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

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

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

Martin wins time trial, overall at Volta ao Algarve

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Emotion is the base line, all the rest is science

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No 'What If….?

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

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

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

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

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

Rodriguez happy to stay at Katusha after CAS verdict

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

"Swiss Newspaper Claims..."

Do you notice anything about the title? If a newspaper is 'claiming' something, they better have evidence to back it up. In this case, not so much.

I read the headline "Swiss newspaper claims Cancellara will miss 2013 Tour de France" on the Radioshack Leopard Trek Fansite, and had a gut feeling that this was an inaccurate article. There are no direct quotes from Cancellara or RSLT, just quotes that the newspaper Blick "reports him saying".

In one part of the article, Cancellara allegedly says he "doesn’t believe that [Andy Schleck] can win this year’s [Tour de France]." In my opinion, why would a well-respected rider come out and be so pessimistic about his teammate? Cancellara wouldn't do that, and RSLT would never allow for that either.

At the bottom of the webpage that this story is on, there are links for related articles. One of the links if for a follow-up article: "Cancellara denies any decision is made concerning Tour de France participation". Thankfully, this article uses direct quotes from Cancellara, including what he posted on this Twitter account: “Dont belive what you read global regarding my raceprogramm. #Full fokus for the #classics after that i will rest, and decide with the team.”
Here are the complete articles for you to read:

Swiss newspaper claims Cancellara will miss 2013 Tour de France

He’s shone in the race in the past, winning five prologues, eight stages in all and holding the record of yellow jerseys [28] amongst the riders who never won the race, but Swiss publication Blick has claimed that Fabian Cancellara won’t line out in this year’s Tour de France.

If accurate, the surprising news denies his RadioShack Leopard team of one of its star riders for the race.

However Cancellara has said that he believes his chances of shining in the race have been limited by the parcours.

“The start in Corsica features neither a prologue nor a time trial,” Blick reports him as saying while explaining his decision.

The 2013 edition will instead feature the first sprinter-friendly stage one finish in over four decades, with the early race against the clock being the team time trial on stage four rather than an individual effort.

The race does also feature two solo TT tests, namely stage eleven’s 33 kilometre race to Mont St. Michel and stage 17’s Chorges TT, but these are not enough to entice him to take part.

Apart from his passing up on the chance to chase a stage win, Cancellara’s absence would also be a blow to the team as he could have done vital work for his team-mate Andy Schleck. However according to Blick, the Swiss rider doesn’t believe that the Luxembourg rider can win this year’s race.

While the route is undoubtedly better than the 2012 course would have been for Schleck, he is still trying to regain his form after a bad crash in last year’s Criterium du Dauphiné.

While Blick doesn't elaborate on Cancellara’s pessimism about Schleck’s chances, the 2010 race winner has himself said that it is conceivable that it could take him until 2014 before he is as strong as he was before.

Cancellara will begin his season in the Tour of Qatar and then continue in the Tour of Oman prior to tackling his big goals, the Classic trio of Milan-Sanremo, the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix. The world championship is likely to be a target in the second half of the year.

Cancellara denies any decision is made concerning Tour de France participation
Contradicting an earlier report in the Swiss publication Blick stating that Fabian Cancellara has decided to miss this year’s Tour de France, both the rider and his RadioShack Leopard team have moved to deny that this is the case.

“Dont belive what you read global regarding my raceprogramm. #Full fokus for the #classics after that i will rest, and decide with the team,” Cancellara stated via Twitter, writing in his distinctive manner.

Team spokesman Tim Vanderjeugd also underlined that the story was inaccurate. “Blick didn't have an interview with Fabian. His program until Paris-Roubaix is fixed; from there on, it's all open,”

The earlier article said that Cancellara noted that there is neither a prologue nor a time trial at next year’s start in Corsica, saying that a decision not to ride the Tour had been taken based on that.

It also said that Cancellara didn’t believe that he needed to go for team support, because he didn’t believe Andy Schleck could win the 2013 race.

Vanderjeugd said that this too is inaccurate.

Cancellara has excelled in previous editions of the race, winning eight stages in all and holding the record of the most yellow jerseys [28] by a rider who hasn’t won the race.

The 2013 Tour will feature three stages in Corsica at the start, with stage one being the first sprinter-specific race in over four decades.

It complicates things if Cancellara wants to try to take yellow again, but he is nevertheless strong enough to be successful in the race.

Before then, and before any decision as to his summer race programme, he will focus on shining in Milan-Sanremo, the Ronde Van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix.

He will begin his season tomorrow in the Tour of Qatar and then continue with the Tour of Oman.

Another suspension because of drugs...

Denis Galimzyanov returns positive test for EPO

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

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

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

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

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

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

Go Sparticus!!!

Cancellara on Strade Bianche triumph: I always ride to win

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cancellara-on-strade-bianche-triumph-i-always-ride-to-win)

Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan) got his team’s season off the mark with a memorable win in Strade Bianche on Saturday but admitted that he’s still short of his best form as he takes aim on another spring classics campaign.

The Swiss rider was arguably the strongest rider during last season’s spring classics but missed out on a big win. He was also roundly beaten by rival Tony Martin in the majority of their time trial battles but his Strade Bianche performance has laid down a marker for the Classics and Cancelllara believes that his form is moving in a positive direction.

“I always ride to win,” he said in his winner’s press conference.

“Last year maybe I was missing a little bit but you can’t do anything about it. I gave it 100 percent in training and even this winter I said I’d gave 100 percent and even if I don’t win races I’ll be satisfied. If you make mistakes you can’t be happy but today it all went perfect and thanks to work of the team and especially Daniele Bennati I won.”

Cancellara will use Tirreno-Adriatico to fine tune his form ahead of Milan San-Remo but an ominous omen for his rivals lies in the fact that his previous triumph in Strade Bianche came the same year as his win in la classica di Primavera, back in 2008.

“I hadn’t raced since Oman and today felt there was something missing: the race rhythm. I don’t know where my form is at the moment. It’s not 100 percent. I’m on the way to improving. That’s important. It’s important to stay relaxed.”

Cancellara added that his win today was as due to his own mental fortitude and strength as much as his pure talent. Having lost his uncle just a few days ago, he used the grief to spur him on in.

“A lot of things came to mind during the race: winning, but also about the sacrifices we have to make. I also thought about my uncle, who I lost a few days ago. I won thanks more to my mental strength than my physical strength,” he said.

“Life is short, even if I’m still young. You learn more about life and how short it is when you lose people. You understand that you have to be happy with your life and with things like family and find quality in your life. That’s the most important thing. Today I managed to transform my pain into something positive.”

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.”

Joining the elite club...

So another great athlete goes down in my book under 'Not a Fan Of'. The newest inductee to join this elite club, along with LeBron James and Derek Jeter, among others, is 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans. I wasn't a big fan of him to begin with, but his response to Contador's suspension just sealed the deal. I'm just upset that my favorite rider, Hushovd, signed with Evans' team, BMC

Evans: Contador suspension shows cycling in forefront of anti-doping

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/evans-contador-suspension-shows-cycling-in-forefront-of-anti-doping) 

Disqualifying and banning the winner of the 2010 Tour de France shows that cycling is leading in the sports world's fight against doping, said Cadel Evans. The BMC Racing Team rider, who won the 2011 Tour de France, supported the decision to ban Alberto Contador for two years, while decrying the fact that the process took so long.

"I think the sport of cycling has done more than enough to prove it is doing the right thing," Evans said, according to Fox News.

"Now it is time for other sports to look at cycling and replicate what cycling does, so the fight against drugs in sport can maybe be beaten one day across all sports."

The Australian did not give an opinion on Contador's guilt or innocence.  "I don't know all that goes on behind there and what all the real facts are and so on.

"I go along and do my job and that's up to the authorities to decide.”

Like so many others, Evans got lost in the time-consuming twists, turns and delays in the case. "It was a case that dragged on for so long I had no idea what was going on and what was going to happen. I just read the newspapers like the rest of us."

 
However, on the other hand, Eddy Merckx had a much better response, at least in my opinion:

Merckx deplores "excessive" punishment in Contador ban

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/merckx-deplores-excessive-punishment-in-contador-ban) 

On Monday, the news of Alberto Contador's two-year ban spread quickly across the globe and triggered a variety of reactions. At the Tour of Qatar in the Middle East, race organiser and all-time champion Eddy Merckx was baffled at the CAS decision, blaming not Contador but sporting authorities for the bad news.

"It's very sad for him and for cycling in general. It's as if somebody wanted to kill cycling," Merckx told Eurosport. "I'm very surprised and disgusted. It's bad for everyone, for the reputation of cycling, for the sponsors."

He continued by insinuating that cycling's efforts to combat doping were excessive and that other sports did not apply the rules in the same way. "I think it's going too far - when a test result is like this one, 0.0000... it's only in cycling that this sort of thing happens.

"I'm the first to say that we need controls, but I think that we are going too far in cycling."

And finally, I guess its a little late for one to hope that, that Jan Ullrich's verdict will be just as swift:

Ullrich verdict set to be handed down by CAS on Thursday

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ullrich-verdict-set-to-be-handed-down-by-cas-on-thursday)

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has announced that it will hand down a decision on the case concerning the International Cycling Union (UCI), and Jan Ullrich on Thursday.

The UCI appealed the Swiss Olympic Committee's decision to close the file on evidence linking Ullrich to the Operacion Puerto doping case. Ullrich retired after being implicated in the 2006 investigation, and was later linked to blood evidence by DNA testing.

A finding was due to be announced mid last month however, the case was again delayed having been filed at the end of March 2010.

Ullrich, 1997 Tour de France winner and five-time runner-up, retired in February 2007 having been implicated in Operacion Puerto the year prior. In July 2009, Swiss Olympic, which handles doping cases in the country, announced that it was officially opening an investigation. But again, it came to a standstill. Until February 10, 2010, when they announced that since Ullrich had quit his membership in the national federation in 2006, they had no jurisdiction over him, and the investigation was closed. However, both the International Cycling Union and the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and it’s this case which is now due to be resolved.

Thursday's announcement will be the latest in the big week of legal cases with United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles close down a two-year investigation into allegations of fraud and doping that involved the US Postal Service Team and Lance Armstrong last Friday and then the CAS handing Alberto Contador a two-year sanction for his positive test for clenbuterol at the 2010 Tour de France.

Andy Schleck Announces 1st 2012 Race

Andy Schleck to start off at Tour of Oman

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/andy-schleck-to-start-off-at-tour-of-oman)

Andy Schleck, runner-up at the last three stagings of the Tour de France, has revealed that he is to start off his 2012 campaign at the Tour of Oman. The race runs from 14-19 February and Schleck feels that it is the ideal starting point for a season where his main target will once again be the Tour de France.

"It's the perfect race, with ideal terrain and weather conditions," the 26-year-old from Luxembourg said on Friday at the launch his newly-merged team RadioShack-Nissan.

It is thought that Schleck will then join his brother Franck at Paris-Nice before focussing on the major Classic races later in the spring, though team boss Johan Bruyneel declared that Schleck's full early season schedule hasn't been completely finalised yet.

Europcar's Early Season Problems

Voeckler and Europcar struggling for early season invitations

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/voeckler-and-europcar-struggling-for-early-season-invitations)

Thomas Voeckler is likely to begin his 2012 season in France as his Europcar squad in struggling to gain invitations to the many early season races in warmer climes. In spite of Europcar’s stellar performance at the Tour de France, the team faces being sidelined by many organisers in February.

Europcar recently failed in its bid to secure WorldTour status for next season. While Voeckler and his teammates are all but guaranteed a wildcard invitation to the Tour, planning the approach to July might not be as straightforward.

“In the team, we have a small worry for the month of February, we don’t have many invitations,” Voeckler told L’Équipe. “We won’t be in Qatar or Oman. For Mallorca, we haven’t had a response. It’s complicated but that’s the way it is for second division teams.”

A complicating factor for Voeckler is that the dates of two other one-time potential debut races have been shifted later into the season. “I’ve already done the Tour de Langkawi three times, but the race has been moved to the end of February and Gabon is in April now,” he said.

“The start of my season risks being in France, at the Étoile de Bessèges, Grand Prix La Marseillaise or the Tour of the Mediterranean, if it takes place.”

Voeckler got his stunning 2011 campaign off the mark with a stage victory at the Tour of the Mediterranean, and he would go on to win six more races during a fine opening half to the season. He carried that form into the Tour de France, where he finished fourth overall after ten days in the yellow jersey.

The Frenchman is back in training for next year, although with a cap placed on the intensity until after Christmas. “I ride six days out of seven, but it’s not very hard,” he said. “With my teammates who live in the area, we can push to about 100km.”

Gesink Update

Gesink: All I need is time

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gesink-all-i-need-is-time)

Robert Gesink (Rabobank) is confident that he can return to his best after a speedy recover from a broken leg. The Dutch climber crashed in training in September and broke his right femur, but with just under two months of rehabilitation he’s already back on the bike and talking up his chances of a successful Tour de France in 2012.

“I’ve been back on the bike for a month now. Everything has been fine so far. I’ve been on the rollers for a while but the weather has been nice so I’ve been out and getting some fresh air too,” he told Cyclingnews.

Since a successful surgery in the days following his crash, Gesink has had time to reflect on what has been a turbulent last twelve months. Away from the bike he had to come to terms with the loss of his father who passed away after a cycling accident. The bond between the two was of course strong, with Gesink senior Robert’s biggest fan. Despite the tremendous loss the climber used his profession to focus during the most difficult moments.

“The first year of losing a father is really tough and difficult,” he said.

“Now I’m more at ease and I’m looking back at all the good times we had together and not how much I miss him. That’s a positive development. And when I see my mum I see that’s she’s doing better and better. She’s getting on with her life and that’s a good thing to see. Of course we all really miss him a lot but it’s never going to change.

“My dad was my biggest supporter and a huge fan of cycling. He read every story in the press so the one thing I can do for him is continue cycling. It’s all easier said than done because sometimes you’re head isn’t right but now I feel more and more accepting of the situation. When I think about my dad now it’s always tough but it’s getting better.”

Gesink’s ability to train through the difficult winter saw him reap the benefits in the first part of the season. Taking two stage wins in the Tour of Oman, as well as the overall, were followed by a stage win and second overall in Tirreno. Ninth in Amstel was hardly a shabby result but from there on his season began to unravel. A mediocre Dauphine was followed by a disastrous Tour de France. Heading into the race he was expected to lead a Dutch charge and there was talk of him splitting the Contador-Schleck dominance. The stage was perfect for him too - sixth the year before, and with Denis Menchov having moved into semi-retirement at Geox, Gesink had a team totally at his disposal.

Tour troubles
 However a series of crashes and heavy time losses ruined his race. With no chance of GC success, he suffered through - hoping to find his legs in the Alps. He eventually finished 33rd overall, and more than one hour back on winner, Cadel Evans.

“Looking back, abandoning after those crashes would have made more sense,” he told Cyclingnews.

“But at that moment I felt I could do something still in the Alps and try and win a stage but I ended up underestimating the damage that the crashes did. I tried in the Alps but in the end I wasn’t good enough. It was a more difficult Tour than the one before because I had to suffer so much just to stay in the peloton. Looking back at it, for sure it would have been easy to go home and focus on the Vuelta but we made a decision at the time. Maybe I’ll learn from that in the future but looking at it now it was just three tough weeks with no good feelings.”

Despite regrouping after the Tour with a number of decent results, Gesink admits that the year was a disappointment on the bike.

“In some ways it was a lost year. If I’m honest the main goal was the Tour and I didn’t go as well as I hoped for. That was disappointing. On a private level, I lost my dad last year. I started really well because I wanted to throw myself into my cycling. It got me away from all the bad thoughts in my head. I trained well over the winter and the start of the season I was flying and riding with the best of the best. But it was all about the Tour last year and crashing there was the biggest disappointing.”

As he recovers from his broken leg in double time all attention has already turned to next year’s Tour de France, showing at the very least that he’s not afraid of the battle. Due to his injuries it’s unlikely that we’ll see him dominate races like Oman in the first part of the year, with a gentler ramp up to July. The parcours certainly does him little favours but he’s confident that his time trialling can improve over the coming months.

“It’s more for the time triallers and I’ll have to focus on that. Last year I did that and I think I improved a lot. This winter I’ll have to spend more time on that and look for more improvements in my time trialling.”

Mental toughness

Gesink has faced question marks over his fragility and frequency of crashes – even from quarters in his own team – but the 25-year-old is resolute in the sense that he has the mental pedigree to shine. With three top ten placings in grand tours it’s perhaps easy to forget how young he is, and he believes that with time he can reach even higher.

“In all the races I’ve done I’ve always been the guy that’s had to do it for the team, in more or less every race I’ve done I’ve been there to get results and I’m used to it. Of course, when you go to the Tour, the pressure is higher but I’ve shown, like when I was 6th two years ago, that I can deal with it,” he said.

“I’m pretty young so if people give me time who knows where I can be at my peak. I’ve finished two Tours but that’s still not that many. So I don’t have the experience of guys like Contador. Schleck is a little different but those two guys are the best in the world but I know that when I’m at my best I’m close to them.”

Gesink Update

Successful surgery for Gesink

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/successful-surgery-for-gesink)

Robert Gesink has undergone successful surgery on his fractured right femur. The Rabobank rider suffered the serious injury in a training crash on Sunday.

The Rabobank rider had a pin installed in his leg on Sunday night at the Meander Medical Center in Amersfoort in the Netherlands. He will remain in hospital a few days, and must have ten days of absolute rest, before starting rehabilitation.

Rabobank sport director Erik Breukink said that Gesink did not remember how the crash happened.

The crash is another blow for the 26-year old after a difficult 12 months. His father died in October 2010 as the result of a cycling accident. Gesink started well in the season, winning two stages in the Tour of Oman en route to overall victory. A crash at the Tour de France left him with back and hip injuries and he finished the race 33rd overall. He recently he finished second in the GP de Quebec, and was looking forward to repeating his two-time win in the Giro dell'Emilia. Now his season is over and he faces a winter of rehabilitation and physiotherapy.

Gesink's place on the Worlds road team will be taken by Rabobank teammate Steve Kruijswijk.

In another team change, Dominique Rollin (FDJ) has withdrawn from the Canadian team. He has not recovered from injuries suffered in a crash at the GP de Montreal. His place on the road race will be taken by Michael Barry of Team Sky.