2012 Giro Stages 4 & 5

May 10, Stage 5: Modena - Fano 199km

Cavendish sprints to Giro d'Italia stage 5 win in Fano

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/stage-5/results)

Mark Cavendish (Team Sky) showed that he has put his stage 3 crash behind him when he held off a late challenge from Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) to win stage 5 of the Giro d'Italia into the Adriatic resort of Fano on Thursday.

Set up perfectly by his Sky teammates and led out equally well by Geraint Thomas in the final 500 metres, Cavendish began his sprint from 150 metres out. Orica-GreenEdge's Goss came around Colnago-CSF Inox's Sacha Modolo to push the Briton hard, but Cavendish had a bike length between him and the Australian at the line. Daniele Bennati (RadioShack-Nissan) came through to take third place, with Robert Hunter (Garmin-Barracuda) fourth.

The pink jersey will stay on the shoulders of Garmin-Barracuda's Ramunas Navardauskas, who finished safely in the bunch.

Cavendish adds to Giro victory tally

It was Cavendish's ninth stage win at the Giro. It had added personal significance for him as his girlfriend Peta Todd and baby daughter Delilah were waiting at the finish to greet him. The bonus seconds Cavendish gained for his victory pushed him up to fifth overall, and he is now 14 seconds down on race leader Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Barracuda), who finished safely in the bunch. Goss also moved up in the standings and now lies fourth overall, 13 seconds down on the Lithuanian.

"I didn't feel good all day with that many anti-inflammatories," said Cavendish. "I was suffering with the heat. It wore me out. I was comfortable on the climb, but I was dead at the finish. I could see Gossy's shadow the whole way, getting closer and closer. I was happy to hang on for the win.

"I'm very happy," he said. "My daughter and my girlfriend came to see me here, so I could not go wrong. It is a wonderful day! This is the first time they have seen me compete, and it is also the first time that Delilah has been with me on the podium. Did you notice that she is dressed in pink? We've now won two stages in this Giro. I would have liked to take another, but I couldn't because of the fall. However, I am feeling better every day, so hopefully others will come."

Goss looked at the positives after finishing second to the rider he used to lead out at HTC. "Today, Cavendish has shown he's the strongest. We made our move at the same moment, and I couldn't get ahead of him. Once he had made his jump, it was always going to be difficult to get on terms with him, but it is an honour to have a team behind me that believes in me."

Asked if he thought he can beat Cavendish, Goss said, "If I didn't think he was beatable, there wouldn't be any sense in me trying to take him on whenever I can."

Action starts from the gun

The 200km stage ran almost dead straight from Modena south-east to Fano. As soon as the flag was waved, Farnese Vini's Pier Paolo de Negri shot away to instigate the break of the day. Alessandro de Marchi (Androni Giocattoli) and Lotto-Belisol duo Olivier Kaisen and Brian Bulgac jumped across to join him in an escape that would last for 170km.
As the leading quartet worked to build up a lead that never went very much beyond six minutes, Garmin-Barracuda in particular ensured that a steady pace was maintained behind them. The American squad upped its pace slightly entering the second half of the stage, gradually eroding the advantage of the four breakaways.

What had been an incident-free stage until the riders were inside the final 50km took on a different complexion as the pace edged up once more as the peloton approached the only categorised climb of the day, with 35km remaining. A moment's inattention by Saxo Bank's Lucas Haedo resulted in him crashing. Former race leader Taylor Phinney (BMC) was also caught up, but was quickly back on his bike. While that was more bad luck for the young American, there was better to follow when he managed to avoid being swiped by the wing mirror of a passing RadioShack-Nissan team car.

The speed in the bunch was extremely fast from the moment the riders crossed the final climb of the day with 35km remaining. At that point, the four leaders still held an advantage of a minute, but it was falling fast. After De Negri had led over the top of the climb, Androni's De Marchi decided to make a move on his own. It was never likely to succeed, and in fact the Italian did well to hold off the bunch until the 20km mark as Liquigas-Cannondale and Astana set a fierce pace on the front of the bunch.

The final run-in

The bunch's speed was enough to drop several likely contenders for the stage win. Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda) was one of the first to fall back and never regained contact despite a determined pursuit by teammate Jack Bauer. BMC's Thor Hushovd also fell back, as did Juan José Haedo (Saxo Bank) and the rider who caused the chaos on stage 3 in Horsens, Roberto Ferrari (Androni).

For almost all of the closing 20km, the bunch was completely lined out as Sky, FDJ-BigMat, Orica-GreenEdge and Liquigas-Cannondale all took a turn at pace-making. On such a straight road, there was little chance of anyone getting and then staying clear, although Adam Hansen (Lotto-Belisol) endeavoured to get away solo with 3.5km remaining. His attack was very short-lived as Sky gathered six riders on the front ahead of Cavendish.

Rigoberto Urán showed his racing legs are returning as he produced a long turn coming towards the final 2km, where Peter Kennaugh, Bernhard Eisel and then Ian Stannard took over. Orica-GreenEdge infiltrated the Sky line coming into the final kilometre, but Thomas managed to power his way to the front and launch Cavendish. For a moment, it looked like the world champion had gone too early as Goss began to close, but the Manxman delivered a final kick to assure his success.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling	4:43:15
2	Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
3	Daniele Bennati (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan
4	Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Barracuda
5	Sacha Modolo (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox
6	Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team
7	Elia Favilli (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
8	Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
9	Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
10	Jonas Aaen Jörgensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank

 

May 9, Stage 4: Verona (TTT) 32.2km

Garmin-Barracuda storms to victory in Verona team time trial

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/stage-4/results)

Four years ago on the streets of Palermo, the Garmin team announced itself on the world stage with a defining win in the Giro d'Italia team time trial. In the intervening years, the squad has changed - riders leaving, riders joining - but on Wednesday the American team stamped its authority on the team time trial once again, storming to victory with a time of 37:04.

It was enough to put Garmin-Barracuda's Ramunas Navardauskas into pink, with previous race leader Taylor Phinney (BMC) succumbing to his injuries and losing the maglia rosa after an eventful four days of racing.

Katusha finished second, five seconds down, leaving Joaquim Rodriguez with the biggest smile among the overall contenders. The Spaniard put over 20 seconds into his main rivals and sits in the pole position as the race heads towards the first skirmishes in the mountains.

"We thought we could win today, but I wasn't sure if I could hang with these guys," Navardauskas said at the finish.
"They were really strong today. Everybody did a good job. I was so glad to stay with these guys as I tired in the last 10 kilometres. This jersey is a really big thing for me."

"I like this team. They have taken care of me last year and this year and brought me to good races. I did the Tour de France last year, I didn't expect [Jonathan] Vaughters to bring me. This year I'm at the Giro, and it's been a really good start for me up to now, although we'll see how it is tomorrow."

Although Garmin-Barracuda was the favourite heading into the event, it was widely expected that Alex Rasmussen would be the assassin to end Phinney's reign. However when the Dane was surprisingly dropped, Navardauskas quickly moved to centre stage.

Garmin-Barracuda had two aims: the stage win and propelling Ryder Hesejdal into a secure GC spot. Two aims but one method: ride fast. It meant Navardauskas had to hang on for dear life as the Garmin train neared the finished. After starting 18 seconds down in the battle for pink, finishing behind his teammates could have ended his flirtation with pink.

He briefly slipped off the back, the pink jersey momentary heading in another direction. However, the Lithuanian recovered as his teammates eased on one of the final corners, latching onto the slipstream and holding on for the line. It meant that the maglia rosa passed to another promising talent, with Phinney unable to pull of the impossible and keep the jersey for another day.

"I had a bad day personally," Phinney said.

"I don't know if it was the crash the other day or what, but I had nothing today. The team had to wait for me a couple of times, I have to thank them. Fortunately I didn't fall today as well, but from my third pull on the front, I could see that something wasn't right. I'm very disappointed, I don't have a lot to say. I didn't have a lot of power. I gave the maximum, I gave everything I have. I have to thank they team. They could have left me but instead they slowed and waited for me."

When he returns to the team hotel, Phinney can look back at what has been a whirlwind few days. In pink on stage 1, several crashes and a near abandonment, he has lit up a race desperate for international recognition. Heading into the Giro, the primary goal was the finish, and the second year pro must now muster the necessary strength for another two weeks.

His ride today summed up his four-day Giro perfectly. Starting in pink, Phinney rose to the occasion before veering off the road briefly. He finished strongly, taking turns at the front of the BMC train all the way until the line. He'll be hoping he can finish the Giro d'Italia in such fashion.

Advantage Rodriguez

In the battle for the overall, Rodriguez is in the strongest position, a statement one would not have expected to have made at the start of the race and with over 40 kilometres of time trialing covered.

"The team did a spectacular team time trial. We couldn't have gone a second faster. We'll see what Liquigas and Astana do, but we've done our bit," the Katusha leader said.

Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale), Roman Kreuziger (Astana) and Frank Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) all sit in close proximity, while the Lampre duo of Michele Scarponi and Damiano Cunego are on the back foot. John Gadret (AG2R La Mondiale) at 2:43 and Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago - CSF Inox) are the furthest back.

Results

1	Garmin-Barracuda	0:37:04
2	Katusha Team	0:00:05
3	Astana Pro Team	0:00:22
4	Team Saxo Bank
5	Omega Pharma-Quickstep	0:00:24
6	Orica-GreenEdge	0:00:25
7	Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:26
8	RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:28
9	Sky Procycling	0:00:30
10	BMC Racing Team	0:00:31

I think his priorities are backwards...

Wait....what?!?!?!

New baby won't clash with Mollema's Tour plans
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/new-baby-wont-clash-with-mollemas-tour-plans)

Bauke Mollema has revealed that his girlfriend is expecting their first child in August of this year, but the Rabobank rider is still very much planning to ride in the Tour de France. The 25-year-old Dutchman, famed for his climbing prowess, has stated that the impending arrival will not jeopardise his position at the start line.

Mollema served notice last year that he can be a major force in Grand Tours after winning the points classification and finishing fourth overall at the Vuelta a Espana. He is seen as a key part in Rabobank's assault on this year's Tour de France.

"For the Tour, there is nothing wrong. That is still the main goal of my season," Mollema told telegraaf.nl.

Rabobank's sporting director Erik Breukink stated on his Twitter account that Mollema would not be distracted by the birth: "Missing the birth of your child is not the end of the world. That's part of life as a professional cyclist," he said.

Tom Danielson: The Next Big American?

Danielson aiming to race "fearless and free" in 2012

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/danielson-aiming-to-race-fearless-and-free-in-2012)

2011 was a breakout year for Tom Danielson. The Garmin-Cervelo rider not only finished on the podium at the Amgen Tour of California, but he backed up a ninth place overall finish in the Tour de Suisse with an even more impressive ninth place finish in his debut Tour de France.

Tom acknowledges that a Tour ride was a long time coming. "I guess while looking from the outside it has taken me a while to get here. I guess from the inside this year just felt right going into the race. I would have liked to have gone earlier to gain some experience in the event rather than the first time you do it you are contending for GC."

"It definitely was a full plate for my first Tour, but at the same time I have had some experience. I have done the Vuelta. I have done the Giro. I have had some experience so I wasn't worried about the three weeks, but certainly the intensity of the three weeks was a lot higher than the other races. The level of the race was a lot higher than the other races. When you combine the level with the intensity you just get an incredible event which just happens to last 21 days," adds Danielson.

Since it's first Tour in 2008, Slipstream Sports has placed at least one rider in the overall top ten, and Danielson's ninth place GC finish in 2011 continued that string of successes. What was the key to that result? "I think consistency was where I shined. I was always consistent in the mountain stages and the time trials. I think that I was in good position a lot of time especially on the flat stages," said Danielson.

What will Tom be looking on to improve at the 2012 Tour? "Maybe more going with the flow with regards to racing and performance rather than having an expectation and forcing it. Just going into the race with an open mind and confidence.

"Once I found myself in the position of being top 10. I made the mistake of making that a goal. I really wanted that result so I raced for that result. I was really happy with it, but perhaps I lost a little bit of that 'free' mentality. I really wanted to finish top-10. Although I really needed it for my career and it was the right thing to do.

"This year, I really want to get out of that shell where I have been, sort of a top-10 rider, and really want to put more on the line and race more 'free' more without looking anywhere other than what I am doing at the moment. I think if I can do that, I can race to my full potential and go to races with confidence and no fear. If it works out, it works out and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out."

Danielson feels that mentality will be part of his overall objectives for 2012. "The goal for the whole season is to get out of that shell. My wife brought it to my attention that I have finished ninth in quite a few races. I want to get out of that conservative shell where I would back off on some of the climbs and try to regain where I was at the beginning of my career which was fearless and free. I would get to the climbs that would suit me and I would do my own thing and not worry about what other guys were doing or what could happen or what is happening."

Along those lines Tom is returning to his roots to begin 2012. "I am going to start my season at Tour of Langkawi which is a race that is close to my heart. I made my career there. I think that surrounding myself in an atmosphere like that I think that will help put me in that environment that I need to be in to start 2012 with the mental framework to get the job done."

Danielson has also been making major modifications to his training. "I think the biggest thing that I have learned to do with my training program is to relax a bit more the last couple of years. Don't force it so much in training just do the work and let it come rather than have all these expectations that this type of training equals this type of result. As we know it never really happens."

Now a family man, Tom realizes it has had a positive effect on his racing. "When I first became a dad, immediately, my results started to improve. I got back into the top 10 at the Vuelta and started to go really well again. As my son grew older I really started to bond with him. That was a huge component in me having the season that I did in 2011.

"You just realize that how important your job is and who is relying on you, but at the same time you realize that at the end of the day whether it goes well or it goes poorly out on the road you have this beautiful family to come home to and enjoy. And that's really why you are on this planet to take care of them and enjoy life with them."

With a Tour top 10 under his belt and a new attitude toward racing, the 2012 season holds a multitude of possibilities for Tom Danielson. And with the support of his family, a new training program and the backing of a very experienced Garmin-Cervelo team look for Tommy D to have another standout year in the European pro peloton.

Cycling's New Baby

Koerber Rockwell becomes a mom

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/koerber-rockwell-becomes-a-mom)

Elite cross country racer Willow Koerber Rockwell celebrated New Year's Eve with the birth of her first child. A daughter, named Raven Starr Rockwell, was born on December 31.

Rockwell, a pro with Trek World Racing, has previously said she will make her racing comeback during the 2012 season.

She found out she was pregnant just prior to the opening 2011 World Cup in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, in April. During her pregnancy, she sat out the 2011 season and also married her sweetheart, former downhill world champion Miles Rockwell.

After a stellar previous season, Rockwell was voted Cyclingnews' female mountain biker of the year at the end of 2010.

Rockwell is one of a few female mountain bike pros to have a baby during her elite career. Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Multivan Merida) did the same a few years ago and is back to competing among the best women in the world.

Cyclingnews offers its congratulations to the Rockwell family.

A New Baby for Cadel Evans

Cadel Evans and wife adopt baby boy

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cadel-evans-and-wife-adopt-baby-boy)

Australia's first Tour de France winner Cadel Evans and his wife Chiara Passerini are on the verge of adopting a boy from Ethiopia. The parents to be will soon travel home to Switzerland with the  twelve-month-old boy.

"Going to Ethiopia was our reason for the early departure from Australia," Chiara Passerini told Fairfax Media.

 

"We always felt the strong wish to adopt, so we decided to start our family through adoption."

Evans, who will head into the 2012 season as the defending champion at the Tour de France, Tweeted earlier today. "Being quieter on Twitter...busy baby sitting!"

Evans will open his 2012 season at the Tour of Mallorca.

Robert Gesink: A New Father

Gesink's daughter arrives early

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gesinks-daughter-arrives-early)

Robert Gesink has passed his speedy genes on to a next generation. His daughter Anne was born on Wednesday, nine days before Gesink's partner Daisy's due date.

"Good girl, 54cm and 3750gram. Everything went fine!" the proud father tweeted.

Although the girl was born before her due date, her early arrival was not totally unexpected. “I have my phone in my hand,” Gesink said at the Rabobank team presentation earlier this week, awaiting the call from Daisy.

She is the second Rabobank baby born this week. Maarten Wynants missed the presentation due to the birth of his second son the same day.

C. Sorensen's Great Year

Sørensen says 2011 was best season ever

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sorensen-says-2011-was-best-season-ever)

Chris Anker Sørensen didn't have any victories this season, but he still considered it his “best season ever”.

The Saxo Bank-SunGard rider was pleased with his performances not only in supporting captain Alberto Contador but also when he was able to ride for himself.

“I have kept my basic level high throughout the season without having experienced a big decline, and I am really happy and really satisfied with that,” he told the Ekstra Bladet newspaper.

“In other years I have had good victories, but in strength, this is my best season so far. I've never before been able to stay with the favorites up the climbs. You can also see on the world rankings that I have had a good season. I've never been so high up.”  He finished 59th on the UCI's WorldTour ranking.

In 2012, he is especially looking to help Alberto Contador win the Tour de France. “I have ridden the Tour three times and now I would like to ride on to the Champs Elysees on the same team as the man in the yellow jersey.”

He dismissed criticism that this year's Saxo Bank-SunGard team wasn't strong enough to adequately support Contador, who finished fifth overall.  “I think we had a really good team. The plan was that we should be strong in the mountains, and we were.”

Sørensen's sporting highlights of the season included his sixth place at Liège - Bastogne - Liège, the mountains jersey at the Tour de Romandie, and his twelfth place overall at the Vuelta a España.

But without doubt his ultimate highlight came during the Tour of Denmark, with the birth of his daughter, Lark.  After one stage he rushed back to Copenhagen for the birth.

“Becoming a father is the biggest event in my life.  It's a great experience and it is purely idyllic to play with the little one, or just lie there and look at her.”

Wouter Weylandt's Little Girl...

It's always sad for a child to be born without a father around, especially one that was taken far too young...

Weylandt family welcomes baby girl

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/weylandt-family-welcomes-baby-girl)

The girlfriend of the late Wouter Weylandt, An-Sophie De Graeve, has given birth to their baby daughter Alizée on Thursday evening. Both mother and child are in good health.

"The birth went very well. Alizée came to this world at 7.05pm, she measures 51 centimetres and weighs 3.6kg," the family announced to the Belgian press on Friday morning.

Wouter Weylandt passed away on May 9 this year at the Giro d'Italia. The Belgian Leopard Trek rider crashed on the descent of the Passo del Bocco and sustained fatal injuries. He was 26 years old.

Kids on the Podium

This picture of Sylvian Chavanel, who yesterday won the French Road Racing Championship, was defined by cyclingnews.com as the "awww moment on French RR Podium"



This picture then got me thinking just how many time I have seen kids on the podium with their fathers:

2005, Tour de France, Ivan Basso with his daughter after his 2nd place victory.

2005, Tour de France, Lance Armstrong, after his 1st place victory, 7th in a row.

2008, Tour de France, Carlos Sastre (in Yellow) and Oscar Freire (in Green) after their Jersey wins.

2010, Giro d'Italia, Ivan Basso (Pink Jersey) and David Arroyo (Team Caisse d'Epargne's Black & Red Jersey).

Okay, so this isn't on the podium, but it is still cute nonetheless:

2003, Tour de France, Armstrong with his ex-wife Kristin after winning his 5th Tour de France.

There are so many more pictures out there to choose from with kids on the podium. Dare I say that sometimes kids get more attention than the riders?