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.

Schleck Strikes Again and New Leaders at BMC??

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

Schleck to skip Haut Var and train in Mallorca

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

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

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

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

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

BMC back Hushovd and Van Avermaet over Gilbert for Het Nieuwsblad


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

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

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

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

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

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

2012 Giro d'Italia Stage 8 & Tour of California Stage 1

May 13, Stage 8: Sulmona - Lago Laceno 229km

Pozzovivo wins Giro d'Italia stage 8 in Lago Laceno

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/stage-8/results)

Diminutive Domenico Pozzovivo finally delivered on his huge climbing ability as he claimed the biggest victory of his career at Lago Laceno in the Giro d'Italia. Having attacked from the lead group on the Colle Molella climb 7km from the finish, the Colnago-CSF team leader quickly gained a 30-second advantage and held on to most of it coming into the finish despite a determined chase by Movistar’s Beñat Intxausti.

The maglia rosa group finished hard on Intxausti’s heels, Joaquim Rodríguez (Katusha) outsprinting Thomas De Gendt to take third place and a very handy eight-second bonus. That moved him into second place overall, just nine seconds down on Garmin-Barracuda’s Ryder Hesjedal, who finished in the same group despite some struggles on the final climb.

“This seems like a dream,” Pozzovivo told Rai TV. “It’s my first win in the Giro, which was a feat that seemed I was never likely to achieve! I couldn’t give any more in the final two kilometres. But I felt it was going to be my day and it was.”

Pozzovivo thanked the many fans who had come out to support him. “I knew that I would have a lot of fans on the climb and I attacked where a lot of them were gathered. This stage was very close to my heart, as it is not far from my home. Although it wasn’t the most suitable for me, given that the hard section of the climb was so short and also because there was a flatter section beyond the climb to the finish line.”

Hesjedal was also smiling at the finish despite his difficulties heading towards the line. “I made a really big effort on the final climb, but the team was perfect in the way it stayed close to me and together we have succeeded in our objective of keeping the jersey for another day. We did our best and this jersey is a reward for all of us,” said the Canadian.

Just like Saturday’s stage, this was another long day. Although there were only two categorised climbs, the course rolled up and down relentlessly. The break of the day formed with almost 200km remaining to the finish. Andrey Amador (Movistar), Julien Bérard (AG2R-La Mondiale), Tomasz Marczynski (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Miguel Mínguez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) were in it. As the bunch eased along they opened up a lead of more than 11 minutes.

With 160km covered, a sudden acceleration by Marczynski resulted in the clearly unhappy Bérard being dropped. Mínguez’s hopes soon disappeared as well, leaving just two men at the front.

Their advantage began to drop rapidly inside final 35km, as Katusha started to push the pace on the front of the bunch. This wasn’t the ideal time for best young rider Peter Stetina (Garmin-Barracuda) to puncture. Although he quickly got a new wheel from teammate Robbie Hunter and was paced back to the bunch by Jack Bauer, the effort he made then surely cost him on the Colle Molella, where his hold on the white jersey was loosened.

Amador and Marczynski were caught 17km from home. Soon after, a long line of Astana riders took up the pace-making as the riders approached the steepest section of the Colle Molella. As the road ramped up, Liquigas-Cannondale took control on the front in the shape of Sylvester Szymd, who kept an even pace going for team leader Ivan Basso, sitting just behind him.

It was always likely that the winning attack would come on these ramps, and it was not a great surprise when Pozzovivo delivered it. One of the smallest riders in the bunch, the Italian’s confidence was boosted by his victory in last month’s Giro di Trentino, which marked him out as a contender for the Giro. His triumph today pushed him right into contention, although we will probably have to wait until next weekend’s stages to see if the Colnago-CSF Inox leader can build on this success. 

Full Results

1	Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox	6:06:05
2	Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team	0:00:23
3	Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:27
4	Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
5	Dario Cataldo (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
6	Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
7	Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox
8	Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Team NetApp
9	José Rujano Guillen (Ven) Androni Giocattoli
10	John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale

 

May 13, Stage 1: Santa Rosa 186.5km

Tour of California: Peter Sagan wins in Santa Rosa

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-of-california/stage-1/results)

Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) pulled out a thrilling performance to win the opening stage of the Amgen Tour of California. The 22-year-old had to recover from a puncture inside the final 10 kilometres as well as avoid a crash with 3 kilometres to go, before beating Heinrich Haussler and Freddie Rodriguez into second and third.

"Daniel Oss did a really great lead-out and I'm really happy to win the stage," Sagan said.

"It was a really confusing sprint because it was a small field. With 10km to go I flatted, but I knew there was time to get back in. Thanks to the work of my teammates I didn't panic, and we were able to get back on easiliy. With 3km to go one of my teammates Ted King crashed, and I hope he's okay, but thanks to Daniel Oss, he piloted me to the finish and I was able to win."

While seemingly in good form, today's stage winner admitted that it will be an uphill task to hold on to the overall lead.

"It is going to be very hard to hold onto the yellow jersey," Sagan admitted. "I'm okay on the smaller climbs, but it's only going to get harder and harder as the week goes on."

Results

1	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	4:42:35
2	Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin - Barracuda
3	Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy
4	Leigh Howard (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
5	Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
6	George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team
7	Ryan Anderson (Can) Spidertech Powered By C10
8	Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
9	Lawson Craddock (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team
10	Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team

Amstel Gold Race 2012

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/amstel-gold-race/results)

Enrico Gasparotto (Astana Pro Team) won a thrilling Amstel Gold Race, timing his sprint to perfection atop the Cauberg, to win ahead of Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Belisol Team) and Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale).
Three time world champion Oscar Freire (Katusha Team) finished fourth after his bold attack in the closing 7 kilometres was caught in the final meters of the race. Two-time defending champion, Philippe Gilbert, (BMC Racing Team) had to settle for sixth behind Thomas Voeckler (Europcar).

BMC had controlled the race throughout much of the closing stages but Gilbert was left to do all the work on the final ascent of the Cauberg. His acceleration first brought back Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma QuckStep) and then Freire's dying legs to within touching distance. However the move proved as a spring board for the podium placers.

Sagan was the first rider to come around the Belgian champion but he too ran out of gas, with Gasparotto accelerating on his left and Vanendert on his right.

Maastricht treaty lasts until opening climbs

The riders had left the chilly start city of Maastricht with a blessing of rain drops and a cold northern wind on their noses. Typically many riders tried break clear on the first of the 31 climbs but nobody gained enough in the first hour of the race, which was covered at 45kph.

After nearly 60 kilometers of racing a large group finally was allowed to go. Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), Pello Bilbao (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Raymond Kreder (Garmin-Barracuda), Alex Howes (Garmin-Barracuda), Steven Caethoven (Accent Jobs-Willems Veranda), Cedric Pineau (FDJ-Big Mat), Simone Stortoni (Lampre-ISD), Sébastien Delfosse (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony) and Eliot Lietar (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) were the lucky men.

During the second hour they gathered a maximum lead of 13:30 on the peloton, with no teams wanting to chase. Eventually RadioShack-Nissan, BMC and Katusha took the responsibility and gradually the gap went down.

When approaching the second ascent of the Cauberg the pace in the peloton increased even more and after the Vrakelberg a first group of riders was caught behind the peloton, including outsider Cadel Evans (BMC). In front, the breakaway group lost ground. On top of the Cauberg the gap was down to less than five minutes and that was also where Evans abandoned the race.

With 55 km to go the breakaway group still had four minutes on the peloton. Jurgen Van den Broeck (Lotto-Belisol) went down on the Bemelerberg and even though he was assisted by a couple of teammates his race was almost over. When the pace increased inside the final 30 kilometres he was dropped. Meanwhile Danish rider Matti Breschel (Rabobank) also abandoned the race.

The Wolfsberg, at 41km from the finish line on the Cauberg, was the first of the last string of eight climbs. It proved to be the ground where the Astana moved forward. The gap quickly dropped below two minutes and the speed went up another notch when Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank) attacked the peloton, without much success.

In front Bardet, Bilbao, Howes and Stortoni dropped their fellow breakaway companions although Kreder and Delfosse returned little later. The six remaining leaders entered the last 30km with an advantage of 1:10.

The break split further when Bardet and Howes accelerated again.

Boasson Hagen was the first contender to attack inside the final 15 kilometres but the Sky rider was unable to gain more than 100 meters, with the BMC trio of Mauro Santambrogio, Greg Van Avermaet and Gilbert holding court at the head of the race.

Avermaet, was the perfect teammate, sacrificing his chances for Gilbert, who was either confident of taking on Sagan in the sprint or lacked the legs to attack earlier.

On the penultimate climb of the Keutenberg, Boasson Hagen was swiftly brought back, with Bardet shelling his breakaway companion for the second and final time.

Sky, Astana and Katusha were able to send probing attacks off the front, and Thomas Voeckler and Sagan went briefly alone, but it was Freire who struck a decisive blow with 7km to go, just after Bardet was finally swallowed up.

Freire has never made the podium in Amstel and with Rabobank having such a poor race with Breschel out and Gesink already dropped, Freire's former Dutch team must have been reeling when the Spaniard had a gap of 13 seconds.

But it wouldn't be a Spring Classic without Omega Pharma-Quickstep having their say, and Niki Terpstra accelerated away in pursuit of the Spaniard as the race descended from the Keutenberg.

At the foot of the Cauberg Terpstra had failed to make contact, with a tiring Van Avermaet leading a 20-strong group with Gilbert latched to his wheel.

Gilbert's attack displayed elements of panic and reluctant acceptance at the same time, the rider well aware that everyone was watching him, while also knowing that Freire was on the cusp of a shock win.

Terpstra was quickly reeled in and Gilbert's second acceleration caused the chase group to splinter. Damiano Cunego (Lampre) crashed along with Lars-Peter Nordhaug (Sky), and with a fading Freire unable to hold on the race came down to the strongest, but also the freshest in the sprint for the line.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Pro Team Astana	6:32:35
2	Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
3	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:02
4	Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team
5	Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar
6	Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
7	Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
8	Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin-Barracuda	0:00:04
9	Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
10	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team

Gent - Wevelgem 2012

Boonen wins Gent-Wevelgem

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/gent-wevelgem-2012/results)

Tom Boonen was on song again at Gent-Wevelgem, showing prime form and fortune ahead of the Tour of Flanders by out-sprinting Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Matti Breschel (Rabobank).

In a somewhat messy sprint marred by a crash from a Saxo Bank rider who took down JJ Rojas (Movistar) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Boonen sped away ahead of the fall and had plenty of power to hold off young Sagan.

"I've found back my sprint. I'm not the fastest man in the peloton – that's probably Mark Cavendish – but if everybody is tired then I'm one of the best. I wasn't fully recovered from Friday's race and I wasn't the best in the race but we decided straight away that we would try to get a sprint. The Kemmelberg is too far from the finish to try something there," Boonen said.

Runner-up Sagan wasted some energy in a breakaway attempt together with Fabian Cancellara (Radioshack-Nissan-Trek) at 25km from the finish in Wevelgem but they were caught back by a large group led by the Omega Pharma-QuickStep troops.

After 235km of racing Sagan lacked the punch to finish ahead of Boonen. "After the last climb of the Kemmelberg I was in a breakaway with Cancellara. I felt good but that was already the case in the Tirreno. It's better to try something then to do nothing at all. In the sprint Boonen was stronger," Sagan said.

Just before the breakaway attempt from Sagan there was a demonstration from Matti Breschel on the Kemmelberg. The Dane left the peloton behind on the steep cobbled climb. "I couldn't go any slower," Breschel joked. "I got beaten by two guys who, right now, are better than me. I felt good today but Boonen is the best right now," Breschel stated.

A nine-rider group stayed away much of the race, but the real story was a split in the field with about 35 km to go. World champion Mark Cavendish (Sky) was left behind in a chasing group and tried to bridge the gap on his own, but never saw the front of the race again.

The breakaway started early in the day with seven riders taking the initiative: Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Koen Barbé (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony), Thomas Bertolini (Farnese Vini – Selle Italia), Vladimir Isaychev (Katusha), Anders Lund (Saxo Bank), Stijn Neirynck (Topsport Vlaanderen – Mercator) and Kevin Van Melsen (Accent Jobs – Willems Veranda’s).

Julien Fouchard (Cofidis, le crédit en ligne) and Yuriy Krivtsov (Lampre – ISD) were able to bridge up with these seven to form the nine-man group which colored the first half of the race.

The nine gathered a lead of up to ten minutes while riding towards the North Sea. When turning away from the sea the headwind tortured the breakaway group and when riding through the north of France the gap quickly dropped down to seven minutes.

By the time they reached the foot of the often crucial Kemmelberg, the lead for the breakaway was down to 2:15, and Lund and Insausti attacked the rest of the breakaway group. On the second ascent of the Kemmelberg Rabobank's Breschel put on an impressive show, his powerful surge opening a gap in the peloton.

On the following Monteberg, the last climb of the day, riders including Luca Paolini (Katusha), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) and Steve Chainel (FDJ) attempted to break away, but when Fabian Cancellara came to the front with Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale), the duo quickly caught up with the remains of the early breakaway. With 30 km to go they trailed the two leaders by 1:15 with a following peloton of about 40 riders. Behind, a group including sprinters like Mark Cavendish (Sky), André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) and John Degenkolb (Project 1t4i) was quickly losing ground.

With 16km to go the breakaway and the two front groups were all together, but the second half of the peloton with Cavendish was still trailing by 45 seconds. The fast men in front were Boonen, Matthew Goss (GreenEdge), Daniele Bennati (RadioShack-Nissan-Trek), José Joaquin Rojas Gil (Movistar) and Oscar Freire (Katusha).

That gap only grew, and it soon became clear that it could not be closed.  Cavendish did his best to bridge up, but it was not to be.

The pace stayed high as the group went into the finale. Oscar Freire of Katusha opened the sprint, but Boonen is on a roll and proved once again to have the fastest legs.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep	5:32:44
2	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
3	Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team
4	Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team
5	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
6	Daniele Bennati (Ita) Radioshack-Nissan
7	Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
8	Steve Chainel (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
9	Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia
10	Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team

To Sum Up Milan-San Remo

10 conclusions from Milan-San Remo

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/10-conclusions-from-milan-san-remo)

1. Fabian Cancellara's (RadioShack-Nissan) racing style has skirted the thin line between bravery and folly in the big classics over the past two seasons, and Milan-San Remo was no exception. Once again, he won hearts and minds with his wholehearted attacking, and once again, he found himself thwarted by a cannier rider at the death.

There was something Sisyphean about Cancellara's plunge into San Remo, with Simon Gerrans and Vincenzo Nibali scrambling for his back wheel. Even though he surely knew that his weakness in the sprint would be exposed, he persisted in his labours nonetheless. But was simply attempting to blast riders of the caliber of Gerrans and Nibali off his wheel a glorious failure or an act of arrogance?

Cancellara triumphed at San Remo in 2008 by patiently biding his time before making one decisive attack inside the final 2km. In contrast to that clinical display, on Saturday he seemed to try and bludgeon his way to victory with repeated blows, and the result was rather less tidy.

That said, one can never step in the same river twice, and the circumstances of this year's race were different to four years ago. Once Cancellara made the decision to bridge to Gerrans and Nibali, and once it was apparent that they would not collaborate, he perhaps had little option but to attempt to burn them off his wheel. Besides, had Cancellara held his fire on the Poggio, he may well have been forced to take up the reins of the pursuit behind in any case, such is his lofty reputation.

At the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, the Swiss rider will have tougher terrain at his disposal to make the difference in the finale, although it remains to be seen if he will show his hand as early and as often as he did in 2011.

2. Simon Gerrans (GreenEdge) didn't bat an eyelid when it was put to him in the winner's press conference that his had been a stolen victory, and with good reason. He had a cast-iron alibi in the chase group in the shape of last year's winner Matt Goss, and instead the Australian cleverly maintained the lead group's momentum with a fleeting turn on the front approaching the final kilometre.

Laudable though Cancellara's strength was, cycling would be an altogether poorer spectacle if victories were decided simply by watts produced. Tactical cunning and sheer sangfroid are just as important a part of a classic winner's make up as raw power, as Gerrans demonstrated on Saturday.

3. With Vincenzo Nibali and Peter Sagan in its ranks, Liquigas-Cannondale had two potential race-winners with contrasting styles at its disposal on Saturday, and the team set out its stall in three phases. Their first aim was to shed the peloton of the pure sprinters, and then Nibali was to go on the attack on the Poggio, while Sagan kept his powder dry for the sprint from a reduced group behind.

In the event, Liquigas succeeded in following the playbook but failed to come away with the win. Cavendish was duly shed on Le Manie, and Nibali forced the winning move on the Poggio, while Sagan took the sprint behind for fourth.
Given the ease with which Sagan held off John Degenkolb, it's tempting to suggest that Nibali should not have attacked and Liquigas should simply have ridden to set up Sagan for the sprint. However, after Valerio Agnoli swung off midway up the Poggio, Daniel Oss was the only other Liquigas rider in the front group. Would that have been enough to pull back a rampant Cancallara?

4. Marcel Kittel may be the marquee young German sprint talent at Project 1t4i, but he has some high quality company in the shape of John Degenkolb. The former HTC-Highroad rider enjoyed a fine Milan-San Remo debut. Just 23 years of age and in only his second season at the top level, Degenkolb dealt admirably with the 300km of racing and finished second in the group sprint just behind the winning break. His victor, of course, was the even more precocious Peter Sagan. Expect to see both men back at the business end of La Primavera in the years to come.

5. While the likes of Liquigas-Cannondale were always going to try and make life difficult for Mark Cavendish (Sky), it was a surprise to see the world champion eliminated from contention on Le Manie with over 90km still to race. As ever, there will be much conjecture over the true state of Cavendish's early-season fitness, but given his solid start to life in the rainbow jersey, it may simply be that he endured an off day at the most inopportune time. Certainly, it would be no surprise if he were to make a forceful response at Gent-Wevelgem next weekend – Cavendish is rarely more dangerous than when stung by perceived slights.

6. Bubbling under in the lead-up to Milan-San Remo after early season wins in Australia and Spain, Oscar Freire was quietly fancied by a number of observers to take his fourth win at La Classicissima, and when Katusha led the charge behind Cancellara, it looked as though he would conjure up a big win from nothing all over again. Instead, the chasers fell just shy of making the juncture, while Freire himself had to give best to Sagan, Degenkolb and Pippo Pozzato in the sprint for fourth. In what may be his final season as a professional, one wonders if Freire will manage to work the oracle one more time before his exits the stage.

7. Filippo Pozzato brooked his share of criticism during his final season at Katusha, but the man from Vicenza has carried himself with a renewed verve since he signed with Farnese Vini-Selle Italia ahead of the 2012 season. Training under the watchful gaze of Luca Scinto all winter, Pozzato set himself the target of slugging it out with the big hitters at San Remo, Flanders and Roubaix.

A broken collarbone at the Tour of Qatar threatened to derail his campaign, but remarkably he was back racing within a week of his operation, so desperate was he not to miss out on racing miles ahead of the classics. The gamble looked to have paid dividends on Saturday as he rode to a solid 6th place in San Remo. While it's worth noting that he finished 5th last year before the wheels came off his Katusha career in Belgium, Pozzato seems altogether more assured under Scinto's guidance, and it will be fascinating to see if he can recover his form of 2009 on the cobbles this April.

8. BMC's travails continued at Milan-San Remo, and remarkably the expensively-assembled outfit has yet to pick up a single win in 2012. Their Classicissima challenge was dented early in the week when Thor Hushovd was forced out of the race with illness, and the Norwegian was perhaps always likely to be their best chance of success. Philippe Gilbert, too, was stricken by fever and dental problems in the week before the race, and a crash over the top of the Cipressa ended his challenge before it was possible to draw any real conclusions as to his actual state of form.

Greg Van Avermaet was also a faller and it was left to Alessandro Ballan to keep their end up with an 8th place finish. While there were mitigating circumstances aplenty for their low-key showing on the road to San Remo, the galacticos will be expected to start making a telling impact on races at the very least as the focus switches to the cobbles.

9. Given his twin talents of endurance and speed, it seems almost an aberration that Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) has never triumphed at Milan-San Remo. In fine form at Paris-Nice last week, no less a figure than Michele Bartoli had tipped Boonen for the win on Saturday and the Belgian appeared comfortable throughout. Caught behind a crash on the descent of the Poggio, however, Boonen lost sight of the leaders and his challenge ended. Still, his season is as ever defined by the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, where the signs are he will renew his rivalry with Fabian Cancellara.

10. A 300km classic from Milan to San Remo is perhaps something of an anachronism, a throwback to the early years of organised racing. Certainly, one does not envisage that any new additions to the WorldTour calendar would ever feature such a lengthy point-to-point race. That said, throughout its history, the organisers have often updated the race by tweaking its format slightly, adding the Poggio (1960), Cipressa (1982) and Le Manie (2009).

Change may be afoot again as soon as next year, with rumours of a steeper route to the top of the Cipressa and a finish line closer to the Poggio. The idea to give attackers more of a chance to finish alone, but as has been the case since 1907, it's the riders rather than the route that will be the making of the race.

Hushovd out of Milan-San Remo

Hushovd out of Milan-San Remo with fever

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/hushovd-out-of-milan-san-remo-with-fever)

Thor Hushovd will not participate in this weekend's Milan-San Remo after falling victim to a fever, his team announced today.

The Norwegian, twice a podium finisher in the race (2005, 2009), was looking to be the team's protected sprinter on the BMC team for La Classicissima, but was sidelined by the same bug which brought Philippe Gilbert's Tirreno-Adriatico to a premature end.

"Monday night I woke up with fever and was cold and sweating," Hushovd said. "I have felt bad for two days now so there's no chance to race on Saturday. I am really disappointed because it was obviously one of my first goals of the year."

BMC expects Gilbert and Greg Van Avermaet, who has been struggling with a foot injury, to be back to nearly full strength for the weekend's Monument. "They are still not 100 percent, but we have two days to go. We are still pretty confident that we have a good team with good experience."

Gilbert has been training and is beginning to feel better but he is hoping to ease into the 300km long race. "I have been riding easy in training and I hope to have a race that's easier at first, maybe with a headwind or something," Gilbert said. "I'll try to be smart and ride in a good position.

"Milan-San Remo can be a very strange race where anything can happen. If it's not for me in the final, maybe it will be Alessandro Ballan or Greg Van Avermaet or someone else on our team. I think we have a good team and we aren't feeling pressure because we know we can be competitive."

Ballan is one rider on the team who hasn't been ill, and has shown that his form is strong. "I can do something good there," Ballan said of the race. "I worked hard in Tirreno-Adriatico, even if I didn't make a result there and I am in optimal condition right now. I think we can be one of the teams that takes charge of the race."

BMC for Milan-San Remo: Alessandro Ballan (Ita), Marcus Burghardt (Ger), Philippe Gilbert (Bel), George Hincapie (USA), Taylor Phinney (USA), Manuel Quinziato (Ita), Michael Schär (Swi), Greg Van Avermaet (Bel).

Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne 2012

Cavendish wins in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/kuurne-brussel-kuurne-2012/results)
Mark Cavendish claimed a straightforward victory in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, delivered to the line perfectly by his Sky teammates.

Resplendent in his world champion's jersey, the Manxman took victory by a decisive margin over FDJ-BigMat rider Yauheni Hutarovich. Vacansoleil-DCM's Kenny Van Hummel was two lengths back in third, while world under 23 champion Arnaud Démare (FDJ-BigMat) was a fine fourth.

Cavendish had suffered with illness earlier in the race, but his Sky team set about bringing the race back together for a bunch finish on the flat run-in to the finish in Kuurne. In the finishing straight, CJ Sutton piloted Cavendish to victory.

“After the cobbles I told CJ that I didn’t feel so good,” Cavendish said afterwards. “Once we took control it got better although I was still vomiting. It’s incredible. I don’t know if I can take any credit for this win. The whole day they looked after me. I was never in the win and always in the front of the peloton. It’s a great win.”

Coming into the final kilometre, the stage appeared set for a duel between Cavendish and his great rival André Greipel (Lotto Belisol) but the German found himself boxed in and faded in the final meters, finishing tenth.

“At 300m from the finish line I was confident that I could not lose the sprint. Then Van Hummel swerved from right to left and there was no more space for me. I should’ve gone earlier,” a clearly disappointed Greipel said.

A fast start

In a quick and nervous first hour at 50km/h no attacks proved successful. After a collective stop at a railway crossing a group powered away.

Seven riders made the day's early breakaway: Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Niko Eeckhout (An Post-Sean Kelly), Jérôme Baugnies (Team Netapp), Koen Barbé (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony), Gilles Devillers (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony), Justin Van Hoecke (Wallonie Bruxelles-Credit Agricole) and Julien Fouchard (Cofidis, le credit en ligne).

At the fourth climb of the day the seven had a gap of four minutes on a peloton led by the Sky team. By the time they reached the Oude Kwaremont, the gap was down to three minutes. Van Avermaet set the pace up front, dropping all his companions except for 41 year-old Eeckhout. At the top of the long cobbled helling another half a minute was whittled off the gap thanks to the efforts from Maarten Wynants (Rabobank) at the front of the peloton.

The selective climb caused some damage and the peloton split in several groups. A first group of about twenty-five riders including fast men Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quickstep), Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda) and John Degenkolb (Project 1t4i) quickly picked up half a minute on a sprinter-studded peloton where Lotto-Belisol did the work.

With seventy kilometers to go Eeckhout and Van Avermaet were re-joined by Barbé, Fouchard and Baugnies. They had 1:30 on the Boonen group, with the peloton trailing by fifty more seconds, but efforts from the Vancansoleil-DCM team, Lotto-Belisol and Europcar closed first the gap to the Boonen group, and then the fate of the seven up front was sealed.

Eeckhout’s effort

As his group was being brought back, Eeckhout attacked and was followed by Wouter Mol (Vacancoleil-DCM), and was later joined by Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Katusha), Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quickstep), Jimmy Engoulvent (Saur-Sojasun), Jan Ghyselinck (Cofidis) and Sébastien Delfosse (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony).

With Sky content to let a group dangle just within their reach, the new escape quickly picked up half a minute at 40km from the finish line. When approaching the finish line a first time, having two more local circuits of 16km ahead of them, the gap ran up to a minute.

The Sky train was in full control, however, and one lap later half a minute was gone from that gap. At 10km from the finish line there were only 10 seconds left and a bunch sprint seemed unavoidable.

Once more it was Eeckhout who was the last man standing, having attacked his companions as the peloton was nipping on their heels, and had a brief foray with a Engoulvent before the high pace of the Sky-led group sped past.

With four men ahead of Cavendish, Sky hurtled into the finishing chute at such a pace that no rider stood a chance at coming around the world champion. Only Hutarovich could get close to his wheel, while Van Hummel looked glued to the tarmac as he struggled over the final meters to claim third.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling	4:27:30
2	Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ-Big Mat
3	Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
4	Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
5	Alexander Serebryakov (Rus) Team Type 1 - Sanofi
6	Tom Veelers (Ned) Project 1t4i
7	Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Team Europcar
8	Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's
9	Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team
10	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team

Where were Thor and Gilbert?

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

BMC falls short at Omloop Het Nieuwblad

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gilbert: I didn't have the legs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite 2012

Vanmarcke wins Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/omloop-het-nieuwsblad-elite-2012/results)

Sep Vanmarcke (Garmin-Barracuda) staged his break-out performance at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, taking the race by the reins by forcing the final three-man breakaway and then stunning favourite Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) in the sprint to take the victory.

Sky's Juan Antonio Flecha was third.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes. I beat Tom Boonen, my big hero,” an emotional Vanmarcke said during the post-race interview with Sporza. He knew that in a sprint against Boonen, his chances were slim and tried to shake him off with a few attacks, but said, "I know if I have a really great day, I can sprint pretty well."

Boonen came in with generous and genuine congratulations for his young compatriot, and admitted to the press that he misjudged the approach to the line. "I saw the finish this morning and still I get caught. I thought I went at the right moment, but ... the race was 50 meters too long."

Flecha, standing on the podium for the fifth time in six years, was happy to return to the stage, but said that while this is clearly his kind of course, only the win matters.

However, the Spaniard was impressed by Vanmarcke. "You can see that the guy has tremendous talent in these races. He is impressive. That he beat Boonen in the sprint surprised me. It just goes to show, the race goes to the finish line."

Vanmarcke, 23, previously showed his Classics promise by taking second in the 2010 Gent-Wevelgem while riding with Topsport Vlaanderen, and before as a podium finisher in the U23 version of the Tour of Flanders, but today's victory showed a never-before seen brilliance, both in fitness and in tactical prowess.

The decisive breakaway was formed on the Taaienberg, 59km from the finish in sunny Ghent. Behind a break of three, Boonen tested his legs on the climb, and Vanmarcke swiftly followed. Matthew Hayman (Sky), Matti Breschel (Rabobank), Thor Hushovd (BMC), Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky) and Dries Devenyns (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) were able to catch on. Behind them double winner Philippe Gilbert flatted and lost a lot of time.

With 39km to go the Boonen group caught the two remaining leaders, Sven Vandousselaere and Lieuwe Westra. It was on the Molenberg with 37km to go that Vanmarcke gave the first indication of his intentions - he attacked at the base of this final climb, and Boonen fought to catch on. Hushovd, Breschel, Hayman, Flecha and Devenyns eventually re-joined, but the early leaders were dropped for good.

On the cobbles of the Paddestraat with 31km to go Vanmarcke unleashed his devils once again, the acceleration ridding him of Breschel and Hushovd. With a seemingly dire tactical disadvantage, in a group with two proven classics men: Boonen and Flecha, each with a teammate, Vanmarcke was not intimidated.

Vanmarcke put in another acceleration to dislodge Devenyns and Hayman, and still had enough energy to contribute to the work in the final 20km to keep the trio clear.

The young star-to-be put in one last dig with 1km to go, trying to get away, but when Boonen shut down the maneuver, the Garmin rider sat on the back while Flecha set the pace, the Spaniard keeping a careful eye on his companions with frequent looks over his shoulder.

Boonen opened up the sprint ahead of the 200m to go mark, but Vanmarcke was able to get in behind and then put in a stinging acceleration to jump past and grab his first Classic victory.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Garmin-Barracuda	4:52:34
2	Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
3	Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Procycling
4	Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda	0:00:25
5	Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
6	Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
7	Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
8	Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Fdj-Big Mat
9	Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Team Europcar
10	Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Accent Jobs - Willems Veranda's

Santos Tour Down Under Results

Gerrans crowned Tour Down Under champion in Adelaide

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tourdownunder/stage-6/results_)

Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) has taken his third Tour Down Under victory, and his fourth win for the week after a text book sprint down King William Road. Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) tried to compete but was unable to come by the German's wheel on the uphill sprint. Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD) was a close third.

The bunch finish was nearly spoiled however by Cameron Meyer (GreenEdge) who made a bold solo move with a little over a lap to go. Meyer's overall hopes had been dashed yesterday when he missed the select front group on the first time up Old Willunga Hill. The field would not be denied, particulalry Andre Greipel's Lotto Belisol team who put the him in a perfect position - the German finishing off with ease.

Simon Gerrans (GreenEdge) meanwhile did all he needed to, successfully finishing in the bunch to take out his second overall title after his career defining 2006 triumph while riding for the French AG2R-Prévoyance team.

For his GreenEdge team, it was another tick in the box after their recent successes in the Mars Cycling Australia Road National Championships and the Jayco Bay Classic Series in Victoria.

The team set out to take the overall title, and despite not winning a stage, can be wholly satisified with a truly team performance that gives them the early lead in the prestigious WorldTour.

"It’s just fantastic," said a clearly excited Gerrans at the finish.

"I can’t thank my team mates enough. I was pleasantly surprised when I was told I had the lead [yesterday]. It’s such a fantastic victory for GreenEDGE. We couldn’t ask for a more perfect way to start the season."

"It’s an even sweeter victory than my first one here in 2006. It gives me the opportunity to thank for the first time the Ryan family and Shayne Bannan for putting this team together. It couldn’t be a better start for us."

Stage winner Greipel was similalry appreciative of his Lotto-Belisol team who have shown definitively to be the best organised when it comes to a bunch dash.

"What can I say," said Greipel. "Lotto-Belisol has just been amazing in leading me out to my third win of the week. It looks easy but it’s not. I was nowhere in the front on GC this year but I’m happy with the sprint finishes."

Greipel's stage win was not enough to take out the points classificaiton however. His three stage wins were cancelled out by his absences on Willunga and in Tanunda, ultimately costing him vital points that Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) was able to bank. The Norwegian would have liked a win but was happy nonetheless.

"It’s an early start to the season and to be on top form now is difficult.I’m happy to be on okay form but I can still get better."

UniSA-Australia had plenty of reason to celebrate, taking out the King of the Moutains for the second year running as well as cleaning up with Rohan Dennis who also took out best young rider.

How it unfolded

With the overall tied on time, and Gerrans a clear leader on countback, GreenEdge were happy to see a sizeable break form very early in the 20 lap circuit race in Adelaide.

It included Bernard Sulzberger, Jay McCarthy (UniSA-Australia), Luke Durbridge, Cameron Meyer (GreenEdge), Martijn Maaskant (Garmin-Barracuda), Adam Hansen (Lotto-Belisol), Sergey Lagutin (Vacansoleil-DCM), Mathew Hayman (Sky), Gorka Izagirre (Euskatel-Euskadi), Matteo Trentin (Omega Pharma-Quickstep), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Davide Cimolai (Lampre-ISD), Jens Voigt (Radioshack-Nissan), William Bonnet (FDJ-BigMat), Sergio Paulinho and Jonas Jorgensen (Saxo Bank).

They built up an advantage of close to 40 seconds before Rabobank who had missed the move came to the front to bring them back.

With the group within reach Michael Matthews soloed across the final 10 second gap, enough to encourage the peloton that the break should come back into the fold.

With the first intermediate sprint looming and dangerous seconds on the line, GreenEdge sent Luke Durbridge up the road again and he was joined by Davide Cimolai. Cimolai took out the sprint from Durbridge who didn't contest. Jack Bauer (Garmin-Barracuda) jumped out of the peloton to take third.

Once again the speed of the peloton after the prime was enough to nullify the break, and it was all together once more.

Bakelants makes his charge

Jan Bakelants (Radioshack-Nissan), who before today sat seventh on GC, used the lull to make a bid for the bonus second on offer at the second sprint.  He needed just two seconds to get in front of Edvald Boasson Hagen and picked up all three on offer, ahead of Cameron Meyer (GreenEdge) who managed to bridge to Bakelants solo.

Shortly thereafter Romain Sicard (Euskatel-Euskadi) also bridged to make it a trio of strong riders at the front. As the laps ticked by, and the gap failed to reduce Bakelants was becoming a real threat to the overall lead of Simon Gerrans. He was just 16 seconds behind Gerrans at this stage and with the 40 second advantage the break held was virtual leader.

Justifiably he got very little help from Sicard as the race entered the closing kilometres, with Meyer playing ticket collector on the back.

The bunch was having none of it however and with Lotto-Belisol, Lampre-ISD and Liquigas-Cannondale ramping things up for their sprinters the gap rapidly fell away.

Inside 6 kilometres to go and Bakelants decided to raise the white flag, happy enough with his sixth overall. Meyer meanwhile wanted the stage win. He went alone and entered the final 4 kilometre lap with a small advantage.

Though Meyer's fight was admirable, nothing would deny the bunch on the fast city circuit, and with half a lap to go it was all together for a bunch sprint. Lotto-Belisol best placed their man, and it was Andre Greipel who took the sprint from Renshaw and Petacchi.

Gerrans crossed the line safely in the main field to take the overall.

Stage 6 Results:

1	André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Belisol	1:56:48
2	Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank
3	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
4	Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ - BigMat
5	Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Movistar
6	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
7	Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil -DCM
8	Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
9	Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale
10	Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale

Overall Results:

1	Simon Gerrans (Aus) GreenEDGE	20:46:12
2	Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar
3	Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:08
4	Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling	0:00:14
5	Rohan Dennis (Aus) UNI SA - Australia
6	Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:16
7	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling	0:00:18
8	Javier Moreno (Spa) Movistar	0:00:23
9	Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank	0:00:29
10	Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha	0:00:32