and powered away for the victory, the first French victory here since Christophe Kern in 2002, ahead of Teuns, Geoghegan Hart and Vliegen. Just behind Vliegen, Espoirs Central pick for the win Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Belisol U23) won the sprint for 5th, which he was very frustrated with simply because he had the legs to do better than 5th but after problems with his chain on La Redoute and being shuffled out during key times, he had to deal with his place.
1. Anthony Turgis (CC Nogent sur Oise)
2. Dylan Teuns (BMC Devo)
3. Tao Geoghegan Hart (Bissell)
4. Loic Vliegen (BMC Devo)
5. Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Belisol U23)
6. Sam Spokes (Etixx)
7. Frederik Ludvigsson (Giant-Shimano Devo)
8. Floris De Tier (EFC-OPQS)
9. Tanner Putt (Bissell)
10. Derk Abel Beckeringh (Croford)
It was a great day for the class of '94 as both Boudat and Turgis took wins in the two biggest races of the weekend. Turgis himself was even surprised with his win as he was just looking to get a top10 result but after a strong ride at the Ronde van Vlaanderen U23 Nations Cup one week prior, the form was there. Turgis excels in cyclo-cross but he is no stranger to the road as he was a very strong junior and will be looking to join his brother, Jimmy (Roubaix Lille Metropole), in the pro ranks soon.
The youngsters from '95 were showing there talent with Geoghegan Hart, who was originally down for being a worker for Tanner Putt, taking 3rd. Sam Spokes (Etixx) has been riding very well as of late (14th in RvV U23) and his 6th place is definitely a big result.
It was a big group who came to the line together so many big names such as Magnus Cort, Pierre-Roger Latour, Jens Wallays and Louis Vervaeke finished rather anonymously in the bunch.
Many of the big one-day races for the U23 races, at least for spring, have now passed and the stage races with actual mountains will begin to pop up. The one gem that many future classics stars are looking forward to is Paris-Roubaix Espoirs, which is back after a one-year hiatus and will be taking place on June 1.
#liegeU23 (1.2U) 181Km El Francés 1.@AnthonyTurgis #CCNogent 2.@dylan_teuns @BMCDevoTeam 3.@taogeoghegan @BissellDT pic.twitter.com/jo99nLcbnN
— Jhon Novoa (@tankian2novoa) April 19, 2014
The U23 edition of L-B-L is basically the 2nd half of the pro course; starting in Bastogne, the race winds around lower Wallonie before heading back towards Liege, hitting 9 climbs including La Redoute, Saint-Nicolas and the Cote d'Ans before finishing in the Ans velodrome in Alleur, which sits on the northern outskirts of Liege.
A breakaway of 6 went away early in the race before many of the climbs and got a maximum of 6 minutes. To be honest, I was still sleeping during the first half of the race so I couldn't really tell you much that happened. Mathieu Le Lavandier (CC Etupes) crashed with 60 kilometers to go in the race and broke his collarbone. The race really began to touch off at this point as TJ Eisenhart (BMC Development) attacked and was joined quickly by Antoine Warnier (Color Code-Biowanze). The duo set off in pursuit of the breakaway, whose gap was plummeting. As the race hit the mythical La Redoute, Warnier went right past the breakaway and went solo over the top of the climb. Warnier's bid for freedom was short-lived as he was brought back into the fold by the pack, which was now split due to La Redoute, shortly after with 40 kilometers left in the race. Between La Redoute and the Cote de Tilff, multiple attacks were launched by riders including Loic Vliegen & Dylan Teuns (BMC Development), Magnus Cort (CULT Energy) and Paco Ghistelinck (Etixx) but all were brought back before the Tilff climb.
On the Tilff with 21 km to go, Louis Vervaeke (Lotto-Belisol U23) launched a solo move and quickly got a gap of 20 seconds. Tao Geoghegan Hart (Bissell) tried to bridge briefly but was brought back into the fold. Vervaeke held out for another 8 kilometers before being brought back in with 13 km to go. At the base of the Saint-Nicolas, Pierre-Roger Latour (Chambery CF) attacked but was quickly passed by Derk Abel Beckeringh (Croford), who puttered out right as he summited the climb.
Just as there was a lull in the peloton after the summit, Dylan Teuns (BMC Development) attacked solo and pulled out an advantage over the bunch. A counter-attacked was launched by Geoghegan Hart and Anthony Turgis (CC Nogent-sur-Oise) and the duo was able to latch onto Teuns, who was 5th in the same race last year, with 6 kilometers left. On the Cote d'Ans, the trio had 11 seconds on a small group of favorites and the gap was just beginning to wane ever so slightly.
Safely over the final climb, Loic Vliegen took a flier and was able to latch himself onto the group just before they were getting ready to enter the velodrome. The peloton was right on their ass so Geoghegan Hart took the initiative to keep the pace high before the sprint. The Hackney rider lead the sprint from way out, starting at around 400 meters to go, just to ensure the breakaway was not caught by the chasing peloton. Turgis, who was last wheel, popped out from behind and powered away for the victory, the first French victory here since Christophe Kern in 2002, ahead of Teuns, Geoghegan Hart and Vliegen. Just behind Vliegen, Espoirs Central pick for the win Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Belisol U23) won the sprint for 5th, which he was very frustrated with simply because he had the legs to do better than 5th but after problems with his chain on La Redoute and being shuffled out during key times, he had to deal with his place.
1. Anthony Turgis (CC Nogent sur Oise)
2. Dylan Teuns (BMC Devo)
3. Tao Geoghegan Hart (Bissell)
4. Loic Vliegen (BMC Devo)
5. Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Belisol U23)
6. Sam Spokes (Etixx)
7. Frederik Ludvigsson (Giant-Shimano Devo)
8. Floris De Tier (EFC-OPQS)
9. Tanner Putt (Bissell)
10. Derk Abel Beckeringh (Croford)
It was a great day for the class of '94 as both Boudat and Turgis took wins in the two biggest races of the weekend. Turgis himself was even surprised with his win as he was just looking to get a top10 result but after a strong ride at the Ronde van Vlaanderen U23 Nations Cup one week prior, the form was there. Turgis excels in cyclo-cross but he is no stranger to the road as he was a very strong junior and will be looking to join his brother, Jimmy (Roubaix Lille Metropole), in the pro ranks soon.
The youngsters from '95 were showing there talent with Geoghegan Hart, who was originally down for being a worker for Tanner Putt, taking 3rd. Sam Spokes (Etixx) has been riding very well as of late (14th in RvV U23) and his 6th place is definitely a big result.
It was a big group who came to the line together so many big names such as Magnus Cort, Pierre-Roger Latour, Jens Wallays and Louis Vervaeke finished rather anonymously in the bunch.
Many of the big one-day races for the U23 races, at least for spring, have now passed and the stage races with actual mountains will begin to pop up. The one gem that many future classics stars are looking forward to is Paris-Roubaix Espoirs, which is back after a one-year hiatus and will be taking place on June 1.
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