2012 Cycling Thread

[Smallville22]

Martin retains men's ITT world championships title

Germany's Tony Martin defended his world championships individual time trial title despite a spirited performance by American youngster Taylor Phinney.
Martin completed the demanding 45.7km circuit in the Dutch region of Limburg in a time of 58 minutes and 38.76 seconds to better silver medallist Phinney by 5.37 seconds.
Belarusian Vasil Kiryienka completed the podium with a surprise ride to take third place, a huge one minute and 44.99 seconds off the winning time set by Martin.

 

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Felline wins Memorial Marco Pantani

Fabio Felline won the ninth running of the Memorial Marco Pantani in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
The Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela rider triumphed in a bunch sprint from 2010 winner Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Giovanni Visconti (Movistar).

 

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Giro stage to end on mighty Galibier

A stage of the 2013 Giro d'Italia will end on the legendary Col du Galibier.
The hors-category climb, which rises 2,642 metres, provided a famous moment in the 1998 Tour de France when an attack by Marco Pantani effectively sealed overall victory.

There is even a plaque four kilometres from the summit of the mountain - which divides the French departments of Savoy from the Hautes-Alpes - to recognise the point at which the late Italian began his attack.

Stage 15 of the Giro on Sunday May 19 will begin in Cesana Torinese and take the riders towards Susa where the Colle del Moncenisio climb will begin. They will then head downhill towards the Val D’Arc.

At Saint Michel de Maurienne the race will climb the Col du Télégraphe then, at Valloire, the final 18km will climb towards the summit of the Galibier where the stage will end.

It will be the first time that a race finishes at the top of the mighty mountain.

 

[Smallville22]

Garner retains junior women's world championship

Britain's Lucy Garner won the junior women's world championship road race in Limburg for the second year in succession.
The 18-year-old from Leicestershire outsprinted Norway's Eline Brustad and Italy's Anna Stricker to repeat her victory in Copenhagen last year.

 

[Smallville22]

Lutsenko claims U23 road world title

Kazakhstan's Alexey Lutsenko claimed the men's U23 road race world title when he prevailed in a tightly contested sprint finish on Saturday.
France's Bryan Coquard, a silver medallist on the track's omnium at the London Olympics, looked the most powerful rider but came from too far out and took silver.
Belgian Tom van Asbroeck picked up the bronze.

 

[Smallville22]

Vos wins world road race on home soil

Dutchwoman Marianne Vos ended a five-year drought with an emphatic victory in the women's world championships road race in front of an ecstatic home crowd in Valkenburg.
Vos, the Olympic road race champion, put in a decisive attack on the final ascent of the legendary Cauberg climb to win her first world title since taking the gold medal as an amateur back in 2006. Having finished runner-up in the previous five successive world championships.
Australia's Rachel Neylan took silver after crossing the line 10 seconds behind Vos, while Italian Elisa Longo Borghini took bronze a further eight seconds back.

 

[Smallville22]

Matej Mohoric has taken his second medal at the 2012 world championships in Valkenburg. But this time is was gold instead of silver.

The Slovenian junior that came in second at the ITT surprised the bunch with a powerful attack at 1 kilometer from the finish-line. Australian Caleb Ewan took second place, just before Josip Rumac (Croatia).

 

[Smallville22]

Gilbert crowned world champion in Limburg

Belgium's Philippe Gilbert put in a trademark attack on the final climb of the Cauberg to take the men's road race world title ahead of Edvald Boasson Hagen and Alejandro Valverde.

 

[Smallville22]

Team Sky have announced the signing of Dario Cataldo on a two-year contract ahead of the 2013 season.

Vacansoleil-DCM to pay Coppi tribute
The great Fausto Coppi will be honoured at the Giro di Lombardia this weekend when Vacansoleil-DCM wear a special team shirt.

 

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Contador wins Milano-Torino
Alberto Contador continued his fine form since returning to cycling by winning the Milano-Torino road race.


Jürgen Roelandts won the opening stage of the Circuit Franco-Belge.


Uran wins Gran Piemonte
Team Sky's Rigoberto Uran won the 98th Gran Piemonte in Italy.

 

[Smallville22]

Team Sky have signed Spanish climbing domestique David Lopez on a two-year contract.

 

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Joaquim Rodriguez wins the Giro di Lombardia
The Giro di Lombardia, the last 'Monument' of the European calendar, is a 251km race which this year began in Bergamo and finished in Lecco.
In claiming the 106th edition of the race Rodriguez became the first Spaniard in the race's history to take victory.

 

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Bouhanni takes stage as Roelandts seals Franco-Belge GC

Nacer Bouhanni won the final stage of the Circuit Franco-Belge as Juergen Roelandts completed overall victory.

 

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American duo join Team Sky
Team Sky have signed young American duo Joe Dombrowski and Ian Boswell.

 

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Britain's Adam Blythe won Binche-Tournai-Binche in Belgium.

 

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Kittel claims victory in Münsterland Giro

Marcel Kittel won the Münsterland Giro for the second consecutive year in Germany.
The Argos-Shimano sprinter took his 13th victory of the year.

 

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Colombia's Fabio Duarte won the 60th Coppa Sabatini in Tuscany.

British rider Jonathan Tiernan-Locke has joined Team Sky for the 2013 season.


End of the road for Freire

Three-time world champion Oscar Freire has competed for the final time after his Katusha team confirmed his absence from Sunday's Paris-Tours race.
The 36-year-old Spaniard, who won the rainbow jersey in 1999, 2001 and 2004, was 10th in this year's World Championships in Valkenburg which will be his final race.
His 15th year in the pro peloton was marred by a fall at the Tour de France that saw him puncture a lung and suffer broken ribs.
Freire began his career with Vitalicio Seguros in 1998 and also represented Mapei-Quick Step (2000-02) and Rabobank (2003-11) before joining the Russian squad this year.
Freire also has three victories in Milan-Sanremo (2004, 2007, 2010), the green jersey and four stages of the Tour de France plus seven stage wins in the Vuelta a Espana on his palmares.

 

[Smallville22]

Vachon claims Paris-Bourges
Florian Vachon stunned the sprinters to win the semi-classic Paris-Bourges.
The Bretagne-Schuller rider made a decisive move 1.2km from the end of the 62nd edition of the race that saw the riders travel 190.9km.
French champion Nacer Bouhanni and John Degenkolb, a winner of five stages at the Vuelta a Espana, had to be content with second and third as 27-year-old Vachon picked up his third win of the year.

 

[Smallville22]

Movistar rider Nairo Quintana won the 95th running of the Giro dell'Emilia near Bologna with a late attack.
Colombian climber Quintana, 22, took his seventh win of the season by three seconds from Fredrik Kessiakoff of Astana on the finishing San Luca climb of the Italian classic.
Franco Pellizotti (Androni Giocattoli) was third at four seconds ahead of Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago-CSF Bardiani) and Chris Anker Sørensen (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank).

 

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Sorensen wins GP Bruno Beghelli with late attack

Nicki Sorensen claimed victory in the final race of the Italian cycling season as he won the Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli in Monteveglio.
The veteran Saxo Bank rider was part of a five-man breakaway that pulled clear on the final time up the Zappolino climb at the end of the 196km race.
But while the other four riders began to fade the Dane kept on pushing, eventually winning by 12 seconds from Italian youngsters Fabio Felline (Androni Giocattoli) and Matteo Rabottini (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia).