Daily Cycling Facts 25.03.2014

The Ronde van Vlaanderen was held on this day in 1928 and won by Jan Mertens, who retired from cycling three years later when he suffered a double fracture to his elbow. The finish line was moved to Wetteren, where it would remain until 1942.

On this day in 1876, Frank Dodds covered 15.85 miles (25.51km) on his penny-farthing at the Cambridge University athletics ground - the first recorded attempt to set an Hour Record.


Wim van Est

Wim van Est, who was born in Fijnaart, Netherlands on this day in 1923, began his cycling career not as a racer but as a smuggler, using his bike to carry illicit tobacco. When he was caught, he spent several months in prison - but it seems that fleeing from the law gave him a good set of legs because as early as 1947 he won the Saarland Rundfahrt, a race held intermittently in Germany between 1928 and 1950, and during his first professional year in 1949 he became National Track Pursuit Champion and won Stage 5 at the Ronde van Nederland.

His results through 1950 were good enough to earn him a place on the Dutch National Team in 1951 and, having broken away from the peloton with a small group earlier in the race, he was first over the finish line for Stage 12 with an advantage over the main field of 18 minutes.

Other Dutchmen had won stages before, but van Est was now race leader and thus became the first Dutch rider to wear the yellow jersey. The next day, he got his second entry in the annals of Tour lore: as he chased the stage leaders down the difficult descent from the Col d'Aubisque, he either went to fast for his ability or - as he insisted - got a puncture in his back wheel. He lost control as the bike slewed over the road and, with him still aboard, plunged into a ravine.

Time stands still whenever something like this happens as team mates, support crew and spectators are reluctant to look over the edge for fear of seeing a smashed corpse lying far below them. However, when they did they were greeted by the site of van Est looking back up at them - he had fallen between 30 and 70m (reports vary widely), yet was somehow unharmed. He later described the experience: "I was lucky because I undid the pedalstraps just before I started to descend. When I fell I kicked my bike away and held my hands over my head. In a few seconds I saw my whole life. My fall was broken by some young trees and I caught one of these trees."

He tried to climb back up to the road but couldn't, so his manager called for a rope - but nobody nearby had one, so they had to improvise one by tying together the team's entire supply of spare tyres. With that, they managed to pull him out and got him into the ambulance that had by now arrived, but he climbed back out and went looking for a bike so he could finish the the stage. Before he could find one, he was persuaded that it might not be such a bad idea to go to hospital just to be checked over and, regretfully, he abandoned the race. The tyres had been stretched and ruined so when they were unable to secure any more, the rest of the team also had to abandon what became - with Hugo Koblet's historic eventual win and Mont Ventoux in Stage 17 and the mountains of the Massif Central all making their first appearance in the race - one of the most eventful Tours of all time.

That death-defying plunge turned out to be highly profitable for van Est. The Dutch team had been supplied with watches by Pontiac, better known as a car manufacturer, who knew a good advertising opportunity when they saw one. Thus, the rider earned a decent income appearing in adverts with the slogan "Seventy meters deep I dropped, my heart stood still but my Pontiac never stopped!" The remainder of his cycling career wasn't bad either - he win Stage 16 at the 1953 Tour, Stage 4b in 1954 and was 8th overall in 1958. he also won a further eleven National Championship titles, Bordeaux-Paris in 1952 and 1961 and the Tour of Flanders in 1953. He was 80 when he died on the 1st of May, 2003.


Michael Wright

Micheal Wright
(image credit: Cycling Weekly)

Michael Wright was born on this day in 1941 in the Hertfordshire town of Bishop's Stortford. His father was killed during 1941 and his mother later remarried a Belgian soldier and took her family to live in Liège. Naturally athletic, Wright's preferred sport during youth was football, but when his stepfather also died he became the family's breadwinner - and if a young athlete wants to support his family by making a living from sport, he needs to get a bike.

Wright would later claim that his British nationality was responsible for his entry into prestigious races because while he wasn't nearly good enough to join the Belgian superstars on their teams, the British had to make do with riders in a lower class - including him. That left him in an unusual position - having spoken French for the majority of his life, he was an English rider who needed to take English lessons so he'd be able to communicate with his team mates. Thus, he became a member of the team during the period between 1964 and 1974 when Britain enjoyed the most success it had ever had in cycling up until recent years. It was also the period during which Tom Simpson died - Wright won Stage 7 that year, but abandoned in Stage 11, two days before his team mate's death on Mont Ventoux.

In all, he rode eight Tours and finished seven of them, winning three stages in total (Stage 20, 1965; Stage 7, 1967; Stage 10, 1973) with his best overall result 24th in 1965. He also entered the Vuelta a Espana, winning Stages  2 and 4 in 1968 and Stages 1 and 13 in 1969, with a best result of 5th in the General Classification and 2nd in the Points competition. After retiring from racing, he worked as an ice-cream salesman for Ijsboerke, the company that sponsored his last team in 1976, and owned a team of his own for a short period.


Elena Tchalykh, born in the USSR on this day in 1974, became Russian National Road Race Champion in 2001 and National Time Trial Champion in 2008.

Matteo Carrara, born in Alzano in Italy on this day in 1979, won the Tour of Luxembourg in 2010. His greatest love after cycling is mathematics.

Other cyclists born on this day: Martijn Keizer (Netherlands, 1988); Raúl Alarcón (Spain, 1986); Daniel Dhers (Venezuela, 1985); Hratch Zadourian (Lebanon, 1969): Remig Stumpf (Germany, 1966); Christos Volikakis (Greece, 1988); Francis Duteil (France, 1947); Pavel Kondr (Czechoslovakia, 1942); Lambros Vasilopoulos (Greece, 1972); Robert Pintarič (Slovenia, 1965); Mahmoud Delshad (Iran, 1953); Ziranda Madrigal (Mexico, 1977); Juan Alves (Argentina, 1939).

Daily Cycling Facts 25.03.2013

The Ronde van Vlaanderen was held on this day in 1928 and won by Jan Mertens, who retired from cycling three years later when he suffered a double fracture to his elbow. The finish line was moved to Wetteren, where it would remain until 1942.

On this day in 1876, Frank Dodds covered 15.85 miles (25.51km) in his penny-farthing at the Cambridge University athletics ground - the first recorded attempt to set an Hour Record.

Wim van Est

Wim van Est, who was born in Fijnaart, Netherlands on this day in 1923, began his cycling career not as a racer but as a smuggler, using his bike to carry illicit tobacco. When he was caught, he spent several months in prison - but it seems that fleeing from the law gave him a good set of legs because as early as 1947 he won the Saarland Rundfahrt, a race held intermittently in Germany between 1928 and 1950, and during his first professional year in 1949 he became National Track Pursuit Champion and won Stage 5 at the Ronde van Nederland.

His results through 1950 were good enough to earn him a place on the Dutch National Team in 1951 and, having broken away from the peloton with a small group earlier in the race, he was first over the finish line for Stage 12 with an advantage over the main field of 18 minutes.

Other Dutchmen had won stages before, but van Est was now race leader and thus became the first Dutch rider to wear the yellow jersey. The next day, he got his second entry in the annals of Tour lore: as he chased the stage leaders down the difficult descent from the Col d'Aubisque, he either went to fast for his ability or - as he insisted - got a puncture in his back wheel. He lost control as the bike slewed over the road and, with him still aboard, plunged into a ravine.

Time stands still whenever something like this happens as team mates, support crew and spectators are reluctant to look over the edge for fear of seeing a smashed corpse lying far below them. However, when they did they were greeted by the site of van Est looking back up at them - he had fallen between 30 and 70m (reports vary widely), yet was somehow unharmed. He later described the experience: "I was lucky because I undid the pedalstraps just before I started to descend. When I fell I kicked my bike away and held my hands over my head. In a few seconds I saw my whole life. My fall was broken by some young trees and I caught one of these trees."

He tried to climb back up to the road but couldn't, so his manager called for a rope - but nobody nearby had one, so they had to improvise one by tying together the team's entire supply of spare tyres. With that, they managed to pull him out and got him into the ambulance that had by now arrived, but he climbed back out and went looking for a bike so he could finish the the stage. Before he could find one, he was persuaded that it might not be such a bad idea to go to hospital just to be checked over and, regretfully, he abandoned the race. The tyres had been stretched and ruined so when they were unable to secure any more, the rest of the team also had to abandon what became - with Hugo Koblet's historic eventual win and Mont Ventoux in Stage 17 and the mountains of the Massif Central all making their first appearance in the race - one of the most eventful Tours of all time.

That death-defying plunge turned out to be highly profitable for van Est. The Dutch team had been supplied with watches by Pontiac, better known as a car manufacturer, who knew a good advertising opportunity when they saw one. Thus, the rider earned a decent income appearing in adverts with the slogan "Seventy meters deep I dropped, my heart stood still but my Pontiac never stopped!" The remainder of his cycling career wasn't bad either - he win Stage 16 at the 1953 Tour, Stage 4b in 1954 and was 8th overall in 1958. he also won a further eleven National Championship titles, Bordeaux-Paris in 1952 and 1961 and the Tour of Flanders in 1953. He was 80 when he died on the 1st of May, 2003.

Michael Wright

Micheal Wright
(image credit: Cycling Weekly)

Michael Wright was born on this day in 1941 in the Hertfordshire town of Bishop's Stortford. His father was killed during 1941 and his mother later remarried a Belgian soldier and took her family to live in Liège. Naturally athletic, Wright's preferred sport during youth was football, but when his stepfather also died he became the family's breadwinner - and if a young athlete wants to support his family by making a living from sport, he needs to get a bike.

Wright would later claim that his British nationality was responsible for his entry into prestigious races because while he wasn't nearly good enough to join the Belgian superstars on their teams, the British had to make do with riders in a lower class - including him. That left him in an unusual position - having spoken French for the majority of his life, he was an English rider who needed to take English lessons so he'd be able to communicate with his team mates. Thus, he became a member of the team during the period between 1964 and 1974 when Britain enjoyed the most success it had ever had in cycling up until recent years. It was also the period during which Tom Simpson died - Wright won Stage 7 that year, but abandoned in Stage 11, two days before his team mate's death on Mont Ventoux.

In all, he rode eight Tours and finished seven of them, winning three stages in total (Stage 20, 1965; Stage 7, 1967; Stage 10, 1973) with his best overall result 24th in 1965. He also entered the Vuelta a Espana, winning Stages  2 and 4 in 1968 and Stages 1 and 13 in 1969, with a best result of 5th in the General Classification and 2nd in the Points competition. After retiring from racing, he worked as an ice-cream salesman for Ijsboerke, the company that sponsored his last team in 1976, and owned a team of his own for a short period.


Elena Tchalykh, born in the USSR on this day in 1974, became Russian National Road Race Champion in 2001 and National Time Trial Champion in 2008.

Matteo Carrara, born in Alzano in Italy on this day in 1979, won the Tour of Luxembourg in 2010. His greatest love after cycling is mathematics.

Other cyclists born on this day: Martijn Keizer (Netherlands, 1988); Raúl Alarcón (Spain, 1986); Daniel Dhers (Venezuela, 1985); Hratch Zadourian (Lebanon, 1969): Remig Stumpf (Germany, 1966); Christos Volikakis (Greece, 1988); Francis Duteil (France, 1947); Pavel Kondr (Czechoslovakia, 1942); Lambros Vasilopoulos (Greece, 1972); Robert Pintarič (Slovenia, 1965); Mahmoud Delshad (Iran, 1953); Ziranda Madrigal (Mexico, 1977); Juan Alves (Argentina, 1939).

Crash during Stage 2, Chongming Island

Monia Baccaille

As expected, Stage 2 finished with a bunch sprint - they all do on the pancake-flat island - with Monia Baccaille (MCipollini-Giambenini-Gauss) taking the honours and the GC leadership after a crash split the bunch. According to reports, an unspecified number of riders were taken to hospital with suspected broken collarbones. Evgenia Romanyuta (RusVelo) was airlifted to hospital, raising worries that she may be badly injured.

Chloe Hosking (Specialized-Lululemon) was second and Shelly Olds (AA-Drink Leontien.nl) third. Baccaille now leads the General Classification by 3" and AA Drink-Leontien.nl takes the Team classification leadership from MCipollini-Giambenini-Gauss with an advantage of 7".

Top Ten

  1.   Monia Baccaille  MCipollini-Giambenini-Gauss  2h57'28"

  2.   Chloe Hosking  Specialized-Lululemon  ST

  3.   Shelley Olds  AA Drink-Leontien.nl  ST

  4.   Melissa Hoskins  Orica-GreenEdge  ST

  5.   Rochelle Gilmore  Faren-Honda  ST

  6.   Romy Kaspar  RusVelo  ST

  7.   Jessie Maclean  Orica-GreenEdge  ST

  8.   Mei Yu Hsiao  Axman Team Taiwan  ST

  9.   Jutatip Maneephan    ST

  10.   Marlen Johrend  ABUS - Nutrixxion  ST

(Full results and GC)

Thursday's Stage 3 consists of eleven laps of a 7.2km urban parcours at Shanghai East Beach.

Cycling Evening News 08.05.12

Giro d'Italia Stage 3 - Tour of the Gila - Two Days of Bedford - Serpa hopes to continue Giro - Nibali denies team change rumours - Other news (links) - Cycling (links)

Giro d'Italia Stage 3 - fast finish brings carnage

Monday's Stage 3 (map, profile) was the last in Denmark before a rest day on Tuesday. 190km in length, starting and ending in Horsens on the east of the country, it was another flat parcours liable to finish once again with a sprint.

The race began with a minute's silence, speeches and tributes in honour of Wouter Weylandt (right), the 26-year-old Leopard Trek rider who was killed in a high-speed crash as he descended the Passo del Bocco during Stage 3 last year. Tribute was also paid to Horsens mayor and cycling fan Jan Trøjborg, who was instrumental in bringing the Giro to the city but never lived to see it after suffering a fatal heart attack on Sunday.

Matt Goss

Mads Christensen (Saxo Bank), Reto Hollenstein (Team NetApp), Miguel Minguez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Martijn Keizer (Vacansoleil-DCM), Alfredo Balloni (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia) and Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Barracuda) got away, but on such a fast, flat stage the peloton was unwilling to let it last and began drawing them back as soon as they'd got three minutes' lead - and since Navaradauskas would have come within 22" of Taylor Phinney's General Classification leadership had the break worked, it was BMC who provided the bulk of the effort required to catch them.

Mark Cavendish was a favourite to win the stage, but somehow he became separated from Geraint Thomas, once again doing service as lead-out man and he wasn't where he needed to be this time. He sought familiar ground, tucking in behind Mark Renshaw (Rabobank), but the simple fact of the matter was that where Sky failed Orica-GreenEDGE excelled, and the Australian team expertly position Matt Goss for a win that looked inevitable with 300m to go. Of course, Cav wasn't about to sit up and let him take it unchallenged, but the moment he took after Tyler Farrar into the sprint Robert Ferrari (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) suddenly swerved from his own line and directly into the Manxman's path - causing a crash that saw both Cav and Phinney hit the tarmac hard. Cav was up first and carried his bike across the finish line, Phinney stayed down longer but, thankfully, has since been declared free of injury. Ferrari finish ninth, but after viewing video footage it was decided that he had acted recklessly and he was relegated to last place - a controversial decision. Cav claimed that he'd been thrown out of races for less. Goss agreed: "Some guys don't have much regard for the safety. It's win at all costs at some points," he said.

Other riders have since been revealed to have been injured in the crash - William Bonnet (FDJ-Bigmat) has extensive bruising and his team mate Mickaël Delage has a painful shoulder. Cav might have been worse off were it not for the catlike reactions of the Farnese Vini-Selle Italia riders behind him: Andrea Guardini managed to somehow avoid him, Elia Favilli bunny-hopped right over him (seriously impressive move there, Elia!) while Pierpaolo de Nigri slammed on the brakes but couldn't escape a collision, going down beside him and bruising his hip. It could have been much, much worse. Cav says he was traveling at 75kph when the crash happened. That's the same speed Weylandt was doing when he died.

Stage 4, team time trial

Ferrari, originally, was dismissive; in a post-race interview, he claimed to be uninterested in what takes place behind him, apparently suggesting that it's up to those following him to take evasive action when he does something unpredictable and dangerous. Androni manager Gianni Savio sounded no less arrogant: "Ferrari goes on instinct, he didn't know what he did behind him," though he later told Cycling News that he would apologise for his rider's actions. It's since been reported that Ferrari will publicly apologise too.

Cycling is a dangerous sport, as Stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia will always remind us after the tragedy of last year - things can go terribly, horribly wrong in the blink of an eye and riders therefore have a duty of care, an obligation not to endanger one another. Ferrari is directly responsible for a crash that could have ended the race for five riders - or their careers, or worse. Cav's right: he shouldn't be permitted to continue. Apologies - especially ones that inly come after the backlash, are not enough, and there is a very good case for disqualifying him. If Savio is truly sorry, it won't come to that - because he would already have sent Ferrari home.

Sky provided a press release stating that Cav "suffered considerable road rash but his injuries haven't worsened overnight and he wasn't complaining of any serious discomfort during the transfer to Italy. The medical team will continue to monitor his progress throughout today but we're confident he will be able to ride on."

Top Ten

  1.  Matthew Goss Orica-GreenEDGE 4h20'53"
  2.  Juan Jose Haedo SaxoBank ST
  3.  Tyler Farrar Garmin-Barracuda ST
  4.  Arnaud Demare FDJ - BigMat ST
  5.  Mark Renshaw Rabobank ST
  6.  Thor Hushovd BMC ST
  7.  Alexander Kristoff Katusha ST
  8.  Romain Feillu Vacansoleil-DCM ST
  9.  Fumiyuki Beppu Orica-GreenEDGE ST
  10.  Andrea Guardini Farnese Vini-Selle Italia ST
(Full stage results and GC)


On Wednesday, the Giro returns to Italy for a 33.2km team time trial around Verona. It's another fast, flat course with only a little pimple of a hill shortly after the first time check and several long straights on the outward and return journeys followed by a straight 800m section to the finish line.

Stages 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21

Tour of the Gila

This race belonged to Armstrong from
start to finish

Kristin Armstrong has been nothing short of untouchable this year, winning four of five stages and apparently giving away the one she didn't win in order to save energy for the challenging Stage 5 - her form is nothing short of remarkable right now, very possibly the best of any cyclist male or female. The Gila Monster, as Stage 5 is known, is a tough parcours by anyone's standards however, and even she had to work hard to win with three categorised climbs along the 115.6km - a Cat 4 to 2,070m at 20km, Cat 2 Wild Horse Mesa/Meadow Creek rising to 2,278m beginning at 85km (though precisely how this climb rates at Cat 2 rather than 1 is a mystery) and a final Cat 4 before the finish line; along with the uncategorised Continental Divide rising to 2,045, halfway through. 

Armstrong, however, is not a rider who likes to rest on her laurels and take things easy, even if - as was the case after Stage 4 - she starts a race with a comfortable 4'46" advantage, so she gave it her all and won by an impressive 1'56". The teams played a complex game throughout the stage as they fought it it not just for good places in the GC, but also for the Youth jersey with attacks firing off at several points along the route and a stellar display of well-controlled high-speed descending by Alison Powers and Carmen Small, who took second and third for the stage and reverse the positions for the GC.

Tayler Wiles won the Youth
category

Top Ten Stage 5

  1.  Kristin Armstrong Exergy Twenty12 3h15'44"
  2.  Alison Powers Now and Novartis for MS +1'56"
  3.  Carmen Small Optum p/b Kelly Benefit ST
  4.  Janel Holcomb Optum p/b Kelly Benefit +2'15"
  5.  Tayler Wiles Exergy Twenty12 +2'17"
  6.  Jade Wilcoxson Optum p/b Kelly Benefit +2'18"
  7.  Emily Kachorek Primal/MapMyRide +2'21"
  8.  Andrea Dvorak Exergy Twenty12 +2'26"
  9.  Anna Barensfield Optum p/b Kelly Benefit ST
  10.  Jacquelyn Crow Exergy Twenty12 ST
(Full Stage 5 results)

Top Ten Overall General Classification

  1.  Kristin Armstrong Exergy Twenty12 11h51'28"
  2.  Carmen Small Optum p/b Kelly Benefit +6'41"
  3.  Alison Powers Now and Novartis for MS +7'19"
  4.  Jade Wilcoxson Jade Optum p/b Kelly Benefit +10'07"
  5.  Janel Holcomb Jade Optum p/b Kelly Benefit +10'21"
  6.  Emily Kachoek Primal/MapMyRide +10'46"
  7.  Olivia Dillon   Now and Novartis for MS  +12'27"
  8.  Tayler Wiles   Exergy Twenty12  +12'31"
  9.  Andrea Dvorak   Exergy Twenty12  +12'44"
  10.  Robin Farina   Optum p/b Kelly Benefit  +13'09"
(Full overall GC)

Rory Sutherland

The men's race, which tool place over 170.1km and added two ascents of 2,284m Anderson Vista (Cat 2 on the first ascent, Cat 1 on the second), lit up after 13km when a 21-man break escaped and rapidly began building a significant gap which, for a while, reached six minutes before the Vista took its toll and they were reduced to seven riders. Only Chad Beyer (Competitive Cyclist) and Lawson Craddock (Bontrager Livestrong) had the energy to continue and broke away, gaining 30" on the chase group before being joined by Craddock's team mate Ian Boswell who mounted a superb solo attack after 140km to give Bontrager a serious advantage going into the last part of the race. Working together, they soon left Beyer behind and rode together to the finish.


While Kristin Armstrong fought tooth-and-nail through the stage, the men's GC leader Rory Sutherland took it easy and stayed out of trouble despite starting the day with a 33" lead - 4'13" less than hers. Nevertheless, it worked: he ended the stage with just 15" over second place over Beyer, but it won him the General Classification.

Ian Boswell's solo attack won team mate
Lawson Craddock the stage

Top Ten Stage 5

  1.  Lawson Craddock Bontrager Livestrong 4h27'33"

  2.  Ian Boswell Bontrager Livestrong ST

  3.  Chad Beyer Competitive Cyclist +06"

  4.  Francisco Mancebo Competitive Cyclist +2'10"

  5.  Tyler Wren Jamis-Sutter Home +2'12"

  6.  Rubens Bertogliati Team Type 1-Sanofi +2'14"

  7.  Joe Dombrowski Bontrager Livestrong ST

  8.  Cameron Wurf Champion System +2'17"

  9.  Mathew Cooke Exergy +2'20"

  10.  Sebatian Salas Optum p/b Kelly Benefit ST

(Full stage results)

Top Ten Overall General Classification

  1.  Rory Sutherland United Healthcare 13h28'12"

  2.  Chad Beyer Competitive Cyclist +15"

  3.  Joe Dombrowski Bontrager Livestrong +22"

  4.  Francisco Mancebo Competitive Cyclist +1'10"

  5.  Lawson Craddock Bontrager Livestrong +1'39"

  6.  Sebastian Salas Optum p/b Kelly Benefit +1'56"

  7.  Chris Baldwin Bissel +1'59"

  8.  Rubens Bertogliati Team Type 1-Sanofi +2'30"

  9.  Mathew Cooke Exergy +2'59"

  10.  Nathan English Kenda/5-Hour Energy +3'52"

(Full overall GC)

Two Days of Bedford

Ciara Horne (in green) leads the Reading Women's Omnium

Sarah Storey (For Viored) took a 5" lead in the General Classification after the Stage 3 individual time trial, completing the 2km course 10" faster than second place Elinor Barker (Scott Contessa) despite the wet conditions as the last riders went - insufficient to allow predictions for the eventual outcome, so everything rested on the rain-soaked Stage 4.

Originally intended to consist of nine laps and 85km around the Milbrook Vehicle Test Track, the stage was shortened to eight laps when the rain showed no sign of stopping. Barker, who started the stage with a 26" disadvantage behind Storey, read the conditions perfectly and knew that strong winds would give the peloton problems; so she attacked in the first stage in the hope that if someone went with her, they'd be able to work together to improve their places and keep out of trouble. However, nobody did, leaving her looking for a while as though she might have made a big mistake. Ultimately, though, it paid off and after settling into a fast rhythm she'd managed to gain a lead of a minute and a half. Ciara Horne (Node 4-Giordana) realised that, unless Barker was caught, her chances of overall victory were over and gave chase in the last two laps. She never did catch her, but reduced the gap to 8" as she crossed the line - enough to take the overall General Classification by one second. (Stages 1/2 report here)

Stage 3 Top Three

  1.  Sarah Storey For Viored 4'23"
  2.  Elinor Barker Scott Contessa +10"
  3.  Ciara Horne Node 4-Giordana +12"


Stage 4 Top Three

  1.  Elinor Barker Scott Contessa 1h54'05"
  2.  Ciara Horne Node 4-Giordana +8"
  3.  Lucy Garner Node 4-Giordana ST


Overall General Classification Top Ten

  1.  Ciara Horne Node 4-Giordana  
  2.  Elinor Barker Scott Contessa Epic +1"
  3.  Lucy Garner Node 4-Giordana +1'01"
  4.  Sarah Storey For Viored +1'02"
  5.  Amy Roberts Scott Contessa Epic +1'25"
  6.  Molly Weaver Scott Contessa Epic +1'39"
  7.  Corrine Hall Node 4-Giordana +1'44"
  8.  Emily Kay Scott Contessa Epic +1'46"
  9.  Helen Wyman Matrix Fitness-Prendas Home +1'51"
  10.  Harriet Owen Node 4-Giordana +1'55"

Add caption

José Serpa hopes to continue Giro

Robert Ferrari might have made himself persona non grata with his dodgy sprinting, but Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela team mate José Serpa is this edition's first hero after remaining in the race despite breaking a finger in Stage 2. While the other riders enjoy a rest day in Verona to recover from the drive down from Denmark, Serpa is spending the day in Turin undergoing X-rays to make sure the fracture didn't become any worse during Stage 3. If not, he will be fitted with a cast designed to allow him to both grip and release the handlebars so that he can remain in the race. (More from Cycling News)

Nibali denies team change

Vincenzo Nibali has denied that he is planning to leave Liquigas-Cannondale at the end of this season, as was widely reported at the weekend (including here). The team revealed that it had not yet heard from the rider after making him an offer said to be worth 1.8 million euros for 2013: "We made him an attractive offer. He has not responded and is therefore not in our contract proposal. The case is closed for us." Rumours then circulated that BMC and Astana had offered him 2.5 million. Liquigas have since issued a new statement saying that "while they are aware "of the rumours that have surfaced over the contractual position for the immediate future, so far no official negotiations have been made on a possible contract extension."

Other News

"Giro d'Italia remembers Wouter Weylandt" (Cycling Weekly)

"Ticket prices revealed for Box Hill area of Olympic road race" (Bike Radar)

Cycling

Britain

"Evolution of cycling" (The Guardian)

"Walkers and cyclists to be rewarded" (UKPA)

"Cyclists hit out at motorists endangering them by parking in bike lanes" (This Is Plymouth)

"Cyclist slams Bedfordshire's ‘strange’ cycle lane" (LocalGov)

Worldwide

"City looks to reduce 'doorings' of cyclists" (CTV, Ottawa)

"Cycle of Fear" (Why riding in NYC will make you happy, New York Times)

Daily Cycling Facts 25.03.12

The Ronde van Vlaanderen was held on this day in 1928 and won by Jan Mertens, who retired from cycling three years later when he suffered a double fracture to his elbow. The finish line was moved to Wetteren, where it would remain until 1942.

On this day in 1876, Frank Dodds covered 15.85 miles (25.51km) in his penny-farthing at the Cambridge University athletics ground - the first recorded attempt to set an Hour Record.

Wim van Est

Wim van Est, who was born in Fijnaart, Netherlands on this day in 1923, began his cycling career not as a racer but as a smuggler, using his bike to carry illicit tobacco. When he was caught, he spent several months in prison - but it seems that fleeing from the law gave him a good set of legs because as early as 1947 he won the Saarland Rundfahrt, a race held intermittently in Germany between 1928 and 1950, and during his first professional year in 1949 he became National Track Pursuit Champion and won Stage 5 at the Ronde van Nederland.

His results through 1950 were good enough to earn him a place on the Dutch National Team in 1951 and, having broken away from the peloton with a small group earlier in the race, he was first over the finish line for Stage 12 with an advantage over the main field of 18 minutes.

Other Dutchmen had won stages before, but van Est was now race leader and thus became the first Dutch rider to wear the yellow jersey. The next day, he got his second entry in the annals of Tour lore: as he chased the stage leaders down the difficult descent from the Col d'Aubisque, he either went to fast for his ability or - as he insisted - got a puncture in his back wheel. He lost control as the bike slewed over the road and, with him still aboard, plunged into a ravine.

Time stands still whenever something like this happens as team mates, support crew and spectators are reluctant to look over the edge for fear of seeing a smashed corpse lying far below them. However, when they did they were greeted by the site of van Est looking back up at them - he had fallen between 30 and 70m (reports vary widely), yet was somehow unharmed. He later described the experience: "I was lucky because I undid the pedalstraps just before I started to descend. When I fell I kicked my bike away and held my hands over my head. In a few seconds I saw my whole life. My fall was broken by some young trees and I caught one of these trees."

He tried to climb back up to the road but couldn't, so his manager called for a rope - but nobody nearby had one, so they had to improvise one by tying together the team's entire supply of spare tyres. With that, they managed to pull him out and got him into the ambulance that had by now arrived, but he climbed back out and went looking for a bike so he could finish the the stage. Before he could find one, he was persuaded that it might not be such a bad idea to go to hospital just to be checked over and, regretfully, he abandoned the race. The tyres had been stretched and ruined so when they were unable to secure any more, the rest of the team also had to abandon what became - with Hugo Koblet's historic eventual win and Mont Ventoux in Stage 17 and the mountains of the Massif Central all making their first appearance in the race - one of the most eventful Tours of all time.

That death-defying plunge turned out to be highly profitable for van Est. The Dutch team had been supplied with watches by Pontiac, better known as a car manufacturer, who knew a good advertising opportunity when they saw one. Thus, the rider earned a decent income appearing in adverts with the slogan "Seventy meters deep I dropped, my heart stood still but my Pontiac never stopped!" The remainder of his cycling career wasn't bad either - he win Stage 16 at the 1953 Tour, Stage 4b in 1954 and was 8th overall in 1958. he also won a further eleven National Championship titles, Bordeaux-Paris in 1952 and 1961 and the Tour of Flanders in 1953. He was 80 when he died on the 1st of May, 2003.

Michael Wright

Micheal Wright
(image credit: Cycling Weekly)

Michael Wright was born on this day in 1941 in the rather depressing Hertfordshire town of Bishop's Stortford. His father was killed during 1941 and his mother later remarried a Belgian soldier and took her family to live in Liège. Naturally athletic, Wright's preferred sport during youth was football, but when his stepfather also died he became the family's breadwinner - and if a young athlete wants to support his family by making a living from sport, he needs to get a bike.

Wright would later claim that his British nationality was responsible for his entry into prestigious races because while he wasn't nearly good enough to join the Belgian superstars on their teams, the British had to make do with riders in a lower class - including him. That left him in an unusual position - having spoken French for the majority of his life, he was an English rider who needed to take English lessons so he'd be able to communicate with his team mates. Thus, he became a member of the team during the period between 1964 and 1974 when Britain enjoyed the most success it had ever had in cycling up until recent years. It was also the period during which Tom Simpson died - Wright won Stage 7 that year, but abandoned in Stage 11, two days before his team mate's death on Mont Ventoux.

In all, he rode eight Tours and finished seven of them, winning three stages in total (Stage 20, 1965; Stage 7, 1967; Stage 10, 1973) with his best overall result 24th in 1965. He also entered the Vuelta a Espana, winning Stages  2 and 4 in 1968 and Stages 1 and 13 in 1969, with a best result of 5th in the General Classification and 2nd in the Points competition. After retiring from racing, he worked as an ice-cream salesman for Ijsboerke, the company that sponsored his last team in 1976, and owned a team of his own for a short period.


Elena Tchalykh, born in the USSR on this day in 1974, became Russian National Road Race Champion in 2001 and National Time Trial Champion in 2008.

Matteo Carrara, born in Alzano in Italy on this day in 1979, won the Tour of Luxembourg in 2010. His greatest love after cycling is mathematics.

Other births: Martijn Keizer (Netherlands, 1988); Raúl Alarcón (Spain, 1986); Daniel Dhers (Venezuela, 1985); Hratch Zadourian (Lebanon, 1969): Remig Stumpf (Germany, 1966); Christos Volikakis (Greece, 1988); Francis Duteil (France, 1947); Pavel Kondr (Czechoslovakia, 1942); Lambros Vasilopoulos (Greece, 1972); Robert Pintarič (Slovenia, 1965); Mahmoud Delshad (Iran, 1953); Ziranda Madrigal (Mexico, 1977); Juan Alves (Argentina, 1939).

Sara Mustonen in training accident

Hitec Products-Mistral Home's 31-year-old rider Sara Mustonen was hit by a car during a training ride today, team manager Karl Lima has said via his Twitter account.

Swedish Sara, who won the Tour de Pologne Feminin in 2008, is understood to be unhurt.

Karl Lima @Karl_Lima_Hitec
Car hit Sara Mustonen on training today. Girl ok. Rumours say car total wreck and driver still running after Sara gave him 'the look' :-)

Keizer crashes

Martijn Keizer
(image credit: Thomas Ducroquet CC BY-SA 3.0) 

Dutch rider Martijn Keizer crashed heavily in the Grand Prix Cycliste La Marseillaise and fractured his hand and collarbone today, team officials announced via Vacansoleil-DCM's Twitter feed.

VacansoleilDCM Vacansoleil DCM 

#martijnkeizer crashed at #lamarseillaise . Might have a broken collarbone according to SD Van Der Schueren. #vcd

VacansoleilDCM Vacansoleil DCM 

#martijnkeizer broke collarbone and hand according to SD van Poppel. More news will follow on our website tonight

At the time of writing, no further information had been made available on the website.

Ever since being created in 1980, the GP Cycliste La Marseillaise has had a reputation for bringing bad luck to those who win it - according to superstition (and cyclists are a superstitious bunch), any rider who is victorious in this race will experience little success in the rest of the season. However, Bernard Hinault, who won this, the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in 1982 might disagree.

Cofidis Damien Monier seriously injured

Damien Monier
(image credit: Thomas Ducroquet CC BY 3.0) 

Damien Monier was involved in an accident with a car whilst on a training ride yesterday say Cofidis team officials, sustaining serious injuries and briefly losing consciousness.

This is the worst possible start to a new year for any rider, but for the 29-year-old Frenchman it comes after a disastrous 2011 in which he suffered frequent bouts of bad health which affected the two-time National Track Champion's performance badly, his best result all year being 12th in the General Classification at the International Presidency Turkey Tour. The rider has not yet commented, but fans will be wondering if an accident this serious after a bad year might persuade him to take early retirement.

Monier, who has remained with Cofidis since being taken on as a trainee in 2003, was taken to hospital where he was revealed to have multiple fractures at the base of his skull, jaw and sinuses as well as heavy facial bruising. Fortunately, he escaped spinal injuries.

Big crash at Tour Down Under

A broken hip could easily have
spelled the end of 40-year-old
 Guesdon's career
(image credit: Ludovic Peron CC BY-SA 3.0) 

Jürgen Roelandts may never ride again, reports Sky TV

The first stage of the Tour Down Under was marked by a high speed crash today with several riders suffering serious injuries. Jürgen Roelandts (Lotto-Belisol) has a neck fracture, Frédéric Guesdon (FDJ) a broken hip and Matteo Montagutti (AG2R) a snapped collarbone. Around 20 riders in all were involved in the 70kph accident.

FDJ has since stated that x-rays confirm 40-year-old Guesdon's hip is indeed broken; but  initial hopes that, as the break is relatively minor, the rider could make a full recovery and return to racing in time for Paris-Roubaix now look unlikely. The rider had previously stated that he would retire following the Monument, which will be held on the 8th of April, but directeur sportif Yvan Madiot now believes this is unlikely.

Roelandts underwent a scan which revealed that he has a fractured sixth cervical vertebrae and as such is fortunate to have escaped paralysis - fears that he might have other injuries have proved unfounded. Sky TV  reported fears that he too might face early retirement, but other sources are far more optimistic and his team haven't produced a press release to support the British broadcaster's report.

The crash took place 1km from the finish line of the 149km stage and was caused when Kenny van Hummel collided with a 70-year-old female spectator, who received minor injuries. Some spectators have criticised crowd control at the event - however, race directors told AdelaideNow that the rider had lost control on a patch of dirt, causing him to skid into the woman rather than the crash resulting from a failure to keep the road clear. Robbie McEwen of GreenEDGE, the Australian team launched one year ago today, was also in the crash; Vacansoleil's Romain Feillu fell earlier and is suffering stomach pains but will race again in the next stage.

Greipel, now riding with
Lotto-Belisol
(image credit: Manfred Werner-TSUI
CC BY-SA 3.0)

A group of four riders broke away early in the race and built a lead of  11'40"  before being caught by the peloton with 12km to the end of the  stage for a sprint finish. André Greipel, who used his Twitter account to pass on "get well soon" messages to the injured riders, won the stage - his ninth in the Tour to date - when he edged ahead of Alessandro Petacchi as they reached the line at the bottom of a short hill; thencriticised Petacchi's tactics after the race by claiming that he was veering from left to right with little care for the crash. The Italian rider refutes the claims, adding that he had nothing to do with the accident as it happened behind him and says that other than hearing it, he was unaware of what had happened. Race officials have viewed footage and support him, feeling that his conduct was not irregular.

Conditions along the parcours, which stretched from Prospect to Clare, are described as having been "brutal" with powerful winds and temperatures of 40°C. Fabio Sabatini of Liquigas-Cannondale took 3rd place. Greipel has attacked organisers, saying that in his opinion the parcours was unnecessarily dangerous. Race director Mike Turtur responded by saying that riders were given sufficient detail concerning hazards and the final section, but adds that he will meet Greipel to discuss the issue and his concerns.

Roelandts also used his Twitter to pass on congratulations to the German rider and posted a photograph of himself in the Accident and Emergency Department at Adelaide Hospital.

Video of the final sprint and crash