Giro Di Sardegna

Giro di Sardegna
Stage 5:  Oristano - Gesturu 174km/108mi
By Cathy Mehl

Italian Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) took the victory Saturday in the final stage of the Giro di Sardegna.  A difficult mountaintop finish at the end of a 5km climb took a toll on the peloton after a difficult week of racing but all Team riders finished the race, with Ben Hermans holding a spot in the top ten.  After leading the race in every stage but one, Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) held three seconds to Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Androni Giocattoli) to claim the top spot on the podium.  Third on the classification went to Damiano Cunego of Lampre-ISD.
  Team RadioShack’s Hermans had a steady week of strong finishes, including today’s 8th place on the stage, giving him sixth place on GC.  The wind on the final climb made tough-going for the Belgian rider, but showed good promise for the races upcoming races in March and April.

Giro di Sardegna
Stage 1:   Olbia to Porto Cervo, 138km/86mi
By Cathy Mehl
Slovakian talent Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) chalked up an early season win in stage one of the Giro di Sardegna on Tuesday.   In an uphill sprint to the line, the 21-year old Sagan out-gunned rivals Alessandro Ballan of BMC and teammate Daniel Oss and took the victory by several bike lengths.  Sagan will wear the race leader’s jersey for Stage 2 on Wednesday.

Classica Olbia Sarda, 187.6km/117mi
By Cathy Mehl

Fresh off a five-day stage race the men of Team RadioShack were firing on all cylinders in the one day Classica Olbia Sarda in Sardinia.  A group of thirty riders dominated the race from start to finish on a sun-soaked day with temperatures near 23C/74F.  Geoffroy Lequatre rode himself into a third-place podium position behind winner Giovanni Visconti (ISD) with teammate Jani Brajkovic settling in for 8th. Second place went to Fabio Sabatini of Liquigas-Doimo.  TRS riders Markel Irizar and Ben Hermans took 15th and 16th respectively.

Giro di Sardegna
Stage 5:  Sant’Antioco to Caglianri, 140.6km/87mi
By Cathy Mehl
 
Team RadioShack rode away with good results from the Giro di Sardegna:  2nd and 4th on general classification for Chris Horner and Jani Brajkovic as well as the Teams classification.  Russian Ivan Rovny also remained high in the GC after several days of strong sprints.  The final flat stage was won by 31-year old Alberto Loddo (Androni – Diquigiovanni) with the overall staying with Czech  rider Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) at four seconds ahead of Horner.

Giro di Sardegna
Stage 4: Carbonia to Iglesias, 181.5km/113mi
By Cathy Mehl

Team RadioShack’s young Russian Ivan Rovny continues to impress in Sardegna with his fifth place finish in the 4th stage of the Giro di Sardegna behind sprint winner Danilo Hondo (Lampre-Farnese Vini) on a slightly uphill finish. A spectator stuck their arm too far out on the course and caused a crash near the finish line, causing several riders to go down, including yesterday’s winner Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre).  It is believed the downed riders are only bruised and should be able to start on Saturday.

Giro di Sardegna
Stage 3: Nuoro to Oristano, 206km/128mi
By Cathy Mehl and Philippe Maertens
 
At last it was a day for the pure sprinters in the third stage of the Giro di Sardegna.  Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-Farnese Vini) seized the stage win in front of fellow countrymen Enrico Rossi (Ceramica Flaminia) and Jacopo Guarnieri (Liquigas) in a mass sprint in Oristano.  There was no change in the general classification with Roman Keruziger (Liquigas) holding on to the race lead for a second day.  The best team rider for Team RadioShack was 22-year old Russian Ivan Rovny who sprinted to 5th.  Coming from a track background, Rovny’s first season with Team RadioShack has gotten off to a grand start. Chris Horner and Jani Brajkovic remain in 2nd and 4th places.

Giro di Sardegna
Stage 2: Macomer to Nuoro, 175.3km/109mi
By Cathy Mehl and Philippe Maertens

Team RadioShack’s Chris Horner finished 2nd in the uphill finish in Nuoro in the 2nd stage of the Tour of Sardinia. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) was the strongest of a dozen of riders who went to the final 8 K uphill on the Monte Ortobene.  The Liquigas rider takes over the race lead to Horner by four seconds.  Jani Brajkovic also put in a good ride, taking 6th from the select group of riders that finished together on the climb.  Team riders Ivan Rovny and Ben Hermans came in just after twenty-seconds later.

Giro di Sardegna
Stage 1:  Olbia to Bornorva,  144.2km/90mi
By Cathy Mehl


It was a day for the Italians in the opening stage of the Giro di Sardegna with Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre) taking the victory, followed by fellow countrymen Oscar Gatto and Giovanni Visconti of  ISD taking 2nd and 3rd.  Gavazzi took the first leader’s jersey as well. Team RadioShack’s Chris Horner put in a late attack but was caught with the finish line just ahead.

by Chris Brewer
 
Team RadioShack Riders: Jani Brajkovic, Matthew Busche, Ben Hermans, Chris Horner, Geoffroy Lequatre, Dmitriy Muravyev, Ivan Rovny & Markel Irizar.  Director: Alain Gallopin
 
The 5-stage Tour de Sardegna begins Tue, Feb 23 on the large island off of Italy’s west coast and runs through Saturday the 27th.  While not on the official Pro Tour calendar, the boys from The Shack will face the likes of teams Liquigas, Lampre, Katusha, and BBox Bouyges Telecom and a host of Continental riders in the 127 man peloton.

Team RadioShack, winner of the Teams Classification in the Tour of Algarve (with three riders - Tiago Machado 3rd, Levi Leipheimer 4th and Andreas Klöden 8th - in Top Ten Overall GC), starts next Tuesday in the 28th Tour of Sardinia.

The Team line-up for the next races:
Giro di Sardegna (Ita), 23-27/02/2010
Riders: Jani Brajkovic, Matthew Busche, Ben Hermans, Chris Horner, Geoffroy Lequatre, Dmitriy Muravyev, Ivan Rovny & Markel Irizar
Director: Alain Gallopin

La Classica /Sassari-Olbia (Ita), 28/02/2010
Riders: Jani Brajkovic, Matthew Busche, Ben Hermans, Chris Horner, Geoffroy Lequatre, Dmitriy Muravyev, Ivan Rovny & Markel Irizar
Director: Alain Gallopin