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Post by Mardandoo on Nov 25, 2011 17:44:10 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[Dauphiné] Coup
Hi people,
Today ZCT committed a coup, with excellent results in the Criterium du Dauphiné Libéré. In the third and last stage from Briancon to La Toussuire we ruled the peloton. From the start it was clear that we wanted to show our strenght and so we did!
Leopold Moons is our big man, winning the last stage, the general classification and the points classification: "Yeah, it's a wonderful day for me, but for ZCT also. Together with Noam Frinsel I was controlling the group. I'm really proud to be the first cyclist to win the point jersey for ZCT!". And so are we.
Moons already mentioned him, Noam Frinsel, the second man who deserves some attention in the media. He had a great preliminary for the Tour de France riding this tour. He unfortunately didn't manage to win the mountain jersey, but he was the best youngster: "My first goal was to win the mountain jersey, but Lecocq was very strong today. That I end up as the best youngster is a positive accident, I hope I can do it again in France!".
After the little tours Paris - Nice and Tirreno - Adriatico ZCT didn't rule as a team anymore. Now they did again and also the teamjersey is theirs with a big lead of 2:45 on Super Nova. In the division we moved up a place, passing Digitex with a little difference. Super Nova still has a lead of 1000 points, but the season still has a long way to go and all things are possible.
In the meanwhile also the Tour de Suisse has started with the first stage from Baden to Baden, riding a circle. Luckily our riders didn't get dizzy, so Oliver Stefanello, Jasja Boribon and Christof Elsen finished in the first group. Though this tour isn't something for us to show our qualities with a lot of downhill finishes, for Boribon it is time to have a revenge for his unlucky fall in the Giro. Maybe he can end up in the top 3. Stefanello and Elsen are still recovering from the Giro and Catalunya, so we're not expecting very much from them. Maybe they can join some sprints for the point and mountain jersey respectively. Kevin Chatelle and Salem Soyeur were very unlucky with a flat and a fall in the first stage, but they want to win a stage in this tour. So, let's see what Suisse can bring us and then we'll write you a message after the races!
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Post by Mardandoo on Nov 29, 2011 10:49:59 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[TdF] Ready...
Hi,
We have been preparing for about three weeks, but finally we're almost ready for the Tour de France now! After the very bad results in the Tour de Suisse, we won't even tell you about it, we lost our second place in the division again. Now it's up to us to conquer it again and we're ready for it!
We hope to buy one more rider, to replace Rouchdi van der Schot, due to his bad results in the Criterium du Dauphiné Libéré. We think he will have a lot of problems in the stages with some mountains, while he is supposed to win the flat sprints for us. We'll see if we can manage to reinforce ourselves, but if not, Van der Schot will cycle, together with Luc-Michel Mory, Roan van Engelandt, Noam Frinsel and Romain Coppens. That's a good team, able to stay at the top of each classification.
Mory will be the leader. With his experience of the Giro we are sure he can lead our cyclist till the final. In the Giro he fell in penultimate stage, losing eight minutes, now we have faith he can stay on his bike, and even if not, he still has the power, smartness and strength to win a stage and end up high in the general classification!
Frinsel will be our youngster and mountain man. In the Criterium du Dauphiné Libéré he finished second after our Leopold Moons, winning the youngster jersey and finishing second in the mountain classification. So, he knows how it feels to be in the spotlights. In the stages ending uphill you can expect him to finish in the first group and hopefully he can follow our Giro-hero Jean-Benoit Hamburger, by winning some mountain stages!
An other youngster is Van Engelandt. With his skills in riding hills, there are some suitable stages for him. He's a little scared at his bike, so we're not pressuring him to go for a classification. He is still young, 20 years old, and if we can help him to gain some experience, we think riding a big tour is the best option. Who knows how Van Engelandt could suprise us!
We spoke about him earlier, Van der Schot, as our sprinting man. Due to his lacks of skills in the mountains, hills and downhills, he might not be the right one for us, losing to much time in a hard stage, not able to win the final flat sprint. With his 24 years, he also isn't as trainable as younger ones. We think you now understand why we're still, even three days before the start of the Tour de France, looking for a strong reinforcement. Let's hope we succeed, but even if not, we still can count on Van der Schot to at least win one flat stage and end up high in both time trials!
Our last but not least man is Coppens for the general classification. He's a new name in ZCT and we expect a lot from him. He is 24 years old, but we're sure he's able to ride himselfs in the spotlights even if it's just for once. The competitors will have a hard job to get rid of him at any terrain, let's hope he can make our wishes come true: winning the Tour de France!
As you can read ZCT has the means to make the Tour de France a big show. With only three days left we're counting the minutes, stretching our legs, taking a lot of dope, hoping to win and praying for a save finish! What about you?
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Post by Mardandoo on Dec 1, 2011 14:48:16 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[TdF] Set...
Be greeted folks,
Tomorrow will be the day we have been waiting for: the start of the Tour de France! With some final preparations even ZCT is ready for take off! We want to be it a perfect Tour, with some stage wins, some jersey wins, but above all: a lot of fun!
We want to welcome Joiris Berthon in our team. He arrived at our hotel yesterday evening and today we're telling him about what to do, what not to do and what we expect him to do. He's still young, 20 years old, so ZCT is entering France with a relatively young team: "It's the team of the future", like manager Martijn told us, "We want them to gain experience, to feel how it is to cycle for eleven days in a row, to have fun. It's very important to give those young talented cyclists the chance to get that special feeling so we can count on them in some years"! As we mentioned in our last press message Rouchdi van der Schot appeared not to be the right sprinter for ZCT. With the participation of Berthon we hope to have a good chance on that lovely green jersey!
Speaking about jersey: did you notice our new shirts? We want to thank Iwein of de idrisne for the design and producing. Thanks! Oh, and before you all start asking why we have an hole in our jersey, Noam Frinsel will explain it to you: "Well, when I'm climbing a mountain there's nothing to watch at. There are only male fans waving flags, yelling 'Go, boy' all the time. By wearing a shirt with a gap in it I hope to attract some more female fans, shaking their behinds, screaming 'Come on, honey' when they see my sweated muscles through the shirt. That would be great, thanks Iwein!"
You hear it: we're totally relaxed, joking around and ready for the start tomorrow, we hope to see you then, especially females, of course!
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Post by Mardandoo on Dec 2, 2011 15:27:58 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[TdF] Go...
Hi Tourfans,
Today we had our first stage, cycling a circle around Strasbourg. It was a hard race for our men, with the last 80 kilometers straight forward to the finish on a really flat road. Not even a little mogul showed up and our men had to fight until the end.
After about ten weeks of training we can notice that the teams training the flat-skill in our division have gained a nice advantage against the ones training the mountain-skill. Digitex and geadas team ruled this stage from the start. Especially in the last 80 kilometers it were their cyclists who formed the first ten, determining the speed. Super Nova and ZCT suffered. It's clear this Tour is going to be a competition between those four teams, the top 4 in the division.
Willemarck of Super Nova and Joiris Berthon and Romain Coppens of ZCT were the only ones able to keep up with the high speed. Stortini of Digitex won the stage in 4:14:24, a very fast time: "No shame we couldn't catch up with them, they were really fast. I hope we can take some time back tomorrow, but it's going to be a hard job", so said leader Luc-Michel Mory. Also the youngsters Noam Frinsel and Roan van Engelandt had trouble today: "Yeah, we're young, but that's not a reason for losing time, of course! We'll see what we can change in the next flat stage on sunday".
We also saw some good things in today's race. Frinsel won the mountain sprint: "I knew my biggest competitor would be Guidugli of Super Nova, but he had a flat tire about 20 kilometer before the sprint so it was quite easy to win this one. Tomorrow we will now more about my chances with the finish uphill". Problems in the teams of our competitors were some flats and falls. Super Nova had two flats, with Guidugli losing a lot of time, already without a chance on the win of the yellow jersey and also Digitex' De Groe had a flat, without consequences though. ZCT managed to avoid all the holes in the road and that's a really improvement against the results after the first stages in the Giro with three flats and one fall!
Well, after the first stage we are a little disappointed by the advantage of the flat trainers. We don't know what to expect in the other flat stages, but what we do know is that we have to gain an advantage in the mountains. If we don't we can forget about a good final classification. Let's hope tomorrow brings some positive things and who knows we do have a chance after all!
See you tomorrow!
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Post by Mardandoo on Dec 6, 2011 11:18:20 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[TdF] Contrasts
Hi cycling-world,
Some days have passed with some stages with them. After the first four stages we can notice some contrasts. Not only in the results, but also in our satisfaction. Noam Frinsel won a stage, from Esch-sur-Alzette to Valkenburg, but now he has a lag of five minutes. On the other hand Romain Coppens finished in that same stage second and still is classed second in the general classifications, 25 seconds behind Digitex's Stortini.
We're quite satisfied about Coppens. With decent climbing skills it is still possible he could pass Stortini: "I'm feeling strong! In the flat stages the group does cycle very fast and it's not easy for me to hold on, but I managed and with some stages with mountains coming, there are a lot of things still possible". We hope Coppens can continue his good results, especially in the time trial tomorrow. That will be a good examination. For him to let him know what things are possible, but also for us, to know what things we could expect.
Roan van Engelandt is classed fourth at 1:25. He's doing really well as youngster: "I love this, just cycling in the wind, in the hills, I really like it. I also can't wait for the mountains to show op this afternoon. It will be a test for me personally and maybe I can do something later this Tour!". Today we'll meet our first real mountains from Cambo-les-Bains to Pau. With the last 30 kilometers flat again we don't expect the win, but we don't expect big losses either!
Frinsel and Luc-Michel Mory have cycled a disappointing first four stages. Frinsel is waiting for the real mountains to show up and with a stage win already we're not expecting a really outstanding general classification of him. Mory, in contrast, isn't cycling as he did in the Giro: "I had a wonderful time in Italy and some bad luck at the end, but now it seems I have to pay for the success I had, losing six minutes already. I'm tired, can't follow the easiest accelerations and I'm definitely not myself. I hope that can chance in the mountains!".
As last we have our new man, Joiris Berthon. He is seven minutes behind in the general classifications now. That's not a big problem, but we did expect some more from him, especially in the first stages, due to his good experience on flat stages. Nevertheless he seems to have found the spirit yesterday, because he gained some points in the sprints and came in in the first group. Let's hope he can continue and cycle two good time trials.
ZCT is willing to cycle a perfect Tour, but the training in flat of the teams Digitex and geadas team are paying off in the first stages. Let's hope our training will pay off in the mountains later this week!
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Post by Mardandoo on Dec 8, 2011 14:18:59 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[Tdf] Mountains, finally
Good day,
We reached the mountains! Finally! And now it's up to ZCT to rule the peloton! Yesterday, during the time trials from Albi to Albi, it seemed we just had to survive, but we did quite well! Roan van Engelandt finished fourth and won 42 seconds from Digitex's Stortini and 34 seconds from Digitex's Lentini. We never knew that the Dutch heavy guy could cycle better time trials than the Italians!
But... After almost a week of just reach the finish line, today was the day our cyclists were looking forward too with five big mountains and the finish on top of one. They enjoyed and did very well! Noam Frinsel, Luc-Michel Mory, Romain Coppens and Roan van Engelandt finished second, third, fourth and sixth respectively. We congratulate Super Nova's Guidugli, who hasn't been very lucky this Tour so far. He also beated Frinsel in four of the five mountain sprint, unfortunately.
Stortini had a tough day. As a leader in the yellow jersey he fought for his life, but he had to surrender. He lost one minute, enough for Coppens and Van Engelandt to pass him in the general classification, now classed second and third at 10 and 26 seconds behind Lentini, who did manage to stay in the wheel of Van Engelandt.
We managed to get Mory for an interview: "Well, two kilometers from the finish Noam and I tried to speak with each other and I said to him he could go for the win. At that moment Guidugli sprinted away. We managed to get in his wheel, but unfortunately we didn't pass him. Tomorrow we hope to change that. I'll work hard for my leaders Noam, Roan and Romain. History could be written for ZCT!" And also Van Engelandt wanted to say something: "I want to thank my mother for supporting me every day. Her kisses are doing miracles. I'm wearing the youngsters jersey now and I won the sprint today specially for her! I hope to do it again tomorrow and to bring back a nice medal. I love you, mom!"
Well, after that sentimental moment we get back to the real stuff. Tomorrow there's an other difficult mountain stage, but the cyclists of ZCT look comfortable and fit. Let's hope they can write history by bringing back that yellow jersey of the first Tour de France to The Netherlands! Kom op, jongens, jullie kunnen het!
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Post by Mardandoo on Dec 10, 2011 15:23:31 GMT 1
Hi,
Oh dear, it's incredibly tensive with only two stages left (one time trial) and a little advantage for Coppens. I hope Van Engelandt could pass Lentini tomorrow in the time trial, since Lentini didn't cycle a very good first one. I fear the last stage, though. What for heaven's sake will happen in Paris? Will Coppens stay on top or will Lentini commit a coup?! And what about Van Engelandt and Stortini, they might compete with each other for the youngster jersey. And we, ZCT, only have an advantage of 37 seconds on Digitex in the teamstandings!
What are your predictions?!
Martijn, ZCT
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Post by Mardandoo on Dec 13, 2011 11:10:46 GMT 1
Latest news from manager:
[TdF] Fate struck
My condolences to you all,
Today we were witnesses of something we cal Bad Luck, with bold capitals B and L. With an advantage of 34 seconds for Coppens against Lentini, we had a 99,9% chance of winning the Tour. Unfortunately the cyclists of geadas team were all cycling at full effort, as a suprise, because they not even had a little chance of winning a jersey or the last stage. Due to their full effort, ZCT's Romain Coppens and also Roan van Engelandt had to leave the first group, while Lentini of Digitex's managed to stay in it, taking over the yellow jersey and also stealing the teamjersey from us.
"This will be a black day in the history of ZCT", so said Romain Coppens, "out of the blue four cyclist from geadas team were cycling as fast as they could and Roan and I couldn't catch up enough". We'll investigate if this was a played game of geadas team, giving the stagewin to Digitex's Stortini and the tourwin to Lentini.
"We're all sad", so said Van Engelandt, while pinking a tear, "I'm the only one with a jersey, the youngster one, but we were supposed to have a great party this night". We asked manager Martijn about that: "Yeah, we rent our hotel lobby already, sent invites to the prime minister of The Netherlands and even one to Joop Zoetemelk! ... *cries* ... I'm afraid I have to cancel them.."
We will let the team take some rest and we hope to see them glittering in the Vuelta again, taking revenge on everyone and everything around.
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