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[Tarazet]

Last Sunday, while most of the world's attention was on the gold medal hockey game, there was another classic match-up going on on the other side of the globe. Some of the world's best cyclists, among them Tom Boonen, Stijn Devolder and Filippo Pozzato, braved a storm with 130 km/h wind gusts and torrential rain in Belgium for the Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne one-day classic. But the weather was so horrendous, only 28 of the starters finished, and none of the top favorites made it. Mother Nature made the selection, and only the toughest riders persevered. Ultimately, it was the man who wanted it the most who won the day - Bobbie Traksel from the small team Vacansoleil. And he did it in subzero temperatures, rain and howling wind, wearing little more than cycling shorts and a jersey.

At the same time in Spain, the sprinters were facing off in the Clasica de Almeria. On a difficult, hilly course, strong leadership by the teams of the sprinters brought the field to the line where Theo Bos edged out already-legendary British sprinter Mark Cavendish (who is from the Isle of Man, by the way). Furthermore, at the same time in Italy, another hilly classic was being held along the coastline of the island of Sardinia in absolutely gorgeous conditions.

There aren't enough sports like this.

For one thing, the scenery factor in road cycling is second to none. From the quaint Dutch countryside to the world's greatest cities, the Arabian deserts to the big alpine summits, the great coastal roads of the Mediterranean to the lush preternatural jungle of Malaysia, the settings for the time-trials, one-day races, stage races, and Grand Tours are varied and spectacular. It's a pity that so little of it can be seen on TV.

Yes, there has been a problem with doping which was pretty pervasive in the past decade. For this reason many fans have become disenchanted with the sport. But the pace of high-profile doping cases has dropped considerably in recent years, and the races have only gotten more exciting. Probably they don't have enough money to buy the good drugs anymore, with the recession and all. At any rate, I'm willing to forgive and forget. The UCI has had a pilot for the so-called "biological passport" system in place since 2008, which has already resulted in five doping cases out of competition and many behind the scenes warnings. It's clear that the sport is serious about cleaning up.

So it's in the spirit of providing a forum for discussion of this exciting, personality-filled sport on GAF - in what may be Lance Armstrong's last season as a professional - that I inaugurate this thread and seek to be to road cycling what Subzero is to F1. I hope that through my efforts, I can bring this sport to life for fans worldwide who might not be able to follow it regularly, and attract many new fans who know more about the peloton than just, well, you know who. (Though he'll be racing soon!)

If there's anything you want to see in this thread, let me know! I'll be scouring the 'Net for more internationally accessible sources of cycling coverage wherever they may be.

News:

Cyclingnews: Lance Armstrong returns to action in Murcia

Lance Armstrong will return to racing this week, taking on the Vuelta Ciclista a la Regiona de Murcia. The race through southeastern Spain runs Wednesday, March 3 through Sunday, March 7.

Armstrong, now riding for Team RadioShack, has not raced since the Tour Down Under in January. Since then he has been training in the United States and France. He last rode the Murcia race in 2004, finishing 23rd overall.

The seven-time Tour de France winner leads a strong team in Spain, including two-time Tour de France runner-up Andreas Klöden.

Team Astana has also announced its squad for Murcia, featuring five Kazakh riders. The other two riders are veterans Josep Jufre of Spain and Italian Paolo Tiralongo.

RadioShack for Vuelta a Murcia: Lance Armstrong, Daryl Impey, Andreas Klöden, Jason McCartney, Gregory Rast, Jose Luis Rubiera and Haimar Zubeldia

Team Astana for Vuelta a Murcia: Alexandr Dyachenko, Valentin Iglinsky, Josep Jufre, Roman Kireyev, Bolat Raimbekov, Paolo Tiralongo and Andrey Zeits

Velonews: Vuelta a Murcia bans Italian teams

by VeloNews.com
March 01, 2010

The organizers of Spain’s Vuelta a Murcia, which begins Wednesday, have refused to admit Italian teams, an action in solidarity with Alejandro Valverde who has been banned from competing in Italy.

“There will be no Italian teams participating due to the fact that they aren’t letting Valverde race in that country,” Guzmán told the Spanish sports daily AS. “Alejandro is Murcia’s best rider and I don’t want them in our race.”

Oddly enough, Valverde will not be toeing the line at Murcia as most Spanish teams have skipped the race over an ongoing dispute with the Spanish Cycling Federation over money. The U.S.-based RadioShack team will be in attendance, with American Lance Armstrong using the race to launch his 2010 European campaign.

Valverde, whose two-year ban in Italy was by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) for his involvement in the Operación Puerto case, has appealed the penalty to the International Court of Arbitration for Sports, which will soon announce its decision.

Cyclingnews: Belgians shut out on opening weekend

The Belgian cycling season may have officially started but the Belgians were shut out of the results in the opening weekend. For the first time ever, there was no Belgian rider on the podium of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and they also missed out in Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne.

Quick Step manager Patrick Lefevere, who has guided home talent to numerous wins in the past, put it simply. "This is a weekend to quickly forget." His top rider and former World champion Tom Boonen had gone into the weekend favoured to win both races, but finished only 59th in the Omloop, after suffering an unfortunately-timed puncture. He abandoned on Sunday, as did most of the field.

The team's top finisher in Omloop was French rider Sylvain Chavanel, who crossed the line in 20th place, and on Sunday Belgian Wouter Weylandt who finished 12th.

"The internationalisation we all called for has gradually broken through," Lefevere told sportwereld.com. "It is increasingly difficult for Belgian teams to win big races. But I draw no conclusions after two races. Ask me again after Liege-Bastogne-Liege."

Marc Sergeant, Lefevere’s equivalent at Omega Pharma-Lotto, was happy with the weekend because his riders “did what we had asked: rode offensively and displayed initiative.”

His team's best finishers were Philippe Gilbertt in the Omloop, at 26th, and Jürgen Roelandts at 15th in Kuurne. Sergeant expected more, especially in the Omloop.

“In hindsight, perhaps Gilbert rode with too much panache,” the team manager said. “The attack on the Lange Munte was not the best decision, after he had chased for 15 kilometres. But Gilbert is simply that way. He rides instinctively.”

Race results 2/27/10:

Omloop het Niewsblad, Belgium (1.HC)

1 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Sky Professional Cycling Team 5:07:15
2 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Cervelo Test Team 0:00:18
3 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions
4 Luca Paolini (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
5 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia

Race results 2/28/10:

Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne, Belgium (1.HC)

1 Bobbie Traksel (Ned) Vacansoleil 4:43:16
2 Rick Flens (Ned) Rabobank
3 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:02
4 Hayden Roulston (NZl) Team HTC -Columbia 0:01:00
5 Dominique Rollin (Can) Cervelo TestTeam 0:02:59

Classica Sarda Olbia Pantogia, Italy (1.1)

1 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Isd - Neri 3:53:09
2 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
3 Geoffroy Lequatre (USA) Team Radioshack
4 Daniele Colli (Irl) Ceramica Flaminia
5 Fabio Felline (Spa) Footon-Servetto

Clasica de Almeria, Spain (1.1)

1 Theo Bos (Ned) Cervelo Test Team 4:22:53
2 Mark Cavendish (Gbr) Team Htc-Columbia
3 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
4 Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Caisse D"Epargne
5 Davide Apollonio (Ita) Cervelo Test Team

Race results 3/1/10:

Stage 1: Le Tour de Langkawi, Malaysia (2.HC)

1 Michael Matthews (Aus) Jayco-Skins 4:22:53
2 Vidal Cellis (Spa) Footon-Servetto
3 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team
4 Anuar Manan (Mas) Geumsan Ginseng Asia
5 Johann Rabie (RSA) South African National Team

Coming up on American TV:

VERSUS: Paris-Nice (2.HC): March 7 & 14, 2010, 5-7p ET
VERSUS: Criterium International (2.HC): March 28, 2010 5-6p ET
VERSUS: Tour of Flanders (ProTour) April 4, 2010 5-7p ET

 

[Tarazet]

Cyclingnews: Rollin thrives in bad weather

Dominque Rollin is fast becoming somewhat of an expert in racing in poor conditions and he put those skills to the test in a storm affected edition of Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne on Sunday.

The race was won by surprise package Bobbie Traksel who broke clear early on in the race and won a sprint battle between his two breakaway companions, Rick Flens (Rabobank) and Ian Stannard (Sky).

Behind the three leaders Rollin’s Cervelo TestTeam was the most aggressive team. First they sent Thor Hushovd and Jeremy Hunt up the road and in pursuit of Traksel’s group before Rollin launched his attack over the remnants on the peloton, trying to bridge across to his two teammates and Hayden Roulston (HTC-Columbia).

However the chase proved futile. First Hunt suffered a hunger knock before Hushovd, realising the race was lost, sat up and allowed Roulston to continue alone. Rollin eventually caught the Norwegian and secured fifth place on the line to record his best results of the season.

"It was a crazy day on the bike," he said at the finish.

"The wind just got stronger and stronger and it got colder and colder. It reminded me of a couple of other big days I had on the bike and I did have the legs today. It was a great ride by the guys, we had four guys up there but I think the weather got the better of most of us unfortunately. The performance was there and I'm looking forward to Paris-Nice to sharpen everything for the rest of the classics."

Unlike many of the riders who lined up for the race Rollin came into the event knowing that the harder conditions would suit his style of racing. He famously won a stage of the Tour of California in 2008 during brutal conditions that saw over twenty riders either fail to start or abandon the race.

This year Rollin will aim to claim his first win on European soil and build on his consistent results in the Classics.

Roadcycling: 2012 Giro d'Italia could start in Washington, D.C.

Officials hoping to start the race in the District of Columbia are hosting a reception Thursday night at the Italian embassy. Some media outlets reported that Giro officials will in fact announce the D.C. start, but people supporting the city's bid say the evening is simply a party.

Like the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia covers more than 2,000 miles during three weeks of heart pounding and intensive riding.

The 2010 edition of the Giro d'Italia will start in and around Amsterdam in the Netherlands, then cyclists will fly to Italy for the remainder of the tour.

The 2011 route for the Giro will be announced later this year.

 

[Tarazet]

News:

Cyclingnews: Wiggins and Armstrong go head to head in Murcia

Bradley Wiggins will race against Lance Armstrong for the first time since last year's Tour de France this week, as both riders continue their early season racing.

Armstrong made his debut with Team RadioShack at the Tour Down Under and then spent time training in Hawaii before traveling to Europe last week.

Wiggins rode the Tour of Qatar, helping Team Sky win the opening time trial, before heading to Spain for last week's Ruta del Sol. He was beaten by Alex Rasmussen (Saxo Bank) in the time trial but then went on the attack to test his form during the final road stage.

Both were perhaps surprised to see Tour de France rival Alberto Contador perform so well at the Volta ao Algarve and win overall but both seem on track as they build up for the summer.

Wiggins told Cyclingnews in Qatar that the five-day Tour of Murcia was a possible overall objective.

His overall result will perhaps depend on the form of other big names such 2009 winner Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Transitions). However Wiggins is surely the favourite for Saturday's flat and fast 22km stage.

The Tour of Murcia will see British directeur sportif Rod Ellingworth make his debut in the first team car. He has worked closely with Wiggins in recent months during training camps.

"If he has a good week, Brad cold get a result and the time trial is definitely an objective," Ellingworth told Cyclingnews.

"He's now out of his conditioning phase and so this month, both Murcia and Catalunya are about racing and making the most about each day. Of course, it's also about the big picture and thinking ahead of the summer. We got some good information from the Ruta del Sol and when he went on the attack on the last stage. It's all good."

"If he goes well the team will ride for him but if not then guys like Morris Possoni, Chris Froome and John-Lee Augustyn will have their chance. They're all going well and make up a good chunk of the team that will ride with Brad at the Giro d'Italia. It's also about being together and working together."

"The time trial will be a good test and hopefully he can get it all out over the 22km but if someone is faster, then fair enough. It's important he works on his pre-race routine and gets the focus right."

Wiggins' biggest rivals in the time trial will likely be Zabriskie, Armstrong and the Texan's RadioShack teammate Andreas Kloden. It will be fascinating to see how Wiggins and Armstrong compare.

"It's good for Brad to race against Lance and see where he is against him," Ellingworth confirmed. "It's easy to get distracted by what your rivals are doing but it's good to get a look at them as well. They probably both saw that Contador was very good at Algarve but Brad's got nothing to worry about. He's in good shape."

Velonews: Mathis edges Landis at Callville Bay Classic

Professionals in search of sun and miles mixed it up with elite amateurs on the banks of Nevada’s Lake Mead last week at the Callville Bay Classic. Veteran Burke Swindlehurst was on hand and had nothing but praise for the fledgling event. Racers and staff stayed on docked house boats on the lake and road away from the Callville Bay Marina for each day’s stage. (Check out a Callville Bay Gallery.)

Michael Mathis (Empire Cycling Team-CRCA) edged Floyd Landis and Sergio Hernandez (Team MS Now) to take the overall. The race served as a tune-up ahead of the San Dimas Stage Race and NRC-opening Redlands Bicycle Classic later this month.

Race results 3/2/2010:

Le Tour de Langkawi (2.HC), Stage 2 - Kuala Terengganu - Chukai 182.3km

1 Jay Thomson (RSA) South Africa National Team 4:06:54
2 Tobias Erler (Ger) Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team
3 David Pell (Aus) Drapac Porsche Cycling
4 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Jayco - Skins 0:03:03
5 Anuar Manan (Mas) Geumsan Ginseng Asia

Overall after 2 stages:

1 Tobias Erler (Ger) Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team 8:29:35
2 David Pell (Aus) Drapac Porsche Cycling 0:00:05
3 Jay Thomson (RSA) South Africa National Team 0:00:07
4 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Jayco - Skins 0:03:02
5 Anuar Manan (Mas) Geumsan Ginseng Asia 0:03:09

 

[perryfarrell]

Nice thread. I'm psyched for this summer's races.

Go Schleck brothers!

 

[Critical Jeff]

Anyone ride track bike?

 

[Tarazet]

Anyone ride track bike?

This thread comes a little late for the track season unfortunately.. most of the roadies like to do track in the winter because it's not as messy as cyclocross.

 

[Tarazet]

Cyclingnews: McEwen to continue as planned at Eroica

Despite Robbie McEwen's decision not to start Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne last Sunday, the Katusha sprinter will continue with his planned race schedule at this weekend's Montepaschi Strade Bianche (Eroica Toscana).

McEwen chose to withdraw from Kuurne after banging his left knee heavily on his handlebars in the early stages of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday. It was the same knee which the Australian shattered at last year's Tour of Belgium.

"About 12 or 15 kilometres into the race there was nearly a crash," McEwen told Cyclingnews on Tuesday. "Two riders almost came down and one of them ended up on top of my handlebars, which flicked them around and into my knee.

"It hurt a lot straight away when I tried to pedal. I went back to the race doctor's car, they gave me some paracetamol for the pain, but I think the biggest benefit was just to hang on to the car until I could pedal again."

Although not listed on official results, McEwen did finish the 204-kilometre event. However, swelling around his knee prompted a decision to return home, rather than risk further damage on Sunday. It was a decision that was given further credence as wild storms across Belgium saw only 26 riders' names recorded at the finish line in Kuurne.

"I finished [Omloop Het Nieuwsblad] but the knee was pretty bruised and swollen so I made the call not to start in Kuurne," he said. "When I saw the weather it definitely turned out to be a good decision. It was one of those special days when only the guys who are good in the cold were finishing, and even some of those pulled out."

After surgery and a long lay-off last season McEwen, 37, is understandably vigilant about his left knee. His wholesale return to competition this season got off to a strong start last month when he took his first European win since last August on the opening day of the 2010 Challenge Mallorca.

McEwen doesn't expect the latest hiccup to cause undue interruption and has already ridden since last weekend. He will travel to Italy this week for a scheduled rendezvous at the Montepaschi Strade Bianche (March 6), Tirreno-Adriatico (March 10-16) and Milano-Sanremo (March 20).

"[After last year] I've become cautious about my knee. I've been out training today and I'll just be careful with it and make sure it settles down."

The Montepaschi Strade Bianche is one race that I wish could be televised. Each time it has been held it has turned out to be an epic race and a great show.

 

[Kabouter]

Fail for not giving proper attention to Omloop het Volk (Yes, yes, it's Omloop het Nieuwsblad now, whatever) in the OP.

 

[Tarazet]

Fail for not giving proper attention to Omloop het Volk (Yes, yes, it's Omloop het Nieuwsblad now, whatever) in the OP.

That's a fair point, probably had the best field of the whole weekend. I added it to the results section.

 

[subrock]

oh man, time flies. giro is my first big attention grabber of the season, mainly because its easy to find recordings on the net.

 

[Tarazet]

News:

Thomas Dekker gets two-year suspension for EPO use

Thomas Dekker has been suspended for two years for using EPO, the Monegasque Cycling Federation announced today. The suspension runs until July 1, 2011.

The 24-year-old from the Netherlands was tested for EPO in an out-of-competition doping control on Christmas Eve 2007 but that test was negative. According to the International Cycling Union (UCI), data gathered under the biological passport programme in 2008 and 2009 “demonstrates convincing evidence of the use of the prohibited method of oxygen transfer.”

These results prompted the UCI to review Dekker's past doping controls, including the one taken in December 2007. The WADA accredited laboratory in Cologne, Germany, re-examined the urine sample and found it to contain EPO.

Dekker was suspended by Team Silence-Lotto on July 1, 2009. He had joined the Belgian team that season after leaving Rabobank the previous August under unexplained circumstances.

The Dutch rider, who lived in Monaco and rode under a Monegasque licence, has said that he used EPO only the one time, acknowledged his “mistake” and accepted full responsibility. Dekker has indicated he plans to return to riding after this suspension ends in 2011.

Good to see the biological passport at work..

Pellizotti convinced form will peak for Giro d'Italia

Italy's Franco Pellizotti makes his season debut on home roads at the Giro del Friuli on Wednesday, but his 2010 season is firmly built around winning the Giro d'Italia.

Pellizotti is one of the four stage race leaders at Liquigas-Doimo, along with Ivan Basso, Vincenzo Nibali and Roman Kreuziger. There was tension in the Italian team last year about who was the leader at the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France. This year the leadership roles have been clearly defined and with the Giro packed with tough climbs, Pellizotti has been named as leader on equal terms with Basso.

At 32, and after ten years as a professional, 'Peli' is convinced he is now at his best. He has worn the maglia rosa but never won the Giro d'Italia.

"My big goal is to win it this year. After Friuli, I'll ride Eroica, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-Sanremo, but everything is aimed at being my best for the Giro," he told Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday.

"Last year I finished on the podium behind Menchov and Di Luca. Now I'm 32 and I think my moment has come. All my season will be built around the Giro d'Italia and I'll be at 100 per cent."

"I know a lot of people want to win the Giro but I really like the course. I won’t be penalised by the time trials this year. There's the mountain time trial to Plan des Corones but I've won that in the past. This year the final week will be tough and decisive because there are climbs like the Zoncolan, Gavia and Mortirolo."

Pellizotti picks Spain's Carlos Sastre (Cervelo TestTeam) as his perhaps biggest rival. He insists that he and Basso will race together and not against each other.

"This year's Giro suits Sastre. He's a lightweight climber who goes well on the really tough climbs. He'll be a big threat. There's also Cadel Evans. He's a real fighter and will be proudly wearing the rainbow jersey. Basso is also a favourite and then we'll have to see what riders like Alexandre Vinokourov can do."

"Me and Ivan have got the same objective but we're intelligent enough to understand that we're stronger as a team. I'm not worried about being in the same teams as Basso at the Giro. Of course I can see that he's more considered by the press and I don't really understand that, but I put up with it. But I'm confident I'm going to have a good year."

Italian championships and the Tour de France

After the Giro d'Italia, Pellizotti will target the Italian national championships in June. The race will be held in Conegliano, in the Friuli region, close to Pellizotti's hometown.

"I tried the course on Monday and it’s for riders who are good on the climbs. It's on my home roads and so it's definitely a target for me," he said.

Last year Pellizotti failed to win a stage at the Tour de France but rode aggressively and secured victory in the climber's competition, pulling on the polka-dot jersey in Paris.

"Like last year, I'm going to take things day by day at the Tour," he explained. "Kreuziger, Basso and Nibali will be going for overall success and I'll help them. My personal goal is a stage win and I'll go for the polka-dot jersey again."

Race results 3/3/2010:

Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia, Spain (2.HC), Stage 1: San Pedro del Pinatar 166.5km

1 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Transitions 4:15:40
2 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
3 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Team HTC Columbia
4 Roger Kluge (Ger) Team Milram
5 Daryl Impey (RSA) Team RadioShack

Le Tour de Langkawi, Malaysia (2.HC), Stage 3, Pekan - Mersing 145.6km:

Video

1 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Jayco - Skins 3:16:27
2 Alex Candelario (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies
3 Dmytro Grabovskyy (Ukr) ISD - Neri
4 Anuar Manan (Mas) Geumsan Ginseng Asia
5 René Haselbacher (Aut) Vorarlberg - Corratec

Overall after 3 stages:

1 Tobias Erler (Ger) Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team 11:46:02
2 David Pell (Aus) Drapac Porsche Cycling 0:00:05
3 Jay Thomson (RSA) South Africa National Team 0:00:07
4 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Jayco - Skins 0:02:48
5 Anuar Manan (Mas) Geumsan Ginseng Asia 0:03:03

Giro del Friuli, Italy (1.1), Brugnera - Sacile 190km

1 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) De Rosa - Stac Plastic 4:38:09
2 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
3 Enrico Rossi (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia
4 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox
5 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha

Le Samyn, Belgium (1.1), Frameries - Dour 191.9km

1 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Cofidis
2 Gregory Joseph (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator
3 Cédric Pineau (Fra) Equipe Roubaix Lille Metropole
4 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Francaise des Jeux
5 Kristof Goddaert (Bel) Ag2R-La Mondiale

 

[Ripenen]

I just bought a road bike after spending a few years racking up the miles on a clunky mountain bike fitted with slicks. As a result I've started to take an interest in cycling, but it's a difficult sport to get into with so many events, teams, and racers. It also doesn't help that here in the US most people seem to despise cycling in any form.

Are there any cool highlight videos worth watching on YouTube to introduce a newcomer to some of the top athletes and events? I recently watched Hell on Wheels on Netflix, which was pretty interesting.

 

[Tarazet]

I just bought a road bike after spending a few years racking up the miles on a clunky mountain bike fitted with slicks. As a result I've started to take an interest in cycling, but it's a difficult sport to get into with so many events, teams, and racers. It also doesn't help that here in the US most people seem to despise cycling in any form.

Are there any cool highlight videos worth watching on YouTube to introduce a newcomer to some of the top athletes and events? I recently watched Hell on Wheels on Netflix, which was pretty interesting.

It's not the easiest sport to follow. The biggest stars in the sport right now are Mark Cavendish, Fabian Cancellara, Alberto Contador, Frank & Andy Schleck, Robbie McEwen, and of course Lance Armstrong. I can try to include video when it's available. For example, there is a 3-minute video of today's Tour de Langkawi stage, in English:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMNjfCyfMlY

 

[Tarazet]

Andy Schleck's season debut cut short

One month after having a forced rest due to inflammation in his knee, Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck was riding pain free and ready to make his season start at the Giro del Friuli today. The Luxembourger did not finish the 190km Italian race today, but not because of his injury.

"My first race today and I'm happy did good work 'til I pull out after 160, but my knee didn't hurt only in the end a bit so that's good," Schleck said on Twitter.

The 2009 Tour de France runner-up was not concerned about the injury at the beginning of February, when he was diagnosed with inflammation under his kneecap. He also began the 2009 season with tendonitis in his ankle, but went on to claim success as early as Flèche Wallonne, where he took second before he went on to win Liège - Bastogne - Liège.

Schleck was scheduled to start his season in the Challenge Mallorca before suffering knee pain. He was then to make his start in the Ruta del Sol last week, but postponed his debut until today's Giro del Friuli.

The 24-year-old is still on the schedule for Eroica and Tirreno-Adriatico.

After Het Niewsblad, Flecha dreams of Flanders, Roubaix

Following an emotional victory Saturday at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, a newly confident Juan Antonio Flecha (Team Sky) is still holding out on his dream of winning one of the major cobblestoned classics.

The veteran Spanish classics specialists finally won a Belgian one-day race and did it with panache, riding away from an elite field with 20k to go to win the classics season opener in dramatic fashion.

“My dream remains to win either Flanders or Roubaix, but Het Volk (Nieuwsblad) is a Tour of Flanders in miniature and that just heightens expectations,” Flecha told the Spanish sports daily MARCA. “What gives me the most pride is to finally been able to have won on the cobblestones.”

The victory was a big boost to start-up Team Sky, which comes into the season with cycling’s biggest budget and expectations to match.

The squad has a solid classics unit and Flecha will be playing a starring role after moving to the British team after several years racing with Rabobank.

“I knew that the form was good and that the team confided in me, but I would be lying if I thought at the start line I was going to win, even though I knew I could be at the front,” Flecha continued. “In fact, during the team meeting, they asked what I thought the ideal situation would be. I responded that I didn’t know, that I preferred to improvise. And it was like that. I played by cards as it unfolded, without having a set plan.”

Flecha’s win is the first by a Spanish rider on a cobblestoned one-day race and his first since 2005. A winner of the GP Zurich and the Giro del Lazio in 2004, the 32-year-old Flecha is well-known for his dramatic finish line salvo of shooting an imaginary arrow across the finish line, which he revealed to the world with his Tour de France stage victory in Toulouse in 2003.

“I am not a new Flecha, I am the same as always, even though I admit that this victory gives me a lot of confidence because it’s been a long time since I won anything,” he said. “I don’t have the same energy I did when I was 25, but I have a lot more experience. Also, I am on a team that really believes in my possibilities and my instinct.”

Flecha has done well in the northern classics, finishing twice on the podium at Paris-Roubaix (3rd in 2005, 2nd in 2007) and once on the podium at Tour of Flanders (3rd in 2008).

“I don’t want to dwell on my victory Saturday. I don’t want to relax or live in the clouds,” he said. “That’s already won and now it’s time to focus on my next objectives.”

Flecha will be busy in the coming weeks as the heart of the classics season approaches. On Saturday is the Monte Paschi-Strade Bianche, followed by Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo in Italy. From there, it’s off to Belgium for the A Travérs de Flanders, Harelbeke, Ghent-Wevelgem and, finally, Flanders and Roubaix.

Who would have thought of a Spanish rider being considered seriously as a Paris-Roubaix contender?

 

[Tarazet]

News:

Paris-Nice: Valverde Confirmed

Caisse d'Epargne has confirmed that Alejandro Valverde will ride in Paris-Nice, which starts this Sunday. The squad directed by Eusebio Unzué will therefore include two riders that have the full potential of winning the stage race: 2009 victor Luis León Sánchez and Valverde, who already won the Tour Méditerranéen this year.

Sánchez, who will ride with the dossard one in his bid to defend his title, doesn't only have to fight against the likes of Alberto Contador (Astana), Fränk Schleck (Saxo Bank) or Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), but may also encounter some rivalry with his own teammate. Still, this doesn’t seem to worry the squad's management:

"I don't know yet who will be the designated leader," said directeur sportif Yvon Ledanois. "It will depend on the riders' state of form at the start, and on how the race will unfold during the first days. What's for sure is that both are able to win this race on paper, and that there will be no problems between them because they have a very good relationship."

Valverde will be making his return to the cold French weather conditions he fled after his victory in the Tour Med by skipping the Tour du Hat Var. Sánchez is also in good form after having already won stages in the Tour Down Under and the Volta ao Algarve. He finished second overall in both events.

Caisse d'Epargne has confirmed the following line-up for Paris-Nice: Juan José Cobo, José Vicente García Acosta, Iván Gutiérrez, David López, Luis Pasamontes, Mathieu Perget, Luis León Sánchez, Alejandro Valverde.

Race results 3/4/2010:

Vuelta Ciclista A La Region De Murcia (2.1), Stage 2: Calasparra - Caravaca de la Cruz 169.8km

1 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Transitions 4:20:12
2 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
3 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Team HTC-Columbia
4 Alexander Blain (GBr) Endura Racing
5 Daniel Schorn (Ger) Team NetApp

It was like déjà-vu all over again Thursday at the Vuelta a Murcia in Spain.

A day after Garmin-Transitions played the role as the major protagonist; the American squad was back at it again. Danny Pate again slipped into a breakaway and Robbie Hunter repeated his victory from Wednesday’s first stage at the five-day Spanish tour in another bunch sprint.

And the top-3 finishing order was exactly the same as the day before, with Hunter topping Graeme Brown (Rabobank) and Vicente Reynes (HTC-Columbia) trailing through in third.

Hunter and most of the top sprinters made it over two first-category rated climbs to contest the sprint in the 169.8km second stage.

With the win, Hunter keeps the leader’s jersey going into Friday’s challenging climbing stage.

Le Tour de Langkawi (2.HC), Stage 4: Mersing - Parit Sulong 163.5km

Video

1 Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team 3:50:11
2 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Jayco - Skins
3 Vidal Celis (Spa) Footon-Servetto
4 Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Aisan Racing Team
5 René Haselbacher (Aut) Vorarlberg - Corratec

Today was all about teams asserting themselves on the road to Parit Sulong - Tabriz Petrochemical for race leader Tobias Erler and Aisan Racing, for stage winner and Japanese national road race champion, Taiji Nishitani.

The 29-year-old from Hiroshima, Japan, made the most of the hard work done by his teammates to outkick double stage winner Michael Matthews (Jayco-Skins) and Vidal Celis (Footon-Servetto), with the former taking control of the sprint classification as a result of his fourth top-five placing.

But perhaps the biggest smiles were obviously on the faces of the Aisan Racing team members, who had spoken of working hard to get Nishitani the win; in doing so he became the sixth Asian and third Japanese rider to take a stage of the Tour de Langkawi, the most recent countryman being Shinichi Fukushima in 2007.

"I'm so happy. This race is very important and my teammates worked so hard for me," said Nishitani. "I have at least one win at this Tour de Langkawi and this is a very important race for the team. I'm really satisfied.

"This is our first race this year and my condition is not the best - until yesterday it was really difficult for me to finish with the sprint. But honestly, today when we started I felt a little bit heavy and it was a little bit difficult," he explained.

"Thanks to the hard work by the team, I could win today; also, the lay out of the finish suited my squad," continued Nishitani. "Our target was getting the stage win and we thought about a strategy to make a small breakaway in which I could ride. We thought the possibility of this was very low, which is why we decided to change our strategy to make the sprint finish. We tried it and pulled it off."

 

[olore]

Good job OP, will be following this thread. AAA-quality like SubZeros motorsport thread.

@Ripenen: Why do you get the feeling that Joe Blow down the street despise cycling? Just wondering.

 

[Tarazet]

Good job OP, will be following this thread. AAA-quality like SubZeros motorsport thread.

Thanks, I know this thread will have a little trouble getting traction with most of the fans in a different time zone than me, but I think as we get into the classics season, and with the Giro and the Tour of California being concurrent this year, it'll find a place here.

 

[Tarazet]

News:

Contador to lead Astana at Paris-Nice

Alberto Contador returns to Paris-Nice on Sunday, March 7, as captain of the Astana team and is a favourite for overall victory, a feat the Spaniard accomplished in 2007 but failed to repeat in last year's edition. Last year Contador won the opening time trial and seemingly had the race under control following his victory in stage six's summit finish, which put the Tour champion back into yellow, 1:13 minutes ahead of compatriot Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne).

The following day's penultimate stage, however, saw Contador crack and Sanchez assume the race leadership which he would defend through the final stage. Contador would finish fourth overall, 1:24 behind Sanchez.

Contador's revamped Astana team returns in 2010 with only two of his teammates from the previous year's squad, Spaniards Daniel Navarro and Benjamin Noval. In addition to Contador's two trusted Spanish domestiques, Astana will support Contador in 2010 with Kazakhs Dimitriy Fofonov and Maxim Gourov, Ukraine's Andriy Grivko, Spain's Oscar Pereiro and Slovenia's Gorazd Stangelj.

Contador enters Paris-Nice with good form, having won his season debut at Portugal's five-day Volta ao Algarve. The 27-year-old Spaniard earned the leader's jersey after winning the third stage and finished second in the final day's time trial to seal his overall victory.

While Contador seeks another Paris-Nice victory in France, Alexandre Vinokourov will lead an Astana team in Italy for Tirreno-Adriatico on March 10-17. Vinokourov has normally competed in Paris-Nice, and is a two-time former winner, but the Kazakh has also had success in Italy as well with a third place overall, 13 seconds behind race winner and then Astana teammate Andreas Klöden, in the 2007 Tirreno-Adriatico.

While many of the protagonists for Tirreno-Adriatico will race in Italy's Montepaschi Strade Bianche on Saturday, March 6, Vinokourov won't be present on the start line for Astana as originally scheduled due to dental problems. The 36-year-old Kazakh will consult with his doctor on Friday, March 5, but will return to competition for Tirreno-Adriatico four days after the Italian one-day event, according to a statement from Astana.

Montepaschi a taste of past, preview of the Giro

The roads of Belgium and Northern France have become legendary in cycling thanks to the cobbles and the classics, and after just three years, the white roads of the Chianti hills have made the Montepaschi Strade Bianche race synonymous with a unique race the Tuscan hills near Siena.

If the roads are dry, the riders create huge plumes of white dust as they race. If it is wet, the roads turn to a white mud and glue the riders' tyres to the roads.

It amazing to watch and is like going back in time. The rider look like the pioneers of cycling at the turn of the nineteenth century. Some of them hate the conditions but most love being able to ride what has already become like no other race on the calendar.

190km of racing, eight sections of strade bianche

This year the race again falls on the Saturday before Tirreno-Adriatico's Wednesday start four days later and so has attracted an impressive field. With a key stage of this year's Giro d'Italia also including some of the strade bianche dirt roads, many teams will stay in the area to study the roads and test equipment before and after the race.

The 190km race again starts in the village of Gaiole in Chianti, that hosts the popular Eroica sportif ride in October. The race finishes in the spectacular Piazza del Campo in the heart of Siena, which hosts the Palio horse race every summer. The race is now sponsored by the Siena-based Monte dei Paschi bank, hence the change in name to Montepaschi Strade Bianche.

The testing route includes eight section of dirt road. Some sections are over 10km and include some nasty climbs and off camber descents in the picture postcard hills south of Siena.

The race is often decided on Monte Santa Maria fifth section. It is 11.5km long and includes two challenging climbs on the dirt. This is where the first major selection is likely to be made with teams working hard to make any splits stick before their team leaders go for victory on the final three smaller sections of dirt road near Siena.

Fabian Cancellara and Alessandro Ballan attacked hard on the seventh Colle Pinzulo section in 2007 and the front group that fought for victory last year was also formed here.

The final eighth section in Le Tolfe could also be a launch pad for attacks and the twisting roads and short climbs to the centre of Siena are also good moments to attack. 2009 winner Thomas Lofkvist attacked as the front group entered the historic centre of Siena. It was a late move but he won alone by a few seconds ahead of Fabian Wegmann and Martin Elmiger.

Classics rider pack the start list

Lofkvist will ride again, but this year the classy Swedish rider will be in the black and blue of Team Sky rather than the yellow and white of HTC-Columbia. Also in the Team Sky line-up is recent Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner Juan Antonio Flecha, Canada's Michael Barry, Ian Stannard, CJ Sutton and Matthew Hayman.

Tyler Farrar leads a strong Garmin-Transitions team that also includes Martijn Maaskant, Julian Dean, Ryder Hesjedal and Johan Van Summeren. The Cervelo TestTest includes Roger Hammond, Andreas Klier and Jeremy Hunt, while Andy Schleck, Fabian Cancellara, Baden Cooke, Stuart O'Grady give extra strength to the Team Saxo Bank line-up.

Mark Cavendish is expected to ride as part of the HTC-Columbia squad as he continues to work on his form after some troubling dental problems. But look for Lars Bak, Marco Pinotti or even promising young American Tejay Van Garderen in the hilly finale.

Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) will be looking for a result after a quiet start to the season, while it will be fascinating to see what former mountain biker but now world road race champion Cadel Evans thinks of the strade bianche. He will ride with new BMC teammate Alessandro Ballan, Mauro Santambrogio and American's Jeff Louder and Brent Bookwalter.

Stefan Schumacher will not appeal CAS decision

Stefan Schumacher will not appeal his doping suspension to the Swiss federal court. The German's suspension runs through August 28 of this year.

“We have decided not to. Stefan is now looking to the future,” his attorney, Michael Lehner, told the dpa news agency. “He is training hard and wants to find a team for 2011.”

Schumacher tested positive for EPO CERA at the 2008 Tour de France. The French anti-doping agency AFLD suspended him for two years, until January 21, 2011. The International Cycling Union adopted the suspension.

In January, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the ban but shortened it until the end of August.

Schumacher, 28, also tested positive for CERA at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and has been banned from future Olympic games. He is also appealing that ban to the CAS. The results of that case will have no effect on the end of his UCI/AFLD suspension, Lehner said.

Schumacher has consistently denied having doped.

Race results 3/5/2010:

Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia (2.1), Stage 3: Las Torres de Cotillas - Alhama de Murcia 166.5km

Lance Armstrong rides in his first race of the European season


1 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram
2 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil
3 Josep Jufré (Spa) Astana
4 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank
5 Andreas Kloden (Ger) RadioShack

General Classification after 3/5 stages:

1 Josep Jufre (Spa) Astana 12:52:39
2 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram
3 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team HTC - Columbia
4 Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team
5 Thomas Rohregger (Aut) Team Milram

In Australian parlance, Milram's Luke Roberts is having a "blinder" of a season, and his road renaissance continued on Friday as he claimed the third stage of the Tour of Murcia in Spain.

Roberts sprinted ahead of a select front peloton to secure arguably the biggest stage win of his career and his first since the 2008 Giro del Capo. He was joined on the podium by Sergey Lagutin (Vacansoleil) and Josep Jufre (Astana), who assumed the race lead.

Jufre's control of the yellow jersey owed a lot to his ability to stay on terms with the front group, but his path to the tunic was made easier after former leader Robert Hunter (Garmin-Transitions) exited the race during the stage. The South African dashed immediately away from Spain to be by his wife's side after word arrived that she had gone into labour with the couple's second child.

Roberts, too, accelerated his way into second overall. Frantisek Rabon (Team HTC-Columbia) has assumed third place on the major classification.

Le Tour de Langkawi (2.HC), Stage 5: Muar - Port Dickson 111.5km

Anuar Manan is jubilant upon winning Malaysia's first-ever stage of its home tour.


1 Anuar Manan (Mas) Geumsan Ginseng Asia 2:23:11
2 Vidal Celis (Spa) Footon-Servetto
3 René Haselbacher (Aut) Vorarlberg - Corratec
4 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team
5 Alex Candelario (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies

General Classification (GC) after 5/7 stages:

1 Tobias Erler (Ger) Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team 17:59:23
2 David Pell (Aus) Drapac Porsche Cycling 0:00:06
3 Jay Thomson (RSA) South Africa National Team 0:00:08
4 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Jayco - Skins 0:02:40
5 Anuar Manan (Mas) Geumsan Ginseng Asia 0:02:50

It was bound to happen sooner or later; a Malaysian race, the enhancement of that nation's cycling stocks and eventually a stage winner in the country's biggest race.

Today Anuar Manan made history by taking line honours in Port Dickson, becoming Malaysia's first stage winner and enhancing his chances of securing the sprint classification, which he narrowly missed out on in 2008.

The gutsy sprinter held off consistent Spanish rider Vidal Celis (Footon-Servetto) and the experienced René Haselbacher (Vorarlberg-Corratec) to chalk up his first stage victory after a week of near misses thus far at the Tour de Langkawi.

The 23-year-old explained after the finish that a change of strategy resulted in today's outcome - his focus on the stage win rather than accumulating points along the 111.5km race route benefiting his chances of standing on the podium in Kuala Lumpur in the green jersey.

"I can beat Matthews but before [in previous stages] I worked very hard for the points jersey and Matthews took more points for [winning] the finishes. That's why I always tried to win the intermediate [sprints] but today I changed the strategy - I saved my energy to help me get to the finish line faster and beat Matthews," said Manan.

"Today it was easier for me to take the green points jersey - at the first intermediate sprint I was in the breakaway and had many Malaysian riders helping me to get the points - I didn't have to use too much power to win the intermediate [sprint].

"After that I just watched Michael Matthews so he didn't take the points and I stayed in the group to save my energy, not like yesterday when I was always fighting for the first, second and third intermediate [sprints].

Having finished second to Aurélien Clerc in the points classification of the 2008 Tour de Langkawi, Manan explained that he had been confident of going one better in 2010 and today's result was confirmation of this. "The green jersey was my target in this year's race because in 2008 I almost won it and in 2009 I didn't have good results but I know I can do it better than in 2008," he said.

"This year I've had good preparation for Langkawi and I've been training hard plus my teammates are also better and my manager is good - we have good strategies and a lot of synergy. We're always talking and tells me about the race strategy, which is why I'm better than last year."

Manan is one of the crowd favourites and a poster boy for the local media, so today's victory was shared amongst the thousands who had been monitoring his progress throughout the week. He was quick to praise everyone who helped him achieve this monument in the race's history.

"I want to thank the Malaysian people because they always support me and help me to win a stage. I'm also happy for my Malaysian team - my teammates worked hard for me. They made it an easy day for me today - I didn't lose too much energy for the big points and the last sprint.

I have the green jersey but I must be careful of Michael Matthews because he is a good sprinter. Tomorrow I'll try to get more points and extend my lead over Matthews. Tomorrow there is also the hard climb and I'll try to stay in the best group for me."

Getting ready for Genting already

It was an old-fashioned game of bluff during today's stage, with general classification hopeful and perennial Langkawi performer Ghader Mizbani forcing rival squad ISD-Neri to chase him down when he made the day's first break - a dangerous move for the Italian team to leave off the front given it has overall contender Jose Rujano to protect.

The talented Iranian was joined in the group of 14 by Pedro Merino (Footon-Servetto), Pierpaolo De Negri (ISD - Neri), Rene Weissinger (Vorarlberg - Corratec), mountains classification leaders Peter McDonald (Drapac-Porsche), Sea Keong Loh (Marco Polo Cycling), Takeaki Ayabe (Aisan Racing), Manan, Malcolm Rudolph (Jayco-Skins), Hossein Nateghi (Azad University Iran), Scott Zwizanski (Kelly Benefit Strategies), Christoff Van Heerden (South Africa National Team), Rusli Amir and Shahrul Mat Amin (both Malaysia National Team).

"Today my teammate Ghader Mizbani had a really impressive ride - he was in the first breakaway and ISD had to chase it down. They were really strong today and they had to work almost the whole stage and hopefully they have tired legs tomorrow," said Erler.

And while Manan collected the points at the first intermediate sprint, the break didn't fare better and was deemed too dangerous to be left out alone with only 111km to be run in what were arguably the hottest, most stifling conditions seen in this year's race.

A more 'leader-friendly' pairing of Alexandr Shushemoin (Kazakhstan National Team) and Bradeley Hall (Marco Polo Cycling) was let go after 55km and given free rein until about 18km to the finish, when it was time to muster the troops and prepare for the inevitable sprint finish in Port Dickson.

Unlike the previous four stages however, it was Manan's time to cross the finish line first, with Matthews finishing a distant eighth place, his efforts of the week so far seemingly having caught up with him.

Race leader Tobias Erler is another who is suffering from his endeavours in the sun and his time spent in yellow, the German under no illusions when it came to his own chances of holding on to the yellow jersey for another day: "I think the chance of me keeping the yellow jersey tomorrow is almost zero percent, except if the other guys crash," he joked.

He admitted that Footon-Servetto's Markus Eibegger could be a man to watch on tomorrow's Genting climb - "I know him well, he's a good friend of mine; I think he will be strong tomorrow," said Erler, adding that Jose Rujano and four of his teammates may animate the race in the penultimate and most decisive stage for overall honours.

His teammate Mizbani is one of those to watch, and Erler said of the Iranian, "I hope I can work for him. I don't know the mountain - they say it's pretty steep for five kilometres then it's flat before another eight kilometres of really steep [gradient]. It depends on how I climb. I had to work a lot the last couple of days - I can go fast, but I don't know what my legs are going to say tomorrow.

"For sure I'll try and work for all of my team, so whether it's Ghader, Andrey [Mizurov], Hossein [Askari] or Ahad [Kazemi] it makes no difference, I'll work for my team."

 

[Tarazet]

Driedaagse van West Vlaanderen (2.1), Stage 1: Kortrijk - Bellegem 183.5km

Belgian neo-pro Jens Keukeleire (Cofidis) continued his impressive purple patch to take a sprint on the first stage of the Three Days of West Flanders in Belgium on Friday.

Keukeleire, 21, had claimed his maiden professional win on Wednesday at the GP Samyn. He added to his tally at the end of the Three Days' stage from Kortrijk to Bellegem, with Rony Martias (Saur-Sojasun) and the Paul Voss (Milram) the runners-up.

Despite the outcome of the finish, the 183-kilometre stage had been marked by a three-man breakaway. Mitchell Docker (Skil-Shimano), Stephane Poulhies (Saur-Sojasun) and Maurice Vrijmoed (Rabobank Continental) escaped after 26-kilometres covered.

The trio built up an advantage of more than ten minutes, but were reeled in after Saxo Bank joined Omega Pharma-Lotto on the front of the bunch.

A last-ditch attempt to foil the sprinters launched by local-lads Frederic Amorison (Landbouwcredit) and Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Topsport Vlaanderen) was itself foiled as Keukeleire went clear of his rivals to win.

Docker's efforts in the break gave him the time bonuses necessary to claim the first leader's jersey of the three-stage event.

1 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 4:32:00
2 Rony Martias (Fra) Saur - Sojasun
3 Paul Voss (Ger) Team Milram
4 Kristof Goddaert (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
5 Robert Wagner (Ger) Skil - Shimano

This Keukeleire guy is a neo-pro, just won Le Samyn a few days ago.. he's on a tear! How the heck do you say his name anyway?

 

[Tarazet]

Busy day with a lot of race results. Man, Jose Rujano still looks like he's five years old. :lol

REMINDER:

On VERSUS: Paris-Nice (2.HC): March 7 & 14, 2010, 5-7p ET

Race results 3/6/2010

Montepaschi Strade Bianchi (1.1), Gaiole In Chianti - Siena 190km

1 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana 4:59:48
2 Thomas Löfkvist (Swe) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:00:01
3 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team HTC - Columbia
4 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha 0:00:18
5 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions

Maxim Iglinskiy (Astana) was riding the Strade Bianche race for the first time but thanks to some fine form after a block of training in Lanzarote, and by fighting to be first into the final corner, the 28-year-old Kazakh rider made sure his name was added to the list of prestigious winners in Siena.

Iglinskiy was part of the six-rider break that emerged after yet another spectacular race through the Tuscan hills and the over the eight and often very long sections of dirt roads. 2009 winner Thomas Löfkvist (Team Sky) attacked hard as the race approached Siena. He knew the final corners and climbs in the Renaissance city would be vital just like last year but was aware he'd have to make a selection if he had any chance of a second victory.

Australia's Michael Rogers (HTC-Columbia) knew his former teammate was a threat and went with him, as did Canada's Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Transitions) and lastly Iglinskiy. Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) and Francesco Ginanni (Androni Giocattoli) came across the gap with a surge to create the six but both paid for their effort as the race entered the narrow and paved streets of Siena and were dropped along with Hesjedal.

The final kilometres come round the back of the Piazza del Campo and Iglinskiy fought hard to be first into the final sharp right-hand corner before the dive down to the finish. Bike handling was tough on the rough paved roads but Iglinskiy just got the front position before the corner and stayed up without hitting the barriers. He then accelerated down to the finish, to win a few bike lengths ahead of Löfkvist and Rogers. Pozzato finished fourth at 18 seconds, just ahead of Hesjedal and Ginanni.

Bravery on the Strade Bianche

The Strade Bianche is all about bravery, as riders' bike skills and nerve are tested during every moment of the 190km race.

113 riders started the race in Gaiole in Chianti, home to the start and finish of the Eroica sportif held every October. Only 65 finished, spread over 13 minutes, with early breakaway rider Brent Bookwalter (BMC) having the honour of being last to make it home. 46 riders didn't make it that far.

The racing began after 26km with Diego Caccia (ISD-Neri), Bernhard Eisel (HTC-Columbia) and Pavel Brutt (Katusha) attacking together but the bunch did not want anyone to open a big gap and they were quickly pulled back. Seven others, including Bookwalter, tried their hand but they were also chased down as the halfway point as the riders made it through section three.

Riders crashed frequently on the dry dirt and gravel roads. Most got up but Team Sky neo-pro Pete Kennaugh landed badly and was taken to hospital by ambulance. Last year he secured third place overall in the Baby Giro with a gutsy ride on the same dirt roads but this time fate was more punishing.

America's Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) also crashed hard and sat in pain at the side of the road as he waited for assistance.

Suffering on Monte Santa Maria

The peloton split into two groups in the wind but then reformed at the feed zone. The decisive action came later, as expected, in the hilly and testing Monte Santa Maria section. With 150km in their legs, many began to suffer on the 11.5km section of dirt and the peloton split into several small groups.

Twenty-eight riders emerged from the clouds of dirt and formed the front of the race that would go on to fight for victory. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Doimo), Stefano Garzelli (Aqua & Sapone), Simon Spilak (Lampre-Farnese Vini), Rogers and Ginanni attacked from the 28 and opened a good gap but they were eventually pulled back as Siena loomed on the horizon just before the seventh section of dirt road with 20km to go.

The 28 soon split again, as Juan Antonio Flecha (Team Sky), Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank), Pozzato, Ginanni and others tried to go clear. The 28 became 16, then 11 as riders began to lose contact. Then Löfkvist launched his move with six kilometres to go. Iglinskiy was there and then rode a perfect finale, getting into the final corner first, before surging down to the finish, like a horse riding to victory in the Siena Palio race in the very same square.

The riders had raced for almost five hours and just like after Paris-Roubaix, the dust on heir faces and the pain in their eyes revealed the suffering and special quality of the Strade Bianche race.

Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia (2.1), Stage 4:

Frantisek Rabon (HTC-Columbia) won the 22km individual time trial stage at the Tour of Murcia on Saturday and took the overall race lead.

The time trial specialist from the Czech Republic set a time of 25:10 for the flat 22km course, beating all the other big name favourites to earn his team's 10th win of the season and the leader’s yellow jersey.

Denis Menchov (Rabobank) was 33 seconds slower, Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) was third at 48 seconds and Andreas Klöden (RadioShack) was fourth at 52 seconds.

Rabon started the time trial with a five second advantage on most of his rivals and so leads Menchov by 38 seconds with only Sunday’s flat stage remaining.

Lance Armstrong (RadioShack) finished eighth in the time trial, 1:18 slower than Rabon and so is now seventh overall. Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Transitions) was tenth at 1:23 on the stage.

Rabon also won the time trial stage in last year's Tour of Murcia and said, "My performance was pretty similar, but I think the big difference overall is that last year after winning the time trial I got dropped on the mountains the following day. This time we've already had the race's most mountainous stage and I got through fine.

"I was feeling confident because I'd done pretty well in my previous race, the Tour of the Algarve [in Portugal], where I was seventh overall. I was third last rider to start, which was an advantage because I had time references on my rivals and knew when I had to go faster."

Rabon is optimistic about defending the leader's jersey on Sunday's final stage. "Some of the other teams will try to attack me on the last stage, and of course it can be dangerous, but I've already shown I'm pretty strong in the climbs," said Rabon. "We've got a good team here, so if everything goes well I'll be able to hold on."

The Tour of Murcia finishes with a 121km stage from Redyser to Murcia. The stage includes two climbs but is expected to end in a sprint.

Stage Results

1 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team HTC - Columbia 0:25:10
2 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 0:00:33
3 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:48
4 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Radioshack 0:00:52
5 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia 0:01:03

Overall with 1 stage remaining:

1 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team HTC - Columbia 13:17:49
2 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 0:00:38
3 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:53
4 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Radioshack 0:00:57
5 Josep Jufre (Spa) Astana 0:01:21

Driedaagse van West Vlaanderen (2.1), Torhout - Handzame 176.6km

Robert Wagner (Skil - Shimano) won the second stage of the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen in a photo finish, outsprinting Bobbie Traksel (Vacansoleil) and race leader Jens Keukeleire (Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne) to the line in Handzame. Wagner's field sprint victory is the first win of the season for the Dutch Pro Continental squad.

"The difference between me and Oscar Freire in the second stage of the Ruta del Sol was also small," said Wagner. "I'm glad this time it was in my favor."

Time bonuses earned by Jens Keukeleire (Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne) keep him in the race lead, where he holds a four-second advantage over Wagner and a five-second margin on Traksel.

The Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen concludes on Sunday with a 194.5km stage from Middelkerke to Ichtegem.

1 Robert Wagner (Ger) Skil - Shimano 4:03:21
2 Bobbie Traksel (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team
3 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
4 Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Skil - Shimano
5 Niko Eeckhout (Bel) An Post - Sean Kelly

Overall with one stage remaining:

1 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 8:35:07
2 Robert Wagner (Ger) Skil - Shimano 0:00:04
3 Bobbie Traksel (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 0:00:05
4 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Skil - Shimano 0:00:06
5 Stéphane Poulhies (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:00:07

Le Tour de Langkawi (2.HC), Stage 6: Putrajaya - Genting Highlands 102.8km

He came, he saw, he conquered. At a diminuitive 1.62m (5'4") and 48kg (110lb) he's the smallest sorcerer at this year's Tour de Langkawi and on the Genting climb this afternoon he weaved the magic of a man who is quite possibly the best South American climber right now.

The 28-year-old Venezuelan, who won a stage in Sestrière during the 2005 Giro d'Italia having been the runner-up in that year's Tour de Langkawi, showed he has lost little of that climbing spark despite experiencing a lean run over the past five seasons.

Five years ago he finished the Genting stage in second, beaten by eventual champion Ryan Cox and finishing ahead of 2003 Langkawi winner Tom Danielson. Today the 'almost' became a 'certainly' as no one could match Rujano's pace and finesse up the mountain.

His redemption is a virtually unassailable lead heading into tomorrow's Kuala Lumpur criterium, coming courtesy of an exceptional performance on the higher slopes that took riders to Genting and determined what will likely be the final general classification.

"My team did perfect work preparing me for the climb," said Rujano. "I was a little scared over the final three kilometres because I had a hunger flat but I managed to maintain my rhythm, ride strongly and come through for the win."

ISD sees wealth for toil

One thing that has remained constant throughout the week is comments alluding to the work done by ISD-Neri; the Italian squad has controlled the peloton for Rujano and today that toil came to fruition.

Despite early attacks, including a solo break by Silvere Ackermann (Vorarlberg-Corratec) which lasted a little over 30km, as expected it all came down to the slopes of Genting.

With 15km remaining Rujano made his move, having been well sheltered by his six teammates, and only had Peter McDonald (Drapac-Porsche), Ghader Mizbani, Hossein Askari (both Tabriz Petrochemical), Hyo Suk Gong (Seoul Cycling) and Amir Zargari (Azad UNiversity Iran) to contend with.

But by the banner indicating five kilometres remaining, Rujano had virtually made the stage his own, with the remaining breakaway riders scattered on the slopes, destined to finish more than two minutes behind ISD-Neri's leader, who looked reasonably fresh at the finish.

"I'm actually feeling better now than five years ago, continued Rujano, who was asked how his performance in this year's Tour de Langkawi compared to that of five years ago and the possible implications this had for his prospects in the Giro d'Italia in May.

"It was my goal to start campaigning for the Giro at the Tour de Langkawi - winning this race was my first goal before the Giro d'Italia. It's my big goal this year to win the Giro d'Italia and up until now everything has gone according to plan; I'm riding at 75 percent of my best condition and I hope to reach my best condition for the Giro," he explained.

Rujano has called myriad teams his home over the past five years, including Colombia Selle Italia, Quick Step, Unibet.com, Caisse d'Epargne and now ISD-Neri. He admitted that the unsettled nature of his tenure at various teams had contributed to his lack of performances following that breakthrough season in 2005.

This year he was the overwhelming favourite going into the week-long event and he justified that billing by displaying the form that netted him overall wins in the Vuelta a Colombia and his national tour last year before taking out the Vuelta al Tachira earlier this year. It's therefore natural that today's testing gradient would prove no mountain too high for the slight Venezuelan.

"Genting is a very hard climb - to compare it with Colombia, when you race in Colombia for 15 days you have 10 climbs like that, so it's more difficult and complicated to win the races in Colombia," said Rujano.

Good day for the Asian riders

The day's standout performer was Seoul Cycling's Hyo Suk Gong, the young Korean coming out of nowhere to take second place in the stage and secure himself a place on the final podium. He was able to go with Rujano's attack with about 15km remaining and despite losing contact with the eventual stage winner he finished a brilliant second, 27 seconds ahead of Hossein Askari (Tabriz Petrochemical).

In so doing he secured the Best Asian Rider classification, his performance deserving of the title and one he was visibly pleased to have clinched as he crossed the line.

Another rider wowing the Asian fans was Anuar Manan, the young Malaysian who took yesterday's stage to Port Dickson and in so doing virtually made the green jersey his own. With the burden of riding for that classification lifted, He seemed relaxed after the finish.

"I'm confident I can keep the green jersey until the end," said Manan, who finished the stage well down in the standings but arrived at the summit to a cheer from the locals. "I'm not worried about the jersey now but trying to win another stage tomorrow because it's a good day for a sprinter like me.

"Tomorrow I'll just be watching Matthews if he is fighting to take the points on the intermediate sprint and I know I can take them too. I'll be saving energy and my teammates will be helping make it easier for me and then I can fight for the stage [win]."

Stage Results:

1 José Rujano Guillen (Ven) ISD - Neri 3:04:21
2 Hyo Suk Gong (Kor) Seoul Cycling 0:02:09
3 Hossein Askari (IRI) Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team 0:02:36
4 Peter McDonald (Aus) Drapac Porsche Cycling 0:03:22
5 Amir Zargari (IRI) Azad University Iran

Overall with one stage remaining:

1 José Rujano Guillen (Ven) ISD - Neri 21:06:58
2 Hyo Suk Gong (Kor) Seoul Cycling 0:02:07
3 Hossein Askari (IRI) Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team 0:02:42
4 Peter McDonald (Aus) Drapac Porsche Cycling 0:03:21
5 Amir Zargari (IRI) Azad University Iran 0:03:24

 

[Chris R]

Kick ass thread, how about you do the Tour de France thread this year heh?

Can't wait to watch some cycling tomorrow, even if it is on a delay and only on two days of the week.

 

[Tarazet]

Looking forward to Paris-Nice tomorrow too. It's an 8km prologue with a little hill. At the beginning of a season all bets are off, but I'd look for Levi Leipheimer to take the stage.

 

[Tarazet]

Race results 3/7/2010:

Paris-Nice (Historical Calendar): Prologue Montfort-l’Amaury 8km

Lars Boom only had to wait a little over an hour this afternoon to be crowned winner of the Paris-Nice prologue, but it must have felt like an eternity to the Dutchman.

After posting the day's best time of 10:56 on the sunny, windblown 8km course in Montfort L'Amaury, 20km southwest of Paris, the second-year Rabobank rider retreated from the zero-degree weather to the comforts of his team bus and changed clothes. Then he tried to do anything to take his mind off the reality that over 70 of the world's best riders had yet to tackle the course.

"I just waited on the bus and sat there," Boom told Cyclingnews after the race. "And I watched a little TV."

Expecting to be topped, all he saw were late-afternoon challenges falling short. First from Levi Leipheimer (Team RadioShack), who took third place. Then two-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador (Astana), who matched Leipheimer's effort. Jens Voigt (Team Saxo Bank), prologue winner in 2005, came the closest, finishing three seconds off the pace in second place.

As the sun set on the first day of Paris-Nice, the Dutchman stood above them all.

"It's really nice to beat these guys, but also a little bit crazy, too," said Boom, who won Stage 15 of the Vuelta a España last fall.

A former cyclo-cross star and the current Dutch national champion in the specialty, Boom was able to tame a tough course that started uphill onto a 200m section of Classics-esque cobbles.

The riders then had to tackle the category 3 Côte de Boursouffle, hit a plateau and finish slightly uphill at the top of the town. A strong headwind in the last two kilometers proved problematic for many riders, giving them an extra obstacle towards the finish.

"For sure, my background in cyclo-cross helped today, because of the cobbles and full speed uphill from the start," said Boom, 24, who also picked up the white jersey for best young rider.

His starting position may have helped as well; Boom went off 79th of 176 riders and said after the race that the wind may have been less severe when he was on the course. Though the elements may have deterred the race favourites from wearing yellow today, many put themselves in a great position for the rest of the week.

All eyes were on Alberto Contador, who famously slipped at the end of last year's race, failing to eat enough in the penultimate stage and handing the GC to compatriot Luis Léon Sánchez (Caisse d'Epargne).

The Spaniard was the fourth-to-last starter and, despite an earpiece malfunction rendering him unable to hear direction from his team car, immediately showed the form that won him the Vuelta ao Algarve. And he came close to delivering in the stretch, his red Spanish TT champion kit gleaming in the mid-afternoon sun as he made the final push.

He managed to finish in fourth, just milliseconds behind Levi Leipheimer, the '09 Tour of California champion who was beset by injuries in the second half of last season. David Millar (Garmin - Transitions) also looked strong, finishing 11 seconds back, and defending champion Luis Léon Sánchez, the last rider to start the race today, ended up 12 seconds off the pace.

Czech rider Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas - Doimo), winner of this year's Giro di Sardegna, and '08 Olympic road race champion Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel - Euskadi) finished ninth and tenth respectively.

All this points to a great finish headed into Nice, but it's unlikely that today's star, Lars Boom, will be in yellow by that point. He and Rabobank will not go down without a fight, though.

They've got a 201.5km flat stage tomorrow from St.-Arnoult-En-Yvelines to Contres and then just slightly hillier days Tuesday and Wednesday as the race heads south towards the Auvergne region. It's on Thursday, with the category 1 La Croix Nerve, when the fireworks will start.

"We have a good team here, but not the best climbers," Boom said. "In the flat stages the next two days I think we can defend the yellow jersey successfully."

Cyclo-cross rules

It was a great day for the all-terrain guys. Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Doimo) was actually in second for a bulk of the day before finishing fifth overall, 10 seconds back of Lars Boom. Like Boom, he was a former cyclo-cross champion before converting to the road. The 20-year old Slovakian won his country's 2007 national championship and the '08 junior mountain bike world championship.

Steegmans crashes; will have surgery

RadioShack's Gert Steegmans, who suffered a concussion two weeks ago at Algarve, had more bad luck today when he suffered a broken collarbone during his prologue run. It is believed that today's strong winds played a part in the crash, which occurred halfway through his race.

He's scheduled to have surgery at a hospital in Belgium tomorrow, according to race officials.

On the bright side, RadioShack had two strong performances today from Americans Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner, who finished third and sixteenth respectively. For a while, Horner was in seventh place overall.

"It was a decent run for me today on this Classics-like course," he said.

Despite the loss of Steegmans, who won two stages of Paris-Nice in 2008, the team will work in support of Leipheimer.

"A beautiful race"

Garmin's David Millar was briefly in the top five this afternoon, before Leipheimer and Voigt pushed him back to a seventh place finish. And afterwards, he was very pleased with his effort in the difficult conditions.

"It was all about pace judgment today because of the course. We had real cobbles, which are really tough on a time trial bike, and then the last part was uphill into the headwind," he said.

And he also enjoyed the venue, saying it was more interesting visually than the last two prologues at Paris-Nice.

"I really enjoyed it today, it was a beautiful race," he said. "This town was great and the venue was spectacular."

Garmin - Transitions had good performances from other riders, including Canadian Svein Tuft, who finished 17th overall, but one of the team's favorites, American Christian Vande Velde finished 42 seconds back. He injured his ankle in the Vuelta ao Algarve and is on the mend.

"I'm happy we had a good result and I think we're motivated to be in good form," said Millar. "With Christian working to regain his fitness I'm hoping we'll have a good finish.

Stage Results
1 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank 0:10:56
2 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank 0:00:03
3 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack 0:00:06
4 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana
5 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas - Doimo 0:00:10

Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia (2.1), Stage 5: Redyser (Murcia) - Murcia 121.1km

Frantisek Rabon (HTC-Columbia) finished safely in the peloton on the final flat stage of the race to win the Tour of Murcia ahead of Denis Menchov and Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky).

Theo Bos (Cervelo TestTeam) won the final 121km stage to Murcia, beating Graeme Brown (Rabobank) and Daniel Schorn (Team NetApp).

"As we expected Rabobank set the tempo in the front but my teammates stayed around me providing perfect support," said Bos.

"It was really a fast finale and that is really good for me. Brown was in my wheel and I knew that I had to watch him. With 300 meters to go I opened the sprint and saw Brown coming out of my wheel. When he tried to pass me I accelerated and he was not able to pass me and came back in my wheel. The team did a great job for me today."

Menchov suffered a puncture in the final 30km of the stage but was quickly brought back to the bunch by his teammates. He finished 38 seconds behind Rabon in the final overall classification after finishing second to the flying Czech in Saturday's 22km time trial. Wiggins was third at 53 seconds.

Lance Armstrong (Team RadioShack) finished in the bunch and so secured seventh overall, 1:23 behind Rabon.

The victory in the five-day Tour of Murcia was the first career stage race win for the Czech time trial champion, who was well protected by his teammates on the final stage.

"The first 40 kilometres of the final stage, before the one big climb of the day, were a bit crazy with attacks going everywhere," said HTC-Columbia sports director Tristan Hoffman. "But afterwards we kept it all under control.

"At one point there was a break of nine riders, with one of them a potential threat because he was less than three minutes behind Frankie [Rabon] on the overall. Fortunately, he dropped out of the break and we combined with the sprinters' teams to close things down.

"Frankie's always been a great time triallist, but now he's getting much better on the climbs, too, so we weren't too worried."

Stage Results
1 Theo Bos (Ned) Cervélo TestTeam 2:43:35
2 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
3 Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team Netapp
4 Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana
5 Henning Bommel (Ger) German National Team

Final Overall Standings
1 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team HTC - Columbia 16:01:24
2 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 0:00:38
3 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:53
4 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Radioshack 0:00:57
5 Josep Jufre (Spa) Astana 0:01:21

Driedaagse van West Vlaanderen (2.1), Stage 3: Middelkerke - Ichtegem 194.5km

Stage Results
1 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator 4:21:36
2 Yohann Gene (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
3 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
4 Robert Wagner (Ger) Skil - Shimano
5 Egidijus Juodvalkis (Ltu) Palmans - Cras

Final Overall Standings
1 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 12:56:39
2 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator 0:00:03
3 Bobbie Traksel (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 0:00:07
4 Robert Wagner (Ger) Skil - Shimano 0:00:08
5 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Skil - Shimano 0:00:10

Tour de Langkawi (2.HC), Stage 7: Kuala Kubu Baru - Dataran Merdeka 133.7km

Malaysia saved its hottest day till last in this year's Tour de Langkawi, although two men seemingly not feeling the heat were ISD-Neri's José Rujano and Stuart Shaw.

The 2005 runner up went one better and could savour his overall victory in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, while Shaw scored another Australian victory - this time for Drapac-Porsche.

Having won yesterday's penultimate stage to Genting, the Venezuelan climber was again protected by his teammates inside the peloton as Australian rider Shaw finished the best of that bunch to take out the sprint and end Drapac-Porsche's race on a massive high.

The 32-year-old from Canberra recently had an appendisectomy and had 11 weeks off the bike. In his first race for five months he added a stage win to the mountains classification won by Peter McDonald courtesy of his points haul in the first KOM of the day. It was a finish to savour for the Australian team, the riders of which have featured throughout the week.

Some days the legs just feel right, and Shaw proved that's the case on a day when he spent the 133km stage doing domestique duties. It also shows that the team workers can get the accolades in front of the cameras, too.

"I came over here just to help the guys, getting water bottles... even today with 15km to go I was getting water bottles and helping Peter for the King of the Mountains and that sort of stuff," said Shaw afterwards. "I was trying to help Aldiq up to the front then I lost him somewhere and I got good position for the sprint - I was feeling alright so I thought I'd have a bit of a crack at it.

"Sprinting is something I do alright and I surprisingly felt good and comfortable. For me, a lot of it is just getting the position and because it's kind of crazy coming into the finish. I was strong enough to move up into a good position and with about 150 [metres] to go I knew I was going to have a chance to sprint," he continued.

Shaw is one of the most enthusiastic members of the Australian squad, and rode today's sprint with the confidence of a man who has won in Europe; he won last year's edition of the Tour de Gironde in France and made today's sprint look easy, given his earlier 'waterboy' duties.

"I know if I get near the end of a sprint, there aren't many guys who are going to beat me. I was happy with it - it's a good day for Drapac-Porsche."

Time to celebrate in the capital

Rujano was the overwhelming favourite as the 15th Tour de Langkawi began on Monday in Kota Bharu and he lived up to every expectation by taking the race by the scruff of the neck in the final 15km of yesterday's stage to Genting. There's buzz around his name as the Giro d'Italia approaches.

He explained that the Malaysian event was still a good early-season hitout in preparation for the Giro, despite the lack of more renowned climbers and big teams. "This year the rhythm of the race was pretty high because many riders were in good condition and the Asian riders are improving, getting better legs year after year.

"The team did great work for me and I'm very happy with the condition I have now and I have two months to go before the Giro d'Italia."

Rujano went into today's stage also in a position to take both mountains and overall clasifications, although as he admitted after the finish, it was the latter that held obvious appeal. "The most important thing for me was to win the yellow jersey - I tried on the KOM but on mountains that are only 100 metres long it isn't for me, therefore I couldn't keep the polka dot jersey. I've kept the yellow - that's the one I wanted," he said.

As for the winner of the mountains jersey - Peter McDonald - today's result is the culmination of a race where he's arguably been the most active rider on general classification throughout the event. "It's been a long week - there were lots of little climbs to take a point here and one there," he explained.

"Yesterday I was a bit disappointed; I missed out on a few opportunities leading up to the big climb, and then finished fourth up Genting but needed one more point to have the jersey. Today it worked out alright - my team did a good job to lead me out for the climb and we were very aggressive in the corners leading up to the ascent and we were able to take the points from that sprint," added McDonald.

The loudest cheer was saved for the winner of the sprint classification, the green jersey won by local boy Anuar Manan, who proved the most consistent fast man throughout the week despite Australian rider Michael Matthews actually winning more stages than the Malaysian.

He had signalled his intentions during yesterday's press conference - that he would try to win the final stage in the capital. It didn't stop the breakaway hopefuls however, as several escape groups formed in the latter kilometres of the day.

None were successful and the expected bunch gallop eventuated, albeit in a confused finale. "ISD and Footon attacked with two kilometres to go, so that dictated the sprint," explained Shaw. "No one really wanted to ride but Aisan came to the front and went pretty hard and I had 10th position; I was pretty happy with my position.

"Just as the race came together I had to keep riding out of the wind and moving myself up - I had a good enough position and then the Kelly [Benefit Strategies] guys went pretty hard at about 400m to go and I had about fifth wheel until 150m to go... when I sprinted I was just lucky I had the best legs."

Malaysia's first stage winner in the event and the sprint classification champion was obviously jubilant, despite being tired from a week of toil, every day spent accumulating points towards the jersey, much in the vein of McDonald's aforementioned endeavours.

"This is a very good result; I've got the green jersey and I've made it happen throughout all the race. I won one stage and now the green jersey... I'm very happy."

Full Results
1 Stuart Shaw (Aus) Drapac Porsche Cycling 3:01:00
2 Vidal Celis (Spa) Footon-Servetto
3 René Haselbacher (Aut) Vorarlberg - Corratec
4 Anuar Manan (Mas) Geumsan Ginseng Asia
5 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Kazakhstan National Team

Final Overall Standings
1 José Rujano Guillen (Ven) ISD - Neri 24:07:58
2 Hyo Suk Gong (Kor) Seoul Cycling 0:02:07
3 Hossein Askari (IRI) Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team 0:02:39
4 Peter McDonald (Aus) Drapac Porsche Cycling 0:03:21
5 Amir Zargari (IRI) Azad University Iran 0:04:13

 

[perryfarrell]

It will be interesting to see how Theo Bos stacks up against Cavendish in this summer's races.

 

[Tarazet]

It will be interesting to see how Theo Bos stacks up against Cavendish in this summer's races.

He seems to do best in very fast finishes, with slight downhills or tailwinds. Bos has been known to play dirty pool though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-sE28DXO9c&feature=related

 

[perryfarrell]

Gregory Henderson from Team Sky wins Stage 1 of Paris-Niece

 

[Tarazet]

So a group of 15 finished ahead of the peloton.. any of the favorites wind up in that bunch?

 

[Tarazet]

Yes.. it looks like a number of favorites got some valuable time!

1 Gregory Henderson (NZl) Sky Professional Cycling Team 4:22:17
2 Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre - Farnese Vini
3 Jeremy Galland (Fra) Saur - Sojasun
4 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Katusha
5 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
6 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
7 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank
8 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team
9 Tony Martin (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia
10 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas - Doimo
11 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Transitions
12 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank
13 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha
14 Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
15 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Saur - Sojasun
16 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Liquigas - Doimo 0:00:17

All of those guys will be very happy to have some extra time.

GC:

1 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank 4:33:11
2 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank 0:00:05
3 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Transitions 0:00:13
4 Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:14
5 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas - Doimo 0:00:15

Greg Henderson (Sky) triumphed on a dramatic opening road stage of the 2010 Paris-Nice. The New Zealander won a sprint finish in Contres, but only after surviving a barrage of crashes, cross-winds and attacks that saw several major favourites lose more time to the overall leader Lars Boom (Rabobank) on a chaotic dash to the finish.

Grega Bole (Lampre-Farnese Vini) finished second on the stage, while Jeremy Galland (Saur-Sojasun) rounded out the podium.

"It was a headwind and it was like a slow motion spring and I was lucky to get it on the line," said Henderson. "It’s beautiful to win here and to win such a beautiful race is real honour."

"It’s a credit to the high management of the team who put the team together, they selected a group of great guys. We’re not here for show, we’re here to win bike races and we’ve had a great start to the season."

Former-Cyclo-cross World Champion and overnight race leader Boom filed further evidence of his ability on the road as he made his way into a selection of 15 riders that finished 17 seconds ahead of the peloton.

What had been expected to be a fairly straightforward day for the sprinters turned into anything but, as a nervous peloton collided first with the wind and then each other.

Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) and Alberto Contador (Astana) were among the names to crackle through race radio as having crashed. The latter came down just three kilometres from the end of the stage, but was able to quickly remount and rejoin the peloton. Their mutual presence in the main group saw both suffer the same 17 second loss as and the pair now sit 25 seconds adrift of Boom, in seventh and eighth place overall, respectively.

In contrast, David Millar (Garmin-Transitions) made the late-race selection and leapt from seventh overall into third. Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) also moved up, now fourth overall, while Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank) strengthened his grip on second.

Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas Doimo) is sixth, and stage winner Henderson is now seventh.

 

[Tarazet]

Race results 3/9/2010:

Paris-Nice (HIS), Stage 2: Contres - Limoges 201.5km

William Bonnet (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) added his name to this year's sizable list of French winners as he claimed stage two of Paris-Nice into Limoges on Tuesday afternoon.

Bonnet overhauled Liquigas' Peter Sagan in a drag race to the line, while Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) continued his so-far impressive Paris-Nice title defence with a third place stage result.

The trio were lucky to escape a dramatic crash 500 metres from the line that saw Jimmy Casper (Saur-Sojasun), Tony Martin (HTC-Columbia) and Dan Martin (Garmin-Transitions) all hit the ground at considerable pace, though, all three rolled away from the scene quickly.

Overall race leader, Lars Boom (Rabobank) also avoided the melee and retained his overall race lead, still five seconds clear of Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank), while Sanchez moved into third overall at 10 seconds, now three seconds ahead of David Millar (Garmin-Transitions).

Boom was, however required to relinquish his lead in the mountains classification to Laurent Mangel (Saur-Sojasun), who claimed points at all three of the day's Category three climbs.

Earlier in the day, the peloton had left Contres without Simone Ponzi (Lampre), Danilo Napolitano (Katusha) and Frederik Kessiakoff (Garmin-Transitions). The Italian pair elected not to start, while the Garmin rider had failed to finish Monday's brutal stage one.

With a second 200 kilometre-odd stage on the agenda, a breakaway of four riders took up the same challenge as the previous day's escape; departing the peloton after just four kilometres.

Yet again, Dutch squads Vacansoleil and Skil-Shimano continued their tête-à-tête battle for a possible Tour de France invite, Koen de Koert (Skil Shimano) and Jens Mouris (Vacansoleil) taking up the 'fight'. They were joined by Mauro Finetto (Liquigas) and Laurent Mangel (Saur-Sojasun), and together the quartet built up a maximum advantage of 4:15.

Although the wind had backed off a little, the peloton still faced the challenge of three Category 3 ascents on the day's profile. Mangel used the first two climbs, at 15km and 156km, respectively, to snatch the polka dot jersey from Lars Boom's currently expansive collection.

While Rabobank were nonplussed about the loss of the spotty tunic, they were concerned with his retention of the yellow equivalent. The Dutch squad led the peloton throughout the day, chipping away at the break's lead and bringing it to less than a minute with 33 kilometres left to race.

The erosion continued, but moments before the peloton looked to have cancelled the move Mangel took off, in a desperate manoeuvre to escape the now Astana-led pack. Mouris, too, appeared willing to extend his stay out front, but as the pace behind picked up the duo's valiant efforts gave them only a few minutes more time on the telly.

Mangel caught, Caisse d'Epargne came to the front, with Lars Boom afforded one lieutenant as the remainder of his weary Rabobank soldiers drifted towards the back of the bunch. Boom, in contrast, looked comfortable as he watched Caisse d'Epargne trade places with representatives from Sky, HTC-Columbia and Quick Step.

As the final Category three climb approached, 11 kilometres prior to the finish, Cyril Gautier (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) made his presence known. The Frenchman fired off the front and set to work on the final ten kilometres of the day.

Unfortunately for Gautier, his registration of a 17 second time gap was followed by a rapid reclamation by the peloton. The situation held stable for a period at 13 seconds, but Saur-Sojasun, Cofidis and Liquigas weren't prepared to let their mark rule the day.

The lastest escape cancelled, Vacansoleil and HTC-Columbia assumed control for their sprinters, Borut Bozic and Romain Feillu, and Andre Greipel, respectively. Yet as the one kilometre banner appeared then disappeared, it was Quick Step and Liquigas that led the charge.

A messy looking crash caused by a touch of wheels between Grega Bole (Lampre) and a Saxo Bank rider at the front of the peloton 500 metres before the line created a very sudden disruption to the progress of riders including Tony Martin (HTC-Columbia), Dan Martin (Garmin-Transitions) and Jimmy Casper (Saur-Sojasun).

Ahead, Peter Sagan (Liquigas) led the charge onto the final drag to the line, but it was William Bonnet (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) who had a little more gas in the tank as he slid past Sagan to claim his first victory since 2008.

Stage Results
1 William Bonnet (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 4:22:40
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas - Doimo
3 Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
4 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre - Farnese Vini
5 Juan Jose Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank

Overall after 2 Stages:

1 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank 8:55:51
2 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank 0:00:05
3 Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:10
4 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Transitions 0:00:13
5 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas - Doimo 0:00:15

News

Armstrong on retirement, Contador and "The Look"

During a wide-ranging and candid interview with Spanish daily El País, Lance Armstrong has spoken about his hopes for the Tour de France, riding into 2011 and, of course, Alberto Contador. There was nothing controversial in his comments about Spaniard.

Indeed, the most interesting sections of the interview focused on questions the seven-time Tour winner is seldom asked, such as how he thinks he’s viewed in the peloton.

Asked whether he feels he’s respected or feared in the peloton, Armstrong responded: “It’s impossible for me to know what the rest are thinking. I know that at one time they used to fear me and perhaps they do now respect me. Young riders come up to me and ask me, very respectfully, if they can have their photo taken with me. That makes me feel old,” admitted the 38-year-old.

“But you are old,” El País’s Carlos Arribas told him. “I’m old, but not as old as [Cervélo’s 40-year-old Iñigo] Cuesta,” Armstrong joked in return.

He was then asked about the time when riders did fear him and Armstrong was quick to employ “the look”, that burning stare of disapproval directed at those who had got on his wrong side.

“That look… I’ve still got it. In life there are passionate, committed, intense people and passive people. I’m one of the former… I might once have used that look on some journalist, but I also use it on my kids when they don’t obey me. The same intense look. And I use it just the same on those I don’t like as with my children, who I love more than I do myself. It’s the same personality, the same intensity.”

Asked how important an eighth Tour win is to him, Armstrong said, “It’s not essential. I don’t need it especially. I only need it as a reward for my hard work. But, honestly, there’s no difference between winning seven or eight. The next Tour will be a great story: the rivalry with Alberto, what happened last year… This will be good for the Tour, but it won’t change my life if I win it or I don’t, nor the lives of my children.”

Asked whether someone as competitive as him always needs to win, Armstrong responded, “Yes… but the key thing is that it will be very difficult. I’m 38. Alberto is 27 and improving every year. I can see that, people can see that, Alberto can see that… The forecast is not in my favor.”

The Texan said that he would only be frustrated at losing the Tour if an error cost him victory. “If I’m at my top level at 38 years old, I don’t commit any mistakes, I don’t suffer any falls, I don’t get ill or puncture at a bad moment, I don’t have any bad luck and the best man wins, I won’t be able to have any regrets."

As for continuing into 2011, Armstrong replied, “I will decide on that after the Tour. The hardest part is my family. I really miss them…”

Leif Hoste gets suspended sentence for assault

Omega Pharma-Lotto rider Leif Hoste was handed a suspended sentence by a Bruges court on Tuesday, after he was found to have assaulted a cycling fan in Eernegem, Belgium in 2008.

Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reported that Hoste, 32, received the sentence after he punched a man, Xavier Vansevenant, 48, outside a retirement party being held for former Silence-Lotto teammate Wim Vansevenant on October 5, 2008. The incident occurred after Xavier Vansevenant had been ejected from the party.

Former-professional Peter van Petegem, who was also present at the party, was alleged to have been involved in the incident, but escaped prosecution.

The newspaper also reported that Hoste had reached an out-of-court settlement for a separate civil suit for damages caused in the incident.

Hoste will return to competition with Omega Pharma-Lotto on Wendesday at Tirreno-Adriatico.

Petacchi to start Tirreno-Adriatico

Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-Farnese Vini) will start Tirreno-Adriatico on Wednesday despite crashing heavily in training on Monday.

The Italian sprinter had five stitches applied to a wound in his forehead and hurt his right ankle but is determined to start because he knows Tirreno-Adriatico is vital preparation for Milano-Sanremo, the biggest objective of his season.

"I tried to ride my bike this morning. The pain in my ankle was still there and won't disappear quickly, just like pain where I had stitches put in on my forehead but I really want to ride at Tirreno," Petacchi said.

"Tirreno-Adriatico is vital for building up for Milan-Sanremo and so I'll give it everything to try and ride. We'll see if I'll be okay physically."

Petacchi crashed late on Monday while training with teammate Lorenzo Bernucci near his home in northern Tuscany. He hit a flower planter and crashed heavily. As well as the cut on his head and his ankle, he also hurt his right shin. Petacchi tried to pull his foot out of the pedal before the crash but ended pulling a muscle in his groin.

"Alessandro isn't feeling great but it's right that he starts and tries to make to the finish of the first stage because Tirreno-Adriatico is very important for getting ready for Milan-Sanremo," Lampre directeur sportif Fabrizio Bontempi said.

"Hopefully the pain will ease, thanks to special massage he'll have. We'll take it day by day and see how he feels. Even if Alessandro can't do well, we've still got a good team and hopefully Gavazzi and Hondo can do well in the sprints. Hondo has already shown he can take Petacchi's place when he won the sprint in Sardinia."

The Lampre-Farnese Vini team for Tirreno-Adriatico includes: Alessandro Petacchi, Lorenzo Bernucci, Mauro Da Dalto, Danilo Hondo, Manuele Mori, Daniele Pietropolli and Simon Spilak.

 

[Kraftwerk]

Good to see some cycling fan(s) on gaf.We just had the international bike show here in Toronto and it went pretty well.I love hearing stories from some customers about the trips they have had around the world.This gentleman just started working at the shop and was telling me how he was part of a cycling team in Egypt.Vast empty desert with perfect smooth roads and the perfect weather.Cycling along the pyramids and temples.
Perfection.

 

[Igo]

How are team Sky looking so far?

 

[Peronthious]

Woo cycling.

I need to get back into shape. Few years ago I'd go out and do 50-60 miles with no issues, but now I can barely get out and do 20 :lol Damn engineering major taking up all of my time.

 

[Tarazet]

How are team Sky looking so far?

Flecha won Het Niewsblad, Henderson just won Stage 1 of Paris-Nice, I'd say they're looking OK so far. Their roster is amazing, I just hope it doesn't turn into another T-Mobile with too many captains and not enough officers.

 

[Tarazet]

Go Voigt!

Race results 3/10/10

Paris-Nice (HIS), Stage 3: Saint-Junien - Aurillac 208km (shortened to 155 km)

Peter Sagan of Liquigas proved to have the fastest legs at last, taking the third stage of Paris-Nice. The Slovakian won the sprint from a six-man group which got away at the end, with Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) second and Nicolas Roche (AG2R) third.

The gap was enough to give Jens Voigt, who was also in the group, the overall lead. The Saxo Bank veteran now has six seconds on Sagan and 14 seconds on Roman Kreuziger, also of Liquigas.

Snow in Saint-Junien caused organisers to change the start. They moved it 53km to St. Yriex, cutting out the first two category three climbs of the day. Fortunately, the sun came out along the way.

The stage was long marked by a breakaway of Yann Huguet (Skil-Shimano), Nicholas Maes (Quick Step) and Jürgen Roelandts (Omega Pharma-Lotto). The trio got away at km 33 and built a lead of seven minutes over the peloton, but Caisse d'Epargne led the chase to catch them. The break was over with approximately 6 km to go.

Stage Results
1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas - Doimo 3:44:28
2 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha
3 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
4 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank 0:00:02
5 Tony Martin (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia
6 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana

Overall after Stage 3:
1 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank 12:40:26
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas - Doimo 0:00:06
3 Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:09
4 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Transitions 0:00:12
5 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas - Doimo 0:00:14

News

Giunti Tests Positive for EPO, Suspended

Androni Giocattoli rider Massimo Giunti has been provisionally suspended by the International Cycling Union (UCI) after testing positive for EPO in a targeted out-of-competition test carried out last month.

Giunti, 35, had been scheduled to start Tirreno-Adriatico on Wednesday morning, but was pulled out of the race following news of his positive result for the illegal blood-booster.

"It's a bitter blow and I'm shocked but it's strange too," said Androni Giocattoli principal Gianni Savio. "I found out when I was leaving the hotel and we left Giunti there. I'm depressed about the whole thing because at our training camp in November, we devoted half a day to a course about anti-doping.

"We keep telling the riders, especially the ones who rode in the old days, that the world of cycling has totally changed."

The World Anti-doping Agency's (WADA) laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland reported a positive finding for EPO in a urine test carried out on February 23. The UCI said in a statement to day that Giunti's non-negative control had been carried out in response to irregularities detected under the biological passport programme.

"This adverse finding was a direct result of a targeted urine test conducted because of an unusual blood profile in Mr Giunti’s biological passport," read the UCI's statement.

Giunti has the right to request analysis of a B sample.

The Italian had been competing in his first season for Androni Giocattoli after a transfer from Miche - Silver Cross - Selle Italia at the end of 2009. Giunti finished fourth on stage four of last month's Giro di Sardegna, three days after his positive control was taken. A professional since 1999, he has never claimed a professional victory.

Despite the news of Giunti's positive breaking on the opening day of Tirreno-Adriatico, Savio said he still expects his team to be invited to the Giro d'Italia in May.

"As an extra deterrent [to doping] we added a clause to riders' contracts. They have to pay the full value of their contract if they test positive. This case is about Massimo Giunti, not the team. I don't think it will affect our chances of being invited to the Giro," he said.

 

[Tarazet]

Tirreno results came in a lot later, so here you go:

Tirreno-Adriatico (HIS), Stage 1: Livorno - Rosignano Solvay 148km

Team Milram continued to reverse its fortunes as Linus Gerdemann delivered a stunning victory in the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. After going winless the entire half of last season, the German slipped away with a group over the top of the climb with four kilometres to go and then overpowered Spaniard Pablo Lastras (Caisse d'Epargne) and Saxo Bank's Matti Breschel to claim the victory.

It was Gerdemann's second win of the year following a similar upset in the Trofeo Inca in Mallorca in February. With the time bonus he becomes the first leader of the race with a six second advantage over Lastras.

"I don’t care if it's sunny or raining. A victory is a victory and I'm just happy," Gerdemann said in the winner's press conference after a cold and wet 148km stage to Rosignano Solvay.

"Actually I didn’t expect that much because in the group of four guys, there was Matti Breschel and Luca Paolini who are quite fast in the sprint. Paolini looked strong in the last kilometre, the peloton was not far away, so I didn't expect that much. I was relaxed and I was surprised that I beat these guys in the sprint."

"I've never tried to sprint in training and going round the final corner I didn’t feel explosive, so I'm surprised to win. Paolini and Breschel are faster sprinters but I think they went a bit too early in the wind perhaps. It was good timing…"

Gerdemann took the first blue overall leader's jersey and confirmed he is targeting overall victory at Tirreno-Adriatico.

"I'm quite motivated. At my last race, the Ruta del Sol, I didn't have much luck but I felt strong. When the climbs aren't that long, then it's a bit more for explosive riders and perhaps now I'm an explosive rider. Yeah I'd like to win Tirreno-Adriatico. It's one of the big races of the spring and our whole team was motivated. We're focused on getting a good result here."

Misery loves company

With much of the Mediterranean coast socked in by a rare March blizzard, the riders were lucky that the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico even got underway.

While riders of Paris-Nice may have been complaining about the coating of snow that greeted them in Limoges, in Livorno the riders of Tirreno-Adriatico faced something even worse: an icy cold rain which would punish them throughout the stage.

The mood was also dampened by the news that Androni-Giocattoli's Massimo Giunti had been removed from the race following a positive test for EPO earlier this year.

It was a day for the hard men who are immune to adverse weather, and Ukrainian Dmytro Grabovskyy was the one man who seemed impervious to anything mother nature could throw at him.

The ISD-Neri man escaped early in the 148km stage to Risignano Solvay and built up a lead of over five minutes ahead of the Garmin-Transitions and Liquigas-Doimo led peloton.

A crash caused a split in the peloton with 40km to go, making a brief moment of panic for the Acqua & Sapone team who led the push to bring the two groups back together. The front group seemed to ease slightly allowing the peloton to regroup as it slowly whittled away at Grabovskyy's lead.

With 25km to go, the ISD man enjoyed just under a four minute lead over the soggy bunch, his cheeks bright red from the frigid cold and the effort.

The pace of the chasing bunch picked up as they neared the climb to Rosignano Marittimo which would be traversed twice in the closing laps, with the Garmin-Transitions and BMC teams holding most of the front positions. Still, Grabovskyy powered on as Mario Cipollini, who provided his team with bikes, watched from the heated comfort of the press room.

The Ukrainian's legs must have been burning as he hit the climb with its brief section of 9%, yet he maintained a smooth, even tempo despite the furious chase behind that had halved his lead to just under two minutes.

The climb wasn't so favorable for Mark Cavendish, who came detached from the peloton and had to chase just as Liquigas and Sky were driving the pace at the front.

At the top of the climb a small group countered an attack by Milram's Fabian Wegmann and opened up a small gap, but on the descent the bunch was hot on their heels. Colnago-CSF Inox rider Federico Canuti kept going and pulled away two more riders as the peloton had Grabovskyy in its sights.

The warmth of the peloton beckoned the ISD man, and soon he was enveloped by the group as they streamed back out onto the course for another lap around the finishing circuit.

Action heats up in closing kilometres

Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel-Euskadi) was quick to counter-attack on the twisty descent as the Team Sky-led group took the turns a bit more gingerly than the Spaniard.

As he entered the final lap, Urtasun was joined by Milram's Niki Terpstra, and the pair managed to wrest a few seconds' lead over the bunch. Meanwhile, well behind the peloton, Mark Cavendish had given up even trying to regain the peloton, knowing he faced the climb one more time in the final 10km.

Terpstra left his companion behind as the road began to tilt upward, but his time was limited as Liquigas led the chase behind the attack of Fabio Taborre (Androni Giocattoli). The Italian caught Terpstra and left him behind but it wasn't for long as the gap was practically non-existent.

As Tom Boonen (Quick Step) made his way back into position after getting shuffled to the back on the climb, an attack from Sky's Juan Antonio Flecha was countered by Saxo Bank's Matti Breschel, together with Acqua & Sapone's Luca Paolini, Gerdemann and Lastras with 4km to go.

Despite the furious chase from Liquigas on the descent, the four men pulled out a 10 second advantage, and held just metres heading into the sprint.

Lastras opened up as the peloton began to make contact with the group, but Gerdemann found some extra strength and snuck past the Spaniard to claim his second win of the season.

Stage Results
1 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram 3:36:15
2 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
3 Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo Bank
4 Luca Paolini (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
5 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Francaise Des Jeux

 

[Tarazet]

Boom boom!

Race results 3/11/2010:

Tirreno-Adriatico (HIS), Stage 2: Montecatini Terme 165km

After being foiled by a break on Tirreno-Adriatico's opener yesterday, the sprinters had their day in Montecatini Terme with Tom Boonen (Quick Step) taking an emphatic victory on the second stage. The Belgian national champion out-kicked Paul Martens (Rabobank) and Daniele Bennati (Liquigas-Doimo) in the bunch gallop to take his first-ever win on Italian soil.

Bennati's Liquigas teammates had the peloton strung out single file under the flamme rouge and provided the Italian with a strong lead-out, but Bennati had no answer for Boonen who jumped to the right off his wheel with 200m remaining.

"I'm extremely satisfied," said Boonen. "Throughout my career I've won at all latitudes, a little all over the world, but I had never won in Italy. I like Italy a lot and I also like Italian races; with this success I've made up for a little something that was missing on my resume, and I'm really happy.

"It’s an important victory that gives me and all the team some hope and faith. The next few days here at the Tirreno-Adriatico will be very important to further fine-tune our condition as we look forward to the great events of the starting season, the first of which will surely be the Milano-Sanremo. I was motivated for the classics before I even arrived in Italy and now, after this success, I'm even more so."

The victory is the 29-year-old Belgian's fourth of the season and first in Europe following his three wins in Qatar and Oman earlier this year.

Foursome fights till stage finale

The break of the day lasted well into the endgame of the 165km stage and was caught with only 3.5km remaining. The lead quartet, containing Alan Marangoni (Colnago-CSF Inox), Alan Perez Lezaun (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Diego Caccia (ISD-Neri) and Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha), escaped 11km into the stage and managed to eke out a lead of more than four minutes before being absorbed under the impetus of Liquigas-Doimo, Sky and Garmin-Transitions on the last of four 14.5km finishing circuits.

Igantiev launched a solo counterattack just as the break was about to be caught, but his effort was nullified by a Liquigas-led peloton after only an additional few hundred metres of freedom.

Overnight race leader Linus Gerdemann (Milram) remains in the maglia azzura, but is tied on time with Boonen. Spain's Pablo Lastras Garcia (Caisse d'Epargne) dropped from second to third and sits four seconds back.

"We worked hard today to defend the blue jersey," said Christian Henn, Milram directeur sportif. "We were able to accomplish this and of course are happy to continue to lead. Tomorrow will be a similar day to today, from profile as well as from our assignments."

Stage Results
1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step
2 Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank
3 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas Doimo
4 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Katusha
5 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne

Overall Standings after Stage 2
1 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram 7:50:18
2 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step
3 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:04
4 Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank
5 Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi

And not to be outdone...

Paris-Nice (HIS), Stage 4: Maurs - Mende 208km

Alberto Contador (Astana) lived up to all pre-stage expectation as he raced to an imposing win on the fourth stage of Paris-Nice on Thursday afternoon in Mende. It was his second such victory on the climb after his commanding performance in 2007.

The Spaniard launched a vicious attack halfway up the La Croix Neuve - Montée Laurent Jalabert, with compatriots Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) and Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) the only riders able to put up any semblance of resistance to take second and third.

"Paris-Nice begins now," Contador said although he was disappointed not to open up a bigger gap on his rivals. "It's even more difficult for me to win the GC now being the leader of the classification. My team is strong but it's hard to control such a race."

"I had some doubts about my rivals before today's stage and it remains open," he continued. "As for myself, I felt good but not super. I didn't feel good at the bottom of the final climb. I had to fight hard for position."

44 seconds after firing off his customary pistol salute, Contador also inherited the overall race lead as Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank) rolled across the line. The German had put up a brave fight, but couldn't prevent the inevitable.

"Jens fought persistantly to avoid losing too much time," said Saxo Bank director Kim Andersen. "But this is terrain for Contador more than for Jens and naturally we expected the stage to be difficult with these odds."

The Spanish trifecta on the stage also saw the place-getters improve their standing in the major classification, with Valverde now second overall (23 seconds behind) and Sanchez promoted into fifth. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas-Doimo) defended his podium position and sits 25 seconds behind the new race leader.

"The race is not finished yet," said Valverde. "Just remember what happened last year. The next stages will be difficult too. I am second overall at 24" and my teammate Luis León Sánchez the fourth at 28". We will see what we can do to try and change the current ranking.

"I believe that I must be satisfied with my second place here in Mende This kind of hill is just perfect for Contador. Alberto made the difference when he attacked but after that when I attacked behind him the gap was unchanged.

"I felt good and I am most of all happy and at the same time surprised because I am not suffering too much from the cold weather. And believe me it is every day colder. In the Côte de Chabrits it was minus four degrees Celsius."

Astana's guidance of their leader into the final climb was an ominous sign for Contador's Tour de France rivals. The Kazakh squad played a textbook support role as they worked to shut down the day's earlier break and position their captain for his final assault.

Wild card rivals on the move again

After a day-off yesterday, Vacansoleil had earlier resumed their position in the day's breakaway. Marco Mercato (Vacansoleil) was one of seven to respond to Albert Timmer's (Skil-Shimano) initial move after 10 kilometres of racing.

Timmer and Marcato were joined by a flock of five Frenchmen, including Jérôme Pineau (Quick Step), Jean-Marc Marino (Saur Sojasun), Julien Loubet (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Amaël Moinard (Cofidis), as well as Basque rider Mikel Nieve (Euskaltel-Euskadi).

The eight were afforded between three and four minutes by the peloton, with slopes of the category 2 Côte de Montsalvy, category 3 Côte de Lassouts and category 3 Côte de la Crouzette all to themselves. Moinard revealed himself as the man most interested in the climbs as he gradually built up his collection of points at each of the summits.

While the Frenchman busied himself with the lower category climbs, the peloton began to organise itself for the approach to the category 2 Côte de Chabrits and, more importantly the category 1 finale at Mende.

As had been expected, Alberto Contador's Astana team were the ones that put their hands up to take responsibility for the serious portion of the chase. The Spaniard, looking every bit a bandit with his face concealed beneath a black scarf, settled in behind his sky-blue gang as they dragged the peloton back towards the escapees.

The Kazakh team's control immediately began to dent the advantage of the leaders and their lead dropped by a minute for each of the ten kilometre sectors between 40 and 20 kilometres to go.

It was here that the time gap truly began to tumble. The gradual uphill gradient that had followed the Côte de la Crouzette was about to be replaced with the slopes of the Côte de Chabrits and the lead was less than a minute with 16 kilometres to go. Astana disappeared momentarily, but the reason was quickly apparent as a now scarf- and leg warmer-less Contador was escorted back to the front.

In the interim, RadioShack, Sky, Cervélo and Columbia had all shot to the front, with Jens Voigt and Saxo Bank also in close attendance. With the lead suddenly closing on single figures, Timmer led his companions in a final, desperate act of defiance. Mercato, too, pitched in, but as the Chabrits began, a series of nervous looks behind quickly gave way to common sense.

Voigt hangs tough

Cofidis and Bbox Bouygues Telecom now drove the race, Voigt hanging tough. Katusha's action at the front resulted in those less suited to the ascent being ejected from the back of the pack. Pierre Rolland (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) launched the first attack with nine kilometres to go, but within a kilometre the Frenchman had been reeled in.

Brice Feillu (Vacansoleil) immediately fired off the front, hoping to emulate his win in the Alps at last year's Tour de France. Alas, there was to be no repeat for the lanky Frenchman as Astana and Cervélo's tempo snubbed out his attack in time for the short descent through a series of roundabouts to the base of the final climb.

Spanish interest in the climb suddenly peaked as an Euskaltel riders traded places with his Caisse d'Epargne colleagues. Contador allowed the first, shallow kilometre of the ascent to pass with Christophe Le Mevel (Française des Jeux) in front of his wheel, but with two kilometres to race he took off.

As his gap stretched, Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) appeared the only rider willing, or capable of pulling his compatriot back.

But as Valverde's challenge faltered just before the one-to-go marker, Contador showed just why he is regarded as the world's best climber. Behind, Jens Voigt was fighting hard but there was little the German could do to protect his yellow jersey.

As the climb came off its steepest pitch, Contador lit the afterburner as he searched for as many seconds as possible. Valverde was next to cross, eleven seconds later, with Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) only a metre behind. An exhausted Voigt weaved his way across the line, 44 seconds behind the winner.

Stage Results
1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana 4:26:47
2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:10
3 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
4 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha 0:00:18
5 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 0:00:20

Overall Standings after Stage 4:
1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana 17:07:23
2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:24
3 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas - Doimo 0:00:25
4 Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:28
5 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:00:29

News:

Paris-Nice begins now, says Contador

Alberto Contador's victory at the top of the 'montée Laurent Jalabert' in Mende was a repeat performance of three years ago when he first claimed Paris-Nice overall. Yet even after donning the race leader's yellow jersey, the Astana rider was only partly satisfied with his performance.

"I wanted to win here because of the time bonus but also to create a significant difference on my adversaries," Contador said. "That's why I tried to attack from far out."

While he rode away from everybody with 1.6km to go to the top of the climb, he only preceded his compatriots Alejandro Valverde and Samuel Sanchez by ten seconds at the line.

Today, the top 10 riders finished within 30 seconds of each other, while three years ago there were 40 seconds between Contador and Franco Pellizotti who got 10th, but Contador didn't see this as a significant improvement in the peloton.

"I don't think the level of the GC contenders is higher this time," Contador answered Cyclingnews. "Every year the level of Paris-Nice is very high. There are always strong climbers but this time around, there are also rouleurs like Jens Voigt who threaten my lead."

The double winner of the Tour de France said "no!" when asked whether or not Paris-Nice was over with three days to go. "It's the exact opposite," he replied. "We only begin now. It's even more difficult for me to win the GC now being the leader of the classification. My team is strong but it's hard to control such a race."

In 2007, he was second behind Davide Rebellin after the uphill stage finish in Mende. He only overtook the Italian towards the end of the last stage in Nice.

"I had some doubts about my rivals before today's stage and it remains open," Contador continued. "As for myself, I felt good but not super. I didn't feel good at the bottom of the final climb. I had to fight hard for position." A crash on stage 1 gave the Spaniard a bruise on his thigh, so perhaps he has yet to reach his best level.

Haussler out of Paris-Nice

Heinrich Haussler was forced to pull out on stage 4 of Paris-Nice after 35 kilometres of racing. Suffering from an injury to his left knee for the past two days, the Cervélo rider opted for retirement in order to protect his body before the Classics.

"He was scared that the injury would become worse," said Cervélo's directeur sportif Philippe Mauduit.

"His muscular sensations were extraordinary but the cold brings the pain back."

Haussler looked in top condition earlier in the season at the Tour of Qatar, although he didn't win the stage he desperately aimed for in the Middle East.

He crashed at the Volta ao Algarve and missed six days of riding his bike because of his sore knee.

"He was feeling good at the Belgian races one week before Paris-Nice [he came 2nd in the Het Nieuwsblad behind Juan Antonio Flecha] but he crashed again here with Alberto Contador and the pain bounced back."

Haussler will remain with his team until the end of Paris-Nice to receive treatment by doctors and physiotherapists.

Szczepaniak brothers positive for EPO at cyclo-cross World's

Polish brothers Pawel and Kacper Szczepaniak, who finished first and second in this year's under 23 cyclo-cross World Championship, have returned positive results for EPO, in controls carried out at the event which took place in Tabor, Czech Republic in January.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) confirmed on Thursday that the brothers' positive results came from targeted urine tests carried out following the under-23 World Championship race. The two had been targeted after suspicious blood profiles were revealed as part of their respective biological passports.

Arnaud Jouffrey of France now stands to inherit the title of under 23 World Champion should the counter-analyses confirm the presence of EPO.

Kacper, 19, the younger of the two brothers recently signed for the Telenet-Fidea team. According to Belgian media the team has called a press conference for Thursday evening. Its rider Tom Meeusen placed fourth in the race and could be moved into the silver medal position.

At the World Championships the Szczepaniaks got away on the second of seven laps with fellow Pole Marek Konwa. Pawel, 20, took the lead on the fourth lap, and never gave it up. He finished 20 seconds ahead of his brother Kacper, with French rider Arnaud Jouffroy finishing in third place, one second later.

 

[Tarazet]

Race results 3/12/2010:

Paris-Nice (HIS), Stage 5: Pernes-les-Fontaines - Aix-en-Provence 157km

Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Doimo) won the 157km fifth stage of Paris-Nice between Pernes-les-Fontaines and Aix-en-Provence. The Slovakian neo-pro won his second stage of the race in just five days, with an audacious attack with three kilometres to go. Mirco Lorenzetto (Lampre) and Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) failed to catch him before the line and rounded out the top three.

Alberto Contador (Astana) finished two seconds down, in tenth place, with the majority of favourites, and retained his overall lead.

“It was a terrible stage," Contador said. " We tried to control the breaks for 100 kms but it’s impossible for one team to control a race like Paris-Nice. Sagan is a very strong rider and I’m sure he will very quickly be a rival to watch in future races. Tomorrow is another hard stage with 220 kms. I may be the one in the yellow jersey but I’m not the only one who can do something tomorrow.”

After the cold conditions of the last few days, the fifth stage begun in perfect sunshine and despite yesterday’s efforts into Mende, the peloton was in no mood to relax and chased each of the attacks. Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) was the first rider to break clear and was quickly joined by four other riders. However the Astana-led bunch were intent on keeping things together with the second hour of racing rattled off at 45km/h.

The pace proved too hot for some, including Tony Martin (HTC-Columbia) who was over six minutes down with over 100 kilometres still to race.

With around 50 kilometres to go, Barredo (Quick Step), Gustov (Cervelo) and Calzati (Team Sky) broke free and the trio soon became a foursome with Reine Taaramae (Cofidis) joining in the action.

The leaders sped on and their advantage peaked at 1:20 before a combination of Astana, Caisse d'Epargne and Euskaltel - Euskadi began to work together. As the lead began to slip Taaramae sat up, happy to have secured the final mountain points.

With 25 kilometres remaining and the break almost in sight, Ag2R moved to the front and set what looked like a furious pace in order to set up Nicholas Roche for a sprint. The pace was too high for many, with Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) one of many casualties, along with an unfortunate Thomas Voeckler (BBox Bouygues Telecom) who punctured and was forced to take a teammate’s bike.

With Cyril Dessel and Dimitri Champion leading Ag2R aggressive pace the stage looked set for a sprint finish but with three kilometres to go the front group of about 50 riders was forced to take a swift left-hand bend before a sharp climb.

It was another Frencham, Christophe Le Mevel (Francaise Des Jeux) who was first to attack as the peloton slowed. He got a small gap but Sagan was the first to respond, catching the Frenchman and then launching himself up the road and cresting the top of the climb alone.

The powerful Slovak had the strength to stay clear on the run in and despite brave attempts from David Millar (Garmin-Transitions), Roche, and a final surge to the line from Valverde, Sagan hung on for his second win of the race and his blossoming career.

Stage Results
1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas - Doimo 3:34:15
2 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre - Farnese Vini 0:00:02
3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
4 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française des Jeux
5 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank

Overall Results after Stage 5
1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana 20:41:40
2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:20
3 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas - Doimo 0:00:25
4 Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:26
5 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskatltel - Euskadi 0:00:29

Tirreno-Adriatico (HIS), Stage 3: San Miniato - Monsummano Terme 159km

They need to work on their podium girls..

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Yesterday, Liquigas-Doimo stretched out the peloton in a textbook lead-out for their sprinter Daniele Bennati only to have Tom Boonen (Quick Step) spoil the party and overtake the Italian in the charge to the line.

Today, however, the Liquigas train would not be denied as Bennati won the field sprint into Monsummano Terme, speeding to victory with a bike-length lead over Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-Farnese Vini) and Bernhard Eisel (Team HTC - Columbia) on the slightly downhill finish.

The third stage of Tirreno-Adriatico passed through Franco Ballerini's home town and Bennati emotionally dedicated his win to the Italian national coach who died in a rally car accident a month ago.

"It was strange today because I thought about him (Ballerini) all day and several times during the stage I imagined seeing him along the road side. I saw people's faces and I thought it was him but then I quickly realised Franco's not with us anymore. I still can't believe it.

"After the finish I saw his father-in-law Luigi Ricasoli and we both got upset. I gave him the winner's flowers. It's a small gesture but he's going to take them to the cemetery. I still haven't been to see his grave because I've been busy since getting back from the Tour of Oman but I'll go soon."

Petacchi's second place finish showed the Italian has recovered from his crash suffered in training on Monday. "I felt good during the stage and so I decided to have a go in the sprint," said Petacchi. "Hondo was perfect in the way he took me up to Bennati's wheel but today Bennati was the strongest. When I tried to go past him, I didn't have the speed because I was also on the outside of the corner."

Bennati not only earned his first Tirreno-Adriatico stage win today, but time bonuses moved the 29-year-old Italian into the leader's maglia azzura. Overnight race leader Linus Gerdemann (Milram) drops to second, four seconds behind the Italian, while Tom Boonen (Quick Step) holds third, also four seconds back.

While Gerdemann is still in a promising position on general classification, the Milram captain lost two teammates on stage three. Fabian Wegmann crashed with eight kilometres to go and broke his collarbone while Johannes Fröhlinger dropped out due to illness.

"That was a very bitter day for us," said Christian Henn, Team Milram directeur sportif. "In Fabian Wegmann and Johannes Fröhlinger we have lost two very important riders. The next few days would have been something especially for Fabian. Johannes has suffered from his intestinal infection for several days now and today it was just too much."

Defending champion makes his move

The expected field sprint nearly didn't come to fruition as a dangerous 10-rider break escaped the peloton on the descent off the San Baronto, inside of 15 kilometres to go. The peloton crested the summit together after absorbing two riders on the final classified climb of the day: Australia's Cameron Wurf (Androni Giocattoli), the lone remaining rider from the day's early break, and Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel - Euskadi), who tried to bridge to Wurf from the peloton.

On the sinuous descent, however, defending champion Michele Scarponi and Francesco Ginanni (Androni Giocattoli), Stefano Garzelli and Francesco Failli (Acqua & Sapone), Maxim Iglinskiy (Astana), Federico Canuti (Colnago - CSF Inox), Giovanni Visconti (ISD - Neri), Manuele Mori (Lampre-Farnese Vini), and Vincenzo Nibali and Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas-Doimo) distanced themselves from the peloton and soon gained a 20-second advantage.

With five kilometres to go the escapees held an 18-second lead on the peloton, but the break started to lose cohesion as work was not being shared equally. Scarponi attacked the break and was joined by Nibali, but the duo were chased down by their fellow escapees.

Soon afterwards, with two kilometres remaining, the 10-man move was absorbed by a hard-chasing peloton and Liquigas once again moved to the head of affairs for Bennati.

Stage Results:
1 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 3:54:09
2 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
3 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team HTC - Columbia
4 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions
5 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Professional Cycling Team

Overall Standings after stage 3:
1 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 11:44:23
2 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram 0:00:04
3 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step
4 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:08
5 Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank

News

Great Britain announce team for Track World Championships

British Cycling has announced a team of 19 riders for the up-coming track World Championships, taking place on 24 - 28 March 2010, in Copenhagen.

Jason Queally will make a return to the boards after retiring in 2008 and is set to compete in the Team Pursuit. Queally, 39, was the winner of the penultimate Olympic kilo in Sydney, in 2000. After missing out on selection for the same event in Athens four years later, and after failing to make the GB sprint squad for the Beijing Olympic Games, Queally announced his retirement from international competition. He had been aiming for London's 2012 Paralympics as a tandem pilot for Anthony Kappes.

“At 40, I was never going to get an opportunity like this again. Even if I don’t make it to London, I know I have had the opportunity to go for it. If I’m successful, fantastic, if not, I have given it my best shot," he said.

Sir Chris Hoy will also compete at the World Championships after missing the event last year due to injury. Current Olympic and World Champion Victoria Pendleton will be looking to retain her title in the Sprint, whilst the trio of Lizzie Armitstead, Wendy Houvenaghel and Joanna Rowsell will be aiming to defend their World Champion title in the Women’s Team Pursuit, having already broken the World Record at the Manchester round of the World Cup in October.

Full GB Squad

Men’s Sprint
Matt Crampton
Dave Daniell
Ross Edgar
Chris Hoy
Jason Kenny

Men’s Endurance
Steven Burke
Ed Clancy
Chris Newton
Jason Queally
Ben Swift
Andy Tennant

Women’s Sprint
Rebecca James
Victoria Pendleton
Jess Varnish

Women’s Endurance
Lizzie Armitstead
Anna Blyth
Katie Colclough
Wendy Houvenaghel
Joanna Rowsell

 

[Tarazet]

Today was stupid expressions day!

Race results 3/13/2010

Paris-Nice (HIS), Stage 6: Peynier - Tourrettes-sur-Loup 220km

Spaniard solos to victory ahead of Valverde and super Sagan

The Cervelo TestTeam's new Spanish climber Xavier Tondo scored a big win for the squad with a solo drive into Tourrettes-sur-Loup today. He escaped on the Col de Vence, the category 1 climb traversed with 33km to go, and managed to just hold off the chasing peloton led to the line by Alejandro Valverde.

Alberto Contador finished safely in the main bunch to hold onto his overall lead in the general classification.

"It's incredible for me to win," Tondo exclaimed after the finish. "It was a difficult stage today, it was fast all day. Yesterday I made a big mistake - I didn't follow the change in rhythm on the climb and was at the back of a group and lost two and a half minutes.

"But that gave me more opportunity to go with the breakaway today."

Tondo was chased by Lampre's Damiano Cunego, but rather than let the Italian make the bridge and help with the work to stay clear, the Spaniard stayed on the gas to stay away solo.

"I know that Cunego is a good sprinter and it would not have been good for me," Tondo said.

His gap fell from over a minute down to just seconds on the line, but it was enough to give the Spaniard his first win since the start of last year when he won a stage in the Tour de San Luis.

Big names go on a big break

Tondo made his move from a large breakaway which had escaped early in the stage. The 23-man move included some of the more prominent riders in Paris-Nice - Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack), Damiano Cuengo (Lampre) and Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step).

The overall lead of Alberto Contador was threatened by Chavanel when the gap grew to nearly two minutes, but the break's lead never grew too large thanks to the contributions of Garmin-Transitions, who had missed the move, and later Caisse d'Epargne who were interested in keeping the race close for Alejandro Valverde.

The break consisted of Amael Moinard (Cofidis), Levi Leipheimer and Tiago Machado (RadioShack), Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Farnese Vini), Sebastien Turgot and Cyril Gautier (Bbox Bouygues Telecom), Dimitri Champion (AG2R), Alexandr Kolobnev and Eduard Vorganov (Katusha), Mathieu Perget (Caisse d'Epargne), Chris Sorensen (Saxo Bank), Dimitri Fofonov (Astana), Maxime Monfort and Tony Martin (HTC-Columbia), Sandy Casar and Mikael Cherel (FDJeux), Cyril Dessel (AG2R La Mondiale), Sylvain Chavanel and Kevin Seeldrayers (Quick Step), Xavier Tondo (Cervelo Test Team), Jurgen Van den Broeck (Omega Pharma Lotto), Romain Sicard (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Steve Cummings (Team Sky), Simon Geschke (Skil Shimano).

The move stayed intact over a series of lesser classified mountains - there were seven in total leading up to the big one, the Col de Vence, a category 1 monster crested with just 32.5km to go.

It was on the slopes of that climb that the race heated up, with Tondo leading the charge followed closely by Cunego and Gautier.

Kolobnev and Chavanel tried to get on terms with the attack, but either gambled the group would help bring it back on the descent or could not match the pace of Tondo.

The Spaniard upped his effort and managed to shed Cunego and Gautier, then plowed ahead full steam to the top of the Col de Vence.

Gautier quickly returned to the chasing group while Cunego kept chasing on the quick descent, but never closed the dozen seconds to the stage leader.

As the road leveled out, Cunego began losing more time, while the pace in the peloton shot up under the attacks of several riders.

Chris Horner (RadioShack) and Sébastien Hinault (AG2R La Mondiale) gained a small lead, but were then pulled back by the relentless pace of the peloton.

Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom), perhaps not wanting to be cast in the shadows of another Frenchman, countered the move and brought along Chavanel and Fofonov.

Over the top of the Col de Vence, the chase group came back together, then split again as a group containing previous race leader Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank) broke free.

Tondo, meanwhile, was resisting all efforts to be brought back into the fold, and as he soldiered along solo up front, the chasing group came back together for good inside the final 5km.

Cofidis' young stud Reine Taaramae made a brief attack in the final kilometres, but it was Valverde who took the runner-up slot on the line ahead of points classification leader and double stage winner Peter Sagan.

Contador finished the stage without incident, conserving his yellow jersey and his energies for the challenging final stage to Nice tomorrow.

Stage Results
1 Xavier Tondo (Spa) Cervélo Test Team 5:01:39
2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:05
3 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas - Doimo
4 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
5 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha

Overall Results after Stage 6
1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana 25:43:24
2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:14
3 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas - Doimo 0:00:25
4 Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:26
5 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:00:29

Tirreno-Adriatico (HIS), Stage 4: San Gemini - Chieti 243km (!)

Michele Scarponi (Androni Giocattoli) won the fourth stage at Tirreno-Adriatico on Saturday with an audacious attack on the climb to the finish in Chieti and so took control of the week-long stage race.

The Italian, overall winner at Tirreno-Adriatico last year and so wearing number 1, surged away from the peloton on the twisting climb up to the finish in Chieti. He caught and blew past the remains of the seven-rider break and then opened an impressive gap on the rest of the overall favourites.

Benoit Vaugrenard (Francaise des Jeux) won the sprint from the chase group and thought he'd won the stage, and put his arms up in celebration but he was 14 seconds behind Scarponi. He could be consoled with the fact that he had moved into second overall.

Leonardo Bertagnolli (Androni Giocattoli) was third, also at 14 seconds. Thanks to his late attack, Scarponi took the race leader's azzurra blue jersey. He leads Vaugrenard by 18 seconds, with Bertagnolli third at 20 seconds.

Seven hours in the saddle

The 243km fourth stage was the longest in this year's Tirreno-Adriatico and saw riders up early for a pasta breakfast and a 9:35 start. They went on to spend seven hours in the saddle.

The peloton kept the early attacks under check through Pescara but then seven riders got away after 34km as the route followed the Adriatic coast.

The attack included Rubén Pérez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Vasil Kiryienka (Caisse d'Epargne), Maarten Wynants (Quick Step), Marco Frapporti (Colnago), Paolo Longo Borghini (ISD-Neri) and Vladimir Efimkin (AG2R).

Somewhat surprisingly Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) was also there. He worked a lot on the front setting the tempo, perhaps looking for a hard day in the saddle as training for Milan-San Remo, as much as for a chance of victory and some television time.

"It was a good test before Milan-San Remo and a good chance to try and win a stage, although I saw that Kiryienka was the strongest on the climb," Pozzato said after the stage. "I noticed I got a lot of support along the road, especially going through L'Aquila. I felt honoured to have ridden through the area that was so badly affected by the earthquake showing the Italian flag. This breakaway attempt was for the people who were caught up in it."

The seven gradually gained time on the peloton in the early hills, hitting a peak of 8:30 after 121km, at the start of the climb to Poggio Picenze. From there the up and down profile of the second half of the race helped the bunch bring the break under control. BMC and Acqua & Sapone massed on the front and lead the chase. BMC were perhaps riding for world Cadel Evans, while Acqua & Sapone were riding on home roads and were looking for stage victory.

The break still had three minutes as the race approached Chieti, with 25km left to race. However they were a tough, largely uphill 25 kilometres and the break looked doomed as soon as Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) launched the first attack from the bunch.

When Vino was caught, Jose Serpa Perez (Androni Giocattoli) had a go but he crashed on corner and was passed by the bunch. Enrico Gasparotto (Astana) had a dig but then Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Doimo) went hard and it was clearly an important move. Scarponi knew it and soon went after him and quickly went past him and powered on alone.

Up front Kiryienka accelerated with five kilometres to go after he was told that the gap was just a minute and that Scarponi was coming across. However there was nothing he could do when Scarponi caught him and he only just managed to hang onto Nibali, along with Frapporto.

The twisting streets in the centre of Chieti made for a confusing and testing finish but Scarponi knew what he was doing and carefully paced his effort on the steeps section before the road eased in the final three kilometres.

What was left of the bunch caught Nibali, Frapporti and Kiryienka before the line and in the confusion, Benoit Vaugrenard thought he'd won until he saw Scarponi celebrating with his soigneur and team manager Gianni Savio. His disappointment must have hurt as much as the climb to the finish.

Scarponi pulled on the azzurra blue leader's jersey but now he and his team face the difficult job of defending his slim 18-second lead. However he did manage to distance some rivals with his aggressive ride. Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone) and World Champion Cadel Evans (BMC) have emerged as his biggest threats. They are respectively fourth and sixth at 24 and 26 seconds. Michael Rogers (BMC-Columbia) is ninth at 29 seconds, while Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Doimo) is 11th at 31 seconds.

Stage one winner Linus Gerdemann (Milram) has slipped down to 25th at 1:06, while Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) lost almost three minutes at the end of the long stage and is now out of contention and down to 45th overall at 3:04.

Fortunately for Androni Giocattoli, Sunday's fifth stage from Chieti to Colmurano has been shortened from 234km to 216km due to poor road conditions after recent bad weather. One of the toughest climbs has been cut out but the stage still ends with a short but 15% gradient climb to the finish.

Stage Results
1 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 6:23:47
2 Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 0:00:14
3 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
4 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
5 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne

Overall Standings after Stage 4:
1 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 18:08:14
2 Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux 0:00:18
3 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:00:20
4 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 0:00:24
5 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne

News

Biver confirms possibility of Team Schleck in 2011

Former Astana manager in talks with sponsor to create Luxembourg-based team

Former Astana team manager Marc Biver has admitted he is in talks with a Luxembourg company about creating a team around Fränk and Andy Schleck for 2011.

The brothers have promised to wait until after the Tour de France before abandoning current team manager Bjarne Riis but the Dane has yet to find a replacement for Saxo Bank, who will end their backing of his team at the end of the current season.

It seems that Biver has been working on the idea of a Luxembourg team lead by the Schlecks for some time, perhaps as far back as November.

Speaking to the L'Equipe on Saturday, Biver said: "A Luxembourg synergy would make sense, but I haven't asked for anything specific yet and no decision has been taken."

"Before thinking about any possible agreement, I requested financial, contractual and ethical guarantees. I've given the Luxembourg group until April 15 to provide them. I need time to be able to create something serious."

Biver was manager of the Astana team that was forced to leave the Tour de France in disgrace after Alexandre Vinokourov tested positive for blood doping in 2007. Andrey Kashechkin also failed a blood test after the Tour de France, while Matthias Kessler tested positive for testosterone in April and Eddy Mazzoleni was suspended for his involvement in the Oil For Drugs investigation in Italy. John Bruyneel was eventually brought in to save the team, only to leave himself last year to create the RadioShack team with Lance Armstrong.

"The Schlecks have nothing to do with Vinokourov and Kashechkin, just like Luxembourg is not Kazakhstan..." Biver told l'Equipe, rebutting any similarities between any new Luxembourg team and the old Astana squad built around Vinokourov.

25 teams for the 2010 Paris-Roubaix

Astana, Footon-Servetto not included

A list of 25 teams for the upcoming 108th running of Paris-Roubaix has been announced by the Amaury Sport Organisation today.

Included on the list were 14 of the 16 teams which, under the 2008 agreement between the ASO and UCI, are given automatic invitations to events such as Paris-Roubaix which fall under the Historic classification.

AG2R La Mondiale, Bbox Bouygues Telecom, Caisse d'Epargne, Cofidis, HTC-Columbia, Euskaltel-Euskadi, Francaise des Jeux, Lampre-Farnese Vini, Liquigas-Doimo, Milram, Omega Pharma, Quick Step, Rabobank and Saxo Bank are all covered by the accord and make up part of the 25 teams for this year's Paris-Roubaix.

Not included on the list are the Astana and Footon-Servetto teams.

Added to the peloton for the 'Hell of the North' as wild cards are Italian teams Acqua e Sapone and Androni Giocattoli, the Swiss/American BMC team of perennial conteder George Hincapie and Cervélo TestTeam, which last year put Thor Hushovd on the podium.

American team Garmin-Transitions will be at the start, as will last year's runner up Filippo Pozzato and his Katusha squad. Team Sky and 2007 runner-up Juan Antonio Flecha were given the nod as well.

Gert Steegmans can continue his Paris-Roubaix dream as his RadioShack team has secured an invitation, as has Saur-Sojasun, Skil-Shimano and Vacansoleil.

Paris-Roubaix takes place on Sunday, April 11.

Teams for Paris-Roubaix

AG2R La Mondiale
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
Caisse d'Epargne
Cofidis
HTC-Columbia
Euskaltel-Euskadi
Francaise des Jeux
Lampre-Farnese Vini
Liquigas-Doimo
Milram
Omega Pharma
Quick Step
Rabobank
Saxo Bank

Wild cards

Acqua e Sapone
Androni Giocattoli
BMC
Cervélo TestTeam
Garmin-Transitions
Katusha
RadioShack
Saur-Sojasun
Skil-Shimano
Sky
Vacansoleil

 

[Kabouter]

How amazing was Tondo's win? I thought they were totally gonna catch him.

 

[Tarazet]

How amazing was Tondo's win? I thought they were totally gonna catch him.

He was just the man who refused to be caught today. Riding a guy like Cunego off your wheel is very impressive.

 

[Kabouter]

Man Le Mével's fall there looked painful. Man needs to stop falling.
4km left. Go go Voeckler.

Edit: Moinard is fine too . Just happy it wasn't one of the pack. Nice job for Moinard, getting the stage win + the polka dot jersey.

 

[Tarazet]

Race results 3/14/2010:

Paris-Nice (HIS), Stage 7: Nice 119km

Contador passes Paris-Nice tests

Moinard claims final stage victory over Voeckler

Alberto Contador (Astana) secured his second overall Paris-Nice victory on Sunday but had to fight for it all the way to the line.

Alessandro Valverde's Caisse d'Epargne team took turns attacking Contador on the final ascent of the Col d'Eze and even on the downhill run to Nice. However unlike last year, Contador never panicked when under pressure, letting the leading group control the attacks as other riders tried to win the stage. That meant Contador could celebrate winning on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, just like he did in 2007 when he first emerged as a stage race winner.

Mountains classification winner Amaël Moinard (Cofidis) confirmed the successful return of the French with a surprise stage victory over breakaway companion Thomas Voeckler (Bbox Bouygues Telecom). They were part of the key break that formed on the first climb of the 119km stage and worked hard to stay away.

Voeckler panicked, thinking the peloton would catch the two in the final kilometre and lead out the sprint. Moinard could hardly believe his luck, got on his wheel and then surged past to win the stage.

Moinard hugged his Cofidis teammates after beating Voeckler to win the stage and was clearly overjoyed to have won in Nice and taken the climber's polka-dot jersey.

"I was already super happy with my polka-dot jersey, and a stage victory makes it even more extraordinary," Moinard said according to letour.fr. "It was a tough day out there with Thomas (Voeckler), because we did not have much of as gap and he attacked me on the climb of Col d'Eze."

"I wasn't worried because I know the climb really well and I was confident I could get back up to him because I paced myself. He put me under a bit of a pressure with two kilometres to go but I wasn't worried. I let him lead us in and got in his slipstream before passing him before the finish line. It was the right thing to do because I won."

Valverde finished third from the yellow jersey group three seconds later to take second overall, 11 seconds behind Contador, with his Caisse d'Epargne teammate and 2009 winner Luis Leon Sanchez third at 25 seconds, completing an all-Spanish podium.

"It's very difficult to win a race when you're the favourite. When everybody is after you and you win, it's a liberation," Contador told letour.fr.

"Today it was short but intense as I had to reply to every attack. It was a great emotion on the podium as it would have been a pity to lose a big race like Paris-Nice on sprint bonuses."

The apparent weakness of Contador's Astana team sparked questions about what could happen at the Tour de France, where the Schleck brothers and especially Lance Armstrong's powerful RadioShack team will be looking to take advantage of his weaknesses.

"The first thing to do is not to get carried away and to analyse things calmly without losing sight of your priorities," he said.

"As the years go by, I've progressed in terms of experience and maturity. My legs are fine, my head is too, I hope the team will be even stronger in July to help me win the Tour. There are about seven or eight riders who can win the Tour because of their individual or their collective strength. I'm one of them."

A nervous start to a short stage

With just 119km to cover before the finish line in Nice, the start of the race was a flurry of attacks. The bunch stayed largely together as Peter Sagan secured his points jersey with a win on the first intermediate sprint of the day at kilometre 18.5.

In the heat of the action at kilometre 30 a large crash sent five riders home, but before the day was over a third of the peloton would pack up early.

It wasn't until the first climb of the Col de Porte that Moinard and Voeckler made their move, and they were given a two minute lead over the La Turbie.

But at the base of the Col d'Eze, the gap began to plummet, and near the top, the pair had just 35 seconds as Contador set off in pursuit, dragging along Luis Leon Sanchez, Valvede, Reine Taaramae (Cofidis) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha).

Rodriguez became the aggressor as the group went over the top, and he opened up a bit of a gap on the descent before Taaramae closed it down.

As the attacks continued up front a large group containing best young rider Roman Kreuziger, Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) previous leader Jens Voigt and RadioShack's Tiago Machado among others caught back up to the Contador group.

Machado quickly countered and set off in pursuit of the two leaders. Luis Leon Sanchez briefly escaped the clutches of the yellow jersey group and reached the young Portuguese rider, putting a bit of threat to Contador's overall lead.

With the kilometres clicking down to the single digits, Contador was forced to come to the front and chase, but then Voigt attacked from behind and dragged Machado and Sanchez back into the fold.

The chasers could see the leaders but the line came too soon for them to close the remaining three seconds. Voeckler led the sprint out and looked as if he could get the win, but Moinard came past just in time to raise his arms in joy.

Valverde led home the chasing bunch and claimed the time bonus on the line, but it didn't change the order of the overall classification and Contador walked away with his second Paris-Nice title.

Stage Results
1 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 2:52:09
2 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:03
4 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
5 Reine Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne

Final Overall Results:
1 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana 28:35:35
2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:11
3 Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:25
4 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas - Doimo 0:00:26
5 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:00:30

Tirreno-Adriatico (HIS), Stage 5: Chieti - Colmurano 216km

Garzelli threatens Scarponi's lead

Italy's Enrico Gasparotto won the fifth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico to Colmurano on Sunday thanks to an intelligent ride in the tough finale of the race.

After a difficult 2009 at Lampre, the blonde Italian is now back to his best at Astana and his impressive win must make him an outsider for victory in Saturday's Milano-Sanremo.

Gasparotto is more of a sprinter than a climber but cleverly made sure he had a chance of victory on the steep climb to Colmurano by going across to a late attack by Spain's Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Euskaltel-Euskadi).

Gasaprotto was caught by Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone), teammate Maxim Iglinskiy and world champion Cadel Evans (BMC) after the 15 per cent section that ended with 1.5km to go, but he still had the strength and speed to win the sprint.

Garzelli finished second, with Iglinskiy taking third after slightly blocking Garzelli in the sprint. Evans was fourth after making an unsuccessful late attack. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Doimo) brought home the chasers at eight seconds.

Overall leader Michele Scarponi (Androni Giocattoli) lost a few seconds on the steep climb but managed to keep his overall lead despite a nasty crash with teammate Jose Serpa on a descent. Garzelli is now second at 10 seconds, Iglinskiy is third at 15 seconds, with Evans fourth at 18 seconds. There are only two stages to race at this year's Tirreno-Adriatico but it is still a wide-open race.

"I thought I was done for three kilometres from the finish when I saw the wide road and the climb," Gasparotto said in the press conference.

"Fortunately I managed to dose my effort, make it over the top of the climb and I had enough to keep going when Garzelli came across to me. I sat on him and caught my breath before giving it everything in the sprint."

"I had a difficult 2009 at Lampre but I actually learnt lot. You learn more when you lose races than when you win them. Lampre let me ride Amstel Gold, Fleche-Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege and now I think I can do something in the Classics. I'm not a campione, I've got to give it 110 per cent to win, I'm not like Pozzato who can win when he's only at 70 per cent. But I know that working hard and making sacrifices pays off in cycling."

Gasparotto knows that his first big Classics win could be Milano-Sanremo. In theory he could win it in a sprint but is hoping for a hard and selective race.

"At Astana we've got Iglinskiy, Basayev, Davis and me. We'll be trying to make it a hard race, right from the climb of the Manie. That could decide everything later and I know that other teams like Acqua & Sapone and Pozzato at Katusha are hoping for a similar race to get ride of the sprinters. We're going to attack for sure."

Scarponi keeps the leader's jersey despite a crash

Michele Scarponi pulled on the race leader's azzurra blue jersey but then went to hospital for x-rays on his arm and hip. He was hurting after his high-speed crash on the descent of the Sasso Tetto climb but insisted he could still win this year's Tirreno-Adriatico.

Monday's 134km sixth stage is from Montecosaro to Macerata. It is far shorter than the last two days of racing but includes four hilly circuits of Macerata and so could still cause Scarponi some problems. Garzelli and Evans will surely go on the attack and the final four kilometres climb at 4 per cent, with the final kilometre at 11.3 per cent.

"Everything went great until the Sasso Tetto climb, the team was really strong and controlled things even though it wasn't easy," he said.

"Then Serpa crashed in front of me on the descent. I got up quickly and took a wheel from Serpa and actually left him lying in the road bleeding. I got back on at the bottom of the decent and did what I could to hold onto my rivals on the final climb."

"The next stage is going to be difficult. It's short and intense and my rivals' morale will be high after my crash. But I hope to recover and I'm motivated because it's near home and I really want to win again. Evans and Garzelli are my biggest rivals but everyone is dangerous and the finish is tough. There could be time gaps."

Racing through the snow

The stage took the peloton into the heart of the Monte Sibillini mountains but with snow still blocking some roads, race organisers were forced to cut the Forca di Presta climb and reduce the stage distance to 216km instead of the planned 234km.

The riders did not complain at the start and were happy to roll out in the sun, with temperatures more like a real Italian spring after the snowstorms and cold rain of the opening stages.

11 riders formed the early break of the day, with Marco Pinotti (HTC-Columbia) Daniele Oss (Liquigas-Doimo), Roger Hammond (Cervelo TestTeam), Sacha Modolo (Colnago–ISF Inox), Dymitro Grabovskyy ISD-Neri), Marco Bandiera (Katusha), Lloyd Mondory (Ag2r- La Mondiale), Alan Perez Lezaun (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Johan Van Summeren (Garmin-Transitions), Luca Mazzanti (Katusha) and Kapser Klostergaard (Saxo Bank) either looking for personal glory or hoping to be their for their team leader later in the stage.

However the steady chasing by Androni Giocattoli and the tough terrain took its toll and the 11 were caught on the Sasso Tetto climb. Pinotti was the last caught at km 161km as the snow covered the mountains.

The descent was just as spectacular with Scarponi crashing. It was a bad day for his Androni Giocattoli team, with Leonardo Bertagnolli and Jose Serpa also crashing. Bertagnolli only had minor injuries but Serpa suffered a nasty cut to his eyebrow. He got up and finished the stage but his face was covered in blood.

The stage was always going to be decided by the final short but near-vertical climb to the finish in the village of Colmurano.

Oroz Ugalde (Euskaltel-Euskadi) got a gap but Gasparotto went deep to get across to him to play an intelligent game plan.

Acqua & Sapone desperately lead the chase to set up Garzelli and the former Giro d'Italia winner surged across to Gasparotto on the climb. Oroz Ugalde struggled and was dropped but Gasparotto made it to the top and was able to stay with Garzelli. When Evans brought Iglinskiy across, it was two Astana riders against the rest and the numbers were clearly in Gasparotto's favour.

He did not mess it up, showing he was still strong, and won the sprint. With form and smart racing like that, he really could be a surprise contender in next Saturday's Milan-San Remo.

Full Results
1 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana 5:32:22
2 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
3 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
5 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:00:08

Overall Results after Stage 5:

1 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 23:40:44
2 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 0:00:10
3 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana 0:00:15
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:18
5 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 0:00:27

Paris-Troyes (1.2): Paris - Troyes 172.1km

Results:
1 Cédric Pineau (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole 4:03:02
2 Jean-Marc Bideau (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller
3 Cyril Bessy (Fra) Saur-Sojasun 0:00:05
4 Nadir Haddou (Fra) Big Mat - Auber 93 0:00:51
5 Renaud Dion (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole

Omloop van het Waasland (1.2): Lokeren - Stekene 191km

Results:
1 Denis Flahaut (Isd Continental Team)
2 Baptiste Planckaert (Landbouwkrediet)
3 Edidijus Juodvalkis (Palmans Cras)
4 Klaas Lodewijckx (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator)
5 Remco Te Brake (Van Vliet Ehb Elshof)

 

[mcrae]

great timing... anyone want to help me shop for a road bike?

i live about here: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=4753+Buckley+Ave,+Niagara+Falls,+Niagara+Regional+Municipality,+Ontario,+Canada&ll=43.067383,-79.185333&spn=0.4003,1.056747&t=h&z=11 (not actually on that street/address, i dunno why its there) and there a lot of nice back roads and a 50-60km parkway along the canadian/american border to ride on.

problem is I'm not sure what to look for in a road bike. i suppose i need good brakes and a good seat? my friend is suggesting we buy mountain bikes, along with a set of rims with road wheels on them, for switching in and out. opinions/recommendations? I'm just looking for a starter bike... 700 bucks perhaps?

 

[Tarazet]

great timing... anyone want to help me shop for a road bike?

i live about here: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=4753+Buckley+Ave,+Niagara+Falls,+Niagara+Regional+Municipality,+Ontario,+Canada&ll=43.067383,-79.185333&spn=0.4003,1.056747&t=h&z=11 (not actually on that street/address, i dunno why its there) and there a lot of nice back roads and a 50-60km parkway along the canadian/american border to ride on.

problem is I'm not sure what to look for in a road bike. i suppose i need good brakes and a good seat? my friend is suggesting we buy mountain bikes, along with a set of rims with road wheels on them, for switching in and out. opinions/recommendations? I'm just looking for a starter bike... 700 bucks perhaps?

Giant OCR series is reasonably priced. For whatever reason bicycles have gotten more expensive recently even as carbon fiber has gotten easier to produce, but Giant has always been a good value. Saddles and brakes are easy to replace.

 

[C.Dark.DN]

jesus christ at the post count

Tarazet 29
Kabouter 3
perryfarrell 3
olore 1
Ripenen 1
mcrae 1
subrock 1
Peronthious 1
Igo 1
Critical Jeff 1
Logos 1
rhfb 1

 

[Tarazet]

Well, it's my thread.. and I've been updating it every single day. In the early days of the F1 thread it was the same.

 

[Tarazet]

Ah, Ignatiev.. the Russian Jacky Durand. Does he ever do anything but solo escapes? But he's certainly been more successful than Durand..

Race results 3/15/2010:

Tirreno-Adriatico (HIS), Stage 6: Montecosaro - Macerata 134km

Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha) took a gritty solo win on Monday in the penultimate stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, besting Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone) and Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) by five seconds in Macerata. The Russian was the only member of a 12-man break to fend off the chasing efforts of the maglia azzurra group after he attacked his fellow escapees eight kilometres from the finish.

As Ignatiev powered up the steep, narrow streets of Macerata a furious battle for overall supremacy took place behind the solo Russian. Race leader Michele Scarponi (Androni Giocattoli) couldn't match the surge of Garzelli and Evans, but managed to finished sixth place, and remains in the lead by a tenuous two seconds over Garzelli. Evans moves into third, 12 seconds back.

Stage Results
1 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Katusha
2 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
4 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank
5 Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) Francaise Des Jeux

Overall after Stage 6
1 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni-Giocatolli
2 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team

News

Kacper Szczepaniak attempts suicide

Poland's Kacper Szczepaniak has reportedly attempted to commit suicide, after he was last week provisionally suspended by the International Cycling Union (UCI) for a failed doping test.

Kacper's elder brother Pawel confirmed to Het Laatste Nieuws that his sibling had attempted to end his own life, but had been stopped by their father.

Kacper, 19, finished second to Pawel, 21, in the under 23 World cyclo-cross Championship race on January 30, however, both tested positive for EPO in a doping control conducted at the event and are likely to be stripped of their medals.

Het Laatste Nieuws also reported that Hans Van Kasteren, the manager of Kacper's professional team Telenet-Fidea, believes a Polish coach had encouraged the two to dope.

"I've plenty of information to figure out who the man is," said Van Kasteren. "We never approve [of doping], but it doesn't take much to understand why those guys could not resist the temptation. In Poland, their father has a monthly salary of just 250 euros, while Kacper with a [top] team could earn 2500 euros [a month]."

The Szczepaniaks will remain provisionally suspended pending disciplinary action by the Polish Cycling Federation. Results of their B samples are also pending.

A new chapter in the fight against doping

Rossi replaces Gripper at the head of UCI anti-doping department

The UCI's anti-doping department recently experienced a major change when Anne Gripper stepped down as its manager. Having spent over three years in the role, she took the decision to leave for personal reasons and has been replaced by Francesca Rossi.

The Italian spent three years as the Administrative and Scientific Manager of the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations). She previously spent a decade working for the anti-doping laboratory in Rome, having acted as Deputy Director and Routine Activities Manager.

Rossi takes up the new position at a time when the biological passport is fully implemented and continuing to build data. Several riders have been suspended as a result of the longitudinal studies and, as time passes, the analyses should become more precise. This should make the passport even more effective.

Steroid profiles will also soon be added, thus tracking hormonal changes in riders and seeking to identify those who are using other methods to try to gain an unethical advantage.

Cyclingnews: Can you tell us a little about your background?

Francesca Rossi: I don't have a real background in sport, but I do have a background in anti-doping. I worked for 10 years in the anti-doping lab in Rome, starting in 1997 after getting my degree in pharmaceutical chemistry. I worked there until 2007 when I left; I then went to Monaco, where I worked for the IAAF as a scientific and administrative manager.

I was the deputy of Dr Dollé, the head of the anti-doping department there. In that location I had the possibility to really become familiar with how a federation works.

I was the head of the ISO [International Standards Organisation] project, and now the medical anti-doping department of the IAAF is ISO-accredited. I am also part of the WADA lab committee, which is keeping an eye on the labs.

CN: How did it come about that you replaced Anne Gripper (pictured below)?

FR: I met Anne a year ago. She came to the IAAF for a meeting about the blood passport, as athletics is starting the blood passport programme. We invited her to explain the strong and weak points to us.

I knew that she was leaving for personal reasons, and I sent my application as for me it was time for me to change a little.

I applied exactly as the others candidates. The UCI received my application, they said 'come' and we had a meeting. In the beginning they wanted a lawyer, someone with that background, but after a while they changed their mind and my candidature was the most appropriate for them.

It was really by chance. It was the same as how I got the IAAF role - I applied for that by chance, too. At the time, I was working at the Winter Olympic Games in Torino. I was the logistics person. After that, I said 'Basta' ['Enough'] I wanted to go in a different direction. Ten years with samples was enough for me.

CN: Do you know much about cycling?

FR: I know sport as an independent person. Being in anti-doping for a long time, you are obliged to know about rules in sport and what is going on in sport. I don't really have a specific knowledge, but I was always interested, from a personal point of view and also professionally.

My knowledge is an indirect one; I know sport, as I must know when is the best time for an athlete to dope. In this way, I must know when is the best time for a sprinter, or a cyclist or for somebody else to use substances.

CN: Taking over in your new role is undoubtedly a big task. Did you work alongside Anne Gripper before she left?

FR: I started on the 24th of February, so it was not so long. She tried to communicate everything to me, but of course it's quite complex. Anne is a person who is in contact with lots of people; I think that a network is a personal property. It is not possible to simply communicate a network to another person.

That said, she was very clear with me about the duties. She communicated everything. She left the UCI under the best conditions; she was not angry with the UCI or anything, but rather she really wanted to change her life. She wanted to have a different perspective.

CN: What is your view of what Anne Gripper and the UCI have done thus far regarding the fight against doping?

FR: I like the UCI anti-doping programme. Anne Gripper was very good and she built a very consistent programme for the blood passport. For me, this was a very important step in the right direction. It is more and more difficult to discover, in a direct way, doping by athletes. Now, with this system, this indirect system, we have more chance to discover what is going on in the doping world.

For me, the UCI programme is a really consistent one. I like it. This was also a reason why I decided to come here, to say yes. I knew Anne Gripper and she was a real pioneer in this sense. For me, it is more or less straightforward at this stage to move into her place; the programme is running very well, and I am very happy about this.

I am still at the beginning, so maybe sooner or later I will discover some things that are not perfect, but for the moment the impression that I have [of the biological passport] is very positive.

New elements in the fight against doping

CN: Recently a sportsman was suspended as a result of a test for Human Growth Hormone and the substance has long been perceived as undetectable. Will the UCI also introduce this test?

FR: Yes. I am almost sure that we are going in that direction, even though there are some difficulties. That is usual at the beginning, when you are speaking about proteins. It was the same at the beginning of the EPO test... before having a positive that was really consistent, they spent a long time studying. There were some kamikaze cases before the programme was consistent.

But I think that it is time for this. I was also involved in the WADA project for hGH, which we developed in the IAAF, and I had the opportunity to follow it. Now it is time to come out with this kind of analysis. They are ready. I am sure that we will also start a programme in this sense.

CN: To what extent will there be retrospective testing for hGH? Will the UCI re-examine old samples?

FR: I think the test for hGH is done via blood, and we don't have so many blood samples. It is a little difficult to make a retrospective analysis in these situations. It is not a case that you can work with stored urine, which you can test for years - blood is a little bit different and more delicate.

I think that for this part, we don't have so many retrospective possibilities. But we have so many athletes for the future [that can be tested]...

Retrospective analyses in general are really tricky. You cannot apply this for every sample in every time. So it is really a complicated matter for me, in general.

CN: What do you mean?

FR: Well, what I mean is that you cannot always act in the same way. Only in some competitions, in others not; for some athletes, for others not.

CN: Do you mean that this retrospective analysis is less precise?

FR: No, not less precise, because the technique is always the same. I am not speaking about it being precise or not precise. I am speaking about the fact that you cannot apply the same analysis on all samples that you have, because it depends if the labs have kept the samples or not.

Going by the rules, they should keep the samples for three months. By chance, if they have the samples longer, you can make a retrospective analysis. So it is really a different view in this sense.

Ideally, you'd ask the lab to keep the sample for years, but they don't have the space. They can do it only for some competitions, not for others. So it is not a question of technique or science. The science is safe, it is okay. The problem is to choose the right athletes or competitions - it is a little bit delicate in this sense.

I think that in this area WADA should work together with the IOC. They should decide which way to act to keep samples. This is the concern that I have. You cannot do this kind of retrospective analysis on all samples... it is impossible. Maybe they should create a very big, big fridge to keep all samples forever!

CN: Should WADA develop guidelines on sample storage time?

FR: Yes. I think that the guidelines should be updated and be consistent with what they want. We will see what is the right decision in the future of this retrospective analysis.

Goals and targets

CN: What do you want to achieve in your role with the UCI?

FR: I hope to survive, first of all! The passport is an ongoing project and we will continue to develop the system, continue to follow athletes. The new athletes will have a lot of controls and we will have the passport for them, and of course we will have steroid profiles.

CN: Is it only blood levels that currently make up the passport?

FR: Yes, at the moment it is only blood parameters. For the future, WADA is working very hard on the urinary profile for the steroids. We will be involved as a test model as usual... But it is good, doing this brings very good results.

CN: Cycling is used as the model by WADA and other sports. You mentioned that the IAAF is now introducing the biological passport...

FR: The problem facing the IAAF is that the athletes are located all over the world. This was the main difficulty for them and so they hadn't started earlier. In a certain sense, the UCI was lucky as its athletes are mostly in Europe. So they had the opportunity to develop the system in a really strong way.

I think that the UCI is really a model. The IAAF is in contact with the UCI; I think they want to learn the way to act.

When I was still with the IAAF, we invited Dr. Zorzoli to come to our medical anti-doping commission in February. He presented the UCI programme there. Really, the IAAF would like to hold up the UCI as an example, a good example.

CN: A few months ago the UCI said that it was reviewing some suspicious profiles. Is there any news on these ongoing cases?

FR: We are continuing and studying it... the situation is ongoing. It is one that is in progress.

 

[Tarazet]

Race results 3/16/10 (nothing yet for 3/17)

I have a jersey signed by Garzelli. Awesomes.

Tirreno-Adriatico (HIS), Stage 7: Civitanova Marche - San Benedetto del Tronto 164km

Garzelli snatches overall victory from Scarponi on time bonuses, stage placings

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) took the final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico

view thumbnail gallery
Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) won the final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico in a bunch sprint, besting Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre) and Sacha Modolo (Colnago - CSF Inox) in San Benedetto del Tronto.

The 22-year-old Norwegian took advantage of a strong lead-out from his Sky teammates over the last four kilometres to earn his fourth victory of the season.

"I like bunch sprints but they're not actually my favourite thing in the sport," said Boasson Hagen. "I won because I had a great team that led me out perfectly. Without the team it would have been very difficult to win. I have to thank them."

Boasson Hagen's win places him amongst the favourites for Saturday's Milan-San Remo, but he's cautious about his chances in the Italian classic.

"Milan-San Remo is a very long race and anything can happen," he said. "I'll do my best. My form's not perfect, I'm a bit tired and I'm not at 100 percent but I'll give it a go. I could attack alone but if the team works well I could do the sprint, we'll see happens on the day.

"I rode last year and this year I trained on the route before Tirreno-Adriatico but I know that there are other riders with far more experience than me. I'll try and take advantage of my teammates' experience. I know they'll help me and I know I've got to be at the front for the climbs. I just hope to do well."

Boasson Hagen has studied his main rivals during the seven days of racing at Tirreno-Adriatico and has picked his own favourite.

"My favourite is [Tom] Boonen because I saw him riding really well on the climbs. Although it's difficult to say because a lot of riders can win it. Milan-San Remo is always a wide open race."

Every second counts

In a dramatic conclusion to the general classification contest, Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone) used time bonuses on the final stage to erase his two second deficit to overnight leader Michele Scarponi (Androni Giocattoli). Garzelli and Scarponi finished tied on time, but stage placings gave the overall victory to Garzelli for his first career Tirreno-Adriatico victory and his first win in two years.

Australia's Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) rounded out the GC podium in third place, 12 seconds behind Garzelli.

"It was a hard week because it was a hard race this year," said Garzelli. "I suffered in the cold weather. To win like that on the last day makes it hard to believe but very special. It's never happened to me to win like that before, it makes it more special and more enjoyable.

"I have to thank the team and especially Luca Paolini. He a magician at leading out in the intermediate sprints. He went early and I was on his wheel. I knew I was faster than Scarponi but there was the incognito of the other riders who could have got in the way.

"I was relaxed this morning before the start because I didn't have anything to lose. I went for it in the intermediate sprint, got them and then stayed focused for the finish."

Garzelli's Tirreno-Adriatico victory was his first win since 2008 and his first stage race win since the 2004 Vuelta a Aragon. The 36-year-old Italian was winless in 2009, but the he did claim the mountains classification at the Giro d'Italia.

Garzelli's win reversed the top two podium placings of the 2009 Tirreno-Adriatico, where Scarponi beat Garzelli by 25 seconds on general classification.

"I often ask myself why I'm still racing after so many seasons as a professional," said Garzelli. "I've got a family and so this win is for my wife and for our third son Matteo. Having children has actually given me motivation and makes racing a personal challenge.

"I was one of the five oldest riders here but I like seeing what I can do against all these young riders in the race. I haven't got long left but I want to do well and I'll keep racing as long as I'm motivated and healthy."

Down to the wire

The 164km finale to Tirreno-Adriatico was tailor made for the sprinters, with a flat 10km finishing circuit in the Adriatic waterfront city of Benedetto del Tronto to be completed seven times. That didn't stop Blel Kadri (Ag2R La Mondiale), however, from giving it a go off the front. The Frenchman spent 100km in a solo break, but was swept up by the peloton on the first of the finishing circuits.

The teams of the sprinters took control of the peloton in preparation for the anticipated bunch finish, while the feverish battle for overall honours between Michele Scarponi (Androni Giocattoli) and Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone) heated up on the finishing circuits.

The general classification contest went down to the wire as only two seconds separated race leader Scarponi and second-placed Garzelli at the start of the stage.

The final stage provided three opportunities to win time bonuses: two intermediate sprints on the finishing circuits, coming at 40km to go and 20km to go, plus the finish of the stage. The intermediate sprints awarded 3, 2, and 1 second bonuses respectively for the top three while the finish offered 10, 6, and 4 second bonuses.

At the first intermediate sprint, Scarponi's teammate Francesco Ginanni won ahead of Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Caisse d'Epargne) and Garzelli. The one second bonus earned by Garzelli reduced his general classification deficit to Scarponi to a single second.

At the second intermediate sprint with 20km to go the Acqua & Sapone and Androni Giocattoli teams went head-to-head in the dash to the line knowing that the race leadership was at stake. Scarponi's teammates Ginanni and Jackson Rodriguez took the top two spots but once again Garzelli finished third, erasing his one second general classification deficit to Scarponi and moving him into a tie on overall time.

Based on stage placings, Garzelli became the virtual leader on the road. As Saxo Bank and then Sky ramped up the pace for their sprinters, Scarponi had no chance to reclaim the race lead by either breaking away or earning time bonuses at the finish.

Several crashes marred the final 10km circuit, with Mark Cavendish (Team HTC - Columbia) going down with 8km to go while Assan Bazayev (Astana) and Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Caisse d'Epargne) crashed with 2km remaining.

Edvald Boasson Hagen stayed out of trouble at the front and finished off a textbook lead-out from his Sky teammates to claim victory while Garzelli finished comfortably in the field to win overall.

Stage Results
1 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Professional Cycling Team 3:52:36
2 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
3 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox
4 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team HTC - Columbia
5 Mattia Gavazzi (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox

Final Overall Results:
1 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 30:51:36
2 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:12
4 Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana 0:00:22
5 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 0:00:27

 

[Falch]

How the hell did I miss this thread? Fantastic work keeping this up Tarazet.

I'm usually not too much into all the spring classics, the cycling fever for me starts with the Tour de France, which I love. Whenever possible I watch all stages live. Also, the Dutch commentary is always great, love hearing Dijkstra and Ducrot (both former cyclists, and Ducrot a one time winner of a tour de france stage) talk about cycling.

Hope to see the Dutch do a bit better this year. Boom seems like a great prospect, and so is Dekker once he returns. And I'm expecting great things from Geesink this year in the Tour de France.

 

[subrock]

great timing... anyone want to help me shop for a road bike?

i live about here: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=4753+Buckley+Ave,+Niagara+Falls,+Niagara+Regional+Municipality,+Ontario,+Canada&ll=43.067383,-79.185333&spn=0.4003,1.056747&t=h&z=11 (not actually on that street/address, i dunno why its there) and there a lot of nice back roads and a 50-60km parkway along the canadian/american border to ride on.

problem is I'm not sure what to look for in a road bike. i suppose i need good brakes and a good seat? my friend is suggesting we buy mountain bikes, along with a set of rims with road wheels on them, for switching in and out. opinions/recommendations? I'm just looking for a starter bike... 700 bucks perhaps?

try this http://niagara.en.craigslist.ca/search/bik?query=road+bike&catAbbreviation=bik&minAsk=600&maxAsk=800

personally I prefer to put a little spit polish into older bikes. for $700 you can get a pretty deluxe vintage road bike.