An F-U to the UCI and One to Andy as Well??

Only week after the CAS overruled the UCI's decision about Katusha's WorldTour status, Luca Paolini won the first of the Spring Classics. If that isn't an F-You to the UCI, then I'm not sure what is. Although I was hoping for one of my favorite riders to win the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, I can't think of a better result then a Katusha rider winning!

Elite men: Ghent 198.9km

Paolini wins Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Luca Paolini (Team Katusha) won the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad by beating his breakaway companion Stijn Vandenbergh (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team) in a two-up sprint. Maarten Wijnants (Team Blanco) won the sprint for third among those in the chase group.

A crowded St-Peter's square in Ghent, Belgium welcomed last year's surprise winner Sep Vanmarcke (Blanco) and 197 other riders who were about to tackle the 198 tough kilometers over the narrow and twisting Flemish roads while enduring freezing temperatures and a blisteringly cold wind.

In a fast first hour at 46km/h, nine riders managed to get into the early breakaway group. They were William Clarke (Argos-Shimano), Florian Vachon (Bretagne), Julien Fouchard (Cofidis), Nico Sijmens (Cofidis), Cyril Lemoine (Sojasun), Jérôme Cousin (Europcar), Zakkari Dempster (Netapp-Endura), and a little later, also Gatis Smukulis (Katusha) and Preben Van Hecke (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise).

The nine riders reached the first cobblestones with a maximal advantage of five minutes on the peloton. As the hills and cobbles quickly followed each other, the gap steadily decreased. By the time the race reached the crucial Taaienberg climb, the gap was down to 1:15. The peloton split into several parts and only 40 men featured in the first peloton when hitting the following Eikenberg climb.

Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) attacked the peloton after the Eikenberg together with Marco Bandiera (IAM). The duo caught up with the leaders by the next climb.

Their move was copied by Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Geraint Thomas (Sky), Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto-Belisol), Maarten Wynants (Blanco), Sven Vandousselaere (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Egoitz Garcia Etxegibel (Cofidis) and later also Luca Paolini (Katusha).

Before those men bridged up with the tired leaders, Chavanel left his companions behind at the cobbles of the Haaghoek. With 45km left to race, Chavanel started a seemingly impossible solo ride. The Frenchman gathered no more than half a minute on the chase group where Van Avermaet took most of the initiative on the Leberg and the Molenberg.

After that last climb of the day, Chavanel was caught, creating a lead group of 10 men: Chavanel, Van Avermaet, Thomas, Paolini, Roelandts, Vandenbergh, Vandousselaere, Garcia, Wynants and Bandiera.

At the kilometres long pavé sections of the Paddestraat and Lippenhovestraat, Vandenbergh accelerated with only Paolini being able to hold the wheel of the tall Belgian rider.

On the following windy roads, the duo extended its lead up to nearly half a minute over the eight-man strong chase group by the time they reached the final pavé section (2500m) of the Lange Munte at 20km from the finish line in Ghent. None of the chasers tried to set-up a solo move on these cobbles, but also together they weren't able to get closer to the two leaders despite the cold headwind.

Results:

1 Luca Paolini (Ita) Team Katusha

2 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team

3 Sven Vandousselaere (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
4 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling
5 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
6 Marco Bandiera (Ita) IAM Cycling
7 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team
8 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol
9 Maarten Wijnants (Bel) Team Blanco
10 Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits

And as always, I have to give the latest RSLT or Andy Schleck update. Apparently, I am not the only one who thinks that Andy isn't giving it his all. The difference is that, I'm not part of the Luxembourg Cycling Federation...

Luxemburg cycling chief: Andy Schleck must pull himself together


The head of the Luxembourg Cycling Federation has doubts about Andy Schleck's chances of making a successful comeback frtom injury in 2013, saying “right now it doesn't look good. All the evidence indicates that Andy this winter simply didn't work and train enough.”

Jean Regenwetter told Wort.lu: “Andy let things get away from him in training the last two years. He must pull himself together, otherwise he can just write off the 2013 season right now.”
The younger Schleck brother's talent is not enough, Regenwetter said. “Andy has a good engine but such a engine wants to be used and tested to its limits. When a top athlete's muscles are not used, they go to sleep.”

Schleck has had limited racing so far this season. He began the year at the Tour Down Under but abandoned on the sixth stage. His only other race was the Tour de Med, which he abandoned on the first stage due to a breathing problem.
It is not too late for the RadioShack-Leopard captain to save his season, Regenwetter said. “There is enough time before the Tour de France for him to find his old strength. And Andy is someone who can quickly throw the switch when his season highlight nears.”

He must not wait too long, though. “Contador, Froome or Rodriguez have already shown that they are in good shape. Andy is running behind and that is never a good sign.”

Regenwetter said Fränk's doping problem has not helped, but should not be an excuse. “His brother's suspension surely didn't help Andy. But to be honest, Andy should already have trained before the decision was announced.
“As is often said, there's always hope. Andy can still change things around.”

After deciding to miss the Tour du Haut Var-Matin, Schleck headed to Mallorca to train. He is expected to part in the Grand Premio Città di Camaiore, in Tuscany on February 28.

2012 Tour de France Stage 9, 7/09/12

July 9, Stage 9: Arc-et-Senans - Besançon (ITT) 41.5km

Wiggins crushes time trial in Besançon

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-9/results)

Team Sky stamped their authority on the Tour de France with a commanding display in the 41.5-kilometre time trial to Besançon. Race leader Bradley Wiggins won in a time of 51:24 with teammate Chris Froome in second at 35 seconds. The result moved Froome up to third in the general classification and strengthened Wiggins’s grip on yellow.

Defending champion Cadel Evans (BMC) lost time at each time check point before finishing 6th, 1:43 behind Wiggins. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale), who started the day in third place overall, managed to limit his losses, finishing in 8th, 2:07 down on Wiggins, and now lies 4th in the race for yellow.

"I'm just really pleased with how I put the day together, mentally, too. The noise when I rolled off the ramp was incredible and not letting that phase me and not going out too hard. So I’m just really satisfied with how I put the whole day together an that’s what I’ve been focusing. So at the moment it’s just relief and pride in myself for doing that," Wiggins said.

"When I get back tonight, that when you start thinking about the context of how it fits into the whole Tour and everything. Numbers are being thrown around, you got this on Cadel, this on him but at the moment it’s a lot to take in."

Heading into the stage BMC had hoped to limit their losses to less than a minute but after just a few kilometres of Evans’s ride Wiggins was up on the 2011 winner. At the first time check, 16.5km into the stage, Wiggins cruised through at a time of 21:05, five seconds up on Froome but already over a minute up on Evans. The Sky pair obliterated the time of Fabian Cancellara and from there Evans began a campaign of damage limitation.

At the second time check at 31.5 kilometres it looked to be working with Wiggins only adding 19 seconds to his time on the Australian but by the finish the British rider had extended his lead to 1:43, the exact time gap between the two riders posted at last month’s Dauphine.

Earlier in the day, world time trial champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) cut a sorry figure on the start ramp in Arc-et-Senans. With a wrist strapped due to a broken bone the German was perhaps riding his last stage in this year’s Tour but his luck, which as deserted him throughout the race, was in no mood of changing, and within the first few kilometres suffered a puncture. Despite the misfortune Martin posted the fastest time at each check point to take an early but incomprehensive lead.

Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan) put Martin out of his misery setting a time 39 seconds faster at the first check, and 1:19 quicker at the finish. However, when French time trial champion Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) came through the first check just a handful of seconds down on the Swiss rider, it was clear that the former world time trial champion was far from firing on all cylinders.

It wasn’t until Tejay van Garderen (BMC) came through the first check three seconds faster that it was confirmed that Cancellara would not repeat his prologue success. The American, riding in just his second Tour, looked at ease over the testing first part of the course, catching Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) for three minutes and going fastest at the second check. Although he tired by the finish, crossing the line nine seconds down on Cancellara, the RadioShack-Nissan rider’s position was in the line of fire.

By now the GC contenders, Froome included in that echelon, were on the road. The Kenyan-born rider, who beat Wiggins in an individual time trial at the Vuelta last September, stormed to a 24-second lead at the first check. Denis Menchov (Katusha), in his Russian national time trial champion's kit, could only manage 7th with Nibali in 10th and Evans 12th. Wiggins was still to reach the 16.5km mark but his rhythm and speed looked on course, and he crossed the check point five seconds faster than Froome.

Sky’s Froome was looking almost as assured as Wiggins in his time trial position, out of the saddle on the rolling terrain, and faster than Van Garderen at the second check point. Wiggins came in 16 seconds faster than Froome, cementing his position as Sky’s undoubted leader in the race.

Menchov crossed the line, then Nibali, but both were off the pace and looking set to lose over two minutes. Froome meanwhile had crushed Cancellara by 22 seconds with just Evans and Wiggins left on the road.

Having gained 35 seconds on Froome, 1:43 on Evans and over 2 minutes on his nearest rival Wiggins will be greatly satisfied with his day and tomorrow’s rest day will give the British rider time to let the events sink in. The Tour is far from over but Wiggins has landed a heavy blow.

Full Results

1	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:51:24
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:35
3	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:57
4	Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:01:06
5	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep	0:01:24
6	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team	0:01:43
7	Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-QuickStep	0:01:59
8	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:02:07
9	Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team	0:02:08
10	Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan	0:02:09

2012 Tour de France Stage 4, 7/04/12

July 4, Stage 4: Abbeville - Rouen 214.5km

Greipel wins Tour de France stage in Rouen

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-4/results)

Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol) opened his account at the 2012 Tour de France with a sprint victory in Rouen. The German came off the wheel of lead-out man Greg Henderson and powered to the stage win ahead of Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD) and Tom Veelers (Argos-Shimano).

However, the build-up to the sprint was marred by a crash with 2.5km remaining as several sprinters hit the tarmac, including world champion Mark Cavendish (Sky). Bernhard Eisel, Cavendish's teammate and Robbie Hunter (Garmin-Sharp) also hit the deck, with Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan) lucky to escape the carnage.

But Lotto made their own luck, controlling the peloton through the final few kilometres and delivering Greipel to a winning position. It drew memories of HTC's former dominance, not just in the fact that five of Lotto's current cast came through the Highroad ranks but also in their efficient nature. While they assumed the mantle of responsibility the other sprinters, including Cavendish, were left fighting for their positions.

"I'm so happy today. I am so happy to have those guys on my side, such strong riders to lead me out. This is what we wanted to reach today, winning a stage," Greipel said at the finish.

Greipel, it must be noted, was the only top level sprinter to pass on competing in the intermediate sprint but Peter Sagan consolidated his lead in the battle for green with a sixth place in Fécamp. He also navigated through the crash to finish 5th on the stage, just one place behind Matthew Goss, who was never able to come on terms with his ex-teammate. Sagan now leads the race for green with 147 points with Goss next on 92.

The top of general classification remains unchanged as Fabian Cancellara continues in the yellow jersey with a seven-second lead over Bradley Wiggins (Sky) and Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-QuickStep).

Battered riders welcome calm start

After yesterday's chaos came the calm, with a 214 kilometre stage from Abbeville to Rouen. With no wind and only four fourth categorised climbs the peloton was in no mood to see a repeat of yesterday's events. So there was little surprise when a three-man break, comprised of Yukiya Arashiro (Europcar), Anthony Delaplace (Saur-Sojasun) and David Moncoutie (Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne), was allowed to escape.

With no GC threat in the break's ranks the trio was allowed to build its lead to over 8 minutes while the bunch meandered along the French coastline. RadioShack-Nissan, with Cancellara in yellow, was obliged to keep the gap in check and dutifully set tempo on the front.

At the back of the bunch Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank) and Tom Danielson (Garmin-Sharp) nursed their broken bones, riding in single file with the sole ambitions of finishing. The gradual pace was a godsend.

At the intermediate sprint in Fécamp, Arashiro took the maximum points but the race behind briefly came to life when the peloton approached. Cavendish showed a clean pair of heels to Goss and Renshaw, with Sagan sweeping up a consolatory 9 points. Greipel's absence from the action was an ominous sign, though, and in his post-stage press conference he confirmed that the battle for green was of no interest.

With RadioShack-Nissan having performed the majority of the chase work it was the sprinters' teams who finished off the break's last ray of hope with 8.5 kilometres to go. FDJ-Big Mat, Katusha, Orica GreenEdge and Lotto Belisol showed their intentions while Sky and Rabobank briefly sat back.

An immediate counter-attack containing Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), only seven seconds off the race lead of Fabian Cancellara, plus Wout Poels (Vacansoleil-DCM) gained a small advantage, but this trio, too, was neutralised with 3.5 kilometers to go.

And then the crash: Cavendish, Eisel and Hunter were among those involved, the Austrian left with a gash on his forehead, while the world champion was left sitting on the French tarmac, his stage hopes and green jersey aspirations almost over.

Sagan and Cancellara avoided the bodies and bikes but the peloton was shattered to pieces. Argos-Shimano, Lotto Belisol and Orica GreenEdge had virtually intact lead-outs but Lotto, with Henderson, Hansen, Roelandts and Sieberg, had the survivors in check.

"We had Lars [Bak] up at the front working," Hansen said at the finish. "Towards the end there was a bit of a climb and Lars held his position well. Then we had Jelle doing the climb. Then from the top of the climb, it was my job to keep them in front, using the guys from the other teams and sitting on them, always keeping a good position and then I let go about two and a half and there were two guys behind me from different teams and that was good. And behind them there was Sieberg, Roelandts, then Greg did his work and André finished it off. It was perfect."

Goss and Petacchi, the latter racing without a final lead-out man, were left to fight it out for Greipel's rear wheel but this was textbook Greipel. Often he can go missing in the messy sprints but if delivered to the final 200 meters he is Cavendish's closest rival. Petacchi made a late surge on the German's right but it wasn't enough, the Italian no longer the sprinter he once was.

Full Results

 

1	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team	5:18:32
2	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
3	Tom Veelers (Ned) Argos-Shimano
4	Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
5	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
6	Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
7	Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
8	Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
9	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
10	Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi

2012 Tour de France Stage 1, 7/01/12

July 1, Stage 1: Liège - Seraing 198km

Sagan triumphs in Seraing

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-1/results)

Peter Sagan of Liquigas-Cannondale took his first Tour de France win in the first stage of his first Tour de France, outsprinting yellow jersey Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) for the victory. The trio had escaped from the field in the final 1.5km of the stage, under the impetus of a powerful surge from Cancellara, and charged their way up the closing climb in Seraing, Belgium.

There were no changes in the top five of the GC, but the pure time trialists fell out of the top ten. Cancellara easily retained his seven second lead over Sky's Bradley Wiggins with Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) holding third place overall, tied on time with Wiggins.

The stage was marked by a breakaway group which enjoyed approximately 190 kilometers of freedom, but the finale went to the top guns. Although a large group came to the end and was given the time of the winner, the usual sprinters were not involved.

Sagan had been a favourite to take the win on this tricky finish, and Boasson Hagen was no surprise either. But it was not so expected to see Cancellara fighting those two for the stage win, and he has now really shown that he is recovered from his shattered collarbone at the Tour of Flanders and has his self-confidence back.

"Of course people told me I was the favourite," said Sagan. "I knew that Chavanel would try something at the end. I wanted to attack at the hardest section. It was very, very good that Cancellara was there. I saw that he had strong legs. It was good to take it easy behind him."

From the gun

The full complement of 198 riders started on Sunday for the 198 kilometers from Liege to Seraing. And almost immediately after the sharp start, six riders attacked and proved to be the break of the day.

The RadioShack-Nissan-led field was happy to let Yohann Gène (Europcar), Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Maxime Bouet (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Anthony Delaplace (Saur-Sojasun) and Michael Mørkøv (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff) go. Their lead jumped around from 1:10 (after being stopped at a level crossing) to 4:50 but RadioShack-Nissan never let them get too far away, and their advantage settled around the three-minute mark.

Tony Martin's problems in the 2012 Tour de France continued. After the time trial world champion suffered a puncture in the prologue, he proceeded to crash early on in this stage, and seemed to have difficulty staying up with the field much of the day. Open wounds could be seen on the Omega Pharma-QuickStep German's elbow, and it was said he had injured his wrist as well.

The July weather in Belgian is no better than that during the Spring Classics, and the peloton went from overcast to rain to sun, and back again. Fortunately the dry weather prevailed during the nervous finale.

The day's only intermediate sprint came at 139km , and it was hotly contested by both the break group and the peloton. Gene took maximum points at the head of affairs, while in the field Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) claimed seventh place ahead of Mark Cavendish (Sky) and Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol).

The oldest of RadioShack's oldies, 40-year-old Jens Voigt, proved why he was named to ride his 15th Tour. He put in many kilometers at the head of the field and was especially vigilant on the front when the gap to the break had crept up again. The German veteran was instrumental in keeping their lead pegged at a comfortable level, ably assisted by Yaroslav Popovych

Along the way, Morkov and Urtasun fought it out for every mountain point. The Dane was the lucky winner, raising a "number one" finger as he took the penultimate climb, but the Basque rider was quick to congratulate him.

With 50km to go, RadioShack-Nissan turned on the speed again and, helped by a tailwind, brought the gap to under two minutes. The Luxembourg-based team was still, as they had all day, doing all the lead work alone.

The escapees hung on gamely to their lead, even as it dropped. With just about 30km to go, though, it finally fell beneath the one minute mark as behind them the other teams started bringing their captains into position. Finally, too, other teams were seen at the head of the field but the impetus in the field momentarily stalled as the gap to the break slowly crept back up again.

At just about the 23km mark four riders crashed, including Mick Rogers of Sky, two Movistar riders and Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank), who remained on the pavement a long time but eventually got up and continued. Shortly thereafter there was another large crash when a fan saw the need to stand in the road to make photos. The speed had been turned on for good by that time, and the lead group took only 28 seconds into the last 20km. The field, scenting the catch and possibly affected by the crashes, was much more hectic than the six escapees.

It was a rolling, curving lead in to the finale, with everyone going all out. BMC, with Marcus Burghardt, had now moved to the front of the field. The inevitable ultimately happened, and with 9km to go the six leaders were caught. Bouet held out longest, but he had no chance against the field now led by Lotto Belisol. The appearance of Andre Greipel at the head of things showed, though, that the Belgian team was not looking for a mass sprint.

The peloton was strung out as it started up the final climb, but it was still a large group. All the big names were at the front, as Orica-GreenEdge pulled them along. Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) jumped at the 2km marker, but Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge) caught him on the steepest part of the climb. Cancellara pulled the rest of the field up to the two.

And then Cancellara took off with 1.5km to go! Sagan attached himself to the yellow jersey's rear wheel and the two pulled away. Cancellara was unable to drop Sagan and the lead duo were joined by Boasson Hagen with just over 500m to go, and the three went into the closing – and very high-powered – sprint.

As the field came closer and closer Cancellara opened the sprint at the 150 meter marker. Sagan moved easily around the yellow jersey holder and proudly took the win, sitting straight up and appearing to do a victory dance on his bike.

Full Results

1	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	4:58:19
2	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan
3	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
4	Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
5	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
6	Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team
7	Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
8	Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Sharp
9	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Sharp
10	Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep

2012 Tour de France Prologue, 6/30/12

Unless there is an article that really interests me, I will be only focusing on the Tour de France this year. I will post my own recaps if I can, but I will mostly be using cyclingnews.com like I have been recently.

June 30, Prologue: Liège (ITT) 6.4km

Cancellara wins 2012 Tour de France prologue in Liège

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

There was something almost inevitable about it: the scene was perfect, the timing essential, and the man in form. Eight years after his first prologue win in Liege in the Tour de France, ‘Monsieur Prologue’ Fabian Cancellara rolled back the years to claim his fourth Tour de France prologue, with a comprehensive win in the Belgian city on Saturday. 

The RadioShack-Nissan rider turned out a time of 7:13 over the 6.4km course. Not even a determined Bradley Wiggins (Sky) finishing second, 7 seconds down, or world time trial champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) could come close, although the German will feel aggrieved after he set the fastest time at the first time check but suffered a mechanical and was forced to change bikes.

Defending champion Cadel Evans (BMC) finished in 13th place, nine seconds down on Cancellara, with Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) and Denis Menchov (Katusha), Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) impressing with solid performances. French time trial champion Sylvain Chavanel had led for a large portion of the afternoon, nervously awaiting the time trial specialists at the line, but he was demoted, first by Wiggins, and then by Cancellara, to third.

But after all the talk of Wiggins and Evans in the build-up to the race, the day belonged to Cancellara. In the last twelve months, the Swiss rider has found himself on the receiving end of a number of high level losses, with Tony Martin usurping his long-standing crown as the best time triallist in the world, and two campaigns in the Classics without a win.

“I thought about my wife, the baby that’s coming, about team that’s given me help, and I’m proud of having done the work I should have done,” Cancellara said at the finish.

“This victory is even more special than the other ones I’ve had in the Tour de France., Yes, I’m proud, which is important, and I’m also confident about the rest of the Tour.”

There were murmurs that Cancellara was no longer the powerhouse he used to be, his legs slowing as younger riders developed, and despite uncertainty within his team surrounding missed wages and in-fighting, the experience and most importantly the power were there for all to see in Liège.

“I’m looking forward and not looking back. I’m here on the Tour de France not thinking about the past. The last time the Tour was here, in 2004, I beat Lance [Armstrong] by 1.6 seconds and took the jersey, but that was eight years ago. We have to focus on now because if we let [USADA’s decision to manager Johan Bruyneel with doping] crack us, I wouldn’t be able to perform on the road like I did today. It’s up to Lance and Johan to sort out. One year I was in Bjarne Riis’s team, and he stayed away from the Tour to leave us in peace, so I’ve experienced this before. Johan is just leaving us to get on with the job in peace.”

Liège loosens the Tour tension

The pro peloton had descended on Liège on Wednesday, settling into a pattern of reconnaissance and press conferences. By Friday, as the final pre-race press noise died down, it was clear that the peloton were ready to race. The tension was clear in Liège on Saturday morning with riders testing themselves over the prologue course. Wind variants were considered, final adjustments made to bikes and in the end it was Tom Veellers (Argos-Shimano) who set the ball rolling. The Tour had finally started.

A number of early pacesetters came and went until Brett Lancaster posted the first serious time of the day with a time of 7:24. The GreenEdge rider was edged out by Sky’s Edvald Boasson Hagen but it wasn’t long before Chavanel was on the road.

The Frenchman has improved greatly against the clock in the last twelve months – something he has put down to overcoming a longstanding back problem – and had already won the time trial in De Panne this spring. Along the Liège course he married power with precision, dancing through the few corners in the tricolore of France.

It looked like an unlikely winner could be crowned when he crossed the line in 7:20 and when Philippe Gilbert, David Millar and Andreas Klöden all failed topple the Omega Pharma-QuickStep rider, France dreamed of their first opening day win since Jacky Durand in 1994.

Chavanel took his seat at the finish, French television glued to his every facial expression as rider after rider came over the line. Peter Sagan (Liquigas) who many pundits had fancied as a potential winner stormed out of the blocks but he paid for his enthusiasm, pulling his foot out on one of two roundabouts, and losing 17 seconds by the finish.

Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) came close, two seconds down but Tony Martin, resplendent in his rainbow bands looked to be the biggest threat. A teammate of Chavanel he drew level with the Frenchman at the first time check but a bike change disrupted his rhythm and cost the German vital seconds. The cameras remained glued to Chavanel.

Now it was down to Wiggins, grimacing with intent as he left the start house. Two years ago the Sky leader paid for his caution in the opening Tour ride through Rotterdam and at the first time check it looked as though a repeat performance was in store, with tenth place at the first time check.

But Wiggins isn’t the Tour favourite without reason, and on the return leg the former pursuit rider showed his form and quality, overhauling Chavanel – who cracked a smile at least – and moving into provisional yellow. By now Cancellara was waiting for the countdown to his depart, but perhaps more importantly Evans was moving towards the start house. It’s unknown if he knew that Wiggins was leading.

At the first time check, Cancellara was faster than Chavanel by a mere second and with Evans on the road it became a three-way battle for the race’s first yellow jersey. Yet by the line Cancellara had stomped his authority on the race’s first skirmish.

Full Results

1	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan	0:07:13
2	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:07
3	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
4	Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:00:10
5	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling	0:00:11
6	Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
7	Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos - Shimano	0:00:12
8	Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team	0:00:13
9	Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
10	Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team

Other Favorite Pic of the Day:

Mark Cavendish

Predicting the TdF & 2012 Tour de Suisse Stage 1

Here is some non-RadioShack Nissan Trek news.

The Critérium du Dauphiné may be foreshadowing the Tour de France. Especially the showdown between Bradley Wiggins and Cadel Evans:

Evans and Wiggins in dress rehearsal for Tour de France

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/evans-and-wiggins-in-dress-rehearsal-for-tour-de-france)

The Tour de France may be the big summer blockbuster of the cycling season, but the Critérium du Dauphiné has provided an enticing teaser trailer to date, as leading men Cadel Evans (BMC) and Bradley Wiggins (Sky) have strived to deliver all the killer lines during the week thus far.

Against the watch, Wiggins has been clearly superior and delivered a knockdown if not quite a knockout blow in the long time trial to Bourg-en-Bresse on Thursday afternoon. On the open road, however, it is Evans who has been more inclined to throw fortune to the wind, first powering clear to victory on the run-in to Saint-Vallier on Monday and then attempting to repeat the feat on the treacherous descent of the Col du Grand Colombier on stage 5 on Friday.

In an off-the-cuff move, Evans slipped clear in a solid group that included teammates George Hincapie and Tejay van Garderen, as well as Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale), and it took a whole-hearted chase from Wiggins and Sky to bring them back.

"It was Europcar who put a little bit of pressure on the descent as I think they were familiar with it," Evans said. "There were gaps in the peloton and the opportunity presented itself to us. It was a long way to the finish and a long shot but sometimes we have to take those opportunities when they come our way and see what we can do with them."

With Richie Porte in particular putting in a lengthy stint on the front of the peloton, the Evans group was never able to able to stretch its gap much beyond 30 seconds, but while the bomb was quickly defused, the tension lingered a little longer.

Indeed, once the peloton came back within sight of Evans and company, it was Wiggins himself who closed the gap, bridging across alone with a move that spoke volumes about his desire to implicitly but unmistakably remind his rival of his Tour aspirations.

"The team did incredible work afterwards to bring them back and when we had them in sight, I finished the job myself to take some pressure off my teammates," Wiggins said by way of explanation.

The Englishman has looked impregnable throughout this Dauphiné, with Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) among those estimating that Wiggins simply cannot be beaten this week. "I don't think Evans is going to drop Wiggins tomorrow," Schleck said. "I don't think there's anyone who can beat Wiggins here given the way that he's riding."

That said, Wiggins admitted that he and his teammates had been caught napping when Evans swooped over the top of the Grand Colombier. Conditions were treacherous on the greasy and recently patched-up roads on the way down, and they initially approached the descent with a degree of caution.

"We did what we had to do to defend the jersey," Wiggins said. "Approaching the summit of the Grand Colombier we were warned that the descent was dangerous, but some riders forced it and there were breaks in the peloton. Cadel and three of his guys managed to get into that group, and it was a bit of an error on our part."

As Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) pointed out at the finish, however, the road surface was far more amenable near the base of the descent, and Sky and Wiggins were able to make their strength count once again. "We went away on the top of the descent where the roads were wet and then they brought us back when they had started to dry up," he said.

Ultimately, Wiggins and Evans rolled in side by side in the main peloton, although the Australian did get some reward for his endeavour. With Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) distanced on the Grand Colombier, he now moves up into fourth place overall.

"In the end, it was reasonably successful because I think it's moved me up one place on GC," Evans said. "It certainly wasn't a race-winning move, but it was a possibility to help me at least get out on the podium."

Overall, Evans remains 1:44 behind Wiggins ahead of Saturday's queen stage over the Col de Joux Plane into Morzine. Such a gap may prove insurmountable in one day, but there is plenty of scope for some more jostling ahead of the main feature in July.

June 9, Stage 1: Lugano (ITT) 7.3km

Sagan wins stage 1 at Tour de Suisse

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tour-de-suisse-2012/stage-1/results)

Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) flew along the 7.3km time trial course in the opening stage of the Tour de Suisse, taking on every risk on his way to victory and the first leader's jersey of the race, with a time of 9:43. He beat none other than homeland favourite Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan), by four seconds, with Sagan's teammate Moreno Moser third at seven seconds.

The 7.3km city course through Lugano may well have looked familiar, as it was the identical course from last year. Cancellara had won here the last two years, but was unable to repeat that today.

Martin Elmiger of AG2R was the first rider to break the 10 minute mark, but his time was soon broken by Moreno Moser of Liguigas-Cannondale, who came in at 9:50.

Fränk Schleck was trying to make things good again in Switzerland after dropping out of the Giro d'Italia, and put in a decent time of 10:19. Tom Danielson of Garmin-Barracuda came in only three seconds faster.

Cancellara showed that he is perhaps now finally fully recovered from the shattered collarbone he suffered in the Tour of Flanders. He was surprisingly far down at the first intermediate time check, but made up enormous amounts of time on the final half of the course, coming in three seconds faster than Moser.

His time atop the leader board didn't last long, though, as Sagan blitzed the course. He set a new best time at the intermediate time check, and took every chance on the last half with its tricky descent. It paid off, as he jetted across the line four seconds faster than Cancellara.

Results

1	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:09:43
2	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:04
3	Moreno Moser (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:07
4	Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale	0:00:11
5	Fredrik Carl Wilhelm Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:00:15
6	Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team	0:00:17
7	Dario Cataldo (Ita) Omega Pharma - QuickStep	0:00:18
8	Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Pro Team Astana	0:00:19
9	Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:00:20
10	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:22



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