2012 Tour de France Stage 7, 7/07/12

July 7, Stage 7: Tomblaine - La Planche des Belles Filles 199km

Froome leads double Sky success on La Planche des Belles Filles

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-7/results)

In shades of the 2011 Vuelta a España, Christopher Froome  led a doubly successful stage for Team Sky on the first mountaintop finish of the 2012 Tour de France. He was the only one who could match and top Cadel Evans (BMC) in the brutal final 100 meters of the climb up La Planche des Belles Filles in the seventh stage. Evans was second, with Sky's Bradley Wiggins third.

Fabian Cancellara fought long and hard but had to drop back on the climb. Wiggins thus moved into the overall lead. Evans is now second at 10 seconds, with Vincenzo Nibali third at 16 seconds, as the top ten was tossed around.

“It wasn't the plan to go for the stage, it was just keeping Brad up there,” said an overjoyed Froome. “But we came to see the climb previously and I knew what the finish was like. I thought, 'I'm there, I've got the legs, why not give a kick and see what happens?' I gave it a nudge and couldn't believe when Cadel didn't follow my wheel."

The end result was the icing on the cake of a dominant performance by Team Sky, who drove the pace and whittled down the field on the newest climb in the Tour. They dropped several big names along the way, due to either crash-related injuries, mechanicals or simply an inability to stay with the high speed set mainly by Edvald Boasson Hagen, Michael Rogers and finally Richie Porte.

In the end, Froome and Wiggins led the high-powered group with Evans and Nibali into the final kilometer. The Froome-Wiggins combination was a familiar one from the 2011 Vuelta a Espana, and once again Froome showed his superior climbing abilities. Evans was the first to jump from the group as the gradient eased, and only Froome could go with him. As the road kicked up again, Froome passed the Australian to claim his first Tour de France stage victory.

“I was expecting someone to surge on that flat bit, and Cadel came through. I jumped onto his wheel. I could see him slowly hurting as the climb got steeper. that was fantastic for us. Having Bradley right there 2 seconds behind, We couldn't ask for more. It puts the team in a fantastic position going forward.

“I'm speechless. That was a dream come true. I never thought of winning a stage here. I'm chuffed to bits.”

While the main battle played out between Evans and Froome for the stage win, Vincenzo Nibali and Rein Taaramae had minor victories of their own, becoming the only other riders to hang onto the front of the race. The Cofidis rider moved into the white jersey of best young rider after Tejay Van Garderen was dropped early in the climb, while Nibali moved into third overall, now 16 seconds behind Wiggins.

With his stage win, Froome also displaced Michael Morkov as best climber, while Peter Sagan padded his lead in the points classification in the intermediate sprint.

A reduced field

There were 12 fewer riders at the start of the seventh stage, four of them having abandoned during Friday's stage. All eight DNF's today were victims of the many crashes in the sixth stage, including Giro d'Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal. They were soon enough joined by Anthony Delaplace of Saur-Sojasun.

About 20 km into the stage, an escape group formed and got away: Cyril Gautier (Europcar), Christophe Riblon (AG2R), Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank), Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank), Dmitriy Fofonov (Astana), Martin Velits (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), and Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge). The gap reached a maximum of about six minutes before settling in at around five and a half minutes.

The only excitement in the first half of the stage came at the intermediate sprint. Orica-GreenEdge looked to determined to take the remaining points for Matt Goss, but the team seemed to have started its jump far too early. In the end, Peter Sagan of Liquigas sailed on by the Australian to add to his lead.

The first two climbs of the day – the Col de Grosse Pierre and the Col du Mont de Fourche (both category three) - did nothing at all. The seven leaders rolled right over them, although on the approach to the latter, Sanchez complained about the fans running alongside.

The gap finally started coming down for good with about 40 km – and the final category one climb – to go. As the road went up and the gap went down, more and more sprinters and injured riders fell back.

The Planche de Belles Filles was an unknown factor, as it was making its Tour debut. The 5.9km closing climb featured an average gradient of 8.5 percent, with sections up to 13 percent, and the final 100 meters at 14 percent.

Garmin was suffering the loss of three riders, with others having dropped back, but those remaining riders spent much time at the front of the field. They were finally replaced by Bosson Hagen, who led the capture of Gautier, the first rider to fall out of the lead group.

Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) suffered a mechanical with about 11km to go, and had to race hard to try and catch the field again. Adam Hansen was there to help him, but it was a long haul. Alejandro Valverde punctured shortly thereafter, so another top rider had dropped out of the main field.

Boasson Hagen put up such a speed that the field split. And only moments after starting the final climb, the lead group was caught. But the brutal pace and the new climb did their work, as more and more riders suffered, including Robert Gesink (Rabobank), Philippe Gilbert (BMC) ad Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep).

With five km still to climb, Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan) had to bid farewell to the lead group, the overall lead and his yellow jersey. Only a small group went into the final four km – but neither Fränk Schleck nor Andreas Klöden was among them.

In there, though were Wiggins, Evans, Nibali, Boasson Hagen, Froome, Richie Porte, Rein Taramaae and Denis Menchov.

Froome, who proved himself in last year's Vuelta a Espana, took over from Boasson Hagen and pulled the increasingly smaller group up the final climb. Even Menchov fell back with less than two km to go.

Froome, Wiggins, Evans, Nibali and Taaramae went together unter the flamme rouge. Evans moved into the lead with 400 m to go and the sprint started. Taaramae was dropped it was Froome who made his move on the 14% gradient to take the win, with Evans taking second and Wiggins third.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	4:58:35
2	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:00:02
3	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling
4	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:07
5	Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	0:00:19
6	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:44
7	Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar	0:00:46
8	Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
9	Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team	0:00:50
10	Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:56

Favorite Pictures of the Day:

Sagan doing a wheelie as he crosses the finish line

L. Sanchez awarded Most Agressive Rider...after punching a spectator who got too close. :)

Dauphine, Wiggins, Tour de Suisse, Schleck, & Trek

Today was another great day for cycling news. Hence another long post.

Last stage in the Criterium du Dauphine:

June 10, Stage 7: Morzine - Châtel 126km

Bradley Wiggins retains his Critérium du Dauphiné title

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/criterium-du-dauphine-2012/stage-7/results)

Daniel Moreno (Katusha) won the final stage of the Criterium du Dauphine, whilst Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) easily secured his second consecutive overall title. Moreno slipped by Rabobank's Luis Leon Sanchez just before the finish line to take the win, with Cadel Evans of BMC Racing Team third.

The final stage with its five ranked climbs and category three mountaintop finish did not change the final podium. Wiggins took the overall win, with teammate Michael Rogers second and Evans third. Christopher Froome was fourth, giving Team Sky three of the top four slots.

Wiggins's lead was never in doubt over the stage, with Sky keeping a close eye on both the day's escape group and the competition for yellow. The dominant performance by both the captain and the team now make Wiggins the top favourite for the Tour de France.

Five more climbs and a mountaintop finish

The final stage of the Dauphine was anything but a simple run-in to the finish. Five ranked climbs were along the way, including the category one Col du Corbier only 24km from the finish.

Several small groups got away early on, before merging into a group of eight: Dmitriy Fofonov (Astana), Pierre Rolland (Europcar), Yaroslav Popovych (RadioShack), Christophe Le Mével (Garmin), Sylvain Chavanel and Stijn Vandenbergh (Omega), Jerome Coppel (Saur) and Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM). They never had much of a lead, and with 35km to go, only Chavanel, Rolland, Coppel and Westra were still away, with Chavanel the next to be dropped.

The trio took a 1:44 lead up the Corbier. Behind them, Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) was dropped on the climb, as he continued to struggle with injuries from a crash earlier in the race. Earlier Thomas Voeckler of Europcar had abandoned with knee problems.

Sky worked to protect Wiggins's lead, moving to the front of the field. BMC had the same idea, hoping to not only hold on to Evans's third place but perhaps also with a stage win in mind.

As the field neared the summit, a handful of riders tried to get away. They never really got away and eventually Wiggins himself calmly led the chase and catch.

It was a reduced field which flew down the many switchbacks of the descent. Vincenzo Nibali of Liquigas-Cannondale was at the head of things, and, after having been dropped the previous day, took off in an apparent attempt to salvage what he could.

Westra seemed to be struggling on that climb, and fell back for good on the descent, leaving Coppel and Rolland alone in the lead. Nibali was rapidly approaching, and the field wasn't far away either.

Nibali and Westra joined forces, but the Italian was unable to hold on, soon dropping back to the field. Westra was soon caught by the BMC-led field, as well, and with 13km to go, the gap was down to about 30 seconds to the two leaders.

With the two leaders in sight, Alexandre Geniez of Argos-Shimano took off out of the field. With some 6km to go, he caught them, but the field was only a few second back.

By then Katusha had moved to the head of the field, and with 5km to go, Rolland and Coppel shook hands and resigned themselves to their fate. They still took a minimal lead up the closing climb, but with 2.4km to go, they were all caught.
Katusha roared up the climb, with Evans noticeably close to the front in his green points jersey.

Evans made his move, but it was Luis Leon Sanchez who looked to have made the decisive move with 250m to go. But Moreno went with him and was able to slip past him at the last second for the win. Evans took third.

Stage Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	2:59:37
2	Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team
3	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
4	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
5	Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
6	Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEdge
7	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
8	Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
9	Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling
10	Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling	0:00:07

Final general classification

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	26:40:46
2	Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling	0:01:17
3	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:01:26
4	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:01:45
5	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team	0:02:12
6	Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team	0:02:58
7	Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team	0:03:07
8	Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:03:26
9	Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling	0:03:34
10	Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Radioshack-Nissan	0:03:50

 

 

So Bradley Wiggins won overall. It was a great race for him and Team Sky! However, some people are saying that Wiggins hasn't even peaked yet, so I guess we'll see what he can do at the Tour de France:

 

Yates: Wiggins hasn’t peaked yet

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/yates-wiggins-hasnt-peaked-yet)

Team Sky’s Sean Yates believes that Bradley Wiggins has yet to hit top form, with plans for the Criterium du Dauphine leader to reach optimal condition at the Tour de France this year.

Yates, a former professional and now a team director at Sky, spoke after Sky demonstrated their stranglehold over the Dauphine field with a resounding performance on the Joux Plane on stage 6.

Today was also Stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse:

June 10, Stage 2: Verbania - Verbier 218.3km

Costa steals Schleck's thunder in Verbier

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-de-suisse-2012/stage-2/results)

Rui Costa (Movistar) delivered a master class in timing to win stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse with an attack on the final slopes up to Verbier. The Portuguese rider attacked inside the final two kilometres of the climb, reeling in Frank Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) who had attacked with six kilometres to go. After making the catch inside the final 200 meters Schleck had little energy for the sprint and was forced to settle for second. Mikel Nieve (Euskaltel) finished third.

Costa’s win shifted him into the race’s overall lead after stage 1 winner Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) sat up with 12 kilometres to go.

Unlike the Dauphine, a race that this year shied away from a mountain top finish, the Tour de Suisse made no bones about including such stage conclusions, with a climb to Verbier featuring on the second stage.

Alessandro Bazzana (Team Type 1 – Sanofi) and Ryan Anderson (Spidertech powered by C10) were the early breakaway and it took a concerted effort from a number of teams, including a clearly motivated RadioShack, to bring them in check.

The pair were brought to check inside the final 30 kilometres as rain began to fall and the final climb loomed over the GC pretenders. On the early slopes RadioShack began unsettling a number of riders. As expected, Peter Sagan and his sprint rivals were quickly eliminated as Linus Gerdemann, Jakob Fuglsang and Maxime Monfort set the pace.

With 6 kilometres to go and the leading group already thinned to less than 40 riders, Schleck attacked. Within one kilometre the climber had established a 22 second buffer as Lampre struggled to mount a significant chase for Damiano Cunego.

John Gadret (AG2R) in his pink overshoes became frustrated, flying from the struggling bunch in a  bid to match and catch Schleck but all his move proved to do was drop Robert Gesink (Rabobank).

Tom Danielson (Garmin-Barracuda) took off and found himself alone, rather than initiating a serious attack, but he briefly persisted as the race went under the 2km to go banner. His move was the catalyst for Costa, who closed the gap and quickly dismantled Schleck’s lead.

The Portuguese rider, the only cyclist allocated Olympic funding for 2012, and winner of a stage in last year’s Tour ,caught the RadioShack rider inside the final 200 meters and as the line approached was the first to open his sprint. Schleck attempted to respond but was no match for the Movistar man.

 

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team	6:21:13
2	Frank Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:04
3	Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	0:00:12
4	Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team	0:00:13
5	Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
6	Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale	0:00:16
7	Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank
8	John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
9	Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team	0:00:18
10	Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Pro Team Astana	0:00:22

 

 

Trek Bikes also released their new Madone for the RSNT team:

 

Trek's new aero Madone for RadioShack-Nissan

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/treks-new-aero-madone-for-radioshack-nissan)

Trek's next-generation Madone isn't set for official release for another two weeks but RadioShack-Nissan riders were racing on it at the Critérium du Dauphiné. This new version borrows several key design features from the company's Speed Concept time trial machine, giving the Wisconsin company the aero road bike they’ve been missing for the past few years.

Much like Scott's Foil, the new Madone doesn't actually look all that slippery with its broad tubes and relatively shallow profiles. However, markings on the frame – not to mention strategically applied paint – point to a Kamm tail design with truncated airfoils that are said to mimic the aerodynamic benefits of a much deeper profile without violating UCI technical guidelines or sacrificing chassis weight and ride quality.

Trek have taken the radical step of moving the rear brake down below the chain stays. Just as significant, Trek has wholly adopted Shimano's new direct-mount interface, which does away with the traditional center mounting holes in the frame and fork and replaces them with twin posts on which the newly symmetrical calipers attach directly. In some ways, this is similar to the U-brake posts of old mountain bikes.

In theory, this design could save a few grams by virtue of the omitted caliper parts but the bigger expected benefit is a more direct lever feel and increased power thanks to reduced flex. In addition to locating the caliper arms closer to the base of the frame, the pivots themselves look to be adjustable for play for truly slop-free action.

Another side benefit is the more slender seat stay design. In contrast to the current version's wishbone layout, the new Madone stays are fully separate from dropout to seat tube and there's no bridge whatsoever. These changes could yield a more comfortable ride.

Given the more complicated position, the rear brake is built with a more convoluted X-shaped scissor linkage and the housing runs through the down tube. There's no barrel adjuster built into this end but seeing as how no rider would be able to safely use it anyway Trek has wisely opted to integrated one into the stop on the head tube.

Speaking of routing, Trek maintains fully internal paths throughout but with new easy-to-access ports on the head tube that provide a clea look with optional flush-fit plugs when using electronic transmissions.

Carryover features from the current Madone include a tapered 'e2' head tube, Trek's no-cut seatmast design, a pocket in the chain stay for a Bontrager Duotrap wireless speed and cadence sensor, and a 90mm-wide bottom bracket shell with correspondingly broad down tube and chain stay spacing and direct press-fit bearings.

And finally, how could I forget our buddy Andy Schleck? I have a new word to add to the dictionary:

Schleck: (verb) to give up because you aren't winning or getting your way. Ex: I 'schlecked' finishing this puzzle because it was too hard.

Andy Schleck: You can do a lot in three weeks

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/andy-schleck-you-can-do-a-lot-in-three-weeks)

Despite another disappointing display, Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) is hoping he can turn around his Tour de France preparations with training camps in the Alps and Pyrenees. The 2010 Tour de France winner abandoned midway through stage 6 of the Critérium du Dauphiné due to injuries sustained in a crash 48 hours previously.
He had already pulled out of Paris-Nice after just two stages and the Volta a Catalunya. A knee injury in May also affected his training.

“In bad things I always try to find the good things. The good thing is that I have done six stages. Some people will say ‘It is only three weeks till the Tour’ but you can also say it is ‘still’ three weeks to the start in Liège. You can do a lot in three weeks. That is my strength. I’ve shown it in the last years. I was not good in the Tour de Suisse but I was in the Tour de France. I won’t stop believing in it. I’ve worked hard for this.”

While Schleck has indeed shown almost miraculous turns of form before previous Tours, this year will take something truly special if he’s to stand any chance of competing with Bradley Wiggins and Cadel Evans – the two tipped favourites for July.

“It is just that bad luck is following me in the last months,” continued Andy Schleck. “I could not avoid it. Before this I had a left knee problem after my crash in a training camp in Sierra Nevada. It healed and then I improved. Even yesterday, after my crash I felt okay in the climbs. When I stayed in the saddle, my ribs hurt and I was suffering a lot but I came through the day. I was improving in the climbs and I was okay on the Grand Colombier.”

Schleck returned to Luxumbourg and will have an MRI scan on Monday in order to diagnose his injuries. Until then, his Tour participation is in question.

“After the crash we had hoped Andy could at least finish the Dauphiné because he needs the races and the efforts,” said team boss Johan Bruyneel.

“It is not good what happened today. If you are dealing with problems and trying to catch up on form and then when you start to build up and see some improvements but you have a setback again through a crash or an injury, you never have a solid foundation. Andy’s situation is not a good sign for his Tour preparation, especially if you look now at the level of his competitors. For the moment there is not much we can do. It is a difficult situation.”

2012 Critérium du Dauphiné Stage 2

June 5, Stage 2: Lamastre - Saint-Félicien 160km

Moreno wins stage 2 of the Dauphiné

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/criterium-du-dauphine-2012/stage-2/results)

Daniel Moreno (Katusha) won stage 2 of the Critérium du Dauphiné from Lamastre to Saint-Félicien, beating Julien Simon (Saur-Sojasun) and Tony Gallopin (RadioShack-Nissan) in a sprint finish.

Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) and Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) finished together with the Sky rider retaining his one-second advantage in the battle for yellow.

Moreno launched his sprint perfectly inside the final 200 meters as the bunch tackled an uphill finish to Saint-Félicien. The Katusha rider latched onto a late attack from Tony Martin (Omega-Pharma QuickStep) before accelerating away with an uphill effort that his teammate Joaquim Rodriguez would have been proud of.

Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Lotto Belisol Team), Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale), Gallopin and Simon attempted to give chase but were unable to stop the Spaniard from taking his third win of the season.

Rémi Pauriol (FDJ-Big Mat) and Maxime Mederel (Saur - Sojasun) orchestrated the first notable move of the day but interest in their progress rose further when they were joined by a group containing race leader Wiggins, Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale), Boasson Hagen (Team Sky), Philippe Gilbert (BMC), Michael Rogers (Team Sky), Bram Tankink (Rabobank) and Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-QuickStep). Such a move was too dangerous and was soon nullified.

Chavanel, himself an outside bet for overall honours, pressed on alone but even his will and desire knew with Wiggins leading Sky was unlikely to let a contender of any sort up the road and when no assistance arrived the Frenchman sat up.

It was another Frenchman though, the talismanic David Moncoutie (Cofidis) who tried his luck on the slopes of the first climb of six, the Col de Montivernoux. Moncoutie rarely puts a foot wrong when choosing the right moment, and 13 riders were quickly across. The move lacked harmony and when Moncoutie stamped on the pedals once more, he was left with Christophe Kern (Europcar), Blel Kadri (AG2R), and José Sarmiento (Liquigas-Cannondale).

Kadri may have been within 11 seconds of Wiggins' lead but this was manageable situation and as the break pressed on toward Saint-Félicien, Sky monitored their progress.

The lead stretched out towards four minutes with Kadri leading Kern over the top of each climb in an attempt take the KOM lead from Giovanni Bernaudeau (Europcar). However Bernaudeau countered at each turn, grabbing fifth on a number of climbs in a successful bid to hold his lead.

When the predictable happened and Sky upped their pace, the break's lead spiralled towards the minute mark. Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) harried a small counter attack but with Danny Pate and Kanstantsin Siutsou (both of Sky) on the front of the bunch any move was almost futile.

That was until Sky called a halt to their day's efforts and Wesley Sulzberger (Orica GreenEdge) launched his move. He was joined by a handful of willing collaborators but Anthony Roux was the keenest, answering Sulzberger's next acceleration and then plummeting down the col de Fontaille in pursuit of Kern and company. Sulzberger was left to wait for the bunch as Roux cut through the minute gap.

It was then the turn of another aggressive French team, Saur - Sojasun, to make an impression chasing Roux, who had made it to the lead break. Kadri and Roux gave one last throw of the dice before BMC assumed control of the field.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	4:02:38
2	Julien Simon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun
3	Tony Gallopin (Fra) Radioshack-Nissan
4	Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
5	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
6	Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team
7	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
8	Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
9	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling
10	Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar

The Next Astana Team Leader?

Vinokourov: Maxim Iglinskiy won Liège-Bastogne-Liège "the Vino way"

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/vinokourov-maxim-iglinskiy-won-liege-bastogne-liege-the-vino-way)

Alexandre Vinokourov showed up at the start of stage 2 in the Presidential Tour of Turkey in Alanya with a large smile, as did Valentin Iglinskiy because of the win of his elder brother Maxim at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Both Astana riders watched the last fifty kilometres of "La Doyenne" from their hotel room near the Mediterranean coast.

"We have awaited our first victory for a while but this is a wonderful time for our team," Vinokourov told Cyclingnews.

Janez Brajkovic opened the team's account at stage 3 of the Volta a Catalunya and now Astana has three wins including two major Classics back-to-back with Amstel Gold Race (by Enrico Gasparotto) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

"Our start of the season was far from our expectations but these two Classics have put an end to our hard time," Vino continued. "It proves that Kazakh cycling is not only about myself. I've told Iglinskiy that after what he did yesterday, I can retire quietly."

The soon-to-be Astana team manager played his part in Iglinskiy's victory in Belgium. "I called Maxim yesterday morning before the start," Vino added. "I had noticed that he had good legs at Amstel Gold Race and Fleche Wallonne. ... He rode to perfection. He did it the Vino way! I told him to wait for the Roche-aux-Faucons and go with [Joaquim] Rodriguez. When he did it, I was confident that he'd finish on the podium. He dropped Rodriguez on St-Nicolas and turned the turbo on to catch [Vincenzo] Nibali."

Vinokourov revealed why Iglinskiy didn't win a big Classic until the age of 31. "He lacked motivation," the (substitute) member of the Kazakh Parliament said. "When he won the Strade Bianche and a stage of Tirreno-Adriatico in 2010, I told Maxim: ‘you can ride like Valverde' but he said: ‘no!!! I'm not at this level'. This year he's gone to altitude training camps here and there and he's motivated again. After this victory, he can step up to another level. He'll go back to Kazakhstan tomorrow and take some rest prior to training for the Tour de France and why not the Olympic Games."

On the eve of the Amstel Gold Race, Vinokourov reassured the president of the Kazakh cycling federation Kairat Kelimbetov that a great win was around the corner. "I'm even happier that a Kazakh rider is the winner. It shuts the mouth of the people who haven't believed in Kazakh riders. I reminded Maxim last night when we spoke again at 11pm: ‘I've always believed in you.'"

As a result of the revival of the motivation at Astana, Vino himself went on the attack at the Tour of Turkey after 48km and won the intermediate sprint at Manavgat.

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 10

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-10/results)

Chris Froome (Team Sky) pulled off the performance of a lifetime to take the overall lead in the Vuelta. The Kenyan-born climber finished second behind stage winner Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) in the 47km time trial around Salamanca to move 12 seconds clear of Jakob Fuglsang (Leopard Trek) in GC.

Froome's teammate Bradley Wiggins set the fastest time at the first check point at 13km but gradually lost time, finishing third on the stage. However, like Froome he moved up the overall classification to third overall as a number of big name climbers suffered on the course.

Overnight race leader Bauke Mollema (Rabobank) had a respectable ride but slipped down the GC and sits 1:07 down on Froome in seventh overall.

"I wasn't really expecting that," Froome said at the finish.

"I was just trying to stay in contention and be there along with Bradley Wiggins, the team leader. I just had a fantastic day and somehow I've ended up in the leader's jersey. It's a dream come true."

The dream became a reality though as he made his way to the podium to pick up the red jersey with the knowledge that he had outclassed the likes of Fabian Cancellara, Taylor Phinney and perhaps most importantly Bradley Wiggins.

In fact Froome's and Wiggins's rides couldn't have been more different. While Wiggins went out like a bullet, setting the fastest time at the first check, Froome set of far steadier. At the second time check at 30km, Wiggins had lost 20 seconds and the stage lead to Martin, with Froome only beginning to show his true strength.

The real indication of Froome's form only came when he reached the 1km to go mark, with commentators realising that he was on course to beat Cancellara's time and challenge Mollema for red. With Wiggins fading further over the final kilometres and losing his rhythm on the final climb to the finish, his 29 second loss to Froome was a major surprise.

Yet Sky will be buoyed by their performance that now leaves them with two men inside the top three on GC and major daylight between themselves and the likes of Michele Scarponi, Carlos Sastre, Joaquim Rodriguez and Igor Anton, who all saw their GC aspirations go up in smoke. Sky's management will nevertheless still be scratching their heads after Froome's ride. With no more time trial kilometres left in the race and they now have two serious GC cards to play for the podium. Deciding who sacrifices his chances for the other could be the defining choice for the team's bid to place a rider on a podium in a Grand Tour for the first time.

Martin's marker

The stage threw up more surprises than just Froome's excellence against the clock. Tony Martin who came into the stage as genuine contender, set down a major maker for the Worlds next month, dismantling Fabian Cancellara's dominance against the Spanish heat. That he beat Cancellara was not necessarily the talking point – he put 1:42 into him at the major time trial at the Tour – but with just weeks to go until Copenhagen, Cancellara is running out of time to find the form that has carried him to four rainbow jerseys against the clock.

It was Martin's possible future successor, Taylor Phinney (Team BMC), who shone brightest in the early stages of the day. In his first grand tour, the American is beginning to find his feet at the WorldTour level, and despite Cancellara and the Martin setting faster times in quick succession, Phinney's fifth place deserves praise.

Podium contenders shape up

While the time gaps between Martin and the rest seemed gaping, the results showed a general bunching of true GC contenders. Nibali, who now sits fourth, 31 seconds down, looks to be in pole position considering the mountainous terrain still to come. The fact that the Italian is the only rider within the top 12 to have won a Grand Tour will serve him well.

Jakob Fuglsang, who came to the Vuelta after a disappointing Tour de France, continues to impress here and but for a mechanical in the opening few hundred meters of today's ride he would be even closer to Froome on GC. Kessiakoff, Monfort, Mollema, Cobo Brajkovic and even Jurgen Van den Broeck and Denis Menchov will still claim to have realistic podium ambitions though.

But this Vuelta, which has seen several different race leaders, crashes, excitement and unpredictable racing, is far from over. Rodriguez, despite lying 3:23, could yet be the key. Licking his wounds outside the Katusha team bus after a demoralizing ride, he will be looking for revenge once the race begins to tilt upwards once again. The race win may be behind him but his explosive prowess could be the catalyst to blow this race wide open again.

Result
1	Tony Martin (Ger) HTC-Highroad	0:55:54
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:59
3	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:01:22
4	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Leopard Trek	0:01:27
5	Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:01:33
6	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:01:37
7	Tiago Machado (Por) Team RadioShack	0:01:54
8	Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team RadioShack	0:01:56
9	Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:02:02
10	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:02:06

CG Overall

Result
1	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	38:09:13
2	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:12
3	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:20
4	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:31
5	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:00:34
6	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:00:59
7	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:01:07
8	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:01:47
9	Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team RadioShack	0:02:04
10	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team RadioShack	0:02:13

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 8

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-8/results)

He’s been in terrific form of late and on Saturday afternoon in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) demonstrated that his fitness is scintillating with another powerful surge on the steep slopes of the torturous final kilometre of stage 8 of the Vuelta a España.

With many tipping the Spaniard to shine on a finish that featured ramps of 27 percent, Katusha’s captain delivered, beating Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) and Rabobank’s Bauke Mollema to take his second stage win and the overall lead in this year’s Vuelta.

Having worn the red jersey for a stage after the first day, Jakob Fuglsang’s (Leopard Trek) fine fifth place finish saw him move back up in the standings to third overall, with Dani Moreno (Katusha) sitting in second behind his team leader.

The final agonising kilometres separated some of the overall favourites, with 16 seconds covering the top 10. A notable absentee from that group was defending champion Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale), who finished 32 seconds behind Rodriguez and now sits in fourth place overall. “I didn’t feel so good during the stage because of my crash yesterday but this is not an excuse,” Nibali said afterwards. “I hope that I’ll be able to reverse the situation at the time trial in Salamanca.”

Team Sky’s Bradley Wiggins came across the line 20 seconds down in 19th place and now lies 1:43 behind Rodriguez, albeit with Monday’s crucial 47km time trial still to come for the British contender.

Rodriguez’s recon pays off

Always a threat when the road pitches sharply upwards as it did in the final kilometre of the stage, Joaquim Rodriguez explained afterwards that he had taken time to reconnoitre Saturday’s finale before the Vuelta in order to maximise his chances.

“It was useful to know the course,” Rodriguez said. “I came to reconnoitre it in July with Dani Moreno who lives nearby and it has helped me to win. I knew where to impose my rhythm, where to sit on the bike on the false flats and where to accelerate again.”

As well as winning the stage, Rodriguez gained a handful of seconds on all of his rivals for the red jersey in Madrid, and that bounty was bolstered by the 20-second time bonus he picked up for winning the stage. Given his weakness against the watch, Rodriguez acknowledged that he had to make his gains count ahead of Monday’s time trial in Salamanca.

“I knew before the Vuelta that I have to gain a maximum of time bonuses and I target them on the uphill finishes because I’m aware that I’ll lose a lot of time on Monday to riders like Bradley Wiggins and Janez Brajkovic,” he said. “I’ll try to increase my advantage tomorrow. In the time trial, I’ll lose at least 2:30.”

All about the finish

After the mountainous appetisers earlier in the week, today’s stage delivered a brace of category two climbs – the San Bartolomé de Pinares and the Alto de Santa María – preceded by the first category Puerto de Mijares: a test of sorts for the overall contenders while the breakaway bandits were licking their lips.

Their biggest obstacle was the tough uphill finish, with ramps of up to 27 percent that represented another chance for the likes of Katusha duo Moreno and Rodriguez, both of whom have already stamped their mark on this year’s Vuelta with stage wins.

Approaching the top of the Puerto de Mijares after a rapid start, Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervélo) and Matteo Montaguti (AG2R-La Mondiale) were the lone leaders, having made their way off the front after 25km, while 1:10 behind them lay Friday’s most combative rider Julien Fourchard (Cofidis) and Adrian Palomares (Andalucia Caja Granada).

A further 4:05 back was Skil-Shimano’s Koen De Kort, with the peloton sitting 7:32 behind the leading duo. It wasn’t long before the Dutchman was reabsorbed by the bunch, however, as the two pairs at the front made a leading quartet after cresting the category one climb.

The peloton was content to give the leading quartet the time it wanted and with 28km remaining in the stage, the gap was still 1:58 – never enough to stay away until the finish but sufficient for another 17km of freedom, as Haussler was the last card to fall when Cofidis’ Rein Taaramae tried his luck heading into the final 10 clicks of the day.

Joined by Angel Madrazo (Movistar), teammate David Moncoutié, Jan Bakelants (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Wout Poels (Vacansoleil-DCM), the freshly-formed quintet then decided it wanted to disrupt Katusha’s party and went into the final five kilometres – including the finishing climb – ahead of the main field, which would soon be ripped to shreds on the stinging ascent.

With three kilometres remaining and the hardest gradient ahead, Taaramae was the sole survivor of the late-stage move but even his bravery had its limits and he was swallowed up by a peloton led by Lampre-ISD and Katusha’s diminutive pair of Moreno and Rodriguez.

The harder grades required the higher marks and Scarponi went off in search of them, hitting out on the 20 percent slopes near the top of the climb but Rodriguez followed suit and swiftly passed the Italian on the cobbled section. He was never to be passed as those behind him fought for the scraps on what is becoming a familiar scene at this edition of Spain’s national tour.

Notable performances came from Euskaltel-Euskadi captain Igor Anton, who overcame his recent troubles to finish sixth and Irish cousins Nicolas Roche (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and Daniel Martin (Garmin-Cervélo), who took seventh and ninth respectively. Maxime Monfort’s strong showing also earned him a place in the overall top 10 while Denis Menchov showed his hand somewhat with eighth at the end of the 183 kilometres.

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 1

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-1/results)

Jakob Fuglsang pulled on the leader’s jersey at a grand tour for the first time in his career on Saturday as Leopard Trek dominated the 13.5km team time trial along the Benidorm beachfront to open its Vuelta a España account in glorious style.

The Luxembourg outfit, led splendidly by a Fabian Cancellara resplendent in rainbow stripes, took the fastest intermediate time and maintained that sizzling pace under the baking Spanish sun to finish with a time of 16:30, which wasn’t to be bettered by any other team.

In second place was Liquigas-Cannondale, the Italian squad finishing in 16:34, five seconds ahead of HTC-Highroad, who managed a respectable 16:39. And with Cancellara and co setting their time early in proceedings, the stage became a shootout between them and the team of defending champion Vincenzo Nibali.

While it was Leopard Trek who won out on the day, Nibali will be buoyed in his title defence by the performance of his teammates. Sagan crossed the line first but with Nibali already within touching distance of the leader’s jersey, his quest for a second consecutive title could hardly have started better.

The man in that leader’s jersey, Fuglsang, was a surprised recipient after the finish, explaining that he hadn’t expected to be the man at the front of the team as it crossed the line. “We didn’t talk about it at the start; the goal today was to do a good team time trial,” he said. “We knew we could win if we rode at our maximum and we’d have a chance.

“I went as hard as I could and thought that someone would pass me at the end but they didn’t.”

The 13.5km test along the Benidorm beachfront saw several teams challenged by the technical nature of the course and the pace required to stay near the front of the fast finishers. The biggest name to topple was Team Sky, as Bradley Wiggins’ tilt at the Vuelta title got off to a horrible start. The British squad rode along the beach with only four riders until Xavier Zandio regained contact and the quintet went on to finish 42 seconds behind Leopard Trek.

Fuglsang himself acknowledged the perils of the short yet demanding day in the saddle. “The course today had everything – there was a hard start and it was technical,” he said. “You had to be careful not to blow up the whole team and not to crash – Davide Viganò crashed at the top of the course.”

Others who crashed included David Blanco and Nick Nuyens, the latter coming down hard as the course dropped towards the beachfront and he would finish behind his Saxo Bank-Sungard teammates.

Another team to suffer on the day was RadioShack, as overall hopeful Janez Brajkovic suffered a mechanical just metres off the start ramp and slowed the American squad’s progress, resulting in a time of 16:59 – enough for 14th place.

While Saxo Bank endured a bad day, two of its former riders, Fuglsang and Cancellara, will now feature in Leopard Trek’s ambitions for the remainder of this Vuelta, as the Dane explained after the finish: “I’m going for the overall and will see how far I can go – my goal is the general classification. We have [Daniele] Bennati for the sprints and Fabian for the [individual] time trial,” he said.

Other notable performances came from Astana, who sat in second on the standings until HTC-Highroad and then Liquigas-Cannondale knocked them down to fourth, while Movistar rode a fast first intermediate time to do enough for fifth place by day’s end.

Skil-Shimano, a surprise inclusion in this year’s Vuelta a España, did themselves proud with eighth place after leading off the 22 teams in the day’s starting order. The Dutch outfit bettered more illustrious squads despite a slow start and with German sprinter Marcel Kittel in their line-up, they will be hoping to do even better tomorrow.

Fuglsang will wear the red jersey in tomorrow’s 171.5km journey from La Nucía to Playas de Orihuela, where the fast men are expected to dominate. His teammate Bennati will be aiming to prevail in his match-up against the likes of Mark Cavendish, Tyler Farrar and Tom Boonen. The Italian has won stages and the points classification of the Vuelta a España in the past and will hope to resume his run of success with victory.

Result
1	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:16:30
2	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Leopard Trek
3	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek
4	Thomas Rohregger (Aut) Leopard Trek
5	Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard Trek
6	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:04
7	Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
8	Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
9	Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
10	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale

2011 Tour de France, Stage 5

Stage 5 runs from Carhaix to Cap Frehel. It is 158 kilometers long with one category 4 climb, Cote de Gurunheul, which will be at 45.5km. It is a 2.3 km climb with a maxium gradient of 5.1 %. The day's intermediate sprint is at km 70.

The main breakaway of the day consisted of Gutierrez, Valentin, Turgot, and Delaplace. They had a maximum advantage of 6:00 at 101km remaining, but were caught at 46km  remaining. Toward the end, they were not working well together. Delaplace is not only the youngest rider in the break group, he is also the youngest rider in the Tour.  He is only 21 years old, with his next birthday coming up in September. The four man breakaway is pictured below.

At the top of the climb, Delaplace jumped out and claimed the one KOM point. For the intermediate sprint, Turgot got the points, ahead of Valentin and Gutierrez.

Today saw plenty of crashes with big names: First crash got Chavanel, Wiggins, and Leipheimer. All three continued on. Second crash got Brajkovic and Gesink. Gesink got back on the bike, but Brajkovic was taken by ambulance. Third crash got Contador, but he got back up. Fourth crash got N. Sorensen. He was hit by a race motorcycle. Fifth crash involved Boonen and Steegmans. Steegmans continued riding, but Boonen struggled with help from teammate Engels. It was unclear if he was going to make it to the finish, but he did with less than 4 minutes to spare before he got disqualified. (Picture below of Boonen being helped across the finish by his teammate.) Finally, the sixth crash involved a Euskaltel rider who wasn't named. Kern also had to abandon, although I am not sure if he was involved in a crash.

At 32km remaining, another attack formed. This time it was Voeckler and Roy. By 23km left, the riders had 1’05”. Roy was caught about 3km out, but Voeckler tries again. The lone attacker was caught less than a kilometer later.

As far as the finish, Cavendish was so close, but then got lost in the pack. However, he found his way back just in time and crossed the line ahead of Gilbert and Rojas. This was his 16th stage victory in the Tour de France.

Stage 5 Results:
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) HTC-Highroad
2 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
2 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team
3 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
3 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling
4 André Greipel (Ger) Omega Pharma-Lotto
5 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
6 William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ
4 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
10 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Team Garmin-Cervelo

Even The Pros Pick Their Favs

For the first time that I can remember, Carlos Sastre is not riding in the Tour de France this year. However, he has chosen who he thinks is going to win:

Sastre rates Contador as favourite for Tour de France

Carlos Sastre has named compatriot, Saxo Bank-SunGard rider Alberto Contador as the favourite for the Tour de France.

Sastre, 2008 winner who will not be competing in the Grande Boucle in 2011 for the first time in a decade with his team Geox missing out on an invitation, says that while the three-time winner should be considered "the number one favourite", there are "a lot of riders who have prepared well".

HTC-Highroad's Tony Martin is one such rider, according to Sastre who he says "surprised" him this year. Martin's season so far has been highlighted by overall victories at Paris-Nice, and the Volta ao Algarve, along with a second-placing to BMC's Cadel Evans at the Tour of Romandie.

Another who rated a mention in Sastre's list of challengers was RadioShack's Janez Brajkovic.

"There are a lot of people this year who I'm sure will do really well and will not make it an easy task for Contador," said 36-year-old Sastre.

While the veteran explained he feels "pity" and "a certain amount of nostalgia" when it comes to his non-participation in this year's Tour de France, Sastre said that he realises "this is the situation this year."

He will instead ride the Tour of Austria, which starts on July 3.
Note: I did not write the article, it can be found here: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sastre-rates-contador-as-favourite-for-tour-de-france