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Hi everybody. One of the pavé-highlights starts today and I think it needs a thread. My traditional time would be afternoon but unfortunately, I have some appointments this week, so I have to start in the morning, together with the "Uberteams" Alkworld and Nozalteam. Well, at least it will be funny to watch how they battle each other. And perhaps, there can be a laughing third... For the fun-part, there is the Schaffhauser in the peloton (he left, afraid of Team FL!!!), a fact that I welcome if Team FL cannot start together with the unpredictable ape. Anyway, Team FL starts with the following line-up:

x1 Nathaniel "Nate" Biedermann, does not come with the fire raiser.
x2 Gilles Braas, the Luxembourgian, leader for the flat pavé-stages
x3 Fred "The Guard" Colon, he knows how to line-up in queue
x4 Frantz "the Franzoos" Granvorka, the handy man
x5 Tim "Jim" Hamberger, Good German virtues
x6 Toni Hassler, leader for the hilly pavé-stages
x7 Stefan "King Küng" Küng, the Liechtenstein future on pavé
x8 Wesley Lichtenkiesel, the Belgian monster
x9 Haruki Murakami, he's at the shore with Kafka

The line-up starts not with a captain because Team FL thinks - looking at the competitors - there might be some changing during the week. So, it is just in alphabetical order, without a clear leader.

Team Alkworld is apparently also here in Pavéland. Unfortunately the field got really small, some dropped in, but left again. But we'll make the best of it now More team info will come later.

First stage as expected, well, at least the finish. A pity that Odins sons does not participate in the chat and made tempo all the time. Perhaps, if not, the race could have ended differently. Alk very strong, Sabato the first in the leader's jersey. Of course also in Green. King Küng is wearing white, I guess he's out of competition in this category. Unfortunately from my points of view, Alk caught the late escape easily and Toni Hassler already lost 16 seconds to the front group. But now the presentation of the favorites:

General classement:

***** Miguel Otero (Alkworld)
**** Heino Talvi (Nozalteam
*** Toni Hassler (Team FL)
** Romulo Gallegos (Alkworld)
* Daan Horneborg (Nozalteam), Gilles Braas (Team FL), Ernesto Sabato (Alkworld)

Points classement:

*** Miguel Otero (Alkworld)
** Daan Horneborg (Nozalteam)
* Ernesto Sabato (Alkworld)

Youth classement:

*** Stefan Küng (Team FL)
**
* another young rider

Team classement:

*** Alkworld
** Nozalteam
* Team FL

General classement:

***** Miguel Otero (Alkworld)
**** Heino Talvi (Nozalteam
*** Toni Hassler (Team FL)
** Romulo Gallegos (Alkworld)
* Daan Horneborg (Nozalteam), Gilles Braas (Team FL), Ernesto Sabato (Alkworld)

Looks reasonable, Otero will be hard to beat. Although it will be interesting to see, if Nozal rather goes for stages than GC. Will Hassler lose much time tomorrow? And how much can he gain in the hills? The peloton is small, but oho

Today's interview with Alkworld:

Auf welches Trikot legen Sie besonders wert?.
Geld für Otero!

Perfectly fine for me if he gets the money and Toni "Gelb"

team fl wrote:Today's interview with Alkworld:

Auf welches Trikot legen Sie besonders wert?.
Geld für Otero!

Perfectly fine for me if he gets the money and Toni "Gelb"

Hm, "D" and "B" are not even close together on the keyboard ...

It's a shame so few people are here.... as Alk said in the chat, probably should have joined the morning... actually would normally 14h for a tour doesn't work for me right now, this week yes, so...

Don't really understand why so few people are starting actually. You don't need a superpavé rider or team to have fun... one year I started with Suciu and co, horrible pavé team and still had fun. Not much success, yeah, actually though was ok, still managed top 5 on some stages, for Suciu that was great.... But not surprising, pave simply even a strong team can't play all its strength... for a team with a 75 pavé leader the win is out of reach, yeah, but his 75 will be ahead of many 76-77-78 maybe even 80 at the end, simply because they are nr 2-5 in stronger teams, and energy being the most important.. Yeah, both you and Alk know that, I'm just trying to get people for 14h by now. D1-4 guys, even without a pavéteam, that show guts and show up as outsiders (even though neither Gaurain nor Petit Singe have a superb pavéteam like Alk, we both have good teams, but not superb, Gaurain good leader, less depth, me mass, less top, a good team can beat both) and try to do the best. It's simply worth it because it's fun.

Your tour.. 6 is not much, but rideable, good... Alk seems the clear favorite Otero, GC, Sabato stages.. Nozal though will challenge on some stages, don't think for the GC. FL will challenge on other stages, but again, not the GC. But being stage co-favorite basically every day and GC favorite Alks team should suffer a bit, apart Otero the reg doesn't seem sensational. Still, he should do it. A few more teams though would have been great, Ape for example. Today Alighieri second if he follows and Duculescu 3rd if he follows, HA! Then Sabato following Duculescu wins, brr.. or Küng wins since I would have followed Braas. Brr, good thing I'm not there.

Have fun, and hope we get 10 teams for 14h, it's a good parcours and a classical tour, deserves bigger groups!

Second stage, hard pavé. Thus, the best pavé-rider wins, although Nozalteam made an early attack that almost cost him the stage. Second on the stage is Otero who is now the clear favorite for the GC. Green jersey will be much more interesting, at the moment Daan Homeborg wearing it, followed by Gilles Braas, and King Küng who wears the white jersey.

GC at the moment with the favourites:

1. 00:00 Daan Homeborg (Nozalteam)
2. 00:03 Miguel Otero (Alkworld)
3. 00:11 Gilles Braas (Team FL)
4. 00:21 Heino Talvi (Nozalteam)
5. 01:01 Stefan Küng (Team FL)
6. 01:01 Ernesto Sabato (Alkworld)
7. 01:01 Romulo Galegos (Alkworld)
8. 01:01 Nathan Verk (Nozalteam)
9. 01:17 Indra Dahari (RSV Kagran)
10. 01:17 Toni Hassler (Team FL)
11. 01:25 Zander Filet (james)
12. 01:25 Sampsa Nieminen (Nozalteam)

Deserved win for Nozalteam today, the 2nd attack with Daan was a really good idea. If I could do it again, I wouldn't do the 2nd Otero attack and it would be closer. But as there are only a few cannibals left in South America, and the Alkworld riders are none of them, the result today is absolutely ok. And tomorrow will be a totally different race maybe with a different winner again.

Bähhh! Stupid mistake by myself costs my at least place 2 for the stage.. Grmpf. Just put Gilles in Tempo. Anyway, deserved win by Miguel, and I still think he would have been better at the 7**** at the end. But we will never find out

GC nothing really important has chances. Only the fight for the green jersey (Daan vs. Miguel) and the team classement (Alkworld vs. Nozalteam) is still interesting. At least until Friday, when Alkworld's team fits much better. Friday will also be the last chance for stupid Team FL so win something. Tomorrow, I expect a group or a fight Alkworld vs. Nozalteam with a highly motivated Daan Homeborg.

Being alone in tempo is always so tempting, I can barely resist there. That way we unfortunately didnt find out, who's the strongest rider at 7****. And yes, GC can now only be lost, if my connection breaks or the boss is surprising me. Green is really hard to predict now, but maybe we'll manage to also let a group get through sometime now? The team classement then would strongly depend on that.

Another double victory, another opponent that sleeps in wrong situation and finally, another jersey for Otero, as I think he will win also the points classement. At least he can't take away Küngs white jersey

Anyway, besides that it was an interesting stage. Kagran and me tried it with an escape (maybe a bit too late), but Nozalteam really wanted the stage. Finally it was Alkworld, who wanted nothing today, who won it. Irony at it's best. Tomorrow a whole different story. Best terrain for Otero, last stage, no reason to save energy. So will Otero be able to get the Hattrick? Or does Alkworld show mery and let a group get the stage win, if here is any. We will see.

Team FL goal ist to be Top3 in the stage, podium in the GC, three riders in Top10 and to win white, which should be not really difficult.