The Combuijs Capers

[Combuijs]

This season we will get rid of (almost) all of our old riders and we will start a new generation (cobble) hillers. At the moment we have 7 interesting prospects and we will try to get a few results with the oldies.

The probably last cup ride for a while was against Ophiuko CT and our Amable Puerto could not beat Kert Tammik.

Tour Down Under:
2nd stage: 3. Diederik de Maar
5th stage: 6. Amable Puerto

Omloop het Nieuwsblad: 9. Giorgi Jabbarov
Strade Bianchi: 9. Giorgi Jabbarov

Paris - Nice:
1st stage: 29. Erland Westby
2nd stage: 13. Erland Westby, 28. Bert Kerkhof
4th stage to Vierzon: 26. Erland Westby



Our youngest oldie Erland finished 3rd in the GC.

Division standings in 2b after the first week:

1º      AmericanChow   4121   1   1   3
2º      TeaMetal   2798   1   0   1   
3º      MarquinaTeam   2343   2   2   1   
4º      $Tourmalet   2041   2   3   1   
5º      vercors   2010   1   1   1   
6º      Cremy   1789   0   1   1   
7º      Fliegende_Flyers   1259   0   0   0   
8º      CajaRuralZamora   1103   0   1   1   
9º      Rekutxuteam   1051   1   1   0   
10º      Albion   978   1   0   0   
11º      Combuijs   952   0   0   1   
12º      PDM_cycling_team   913   1   2   0

No, we won't be competing for promotion, but we might stay in the division for a season...

[Combuijs]

Tirreno Adriatico:
5th stage: 22. Erland Westby

In the GC Bert Kerkhof finished 19th, just good enough to be mentioned here for the last time.

E3 Harelbeke: 3. Giorgi Jabbarov, 10. Jesper Håkonsson

Volta Catalunya:
3rd stage: 10. Yvo van Straalen
4th stage: 2. Diederik de Maar
5th stage: 8. Yvo van Straalen, 17. Arnolds Treimanis

In the GC Yvo finished 5th.

Gent-Wevelgem: 8. Jesper Håkonsson



Division standings in 2b after the second week:

1º      AmericanChow   8508   1   3   5
2º      TeaMetal   5647   1   0   2   
3º      MarquinaTeam   5511   4   5   3   
4º      Cremy   5172   2   3   1   
5º      vercors   4070   1   1   3   
6º      $Tourmalet   3968   3   4   1   
7º      Rekutxuteam   3102   3   2   0   
8º      CajaRuralZamora   2325   0   1   2   
9º      Combuijs   2233   0   1   2   
10º      Fliegende_Flyers   2018   0   1   0   

We are now reduced to 6 serious riders, plus some very talented ... eh ... talents.

On the cobble hill front we have Claudio Passacantilli, Viriato Ataide, Hernan Santander and Hakan Bühler. As flat hillers we have Isaias Valderrama, Jens Korenveld, Adam Hoogvliet, Sándor Tacács and Albeiro Valdes. Pure hillers are Tigo Seedorf, Henk-Jan van Vleuten, Odin Koning and Rein Verspuij.

At the moment all our staff are trying to measure up these talents to predict who is going to be our star rider in the future. We have hardly any definitive results yet, but some look promising.

[Combuijs]

Dwars door Vlaanderen: 3. Jesper Håkonsson, 21. Giorgi Jabbarov
Ronde van Vlaanderen: 3. Jesper Håkonsson, 17. Giorgi Jabbarov

Itzulia:
1st stage: 1. Diederik de Maar
3rd stage: 1. Jesper Håkonsson, 8. Giorgi Jabbarov

Two victories, mainly because we did not ride for the GC.

Tour de Romandie:
1st stage: 8. Diederik de Maar
3rd stage: 21. Arnolds Treimanis
5th stage: 10. Arnolds Treimanis

In the GC Arnolds finished 14th.

Giro:
2nd stage: 13. Yvo van Straalen
5th stage: 12. Yvo van Straalen
6th stage: 18. Yvo van Straalen, 23. Erland Westby
8th stage: 10. Yvo van Straalen

In the GC Yvo finished 4th on almost 4 minutes from winner Agapito Salcedo (Cremy).

Dauphine Liberé:
1st stage: 5. Yvo van Straalen
2nd stage: 13. Yvo van Straalen
3rd stage to La Rosière: 18. Yvo van Straalen



Division standings in 2b after the fourth week:

1º      AmericanChow   14744   2   6   7
2º      MarquinaTeam   14195   6   7   7   
3º      Cremy   12651   7   4   1   
4º      TeaMetal   10575   2   0   5   
5º      vercors   8167   1   2   7   
6º      $Tourmalet   8152   4   8   2   
7º      CajaRuralZamora   6084   2   1   3   
8º      Rekutxuteam   5518   4   4   0   
9º      MOREBike   5119   1   3   1   
10º      Combuijs   4687   2   1   4   
11º      beerkes   4601   1   0   0   

It seems we have two very talented riders: Albeiro Valdes and Claudio Passacantili. Rein Verspuij, Henk-Jan van Vleuten and Hakan Bühler can be called promising talents as well. So we will concentrate on these riders for the moment.

[Combuijs]

Dauphine Liberé:
In the GC Yvo van Straalen finished 5th.

Tour de Suisse:
2nd stage: 7. Arnolds Treimanis
4th stage: 14. Arnolds Treimanis
5th stage: 4. Arnolds Treimanis, 12. Yvo van Straalen

In the GC Arnolds was on 3rd place on 1.43 from winner Elias Bossov (Marguina Team). Yvo finished 15th in a supporting role.

Tour de France:
2nd stage: 8. Arnolds Treimanis
4th stage: 24. Erland Westby
5th stage to Mende: 16. Arnolds Treimanis, 28. Erland Westby



After the 5th week these are the division standings:

1º      MarquinaTeam   16990   6   8   10   
2º      AmericanChow   15742   2   6   7
3º      Cremy   14653   9   5   1   
4º      TeaMetal   12435   4   0   7   
5º      $Tourmalet   9431   5   9   3   
6º      vercors   9244   1   2   8   
7º      CajaRuralZamora   6937   2   1   5   
8º      Galletto   6809   4   5   5   
9º      Rekutxuteam   6436   5   5   0   
10º      MOREBike   5867   1   4   1   
11º      Combuijs   5770   2   1   4   
12º      beerkes   5516   1   0   0   

The time trial results of Diederik de Maar last week did not go without notice and we got an offer from the Pauwel's brewery which of course we refused. After all their Kwak beer is a very strong contender for our own Combuijs Honey Ale...

[Combuijs]

Tour de France:
6th stage: 9. Arnolds Treimanis
8th stage: 3. Arnolds Treimanis, 14. Erland Westby
9th stage: 12. Arnolds Treimanis, 27. Erland Westby
10th stage: 8. Arnolds Treimanis, 14. Erland Westby

In the GC Arnolds finished 4th, just outside the podium. Erland finished 14th.

Combuijs Honey Ale Tour:
2nd stage: 20. Giorgi Jabbarov
3rd stage: 18. Giorgi Jabbarov
5th stage: 22. Giorgi Jabbarov

In the GC Giorgi finished 12th.

Vuelta:
1st stage: 19. Arnolds Treimanis, 27. Yvo van Straalen
2nd stage: 10. Yvo van Straalen
4th stage: 19. Yvo van Straalen
5th stage: 8. Yvo van Straalen
6th stage: 26. Yvo van Straalen
7th stage: 11. Yvo van Straalen
8th stage to Cerler: 25. Yvo van Straalen

In the GC Yvo finished 5th, Arnolds 20th. Russian Lukoil was very satisfied with this result and donated some money. We have declined the offer though in light of the situation in Ukraine...




Final standings:

1º      AmericanChow   23810   3   8   8
2º      MarquinaTeam   23011   11   16   11   
3º      Cremy   21864   12   6   1   
4º      TeaMetal   16260   4   0   7   
5º      vercors   13043   1   5   8   
6º      CajaRuralZamora   12283   2   3   8   
7º      $Tourmalet   12163   7   11   5   
8º      Galletto   11844   4   7   8   
9º      GMV_Cycling   9194   0   0   1
10º      beerkes   8706   2   0   2   
11º      PDM_cycling_team   8678   7   9   5
12º      PORTUGAL2011   8207   20   2   2   
13º      Combuijs   8143   2   1   5   
14º      Lugnanese   8076   0   1   3   
15º      MOREBike   7253   1   5   1   
16º      Albion   7089   2   3   1   
17º      Rekutxuteam   6821   6   5   0   
18º      SanJose   6419   1   2   3   
19º      Euskadi2022   6332   1   1   3   
20º      Fliegende_Flyers   6118   2   2   2   
21º      Estoparia   5625   0   0   0
22º      JackyTeam   3521   0   0   1   
23º      Gloucester   3247   0   0   1   
24º      Animatoca   3201   0   0   0   
25º      La_Vie_Claire   3053   2   1   2
26º      FastandFurious   2675   0   0   0   
27º      team_piroshki   1919   0   0   0   
28º      Cosalis   1853   0   0   0   
29º      WinterIsComing   1684   0   2   1
30º      VILLESVENSKAS   1277   1   0   1
31º      GARAJE_EH   859   0   0   0   
32º      Periquitos   818   0   1   1
33º      Flandria   561   0   0   0   
34º      TilburgTerriërs   282   0   0   0
35º      OSLB   268   0   0   0
36º      ColoTeam   133   0   0   0   
37º      El_Equipo_de_Drkasty   15   0   0   0   
38º      TTeam   0   0   0   0   
39º      Team_Elrosportu   0   0   0   0
40º      FaustoScoppi   0   0   0   0   
41º      Oska   0   0   0   0   
42º      Velocitus   0   0   0   0   
43º      Jediondos   0   0   0   0
44º      Buttazoni   0   0   0   0   
45º      Bergersfeldt   0   0   0   0   
46º      Balumina   0   0   0   0   
47º      Kalenjicycling   0   0   0   0   
48º      Arosa    0   0   0   0   
49º      Xacobeo83   0   0   0   0   
50º      TeamDB   0   0   0   0   

Lost some places in the last races, but 13th is not bad with only 6 competitive riders.

1º      Agapito Salcedo   27   6793   Cremy   4   2   0   
2º      Sebastiaan Groenendaal   29   5065   Galletto   1   3   3   
3º      Cristian Kristiansen   30   4262   AmericanChow   1   4   2   
4º      Orencio Molinero   30   3935   CajaRuralZamora   0   1   2   
5º      Nick Thompson   28   3557   TeaMetal   2   0   4   
6º      Elias Bossov   24   3494   MarquinaTeam   1   1   3   
7º      Alex Harkeleroad   27   3349   PORTUGAL2011   9   0   1   
8º      Danylo Ruzmikin   30   3309   Cremy   3   1   0   
9º      Afonso Rio    33   3057   TeaMetal   0   0   1   
10º      Gilbert Obermeier   25   3040   MarquinaTeam   2   5   3   

17º      Yvo VanStraalen   33   2583   Combuijs   0   0   0   
26º      Arnolds Treimanis   32   1938   Combuijs   0   0   1   

Jesper Håkonsson   32   1177   363333         104
Giorgi Jabbarov   32   1085   256666         248
Erland Westby   30   785   167999         010
Diederik De Maar   32   468   100000         323

Yvo van Straalen still 17th, perhaps another season for him?

[Combuijs]

Not a good start of season 23, we lost in the first round of the cup in a hill climbing race against fellow Pro Continental tour team Xegalaki Pro. Erland Westby could not beat Claudio Rosario (and Wilfried Jacob for that matter).

Omloop het Nieuwsblad: 7. Jesper Håkonsson, 30. Giorgi Jabbarov
Strade Bianchi: 13. Jesper Håkonsson

Paris - Nice:
1st stage: 2. Diederik de Maar
5th stage: 30. Erland Westby

Tirreno Adriatico:
4th stage: 12. Erland Westby
5th stage: 25. Erland Westby

In the GC Erland finished 7th, Arnolds 18th as a helper.

E3 Harelbeke: 8. Giorgi Jabbarov

Volta Catalunya:
1st stage: 23. Yvo van Straalen
2nd stage: 12. Yvo van Straalen, 20. Arnolds Treimanis
3rd stage: 1. Diederik de Maar
4th stage: 30. Yvo van Straalen
5th stage: 25. Yvo van Straalen

A win in the time trial by Diederik, which earned us a sponsor contract by DSM. They will now supply us with interesting chemical stuff, which can't be detected by doping control.


In the GC Yvo finished 5th and Arnolds 10th in a helping role. Points in every stage, so all and all a very good Volta Catalunya.

Gent - Wevelgem: 8. Jesper Håkonsson
Dwars door Vlaanderen: 2. Jesper Håkonsson, 25. Georgi Jabbarov



Division standings after two weeks:

1º      LanihuliCycling   8402   2   1   4   
2º      Rekutxuteam   7944   12   3   1   
3º      MOREBike   3828   1   2   3   
4º      GMV_Cycling   3418   0   1   1
5º      Kelme4ever   3311   1   0   2   
6º      Fliegende_Flyers   3199   1   4   3   

12º      CajaRuralZamora   2341   1   2   0   
13º      Combuijs   2305   1   2   0   
14º      Galletto   2287   1   3   2   

[Combuijs]

Ronde van Vlaanderen: 9. Jesper Håkonsson, 23. Georgi Jabbarov

Itzulia:
3rd stage: 27. Giorgi Jabbarov
4th stage: 9. Jesper Håkonsson, 14. Giorgi Jabbarov
5th stage: 29. Giorgi Jabbarov

Tour de Romandie:
2nd stage: 3. Diederik de Maar

Giro:
1st stage: 30. Erland Westby.
2nd stage: 17. Erland Westby
5th stage: 23. Erland Westby, 29. Yvo van Straalen
6th stage: 12. Erland Westby
7th stage: 29. Erland Westby
8th stage: 29. Erland Westby
9th stage: 30. Erland Westby
10th stage: 24. Erland Westby

In the GC Erland finished 12th, not good enough for a sponsor deal with Philips. He was very consistent, but simply not good enough.

Dauphiné Liberé:
1st stage: 25. Erland Westby
3rd stage: 14. Erland Westby, 30. Yvo van Straalen
4th stage: 10. Erland Westby
5th stage: 6. Erland Westby

In the GC Erland finished 7th.

Tour de Suisse:
2nd stage: 13. Arnolds Treimanis, 26. Yvo van Straalen
3rd stage: 8. Jesper Håkonsson, 24. Yvo van Straalen, 29. Arnolds Treimanis
4th stage: 6. Arnolds Treimanis, 29. Yvo van Straalen
5th stage: 15. Arnolds Treimanis

In the GC Arnolds was just outside the podium on place 4, Yvo finished 12th. All and all a very satisfying tour of Switzerland.

Tour de France:
3rd stage: 23. Arnolds Treimanis, 27. Erland Westby
4th stage: 13. Arnolds Treimanis, 14. Erland Westby
5th stage: 5. Diederik de Maar
6th stage: 5. Diederik de Maar
7th stage: 10. Diederik de Maar, 28. Erland Westby
8th stage to Digne-les-Bains: 20. Erland Westby



Division standings after five weeks:

1º      LanihuliCycling   25368   11   13   8   
2º      Rekutxuteam   15111   18   8   6   
3º      Galletto   12623   11   7   9   
4º      MOREBike   10037   3   4   6   
5º      team_piroshki   9542   1   2   5
6º      GMV_Cycling   9404   0   4   3   

14º      beerkes   6440   1   1   1   
15º      Combuijs   4825   1   2   1   
16º      SanJose   4749   0   0   3   

GMV Cycling is fighting for promotion, we will most likely finish on 15th place, which is good enough.

Meanwhile we have switched to cobble training for most riders.