Season 11

[Vos]

   selection SPORTLIFE

It is clear this is a little tour for hillsclimbers, so VanDerKroon will be the teamcaptain.
But doubtfull if he can score GC points, because of his bad flat TT and his bad sprint.
Therefore Tafi gets the teamcaptain role in stage 4.

SPORTLIFE dropped to place 15 due to zero points in all classic races so far this season.
What is not bad because I expected a drop of more places. Hopefully my team can move up a few places in Basque country.

141 VanDerKroon ( 29 ), hillsclimb
142 Tafi ( 29 ), climbsprint
143 Kangert ( 27 ), time trial
144 Birkás ( 29 ), hillsclimb
145 Dékány ( 29 ), helper stage 4

Good luck everyone ! 

[Aurora Australis]

Entering the Basque Country with a stronger TT selection than for Catalunga, even if the top picks haven't raced yet in this season whereas their opponents have.  Mitchum does have a weather bonus though, as does Shields.

Dean Shields   24
Paul Clickett   28
Christian Pinkney   28
Richard Levin   29
Ben Mitchum   29 

[Vos]

Congratulations with the stage-victory of Levin ánd the 490 total points of your team in stage 1, Aurora Australis.
Probably the Australian championship will be very interesting this season. Also Tourmalet and Zatarra(with a half youth team) are doing well.

stage 1 Itzulia ;
15º  Kangert
stage 2 Itzulia ;
9º  VanDerKroon

[Zatarra]

Congratulations with the stage-victory of Levin ánd the 490 total points of your team in stage 1, Aurora Australis.
Probably the Australian championship will be very interesting this season. Also Tourmalet and Zatarra(with a half youth team) are doing well.

stage 1 Itzulia ;
15º  Kangert
stage 2 Itzulia ;
9º  VanDerKroon

My all or nothing tactics in DdV and RvV brought me nothing. Apparently cabrasverdes (at least, maybe even more) agreed to finish second behind Leonov beforehand. Instead of trying to spend less EP in the first seconds to beat Leonov in the final sections, he even spend more (or at least equal amounts of) EP to get rid of the the risky tactic riders (like my Haringa).

It was a guess: all or nothing, I got nothing, but finishing second behind Leonov was never an option to agree upon beforehand, so I simply had to try...

It made the Australian championship at this stage more exciting, be Aude it probably coated me around 600-700 points. Well, I will try again next season. Hopefully Leonov is lonely by then, or other managers will not agree to finish second beforehand. Otherwise the cobblehill classics are really boring the coming seasons. 

[cabrasverdes]

I don't want to get clues about my tactics but I consider them risky. My objective was never a second place. Anyway, it is still a good place for non-favorite Noah Nelisse. Winning Leonov in Flanders nowadays is very difficult, even if Nelisse allready did it, it was when Pierre wasn't his helper. But I'll try it, let's see if any of us get it, or maybe new competitors like Blackhole. Cobble classics are getting more ineteresting every year.

PD: Congrats for your good beginning of season and victory in Omloop

[Zatarra]

I don't want to get clues about my tactics but I consider them risky. My objective was never a second place. Anyway, it is still a good place for non-favorite Noah Nelisse. Winning Leonov in Flanders nowadays is very difficult, even if Nelisse allready did it, it was when Pierre wasn't his helper. But I'll try it, let's see if any of us get it, or maybe new competitors like Blackhole. Cobble classics are getting more ineteresting every year.

PD: Congrats for your good beginning of season and victory in Omloop

Ha, good to see you here. Congrats on the good results yourself as well.

I believe you took some risks (maybe s2-4), but I'm pretty sure you spent EP in s1. I think to beat Leonov+Pierre our riders should safe their energy in that section.

But I agree, let's not discuss tactics en publique. Maybe we can have some little tactical meeting before next season's cobblehill classics. To beat Leonov, we should try different things. I would have been disappointed with a second place, so I took the risk to go all or nothing. It became nothing, but I will try again next season. If we don't screw each other, then I believe Leonov can be beaten.

I've noticed BlackHole as well. Looks like he will be joining the cobblehill top next season. He will need some races to adjust his tactics maybe, but it's a good thing, especially with the other riders getting older .

[Sjiz]

The cobbles went well. Nyland didnt have a TC anymore but finished 24th and 19th. So thats OK. This morning i was pisse, missing out on a good transfer on only 200k. But thats the game. Still very annoying

The first few stages of Itzulia also went well. Just now we got our 6th 4th place. Its starting to feel normal missing the podium Tomorrow will be hard. Tweed doesnt really sprint very well. So we hope to minimize the damage.

[Vos]

stage 3 Itzulia ;
7º  VanDerKroon

[Vos]

stage 4 Itzulia ;
Very bad race of my team.
All helpers started too slow and even could not return in s2 to teamcaptain Tafi (2nd favorite !) despite he was "just" in the 2nd group of s2.
"Just" because I expected Tafi would not be in the front, he is bad in the hills and saved energy.
But with the help of his teammates he is good enough to return in s3 or s4, even despite the wind.
Now he did not, also in s4 in the 2nd group, and isolated from the start is not a successful tactic.
Of course Tafi should have been in the s4 break away group of 15, and despite he was not, finishing top10 should be easy to do.
But the mechanical breakdown in s5 killed his very good sprint, what caused an even more dissapointing result.
17º  Tafi

[Vos]

stage 5 Itzulia ;
1º  VanDerKroon 
Great race, and great stage-victory !

[Sjiz]

As expected, 0 points in Parijs Roubaix. Thats what you get for not de ding riders.

Tonight Verbeek is the big favourite. The team feels good but the victory will always be difficult.

[Sjiz]

Well, I still havent succeeded in getting my team to work together but that is apparently not needed with Verbeek. With no domestiques the entire race he decided to break away in s4. Only Ambrosio could et to his wheel at the top of the Mur. Only because he already had his arms in the air.

Happy with this win because it was the last of the Ardennes. Now we have won all.

[Vos]

Great FW-victory with Verbeek, Sjiz, now your team gets the Trophy Philippe Gilbert. 
By the way, Verbeek had a double weather bonus in FW, that for sure helps and maybe the explanation he could win on his own.

[Vos]

Paris-Roubaix ;
11º  Faber
Very good result and the best result ever of my team in PR. Although never I had a teamcaptain here with TC bonus, also Faber had no TC.
This result means the very first points in a classic one-day-race of this season. 

Amstel Gold Race ;
25º  Sordo
Excellent result because he is just an 8-star hills-specialist and I bought him 13 days ago for 1.045,-
At least now my team could compete in the hills classics, and some unexpected points.

Fleche Wallonne ;
Because of the storm Sordo used 1 EP in s1, I thought that was enough with his 80 on flat and active weather bonus, but it was not.
His 3 helpers could follow the peleton of 92, so Sordo was isolated and riding a lost race from the start.
In s4 he met one of his helpers again, but that was not really helpfull anymore, Sordo finished far outside the points.

Let's see if Sordo can surprise in LBL and score a few points. It will be difficult with his 66 stamina and 265½ kilometers.

[Sjiz]

Great FW-victory with Verbeek, Sjiz, now your team gets the Trophy Philippe Gilbert. 
By the way, Verbeek had a double weather bonus in FW, that for sure helps and maybe the explanation he could win on his own.

I know, its one of his greatest strenghts. Also makes it more difficult to keep his domestiques with him because the difference in GV varies per race when he has bonus or not.