Stage 4 & Final - Volta ao Algarve / No Tour for Wiggins?

The 2013 edition of the Volta Ao Algarve came to a end today with an individual time trial. Four Radioshack Leopard Trek riders, Jesse Sergent, Tiago Machado, Andreas Kloden and Jan Bakelants, were in the top 10, but it was hard to compete when World Champion Time Trialist Tony Martin blew everyone away by over a minute! Radioshack won best team, and rider Giacomo Nizzolo won the sprint jersey. I'd say this was a great race for Radioshack!

February 17, Stage 4: Castro Marim - Tavira (ITT) 34.8km

Martin wins time trial, overall at Volta ao Algarve

Reigning time trial world champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) stamped his authority on the Volta ao Algarve's final stage as the 27-year-old German scorched the 34.8km race of truth in 45:09 to win both the stage and the overall general classification. Such was the dominance of Martin's performance that his closest competitor, teammate Michal Kwiatkowski, ceded 1:07 to the flying German while Jesse Sergent (RadioShack-Leopard) notched the third best time at 1:15 down.

 
"I am really happy," Martin said. "I was really looking to have a good day, and I had a good feeling immediately this morning during the reconnaissance. The parcours was really hard, with a lot of technical parts and little climbs where it was necessary to relaunch the action every time. Fortunately, it didn't rain during the TT. It rained a little bit before, but it stopped before so we had good conditions on the course during the TT. I really pushed a lot, and everything was perfect. There was a perfect approach to the race, and the result was because of all of these things."

Kwiatkowski made it a 1-2 Omega Pharma finish for both the stage and general classification as well, finishing 58 seconds down on Martin overall.

 
"Today I liked this kind of parcours," said Kwiatkowski. "It was not one for the big gear — it was a bit more technical with a lot of shifting. I like that kind of parcours the most. I am very happy about the entire week, even on the climb yesterday. I saw the job I did in the last month to improve on the climbs pay off. I had good results at this race and I am happy about it."

Dutch time trial champion Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) clocked the fourth fastest time, 1:16 down on Martin. Westra started the stage eight seconds ahead of Kwiatkowski and 17 seconds in front of Martin on general classification, but the Dutchman lost time to the Omega Pharma-Quick Step teammates. Westra would still finish on the final GC podium in third, however, with Kwiatkowski edging him out for second overall by just one second.

 
Overnight leader Sergio Henao (Sky) proved no match for the rouleurs on the Volta al Algarve's concluding time trial, losing 3:15 and the overall title to Martin, who started the day 28 seconds in arrears of the 25-year-old Colombian. Although Henao finished a respectable 14th in the final stage, beating the likes of French time trial champion Sylvain Chavanel by four seconds, he nonetheless dropped to 12th overall on general classification, 2:47 down on Martin.

The seeds of overall victory were sown by Martin the previous day, where he limited his losses to his GC rivals with an 11th place result on the Alto do Malhão summit finish, a stage won by Henao. With a stunning display of time trial prowess befitting the world champion, Martin quickly erased his general classification deficit to seal his second Volta ao Algarve overall win in three years.

"My condition is better than last year at this moment," said Martin. "I knew it was possible to not lose a lot of time from the best climbers, and my team and I made sure of it. I have to say this kind of race, with an uphill finish, a TT, and sprint stages in the beginning is perfect for me. It's the kind of race I like and I am always looking for.

"I hope this victory helps me and the team continue to get good results during the season. I'd also like to thank my team and my teammates. They really protected me and Michal for the entire week. With the bad luck of Cav in the sprints, we really focused on the GC and the TT. Fortunately, we were successful. This is not just an individual victory, but a team victory."

Stage 4 Results
1 Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:45:09
2 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:01:07
3 Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack Leopard 0:01:15
4 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:01:16
5 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:30
6 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha 0:01:32
7 Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack Leopard 0:01:47
8 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team
9 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack Leopard 0:02:04
10 Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack Leopard 0:02:32 

 Final general classification
1 Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 15:36:26
2 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:00:58
3 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:00:59
4 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha 0:01:21
5 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team 0:01:26
6 Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack Leopard 0:01:30
7 Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack Leopard 0:01:40
8 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:45
9 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack Leopard 0:01:53
10 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:02:31

Despite different reports coming out every day, it appears that reigning Tour de France Champion, Bradley Wiggins is not planning on defending his Yellow Jersey. His goal this year is the Giro d'Italia instead:

Wiggins: "I never thought for one minute I wanted to do it all again"

Bradley Wiggins (Sky) headed home from the Tour of Oman slightly disappointed by his own overall performance in the six-day race but convinced he has done the right thing by choosing different objectives and choosing the Giro d'Italia as his major goal of the season instead of a second Tour de France.

Wiggins lost 1:21 on stage one after being blocked by a late crash. Wiggins did not have the form or ambition to take on Contador, Nibali and Evans after training and racing hard the week before Tour of Oman and so he did his bit to help Chris Froome win overall.

"I was quite tired when I got here, especially on the first day, and it has not really got any better," Wiggins conceded in an interview with written media present in Oman.

"I kind of stayed where I was on that first day. When you come into a race with [training fatigue, you never know if you fly off it or if you’ll be mediocre, and I’ve been pretty mediocre…."

Wiggins is not worried about his form or lack of early season results. His approach to the 2013 season is radically different to 2012. With the Tour de France finally on his palmares after four years of trying, Wiggins has set himself a new challenge for 2013. It is not about winning every stage race he rides, it is not about learning how to win the Tour de France.

Instead, he will target the Giro d'Italia, have a go at Liège-Bastogne-Liège along the way in late April and perhaps try to complete a Giro-Tour double if he recovers well and if Froome's ambitions do not get in the way.

Wiggins seems almost relieved not to have to return to Paris-Nice, the Tour of Romandie and the Criterium du Dauphine, knowing that anything less than another victory could be considered a disappointment.

"I never thought for one minute I wanted to do it all again. It was more like: ‘No way, I ain’t doing all that again’. But I’ll do something else which is completely different and a new challenge, that for me was the Giro and other races along the way.

"I didn’t want to lack motivation at Paris-Nice and have direct comparison with last year all the time. There was only one outcome unless I won it all again and that would have been to fail. I really wanted to avoid that. I didn’t want to put that pressure on myself.

"I’ve committed to a completely different programme this year by targeting the Giro. Last year was about gaining the confidence through the year that I could actually win the Tour de France. Now there's a much more looking at the bigger picture of the season.

"We've worked back from that, and this period of racing and training is pretty important. Everything this year has been shuffled forward. It’s what April and May were last year for the Tour. I spent most of early January and February in Mallorca. It’s not about results but about getting the work in."

Wiggins will soon head to Tenerife with several teammates for a key block of controlled training at altitude.

He first real test of his form and first real objective will be the Volta a Catalunya (March 18-24). He will study some of the key Giro d'Italia stages and ride the Giro del Trentino (April 16-19) before probably teaming up with Froome to target Liège-Bastogne-Liège (April 20) and then taper for the Giro d'Italia (May 4-26).

"I had five races before the Tour and have five this year. Liège is two weeks out from the Giro, so you should be pretty ready to go.

Weight is a massive thing for me and Liège is all about power to weight and fitness. I’m 82kg in the off season, 75kg now and 70kg at the Tour. It takes me a long time to get there, a lot of hard work. But the plan is to be ready to go, two weeks out from the Giro, and so Liège-Bastogne-Liège fits in nicely."

Emotion is the base line, all the rest is science

Team Sky gives the impression that it is driven by science, logic and a desire to produce results, with little room for emotion and improvisation. It is about hitting the right numbers and discovering marginal gains, being different and better to the rest of the peloton.

Yet Wiggins seems to need emotions to find his motivation and fire up his mojo. He's more attracted by the Giro d'Italia, with the screaming tifosi and iconic maglia rosa, than another tilt at the Tour de France.

"Emotion is the baseline, then the next step is to get the machine ready to do the job," he explained.

"I’d love to be able to do these incredible escapes in the mountain, but the reality is that I’m not that good a climber, so I have to work hard, be meticulous about what I do, and that’s made me incredibly successful.

"The Giro is special for me. It goes back to my childhood. It was one of the few races on TV along with the Tour de France when I was a teenager. I grew up reading magazines about it and the Giro was always stuck in my mind. I particularly remember Hampsten climbing in the snow (in the 1988 Giro, over the Passo Gavia). It seemed quite inspirational.

"The Tour of Italy's just a lovely race. It's the only race in cycling where they never really mention doping in the whole race. It's kind of refreshing in some way when you’re there, for the racing, because the people come out and watch the sport and idolize the racers.

"I said I’d never go back there in 2010 because it was so hard. But I’ve always had a love-hate with it and always had a soft spot for it."

No 'What If….?

Wiggins is preparing for the Giro d'Italia one step at a time. It's pointless to ask him what he will do and how it will affect him, or if he doesn’t win the Giro d'Italia. But the problem is that Wiggins doesn't do 'What if…?'"

"I don’t try and think 'what if?', especially post match. What if I die tomorrow? It means we won’t have to worry about the Giro, I never look too far ahead. I used to do that and worry. But really, it's just about taking one step at a time."  

Katusha's Good News / Gilbert's Goals This Spring

With the future of Katusha unknown, Joaquim Rodriguez said earlier this week that he would be looking for another team. The team lost WorldTour status, and because of that lost bids in many of the upcoming races. In order to ride in the Tour de France, Rodriguez was going to switch teams.

However, thankfully the Court of Arbitration heard Katusha's appeal and returned a verdict in favor of the team. However, the question that is no on everyone's minds is, will 19 teams be allowed to have WorldTour status or will another team get cut so that the 18 teams remain?

Rodriguez happy to stay at Katusha after CAS verdict

Joaquim Rodriguez finished third on stage five at the Tour of Oman but hugged his Katusha directeur sportif Valerio Piva as if he had won, after hearing that the Russian team had won it's appeal to the Court of Arbitration and secured its return to the UCI WorldTour.

Rodriguez and Piva refused to confirm their good news, under strict orders not to talk by the team's management, but the big smiles and hugs between the riders and staff as they whispered the news, made it clear that Katusha had finally received some good news.

Since being turned down for a WorldTour spot by the UCI Licence Commission on December 10, the team's future has been up in the air. 

It was granted a provisional Professional Continental licence so it could compete but the team had been snubbed for wild invitations to the Giro d'Italia, Paris-Nice, the Criterium du Dauphine, and most recently the Tour de Romandie.

On Thursday night, Rodriguez confirmed that he would leave Katusha if the team failed to secure a WorldTour place. He is determined to ride the Tour de France and was unwilling to let the team's problems impact on his season.

Fortunately the team's future now appears safe. Rodriguez's contract with the team is valid and he insisted he was happy to continue racing in the red and white Katusha colours.

"I'm happy to stay with the Katusha team because I've been in the team for several years now. The team has given me a lot and I've given a lot to the team. This is the best possible solution for everyone," Rodriguez said in a hastily arranged press conference in the permanence of the Tour of Oman.

"In the days before the verdict, we were optimistic and we always believed we'd win, even if it wasn't our decision to make and even if we'd never understood the reason why we were left out of the UCI WorldTour."

"I'll admit it, I was worried about my future, even if I knew I'd have ridden the Tour de France in one way or another. Now my race programme won’t change. I'll ride Tirreno-Adriatico, then the Volta a Catalunya, go for a spell of training at altitude on Mount Teide, and then the Ardennes Classics."

Piva echoed Rodriguez's sentiments of relief and satisfaction. The Italian is highly respected in the sport but had been struggling to keep morale up in the team and struggled to convince organisers to invite the team to key races.

Now it seems Katusha and six other team that applied for a WorldTour licence will have to go through the selection process with the Licence Commission. Rather than eliminate another team from the WorldTour, Rodriguez believes the sensible solution is to allow 19 teams to be part of the 2013 WorldTour.

"I hope another team doesn't have to go through what we've been through and so perhaps the best solutions is to allow 19 teams in the WorldTour," he said.

"That would be fair even if it caused some problems by raising the number of riders in the peloton and on the roads. It'd be worth it and much fairer all round."

"I'm sick of everyone talking about all the problems in our sport. There are still a lot of good things going on. I'd much prefer if we could talk about the Tour of Oman and the Volta ao Algarve, or the Vuelta a Andalucía. At least now I can look ahead to the rest of the season, knowing that goal for the year are safe and that the future of the team is safe."

 

After a fantastic 2011, and a not so good 2012, Phillipe Gilbert is ready to take on the Spring Classics. It doesn't seem to phase him that there are riders better than him at the moment, but he knows he'll be ready, in top form, by the time the time the Ardennes come up.

Gilbert building his form for a long assault at the spring classics

At the Tour of Oman, Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team) has stood out more for his rainbow jersey than for his results but he has dismissed off any doubts about his form and is convinced he will be a contender in the spring Classics, from Milan-San Remo until Liège-Bastogne- Liège.

Gilbert is always polite and professional, but he is more protective of his time and privacy after the scrutiny and thousands of questions, especially in Belgium, about his difficult 2012 season. He answers further questions about last year but they clearly touch a nerve.

"There's been a lot of talk about my spring season last year but it's only three months in a career of ten years. I have nothing to complain about," Gilbert said, firing a warning shot while speaking to the media, including Cyclingnews, at the Tour of Oman.

"I was there in the finale in almost every classic but everyone said things were very bad. But bad is when you get dropped and climb off in races. I was not that bad and got better week after week. Eventually my best form came back."

Gilbert concedes that his hugely successful 2011 season left him tired for 2012. Poor results in 2012 were the price he paid for his long run of victories in 2011, although he recovered his powers sufficiently to win the world championships in Valkenburg in September.

"Maybe in life you only have one big season and perhaps it was 2011 for me," he said.

"But it was also long season: I did all the classics, rode the Tour de France and went for the green jersey, I was at full gas everyday but then I never rested afterwards because I won the WorldTour. After the Tour de France I targeted San Sebastian, the Eneco Tour, the Canadian races and the Worlds. I think it was too much for one person and I needed a few months to recover from it."

To avoid the constant scrutiny of 2012 and avoid having to chase his fitness, Gilbert started his season at the Tour Down Under. Stage races are key building blocks as he prepares for the Classics.

"My form's not bad for the moment. I'm not good enough to win, but I'm not unfit. I had a good winter and I'm riding some stage races like Tour Down Under, now Oman and then Paris-Nice, to get better and better every week.

"I feel ready and on track. The intention is to be at my best for the classics. The season is becoming longer and longer in cycling, but it's difficult if you have to chase your form. Last season I was in that position and never managed to catch up."

Goal for 2013: Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders

Gilbert is one of few riders who has the ability and characteristics to win on the cobbles of the Tour of Flanders and the steep climbs of the Ardennes.

He will target every classic except Paris-Roubaix but has set himself a special goal.

"It'd be special to win one of the classics I've still to win: Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders," he said.

"My classics campaign is very long but I think you can win 'La Primavera' even if you're not at your best. Everything depends on the wind. With a tailwind (on the late Capi climbs) you have a far better chance. When a headwind becomes a factor, then everyone just stays on the wheels."

Gilbert is not worried or interested by possible rivals such as Mark Cavendish or Peter Sagan, who was far better than the Belgian in Oman and won two stages before pulling out with a sore throat.

"There are twenty riders who can win Sanremo. It's not a good idea to focus on what he (Cavendish) has to say," he said.

"I worry about myself. What counts is the shape of your rivals in the week before a big race. I don’t care if Sagan is stronger than me at the moment. If he's still stronger than me at Flèche Brabançonne (on April 10, just before the Ardennes week) then I have a problem. But that will not be the case."

 

Schleck Strikes Again and New Leaders at BMC??

Suprise, Surprise! Andy Schleck has backed out of another race, the Tour du Haut Var-Matin. Although his team still defends him, saying his training is going well, us fans can't help but think differently. In my opinion, I think he lost his motivation without his brother racing. I know he was injured last season, but he needs to mentally be ready to race, not just physically. I don't belive he is mentally ready to race right now. What do you think?

Schleck to skip Haut Var and train in Mallorca

Andy Schleck will not race this weekend’s Tour du Haut Var-Matin, with the RadioShack leader instead choosing to train in Mallorca. Schleck has raced once this season at the Tour Méditerranéen but abandoned on stage one, citing illness.It prompted Schleck's team management to defend him after l'Equipe suggested that his comeback from injury is being hit by a lack of motivation rather than a lack of fitness.

He crashed out the Dauphine last June and missed the Tour de France. His brother Fränk was forced to quit the race after testing positive for Xipamide and subsequently received a one-year ban. Meanwhile, Andy has struggled for form and fitness and has failed to finish a race since the 2012 Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

"We were happy to see Andy doing well in training the last few days,” explained team manager Luca Guercilena. “There is however a big difference between training and race situations. We want to prevent a relapse because of the race. Andy’s main goals are situated later in the season. It’s better that we are cautious now instead of taking steps backward.”

Schleck is expected to part in the Grand Premio Città di Camaiore, on February 28.

In other news, it looks like Thor Hushovd and Greg Van Avermaet will be the BMC leaders in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the first of the Spring Classics, instead of Phillipe Gilbert. This will give Gilbert a chance to concentrate on some of the other races.

BMC back Hushovd and Van Avermaet over Gilbert for Het Nieuwsblad


Philippe Gilbert will not start next weekend's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, with his BMC team instead deciding to give Thor Hushovd and Greg Van Avermaet the opportunity to lead at the spring opener in Belgium. Gibert is a two-time winner of the semi-classic (2006,2008), however, the reigning world champion's start to the year has been anything but quiet and he "can't ride everything", according to team director John Lelangue.

The decision to leave Gilbert at home is only for a day as he is now scheduled to ride the GP di Lugano in Switzerland - which comes the day following Het Nieuwsblad. Meanwhile, the Belgian squad may be able to rely on another former winner to take the reins with Hushovd, who won the title in 2009. Leadership from Hushovd appears uncertain at this time as he continues to build his condition after struggling with illness for most of last season.

"Our priorities will be Greg Van Avermaet and Thor Hushovd," said Lelangue to nieuwsblad.be.

"Philippe cannot ride everything. We have adjusted his program this season compared to last year. He launched [the year] in Australia and now Oman. Through the GP Lugano he will go to Paris-Nice in preparation for Milan-San Remo," he explained.

Van Avermaet could well prove to be the outright leader when the 198.6km Belgian semi-classic begins on 23 February. Van Avermaet was already part of the winning time trial team at the Tour of Qatar and he finished it off with sixth overall. He's currently at the Tour of Oman, where he finish second behind Peter Sagan on Stage 3.

Gilbert, who is also enjoying the warmth of Oman, was relatively pleased with his form so far but admitted that the gradient of Green Mountain was a little too much for him at this time of the year.
"My performance was not bad," said Gilbert. "But I was sore, I rode on the 39-28 and I had the feeling that it was too big. There were sections of seventeen percent. It was really every man for himself."

Liquigas and New RSNT Giro Leaders

Two of my favorites have just been announced that they will lead their teams in the 2012 Giro d'Italia:

Basso to lead Liquigas-Cannondale at Giro d'Italia

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/basso-to-lead-liquigas-cannondale-at-giro-ditalia)

While Ivan Basso had previously stated he'd wait until the conclusion of the Tour de Romandie to decide if he'd contest the Giro d'Italia, his Liquigas-Cannondale team announced today that Basso will indeed captain the Italian ProTeam at its home Grand Tour, beginning May 5 in Herning, Denmark.

"I wanted to dispel any doubts a day early because my hope and desire to do the Giro are great," Basso said. "I worked so hard to prepare for this event, doing extra work that has kept me anxious to the last. But now I have the confidence to fight for the pink jersey: I'm delighted to say that I'll be there."

Basso's preparation for the Giro has been hampered this spring by a knee injury suffered at Paris-Nice, followed by a crash at Volta a Catalunya which aggravated the injury. Basso is currently in 30th overall at the Tour de Romandie, 35 seconds behind leader Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank) in advance of tomorrow's concluding stage - a 16.5km individual time trial.

Basso will be supported at the Giro by a strong cadre of five climbers - Valerio Agnoli, Eros Capecchi, Damiano Caruso, Cristiano Salerno and Sylvester Szmyd - while Maciej Bodnar, Paolo Longo Borghini and Fabio Sabatini will round out the nine-man roster.

"All the boys are in great condition and above all motivated to take a leading role," said Liquigas-Cannondale directeur sportif Stefano Zanatta. "In recent weeks I have felt a great desire [for the Giro] and today we've got confirmation that Ivan will do it. At his side is a team that can support him in the best way.

"The Giro has always been the most important event of our season, we know the pressures and expectations," continued Zanatta. "Riders like Szmyd, Capecchi, Agnoli, Bodnar, Longo Borghini and Sabatini assure us experience both uphill and on flat terrain. Salerno has demonstrated reliability in the mountain stages while Caruso will provide valuable support for the captain and will have the opportunity to and grow and make a quantum leap.

"For the sprints we'll play the Sabatini card: the absence of [Elia] Viviani, unfortunately, is a great loss."

Liguigas-Cannondale roster for the 2012 Giro d'Italia:

Valerio Agnoli (Ita), Ivan Basso (Ita), Maciej Bodnar (Pol), Eros Capecchi (Ita), Damiano Caruso (Ita), Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita), Fabio Sabatini (Ita), Cristiano Salerno (Ita) and Sylvester Szmyd (Pol)

Fränk Schleck to head up RadioShack-Nissan at 2012 Giro d'Italia

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/frank-schleck-to-head-up-radioshack-nissan-at-2012-giro-ditalia)

Team RadioShack-Nissan has confirmed that Fränk Schleck will ride the 2012 Giro d'Italia. He replaces Jakob Fuglsang, who was to have been the team's captain but had to withdraw due to a knee injury.

On Saturday evening the team confirmed Schleck's nomination, which had earlier been rumoured. He finished third last year in the Tour de France and is expected to go for the podium in Paris again this summer along with his younger brother Andy.

Schleck has ridden the Giro once before, finishing 42nd overall in 2005.

“My season was directed at peaking in the Tour,” Schleck said, "but when you think about it, this situation creates opportunities. For sure, I will come to the start with a different preparation than the other GC riders, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. My condition is not so bad and it can only grow the coming weeks.

“The Tour of Italy is one of the big monuments of cycling as well, so it is at least a big challenge for me.”

“I see a lot of opportunities for Fränk as well as for the team,” commented Team Manager Johan Bruyneel. "Fränk is a born leader and a team needs a leader. Moreover – though bad luck and circumstances did not provide the right results - he has shown in the last few weeks that his condition has already reached a high level. I am confident he can surprise us in the coming weeks.

“It all reminds me of the 2008 Tour of Italy when, one week before the start, we got an invitation for the race. In the end we won the overall.”



Another suspension because of drugs...

Denis Galimzyanov returns positive test for EPO

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/denis-galimzyanov-returns-positive-test-for-epo)

Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) has been provisionally suspended after returning an adverse analytical finding for EPO in an out-of-competition test taken on March 22.

The UCI announced the news in a communiqué on Monday afternoon. Galimzyanov has the right to request the analysis of his B sample, but remains suspended until a panel convened by the Russian Cycling Federation sits to hear his case.

Galimzyanov, who was aiming to be part of the Russian selection at the London 2012 Olympics, had a mixed start to the campaign. After going close to stage victory at the Tours of Qatar and Oman, he raced sparingly in March, citing illness. He was omitted from the Katusha team for Paris-Nice and also withdrew from the Three Days of West Flanders in March after the prologue.

The 25-year-old Galimzyanov then went on to take his first victory of the season on stage one of the Circuit de la Sarthe in April, less than two weeks after returning the positive test for EPO. He crashed out of the race the following day.

Hailing from Yekaterinburg in the Ural region of Russia, Galimzyanov raced for the Premier (later Katusha) continental team before stepping up to the ProTour ranks in 2009. He made his first major impact at the highest level last season, winning Paris-Brussels and the final stage of the Tour of Beijing.

My Rabbit Is Named After Him

I'm not kidding. Meet Snickers Alejandro:

And, I think it would be awesome if Alejandro Valverde could win the 2012 Tour de France.

Valverde believes he can win the Tour de France

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/valverde-believes-he-can-win-the-tour-de-france)

Having come back to racing this year after a doping suspension, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) is also back to winning ways. With four victories and a podium spot at the Tour Down Under as well as Paris-Nice in his pocket, the Spaniard's balance sheet in late March is more than promising in view of his real targets this year, the Ardennes Classics and the Tour de France.

Valverde did not expect such a successful return to competition, but he told L'Equipe that he trained as hard during the last year as when he was competing. "I knew I had good shape as I had trained well at home, but I didn't think I would be able to do such a good season start. But during the suspension, I did exactly what I did before. I trained regularly, and I had two peaks of form during the year. I trained as though I was competing, but without competing."

Turning his attention towards the Classics season, Valverde admitted that Philippe Gilbert (BMC) would be the man to beat after what the Belgian showed last season. "To me, Gilbert was the best rider in the world last year," the Spaniard continued. "I would love to be able to deliver a grand duel against him in the Ardennes Classics. I'm sure this would also be great for the spectators."

On top of his other prestigious victories, Valverde won Liège-Bastogne-Liège twice in his career, and the Flèche Wallonne once. Gilbert took all three Ardennes Classics last year, on top of his first victory of the Amstel Gold Race in 2010.

But Valverde, who also has the overall 2009 Vuelta a Espana to his account, sees himself as a contender for the Tour de France this year. Even though the 2012 parcours has widely been branded as one for the better time triallists, the Movistar rider believes in his chances to take the yellow jersey.

"My idea is to fight for the general classification," said the 31-year-old, who already has two top ten results in the Tour to his name (in 2007 and 2008). "It's clear that the amount of time trial kilometres favours those riders who are specialists against the clock, like Wiggins or Evans. But the Tour is the Tour, it is very long and anything can happen, it can be over at any day. So I will do my utmost to be there, to do the best I can, even if, to me, the favourite is Andy Schleck.

"He wants to win it, but so do I. In the time trial, we are about on the same level. I think the Tour 2012 will be very open."

This just isn't a good week for Team Sky

Flecha breaks hand in training accident

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/flecha-breaks-hand-in-training-accident)

Juan Antonio Flecha (Team Sky) has revealed that he had minor surgery on his hand last week after breaking it in a training accident near his home. The 34-year-old Spaniard, who has enjoyed a consistent start to 2012 after securing third place finishes at the Tour of Qatar and at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, is already looking ahead to getting back in the saddle and to making it to the start line of his favourite race – Paris-Roubaix on April 8.

“I broke a metacarpal in my hand while out training last week,” he told Team Sky’s official website. “The fracture was smooth and I was even able to ride home after I’d done it. I went into surgery on Thursday and they re-aligned the bone before fixing it with a couple of screws.

“In the time between picking up the injury and surgery I was able to keep working on the turbo and do core work in the gym, but since then I’ve not been able to do that as we didn’t want to risk stretching the wound, or getting it infected with sweat under the bandage. My bandage is coming off on Tuesday and I’ll be able to start my rehabilitation again straight after that.”

Flecha stated that his immediate race plans are up in the air and much will rest on his rehabilitation over the coming days. But in his own mind everything is still pointing towards Paris-Roubaix, where he has enjoyed consistent success over the years despite never actually winning the race. Flecha was a runner-up there in 2007, and has two third places to his name along with several other top ten finishes. Back in January he told Cyclingnews that it is the classic that he most wants to win before he hangs up his wheels.

"If everything goes well I should be able to make my return at Waregem [March 21], but obviously that’s dependent on what the doctor says," he said.

“I want to return there but it’s obviously dependent on my recovery. If things are not going well, riding the cobbles might not be the best idea right away, so we could even look at doing a race like the Criterium International [March 24-25] instead. I don’t think I will be at my peak condition at Flanders [April 1], but I will still give it my all, and then by the time Roubaix comes around I’ll be back to my best and able to give it a really good go.”

Froome hits pedestrian in Italian training accident

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/froome-hits-pedestrian-in-italian-training-accident)

Chris Froome of Team Sky has hit and seriously injured a 72-year-old pedestrian in a training accident in Italy, according to the Italian media. Both were taken to hospital, with Froome found only to have scrapes and bruises.

The elderly man is said to have suffered head injuries as well as facial contusions and abrasions.  While his life is not endangered, he is expected to be helicopered to another hospital for further treatment.

Police are looking into the accident to determine what happened and whether either party is at fault. Froome was training alone on Sunday morning when he hit the man, accoridng to sanremonews.it. He immediately called emergency services, and both were taken to hospital.

Froome, 26, opened his season at the Volta ao Algarve but had to abandon with a chest infection after the third stage.  He had been scheduled to start Paris-Nice, but had to miss it due to continued illness. He is not scheduled to ride in Saturday's Milan-San Remo.



A British Win...

Wiggins bridges 45-year gap at Paris-Nice

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wiggins-bridges-45-year-gap-at-paris-nice)

Bradley Wiggins (Sky) bridged a 45-year gap to become the second British rider to win Paris-Nice after he triumphed in the Col d’Eze time trial on Sunday.

The late Tom Simpson was the only other British rider to sample Paris-Nice success, riding to overall victory in 1967, the year of his death on the slopes of Mont Ventoux at the Tour de France.

“I know my cycling history and this is an enormous achievement," Wiggins said, according to Reuters. "It's an honour to be up there with Tom Simpson."

Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM) briefly threatened to ruin Wiggins’ day when he posted the quickest time at the midway point of the stage, but the Englishman summoned up a winning response to take the stage win and secure his yellow jersey.

After Westra’s surprise stage win at Mende on Thursday, Wiggins understood that the Dutchman would be the danger man on the Col d’Eze. “I knew that Westra was very strong after he'd won that stage midweek," he admitted.

In spite of his narrow six-second advantage coming into the stage, Wiggins said that he was confident that he would secure overall victory. “In terms of pressure it was nothing compared to an Olympic track final,” he said. "You can enjoy the moment, I was confident of my ability and today I rode it perfect."

Wiggins’ victory means that he has now won both of France’s premier week-long stage races, having already triumphed in the Critérium du Dauphiné last June. Given the assured nature with which he carried the yellow jersey over the past six days, and with over 100km of time trialling on the menu this July, Wiggins will enter the Tour de France as a genuine threat for top honours.

“I don't know if I'm a favourite but I'm one of maybe five riders who can do something there this summer," Wiggins said of the Tour.

Fourth in the Tour in 2009 and third overall at last season’s Vuelta a España, 2012 is set to be a pivotal year in Wiggins’ career. Overall victory at Paris-Nice completes a fine start to his campaign, but the Sky rider sees his win as just that.

"I said Paris-Nice was a stepping stone, no disrespect for Paris-Nice. But I must continue that progression to July,” he said.

Three Crashes in One Stage

Poor Levi...

Leipheimer's hopes for Paris-Nice victory dashed with one stage remaining

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/leipheimers-hopes-for-paris-nice-victory-dashed-with-one-stage-remaining)

Levi Leipheimer (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) started stage 7 at Paris-Nice in third overall, just 10 seconds down on leader Bradley Wiggins (Sky), but by the finish a trio of crashes had eliminated any hope of overall victory with only tomorrow's Col d'Èze time trial remaining. The 38-year-old American, accompanied by three of his teammates, crossed the finish line 16:50 down on solo stage winner Thomas De Gendt and more than nine minutes in arrears of the peloton which contained all of Leipheimer's general classification rivals.

Leipheimer suffered bruises on his right knee, hip and arm while his teammate Dries Devenyns was forced to abandon following the third and most harrowing incident, involving a collision with a parked motorcycle on a blind turn.

"On the first crash, there was a corner with gravel and I dropped my vest into my front wheel because everybody reacted," Leipheimer said. "I was holding my vest but had to let go to brake and it went in the front wheel. By the time I crashed I was going slow so it was not such a big deal. I hit my wrist, which is swollen, but it was OK.

"I got on my spare bike, but I did the Col de Vence climb and wasn't feeling as good on my bike. I wanted to get back on my other bike, back on the first bike. On the downhill, I was right there at the front with Bradley Wiggins and Alejandro Valverde. I was fine, I was paying attention, but someone from behind wasn't and they hit me hard and broke my bike at the same time as Movistar attacked."

As Leipheimer was making his way back to the peloton once again, paced by four of his teammates, it would be the third and final crash which proved to be most serious.

"Stijn Vandenbergh, Kevin de Weert, Dries Devenyns and Tony Martin waited for me, but we were really close to the bunch," said Leipheimer. "We arrived close to the group, but in the right corner there was a motorbike protecting someone from Lampre who crashed. We couldn't avoid them. I think everyone passed except Dries and I couldn't avoid it, and I crashed into him. It's easy for me to say I could have done this or that tomorrow, but that's part of the race. It was just bad luck."

Omega Pharma-Quickstep directeur sportif Brian Holm was pragmatic in his assessment of the day's unfortunate series of crashes.

"First of all you have to look at the positives," said Holm. "The third crash downhill, that was not fun. Going into something standing still you can really hurt yourself. I saw them hurt themselves badly, but don't think anybody broke anything.

"My first thought was 'shoot, arms and legs were broken.' Levi, he is made of chocolate. You know, third time down, to get back on your bike, you have to be very strong. I am just glad no one broke their bones. The team waited for Levi. Everybody waited for the captain. he goes down, everyone goes down. That's what they have to do.

The Belgian ProTour squad's only remaining rider high on general classification is French champion Sylvain Chavanel who remained in the peloton while his teammates went back to assist Leipheimer.

"Sylvain [Chavanel] was in the top nine so he did what he had to do," said Holm. "Stuff happens."

What's with everyone getting sick????

Illness sweeps through Paris-Nice peloton

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/illness-sweeps-through-paris-nice-peloton)

Andy Schleck (RadioShack - Nissan) was the first man down with a stomach bug at Paris-Nice, but plenty of others have now followed suit with five riders unable to start Stage 4 on Wednesday.

RadioShack-Nissan is now severely depleted with Jan Bakelants and Joost Posthuma forced to abandon. According to the team website, Bakelants was ill throughout Tuesday evening and it was never a consideration for him to begin the stage. Posthuma was in the same boat however his condition appeared to improve at breakfast and wanted to be on the start line. His condition then deteriorated en route to the stage depart.

American Taylor Phinney (BMC) was also forced out while teammate Thor Hushovd was able to continue despite also having a bad stomach.

"Woke up at 2:30am and threw up everything I ate yesterday... Seems to be a stomach bug going around at this race," Phinney said on Twitter.

Lotto-Belisol rallied impressively after losing both Adam Hansen and Olivier Kaisen with Gianni Meersman claiming the stage win. Hansen is suffering from a bronchial infection with the Australian expressing his frustration to be leaving the race with Milan – San Remo on the horizon.

"Ive gone from bad 2 worse," he said via his Twitter feed. "This isnt good @ all. Im actually really disappointed. Must be in top form on the 17th next week."

Kaisen was just as frustrated, saying: "It's really not my habit to give up but there it was no longer much point in continuing."

Boonen's 100th Win

Congrats to Tom Boonen on 100th career win!!!

100th career win for Boonen at Paris-Nice

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/100th-career-win-for-boonen-at-paris-nice)

The second stage of Paris-Nice yielded several triumphs for the Omega Pharma-Quickstep team: not only was it Tom Boonen's 100th career victory, excluding criteriums and team time trials, but also the first WorldTour win for the revamped Belgian squad. In addition, American Levi Leipheimer is now poised for a top result overall, sitting just six seconds behind race leader Bradley Wiggins (Sky Procycling).

Boonen's other victories include a world road race title from 2005, three wins in Paris-Nice, two in Tour of Flanders, two in Gent-Wevelgem, six stages of the Tour de France and one green jersey (2007) and two stages of the Vuelta a España.

"I'm really not interested in stats. But on the other hand I'm happy," Boonen said in a team press release. "Not a lot of riders can reach this goal. The race was also important for the GC. Levi and Sylvain [Chavanel] made a good step ahead and we are really motivated for the next stages."

The team had to go on the defensive when the peloton split in the crosswinds at the feed zone just halfway through the stage, and worked to successfully regain the front of the race as other contenders like Andy Schleck (Radioshack-Nissan), Richie Porte (Sky) and Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) all missed the split. They then had the numbers in the front group, and drove the pace to the finish, putting 2:29 into the next group on the road.

"To be honest we had to suffer to enter in the breakaway. We were a little bit behind because of a roundabout," Boonen said. "I had to pass two groups before entering in the first group. Then the race was really hard. Everybody was interested in riding and taking some time from the GC. It was also cold and windy and in the last kilometers it began raining. I really couldn't feel my hands."

The only downside for the team was the absence of defending Paris-Nice champion Tony Martin from the lead group, but directeur sportif Brian Holm said it won't change the team's tactics.

"It's still a bit of the same," Holm said. "It will be a bit more hilly tomorrow at the finish, but Tom is still pretty good there. Chavanel will be close in the GC without an accident or crash, and Leipheimer is looking pretty confident also. We are a strong team, everybody knows that."

The truth or an excuse?

Schleck: Paris-Nice time trial was too early and too short

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/schleck-paris-nice-time-trial-was-too-early-and-too-short)

Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) lost over a minute in the opening time trial of Paris-Nice, but the Luxembourg rider claimed that the 9.4km test was too short and too early in the season to offer a reliable indicator of his progress against the watch.

Time trialling has long been the glaring Achilles heel in Schleck’s armoury and he lost the yellow jersey in the penultimate day time trial of last year’s Tour de France. In spite of his insistence that he has trained assiduously on his time trial bike since the arrival of Johan Bruyneel as manager, the fruits of their labour were not in evidence in Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse on Sunday.

“I didn’t have such a good feeling in my legs today but don’t take this as a reference,” Schleck told his team’s website. “This is my first big competition of the season.”

Schleck finished the day in 142nd place, 1:01 down on winner Gustav Larsson (Vacansoleil-DCM). The 26-year-old explained that he began well on the course’s early climb, but struggled to keep a big gear turning over thereafter.

“On the top of the climb I had same time as Maxime [Monfort, who was 15th – ed.] but then I didn’t have the forces to push the big gear. This was a TT for the big engines. This is not a real test for me. The distance was too short and it’s too, too early.”

Schleck’s brother Fränk fared little better, coming home 54 seconds down in 121st place. Their teammate Andreas Klöden was among the last riders to start, just as the rain began to fall, and he took few risks in the treacherous conditions to finish 36 seconds behind Larsson.

Nonetheless, Bradley Wiggins (Sky) also had to perform on rain-soaked roads, but the Briton put in a fine showing to finish just one second off Larsson’s winning time. RadioShack-Nissan directeur sportif Alain Gallopin expects Wiggins to be the man to beat over the remainder of the week.

“Wiggins showed that he is the big favourite of the race,” he said. “Without the rain he would have won by 15-20 seconds.”

Paris-Nice, Stage 1

March 4, Stage 1: Dampierre-en-Yvelines - Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse 9.4km

Paris-Nice: Gustav Erik Larsson takes opening stage

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/paris-nice-2012/stage-1/results)

Gustav Erik Larsson (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling) won the opening stage of the 2012 Paris-Nice with a time of 11:19 in the 9.4km time trial from Dampierre-en-Yvelines to Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse.

The Swedish national time trial champion beat Sky’s Bradley Wiggins by one second with Levi Leipheimer (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) finishing four seconds back. World time trial champion and last year’s winner of Paris-Nice, Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), lacked his usual cutting edge and finished in 28th place, 25 seconds down on Larsson.

"Of course I am very happy with the win," said Larrson. "It was a great course and the season started well for me. A great bonus when winning a prologue are all the jerseys and the lead in the general classification. I will work hard to defend that lead."

Vacansoleil-DCM directeur sportif Hilaire Van Der Schueren was pleased with Larrson's performance, noting that for the second straight year his team has won the opening stage at Paris-Nice. "I am really happy with this win after a lot of second places in the early season. Due to the weather we divided our time trial specialists over the schedule and that worked out fine. Last year it was De Gendt with his first win for his new team and now Larsson rewards the confidence of the team with a great win."

Alexandre Geniez (Project 1t4i) was the first rider out of the start house, kicking off the 70th edition of Paris-Nice. But the first significant time was posted by Thomas De Gendt, who rocketed up the 3rd category climb of the Côte des Dix-sept Tournants. The Belgian’s time was so impressive on the climb that he will wear the king of the mountains jersey on stage 2.

The likes of Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Ivan Basso (Liquigas Cannondale) all came through the finish line without disturbing the leading names but it was Larrson who eventually dislodged De Gendt from the leaderboard, wit the Belgian falling to fifth by the end of the stage.

Wiggins, Martin and the evergreen Andreas Kloden were yet to start but just as all three began their march to the start house the heavens began to open. It was far from torrential but Richie Porte (Team Sky) and Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) were the last significant challengers to make it home before the road conditions were effected.

Wiggins started his effort conservatively, reaching the climb five seconds down on De Gendt but one second ahead of Larsson, and five ahead of Tony Martin.

The Brit pulled even further ahead of Martin in the second half of the undulating course, as the German faded on the slick roads.

But Larrson, the silver medal in the Worlds TT in 2009, had done enough. A combination of dry roads and fine riding, enough to secure his first win for his new team.

Full Results

1	Gustav Larsson (Swe) Vacansoleil-DCM	0:11:19
2	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:01
3	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quick Step	0:00:04
4	Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:00:09
5	Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM	0:00:12
6	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
7	Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne	0:00:13
8	Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan
9	Rémi Pauriol (Fra) FDJ-Bigmat	0:00:15
10	Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur-Sojasun



So it's the pre-Tour de France...

Paris-Nice a dry run for the Tour de France, says Monfort

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/paris-nice-a-dry-run-for-the-tour-de-france-says-monfort)

Maxime Monfort believes that RadioShack-Nissan has no fewer than six general classification contenders in its line-up for Paris-Nice, which gets under way in Dampierre-en-Yvelines on Sunday.

“It’s clear that Fränk [Schleck] and Andreas [Klöden] are the two leaders, and along with Andy [Schleck], I’m the fourth protected rider,” Monfort told Le Quotidien. “After that, on our team we also have Linus Gerdemann and Jens Voigt, who are both capable of going in a winning break. So that makes six riders capable of appearing on the GC. Our team could be a Tour de France team…”

Monfort feels the nature of the route of this year’s Paris-Nice may offer some pointers for what is to come in July. While the Col d’Eze time trial and the rolling stage to Mende appear to be the decisive stages, he warned that every day would require vigilance.

“Above all it will be a good practice for the Tour from a tactical point of view,” he said. “You’ll have to know how to surprise. You’ll have to be smart at the precise moment when the race breaks up. You’ll have to know how to take the right decision and stay ready, because the right decision will have to be taken in a split second.”

“You can plan around [the Mende and Col d’Eze stages – ed.], but it’s a mini Tour de France and that’s what’s very interesting. You could get caught out in echelons on Monday’s stage or by the uphill finish on Tuesday. Looking at it close-up, you have the impression that it could all kick off every day.”

The Belgian spends a sizeable portion of the year based on the French Riviera, and Monfort is very familiar with the Col d’Eze. He reckons that the uphill test will favour time triallists rather than pure climbers.

“I did it race condition two weeks ago. I think it’s going to be a time trial that suits rouleurs more than climbers. [Bradley] Wiggins and [Tony] Martin will be good. I think our leader Andreas Klöden will be up there too. You’ll be going up it at 27 or 28 kph, so it’s not something for a pure climber.”

While Monfort expects the time triallists to be to the fore in the Race to the Sun, he was less convinced by Alejandro Valverde’s credentials. The Movistar rider has won three races since he returned from suspension for his part in Operacion Puerto at the beginning of the year.

“I’d see it more for someone like Wiggins, who I think will put more time into his rivals in the time trials than Valverde will do at Mende, even if he has started this season very strongly.”

Where were Thor and Gilbert?

With two great sprinters added to their team this year, you'd think BMC would have been able to pull off a win, or at least a podium spot...wrong!! Even with Philipe Gilbert and Thor Hushovd riding in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, BMC's best placed position was Greg Van Avermaet in 5th. What happened???

BMC falls short at Omloop Het Nieuwblad

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bmc-falls-short-at-omloop-het-nieuwblad)

They may have one of the biggest budgets and the some of the sport's most decorated and accomplished Classics riders but BMC proved that racing doesn't always go to plan after their performance in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad fizzled out following a promising start.

The team lined up with arguably their strongest Classics line-up - only George Hincapie was missing - as Philippe Gilbert, Thor Hushovd, Greg Van Avermaet and Alessandro Ballan took to the start in Ghent.

The opening half of the race went to plan. The team's leaders were kept out of trouble by able domestiques, while rival squad, Omega-Pharma, did the majority of the work on the front of the bunch.

However, the team's race began to unravel on the Taaienberg. Gilbert lacked form and positioning, finding himself isolated before a puncture effectively ended his chances of wining a third title in the race.

At the front of the race, Thor Hushovd made the split and looked set to contest the win but the 2010 world champion cracked along with Matti Breschel (Rabobank) on the Paddestraat with 30 kilometres to go.

"I was happy that I was there with the best riders when we went fast. I just had a bad moment on the Paddestraat but I don't know what happened. Suddenly I was dropped but I felt strong and that's important," Hushovd told Cyclingnews.

"I had confidence that I was strong enough to be there in the final. Like I said I had that bad moment and suddenly I lost the power. When things like that happen it's just over for such a hard race."

BMC did eventually rally, leading the chase from behind and Van Avermaet secured 5th place in the bunch sprint for 4th.

For the likes of Hushovd and Gilbert, bigger tests are on the horizon and the team will surely chalk up today's race as a learning experience. For second year professional Taylor Phinney it was exactly that. The American rode on the front for the first 70 kilometres and finished his first semi-classic in 44th place.

"It didn't work out 100 per cent," added Hushovd. It's the first race together and I think today the Taaienberg was the main place to be in the front and we missed a couple of guys to really be in the final with two or three but we'll work on that for future races."

Hushovd will skip Sunday's Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne and venture home before starting next month's Paris-Nice.

Gilbert: I didn't have the legs

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gilbert-i-didnt-have-the-legs)

Philippe Gilbert’s first appearance on Belgian roads as a BMC rider ended in disappointment as he was unable to make an impact at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday.

While he admitted that he didn’t have the legs to compete for the win, Gilbert believed that a lack of information about the gap to the winning break frustrated BMC’s efforts to bring the race back together in the finale.

Twice a winner of the Omloop, Gilbert’s hopes of adding a third triumph disappeared at the foot of the Taaienberg. When winner Sep Vanmarcke (Garmin-Barracuda) and Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) hit the front, Gilbert was poorly placed in the heart of the peloton, and a subsequent puncture on the Eikenberg definitively ended his challenge. He went on to finish 41 seconds down in 31st.

“I wasn’t in the race,” Gilbert told dhnet.be. “I was there without being there. I didn’t have good legs. I was always fifteen or twenty places too far back and in these conditions, you can get caught up in a crash or puncture…”

While his teammate Thor Hushovd had initially succeeded in following the winning move sparked by Vanmarcke and Boonen, Gilbert complained that information was hard to come by in the absence of radio earpieces.

The BMC riders in the peloton were unaware that Hushovd had been dropped from the lead group, and they only began to organise their pursuit inside the final 15 kilometres.

“Racing without earpieces doesn’t bother me, but it’s not normal not to have any information,” he said. “I only saw the chalkboard once and it was only with 15km to go that John Lelangue was able to fill us in and tell us that Thor had been dropped.

“At that moment we started to ride, but it was too late, we knew that it was only for 4th place. In the end, Greg [Van Avermaet] was 5th, which isn’t bad, like the fact that there were five of us in that group.”