Daily Cycling Facts 22.07.2014

Wiggins wins

On this day in 2012, Bradley Wiggins became the first British winner in the history of the Tour de France.

Giovanni Battaglin
Born in Marostica on this day in 1951, Giovanni Battaglin became one of the shining lights of Italian cycling at a time when it seemed the Belgians were going to take the sport over completely.

Battaglin first came to note in 1972 when he won the Baby Giro, the amateur version of the Giro d'Italia, which brought immediate offers to turn professional. He chose Jolljceramica and would remain with them for five seasons - and in his first year, aged only 21, amazed the cycling world by finishing third overall in the General Classification (behind Eddy Merckx and Felice Gimondi) and King of the Mountains (behind José Manuel Fuente and Merckx) at the Giro d'Italia. These were truly remarkable results: a serious new talent had arrived and some wondered if Battaglin might even prove a greater rider than Merckx, who was then at the height of his powers.

In 1974 he finished sixth, proving that he could repeat his good performance; in 1975 he won a stage for the first time (Stage 13, an individual time trial) but didn't finish the race, later that year he rode his first Tour de France and finished two stages in the top ten but once again couldn't finish the race. In 1976 he won Stage 2 at the Tour but failed to finish for the second time and in 1978 he won Stages 6, 7 and 8 at the Tour de Suisse.

Battaglin

1979 would be Battaglin's real breakthrough year with General Classification victory at the Tour of the Basque Country and the King of the Mountains at the Tour de France, where he was sixth overall despite receiving a penalty when he failed an anti-doping test. He won Stage 18 and came third overall at the Giro a year later, but his career thus far was merely a run-up to 1981 - the year that he won the Vuelta a Espana courtesy of a superb ride by his Inoxpran team in the Stage 10 mountain team time trial, then began the Giro three days after the Vuelta ended. He took the lead in Stage 19 and kept it for the remainder of the race, becoming the second man (after Merckx in 1973) to win the Vuelta and Giro in a single season.

He rode the Tour again in 1982 and 1984, but had nothing like his earlier success: his best placing was 46th for Stage 3 in 1982. He did, meanwhile, manage third place for Stage 9 at the Giro in 1984, but it was obvious that for Battaglin the best years came early and he retired later that year. The bike company he started in 1982 is still in operation, its products are among the most desirable bikes in the world.

Rasa Leleivytė

Three-time Lithuanian National Champion Rasa Leleivytė, born in Vilnius on this day in 1988, became World Junior Champion in 2006 and won the GP Città di Cornaredo in 2011. On the 18th of July 2012, the UCI revealed that an out-of-competition sample she provided on the 12th of June had tested positive for EPO; she was provisionally suspended pending investigation. When the investigation concluded that she had in fact used the drug, she was fined €5040 and handed a two-year ban, which came to an end nine days before her birthday in 2014.

Pascale Jules, born in La Garenne-Colombes on this day in 1961, won Stage 8 at the 1984 Tour de France. He was a close friend of Laurent Fignon and rode with him on the Renault-Elf team, the pair of them hoping to become the successors to Bernard Hinault, but moved to Seat-Orbea following a row with team manager Cyrille Guimard.

Jean-Claude Leclercq, born in Abbeville on this day in 1962, was French National Road Race Champion in 1985.

Jean-Claude Lebaube, born in Renneville on this day in 1937, wore the yellow jersey of the Tour de France for one day after Stage 11 in 1966. He was fourth in the overall General Classification at the 1963 Tour and fifth in 1965.

Cyclists born on this day: Ryan Anderson (Canada, 1987); Sam Bewley (New Zealand, 1987); Dries Devenyns (Belgium, 1983); Janek Tombak (USSR/Estonia, 1976); Pascal Jules (France, 1961); Patrick McDonough (USA, 1961); Francisco Pérez Sanchez (Spain, 1978); Godtfred Olsen (Denmark, 1883, died 1954); Pakanit Boriharnvanakhet (Thailand, 1949); Akio Kuwazawa (Japan, 1959); José Prieto(Cuba, 1949); Hjalmar Väre (Finland, 1892, died 1952); Max Triebsch (Germany, 1885); Daniel Amardeilh (France, 1959); Frits Schür (Netherlands, 1950); Bojan Udovic (Yugoslavia, 1957); Rufin Molomadan (Central African Republic, 1967); Jukka Heinikainen (Finland, 1972); Koloman Sovic (Yugoslavia, 1899, died 1971); Sjaak Pieters (Netherlands, 1957); Mario Vanegas (Colombia, 1939).

Daily Cycling Facts 28.04.2014

The 28th of April marks the earliest start date in the history of the Giro d'Italia, which began on this day in 1939. For once that year, the great Gino Bartali met his match in the shape of Giovanni Valetti, the winner for a second consecutive year. Bartali was the better man in the mountains, taking away the lead Valetti had built up in the early stages of the race, but was outclassed on subsequent flat stages and, despite attacking hard in the final stage, finished with an overall time 2'59" down on his rival.

The Vuelta a Espana began on this day in 1966, when the 18 stages (four split) covered a total of 2,949.5km. The race suffered from a lack of top international names that year and only 90 riders - of whom 40 were Spanish - started; a mere 55 finished. While this was not good for the Vuelta, it was an opportunity for the less-well-known riders including winner Francisco Gabica; whose palmares, with the exception of this one race, really are not those of a Grand Tour contender.

Today is also the anniversary of the 31st edition of La Flèche Wallonne, which took place on this day in 1967. It was raced on a 223km route between Liège and Marcinelle for a second consecutive year and the winner was a relatively unknown Belgian rider named Eddy Merckx, who was precisely one day away from completing his second year as a professional cyclist. He would go on to win two more editions, adding them to his eventual total of 525 victories. The race has not been held this late ever since.


Lucien Aimar

Lucien Aimar
(image credit: Foto43
CC BY 2.0)

1966 Tour de France winner Lucien Aimar was born in Hyères, France, on this day in 1941. His first major success was second place in the 1964 Tour de l'Avenir - which he would have won, hacing finished 42" behind Italian rider Felice Gimondi following an incident involving the Belgian rider Jos Spruyt that earned him a one minute penalty earlier in the race.

He turned professional with Ford-Gitane on 1965, and immediately made a sufficient impression on manager Raphael Géminiani and team leader Jacques Anquetil to be selected for the Tour that same season - an incredible achievement for any rider in his first professional year, through he abandoned on the Col de l'Aubisque during Stage 9. His success just one year later was, therefore, somewhat unexpected; but he wouldn't have managed it without the help of Anquetil who at that time was at the height of his war with Raymond Poulidor, a rivalry that split France into two equal and opposing sides. Realising that his fifth victory in 1964 was to be his last, he assisted Aimar instead to ensure Poulidor could not win and then retired. However, Aimar was not handed the victory on a plate and worked hard, pushing a high 55x13 gear ratio that was thought abnormal by most riders of the day.

Aimar has been called on of the forgettable Tour winners, but his career was not without controversy: just months before his Tour success he'd won second place at the Flèche Wallonne, then been stripped of his title after failing an anti-doping test (1966, incidentally, was the year the Tour was disrupted during Stage 9 when riders got off their bikes and pushed in protest at rumoured drugs tests. It was also, of course, the year before Tom Simpson died) and was then given his result back again due to a technicality arising from the arcane and messy anti-doping rules of the time. In 1967, he refused to wear the French National jersey during the Tour after being declared rightful winner of it when Désiré Letort was disqualified after he too failed a drugs test - for each day Amar refused, he was fined the equivalent of £50, but he stuck to his guns and insisted that Letort had beaten him fair and square (whether than is indication that he saw nothing wrong with doping, that he was also doping in the National Championships or both is anyone's guess). He retired in 1973, claiming that organiser Félix Lévitan had cooked up a nefarious scheme with the German rider Rudi Altig to ensure he would never win another Tour, then refused to have absolutely anything to do with the race for a quarter of a century.

In retirement, he became director of the Tour Méditerranéen and a very good example of what happens if a retired professional cyclist continues to eat like an active professional cyclist.

Bradley Wiggins

Bradley Wiggins
(image credit: Petit Brun CC BY-SA 2.0)

Born in Ghent, Belgium on this day in 1980, Bradley Wiggins is the son of Australian professional cyclist Gary Wiggins and his English ex-wife Linda - when the couple split, mother and son moved to London where Bradley grew up. He had no contact with his father, but encouraged by his mother he began to compete at the famous Herne Hill Velodrome when he was twelve years old.

After switching to road cycling, he showed early potential as a time trial rider and roleur which earned him a contract with the Linda McCartney team shortly before it folded in 2001. He then moved on to FDJ, staying with them for two years before he was offered a place with Crédit Agricole for 2004, the year in which he became the first British athlete in any sport to win three medals in a single edition of the Olympic Games for forty years. He rode his first Grand Tour, the Giro d'Italia, in 2005 and the Tour de France a year later; not making much of an impact in either race but proving he could survive the harsh rigours of major stage races.

Then, in 2007, he won the prologue at the Critérium du Dauphiné and was fourth in the prologue at the Tour - held that year in London. At this point, the world began to pay attention - Britain had produced another rider who just might have the potential to finish what Tom Simpson had started four decades earlier. Two years later, now 6kg lighter and at the age when cyclists are at their strongest, he rode the Giro and the Tour again; taking second place in Stages 1 and 21 in Italy then third in Stage 1, second in Stage 4 and top ten in four other stages at the Tour - enough to propel him into fourth place in the overall General Classification, becoming the joint most successful British Tour de France rider in history (he shared it with the legendary Scotsman Robert Millar who had finished fourth 23 years earlier).

Having already signed a contract with Garmin-Cervelo for 2010, Wiggins announced late in 2009 that he would in fact be going to the new British outfit Team Sky for the next four years and began the new season with them as team leader. British fans wondered if, at long last, the year would bring them their first winner; but it was not to be - the new hero suffered badly on the cobbles in the first stages that had been designed to pay homage to cycling's toughest one-day race Paris-Roubaix. He learned fast and made up time in Stage 3, but was ultimately and entirely out-classed by Andy Schleck who would be declared race winner after Alberto Contador was banned for two years and stripped of the victory in 2012 after a long and - in the opinions of many - highly questionable doping investigation.

In 2011, he concentrated on the Tour after deciding not to compete in the Giro, taking part in smaller events to gain fitness. When July arrived, he appeared on the start line looking like an entirely different rider: his body apparently carried not a single gram of fat, looking as though it consisted entirely of bone, sinew and hard muscle. If he was ever going to win a Tour, fans reasoned, he'd never been in better shape for it that he was now. Unfortunately, it was once again not to be - Stage 7 brought a huge pile-up in which numerous riders crashed. It was immediately obvious from the way that Wiggins clutched his shoulder as he lay in agony on the road that he would not be continuing, as was confirmed when doctors discovered he'd broken his collarbone.

In the leader's jersey at the Critérium du Dauphiné, 2011
(image credit: Matthieu Riegler CC BY 3.0)

Wiggins started 2011 with excellent form, but there were mutterings as the Tour began that he might have been just a little too lean for his body to  tolerate the stresses of a Grand Tour - but when he made his first appearances of 2012 it was instantly apparent that he had attained perfection, the sort of form that a small number of cyclists reach for one season in their careers and most will never find. What's more, the Fates had conspired to take two powerful rivals out of the equation: Schleck, once an apparent dead cert for a win, seemed to have lost his edge after troubled times that had also left his new RadioShack team showing cracks and unable to support him, and Contador, widely recognised as the finest stage racer in the world, would not be racing until later in the season due to the doping investigation mentioned above. In March, Wiggins took second place in the opening time trial at Paris-Nice and then took the lead in the General Classification after finishing with the lead group in Stage 2, keeping the lead all the way through the race until a Stage 8 victory made him the first Briton to win the race since Simpson in 1967 (the same year that he died). In April, he won the Tour de Romandie too, the first British rider to have won in the race's 65-year history, leading the General Classification throughout the race with the exception of the Prologue and Stage 4 (when it passed for one day to Luis Leon Sanchez). Wiggins had become the third British winner of the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2011 (the first was Brian Robinson in 1961, the second Robert Millar in 1990) and had done so in splendid style, taking the lead in Stage 3 and keeping it to the end, but the 2012 edition was something else entirely - rather than merely win the race, the faultlessly orchestrated Team Sky controlled it from beginning to end with Wiggins taking the lead in Stage 1 and fending off all attempts to wrest it away.

Stage 19, Tour de France 2012

The stage was almost set. Wiggins had the form and the team to back him up, Schleck didn't, Contador was otherwise engaged; which left one serious hurdle in the shape of 2011 winner Cadel Evans - with the Tour's parcours being unusually reliant on time trials that year, the race looked to be a match between the two men. Fabian Cancellara won the Prologue and spent the first six stages in yellow, then in Stage 6 the race saw its first mountain, La Planche des Belles Filles. Sky's Chris Froome won the stage while Evans was second and Wiggins third, sharing the same time +2" slower than Froome; Wiggins' overall time was sufficient for him to take the maillot jaune with Evans 10" behind. Evans is known to be a good time trial rider, therefore many people believed that he could take the lead or at least reduce his deficit in Stage 9, a 41.5km individual race against the clock but, in the event, it would be disastrous for the Australian: Wiggins won with a time 35" quicker than second place Froome, 57" quicker than the legendary Cancellara and 1'43" quicker than sixth place Evans, earning a 1'53" overall advantage. He increased this to 2'05" in Stage 11, then 3'21" in Stage 19 - and the following day, the 22nd of July 109 years after the Tour was first raced and three-quarters of a century after Charles Holland and Bill Burl had been the first Britons to take part, the dream finally came true: Bradley Wiggins became the first male British rider to win the Tour de France*. That remarkable form lasted beyond the Tour and he won the Individual Time Trial at the Olympics, thus becoming the only cyclist to have won his sport's greatest prize and Olympic gold in a single season.

*British women had won the Tour de France Féminin three times - Nicole Cooke in 2006 and 2007 and Emma Pooley in 2009, the last time the race took place.


Pino Cerami was born in Sicily on this day in 1922 but took Belgian citizenship in 1956. In 1960, he won Paris-Roubaix and La Flèche Wallonne. Three years later, he won Stage 9 at the Tour de France - as he was 41 at the time, he is the oldest Tour stage winner ever

Steven Wong, born in Belgium on this day in 1988, is a professional BMX rider with the Hong Kong team who also rides in road races with China's Champion Racing System team. He was offered a place with the national BMX team in Belgium, where his father owns a restaurant, but decided to represent Hong Kong instead.

José Adrián Bonilla, born in Costa Rica on this day in 1978, became involved in the Operación Puerto scandal of 2006 when a bag of blood labelled "Bonilla Alfredo," found in the laboratory of the notorious Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes, was shown to be his. However, as the judge presiding over the case declined to share evidence with either the UCI or the World Anti-Doping Agency, he escaped athletic sanction.

Other cyclists born on this day: Walter Richli (Switzerland, 1913, died 1944); Mikhail Kolyushev (USSR, 1943); Olga Slyusareva (USSR, 1969); Carlo Rancati (Italy, 1940); Czeslaw Lukaszewicz (Canada, 1964); Rubén Pegorín (Argentina, 1965); Óscar Aquino (Guatemala, 1966); August Prosenik (Yugoslavia, 1916, died 1975); Hege Stendahl (Norway, 1967); Donald Ferguson (USA, 1931); Bernard Kręczyński (Poland, 1953); Arthur Mannsbarth (Austria, 1930).

Daily Cycling Facts 22.07.2013

Wiggins wins

On this day in 2012, Bradley Wiggins became the first British winner in the history of the Tour de France.

Giovanni Battaglin
Born in Marostica on this day in 1951, Giovanni Battaglin became one of the shining lights of Italian cycling at a time when it seemed the Belgians were going to take the sport over completely.

Battaglin first came to note in 1972 when he won the Baby Giro, the amateur version of the Giro d'Italia, which brought immediate offers to turn professional. He chose Jolljceramica and would remain with them for five seasons - and in his first year, aged only 21, amazed the cycling world by finishing third overall in the General Classification (behind Eddy Merckx and Felice Gimondi) and King of the Mountains (behind José Manuel Fuente and Merckx) at the Giro d'Italia. These were truly remarkable results: a serious new talent had arrived and some wondered if Battaglin might even prove a greater rider than Merckx, who was then at the height of his powers.

In 1974 he finished sixth, proving that he could repeat his good performance; in 1975 he won a stage for the first time (Stage 13, an individual time trial) but didn't finish the race, later that year he rode his first Tour de France and finished two stages in the top ten but once again couldn't finish the race. In 1976 he won Stage 2 at the Tour but failed to finish for the second time and in 1978 he won Stages 6, 7 and 8 at the Tour de Suisse.

Battaglin

1979 would be Battaglin's real breakthrough year with General Classification victory at the Tour of the Basque Country and the King of the Mountains at the Tour de France, where he was sixth overall despite receiving a penalty when he failed an anti-doping test. He won Stage 18 and came third overall at the Giro a year later, but his career thus far was merely a run-up to 1981 - the year that he won the Vuelta a Espana courtesy of a superb ride by his Inoxpran team in the Stage 10 mountain team time trial, then began the Giro three days after the Vuelta ended. He took the lead in Stage 19 and kept it for the remainder of the race, becoming the second man (after Merckx in 1973) to win the Vuelta and Giro in a single season.

He rode the Tour again in 1982 and 1984, but had nothing like his earlier success: his best placing was 46th for Stage 3 in 1982. He did, meanwhile, manage third place for Stage 9 at the Giro in 1984, but it was obvious that for Battaglin the best years came early and he retired later that year. The bike company he started in 1982 is still in operation, its products are among the most desirable bikes in the world.

Rasa Leleivytė

Three-time Lithuanian National Champion Rasa Leleivytė, born in Vilnius on this day in 1988, became World Junior Champion in 2006 and won the GP Città di Cornaredo in 2011. On the 18th of July 2012, the UCI revealed that an out-of-competition sample she provided on the 12th of June had tested positive for EPO; she was provisionally suspended pending investigation.

Pascale Jules, born in La Garenne-Colombes on this day in 1961, won Stage 8 at the 1984 Tour de France. He was a close friend of Laurent Fignon and rode with him on the Renault-Elf team, the pair of them hoping to become the successors to Bernard Hinault, but moved to Seat-Orbea following a row with team manager Cyrille Guimard.

Jean-Claude Leclercq, born in Abbeville on this day in 1962, was French National Road Race Champion in 1985.

Jean-Claude Lebaube, born in Renneville on this day in 1937, wore the yellow jersey of the Tour de France for one day after Stage 11 in 1966. He was fourth in the overall General Classification at the 1963 Tour and fifth in 1965.

Cyclists born on this day: Ryan Anderson (Canada, 1987); Sam Bewley (New Zealand, 1987); Dries Devenyns (Belgium, 1983); Janek Tombak (USSR/Estonia, 1976); Pascal Jules (France, 1961); Patrick McDonough (USA, 1961); Francisco Pérez Sanchez (Spain, 1978); Godtfred Olsen (Denmark, 1883, died 1954); Pakanit Boriharnvanakhet (Thailand, 1949); Akio Kuwazawa (Japan, 1959); José Prieto(Cuba, 1949); Hjalmar Väre (Finland, 1892, died 1952); Max Triebsch (Germany, 1885); Daniel Amardeilh (France, 1959); Frits Schür (Netherlands, 1950); Bojan Udovic (Yugoslavia, 1957); Rufin Molomadan (Central African Republic, 1967); Jukka Heinikainen (Finland, 1972); Koloman Sovic (Yugoslavia, 1899, died 1971); Sjaak Pieters (Netherlands, 1957); Mario Vanegas (Colombia, 1939).

Daily Cycling Facts 28.04.2013

The 28th of April marks the earliest start date in the history of the Giro d'Italia, which began on this day in 1939. For once that year, the great Gino Bartali met his match in the shape of Giovanni Valetti, the winner for a second consecutive year. Bartali was the better man in the mountains, taking away the lead Valetti had built up in the early stages of the race, but was outclassed on subsequent flat stages and, despite attacking hard in the final stage, finished with an overall time 2'59" down on his rival.

The Vuelta a Espana began on this day in 1966, when the 18 stages (four split) covered a total of 2,949.5km. The race suffered from a lack of top international names that year and only 90 riders - of whom 40 were Spanish - started; a mere 55 finished. While this was not good for the Vuelta, it was an opportunity for the less-well-known riders including winner Francisco Gabica; whose palmares, with the exception of this one race, really are not those of a Grand Tour contender.

Today is also the anniversary of the 31st edition of La Flèche Wallonne, which took place on this day in 1967. It was raced on a 223km route between Liège and Marcinelle for a second consecutive year and the winner was a relatively unknown Belgian rider named Eddy Merckx, who was precisely one day away from completing his second year as a professional cyclist. He would go on to win two more editions, adding them to his eventual total of 525 victories. The race has not been held this late ever since.


Lucien Aimar

Lucien Aimar
(image credit: Foto43
CC BY 2.0)

1966 Tour de France winner Lucien Aimar was born in Hyères, France, on this day in 1941. His first major success was second place in the 1964 Tour de l'Avenir - which he would have won, hacing finished 42" behind Italian rider Felice Gimondi following an incident involving the Belgian rider Jos Spruyt that earned him a one minute penalty earlier in the race.

He turned professional with Ford-Gitane on 1965, and immediately made a sufficient impression on manager Raphael Géminiani and team leader Jacques Anquetil to be selected for the Tour that same season - an incredible achievement for any rider in his first professional year, through he abandoned on the Col de l'Aubisque during Stage 9. His success just one year later was, therefore, somewhat unexpected; but he wouldn't have managed it without the help of Anquetil who at that time was at the height of his war with Raymond Poulidor, a rivalry that split France into two equal and opposing sides. Realising that his fifth victory in 1964 was to be his last, he assisted Aimar instead to ensure Poulidor could not win and then retired. However, Aimar was not handed the victory on a plate and worked hard, pushing a high 55x13 gear ratio that was thought abnormal by most riders of the day.

Aimar has been called on of the forgettable Tour winners, but his career was not without controversy: just months before his Tour success he'd won second place at the Flèche Wallonne, then been stripped of his title after failing an anti-doping test (1966, incidentally, was the year the Tour was disrupted during Stage 9 when riders got off their bikes and pushed in protest at rumoured drugs tests. It was also, of course, the year before Tom Simpson died) and was then given his result back again due to a technicality arising from the arcane and messy anti-doping rules of the time. In 1967, he refused to wear the French National jersey during the Tour after being declared rightful winner of it when Désiré Letort was disqualified after he too failed a drugs test - for each day Amar refused, he was fined the equivalent of £50, but he stuck to his guns and insisted that Letort had beaten him fair and square (whether than is indication that he saw nothing wrong with doping, that he was also doping in the National Championships or both is anyone's guess). He retired in 1973, claiming that organiser Félix Lévitan had cooked up a nefarious scheme with the German rider Rudi Altig to ensure he would never win another Tour, then refused to have absolutely anything to do with the race for a quarter of a century.

In retirement, he became director of the Tour Méditerranéen and a very good example of what happens if a retired professional cyclist continues to eat like an active professional cyclist.

Bradley Wiggins

Bradley Wiggins
(image credit: Petit Brun CC BY-SA 2.0)

Born in Ghent, Belgium on this day in 1980, Bradley Wiggins is the son of Australian professional cyclist Gary Wiggins and his English ex-wife Linda - when the couple split, mother and son moved to London where Bradley grew up. He had no contact with his father, but encouraged by his mother he began to compete at the famous Herne Hill Velodrome when he was twelve years old.

After switching to road cycling, he showed early potential as a time trial rider and roleur which earned him a contract with the Linda McCartney team shortly before it folded in 2001. He then moved on to FDJ, staying with them for two years before he was offered a place with Crédit Agricole for 2004, the year in which he became the first British athlete in any sport to win three medals in a single edition of the Olympic Games for forty years. He rode his first Grand Tour, the Giro d'Italia, in 2005 and the Tour de France a year later; not making much of an impact in either race but proving he could survive the harsh rigours of major stage races.

Then, in 2007, he won the prologue at the Critérium du Dauphiné and was fourth in the prologue at the Tour - held that year in London. At this point, the world began to pay attention - Britain had produced another rider who just might have the potential to finish what Tom Simpson had started four decades earlier. Two years later, now 6kg lighter and at the age when cyclists are at their strongest, he rode the Giro and the Tour again; taking second place in Stages 1 and 21 in Italy then third in Stage 1, second in Stage 4 and top ten in four other stages at the Tour - enough to propel him into fourth place in the overall General Classification, becoming the joint most successful British Tour de France rider in history (he shared it with the legendary Scotsman Robert Millar who had finished fourth 23 years earlier).

Having already signed a contract with Garmin-Cervelo for 2010, Wiggins announced late in 2009 that he would in fact be going to the new British outfit Team Sky for the next four years and began the new season with them as team leader. British fans wondered if, at long last, the year would bring them their first winner; but it was not to be - the new hero suffered badly on the cobbles in the first stages that had been designed to pay homage to cycling's toughest one-day race Paris-Roubaix. He learned fast and made up time in Stage 3, but was ultimately and entirely out-classed by Andy Schleck who would be declared race winner after Alberto Contador was banned for two years and stripped of the victory in 2012 after a long and - in the opinions of many - highly questionable doping investigation.

In 2011, he concentrated on the Tour after deciding not to compete in the Giro, taking part in smaller events to gain fitness. When July arrived, he appeared on the start line looking like an entirely different rider: his body apparently carried not a single gram of fat, looking as though it consisted entirely of bone, sinew and hard muscle. If he was ever going to win a Tour, fans reasoned, he'd never been in better shape for it that he was now. Unfortunately, it was once again not to be - Stage 7 brought a huge pile-up in which numerous riders crashed. It was immediately obvious from the way that Wiggins clutched his shoulder as he lay in agony on the road that he would not be continuing, as was confirmed when doctors discovered he'd broken his collarbone.

In the leader's jersey at the Critérium du Dauphiné, 2011
(image credit: Matthieu Riegler CC BY 3.0)

Wiggins started 2011 with excellent form, but there were mutterings as the Tour began that he might have been just a little too lean for his body to  tolerate the stresses of a Grand Tour - but when he made his first appearances of 2012 it was instantly apparent that he had attained perfection, the sort of form that a small number of cyclists reach for one season in their careers and most will never find. What's more, the Fates had conspired to take two powerful rivals out of the equation: Schleck, once an apparent dead cert for a win, seemed to have lost his edge after troubled times that had also left his new RadioShack team showing cracks and unable to support him, and Contador, widely recognised as the finest stage racer in the world, would not be racing until later in the season due to the doping investigation mentioned above. In March, Wiggins took second place in the opening time trial at Paris-Nice and then took the lead in the General Classification after finishing with the lead group in Stage 2, keeping the lead all the way through the race until a Stage 8 victory made him the first Briton to win the race since Simpson in 1967 (the same year that he died). In April, he won the Tour de Romandie too, the first British rider to have won in the race's 65-year history, leading the General Classification throughout the race with the exception of the Prologue and Stage 4 (when it passed for one day to Luis Leon Sanchez). Wiggins had become the third British winner of the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2011 (the first was Brian Robinson in 1961, the second Robert Millar in 1990) and had done so in splendid style, taking the lead in Stage 3 and keeping it to the end, but the 2012 edition was something else entirely - rather than merely win the race, the faultlessly orchestrated Team Sky controlled it from beginning to end with Wiggins taking the lead in Stage 1 and fending off all attempts to wrest it away.

Stage 19, Tour de France 2012

The stage was almost set. Wiggins had the form and the team to back him up, Schleck didn't, Contador was otherwise engaged; which left one serious hurdle in the shape of 2011 winner Cadel Evans - with the Tour's parcours being unusually reliant on time trials that year, the race looked to be a match between the two men. Fabian Cancellara won the Prologue and spent the first six stages in yellow, then in Stage 6 the race saw its first mountain, La Planche des Belles Filles. Sky's Chris Froome won the stage while Evans was second and Wiggins third, sharing the same time +2" slower than Froome; Wiggins' overall time was sufficient for him to take the maillot jaune with Evans 10" behind. Evans is known to be a good time trial rider, therefore many people believed that he could take the lead or at least reduce his deficit in Stage 9, a 41.5km individual race against the clock but, in the event, it would be disastrous for the Australian: Wiggins won with a time 35" quicker than second place Froome, 57" quicker than the legendary Cancellara and 1'43" quicker than sixth place Evans, earning a 1'53" overall advantage. He increased this to 2'05" in Stage 11, then 3'21" in Stage 19 - and the following day, the 22nd of July 109 years after the Tour was first raced and three-quarters of a century after Charles Holland and Bill Burl had been the first Britons to take part, the dream finally came true: Bradley Wiggins became the first male British rider to win the Tour de France*.

That remarkable form lasted beyond the Tour and he won the Individual Time Trial at the Olympics, thus becoming the only cyclist to have won his sport's greatest prize and Olympic gold in a single season. Whether he can win a second Tour in 2013 remains to be seen - many British fans are convinced that he can, but Wiggins himself says he'll concentrate on the Giro d'Italia instead.

*British women had won the Tour de France Féminin three times - Nicole Cooke in 2006 and 2007 and Emma Pooley in 2009, the last time the race took place.


Pino Cerami was born in Sicily on this day in 1922 but tookBelgian citizenship in 1956. In 1960, he won Paris-Roubaix and La Flèche Wallonne. Three years later, he won Stage 9 at the Tour de France - as he was 41 at the time, he is the oldest Tour stage winner ever

Steven Wong, born in Belgium on this day in 1988, is a professional BMX rider with the Hong Kong team who also rides in road races with China's Champion Racing System team. He was offered a place with the national BMX team in Belgium, where his father owns a restaurant, but decided to represent Hong Kong instead.

José Adrián Bonilla, born in Costa Rica on this day in 1978, became involved in the Operación Puerto scandal of 2006 when a bag of blood labelled "Bonilla Alfredo," found in the laboratory of the notorious Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes, was shown to be his. However, as the judge presiding over the case declined to share evidence with either the UCI or the World Anti-Doping Agency, he escaped athletic sanction.

Other cyclists born on this day: Walter Richli (Switzerland, 1913, died 1944); Mikhail Kolyushev (USSR, 1943); Olga Slyusareva (USSR, 1969); Carlo Rancati (Italy, 1940); Czeslaw Lukaszewicz (Canada, 1964); Rubén Pegorín (Argentina, 1965); Óscar Aquino (Guatemala, 1966); August Prosenik (Yugoslavia, 1916, died 1975); Hege Stendahl (Norway, 1967); Donald Ferguson (USA, 1931); Bernard Kręczyński (Poland, 1953); Arthur Mannsbarth (Austria, 1930).

Olympics Time Trials Photos

Every British fan - and a fair few from elsewhere, such is the Olympic spirit and her popularity - wanted to see Emma Pooley take a gold medal, but those who have followed her career knew that she was absolutely right when she said the parcours was not right for her: she's a tiny, lightweight climber able to do well in a hilly TT, while this one was flat. Nevertheless, 6th (+1'02.88") was a very respectable result. Fellow Brit Lizzie Armitstead was 10th (+1'51.42").

Olga Zabelinskaya was tenth from the 24 riders to leave the start ramp, but set a superb time of 37'57.45" to lead the event in its early stages. It would be beaten - but by only two riders, earning the 32-year-old Russian a second bronze medal to add to the one she won in the Road Race. "This is the greatest achievement of my career," she said.

South Africa's Ashleigh Moolman was fourth down the ramp and recorded the slowest time, 4'48.75". The fact that she had to ride at a blisteringly fast pace to do so is indication of the extremely high levels of performance and competition found at the upper levels of women's cycling - easily equal to men's cycling.

Tatiana Antoshina (Russia) was the sixth rider to go and recorded the 12th best time, 2'37.67" behind the winner.

Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands), National TT Champion in 2007, took 8th place with a time 1'18.26" slower than the winner.

Marianne Vos had a most uncharacteristic off-day, coming 16th overall and 3'05" behind overall winner Armstrong. Her immediate reaction after the race was a vow never to ride a time trial ever again, which immediately resulted in countless fans telling that these occasional indications that she is in fact human after all, rather than a cycling cyborg sent from the future to show us all how a race should be ridden, are one of the things that make us all love her so much. And anyway, Vos had already stood on 40 podiums so far this year - so who cares about this one race, in a discipline she freely confesses is far from her speciality?

American 38-year-old defending champion Kristin Armstrong's gold medal-winning time of 37'34.82" is a superb reminder that female athletes remain competitive in endurance sports for longer than their male counterparts - and that, therefore, being 35+ is absolutely no reason whatsoever for a woman not to take up cycling at any level (Armstrong was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in 2001, too). Her performance was without doubt the highlight of the race and, many will argue, surpassed that of men's winner Bradley Wiggins: 1.51" ahead at the first time check, she just kept on getting faster and faster - by the second check she was 4.89" ahead and she ended up beating Cyclopunk favourite Judith Arndt by 15.47". She was accompanied on the podium by her son Lucas William, who will be two in September.

The USA's Amber Neben was the 7th from last to go and also finished in 7th place, recording a time 1'10.35" slower than Armstrong.

Shara Gillow (Australia) was 14th to go and finished in 13th place, 2'50.21" behind Armstrong.

Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland), defending champion and, in the opinion of many, the greatest male time trial rider of all time, was something of an unknown quantity in this race. At his best, Cancellara is one of the most impressive sights cycling has to offer, but it's no secret that the quadruple fracture to the collarbone at the Ronde van Vlaanderen earlier this year and a nasty crash in the Road Race on Sunday have not left him with the greatest form of his career. Yet still he rode a tough race and came seventh, 2'14.17" slower than Bradley Wiggins, before collapsing in obvious agony after crossing the finish line.

Tony Martin (Germany) is current World TT Champion, but like Cancellara has struggled to regain his usual form after an accident earlier this year (he was hit by a car whilst on a training ride and sustained numerous injuries). His silver medal and time just 42" slower than Wiggins is proof of just how good he is.

The man himself: Bradley Wiggins. Only a week and a half since his historic Tour de France victory, Wiggo came, saw and conquered with a recorded time of 50'39.54" - another boost for cycling in Britain, where it's now more popular than in France if the crowds that gathered to see him are anything to go on. "[He] was unbeatable today," Tony Martin said after the race. 6.8 million people in Britain watched Wiggo win on TV compared to the "mere" 5.5 million who watched Team GB in the football: cycling is our new national sport.

Assan Basayev (Kazakhstan) was 7th off the ramp and finished 7th from last with a time 6'01.23" slower than Wiggins. It was notable that all riders, regardless of the nation they represent, were treated to enormous cheers around the entire parcours; Britain is in love with cycling, not just Wiggo.

The enormously popular Fumiyuki Beppu was the only Japanese rider in the TT and one of only two in the Road Race - and, of course, one of the very few to have made a name for himself in cycling's European heartlands. He recorded the 24th fastest time, 5'01.10" slower than Wiggins.

All photos are copyright of Chris Davies Photography and used here with permission. For Davies' extremely generous reuse terms and more photos from the Women's TT click here, for the men click here.

Cycling Evening News 14.05.12

Racing: Giro d'Italia Stage 9 (+ video) - Tour of California Stage 2 - Top Bakersfield cyclist killed in women's race - Downing wins Lincoln GP - New Grimsby team - Brad Wiggins burglary - Saiz sells cycle selection - Horses like cycling too - Other news Cycling: the news you might have missed

Racing
Giro d'Italia Stage 9
On Monday, the race returned to the flatlands again for a reasonably short 166km stage (profile) between San Giorgio del Sannio, beginning with a 244m descent over 8.6km (so expect a fast start!) and no hills of any note along the way. Whereas a couple of the earlier "flat" stages turned out to be rather more difficult than they looked on paper, today's stiffest climbs - 87m over 7km from Benevento (site of a Roman triumphal arch, considered the finest example of its type, and a Roman theatre) at the bottom of the initial descent and, at the other end of the stage, 86m over 6.9km into Frosinone - weren't expected to create any problems. Combined with a a short descent leading into the last 2km, a right turn with 1.65km to go and then a left into the final 500m, it looked set to be another sprinter's stage.

Pierre Cazaux (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Brian Bulgac (Lotto-Belisol) and Martjin Keizer (Vacansoleil-DCM) broke away early on and stayed out for much of the stage, but the peloton picked up the pace after 135km and swept them up. Matteo Rabottini (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia) tried to get away on the last climb but got nowhere; Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) also liked the lie of the land and blasted away to an eight second lead, but he'd misjudged the hill which turned out to simply not be steep enough to prevent the real sprint specialists easily catching him. 22-year-old Fabio Felline (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) had a go after that, but was caught immediately.

Francisco Ventoso

Mark Cavendish was, of course, believed to be in with a pretty good chance of winning today, but once again a crash in the final stretch kept victory from him. Taking place on the last left corner, it also took down Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEDGE), Filippo Pozzato and several others; but it soon became apparent that it had looked worse than it actually was, the doctor who was left behind once all the riders had got up and headed for the finish line looking pleasantly surprised that he had nothing to do. Cav appeared to glance off the barriers and avoid the worst of the impact, but Goss fell hard on his elbow - he'll be off for X-rays this evening.

Matt Goss ‏ @mattgoss1986Well, that was a chance gone begging. Haven't seen the video to see what happened yet, but someone come in way to hot and forgot to turn.

After the race, Pozzato accepted full responsibility for the crash. "The crash was solely my fault," he explained to RaiSport. "I am very sorry to the other riders for my mistake, and I ask them to forgive me.

That Francisco Ventoso of Movistar can sprint is no secret - he proved as much when he won Paris-Brussels two years ago. However, Cav, Goss, Bos and the like have upped the sprinters' game so high over the last few years that men such as him, who a decade or so ago would have been among the best in the world, are more often than not outclassed in competitions such as this one. Today was his chance: with the rocketships caught up behind him, he found himself surrounded by a mixture of non-sprinters and sprinters more his calibre, saw the opportunity and grabbed the win.

Top Ten
  1.  FranciscoVentoso Movistar 3h39'15"
  2.  Fabio Felline Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela ST
  3.  Giacomo Nizzolo RadioShack-Nissan ST
  4.  Damiano Caruso Liquigas-Cannondale ST
  5.  Daniel Schorn Team NetApp ST
  6.  Alexander Kristoff Katusha ST
  7.  Ryder Hesjedal Garmin-arracuda ST
  8.  Matthias Brändle Team NetApp ST
  9.  Manuel Belletti AG2R-La Mondiale ST
  10.  Daryl Impey Orica-Green Edge ST
(Full stage result and GC)

Stage 10

Stage 10 takes us back into the medium mountains for a 166km run between Civitavecchia and Assisi (profile). There's only one categorised climb, right at the end of the parcours and it's only a Cat 4. However, those riders who dismiss it as unchallenging without looking more closely are in for a surprise, because it's a lot harder than its category and small size (422m) suggest - the gradient is 15% for a 600m section just after the 3km to go point, then the first half on the final kilometre is cobbled. It is, by no means whatsoever, an easy climb. Earlier on, the terrain is best described as rolling with no point higher than 555m (Montecchio, 145.5km) and nothing too tough, though the combined effect may prove difficult for the riders who really don't like to climb. Civitvecchia, on the Tyrrhenian coast, is one of Italy's most important ports and the entry point for many tourists who arrive by sea, its most noticeable feature the massive Forte Michelango that protects the harbour - it looks impressive and impregnable rather than attractive. The city was the birthplace (in 1971) of the cyclist Roberto Petito, whom some fans will remember as the winner of the 1997 Tirreno-Adriatico race. Viterbo, 55.4km away, is famous for its 13th Century papal palace and the almost perfectly preserved Medieval Quarter. Amelia (97.9km) retains its medieval walls, solid and constructed of vast stones without cement, punctuated by a number of gatehouses of which the most impressive is Porta Romana. Amelia is beginning to become known as a tourist destination, but today the local economy is primarily based on the growing of figs.

The Basilica, Assisi

Finally, Assisi is best known for its association with 12th/13th Century Saint Francis, who spent his whole life in the city, but it was also the birthplace of Saint Clare (co-founder, with St. Francis, of the order now known as the Poor Clares) and 19th Century Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows along with no fewer than four other saints. The city traces its history back far beyond the invention of saints to around 1000BCE when Umbrians built fortified villages on the hilltops, these then being developed and combined first by Etruscans and then by the Romans. The greatest sight the city has to offer is the Basilica of St. Francis, begun two years after the saint died and of vast importance for its architecture and art in addition to being a place of religious significance (St. Francis deserves the respect of those of us who are not Christian, too; he believed that Christians should seek to emulate Christ by showing humanity to all living things and remaining tolerant of other beliefs - his attempts to have Muslims recognised and respected by the Church as "custodians of the Holy Land" after the fall of the Crusader Empire did more good for  Christian/Muslim relations than just about anything before or since).

Weather
High winds that have affected the region should drop to a manageable 25kph on Tuesday with temperatures ranging from 12 to 17C. Rain is not expected anywhere along the parcours.

Tour of California Stage 2
Stage 2 begins in San Francisco Marina and passes the Golden Gate Bridge en route for the Pacific coastline, with the first of three intermediate sprints at Pacifica 27.9km into the race. The second is at Half Moon Bay after 41.6km, then the race continues south down the coast through San Matteo County and on to Santa Rosa County. Having turned north-east, the riders face a climb up Cat 1 Empire Grade to 800m after 112km, followed by a fast descent to the next climb beginning at 144.8km - Bear Creek Road, rising to 686m. The third sprint begins at 165.6km, then the race arrives at Soquel and, after a right turn at 188.3km, the final straight 200m to the finish line. (Map, profile)

Stage results when available

Stage 3 begins in San Jose, the only city to have been a stage town in every Tour of California to date, but this year the riders don't have to face the difficult Cat 1 Sierra Road, instead climbing  Calaveras Road to 455m (8.4km). The stage's first intermediate sprint is at Livermore (45.5km), after which there are 42 rolling kilometres to the biggest climb of the day, Cat 2 Mount Diablo. The Midway Road sprint starts at around 158km and is followed 12km later by Cat 3 Patterson Pass, topping out at 460m and followed by a long descent back into Livermore. The 500m after the final left turn are straight and slightly downhill, making a high speed finish likely. (Map, profile)

Top Bakersfield cyclist killed in women's race
Reports say that a woman described as "one of Bakersfield's best women cyclists" was killed on Sunday morning in an accident during Stage 4, the Bootjack Road Race, of California's Mariposa County Stage Race (formerly known as the Kern). The rider's family have confirmed the fatality and originally asked the race organisers and press not to reveal her name for the time being. She has since been identified as Suzanne Rivera, a 48-year-old member of the BT49 team, who took up cycling only nine months ago.

Eyewitnesses say that the rider apparently failed to notice that a support vehicle had stopped on the parcours to assist another cyclist, then braked hard and lost control before colliding with the vehicle. It is not known which class she was racing in. A doctor and three nurses competing in the race attempted to resuscitate her.

Russell Downing

Russell Downing wins Lincoln
Russell Downing (Endura Racing) scored a fourth victory at the Lincoln GP yesterday, beating second place Marcin Bialoblocki (Node 4-Girodani) by 15". Bialoblocki caught him on the final lap, but Downing powered away up the tough Michelgate climb. (British Cycling results and report)

Top Ten
  1.  Russell Downing Endura Racing 3h55'38"
  2.  Marcin Bialoblocki Node4-Giordana +15"
  3.  Kristian House Rapha-Condor-Sharp +1'18"
  4.  Simon Richardson IG Sigmasport +1'21"
  5.  Russell Hampton Raleigh-GAC +1'28"
  6.  Pete Williams Node4-Giordana +2'38"
  7.  Dan Craven IG Sigmasport +2'44"
  8.  Dean Windsor Endura Racing +2'47"
  9.  Scott Thwaites Endura Racing (U23) +2'50"
  10.  Liam Holohan Raleigh-GAC ST

New Grimsby team
Grimsby businesses Ettridge Cycles and Alp Action have joined forces to create a new cycling team which will give local riders a chance to compete in national competitions. (More from This Is Grimsby)

Brad burgled
Thieves broke into the home of Bradley Wiggins in Chorley yesterday and stole the commemorative medal he was awarded for competing in the 2008 Olympics. It's not known if they were opportunists, taking the medal simply because it looked valuable, or if they knew whose home it was and mistook the medal for one of those he won at the Games in 2000, 2004 or 2008.

Catherine Wiggins broke the news on Twitter: "Phone went on way back from rugby, Lancs Police informing me we'd been burgled. Brads participants medal from Beijing Olympics most ... distinctive thing taken so if anyone hears of it please inform police, who were brilliant this morning. Raging! That is all."

Saiz sells collection

One of the rarer Saiz machines is this one, fitted with a
mid-90s Black Hole hubless wheel and steering

Manolo Saiz, the manager of ONCE-Deutche Bank who withdrew the team from the 1998 Tour de France a the Festina Affair broke, has put his collection of 57 rare and collectible bikes up for auction on Ebay. The auction had a little over two hours to go at the time of writing with a top bid of $50,100, but the reserve had not been met. Among them are some extremely rare time trial bikes, a few of which are probably unique. Ever wanted your own bike museum...?

Horses like cycling too
We all remember the time in 1997 when that horse jumped the fence after deciding it wanted to join in as the peloton went by, then ran alongside or a few miles before dropping to lot of them and galloping off ahead - and those of us who follow cycling will remember that it happened during the Criterium International, too, not in the Tour de France as those people who only know about it from "Amelie" seem to automatically assume ("You mean...there are other bikes races...?")

It turns out that Scottish horses are as into cycling as their French cousins - a rather fine-looking palomino joined in the fun at the Etape Caledonia Challenge this weekend, racing alongside the cyclists for a short while after they passed its field some 89km into the event. Unlike the Criterium International horse, however, this one didn't get its chance to show the riders a thing or two about muscled legs as it was caught by race officials after a few minutes. (...and so do Dolphins)

Other News
"Freewheeling Ryan stays on right road" (Independent, Ireland)

"Victoria Pendleton in shape of her life" (WalesOnline)

Cycling
The News You Might Have Missed
Britain 
"Saddle up for cycling fest on the prom" (Eastbourne Herald)

"Lies, damn lies, and statistics about red light jumping: Do 57% of UK cyclists jump red lights? One motoring organisation claims so – on very flimsy evidence" (The Guardian)


Worldwide
"Vancouver could see more bike lanes for cyclists" (News1130)

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)