All aboard the Sky train!

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

"Jered Gruber ‏ @jeredgruber
It's funny when something lives up to the hype, tales, and stories. Belgian racing is everything you've heard. All true, no exaggeration."

Even in the early stages of this year's Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, World Champion Mark Cavendish looked the most likely winner - Team Sky had sent him to the race with seven strong riders, six of them experienced Classics capable of winning this race for themselves (as one of them, Chris Sutton, proved last year). Halfway through they'd got themselves arranged into a clever tactical layout with Cav well-protected to preserve his freshness when the breakaway was pulled back in, but enough of them near the front to have a shot at the line if the break made it.

With 50km to go, the outcome looked even more certain. By now Sky looked as though they riding a team time trial - turning a big ring, eating up the miles and paying little attention to the break that had split into weaker, competing groups and thus doomed itself. They waited until the 20km to go point before picking up the pace and beginning to put pressure on Lotto-Belisol; home to Andre Greipel, the only rider in this race with a chance of stopping Cav.

A small amount of lost time with a slightly fudged right corner as the Manx star avoided street furniture made no difference and by the time they entered the final 5km the team had formed a spearhead at the front of the peloton, too confident in their abilities to trouble themselves unduely when FDJ briefly took over. In the end, it was an easy win - Sky's strategy ran like clockwork, and Cav hardly broke into a sweat as he crossed the line to take his first victory of 2012. FDJ's Yahueni Hutarovich tried to catch him, but by the time he'd got his front wheel level with the Missile's back wheel the 26-year-old was already sitting up in celebration. There are those who will complain it wasn't the exciting, heroic triumph that fans expect from the Classics, but it was a superbly clever one - because it worked so well and for the psychological effect: if Cav can do that without even trying, what can he do when he makes an effort?

That a British rider has won a Classic would always be good news; but the fact that it was Cav is better still. Right now, cycling is on the cusp of becoming bigger than it has ever been in this country; perhaps bigger even than it has been in France for many years. Cav is the highest-profile rider since Tom Simpson, maybe even more so, and today's victory will make it onto more than a few news reports tonight - each time that happens, the British public like cycling just a little bit more. Nice one, Mark. Tom would've been proud.

(results below)

Mark Cavendish is the first British rider to win this race and the first current World Champion
to do so since Johan Museeuw in 1997. It's also the second win here in two years for Sky as
Christopher Sutton won last year.

Final Kilometre (via Sporza)

Results

1     Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling 4:27:30
2     Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ-Big Mat
3     Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
4 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat  
5 Alexander Serebryakov (Rus) Team Type 1 - Sanofi  
6 Tom Veelers (Ned) Project 1t4i  
7 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Team Europcar  
8 Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's  
9 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team  
10 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team
11 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Spidertech p/b C10  
12 Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) GreenEdge Cycling Team  
13 Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale  
14 Adrien Petit (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne  
15 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team  
16 Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team  
17 Guillaume Blot (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller  
18 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Cervelo  
19 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team  
20 Leif Hoste (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's  
21 Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Team Type 1 - Sanofi  
22 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's  
23 Michaël Van Staeyen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator  
24 Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team  
25 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's  
26 Alexander Porsev (Rus) Katusha Team  
27 Davy Commeyne (Bel) Landbouwkrediet  
28 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  
29 Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia  
30 Martin Gilbert (Can) Spidertech p/b C10  
31 Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Landbouwkrediet  
32 Timon Seubert (Ger) Team NetApp  
33 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator  
34 Thomas Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team  
35 Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) An Post - Sean Kelly  
36 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator  
37 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar  
38 Robin Stenuit (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Credit Agricole  
39 Rony Martias (Fra) Saur - Sojasun  
40 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) GreenEdge Cycling Team  
41 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling  
42 Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  
43 Kevin Lacombe (Can) Spidertech p/b C10  
44 James Vanlandschoot (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's  
45 Fabio Polazzi (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Credit Agricole  
46 Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Team Europcar  
47 Edwig Cammaerts (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne  
48 Sven Vandousselaere (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator  
49 Grischa Janorschke (Ger) Team NetApp  
50 Maxime Vantomme (Bel) Katusha Team  
51 Jean-Lou Paiani (Fra) Saur - Sojasun  
52 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team  
53 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team  
54 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin-Cervelo  
55 Christophe Laborie (Fra) Saur - Sojasun  
56 Niels Wytinck (Bel) An Post - Sean Kelly  
57 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  
58 Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) An Post - Sean Kelly  
59 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale  
60 Renaud Dion (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller  
61 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  
62 Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team  
63 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team  
64 Egidijus Juodvalkis (Ltu) Landbouwkrediet  
65 Alexey Tsatevitch (Rus) Katusha Team  
66 Stijn Neirynck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator  
67 Roy Curvers (Ned) Project 1t4i  
68 David Boucher (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat  
69 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team  
70 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia  
71 Johan Le Bon (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller  
72 Florent Barle (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne  
73 Markus Eichler (Ger) Team NetApp  
74 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Lotto Belisol Team  
75 Matti Helminen (Fin) Landbouwkrediet  
76 Philippe Legrand (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Credit Agricole  
77 Hugo Houle (Can) Spidertech p/b C10  
78 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Saur - Sojasun  
79 Stijn Ennekens (Bel) An Post - Sean Kelly  
80 Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling  
81 Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin-Cervelo  
82 Travis Meyer (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team  
83 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) Team Type 1 - Sanofi  
84 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team  
85 Martin Mortensen (Den) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team  
86 Romain Lemarchand (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale  
87 Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar  
88 Kevin Van Impe (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team  
89 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Procycling  
90 Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team  
91 Laszlo Bodrogi (Fra) Team Type 1 - Sanofi  
92 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling  
93 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale  
94 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team  
95 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  
96 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin-Cervelo  
97 Ole Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-Big Mat  
98 Mark Mcnally (GBr) An Post - Sean Kelly  
99 Laurent Evrard (Bel) Wallonie Bruxelles - Credit Agricole  
100 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team  
101 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team  
102 Jérémie Galland (Fra) Saur - Sojasun  
103 Steve Houanard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale  
104 Jetse Bol (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team  
105 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team  
106 Koen Barbe (Bel) Landbouwkrediet  
107 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team  
108 Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha Team  
109 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale  
110 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia  
111 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:00:20  
112 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team  
113 Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:00:29  
114 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:00:35  
115 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team  
116 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat  
117 William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat  
118 Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:00:40  
119 Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team  
120 Niko Eeckhout (Bel) An Post - Sean Kelly  
121 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team  
122 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:01:30  
123 Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:01:46  
124 John Degenkolb (Ger) Project 1t4i 0:01:54  
125 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep  
126 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:02:08  
127 Sébastien Delfosse (Bel) Landbouwkrediet  
128 Aliaksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Katusha Team 0:02:12  
129 Kristof Goddaert (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:19  
130 Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne  
131 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar  
132 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:03:05  
133 Bernard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling  
134 Jimmy Casper (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:31  
135 Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Type 1 - Sanofi  
136 Jérôme Baugnies (Bel) Team NetApp 0:04:52  
137 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Project 1t4i 0:05:25  
138 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia  
139 Matthew Wilson (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team

Cycling awakens - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (with results)

(image credit: Dzipi CC BY-SA 2.0)

Results below.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Parcours here

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

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

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad live streams

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

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

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

Anyway, here's some streams...

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

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

For Sale: Classic Merckx (with conditions)...

From Classic Cycle:

(click for original size)

That seems perfectly reasonable, don't you think?

Video of the day - Coppi wins the 1952 Tour de France

Fausto Coppi, born in 1919, absolutely dominated road racing for several years before and after the Second World War until a scandal surrounding his aldulterous love affair with Giulia Occhini and the death of his younger brother in a high-speed cycling crash began his decline. He died, tragically just 40 years old, in 1960 of malaria.



In the 1952 Tour de France, Coppi was so fast that the race organisers eventually decided to double the prize money for second place because the competing riders had simply given up any hope of beating him and the event was becoming boring. With five Giros d'Italia, five Giros di Lombaria, two Tours de France, one World Championship and a host of other titles including Paris-Roubaix, La Flèche Wallonne and speed records to his name, he remains one of the all-time indisputed greats.