Los Galacticos

[el Galactico]

Rond om Nokere
Braaten on Goodbye-Tour

Today the cat.3 race Rond on Nokere in Belgium was on the plan and with Kim Braaten the has one of the favorites but when we saw the rivals the hope for the win is reduced to a little one. Panagiotis Yammas from Quick-Step in the field. So the team decided to attack at the beginning but unfortunately the group does'nt work very well so that there was to no time a chance to get through with this group. In the half of the race an attack by Iguacu and Barroso was catched very quick. But Barroso tries it again but another time there was no chance for him and nothing to win for the team. So the last km with 4** has to decide which rider will be the winner, Braaten and Yammas attacked both at the same time and nobody of these both was able to leave the other behind so that Yammas has no problems to win the sprint against Braaten.
A good, but not perfect 2. place for Kim in maybe one of his last races. With now 35 years his great career is coming to an end in the next time.

[Lizard]

In your place I´d keep Braaten for the Ronde, he might be good there aswell.

[el Galactico]

Depends on his training performance and on the money the team wants to have in the next month! But you're right, a last big victory at the Ronde would be a perfect ending point for his career.

[el Galactico]

Training 20.3.2010:
Edson Barroso Zeit: -1
Luiz Foguete Berg: +1
Jérome LeBusquet Berg: +1
Jérome LeBusquet Flach: +1
Adriano Perreira Berg: +1
Adriano Perreira Flach: +1
Alejandro DeLaTorre Berg: +1
Alejandro DeLaTorre Flach: +1
Ignacio Castillo Berg: +1

Really great again. This time only Felicandes is missing. Braaten is a more than a hero, he has god-status! I like Castillo and Perreira! DeLaTorre ok but 1 mountain point missing.
Foguete comes more and more to his estimated 60 mountain skill.

[el Galactico]

Mailand-San Remo
the big target failed

Today it was the day of days, D-day for Los Galacticos. The team startet in Mailand, Italy to win Mailand-San Remo, the big target since last year. The whole team was in the best possible form. Captain Leandro wants his 25th win in his career and the race developed good at the beginning. Only one guy in the attack, more than easy to controll. an attack from Ticos well defended at Le Manie, but then a selection at the Capo Berta! Only 4 Galas in front. The teams of Poison Dwarves and Los Ticos raised the tempo again at La Cipressa and then it was over for Leandro, he falls behind the group of strong classics. Only Felicandes and Braaten who are helping him. Castillo stays in front and when it was clear that there was no chance to come back, the captain position changed to Ignacio, the 25 year old classic now has to hold all hopes on his shoulders. An attack at the Poggio by Thomas Guggisberg then decided the race. Only Teddy Epeho was able to follow him. The others looked at each other and then they tried to get both back, it looked good when they won 2 seconds on them 2 kms before the finish line. 2 seconds and only 1 km to go! They both fighted well and so the rescued 1 second in the finish where Teddy Epeho won the Classicissima. Ignacio got the 3rd place in the second group and the 5th overall place.

Good race by him and with the young Aixteam a very friendly winner. But all in all it is the darkest day in team history, because the team failed on the day of the biggest race of Leandro daSouza who now was not able to crown his legendary career.

From tomorrow on the team has to focus on a new target. We now have to see how it goes on with the team. Maybe the new target will be a participation on the Giro in May.

[el Galactico]

La Roue Tourangelle
Rehab...

2 days after Leandro failed his biggest career target, he rehabilitates himself with reaching another career target. La Roue Tourangelle was victory number 25 for him, this was the self proclaimed target when he started his career last year in March. A long time it doesn't look like he will reach this target but now with 33 years it's done. Unfortunately winning Mailand-San Remo is a dream which won't come true for him. A race which was the chance to make him to a complete legend in RSF-history.

[el Galactico]

GP Harelbeke
Brazil conquers Belgium

Last year the team finished 3rd by Ramon Andrade Oliveira when Quicks Peter Urlaub won the race before Stimpy Cat from Romulaner. It was a nice race in which a bad team from Gala couldn't hold the attacking 2 guys.

This year the team made maybe the or at least one of the most active races of their history. The beginning was an attack by Edilson Iguacu, but the group didn't work good. The next try was shortly before La Houppe when Edson Barroso and Ignacio Castillo attacked with Curdin Capaul from Falkenbier in the wheel. Deuseburger gave them nearly 4 minutes and it looked good for a long time when Castillo left Capaul behind him to ride the last 40 kms alone. But about 22 kms before the finish it became clearer that he will be catched. The manager becomes disappointed but then the 3rd and last chance was used to attacke with Kim Braaten and Diego del Rios. In the group were Felix Hübner and Dennis van Niekerk who attacked one km earlier. The group then catched Capaul and Castillo. So that the group was 6 man big with 3 of the own team. At the end they saved 4 seconds before the peloton.

The sprint of the group was no problem for Diego del Rios, who won his first race ever with this belgian classic race.
Kim Braaten finished 3rd like Oliveira last year and Castillo managed to take the 5th place.With this great race the team managed to get away from the relegation zone.

It is the first win of a classic race for the team. Happy. Tonight the team has the permission to drink one or two drinks more.


Then tomorrow the team looks forward to win Gent-Wevelgem.

[el Galactico]

Cyclist of the Month
difficult decision...

March 2010, 3 candidates. This month it wasn't a one-man-show like in the past months.
The candidates:

Leandro daSouza won 3 stages this month and the sprint jersey of Paris-Nice!

Diego del Rios won the GP Harelbeke, the first classic race for the team in the history

Jorge Felicandes won 1 stage, the young riders classement and the GC of Paris-Nice very unexpected.


And now we come to the very hard decision:

3. place: Leandro da Souza 27%
2. place: Diego del Rios 33%
1. place: Jorge Felicandes 40%

Congrats to Jorge!!! A great month!

5 victories for the team, 1 GC, 1 young riders jersey, 1 sprint jersey and one teams classement! Therefor we needed only 21 races!

[el Galactico]

Tour de Panne
4 stages in 3 days

4 stages in 3 days, 3 of them were really annoying to drive but the team wanted to win the first stage. After this aim failed the team relaxed the last 2 days and does nearly nothing. 2 4th places in the sprint for Leandro and so the 3rd place in sprinters classement are all in all not bad." A loss of about 90.000€ for 3 very boring days weren't a good deal", said the team manager after the second halfstage today.
Last year the team got the 3rd place by Ramon Andrade Oliveira. Now the focus is on the Ronde and after that the GP Pais Vasco with a record salary of about 520 k? We gonna see that in a few days.

[el Galactico]

After a meeting of the team managers the decision to build a 3rd training and scouting-center somewhere around the world was made.

Now we sent out some scouts to find the best country for this 3rd center after Rio de Janeiro and Madrid.

Some candidates with good chances are the regions of:

New Zealand, Australia

Uruguay, Chile

Mexico

Serbia


The decision will become public when the team presents the follower of Kim Braaten when is was sold. This could be after Paris-Roubaix or later, depending on his training performances this month.

His follower then will probably be the first one of the new scouting-center!

[el Galactico]

Ronde van Vlanderen
Jones wins the Ronde in a 27man-sprint

Roy Jones from the team Onkel-Eddy is the winner of 2010 Ronde van Vlanderen at 15 o'clock.

At the beginning a 5 man group breaks away from the peloton and got about 25 minutes until the favorites begin to chase after them. Very bad weather with wind and rain made the race very hard for all of them. A lot of "Siebe" eliminates more and more riders so that at the end there where only 27 guys left after the Muur of Geerardsbergen. No decision on the top of the most famous hill of this race so far. In the group were still 2 of us with Kim Braaten and with the leader for today Ignacio Castillo. The Bosberg was used for an attack by Iosif Voinea and Thiago Branco but they didn't managed it to the finish line. 2 kms before they were catched by the big group. After that no other rider had the chance to break away so that this years Ronde has to be decided in a big sprint. Ignacio there got a very good wheel from a early starting Jacob Fuglsang while the favorites are waiting longer and longer so that Ignacio bet them all. All? NO! 1 guy not. Roy Jones started to sprint early as well.

So at the end a very good but also very unfortunately 2nd place for Ignacio. Kim Braaten finished the race on a good 20. place and Adriano Perreira shows a good performance as well with the 37. place and some extraordinary help services for Ignacio.

Tomorrow the team will start for the 6-day-tour in Spain. There Leandro daSouza and Kim Braaten want to win at least 1 stage and the green jersey with a very expensive team around them.

[el Galactico]

Training 5.4.2010:
Kim Braaten Berg: -1
Kim Braaten Zeit: -1
Kim Braaten Sprint: -1
Guilherme Callado Berg: +1
Guilherme Callado Sprint: +1
Leandro daSouza Zeit: -1
Jérome LeBusquet Berg: +1
Jérome LeBusquet Flach: +1
Adriano Perreira Flach: +1
Alejandro DeLaTorre Berg: +1

Kim Braatens time is coming more and more to an end and with him the time of Leandro as well.

Perreira maybe uses the chance to become Kim's follower.

[el Galactico]

GP Pais Vasco - stages 1+2
Frustration everywhere

After a great month march the team is back in reality. A good but little bit frustrating 2. place at the Ronde van Vlaanderen and then the first 2 stages of the GP Pais Vasco. At the first stage Leandro lost the sprint against Mosquerez from Leinad, at the second stage it was only Jörg Abplanalp who was faster in the sprint. And this in one of his last races. Today will be the last chance to beat them all to get his 26th victory and maybe his last one. Kim Braaten will end his career as well. We don't know yet when the time comes for them but it seems to be sure that at least Kim Braaten will end his career at the end of this month.

4 stages are now left in Spain and then the team travels to France for the next big spring classic. The "Hell of the North".

[el Galactico]

GP Pais Vasco - stage 3
Leandro failed, so Ignacio is on...

Today Falke and our team failed with getting the sprint for Leandro and Jörg.

After a big selection bei Coulieu both sprinters were behind and after that they have never seen the first group again. But both, Falke and me, have left one rider in front so that there are some chances as well in front. Falkes Roman Stoll was the best sprinter in this group. 3 kms before the finish there was an attack by Markos Themistoklis with Castillo in his wheel but they were caught back immediately. After that Jorge thought he would have no chance in the sprint but he changed his wheel fast and had the luck to get this against Matthew Bearclaw. Nobody was on his wheel so that he was one of only a few number of riders who started to sprint early while the good sprinters waited to long. At the end Ignacio was milimeters in front of Daniel Sack.

This is the first victory of his career with 26 years after finishing 2nd at the Ronde last weekend. Victory number 47 in race 440 for the team.

[el Galactico]

GP Pais Vasco

The GP Pais Vasco is over. Ignacio Castillo with the great win at the 3rd stage but after that there is nothing. NO victory for Leandro, one day he lost against a classic sprinter and at the second day it was Jörg Abplanalp who was faster than him.

A loss of about 60k is ok. At the end Ignacio got the 14 place in GC which is really more than okay.

Winner of this tour is Scott Hansen from Team EPO who decided the time trial on the last day for him.

[el Galactico]

Training 12.4.2010:
Kim Braaten Abfahrt: -1
Kim Braaten Sprint: -1
Edson Barroso Zeit: -1
Luiz Foguete Berg: +1
Guilherme Callado Berg: +1
Guilherme Callado Sprint: +1
Alejandro DeLaTorre Berg: +1
Alejandro DeLaTorre Flach: +1
Jérome LeBusquet Flach: +1
Adriano Perreira Flach: +1
Leandro daSouza Flach: -1

Braaten makes it very hard for me and Leandro begins now to become worse. The rest is good, but again Castillo and Felicandes are missing here. It seems that the next generation after Villafuerte/Vidal failed in reaching the skills of legend Alejandro Espinoza.

[el Galactico]

Paris-Roubaix
Del Rios great day in France

Last sunday the team started in France for the most popular classic race in cycling world. Paris-Roubaix or "the hell of the north", which is a well fitting nickname for the hardest race in professional cycling historie. A race over 27 parts of cobblestones, old streets which were build a long time ago. Now these streets were used again every year in april for this race. The most difficult parts like "le foret d'Arenberg" or "Le Carrefour de l'arbre" are names which make the hearts of real fans beating faster when they hear them. The name "hell of the north" comes from the time after the world wars when the region was completely destroyed by the weapons of the european armees.

This sunday Diego del Rios wanted to win this race but he was only a outsider behind the great favorites Luiz Muchacho and Jan Vermaart with their strong teams. Adriano Perreira had the chance to try it with an early escape but the group never became dangerous for the peloton. When they reached the Carrefour Diego was still in a good position and in a good form, so that he survived this hard last part as the rider with the lowest pave skill. But still in the group were as well the big favorites Muchacho(one helper+, Vermaart and one rider from Lessosies. Franconia managed the sprint without a problem then and Luiz Muchacho had no problems to win the race. Diego became 4. and after a few minutes of relaxing he recognized that he did a big race with a big result at the end.

The good spring classic season goes on... Next will be the Amstel Gold Race and the classics in the Ardennes.

[el Galactico]

Kim Braaten

In Memorian Kim Braaten. Today he left the team without a big spectacle as he always was. A calm and intoverted man who lived out his emotions on the bike.
his career started in the team of Demuth were was able to win a stage of the Tour Down Under '09 and the yound riders classement. At the end of this tour he finished also at the 2. place.

With 22 years he left the team and comes to JPS where he grows up and was sold when the team was closed. After that he comes to our team with the skills of 63-84. Nobody expected to this moment what a great career was infront of him but with his incredible training work he becomes the or at least one of the best helpers for hilly sprinters of all times. He managed countless sprints for his captain Leandro daSouza, who won 25 stages out of this. Kim for himself had only a few chances to ride for his own, but 3 times he used this chance to get a win. The most important one was for sure the Coppa Mosella in his best month November '09!

In March this year he also got a 3rd place at the belgian classic race Omloop Het Volk.

But nevertheless he was known for his services to Leandro. He was the one who shocked many sprinters and many classic sprinters when they saw him. He has a biig part to the 25 victories of Leandro daSouza and we want to thank him for this.

His last race was Paris-Roubaix last weekend and after that his motivation was suddenly gone. They all tried to reanimate the motivation but he always was a straight guy so now it's officially over after a last attack a few kms before Roubaix.

With the end of this career the second generation of the team is almost over, the last one on board is of course the captain, Kim's best friend Leandro.


294 races
4 stages
3952 eternal points
1 yound riders jersey

Bye Bye Kim. We gonna miss you very much. It was so hard to let you go now after 5 hard days of talking to you.

[el Galactico]

Amstel Gold Race
Desaster, part 1

The desaster part 1 begun with the Amstel Gold Race today where the team was destroyed by the other teams. The form was bad for all of the riders so that they tried to attack in the beginning but the group with Luiz Foguete was caught with no problem. At the end Alejandro DeLaTorre reaches a disappointing 18. place. No form and a bad race from the manager as well, but in the end he took the right wheel. Unfortunately Alejandro wasn't able to follow Kato Wolfsong in the flat. It would have been the win for the Alejandro but he failed.

But we have some good news as well. With Rafael Bahamontes a new rider joined the team and the plans for the first GT, the Giro d'Italia, are becoming more and more structured.

[el Galactico]

Training 20.4.2010:
Jérome LeBusquet Flach: +1
Adriano Perreira Flach: +1
Jorge Felicandes Berg: +1
Leandro daSouza Flach: -1
Rafael Bahamontes Berg: +1
Rafael Bahamontes Flach: +1
Guilherme Callado Berg: +1
Guilherme Callado Sprint: +1
Diego DelRios Berg: +1

First i thought that it was good, then i saw DeLaTorre missing. Second time for him. He has to go now after this month. Giro plans have to be done new without him...


riders who failed at least 1 training with 21 or 22:

DeLaTorre ( +91% with 22)
Perreira ( flat)
Felicandes ( mountain and flat with 22 in one training)
daSouza ( mountain with 21)
Villafuerte ( flat with 21)
Bellazuega ( more then 1 training with 21)
Planckaert ( flat with 21)

this is my last and the new generation, nearly everyone of the missed the training that early, is it still normal buhmann?

I'm really pissed of now.

[el Galactico]

Training and what happened the 2 days after that...

After Alejandro DeLaTorre, the planed captain for the Giro, failed his mountain training for the second time he was kicked out the following morning. The team suddenly was without a real leader for their first GT! But luckily the VC Aywaille sold one very talented guy one day before. In the night to today the manager traveled to Liege in Belgium to sign the contract with him after a short conversation.

So now we are very proud to present our hopefully new leader for the next months. The 23 years old Benjamin Gourgue from Liege. His objectives for the future will be to ride the Giro and a second GT(Vuelta or the Tour).

With his skills of 83-53-78-49-55, reg.43 he only left out one mountain training up to this moment. We hope that he will be able to reach about 87/88 at mountain and becomes one of the best climbers of the world.

Today he can show his talent at the important classic race Fleche Wallone in his home country.


But now we come to the sad part of this story.

Nobody than Leandro daSouza was sold today to have enough money to buy Benjamin.

In the following post i will write something to his great career. And of course he will be introduced in the Hall of Fame as the second rider in the teams historie.

[el Galactico]

Leandro da Souza
A history of success

When Leandro daSouza was bought at the 4th of March 2009, the team had an inexact plan about having a hilly sprinter like the legend Kralju Kralev. So Leandro was bought with the start skills of 50-55-66-50-82 and he exercised very well in the following months. His helpers developed very well too and when Kim Braaten joins the team the plan was fullfilled and the way of success begun.

His first victory was the 5th stage of the Tour de Romandie '09 where he was able to beat Urs Flückiger from Falkenbier. There he was only 23 years old. With 24 he added one victory to his palmares. In July he won the 3rd stage of the Tour of Austria and one unimportant race as well. One stage in August and 2 stages in September followed after that. In October he had one of his most successful months by winning Paris-Bourges and the GP Beghelli. Furthermore he reaches a 3. place at Paris-Tours.
November was then the most successful month with 6 victories and the sprint jersey ot the Norge Rundt.
In december he added 4 stages, the sprint jersey and the tour win of the Tour du Centre.
January 2010 brought him the win and the sprint jersey of the Tour Down Under, but no stage. In February he was able to win 3 stages and in March he added 2 stages, one of them a stage of Paris-Nice, where he won the sprint jersey as well.

All in all this were 25 stages, 2 tour victories and 4 sprint jerseys.
He needed 210 races for this and collected 9527 points.

He is now the second best hilly sprinter(stage wins) and the best brazilian rider of all times.

Leandro wanted to thank Kim Braaten, his best friend and best helper here because he was one of the main reasons for his success.
He said: " When you talk about Leandro's career, you have to mention Kim Braaten, this incredible helper who brought me countless times to the finish line."


Leandro daSouza
210 races
25 stages
2 tour wins
4 sprint jerseys

9527 eternal points.


A legend retires! We want to thank Allagen and all of the others for the nice fights.

[el Galactico]

Fleche Wallone
"Die Gurke" shows his talent.

In his first race for the team today, Benjamin "die Gurke" Gourgue shows his talent for the first time by reaching the finish line on the top of the "Muur de Huy" on the 5. place. After a good race Ignacio Castillo reaches a good 18. place as well after being in a dangerous group which was builded at the last 20 kms.

We hope that Benjamin can show other good results like that, especially at the Giro next month, where he wants to win the young riders jersey perhaps.

[el Galactico]

Training 27.4.2010:
Rafael Bahamontes Berg: +1
Rafael Bahamontes Flach: +1
Guilherme Callado Berg: +1
Guilherme Callado Sprint: +1
Benjamin Gourgue Berg: +1
Jérome LeBusquet Berg: +1
Jérome LeBusquet Flach: +1
Adriano Perreira Flach: +1

Perreira, the new Kim Braaten. Callado the follower of Leandro with a good training as well, but the important ones to come in the next months. A very important one for "die Gurke", he is prepared for the Giro, maybe he can make it perfect and does it again at the 5th of May before the Giro starts. But the rest of the team is really shit, everywhere you can see classic riders with at least 74-75 mountain skill and my 2 guys don't want to have more than 71?


We also want to tell you here that "die Gurke" got a 4th place today in Spain at the race "Subida al Naranco". He shows his talent once again after his 5th place at the Fleche. The team missed Liege-Bastogne-Liege at the weekend, where he would have been the captain again.

[el Galactico]

Rider of the Month - April

This month the decision for the Rider of the Month is not very difficult. For sure it is Ignacio Castillo with his first victory of his career and a very strong 2. place at the Ronde!!

A second candidate doesn't exist for real, maybe it could have been Diego del Rios with a 4. place in the "Hell of the North" Paris-Roubaix.



Season review

The team started at 21 races at all and won 1 out of them. 2. at the Ronde, 4. in Roubaix and a 4. place by our new talent Benjamin Gourgue at the Fleche Wallone are the best results in the classic month april.
Gourgue joined the team after DeLaTorre and Leandro daSouza left the team.
Kim Braaten ended his career like Leandro as well. For him we managed to buy Rafael Bahamontes, a 21year old helper with flat and little mountain skills.