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Post by Mardandoo on Nov 9, 2011 15:21:56 GMT 1
Hi Folks,
Let get active here, so we can discuss things with each other.
The Giro is going on, what do you think your cyclists will do?
Personally I'm a bit disappointed, since 4 of my cyclists lost a lot of time (one even had to leave the tour) due to bad steering and balance. Didn't expect it to get so important. I hope my other one, Luc-Michel Mory can stay in the top!
What about you?!
Martijn, ZCT
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Post by Mardandoo on Nov 10, 2011 10:59:51 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[Giro] Start Impression
Hello again,
Let's give an impression of the first stages in the Giro d'Italia.
Before the start of the Giro last sunday we were expecting a lot from our great man Jean-Benoit Hamburger. The time trials could be a problem for him. Nevertheless, ZCT managed to finished second in the Team Time Trial, 31 seconds behind geadas team's mister Barbosa. That was a little suprise, especially because we defeated our divisionconcurrents Digitex and Super Nova. It was a promising start!
But, in the first stage, from Busetto to Forli', the fate struck us hard. Not only because Digitex's Stortini won the stage and got some seconds of bonification against our cyclists, but also because Hamburger, Stefanello and Camier fell or flatted and that way lost some minutes. Hamburger can delete his idea of winning now.
This mental twack became only heavier after the second stage, from Cesena to Saltara. We had only two cyclists left in the top of the classification: our leader Jasja Boribon and Luc-Michel Mory. In this second stage Boribon fell and injured his shoulder. He had to leave the Giro. Now only Mory has a chance on a good classification and with no leader that seems to be a mission impossible. Some lights in the darkness were the sprinting and mountain results. Stefanello managed to finished second twice, earning 6 points and another 4 points in finishing seventh in the stage. Hamburger showed his climbingskills by winning both the mountainsprints. Maybe there's something possible after all.
The third stage, from Civitanova Marche to Maiella, again brought a little disappointment. Though Hamburger finished second he wasn't happy: "I wanted to win this stage, with the finish uphill. I also lost several points of the mountainclassification against Barbosa and Super Nova's Guidugli. Congratulations to the latter one, he was a little more thoughtful at the end, while I had wrong wheels, I suppose. I felt my bike slipping twice and I was lucky not to fall again!". Again, he finished second and that shows us we could end up winning a stage, hoping Guidugli has a bad day soon. Luckily Mory could stay quite close to the winners and didn't lose any time.
Tomorrow there's a Individual Time Trial, with oppurtunities for Mory: "Yeah, tomorrow could be a great day. I won't be the winner I guess, but maybe I can win some time against the guys above me in the classification!". For now, just hope that no more injuries will occur and that Mory could hold his good position!
Cheers!
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Post by Mardandoo on Nov 10, 2011 15:05:03 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[Giro] Pontedera - Pontedera
Hi Giro-fans,
Today the people in Italy were awaiting the cyclists in Pontedera. The 27 cyclist were nervous for the start of their first Individual Time Trial ever. As mentioned in our last Press Message ZCT wasn't expecting the win today but hoping at some win in time for Luc-Michel Mory against his competitors.
Unfortunately that didn't happen. Pozzi Ginori of Ciclistica Maranello was de fastest, directly followed by geadas team's Ramires. The difference between those two was only some hundredths of second, so very close for those two. Mory finished thirteenth, 43 seconds behind the winner. The competitors all were faster. Barbosa, Oudijk and Seabra (all from geadas team) were al about 20 seconds faster, making the distance between them and Mory only bigger. We also noticed that Digitex's Stortini and Super Nova's Willemarck came very close at 2 and 3 seconds behind Mory in the overall classification.
Nevertheless we're not worried about the 4th place of Mory at the moment. Willemarck and Stortini, both good sprinters, maybe will pass Mory tomorrow, due to the bonification seconds, when the stage probably ends in a sprint, but we expect Mory to be a lot stronger in the mountains. It's all guessing for now, but we're hoping at a good result.
Oliver Stefanello was the best of ZCT, he finished eleventh: "Well, as we thought we aren't that good time trial riders, haha, but that doesn't matter. We're here to learn and get some experience". It would be great if our men could earn us some money though.
The best candidate for the win of the Giro is geadas team's Barbosa. After some stages and the time trial we can conclude that. Let's hope for us we can end up in top 5 of all three the classments. That will be difficult mission, but we all can notice that ZTC's riders are doing their best!
Tomorrow more news!
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Post by Mardandoo on Nov 12, 2011 16:35:03 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[Giro] Rovato - Trento
Good afternoon ZCT-followers,
Yesterday we had to cycle 203 km from Alessandria to La Thuile. A stage with a lot of hills and predominantly flat kilometers. We knew before the start it wouldn't be our stage. The suprise win of geadas team's Barbosa was a shock for us. Again him? Why? Is he that good at flat and hills? The suprise became even bigger when Luc-Michel Mory crossed the finish line 1:03 behind Barbosa: "I'm sorry, folks, I had a bad day!". He sure had, he wasn't supposed to lose time at this stage. However, he and Jean-Benoit Hamburger, who finished in the same group as Barbosa, by the way, did win some points for respectively the green and the mountain jersey, so that gave this day a little glitter after all.
Today Rovato - Trento was on the calender, the first real mountain stage to give the chance to the real cyclists to show what the can. At this stage we finally ruled. Hamburger won, beating Guidugli of Super Nova and De Groe of Digitex. Mory finished fourth. A wonderful perfomance of our guys. Hamburger won a mountain sprint too and finished second twice so he conquered the mountain jersey!
"I felt real strong today and after the second mountain I saw my competitors panting and toiling. Then I knew I could finally win a stage and show the world I'm here. I'm so glad I made it and I'm looking forward to tomorrow, when I hope to do it again!", so said Hamburger recovering from his victory.
Mory finished fourth en he saw some of his competitors in the general classification lose some time. Geadas team's Barbosa lost more than a minute and his teammate Oudijk lost even more. It's getting exciting now! A little blemish is the injury of Fleury Camier: "Yeah, I fell again en somehow my finger got stuck in my frontweel, so now it's broken. I should be recovered in a week, so no worry about me!". Now ZCT has to continue with just three riders.
Again, tomorrow there's another mountain stage. We're really looking forward to it. Mory and Hamburger seem to be fit and Oliver Stefanello still is enjoying the show!
See you tomorrow!
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Post by Mardandoo on Nov 13, 2011 18:49:05 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[Giro] Termeno/Tramin - Plan de Corones/Kronplatz
Hello folks,
This evening ZCT will enjoy a delicious apple pie with wipped cream, made by Mrs. Hamburger, because her boyfriend, Jean-Benoit Hamburger managed to win Termeno/Tramin - Plan de Corones/Kronplatz as a second win in a row! With the finish at the Kronplatz (Plan de Corones), a mountain with a height over the 2.200m, it was supposed to deliver a show.
With an average increase of 13% with points of 22-24% the cyclists had to demand the extreme of themselfs. This stage of the Giro absolutely can be described as the king-stage. We're proud to announce our teamhero, Jean-Benoit: "It was great above there! I was taking it easy at the first two mountains. I wanted t score some point, though, so I finished second at the top twice. This stage had a red circle on it at my calander, so I wanted to win this one so badly and I'm really proud at myself right now! One kilometer from the top Barbosa of geadas team was still in front of me, toiling himselfs upwards. I decided to keep close to Luc-Michel Mory, so I could help him winning some time. In the last 100 meters I just gave everything and Barbosa didn't have the right answer, I suppose!"
And with these words we're coming to our second succes of today. Mory finished third, gaining 1 second of bonification. That's not really something to eat a pie for, but it's a nice personal succes. Even more when co-leader Stortini of Digitex had a flat tire. That was really sad for him, but that way Mory passed him at the general classification and now is third. Hamburger also amanged to keep his mountain jersey. It's going to be a hard job to keep it, with a strong Barbosa en Super Nova's Guidugli, but it's definately not an impossible job!
The cyclists now earned a day rest and tomorrow the Volta a Catalunya starts in Cambrils to Cambrils. Our expectations are very high. Roan van Engelandt and Christof Elsen are supposed to win the leader jersey and the mountain jersey. Let's hope they can get a good start tomorrow!
We hope to bring you more news soon!
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Post by Mardandoo on Nov 14, 2011 21:01:10 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[Volta a Catalunya] Cambrils - Cambrils
Good to see you again,
Today the first 157 kilometers of Volta a Catalunya had been cycled from Cambrils to Cambrils. With a third and fourth place ZCT can be relatively happy. We were hoping on some better results, though!
First, Roan van Engelandt had a very bad fall. He was sitting at the road for six minutes, recovering his sight and balance. When he crossed the finish line the winner, Super Nova's Vat, had passed it more than nine minutes earlier. That's a disappointment, because ZCT expected him to win the general classification. That's impossible now.
Also Christof Elsen fell of his bike again. He's making a normal situation of it. It wasn't a bad fall for him and he only lost 2:46, but that's still enough to forget about a top 5 result. He did manage to earn 12 points for the mountain jersey. He only has to make place for Ciclistica Maranello's Almada.
Our eyes are now at Noam Frinsel for the next two stages in the Volta a Catalunya. Maybe he can manage to win the next stage and suprise us by winning the general classification. Let's hope so!
Tomorrow we continue with the Giro d'Italia with a stage with a lot of flat and downhill kilometers. We don't expect our riders to surprise the world, but we're counting on Hamburger's climbing qualities when he participates in the three mountain sprints. We'll see!
Enjoy the race tomorrow!
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Post by Mardandoo on Nov 16, 2011 9:06:53 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[Giro] Sillian - Gemona del Friuli
Goodmorning!
Yesterday we continued with the Giro in a 233 km long race from Sillian to Gemona de Friuli. As expected ZCT didn't end up in the top 5. Luc-Michel Mory and Jean-Benoit Hamburger just finished eighth and tenth, and didn't lose any time.
Congratulations to Super Nova's Fedor Willemarck, the best cyclist of our division so far. due to the ten seconds of bonification he passed Mory in the general classification, but we all expect Willemarck to lose so time in the last two mountain stages. So, no worry about a top 3 finish.
Hamburger participated in all three the mountain sprints, finished second every time. That's a pity. Super Nova's Guidugli now has a lead of three points. Let's hope Hamburger could still recover that lag. The last two stages are suitable for that, with a total of 8 mountain sprints. Still everything is possible! Those stage will be on Friday and Saturday.
Today and tomorrow we wil cycle the last two stages of Volta a Catalunya. With Kevin Chatelle at the third place and Noam Frinsel following him, we could count on our climbers to make a difference today! Elsen, the one supposed to win the mountain sprints has a lag of six points, but when he finally can manage to stay on his bike that shouldn't be a problem for him. We're really looking forward to these two stages, you too?
Kind regards.
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Post by Mardandoo on Nov 17, 2011 13:50:22 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[Volta a Catalunya] Final
Good day cycling people,
Today ZCT had to cycle the last stage of the Volta a Catalunya. Before the start of this tour we told you we would win some jerseys and stages. We must say that we are very disappointed too! Though Alan Tulio managed to win the last stage, none of our cyclists managed to finish in the top 5 of the general classification.
Christof Elsen finished third in the mountain classment, due to his many falls: "I'm sorry manager, I just haven't found a way to stay on my bike yet". That's ridiculous is our opinion. Everyone can manage to stay on their bike most of the time and if you can't you can at least try to do it once on the moments you're supposed to. If he kept seated at his saddle today he would have won the mountain jersey without doubt.
Noam Frinsel didn't show up yesterday at the end of the final climbing. His competitors all were faster and he even finished last in the second group at 1:05 from the winner Almada of Ciclistica Maranello: "I think I had a bad day. I also thought the finish was downhill, so I was kind of surprised when I crossed the finishline". In the professional way of cycling all riders know what their right stages are. The fact that Frinsel didn't, shows us he still has to learn a lot before he could enter the real world.
Roan van Engelandt and Kevin Chatelle are names you probably didn't even read in the results. That's a total disappointment for us too! Van Engelandt was supposed to win the first stage, he didn't. Chatelle was supposed to finish top 5 in the general classifcation, he didn't. Van Engelandt will get a second chance in Criterium du Dauphiné Libéré, he just was very unlucky, but Chatelle can have a really long holiday of three weeks and enjoy the Tour de France on his bench at home.
Well, Alan Tulio suprised us. He just joined in Catalunya because he hadn't cycled for a long time. His win was unexpected but very welcome. He didn't succeed to win the point jersey, though. Finishing fifth with the same points as the number two is a pity, but we didn't expect him to bring in any penny, so thanks, Alan! We congratulate Ciclistica Maranello and Super Nova. They seem to be the two winners of this tour, gaining the most points. It's going to be exciting in the upper four places of the division. With five active teams there will be one team get disappointed. Hopefully not us!
Tomorrow another stage in the Giro, let's hope Hamburger can write his name on the calendar again!
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Post by Mardandoo on Nov 22, 2011 9:57:45 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[Giro] The end
Good day,
A little late due to problems with our press office (they claimed we hadn't paid our bills, but that's ridiculous), but here we are with our last message about a wonderful Giro-time this season!
In de last stage, Trento - Aprica, our hero, Jean-Benoit Hamburger again showed us his climbing skills: "I was going for 100%, I absolutely wanted to win this stage and the mountain jersey, and I did!". A great success after the bad luck in the first stages. Also in the stage Pordenone - Passo di San Pellegrino we had bad luck. Luc-Michel Mory, the one for the general classment, fell and lost more than 8 minutes. That's a real pity.
Our best man of this tour is without doubt Hamburger: finishing fifth in the general classment, finishing third in the point classment and winning the mountain jersey! Congratulations Hamburger, you're a big win for ZCT! We congratulate Seabra of geadas team and Stortini of Digitex too with their win of the time and point jersey respectively.
We're now cycling the Criterium du Dauphiné Libéré. With new man Rouchdi van der Schot, Noam Frinsel, Roan van Engelandt, Brian van Brug and Leopold Moons we have a good schance on a good result. The first stage, Annecy - Bourgoin-Jallieu was just surviving and we did well. Only Van der Schot lost a minute, but he's here to gain some experience with us and taking some points in the sprints, practicing for the big Tour de France! Frinsel won both the mountain sprints and is going to take the mountain jersey. That will show the world again that we have the best climbers of the competition!
For now, we have a day of rest. We sold Angelo Kerrien and Jamo van der Spiegel. They wanted to have a new experience somewhere else. Now we have the money again to take a look at the transfers too, maybe attract someone for the Tour de France. We'll let you now!
Tomorrow another stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné Libéré. With the finish somewhat downhill and uphill, we can't expect a win, but our four man (not counting Van der Schot, only testing his legs) will stay in the first group. Maybe Van Engelandt can manage to do something in the last two kilometers. You never know!
Have a nice day, take your rest and we'll speak tomorrow again!
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Post by lee1950 on Nov 22, 2011 11:25:56 GMT 1
Hopefully next season we will both be in busier Divisions.
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Post by Mardandoo on Nov 22, 2011 11:32:31 GMT 1
Ah *looks happily*, finally someone to talk to! Writing those messages is fun, knowing that a lot of people read them, but if we end up in the same division next season we will have a lot more fun, indeed!
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Post by Mardandoo on Nov 23, 2011 18:07:48 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[Dauphiné] Sisteron - Briancon
Good evening to you all,
We are very happy this day. ZCT's cyclists are doing very well in the Criterium du Dauphiné Libéré. Today we had another stage, from Sisteron to Briancon. We told our guys to take it easy today. To stay focused and keep cycling with a plan. That resulted in a good fifth and sixth place. Leopold Moons and Noam Frinsel did an excellent job. Finishing fifth and sixth isn't that spectacular, you might think, and you're absolutely right, but due to their performance both Moons and Frinsel have the best papers to win the tour.
Moons is now second in the general classification at three seconds. Frinsel has a lag of three second too, taking the fourth place, but the cyclists of Ciclistica Maranello, who won the stage today, Funai and Pontalli are really tired. We decided to search for Moons and let him speak to us: "No, I'm not tired at all. In fact, tomorrow I'm going to give everything I have to win the time jersey. Those guys of Ciclistica Maranello seem to be very tired, they were cycling at the front all the time. Let's get our benefits of that!".
The only trouble can be expected from Super Nova's Lecocq. Frinsel still wears the mountain jersey, but the lead of seven points has shrunk to only three points. Lecocq had a good day. He also is ranked fifth in the general classification at 59 seconds. That doesn't seem a big problem, though, but you never know!
Moons also told us he wants to try to win the point jersey: "I have eleven points already, earned with finishing sixth and fifth in the stages. If I win the last stage I have 21 points, three more than Digitex' Siperco now has. Maybe I can win the sprint tomorrow too and then I have a good chance!"
You understand why we're happy now!? ZCT has full chances on all the jersey. Frinsel is only 20 and can win the youngster jersey and with a lag of only one second also the team jersey isn't out of range! We're really looking forward to the stage on friday, let's hope we can commit a coup!
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Post by lee1950 on Nov 23, 2011 23:39:43 GMT 1
Good luck, Friday - that would be an awesome result!
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Post by adipy on Nov 24, 2011 0:05:15 GMT 1
I heard that almost all the teams will promote to 4th division... so lock your ideas of an active division up for another year :-D
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Post by Mardandoo on Nov 24, 2011 7:19:06 GMT 1
Thanks Lee! Adipy, well, at least we have the chance to meet more active managers . Mr. Lee and I are a little lonely in our division topics .
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