2010 Vacansoleil season

Last updated
2010 Vacansoleil season
Manager Hilaire Van Der Schueren
One-day victories5
Stage race overall victories2
Stage race stage victories7
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The 2010 season for the Vacansoleil cycling team began in January with the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise. As they did in their inaugural season in 2009, the team competes in 2010 as a UCI Professional Continental team with wildcard status, meaning they are eligible to be invited to any UCI ProTour event. The team's manager is Hilaire Van Der Schueren.

Contents

The team's biggest acquisitions for the 2010 season are Feillu brothers, both of them minor stars from a recent Tour de France while riding for Agritubel. Romain, the elder, wore the yellow jersey for a day in 2008, while younger brother Brice won a stage in 2009.

2010 roster

Ages as of January 1, 2010

RiderDate of birth
Flag of Slovenia.svg  Borut Božič  (SLO) (1980-08-08)August 8, 1980 (aged 29)
Flag of Italy.svg  Matteo Carrara  (ITA) (1979-03-25)March 25, 1979 (aged 30)
Flag of France.svg  Brice Feillu  (FRA) (1985-07-26)July 26, 1985 (aged 24)
Flag of France.svg  Romain Feillu  (FRA) (1984-04-06)April 6, 1984 (aged 25)
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Gorik Gardeyn  (BEL) (1980-03-17)March 17, 1980 (aged 29)
Flag of Poland.svg  Michał Gołaś  (POL) (1985-04-29)April 29, 1985 (aged 24)
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Johnny Hoogerland  (NED) (1983-05-13)May 13, 1983 (aged 26)
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Sergey Lagutin  (UZB) (1981-01-14)January 14, 1981 (aged 28)
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Bjorn Leukemans  (BEL) (1977-07-01)July 1, 1977 (aged 32)
Flag of Italy.svg  Marco Marcato  (ITA) (1984-02-11)February 11, 1984 (aged 25)
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Wouter Mol  (NED) (1982-04-17)April 17, 1982 (aged 27)
RiderDate of birth
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Jens Mouris  (NED) (1980-03-12)March 12, 1980 (aged 29)
Flag of Denmark.svg  Martin Mortensen  (DEN) (1984-11-05)November 5, 1984 (aged 25)
Flag of Italy.svg  Alberto Ongarato  (ITA) (1975-07-24)July 24, 1975 (aged 34)
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Wout Poels  (NED) (1987-10-01)October 1, 1987 (aged 22)
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Matthé Pronk  (NED) (1974-07-01)July 1, 1974 (aged 35)
Flag of France.svg  Stéphane Rossetto  (FRA) (1987-04-06) April 6, 1987 (age 36)
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Rob Ruijgh  (NED) (1986-12-12)December 12, 1986 (aged 23)
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Bobbie Traksel  (NED) (1981-11-03)November 3, 1981 (aged 28)
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Arnoud van Groen  (NED) (1983-12-11)December 11, 1983 (aged 26)
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Joost van Leijen  (NED) (1984-07-20)July 20, 1984 (aged 25)
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Frederik Veuchelen  (BEL) (1978-09-04)September 4, 1978 (aged 31)
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Lieuwe Westra  (NED) (1982-09-11)September 11, 1982 (aged 27)

One-day races

Spring classics

The team opened its season at the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise. The squad for this event was chosen in December; Hoogerland was the leader, trying to improve upon a fifth-place finish in this race in 2009. [1] Westra figured into the morning's breakaway, along with Jussi Veikkanen and Julien El Fares, and nearly managed to stay away, being caught with only a few kilometers left in the race's final climb. A selection was made among the 85-strong peloton that had caught Westra and Veikkanen, with six, including Hoogerland, contesting an uphill sprint finish. Hoogerland finished second behind Saur–Sojasun's Jonathan Hivert. [2] Traksel won Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne, on the first weekend of the traditional spring classics season, in brutally bad weather. Of the 198 riders who began the race, just 26 finished, as the rain and the cold combined with the hilly parcours to make for what was called the most difficult day of racing in the last seven years. [3] Traksel outsprinted two breakaway companions, Ian Stannard and Rick Flens, for the win. [4] Vacansoleil had had van Groen in first position on the road when Traksel made his eventually race-winning attack. Van Der Schueren told Traksel to drop back, yet the stocky Dutchman continued to ride away. Though happy to have won, he referred to the attack as "stupid" when asked after the race. [5]

The team also raced Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the Clásica de Almería. [1]

Fall races

Stage races

Vacansoleil's first stage race of the season was the Étoile de Bessèges. The first stage ended in a mass sprint, won by Božič after the team overpowered Française des Jeux' leadout train. [6] Božič followed it up with a similar win the next day. [7] In February, Mol won the Tour of Qatar overall by figuring into a crucial stage 2 breakaway. [8] [9] He did not win any stage.

The team also sent squads to the Tour of Oman, the Tour Méditerranéen, the Volta ao Algarve, and the Ruta Del Sol. [1]

Grand Tours

The team did not receive invitations to either the Giro d'Italia or the Tour de France, despite the fact that both start in the Netherlands. It remains to be seen whether they will be invited to the Vuelta a España.

Season victories

DateRaceCompetitionRiderCountryLocation
February 3 Étoile de Bessèges, Stage 1UCI Europe TourFlag of Slovenia.svg  Borut Božič  (SLO)Flag of France.svg  France Le Grau-du-Roi
February 4 Étoile de Bessèges, Stage 2UCI Europe TourFlag of Slovenia.svg  Borut Božič  (SLO)Flag of France.svg  France St. Ambroix
February 7 Étoile de Bessèges, Points classificationUCI Europe TourFlag of Slovenia.svg  Borut Božič  (SLO)Flag of France.svg  France
February 12 Tour of Qatar, OverallUCI Asia TourFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Wouter Mol  (NED)Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar
February 25 Ruta Del Sol, Mountains classificationUCI Europe TourFlag of France.svg  Brice Feillu  (FRA)Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
February 28 Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne UCI Europe TourFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Bobbie Traksel  (NED)Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Kuurne
March 21 Ronde van het Groene Hart UCI Europe TourFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Jens Mouris  (NED)Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Zoetermeer
April 1 Three Days of De Panne, Teams classificationUCI Europe Tour [N 1] Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
April 10 Ronde van Drenthe UCI Europe TourFlag of Italy.svg  Alberto Ongarato  (ITA)Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Hoogeveen
June 6 Tour de Luxembourg, Overall classificationUCI Europe TourFlag of Italy.svg  Matteo Carrara  (ITA)Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg
August 7 Tour de Pologne, Mountains classification UCI World Ranking Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Johnny Hoogerland  (NED)Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
August 7 Tour de Pologne, Sprints classificationUCI World RankingFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Johnny Hoogerland  (NED)Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
August 7 Vuelta a Burgos, Stage 4UCI Europe TourFlag of France.svg  Romain Feillu  (FRA)Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Salas de los Infantes
August 12 Tour de l'Ain, Stage 2UCI Europe TourFlag of France.svg  Romain Feillu  (FRA)Flag of France.svg  France Trévoux
August 14 Tour de l'Ain, Stage 4UCI Europe TourFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Wout Poels  (NED)Flag of France.svg  France Belley
August 14 Tour de l'Ain, Points classificationUCI Europe TourFlag of France.svg  Romain Feillu  (FRA)Flag of France.svg  France
August 25 Druivenkoers Overijse UCI Europe TourFlag of Belgium (civil).svg  Björn Leukemans  (BEL)Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Overijse
September 12 Grand Prix de Fourmies UCI Europe TourFlag of France.svg  Romain Feillu  (FRA)Flag of France.svg  France Fourmies
September 14 Tour of Britain, Stage 4UCI Europe TourFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Wout Poels  (NED)Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain Teignmouth
September 17 Tour of Britain, Stage 7UCI Europe TourFlag of Slovenia.svg  Borut Božič  (SLO)Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain Colchester
September 18 Tour of Britain, Sprints classificationUCI Europe TourFlag of Poland.svg  Michał Gołaś  (POL)Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
September 18 Tour of Britain, Mountains classificationUCI Europe TourFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Johnny Hoogerland  (NED)Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
September 18 Tour of Britain, Teams classificationUCI Europe Tour [N 2] Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain

Footnotes

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References

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  2. Cycling News (2010-01-31). "Hivert claims French season opener". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 3 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
  3. Brecht Decaluwé (2010-03-01). "Peloton reacts to brutal battering at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 2 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  4. Brecht Decaluwé (2010-02-28). "Traksel wins Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 2 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  5. Brecht Decaluwé (2010-02-28). "Relatively unknown Traksel rides to Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne win". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  6. Cycling News (2010-02-03). "Bozic speeds to stage one win". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  7. Cycling News (2010-02-04). "Bozic blasts to Besseges double". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
  8. Stephen Farrand (2010-02-08). "Steurs strongest as breakaway rules the day". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  9. Stephen Farrand (2010-02-12). "Chicchi sprints to another stage win in Qatar". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2010-02-12.