Evening Cycling News 29.04.12

Festival Luxembourgeois Elsy Jacobs, Tour de Romandie, Tour of Turkey and Gracia Orlova end today - BOA ban overturned, says BBC - Schleck to replace Fuglsang at Giro - Yukihiro Doi is new Japanese Champion - Van Garderen escapes serious injury - Teen injured in Berkshire hit-and-run - WW2 hero cycling campaigner dies - Cycling Newswire

Racing
Festival Luxembourgeois Elsy Jacobs

Stage 3 begins with another lap of today's main route, but omits the five laps of Garnich in favour of five laps around Mamur - the village where Luxembourg's other most famous cyclist Nicolas Frantz was born, and where Marianne Vos won last year. Vos won yesterday, too; and since today's stage used the same 53.6km GP Elsy Jacobs, this time beginning in Nicolas Frantz's home village Mamer rather than Jacob's Garnich before switching to five laps of an 8.9km circuit around the village, the 24-year-old Flying Dutchwoman's Rabobank team was favourite to win again.

Vos had warned them not to rest upon their laurels - "Our rivals aren't going to make us a gift of this race," she said in the wake of Saturday's stage, "so I'm afraid we have a lot of work to do tomorrow" - and, with Rabobank being the sort of squad that they are, they put in a superb performance to drive Annemiek van Vleuten to victory, while Vos finished in second place with the entire field recording 17" due to a crash in the final 500m. With her total time of 5h14'56", Vos also takes the General Classification victory for the second consecutive year - paying her dues to the team after the race, she said:  "The team has worked very hard today."

"The plan was that as soon as I'd got around the last corner, I'd go and Marianne would follow me," van Vleuten explained in the official Rabo race report. "That worked and, because of a crash right behind us, we took first and second without challenge."

According to onlookers, World Champion Giorgia Bronzini appeared to have been left with a broken collarbone in the crash. No confirmation nor details are yet available.

Annemiek van Vleuten won the stage

Stage Top Ten
  1.  Annemiek Van Vleuten Rabobank 2h30'17"
  2.  Marianne Vos Rabobank +17"
  3.  Evelyn Arys Kleo ST
  4.  Daniela Gass ABUS-Nutrixxion ST
  5.  Cherise Taylor Lotto Belisol ST
  6.  Annelies Van Doorslaer Kleo ST
  7.  Megan Guarnier Team TIBCO ST
  8.  Nathalie Lamborelle Kleo ST
  9.  Joëlle Numainville ST
  10.  Christine Majerus GSD Gestion ST

General Classification Top Ten
  1.  Marianne Vos Rabobank 5h14'56"
  2.  Annemiek Van Vleuten Rabobank +13"
  3.  Adrie Visser Argos-Shimano +17"
  4.  Emma Johansson Hitec Products-Mistral Home +24"
  5.  Linda Villumsen GreenEDGE ST
  6.  Amber Neben Specialized-Lululemon +25"
  7.  Megan Guarnier Team TIBCO +27"
  8.  Pauline Ferrand Prevot Rabobank +29"
  9.  Tiffany Cromwell GreenEDGE +30"
  10.  Judith Arndt GreenEDGE ST
(Full stage and GC results)

Tour de Romandie
Stage 5 (map, profile) was a hilly 16.2km individual time trial beginning at 1.327m Montana village with a gentle rise to 1,302m in the first kilometre, then a 3km descent to the lowest point at 1,102m. Riders then faced a Category 1 climb to Aminona, altitude 1,512m - very much the crux of the race, because a rider who could climb it fast and not expend too much energy in doing so woul have an obvious advantage going into the final, flat 7.2km to the finish line at the Crans-Montana ski resort. With winds as high as 57kph expected, the outcome was hard to predict,

If Wiggo does at the Tour de France
what he's done in this race...

Bradley Wiggins' (Sky) General Classification lead began to look precarious on Friday when it was reduced to one second, then on Saturday Luis León Sánchez (Rabobank) converted it into a 9" disadvantage when he won Stage 4. Wiggins will have wanted to be last man to go in the time trial today, but now he was to be the penultimate man off the ramp and had to ride as fast as he coud without knowing what he had to beat. On his side was the fact that he's a more accomplished all-rounder than Sánchez, meaning that the mid-parcours climb could have worked in his favour.

Things did not go his way when his chain came off just a few kilometres into the parcours, forcing him to wait for mechanical help; but then he recorded the fastest time thus far going through the intermediate checkpoint. Just as he did so, Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Barracuda) flew over the finish line to take the first sub-29' time - but Bradley has become one of the best examples of a true all-rounder in the sport today, able to climb, sprint and ride an impressive time trial, as we saw with his performance at Paris-Nice. Now with something to aim at, he cranked up the power and hammered through the remainder of the parcours, lopping a second off Talansky's time - and, more importantly, a whole 1'24" off Sánchez's 30'50" to become the first man to win Romandie and Paris-Nice in a single season since Dario Frigo in 2001. The impressiveness of the achievement is highlighted by the fact that the last man before that was Toni Rominger in 1991.

For Britain, the Tour de France looks increasingly promising.

Stage Top Ten
  1.  Bradley Wiggins Sky 28'56"
  2.  Andrew Talansky Garmin-Barracuda +1"
  3.  Richie Porte Sky +17"
  4.  Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa Movistar +23"
  5.  Roman Kreuziger Astana +40"
  6.  Sylvester Szmyd Liquigas-Cannondale +42"
  7.  Michael Rogers Sky +43"
  8.  Thibaut Pinot FDJ-BigMat +52"
  9.  Thomas De Gendt Vacansoleil-DCM +54"
  10.  Janez Brajkovic Astana +55"


General Classification

  1 Bradley Wiggins  Sky 18h05'40"  
  2 Andrew Talansky  Garmin-Barracuda +12"  
  3 Rui Costa  Movistar +36"  
  4 Richie Porte  Sky +45"  
  5 Michael Rogers  Sky +50"  
  6 Roman Kreuziger  Astana +59"  
  7 Sylvester Szmyd  Liquigas-Cannondale +1'03"  
  8 Simon Spilak  Katusha +1'13"  
  9 Janez Brajkovic  Astana +1'14"  
  10 Luis Leon Sanchez  Rabobank +1'15"
(Full stage and GC results when available)

Tour of Turkey

Stage 8 (map) took place on an urban parcours situated entirely in Istanbul. Starting out from Sultanahmet Square; fittingly the site of the Hippodrome of Constantinople and once the Byzantine Empire's version of Elis' Olympia or the Pythian Games at Delphi, it then passed from the neutral zone on Kennedy Street, crossed the Galata Bridge and headed north-west along the shores of the Bosphoros, dipping briefly inland to get onto the Bosphorous Bridge which, at the time construction was completed in 1973, was the longest suspension bridge anywhere in the world other than the USA when the riders reached the south-eastern bank, they had officially left Europe and were in Asia. At the Cadde Bostan Coastal Road, they embarked upon the first of eight laps of a 12.2km circuit.

A group of four - Matteo Trentin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Ivan Stevic (Salcano-Arnavutkoy), Vladimir Gusev (Katusha) and Damien Gaudin (Europcar) - escaped the peloton as the race left the Bosphorous bridge and headed out into Asia, then reached the circuit with a decent lead they then increased to 3'25" before Rabobank and Farnese Vini-Selle Italia united and got to work on bringing them back in. A crash with 3km to go brought down several in the peloton and ended the race for Matthew Goss (GreenEDGE), also seriously messing things up for anyone planning a lead-out train. This all seemed uncannily similar to Stage 1, when Theo Bos (Rabobank) made good use of a crash in the sprint to win, and so it was again today when he and several others used the situation to their advantage by sprinting past Andre Geipel. In the end nobody could match the stocky Dutchman's raw power, and he added his second stage win.

While his race ended in such an infuriating way, Goss won't have to write it off: as the crash fell within the last 3km, he is classified as having completed the race - and he's accumulated enough to win the Points competition. Ivaïlo Gabrovski led the General Classification since Stage 3 and thus takes the first win on home soil for his Turkish Konya Torku Sekersport team, an unexpected victory - but then, the Tour of Turkey has a habit of turning up unexpected victors; none of those to have won during its eleven-year history have been A-list cycling celebrities. Long may that fine tradition continue.

Marcel Kittel, who also went down in the crash, blames a Katusha rider...

Marcel Kittel ‏ @marcelkittel
Ok, sprint finals are full of action & sometimes there's a crash. But this Katusha guy crashed 2day becoz he wasn't concentrated!! >:-/

Theo Bos

Top Ten Stage 8
  1.  Theo Bos Rabobank 2h32'35"
  2.  Andrew Fenn Omega Pharma-Quickstep ST
  3.  Stefan Van Dijk Accent.jobs-Willems Veranda's ST
  4.  Andrea Guardini Farnese Vini-Selle Italia ST
  5.  Matteo Pelucchi Europcar ST
  6.  Alessandro Petacchi Lampre-ISD ST
  7.  Robert Förster United Healthcare Presented By Maxxis ST
  8.  Juan Jose Haedo SaxoBank ST
  9.  Daniele Colli Team Type 1-Sanofi ST
  10.  Jonas From Genechten Lotto-Belisol ST

Top Ten General Classification
  1.  Ivailo Gabrovski Konya Torku Sekersport 28h48'10"
  2.  Alexandr Dyachenko Astana +1'33"
  3.  Danail Andonov Petrov Caja Rural +1'38"
  4.  Adrian Palomares Villaplana Andalucia-Caja Granada +1'44"
  5.  Romain Bardet AG2R-La Mondiale +2'01"
  6.  Alexander Efimkin Team Type 1-Sanofi +2'23"
  7.  Florian Guillou Bretagne Schuller +2'29"
  8.  Enrico Battaglin Colnago CSF Bardiani +2'58"
  9.  Michal Golas Omega Pharma-QuickStep +3'02"
  10.  Will Routley Spidertech Powered By C10 +3'14"
(Full stage and GC results when available)

Gracia Orlova

Congratulations Katie Colclough!

This race too came to an end today, with Stage 4 (map) involving on tough-looking 100.2km parcours consisting of six laps of a 16.7km circuit including an 11% 50m climb in the last half of each.

Specialized-Lululemon seem to have decided that the best way ahead is to win every stage in this race, so fans were eager to see if they could manage total domination by taking this one too - and there was no disappointment for the squad when British rider Katie Colclough won them this one too. Gracie Elvin was hot on her heels for second and special mention goes to AA Drink-Leontien.nl's Marijn de Vries, who rode exceptionally well for third place.

None of them, however, could put enough of a dent in Evelyn Steven's overall time to take the General Classification. Game, set and match to Specialized-Lululemon!

Stage Top Ten
  1.  Katie Colclough Specialized-Lululemon 3h08'13"
  2.  Gracie Elvin +6"
  3.  Marijn De Vries AA Drink-Leontien.nl ST
  4.  Alessandra Borchi MCipollini-Giambenini-Gauss ST
  5.  Olena Pavlukhina +8"
  6.  Sharon Laws AA Drink-Leontien.nl +43"
  7.  Andrea Graus Vienne Futuroscope ST
  8.  Alena Amialyusik Be Pink ST
  9.  Larisa Pankova ???
  10.  Evelyn Stevens Specialized-Lululemon ???

General Classification Top Ten
  1.  Evelyn Stevens Specialized-Lululemon 9h45'11"
  2.  Trixi Worrack Specialized-Lululemon +1'20"
  3.  Sharon Laws AA Drink-Leontien.nl +3'36"
  4.  Tatiana Antoshina Rabobank +3'50"
  5.  Alena Amialyusik Be Pink +3'52"
  6.  Ellen Van Dijk Specialized-Lululemon +6'32"
  7.  Olena Sharpa +6'51"
  8.  Olena Pavlukhina +8'17"
  9.  Alexandra Burchenkova S.C. Michela Fanini Rox +9'23"
  10.  Audrey Cordon Vienne Futuroscope +10'03"
(Full stage and GC results)

See also: GreenEDGE's race report

CAS overturns British Olympics lifetime dope ban policy
The Court for Arbitration in Sport will, as expected,  overturn the British Olympic Association's policy of banning any athlete to have been subject to a doping-related suspension at any point during their careers for life, according to a report published by the BBC on Sunday. The BOA had appealed to the court after the World Anti-Doping Agency ordered them to abide by existing international rules.

The case has been much-reported in the cycling press due to David Millar, who served a two-year ban after being found to have used EPO. British Cycling has stated that should it become possible, Millar would be invited to compete; however, the rider may turn down the opportunity after saying he had no wish to be seen as a black sheep. Of more importance to him is that he will now be free to take part in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

An official announcement is expected on Monday.

Schleck will replace Fuglsang at Giro

Frank Schleck (playing cat's-cradle, by the
looks of it)

Frank Schleck has been confirmed as Jakob Fuglsang's replacement at the Giro d'Italia, as widely reported yesterday after Luxembourg's L'Essentiel published a story saying that he should be.

"My season was directed at peaking in the Tour”, explained the Luxemburgish 32-year-old. “but when you think about it, this situation creates opportunities. For sure, I will come to the start with a different preparation than the other GC riders, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. My condition is not so bad and it can only grow the coming weeks. The Giro d'Italia is one of the big monuments of cycling as well, so it is at least a big challenge for me."

"I see a lot of opportunities for Frank as well as for the team”, commented Johan Bruyneel, RadioShack-Nissan team manager. “Frank is a born leader and a team needs a leader. Moreover – though bad luck and circumstances did not provide the right results - he has shown in the last few weeks that his condition has already reached a high level. I am confident he can surprise us in the coming weeks."

Yukihiro Doi

Yukihiro Doi wins Japanese Championships
Japan has a new National Road Race Champion in the shape of Yukihiro Doi after he beat Nariyuki Masuda and Miyataka Shimizu in a tight sprint at Hachimantal in Iwate Prefecturei to take the title from Fumiyuki Beppu, who chose not to compete this year. One of the few Japanese riders with an active presence on the European circuit, Osaka-born Doi is not yet as well-known outside Japan as the popular Beppu - however, in 2011 he became the first Japanese to take part in the Vuelta a Espana and as his Argos-Shimano team's profile increases, his will also.

Van Garderen escapes injury
High winds at the Tour de Romandie created problems for many riders yesterday, but worst off was BMC's Tejay van Garderen - a branch blown from a tree hit him in the face and he abandoned the race. Team doctor Max Testa (surely the best possible name for a man who measures VO2 and athletic performance on a regular basis) confirms that the rider escaped serious injury, being left with just a nose bleed (and a depleted supply of swear words, in all likelihood).

Other racing news
Nolan Hoffman wins Tour of Durban (Sport24, South Africa)

"BMX superstar Sifiso Nhlapo (MTN Cycling) powered his way to victory in the first of two legs of the SA National BMX Championships" (Supersport, South Africa)

Cycling
Teenager injured in Maidenhead hit-and-run
The driver of a black Subaru is being hunted by Berkshire police after failing to stop following an accident in which a 15-year-old boy was knocked off his bike at Bourne End. The boy was taken to hospital and treated for injuries to his leg, but has since been discharged. The car was seen being driven at speed in the direction of High Wycombe - anyone who believes they might know the owner of the car can speak to police anonymously by phoning 0800 555111.

Cycling campaigner dies at 92
Lon Pullen, author of the Pitman Book of cycling, has died at the age of 92. A lifelong cyclist and cycling safety campaigner, Mr. Pullen was also a veteran of the Second World War and saw active service in the Arctic Convoys, Crete, Omaha Beach and Egypt; later being awarded a Humane Society medal in recognition of his efforts to save the lives of sailors when their ship was hit by a torpedo. His funeral, to be held in Kingston-on-Thames, will include a procession of bicycles - one of which will pull a trailer carrying his coffin.

Newswire
Britain
"Aldi are offering a whole load of cycling accessories in a promotion next week, including a soft shell jacket for 15 quid" (road.cc)

Worldwide
"Annual 'Bike Swap' allows cycling enthusiasts to pick out new wheels" (WMTW News8ABC, Portland, Maine)

"'Critical Mass' a global cyling event would be organised at Imphal by the Manipur Cycle Club(MCC) tomorrow" (E-Pao, India)

Cycling Evening News 28.04.12

Festival Luxembourgeois Elsy Jacobs - Tour de Romandie - Romandie judges rule against Meersman complaint - Tour of Turkey (video) - Gracia Orlova - Schleck to lead team at Giro? - CAS decision on British lifetime Olympic ban next week - Merckx disagrees with de Vlaeminck on Paris-Roubaix - Other News - Tweets - Cyclists mobilised on London streets - Berkeley hit-and-run suspect arrested - Newswire

Racing
Festival Luxembourgeois Elsy Jacobs 

Fourth road race victory for Vos this season

Stage 1 followed the famous 102.6km hilly parcours of the GP Elsy Jacobs (map), the one-day race named in honour of the world's first Women's Road Race World Champion and from which this festival grew. It headed north out of Garnich, Jacobs' hometown, then followed a 53.6km loop up to Mersch and back to Garnich again where riders completed five laps of a 9.8km circuit. Those in the know say that it's always impossible to predict how this race will end, and more than once the fates have conspired to allow a relative unknown to take the glory.

Linda Villumsen (GreenEDGE) split the bunch by escaping with Elisa Longo Borghini (Hitec Products-Mistral Home) and Amber Neben (Specialized-Lululemon), then Ashleigh Moolman (Lotto-Belisol) and Tiffany Cromwell (GreenEDGE) tried to bridge the gap with Vos and a few others giving chase and forming a lead group as the race entered the second-to-last lap. Last year, the Dutch superstar stormed the course to wrest victory from Emma Pooley and Judith Arndt, but since the illness that forced her to stay away from the Ronde van Vlaanderen her form has perhaps not been quite as good as it was at this time in 2011. However, even if she ran at 50% Marianne would remain a force more than capable of dominating a race - she was many people's favourite today and she's never been a rider to let her fans down, crossing the finish line at the front of an eleven-strong bunch and taking over the General Classification lead as she did so.

"Not much happened on the main parcours not much happened, but on the Garnish circuit we faced a lot of attacks," Vos explained after the race. "Our rivals aren't going to make us a gift of this race, so I'm afraid we have a lot of work to do tomorrow."

Top Ten
  1.  Marianne Vos Rabobank 2h42'49"
  2.  Adrie Visser Skil-Argos ST
  3.  Pauline Ferrand Prevot Rabobank ST
  4.  Megan Guarnier Team TIBCO ST
  5.  Linda Villumsen GreenEDGE ST
  6.  Emma Johansson Hitec Products-Mistral Home ST
  7.  Noemi Cantele Be Pink ST
  8.  Tiffany Cromwell GreenEDGE ST
  9.  Ashleigh Moolman Lotto Belisol ST
  10.  Joanna Van De Winkel Lotto Belisol ST
(Full results and GC)

Stage 3 begins with another lap of today's main route, but omits the five laps of Garnich in favour of five laps around Mamur - the village where Luxembourg's other most famous cyclist Nicolas Frantz was born, and where Vos again dominated last year. (More on the race) (Rabobank stage report)

Tour de Romandie
Penultimate Stage 4 (map, profile) covered 184km between Bulle  and Sion - the latter being one of the most important ancient sites in Europe, inhabited for around 8,200 years; its Valère Basilica fortified church and the Château de Tourbillon that faces the church on the opposite side of the valley making this the most spectacular stage town of the race by some way. The parcours took the riders over the highest mountains in this edition: the three Cat 1 climbs Col des Mosses (1,452m), Veysonnaz (1,473m) and St-Martin (1,423m), with Cat 2 Basse-Nendaz (1,018m) thrown in for good measure at the end of a 65.5km flat section in the middle of the stage - a section that offered the roleurs, sprinters and chancers a fine opportunity to grab a big lead and prevent the climbing specialists having everything their own way.

Luis León Sánchez

All eyes were on Sky today, and as expected Mark Cavendish and Geraint Thomas left the race once the stage was over to begin preparations for the Giro d'Italia. For birthday boy Bradley Wiggins, whose General Classification lead began to look precarious yesterday when it was reduced to one second, a very great deal depended on this stage. Get things right and he'd be the last man to go in tomorrow's time trial, possibly even extend his advantage. Get it wrong and his chances of overall victory rest entirely on riding the time trial of his life on Sunday.

Things looked as though they might go his way as he was expertly paced up the final climb by Richie Porte and the peloton wore down a five-man break consisting of Roman Kreuziger (Astana), Mikel Landa (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Jesus Hernandez (SaxoBank), John Gadret and Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R-La Mondiale), but it was not to be as Luis León Sánchez rode cleverly on the last descent to get himself into a good position for the final sprint, taking the yellow jersey and a nine second lead. Looks like Bradley had better forget about the birthday beers tonight, because he's going to need to have his wits about him tomorrow.

Top Ten
  1.  Luis Leon Sanchez Gil Rabobank 4h56'13" 
  2.  Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R-La Mondiale  ST
  3.  Branislau Samoilau Movistar  ST
  4.  Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui Euskaltel-Euskadi   ST
  5.  Paolo Tiralongo Astana  ST
  6.  Pierre Rolland Europcar  ST
  7.  Andreas Klöden RadioShack-Nissan  ST
  8.  Cadel Evans BMC  ST
  9.  Roman Kreuziger Astana  ST
  10.  Fabrice Jeandesboz Saur-Sojasun  ST
Kenny Dehaes (Lotto-Belisol), Gianni Meersman (Lotto-Belisol,), Jonathan Hivert (Saur-Sojasun), Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quickstep), Matthew Brammeier (Omega Pharma-Quickstep), Kristof Vandewalle (Omega Pharma-Quickstep), Mark Cavendish (Sky), Geraint Thomas (Sky), Tejay Van Garderen (BMC), Joan Horrach Rippoll (Katusha),  Allan Davis (GreenEDGE), Daryl Impey (GreenEDGE), Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (SaxoBank) and David Tanner (SaxoBank) did not finish. (Full results and GC)

Tejay van Garderen (BMC) was forced to withdraw after strong winds blew a tree branch into his path where it hit him in the mouth. The team reported that he had suffered facial injuries, but it appears he wasn't seriously hurt. Gianni Meersman is reported to have abandoned. One of the official motorbikes crashed on a bend with 16km to go; fortunately no riders collided with it.

Stage 5 (map, profile) is a hilly 16.2km individual time trial beginning at 1.327m Montana village with a gentle rise to 1,302m in the first kilometre, then a 3km descent to the lowest point at 1,102m. Riders then face a Category 1 climb to Aminona, altitude 1,512m - very much the crux of the race, because a rider who can climb it fast and not expened too much energy in doing so will have an obvious advantage going into the final, flat 7.2km to the finish line at the Crans-Montana ski resort. With winds as high as 57kph expected, anything could happen.

Romandie judges rule in favour of Sanchez
Judges have declared that Luis Leon Sanchez did not deviate from his line in order to force Gianni Meersman into the barriers at the end of the Tour de Romandie's Stage 3. Meersman's Lotto-Belisol team launched an official complaint against the Rabobank rider after viewing video footage of the stage, which took place in Friday.


Tour of Turkey
This race too is drawing to its end, today's Stage 7 (map) being the penultimate. It began at Kusadasi before following the craggy coastline for 74km to Seferihisar, where it turned north and inland acros İzmir Province; arriving 21km later at the north-facing coastline by Güzelbahçe. After turning to the east, there were 28.6km remaining before arrival at the finish line in İzmir. One of the oldest cities in the Mediterranean region,  İzmir  remains better known in the West by its ancient name Smyrna, birthplace (possibly) of Homer; though many of the ancient buildings were destroyed in an enormous fire that killed as many as 2,000 people (it wasn't all bad, however - it brought an end to the Greco-Turkish War, which some estimates claim killed as many as 100,000).

Iljo Keisse

Iljo Keisse (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) looked to be the most likely stage winner when he entered the final 2km with a 14" advantage, having mounted a solo attack from a six-man breakaway at 6km after his attempts to increase their speed met with a lack of enthusiasm. Then - apparent disaster as his rear tyre lost traction and he crashed with less than a kilometre to go. The pack bore down upon him, but he was up in a flash, got his chain back on and pedaled hard towards the line. Somehow, he got up to speed and, thought they were snapping at his heels throughout the last 50m to the line, he held them off to take the stage for what just seconds later Twitterers were calling the most dramatic victory of the race.

Ivaïlo Gabrovski (Konya Torku Sekersport) remains General Classification leader

Top Ten
  1.  Iljo Keisse Omega Pharma-QuickStep 2h52'38"
  2.  Marcel Kittel Argos-Shimano ST
  3.  Alessandro Petacchi Lampre-ISD ST
  4.  Andrea Guardini Farnese Vini-Selle Italia ST
  5.  Mark Renshaw Rabobank ST
  6.  Robert Förster United Healthcare Presented By Maxxis ST
  7.  Jean-Pierre Drucker Accent Jobs-Willems Veranda's ST
  8.  Daniele Colli Team Type 1-Sanofi ST
  9.  Alexey Tsatevitch Katusha ST
  10.  Juan Jose Haedo SaxoBank ST
Cameron Meyer (GreenEDGE), Luke Roberts (SaxoBank) and Geoffroy Lequatre (Bretagne Schuller) did not start the stage. (Full results and GC)

On Sunday, Stage 8 (map) takes place on an urban parcours situated entirely in Istanbul. Starting out from Sultanahmet Square; fittingly the site of the Hippodrome of Constantinople and once the Byzantine Empire's version of Elis' Olympia or the Pythian Games at Delphi. It then passes out of the neutral zone on Kennedy Street, crosses the Galata Bridge and heads north-west along the shores of the Bosphoros, dipping briefly inland to get onto the Bosphorous Bridge which, at the time construction was completed in 1973, was the longest suspension bridge anywhere in the world other than the USA. When the riders reach the south-eastern bank, they have officially left Europe and are in Asia. When riders reach the Cadde Bostan Coastal Road, they will begin the first of eight laps of a 12.2km circuit.

Gracia Orlova
Stage 3 (map) began at Lichnov before heading south into the mountains where, after 30km, the riders face a climb to 1,000m - the highest point in the race. A fast descent led for 10km to the foot of an 800m climb lying just over 50km into the stage, then a third climb to 900m begans at around 70km. One last climb at 105km reached around 575m and, especially in the final part, looked horrendously steep; a real leg-breaker as the riders approached the last of the 122.4km on their way back to where they started.

Trixi Worrack

Specialized-Lululemon seem to have decided that the best way ahead is to win every stage in this race; today being the turn of Trixi Worrack.

Evelyn Stevens leads the General Classification with an advantage of 1'13".

Top Ten
  1.  Trixi Worrack Specialized-Lululemon 03h02'14"
  2.  Alena Amialyusik Be Pink +6"
  3.  Evelyn Stevens Specialized-Lululemon ST
  4.  Sharon Laws AA Drink-Leontien.nl +1'53"
  5.  Tatiana Antoshina Rabobank +2'13"
  6.  Olena Sharpa +4'08"
  7.  Olena Pavlukhina +5'19"
  8.  Paulina Bentkowska-Brzezna +6'14"
  9.  Andrea Graus Vienne Futuroscope ST
  10.  Ellen van Dijk Specialized-Lululemon ST
(Full results and GC)

Sunday brings Stage 4 (map), the last of this year's race - and it's an tough-looking 100.2km parcours consisting of six laps of a 16.7km circuit including an 11% 50m climb in the last half of each.

Schleck "should lead his team in the Giro d'Italia"
Frank Schleck is the most likely candidate to replace Jakob Fuglsang at the Giro d'Italia, says the French language, Luxembourg-based L'Essentiel website following yesterday's announcement that the 27-year-old Danish rider would be unable to take part due to inflammation of the articular capsule and ligament in his left knee. Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport also believes Schleck will take his place, but at present nothing has been confirmed nor denied by RadioShack-Nissan - though several sources are reporting it as fact. Twitter reveals that many fans think Linus Gerdemann is a more likely choice.

CAS decision on BOA lifetime ban policy this week
The Court for Arbitration in Sport will publish its decision on whether British athletes to have been subject to a doping-related suspension in the past will be permitted to compete in the Olympics on the 30th of April. The case began with an appeal to the CAS made by the British Olympic Association after the World Anti-Doping Agency had ruled that the lifetime ban policy violates existing rules.

Central to the case, though not directly involved due to his own decision to stay out of it, is David Millar - the cyclist who served a two-year suspension for EPO before returning to cycling as one of doping's more intelligent and outspoken opponents. Dave Brailsford, British Cycling's performance director, has said that if the appeal is unsuccessful (as is widely considered likely) he will invite Millar to join the Olympic team. Millar, however, is reluctant; saying that he does not wish to be seen as a black sheep but hopes the Court will favour WADA so that he can compete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Merckx won Paris-Roubaix in 1968, 1970
and 1973

Merckx on Paris-Roubaix and Philippe Gilbert
Roger de Vlaeminck might not have been very impressed with this year's Paris-Roubaix - "there wasn't much excitement," he said rather sniffily, going on to say he hoped Fabian Cancellara would be around to provide Tom Boonen with some competition in 2013 - but the race has received Eddy Merckx's seal of approval.

"I was enjoying it from my armchair," says the winner of 525 professional victories. "And I know what I'm talking about - in the 1969 Tour of Flanders and the 1970 Paris-Roubaix I undertook such raids. I rode into the the Velodrome with a lead of five or six minutes on de Vlaeminck and the rest of the peloton. Tom is extremely important for the Belgian cycling. I've been saying since January that he'd win." Many people are wondering if Philippe Gilbert's amazing 2011 season was a fluke, but Merckx he'll return to form - "Only he knows why he's not riding as expected. I refuse to write him off." (More from Het Nieuwesblad)

Other News
British star Ruth Winder (Vanderkitten-Focus) has had to abandon the Festival Luxembourgeois Elsy Jacobs as she's still suffering headaches after her crash at Borsele last week.

Europcar took a third stage victory at the La Tropicale Amissa Bongo when Yohann Gène won Stage 5 this morning. Gène also won the first stage with Thomas Voeckler taking Stage 3.

"British Cycling’s Olympic Mountain Bike Coach Phil Dixon has hailed Annie Last’s first ever World Cup win in the new UCI Cross Country Eliminator World Cup as an essential factor in qualifying for the Olympic Games – and a trend that will continue" (British Cycling)

Tweets
Look out, racing world - there's a new Voigt about to make his mark...

Jens Voigt ‏ @thejensieAnd tomorrow first race of my son with a real license!! And i amfraid i am more nervous than my son- hahahaha

Russell Hampton ‏ @RussellHamptonKeisse big respect today #coolasacucumber

Cycling
Cyclists mobilised on London streets
The London Big Ride - a mass participation event that seeks to put cyclist safety issues at the top of the capital's mayoral candidates agendas, attracted more then 5,000 riders despite torrential rain.


"The Big Ride is our best chance to show the next mayor we're serious about redesigning our streets to make them safer for everyone," says Ashok Sinha of the London Cycling Campaign, which organised the event. "Some of the mayoral manifestos show very weak commitments to cycling, so every person who comes to the Big Ride can help push safer cycling up the next mayoral agenda."



Man arrested after Berkeley hit-and-run
Police in Berkeley, California, have arrested a man wanted in connection with a hit-and-run incident in which two cyclists were "side-swiped" on Wednesday. Neither cyclist was seriously injured, but their clothing and bikes were damaged.

The car was reported as stolen on the same day, but it is not yet clear if the report was made before or after the accident - it's not unknown for drivers who have been in an accident to abandon their vehicle then claim it's been stolen in an attempt to escape charges and that he has subsequently been charged with "felony hit-and-run" suggests police believe this may have been the case. When arrested, he was found to be in possession of heroin and illegal ammunition, as well as being in breach of the terms of a probation order.

A video of the accident, caught on a helmet-mounted camera, has received more than 103,000 views on Youtube.


Newswire
Britain
Cycling campaigners in Swansea are winning widespread support for their manifesto from across the political divide" (This Is South Wales)

Worldwide
"National Women’s Cycling Championship from May 1" (Daily Times, Pakistan)

"I touched a nerve with my most recent column debating the issue of whether cyclists need to show more respect on the road" (Marin Independent Journal, USA)

"His wife Hasmah Ibrahim is ailing but former national cyclist Shaharudin Jaffar still finds time to get involved in organising cycling related events" (Star Online, Malaysia)

"Cycling races demand that competitors have a team spirit. The windbreak that lead riders give the group and opportunities to sprint ahead of the pack follow a code of fairness. To underline the importance of good sportsmanship in cycling, the Spy Optics Belgian Waffle Ride held in April gave a “Wawful Freddy” distinction to the three cyclists who demonstrated the worst in sportsmanship" (The Coast News, USA)

"Cycling may be new product to draw tourists" (Bernama, Malaysia)

Cycling Evening News 27.04.12

Festival Luxembourgeois Elsy Jacobs - Tour de Romandie (video) - Tour of Turkey - Gracia Orlova - Fuglsang cannot ride Giro - Sky reveal Cav-led Giro squad - New sponsor for GreenEDGE - Contador hints at SaxoBank return - Tony Martin plans ultrafast comeback - Landis could face $1 million fine or 30 years imprisonment - Lampre announce Giro squad - Voeckler pays his respects to African riders - New Cleveland velodrome free for under-18s - Keep digging, Griffin - The War On Britain's Roads - Smirk helmet masks - Hit and run caught on helmetcam - Newswire

Racing
Festival Luxembourgeois Elsy Jacobs
For anybody who cares about women's cycling, it's very easy to feel miserable at the moment with races being cancelled all over the world. Be thankful, then, that this weekend brings us that celebration of all things good in women's cycling, the Festival Luxembourgeois Elsy Jacobs. Beginning on Friday evening with a lightning-fast 1.7km individual time trial prologue parcours in Luxembourg City, the race also features stages on Saturday and Sunday.

Top Ten
  1.  Annemiek Van Vleuten Rabobank 2'11"
  2.  Judith Arndt GreenEDE +1"
  3.  Hanka Kupfernagel RusVelo ST
  4.  Marianne Vos Rabobank +2"
  5.  Charlotte Becker Specialized-Lululemon ST
  6.  Linda Villumsen GreenEDGE +3"
  7.  Shara Gillow GreenEDGE ST
  8.  Leire Olaberria Dorronsoro ST
  9.  Emilia Fahlin Specialized-Lululemon +4"
  10.  Amber Neben Specialized-Lululemon ST
Full results (more details) (start list).

Tour de Romandie
Friday's Stage 3 (map) started at La Neuveville, a village that holds city status since it's still protected by well-preserved medieval defensive walls complete with towers (la Tour de Rive features on many a postcard). After a flat start, riders faced a short climb 20km into the stage at Mont Vully followed by a flattish 30km to Cat 3 Arrissoules (640m) - then it was mountains all the way. The first big ascent was the uncategorised climb up to Sarzens beginning after 77km, followed by 23km to Cat 2 Le Chatelard with the summit at 1,002m - with a fast descent that guaranteed exciting, high-speed racing and a big opportunity for a break to increase their lead. The last categorised mountain was the Cat 3 Treyvaux to 810m, but a final climb lurked at the end of the stage before the riders drew up to this finish line in Charmey.

Luis León Sánchez

Anders Lund (SaxoBank), Gatis Smukulis (Katusha), Leigh Howard (GreenEDGE), Matt Brammeier (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and Tosh van der Sande (Lotto-Belisol) got away soon after the race began and succeeded in gaining a lead of as much as six minutes, then Smukulis put the wind up the peloton by launching an attack 17km from the finish line. His three comrades were soon caught and put back in their places, but he managed to keep going to within 5km of the line before being swept up by the pack as it began preparing itself for a final mass sprint at the top of the last climb. That's classic all-rounder territory, so it no surprise that victory went to a classic all-rounder - an apt description of Rabobank's Luis León Sánchez, who edged over the line with a miniscule lead over the bunch. Gianni Meersman was on his back wheel for second, with Paolo Tiralongo (Astana) right behind them for third. Sky's Bradley Wiggins retains his General Classification lead, but with Sánchez picking up a usefull 10 bonification seconds today the British rider's advantage is down just a second and anything could happen.

Crashes took down two  Lotto-Belisol riders. Adam Hansen was taken to hospital and is reported to be suffering concussion and extensive brusing, whereas Kenny Dehaes was able to get up and complete the stage - he later Tweeted to say that while he was in pain, nothing seemed to be broken.

Top Ten
  1.  Luis Leon Sanchez Gil Rabobank 3h58'29"
  2.  Gianni Meersman Lotto-Belisol ST
  3.  Paolo Tiralongo Astana ST
  4.  Andrew Talansky Garmin-Barracuda ST
  5.  Bauke Mollema Rabobank ST
  6.  Rinaldo Nocentini AG2R-La Mondiale ST
  7.  Maciej Paterski Liquigas-Cannondale ST
  8.  Giampaolo Caruso Katusha ST
  9.  Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui Euskaltel-Euskadi ST
  10.  Fabrice Jeandesboz Saur-Sojasun ST
(Full results and GC when available)

Stage 4, the penultimate, covers 184km between Bulle (don't miss the château, castle fans - it's a good 'un!) and Sion (one of the most important ancient sites in Europe, inhabited for around 8,200 years - the fortified church, which contains one of the world's oldest pipe organs, is even more impressive than Bulle's castle) and takes the riders over the highest mountains in this year's race: the three Cat 1 climbs Col des Mosses (1,452m), Veysonnaz (1,473m) and St-Martin (1,423m), with Cat 2 Basse-Nendaz (1,018m) thrown in for good measure at the end of a 65.5km flat section in the middle of the stage - a section upon which the roleurs, sprinters and chancers could grab a big lead and prevent the climbing specialists having everything their own way.

Tour of Turkey
Stage 6 (map), 180.3km long, began at Bodrum (site of an imposing 15th Century Crusader castle; those who worked on it during construction received a guaranteed reservation in Heaven courtesy of a papal decree dating from 1409) after which riders headed north-east to Beçin, then north-west to Didim - the Didyma of the Homeric Hymn to Apollo (which wasn't written by Homer), a ruined temple to the god mentioned in the Hymn still exists here (the temple in the Hymn was destroyed in the 5th Century BCE). The remainder of the parcours leds north to Kusadasi, a town that has lost much of its native charm due to unsympathetic development - however, tourists who are willing to venture away from the beach and shiny hotels can still find remnants of the ancient city including traces of the defensive walls, the 17th C. mosque and little shops that sell the things the locals need. Once again, there were no high mountains but a serious of steep climbs rose to between 140 and 300m; the three that fell between 40 and 70km looking especially daunting.


It's not really been Matthew Goss' race this year - the Australian GreenEDGE rider came off second-best in Stages 1, 2, 4 and then again today when he was out-sprinted by Sacha Modolo who took a second stage win for his Colnago-CSF team. Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) was right behind them for third, recording the same time. Maxim Belkov (Katusha) Philip Deignan (United Healthcare) and Michal Golas (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) were the day's biggest crowd-pleasers with a break from early on in the parcours that remained out on front for much of the stage before a counter-attack finished them off. Ivaïlo Gabrovski (Konya Torku Sekersport) remains General Classification leader with an advantage of 1'33".

Sacha Modolo

Top Ten
  1.   Sacha Modolo  Colnago-CSF  4h34"
  2.   Matthew Goss  GreenEDGE  ST
  3.   Mark Renshaw  Rabobank Cycling Team  ST
  4.   Lucas Sebastian Haedo  SaxoBank  ST
  5.   Alexey Tsatevitch  Katusha  ST
  6.   Rafael Andriato De Mattas  Farnese Vini-Selle Italia  ST
  7.   Daniele Colli  Team Type 1-Sanofi  ST
  8.   Davide Vigano  LampreISD  ST
  9.   Marco Coledan  Colnago-CSF  ST
  10.   Blaz Jarc  NetApp  ST
Jimmy Casper (AG2R-La Mondiale), Sylvain Georges (AG2R-La Mondiale), Boris Shpilevsky (AG2R-La Mondiale), Assan Bazayev (Astana), Adam Hansen (Lotto-Belisol), Johan Esteban Cháves Rubio (Colombia-Coldeportes), Thomas Bertolini (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia) and Leonardo Giordani (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia) did not finish. Full result and GC.

Stage 7 (map), the penultimate in this year's edition, begins at Kusadasi and follows the craggy coastline for 74km before turning inland at Seferihisar to cross İzmir Province and arrive at the north-facing coastline by Güzelbahçe approximately 21km away. After turning to the east, there are 28.6km remaining before arrival at the finish line in İzmir - one of the oldest cities in the Mediterranean region, it remains better known in the West by its ancient name Smyrna, birthplace (possibly) of Homer; though many of the ancient buildings were destroyed in an enormous fire that killed as many as 2,000 people (it wasn't all bad, however - it brought an end to the Greco-Turkish War, which some estimates claim killed as many as 100,000).

British rider Katie Colclough took fifth place

Gracia Orlova
The Gracia Orlova entered Stage 2 today, a 26km individual time trial from Havířov, past Senov, then back to  Havířov, beginning with a fast downhill before arriving at four 10m climbs along the way with a maximum gradient of around 6.3% (map).

Specialized-Lululemon's Ellen van Dijk, who also won the prologue TT made it her second stage victory when she beat team mate Evelyn Stevens by one hundredth of a second - a serious show of strength by the team, currently in its first season, as they beat third place Tatiana Antoshina (Rabobank) by one minute and three seconds. Lululemon riders filled the rest of the spaces in the top 5 too, with Trixi Worrack and Katie Colclough equalling Antoshina's time for fourth and fifth.

Top Ten
  1.  Ellen Van Dijk Specialized-Lululemon 35'27"
  2.  Evelyn Stevens Specialized-Lululemon ST
  3.  Tatiana Antoshina Rabobank +1'06"
  4.  Trixi Worrack Specialized-Lululemon +1'13"
  5.  Katie Colclough Specialized-Lululemon +1'31"
  6.  Sharon Laws AA Drink-Leontien.nl +1'32"
  7.  Alexandra Burchenkova S.C. Michela Fanini Rox +2'08"
  8.  Olena Sharpa +2'15"
  9.  Laura Trott Ibis +2'27"
  10.  Larisa Pankova +2'26"
Full results and GC

Saturday's Stage 3 (map) is a 122.4km road race starting at Lichnov before heading south into the mountains where, after 30km, the riders face a climb to 1,000m - the highest point in the race. A fast descent leads for 10km to the foot of the next climb just over 50km in and rising to 800m, then a third climb to 900m begins at around 70km. One last climb at 105km reaches around 575m and, especially in the final part, looks horrendously steep.

Fuglsang cannot ride Giro

Jakob Fuglsang

Jakob Fuglsang will not ride in this year's Giro d'Italia due to inflammation of the articular capsule and ligament in his left knee, RadioShack-Nissan have confirmed. The 27-year-old Dane had stayed away from the Tour de Romandie in the hope that the injury - which first made itself known at a training camp two weeks ago - would heal, but team doctors now say it will require at least ten days complete rest. The race starts on the 5th of May, eight days away.

I am very disappointed,” said Fuglsang, who had been hoping to perform well in the first three stages which are to be held in Denmark. “The Giro was my big objective for this year. Yesterday I had so much pain in the last 40K, I was just miserable. At that point I realized that it might be the end of my Giro dream."

Team doctor Andreas Gösele explained that, with intensive therapy, recovery might have been possible in time for the start; but he advised against it out of concern for the rider. "Jakob would possibly be able to start at the Giro, but with how much risk? A good result would be out of the question and if he would have to drop out after ten stages, what would we have accomplished? From a medical point of view, it is impossible to guarantee that he will be fine."

It's the latest disaster in what has been a very unfortunate season for the new team, formed by the merger of RadioShack and Leopard Trek late in 2011. Team leaders Andy and Frank Schleck have, so far, failed to perform well and Fabian Cancellara sustained a quadruple collarbone fracture at the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

Sky reveal Cav-led Giro squad
Team Sky will be led by Mark Cavendish at the Giro d'Italia, which ought to bring at least a couple of tage wins for the British outfit. Whether he will finish the race remains to be seen - there's some serious climbing to be done, and he'll have the Tour and the Olympics in mind. However, managers have a plan: let Cav do his stuff in the sprints, then hand responsibility over to the Columbian climbers Sergio Henao and Rigoberto Urán. Bernhard Eisel, Juan Antonio Flecha, Peter Kennaugh, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift and Geraint Thomas are also going.

New sponsor for GreenEDGE
GreenEDGE - Australia's first UCI Pro Tour team - are on the verge of announcing a new big-name sponsor. At present, the team's main sponsor is owner and businessman Gerry Ryan but a superb start to their first season - especially by the women's squad, which has won race after race - has evidently been enough to attract other backers, which will help ensure its long-term survival.


Contador - further indication of SaxoBank return
Alberto Contador - who has 100 days remaining until the end of his controversial ban - has told the Spanish Marca.com sports news website that he hopes to know "soon" if he'll return to SaxoBank and says that he "cannot imagine riding with any other team."

"Bjarne Riis and the team have given me such support, it's been great," he explains. "That's important to me, priceless, so SaxoBank is my priority. As of yet, there's no done deal but both parties are amenable and I think we'll have an agreement soon."

The main obstacle to date has been a UCI rule that results obtained by any rider returning from a doping ban cannot be counted towards a team's world ranking for a period of two years. Considered unfair by managers, riders and fans alike - "It's the same as if Lionel Messi was re-signed to play for Barcelona after a ban and scored goals, but his goals were not counted. It's grotesque," says Riis - SaxoBank lawyers are looking at the possibility of challenging the rule and having it repealed.

Contador is widely expected to use this year's Vuelta a Espana to make a triumphant return, pulling out all stops to dominate the race, and says he has been training for it - including watching videos of racing and the riders he's likely to face. Watching cycling is almost a part of my training," he says. "You can learn a lot by analysing the riders - how they'll react, how they descend, how rain or dry conditions effect them, little details that can give you the edge in a race."

Has he, in that case, got any tips for the Tour de France, which will be over by the time his ban expires? "A lot depends this year on Andy Schleck. If he's 100% and can break away from the five top riders, he could surprise a lot of people," says the rider, presumably with Andy's less-than-satisfactry form thus far this year in mind.
"
"However, he's going to need to do better in the time trials. Based on strength and experience, I'd have to say Cadel Evans."

Tony Martin plans comeback
Omega Pharma-QuickStep's Tony Martin does everything fast, which is why he's the current world time trial champion, but his planned comeback after sustaining numerous injuries when he was hit by a car during a training ride earlier this month is speedy even by his standards - he'll race at the Rund um den Finanz Platz on the 1st of May, three weeks since his accident (so no doubts that he's keeping well clear of anabolic steroids, then! - CP).

"I'm thrilled I can get back to the races," the 26-year-old German says on the team's website. "These last two weeks I've been concentrated exclusively on my recovery. In the last few days I've even managed to do some more intense training sessions. The pain due to the fractures and the fall are diminishing day by day and I'm feeling better. However, I still have to be careful and try to take as few risks as possible. Overall my return to the races will be useful for me to get my racing groove back and understand how my body will respond in competition. I really wanted my comeback to be in Frankfurt, in my country, and this is what I've been working towards. On a mental level it was important to have an objective like this one."

Landis faces mail and wire fraud charge

Floyd Landis

Floyd Landis probably felt glad it was all over by the time he announced his retirement from cycling, but in reality his problems were only just beginning. Having been stripped of his 2006 Tour de France victory after a sample tested positive for synthetic testosterone, the rider strenuously denied wrong-doing and started a "Floyd Fairness Fund" and asked fans to "donate anything they could" - it is believed that the Fund generated a total of around $1 million towards legal costs. However, his attempts to clear his name were unsuccessful and, in 2010, he finally admitted that he had in fact doped.

Although the Fairness Fund closed five years ago, it's come back to bite him. After last year receiving a suspended sentence for computer hacking, he is now under investigation for accepting money on a false premise; ie, requesting donations to prove his innocence despite knowing that he was guilty of the charge he then faced, which may constitute mail and wire fraud - a federal offence under US law since 1872, carrying a maximum penalty of a $1 million fine or 30 years imprisonment.

Lampre-ISD Giro squad
Lampre-ISD has revealed its provisional Giro d'Italia team roster. Damiano Cunego and Michele Scarponi are protected team leaders, supported by Przemyslaw Niemiec, Matteo Bono, Adriano Malori, Daniele Pietropolli, Daniele Righi, Alessandro Spezialetti and Diego Ulissi.

Thomas Voeckler

Voeckler pays his respects to African riders
Europcar's Thomas Voeckler won the third stage of the Tropicale Amissa Bongo à Akiéni yesterday and used his victory as an opportunity to praise the African riders he beat.

"Of course, I'm happy to win here - but we professional riders, we need to remember we're lucky to get the salaries we do, we're so well-paid compared to the African riders. I've kept that in mind during this race," says the 32-year-old Frenchman.

"Compared to these guys, I have no right to complain about anything," he explained, but was careful not to become patronising: "I'm here to do a job. Winning is my way of showing I respect them." (Stage results and GC)

New Cleveland velodrome will be free for under-18s
Any nation that wants to encourage more young people to take up cycling (and reap the rewards of their Olympic success a few years down the line) could learn a lot by following the example set by Cleveland, Ohio - after five years of planning, the city is about to open a $300,000 not-for-profit velodrome.

The idea is simple: build a world-class velodrome, using as much voluntary labour as possible to keep costs to a minimum, then charge adults to use it. Meanwhile, let riders aged less than 18 use it for free - including the provision of bikes for those who are new to the sport and haven't yet got machines of their own. "This velodrome is a welcome addition for cycling enthusiasts in the city of Cleveland," says city mayor Frank Jackson. "It will allow for people of all ages in the city to be exposed to the culture of the international sport of fast-track cycling and give them an additional form of physical activity to engage in."

"It is a great way to get kids into cycling," adds Brett David, president of management company FastTrack Cycling. "It is safer than driving on some of these roads, battling cars." (More from Cleveland.com)

Other racing news
New Zealand announces "strongest ever" Olympic team (NZHerald)

NZ talent causes headaches and heartaches (NZHerald)

Asian Cyclists to make U.S. debut at SRAM Tour of the Gila (Silver City Sun-News)

Bengaluru gets India’s first professional cycling team (Citizen Matters)

Cycling
Keep digging, Griffin

Lubricating the cogs of the Conservative Party to the tune of a quarter of a million quid wasn't enough to save Addison Lee's government contracts after the firm was handed an injunction due to chairman John Griffin's decision to encourage drivers to illegally use London's bus lanes. Now it seems he's also realised that his recent comments regarding the capital's cyclists were ill-advised too, and he's grabbing the brake levers like his business life depends on it.

If I have upset cyclists, I apologise. It was not my intention,” he told the Evening Standard newspaper, explaining that what he really meant was “car drivers need to be more aware of cyclists and cyclists need to be more aware of their vulnerability.”

However, he remains unrepentant regarding his "get trained and pay up" comment, though he apparently now realises that nobody pays road tax. "We need to look at the question of either insurance or tax. If you run into my car and it’s not my fault, I’ve got no redress against you," he says - and even the most militant cyclist has to admit that's a tricky point for those of us who prefer two wheels. But once again, Griffin hasn't done his homework: he says he wants to see the reintroduction of the cycling proficiency test, which he credits as being the reason that he "never had a single accident" while cycling seven miles to school and back during his childhood - he's obviously forgotten that the test was entirely voluntary (I never did it) and has now been replaced by the considerably more comprehensive Bikeability scheme, which is available for children and adults alike. He also says he doesn't support the introduction of Amsterdam-style bicycle lanes, offering as his reason the fact that "Amsterdam is a very flat town," though he's forced to agree that Central London "is pretty flat" when journalist Jasmine Gardner points it out to him.

BBC to show controversial documentary
The BBC is to broadcast an hour-long documentary entitled The War On Britain's Roads, featuring footage from cameras mounted on bikes and cars to illustrate the issues that arise between cyclists and drivers.


"As more and more people take up cycling as a way of beating the traffic or just keeping fit on their commute, the potential for conflict between cyclists and drivers has increased massively. Now cameras installed on bikes and in vehicles will use heart-stopping footage of interactions between road users to reveal a shocking picture of life on Britain’s roads. The film will follow current cases as they go through the courts and revisit the tragic stories of some of those who have lost their lives on Britain’s roads," goes the gumpf. CEO of Leopard Films, the company that produced the documentary, adds: "This timely documentary highlights a growing issue on Britain’s roads, from the viewpoint of both the motorist and the cyclist. BBC One is the perfect home for this insightful and at times shocking film."

It'll make good viewing, of course, but cyclists and drivers have raised concerns. To make Britain's roads safer for both groups (which, since the majority of adult cyclists also drive, are not really distinct groups at all), we need to increase awareness among a minority of cyclists and drivers that both have equal rights. Polarising them, either in reality or in the public mind, is not the way to do this; this film, and its ridiculously sensationalist title, helps nobody.

It's not yet known when the documentary will be screened.

Smirk's helmet masks

German company Smirk Masks has launched a range of what it calls "fixed gear helmet masks," which would seem - as the name suggests - to be aimed at fixie riders, though this is apparently not the case: "You can use all our masks to ride your fixie if you like, although that was just an idea we had to give the people the chance to look as cool as their bikes," says Smirk himself, also known as graphic artist Mirco Erbe.

Inspired by hockey masks and sci-fi headgear, the high price (around £600) will put most people off - as will the fact that, since they're not approved safety gear, they're not really suited to cycling at all. As for the aesthetics... personally, I like, even though they're not for me; though not everyone will like them - but hey, "denim effect" lycra shorts have been considered stylish within living memory, so there's every chance that Smirk's creations will make an appearance among the more trustafarian branches of fixie hipster society in a city near you soon.

Hit and run river side-swipes cyclists, caught on helmetcam

Newswire
Britain
Festival of cycling in Alford (Donside Piper and Herald)

Worldwide
Cycling your way to a healthier life (Hello!)

World Naked Bike Ride: the environmental protest with a difference (Ecologist)

Fatal bike trail wreck raises safety concerns (Mansfield News Journal, Ohio)

How to get urban dwellers cycling: make it normal (Globe and Mail, Vancouver)