Cyclo-Cross World Championships, Elite Women

I am more of a road bike girl, but blogging for over 6 months has made me learn there is more to cycling. And as cyclist's names repeat, I learn more about them and want to feature them in my blog. So here are the results from the 2012 UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships:

Cyclo-cross Worlds: Vos unstoppable in retaining rainbow jersey

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/championnats-du-monde-world-championships-2012/elite-women/results)

Marianne Vos out-powered the rest of the field during the cyclo-cross world championships in Koksijde, Belgium. Almost forty seconds later Daphny van den Brand (The Netherlands) won the sprint for second place ahead of local favorite Sanne Cant (Belgium). At 24, Vos overtakes Hanka Kupfernagel (Germany) as record holder with five ‘cross world titles.

“It was not my goal to overtake her but five titles is fantastic,” Vos said.

On the technical course Vos clearly struggled to get through the sand stretches but that didn’t keep her from quickly earning a comfortable lead. Vos built up a lead of a minute and plowed her way through the sand to a well-deserved win.

“Technically it wasn’t good today. I wouldn’t deserve getting a dune named after me like the Elite Men’s winner will enjoy. Getting a mud section or a stretch of pavement named after me would be more correct,” Vos said.

Two women missed their start at 11am and they were Vos and Katherine Compton (USA). While Vos quickly recovered Compton didn’t and a little later she was caught up in a crash.

“I missed my first pedal stroke at the start and that raised the adrenaline to the top. If I had the opportunity I would take the initiative and ride my own race. I quickly had a gap but I realized that it would be a long forty minutes,” Vos said.

Unlike Vos the US champion struggled to get in the rhythm on the Koksijde course. After the first lap she rode outside the top-15 at nearly a minute from Vos. “I missed my pedal and couldn’t find it. Then I crashed in the first right hand turn before the pit. From there I got stuck in traffic but I’ve never given up. It’s hard to get back. I kind of saw this coming,” Compton said.

While Vos comfortably led the race ahead of Van den Brand another Dutch rider, Sanne van Paassen, was under pressure from Cant who made progress and brought along Katerina Nash (Czech Republic) and Sophie de Boer (The Netherlands).

Early on in the third lap a group with Compton, Jasmin Achermann (Switzerland) and Nikki Harris (UK) bridged up with Cant, De Boer, Van Paassen and Nash. Right at the first sand stretches Cant blasted away and in no time Van den Brand was caught. Van Paassen and Compton then bridged up, creating a first chase group at 34 seconds from Vos with Cant, Compton, Van Paassen and Van den Brand. Further back a head-first dive from Helen Wyman (UK) in the sand caused a scare but the British champion continued her race.

During the penultimate lap Vos extended her lead to one minute while behind her Compton struggled to keep up with the three other chasers. Nevertheless none of them wanted to work on the long start-finishing straight and Compton quickly closed down the gap of 10 seconds.

In the final lap Vos made no mistakes and clearly was in delight, emotionally celebrating her fifth world title when she crossed the finish line. In the chase group a battle unfolded in which Cant, Van den Brand and Van Paassen exchanged attacks.

Compton followed at a short distance but never managed to overtake any of the three other women. In the final sections Van Paassen lost ground too but she was enormously happy with her fourth place. “I’ve been struggling with my health for two months and arrived here without competition. Despite that I simply manage to finish fourth and wonder why I was worrying that much. It makes me emotional,” she told Cyclingnews.

In front of her Cant sneaked ahead of Van den Brand and she turned into the finishing straight as leader. Cant didn’t have a sprint left in her legs though and Van den Brand easily captured second place in her last world championships race.

“That grass section ahead of the finish is quite tough so Cant probably had sore legs. I had enough power left and noticed that Sanne didn’t have her hands in the drops. It’s my first silver medal and with such a good Marianne I can’t be disappointed. I started real fast, maybe a little bit too fast because I never felt good,” Van den Brand said.

When crossing the finish line Cant threw her hands in the air, clearly not disappointed with her loss in the sprint. “I still have a hard time to believe this. I felt really well and apparently in the sand I was among the best. To me it didn’t matter what medal I would take. In every category the Belgians expected, except in the Women’s category and then I pull off this,” Cant said.

British rider Harris rode a great race and finished sixth at one minute from Vos. Wyman placed thirteenth.

Further back American riders Nicole Duke and Meredith Miller cracked the top-20, Amy Dombroski (USA) was 23rd while Kaitlin Antonneau (USA) disappointed with her 26th place. “It’s been a long season and it wasn’t good today. I improved my result from last year though so that’s positive,” Antonneau told Cyclingnews.

Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Marianne Vos (Netherlands)	0:41:04
2	Daphny Van Den Brand (Netherlands)	0:00:37
3	Sanne Cant (Belgium)	0:00:38
4	Sanne Van Paassen (Netherlands)	0:00:49
5	Katherine Compton (United States Of America)	0:00:53
6	Nikki Harris (Great Britain)	0:01:03
7	Sophie De Boer (Netherlands)	0:01:05
8	Katerina Nash (Czech Republic)	0:01:11
9	Jasmin Achermann (Switzerland)	0:01:12
10	Lucie Chainel-Lefevre (France)	0:01:54

I know this is my second post today, but this article really means something to me. Just wanted to share it with you all:

Bartali honoured for saving Jews during the Holocaust

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bartali-honoured-for-saving-jews-during-the-holocaust)

Tributes have been paid to cycling great Gino Bartali, with evidence now showing that he helped save the lives of up to 800 Jews during World War II. The Yad Vashem Memorial in Israel is looking into giving him the title "Righteous Among the Nations", a term used by Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis.

The details about the Italian's actions in the 1940s have only just recently come to light, through a university study. His son, Andrea, has continued the research along with the Jewish community and journalist Laura Guerra.

“In 1943 Bartali, who had already won the Tour de France once and the Giro d’Italia twice, was assigned to the traffic police by the fascist regime, before leaving the job on 8 September,” according to the UCI.  “That was when he went underground, choosing to help persecuted Jews by smuggling identity photos to a convent that produced counterfeit papers.

“As far as the soldiers who guarded the road between Florence and San Quirico, near Assisi, were concerned, Bartali was merely on a 380-km training run. In fact, valuable documents were hidden inside the frame and saddle of his bicycle.”

Bartali remained modest about his actions, not even telling his wife. His own public comment was “Good is something you do, not something you talk about. Some medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket.”

He was imprisoned for 45 days in late 1943, officially because of his support for the Vatican, which opposed the fascist regime. However, he was never tried and was ultimately released.

No UCI points for Movistar from Valverde

Valverde's success will not benefit Movistar

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/valverdes-success-will-not-benefit-movistar)

Alejandro Valverde may have completed the sporting ban which was the consequence of a protracted Operacion Puerto case, but the Spaniard's punishment is not yet concluded: the UCI confirmed to Cyclingnews that none of his points will count toward his team's sporting criteria - the ranking which is used by the UCI in determining which teams will be in the following year's WorldTour. Indeed, none of his points will count for the next two seasons.

Valverde is currently sitting in second in the WorldTour rankings after coming in as the runner-up to GreenEdge's Simon Gerrans at the Tour Down Under, and while his results will add to the team's tally for the WorldTour rankings, it will not help his Movistar team when it comes time for the UCI to figure out who stays and who goes in the 2013 WorldTour. The UCI ranks the teams by rider points accumulated, team points and other criteria such as ethical and financial merits, with only the top 15 teams earning automatic consideration for the next WorldTour season.

The UCI took the decision to disqualify riders who are returning from bans from scoring points toward the team rankings for two years following their return from a anti-doping rule violation. The rule was ratified by the Pro Cycling Council in Copenhagen last autumn.

Earlier in 2011, the idea was presented to the PCC by former Credit Agricole manager Roger Legeay, and was accepted for consideration by the UCI's management committee. Teams association (AIGCP) president Jonathan Vaughters confirmed that he voted in favour of the rule on behalf of the teams in the Copenhagen meeting. "It was supported by the majority of the teams. Its a good rule, I think," Vaughters said.

Tour de San Luis, Stage Tres

So, after saying yesterday that he won't contest the Tour de San Luis...guess who is sitting in first place...

January 25, Stage 3: Estancia Grande - Mirador del Potrero 168.2km

Contador conquers Mirador

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-san-luis/stage-3/results)

Despite claiming that he's trying to shed 7.5kg of extra weight and wouldn't be a factor in the Tour de San Luis, Alberto Contador showed his class on the race's first mountaintop finish to take his first victory of 2012 and the race lead.

Contador reeled in the attack of home favourite Daniel Diaz (San Luis Somos Todos) along with Italian Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) in the finale of the 5km ascent of Mirador del Potrero, but was able to ride the pair off his wheel in the final kilometer.

”It was a perfect day for us with total control," said Saxo Bank director Philippe Mauduit. "Going towards the first climb we were in the first line and we put Jesus (Hernandez) in the breakaway in the climb and gained control of the pack on the descent and reeled in the escapees before launching Alberto (Contador) on the final ascent.

"He was superb. Naturally, he's not going to be in shape for the Tour just now but still he's the best. It was simply a great feeling watching him take off and take that first season win and we'll try to defend the leader's jersey."

American Levi Leipheimer (Omega Pharma-Lotto) answered Contador's challenge, however, and continued to surge through to the finish where the Spaniard prevailed in a two-up sprint. Colombian Miguel Angel Rubiano (Androni Giocattoli) completed the stage podium five seconds later in third place, followed by Stefan Schumacher (Christina Watches) in fourth and Diaz, who hung on for fifth at 12 seconds.

"Alberto's got more punch than me and I think when it comes down to hit he knows how to sprint better than I do and he showed that here today," Leipheimer told Cyclingnews. "I felt really good. My team worked really hard before the last climb, and I think that that helped, but it was really windy. There was alot of headwind and sections where we went into the mountain and there was a tailwind and no wind and I tried to attack every time there but it was very short-lived.

"I'd come into the headwind and let off the gas. I had a feeling that everyone was just hanging on but there's not a lot you can do about that."

Leipheimer was the only rider to answer Contador's winning attack, and the Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider was quick to continue pushing the pace to the finish line.

"When Alberto put in his last attack and I was the only one with him. I pulled a lot because tomorrow's a time trial and if you gain seconds over people it means a lot," said Leipheimer. "I had the feeling that Alberto was on the limit, but it was just a choice I made and I think it was a good one."

With the winner's time bonus, Contador now leads Leipheimer by four seconds on general classification with Stefan Schumacher third at 19 seconds. Tomorrow the Tour de San Luis peloton faces a flat, 19.5km individual time trial in the city of San Luis.

"Alberto and I are pretty close in the time trial but I've been able to beat him a lot in the past so hopefully tomorrow I can do it," said Leipheimer.

Double dose of category one climbs loom

The first course of action following the start in the picturesque, sylvan setting of Estrancia Grande was to attend to a rash of mechanicals suffered by riders such as sprint leader Emmanuel Guevara (San Luis Somos Todos), Luis Mansilla (Chile), Jimmy Casper (Ag2R) and Juan Jose Haedo (Saxo Bank).

Soon afterwards two riders, Tomas Metcalfe (Carmin-Prio) and Gregory Duarte (Uruguay), went out on the attack in advance of the day's first KOM, the category 3 La Florida ascent at 26km, a mere prelude to the two category one climbs to come.

Renato Dos Santos (Brazil) left the confines of the peloton in a solo chase and at the base of the La Florida ascent trailed Metcalfe and Duarte by 40 seconds while the field was 2:30 in arrears.

Metcalfe crossed the La Florida summit first, followed by Duarte and Dos Santos, and the now three-strong break had extended its advantage over the peloton to 3:40

With the monster Alto de Nogoli summit looming at 60km, the peloton was momentarily keeping its powder dry and the three leaders continued to stretch their lead to over six minutes as they began the 25.5km ascent.
When the escapees extended their advantage to 8:00 minutes pressure began to be applied in the peloton, resulting in a decimated field.

By the time the three leaders closed to within 4km of the summit an elite selection of approximately 20 riders had emerged as the first chase group, only three minutes back, and included Jesus Hernandez (Saxo Bank), Cayetano Sarmiento (Liquigas-Cannondale), French champion Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), Sergio Godoy, Alvaro Argiro and Eduardo Sepulveda (Argentina), Miguel Rubiano (Androni Giocattoli) Stiver Ortiz and Mauricio Ardila (Colombia-Comcel), Magno Nazaret (Funvic), David Livramento (Carmin-Prio) and Karol Domagalski (Caja Rural).

Dos Santos crested the Alto de Nogoli climb first, followed by Rubiano and Duarte.

Plenty of riders took risks on the descent off of Alto de Nogoli and fueled by a Saxo Bank-led chase a general regrouping of approximately 60 riders formed at the head of affairs after passing through the first intermediate sprint, claimed by Jorge Giacinti (San Luis Somos Todos).

Angelo Pagani (Colnago-CSF Inox) took advantage of a lull in the action, and launched a solo attack from the front group in the flat prelude to the summit finale.

With approximately 50km to the finish atop the Mirador del Potrero, the Italian's lead stood at 1:45 to the first chase group, with the second chase group 4:25 in arrears.

Closing in on the day's second intermediate sprint a crash occurred in the first chase group with Maximiliano Richeze (Argentina) and recent Vuelta Chile champion Patricio Almonacid hitting the asphalt. Richeze chased back to the group, but sought treatment from the race doctor, while Almonacid abandoned.

Meanwhile, solo leader Pagani suffered his own bad luck as he flatted, hastening the juncture by the 60-strong chase group inside of 18km to go, and the catch was made in advance of the final intermediate sprint, taken by Edvin Avila (Colombia).

With just 11.5km until the finishing ascent, the teams of the general classification contenders came to the fore to set up their team leaders for the showdown on the Mirador del Potrero.

Results, Stage 3:

1	Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Team Saxo Bank	4:29:27
2	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
3	Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col) Androni Giocattoli	0:00:05
4	Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Christina Watches-Ofone	0:00:09
5	Daniel Diaz (Arg) San Luis Somos Todos	0:00:12
6	Cayetano José Sarmiento Tunarrosa (Col) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:26
7	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
8	Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Androni Giocattoli
9	Luis Mansilla (Chi) Chile
10	Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar	0:00:35

Overall, as of Stage 3:

1	Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Team Saxo Bank	12:45:15
2	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-QuickStep	0:00:04
3	Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Christina Watches-Ofone	0:00:19
4	Daniel Diaz (Arg) San Luis Somos Todos	0:00:22
5	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:36
6	Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Androni Giocattoli
7	Cayetano José Sarmiento Tunarrosa (Col) Liquigas-Cannondale
8	Luis Mansilla (Chi) Chile
9	David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Movistar	0:00:45
10	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep

Contador won't contest Tour of San Luis

Contador says he won't be a factor in San Luis

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-says-he-wont-be-a-factor-in-san-luis)

Alberto Contador may be the star of the show at the Tour of San Luis in Argentina, but don't expect him to claim the overall at the end of the race. The Spaniard says he is still losing the weight he put on after this year's Tour de France, and won't play a role in the overall rankings.

“It is difficult now to go up against such well-trained men as Levi Leipheimer and Vincenzo Nibali,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. Nibali, with Liquigas, won the race in 2010.

“After the Tour I did nothing,” Contador said.  “I gained 7.5 kilograms. I have already lost four at the Saxo Bank training camp in Mallorca, but to be able to climb fast, you should be at your ideal weight. “

Still, Team Saxo Bank hoped to see him do well in the mountains,although the team is looking to brothers JJ and Sebastian Haedo to do well in the sprints in their homeland tour.

“We've put together a very versatile and powerful line-up. For the sprints we have both Haedo brothers and of course they're extremely motivated to perform on home ground and JJ seems very slim and focused,” said sports director Philippe Mauduit on the team's website.

“Even though it's early in the season, we can't hide the probability of seeing Alberto (Contador) do well on the climbs and on the time trial halfway through the race. Personally, I'm looking forward to be following our two debutants, Troels (Vinther) and Chris (Juul-Jensen) while Matteo (Tosatto) will be leading the battle on the road. The main goal is simply getting a stage win.”

The Tour of San Luis starts today and runs seven stages through January 29.

World Tour Standings as of 1/22/12

I thought about doing something special for my 200th blog post, but I couldn't think of anything. My mind is still beat from my 13 day work week. So, I decided two posts in one day was the way to go. This morning I posted the results from the Santos Tour Down Under, and now I wanted to post the updated WorldTour rankings:

Gerrans, RadioShack-Nissan top first WorldTour rankings

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gerrans-radioshack-nissan-top-first-worldtour-rankings)


Following his overall victory in the Santos Tour Down Under, GreenEdge's Simon Gerrans became the first leader of the UCI's WorldTour individual rankings.

Gerrans leads runner-up Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) by 19 points, with fellow podium finisher Tiago Machado (RadioShack-Nissan) in third, 15 further points back.

Thanks to the presence of both Machado and Jan Bakelants in the top five on general classification, the RadioShack-Nissan team kicked off the season at the top of the team rankings.

The Luxembourg squad leads Movistar by 7 points, with GreenEdge one point behind.

Strong performances by the home riders, who placed five riders in the points - Gerrans, Sky's Michael Rogers, Rabobank's Michael Matthews and Mark Renshaw and GreenEdge's Robbie McEwen - put Australia atop the nations rankings ahead of Spain and Portugal.

The WorldTour now takes a six-week hiatus before resuming at Paris-Nice on March 4.

WorldTour standings as of January 22, 2012

1	Simon Gerrans (Aus) Greenedge Cycling Team	106	pts
2	Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team	87
3	Tiago Machado (Por) Radioshack-Nissan	72
4	Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling	61
5	Jan Bakelants (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan	40
6	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling	34
7	Javier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Movistar Team	20
8	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team	18
9	Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team	15
10	Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ-Big Mat	7
11	Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team	6
12	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD	6
13	Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team	5
14	Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha Team	4
15	Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep	4
16	Daniele Bennati (Ita) Radioshack-Nissan	3
17	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team	1
18	Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	1
19	Robbie McEwen (Aus) Greenedge Cycling Team	1

Teams

1	Radioshack-Nissan	115	pts
2	Movistar Team	108
3	Greenedge Cycling Team	107
4	Sky Procycling	95
5	Rabobank Cycling Team	20
6	Lotto Belisol Team	18
7	Katusha Team	10
8	FDJ-Big Mat	7
9	Lampre - ISD	6
10	Omega Pharma-Quickstep	4
11	Liquigas-Cannondale	1

Nations

1	Australia	188	pts
2	Spain	114
3	Portugal	72
4	Belgium	40
5	Norway	34
6	Germany	22
7	Italy	10
8	Belarus	7
9	Russia	4

Santos Tour Down Under Results

Gerrans crowned Tour Down Under champion in Adelaide

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tourdownunder/stage-6/results_)

Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) has taken his third Tour Down Under victory, and his fourth win for the week after a text book sprint down King William Road. Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) tried to compete but was unable to come by the German's wheel on the uphill sprint. Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD) was a close third.

The bunch finish was nearly spoiled however by Cameron Meyer (GreenEdge) who made a bold solo move with a little over a lap to go. Meyer's overall hopes had been dashed yesterday when he missed the select front group on the first time up Old Willunga Hill. The field would not be denied, particulalry Andre Greipel's Lotto Belisol team who put the him in a perfect position - the German finishing off with ease.

Simon Gerrans (GreenEdge) meanwhile did all he needed to, successfully finishing in the bunch to take out his second overall title after his career defining 2006 triumph while riding for the French AG2R-Prévoyance team.

For his GreenEdge team, it was another tick in the box after their recent successes in the Mars Cycling Australia Road National Championships and the Jayco Bay Classic Series in Victoria.

The team set out to take the overall title, and despite not winning a stage, can be wholly satisified with a truly team performance that gives them the early lead in the prestigious WorldTour.

"It’s just fantastic," said a clearly excited Gerrans at the finish.

"I can’t thank my team mates enough. I was pleasantly surprised when I was told I had the lead [yesterday]. It’s such a fantastic victory for GreenEDGE. We couldn’t ask for a more perfect way to start the season."

"It’s an even sweeter victory than my first one here in 2006. It gives me the opportunity to thank for the first time the Ryan family and Shayne Bannan for putting this team together. It couldn’t be a better start for us."

Stage winner Greipel was similalry appreciative of his Lotto-Belisol team who have shown definitively to be the best organised when it comes to a bunch dash.

"What can I say," said Greipel. "Lotto-Belisol has just been amazing in leading me out to my third win of the week. It looks easy but it’s not. I was nowhere in the front on GC this year but I’m happy with the sprint finishes."

Greipel's stage win was not enough to take out the points classificaiton however. His three stage wins were cancelled out by his absences on Willunga and in Tanunda, ultimately costing him vital points that Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) was able to bank. The Norwegian would have liked a win but was happy nonetheless.

"It’s an early start to the season and to be on top form now is difficult.I’m happy to be on okay form but I can still get better."

UniSA-Australia had plenty of reason to celebrate, taking out the King of the Moutains for the second year running as well as cleaning up with Rohan Dennis who also took out best young rider.

How it unfolded

With the overall tied on time, and Gerrans a clear leader on countback, GreenEdge were happy to see a sizeable break form very early in the 20 lap circuit race in Adelaide.

It included Bernard Sulzberger, Jay McCarthy (UniSA-Australia), Luke Durbridge, Cameron Meyer (GreenEdge), Martijn Maaskant (Garmin-Barracuda), Adam Hansen (Lotto-Belisol), Sergey Lagutin (Vacansoleil-DCM), Mathew Hayman (Sky), Gorka Izagirre (Euskatel-Euskadi), Matteo Trentin (Omega Pharma-Quickstep), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Davide Cimolai (Lampre-ISD), Jens Voigt (Radioshack-Nissan), William Bonnet (FDJ-BigMat), Sergio Paulinho and Jonas Jorgensen (Saxo Bank).

They built up an advantage of close to 40 seconds before Rabobank who had missed the move came to the front to bring them back.

With the group within reach Michael Matthews soloed across the final 10 second gap, enough to encourage the peloton that the break should come back into the fold.

With the first intermediate sprint looming and dangerous seconds on the line, GreenEdge sent Luke Durbridge up the road again and he was joined by Davide Cimolai. Cimolai took out the sprint from Durbridge who didn't contest. Jack Bauer (Garmin-Barracuda) jumped out of the peloton to take third.

Once again the speed of the peloton after the prime was enough to nullify the break, and it was all together once more.

Bakelants makes his charge

Jan Bakelants (Radioshack-Nissan), who before today sat seventh on GC, used the lull to make a bid for the bonus second on offer at the second sprint.  He needed just two seconds to get in front of Edvald Boasson Hagen and picked up all three on offer, ahead of Cameron Meyer (GreenEdge) who managed to bridge to Bakelants solo.

Shortly thereafter Romain Sicard (Euskatel-Euskadi) also bridged to make it a trio of strong riders at the front. As the laps ticked by, and the gap failed to reduce Bakelants was becoming a real threat to the overall lead of Simon Gerrans. He was just 16 seconds behind Gerrans at this stage and with the 40 second advantage the break held was virtual leader.

Justifiably he got very little help from Sicard as the race entered the closing kilometres, with Meyer playing ticket collector on the back.

The bunch was having none of it however and with Lotto-Belisol, Lampre-ISD and Liquigas-Cannondale ramping things up for their sprinters the gap rapidly fell away.

Inside 6 kilometres to go and Bakelants decided to raise the white flag, happy enough with his sixth overall. Meyer meanwhile wanted the stage win. He went alone and entered the final 4 kilometre lap with a small advantage.

Though Meyer's fight was admirable, nothing would deny the bunch on the fast city circuit, and with half a lap to go it was all together for a bunch sprint. Lotto-Belisol best placed their man, and it was Andre Greipel who took the sprint from Renshaw and Petacchi.

Gerrans crossed the line safely in the main field to take the overall.

Stage 6 Results:

1	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol	1:56:48
2	Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank
3	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
4	Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ - BigMat
5	Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Movistar
6	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
7	Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil -DCM
8	Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
9	Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale
10	Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale

Overall Results:

1	Simon Gerrans (Aus) GreenEDGE	20:46:12
2	Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar
3	Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:08
4	Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling	0:00:14
5	Rohan Dennis (Aus) UNI SA - Australia
6	Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:16
7	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling	0:00:18
8	Javier Moreno (Spa) Movistar	0:00:23
9	Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank	0:00:29
10	Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha	0:00:32

4 More Years of "Santos" Tour Down Under

I am back after 13 days straight of work. Hopefully things will calm down now, and I'll be able to follow cycling more closely again. I'm following the Santos Tour Down Under and I've been very impressed with Greipel and Valverde! Even Clarke had an amazing stage! I am doing a fantasy league on road.cc and I just joined cobblestone.be. Please join me on either site. I know more about the road.cc one as I was on it last year.

But, enough of what's going on in my world, here is more hot-off-the-press cycling news:

Santos extends with Tour Down Under

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/santos-extends-with-tour-down-under)

The Tour Down Under's future was assured as title sponsor Santos announced it would continue for another four years. The agreement gives the Australian energy corporation naming rights through 2016.

"This is fantastic news for the State and it shows the confidence Santos has in the event," said South Australian premier Jay Weatherill.

"The race is now truly established on the world stage, kicking off the annual UCI WorldTour calendar and attracting the best teams and riders to Adelaide each January."

The Tour Down Under, in its 14th year, became the first non-European race on the UCI's top tier racing calendar in 2008. The UCI extended the race's WorldTour license through 2015 last August. Santos first signed on as title sponsor for the 2010 edition.

"The Santos Tour Down Under is the biggest cycling race in the southern hemisphere and the news that our successful partnership will continue ensures this event can continue its impressive growth."

The race organisation's press release estimates last year's event was worth $43 million to South Australia's economy and was attended by "more than 780,000 people".

The Pre Tour Down Under

Cancer Council Classic: Adelaide East, Australia

Greipel makes show of force in Tour Down Under prologue

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/cancer-council-classic-2012/results)

German Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) has given his Tour Down Under rivals an early warning sign that he means business in 2012, looking almost untouchable in the final sprint to take out the Down Under Classic in Adelaide.

Sky rider Edvald Boasson Hagen opened the sprint after Lotto-Belisol's last lead-out man Greg Henderson swung off but when Greipel put the foot down he seemed to effortlessly sail past the Norwegian - harking back to the way he dominated the 2008, and 2010 tours. Heinrich Haussler completed the top three.

Asked what today’s result was an indication of heading into the first WordTour event of the year, Greipel was frank.

"That we didn’t sleep in the winter," he grinned. "I tried to get a lead out train for this season and we got Greg Henderson in the team.

"I worked with him pretty good in previous seasons so he is a main part in the success of the team for me. But I can't forget Jurgen Roelandts, Marcel Sieberg and Adam Hansen – they are all really important to keep the train going. I think we’ve shown a pretty good effort today."

"I think the guys were awesome. I just needed to stay on the wheels. I saw Rabobank and Sky - they couldn’t pass so I think that meant we have a lot of horsepower in our team.

"Today takes a bit of pressure off. Especially for the young riders who are in Mallorca at the moment. Hopefully it will give them a bit of extra motivation to train well and to keep the Lotto streak running."

Greg Henderson, who was instrumental in positioning Greipel for the sprint was full of emotion at the stage finish, enraptured by his German team mate's performance.

"You know how much power he’s got. I’m leading out at 70km/h and he just comes past me," said Henderson. "I just don’t understand how anyone can go so fast. You’ve seen it. He’s right up there with the likes of Cavendish. The two are going to have a great rivalry this year."

Boasson Hagen who many have tipped as a pre-race favourite on the hillier parcours of this year's race explained that he isn't quite up to top competition form - yet.

"We lost Chris Sutton in the lead up to the final turn, I'm not sure what happened but that's cycling."

"Everyone in the team did a great job, so at least we can be satisfied with that."

The finale of the race was dominated by three teams, with Lampre-ISD, Rabobank and Lotto-Belisol all taking turns stringing the field out. On the penultimate lap Sky also arrived to make it a crowded run to the line. Renshaw punctured on the final lap and that left Lampre-ISD, Lotto-Belisol and Sky to fight it out.

Lotto-Belisol would not be thrown off and with less than a kilometre to go they had their man firmly placed near the front. In the final duel, two riders; Greipel and Boasson Hagen went head-to-head. Greipel however was clearly a level above and sporting a skin suit, he made the well-credentialled Boasson Hagen look almost amateurish in an ominous sign for the week ahead.

Earlier in the day, neo-pro Nathan Haas (Garmin-Barracuda) showed some class to take three of the four intermediate sprints, with Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Movistar) taking out the fourth.

Haas was part of nine-man break that featured throughout the mid-stages of the race. The break never held more than 25 seconds over the chasing bunch, with Lotto-Belisol, Rabobank and GreenEdge keeping a watchful eye at the front of the peloton.

On each and every sprint prime Haas jumped away easily from his fellow breakaway riders. Impressively he made a reasonably renowned fast-man in William Bonnet (FDJ-BigMat) look slow.

When the break was caught with around seven laps to go, the sprint teams began to ramp up for what was a thrilling finale.

An honourable mention goes out to UniSA-Australia rider Steele Von Hoff who finished in front of some big names including Alessandro Petacchi in his first WorldTour outing.

Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol	1:03:17
2	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
3	Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda
4	Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Movistar
5	Steele Von Hoff (Aus) UNI SA-Australia
6	Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
7	Chris Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling
8	José Ivan Gutierrez (Spa) Movistar
9	Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto-Belisol
10	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-ISD

Will 2012 be Boonen's Year?

Boonen's desire to make sprint impact

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/boonens-desire-to-make-sprint-impact)

Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) may have appeared to rein in his sprinting ambitions in the last number of years, but the Belgian believes that he can make an impact in bunch finishes again now that his recovery from injury is complete.

Speaking at the launch of his revamped team in Vilvoorde on Friday, Boonen insisted that his injury woes are now behind him, and revealed that he had hoped to attract Bernhard Eisel to the revamped Omega Pharma-Quick Step squad following the collapse of HTC-Highroad. The Austrian ultimately followed his leader Mark Cavendish to Sky.

“For the sprints, I still believe it,” Boonen told reporters after the lights had gone up on the presentation. “Now we’re is back on the track, we have a good train and a good quality of riders in the team.”

Boonen’s two victories in 2011 both came in bunch sprints, at the Tour of Qatar and Gent-Wevelgem. With his wounded knee now back to full strength, the man from Mol is looking forward to testing himself in the sprints, even if he admitted that his lead-out train was still short of a conductor.

“We’re only missing one guy. We should have a guy like Tosatto or De Jongh who we had before, a guy with experience who can really show these young guys how to do it,” Boonen said. “I was trying to get Bernie Eisel in the team but he didn’t go. That would have been perfect.”

The former world champion also hinted at problems with his equipment in recent years, and 2012 sees Patrick Lefevere’s team returned to riding Specialized bikes after two years on Eddy Merckx. “The material is back on track, we have really good bikes now, so it will be a lot easier than it was last year,” Boonen said.

Boonen has not won a stage at the Tour de France since 2007, of course, and while injury and suspension have limited his appearances and performance since then, the sprinting landscape has altered radically in the meantime with the emergence of Mark Cavendish. He acknowledged that beating the world champion when he is on form is nigh on impossible, but he warned that it might take time for Cavendish and Sky to repeat the kind of lead-out he enjoyed at Highroad.

“I can’t beat him when he’s at his best, but when Cavendish is doing a perfect sprint with a perfect lead-out, it’s almost impossible to beat him,” Boonen said. “But that’s the same for every sprinter – if everything goes perfect, it’s not that hard, it’s just getting there is what’s hard.

“And getting the team to make it as easy for you as possible, that’s what’s hard, and that’s where all the work goes. I think Mark will experience that it’s not a thing you just buy or go into. He’s at Sky and he has the quality, but it’s still going to take time to get everything the way it was like at Highroad. It’s the same for everyone.”

Flecha vs. Paris-Roubaix

Flecha dreaming of elusive Paris-Roubaix win

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/flecha-dreaming-of-elusive-paris-roubaix-win)

Could 2012 be the year when Juan Antonio Flecha breaks his duck at Paris-Roubaix? The popular Spaniard, who turns 35 this year, has had a series of near misses in the 'Queen of Classics', with three podium finishes and three other top ten placings. It's a race that he desperately wants to win, and he also told Cyclingnews of another burning ambition when we caught up with him at the Team Sky training camp in Mallorca.

"If I had to choose one race to win now, it would be Paris-Roubaix," he said. "I have been close there many times and to win it would be amazing. I know many Belgian fans would say ‘come on Flecha, the Belgian races are the best’, but for me right now I would have to say Paris-Roubaix would be my dream.

"I’d also really love to do the Tour de France again this year. It would be my tenth Tour in a row. That would make me very proud and I would really think ‘wow, look at that, that’s fantastic'. I know that I would be going there to work for Mark [Cavendish] and Bradley [Wiggins] and that will keep me occupied. But I’d be lying to you if I told you that I wouldn’t like to win another stage at the Tour. I won’t shirk any of my responsibilities to my team, but I can’t hide my desire to win a stage. I won a stage in my first Tour and it felt unbelievably good. I would love to feel that again."

Flecha has an enormous amount of faith in his coaches at Team Sky, and the feedback that he has received from them over the winter has given him confidence that he can still improve, even at this relatively late stage of his career.

"Can I still improve? It's an interesting question," he says. "I really believe that I can. As long as you show desire and want to improve, you will. If you think, even at my stage of my career, that you have done everything and that you can’t get better then you might as well retire. I am still a pro cyclist and I love it. It’s not my business to analyse how I can get better. It’s up to my coaches. If they think I can improve in certain areas they tell me what to do. And they believe that I can. I have total faith in them.

"I feel good at this stage of the winter but the most important thing is that my coaches are pleased with me. They plan exactly how they want me to be in January. The detail that they go into is very thorough. On my last day of training last season my coaches had already planned my first day of this season. Right now my numbers are exactly where they want them to be."

As a Spaniard who lives in Barcelona, Flecha is well-placed to discuss the relative merits of Mallorca as a training base. And despite some initial reservations he has been really impressed with both the location of the Team Sky camp and the meticulous fashion with which the riders' schedules have been planned.

"At first I was a bit sceptical about Mallorca because in the south of the island the geography is all very similar," he said. "But up here in the north you have flat roads, rolling hilly roads and sharp climbs, so there is a bit of everything. It can be windy but that’s ok as you ride with a group and at this time of year the roads are really quiet. At first I was thinking that there may be some better places in southern Spain for the camp but I have been really pleasantly surprised. It’s also just a 20-minute flight from my home in Barcelona so that makes things easy for me.

"The coaches and the sporting directors have prepared everything perfectly. We are doing everything – motor pacing, climbs and flat rides. I loved being here in December and I have loved this section of the camp too. Here we are solely focussed on riding our bikes. There are no distractions and you don’t have to decide anything for yourself. There is no deliberation as to which group you are going to join as you are told what to do. The five or six-hour rides only seem like a couple of hours, and that’s a really encouraging sign."

Fans can expect to see Flecha in action for the first time in 2012 at the Tour of Qatar next month, which has become a traditional curtain raiser for him.

"Qatar is a race that I like a lot," he said. "It’s a really nice race to enter to start off your season because you always stay in the same hotel, the transfers from the airport are small and the weather is usually good. So in some respects it’s a familiar, calm and gentle introduction to the season. I’m also suited to the cross winds that you have there."

Will the Brothers be "Broken-up"?

Giro d'Italia "a possibility" for Fränk Schleck, says Bruyneel

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/giro-ditalia-a-possibility-for-frank-schleck-says-bruyneel)

One might say that Johan Bruyneel is spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting his team leaders for the 2012 grand tours at RadioShack-Nissan. Certainly in Fränk and Andy Schleck, Andreas Klöden, Chris Horner and to a certain extent, Jakob Fuglsang, he has a glut of athletes who have proved they can mix it with the best over three weeks.

Yet the Belgian remains somewhat coy on his leaders for both the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, rolling out the clichés of how the road will decide the strongest and how nothing is set in stone.

While some of that is certainly true, part of the problem may also lie in the fact that he doesn’t know his best line-up yet either. Certainly Andy Schleck is the most threatening, and is the only rider who troubled Alberto Contador when the Spaniard was mildly off-form in 2010. Yet in Klöden he has a rider who, although approaching the end of his career, has a Tour route that suits his capabilities, while Horner too can climb with the best on his day.

Bruyneel’s dilemma revolves around how to deploy both Andy and Fränk Schleck. Criticism from the media in recent years is based around the perception that each can be distracted by the other’s presence during a race’s key split-second moments, failing to seize individual initiative with tentative glances back once they attack. They say they thrive on each other’s company but their duality of leadership may obstruct them from yellow.

One option that Bruyneel refused to discount during the team’s presentation last week could involve both Schlecks arriving at the Tour de France but at different levels of form, opening up the possibility of Fränk targeting the Giro d’Italia straight after the Ardennes Classics.

“They’re going to do the Tour de France together but what I’m saying is I’m not sure whether they’ll both peak together at 100 per cent,” Bruyneel told Cyclingnews.

“Maybe one of them will make it a big goal and the other will make it 85 per cent a possibility.”

When pressed on the Giro option for older sibling Fränk, Bruyneel only added: “I’m not ruling it out. I’m not saying yes or no, but it could be a possibility.”

The key could to all this could be answered next week in Lausanne. The Contador hearing should at least come to a semi-conclusion and with that the peloton will know where the best grand tour rider of his generation will spend July – the beach or the Tour de France. For now, Bruyneel has options.

5 Time TdF Champion: 2012 Vuelta Difficult

So what happens when Miguel Indurain, a 5 time Tour de France Champion, is asked about the 2012 Vuelta a Espana? Lets first take a look at the newly unveiled route:

2012 Vuelta route revealed

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/2012-vuelta-route-revealed)

It probably won’t come as much of a surprise to hear that the 2012 Vuelta a España route will suit the climbers, as that is very much the way the race has gone in recent years. However, the itinerary unveiled by race director Javier Guillén in Pamplona’s Palacio de Congresos on Wednesday morning looks so climber-friendly that it’s hard to see how a time trial specialist or rouleur will get a look-in at all.

As was indicated when Marca leaked most of the details of the route on the eve of the presentation, the 67th edition of the Vuelta will take place in northern Spain. Madrid is the race’s most southerly point, reached on the final day.

The race starts in the shadow of the Pyrenees in Pamplona on August 18 with a 16km team time trial. The route initially heads north-west into the Basque Country, where the first of seven finishes that are officially listed as summits is located on the Arrate climb above Eibar. The next comes the following day at Valdezcaray in the neighbouring province of Rioja.

“There are so many summit finishes because that is what the public demand,” Guillén explained. “We’ve gone out looking for short and explosive stages.”

The route then tracks back itself, heading south of Pamplona and into the Pyrenees to Jaca for what is the first of three unofficial summit finishes. This will take the race up to the Fuerte de Rapitán, which is rated a third-category climb as it features ramps of 11%. Surprisingly, this is listed as a flat stage by the organisers, which perhaps underlines how climber-friendly this route is.

Two days on from that there is a more severe climbing test up to the Santuario Canolich in Andorra. This is one of the “many novelties” promised by Guillén and sections of 18% suggest this will be a very tough day. The first part of the race finishes in Barcelona, where the riders will tackle the Montjuich climb on which Thor Hushovd edged out Oscar Freire to win a stage in the 2009 Tour de France.

The first rest day brings a long transfer from one corner of Spain across to the opposite corner in Galicia. The only individual time trial comes on stage 11. Measuring just 40km, it surely won’t be enough to prevent the specialist climbers dominating the race, especially given what lies just around the corner.

The next day brings another 3rd-cat climb that is not officially listed as a summit finish. On this occasion it’s the Mirador de Ezaro above La Coruña. The 28% ramps there should suit Joaquim Rodríguez, who has made such super-steep climbs his forte at the Vuelta over the last couple of years. Another day beyond that brings three back-to-back summit finishes that lead up to the second rest day.

These start on the stunning Ancares pass that featured on the 2011 edition of the race for the first time. Next comes one of the Vuelta’s iconic summit finishes, Lagos de Covadonga, and following that is another new finish at the Cuitu Negro. This climb currently exists only as a dirt road above the Valgrande-Pajares ski station, but it will be resurfaced in the coming months, providing a 2.5km extension to the climb with sections of 25%.

Following the second rest day, there’s another uphill finish on the second-category Fuente Dé in the Picos de Europa, then a couple more straightforward stages before the final summit finish on the Bola del Mundo above the Navacarrada pass, north of Madrid, on the penultimate day. Two years ago this was the setting for an epic battle between Vincenzo Nibali and Ezequiel Mosquera, with Mosquera taking the stage – before being subsequently banned – but Nibali doing enough to hold on to the leader’s jersey.

As the curtain was formally lifted on the route, all eyes in the Palacio de Congresos were on Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), who will have been delighted by the plethora of sharp summit finishes that pepper the route. “Purito is going to love this route because he can win the Vuelta,” Euskaltel-Euskadi’s Samuel Sánchez pointed out.

The man himself could scarcely hide his enthusiasm for a Vuelta tailored expressly to his talents, with the 40km time trial to Pontevedra on stage 11 the only obvious stumbling block. The second half of the race should offer Rodriguez ample opportunity to recoup any losses, however.

“The first part of the Vuelta is where you don’t want to lose the race, the second part is where you will win it,” Rodriguez said. “There are lots of explosive summit finishes. I like it, I like it, I like it…”
 
The route of the 2012 Vuelta a España:
Stage 1, August 18: Pamplona team time trial, 16.2km
Stage 2, August 19: Pamplona-Viana, 180km
Stage 3, August 20: Oion-Arrate (Eibar), 153km
Stage 4, August 21: Barakaldo-Valdezcaray, 155km
Stage 5, August 22: Logroño-Logroño, 172km
Stage 6, August 23: Tarazona-El Fuerte del Rapitán (Jaca), 174km
Stage 7, August 24: Jaca-Motorland (Alcañiz), 160km
Stage 8, August 25: Lleida- Coll de la Gallina (Andorra), 175km
Stage 9, August 26. Andorra-Barcelona, 194km
August 27: Rest day
Stage 10, August 28: Ponteareas-Sanxenxo, 166km

Stage 11, August 29: Cambados-Pontevedra time trial, 40km
Stage 12, August 30: Vilagarcía-Mirador de Ezaro (La Coruña), 184.6km
Stage 13, August 31: Santiago de Compostela-Ferrol, 172.7km
Stage 14, September 1: Palas do Rei-Los Ancares, 152km
Stage 15, September 2: La Robla-Lagos de Covadonga, 186.7km
Stage 16, September 3: Gijón (Villa de Jovellanos)-Cuitu Negro, 185km
September 4: Rest day
Stage 17, September 5: Santander-Fuente Dé, 177km
Stage 18, September 6: Aguilar de Campoo-Valladolid, 186.4km
Stage 19, September 7: Peñafiel-La Lastrilla, 169km
Stage 20, September 8: Palazuelo del Eresma-Bola del Mundo, 169.5km
Stage 21, September 9: Cercedilla-Madrid, 111.9km


Then let's ask Miguel Indurain:

Indurain: I would have struggled on 2012 Vuelta a Espana route

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/indurain-i-would-have-struggled-on-2012-vuelta-a-espana-route)

Miguel Indurain has admitted that he would not have been capable of winning the 2012 Vuelta a España, such is the amount of climbing packed into the race’s three weeks. The five-time Tour de France winner was speaking at the Vuelta route presentation in Pamplona on Wednesday.

“With so many tough mountain stages, I would have been stuffed from the start,” Indurain said, according to Reuters. “It wouldn't have been possible for me to win this race, there are too many summit finishes and there’s very little time trialling.”

While Indurain’s time trialling ability carried him to seven Grand Tour victories in the 1990s, he recognised that the Spanish riders of today struggle against the watch. The home nation's contingent will appreciate the welter of short, sharp summit finishes that dot the race.

“This kind of route is exactly what the fans want, and the climbing specialists will have a great chance to win the race," said Indurain.

The race will feature seven summit finishes, beginning in the Basque Country on stage 3 to Monte Arrate. The Vuelta will visit the Pyrenees at the end of week one, but it is likely that a troika of mountain top finishes in the final part of the race will decide the winner of the red jersey.

After visiting Lagos de Covadonga and Cuitu Negro on consecutive days, the grand finale will come on the penultimate stage with a finish atop the fearsome Bola del Mundo.

Notably, the longest stage of the Vuelta is just 194km in length, but while distances are down, Indurain noted that  “they’ve maintained the level of difficulty of the stages.”

Hailing from Villava, on the outskirts of Pamplona, Indurain grew up riding on the roads featured on the opening two days of the race. He warned that teams would have to be well-drilled ahead of the technical opening team time trial in the streets of the city.

“It'll be very hot in August, and some sections are technical so the riders will have to be careful,” he said. “But nowhere near as dangerous as running with the bulls in July.”

All told, Indurain believes a rather novel Vuelta is in store, with the finish in Madrid, the southernmost point of the race. “It’s going to be different, because it’s all in the north, and it’ll be quite a nervous race because there are a lot of summit finishes,” he said.