Falcor CC

[Falcor CC]

MAGNUS JENSEN WINS 2 CLASSICS IN 1 WEEKEND

What a weekend for the team!
With Brabantse Pijl on Friday and Amstel Gold Race on Sunday, we knew that it was Jensen time. Let's have a look back.

Brabantse Pijl
First up: Jensens main target in April. His training programme was adjusted perfectly to it and he had good legs from the start. Favo check: Bronwyn Chesterfield was resurrected by Medical Service, he can hang anywhere and has the best sprint of the favos, so Medical forced to work early. A bit of a shame, we left our cheaps home thinking we were going to be doing that job, but Medical never asked for or needed help, so we let him do it in peace. Viitanen and Vakhovsjkyj there too as far as classics with good sprint go, but their sucker teams of course not riding! Drewek, Teixeira, Pavlenko the biggest threads to have a stronger (or equal) attack than Jensen in the end, so have to watch them too. Lolli also there for MS, in case a block works, so MS really superfavo! Only 3 single riders interested to breakaway, never a danger but let's give them their props as well: Vigni for Big Donkey, SouberBielle (there's 2 B's!) for Team FL and Ven for rookie DLS Invigo.

Pretty slow race, Moskesstraat didn't really do much. Gip with a sieb at some point and then keeps riding, but both MS and myself seemed to know exactly when he was going to attack and sectricked in when he sectricked out, blocking the potentially dangerous Gip attack with half the peloton hanging. 39 riders arrive at the last km together, and on the 4% slope Chesterfield can't contain the attacks so he decides to follow a big punch by Magnus instead. Jensen, Viitanen, Teixeira, Vakhovsjkyj and Chesterfield end up sprinting for the win. While the RfM guys look behind at a dangerous Chesterfield in their wheel, Jensen waits patiently. Vakhovsjkyj decides to launch himself then, Jensen and Viitanen on his wheel, then countering him. They fly past Vakhovsjkyj and Viitanen can barely put his wheel next to Jensen, who wins the Brabantse Pijl!

Final result:
01. 00:00:00 Magnus Jensen (Falcor)
02. 00:00:00 Nikita Viitanen (NoMoreLulz)
03. 00:00:00 Valerij Vakhovsjkyj (RideforMoney)
04. 00:00:00 Bronwyn Chesterfield (Medical Service)
05. 00:00:00 Bruno Teixeira (RideforMoney)
06. 00:00:01 Oskar Drewek (CircleCycle)
07. 00:00:01 Leonid Pavlenko (NoMoreLulz)
08. 00:00:01 Thibault Kerken (Falcor)
09. 00:00:01 Shahar Shushan (RideforMoney)
10. 00:00:02 Gianfranco Lolli (Medical Service)

Amstel Gold Race
With the legs just slightly sore from Friday, Jensen starts the Amstel Gold Race as a shadow favorite. Redrocks made the trip to The Netherlands to help out, joining Callard and the Mexican roomies Cruz and Diego as main support cast for Magnus. From the earlier editions we learned that the final sieb on the 6% would not be as strong as hoped, so the best we can do there is keep Redrocks fit and make the lower MO favos fight hard. Speaking of other favos: Koch by some margin, then that damned Chesterfield and Vakhovsjkyj again. Bless joining too, although we must admit we didn't really look at him before the stage started, with only 70MO.

A more dangerous group this time. While our manager was still playing Call of Duty in the team car, the Hoefs train left the station again. 3 Hoefs riders in front, as well as Alkworld and Hansa with all their experience. Some other weaklings (WZRV)(RfM) in front too, but they couldn't even keep up there! A slow chase, putting ourselves in trouble, but a nice coöp in the back between MS (for Chesterfield), VB (for Koch) and ourselves (for Jensen). No SWP move in this field, peloton sticks together quite well. The group, down to RvV winner Farron (Hansa), Bárdos (Hoefs) and Wilcock (Alkworld) get very close to the stage win, but a very strong Redrocks brings the peloton back to within 3 seconds on the last Cauberg passage, crushing all their hopes for the stage win. 30 riders survive the Cauberg and will sprint for the win. With 700m to go, a surprising call on the team radio: "Mike, you launch Magnus in the sprint!". Both were chilling front after making their opponents suffer on the Cauberg, and so Mike doesn't ask any questions and launches Magnus to perfection. Only the Narrenpartys and Falco without the r saw the move coming and took the wheel. While the 3 Hansa riders had a miscommunication and brought Koch in trouble by doing so, Jensen times his sprint perfectly and crossed the finish line first for the second time in 3 days, putting the Amstel Gold Race on his now pretty impressive palmares!

Final result:
01. 00:00:00 Magnus Jensen (Falcor)
02. 00:00:00 Johann Koch (Vikings Berlin)
03. 00:00:00 Valerij Vakhovsjkyj (RideforMoney)
04. 00:00:00 Karlheinz Vetter (Narrenparty)
05. 00:00:00 Bronwyn Chesterfield (Medical Service)
06. 00:00:00 FlorianRudolf Klenk (Narrenparty)
07. 00:00:00 Johann Hölzel (Wiener Zentralfriedhof RV)
08. 00:00:00 Andy Bless (Hansa)
09. 00:00:00 Zsolt Durkó (Hoefs Cycling Team)
10. 00:00:00 Mickaël Bougault (Gipfelstuermer)

With that, our classic win counter is up to 4, all this year. A nice evolution for our team when we didn't really expect to win anymore than 2 classics. Waalse Pijl (Redrocks) and LBL (whoever has the best legs) next to cap off classics season and then we head to Bulgaria to start the Giro d'Italia!

[flockmastoR]

No matter how you call me, don't put me in a bracket together with RfM

[Falcor CC]

No matter how you call me, don't put me in a bracket together with RfM

Fixed that for you!

[Falcor CC]

MICHAEL REDROCKS MAKES IT 3 CLASSIC WINS IN 1 WEEK

Crazy times for the team, as we go 3/3 in the last 3 classics, with Redrocks now adding La Fleche Wallone to his palmares.

We entered the stage as co-favo. Redrocks with good legs, but Pelle Holmström (RC Hachen) seems to be an even bigger favorite for the stage win. A small breakaway of 5 fits our race plan perfectly. Prema controls the start for Pearce at first, but when he goes offline around km35, Mick Rory starts his monster performance. Alongside Padura (RC Hachen) mostly, Mick controls the peloton for 97kms through a hilly terrain, winning over the hearts of everyone watching and riding the race. After getting dropped on the first Mur de Huy passage, Barlington even goes to get him back so he can keep going! Anyway, Barlington takes over, pace goes up a lot and the break is looking like they will get caught early. Barlington with another MVP performance, and by the time he is done, there is only 40km left. In front, only Rocha (Team FL) and Wu (Radunion) remaind, and on the second passage on the Mur, FL deems it time to make a move, attacking with Fokerots and Zalazar. They join the 2 in front and suddenly panic arises behind. Napier, Callard and Baddetis turn then. They keep the group within range together with some Hachen help so that Cruz can control the Côte d'Ereffe. After some Prema tempo, Diego and Uggla (RC Hachen) rejoin the group and continue working together to drop of the stage favos.

7km to go then. Côte de Cherave first. Jensen time! Or so we thought... A strong JeaHyun (Hachen) controls the pack uphill and then Juantorena makes sure Jensen can barely get to the front after. Doesn't matter, it is all to be decided on the Mur! Redrocks attacking was obvious, the question is: what will Holmström do? Can he follow? Will he follow? Will he go for the surprise attack? Turns out the latter was true and he attacks side by side with Redrocks. But one wheel length turned into two, then two wheel lengths turned into a bike lengths, then two bike lengths. Redrocks pulls away from Holmström and goes all the way to the line, winning La Fleche Wallone! 3 classics for the team in 1 week, 5 in total. Redrocks ties Jensen with 2 classic wins, Cruz still with 1. Team Falcor, 380 races young, leads all teams in classic wins in 2026, with only the great Tukhtahuaev potentially able to tie our spring classic wins if he wins LBL on Sunday.

La Fleche Wallone top 10:
01. 00:00:00 Michael Redrocks (Falcor)
02. 00:00:01 Pelle Holmström (RC Hachen)
03. 00:00:03 Ludvig Brolin (RideforMoney)
04. 00:00:06 Gert Dehaene (White Red)
05. 00:00:06 Jonas Mockus (Radunion)
06. 00:00:06 Noah Alpiger (VC Waaiers)
07. 00:00:06 Diego Niño (Wheresbarkie)
08. 00:00:06 Jack Pearce (Prema)
09. 00:00:10 Bong JaeHyun (RC Hachen)
10. 00:00:16 Magnus Jensen (Falcor)