Daily Cycling Facts 30.10.2013

Manuel Quinziato, born in Bolzano, Italy on this day in 1979, became European Under-23 Time Trial Champion in 2001. In 2009, he was ninth at Paris-Roubaix and as of 2013 was a veteran of fourteen Grand Tours, his best result being 80th at the Tour de France in 2006.

Rompelberg's 1995 world record

Fred Rompelberg, born in Maastricht on this day in 1945, has attempted and set numerous cycling speed records - including 268.831kph drafting behind a dragster car at Bonneville Salt Flats on the 3rd of October in 1995, which remains the non-roller, flat terrain world record. Now aged 68 and in possession of a full UCI racing licence, he is officially the oldest professional racing cyclist in the world. 2014 will be his 43rd year as a professional.

Ramona d'Viola, born in Chicago on this day in 1958, was selected for the US national team in 1985 and took 38th place at the Tour de France Féminin that year. She has also been active in sailing (including as a crew member in the America's Cup) and in paddleboarding, in 2004 captaining the first women's team to successfully cross the Florida Straits following an aborted attempt the previous year and is a veteran of the US Army Marines and an acclaimed photojournalist.

Wolfgang Wesemann, born in Elbeu on this day in 1949, was Amateur Road Race Champion of East Germany in 1972.

Christian Lademann, who was born in Blankenberg, East Germany on this day in 1975, won numerous road and track events in the late 1990s and first decade of the 21st Century including a stage at the Peace Race and several National and World titles. In 2009, when new testing procedures were applied to samples taken from athletes at races in the past, Lademann was shown to have been positive for EPO. He had by that time retired and did not request that the B-sample provided at the same time be tested.

Mieczysław Wilczewski, who was born in Lwow, Ukraine on this day in 1932 to Polish parents; he later became a resident of Poland and won the Tour of Poland in 1953. Years later he moved again to the USA, where he died in 1994.

Marco Arriagada, - born in Curicó, Chile on this day in 1975 and winner of the National Road Race Championship in 2001, 2006 and 2007, the National Time Trial Championship in 2003 and 2010, the Vuelta de Chile in 2004 and the Tour de San Luis in 2011 - tested positive for anabolic steroids at the Vuelta de Chile in 2011 and was banned from competition for four years.

Other cyclists born on this day: Martin Gilbert (Canada, 1982); Carl Lundquist (Sweden, 1891, died 1916); Michel Zucarelli (France, 1953); Charles Rabaey (Belgium, 1934); Jesús Vázquez (Mexico, 1969); Yukari Nakagome (Japan, 1965); Serafino Silva (Venezuela, 1953).

Daily Cycling Facts 29.07.2013

Vic Sutton

Vic Sutton, riding for
Libera-Grammont in 1960

Charly Gaul and Federico Bahamontes are rightly regarded as the greatest climbers in the history of professional cycling, but  they faced competition from an entirely unexpected source at the 1959 Tour de France - a skinny little British 23-year-old named Victor Sutton; British riders being considered in those days to be among the lower ranks of cyclists, despite Brian Robinson's Stage 7 victory a year earlier, and certainly not great climbers (indeed, to this day Britain has produced only two world-class grimpeurs, the Scotsman Robert Millar and Emma Pooley from England).

Born in Thorne, Yorkshire on the 3rd of December in 1935, Sutton has been so entirely forgotten today that Cycling Archives doesn't list a palmares for him and he has no page on Wikipedia, but his natural talent in the mountains, where he could keep turning a low gear at high revolutions per minute just like Gaul did, enabled him to climb from 109th place at the end of the first week of the Tour to 37th by the finish; on the Puy de Dôme time trial he recorded a time that remained the fastest for an hour and might have finished in the top ten in Paris had he not have shared Bahamontes' terror of descending - once over the summit, he seized up and lost large chunks of the time he'd gained on the way up.

He returned to the Tour in 1960, another year older and wiser and believed by some to now be in a position to beat the Eagle and the Angel, but his season up to the race had been too hard and he suffered a minor heart attack in Stage 18, the Tour's last day in the Alps. His doctor ordered him to give up racing immediately, but Sutton chose to continue to the end of the season. He continued cycling for pleasure for the remainder of his life, which ended on this day in 1999. Alongside Robinson, he was one of the first riders to show the world that British cyclists could compete at the highest level of the sport, and he should be far better known than he is today.


Canadian mountain biker Roland Green, born in Victoria on this day in 1974, won the National Championships in 1996, 1998, 2001 and 2003. He was World Champion in 2001 and 2002, also winning the World Cup the first year and a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the second.

Massimo Podenzana, born in La Spezia on this day in 1961, won the Italian Road Race Championship in 1993 and 1994. In 1988 he won Stage 4a at the Giro d'Italia, in 1994 he finished in seventh place overall. He won the Giro di Toscana in 1995, then Stage 15 at the 1996 Tour de France. He is a brother-in-law of Ivan Basso.

Kilian Moser, born in Interlaken on this day in 1988, became Swiss Pursuit Champion in 2012. He is not related to the Italian cyclist Francesco Moser.

Faustino Rupérez, born in Piquera de San Esteban on this day in 1956, won the Spanish Road Race Championship in 1979, then the General Classification at the Vuelta a Espana one year later

Tommy Prim

Tommy Prim, born in Svenljunga on this day in 1955, had an extraordinarily successful junior and amateur career during which he won five National Championships and dominated the Swedish racing scene. He turned professional with Bianchi in 1980 (and would remain with them for his entire career), and won Stage 15 and the Youth category as well as fourth place overall and third in the Points competition that same year: a stunning Grand Tour debut by a new rider. The following year, he came second overall and for Points, then came second overall again in 1982. In 1983, Prim won Paris-Brussels, becoming the first Scandinavian rider to win a Classic; had his career not have coincided with that of Bernard Hinault, he might have been the second (after Gösta Pettersson, who won the Giro in 1971) to win a Grand Tour, too. After retiring in 1986, he opened a bike shop and later worked in a variety of jobs including at a mail order company, a saw mill and a fish smokery; he made his return to cycling as a manager for Team Crescent, which aimed to ind and develop Swedish promises.

Born on this day in 1990, British road and track rider Erick Rowsell became National Junior Time Trial Champion in 2007 and National Junior Road Race Champion the following year. He is the younger brother of three-time World Track Championships gold medal-winner Joanna Rowsell.

Eddy Mazzoleni

Eddy Mazzoleni, born in Bergamo on this day in 1971, finished third at the Giro di Lombardia in 1999, fifteenth at the Giro d'Italia in 2002, tenth at the Giro in 2003, thirteenth at the Tour de France in 2005 and third at the Giro in 2007, behind Danilo di Luca and Andy Schleck. Later that year he was implicated in the Oil for Drugs scandal, during which he and several other riders were investigating over their connections to Dr. Carlo Santuccione, who was accused of running a doping ring. Mazzoleni and others were caught out by a surveillance operation; he left Astana voluntarily and was later given a two-year ban.

Other cyclists born on this day: Laëtitia Le Corguillé (France, 1986); Sergei Kopylov (USSR, 1960); Kilian Moser (Switzerland, 1988); Atle Pedersen (Norway, 1964); Gabriel Niell (Argentina, 1941); Gwon Jung-Hyeon (South Korea, 1942); Janis Pratnieks (Russia, 1887); Sergey Kopylov (USSR, 1960); Chris Coletta (USA, 1972).

Daily Cycling Facts 30.10.12

Manuel Quinziato, born in Bolzano, Italy on this day in 1979, became European Under-23 Time Trial Champion in 2001. In 2009, he was ninth at Paris-Roubaix and as of 2012 was a veteran on thirteen Grand Tours, his best result being 80th at the Tour de France in 2006.

Rompelberg's 1995 world record

Fred Rompelberg, born in Maastricht on this day in 1945, has attempted and set numerous cycling speed records - including 268.831kph drafting behind a dragster car at Bonneville Salt Flats on the 3rd of October in 1995, which remains the non-roller, flat terrain world record. Now aged 67 and in possession of a full UCI racing licence, he is officially the oldest professional racing cyclist in the world.

Ramona d'Viola, born in Chicago on this day in 1958, was selected for the US national team in 1985 and took 38th place at the Tour de France Féminin that year. She has also been active in sailing (including as a crew member in the America's Cup) and in paddleboarding, in 2004 captaining the first women's team to successfully cross the Florida Straits following an aborted attempt the previous year and is a veteran of the US Army Marines and an acclaimed photojournalist.

Wolfgang Wesemann, born in Elbeu on this day in 1949, was Amateur Road Race Champion of East Germany in 1972.

Christian Lademann, who was born in Blankenberg, East Germany on this day in 1975, won numerous road and track events in the late 1990s and first decade of the 21st Century including a stage at the Peace Race and several National and World titles. In 2009, when new testing procedures were applied to samples taken from athletes at races in the past, Lademann was shown to have been positive for EPO. He had by that time retired and did not request that the B-sample provided at the same time be tested.

Mieczysław Wilczewski, who was born in Lwow, Ukraine on this day in 1932 to Polish parents; he later became a resident of Poland and won the Tour of Poland in 1953. Years later he moved again to the USA, where he died in 1994.

Marco Arriagada, - born in Curicó, Chile on this day in 1975 and winner of the National Road Race Championship in 2001, 2006 and 2007, the National Time Trial Championship in 2003 and 2010, the Vuelta de Chile in 2004 and the Tour de San Luis in 2011 - tested positive for anabolic steroids at the Vuelta de Chile in 2011 and was banned from competition for four years.

Other cyclists born on this day: Martin Gilbert (Canada, 1982); Carl Lundquist (Sweden, 1891, died 1916); Michel Zucarelli (France, 1953); Charles Rabaey (Belgium, 1934); Jesús Vázquez (Mexico, 1969); Yukari Nakagome (Japan, 1965); Serafino Silva (Venezuela, 1953).

Daily Cycling Facts 29.07.12

Vic Sutton

Vic Sutton, riding for
Libera-Grammont in 1960

Charly Gaul and Federico Bahamontes are rightly regarded as the greatest climbers in the history of professional cycling, but  they faced competition from an entirely unexpected source at the 1959 Tour de France - a skinny little British 23-year-old named Victor Sutton; British riders being considered in those days to be among the lower ranks of cyclists, despite Brian Robinson's Stage 7 victory a year earlier, and certainly not great climbers (indeed, to this day Britain has produced only two world-class grimpeurs, the Scotsman Robert Millar and Emma Pooley from England).

Born in Thorne, Yorkshire on the 3rd of December in 1935, Sutton has been so entirely forgotten today that Cycling Archives doesn't list a palmares for him and he has no page on Wikipedia, but his natural talent in the mountains, where he could keep turning a low gear at high revolutions per minute just like Gaul did, enabled him to climb from 109th place at the end of the first week of the Tour to 37th by the finish; on the Puy de Dôme time trial he recorded a time that remained the fastest for an hour and might have finished in the top ten in Paris had he not have shared Bahamontes' terror of descending - once over the summit, he seized up and lost large chunks of the time he'd gained on the way up.

He returned to the Tour in 1960, another year older and wiser and believed by some to now be in a position to beat the Eagle and the Angel, but his season up to the race had been too hard and he suffered a minor heart attack in Stage 18, the Tour's last day in the Alps. His doctor ordered him to give up racing immediately, but Sutton chose to continue to the end of the season. He continued cycling for pleasure for the remainder of his life, which ended on this day in 1999. Alongside Robinson, he was one of the first riders to show the world that British cyclists could compete at the highest level of the sport, and he should be far better known than he is today.


Canadian mountain biker Roland Green, born in Victoria on this day in 1974, won the National Championships in 1996, 1998, 2001 and 2003. He was World Champion in 2001 and 2002, also winning the World Cup the first year and a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the second.

Massimo Podenzana, born in La Spezia on this day in 1961, won the Italian Road Race Championship in 1993 and 1994. In 1988 he won Stage 4a at the Giro d'Italia, in 1994 he finished in seventh place overall. He won the Giro di Toscana in 1995, then Stage 15 at the 1996 Tour de France. He is a brother-in-law of Ivan Basso.

Kilian Moser, born in Interlaken on this day in 1988, became Swiss Pursuit Champion in 2012. He is not related to the Italian cyclist Francesco Moser.

Faustino Rupérez, born in Piquera de San Esteban on this day in 1956, won the Spanish Road Race Championship in 1979, then the General Classification at the Vuelta a Espana one year later

Tommy Prim

Tommy Prim, born in Svenljunga on this day in 1955, had an extraordinarily successful junior and amateur career during which he won five National Championships and dominated the Swedish racing scene. He turned professional with Bianchi in 1980 (and would remain with them for his entire career), and won Stage 15 and the Youth category as well as fourth place overall and third in the Points competition that same year: a stunning Grand Tour debut by a new rider. The following year, he came second overall and for Points, then came second overall again in 1982. In 1983, Prim won Paris-Brussels, becoming the first Scandinavian rider to win a Classic; had his career not have coincided with that of Bernard Hinault, he might have been the second (after Gösta Pettersson, who won the Giro in 1971) to win a Grand Tour, too. After retiring in 1986, he opened a bike shop and later worked in a variety of jobs including at a mail order company, a saw mill and a fish smokery; he made his return to cycling as a manager for Team Crescent, which aimed to ind and develop Swedish promises.

Born on this day in 1990, British road and track rider Erick Rowsell became National Junior Time Trial Champion in 2007 and National Junior Road Race Champion the following year. He is the younger brother of three-time World Track Championships gold medal-winner Joanna Rowsell.

Eddy Mazzoleni

Eddy Mazzoleni, born in Bergamo on this day in 1971, finished third at the Giro di Lombardia in 1999, fifteenth at the Giro d'Italia in 2002, tenth at the Giro in 2003, thirteenth at the Tour de France in 2005 and third at the Giro in 2007, behind Danilo di Luca and Andy Schleck. Later that year he was implicated in the Oil for Drugs scandal, during which he and several other riders were investigating over their connections to Dr. Carlo Santuccione, who was accused of running a doping ring. Mazzoleni and others were caught out by a surveillance operation; he left Astana voluntarily and was later given a two-year ban.

Other cyclists born on this day: Laëtitia Le Corguillé (France, 1986); Sergei Kopylov (USSR, 1960); Kilian Moser (Switzerland, 1988); Atle Pedersen (Norway, 1964); Gabriel Niell (Argentina, 1941); Gwon Jung-Hyeon (South Korea, 1942); Janis Pratnieks (Russia, 1887); Sergey Kopylov (USSR, 1960); Chris Coletta (USA, 1972).

Cycling Evening News 02.05.12

Truck that killed Korean cyclists "apparently speeding" as driver watched TV; riders named - RCS likely to share TV rights with Giro teams - Tony Martin, true professional - Riders to receive 2010/2011 Grand Tour jerseys - Cofidis Tour pre-selection - Movistar change Giro line-up - Introducing... Team Colavita - Tandem paracycling  in 2014 Commonwealth Games - Mark Colbourne revved up for London 2012 glory - Vaughters: "Cycling's image has bigger issues" - Mark Cavendish: Every rider of the Olympic road race should get a medal - British Cycling extend sponsorship deal with Sky until 2016 - Goss key to Olympic success - Geraint Thomas blasts Olympic rule changes - Contador impressed by Boonen - Crash at Rock Tour - Drafting like a boss - Cycling Newswire - Tweets

Racing
Truck that killed S. Korean cyclists "apparently speeding" as driver watched TV; riders named
The driver of a 25-tonne truck that first hit a van and then ploughed into a women's professional cycling team in South Korea, killing three riders and seriously injuring four others, may have been speeding; according to reports. The team's coach, who was travelling in the van, escaped with minor injuries.

"The accident took place in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang Province, 334 kilometers southeast of Seoul at around 9:50 a.m," says the Korea Herald.

The three riders killed have been named as Jeong Soo Jeong (19), Lee Min Jeong (24) and Park Eun Mi (25). The most seriously injured women are Jang Jin Ha (19), Kim Seon Young (20) and Jeong Eun Song (23).

"The driver said he was watching the television and only after hearing a loud noise while colliding with the van did he realize he had caused an accident," local police informed the Korea Times. "He steered left immediately and braked but it was too late. We presume he was driving at around 70 kilometers per hour. It might be that Baek stepped on the accelerator by mistake instead of the brake as he was engrossed in the drama. It seems he wasn't aware of what had happened for a while after the initial crash." Investigators have said that there were no skid marks for 100m after the point where the truck hit the cyclists, suggesting that driver was unaware he had hit them until he also hit the van.

RCS likely to share TV rights with teams

RCS Sport - organiser of the Giro d'Italia - is said to be on the verge of signing a deal with the UCI Pro Teams that would see television rights to events shared between them, rather than all rights belonging to race organisers as has previously been the tradition. The company also organises the Milan-San Remo and Giro di Lombardia Monuments as well as Tirreno-Adriatico.

Several teams have said over the the last couple of years that they believe a share of TV rights would be a useful alternative source of income, leaving them less reliant on sponsorship. Organisers - who in the case of major races earn vast sums selling the rights globally - have been less keen. So what changed RCS' mind? Presumably, the fact that paying a share of the money to the teams would give them certain leverage in controlling which riders are sent to a race - if an organiser can influence a team to send its most popular riders, viewing figures, sales and advertising revenue will increase.

What will be really interesting is how the ASO react. As organisers of the Tour de France and numerous other high-profile races including the Tour of Qatar, Paris-Roubaix, the Critérium du Dauphiné, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Vuelta a Espana (shared with Unipublic) and fourteen other world-famous events, the organisation rakes in a vast sum from rights each year; giving it both the wealth and powerbase to make it a credible opponent even to the UCI - as has been proven on occasions, such as in 2008 when seventeen teams declared that they would take part in the Tour de France and not apply for ProTour licences the following year after an ASO/UCI row over the ProTour series. Whether they will be willing to give up a share on income that must surely amount to many millions - possibly even billions - of euros per year and cede a large chunk of its power remains to be seen.

Tour of the Gila
The Tour of the Gila starts today in New Mexico with a tough 151.3km men's parcours ending in a tough climb - as steep as 19% at one point - to the ancient Native American pueblo villages in the Mogollon Mountains. The women's parcours is reduced to 117.6km in length by the omission of two laps around Gila but ends with the same climb, reaching 2,071m. (Map and profile)

Tony Martin, true professional

It's still only been three weeks since World Time Trial Champion Tony Martin was hit by a car during a training ride near his home and left with breaks to his eye socket, jaw and cheekbone, yet he competed in the Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt yesterday and came fourth despite pain. "Fortunately, energy bars soften in the sun - because I still have trouble eating," he said.

Schleck looked as though he might win the 2010 Tour -
until his chain came off

Riders to receive Grand Tour jerseys
Andy Schleck will be officially honoured as the winner of the 2010 Tour de France one day before he begins the Tour of Luxembourg. The rider, then aged 25, finish the Tour in second place behind Alberto Contador, who has since been found guilty of doping and stripped of the title. He will be presented with the maillot jaune in his hometown Mondorf-les-Bains.

Meanwhile, Michele Scarponi is to be awarded the 2011 Giro d'Italia maglia rosa tomorrow (3rd of May) in Herning, two days before the 2012 edition begins. Schleck had previously expressed disappointment at the Court for Arbitration in Sport's decision to uphold the Contador ban and even indicated that he might not accept the title (his sponsors had other ideas), but Scarponi is less reluctant: "It will be a welcome reward, a prize for a very good performance in last year's Giro," he told reporters. (AFP)

Cofidis Tour de France pre-selection
Cofidis has realeased a lost of fifteen names from which its nine-man Tour de France team will be selected. On the list are Yohann Bagot, Remy di Gregorio, Samuel Dumolin, Leonardo Duque, Julien Fouchard, Egoitz Garcia, Jan Ghyselinck, Arnaud Labbe, Luis Ángel Maté, David Moncoutié, Damien Monier, Rein Taaramäe, Tristan Valentin, Nicolas Vogondy and Romain Zingle.

Movistar drops Quintana for Bruseghin

Marzi Bruseghin, now with Movistar

Movistar have deselected 22-year-old Colombian climber Nairo Quintana from their Giro d'Italia squad, with manager Eusebio Unzué saying he is concerned that the mountains in the third week - which include the notorious Passo dello Stelvio -  could prove too much for him. However, since the team is already well-equipped with climbers (Sergio Pardilla, Andrey Amador) and his replacement is Marzio Bruseghin, a time trial specialist, the truth may be that the team wishes to strengthen its abilities away from the climbs.

Other News
"Introducing... Team Colavita" (Kathryn Bertine, ESPNW)


Tandem paracycling to be included in 2014 Commonwealth Games (UKPA)

"Mark Colbourne: After an emotional gold at the Para-Cycling Track World Championships I'm revved up for London 2012 glory" (Inside World Parasport)


"Vaughters to Roche: Cycling's image has bigger issues" Garmin-Barracuda boss on UCI over-regulation (Cycling News)

"Mark Cavendish: Every rider of the Olympic road race should get a medal" (Metro)

"British Cycling extend sponsorship deal with Sky until 2016" (Daily Telegraph)

"Goss the key to Olympic cycling success" (Sky News Australia)

"Geraint Thomas blasts Olympic rule changes" (WalesOnline)

"I've enjoyed watching Boonen" Contador impressed by Tommeke (Het Nieuwesblad)

"Tremendous scare in the Rock Tour Lititz mass when a fall occurs in the bunch" (Diario Vasco)

"USA Pro Cycling Challenge becomes presenting partner of the Colorado Mini Classic" (Glenwood Springs Post Independent)

"Cycling competition concludes at 2012 Warrior Games" (USAF)

"New Zealander Torckler emerged as the Tour of Borneo's first overall winner" (New Straits Times)

"Appalachian's cycling team was named Atlantic Coast Conference Cycling Division I road champions for the second year in a row" (Watauga Democrat)

Cycling
Drafting like a boss (or a buffoon)

Newswire
Britain
"Data mapping specialists ITO World highlight Central London's decade long cycling boom" (road.cc)

"Tower Bridge Road junction safety improvements start this week" (LondonSE1)


"The widow of a cyclist killed in a road accident has been awarded more than £200,000 in compensation" (This Is Leicestershire)

"Team USA cycling star Janel Holcomb has given her support to the Cycle SMART campaign, which was launched by Surrey County Council and Surrey Police to encourage cyclists and motorists to share the road safely" (Elmbridge Today)

Worldwide
"A second man has been charged over the hit-and-run death of a 26-year-old cyclist in Perth" (9News, Australia)

"Gilad Shalit to lead Cycling for Peace outing" (YNet, Israel)

"Thousand cyclists participated in May Day parade through Riga" (Baltic Course)

"Omaha cyclist: Must it be bikers vs. drivers?" (Livewell Nebraska)

Tweets

Helen Wyman ‏ @CXHelen
I realise this statement may sound a little big headed however my risotto is to die for and would even make gregs eyes go wobbly #masterchef

Energiewacht Stage 1 report and results

Stage 1 - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Energiewacht Tour Stage 1
For 2012, the women's Energiewacht Tour has grown to five days - a promising sign in these times when so many races are disappearing for lack of sponsorship or, worse, interest. There's not much in the way of hills in this part of the world (in fact, at a few points along the way the riders will be below sea level), which makes some people think it won't be an interesting race; however, that couldn't be further from the truth - flat stages such as these promote breakaways and attacks, leading to a fast and furious sort of race.

Kristin Armstrong
(image credit: Rob Nelson CC BY-SA 2.0)

Stage 1 proved this to be very much the case as riders set new best times, other riders smashed them and the process repeated itself time and time again. Clara Hughes (Specialized-Lululemon) set the benchmark at 19'52" early on in the 15.1km individual time trial  and remained the fastest for some time. Alexis Rhodes (GreenEDGE) made a lightning fast start and looked set to smash it, but she slowed after passing through Garrelsweer and left Hughes' time intact. It took no less a rider than Olympic Champion Kristin Armstrong (USA) to finally top it, which earned her first place for the stage - and the fact current TT World Champion Judith Arndt (GreenEdge), last year's winner Adrie Visser (Skil-Argos) and Marianne Vos all finished with slower times shows just how much of an effort she put in. (See the podium here)

Official Stage 1 photo album now online
Twelve-minute RTL7 video summary

Top 6
  1.  Kristin Armstrong USA 19'42"
  2.  Clara Hughes Specialized-Lululemon +10"
  3.  Marianne Vos Rabobank +13"
  4.  Ina Yoko Teutenberg Specialized-Lululemon +45"
  5.  Ellen Van Dijk Specialized-Lululemon ST
  6.  Judith Arndt GreenEDGE ST

Stage 1 start

 Full results (when available) here. There's an up-to-date start list here and the route details are here. @Ewachttour have a selection of photographs of the race and its surroundings here.

Local TV RTL7 is broadcasting a short highlights show daily, today's being at 16:45 BST (+1 hour for local time/CEST) - it's also available online here (Silverlight required). Follow @ewachttour for regular updates.

Stage 1 / 2 / 3 / 4a-4b / 5 / Guide / Video Vault

News Digest 29.03.12

Chavanel wins De Panne - Bras out of Flanders - 32 to learn Mantova fate - 2016 Tour may start in Yorkshire - Fotheringham's Merckx book tops best sellers - Mansilla cleared of EPO use

Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) has won the Three Days of De Panne with a time of 12h05'44" - identical to second-place Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM), but beating him on points. Macieg Bojnar (Liquigas-Cannondale) was third, finishing 4" down. (Full results when available)


Martine Bras will not ride the Ronde van Vlaanderen voor Vrouwen after a training accident at the Zolder circuit on Wednesday. The 33-year-old Dolmans-Boels rider has no recollection of what actually took place - " I was told later that someone unexpectedly got in front as I was going full on," she says. "I seem to have nothing broken, but I have a concussion, lacerations to my face and a severe bruise on my shoulder. Long live the helmet, because this could have ended much worse." (More from Dolmans-Boels)

Martine Bras ‏ @martinebras
Crashed at Terlaemen yesterday. No idear what happened. Woke up in hospital. It's not to bad. But will be out for a while.#look/feellikeshit

32 names connected to the Mantova doping case will shortly find out if they are to face criminal charges ranging from trafficking, providing false prescriptions for, providing and using controlled substances. The case centres on the Lampre team of 2008 and 2009, though the existence of the investigation was not made public until 2010. The most high profile characters now waiting to hear more are Alessandro Ballan (unintentional star of phone transcripts called deeply distressing and shocking by Gazzetta dello Sport right before  publishing them the day before the 2011 Giro d'Italia, thus guaranteeing maximum impact), Michael Rasmussen, Damiano Cunego and Giuseppe Saronni - twice winner of the Giro and 1982 World Champion, general manager of Lampre up until his resignation due to this case in April 2010. (More from the Gazzetta's "Gazzetta di Mantova")

The Yorkshire Tourist Board has officially begun its bid to host the start of the 2016 Tour de France. If successful, it will be the third time the Tour has visited Britain - however, there is strong competition from Scotland, Venice, Barcelona and Berlin. The Board has set up a webpage where the public can pledge their support.

Luis Mansilla, who provided a sample that was tested positive for EPO at the Vuelta Ciclista a Chile on the 10th of January this year, has been cleared after his B sample proved to be negative. While overjoyed that he is now free to train for the Olympics, the 25-year-old Chilean told emol.com "[The case] has been highly damaging to me, and my family suffered because they didn't know what to do and could not believe it. I was angry, I was made to feel ashamed for something I had not done. I was so angry I had to stop riding."

William Fotheringham's new book on Eddy Merckx - Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike - has gone to the top of The Times' hardback best sellers list. Once again: cycling's a niche sport in Britain, right?

Cyclopunk's News Digest 19-20.03.12

Today's News: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya starts today - Dope doctor arrested in Spain - Route change for 2013 MSR - Rein Taaramäe and Thor Hushovd out with illnesses - Minor injuries for Quintero after MSR crash - Three Brit teams at the Tour of Normandy - This week's races

Volta Ciclista a Catalunya

The week-long Volta Ciclista a Catalunya - Spain's second most prestigious cycling event after the Vuelta a Espana Grand Tour and the third oldest stage race in the world, first run in 1911 - kicks off today with a 138.9km stage starting and ending at Calella on Catalonia's Costa del Maresme. The start list looks like this, and Cyclopunk reckons Astana's Egor Silin will do well today - but so might one of the younger Euskaltel-Euskadi riders.

It's an exciting race for fans from around the world, not just from Spain, because this is the first of the European races in which the riders face the first "proper" mountains - Category 2 Alt di Villedrau's summit just before the 60km point reaches 903m and Category 1 Alt del Collformic hits 1,140m a little over 20km later.

Stage 2 is 161km in length with a highest point - Alt del Angels - only 480m above sea level, but the slopes are far steeper than those in Stage 1 and for that reason the mountain receives the same category as Collformic. Stage 3 (La Vall d'en Bas (Sant Esteve d'en Bas) to Port-Ainé) is the Queen Stage and a real challenge by anyone's standards - 210.9km long, it features two Hors-Categorie mountains in the looming shapes of the Port del Canto with its 1,730m summit located 165km along the parcours and a summit finish on Port Aine, 1,947m up. As though those weren't enough, riders need to get over two Cat 1 climbs on the way: Alt di Coubet hits 1,031m and Collada de Toses 1,800m. Total climbing on this stage is 6,597m. Stage 4, Tremp - Ascó, returns us to something more like humanly possible, the 199km topping out at 675m. Stage 5 covers 207.1km from Ascó to Manresa with a Cat 1 and Cat 2 on the way. Stage 6 runs between Sant Fruitós de Bages and Badalona Centre Comercial Màgic, 169.4km with three Cat 3s, then Stage 7 takes the race from Badalona Centre Comercial Màgic into Barcelona, 119.8km away and over three Cat 3s and a Cat 2. Further details on each stage, results and news will be published here each day.

Stage 1 altimetry (click for enlargement)

Bradley Wiggins leads Team Sky who will no doubt be eager to repeat their Paris-Nice success, especially in the wake of a crushing defeat for Mark Cavendish and team mates at Milan-San Remo. He's No. 151 and the rest of the team are as follows:

  151 WIGGINS  Bradley
  152 ROGERS  Michael
  153 PATE  Danny
  154 PORTE  Richie
  155 APPOLLONIO  Davide
  156 SIVTSOV  Kanstantsin
  157 URAN  Rigoberto
  158 ZANDIO ECHAIDE  Xabier

An auto-translated ticker is available here and Eurosport are showing one hour of the race live at 15:00 daily, with highlights on Eurosport and Eurosport 2 at various times.

Doctor connected to cycling arrested with substances believed to be doping products
Dr. Alberto Beltrán Niño - who previously had links to numerous professional cycling teams - was arrested in Spain as he tried to board a flight to Colombia on the 8th of March, according to a report in El País.

Officials confiscated substances believed to be 5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribotide - a drug for which there is little data related to prevalence of use, despite its suspected presence at the 2009 Tour de France - and TB-500. 5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribotide, known as AICAR, causes dilation of the blod vessels and thus permits larger amounts of oxygen-carrying blood to be pumped to the muscles within a given time, which increases strain on the heart and over time could lead to cardiac failure. TB-500, the drug that led to Wim Vansevenant's arrest prior to the Tour last year, promotes muscle growth. Neither drug has been detected in anti-doping controls to date.

Dr. Beltrán has been the subject of an investigation named Operacion Skype, begun in Barcelona after he was reported to have sold a form of EPO at the Vuelta a Espana, and it's not the first time he has been connected to doping - in 2001, when he worked for the Selle Italia team, he was arrested whilst in possession of a large amount of doping products.

A laptop and USB flash drives belonging to the doctor have also been seized, presumably in the hope of finding the intended recipients of the drugs.

MSR organisers: "We'll have to modify it, to make it a bit harder"
Most of cycling's great races have changed considerably since they began, some now being much longer and some much shorter. Milan-San Remo has changed less than most with a broadly similar parcours used every year, though climbs have been added over time. The Passo del Turchino, Le Manie and three Capi have been there since the early days but, as riders became more professional and the mountain no longer had any influence on the outcome of the race, it was decided that the sprinters shouldn't have it all their own way.

Thus, the Poggio di San Remo was added in 1960 and, once it became apparent that it too wasn't breaking up the peloton, Cipressa joined it in 1982. Now, organisers have decided that the race needs another climb and are looking at changing the route for 2013. "Now, a race that does not spare the attacker the ability to finish alone is no longer a race," director Mauro Vegni explained to L'Equipe.

Mark Renshaw ‏ @Mark_Renshaw
Whats wrong with the organisers of Milan San Remo? Its one of the best races of the year!

Other News
Cofidis rider Rein Taaramäe has been diagnosed with mononucleosis, the viral disease commonly known as glandular fever. Doctors recommend that athletic activity be limited or closely monitored in sufferers to reduce the risk of splenic rupture, which combined with variable recovery times means could lead to the 24-year-old Estonian having to stay away from competition for some time.

the Inner Ring ‏ @inrng
Rein Taraamae of Cofidis is out with mononucleosis / glandular fever

Thor Hushovd has long dreamed of victory
at the legendary Paris-Roubaix
(image credit: PB85 CC BY-SA 3.0)

Thor Hushovd, who suffered at Paris-Nice with the same stomach complaint that took many riders out of the race, will miss the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya after contracting a fever. The 34-year-old Norwegian, one of the most popular riders of the current generation, will concentrate on making a full recovery in time for Paris-Roubaix on the 8th of April - a race he has dreamed of winning for many years.


Carlos Quintero escaped his crash at Saturday's Milan-San Remo with a fractured collarbone, grazes and bruising, his Colombia Coldeportes team have confirmed. The 26-year-old hit a stone wall at speed during the race and was knocked unconscious, leading to widespread concern among commentators and fans when helicopter footage showed him not moving and being strapped to a backboard. However, medics quickly confirmed that he had woken within minutes, could move his legs and was able to recognise people around him.

Three British teams - Endura Racing, Rapha-Condor-Sharp and GB Academy - will be competing in this year's Tour of Normandy, won last year by Alex Blaine who rides again in 2012 with Endura. (More details from Velo UK)

This week's races

19/03 - 25/03 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya WT
16/03 - 20/03 Vuelta el Salvador 2.1
18/03 - 25/03 Vuelta Mexico 2.2
19/03 - 26/03 Tour de Normandie 2.2
20/03 - 25/03 Settimana Coppi e Bartali 2.1
21/03 Dwars Door Vlaanderen 1.1
21/03 Grand Prix GSB 1.1
22/03 - 25/03 Volta ao Alentejo 2.2
23/03 - 01/04 Tour du Maroc 2.2
23/03 E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Harelbeke WT
24/03 - 26/03 81st Critérium International 2.HC
24/03 Flevotour
24/03 25ste Grote Omloop van de Veenkolonien Nat.
24/03 Rijswijkse wielerronde Nat.
25/03 Jeugdronde van Dommelen Nat.
25/03 Van Esch Tour Nat.
25/03 Ronde van de Ijzerenman Nat.
25/03 Women's Gent-Wevelgem Int.
25/03 Gent - Wevelgem WT
25/03 Trofeo Alfredo Binda CDM
 25/03 Tour De India I

Daily News Roundup

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weekend News Roundup

British riders have a good weekend
23-year-old British star Lizzie Armitstead, one of several riders to have joined AA Drink-Leontien.nl following the demise of the Garmin-Cervelo Women's Team, scored a major victory with first place at the Omloop het van Hageland today after breaking away from the peloton in the latter part of the race accompanied by Hitec Products-Mistral Home's Elisa Longo-Borghini and Rabobank's Pauline Ferrand-Prevot. In the final sprint, she demonstrated the sheer power that has seen her as respected in the women's peloton as Cavendish is in the men's, beating Ferrabd-Prevot by 2" and Longo-Borghini by 4". Lucy Martin, also riding with AA Drink, took ninth place, Emma Silversides of Sengers was the next best Brit in 47th.

Russell Downing of Endura Racing won the Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers Souvenir Bruno Comini, Douglas Dewey was third at Lierde and Danny McLay of Lotto-Ridley Espoirs was 10th at Brussels-Zepperen. Meanwhile, at the Vuelta a Murcia Jonathan Tiernan-Locke finished in second place in the General Classification, an excellent result for the 27-year-old among a top ten that included names as illustrious as Samuel Sanchez, Robert Gesink and Johnny Hoogerland. Team mate Eric Rowsell - younger brother of Matrix-Prendas' legendary Joanna, who wowed the world at the the recent UCI Track Cup - was 29th.

Bradley Wiggins surprised many
at Paris-Nice
(image credit: Petit Brun CC BY-SA 2.0)

At the opening ITT stage of Paris-Nice, Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky stunned fans and opponents alike with an unexpected second place finish on a dangerously wet course, just 1" down on Vacansoleil-DCM's Gustav Erik Larsson. Omega Pharma-Quickstep's Tony Martin was most people's favourite but appeared distinctly off-colour and could only manage 28th, a disappointing result for a rider who can put the wind up Fabian Cancellara - winner of yesterday's Strade Bianche, which he dedicated to a recently-deceased uncle - in a time trial.  Looking positively muscular when compared to the cadavre that rolled up to the start line on the Passage du Gois last year, it's been noted that if Wiggo can keep this sort of form over the summer then 2012 - when the Tour is less mountainous and places more emphasis of time trials than it has done in many years - might just prove to be his year.

It wasn't all great from a British point of view, however: Emma Trott, riding with Dolmans-Boels this season, crashed and broke her collar bone. The 22-year-old announced her misfortune via Twitter...

@EmmaTrott1989
Shit happens, 2nd race and I end in hospital with broken collarbone! Fantastic!

Best wishes for a very speedy recovery, Emma.

Other News

Welcome back, Emma Johansson!
(image credit: Eriohm CC BY 3.0)

Having already enjoyed a successful career in rugby (she played with the national women's team) and bobsleigh (she won an Olympic gold medal), Canada's Heather Moyse decided it was time to go looking for another sport - and chose track cycling. This weekend, she represented her nation at the PanAmerican Championships in Argentina, where she competed in the 500m TT and Sprint. (Vancouver Sun)

Emma Johansson made her return to racing at the Omloop het van Hageland, having recovered from twin broken collar bones sustained in a training ride accident back in January. She finished in 27th place - no surprise to the Swedish rider, who seems happy just to be back, but expect a rapid return to race-winning form.

Nick Nuyens looked like he was the latest to break bones at Paris-Nice, crashing hard in the opening time trial. An x-ray revealed that he hadn't broken anything, and despite pain - "I feel weak!" he complains - the 31-year-old Belgian hopes to start tomorrow's stage.

Fabian Cancellara wins the Strade-Bianche, Saturday the 3rd of March

Daily News Roundup

Further details of the 2012 Montepaschi Strade Bianche have been made public, with the race once again featuring unpaved Tuscan roads that make it especially attractive to fans who wish they'd been around to see the heroic races of the late 19th and early 20th Century. Some of the top names in cycling are on the start list, including Cadel Evans, Roman Kreuziger, Filippo Pozzato, David Millar and Fabian Cancellara. The race takes place today, and a start list is available here. Danilo di Luca, origially due to take part, opted out at the last moment in order to concentrate on Tirreno-Adriatico.

Robbie McEwen
(image credit: jjron GNU1.2)

Tour de France organisers the ASO have revealed that the total distance covered by time trials at this year's event is slightly longer than had originally been listed. The Stage 9 Arc-et-Senans - Besançon individual TT, due to take place on the 9th of July, is in fact 41.5km and not 38km as was originally thought and the Stage 19 individual TT from Bonneval - Chartes, taking place on the 21st of July, is 53.5km rather than 52km. The increase seems small, but is more than enough for a climber's lead to crumble into a crushing defeat.

Robbie McEwen won the OCBC Cycle Singapore for new team GreenEDGE last night. The 39-year-old Australian, a veteran of twelve Tours de France, said, "I had a feeling it would be a breakaway tonight and I had to be part of it. I had to ride an aggressive race - the six of us out front cooperated really well to keep us away from the pack. It's my first win of the season and I was hoping to get a win this year so tonight was very special for me."

Hitec Products-Mistral Home's 31-year-old rider Sara Mustonen was hit by a car during a training ride yesterday, team manager Karl Lima 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' :-)

The GP Miguel Indurain is the latest of several races with financial difficulties to have been saved, reports Spanish website Biciciclismo. Organisers the Navarre Estella Cycling Club have apparently been successful in securing a new sponsor after receiving some assistance from the UCI.

Daily News Roundup

Emma Johansson sustained two
broken collarbones on the 14th of January
(image credit: Eriohm CC BY 3.0)

Emma Johansson - the 28-year-old rider who sustained two broken collar bones during a training ride when she was involved in a collision with a car a month and a half ago - has recovered in time to compete in the upcoming Omloop van 't Hageland, her Hitec Products-Mistral Home team has confirmed. She had hoped to be able to ride in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, originally planned as the start of her season, but was aware doing so would be unlikely. The race takes place this Sunday the 4th of March at Tielt-Winge.

Marianne Vos

Meanwhile, following a short break after the cyclo cross season (which saw her yet again become World Champion) the Dutch superstar Marianne Vos will begin her season at the Acht van Dwingeloo on the 8th of March, which she won last year at the beginning of a spectacular season which confirmed her status as one of the most successful professional cyclists of all time. Now backed by a Rabobank team constructed around her and with the intention of driving her towards even more victories, her opponents will be keeping close watch to see just what they're up against this year.

The Tour of the Basque Country and the Clasica San Sebastian have been saved from financial oblivion, for this year at least. Both races had warned that they lacked the money to go ahead this year. causing alarm in the cycling-obsessed Basque Country and among Basque cycling's many fans abroad. Bilbao newspaper Deia reports that the Basque government has agreed to put €200,000 towards the events - €160,000 less than in the last three years, but sufficient for the races to be held. Recent news that average salaries paid to ProTeam cyclists have risen from €190,000 to €264,000 over the same period - and widespread back-slapping over professional cycling's supposed financial health - have led to calls that the UCI should provide more money towards races that find themselves in difficulty.

Alberto Contador, the three-time Tour de France winner who was recently (and controversially) banned for two years after the CAS found him guilty of doping, might not return to Saxobank when the backdated ban expires on the 6th of August, says Danish site sporten.dk. The team has relied on the rider to a large extent and, as a result, its ProTeam licence was earned partly due to his results and he is not happy with this according to an "anonymous source."