Crashes: A Hazard of Professional Cycling

Do you remember this?

In the 2011 Tour de France, a media car ran into Juan Flecha, who ran into Johnny Hoogerland. Hoogerland had the unfortunate experience of flipping over a barbed wire fence. Despite the pain and blood, Hoogerland finished the stage and took the KOM jersey. If you don't remember this incident, feel free to read my blog post about it here: The Stage 9 Crash.

I feel like Hoogerland has to be one of the most unlucky riders in the peloton, as he is now in the intensive care unit after another accident on Sunday:

Hoogerland hospitalized after training accident

Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil-DCM) is in the hospital this evening after a collision with a car while out training. The Dutch rider sustained fractured ribs and will spend the night in hospital before he undergoes further tests.

Hoogerland had been training in Spain ahead of the Tour Méditerranée.

In a press statement the team said, "The rider of Vacansoleil-DCM was going slightly downhill in front of the scooter which was going to motopace him for another hour or so. A turning car didn't see the rider coming and hit the unfortunate Hoogerland."

The team added that they will release more information on Monday.

Although I haven't seen any more details released about Hoogerland's condition on cyclingnews.com, I did learn on Twitter that he has "five broken ribs, cracks off vertebrae 8 through 12, and a bruised liver" (Source: Twitter via Jose Been / TourdeJose.)

Get well soon Johnny!!!

There was another crash yesterday that I wanted to mention: Sacha Modolo. This was the rider that crossed the finish line second to Mark Cavendish on the first stage of this year's Tour de San Luis. Modolo then came back and out-sprinted Cavendish the next day. I had never heard of Modolo until the Tour de San Luis, but I put him on my Fantasy Cycling team for the first stage of the Tour of Qatar.

Other than checking how well I scored in the stage, I hadn't really looked over the results or report on the Tour of Qatar, and while I was trying to figure out my Team Time Trial roster, I couldn't decide if I wanted to keep Modolo for future sprints or bring in an extra BMC rider for the TTT. My instant gratification won out, and I traded Modolo. When I woke up and checked up on stage two, I was surprised that he had been in a crash on Sunday, and didn't start. I'm glad I listened to my gut and took him off my team, but it is always sad to see a rider in a crash.

Modolo quits the Tour of Qatar

Italian sprinter Sacha Modolo (Bardiani Valvole – CSF Inox) has been forced to quit the Tour of Qatar after x-rays confirmed he fractured his scaphoid in his wrist. Initial reports said Modolo had fractured his left scaphoid. The team has today reported it his right wrist.

Modolo went to hospital in Doha before the start of the stage two team time trial. On his return, his teammates headed out for the 14km test against the lock while Modolo prepared to return to Italy.

“Due to a distraction, I fell down trying to rider over a step," Modolo said in a statement from the team.

"I’m sorry for the team, I arrived here with a good shape and the aim to achieve some good results in Qatar and then in Oman. Now I have to recover as quickly as possible and reschedule the first part of season from scratch."

Sacha Modolo travel Italy today and hopes to quickly begin training on an indoor-trainer. He had shown his early-season form by beating Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step) to win stage two of the Tour de San Luis.

Get well soon Sacha!! We can't wait to have you back!

Nibali Unhappy, Schleck in the Back

Six months later, and I am back. Sorry for the hiatus, but I needed to step away for a while. My passion for cycling had lowered at the end of the Tour de France, and so I just needed to back off for a while. However, I am back now, and that is what counts. I may not post every day, but I am going to try to post more often than once every six months.

On twitter this morning, Cyclingnews.com posted the link for the article: "Nibali regrets not joining Team Sky". I don't follow Nibali as much as other riders so I wasn't sure what this article meant. I took it as Nibali regretted not joining Team Sky this year, so I was confused: I thought he wanted to be team leader, to win in a Grand Tour. Why did he regret not joining, when if he had joined, he would probably have been third to Wiggins and Froome? Of course, once I read the article, it all made sense...and I feel bad for Nibali. I mean, it could have been him winning the 2012 Tour de France, instead of Wiggins, since it really is a team sport.

Nibali regrets not joining Team Sky

Vincenzo Nibali has told Cyclingnews that he regrets not being able to break his contract with the Liquigas team at the end of 2009 and sign for Team Sky.

The Italian was lined up to sign for the British team to be their Grand Tours leader in their inaugural year. As well as meeting with a Team Sky intermediary, Nibali also met with Team Sky’s management with a multi-year contract put in front of him.

Speaking exclusively to Cyclingnews at the Tour de San Luis, Nibali said: “I was very close to joining Sky, yes that’s true. I met with Max Sciandri to discuss a move and we met a few times. Then I had a meeting with the Team Sky management during the year. In the end I couldn’t move because of the contract with Liquigas. Sky offered me a contract though and I was very close to signing but couldn’t break the Liquigas contract.”

“Do I wish I’d signed? It was new team and I was looking forward to being part of a big international team. Yes, I wish I’d been able to ride for them then.”

Nibali eventually left Liquigas this winter, signing for Astana, where he will lead their charge at the Giro d’Italia this May. With Alberto Contador heading to the Tour in July many expect Nibali and Bradley Wiggins – the rider who was signed after the Italian's Team Sky deal fell through – to fight it out for the maglia rosa.

The Giro d'Italia organisers have attempted to create a finely balanced route for 2013, one that offers both the climbers and time trialists equal opportunities to shine. With 74.9 kilometres of time trialing, Wiggins can expect to severely dent Nibali’s chances. The Italian lost roughly six minutes in last year’s Tour de France to Wiggins against the clock.

However the Italian believes that the style of climbs in the Giro d'Italia will suit his characteristics better and the fact that there’s no final time trial offers the climbers of Nibali’s ilk further encouragement.

“The climbs are very difficult and different to the ones in the Tour. Wiggins is certainly a very good rider and there’s a long time trial for him but the race is wide open. I’m going to give my best and you have to remember that Wiggins won’t have the same team as he had at the Tour last year. Sky is a great team but they can’t send the same team to the Giro and to the Tour, so they have to decide where they split their strengths,” he told Cyclingnews.

“I don’t know who they’ll send to the Giro but I read the papers and from what I can see Wiggins will do ride the Giro, and Froome will ride the Tour. Wiggins is a big competitor with a lot of character but the road will decide.”

The time bonuses on offer are another reason for Nibali to be cheerful.

"They could be really important," he said. "For example Cunego won a Giro thanks to time bonuses in 2004. This year the course doesn’t have a final time trial. It would be better for Wiggins if there was final time trial but the final week suits the climbers better.”

The Giro isn’t Nibali’s only target in 2013. The Italian differs from a number of current grand tour riders in that he races throughout the season and at a consistent level – from attacking at Milano-Sanremo to aggressive riding at Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Il Lombardy – the 28-year-old selects a number of targets but without being fixated on one goal.

“In the last few years I’ve raced from the start of the season right up until the end. I was second at Liege last year, only just missing out and I was third at the Tour. I don’t like to start a season with just one target and there are so many big races in the calendar. The most important race is of course the Tour but it’s not the only important one.”

“When I was growing up I was a big Moser fan. I loved how he’d work towards finding new technologies. My father had a VHS of his wins and I’d watch that all the time and feel inspired. I like to be like him because he’d try and look for new technologies as a rider and that’s something I’m interested in. But Moser didn’t just target one race, like the Tour, and I’m like that too.”

Leading Astana

Currently finding form in Argentina at San Luis, Nibali appears to be settling in nicely with his new team. Each evening after dinner he leads his teammates down into the lobby for a quick coffee. The team has certainly thrown their weight behind him too. Earlier this month Astana and Specialized began a special project to work on his time trial position. Nibali is also now able to pick his own race programme. This and a significant pay increase, appear to have been a major incentive in his decision to move to Astana.

“It’s been a really nice experience so far. The team is trying to look to the future and we’re doing the best that we can. I feel good, and I’m the leader here. I’ve come because I wanted to try a new experience in an international team. I spent a lot of years at Liquigas but I wanted a change, a different environment, and here I’m the only leader and that’s something that’s really good for me,” he told Cyclingnews.

“It was a big step, I know that, but I’m not sentimental about the past and I don’t miss the old squad. And while it’s an international team here there are also a good number of Italians here as well.”

“For an Italian rider it’s important that I do the biggest Italian race. Astana were really interested in me doing the Giro as well. Last year, at Liquigas, it would have been nice if I’d had the chance to decide for myself if I was going to do the Giro or not, especially after seeing the results. Liquigas chose a different programme for me though.”

Now, after Stage 5 of the Santos Tour Down Under, Andy Schleck, is sitting in a comfortable 127th place...that's right, he is second to last. Or my new favorite term, coined by @Thorley_Lydia, #SchleckndFromLast. 

Last year, I remember that us Twitter-folk were worried about riders peaking too early, so far in advance of the Tour de France. However, this is just crazy. I know Schleck was out most of last season with a fractured hip, but second from last? I'm worried that five months from now he will still not be ready, although it seems he believes differently:

Andy Schleck rediscovering his way at Tour Down Under

It was during Stage 2 of the Tour Down Under when Andy Schleck's happiness and relief at being back on the bike was evident for all to see. In the last 12 months he's been handed a Tour de France title in a way in which he did not want it bestowed, and been to hell and back with injury. It was time to ride and it wasn't just about staying out of trouble in a nervous peloton, nor was it a training exercise.

"Why should it always be Jens [Voigt] that is riding [on the front]?" Schleck had told his RadioShack Leopard teammates during the pre-stage meeting. "I can ride as well. Riding in the front in the wind, suffering; that is what makes my shape better and stronger so that's the main goal. I won't hesitate the next day to do the same. I like it. I ride in the front and of course it hurts. Sometimes when I am really hurting, I hope that the guys behind are hurting also. I like to do it and I'm really, really happy to be back in the bunch again in the peloton. It's something different when you can do something like I did today."

It's Schleck's first appearance at the Tour Down Under after years of gentle nudging from former teammate, Adelaide local Stuart O'Grady. It's only now, as part of his build up to full competition following his crash at the Dauphine last June which left him with a fractured pelvis, that the Australian WorldTour event has been an option. Schleck's return began at the season-ending Tour of Beijing.

"Beijing was hard because I knew that I'd go back there and I probably had better shape when I was a junior than when I went to Beijing," he told Cyclingnews. "It was terrible but I went there because I want to race. It was not a good idea I found out after three days but still I finished the stage and I was happy. The positive thing about it was that it was the kick off for my new season again.

"To come here, mentally it was easy, really easy. I was counting the days to come here. Beijing was really different..."

The schedule Schleck has to have

Schleck's 2013 calendar is packed in the lead-up to the 100th Tour de France. After the Tour Down Under the 27-year-old will race the Tour of the Mediterranean, Tour du Haut Var, GP Nobili, Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, Criterium International and the Tour of the Basque Country.

From there, he will probably head to the Tour of California and wrap up his preparations with the Tour de Suisse, before heading to Corsica for the Tour's Grand Depart.

That's a lot of racing for someone essentially starting from scratch, but he's unconcerned about it potentially being a case of too much, too soon.

"I think I have pretty wide shoulders on that kind of [thing]. I am not afraid of that," Schleck. "People ask me, 'You might be over trained?' I don't know one guy who is over trained. For me it's a myth so ..."

The time is now

Schleck will turn 28 this year, an age that he admits is make or break for the rider that he could potentially become.

"I am definitely going to improve," he said. "The best age of a cyclist is between 28 and 32. That is what they say. I hope I am not an exception, or I'm not different. But it's also kind of ... cycling is mentally a really hard sport. My last year, 2012, made me mentally a lot stronger because I realised it is really, really what I want to do - it is winning bike races. Mentally I have no doubt ... it was not good last year. I'm still recovering to come back and be good and be in front in the final of a race. That will come. But I am happy to be here and have a bike number on my jersey and compete."

Returning to the peloton means more clashes with the likes of great rival Alberto Contador (Saxo - Tinkoff) at the grand tours. The Tour de France which he missed in 2012 saw Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome rise to the occasion for Sky and Schleck wants to pit himself against them all.

"For me now I can tell you 100 names I have to beat first! Wait I was 89th today [Wednesday] so 98 now!" he joked. "I go with of course big ambitions into the season but I know it's going to be a bumpy road until I am where I want to be because it's not easy, you cannot build up shape in three months, it's simply not possible. Maybe some say so but no, if you ask me, not."

But for now, Schleck is all about getting back to the normal and it's not just about racing the big events, it's also about rediscovering the confidence he needs to just be able to sit in the peloton.

"I am a little, I won't say scared, but I think it's also normal because you have to get used to riding in the peloton again. I rode in Beijing but that was more like behind the peloton than in the peloton so ... it worries me a little bit, honestly but it just takes time."

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

Tour de San Luis, Stage Tres

So, after saying yesterday that he won't contest the Tour de San Luis...guess who is sitting in first place...

January 25, Stage 3: Estancia Grande - Mirador del Potrero 168.2km

Contador conquers Mirador

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-san-luis/stage-3/results)

Despite claiming that he's trying to shed 7.5kg of extra weight and wouldn't be a factor in the Tour de San Luis, Alberto Contador showed his class on the race's first mountaintop finish to take his first victory of 2012 and the race lead.

Contador reeled in the attack of home favourite Daniel Diaz (San Luis Somos Todos) along with Italian Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) in the finale of the 5km ascent of Mirador del Potrero, but was able to ride the pair off his wheel in the final kilometer.

”It was a perfect day for us with total control," said Saxo Bank director Philippe Mauduit. "Going towards the first climb we were in the first line and we put Jesus (Hernandez) in the breakaway in the climb and gained control of the pack on the descent and reeled in the escapees before launching Alberto (Contador) on the final ascent.

"He was superb. Naturally, he's not going to be in shape for the Tour just now but still he's the best. It was simply a great feeling watching him take off and take that first season win and we'll try to defend the leader's jersey."

American Levi Leipheimer (Omega Pharma-Lotto) answered Contador's challenge, however, and continued to surge through to the finish where the Spaniard prevailed in a two-up sprint. Colombian Miguel Angel Rubiano (Androni Giocattoli) completed the stage podium five seconds later in third place, followed by Stefan Schumacher (Christina Watches) in fourth and Diaz, who hung on for fifth at 12 seconds.

"Alberto's got more punch than me and I think when it comes down to hit he knows how to sprint better than I do and he showed that here today," Leipheimer told Cyclingnews. "I felt really good. My team worked really hard before the last climb, and I think that that helped, but it was really windy. There was alot of headwind and sections where we went into the mountain and there was a tailwind and no wind and I tried to attack every time there but it was very short-lived.

"I'd come into the headwind and let off the gas. I had a feeling that everyone was just hanging on but there's not a lot you can do about that."

Leipheimer was the only rider to answer Contador's winning attack, and the Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider was quick to continue pushing the pace to the finish line.

"When Alberto put in his last attack and I was the only one with him. I pulled a lot because tomorrow's a time trial and if you gain seconds over people it means a lot," said Leipheimer. "I had the feeling that Alberto was on the limit, but it was just a choice I made and I think it was a good one."

With the winner's time bonus, Contador now leads Leipheimer by four seconds on general classification with Stefan Schumacher third at 19 seconds. Tomorrow the Tour de San Luis peloton faces a flat, 19.5km individual time trial in the city of San Luis.

"Alberto and I are pretty close in the time trial but I've been able to beat him a lot in the past so hopefully tomorrow I can do it," said Leipheimer.

Double dose of category one climbs loom

The first course of action following the start in the picturesque, sylvan setting of Estrancia Grande was to attend to a rash of mechanicals suffered by riders such as sprint leader Emmanuel Guevara (San Luis Somos Todos), Luis Mansilla (Chile), Jimmy Casper (Ag2R) and Juan Jose Haedo (Saxo Bank).

Soon afterwards two riders, Tomas Metcalfe (Carmin-Prio) and Gregory Duarte (Uruguay), went out on the attack in advance of the day's first KOM, the category 3 La Florida ascent at 26km, a mere prelude to the two category one climbs to come.

Renato Dos Santos (Brazil) left the confines of the peloton in a solo chase and at the base of the La Florida ascent trailed Metcalfe and Duarte by 40 seconds while the field was 2:30 in arrears.

Metcalfe crossed the La Florida summit first, followed by Duarte and Dos Santos, and the now three-strong break had extended its advantage over the peloton to 3:40

With the monster Alto de Nogoli summit looming at 60km, the peloton was momentarily keeping its powder dry and the three leaders continued to stretch their lead to over six minutes as they began the 25.5km ascent.
When the escapees extended their advantage to 8:00 minutes pressure began to be applied in the peloton, resulting in a decimated field.

By the time the three leaders closed to within 4km of the summit an elite selection of approximately 20 riders had emerged as the first chase group, only three minutes back, and included Jesus Hernandez (Saxo Bank), Cayetano Sarmiento (Liquigas-Cannondale), French champion Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), Sergio Godoy, Alvaro Argiro and Eduardo Sepulveda (Argentina), Miguel Rubiano (Androni Giocattoli) Stiver Ortiz and Mauricio Ardila (Colombia-Comcel), Magno Nazaret (Funvic), David Livramento (Carmin-Prio) and Karol Domagalski (Caja Rural).

Dos Santos crested the Alto de Nogoli climb first, followed by Rubiano and Duarte.

Plenty of riders took risks on the descent off of Alto de Nogoli and fueled by a Saxo Bank-led chase a general regrouping of approximately 60 riders formed at the head of affairs after passing through the first intermediate sprint, claimed by Jorge Giacinti (San Luis Somos Todos).

Angelo Pagani (Colnago-CSF Inox) took advantage of a lull in the action, and launched a solo attack from the front group in the flat prelude to the summit finale.

With approximately 50km to the finish atop the Mirador del Potrero, the Italian's lead stood at 1:45 to the first chase group, with the second chase group 4:25 in arrears.

Closing in on the day's second intermediate sprint a crash occurred in the first chase group with Maximiliano Richeze (Argentina) and recent Vuelta Chile champion Patricio Almonacid hitting the asphalt. Richeze chased back to the group, but sought treatment from the race doctor, while Almonacid abandoned.

Meanwhile, solo leader Pagani suffered his own bad luck as he flatted, hastening the juncture by the 60-strong chase group inside of 18km to go, and the catch was made in advance of the final intermediate sprint, taken by Edvin Avila (Colombia).

With just 11.5km until the finishing ascent, the teams of the general classification contenders came to the fore to set up their team leaders for the showdown on the Mirador del Potrero.

Results, Stage 3:

1	Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Team Saxo Bank	4:29:27
2	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
3	Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col) Androni Giocattoli	0:00:05
4	Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Christina Watches-Ofone	0:00:09
5	Daniel Diaz (Arg) San Luis Somos Todos	0:00:12
6	Cayetano José Sarmiento Tunarrosa (Col) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:26
7	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
8	Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Androni Giocattoli
9	Luis Mansilla (Chi) Chile
10	Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar	0:00:35

Overall, as of Stage 3:

1	Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Team Saxo Bank	12:45:15
2	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-QuickStep	0:00:04
3	Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Christina Watches-Ofone	0:00:19
4	Daniel Diaz (Arg) San Luis Somos Todos	0:00:22
5	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:36
6	Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Androni Giocattoli
7	Cayetano José Sarmiento Tunarrosa (Col) Liquigas-Cannondale
8	Luis Mansilla (Chi) Chile
9	David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Movistar	0:00:45
10	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep

Contador won't contest Tour of San Luis

Contador says he won't be a factor in San Luis

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-says-he-wont-be-a-factor-in-san-luis)

Alberto Contador may be the star of the show at the Tour of San Luis in Argentina, but don't expect him to claim the overall at the end of the race. The Spaniard says he is still losing the weight he put on after this year's Tour de France, and won't play a role in the overall rankings.

“It is difficult now to go up against such well-trained men as Levi Leipheimer and Vincenzo Nibali,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. Nibali, with Liquigas, won the race in 2010.

“After the Tour I did nothing,” Contador said.  “I gained 7.5 kilograms. I have already lost four at the Saxo Bank training camp in Mallorca, but to be able to climb fast, you should be at your ideal weight. “

Still, Team Saxo Bank hoped to see him do well in the mountains,although the team is looking to brothers JJ and Sebastian Haedo to do well in the sprints in their homeland tour.

“We've put together a very versatile and powerful line-up. For the sprints we have both Haedo brothers and of course they're extremely motivated to perform on home ground and JJ seems very slim and focused,” said sports director Philippe Mauduit on the team's website.

“Even though it's early in the season, we can't hide the probability of seeing Alberto (Contador) do well on the climbs and on the time trial halfway through the race. Personally, I'm looking forward to be following our two debutants, Troels (Vinther) and Chris (Juul-Jensen) while Matteo (Tosatto) will be leading the battle on the road. The main goal is simply getting a stage win.”

The Tour of San Luis starts today and runs seven stages through January 29.

Contador's Big Weekend

So even with a big CAS hearing lingering in the shadows, Contador found time to get married this weekend. Congratulations to him and his bride.

Although, I can't help but wonder if there is any truth to Twitter's @dwuori when he posted: "Contador wedding guests refuse to eat anything at reception" :)

Contador calm and confident ahead of CAS hearing

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-calm-and-confident-ahead-of-cas-hearing)

Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) is confident that he will be cleared of wrongdoing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport when it deliberates on his positive test for Clenbuterol at the 2010 Tour de France later this month.

The Spanish Cycling Federation cleared Contador in February, but both the UCI and WADA have appealed the matter to CAS, and the hearings will be held from November 21-24. In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Contador said that he is approaching the hearing “with a lot of calmness and a lot of confidence.”

“When you haven’t done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear,” he insisted. “I’m fighting as a matter of pride, and it’s unthinkable to accept any kind of sanction.”

Even though his future continues to hang in the balance, Contador is already planning his 2012 campaign. After failing in his bid to land a Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double this year, he is unlikely to ride the Italian race as he looks to keep his powder dry for July.

“I don’t think so, not this year,” Contador admitted, and he also stressed that aiming for the Ardennes Classics would be “complicated.”

The only certainty on Contador’s pre-Tour de France calendar appears to be Tirreno-Adriatico, although he is weighing up the possibility of beginning his season considerably earlier than usual in Argentina, at the Tour de San Luis in January.

“I could start from the Tour de San Luis in Argentina, even if I don’t like racing in January, because I’m afraid of coming into form too soon,” he said. “I certainly want to be at Tirreno-Adriatico. It’s a race that I don’t know and it motivates me a lot in a period when I normally reach a good level of form. As for the rest, we’ll see.”

With the Olympic Games getting underway just a week after the end of the Tour de France, Contador is hopeful of making it to London, where he believes he can make an impact in the time trial.

“I’d like to be there, but there are lots of people who want to be there,” he said. “I think I can give a great showing in the time trial, which comes after the Tour.”

While Contador also hinted that he would consider riding the time trial at the world championships in Valkenburg, he admitted that he was concerned by the increasing demands posed by modern cycling’s lengthy season.

“The calendar is already over-saturated,” he said. “You don’t just count racing days, but also the days at training camps to get to the top of your condition. They’re very, very hard days. In 2011, I did 62 days of racing, but out of the first 200 days of the year, I spent 140 away from home.”

Wedding bells

While the CAS hearing dominates Contador’s professional agenda at the end of November, the month begins with an important date in his personal life as he marries long-time girlfriend Macarena Pescador in his hometown of Pinto on Saturday. After a short honeymoon in Rome, the Spaniard will enjoyed a relaxed spell at home before beginning his preparations for next year.

“I like to go hunting, walking in the fields,” he said. “Then I’ll do preparation in the gym and from the end of November, I’ll start getting serious on the bike. I’ll stay in Pinto, although if it gets too cold, I’ll go to the coast.”

In the midst of a period of considerable turbulence, Contador explained that he is pleased to have the chance to spend some time among friends in Pinto.

“I consider myself happy with what I’ve got,” he said. “I try to put aside things that would bother me: falseness, lack of understanding, vested interest friendships. In my group, this doesn’t happen. We’re a very united family, four brothers, each one with his own life, but in constant contact. My friends are the same as I’ve had all my life, and for them it’s the same if I win or lose. Cycling is what we talk about the least.”