Trofeo Internazionale Bastianelli

Large-scale, click for zoom

05.08.12 Official Site (with details of TV coverage)
Italy, UCI 1.2


Start list (subject to change)

One of the greatest non-classic events of Italian cycling and now in its 36th edition, the Trofeo Internazionale Bastianelli takes place on hilly roads north of Atina in Lazio - a beautiful hilltop town which, despite its Roman ruins, cathedral and ducal palace, hasn't yet been discovered by tourists and where the majority of the local population make their living through the production of wine and olive oil.

The race takes place in three parts: Giro 1 (blue) heads at first west, then north into the countryside and west again to Alvito, then turns north-west to loop around Posta Fibreno - which has a lake made famous by a naturally-formed floating island, mentioned by Pliny. The riders then head south-east to Casalvieri and Casalattico, then after 55km arrive back at Atina to begin the next part.

Giro 2 (red) leaves Atina and heads at first west, then north via Settefrati to San Donato Val di Comino, west again to Alvito and south via Casalvieri to Casalattico before turning east back to Atina, covering 62km.

Giro 3 is itself split into three parts, two laps beginning and ending at the start line and a third, slightly shorter lap ending at San Marciano. The total distance is 143km.

Click to enlarge.

A look at the altitude profile reveals that this is not a race for the sprinters, with numerous tough climbs dotting the entire parcours and three big GPMs coming in fast succession between 67 and 85km during Giro 2. The first of these is Gallinaro, its highest point 555m above sea level and situated 71km into the race; the second is Settefrati (79km), the biggest test the riders face today at 825m; the third is San Donato Val di Comino at 85km, 728m high - the profile suggests that the town is approached by a descent; however, while the riders will have been descending from Settefrati, there's a steep climb to reach the centre of the town. Giro 2 ends with a climb of 130m which must then be climbed three more times during Giro 3, draining the last dregs of strength from all the riders and ensuring that only the strongest climbers stand any real chance of being first across the finish line after they climb it for the final time.

Results when available...

The Cycle Show review

I had great hopes right from the moment this show was announced: after all, ITV4 (the broadcaster) and Century TV (the producers) seem intent on working together to ensure that the channel becomes "the home of cycling on British TV" - Eurosport having lost their claims to that title in the eyes of many cyclists when they decided to drop their coverage of an important stage at the Giro d'Italia this year in favour of motorsport.

Century TV operations director Sharon Fuller says that the show has been in the pipeline for two years, and it shows. Initial impressions were promising: it appears well-polished and the graphics, film quality and sound are excellent - this is a show in a much higher class to some of the cycling programmes that serve as little more than filler on certain cable/satellite stations. Main presenter Graham Little makes a good job of it too; his background in journalism combined with love of cycling (he began his professional career with Irish newspaper The Impartial Reporter and was team leader of the victorious squad at the 2009 Race Around Ireland) means that he is ideally suited to the show.

Co-presenter Rob Hayles hosted a segment filmed on Box Hill, the biggest climb on the Olympic road race course and a route familiar to many British cyclists. This also proved successful - while not imparting a great deal of information about the hill, hill climbing technique or the many races that have taken place there, there should always be space in any cycling show for the glorious sight of a peloton gaining altitude. The non-stop, low-volume background music throughout the segment was vaguely irritating, but that may be down to personal preference rather than anything else: for me, the most fitting soundtrack to cycling is screaming 900bpm splittercore techno; if you prefer relatively sedate generic rock (and most people do) you probably didn't even notice it. Meanwhile, we saw very little of Anna Glowinski, who only really appeared in the taster section for next week's show - I suspect that since each episode is only half and hour long (22 minutes with adverts), Glowinski and Hayles will have their time in the spotlight on alternative weeks.

The Cycle Show promises a heady brew of road cycling, MTB, BMX, commuting, leisure cycling, race coverage, bike and kit reviews, maintenance, safety, trivia and - most importantly, for many - "balanced coverage of women's cycling," the latter being especially welcome since women's cycling receives precious little coverage elsewhere. In episode one we were limited to the Box Hill segment and a short piece on cycling in cities (which was all good, practical advice; some viewers will doubtless take issue with guest and Team UK Youth owner Nigel Mansell's insistence that we should all wear helmets, but the issue is so contentious and emotive that it's not really worth discussing until somebody comes up with solid data either in favour or against); however, this being the first episode of a new series, much of the show was given over to introductory material - we'll see how things pan out in the coming weeks and whether it really is going to become the first show to give women's cycling the attention it so deserves, perhaps even put it on an equal footing with men's cycling.

Highlights
Graeme Obree, as ever, was interesting, impressive, likable, animated and articulate. The man truly is a national treasure and a genius in the best "pottering about in the garden shed" tradition; his willingness to show off his new record-attempt bike "Beastie" in these times when the big bike companies' R&D departments keep new machines under tighter wraps than Lockheed Martin's latest Skunk Works  stealth project was as refreshing. The bike, and the man himself, are fascinating.

The third guest was the very venerable Gary Fisher, one of the men credited as inventor of the mountain bike (and certainly one of the most important figures in its development from clunker to modern hi-tech thoroughbred. Fisher got to say little, giving the impression that he'd been included at the last moment simply due to being in London at the time, but his obvious admiration for Obree and the Scotsman's achievements was a highlight of the show - as was his very remarkable facial hair. The Rollapaluza roller sprint - in which Obree and Fisher went head-to-head on a pair of stationary bikes hooked up to a giant analogue meter - was a lot of fun and should prove a popular feature in future shows, and Century TV have dropped heavy hints that next week's guest Eddy Merkcx will be having a go.

Conclusion
All British cyclists should watch this show - first impressions are extremely promising and it has massive potential to become a uniting force in our sport. Fuller says that "If viewers get behind this series there will be more chance of being able to make a second series, and perhaps a series with one hour per show." They've already been given a massive boost by Bradley Wiggins' Tour success, with predicted viewing figures doubling from 250,000 to half a million overnight and a one-hour format would allow far broader coverage of cycling in general, this would dramatically increase the show's appeal. The only real criticism was the ITV4 continuity announcer talking over the "this show is sponsored by Chain Reaction Cycles" bit at the end of the closing credits - Chain Reaction have stumped up no less than 90% of the production costs and without their backing the show would never have happened, they deserve, therefore, to get their money's worth.

Episode 1 of The Cycle Show is also available on iPlayer and will be repeated at 16:45 on Saturday the 28th of July and at 10:50 on Sunday the 29th (both ITV4). Episode 2 airs at 20:00, Monday the  30th of July.


Early viewing figures have been greater than expected and, as a result, from the 13th of August each episode will be one hour long!


For a specialised listing of all the cycling on British TV over this week, click here.

Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and live streams

Oude Kwaaremont many only reach 111m above sea level,
but like several of the hills in this race it's one of the most
respected climbs in cycling
(image credit: Marcel Baguette CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, is a race for the hard men and women of cycling with its tough hills and bone-shattering cobbles. Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne has more of the same, but less of it. Make no mistake, however - this is not an easy race for anyone. There are some steep hills along the 195km parcours, but with the last one some 50km before the finish line this is a competition that can suit the sprinters; which is a likely reason that in the 67 years the two races have been run nobody has ever managed to win both in a single season.

The race starts in Kuurne but never quite reaches Brussels, turning back at Galmaarden some 25km from the capital. It's on the return that it encounters the low but very steep climbs of the Flemmish Ardennes, taking in some of the same hills as the Omloop but adding a few others for good measure; several of them approaching or even surpassing a 10% gradient. The first is Edelareberg, 28km from the start; then there's La Houppe after 86km; Kanariebeg at 94km; Kruisberg at 99km; Oude Kwaaremont at 105km and cobbled for the last 1.6km; the Cote de Trieu at 119km, Tiegemberg at 131km and finally the entirely cobbled Nokereberg at 142km.

Cav at Gent-Wevelgem, 2009
(image credit: Thomas Ducroquet CC BY-SA 3.0)

Predictions: Several teams are sending the biggest of their hitters to this race - when riders such as Tom Boonen (winner in 2007/2009 and the only rider still active to have won two editions), Andre Greipel and Greg Van Avermaet are competing, it's exceedingly difficult to make a prediction. However, take a look at Team Sky: they have Flecha, an excellent Classics rider albeit one who will be tired from the Omloop; Ian Stannard, who was third here in 2010; Christopher Sutton, who won this race last year; Jeremy Hunt, third in 2009; Mathew Hayman, a rider who has specialised in the cobbled Classics for almost a decade and Alex Dowsett, young, eager and looking for glory. Six good, strong riders, each of them capable of winning this race on a good day.

They also have Mark Cavendish. We all know that Cav can't climb, but while the hills of the K-B-K are steep none are long in comparison to the giants of the Grand Tours - and while it takes him a long time and a lot of effort to get up those, get up them he does. If Sky can get him to those last 50km in one piece, protect him until the finish line is in sight and then light the blue touchpaper, there's only one possible outcome. 

It'll be tough to do it, but would leave no doubts that Sky is now complete and ready to take on the world. That is a prize that will encourage heroic effort. (It'll also be the third anniversary of the day when Team Sky was announced to the world, so what better way to celebrate?)

(start lists, live streams and other shiny stuff after the map...)

click to enlarge

Sports-Livez live streams 1 / 2 / 3 / 4  / 5 / 6
Sporza

(available from 14:00 CET/13:00 GMT, 26th of February)

Tickers: If you're stuck at work and your idiot boss thinks that watching cycling isn't important, you can still follow the action via a live ticker (which is far harder for anyone to notice on your screen). Several are available, including some that autotranslate into English with varying and sometimes amusing degrees of success, such as Sporza and Sport.be. Cycling News has one in English, though in our experience they're not as quick with the updates as the foreign tickers.

Weather: Little change from the Omloop, which benefitted from what was probably about the best weather a Belgian February can offer. If anything, a little warmer due to lighter wind. While it may be cloudier, no rain is expected.

Starters

SKY
Team (GBR)

1.
Cavendish
Mark
 (GBR)

2.
Sutton
Chris (AUS)

3.
Flecha
Juan
Antonio (ESP)

4.
Dowsett
Alex (GBR)

5.
Barry
Michael (CAN))

6.
Hunt
Jeremy (GBR)

7.
Haymann
Matthew (AUS)

8.
Stannard
Ian (GBR)

OMEGA
PHARMA_‐
QUICK‐STEP (BEL)

11.
Boonen
Tom

12.
Steegmans
Gert

13.
Velits
Martin (SVK)

14.
Ciolek
Gerhald (GER)



15.
Van
Keirsbulck
Guillaume

16.
Maes
Nikolas

17.
Terpstra
Niki (NED)

18.
Vandenbergh
Stijn

LOTTO
‐
BELISOL (BEL)

21.
Greipel
Andre (GER)

22.
Henderson
Greg (AUS)

23.
Bak
Lars (DEN)

24.
Reynes
Vicente (ESP)

25

Sieberg
Marcel (GER)

26
.Cordeel
Sander

27.
Van
Genechten
Jonas

28.
Willems
Frederik

KATUSHA (RUS)

31.
Paolini
Enrico (ITA)

32.
Galymzyanov
Denis (RUS)

33.
Kristoff
Alexandr
 (NOR)

34.
Gusev
Vladimir (RUS)

35.
Kuchynski
Aleksandr (BLR)

36

Selig
Reudiger (GER)

37.
Haller
Marco (AUT)

38.
Isaychev
Vladimir (RUS)

RABOBANK (NED)

41.
Renshaw
Mark (AUS)

42.
Breschel
Matti (DEN)

43.
Tankink
Bram (NED)


44.
Bol
Jetse (NED)


45.
Leezer
Tom (NED)

46.
Wijnants
Maarten

47.
Flens
Rick (NED)

48.
van
Winden
Dennis (NED)

GARMIN
‐
BARRACUDA (USA)

51,
Farrar
Tyler (USA)

52.
Klier
Andreas (GER)

53.
Maaskant
Martijn (NED‐)

54.
Kreder
Michel (NED)

55.
Fischer
Murilo
 (BRA))

56.
Rarthe
Jacob (USA)

57.
Bauer
Jack (NZL)

58.
Rosseler
Sebastien

GREENEDGE (AUS)

61.
Keukeleire
Jens

62.
Kruopis
Aidis (LIT)

63.
Meyer
Travis (AUS)

64.
Mouris
Jens (NED)

65.
Docker
Mitchel (AUS)

66.
Vaitkus
Thomas (LIT)

67.
Tuft
Svein (CAN)

68.
Wilson
Matthew (AUS)

FARNESE
VIVI

–
SELLE
ITALIA (GBR)

71.
Pozzato
Filippo (ITA)

72.
Balloni
Alfredo (ITA)

73.
Gatto
Oscar (ITA)

74.
Favilli
Elia (ITA)

75.
Mazzanti
Luca (ITA)

76.
Hulsmans
Kevin

77.
Giordani
Leonardo (ITA)

78.
Riccibitti
Davide (ITA)

BMC
RACING
TEAM. (USA)

81.
Ballan
Alesandro (ITA)

82.
Van
Avermaet
Greg

83.
Phinney
Taylor (USA)

84.
Quinziato
Manuel (ITA)

85.
Blythe
Adam (GBR)

86.
Schär
Michael (SUI°

87.
Wyss
Danilo (SUI)

88.
Lodewyck
Klaas

AG
2R
–
LA
MONDIALE (FRA)

91.
Elmiger
Martin (SUI)

92.
Goddaert
Kristof

93.
Hinault
Sébastien (FRA)

94.
Shpilevskiy
Boris (RUS)

95.
Casper
Jimmy (FRA)

96.
Belletti
Manuel (ITA)

97.
Mondory
Lloyd (FRA)

98.
Ravard
Anthony (FRA)

VACANSOLEIL
–
DCM (NED)

101.
Devolder
Stijn

102.
Van
Hummel
Kenny (NED)

103.
Feillu
Romain (FRA)

104.
Boeckmans
Kris

105.
Mol
Wouter (NED)

106.
Mortensen
Martin (DEN)

107.Selvaggi
Mirko (ITA)


108.
Pavarin
Marcello (ITA)

TEAM
NETAPP (GER)

111.
Schillinger
Andreas (GER)‘

112.
Seubert
Timon (GER)

113.
Koenig
Leopold (GER)

114.
Barta
Jan (CZE)

115.
Benedetti
Cesare (ITA)

116.
Schorn
Daniel (AUT)

117.
Huzarski
Bartosz (POL)

118.
Dietziker
Andreas (SUI)

FDJ_‐
BIG
MAT (FRA)

121.
Hutarovich
Yauheni (BLR)

122.
Bonnet
William (FRA)

123.
Rasch
Gabriel (NOR)

124.
Guesdon
Frédéric (FRA)

125.
Boucher
David (FRA)

126.
Ladagnous
Matthieu (FRA)

127
.Demare
Arnaud (FRA)

128.
Rollin
Dominique (CAN)

ACCENT
JOBS‐WILLEMS
VERANDA’S
 (BEL)

131.
Hoste
Leif

132.
Van
Dijk
Stefan (NED)

133.
Drucker
Jempy (LUX)

134.
Cappelle
Andy

135.
Van
Landschoot
James

136.
De
Wilfde
Sjef

137.
Goris
Rob

138.
Caethoven
Steven

EUROPCAR (FRA)

141
.Voeckler

Thomas (FRA)

142.
Arashiro
Yukiiya (JPN)


143.
Chavanel
Sébastien (FRA)

144.
Gaudin
Damien (FRA)

145.
Haddou
Said (FRA)

146.
Veilleux
David (CAN)

147.
Hurel
Tony (FRA)

148.
Turgot
Sébastien (FRA)

TEAM
TYPE
1
–
SANOFI (USA)


151.
Bodrogi
Laszlo (FRA).

152.
Bazzano
Alessandro (ITA)

153.
Colli
Daniele (ITA)

154.
Eldridge
Joe (USA)

155.
Fortin
Filippo (ITA)

156.
Laengen,
Vegard
Stake (SLO)

157.
Serebrykov

Aleander (RUS)

158.
Verschoor
Martijn (NED)

SAUR
–
SOJASUN. (FRA)

161.
Engoulvant
Jimmy (FRA)

162.
Martias
Rony (FRA)

163.
Galland
Jérémie (FRA)

164.
Laborie
Christophe (FRA)

165.
Lemoine
Cyriel (FRA)

166.
Paiani
Jean‐Lou (FRA)

167.
Coyot
Arnaud (FRA)

168.
Tortelier
Etienne (FRA)

TOPSPORT
VLAANDEREN‐MERCATOR
 (BEL)

171.
Lietaer
Eliot

172
Wallays
Jelle

173.
Neyrinck
Stijn

174.
De
Vreese
Laurens

175.
Vanoverberghe
Arthur

176.
Vanspeybrouck
Pieter

177.
Van
Staeyen
Michael

178.
Vandousselaere
Sven

BRETAGNE
–
SCHULLER (FRA

181.
Dion
Renaud (FRA)



182.
Pichon
Laurent (FRA)

183.
Lequatre
Geoffroy (FRA)

184.
Delpech
Jean‐Luc (FRA)

185.
Blot
Guillaume (FRA)

186.
Lebon
Johan (FRA)

187.
Halleguen Matthieu (FRA)

188.
Vachon
Florian (FRA)

COFIDIS,
le
crédit
en
ligne. (FRA))

191.
Duque
Leonardo (COL)

192.
Fouchard
Julien (FRA)

193.
Saramotins
Aletjej (LET)

194.
Labbe
Arnaud (FRA)

195.
Garcia
Egoitz (ESP)

196.
Barle
Florent (FRA)

197.
Petit
Adrien (FRA)

198.
Demaret
Jean‐François (FRA)

PROJECT
1t4i (NED)

201.
Degenkolb
John (GER))

202.
De
Kort
Koen (NED)

203.
Curvers
Roy (NED)

204.
De
Backer
Bert

205.
Timmer
Albert (NED)

206.
Klemme
Dominic (GER)

207.
Veelers
Tom (NED)

208.
Stamsnijder
Tom (NED)

LANDBOUWKREDIET
 (BEL)

211.
Stallaert
Joeri

212.
Devillers
Gilles

213.
Traksel
Bobbie (NED)

214.
Honig
Reinier (NED)

215.
Claeys
Kevin

216.
Planckaert
Baptiste

217.
Breyne
Jonathan

218.

Delfosse
Sébastien

SPIDERTECH
POWERED
BY
C10 (CAN)

221.
Bell
Zachary (CAN)

222.
Boiven
Guillaume (CAN)



223.
Houle
Hugo (CAN)

224.
Gilbert
Matin (CAN)

225.
Lacombe
Keven (CAN)

226.
Boily
David (CAN))

227.
Mc
Carty
Jonathan (USA)

228.
Seelander
Bjorn (USA)

AN
POST
–
SEAN
KELLY
TEAM (BEL)

231.
Eeckhout
Niko

232.
Ghyllebert
Pieter

233.
Bagdonas
Geminidas (LTU)

234.
Ennekens
Stijn

235.
McNally
Mark (GBR)

236.
Benett
Sam (IRL)

237.
Cassidy
Mark (IRL)

238.
Van
Bilsen
Kenneth

WALLONIE
–
BRU
–
CR.
AGRICOLE
(BEL)

241.
Bertholet
Quentin

242.
De
Witte
Jonathan

243.
Dron
Boris

244.
Everard
Laurent

245.
Polazzi
Fabio

246.
Legrand
Philippe

247.
Stenuit
Robin

248.
Van
Hoecke
Justin

Cycling awakens - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (with results)

(image credit: Dzipi CC BY-SA 2.0)

Results below.

Today is the day - prepare for the real awakening of a new road cycling season.

Yes, we've had the Tours of Down Under, Qatar and Oman and the UCI continue in their efforts to globalise cycling, but make no mistake - the sport remains (almost) as Eurocentric as ever, and it's not truly out of hibernation before the first of the Classics. Hence the joyous feeling among cyclists everywhere this morning, for today is the day of the legendary Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Having begun in 1945 when it was organised by Flemmish newspaper Het Volk - who saw a prime opportunity to grab some public attention when rivals Het Nieuwsblad faced accusations of collaboration after continuing to run the Ronde van Vlaanderen throughout the Second World War (with the help of a few cycling-loving Nazi officers, no less) - now serves as the ideal opportunity to get a look at riders' form. The Grand Tours are still a long way off, but how each individual rider responds to the cold weather and tough cobbles of Northern Europe after spending much of the winter at training camps in balmier climes down south is always illuminating. Het Volk, incidentally, ceased publication in 2008 and was purchased lock, stock and barrel by Het Nieuwsblad, largely so as to be able to take over ownership of this very race - hence the change in the name.

(image credit: Eddy Van Laere CC BY-SA 3.0)

The parcours today is 200.3km in length and, as ever, features a number of short but extremely steep climbs, some on cobbled roads, in addition to the flat cobbled sections that can shake bikes and riders to pieces. The first is Haaghoek, 2km of rough cobbles leading straight into the 6.9% Tenbosse. Kluisberg is not as steep, but it's long and with several shorter climbs in the region it marks what for many riders is the hardest part of the race. Nearer to the end, those who have survived - unlikely to be all those who start - reach Molenberg, a climb that is less than half a kilometre in length yet, due to the mixture of asphalt and jagged cobbles and a gradient that tops 7%, one of the most notorious climbs in cycling.

Who's in with a chance? Most will agree than Tom Boonen and Philippe Gilbert are the most likely winners (and if Gilbert's having an off-day, keep an eye on team mate Greg Van Avermaet - he might do rather well on this parcours and has the form to match); but this early in the season - and on this parcours - quite literally anything could happen. One of the many wonderful things about this race (and several of Belgium' other major races, for that matter) is that the organisers are sufficiently enlightened as to run a Women's event too. It takes a shorter but no less challenging route 119.4km in length, featuring many of the same climbs including the Molenberg. The level of athletic performance among the Elite Women's teams is extraordinarily well-matched at present with several outfits in with a real chance of victory today, which makes predicting a winner with any hope of accuracy far harder than it is for the men's race. If Marianne were here, things would be different - likewise Emma Pooley, arguably the best female climber in the world today, but neither are. That leaves the race wide open and subject to surprise, meaning it could prove the more enthralling of the two events - which makes it even more of a pity that the television networks haven't yet caught up with the organisers and cottoned on to the fact that there's a large potential audience who would like to watch women's cycling on TV.

Live streams available from 13:00 GMT: Sports-Livez 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 (the Women's race won't be shown)

Weather: Thermometers will show around 8-9C at midday and the early afternoon, but a 10km north-westerly wind will take the edge off that and make it feel more like 5C in exposed spots. Rain is not expected anywhere along the parcours.

Parcours here

Elite Men results
(Elite Women results and brief review here)
(Detailed review of the Elite Men's race at Podium Cafe)

1 Sep VANMARCKE BEL GRM 4:52:34
2 Tom BOONEN BEL OPQ +0
3 Juan Antonio FLECHA GIANNONI ESP SKY +0
4 Heinrich HAUSSLER AUS GRM +25
5 Greg VAN AVERMAET BEL BMC +25
6 Marco MARCATO ITA VCD +25
7 Lloyd MONDORY FRA ALM +25
8 Matthieu LADAGNOUS FRA FDJ +25
9 Alexandre PICHOT FRA EUC +25
10 Staf SCHEIRLINCKX BEL ACC +25
11 John DEGENKOLB GER PRO +25
12 Luca PAOLINI ITA KAT +25
13 Maarten WYNANTS BEL RAB +25
14 Kristof GODDAERT BEL ALM +25
15 Bobbie TRAKSEL NED LAN +25
16 Sébastien TURGOT FRA EUC +25
17 Leif HOSTE BEL ACC +25
18 Oscar GATTO ITA FAR +25
19 Jelle WALLAYS BEL TSV +25
20 Frédéric AMORISON BEL LAN +25
21 Sylvain CHAVANEL FRA OPQ +25
22 Davy COMMEYNE BEL LAN +25
23 Bernhard EISEL AUT SKY +25
24 Mathew HAYMAN AUS SKY +25
25 Laurens DE VREESE BEL TSV +25
26 Ian STANNARD SKY +25
27 Christian KNEES GER SKY +25
28 Dominique ROLLIN CAN FDJ +25
29 Thor HUSHOVD NOR BMC +25
30 Matti BRESCHEL DEN RAB +36
31 Philippe GILBERT BEL BMC +41
32 Koen DE KORT NED PRO +41
33 Stijn VANDENBERGH BEL OPQ +51
34 Dries DEVENYNS BEL OPQ +51
35 Andreas KLIER GER GRM +54
36 Bram TANKINK NED RAB +59
37 Marcus BURGHARDT GER BMC +1:05
38 Alessandro BALLAN ITA BMC +1:32
39 Aleksejs SARAMOTINS LAT COF +5:22
40 Kevin HULSMANS BEL FAR +5:22
41 Laszlo BODROGI FRA TT1 +5:30
42 Ramon SINKELDAM NED PRO +5:30
43 Mirko SELVAGGI ITA VCD +5:30
44 Taylor PHINNEY USA BMC +5:30
45 Vegard Stake LAENGEN NOR TT1 +5:30
46 Vicente REYNES MIMO ESP LTB +5:30
47 Jens DEBUSSCHERE BEL LTB +5:30
48 Maxime VANTOMME BEL KAT +5:30
49 Sébastien HINAULT FRA ALM +5:30
50 Marcel SIEBERG GER LTB +5:30
51 Pieter VANSPEYBROUCK BEL TSV +5:30
52 Romain LEMARCHAND FRA ALM +5:30
53 Johan LE BON FRA BSC +5:30
54 Stijn DEVOLDER BEL VCD +5:30
55 James VANLANDSCHOOT BEL ACC +5:30
56 Tomas VAITKUS LTU GEC +5:30
57 Renaud DION FRA BSC +5:30
58 Björn LEUKEMANS BEL VCD +5:30
59 Jens KEUKELEIRE BEL GEC +5:30
60 Arnaud GERARD FRA FDJ +5:30
61 Vincent JEROME FRA EUC +5:30
62 Steve HOUANARD FRA ALM +5:30
63 Anthony GESLIN FRA FDJ +5:30
64 Angelo TULIK FRA EUC +5:30
65 Gerald CIOLEK GER OPQ +5:30
66 Frederik WILLEMS BEL LTB +5:30
67 Manuel QUINZIATO ITA BMC +5:30
68 Mickael DELAGE FRA FDJ +5:30
69 Gabriel RASCH NOR FDJ +5:30
70 Sven VANDOUSSELAERE BEL TSV +5:30
71 Bert DE WAELE BEL LAN +5:30
72 Koen BARBE BEL LAN +5:30
73 Gert STEEGMANS BEL OPQ +5:30
74 Thomas VOECKLER FRA EUC +5:30
75 Jeremy HUNT SKY +5:30
76 Christopher SUTTON AUS SKY +5:30
77 Maarten TJALLINGII NED RAB +5:30
78 Lieuwe WESTRA NED VCD +5:30
79 William BONNET FRA FDJ +5:30
80 Stijn NEIRYNCK BEL TSV +5:30
81 David VEILLEUX CAN EUC +7:45
82 Edwig CAMMAERTS BEL COF +7:45
83 Markus EICHLER GER APP +7:45
84 Evert VERBIST BEL ACC +7:45
85 Rob GORIS BEL ACC +7:45
86 Preben VAN HECKE BEL TSV +7:45
87 Frederik VEUCHELEN BEL VCD +7:45
88 Romain ZINGLE BEL COF +7:45
89 Aliaksandr KUSCHYNSKI BLR KAT +7:45
90 Jack BAUER NZL GRM +7:45
91 Baden COOKE AUS GEC +7:45
92 Dirk BELLEMAKERS NED LAN +7:45
93 Andreas SCHILLINGER GER APP +7:45
94 Guillaume BOIVIN CAN SPI +7:45
95 Jérôme BAUGNIES BEL APP +7:45
96 Michael SCHÄR SUI BMC +7:45
97 Martin ELMIGER SUI ALM +7:45
98 Paul MARTENS GER RAB +7:45
99 Maxim BELKOV RUS KAT +7:45
100 Pier Paolo DE NEGRI ITA FAR +7:45
101 Alexander KRISTOFF NOR KAT +7:45
102 Marco HALLER AUT KAT +7:45
103 Mathieu HALLEGUEN FRA BSC +7:45
104 Florian VACHON FRA BSC +7:45
105 Jean-Lou PAIANI FRA SAU +7:45
106 Manuel BELLETTI ITA ALM +7:45
107 Lars BOOM NED RAB +7:45
108 Martijn MAASKANT NED GRM +7:45
109 Ramunas NAVARDAUSKAS LTU GRM +7:45
110 Nico SIJMENS BEL COF +7:45
111 Egidijus JUODVALKIS LTU LAN +7:45
112 Carlos BARREDO LLAMAZALES ESP RAB +7:45
113 Kevin ISTA BEL ACC +12:44
114 Arnoud VAN GROEN NED ACC +12:44
115 Martijn VERSCHOOR NED TT1 +12:44
116 David BOUCHER FRA FDJ +12:44
117 Leonardo GIORDANI ITA FAR +12:44
118 Timon SEUBERT GER APP +12:44
119 Christophe LABORIE FRA SAU +12:44
120 Sander CORDEEL BEL LTB +12:44
121 Andy CAPPELLE BEL ACC +12:44

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad live streams

(image credit: Eddy Van Laere CC BY-SA 3.0)

Since even Eurosport haven't footage of the first big European race of the 2012 cycling season, ITV4 have no plans to increase cycling coverage and the rest of the channels don't care, British fans are going to have to watch on internet streams instead.

Seriously, TV channel executives: Britain has fallen in love with cycling in a major way. You're missing a huge opportunity to massive increase your viewing figures here.

Anyway, here's some streams...

Sports-Lives 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 (all streams live at around 14:00 CET, 13:00 GMT)

It goes without saying that the Women's race won't be shown at all.

Let's get more bikes on the box!

Following Mark Cavendish's victory in the BBC Sports Person of the Year award - which he won with almost as many votes as all the other candidates combined - it seemed to us that perhaps cycling isn't quite as much a niche sport here in dear old Blighty as we're so often told. In fact, with that and the huge crowds drawn to the Tour of Britain, Sky Rides and other events there really is no reason to doubt that Britain has fallen well and truly in love with cycling.

So, we decided to get in contact with ITV, the channel that shows footage from the Grand Tours and - when we're lucky - highlights from the various other ASO cycle races to which they have British broadcasting rights and see if perhaps they might now be considering showing a bit more.

We wrote:

Dear Sir or Madam,
Many of out here are already extremely thankful to ITV for showing the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a Espana and Tour of Britain, not least of all because that's just about the only chance we get to see cycling on British television. So thanks for that and keep up the good work.

Last night, when the BBC declared their Sports Personality of the Year Awards, Mark Cavendish - Britain's most successful Tour de France rider ever and the first British World Road Race Champion in nearly 50 years - scored no less that 49.47% of the total votes, beating runner-up Darren Clarke (a golfer) by 169,152 to 42,188 - in other words, by 126,964 votes.

Cycling's a niche sport in Britain, right? Yet the combined total of the votes received by the nine runners-up came to 172,807 - just 3,655 (0.53%) more than Cav won alone.
So I learned recently that you guys also have the rights to broadcast several other Amaury Sports events, including some of the most famous races in the world such as the legendary Paris-Roubaix, for which you showed highlights in 2011. Now that cycling is so obviously becoming a hugely popular sport in Britain, do you have any plans to show more complete race coverage - even more races - in the future?

Britain loves cycling - there's no longer any doubt
(image credit: Emperley3 CC BY-SA 2.0)

ITV have replied. They said:

 Thank you for your email regarding Cycling on ITV


I can confirm that your comments have been noted here at ITV Viewer Services.


We have no plans in our current schedule however all our schedules are subject to change


Many thanks for taking the time to contact us here at ITV as we always welcome viewers feedback


If we can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us


Kind Regards


Ann
ITV VIEWER SERVICES  

So it seems that even though cycling's popularity has now been improving in Britain for many years and a British rider is World Champion, we're still not going to see any more of our beloved sport on the box. However, they do say comments are noted - we doubt they are in any meaningful way, but if enough people take the time to contact the broadcaster and ask the same thing, who knows what might happen? You can email them at viewerservices@itv.com (other contact details here). Feel free to copy and paste our original email if you're short on time.

ITV already have the rights - we just need to persuade them they'll also have an audience.