Cyclopunk: Boonen

Showing posts with label Boonen. Show all posts

Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Daily Cycling Facts 15.10.2013

Kirsten Wild

Born in Almelo, Netherlands on this day in 1982, Kirsten Wild turned professional with the @Home team in 2004, then rode for @Work the following year. During those first two seasons she enjoyed considerable success with eleven podium finishes, including second place at the Damesronde van Drenthe; then in 2006 she signed to the world famous AA Drink-Leontien.nl and began winning. That year, having finished the Damesronde third, she won five times including two stages and the General Classification at the RaboSter Zeeuwsche Eilanden, where she beat Linda Villumsen and Iris Slappendel, as well as coming second at the National Individual Time Trial Championship. 2007 brought seven victories including the General Classification at the Tour of Poland; then in 2008 she won eight times - this time, her triumphs included the National Scratch Race Championship and the highly prestigious Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. She also finished second on three stages at the Giro Donne, in each case losing to the sheer power of Ina-Yoko Teutenberg in the bunch sprint, but beating future World Champion Giorgia Bronzini.

In 2009, Wild switched to the Cervelo Test Team where she first rode with British superstar Emma Pooley and the American Kristin Armstrong, one of the most successful riders in the history of the sport; her season started well with overall victory at the Tour of Qatar and second place at the Ronde van Vlaanderen (where she again lost to Teutenberg). She then added Le Tour du Grand Montréal, the Prologue and Stage 9 at the Giro Donne and Stages 1, 3 and 4 at the Holland Ladies' Tour (where she was second overall, beating Teutenberg but proving unable to match Marianne Vos) before ending the year with 15 wins in total. The following year, when Cervelo was joined by more British stars in the shape of Lizzie Armitstead and Sharon Laws (as well as some big-hitters from elsewhere, including Sarah Düster, Claudia Häusler, Charlotte Becker, Mirjam Melchers-van Poppel, Carla Ryan and Iris Slappendel), Wild won 17 times - another Tour of Qatar and RaboSter Zeeuwsche Eilanden, Stages 4 and 5 at the Holland Ladies' Tour (where she was second overall, again to Vos) and her first National Championship, for the Points Race, being the highlights.

Despite her success with Cervelo, Wild returned to AA Drink-Leontien.nl in 2011 and spent most of the year concentrating on track racing - a wise plan as it brought two more National Championship titles for Points and Scratch, but she continued to perform well on the road and was third overall at the Holland Ladies' Tour. The Cervelo women's team closed down after sponsors withdrew funding at the end of the season; AA Drink snapped up most of their riders and Wild found herself once again riding with Pooley, Armitstead, Laws and fellow British rider Lucy Martin, winning Stages 1 and 3 in Qatar (third place overall, a third RaboSter Zeeuwsche Eilanden, two stages at the Lotto Decca Tour and one at the Brainwash Ladies' Tour (the Holland Ladies' Tour, renamed in honour of new sponsor Brainwash). She was also selected to compete at the Olympics, riding with the team that took sixth place in the Team Pursuit (and set a new record for a Dutch team while doing so) and was sixth in the Omnium.

Following sponsorship issues, owner Leontien van Moorsel announced in 2012 that, after many years competing at the top level of the sport, her team would not continue in 2013; shortly afterwards, Wild revealed that she would ride for Argos-Shimano the following season. Her season got off to an incredible start at the Tour of Qatar, a race that favours sprinters, where she won Stages 2, 3 and 4, the Points competition and the General Classification. Her next victory was the Gent-Wevelgem classic, followed by Stages 1, 2, 3b, 4 and the Points competition at the Energiewacht Tour, where she was third overall behind Ellen van Dijk and Loes Gunnewijk. She won the Ronde van Gelderland but then, less than a week later, a crash at the Omloop van Borsele left her nursing a broken shoulder, out of action until the Giro Rosa - where she won Stage 1. Later in the season she won Stages 2 and 3 at the Lotto-Belisol Tour and Stages 1 and 3 at the Boels Ladies Tour.

Tom Boonen

Boonen followed by Cancellara,
Paris-Roubaix 2008

Born in Mol on this day in 1980, the Belgian Tom Boonen took second place at the Novices' National Road Race Championships in 1996, then came third at the Junior National Individual Time Trial Championship in 1998. Good performances at other races brought him to the attention of US Postal, then home to Lance Armstrong, which took him on as a trainee in September 2000 after he'd finished the Under-23 Paris-Roubaix in third place and gained several other promising results; with them he won the U-23 Paris-Tours.

In 2002, US Postal gave Boonen his first full professional contract and sent him to ride as a domestique for Johan Museeuw - the man who had inspired Boonen to become a professional cyclist - at Paris-Roubaix. Paris-Roubaix is, as all fans know, a race like no other: dangerous and difficult enough to have frightened some of the greatest riders the world has ever known so much that they refused to take part altogether, it has been described as "the last great madness of cycling." Riders making their debut rarely finish - and never do well. Except, that is, for Boonen: after Museeuw got away in a break, an unexpected opportunity to ride for himself fell into his lap when George Hincapie crashed out of the race and he finished in third place. Museeuw claimed in public that Boonen was the man who would replace him as the greatest Classics rider in the world, and became his mentor.

Spurred on by more podium finishes later in the season (and no doubt encouragement from Museeuw), Boonen knew that he could bypass the years of domestique duty that most riders must go through and head straight for the top; telling reporters that US Postal wasn't offering him the chances to go for the victories that he knew he could win he went to QuickStep-Davitamon for the start of 2003 and has remained there ever since. That year, having been third at Gent-Wevelgem, he rode the Vuelta a Espana and finished Stage 3 in third place and Stage 11 in second, but missed out on most of the rest of the season due to a knee injury. Fully recovered for 2004 he won stages at the Tour of Qatar and the Vuelta a Andalucia, then in the space of only two and a half weeks he won the E3 Harelbeke, Gent-Wevelgem and Scheldeprijs; after winning the Tour de Picardie he rode his first Tour de France and won Stages 6 and 20, coming sixth in the Points competition. In 2005 he was second at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and won two stages at Paris-Nice, then - in two weeks - the E3 Harelbeke, then the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix, the ninth man too have ever won both events in a single year. Museeuw was proved correct, Boonen had taken his place. He finished the year by becoming World Road Race Champion.

In 2006, Boonen won the Tour of Qatar and was third at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, won Stages 1, 2 and 4 at Paris-Nice, was first at the E3 Harelbeke and the Ronde van Vlaanderen then second at Paris-Roubaix (losing out to Fabian Cancellara and being promoted from fifth places after three riders finishing before him were disqualified for riding through a closed level crossing) before winning Scheldeprijs again. He also won Stage 1 at the Tour de Suisse and was third in the National Championships before returning to the Tour de France and finishing nine stages in the top ten, though he would abandon on the Alpe d'Huez stage. In 2007 he won Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, the Dwars door Vlanderen and the E3 Harelbeke and was third at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Milan-San Remo. At the Tour he won Stages 6 and 12, finishing seven others in the top ten and taking first place in the Points competition as a result. With his powerful sprint, Boonen might well have won more green jerseys at the Tour and could have been a powerful rival to the emerging Mark Cavendish. However, since 2007 he has structured his annual campaigns primarily around the Classics and Monuments while continuing to win stages and General Classifications at other stage races - as was the case in 2008 when he won the Tour of Qatar (a race made up purely of flat stages, ideal for the sprinters) and stages at the Tour of California and the Vuelta a Espana; but his most important result was a second victory at Paris-Roubaix. In May that year, Boonen tested positive for cocaine; since he could be shown to have used the drug recreationally outside of competition (and it's not considered performance-enhancing by WADA or the UCI) he escaped sanctions; but a deal to ride for Bouygues Télécom fell through and he was barred from the Tours de Suisse and France. In 2009 a criminal court later chose not to punish him after deciding that the media attention and uncertainty with regard to his future career had been sufficient punishment; fortunately QuickStep, stating that the positive result had come at a time when Boonen was experiencing unspecified difficulties that remained private, retained faith in them - he repaid them by repeating his earlier successes at the Tour of Qatar and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, then became National Road Race Champion - and won Paris-Roubaix for a third time, thus equaling Museeuw's tally. Two and a half weeks later, however, he once again tested positive for cocaine. Although the test was out of competition, when it was revealed that this was in fact the third time - a previous incident in 2007 having been hushed up - QuickStep had little choice but to suspend him while an investigation was carried out. He would soon be reinstated, but was not given permission by the Tour de France to take part until one day before the race began.

Many fans thought he'd win Paris-Roubaix for a fourth time in 2010, but his form was noticeably not what it had been the previous year: he won two stages at Qatar and another at Tirreno-Adriatico, but lost to Oscar Freire at Milan-San Remo and to Cancellara at the E3 Harelbeke and the Ronde van Vlaanderen before being fifth over the finish line in Roubaix. These disappointments would be explained soon afterwards when he was diagnosed with tendinitis, which put him out of contention for the rest of the season. 2011 was little better - he was 28th at Milan-San Remo, the climbs before the sprint finish getting the better of him, and ninth at the Dwars door Vlaanderen. He won Gent-Wevelgem, which proved to be his only Classics victory of the year, then came fourth at the Ronde van Vlaanderen and crashed out of Paris-Roubaix. Once again he rode at the Tour de France, finishing Stage 5 despite a crash; the injuries he sustained forced him to abandon two days later. The Vuelta a Espana ended in similar fashion with a crash in Stage 16, this time his injuries prevented him from competing at the World Championships.

Winning a fourth Paris-Roubaix, 2012

The Tour of Qatar has become something of a barometer for Boonen, his success or lack thereof in the race providing fans with an indication of how well he's likely to do later in the year - there was much excitement, therefore, when he won the General Classification and the Points competition in 2012. At the end of February he was second at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad; then he won Stage 2 at Paris-Nice . In the middle of March he was 22nd at Milan-San Remo, then towards the end of the month he won the E3 Harelbeke. Two days later he won Gent-Wevelgem too, then a week after that he won his third Ronde van Vlaanderen and joined Museeuw as one five riders to have done so. None of these victories compared to Paris-Roubaix, however: by winning a fourth time, he did what Museeuw had tried and failed to do, equaling the record set by Roger de Vlaeminck 35 years earlier and becoming the only rider to have won the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix in a single year twice.

Boonen is now 33 years old - the age at which the majority of male cyclists tend to begin the decline from their best years, and his 2013 season was considerably less illustrious than expected. Having recovered from an elbow infection in January, he raced the Tour of Oman a month later and came fifth on Stage 1 and seventh on Stage 6, but performed so poorly on other stages that he finished the race in 83rd place. Gent-Wevelgem and the Ronde van Vlaanderen both ended with crashes, in the latter case leaving him with a broken rib that prevented him from attempting to equal de Vlaeminck at Paris-Roubaix. However, by June he was ready to make a comeback and won the Heistse Pijl, then a month later Stage 2 at the Tour de la Région Wallonne.

Born in Eltham, Great Britain on this day in 1945, Reg Barnett became Amateur National Sprint Champion in 1968, then signed up to Holdsworth-Campagnolo as a professional for 1969 and became Elite National Sprint Champion. In 1970 he went to the Clive Stuart team and successfully defended his title, then in 1971 with Falcon-Tighe he exchanged it for the National Stayers Championship instead, winning back the Sprint title that year. He continued with Falcon the next year but also rode for Coventry EagleIn 1973 and 1974, Barnett raced with Ti-Raleigh, the team that would later become one of the most successful in the history of cycling; he won the National Sprint Championship again in 1973 but then won nothing the following season. In 1975 he returned to Falcon, remaining with them until the end of 1977 when he also rode for his own Barnett-Edwards-Shimano team, but won no further races.

Roberta Bonanomi, born in Sotto il Monte, Italy on this day in 1966, raced at the Olympics in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000; her best result being 23rd place in the road race in 1984. In 1989 she won the Giro Donne and the Tour of Norway, yet despite many more good results she didn't turn professional until joining Acca Due'O in 1999.

Susy Pryde, born in Waipukurau, New Zealand on this day in 1973, won a silver medal in the road race at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, then another in the cross-country mountain bike race at the next Games four years later. She was National Road Race Champion in 1998.

Susan DeMattei, born in the USA on this day in 1962, took up road racing and mountain biking whilst studying at California State University and soon discovered she had a great talent for climbing - before long, she was beating male rivals and setting records in local hill-climb competitions. In 1989 she came second at the World Cross-Country Championships, a result she repeated in 1994; in 1996 she won the bronze medal for the mountain bike race at the Olympics.

Philip Cassidy, born in the Republic of Ireland on this day in 1961, won the Shay Elliott Memorial in 1982, Rás Tailteann in 1983 and 1999, the Archer International GP in 1988 and the Irish Sea Tour of the North and Tour of Ulster in 2000. In 1999 he was National Independent Time Trial Champion.

Fritz Pfenninger, born in Zurich on this day in 1934, was a professional rider between 1955 and 1972. During that time he was three times European Madison Champion (with Klaus Bugdahl in 1962 and with Peter Post in 1964 and 1967) and three times National Sprint Champion (1965, 1966 and 1967). Most of his 43 professional victories came at the Six-Day races - he won 33, partnering with Post for 19 of them.

Born in Trinidad and Tobago on this day in 1961, Gene Samuel came fourth in the Kilo at the Olympics in 1984, then won first a silver, then a gold and a bronze at the PanAmerican Games in 1987, 1991 (when he was also third at the World Championships) and 1995, all for the same event. Samuel turned professional with Gatorade-Chateau d'Ax at the unusually late age of 30, then went to Stesstabs in 1993, Zipp-Vitus in 1994 and Helmet Warriors in 1995, after which he retired. He later returned to competition and, having picked up good results in 2006, won the Trinidadian Easter GP and came third at the National Championships a year later. Still racing today, he was fourth at the Trinidad and Tobago Season Opener in 2012.

Georges Pintens, born in Antwerp, Belgium on this day in 1946, won the Amstel Gold Race in 1970, Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour de Suisse (and was second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège) in 1971, Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 1974 and Stage 1 at the Vuelta a Espana in 1976.

Other cyclists born on this day: Anatoliy Starkov (USSR, 1946); Lê Văn Phươc (South Vietnam, 1929); Lino Benech (Uruguay, 1947); Andreas Langl (Austria, 1966); Scott McKinley (USA, 1968); Ahmed Belgasem (Libya, 1987); Luis Sosa (Uruguay, 1949); Fred McCarthy (Canada, 1881, died 1974); José Goyeneche (Spain, 1940); Gregor Gazvoda (Yugoslavia, 1981).

Monday, 15 October 2012

Daily Cycling Facts 15.10.12

Kirsten Wild

Boonen followed by Cancellara,
Paris-Roubaix 2008

Winning a fourth Paris-Roubaix, 2012

The Tour of Qatar has become something of a barometer for Boonen, his success or lack thereof in the race providing fans with an indication of how well he's likely to do later in the year - there was much excitement, therefore, when he won the General Classification and the Points competition in 2012. At the end of February he was second at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad; then he won Stage 2 at Paris-Nice . In the middle of March he was 22nd at Milan-San Remo, then towards the end of the month he won the E3 Harelbeke. Two days later he won Gent-Wevelgem too, then a week after that he won his third Ronde van Vlaanderen and joined Museeuw as one five riders to have done so. None of these victories compared to Paris-Roubaix, however: by winning a fourth time, he did what Museeuw had tried and failed to do, equaling the record set by Roger de Vlaeminck 35 years earlier and becoming the only rider to have won the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix in a single year twice.

Boonen is now 32 years old - the age at which many cyclists achieve their greatest triumphs. If his form is as good in 2013 as it was in 2012, he may yet become the first man to have won four editions of the Ronde van Vlaanderen and possibly even surpass de Vlaeminck at cycling's toughest race. For the vast numbers of fans who rate the Monuments - and Paris-Roubaix in particular - as the most prestigious competitions in cycling, that would make him arguably the greatest rider to have ever lived.

Born in Eltham, Great Britain on this day in 1945, Reg Barnett became Amateur National Sprint Champion in 1968, then signed up to Holdsworth-Campagnolo as a professional for 1969 and became Elite National Sprint Champion. In 1970 he went to the Clive Stuart team and successfully defended his title, then in 1971 with Falcon-Tighe he exchanged it for the National Stayers Championship instead, winning back the Sprint title that year. He continued with Falcon the next year but also rode for Coventry EagleIn 1973 and 1974, Barnett raced with Ti-Raleigh, the team that would later become one of the most successful in the history of cycling; he won the National Sprint Championship again in 1973 but then won nothing the following season. In 1975 he returned to Falcon, remaining with them until the end of 1977 when he also rode for his own Barnett-Edwards-Shimano team, but won no further races.

Roberta Bonanomi, born in Sotto il Monte, Italy on this day in 1966, raced at the Olympics in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000; her best result being 23rd place in the road race in 1984. In 1989 she won the Giro Donne and the Tour of Norway, yet despite many more good results she didnlt turn professional until joining Acca Due'O in 1999.

Susy Pryde, born in Waipukurau, New Zealand on this day in 1973, won a silver medal in the road race at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, then another in the cross-country mountain bike race at the next Games four years later. She was National Road Race Champion in 1998.

Susan DeMattei, born in the USA on this day in 1962, took up road racing and mountain biking whilst studying at California State University and soon discovered she had a great talent for climbing - before long, she was beating male rivals and setting records in local hill-climb competitions. In 1989 she came second at the World Cross-Country Championships, a result she repeated in 1994; in 1996 she won the bronze medal for the mountain bike race at the Olympics.

Philip Cassidy, born in the Republic of Ireland on this day in 1961, won the Shay Elliott Memorial in 1982, Rás Tailteann in 1983 and 1999, the Archer International GP in 1988 and the Irish Sea Tour of the North and Tour of Ulster in 2000. In 1999 he was National Independent Time Trial Champion.

Fritz Pfenninger, born in Zurich on this day in 1934, was a professional rider between 1955 and 1972. During that time he was three times European Madison Champion (with Klaus Bugdahl in 1962 and with Peter Post in 1964 and 1967) and three times National Sprint Champion (1965, 1966 and 1967). Most of his 43 professional victories came at the Six-Day races - he won 33, partnering with Post for 19 of them.

Born in Trinidad and Tobago on this day in 1961, Gene Samuel came fourth in the Kilo at the Olympics in 1984, then won first a silver, then a gold and a bronze at the PanAmerican Games in 1987, 1991 (when he was also third at the World Championships) and 1995, all for the same event. Samuel turned professional with Gatorade-Chateau d'Ax at the unusually late age of 30, then went to Stesstabs in 1993, Zipp-Vitus in 1994 and Helmet Warriors in 1995, after which he retired. He later returned to competition and, having picked up good results in 2006, won the Trinidadian Easter GP and came third at the National Championships a year later. Still racing today, he was fourth at the Trinidad and Tobago Season Opener in 2012.

Georges Pintens, born in Antwerp, Belgium on this day in 1946, won the Amstel Gold Race in 1970, Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour de Suisse (and was second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège) in 1971, Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 1974 and Stage 1 at the Vuelta a Espana in 1976.

Other cyclists born on this day: Anatoliy Starkov (USSR, 1946); Lê Văn Phươc (South Vietnam, 1929); Lino Benech (Uruguay, 1947); Andreas Langl (Austria, 1966); Scott McKinley (USA, 1968); Ahmed Belgasem (Libya, 1987); Luis Sosa (Uruguay, 1949); Fred McCarthy (Canada, 1881, died 1974); José Goyeneche (Spain, 1940); Gregor Gazvoda (Yugoslavia, 1981).

Thursday, 26 April 2012

Cycling Evening News 26.04.12

Women's Nocturne still needs riders - Tour de Romandie (video) - Tour of Turkey - Gracia Orlova - Festival Luxembourgeois Elsy Jacobs - GP Liberazione - Boonen wants a rainbow jersey - Anne de Wildt retires at 22 - Tour of Britain stages revealed - Vino has a rival for Gasparotto's affections - Omega Pharma Twitter ban - They're not GC contenders, they're very naughty boys: Bruyneel packs Schlecks off to camp - Other racing News - Now you can do something useful at work - Newswire: Cycling news from around the world (injunction against Addison Lee successful, Gov. Minister cycles 285 miles, urban cycling) - Tweets

Racing
Nocturne Women's Criterium still needs riders!
The Rapha Elite Women's Criterium, due to take place on the 9th of June as part of the Smithfield Nocturne, still urgently needs more riders to sign up if it's to go ahead. The race has already once been cancelled at the behest of British Cycling, who fear it will clash with a race the next day, and was brought back due to popular demand among fans.

With one of the very few British women's races to benefit from television coverage, the Nocturne has done more to promote women's cycling in a few years than most other races have ever done - its loss, therefore, would be a disaster. If you're eligible to ride, you can help ensure its future and in doing so help develop and promote British women's cycling. More sign-up details here.

Tour de Romandie
Stage 2 (map) of the 66th Tour de Romandie made a sortie over the border and onto French soil this morning to start at Montbéliard (with a castle that should not be missed), then covered 134.6km across Cat 3 Bourrignon (876m), Cat 2 Les Ecorcheresseses (920m) and and Cat 2 La Caquerelle/Col del Rangieres (856m) along with a series of uncategorised and smaller climbs (including Les Genevez, topping out at 1,025m) before ending with a 14.5km uphill drag to Moutier in the Bernese Jura.

Jonathan Hivert

Mark Cavendish (Sky) suffered a mechanical with 30.4km to go, perhaps no real problem for him with that uphill approach to the finish. A few hopefuls tried to launch off the front as the race reached the last climb with 28km to go, almost all of them failing rapidly as the peloton upped the speed to catch Lars Bak (Lotto-Belisol), sole surviving member of an two-man break that got away early in the race, and since been joined by Peter Stetina (Garmin-Barracuda) and Fabrice Jeandesboz (Saur-Sojasun). The two later-comers had the strength to continue once Bak was caught 17km from the end; however, their advantage of 19" was too small to guarantee them success, so everything depended on whether or not they'd conserved enough energy by riding with the peloton to increase their lead. With 12km to go, they'd upped it to 32" and the pack began to look a little nervous, in response ramping up the speed to higher level that the pair had little hope of resisting - they were caught with 4.2km to go.

Too close for breaks to get any sort of lead now, the peloton approached the line en masse. In the end, it was Saur-Sojasun's Jonathan Hivert who took the glory after throwing himself up the last few metres of tarmac - he's 6kg light than Rui Costa (Movistar) and a whole 12kg lighter than Luis León Sánchez (Rabobank), but being also a good deal shorter than either man he evidently has the greater muscle mass; neither could out-accelerate him and they settled for second and third place respectively. Sky's Bradley Wiggins retains the General Classification leadership.

Top Ten
1. Jonathan Hivert Saur-Sojasun
2. Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa Movistar
3. Luis Leon Sanchez Gil Rabobank
4. Gianni Meersman Lotto-Belisol Team
5. Ryder Hesjedal Garmin-Barracuda
6. Giacomo Nizzolo RadioShack-Nissan
7. Daniele Pietropolli Lampre-ISD
8. Eduard Vorganov Katusha
9. Allan Davis GreenEDGE
10. Roman Kreuziger Astana
Travis Meyer (GreenEDGE) and Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM) did not finish, Manuel Belletti and Matteo Montaguti (both AG2R-La Mondiale) did not start. Full results and GC when available.

Friday's Stage 3 (map) starts 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 face a short climb 20km in at Mont Vully followed by a flattish 30km to Cat 3 Arrissoules (640m). After that, it's mountains all the way - the first big ascent is the uncategorised climb up to Sarzens beginning after 77km, then there are 23km to Cat 2 Le Chatelard with the summit at 1,002m - the descent is fast and should provide some exciting racing. The last categorised mountain is the Cat 3 Treyvaux to 810m, but a final climb lurks at the end of the stage before the riders draw into Charmey in Gruyère.

Tour of Turkey
Previous editions of the Presidential Tour of Turkey have not been among the premier events of the European cycling calendar, due in large part to a dearth of top talent and partly to a not-especially-interesting parcours, but it's improved enormously over the last decade or so and this year looks set to be the best so far: the racing has been top-notch and the parcours stunning. Thursday's Stage 5 was proof of that: beginning at Marmaris (which, is must be said, has not benefitted aesthetically from its development into a turist resort; though the local economy is doubtless in a better state than it was 50 years ago), it then headed north across country, taking in some stiff climbs on the way, before arriving at the medieval city of Beçin. Riders then turned west to Stage 5 begins at Marmaris, heads across country and then continues along the coastline before heading north to the medieval city of Beçin where the riders turned west toward the finish line at Turgutreis on the furthest point of the Bodrum peninsula.

Andrea di Corrado

The 177.8km parcours featured numerous steep climbs right from the start, rising to 400m at the higest point; used to full effect by Dmitriy Gruzdev (Astana), Jonas Aaen Jorgensen (SaxoBank), Sébastien Duret (Bretagne-Schuller), Andrea di Corrado (Colnago-CSF), Jerome Cousin (Europcar) and Farnese Vini-Selle Italia team mates Alfredo Balloni and Hugo Houle, who escaped the pack after 20km and put on a superb display of co-operation to build a lead of fourteen minutes. The peloton left their response just a little too late and, while a big chunk of time was chopped out of the gap, it became apparent some way from the finish line that one of the escapees was going to win. With 15km left, the impromptu team cracked up as the riders began vying to see who it'd be and when di Corrado went nobody could get near, leaving the 24-year-old Italian to cross the line alone with a 40" lead. Not a bad first professional victory for a rider in his first pro year.

Rob Goris (Accent Jobs – Willems Veranda's) was disqualified after officials declared he had failed to let go of a team car quickly enough. Ivaïlo Gabrovski retains his General Classification leadership.

Top Ten
1. Andrea Di Corrado Colnago-CSF-Bardiani 4h50'25"
2. Jonas Aaen Jorgensen SaxoBank +40"
3. Jérôme Cousin Europcar ST
4. Alfredo Balloni Farnese Vini-Selle Italia +42"
5. Sebastien Duret Bretagne-Schuller ST
6. Dmitriy Gruzdev Astana ST
7. Matteo Pelucchi Europcar +1'27"
8. Alexey Tsatevitch Katusha ST
9. Rafaa Chtioui Europcar ST
10. Andrea Guardini Farnese Vini-Selle Italia ST
Anthony Ravard (AF2R-La Mondiale), Jeffry Johan Romero (Colombia-Coldeportes), Mustafa Carsi (Salcano Manisaspor) did not finish. Full results and GC.

Stage 6 (map) is 180.3km long and begins in Bodrum, a few kilometres to the east of Turgutreis and the 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). Riders then head north-east back to Beçin and 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 leads north to Kusadasi, which has also lost much due to 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 are no high mountains but those climbs that do feature are steep; the three that fall between 40 and 70km looking especially daunting.

Gracia Orlova

Evelyn Stevens, now with
Specialized-Lululemon

One of the premier women's races on the calendar, the 26th Gracia Orlova in the Czech Republic moved onto its first proper stage today (Thursday) after yesterday's tough prologue individual time trial. The 105.1km parcours began at Dětmarovice and immediately turned hilly with numerous short but steep climbs in the first 40km, followed by a 25km ascent to 500m. A fast descent then began the last 30km to Štramberk - a little town famous for its beautiful half-timbered buildings and well worth a visit, but not by any means an easy place to reach today on account of a fierce climb reaching gradients as high as 20.2% shortly before the finish line. (Map and profile)

Evelyn Stevens (Specialized-Lululemon) won by attacking hard in the last section and then even harder on that final climb, a second victory for the team after Ellen van Dijk's time trial triumph yesterday. It was another good day for the British riders, too - Sharon Laws (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) stormed into second place.

Top Ten
1. Evelyn Stevens - Specialized-Lululemon 2h55'52"
2. Sharon Laws - AA Drink Leontien.nl +2"
3. Alena Amialisuik - Be Pink ST
4. Paulina Brzezna-Bentkowsk - Atom Boxmet Dzierzoniów ST
5. GRAUS Andrea Vienne Futurscope ST
6. Olena Shahra - Národní Tým-Ukraji +4"
7. Karol-Ann Canuel - Vienne Futurscope ST
8. Trixi Worrack - Specialized-Lululemon ST
9. Aleksan Burchenkova - S.C. Michela Fanini ROX +6"
10. Ellen van Dijk Specialized-Lululemon ST
Full results and GC when available.
Specialized-Lululemon race report.

Elsy Jacobs starts Friday
For anybody who cares about women's cycling, it's very easy to feel miserable at the moment - we've just had news that another race has been cancelled, the prizes on offer at the majority of the races are a joke compared to what the men win (and frequently about the same amount the riders could earn for putting in a full week in a fast food restaurant, provided they got a bit of overtime) and the salaries they receive (those who are lucky enough to receive salaries, that is; which is why some of them have to put in a full week in a fast food restaurant and hope for a bit of overtime) are quite frankly an insult in many cases. Be thankful, then, that this week brings us that celebration of all things good in women's cycling, the Festival Luxembourgeois Elsy Jacobs.

Combined, this is a two stage race with a TT prologue. However, in the Elsy Jacobs each stage is a race within its own right to a far greater extent than in any other event and every day has an entirely different feel to the others. There really is no other race quite like it. (Full article)

Noemi Cantele takes her third victory
of 2012

Cantele wins GP Liberazione
Noemi Cantele (Be Pink) edged ahead of Inga Cilvinaite (Diadora-Pasta Zara) to win the GP Liberazione, the two riders crossing the line together and accompanied by Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Faren-Honda) with a good lead over a group of sixteen riders led by Alona Andruk (Diadora-Pasta Zara) who came in 24" later. The rest of the field were well back, all recording the same time as Rochelle Gilmore (Faren-Honda) at +4'13".

Boonen: "I really want a rainbow jersey for 2013"
Omega Pharma-Quickstep's Tom Boonen has already had the sort of season of which most riders can only dream with three Flanders Classics and Paris-Roubaix added to his palmares, but he's eyeing what is to him the greatest prize of all: "In cycling, there is nothing higher than a World Championship," the 31-year-old told Het Nieuwesblad. "You then get to spend a whole year riding around in the rainbow jersey."

The rider, who enjoys rock star status in his native Belgium, has been to have a look at the Limburg parcours this week and he finds it very much to his liking. "The finish line is 1.5km from the top of the Cauberg," he explains. "If nobody attacks from the top, I'm a contender. It's all about breaking down on the climb, then recovering, then sprinting - and that's something I can do well."

However, 2012 offers another prize, and it's one that doesn't become available so often. Tommeke: "This is my first and only chance to be an Olympic champion. There's no jersey, but that title lasts for four years. I don't know what an Olympic title brings. It's my dream to be World Champion, but I'll enter both competitions to win - they're equally important."

Anne de Wildt

Anne de Wildt retires
Argos-Shimano has revealed via its website that Anne de Wildt has decided to retire from competition. "I find it increasingly difficult to motivate myself for training and races," says the rider. "Because of that I can’t provide what is required and, therefore, I have decided to end my career as a rider with Team Skil-Argos."

Now aged 22, de Wildt's early career showed great promise with overall victory at the Tour of Usquert and a stage win and second place overall at the Irish Rás na mBan in 2008, which saw her move int the upper echelons of women's cycling. 2011 brought some good results including five top ten finishes, but she hasn't been able to dd anything in 2012 - which has, presumably, contributed to her disillusionment.

"Of course we regret that Anne is going to stop, but we respect her choice," says Argos team leader Sharon van Essen. A popular rider in her native Netherlands, de Wildt will be missed by fans too. She will now concentrate on her nursing career.

Kristian House caught in Korea crashes
After yesterday's stage had to be cancelled due to torrential rain, the Tour of Korea once again descended into farce today after press motorbikes caused a series of crashes. The race hadn't even left the neutral zone when Jaan Kirsipuu (Champion Systems) became the first victim, resulting in proceedings coming to a temporary halt while he was supplied with a new bike. No information is yet available on the second incident, then a third took down Kristian House (Rapha-Condor-Sharp) and Yuriy Agarkov (Neri-ISD) at 118.3km. House said that the motorbike "was weaving in and out of riders on the climb, coming on the inside of us on corners."

In reponse, organisers have declared that for the remainder of the eight-stage race only one camera bike and one video bike will be permitted on the parcours. (More details from road.cc)

Tour of Britain stages revealed

Click to enlarge

...and the 1,365.7km parcours looks set to be the hardest edition in the race's 67 year history with 2,000m of climbing in Stage 5 alone, two ascents of Caerphilly Mountain in Stage 6, Stage 7 leading across Dartmoor and uphill cobbles to the final finish line on Guildford High Street at the end of Stage 8.

The stages look like this:
Stage 1: Ipswich - Norwich Norfolk Showgrounds (199.6km)
Stage 2: Loughbrough - Knowsley Safari Park (193.5 km)
Stage 3: Jedburgh - Dumfries (161.4km)
Stage 4: Carlisle - Blackpool (156km)
Stage 5: Stoke - Stoke (146.9km)
Stage 6: Welshpool - Caerphilly (189.8km)
Stage 7: Barnstaple - Dartmouth (170.8km)
Stage 8: Reigate - Guildford (147.7km)

“The route of this year’s Tour is certainly our toughest yet, and to coin a phrase a race of two halves. I am sure it will make for some spectacular action this September, and look forward to seeing bigger crowds than ever at the roadside in what is British sport’s biggest year," says race director Mick Bennett. Keep up to date with Tour news here.

Gasparotto, currently with Astana

Vacansoleil court Gasparotto
Perhaps unsurprisingly in the wake of his surprise victory at the Amstel Gold Race and third place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the other Pro Tour teams have developed an interest in Astana's Enrico Gasparotto. The first to make an approach is Vacansoleil-DCM, who'll be hoping to improve their chances for the Spring Classics in 2013 after a less-than-satisfactory performance this season. It's a win-win situation for the Italian rider because he'll get a salary increase whether he stays or goes, but when it comes to decision time cash on the table is likely to make his mind up - and Vacansoleil will need to be prepared to stump up a hefty wedge to tempt him away as he's known to enjoy a close friendship and working partnership with Astana's Alexandre Vinokourov.

One-hour Tweet blackout for Omega Pharma riders
Worried that his riders might say something they could later wish they hadn't, Omega Pharma-QuickStep directeur sportif has imposed a one-hour period before and after races during which the team's riders are banned from using Twitter.

Sometimes, a rider can feel absolutely furious right after a sprint," he explained to Denmark's Ekstra Bladet. " Sometimes, they might write something they then regret. I think you just have to think twice before sending a Twitter message." Holm does not Tweet himself but understands the value of riders doing so - and is especially impressed by Mark Cavendish's use of the website: "He could come up with some venom and people loved it or hated it, but it never took his focus off the Tour."

Disappointed Bruyneel sends Schlecks to training camp
Following a disappointing start to 2012 - some might even say dismal - the Brothers Schleck have been packed off to an altitude training camp in the Spanish Navarre by RadioShack-Nissan manager Johan Bruyneel, who hopes to have them whipped into shape ready for the Grand Tours.

"I think this is appropriate," he told Het Nieuwesblad, possibly while sitting in a vast leather chair and stroking a white cat like a Bond villain. There is as of yet, no confirmation that they were also sent straight to bed without any dinner.

Other Racing News
More details on the cancellation of the Tour de Languedoc-Roussillon and what it means for women's cycling from WomensCycling.net.

Emma Johansson on the cancellation of the Tour de Languedoc-Roussillon: "You would think that arranging races shouldn’t be a problem on an Olympic year but guess not… Wonder when UCI will come to the woman pelotons rescue?!?!"

South Africa’s top track cyclists have descended upon KwaZulu-Natal’s capital ahead of the SA National Track & Para Cycling Championships (SuperSport)

Sophie de Boer

Professional cycling and campervans go together like, erm, sleek, efficient machines and great big ungainly ones - just ask Dirk Hofman if you don't agree. Recently, another motorhome manufacturer has spotted the link and decided that sponsoring a race might be a good idea, and since the company is based in New Zealand the Tour of New Zealand seemed like the one to support, and now it looks like a long and happy relationship is on the cards. (Voxy)

Greg van Avermaet is off the road due to a problem with his heels that has plagued him for some time. "The wounds were really big," said BMC coach Carlo Bomans. "He needs to rest for a few days to avoid reopening them."

Sophie de Boer will prepare for the 2012/13 cyclo cross season by entering road races with the Ronald McDonald Team, but will return to Young Telenet Fidea when the season gets underway. (More from Wielerland)

"Dave Brailsford believes Britain’s world-class cyclists have all they need to dominate the sport for years to come" (Metro)

Cycling

For more details, click here

At last! Now you can do something useful at work!
Work, eh? What an utter waste of time that could be better spent out on your bike. Trouble is, of course, unless you either win the lottery or happen to have been born into a family that didn't mind killing loads of people hundreds of years ago and thus established itself as aristocracy, you need to work to be able to afford a bike.

Over in Belgium where they're a little more enlightened than the rest of the world and afford cycling the respect it deserves, designers have come up with the answer. They call it the We-Watt (OK, so coming up with a clever name was apparently beyond them) and it's a sort of desk with a bike saddle-like seat, fitted with a pair of pedals. The movement of the pedals is then converted into electricity, so that the person pedaling can use a laptop to do worky stuff (or look at funny pictures of cats if the boss is out of the office). The units can even be joined together in a variety of ways, turning the office into a spin class.

Newswire
Britain
Transport for London injunction against Addison Lee is successful (IPayRoadTax.com)

Environment Minister John Griffiths cycled 285 miles from North to South Wales in just four days in a bid to promote cycling (WalesOnline)

Cycling in the City - can London go Dutch? (Evening Standard)

New cyclists' cafe in Manchester (Guardian)

Design a lorry sticker to keep cyclists safe (Oxford Mail)

"Proposed alterations to the highway code to give cyclists the right to make a left turn at red traffic lights will probably not happen" (RAC)

Rest of the World
Sixty Second Cycling: a few interesting posts to read (Chicago Now)

Tweets

Cameron Meyer ‏ @cammeyercyclistI have been over some rough roads in the Giro before but Turkey wins. Wow. My eyeballs are still rattling around my head

Tuesday, 10 April 2012

Cycling News from around the World 10.04.12

Amstel Gold threatened by police strikes - De Vlaeminck unimpressed by Boonen triumph - G-Man Thomas should have opted for Tour says coach - Brailsford optimistic - Good news for Leukemans - Red Baron hunting new bike record

Amstel Gold Race under threat
The Amstel Gold, first run in 1966 and every year since, may not go ahead this year as police have threatened to strike over wage demands. The event is due to take place on the 15th of April, with organisers awaiting further information. (More from Wielerland)

De Vlaeminck unimpressed by Paris-Roubaix

Roger de Vlaeminck won four editions of cycling's
hardest race in the 1970s

Omega Pharma-QuickStep's Tom Boonen is doubtless ecstatic after winning a fourth edition of Paris-Roubaix, one of the most legendary races in cycling and arguably the toughest. However; Roger de Vlaeminck - the only other man to have won four - is not as impressed, though he doesn't blame Boonen for what he describes as a victory against third-rate riders.

"Tom can't help it that he had no opposition in this race," says 64-year old De Vlaeminck, who won his first Paris-Roubaix in 1972 and his fourth in 1977. "The competition was no obstacle to him. Probably, they could not be better. For the Belgians, it was fantastic; but for the average foreign cyclist there wasn't much excitement. A sad affair."

He takes care not to criticise Boonen, who won the race after escaping the peloton with 50km to go and then rode solo to the finish line, but feels that the race lost out through the lack of anyone willing or able to chase him. "I hope Cancellara will be there next year," he says, the Swiss star having been kept away by a quadruple fracture of the collar bone sustained at the Ronde van Vlaanderen this time around. "Then we'll see another race." (More from Sportwereld)

Geraint Thomas

Thomas should have opted for the Tour, says Sutton
British Cycling coach Shane Sutton believes that Geraint Thomas should have been more selfish and chosen to go for personal glory at this year's Tour de France rather than aiming to retain the Olympic Men's Pursuit title for his native Wales.

"I actually think G[eraint] is so iconic in this part of the world [Wales] that he feels the support he's had over the years and the support he continues to get from everybody - it's so massive I think he
feels he has to return the favour.

I think that's probably not the right reason and the pressure that must be on him not to ride the Tour, he must be killing himself. Because he is a grand tour rider, one of the best grand tour riders that we have, and he's a guy that actually I think could go a long way in a grand tour if he wanted. He can lead out, he can climb - he can do everything. He's one of the great bike riders out there at this moment in time." (More from BBC Sport)

Brailsford hopeful for London
British Cycling performance director Dave Brailsford is optimistic after the team's excellent showing at the UCI World Track Championships - British cyclists won half the medals on offer for races that also feature in the Olympics.

"We've got more to come," he says. "The dilemma is that if you select now the riders know what they are doing and can train a little bit more specifically. The downside is that in 16 weeks anyone's form might not to be the same. That is the conundrum: late for form, but early for clarity of purpose." (More from The Daily Mail)

Laura Trott

Brailsford has also made note of Laura Trott's impressive riding at the Championships, during which she took two laps at the front in the Team Pursuit helped the British squad to another gold medal and a new World Record time. "She's pretty special," he said. "She was absolutely brilliant in the team pursuit and she rode an absolutely faultless omnium. Super talent - 19 years old. Wow. It's pretty exciting." (More from Cambridge News)

Good news for Leukemans
Vacansoliel-DCM have confirmed that Bjorn Leukemans, who suffered a knee injury at the Ronde van Vlaanderen, will not require surgery to repair damage to his menisci, the two cushions of cartilage within the knee that serve to reduce friction between the femur and tibia.

Vacansoleil-DCM ‏ @VacansoleilDCM
Better news for #leukemans: No operation (k)needed!

The Red Baron hunts a new record
Eric Barone is looking to set a new World Record downhill cycling. The Frenchman, now aged 51, holds the current record of 222kph which he set on snow at Les Arcs on the 21st of April 2000. An attempt on the 9th of April this year came to nothing when he "only" reached 158kph. "I'm a little bit disappointed, but I remain optimistic," he said afterwards. "I will try again whatever happens in better conditions with a harder surface of snow." (More from Sport.fr)

Monday, 5 March 2012

Daily News Roundup

Nick Nuyens has abandoned Paris-Nice. The 31-year-old Belgian rider turned up at the start of the second stage this morning, but decided not to go on as he is presumably suffering in the wake of a hard crash yesterday.

Pat McQuaid
(image credit: Oblongo CC BY-SA 2.0)

McQuaid harbours Contador doubts?
UCI boss Pat McQuaid has revealed that he's not convinced Spanish rider intentionally doped at the 2010 Tour de France - and even hints that he's not happy with the Spanish rider's punishment, telling the Spanish AS sports newspaper that "The Court of Arbitration for Sport in its ruling does not say that Contador is guilty or has doped, and states that a contaminated nutritional supplement is to blame." When asked if it would have been worse for Contador to be escape prosecution and continue riding, even with suspicions hanging over him, he says: "I do not know, honestly."

McQuaid also says that he believes the war against doping is being won. "Doping has not been what it was for some years now. Fortunately, the situation has changed for the better, and there are less positive results." Asked if doping is cycling's worst enemy, he says "One of the worst, no doubt because it is a deeply rooted culture - as it is in other sports." However, he feels that the problem is now sufficiently under control for the UCI to start looking at combating other issues: "...another very serious problem that affects other disciplines to ours is that of illegal gambling. That sporting fraud is on the agenda."

Vos: "I have so much more power available"
You might think Marianne Vos would be content with where she is now, winning just abut everything she enters. You might even think she couldn't get any better. Marianne, who will be 25 this May, loves her sport so much that she believes she can get even better: she explained in Rabo Wielermagazine that one of the best things about riding with the new Rabobank Women's Team is the improved training program which gives her opportunity to improve specific areas. At present, she's working on her time trial performance in preparation for the Olympics. "It is, of course, a test on a stationary bike in an enclosed space and you can't compare it to a real race," says the Dutch rider. "However, it gives me confidence that I have so much more power available."

Other news
Cofidis rider Florent Barle broke his collar bone at the Three Days of West Flanders - a new misfortune for the 26-year-old Frenchmanwho won the 2010 Tour of the Pyrenees but went without victory in 2011.

Canadian Heather Moyse - who has already had successful careers as a rugby player and in bobsleigh - proved her recent decision to begin a third career as a cyclist was a wise one yesterday when she was the fourth fastest rider in the 500m TT at the PanAmerican Championships in Argentina, recording a time of 36.207".

Bernard Hinault is tipping Tom Boonen for success in today's second stage at Paris-Nice. "Boonen has made an impression," says the five-time Tour de France winner. "He was very fast, even on the climbs. He is aiming, of course, for the Spring Classics, but with the form he has he can make use of any opportunity. If an opportunity arises he won't miss it, because he is a winner." Boonen is paying respects to LeopardTrek's Wouter Weylandt with a "108 per sempre" badge on his bike. 108 was Weylandt's race number when he died at the Giro d'Italia last year.

Three-time track cycling World Champion Gary Neiwand appeared before Melbourne Magistrates today, where the 45-year-old Australian faces two counts of deliberately exposing his genitals to women whilst masturbating in his car. Magistrates received a medical report stating that Neiwand is responding well to treatment for psychological problems caused by heavy drinking and now has his drinking under control, but said that they believe the rider needs the threat of imprisonment hanging over him to encourage him to continue treatment. According to the Herald Sun newspaper, "In an extraordinary outburst outside court, Neiwand’s lawyer threatened to knock a TV camerman’s “head off” as the former cycling great was bundled into an awaiting car."

He's OK, folks -
Alex Dowsett
(image credit: Adambro CC BY-SA 3.0)

British Time Trial Champion Alex Dowsett broke his elbow in a crash during the final stage at the Three Days of West Flanders on Sunday. Team management had initially believed the rider had not broken any bones after another rider crashed in front of him, but subsequent medical checks confirmed otherwise. The 23-year-old Team Sky rider preferred to be treated back home, as he revealed when he passed on the news via his Twitter account...

@alexdowsett
Broke my elbow yesterday. Drove myself back from Belgium & checked into A&E. Operation today at Royal London Hospital. pic.twitter.com/5OHChAbO