2012 Giro d'Italia Stage 10

I'm not going to keep posting the Amgen Tour of California results due to the results being posted late my time. I will keep up with the Grand Tour however. If you are looking here for the Tour of California or any other race results, be sure to check out http://cyclingnews.com/ for all your up-to-date needs.

May 15, Stage 10: Civitavecchia - Assisi 187km

Rodriguez wins Giro stage into Assisi

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/stage-10/results)

Spanish rider Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) took stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia in Assisi and also claimed the pink jersey as overall leader after an exciting climax to the afternoon’s racing in the historic Perugian town.

The final five kilometres provided some of the most intense racing of the season so far, with Rodriguez mastering the undulations best and coming home clear of Bartosz Huzarski (NetApp) and Giovanni Visconti (Movistar).

Race leader Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda) fought bravely to the death but could only finish sixth, and the time bonus afforded to Rodriguez for the win meant that he leapfrogs the Canadian to the top of the overall GC by 17 seconds.

“It was an important stage win especially for the bonus,” Rodriguez said. “Some journalists told me about the finish here and I now realise that it is suited to me. When you get to a finish like this one you have to use it to your advantage.”

The locals found themselves slightly deflated at the start by the news that one of their heroes, Filippo Pozzato (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia), had been forced to pull out of the Giro with a broken hand. Pozzato had declared himself to be in good form and capable of a stage victory, but stage 9’s crash close to the finish spelled the end of his race.

At the 10km point, a small breakaway group had escaped, and they built up a gap of almost two minutes: Guillaume Bonnafond (AG2R); Miguel Mínguez (Euskaltel-Euskadi); Francesco Failli (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia); Matthias Brandle (NetApp); and Martijn Keizer (Vacansoleil-DCM). With the top 13 riders in the GC all within one minute of race leader Hesjedal, the big guns appeared happy to play a game of cat and mouse behind the breakaway leaders, keeping their cards close to their chests as the race meandered up and down the rolling hills.

By the 50km point, the gap had increased to 4:50 and it stayed fairly constant for the best part of 40km. But as the riders approached the intermediate sprint the gap began to reduce and it was Keizer who took it ahead of Minguez in second place.

With a third of the race left the gap was down to two minutes, with Katusha doing most of the work in the chasing pack as they looked to help Rodriguez in his quest for pink. Garmin-Barracuda were live to the situation and they bunched around Hesjedal, knowing that the Canadian’s lead in the GC might be under threat.

The gap between the leading quintet and the peloton was being reduced as steadily as the excitement was building ahead of the finale. With 30km to go Keizer and Brandle had become detached from the leaders and Rabobank’s Stef Clement burst from the peloton to join them. Keizer and Brandle spent the next few kilometres over the uncategorised climbs and descents hanging on to the coat tails of the three-time Dutch national time trial champion as they tried to bridge the gap back to Bonnafond, Minguez and Failli.

But with just over 5km left, the peloton had engulfed all of the leaders and the stage was set for a breathless finish to the stage. The riders charged up the initial first climb back to Assisi, which reached a gradient of 15 percent at its steepest. Hesjedal, now without the protection of his teammates, was battling gamely at the front alongside the likes of Rodriguez, Michele Scarponi and Rabobank’s Tom Slagter, who attacked to no lasting avail.

Before the fans had time to regroup their senses, the climb turned into a sharp and fast descent, with Sky’s Rigobert Uran and AG2R-La Mondiale’s John Gadret sweeping round the outside and bursting clear. Within a matter of minutes they were climbing again and Rodriguez, aided selflessly by his teammate Daniel Moreno, positioned himself perfectly and powered away to the line for a cosy victory and possession of the maglia rosa.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	4:25:05
2	Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Team NetApp	0:00:02
3	Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team
4	Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox	0:00:06
5	John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
6	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Barracuda
7	Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
8	Dario Cataldo (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
9	Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Astana Pro Team
10	Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling

La Flèche Wallonne, 2012

Rodriguez wins La Flèche Wallonne

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/la-fleche-wallonne/results)

Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) stormed up the Mur de Huy to claim the victory at the 76th La Flèche Wallonne, overcoming wet and windy conditions to prevail in the middle race of the three Ardennes Classics.

Rodriguez, who had finished second in the previous two years, was part of a large chasing group that engulfed breakaway leaders Lars Petter Nordhaug (Team Sky) and Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda) on the final gruelling climb, and the Spaniard held off the challenge of Michael Albasini (GreenEdge) and defending champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC) for what was in the end a commanding victory.

Rodriguez was overcome with emotion after crossing the winning line, having erased the pain of 2010 and 2011 by finally getting his hands on the prize. He becomes the third Spaniard to win the race in the last ten years, following wins by Igor Astarloa (2003) and Alejandro Valverde (2006).

“It’s the best and most incredible victory of my whole career,” Rodriguez said. “Today is definitely one of the best days of my life. I’ve always been in love with these Classic races, and a victory in these competitions has always been one of my main goals: finally, after many good results, I managed to win.

"Obviously I have to thank my teammates: all of them did a great job from the beginning to the end. It’s true that Mur de Huy was a more suitable final part to my characteristics than Cauberg, but I have to admit it was really hard: it looked like an easy victory, but I did a strong effort in order to defeat my rivals.

"Now I can get ready for Liege-Bastogne-Liege with high motivations. I don’t think this victory will change anything, I’m not the only forerunner, there are many strong riders with chances to win. Everything changed from the Amstel Gold Race to Fleche Wallonne and everything can change on Sunday too. So we have to pay a lot of attention and work at our best if we want to take this legendary double”.

It never looked like the fanatical home fans were going to celebrating a local winner, though the supporters in the Ardennes will have been encouraged by Gilbert’s performance. He has failed to fully live up to expectations in the colours of his new team so far this season, but a sixth place in the Amstel Gold Race last Sunday followed by his podium finish here suggests that he is slowly edging towards his best form.

"I've come from a long way down, so I am satisfied to be back at this level," Gilbert said. "Being on the podium is nice, but most important is a victory. Today, Rodriguez was the deserving winner."

Wild weather in Wallonie

Wind and rain greeted the riders at the start of the 194km race in Charleroi, further dampening the spirits of the supporters who were disappointed by the withdrawals of 2010 winner Cadel Evans (BMC), Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Thomas Voeckler (Europcar). But with the race underway the Belgians’ indomitable passion for professional road cycling took over, the atmosphere building with each passing kilometre.

An early breakaway saw Daniele Ratto (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Mads Christiensen (Saxo Bank) take 12 seconds out of the field, before a crash split the chasing peloton into two groups. The first group of chasers, led by Katusha, caught up and it was left to Dirk Bellemakers (Landbouwkrediet) to make the next significant move, 55km into the race.

Bellemakers was soon joined by Anthony Roux (FDJ-Big Mat) and the two men worked tirelessly to build up a yawning gap of 2:25 from Sjef De Wilde (Accent.Jobs-Willems Verandas) as they passed over the Mur de Huy for the first time in worsening rain. The first main chasing pack, led by Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan), were roughly a further minute behind as the riders hurtled towards the halfway point.

With De Wilde unable to maintain his solo chase, the gap between the two leaders and the initial pack stretched to just under eight minutes at its peak, before Katusha and Lotto-Belisol traded turns on the front end to begin reducing the deficit. Sander Armee’s brave bid to bridge the gap on his own eventually ended in a stalemate, with the Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator rider unable to get any nearer that 2:40 down as Bellemakers and Roux closed in on the final crucial 50km.

With 40km to go Andy Schleck launched an attack from the main chasing pack, as the riders approached the Mur for the second time. The deficit between the leaders and the chasing pack was halved on the Mur second time round, offering further evidence of that its final ascent in the finale would probably prove decisive. With 30km left the pack caught the breakaway and the final phase of the race was set to play itself out.

Just as Robinson Chalapud (Colombia-Coldportes) suffered a horrific-looking crash, landing face-down on the tarmac, Tom Slagter (Rabobank) and Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) broke clear, building up a 14-second advantage. The closer the riders got to the final climb of the Mur, the heavier the rain came down, and as Frank Schleck suffered a puncture at a critical stage, Hesjedal and Nordhaug made their move, attacking with 7.5km to go.

It took the chasing pack what seemed like an eternity to close them down, but eventually the final 1km climb up the Mur – a gradient of 20-25% in places – drained the strength from the legs of the breakaway duo as the walls caved in around them. Rodriguez pounced, taking 15 metres out of the chasing pack in a show of rare power. His decisive burst left him clear and gave him time to acknowledge the crowd as he crossed the line for a well deserved victory that has been a long time coming.

Full Results

1	Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	4:45:41
2	Michael Albasini (Swi) GreenEdge Cycling Team	0:00:04
3	Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
4	Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
5	Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Astana Pro Team	0:00:07
6	Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Barracuda	0:00:09
7	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
8	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
9	Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
10	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team	0:00:11

Tour de San Luis, Stage Tres

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

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

Contador conquers Mirador

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Double dose of category one climbs loom

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results, Stage 3:

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

Overall, as of Stage 3:

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

Boonen's Charity Event

Boonen returns for charity cyclo-cross race

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/boonen-returns-for-charity-cyclo-cross-race)

Tom Boonen will once again host the charity cyclo-cross race "Boonen & Friends" at the Zilvermeer in Mol, Belgium this Saturday. The event benefits "Move to Improve", a charity for children with movement disorders. Joining the Quick Step sprinter will be former cyclo-cross world champion Lars Boom who will be given a one-minute handicap to the star-studded field of road professionals.

Boom will be up against a field of 48 riders which includes, among others, former winners Maarten Wynants and Pieter Vanspeybrouck as well as current professionals André Greipel, Jelle Vanendert, Giovanni Visconti, Carlos Barredo, Björn Leukemans, Marco Bandiera and Christian Knees.

In the race for retired pros, another former world champion, Erwin Vervecken, will try to defend his title of last year against the likes of Johan Museeuw, Davide Bramati, Eric Vanderaerden, Jo Planckaert and Marc Wauters.

The race is sure to provide even Boom and Vervecken with challenges on a course which Boonen called one of the hardest yet. "Even for a cyclo-crosser the circuit is technically challenging."

Boonen is looking forward to racing for the first time since he crashed out of the Vuelta a España with a broken wrist.
""My wrist is almost healed. I only suffer when I have to ride a long descent."

After a series of community races, the ex-professionals will take to the start at 2pm, with Boonen and friends going off at 3:15.