Wizards Cycling 2010: A rise to professionality
As last year, it is now again the time to lose some words about the last year. Our personal highlights, greatest victories and best stories of the year might be read by the ones that actually want to read that much bullshit (I guess at least Roby will do so
![Mr. Green :mrgreen:](./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif)
). Enjoy.
The year 2010 began with a crucial change in the team. A new climber was bought: Philippe Laviniere. Our hope to come back to the times of Herbert Königsbauer - something that never should've happened. He was sold after Paris-Nîmes due to insufficient training. But something else happened in that time aswell - an old generation finally has gone bit by bit. First it was our personal favourite Adam Wollfinger, maybe a classic race hero by now. He made his career perfect in 2010: At Down Under he won one stage and got 3rd in the classement - against unbeatable OsorioBotello (75-83). In february it even got better: He won the well-known Etoile de Bességes including won stage, the first and also last general classement he was able to get. After winning the czech championship for the third time in a row and being close to even win Milano-San Remo he retired after Dwars Door Vlaanderen. Thanks for 13 months of awesomeness we will never forget!
From then on it was time for a new Wiazrds Cycling hero recruited from the transfer market after PeterMeter dropped him there with 26 years and 72-83-63-46-63. Who else than Manuel Clausen! Basil Broucek and Kato Wolfsong were his most important helpers in the beginning helping him to get the first important victory at no other race than Gent-Wevelgem! At the Ronde van Vlaanderen he was also close to win. If we take Onkel-Eddys wheel he probably wins the race. We wanted, did not and lost it to Eddy. That win would've made him eternal and we missed. Well, gotta live with that. There will be other holdings of this race in the future and we're gonna get it somewhen.
At the Giro we made a huge mistake that almost destroyed the team - without any possible chances for jerseys or general classement and no money behind (I think not more than 500.000), we started with I think if I remember correctly 473.000. Too much to even the score. Clausen wins two stages, Mbeki wins a climber's stage, great win out of an escape and Mbeki's most important. Sneijder, Laviniere's follower had to be sold. Broucek finally retires from cycling, another great rider lost then. But the year goes on and the team grows, by some time to even 13 riders, our absolute maximum we will again have until the Giro comes 2011 I hope. From then on with no climber, but for the important races it seemed better not to have. Clausen + Wolfsong is the duo of 2010, able to win stage races, one day races and huge classics. San Sebastian is the next in line - won again great Emanuele Terranova. Lombardia follows aswell. At the Cyclassics it is at least a 3rd rank. Not to be forgotten some smaller victories, e.g. from Mbeki by winning the king of the mountain classement at Austria being a great battle. Oh, and we forgot a stage before that - Tour de Suisse stage 3 won by Mark Enkeevelaert in a crazy rallye, Top 3 Lizard stages of the year! So, back to business: Enkeevelaert, a good point, he also won Paris-Bourges, glad he at least was able to win when not able to train.
Another important date is ENECO. Clausen shows what he's able to do, winning 4 out of 8 stages and getting the points classement. The tour was very important for this quite dutch year for our team. Glad we rocked it! At Western Canada Tour in September something strange happenes. Our breakaway-king Ndale Mbeki got into a group on the first stage and absolutely no one wants to chase. The group gets 25mins without peloton tempo and Overbos (also in the group) helps Mbeki winning the classement on day 1, crazy. Mbeki also got the points classement there. The last win of 2010 (I'm glad for it) was in December. On the Pavés de Noel Victor Overbos can win because of a present by Riding Stars who accidently puts in sprint by 500metres. Else Victor would've probably lost the sprint. So again we were able to at least win one of the nice one day races during December (even though not Nazareth-Bethlehem and La St Sylv like last year). Shortly before the end of the year the whole team is sold. Great riders leave, and many don't know why. It's quite easy... I was going to do a kind of restart anyways, had to do it somewhen. I'm not that calm to do it all the same way again and again. Some changes have to come. It should've been after the Ardennes-week, but afterwards there's the Giro, then there's this race, that race, there's always races. That is why I said the best time to restart is just now. And stupid Oijterkamp, PFFFF!!!! So, enough of the talkings.
Thank you everyone for that great year 2010 in which finally - after starting originally in 2006 - Wizards Cycling could prove that it's a team too dangerous to just leave aside, a team that is able to win the important races at least sometimes and is going to do it again 2011 - we hope. A special thanks goes out to Team Franconia and Quick-Step. Especially since this year it was always a pleasure to have Franco and Quickie at my side, mostly on ICQ but also in the race chats. Those two make my RSF-day again and again. Thank you guys, I really appreciate it!
So, now to call some other names we don't want to miss: 1st, finally the mathematician is back in the business, yeah! Stay there! And give me Schrödinger now!!! 2nd, glad to have found some rather new teams here in business but nevertheless successful and always nice to have around in RSF. In the first case I speak of teams like Wookie, Team Bearclaw, Team Kajutschka, of course also a french team that made a nice year 2010. Of course it's NoPikouze we're talking of. And thanks BSE for buying Eickendreyer, that's the way aha aha we like it
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif)
Well, I guess enough said. To complete this Year 2010 statement let's see our 2010 palmares (and btw: 2010 - no field 2 in the whole year!):
Table of 2010
Cat. 6:
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/italien.gif)
Giro di Lombardia, Manuel Clausen
2nd
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Paris-Roubaix, Jan Vermaart
Cat. 5:
Stage 5
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/italien.gif)
Giro d'Italia, Manuel Clausen
Stage 10
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/italien.gif)
Giro d'Italia, Manuel Clausen
Stage 19
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/italien.gif)
Giro d'Italia, Ndale Mbeki
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/belgien.gif)
Gent-Wevelgem, Manuel Clausen
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/spanien.gif)
Clásica San Sebastián, Manuel Clausen
3rd
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/deutschland.gif)
Vattenfall-Cyclassics, Manuel Clausen
Cat. 4:
Team classement
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Paris-Nîmes
Stage 3
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Paris-Nîmes, Kato Wolfsong
Stage 6
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Paris-Nîmes, Nicolas LaCroix
Stage 2
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/spanien.gif)
Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Nicolas LaCroix
Stage 1
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/schweiz.gif)
Tour de Romandie, Ndale Mbeki
Stage 3
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/schweiz.gif)
Tour de Suisse, Mark Enkeevelaert
3rd
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/italien.gif)
Giro del Piemonte, Kato Wolfsong
Cat. 3:
3rd
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/australien.gif)
Tour Down Under, Adam Wollfinger
Points' classement
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/niederlande.gif)
ENECO Tour, Manuel Clausen
Climbers' classement
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/oesterreich.gif)
Österreich-Rundfahrt, Ndale Mbeki
Team classement
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/australien.gif)
Tour Down Under
Stage 3
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/australien.gif)
Tour Down Under, Adam Wollfinger
Stage 1
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/belgien.gif)
De Panne, Manuel Clausen
Stage 8
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/oesterreich.gif)
Österreich-Rundfahrt, Kato Wolfsong
Stage 1
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/niederlande.gif)
ENECO Tour, Manuel Clausen
Stage 3
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/niederlande.gif)
ENECO Tour, Manuel Clausen
Stage 5
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/niederlande.gif)
ENECO Tour, Manuel Clausen
Stage 6
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/niederlande.gif)
ENECO Tour, Manuel Clausen
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Tro Bro Leon, Jan Vermaart
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/griechenland.gif)
Olympia Route, Jörg Abplanalp
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/spanien.gif)
GP Miguel Indurain, Wesley Sneijder
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Paris-Bourges, Mark Enkeevelaert
Cat. 2:
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Etoile de Bességes, Adam Wollfinger
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/belgien.gif)
Tour de Wallonie, Manuel Clausen
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Tour de L'ain, Manuel Clausen
3rd
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/deutschland.gif)
Tour des Pavés, Dick Eickendreyer
Young riders' classement
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/deutschland.gif)
Sachsen-Pavés, Jan Vermaart
Young riders' classement
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/deutschland.gif)
Tour des Pavés, Dick Eickendreyer
Stage 3
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/deutschland.gif)
Sachsen-Pavés, Jan Vermaart
Stage 4
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Etoile de Bességes, Adam Wollfinger
Stage 3
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Tour du Méditerranéen, Basil Broucek
Stage 4
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/belgien.gif)
Tour de Wallonie, Manuel Clausen
Stage 4
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Tour de L'ain, Manuel Clausen
Stage 5
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Tour de L'ain, Manuel Clausen
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/tschechien.gif)
CN/NM February, Adam Wollfinger
1st
![Image](http://sim.sozone.de/grafiken/flaggen/Kamerun.gif)
CN/NM February, Kato Wolfsong
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
La Route d'Adélie, Manuel Clausen
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/japan.gif)
Japan Cup, Manuel Clausen
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Pavés de Noel, Victor Overbos
Cat. 1:
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/tuerkei.gif)
Tour de Marmara, Basil Broucek
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/kanada.gif)
Western Canada Tour, Ndale Mbeki
3rd
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Ardéchoise, Ndale Mbeki
Points' classement
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/kanada.gif)
Western Canada Tour, Ndale Mbeki
Points' classement
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Guyane, Manuel Clausen
Young riders' classement
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Ardéchoise, Samuel Albany
Team classement
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/kanada.gif)
Western Canada Tour
Team classement
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Guyane
Stage 4
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/tuerkei.gif)
Tour de Marmara, Basil Broucek
Stage 2
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Ardéchoise, Samuel Albany
Stage 1
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/kanada.gif)
Western Canada Tour, Ndale Mbeki
Stage 4
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/kanada.gif)
Western Canada Tour, Mark Enkeevelaert
Stage 2
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/frankreich.gif)
Guyane, Manuel Clausen
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/schweiz.gif)
70. Giro del Mendrisiotto, Nicolas LaCroix
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/indien.gif)
Kurnool - Komarolu, Ndale Mbeki
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/usa.gif)
West Virginia Heights, Manuel Clausen
1st
![Image](http://ingame.ingame.de/news/flaggen/griechenland.gif)
Athens - Sparte, Manuel Clausen
1st
![Image](http://sim.sozone.de/grafiken/flaggen/Philippinen.gif)
Bantay - Nueva Era, Tom van Amstel
We list:
General classements: 5
Points classements: 3
Climbers classements: 1
Young riders classements: 3
Team classements: 4
Stage wins: 43