a weekly double-shot of road racing
Wednesday 24th April 2013
issue 06
rapha.cc
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 SUNDAY
SATURDAY
MONDAY
—Liège-Bastogne-Liège
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
— Prologue Tour de Romandie
—S1 Tour de Romandie
THURSDAY —S2 Tour de Romandie
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
—S3 Tour de Romandie
—S4 Tour de Romandie
—S5 Tour de Romandie
liège–bastogne–liège review
tour de romandie
quote:
Martin Takes It – Easy
Froome On Time In Switzerland
Liège will be tough as ever, but the highlight of today’s recon was @andy_schl -eck saying, "Sometimes I wish I was a cow.”
Joaquim Rodríguez KATUSHA
2
Dan Martin GARMIN-SHARP
1
Alejandro Valverde MOVISTAR
3
At 261.5km and with almost 5,000m of ascent, Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2013 was always going to be won by the pluckiest climber. Irishman Dan Martin, who afterwards claimed he had “amazing legs”, gritted his teeth on the Saint-Nicolas, rode up to the remaining vessel of the Spanish Armada, Joaquim Rodríguez, and jumped away from him (and a man in a panda suit)… Animal costumes aside, Martin had the last laugh of the spring race calendar with his ‘zen’ demeanour and help from Garmin-Sharp colleagues who rode with yogi-like patience. “It felt like one of the easiest races...” he said. The Philippe Gilbert fan club on La Redoute with air horns, techno, and beer-power got the party going as the race got down to business – on this 99th edition and a bitchin’ one at that. Sky’s David Lopez attacked but the bunch kept up as the noise crescendoed. Alberto Contador, Rigoberto Urán, Rui Costa and Ryder Hesjedal made a break, before the aptly titled Giro champ turbocharged away just before the crest of the Colonster and TT’d in style for 10km, a kamikaze burst to set things up for the last big effort of the day. Reaching the decisive Saint-Nicolas climb on this tranquil Sunday afternoon, AG2R’s Carlos Betancur went, bridging up to Hesjedal, joined by Lampre's Scarponi, Movistar's Valverde, Rodríguez of Katusha and the meditative Martin. Hesjedal sat doggedly on the front and dragged his smaller team-mate through Ans and towards the centre of Liège. The slower member of the Spanish contingent, Valverde, sat up as Rodríguez, the more sprightly, attacked on the final kilometre kick to the finish line. But there was no cigar for ‘El Purito’ as Martin, on the crest of a wave, sailed easily up to and beyond Rodriguez to make history at this most classic of Classics.
Doppio joins Tour de Romandie after the prologue, which Team Sky started in pole position after Bradley Wiggins’ win last year. It ended the day still in first place, thanks to a scintillating time trial by Chris Froome. He overtook his minute-man Daniel Moreno to take the yellow jersey by six seconds. The 7.5-kilometre course from Le Châble to Mayens de Bruson featured almost 300 metres of climbing – an ideal first test for the climbing specialist. Garmin-Sharp's Andrew Talansky, who has stood twice on the Romandie podium, was also expected to excel; Sky's Richie Porte had held the fastest time of the day, until Talansky rode himself into the ground to set the new best. RadioShackLeopard Trek’s Robert Kiserlovski goes into the first stage in third, with Porte in fourth, 15 seconds behind The Froome Wagon. Romandie this year is a race of increasing intensity, as the saw-tooth profiles of the stages day-byday become more pronounced. Saturday’s Queen Stage sends the riders over four cat-1 climbs, including twice up the Col de la Croix, which rises to 1,752m. The final time trial this year is on the shores of Lake Geneva, and is almost completely flat – so there will hopefully be no repeat of the chain-dropping mishap that led to such a nailbiting finale for Wiggins last year. The Tour is the final marker in the sand for Giro contenders, and Ryder Hesjedal, among others, will be looking to build on the great form he showed in Liège. To note: the winner of Romandie in 2011 and 2012 has gone on to win the Tour de France. Chris Froome has put himself in the spotlight, and will spend the week learning about the pressures of defending a yellow jersey.
whose team b us i s the most # pr ost y le?
@MatthewBusche of Team RadioShack gets bovine with Andy Schleck
moment of panache Ryder Hesjedal's long, slow selfimmolation over the Côte SaintNicolas was a selfless act that set up his diminutive teammate for the win. His fine form will not be lost on his Giro rivals.
bigringriding award MAN, THAT WAS A GUTSY LITTLE RIDE BUT, ALTOGETHER NOW: “HENAO, HENAO, DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER…”