Wallonie 14h

[team fl]

July, Tour, nah, Wallonie!

Line-up

x1 Phineas Federspiel
x2 Lars Hirschfeld
x3 Peter Kasper
x4 Ryan Kilfeather
x5 Fran Peterlin
x6 Dominikos Petrakis
x7 Desideriu Vatca
x8 Ariel Weisman
x9 Alain Yoda

Most expensive team, goals: yes.

[Rastaman]

1 Rodolph Austin
2 Germaine Williams
3 Lloyd Doyley
4 Devon White
5 Patrick Ewing
6 Mike McCallum
7 Paul Bogle
8 Arthur Wint
9 Winston Watts

podium seems like an healthy goal.

[Hasselhoff]

Well, my line-up are all my 9 riders^^... and I don't have a clue, what my goals are or should be. Hm. Let's see how the tour will be.

[team fl]

what a week-end... I really thought stage 1 could be the MS stage, but instead, it was stage 2. Completely wronged my team and jeopardised my chances on Saturday for Sunday too. Anyway, as I'm usually not able to ride on weekends, I can't complain about that and Rasta really tried something on Saturday, although I still think it serves rexon the most, who starts into stage 3 with already two stage wins, yellow and green. Today will be hard to predict but I guess most likely it won't be an MS again. Well, haven't given up on anything, the goalstatus is still on yes.

First I wanted to do a Favorite check as well, but now I am much too lazy for that. I say rexon wins GC and green, if not Rasta with Austin or Williams. Besides that, red will go to Portugal cycling and the team classification to either Rasta or rexon. And what with poor Team FL? White, yes. For Fran, hopefully. And a stage... maybe, who knows. Bähhh, stupid weekend

[team fl]

Exciting third stage, with the usual winner: rexon. today Mendoza made it. He also leads the GC now, 10 secs in front of Taschek from Hasselhoffs and 12 secs in front of Peterlin from Team FL. Joachim Daniel from Belgiqmy and the groups puller and hard worker Petraksi complete the quintet that fought for the stage today. In the end, it was Peterlin how showed too much of an effort while Mendoza was hesitating to use the chance against the Rasta boys. But as rexon had green and yellow in the back, of course, he had not to do anything. Now he has everything

[Hasselhoff]

It was a really nice and exciting little tour up to now and it's not decided yet!

On one of the first ridden stages I expected a MS - but a MS could not been caused yet by someone and it will be quite difficult to bring about a MS on the last two stages tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Good for me and my team; with Simpson as a 80-Sprinter I it would have been very uneasy to win... especially against a Phineas Federspiel (92) from FL, for example. Maybe a bit frustrating for FL to pay him everyday, but OK. By the way: in case of money it's a very successfull tour for me up to now, I meet the requirements everyday, to get 50-100k per race. The salary cost of my 9 needed riders to start is completely payed by the competes premium, so I can ride without pressure and with no worries. In contrast to the 3 favourite teams in the tour who are also the most expensive teams: Team Rasta, Team FL and Rexon. These managers also brought the best riders to the tour; but at the moment, the overall classification looks quite.. unexpected . But it clearly will change in the next and last two stages, I think.

In general the peloton is very small, because of only 9 competing teams. But that somehow makes it family-like; personally I do like smaller fields more than big ones. The first two stages we always had a classics sprint, with the exception that on the first stage Halva Eriksson (rexon) and Germaine Williams (Rasta) could hasten away. As I said, I expected a mass sprint there, but the bad cooperation between the 3 favo teams switched every stage to a GC-relevant stage. On the first stage, FL was resignating, after he couldn't lead Phineas to a MS. Instead, rexon won the sprint vs Rasta in front and also the classics sprint behind.
Second stage was also a farce for FL, who had not a good weekend on the whole, as he told us in his posts before^^. Again, we had much siebing, attacking and trying by many teams. At this point it should be mentioned that every stage there were some groups that were builded at the start of the race, but not one of these groups really wanted to go for the stage win, it was always for the special jerseys and always very unexcited communicated with the favo teams in the chat. And in general, there's quite a funny and cool atmosphere in the chat. But back to topic: Second stage there was again the classics sprint, but this time for the stage win. It nearly was a copy of the sprint the day before; again Rexon with Reynolds (72-73 with 72 Sprint) and Grundtvig (71 Sprint) was succeeding. I personally am a bit pissed about the sprint results from my rider NeigeDeSavoie (81-54, 70 Sprint), who always lost against much lower-skilled riders and placed on place 9 or sth like that all the time... but OK.
Then there was the third stage today; Aybek very good 2nd place, never expected. FL again unlucky, but better than the last stages. And the winner comes again from Rexon, Diego Mendoza. Now it is quite an interesting constellation. I don't think that Aybek really can hold this 2nd place in GC, but we will see. Little favo check two stages before this tour ends:

Red Jersey:

***Rubehn Sousa (Portugal Cycling)
**Jeff Engels (Belgiqmy)
*Bruno Almeida (Be Funky)
In the end, it will be one rider from Belgiqmy or Portugal, the two teams who are always in escape. Sousa and Engels must have low energy levels, but they should have nearly the same, so it's an open race for red. Funky only with theoretical chances; Bruno also isn't the best rider for escape groups.

Green Jersey:

I really cannot give a clear favo for this. It is an open race, as well. In the end, the tour winner will also get green, I think. Or maybe Reynolds from rexon... very hard to say and a very open race!

White Jersey:

***Fran Peterlin (Team FL)
**
*Tony Abismo (Portugal Cycling)
This is decided, I think. Abismo and also Bolloni from Team Rond over a minute behind, and Abismo with no flat skills, whereas Team Rond is always offline. Clear thing for FL. Only real concurrent, Lloyd Doyley from Rasta, is over 17 minutes behind, so no danger. Peterlin will be a great rider, also with 69 TT up to now, wow. And by the way: Also Abismo will be a good rider to place good in tours with time trials. But the little flat skill, of course, is quite hindrance.

Team classification:

***rexon
**Team FL
*Hasselhoffs
... and also Team Rasta. Rexon with very good chances, he has a rider for nearly every situation. FL and Rasta with some backlog, but they both have a wide team. And I am that self-confident to say that my little team also has good chances to place under the first 5, or maybe even first 3 or, best case, first 2, as it currently is the case. I do have 4 riders who will be with the very good ones after a sieb and everything that happens after that, is luck and maybe fate . We'll see.

Yellow jersey;

Soooooooo hard to say. I mean, Mendoza has good chances to defend it, but you also can lose 45 seconds unbelievably fast. Peterlin maybe, or in the end Rasta with Austin or Williams. I am really not sure and I won't make a guess here, because I'm just too uncertain about it. Will be thrilling, anyway. I hope, I can ride the stages by myself. Don't have much time at the moment, even though vacation started. Whatever. Cool tour, cool teams, quite funny!

[Hasselhoff]

I am quite mad about it, but I couldn't be there yesterday and I won't be able to be there today. Sitter for me was/is Bugatti, thanks for that.

Nevertheless, I AM able to overwatch the race after it was ridden. Yesterday a boooring stage; I expected so much more: much more fighting, attacking, trying. But seems like the favos save energy for today, the last and deciding stage. I hope, it will be more interesting. Yesterday an early-build escape group without any danger for rexon's GC-leader in it. Teams in it: Rasta, FL, Belgiqmy, who is now the clear winner in the mountain classement, I think. Group was OK for rexon, so he let them rush through the stage. Rasta the lucky winner; FL had some connection problems through the whole race, but besides that, a very good-looking result.
In the end also a little GC-action, but just Hirschfeld (FL), Austin and Williams (Rasta) who got 6 seconds on the man in yellow, Diego Mendoza (rexon).
My team with a result that I would describe as "OK". Unfortunately, we missed getting in the victorious group; I was thinking about hanging on some FL or Rasta rider or attacking by myself a few minutes before the stage started. But whatever, in return, Christian for the first time won the MS in the peloton, nice one. I now do hope for a nice race today.

[team fl]

Yesterday was a stage that fitted Wallonie for me quite well. Unlucky again. I had serious connection problems as Hasselhoff pointed out already, and thus could not be very active, neither during the race nor in the sprint. In the end, it was the expected 2nd place behind Rastas escapee. In the GC, everything is still quite the same on the Podium, so today, the final stage will also decide who's the winner. For the stage win I expect rexon to work for Reynolds. Besides that, Rasta might try something again, and the usual suspects will go for the mountain points.

[team fl]

Uninteresting final today. Rasta (Austin) wins the stage in front of Hirschfeld. No big changes in the GC, rexon had nothing to do most of the stage anyway. Rest as expected.

I still don't know why Rasta can be angry about my actions. he races for himself at stage 1. I was a bit frustrated but didn't blame him afterwards or the following staegs for riding against Federspiel while offering rexon the stage win and a very good position for the GC fight. And I did not chose my following actions because of that. Stage three, he accuses me of riding against him and for rexon by exactly doing the same but having still a chance in the sprint that - I have to admint - went very unlucky for Peterlin. In the end, in my eyes, the bad situation for him was his own fault. What I do in front has nothing to do with that.

Anyway, then he claims he's angry about me too because I followed his riders on stage 4 and 5 for early attacks. Well, the attacks on stage 4 were announced publicly (that's what could be concluded out of his statements). So why not hang on these rider as rexon already mentioned that he will not chase a group that is not dangerous for the GC? He even won the stage with ease, as his leader with 62 had to do nothing during the whole stage but block the last few km against a second best sprinter (Yoda) with 46 sprint.

Again today, I hang on his riders. Why? Because he's the stage favorite with Austin. Because, if rexon again does not chase the group, I could have a chance for a stage win as well or it could leave my riders in a tactical good position. But instead of trying to understand my motivation, Rasta is angry. So angry, that he chases my attempt, is happy that he blocks me in the end for GC ambitions and does everything that rexon has an easy job for GC. No Problem with that, at least, it was Austin's stage win he worked for too. Nevertheless, his motivation leave a bad taste. Does that mean, I have to bury my own ambitions from the start if they don't serve Rasta's own goals? And btw, tempo just because of that is revenge tempo, which can be okay. In this case though, I think this behaviour was a bit immature being a sorehead.

In the end, the result was: two stage wins, green and team classement for Rasta. So I really harmed him I guess. I did the best out of a miserable situation after stage 1 for which he was mainly responsible. But of course I harm him with following his riders in early attacks... Today we even could have put rexon under pressure with riding fast after the km 1 attack. But instead he's pissed, stops and chases the whole stage himself, especially after me, as he wrote. That's not unfair, but that's what I call bad style.

[Rastaman]

Two things:
-Stage1: i rode for myself, since germaine was gc favo after stage 1.
-I asked you if i was blocking you, you said attacking would be stupid.
-Maybe also tell what happened after chasing, jes indeed i attacked to your group so rexon had to drive .

[team fl]

Two things:
-Stage1: i rode for myself, since germaine was gc favo after stage 1.
-I asked you if i was blocking you, you said attacking would be stupid.
-Maybe also tell what happened after chasing, jes indeed i attacked to your group so rexon had to drive .

1st that's three things

ad 1) maybe in your eyes, Germaine was GC favo, in mine he was not. But as I wrote - maybe in a too lenghty explanation - I completely understand your riding during stage 1. From your point of view. What I don't understand is why you criticise others for trying the same.

ad 2) the context in which you asked me led me to the conclusion that you were making fun of me with that sentence. If that was not the case, then it was a misunderstanding.

ad 3) after what chasing? and it's ride, not drive.

[Hasselhoff]

Besides the little dispute between Team FL and TeamRasta, I also want to give my two cents to this tour or better, the last stage:

Again I couldn't be present by myself on the final stage; again Bugatti was my substitute, who made his thing excellent. Aybek as my best-placed rider in the GC (2) indeed got siebed at the 9/10% ones, but there were no problems to bring him back. So in the end, as FL pointed out already, it was a quite unspectacular final stage.
On the whole it was a nice little tour with nice teams. So after the quitting of Team Rond, there were 8 teams with clear roles: Portugal Cycling and Belgiqmy such as rudimentary the Xillix Team and Be Funky hunted the mountain points, the intermediate sprints and were on the whole every time in escape. FL, Rasta and rexon were the favos for yellow and then there was me, fully without ambitions on something. Made the best out of the situation.
On the whole also a successfull tour for everybody; Belgiqmy wins the fight for red, rexon lucky winner of yellow with the unexpected Mendoza, Rasta with green and the team classification-win, FL with white and I am very satisfied with good results in every classification. FL would have won the GC with pleasure, I guess (who wouldn't have...) but the race course did not make it happen. Same for Rasta, who also missed his Top-3-goal, unluckily. But should be OK with green and the red number on the jersey of his riders.
5, or better: 3 nice days with all