2013 Tour de France Stages 6-7

Stage 6:

I know the picture above isn't actually of the stage, but I thought this was the most beautiful picture of the day. Simon Gerrans "passed" the Yellow Jersey on to his Orica-GreenEdge teammate Daryl Impey, and in doing this Impey became the first African, or South African to be more specific, to ever wear the Yellow Jersey. Impey now has a 3 second lead over Edvald Boasson Hagen and 5 second lead over Gerrans.

Andre Greipel was the winner of the stage. He has led the peloton over the intermediate sprints for most of the stages this Tour, but today he took his first win of the 2013 Tour de France. He beat Peter Sagan, Marcel Kittel, and Mark Cavendish respectively.

I was sad to see that Nacer Bouhanni had to abandon during this stage. He got caught up in a crash at the end of Stage 5, and couldn't make it to the finish of Stage 6. This is the first Tour de France for the 22 year old, who is quickly becoming a contender in the mass sprints.

Stage 7: 

Apparently, even World Champions have tight leashes on. This morning, and article came out about Philippe Gilbert not being allowed to try to get in a breakaway and win this stage, which is suited for a rider like him. Although the article isn't in English, Google translate helped me get the gist of it. The team's decision is to keep Evans safe and all team members around him. This is a race for Evans and no one is to go on their own (Sporza.be). Haven't we seen this before? Oh, right...in last year's Tour de France with Mark Cavendish on Team Sky. He wasn't allowed to sprint for himself, it was all about protecting Wiggins.

More came out today about Frank Schleck's release from Radioshack Leopard Trek. He had been training with them even during his suspension, but yet the team still released him. His own country, Luxembourg, believes that Frank didn't intentionally take this diuretic, and even the UCI admitted that the suspension had nothing to do with doping. Yet, the team still released him. Frank is hoping he can find another team before the Vuelta, although with it being mid-season, that may be difficult. His brother Andy even came out and said, "I will not ride in another team with Frank" (CyclingWeekly, and Sporten.tv2.dk with help of Google Translate).

But anyway, back to Stage 7. Jens Voigt was part of a 6-man attack very early into the stage, but the break only got about 10" ahead before being caught. Then Voigt attacked again, this time with Blel Kadri, and that became the break of the day. Unfortunately, as the two broke away, a crash happened in the peloton involving several riders. Because of his injuries from a crash two days ago, and now this crash, Christian Vande Velde abandoned. This was to be his last Tour de France before retiring, and it's sad he couldn't make it all the way to Paris.

Voigt and Kadri, who earned the KOM Jersey today, were caught 94km from the finish as the sprint teams kept the pace of the peloton high. The problem with that was some of the sprinters fell off the back with the mountains; Andre Greipel, Mark Cavendish, and Marcel Kittel all lost sprint points today to intermediate sprint and eventual stage winner Peter Sagan.

After the intermediate sprint, Jan Bakelants make an attack, which ended up giving him Most Aggressive Rider for the stage. He was quickly joined by Cyril Gautier and Juan Jose Oroz. However, their lead of just over a minute was cut fairly quickly when Daryl Impey's Yellow Jersey was threatened. This breakaway was caught just after the 3km flag.

And as I already said, the winner of the Stage 7 was Peter Sagan, and Daryl Impey stays in Yellow for another day.

2013 Tour de France Stages 1-3

While I don't feel like writing out (or copying) a long blog post, I will update you on what's been going on thus far in the Tour. I'll do a picture for each of the three stages and write a very short summary about them. If you want more details, please visit CyclingNews.com.

Stage 1 - June 29th 2013

How is this to kick off the 100th edition of the Tour de France: the Orica-GreenEdge bus gets stuck under the finish line banner. The finish line was then moved to 3km back when the peloton was 15km away. It was then moved AGAIN to the actual finish line when the bus got cleared in time. With all the confusion, there was a tremendous amount of crashes. In fact, two of the best sprinters, Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan hit the ground, and it was Marcel Kittel who won the stage, and who wore the first yellow jersey. 

While riders were indeed hurt, they all finished the stage, and the finishing times were neutralized because all the events. All of the riders started stage 2.

Stage 2 - June 30th 2013

Although there were no bus crashes today, the brutal mountains hit the peloton hard. It's not usually on the second stage that riders get isolated and dropped from the main group. However, the stage played into Radioshack Leopard Trek's plan. Maybe Jan Bakelants isn't RSLT's GC contender, but he won the stage, and is now sitting 1" ahead of 92 riders. He looks pretty happy to be in Yellow. Let's hope RSLT can defend it.

Stage 3 - July 1st 2013

Today we had our first 2 DNFs, Yoann Bagot, who got food poisioning, and Andrey Kashechkin. Even with all the crashes on Stage 1, we've only just now started seeing DNFs. 

Today's sprint finish showed the world that Peter Sagan can be beat, when Simon Gerrans crossed the finish line a split second ahead. However, the consolation prize for Sagan was the Green Jersey. He was finally able to secure more sprint point than Kittel. 

I am wondering what Sagan is growing on his face though. It's not that I don't like it, I mean it does make him look older, but I just don't feel that it fits him.

...maybe in a few more days, I'll bring you up to speed again. But for now, you have to deal with my very random blog postings.

2012 Tour de France Stage 5, 7/05/12

Part of me wants to post all the articles of the newest information about Lance Armstrong's USADA investigation. The news this morning ruined my day. Maybe I'll post it later...

...for now let's celebrate Andre Greipel's 2nd win:

July 5, Stage 5: Rouen - Saint-Quentin 196.5km

Greipel doubles up on Tour de France stage 5

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-5/results)

Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) sprinted to victory at stage five of the 2012 Tour de France in the town of Saint-Quentin for his second consecutive stage win. He took advantage of a flat and fast run-in and swooped very late to deny Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge), JJ Haedo (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) and Mark Cavendish (Sky).

"I'm happy because I won another stage in the Tour de France," said Greipel. "There was a bit of a crash and I was behind it at 3k to go, but Greg Henderson was waiting for me. The Lotto Belisol train was working perfectly today. It was a hard sprint, I think it was one of the hardest sprints I've ever done."

For the second consecutive day the finale was marred by a large crash less than 3km from the finish, with the most high profile victim being points leader Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale), who was well-placed at the time but was forced to check his momentum dramatically as several riders hit the floor around him. Ultimately a downed bike caused the Slovak to tumble, leaving contusions on his left elbow and buttock, but he was more concerned with the lost points toward the green jersey competition.

"I missed a great opportunity, especially for points toward winning the green jersey," said Sagan. "Unfortunately, every time there is a sprint the script is always the same: everyone wants to stay ahead, everyone thinks they have good legs and do manoeuvres that cause crashes. We are at the Tour de France and a victory here is worth a lot, but the risks are just too high. Though the thought that I could have been hurt worse helps me overcome the sorrow."

Garmin-Sharp's Tyler Farrar, his arm dripping blood after being taken down in a squeeze between Tom Veelers (Argos-Shimano) and a Lampre rider, was furious following his second major spill in as many days. He attempted to enter the Argos team bus to have it out with Veelers, but was pulled away by team staff.

Veelers explained via the team's press release: "Tyler wanted to get in the wheel of Koen de Kort, but I was already there. He didn't respect my train, but that's his problem. I get why he’s upset, because a crash is never very pleasant."

Emotions are running high as the pressure is on for the sprinters, who have just one flat stage left tomorrow before the race hits the hills on Saturday. The next possible sprint stage after stage 6 to Metz comes on July 13, when stage 12 hits a plateau after a cat 3 climb near the finish, or the following stage to Le Cap d'Agde.

Cavendish, still smarting from his crash the previous day, did not blame his injuries on the fifth place finish, rather he said he intentionally positioned himself behind in order to get a run at the finish but found himself too far back.

"The final didn't work out quite how we wanted it but the guys were all there and they did a good job," said Sky director Sean Yates. "We upped the ante and next time it will be better. Cav dropped back a bit at the finish and had a bit too much work to do at the end.

"We need to keep this going starting tomorrow and we will look to keep Bradley safe and set Mark up heading into the finish."

After today's stage Sagan adds only 8 points (won in the intermediate sprint) to his booty for the green jersey. The ranking sees him still in first place with 155 points, followed by Goss, who moves closer at 137, Greipel (winner today) at 132 and Cavendish at 119, although Goss said that he doesn't want to gain an advantage because of crashes.

"It's not the way I want to take points, I don't want to gain in the competition because someone has crashed but we did definitely take back quite a lot of points today," Goss said.

Meanwhile, it was another quiet day for the general classification contenders, who steered clear of the sprinters in the finale.

The overall race lead remains with Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan), who expects to concede the yellow jersey on the first major uphill finish in La Planche des Belles Filles on Saturday.

"Everything is possible in life if you believe in it. However, in my opinion, from what I’ve seen of the Planche des Belles Filles climb and what I’ve heard about it, it’s a little bit too hard for me," Cancellara admitted.

It was another hectic day in Northern France, with more wind, more narrow roads and nerves. The only abandon of the day came from Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano), who finally gave up after nearly a week of fighting gastroenteritis and knee pain.

The majority of the race was dominated by a four-man breakaway, who went clear just three kilometres into the stage. Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ-BigMat), Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Jan Ghyselinck (Cofidis) and Julien Simon (Saur-Sojasun) rode on the front for over 190km.

Ladagnous took the maximum points at the day's intermediate sprint in Breteuil as the four leaders rolled through the line. Behind, the peloton's green jersey battle continued, with Cavendish getting the better of Goss, Renshaw and Sagan for the points.

The four leaders eked out an advantage of 5:40 but after the sprint the elastic began to contract again, and they were reeled in steadily by the chasing sprinters' teams.

The four kept working together to hold a handful of seconds inside the 3km to go banner, and Ghyselinck panicked: he made a bold attack for the finish line with just over 1km to go. The Belgian could not hang on, however. Urtasun was able to come by, but he, too, was caught and left behind by the marauding pack in the final 100 metres.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team	4:41:30
2	Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
3	Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
4	Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
5	Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling
6	Tom Veelers (Ned) Argos-Shimano
7	Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team
8	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
9	Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
10	Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar

2012 Tour de France Stage 2, 7/02/12

July 2, Stage 2: Visé - Tournai 207.5km

Cavendish claims first Tour de France stage win of 2012

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-2/results)

Mark Cavendish (Team Sky) claimed the honours in the first mass sprint of the 2012 Tour de France. The Manxman came around arch rival Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol) to claim his 21st Tour stage win in a photo finish. Third place went to Orica-GreenEdge's Matthew Goss. Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan) finished in the group to easily maintain his overall lead.

Cavendish proved he could win alone, as he came into the finale without his sprint train. "I knew that there was some headwind, and it was clear to me that I could also have a chance if I started from a bit further back," he said.

He was more than satisfied with his victory, noting that he had come to the race as an auxiliary to team captain Bradley Wiggins, which meant he would have to be opportunistic and take other riders' wheels. Interestingly, it was his first Tour stage win outside of France.

Lotto Belisol looked to have everything under control, as they led the charge into the final km, espeically since Cavendish was on his own and far enough back to be almost unnoticeable. Greipel was in the best position, with the ever-dangerous Peter Sagan on his wheel.

Greg Henderson, in his first Tour de France, pulled hard and delivered Greipel to the 200m marker. Then the mighty German took off on his own, grinding away with his powerful legs.

But he was not alone. Cavendish had come up behind him, picking out the perfect wheel to be on. He didn't panic at being without his sprint train, or attempt to go too early. The world champion pulled out and went for the finish line. It was neck and neck, with both sprinters giving their all. At the end it was Cavendish who had his wheel forward.

"I was alone in the last kilometre. I told Edvald [Boasson Hagen] with five kilometres to go just do your own thing. We haven’t worked enough together when it's so hectic like that. If it had just been the sprinters then it would have been okay but there were climbers and GC riders at the finish. I’d rather just go alone,” he said on the team's website.

"I knew (Oscar) Freire always goes up in the last kilometre so I stayed [with him] and it was just perfect - with the headwind I knew you could come from behind."

Cancellara called it "business as usual" and was happy there were no crashes. "We spent as little energy as possible. The final was pretty intense, pretty hard. I didn't have my best day, but I think that is normal."

Use this on all articles. The player is narrow enough to fit next to the article gallery images box on the right.

All 198 riders were again at the start of the stage in Vise, including several wearing splints, braces and bandages. The biggest name invalids included Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) who suffered a fractured scaphoid in his crash early in Sunday's stage, and Luis Leon Sanchez of Rabobank, with a brace on his left hand, where he also had a broken bone.

It took about 24km for the day's break group to form. It was a small one, with only three riders: Anthony Roux (FDJ-Big Mat), Christophe Kern (Europcar) and once again, Michael Morkov (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff). Roux was another of the wounded, and noticeably rode one-handed over the many cobblestone passages.

The gap jumped quickly to 7:40, but that was enough. The field brought it back to the five-to-six minute mark, and let it stay there for a long time. Even the climb up to the magnificent citadel in Namur brought no changes.

There was one ranked climb on the day, that same Cote de la Citadelle de Namur at 82.5km Morkov went over the top first, to cement his lead in the King of the Mountains competition. From there, the gap started slowly coming down.

The first real action of the day came in the day's only intermediate sprint at 153km. There was a wild sprint for points from the field. After the three leader calmly rolled through, the sprinters from the peloton showed their stuff. Not all of them though - Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol) and Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) didn't participate in the intermediate sprint.

Daniel Oss led the way for Liquigas teammate Peter Sagan, but he didn't have a chance against Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge), Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) and Mark Cavendish (Sky), who crossed the line ahead of the previous day's stage winner.

From there the job was to bring the gap down and catch the break group at the proper moment. That moment came with 29.7km to go. Roux had jumped earlier, leaving his two companions to fade back into the field. He held on to a 45 to 50-second lead, but finally he too was caught and passed with just over 14km left.

Immediately the sprint teams started forming,with Orica-GreenEdge and Omega Pharma-QuickStep at the head of things. Argos-Shimano's Marcel Kittel, said to be having stomach problems, was back amongst the team cars and out of contention.

Lotto Belisol led the way under the flamme rouge, Greipel took off from Greg Henderson's lead and drove hard. Cavendish came around and the two fought for the win in a photo finish, with the Briton taking the win. Goss was a distant third.

About four minutes later, Martin and Sanchez, with their broken bodies, rolled across the finish line.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling	4:56:59
2	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team
3	Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
4	Tom Veelers (Ned) Argos-Shimano
5	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
6	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
7	Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ-Big Mat
8	Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
9	Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team
10	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp

Other favorite picture of the day:

Sagan and Cancellara before the start of the stage

To Sum Up Milan-San Remo

10 conclusions from Milan-San Remo

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/10-conclusions-from-milan-san-remo)

1. Fabian Cancellara's (RadioShack-Nissan) racing style has skirted the thin line between bravery and folly in the big classics over the past two seasons, and Milan-San Remo was no exception. Once again, he won hearts and minds with his wholehearted attacking, and once again, he found himself thwarted by a cannier rider at the death.

There was something Sisyphean about Cancellara's plunge into San Remo, with Simon Gerrans and Vincenzo Nibali scrambling for his back wheel. Even though he surely knew that his weakness in the sprint would be exposed, he persisted in his labours nonetheless. But was simply attempting to blast riders of the caliber of Gerrans and Nibali off his wheel a glorious failure or an act of arrogance?

Cancellara triumphed at San Remo in 2008 by patiently biding his time before making one decisive attack inside the final 2km. In contrast to that clinical display, on Saturday he seemed to try and bludgeon his way to victory with repeated blows, and the result was rather less tidy.

That said, one can never step in the same river twice, and the circumstances of this year's race were different to four years ago. Once Cancellara made the decision to bridge to Gerrans and Nibali, and once it was apparent that they would not collaborate, he perhaps had little option but to attempt to burn them off his wheel. Besides, had Cancellara held his fire on the Poggio, he may well have been forced to take up the reins of the pursuit behind in any case, such is his lofty reputation.

At the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, the Swiss rider will have tougher terrain at his disposal to make the difference in the finale, although it remains to be seen if he will show his hand as early and as often as he did in 2011.

2. Simon Gerrans (GreenEdge) didn't bat an eyelid when it was put to him in the winner's press conference that his had been a stolen victory, and with good reason. He had a cast-iron alibi in the chase group in the shape of last year's winner Matt Goss, and instead the Australian cleverly maintained the lead group's momentum with a fleeting turn on the front approaching the final kilometre.

Laudable though Cancellara's strength was, cycling would be an altogether poorer spectacle if victories were decided simply by watts produced. Tactical cunning and sheer sangfroid are just as important a part of a classic winner's make up as raw power, as Gerrans demonstrated on Saturday.

3. With Vincenzo Nibali and Peter Sagan in its ranks, Liquigas-Cannondale had two potential race-winners with contrasting styles at its disposal on Saturday, and the team set out its stall in three phases. Their first aim was to shed the peloton of the pure sprinters, and then Nibali was to go on the attack on the Poggio, while Sagan kept his powder dry for the sprint from a reduced group behind.

In the event, Liquigas succeeded in following the playbook but failed to come away with the win. Cavendish was duly shed on Le Manie, and Nibali forced the winning move on the Poggio, while Sagan took the sprint behind for fourth.
Given the ease with which Sagan held off John Degenkolb, it's tempting to suggest that Nibali should not have attacked and Liquigas should simply have ridden to set up Sagan for the sprint. However, after Valerio Agnoli swung off midway up the Poggio, Daniel Oss was the only other Liquigas rider in the front group. Would that have been enough to pull back a rampant Cancallara?

4. Marcel Kittel may be the marquee young German sprint talent at Project 1t4i, but he has some high quality company in the shape of John Degenkolb. The former HTC-Highroad rider enjoyed a fine Milan-San Remo debut. Just 23 years of age and in only his second season at the top level, Degenkolb dealt admirably with the 300km of racing and finished second in the group sprint just behind the winning break. His victor, of course, was the even more precocious Peter Sagan. Expect to see both men back at the business end of La Primavera in the years to come.

5. While the likes of Liquigas-Cannondale were always going to try and make life difficult for Mark Cavendish (Sky), it was a surprise to see the world champion eliminated from contention on Le Manie with over 90km still to race. As ever, there will be much conjecture over the true state of Cavendish's early-season fitness, but given his solid start to life in the rainbow jersey, it may simply be that he endured an off day at the most inopportune time. Certainly, it would be no surprise if he were to make a forceful response at Gent-Wevelgem next weekend – Cavendish is rarely more dangerous than when stung by perceived slights.

6. Bubbling under in the lead-up to Milan-San Remo after early season wins in Australia and Spain, Oscar Freire was quietly fancied by a number of observers to take his fourth win at La Classicissima, and when Katusha led the charge behind Cancellara, it looked as though he would conjure up a big win from nothing all over again. Instead, the chasers fell just shy of making the juncture, while Freire himself had to give best to Sagan, Degenkolb and Pippo Pozzato in the sprint for fourth. In what may be his final season as a professional, one wonders if Freire will manage to work the oracle one more time before his exits the stage.

7. Filippo Pozzato brooked his share of criticism during his final season at Katusha, but the man from Vicenza has carried himself with a renewed verve since he signed with Farnese Vini-Selle Italia ahead of the 2012 season. Training under the watchful gaze of Luca Scinto all winter, Pozzato set himself the target of slugging it out with the big hitters at San Remo, Flanders and Roubaix.

A broken collarbone at the Tour of Qatar threatened to derail his campaign, but remarkably he was back racing within a week of his operation, so desperate was he not to miss out on racing miles ahead of the classics. The gamble looked to have paid dividends on Saturday as he rode to a solid 6th place in San Remo. While it's worth noting that he finished 5th last year before the wheels came off his Katusha career in Belgium, Pozzato seems altogether more assured under Scinto's guidance, and it will be fascinating to see if he can recover his form of 2009 on the cobbles this April.

8. BMC's travails continued at Milan-San Remo, and remarkably the expensively-assembled outfit has yet to pick up a single win in 2012. Their Classicissima challenge was dented early in the week when Thor Hushovd was forced out of the race with illness, and the Norwegian was perhaps always likely to be their best chance of success. Philippe Gilbert, too, was stricken by fever and dental problems in the week before the race, and a crash over the top of the Cipressa ended his challenge before it was possible to draw any real conclusions as to his actual state of form.

Greg Van Avermaet was also a faller and it was left to Alessandro Ballan to keep their end up with an 8th place finish. While there were mitigating circumstances aplenty for their low-key showing on the road to San Remo, the galacticos will be expected to start making a telling impact on races at the very least as the focus switches to the cobbles.

9. Given his twin talents of endurance and speed, it seems almost an aberration that Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) has never triumphed at Milan-San Remo. In fine form at Paris-Nice last week, no less a figure than Michele Bartoli had tipped Boonen for the win on Saturday and the Belgian appeared comfortable throughout. Caught behind a crash on the descent of the Poggio, however, Boonen lost sight of the leaders and his challenge ended. Still, his season is as ever defined by the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, where the signs are he will renew his rivalry with Fabian Cancellara.

10. A 300km classic from Milan to San Remo is perhaps something of an anachronism, a throwback to the early years of organised racing. Certainly, one does not envisage that any new additions to the WorldTour calendar would ever feature such a lengthy point-to-point race. That said, throughout its history, the organisers have often updated the race by tweaking its format slightly, adding the Poggio (1960), Cipressa (1982) and Le Manie (2009).

Change may be afoot again as soon as next year, with rumours of a steeper route to the top of the Cipressa and a finish line closer to the Poggio. The idea to give attackers more of a chance to finish alone, but as has been the case since 1907, it's the riders rather than the route that will be the making of the race.

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 12

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-12/results)

After winning from a small group in Córdoba, Peter Sagan showed the range of his talent when he led the bunch into Pontevedra. Showing consummate skill as he jumped from wheel to wheel in the final two kilometres, the Liquigas-Cannondale puncheur came into the final straight on the wheel of Leopard Trek's Daniele Bennati, who was being led-out by Fabian Cancellara.

When Cancellara moved aside and Bennati launched his sprint, Sagan surged out on the Italian's left and never looked likely to be caught on the drag up to the line. HTC-Highroad's John Degenkolb pushed him hardest, the German finishing a bike length down on the Slovak, with Bennati fading back in third.

"We looked at the route in the team meeting this morning and thought it would be a good chance for me. I'm delighted to have won the stage and want to say thanks to my teammates for setting me up for it," said Sagan. "There was a great deal of confusion coming into the finish. But I was fortunate in getting on to Bennati's wheel, which put me in a good position."

The high speed, tight bends and gently rising run-in to the finish strung the bunch out to the extent that there were a number of splits. Fredrik Kessiakoff (Astana) and Bauke Mollema (Rabobank) were the two riders to gain among the overall contenders. They finished five seconds ahead of a group containing race leader Bradley Wiggins and his Sky teammate Chris Froome, as well as defending champion Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale).

Wiggins, though, remains in the leader's red jersey, but with the four riders behind him now packed in even tighter than ever. Froome is still seven seconds down in second place, Kessiakoff leapfrogged Nibali into third at nine seconds, with the Italian now fourth at 10 seconds. Jakob Fuglsang (Leopard Trek) stays in fifth place at 19 seconds, with Mollema now only 36 seconds down in sixth having won the first intermediate sprint of the day that earned him six bonus seconds and edged another five closer to the riders above him at the finish.

Nibali said he was not concerned by the time gained by Kessiakoff and Mollema. "I lost a few seconds because I got onto Marcel Kittel's wheel, and he ended up braking. But I'm not too worried as I didn't lose much time."

The Liquigas-Cannondale leader added that he will waiting to see what his rivals do before making any attacks on the three mountain stages that kick off with tomorrow's tough run into Ponferrada. "The big differences will occur on the Angliru [on Sunday]… I've been told that it's a climb very much like the Zoncolan. This year in the Giro I had a good day there and if my form is the same I will do well there."

Four form the break of the day

The move north into the province of Galicia brought a welcome reduction in the temperature as the riders set off on what was likely to be one of the very few stages left where the sprinters could shine. The early flurries came to nothing, allowing Mollema to pick up a very handy six seconds at that first intermediate sprint with just 7km covered. Another 7km down the road, Adam Hansen (Omega Pharma-Lotto), José Luis Roldán (Andalucia-Caja Granada) and Luis Angel Maté (Cofidis) broke clear. As they pressed on, Vacansoleil-DCM's Ruslan Pydgornyy jumped across to them.

As this quartet went to work, the speed in the peloton eased for a while, allowing the break to build up a lead of more than nine minutes as they climbed the third-category Alto de Moscoso with 50km covered. Pydgornyy led over the summit. After the peloton had crossed this climb, Leopard Trek, Sky and Skil-Shimano combined to reduce the break's advantage. Initially the peloton nibbled at the lead, but when Pydgornyy led over the third-category Alto Ponte Caldeas his group were less than five minutes clear.

That advantage continued to drop steadily. Soon after the riders had passed through impressively big crowds in Pontevedra for the first time with 100km covered, HTC-Highroad added their weight to the chase, helping to reduce the break's advantage to little more than two minutes with 35km remaining.

The sprinters gather their forces

As the gap continued to close, former HTC rider Hansen took off from his three companions, but only gained a handful of seconds on them before he was chased down and dropped, leaving Pydgornyy, Roldán and Maté at the front. Back in the bunch, Garmin-Cervelo, Skil-Shimano and Lampre-ISD were all contributing to the chase in the hope of setting up Heinrich Haussler, Marcel Kittel and Alessandro Petacchi, respectively.

Sensing that the bunch would soon be upon them, Maté, who admitted later that he knew the terrain of the stage well and thought that a break might succeed, made a final attempt to get clear with 13km remaining. That saw off Roldán, but Pydgornyy got back up to the Cofidis rider and the pair continued to work together until they were finally overhauled with 6km remaining.

As they were swept up, Maté's teammate Julien Fouchard countered and briefly got a gap. Vacansoleil-DCM's Santo Anza soon zipped past the Frenchman and managed to hold off the Leopard Trek-led bunch for a kilometre, but the sprinters weren't to be denied.

HTC-Highroad took over from Leopard Trek for a couple of kilometres, then Bennati's men took over on the front once more approaching the final-kilometre kite. Bennati, though, looked to be struggling to hold Cancellara's wheel as the course weaved through Pontevedra. The world time trial champion seemed to misjudge the final left-hand bend slightly, losing a bit of momentum, but then went full throttle up the rise to the line, before peeling over with 250 metres remaining. Bennati drove on, but had no answer to Sagan's impressive acceleration.

1	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	4:03:01
2	John Degenkolb (Ger) HTC-Highroad	0:00:01
3	Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard Trek
4	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
5	Juan José Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank Sungard
6	Tom Boonen (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team
7	Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
8	Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team
9	Nikolas Maes (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team
10	Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale

GC Overall

1	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	46:53:47
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:07
3	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:00:09
4	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:10
5	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:19
6	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:00:36
7	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:01:06
8	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:01:27
9	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team RadioShack	0:01:53
10	Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team RadioShack	0:02:00

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 7

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-7/results)

Opportunities for the sprinters have been limited at this year’s Vuelta but Friday afternoon’s  finish  in Talavera de la Reina ended with thrills and spills as in-form German sprinter Marcel Kittel took out the seventh stage with a powerful kick.

Stage six winner Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) and experienced Spaniard Oscar Freire (Rabobank) took second and third respectively but Skil-Shimano were the only ones celebrating. Garmin-Cervélo sprinter Tyler Farrar and many other riders were left licking their wounds when they tumbled at speed, within sight of the line.

“It’s like a dream today,” said Kittel, who has enjoyed a stellar run over the past two months, with four stage victories in the Tour of Poland and another quartet in the Four Days of Dunkerque. He now has a Grand Tour win in that palmares and he paid tribute to his Skil-Shimano squad.

“We’re so proud of each other today,” continued Kittel. “We did really good teamwork and I’m so happy.”

Whilst Kittel was cashing in on his great form, the crash in the final metres spoiled the day for everyone else, bringing down not only fast men but general classification hopeful Michele Scarponi, who had to pick himself up off the pavement along with several others including Vacansoleil-DCM’s Michal Golas, who suffered some serious-looking facial and dental injuries.

The high drama came at the end of another rather unspectacular stage that saw Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) remain in the red leader’s jersey at day’s end despite the carnage in the final metres. The Frenchman still sits 15 seconds ahead of Katusha’s Dani Moreno, with the defending champion Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) looming large a further second behind in third overall.

Reining them in before Talavera de la Reina

The last time Talavera de la Reina hosted a stage finish of the Vuelta, two years ago, a break prevailed in the city as Anthony Roux braved the late storm and won ahead of a thundering peloton.

Today the winner came from the big bunch that belted into town, after the four-man breakaway was unable to repeat the heroics of two years ago. Cofidis pair Luis Angel Mate and Julien Fouchard, plus Antonio Cabello Baena (Andalucia Caja Granada) and Steve Houanard (AG2R La Mondiale) were the men making headway early in the stage to form the escape group.

The quartet touched eight minutes at one point and they still enjoyed a lead of 2:43 with 50km remaining. But a further 20km down the road that had dropped by a minute. The sprinters’ teams had matters in control and it was clear that they weren’t going to let this plucky group keep the spoils when pickings have been limited thus far in the Vuelta.

Soon after a minor crash with 27km remaining that delayed BMC Racing’s Greg Van Avermaet, it was Team Sky which opened the throttle and made life difficult for those caught in the accident and subsequently chasing the peloton.

The pace meant that the rear of the bunch had also split significantly, and following the savage acceleration, the break’s advantage was slashed to just 40 seconds. Soon after Mate tried to make his mark on the stage by heading off the front of the escapees’ group solo. It was in vain as Mate’s companions soon regained contact and countered the Spaniard, with Fouchard also trying his luck but becoming the final domino to fall with eight kilometres remaining.

Four kilometres later, with the finish not far away, it was time for HTC-Highroad to come to the front, battling Rabobank to position John Degenkolb and Leigh Howard at the head of the peloton as Team Sky’s riders positioned themselves to help another Australian, Chris Sutton, in his quest for another stage win. With the man who has tasted success in the finish city in 2007– Daniele Bennati – under their wing, Leopard-Trek’s riders pushed themselves into place with two kilometres from the finish but Kittel’s Skil-Shimano teammates took over from them in the final left-hand corner.

The Dutch squad’s train was impressive in the closing kilometre, with Kittel able to come out of his final teammate’s slipstream with just 200 metres remaining. Just as he hit the front, Farrar tangled with Golas and others, hit the ground hard, falling in front of his fellow sprinters and much of the peloton.

Upfront and out of danger, Kittel had the speed and power to hold off Sagan, Freire and Bennati for a deserved win despite the confusion behind him. His sprinting prowess confirmed that his recent run of success was no fluke and he could transfer that form to the Grand Tour stage.

1	Marcel Kittel (Ger) Skil - Shimano	4:47:59
2	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
3	Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team
4	Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard Trek
5	Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
6	Juan José Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank Sungard
7	Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil - Shimano
8	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
9	Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Pro Team Astana
10	Leigh Howard (Aus) HTC-Highroad

CG Overall

1	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team	27:29:12
2	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:15
3	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:16
4	Joaquím Rodríguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:23
5	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:25
6	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:00:41
7	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:00:44
8	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:00:49
9	Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) Movistar Team
10	Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Movistar Team	0:00:52

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 3

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-3/results)

Movistar veteran Pablo Lastras took a well-judged solo win and with it the red jersey of race leader at the stage three finish in Totana. The 35-year-old Spaniard, who has won stages in all three Grand Tours during a career that goes back to 1998, finished 15 seconds clear of Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), Mikel Irizar (RadioShack) and Ruslan Pydgornyy (Vacansoleil-DCM) after attacking them on the final climb of the day, 12km from the finish.

The Spaniard made his winning attack 500 metres from the top of the Alto de la Santa. His advantage was just a handful of seconds heading over the summit, but he gave it everything on the descent into Totana and pushed out his lead out to almost 30 seconds.

The chasing trio did start to cooperate and eat into Lastras’s advantage, reducing his lead to 10 seconds with 3km remaining. But, having done most of the chasing, Chavanel then eased up and the three riders started toying with each other, leaving Lastras to enjoy a celebratory final kilometre as he claimed his first Vuelta stage win since 2002.

Lastras dedicated the victory to his former teammate Xavier Tondo and Leopard Trek’s Wouter Weylandt, who both died earlier this season, as well as to Movistar’s Mauricio Soler, who is still recovering from serious injuries sustained at the Tour of Switzerland in June.

"I think that I won today because of the expertise that I've built up as a veteran rider, I think it was a good win. I really wanted to raise my arms at the finish today and I dedicate the win to Xavi Tondo and to my teammate Soler who is very ill, as well as to all the friends who have been lost this year," said Lastras, who also went on to thank the media "for making this sport great" and his team manager Eusebio Unzué "who gave me the confidence I needed".

Chavanel, who would have taken the race lead if he had finished ahead of Lastras, was pleased with his performance. "We collaborated really well until the last climb. At 600 metres from the top of Alto de la Santa, Lastras took off. I couldn't follow him because I was starting to get cramps," said the Frenchman.

"On the slight rise towards the finish I gave it everything I had to catch up to Lastras. However there wasn't much collaboration from Pydgornyy and Irizar. When we got to within nine seconds from Lastras with only 3 kilometres to go to the finish line we started sizing each other up and Lastras gained a few seconds' advantage. It wasn't up to me to do all the work to catch up.

"I wanted to win the stage and often in order to win you have to risk losing. I gave it everything I had, I couldn't have done more. Anyway, I'm happy with my form, I feel good and I'm going to try again. Congratulations to Pablo. He was the strongest today and he's a great rider."

Most of the race favourites finished safely in the bunch that was led in by Nicolas Roche 1:43 after Lastras had taken the stage. However, two-time winner Denis Menchov (Geox-TMC) failed to stay with the bunch’s pace on the final climb, coming in 3:06 down along with Rabobank’s Steven Kruijswijk, who had been marked as another rider to watch after his impressive performance at the Giro d’Italia.

The winning break takes shape

After a number of escape attempts had been thwarted in the opening five kilometres, Pydgornyy, Chavanel and Cofidis’s Nicolas Edet jumped away after 6km and were soon joined by Spaniards Lastras and Irizar. These five quickly got a good lead, which stretched to almost eight minutes with 68km covered as Liquigas-Cannondale and Leopard Trek set a steady pace on the front of bunch.

Edet asked for medical assistance having being stung on the forehead by an insect with 90km covered. Soon after the young Frenchman started to slip back from the break. Vacansoleil-DCM’s Pydgornyy claimed the sprint not long after this. The pace did increase in the bunch from this point on, although none of the teams were keen to take on too much work so early in the race and in such sapping conditions.

As Irizar led the four escapees over the 3rd-category Alto del Berro with 117km covered, back in the bunch a lot of riders were starting to struggle. HTC’s Mark Cavendish fell back, together with fellow sprinter Marcel Kittel (Skil-Shimano). Leopard Trek was doing most of the work, cutting the break’s lead back to 4:28 at the summit of the Berro, then trimming it down to 3:46 as the race passed through Totana for the first time with 22km remaining.

Sky prominent on final climb

The final 22km loop took the riders out of Totana and up and over the Alto de la Santa, a regular feature in the Tour of Murcia, before dropping back into the finish again. The four breakaway riders were content to cooperate all the way up the climb, until Lastras made his winning move towards the summit.

Back in the rapidly thinning bunch, Team Sky was clearly determined to keep team leader Bradley Wiggins out of trouble. Thomas Lövkvist set the pace for a good way up the climb, with Wiggins on his wheel.

However, suggestions that some of the leading contenders might attempt an attack on the climb with the aim of gaining a few seconds in Totana were unfounded. Geox-TMC’s David De La Fuente did make a dig that came to nothing. But the GC contenders were clearly happy to save themselves until the much bigger test that faces them on stage four, which brings the first summit finish at Sierra Nevada.

That stage will offer an early insight into the likely contenders for the Vuelta title and should bring an immediate end to Lastras’s hold on the red jersey.

Result
1	Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team	3:58:00
2	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team	0:00:15
3	Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Team RadioShack
4	Ruslan Podgornyy (Ukr) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
5	Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale	0:01:43
6	Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team
7	Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
8	Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
9	Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Pro Team Astana
10	Jan Bakelants (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto

GC Overall
1	Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team	8:25:59
2	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team	0:00:20
3	Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Team RadioShack	0:01:08
4	Ruslan Podgornyy (Ukr) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team	0:01:24
5	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:01:55
6	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek
7	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:01:59
8	Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
9	Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
10	Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) HTC-Highroad	0:02:04

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 2

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-2/results)

After a disastrous team time trial, Team Sky struck back in the best possible way when Chris Sutton took his debut stage win at a grand tour, out-sprinting Vicente Reynes (Omega Pharma-Lotto) at the end of a disorganised sprint into Playas de Orihuela. The Australian timed his final surge perfectly, jumping in behind Reynes as the Spaniard hit out for the line from the top of the final rise with 300 meters remaining.

Reynes and Suttton opened a substantial gap on the big-name sprinters gathering behind. When Sutton jumped out from behind the Spaniard with 75m remaining, Reynes was not able to respond as the Australian powered past on his right. As Sutton sped clear and celebrated the biggest win of his career, Reynes thumped his bars with frustration. Skil-Shimano's Marcel Kittel was a fast-finishing third, ahead of Garmin-Cervélo's Tyler Farrar.

Sixth place on the stage for Daniele Bennati was enough to move him into the race leader's red jersey at the expense of teammate Jakob Fuglsang, although the two Leopard Trek riders remain tied on overall time.

With his mother at the Vuelta watching him race, 26-year-old Sutton was delighted with his win. "We don't exactly have the perfect lead-out train here but what we do have in the team is strength," said Sutton. "All the boys were fantastic today, they went back and got bidons for me, made sure I had enough food and drink all day. Bradley [Wiggins] looked after me for the last 20km along with Kurt Arvesen. Then I yelled at Thomas Löfkvist to 'Go!' coming out of the roundabout with 2km to go, and he just went straight up the outside and took me to the front.

"I knew it was a hard uphill finish. It kept switching back left and right and then someone from Lotto accelerated and I jumped on his wheel. I thought, 'This is a long way to go.' But I looked back and no one was there. I thought, 'Alright, I've got this one.' To win today is a dream come true. I can't believe it."

A very hot day's work

Despite concerns that one or two riders who crashed in the team time trial in Benidorm might not take to the start, primarily Saxo Bank's Nick Nuyens, a full complement of riders headed out. It didn't take long for the break of the day to form. Paul Martens (Rabobank), Adam Hansen (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Jesús Rosendo (Andalucía-Caja Granada) and Steve Houanard (AG2R-La Mondiale) went clear at the 3km mark as the temperature headed well past the 35-degree mark.

The quartet cooperated well until the final sections of the stage's only climb, the Alto de Relleu, after 28km. Rosendo attacked towards the summit with the aim of claiming the King of the Mountains jersey, but Martens out-sprinted him at the top. Edged out there, Rosendo then set his sights on the sprints jersey, and guaranteed himself a trip to the podium at the end of the stage by winning both intermediates on today's route.

A good day's work for Team Sky

The break's advantage stayed between five and six minutes for most of the stage, until HTC went to the front in the final quarter with the aim of setting up either Mark Cavendish or John Degenkolb. The smooth running of their train was hit, though, when Matt Goss became the race's first abandon.

As the HTC-led peloton closed in on the four escapees, former HTC man Hansen went off on his own. With 32km remaining and the bunch by now less than a minute behind, the Australian's effort was doomed. He stayed clear until 18km from the finish, when the peloton swept past, pushed on by a strong breeze.

With Spain in the middle of its holiday season, impressively large crowds had come out to watch the race as it flashed by some of the country's leading resorts. Inside the closing 10km, HTC was assisted in the pace-setting by Omega Pharma, Rabobank, Skil-Shimano and, ultimately, Leopard Trek, which had the twin aims of keeping Fuglsang out of trouble and setting up Bennati for the final sprint.

Inside the final kilometre, Leopard's Davide Vigano's went to the front and pushed on so hard that he got a gap on the pack, but the Italian was quickly swallowed up on the 5% drag up towards the line. No one team was able to organise an effective lead-out, making it every man for himself. Quick Step's Tom Boonen was briefly prominent, before Reynes made his move and Sutton went with him.

It was a wise move, resulting in the British team's first victory at the Vuelta less than 24 hours on from a rather shambolic showing in the Benidorm team time trial. To cap a great day, it had come less than two hours after Edvald Boasson Hagen had won the Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg.

Result
1	Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling	4:11:41
2	Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto
3	Marcel Kittel (Ger) Skil - Shimano
4	Tyler Farrar (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo
5	Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team
6	Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard Trek
7	Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Pro Team Astana
8	Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
9	Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team
10	John Degenkolb (Ger) HTC-Highroad

General classification after stage 2

		Result
1	Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard Trek	4:28:11
2	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek
3	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek
4	Thomas Rohregger (Aut) Leopard Trek
5	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:04
6	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
7	Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
8	Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
9	Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
10	John Degenkolb (Ger) HTC-Highroad	0:00:09