Another Favorite Rider...

Let's see...Lance Armstong, Jan Ulrich, Ivan Basso, Alejandre Valverde, Alberto Contador, and Frank Schleck, just to name a few off the top of my head. These are all favorite riders of mine who have been suspended for doping (or retired before they would be suspended). However, another one of my favorite riders came out today and admitted he doped for 12 years:

Michael Rasmussen confesses to 12 years of doping

Michael Rasmussen has admitted to using performance enhancing drugs throughout the majority of his professional career. The former Rabobank and CSC rider called a press conference today, admitting that he doped from 1998 until 2010. He has been served with a two-year ban by Anti Doping Denmark after providing "substantial assistance" in the fight against doping.

"I used EPO, growth hormone, testosterone, DHEA, insulin, IGF-1, and cortisone and did blood transfusions," Rasumssen said reading a prepared statement, looking pale and emotional but in control.

"I've informed the anti-doping authorities of what I specifically used, when and how. My agreement with them is confidential, which means I can't disclose further details at this time. That time may come later."

"When I stand up today, I will be a relieved man. I am glad that I no longer have to sit and lie to you today, as I have done for so many years. From today my cycling career is over. I want to cooperate with the Danish institutions. I know I cheated and I cheated other riders. I'll accept my punishment."

Anti Doping Denmark report that Rasmussen, who was ejected from the 2007 Tour de France while wearing the mailot jaune, for lying about his whereabouts, has offered to cooperate fully with the investigation. Rasmussen has also confessed to using drugs during the 2007 race, in which he passed all anti-doping test.

“In this context, interrogations of Michael Rasmussen have been conducted last week in Amsterdam and this week in Copenhagen,” a press release read.

“The Doping Commission of the NOC of Denmark now opens a doping case against Rasmussen, and the case will be raised before the independent panel (the Doping Tribunal of the NOC) when all conditions are met. Within a few days, Michael Rasmussen will receive a temporary suspension.”

Rasmussen’s confession and cooperation hasn’t just been confined to the Danish authorities, with NOC and Sports Confederation of Denmark), The Netherlands (Doping Autoriteit) and the USA (USADA) and WADA all being consulted.

Having evaluated Rasmussen's statements, it is the opinion of the anti-doping authorities that Rasmussen has offered "substantial assistance" and accordingly the preconditions for a reduced sanction are met. The NOC's Doping Commission therefore intends to prosecute Michael Rasmussen before the Doping Tribunal, requesting a suspension of 8 years, but reduced by three quarters to 2 years, starting on 1 October 2012, i.e. from after Rasmussen participated in his last race.

Rasmussen competed on the cross country mountain bike scene between 1995 and 2001, before joining Bjarne Riis' CSC-Tiscali team in 2002. He won the tough Giro dell'Emilia one-day race in Italy and then raced with Rabobank between 2003 and 2007. He fled the 2007 Tour de France just hours after taking the yellow jersey with victory at the summit of the Col d'Aubisque. He was banned for two years for lying about his UCI Whereabouts status before the Tour de France but made a modest comeback in 2009 and then helped create the Christina Watches team in 2011.

I always did think that Rasmussen looked especially good in the KOM Polka-Dot Jersey in the Tour de France!

(above photo used from: http://www.procyclingphotos.com/)

2012 Dauphine Stage 4 - ITT

Well, Andy Schleck had to do another Individual Time Trial today; this one at 53km. Its hard to gauge his improvement when 12km into it, he crashes. Then he punctures once he got on the replacement bike...

I guess we'll have to see what July holds for us:

Andy Schleck crashes in Critérium du Dauphiné time trial

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/andy-schleck-crashes-in-criterium-du-dauphine-time-trial)

Andy Schleck's fitness has been a major talking point at the Critérium du Dauphiné to date, but the RadioShack-Nissan rider was denied the chance to gauge his time trialling form when he crashed early on stage 4.

The Luxembourger came a cropper in the stiff winds that buffeted the 53.5km time trial course from Villié-Morgon to Bourg-en-Bresse; rounding a sharp right hand bend 12 kilometres into his effort, a sudden gust caught his rear disc wheel, and Schleck duly took a tumble.

Although Schleck was quickly back on his spare bike, a puncture shortly afterwards added insult to injury, and he opted not to take any further risks as the wind continued to wreak havoc on his cornering.

"When we did the parcours this morning the wind wasn't like that," a dejected Schleck said afterwards. "I had a good start and good feelings until there. After that, I kept on going but I didn't have the concentration after that. I just wanted to get to the finish. I couldn't go in the [time trial] position anymore."

Addressing a group of reporters huddled around a team van near the finish line, Schleck was at least able to count his blessings as far injuries are concerned. Although his skinsuit was torn around his right hip, Schleck reported road rash but no broken bones as a result of his fall.

"After a crash you get on the bike and you have the adrenaline for the first few kilometres, but after a while my ribs hurt and my hand hurt," Schleck said. "Still, I'm sitting here and not in an ambulance, so that's a good sign."

Schleck bristled slightly when it was put to him that he may have erred in choosing disc wheels on such a windy course. "Maybe if you have 85 kilos it's easier to stay on the bike," he said tersely. "The wind was playing with me a bit out there, so it's a good warning maybe for the other guys.

"I started with the first guys and nobody was out there before me [to warn about the conditions – ed]. The wind came just as I started."

Of course, Schleck was among the early starters expressly because he had been so out of sorts in the opening days of the Dauphiné, coughing up chunks of time on the first two road stages.

But then, the 26-year-old Schleck is already an old hand when it comes to churning out sub-par performances in June before undergoing a remarkable transfiguration in July.

"Everybody is asking my form, but then every year people ask about it," he said. "In years gone by, I've always been a bit behind at the Tour de Suisse and then I've always been up there at the Tour de France. And now, [by riding the Dauphiné – ed.] I'm a week ahead, so I'm not worried at all for the Tour."

The more immediate goal is to stay in touch with the likes of Bradley Wiggins (Sky) and Cadel Evans (BMC) on the road to Morzine on Saturday: "Tomorrow, I'm probably not going to feel great on the bike, but I hope to stay with the best on the Joux Plane. Every day, I'm feeling better and better."

Bruyneel – we wanted a time trial test

Schleck and his brother Fränk's rapport with manager Johan Bruyneel has been the subject of considerable media scrutiny in recent weeks, but after phoning the start line to warn his remaining riders about the dangers of using disc wheels, Bruyneel told reporters that his rider had started Thursday's time trial at a decent tempo.

"It's a pity because I think he'd started well," he said. "We weren't expecting him to do a super time trial but the plan was for him to give a constant effort for 50km. I think physically he was going quite well today. He wasn't going to lose the kind of time that a lot of other people were."

While Schleck will continue in the Dauphiné as the race enters the high mountains, Bruyneel was disappointed that he had been denied the chance to test himself against the watch, particularly given the similarities in distance between this time trial, and the Tour de France's penultimate stage to Chartres. Forced to switch bikes following his accident, Schleck will now have no SRM data from his effort.

"He's a climber, so we know already how good he is in the mountains," Bruyneel said wistfully. "This time trial was a great test and we weren't able to do it."

(Picture: http://twitpic.com/9tr392 via @davidopoczynski - Twitter)

June 7, Stage 4 - (ITT): Villié-Morgon - Bourg-en-Bresse 53km

Wiggins takes resounding victory in time trial

 

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/criterium-du-dauphine-2012/stage-4-itt/results)

Bradley Wiggins (Sky) flew to the win of the 53km stage 4 time trial in the Criterium du Dauphine, beating world champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) by a whopping 34 seconds. Former world champion Michael Rogers, also of Sky, was third at 1:11 down.

"It was a solid time trial for everyone today, there was no way of bluffing it or fluking it," said Wiggins. "It was a real test in the conditions. It's just nice to be out there in that discipline after all the training we've spent on the time trial bike over the winter and in the last few weeks.

"To beat the world champion is a big thing as I've not finished ahead of Tony many times in the past. I beat him at Algarve at the start of the season but that was by milliseconds so to do it by a clear margin this time is a huge satisfaction.

"We've been chasing Tony for a long time – he raised the bar at the world championship last year so that was a starting point for us; to work towards trying to get close to him. It's by no means going to be the same every time trial we do from now on but it's something nice to show the kids when they are older! However I don't think you can look into it too much. It's not a form guide for the Tour de France, it's just how you happened to go on one particular day but it's definitely a nice position to be in."

Martin was pragmatic in his assessment of his runner-up result to Wiggins.

"Today I had no super legs," Martin said. "It took a while to get into the rhythm of the race. At the beginning I wasn't really concentrated, but I got better. I know when and why I lost, so it is OK for me. Bradley did a great race. As for me, maybe today I was a little bit tired. I did a lot of training for the Tour of Belgium, and a lot of training after the race to prepare for the Tour de France."

The loser of the day was Cadel Evans, who was nearly caught by his two-minute man, Wiggins. The BMC rider finished eighth on the day, and lost 1:42 on the overall rankings.

Evans in fact fell from second to fifth overall. Martin is now second, 38 seconds behind Wiggins. Rogers is third at 1:20 and Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) fourth at 1:38.

Wiggins covered the 53km from Villié-Morgon to Bourg-en-Bresse in 1:02:12. He almost caught Evans, who started two minutes ahead of him, as they neared the finish line.

Andy Schleck's bad luck continued as he crashed 12km into the stage, a victim of the strong winds which ruled the day. The RadioShack-Nissan rider ended the day with the eighth-slowest time, 10:47 in arrears of Wiggins.

Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge) set the early best times at both intermediate time checks and the finish, and remained in the hot seat for a long time. But then along came young Wilco Kelderman of Rabobank, who set better times all along and in fact finished an impressive fourth on the day. The Dutchman nearly came to grief in sight of the finish, narrowly escaping a crash on the final corner as he came into the left hand turn carrying too much speed.

After Kelderman the best times kept changing rapidly. Michael Rogers (Sky), who is enjoying a comeback this year after several rather invisible seasons, took his turn atop the leader's board. Martin then roared in with a new best time.

But the sensation of the day was the overnight race leader, Wiggins. The Briton was third at the first intermediate time check, at 11 seconds down, but charged up to lead Martin by 36 seconds at the 40km time check, before cruising in to win easily.

Interestingly, Great Britain and Australia both claimed three spots in the day's top ten, and Sky took three spots: first, third and sixth.

 

 

Full Results

1	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	1:03:12
2	Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep	0:00:34
3	Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling	0:01:11
4	Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:01:26
5	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep	0:01:33
6	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling
7	Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica GreenEdge	0:01:38
8	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:01:43
9	David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Barracuda	0:01:51
10	Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:01:54

2012 Giro d'Italia Stage 16

May 22, Stage 16: Limone sul Garda - Falzes/Pfalzen 174km

Izagirre triumphs in Giro stage 16 to Falzes

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/stage-16/results)

Jon Izagirre soloed in to the finish line of the sixteenth stage of the Giro d'Italia, bringing in the victory for Euskaltel-Euskadi. The 23-year-old Basque rider had escaped out of a 10-man breakaway group on the final climb, and finished 16 seconds ahead of Alessandro De Marchi (Androni Giacattoli-Venezuela) and Stef Clement (Rabobank).

The peloton took the day off, more or less, and let the 10-man escape group carve out a nearly 13 minute gap. After a comfortable final climb, the field with the favourites ambled across the line nearly nine minutes after the rejoicing Izagirre. There were no changes in the top of the GC as Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) continues to lead the Giro d'Italia.

It was the second win of the year – and the second pro win – for the second year pro Izagirre. At the end of last month he won the time trial at the Vuelta a Asturias.

"I'm on a cloud, I'm so excited," said Izagirre. "I'm happy for the team because we are working hard in this Giro and any of the nine of us here deserved the win.

"A big win is very special. The first victory in Asturias really excited me, but winning a Giro d'Italia stage is amazing."
Another successful escape group

It took a while for the day's break to establish itself, but once again, the group came through to the end. After eighty-some kilometers, Alessandro De Marchi (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela), Mathias Frank (BMC Racing Team), Jon Izagirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Luca Mazzanti (Farnese Vini-Sella Italia), Lars Ytting Bak (Lotto Belisol), Nicolas Maes (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), José Herrada Lopez (Movistar), Stef Clement (Rabobank), Matthias Brändle (NetApp) and Manuele Boaro (Saxo Bank) finally got away and moved quickly to a big lead.

With Herrada as the top ranked rider, at more than 32 minutes down, the field was happy to let them go and give themselves a quiet day to transition back into racing before facing the upcoming brutal mountain stages.

The race had started out very fast – which is why no group could come about – but once the break went, the peloton put the brakes on. The gap grew and grew, climbing all the way up to 12 and a half minutes before slowing coming down in the final 20km.

The attacks out of the group started almost as soon as they started the final climb to the finish. A cobblestone passage near the beginning of the climb didn't bring any changes, as Herrada led the way up. Izagirre was the next to try, and then Frank. Those two built up a small lead over Herrara with another gap back to the rest with 4km to go.

Izagirre took the lead, followed by De Marchi, as Frank and Herrada chased. The Basque rider ground his way up the climb, slowly building up his lead. He continued to pull away as the course flattened out near the end, as the three chasers, later joined by Clement, played for position.

The Euskaltel-Euskadi rider rejoiced as he crossed the finish line, and 16 seconds later De Marchi and Clement came in to fill out the podium.

The rest of the field was still to come, and it was a smaller group which tackled the final climb – but one which included all the favourites. They stayed together riding comfortably up to the finish. Liquigas-Cannondale and Garmin-Barracuda were most often at the front.

But then a Colnago-CSF Inox rider shot out of the of the field with about 1200 meters to go. Stefano Pirazzi was soon joined by Sky's Juan Antonio Flecha, and Flecha zipped around him at the end to take the eleventh place, nearly nine minutes after Izagirre, with the field almost directly behind.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Jon Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi	4:02:00
2	Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli	0:00:16
3	Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
4	Mathias Frank (Swi) BMC Racing Team	0:00:19
5	José Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team	0:00:21
6	Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo Bank	0:00:37
7	Matthias Brandle (Aut) Team NetApp	0:00:43
8	Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep	0:00:45
9	Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team
10	Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia	0:00:48

Robbie McEwen: A Look Back

I am very sad to see Robbie McEwen retire from cycling. Although now he will be working as a spring coach, I will miss seeing him in the races:

Gallery: Robbie McEwen - a career in photos

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/gallery-robbie-mcewen-a-career-in-photos)

Note: Please go to the above site to see all the photos.

“You just keep putting in the work every season,” Robbie McEwen told Cyclingnews earlier this year.

Having just won the OCBC Cycling Criterium in Singapore at the age of 39 the sentiment was wholly true to McEwen’s nature and attitude.

Singapore was not the most glamorous of wins, certainly not when compared to the 24 Grand Tour stage wins he’d amassed during his long career, but a win nevertheless. And having retired from the sport at the conclusion of the Amgen Tour of California, Singapore was his final win as a professional rider. Over a career spanning three decades he'd won a race in each year of his career.

In a sense, his performance in the far east summarised McEwen’s character. Tenacious, hard working, gritty and ultimately lightening quick. Those blots may have occurred less frequently in recent year but there’s no arguing with the Australian’s glorious career.

Twelve wins in the Tour, along with three maillot verts, a spell in jaune, 12 Giro stages, five wins in Paris-Brussels, a Scheldeprijs, Vattenfall Cyclassics, and Dwars Vlaanderen thrown in for good measure - few sprinters could match his consistency, let alone his speed.

In a career that was book ended by the two greatest sprinters ever seen in Mario Cipollini and Mark Cavendish, McEwen stands out as the challenger who faced up, ready for a sprint but without so much as a lead-out train. He was a sprinter in the old fashioned mould.

His most impressive win came in the Tour de France in 2007, when, after crashing with 22 kilometres on the stage to Canterbury, he regained contact with the peloton only after his Lotto team time trialled him back to the bunch, allowing the Australian to showcase his sprinter power. He won by over a bike length.

Three year’s later at the Tour de France, Johan Vansummeren, one of McEwen’s teammates that day, picked out the stage to Canterbury as one of his proudest moments of a professional, a rubber stamp to McEwen’s popularity among his peers. Vansummeren had been dropped just before McEwen had made contact with the bunch but punched the air in joy when he heard McEwen's win announced through race radio.

"It's been often been fun, it's often been painful but I've enjoyed every minute of it," McEwen said as he prepared for his first day as a retired professional.

Like his rivals, Cipollini and Erik Zabel, McEwen will start the next phase of his life as a sprint coach, working with the young bucks at Orica-GreenEdge. Come July, when the Australian team are going toe-to-toe with the likes of Sky and Rabobank, who knows, there might be a little bit of McEwen in their sprinter style and tactics.

We hope so.

2012 Giro d'Italia Stage 9 & Horner's Bike

Before I get to the results of Stage 9 of the Giro, I wanted to share some details about Chris Horner's bike. I am a huge Trek fan, especially of the Madone 6.9, so needless to say, I couldn't resist posting this article:

Pro bike: Chris Horner's Trek Madone 6.9 SSL

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/pro-bike-chris-horners-trek-madone-6-9-ssl_

Chris Horner has never been overly concerned with what professionals are “supposed to do”. And at age 40, the RadioShack-Nissan rider who started the 2012 Amgen Tour of California Sunday as the defending champion isn’t about to change his style.

On the eve of arguably the biggest race in America, riding on one of the world’s biggest professional cycling teams, Horner’s Trek Madone looked more like the rig of one of the fans cruising the team parking lot than the stereotypical pro bike.

For one thing, Horner rides with a saddle bag, even when followed by the team car. And he carries a pump, strapped to said saddle bag. His seat tube bottle cage is filled with a spare tubular, just in case.

For another thing, Horner rides a taller head tube than Trek’s “pro” geometry that the company calls H1. H2 features a head tube that’s 3cm taller than H1 geometry. A 56cm Madone 6.9 SSL in the H2 geometry has a 17cm head tube. (The reach is also about .5cm shorter.)

In fairness, Horner isn’t alone on the team in riding the H2 geometry. Five riders, including 27-year-old Matt Busche, use the H2 bikes.

“It is a lot about cosmetics, but it is also structurally stronger not having a big stack of spacers beneath the stem,” said Trek team liaison Jordan Roessingh.

Another nod to Horner’s preference for comfort over the stereotypical pro look — 25cm tires. (He will likely be racing 23s Schwalbe tubulars with the rest of his team throughout the week in California.)

Horner is the only one on the team riding the wide Bontrager RL saddle, which he runs on a seatpost with almost no set-back. On the 56cm frame, Horner has a 120 stem.

“Chris is not exactly slammed,” Roessingh said of Horner’s position.

But despite his lack of concern for what pros are “supposed to do” for position, Horner continues to demonstrate the ability to deliver what really counts for professionals — getting himself first across the line.

May 14, Stage 9: San Giorgio nel Sannio - Frosinone 171km

Ventoso wins stage 9 of 2012 Giro d'Italia

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/stage-9/results)

Francisco Ventoso (Movistar Team) won stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia, from Giorgio nel Sannio to Frosinone, surviving a crash on the final corner to claim his first stage of the race. Fabio Felline (Androni Giocattoli) and Giacomo Nizzolo (RadioShack-Nissan) rounded out the surprise top three after the front line of sprinters was ruled out when Filippo Pozzato (Farnese Vini - Selle Italia) took out Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) as the speeding peloton attempted to deal with the final left-hand corner. As the duo crashed out, Mark Cavendish (Sky) and Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) were forced to slow, and the world champion himself came down in the aftermath.

Ventoso, a Giro stage winner in Fiuggi last year, still had plenty to do. With the race's two best sprinters on the tarmac, Nizzolo found himself at the front of the race and seizing the opportunity, opened his sprint first. It was too soon, his name was rubbed off the from tomorrow's headlines, as Ventoso, lying in fourth wheel, navigated past an impressive Damiano Caruso (Liquigas-Cannondale) and into Nizzolo's slipstream. As the RadioShack rider began to fade, Ventoso struck for home to take Movistar's first stage of this year's race.

"I came here to win a stage, but from now on we'll be working for Intxausti. He won the Tour of Asturias recently and we're sure he can do well here too. Our big goal is the GC," Ventoso said.

Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda) retained the leader's jersey after an assured display on the final climb before the finish.

However for the briefest of moments, it looked as though Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) was about to turn the race on its head.

Before that, Pierre Cazaux (Euskaltel), Brian Bulgac (Lotto-Belisol) and Martijn Keizer (Vacansoleil) had broken clear earlier in the stage, pushing out a near four-minute lead before the peloton began to give chase. Keizer was the last man standing, but as his legs began to buckle in the final 20 kilometres, the race looked set to be decided by the short climb inside the final 5km.

It was Rodriguez who lit the paper with a daring attack inside the final seven kilometres. Sitting just nine seconds behind the Canadian race leader Hesjedal, Rodriguez burst clear with a three other riders, and once a 50-meter gap was established, he kicked again.

The move caused panic in the bunch. Attacks from Pozzato were expected but Rodriguez's desire to grab the win and the time bonuses had a clutch of teams under pressure.

However the gradient proved too favourable for the sprinters' teams, who along with Liquigas and Garmin, slowly dragged Rodriguez back.

As they crested the climb, Pozzato finally made a move, having spent much of the run in to the climb, near the head of the field. But as is nearly always the case, the Italian's move was everything Rodriguez's wasn't - timid, almost reluctant.

Adam Hansen was next to try his luck. It was a well timed move, the Australian seizing an opportunity as a Sky rider moved to the front in an attempt to slow the bunch for Cavendish to move up.

However while Sky's train appeared to be disjointed, Orica-GreenEdge took command, placing two riders on the front, with Goss sitting in third. It looked certain that unless Cavendish could move up on the final corner that Goss would take his second stage of the race.

Approaching the final corner Goss took a wide but safe line, slowing as he did so. Pozzato appeared caught off guard, sliding into the Australian's left side and across the road. Cavendish and Renshaw both had time to slow, but as Haedo lost control, Cavendish was brought down.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team	3:39:15
2	Fabio Felline (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
3	Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan
4	Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
5	Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team NetApp
6	Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team
7	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Barracuda
8	Matthias Brandle (Aut) Team NetApp
9	Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
10	Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team

This ruined my day

No more McEwen/O'Grady sprint fights??? I'm sad now. :'(

McEwen to close career at Amgen Tour of California

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/mcewen-to-close-career-at-amgen-tour-of-california)

GreenEdge's Robbie McEwen has confirmed he will stop his racing career after the Amgen Tour of California in May. The Australian indicated to Cyclingnews last November that he would convert from racer and sprint coach for his GreenEdge teammates to a completely advisory role at that time of year.

Currently racing at the Presidential Tour of Turkey, McEwen confirmed to Het Nieuwsblad that he still intends to retire from racing in May.

"I am definitely done after the Tour of California," McEwen said.

A three-time winner of the Tour de France's points competition with 12 stage wins there and 12 in the Giro d'Italia, McEwen started his career with the Rabobank team in 1996.

His contract with GreenEdge runs through 2013.

I think his priorities are backwards...

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

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

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

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

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

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

After a 17 month drought...

Nibali back to winning ways in Oman

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-of-oman-2012/stage-5/results)

Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) took his first win in almost seventeen months after punching his way clear at the foot of the climb to Jabal Al Akhdhar on stage 5 of the Tour of Oman.

On the sharp slopes of Green Mountain, he succeeded in staving off the dogged pursuit of Peter Velits (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), but the Slovak did manage to limit his losses sufficiently to gain control of the overall lead, one second clear of Nibali.“I didn’t want to look around once on the climb,” Nibali admitted after crossing the finish line.

“A year without wins wasn’t easy to take. My performances in that time show that I was giving it my all, but without a win I couldn’t say I was totally satisfied.”

The haul to Green Mountain was always going to prove decisive, but the real selection was expected to be made on the final 13.5% ramps near the summit. Instead, Nibali threw the cat amongst the pigeons by attacking twice at the foot of the climb.

The first move tested the waters, then the second opened the floodgates. While Velits and the French trio of Sandy Casar, Arnold Jeannesson (FDJ-BigMat) and Tony Gallopin (RadioShack-Nissan) treaded water, overnight favourites such as Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and Jakob Fuglsang (RadioShack-Nissan) were among those left floundering.

“I knew that in the middle section of the climb it became a little easier, so I tried like that,” he explained afterwards. “Velits followed me first, and then I went again, this time alone.”

Velits proved to be a resilient chaser, however, and he stalked Nibali all the way up the climb. As the road sneaked its way around the mountainside, he could see Nibali flitting in and out of view all the way, but to his frustration, the gap between them would never diminish, and Nibali crossed the line victorious.

On the final kick to the finish, Velits realised that while the stage victory was beyond him, he might just be able to do enough to deny Nibali the overall lead. “I knew I couldn’t go too early, as I would have lost even more seconds. So I waited as long as possible and then went with 150 metres to go,” he said.

Velits duly reached the finish 12 seconds down on Nibali, and when the time bonuses were tallied, that was sufficient to keep him one second clear ahead of Sunday’s final stage to Matrah Corniche.

 A slow start

 A block headwind on the road out of Muscat on Saturday morning meant that the peloton was happy to stay together for much of the slow-burning build-up to Green Mountain. Only a brief six-man break headlined by Bernhard Eisel (Sky) and Oscar Gatto (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia) broke the calm as the Katusha patrolled the front of the bunch in the service of Rodriguez.

On the 5.7km-long final climb, Nibali was instantly dancing from side to side, looking to land the early blows. His first exploratory jab came almost as soon as the road pitched upwards, and it was a presage of what was to come – the alert Velits was promptly on his wheel, while the rest of the contenders slowly edged their way back towards him.

With 4km to go, Nibali put in his next dig, and only in hindsight did anyone realise that it was in fact the knock-out punch. His steady acceleration took him decisively clear of the hesitant lead group, and sensing his opportunity, he put his head down all the way to the top.

Velits admitted afterwards that he regretted not trying to shut down Nibali’s second attack immediately. “It was not a really hard attack, he just went a little bit faster, but nobody reacted,” he said. “I didn’t react and maybe I underestimated him a little bit, but he got the gap and he held it to the finish.”

Sandy Casar was of a similar opinion, although he was expecting Tom Jelte Slagter (Rabobank) to be more active in the defence of his red jersey chances. “I thought that others like Slagter would go after him first, but in the end he was a bit switched off and went too late,” Casar said afterwards.

The steepest section of the climb came in the final kilometre and a half, but by the time the leaders had reached this section, they were already eking their way up in ones and twos, the constant changes in rhythm making it impossible to form any cohesive chasing groups.

Among those to suffer was Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), who ultimately crossed the line in 7th place, 55 seconds down. Given that his Katusha team had been so active on the front of the peloton early on, it was a disappointing day for the Spaniard.

“I didn’t feel good, I just didn’t have good sensations on the climb, but even so, my rivals weren’t too far ahead,” Rodriguez said. “I didn’t expect Nibali to go so early, at the time I thought it was a mistake, but he was the strongest.”

Casar came home third, 25 seconds down, while his young teammate Jeannesson held off the surprising Tony Gallopin for fourth. Gallopin’s efforts were enough to move him up to third overall.

After the finish, Nibali admitted that it would be difficult to overhaul Velits on the final stage, even with two intermediate sprints up for grabs. For his part, the new red jersey knows that he will have to be attentive to ensure he continues Omega Pharma-QuickStep’s run of stage race success this year.

“There are two sprints and my lead is only one second so anything can happen,” Velits warned. “It’s still going to be quite tight, but we have big strong guys on the team and hopefully we’ll be able to manage it.”

For now, Nibali seems content simply to have secured his first victory since the 2010 Vuelta a España. Of course, he didn’t win a stage during that Spanish campaign, and he explained that the last time he had raised his arms in triumph was at the Trofeo Melinda that August. It had been a long time coming.

“A win is always beautiful and crossing the line first is something you can’t explain,” Nibali said. “It’s like in football for a striker who hasn’t scored for a long time; when he does, it’s a bit of a liberation.”

Tour of Qatar, Stage 6 and Overall

February 10, Stage 6: Sealine Beach Resort - Doha Corniche 120km

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-of-qatar-2012/stage-6/results)

On another day of high drama at the 2012 Tour of Qatar, promising French rider Arnaud Demare raced to the first professional victory of his career in the colours of FDJ-BigMat at the sixth and final stage. 20-year-old Demare came home ahead of Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) and Rabobank’s 2011 winner Mark Renshaw, who put a frustrating week behind him with a podium finish on the final day.

Belgium’s Tom Boonen’s 15th place finish on the day was enough for him to win the overall GC and points classification and meant that he ended the day celebrating a fourth victory in this race, fully justifying his tag as the “King of the Desert”. Garmin-Barracuda’s Tyler Farrar finished as runner-up, 28 seconds behind Boonen, with Team Sky’s Juan Antonio Flecha five seconds further back in third.

This year’s race, as always, has been marred by a number of crashes and punctures and today was no different. With the riders finding their feet in new teams and with the flat nature of the course making for tight, fast and bunch finishes, bumps have become unavoidable.

The biggest casualty of the race was stage three and stage five winner Mark Cavendish (Team Sky), who came together with two other riders close to the finish and suffered a nasty fall that brought gashes to his legs and to his left shoulder. Cavendish was helped to his feet by his teammate and friend Bernie Eisel and bravely got on a spare bike and finished the stage.

Cavendish’s crash hindered a large proportion of the field in the finale, meaning that Demare’s decision to go for home early paid off. Earlier on the field had been helped by a considerable tail wind as they made their way from the Sealine Beach Resort to the Doha Corniche. Before the peloton’s arrival there a pack of seven riders broke away, building a lead that reached a peak gap of 2:20.

At the Doha Corniche the riders encountered 11 6km laps around the harbour side with the pack making relatively heavy weather of catching the group in front. They finally bridged the gap with just 15km to go, which provided the platform for yet another frantic bunch sprint to the line. Demare’s tactics proved shrewd as he crossed the line for what in the end was a cosy victory for the 2011 U23 road world champion.

"I was placed in ideal conditions in the last couple of kilometres with the help of my teammates," Demare said. "It's an amazing feeling. Tom Boonen and Tyler Farrar came to congratulate me. I have admired them in front of my TV for so long."

Elsewhere, a serious verbal altercation took place after the finish between Rabobank’s main leadout rider Graeme Brown and RadioShack-Nissan’s Robert Wagner. Brown accused Wagner of bumping him repeatedly and the two men had to be dragged apart as tempers flared on what was the hottest day of the race so far.

But the week has undoubtedly belonged to Boonen, who claimed both the golden and silver jerseys by using a combination of his considerable experience here and a fitness edge that he honed at the Tour de San Luis. His fourth victory in the race tasted especially sweet, as he told Cyclingnews.

“All four wins here have been hard,” he said. “If you win four times it’s 24 days of hard labour. But this was nice because there were a lot of good riders here. Two days ago the hard stage we had was really like a classic. Normally after a hard stage you can break it up a bit in the following ones but this year it has been a man to man fight. We controlled the last two stages as a team so I am happy. I think that this year has definitely been a very important one.”

Boonen’s performances and those of his principal accomplice Gert Steegmans meant that Omega Pharma-Quick Step were able to add the team GC to the two jerseys he won. The battle for the young riders white jersey was won by Garmin-Barracuda’s Ramunas Navardauskas. It was a fitting reward, alongside Farrar’s second place, for his team, whose consistency throughout the week shone through.

Stage 6 Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ-BigMat	2:20:44
2	Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha
3	Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank
4	Roger Kluge (Ger) Project 1t4i
5	Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha
6	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Barracuda
7	Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
8	Allan Davis (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team
9	Aaron Kemps (Aus) Champion System
10	Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team

 

Final general classification

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep	15:42:14
2	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Barracuda	0:00:28
3	Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Sky Procycling	0:00:33
4	Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step	0:00:34
5	Tom Veelers (Ned) Project 1t4i	0:01:00
6	Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:01:05
7	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan	0:01:06
8	Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Barracuda	0:01:09
9	Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) GreenEdge Cycling Team	0:01:10
10	Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team	0:01:14

How long should suspensions be?

Should suspensions for drugs be based on rank on team or should it be equal for all riders?

Rabobank manager says high-ranking dopers should be banned longer

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rabobank-manager-says-high-ranking-dopers-should-be-banned-longer)

The bigger they are, the harder they fall. That's the wish of Rabobank manager Harold Knebel, who would like to see the length doping suspensions based upon rider points.

Currently, most doping violations call for an automatic two-year suspension,with no relationship between the rider's stature or the nature of the violation. But Knebel said this should be changed, depending on the rider's rank.

“I believe in stricter doping rules,” he told AD.nl. “Under the current system, the relationship between risk and return is beneficial to the abuser.  By doping, a rider can score points and thus earn an attractive contract. If someone has a lot of points, then (they should get) a higher penalty.”

Under his suggestion, a team captain would be banned longer than a domestique. “Who gains the most, should also be punished the most.”

What's better than the Tour de France?

...Tour of Poland? Um, ok?

Boom would rather ride Tour of Poland than Tour de France

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/boom-would-rather-ride-tour-of-poland-than-tour-de-france)

Lars Boom will skip the Tour de France this year. The Rabobank rider sees the Tour of Poland as a better race for him to look for stage wins and to prepare for the London Olympics, where he hopes to ride both the time trial and the road race.

“I would really like to ride the Tour for myself, but I understand that our team is built around Robert Gesink and a few other GC riders,” he told the ANP news agency.

“Last year I rode for Robert Gesink. There's nothing wrong with that and it also went just fine. But a stage win is the biggest thing in the Tour for me.”

Boom will now look for those stage wins in Poland. "I think it's a better preparation for the Games. Then I do hope to ride the Tour of Spain, shortly before the world championships. "

This weekend he will look to take his sixth consecutive Dutch national cyclo-cross title, after which he will devote himself again to the road.

Even in professional sports, equality isn't there...

Bronzini: my jersey is worth as much as Cavendish's

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bronzini-my-jersey-is-worth-as-much-as-cavendishs)

Giorgia Bronzini has lamented the lack of structure and sponsorship in women’s cycling in Italy and internationally, and rebutted UCI president Pat McQuaid’s assertion that women’s cycling has “not developed enough” for a guaranteed minimum wage.

McQuaid’s comments were made at the world championships in Copenhagen in September, where Bronzini captured her second consecutive rainbow jersey in the women’s road race.

“I’d say that moment has arrived, and has done for a while. Women’s cycling is ready to make important steps,” Bronzini told Tuttobici. “Already in Copenhagen I wanted to speak with the president of the UCI to inform him that my jersey was worth just as much as Cavendish’s one, and to give him a list of reasons why we women deserve more.”

Worlds silver medallist Marianne Vos will ride in the colours of Rabobank in 2012, and Bronzini called on the top-level Italian squads to follow suit and form their own women’s teams. The Italian will return to the Diadora-Pasta Zara-Manhattan set-up in 2012.

“Italian women give more to cycling than they receive,” she said. “Our movement is growing in numbers and in value, with results that the men haven’t been able to obtain, at least in the last few years. What are we missing? Structures, from managers to teams, and above all, we’re lacking money and sponsors.

“Abroad they’ve understood that women improve cycling, and some of the biggest teams have opened a women’s section,” she said. “The cost is very limited, because the organisation already exists, from mechanics to masseurs, from bikes to team cars.”

Bronzini admitted that she would discourage her fellow countrywomen from attempting to pursue careers at the highest level, so few are the opportunities. “In Italy, it’s very hard, so much that when I’m asked for advice on women’s cycling, I immediately say that it’s better to stop or not even start, and devote yourself to something else,” she said. “But then I add that if you have passion and desire, cycling brings emotions and adventure, discipline and character.”

While top-level women athletes in other sports receive coverage more on a par with their male counterparts, Bronzini feels that women’s cycling is still a long way behind.

“There’s no comparison. In tennis, they’ve almost reached equality in terms of prize money. In basketball and volleyball, and even in skiing and swimming, there is more attention and space. We’re still relegated to walk-on parts.”

Although sponsorship opportunities remain limited in women’s cycling, Bronzini believes that change can begin to be effected if national federations start to treat women riders as professionals. “As long as we’re still considered to be amateurs, we won’t be able to get the same treatment as our professional colleagues.”

Robert Gesink: A New Father

Gesink's daughter arrives early

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

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

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

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

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

2012 Complete ProTeam List

GreenEdge and RadioShack-Nissan confirmed for WorldTour

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/greenedge-and-radioshack-nissan-confirmed-for-worldtour)

The UCI approved the 2012 WorldTour status of RadioShack-Nissan and GreenEdge on Monday. The approval of both teams means that the 2012 WorldTour team licensing process is complete. 18 teams will race in the UCI's WorldTour next season and will be eligible to compete in all WorldTour events.

"On the basis of the documents submitted to the UCI Licence Commission following requests by the Commission on 16 November (to GreenEdge Cycling Team) and 18 November (to RadioShack-Nissan), the Commission today approved the registration of the RadioShack-Nissan (USA) team for the 2012 season and granted a UCI WorldTour licence to the GreenEdge Cycling Team (AUS) for the 2012-2013 period," read a statement from the UCI.

The UCI issued a list of top 15 ranked teams toward the WorldTour on October 15 and later confirmed their status.  Three more were selected on November 22.

The UCI promised to release a complete list of 2012 UCI Professional Continental Teams on December 12.

UCI WorldTour Teams for 2012
AG2R La Mondiale
Astana Pro Team
BMC Racing Team
Euskaltel-Euskadi
FDJ
Garmin-Cervélo
GreenEdge
Katusha Team
Lampre - ISD
Liquigas - Cannondale
Lotto Belisol Team
Movistar Team
Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team
Rabobank
RadioShack-Nissan
Sky Procycling
Team Saxo Bank
Vacansoleil-DCM

Vos: 2011 Readers' Poll Winner

2011 Reader Poll: Vos voted Female Road Rider of the Year

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/2011-reader-poll-vos-voted-female-road-rider-of-the-year)

Amassing 27 race wins in 2011, it was no surprise that Nederland Bloeit's Marianne Vos won the title of Female Road Rider of the Year in Cyclingnews' annual reader poll.

Vos, 24, has dominated women's racing this year. Her wins include the Ronde van Drenthe, La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, GP Elsy Jacobs and the Giro d'Italia Femminale, a well as the Dutch and World cyclo-cross titles. On the track, she also holds the Worlds scratch race title.

If there was a stumbling block, it was the UCI Road World Championships, where Vos was again left feeling disappointed, standing second on the podium for the fifth consecutive year after being pipped in the sprint in the elite women's road race by Italy's defending champion, Giorgia Bronzini. Given her dominance of the 2011, Vos was overwhelming favourite when it came to the race for the rainbow jersey in Copenhagen. Vos however, backed away from any talk that the pressure proved too much.

"It's the world championships. There's always a lot of pressure in that race. That's what you do it for, you race for the big races and it's great to do the world championships for your country," Vos said. "Of course when everybody in the team does the work for you, you want to end it perfectly. That's a bit of pressure. But it's also great to have and after this season, I was sort of used to it."

Showing her class, Vos praised the efforts of Bronzini - "Giorgia is a fantastic sprinter, she won in a great way. Of course you think back about whether you made a mistake in the sprint, but I didn't. She was the best."

One of 15 riders on the UCI's new athlete's commission, Vos' voice is key as the push for improvements to be made in women's cycling continues.

In 2012, Vos will lead the new Rabobank women's team which has taken over Nederland Bloeit.

Second place in the reader poll went to last year's winner Emma Pooley, who was runner-up to Vos in the Giro Donne. Pooley broke her collarbone early in the season but fought back for wins at the Thüringen-Rundfahrt der Frauen, GP Oberbaselbiet, Chur – Arosa as well as overall victory at the Tour de l'Ardèche

Next best in the poll, was Judith Arndt. The German veteran who capped a strong back end of the season with a gold-medal-performance in the time trial at the UCI Road World Championships.

2011 best female road rider results

1 Marianne Vos 6161 (28.5%)
2 Emma Pooley 3782 (17.5%)
3 Judith Arndt 2467 (11.4%)
4 Giorgia Bronzini 2105 (9.7%)
5 Clara Hughes 1768 (8.2%)
6 Emma Johansson 1667 (7.7%)
7 Elizabeth Armitstead 1462 (6.8%)
8 Amber Neben 1154 (5.3%)
9 Ina Teutenberg 835 (3.9%)
10 Annemiek van Vleuten 233 (1.1%)
Total: 21,634