2013 Cycling Thread

[Smallville22]

Boogerd confesses to doping

Michael Boogerd has admitted he doped for a decade.
The 40-year-old, who quit the sport in 2007, said in a television interview that he used erythropoietin, ***** transfusions and cortisone to boost his performance while riding for Rabobank.
"The period I used ****** substances was from 1997 to 2007, the end of my career," Boogerd, who was fifth in the 1998 Tour de France, told national broadcaster NOS.
"I'm sorry I kept the (doping) culture alive," he said. "I'm sorry I never put up my hand and publicly said: 'This can't go on. It's not good.' And I'm sorry I wasn't riding in another era.
"I flew to Vienna for ***** transfusions. I stored my own ***** for later use."
Boogerd, who won the Amstel Gold classic in 1999 and claimed two stage wins on the Tour de France, refused to implicate anyone else in his confession.
"I'm not naming people," he said. "It was my responsibility, my choice."
The three-times Dutch champion becomes the eighth rider of the now defunct Rabobank team to admit to doping.

 

[Smallville22]

Albasini takes victory in Paris-Nice

Michael Albasini won stage four of Paris-Nice in a small group sprint at the end of the toughest day of the World Tour race thus far.
The Swiss rider was a comfortable winner at the end of the 199km trip from Brioude to Saint-Vallier that featured six second or third category climbs before the final category one ascent of the Cote de la Sizeranne.
Astana's Maxim Iglinsky and Peter Velits of Omega Pharma-Quick Step followed the Orica GreenEdge rider over the time with Garmin-Sharp's Andrew Talasnky coming home sixth to retain the overall lead.
Javier Moreno (Movistar), Gianni Meersman (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) and Johan Tschopp (IAM) attacked before the cat 2 Cote de Lachaud, which commenced after just 6.7km, and were soon joined by Europcar's Thomas Voeckler.
Hubert Dupont (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Romain Sicard (Euskatel), Michael Morkov (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff) and Warren Barguil (Argos-Shimano) bridged the gap and the seven leaders had a 3:35 lead after 56km.
But that lead was down to one minute with 32km remaining and the escape group began to splinter with Voeckler finally swallowed up with 15km remaining just before the ascent of the Côte de la Sizeranne.
The peloton split dramatically on the final climb, which peaked just 9km from the finish and had an average gradient of 6.6%, but no rider was able to make a decisive move on the descending finish into Saint-Vallier.
It meant 37 riders came to the line to contest the finish and it was Albasini who delivered the killer burst to record his first win since last year's Tour of Switzerland.
“I actually wasn’t sure of my condition when I came here,” admitted Albasini.
“I was feeling good, but we couldn’t race Lugano and my last race before that was three weeks ago last Wednesday. Without racing, it’s hard to understand what’s going on with your body. I’m super happy to start the season with an early, important win. I’m a bit surprised, too.
“It’s even nicer to win on a day when we also won with [Matt] Goss in Tirreno,” Albasini added. “It’s really perfect. It’s important to keep the wins going like we did last year.”
Young American Talasnky was in close attention and he now leads on GC by three seconds from Astana's Andriy Grivko with Velits and OPQS tem-mate Sylvain Chavanel a further second back.

 

[Smallville22]

Goss wins at Tirreno-Adriatico as Orica-GreenEdge do World Tour double

Matt Goss won stage two of Tirreno-Adriatico in atrocious conditions in Tuscany.
The Orica-GreenEDGE speedster beat Manuel Belletti (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Gerald Ciolek (MTN Qhubeka) to the line in a bunch sprint in driving rain at the end of a 232km stage from San Vincenzo to Indicatore (Arezzo).
The Omega Pharma-QuickStep lead-out train lost position in the run-in to the line and Mark Cavendish had to settle for fifth, behind nemesis Roberto Ferrari (Lampre-Merida), but the British star retains the overall lead after his Belgian squad won Wednesday's opening team time trial.
Kevin Hulsmans (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) instigated an early ****** and was joined by Cesare Benedetti (NetApp-Endura) and Garikoitz Bravo (Euskatel).
They lead by seven minutes following the first two categorised climbs of the race at Massa Marittima after 44km and Cantoniera Montebello after 85km.
With 95km to go, their advantage peaked at 8:30 but that quickly diminished as the stage concludes with five, mostly flat 12.4km circuits around Indicatore.
The escapees were caught with 27.5km to go to set up the inevitable gallop to the line.
Cavendish was looking for a repeat victory after winning over the same route in last year’s race but it was BMC, Lotto and GreenEDGE on the front in dangerous conditions as they went under the Flamme Rouge.
And it was 26-year-old Tasmanian who took the victory and completed a World Tour double for his Australian team after Michael Albasini had won at Paris-Nice less than an hour before.
Goss said: “In the sprint, Peter Sagan came from behind. He’d come from a long way back but I knew he’d go anyway, and I kind of timed my sprint on his.
“This is my first road race in Europe this season and I’ve won, so I’m looking forward to the rest of the season now. I know if I’m in good shape I can do a good Milan-Sanremo next week. It’s definitely a goal for me.
“It’s always nice to win. It doesn’t really matter who’s second or third. Cavendish and Andre Greipel are two guys I’ve sprinted against, and been in the same team as. Last year I couldn’t get the upper hand. Hopefully I can turn a lot of last year’s second places into wins.”
The top five places on GC all remain in the possession of Omega Pharma-QuickStep but Cavendish was unhappy that his team did not put him in a better position in the run-in to the line.
He said: “I was 30 riders back in the final kilometre and I had a lot of work to do. With 200m to go the peloton went right and I had to slam the brakes on, and that was when I lost.
“We worked as a team but we weren’t in a good position in the final kilometre. I’m disappointed with my lead out. I know they’re better than that. We’ll have words tonight.”

 

[Smallville22]

Porte takes control of Paris-Nice after summit victory

Team Sky's Richie Porte captured the Queen stage of Paris-Nice at the summit finish of Montagne de Lure.
The Australian rider took the overall lead in the process after riding away from overnight leader Andrew Talansky in the final 2km.
The 28-year-old from Tasmania burst out of an elite group and bridged the gap to Denis Menchov before riding away from the former Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana champion to take his third win in Sky colours.
He now leads Talansky by 32 seconds on GC with Saturday's 220km road stage and Sunday's concluding uphill time trial to follow.
Jens Voigt (RadioShack-Leopard), Cyril Lemoine (Sojasun), Thierry Hupond (Argos-Shimano) and Paolo Longo Borghini (Cannondale) were involved in the break of the day.
After escaping shortly after the start of the 176km fifth stage from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, they built up a five minute lead after 40km.
That advantage stood at 6:30 with 80km to go, following a pair of category two climbs, but their advantage dwindled as they crossed a trio of category three climbs and was down to two minutes with 20km remaining.
Sensing the inevitable, irrepressible German Voigt attacked the break but he was caught with 7.5km remaining as a small group formed on the 16.8km finishing climb which has an average gradient of 6.6%.
Team Sky were at the head of the peloton but played a waiting game as Michele Scarponi attacked. Talansky tried to follow but he was marked by Porte before Menchov's burst.
Sensing a weakness in the young American, Porte made his move and stormed home. He finished 26 seconds ahead of Menchov with Talanksy leading an elite group over the line a further seven seconds back.
Porte, who was fourth in the 2010 World ITT, is now a strong favourite for the race although Dutch time trial champion Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil) stands third on GC at 42 seconds.

 

[Smallville22]

Sagan beats Cavendish in Tirreno-Adriatico sprint

Peter Sagan claimed stage three of Tirreno-Adriatico in a bunch sprint on a wet day in Umbria.
The prolific Slovakian prevailed at the end of the 190km stage from Indicatore (Arezzo) to Narni Scalo.
The Cannondale rider finished just ahead of Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step) and André Greipel (Lotto) to record his fourth win of the year after a pair of wins at the Tour of Oman and victory in the GP Città di Camaiore.
Britain's Cavendish was on Sagan's wheel but could not pull within half a bike's length as he missed out in a sprint for the second day in succession.
He does have the consolation of retaining the overall lead after his Belgian squad won Wednesday's opening team time trial.
Cavendish said: “Gert [Steegmans] brought me to the last 500m. I tried to get on Greipel’s wheel, but Sagan was already there. I started my sprint early, but someone always comes from behind so I tried to hold something back. Peter [Sagan] did really well.”
Garikoitz Bravo (Euskaltel), Cesare Benedetti (NetApp-Endura) and Francesco Failli (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) were the break of the day.
They built up a lead of six minutes at the halfway stage as the peloton crossed the border from the region of Tuscany.
But their advantage was down to three minutes after the sole categorised climb of the day at the town of Todi after 120km and they were caught shortly after the last intermediate sprint in Narni after 166.5km.
From then on a bunch gallop to the line looked inevitable as the peloton did two short loops on wet roads and the sprinters' teams nullified a flurry of attacks.
And it was Sagan who confirmed his reputation as the man to beat at this year's opening Classic, Milan-San Remo with the victory.
He said: “I’m happy. It’s the first time I’ve been Mark Cavendish in my career, I think.
"There was a climb we rode hard and I think the sprinters felt it. In the final 500m Mark had no more lead-out men. I was on Greipel’s wheel, Mark went shoulder to shoulder with me but he was sporting and dropped in behind. It was good for me, anyway, not for him.”

 

[Smallville22]

Millar: Armstrong era is burden on young riders

Cycling's new generation of riders are unfairly burdened with the fallout of the Lance Armstrong era but the sport has to confront its past if it is to finally **** off its doping culture, according to David Millar.
Speaking to Reuters after the fifth stage of Paris-Nice in a gloomy hotel lobby, the doper turned anti-doping campaigner explained the revelations belonged to a past that cycling had to face.
"He (Armstrong) was on their radar, he was one of the people who inspired them to get into the sport like many when they were younger," said Millar.
"From the exterior it seems like it's very sudden but it's been a fairly gradual downfall in many ways, especially within the sport," he added, saying cycling lived in the 1990s and the 2000s with that "big elephant" (doping) in the room.
"Now it makes them more angry than anything else to have to deal with the mistakes of another generation, it's something they have to deal with which is not fair."
However, the younger generation of riders is more outspoken on doping than the one which shone during the early 2000s.
"I think it's more a case of the shift already happened. Stories that are coming out now, what is happening now is an awakening for the public and for all of us," the 36-year-old Briton said.
"We are hearing and seeing the truth of what really happened rather than what we thought or believed happened. In a way it's interesting but not very representative of where cycling is at the moment.
"Within Garmin-Sharp we've always had a very proactive anti-doping stance," said the Scot who served a two-year ban after admitting taking the *****-booster EPO.
"We educate our young riders that they can talk about this, we never gag them."
Garmin's Andrew Talansky, who wore the Paris-Nice overall leader's yellow jersey for two days, freely expressed his feelings when quizzed on Wednesday.
"There's a large shadow that's been lifted with his (Armstrong) admissions," said the American.
"It's an exciting period for the sport with plenty of promise that opens things up for me and Tejay (Van Garderen).
"Those people who were sceptical during the Armstrong era only have to look at Tejay and myself now."
Garmin-Sharp team manager Jonathan Vaughters and riders Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie testified against Armstrong, but Millar believes they are all proof you do not need to throw the baby out with the bath water.
"We don't have to remove the people from that era, we proved that with our team. In many ways, having people who want to make a difference like JV (Vaughters) and myself, Christian, David, it helps confront the past and be very pragmatic about it," said Millar.
"There are also a lot of guys out there in the sport who are blinkered, who are in denial, they're also scared because they don't know what is going to happen to them if they do (talk)," he said.
His team mates Vande Velde and Zabriskie are returning from a six-month suspension given by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after the pair admitting to doping earlier in their careers.
"They are a bit scared of what the reception might be," said Millar, whose optimism, however, is matched by that of Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme.
"It's not a perfect world but it's cleaner," Prudhomme told Reuters.
"The picture we have from the Armstrong era is not representative of today's cycling. Cycling has changed already."

 

[Smallville22]

Vos wins World Cup opener; GB's Armitstead seventh

Marianne Vos got the defence of her Women's UCI Road World Cup title off to the perfect start with victory in the Ronde van Drenthe amid freezing rain as Britain's Lizzie Armitstead finished seventh.
Vos won her first road race of the season at the Drentse 8 in Dwingeloo in the Netherlands on Thursday and repeated the trick as the 2013 Women's UCI Road World Cup officially got underway. The 25-year-old, who won three races on the way to the World Cup title last year including the Ronde van Drenthe opener, outsprinted Dutch teammate Ellen van Dijk in the final kilometres. van Dijk chased down the world and Olympic road race champion after she attacked on the final ascent of the VAM-Berg however she couldn't keep up with her at the death as she settled for second. Victory was Vos' third straight in the Ronde van Drenthe with Emma Johansson of Sweden finishing third after her attempt to chase down the leading two herself failed. Australian Chloe Hosking outsprinted Kirsten Wild at the head of a select chase group to take fourth before Shelley Olds in sixth and then Armitstead in seventh and the first Brit home. Armitstead, who had to settle for silver behind Vos in the road race at the London 2012 Olympics, was the fourth rider home of the pack of six behind Vos, van Dijk and Johansson. Fellow Brit Katie Colclough ranked 36th while Emma Trott was 47th with seven more rounds to go in the World Cup with the next the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio on March 24.

 

[Smallville22]

Wetterhall leads NetApp-Endura 1-2-3 in Drenthe

Alexander Wetterhall escaped to win the Ronde van Drenthe one-day race as Team NetApp-Endura filled the podium.
On a soaking wet 184km stage contested mainly over dangerous pavement, the Swede soloed to the win in the Netherlands.
German team-mates Markus Eichler and Andreas Schillinger followed to complete a 1-2-3 for the German squad, formed in the winter as a link-up between NetApp and British team Endura.
Vacansoleil-DCM’s Dutch duo Wesley Kreder and Danny Van Poppel were fourth and fifth.
Olympic road race champion Marianne Vos won the women’s race – the opening World Cup contest - for the third year in a row on home soil.

 

[Smallville22]

Chavanel wins sprint into Nice

Sylvain Chavanel sprinted to stage six of Paris-Nice as Richie Porte preserved his 32-second lead ahead of Sunday’s decisive individual time trial.
Omega Pharma-QuickStep rider Chavanel emerged from the slipstream of BMC’s Philippe Gilbert to snatch victory in Nice following the longest stage of this year’s race, a 220km run from Manosque.
Movistar’s Jose Joaquin Rojas was third in the bunch sprint ahead of Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R), Tony Gallopin (RadioShack), Julien Simon (Sojasun) and Borut Bozic (Astana).
Garmin’s American rider Andrew Talansky remains behind Team Sky's stage five winner Porte on GC, with Chavanel’s bonus seconds putting him third at 42s.
"I am super happy," said Chavanel. "It's the second time I won here in Nice, after my victory in 2008. It's always a great emotion to raise the arms here.
"Today I decided to do the sprint because I was looking for some points for the green jersey. There was a headwind in the final, so I asked Kevin De Weert to stay near me. He did a great job and he left me in the perfect position on the wheel of Gilbert and Dumoulin."
Eleven riders broke away on a soaking wet first half of the stage: Simon Clarke (GreenEdge), Egor Silin (Astana), Gatis Smukulis (Katusha), Eduard Vorganov (Katusha), Brent Bookwalter (BMC), Julien El Fares (Sojasun), Bozic, Jerome Pineau (Omega Pharma QuickStep), Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), Johann Tschopp (IAM Cycling) and Arnold Jeannesson (FDJ).
The latter rider stood 20th on GC - 1:49 in arrears of yellow jersey Porte – prior to the stage and so with the gap at 3:30 at the halfway point, he had the virtual lead for much of the stage.
With 86km remaining Latvian Smukulis was dropped by the leaders, while behind them the peloton picked up the pace to close the gap to 2:20 and drop Mark Renshaw and David Millar.
Renshaw’s subsequent abandonment left Blanco with five riders while FDJ were down to four after Yoann Offredo quit; Robert Gesink, Andreas Klier and Thomas De Gendt also called it a day on the stage.
The penultimate stage featured five categorised climbs, the last of them successive Cat.1s before a long run down into Nice.
Tschopp maintained his position in the break to lead them over both the Cote de Cabris and Col du Ferrier and put the seal on an impressive King of the Mountains triumph which raises hopes that IAM Cycling can secure a Tour de France wildcard spot.
After the climbs the gap was down to a minute; they had proven too much for El Fares, Silin, Bookwalter, Pineau and Bozic as the break was reduced to just five riders.
The peloton led by Sky and Euskaltel gradually ate up the remaining riders – Clarke, Vorganov, Bardet, Tschopp and Jeannesson (FDJ) – on the slippery descent.
Chavanel, Peter Velits (OPQS) and Andriy Grivko (Astana) attacked with less than 35km remaining but were quickly swallowed back up.
With the roads drying in the sun and Sky at the head of a strung-out peloton, Talansky stayed with Porte but was unable to break away from him.
The opportunity was there for an unlikely winner, with many specialist sprinters not in the running after the tough stage.
AG2R took to the front inside the final 2km then BMC came through, while Michael Albasini (Greenedge) was worked into position out wide with 500m to go.
He faded and it looked to be between Gilbert and the following Dumoulin, only for Chavanel to come through.
The race ends with a 9.6km individual time trial up the Col d'Eze which overlooks Nice.

 

[Smallville22]

Froome climbs to Tirreno-Adriatico stage four win

Chris Froome won the fourth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico to sit four seconds behind new race leader Michal Kwiatkowski with three stages left.
The British Team Sky rider raced away on the summit finish in Prati di Tivo to win by six seconds from Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia), with Astana’s Vincenzo Nibali and Omega Pharma-Quick Step’s Kwiatkowski following at 11 and 13 seconds respectively.
Froome was 34 seconds behind leader Mark Cavendish at the start of the 173km stage from Narni.
After several days of rain the weather was pleasant for the riders and an early break formed after just two kilometres - Fredrik Kessiakoff (Astana), Anthony Roux (FDJ), Tomasz Marczynski (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Francesco Failli (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia).
Failli boosted his King of the Mountains hopes by leading the way over two summits while the gap to the peloton peaked at 6:45.
The gap was quickly cut on the descent following the second of them, the Passo delle Capannelle, and as the riders approached the final 14.5km climb to the ski resort of Prati di Tivo first Failli was dropped then Kessiakoff and Roux.
With Cavendish easing up behind the peloton, Marczynski was left all alone at the front. His 45s lead with 9km to go disappeared within the following kilometre, as Sky set a monstrous pace in the main group.
Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff), Nibali and Santambrogio all looked to ****** up the climb but Froome’s Sky colleagues would not allow them to ride away.
“I have a lot of faith in my teammates: [Rigoberto] Uran, Sergio [Henao] and Dario Cataldo,” Froome said. “They all did great work today and when they are like that, my job becomes much easier.
“They all helped me to be up there in the finale and fresher than everyone else.”
But it was Froome’s ferocious late ****** which ate up the 40m to the leading trio, catching Nibali and Contador with 800m to go before accelerating away for the win.
With the chasing group stretched, several riders lost chunks of time to Froome, who is now well-placed with three stages to race.

 

[Smallville22]

Froome leads Tirreno-Adriatico as Rodriguez wins stage five

Katusha’s Joaquim Rodriguez won stage five of Tirreno-Adriatico in Chieti as Briton Chris Froome took a commanding overall lead of the race.
Bauke Mollema (Blanco) won the sprint for second – eight seconds behind the winner - from Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank), Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini), Chris Horner (Radioshack) and Froome (Sky).
Previous race leader Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick-Step) lost time after being dropped late on - he is now 24s down on Froome - while fellow GC hopeful Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) was all alone, nine seconds behind the second-placed group.
Froome has a 20-second lead on Contador – who won valuable seconds at the intermediate sprints - and Nibali with two stages left to race. Horner is fourth, at 37s.
Spaniard Rodriguez attacked on a steep section of the final climb 1400m from the finish after keeping tabs on the attacking Froome and Contador, who on Saturday lost 15s on stage four winner Froome and was determined to fight his way back into contention on GC.
The 230km stage from Ortona featured three categorised climbs as the race continued in the mountains for a second day.

 

[Smallville22]

Porte wins Paris-Nice after dominating time trial

Richie Porte secured Team Sky’s second Paris-Nice overall win in two years by winning the final individual time trial up the Col d’Eze.
The Australian, who lives in Monaco and trains on the 9.6km climb regularly, set a time of 19 minutes 16 seconds.
That was a huge 23s quicker than Garmin-Sharp’s Andrew Talanksy, whom he led by 32s ahead of the stage and finished second on the day. The American therefore finishes second on GC, 55s seconds behind Porte.
AG2R La Mondiale's Jean-Christophe Peraud (+32s) completes the podium, 1:21 off the winning time, after finishing fourth behind Colombian climber Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas of Movistar (+27s) on the stage.
Last year Porte was down in 28th in the time trial, 1:44 down on team-mate Bradley Wiggins’s winning time of 19:12 - but that was largely a result of it coming at the end of a ****** week of riding as a domestique for the British winner of the race and Tour de France.
Wiggins did not ride in Paris-Nice this year as he is focusing on the Giro d’Italia.
The stage began at the base of a climb which boasts an average gradient of 4.7%, with some slopes as steep as 8.6%.
Porte has said he will revert to a supporting role for Wiggins and Chris Froome - tipped to be Sky’s focus on this year’s Tour and hopeful of victory in the ongoing Tirreno-Adriatico – after Paris-Nice.

 

[Smallville22]

Tour director hails British role in the sport

Britain's growing cycling culture has helped to globalise the sport while keeping it close to its European roots, Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said.
"Globalisation is necessary but we need to respect the roots of cycling," Prudhomme told Reuters in an interview after the fifth stage of the Paris-Nice race.
"If cycling has been resistant to scandals it's because it has deep roots in some countries."
Globalisation could be achieved through the riders, not just by spreading races all over the world, he said.
"When (Australian) Cadel Evans wins the Tour, images travel all over the world. The Tour has helped globalise cycling through its champions."
Road cycling took the spotlight in Britain after the Tour started from London in 2007 and Bradley Wiggins's Tour triumph last year - 10 days before he also won the London Olympic time trial - had increased interest, Prudhomme said.
"When you see Bradley Wiggins win, he is the first Briton to win the Tour, he has an Australian ******, and the rider who is second overall (Chris Froome) was born in Kenya and lives in South Africa - it epitomises Commonwealth," said Prudhomme on Friday.
"But yet you're still right next to Paris, to Belgium."
The English-speaking world, at one time regarded as a threat to cycling with the now-disgraced Lance Armstrong once being rumoured to take over as Tour de France owner, was now cycling's great ally, according to Prudhomme.
"When I went to Yorkshire (this year) to announce that the Tour 2014 would start from Yorkshire, I told them: 'You're Belgians who speak English'," he said.
"I'd also like to thank the people who decided to send Wiggins on to the stage with the yellow jersey on his back at the Olympic opening ceremony. We were so proud that day.
"When you have a Briton winning the Tour you're reaching out to everyone who speaks English in the world and that's a few potential fans."

 

[Smallville22]

Dwars door Drenthe cancelled due to snow

Sunday’s Dwars door Drenthe was cancelled due to snowy conditions in the Netherlands.
Saturday’s Ronde van Drenthe, won by Alexander Wetterhall as part of a Team NetApp-Endura 1-2-3, was held in dangerous rain-lashed conditions on the Dutch pavement.
Overnight snow and ice led to the cancellation of the standalone race, which formerly made up part of a two-day event with the Ronde.
“It snowed overnight and particularly in the region of Emmen, where the men were going to start, it is impossible to race,” organiser Femmy van Issum told De Telegraaf.
“It was not an easy decision to take when everything was ready, but the safety of the riders is paramount.”

 

[Smallville22]

Dominant Team Sky doing it by numbers

It has long been part of cycling to see a well-drilled train leading out their team's top sprinter in a stage finale but Team Sky are taking things to a new level by stamping their authority from the start, even when there is a mountain to be climbed.
Supremely conditioned, extremely well-organised and slavish followers of their power meters, Sky leave nothing to chance.
Their approach has helped them to win the Tour of Oman and the Paris-Nice stage races this year while Chris Froome looks primed to claim the Tirreno-Adriatico on Wednesday.
Victory would add to last year's wins on the Paris-Nice, Tour de Romandie, Criterium du Dauphine and their one-two in the Tour de France.
Froome took the overall lead in the Tirreno-Adriatico in Sky trademark fashion on Saturday, with his team mates setting a devilish pace at the foot of the final climb to prevent attacks from their rivals.
Even a top climber such as Alberto Contador failed to unsettle the well-oiled machine, which works similarly to Lance Armstrong's U.S. Postal in the early 2000s, although the American team were built solely around the Texan while Sky have other potential winners.
In the Tour of Oman, the Spaniard attacked repeatedly in the queen stage - featuring the highest climb - but he was eventually reeled in and he could not overthrow Froome on Saturday in the Tirreno-Adriatico either.
Contador paid for it when Froome himself attacked in the final kilometre - a carbon copy of Australian Richie Porte's winning move on the Paris-Nice the day before.
Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins explained the system, and the reliance on power meters which measure a rider's power output and enable him to control his efforts on varying terrain, at his final news conference in France last July.
"Someone would ****** and Mick (Sky team mate Michael Rogers) would say: 'Just leave them; he can't sustain that'," Wiggins said.
"It's not possible to sustain that if we're riding 450 watts, someone's going to have to sustain 500 watts to stay away on a 20-minute climb which is not possible anymore unless you've got a couple of extra litres of *****."

NO EMOTION

Briton David Millar, who rides with Garmin-Sharp, told Reuters: "You have to be aiming for perfection; some guys thrive on it, some teams are better than others. We aim for it but I guess in a more random way than Sky.
"(Team manager) Jonathan (Vaughters) is very different from (Team Sky principal) Dave Brailsford, he's not as OCD as Dave is.
"Dave is very rational. Emotion is not part of what he does and of what Sky do. It is something they try to remove from the equation and it works fantastically well."
To achieve that, Sky have built an awe-inspiring team featuring Wiggins, Tour runner-up Froome, Porte - who would be team leader in many of the World Tour outfits - and Colombian climbers Rigoberto Uran and Sergio Henao.
It is the way cycling is evolving, according to Millar.
"They (the new generation) have done the work, they know what they can do and what they can't. They look at the numbers when they're racing," the Scot said.
"Brad is one of the best at it. Lots of guys will have their power metres taped over, they don't want to see it. Brad and the majority of Sky riders have been taught to always be looking at it - so they don't freak out, start panicking.
"The racing is becoming more and more methodical and science-based. We can criticise that but I don't see why it should compromise the racing," Millar added.
"Sky are very dominant but at the same time they're a minority. When everybody's like that it's going to be a bit boring but at the moment it's still quite exciting."
Contador, an instinctive rider who has been frustrated in his attempts to thwart Sky this season, hopes to find a way to beat them in time for the Tour, which starts on June 29.
"Whatever the result (in the Tirreno-Adriatico), this race is really good for me because I had seen the working system of Sky on TV but never live," Contador, one of only five men with titles in all three grand Tours, said on Sunday.
"I think this will help me to plan the tactics in the Tour."

 

[Smallville22]

Ex-Vuelta winner Jalabert 'seriously injured' in accident

Former cyclist Laurent Jalabert has been seriously injured in a road accident, French police have confirmed.
Jalabert, who won the Vuelta a Espana in 1995 and was world time trial champion in 1997, was on his bike when he was hit by a car travelling in the opposite direction near Montauban, a town in the south of France.
"He is not in danger," a spokesman said.
The vehicle suddenly turned left, cutting across Jalabert who had the right of way, the police said.
The 41-year-old suffered several fractures and was briefly *********** when the emergency services arrived.
He was transferred to hospital to undergo surgery, a source close to the former rider told French radio RTL.

 

[Smallville22]

Froome loses Tirreno-Adriatico lead to Nibali as Sagan shines

The prolific Peter Sagan won stage six of Tirreno-Adriatico as Vincenzo Nibali wrestled the overall lead from Chris Froome.
The Slovakian rider beat Nibali of Astana and Katusha's Joaquim Rodríguez in a three-man sprint at the end of the 209km stage that began and ended in Porto Sant’Elpidio.
Team Sky's Froome was in the third group on the road and finished 50 seconds behind defending champion Nibali.
It means the Italian goes into Tuesday's final time trial, that begins and ends in San Benedetto del Tronto, 34 seconds ahead of the Briton on GC. Rodriguez is three seconds further back in third with Alberto Contador fourth at 48 seconds.
A relentlessly lumpy course with more than 20 distinct hills, albeit with only three categorised climbs, created an action packed day on another miserable wet day in eastern Italy.
Nibali was part of a 16-man escape group that also featured Cancellara (RadioShack), Nocentini, Montaguti and Dumoulin (Ag2r), Boom (Blanco), Visconti and Intxausti (Movistar), Egoi Martínez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Vicioso (Katusha), Voss (NetApp), Impey and O'Grady (Orica-GreenEdge), Sprick (Argos), Selvaggi (Vacansoleil) and Finetto (Cannondale).
Their lead stood at 4:35 with 95km to go but had been reduced to less than 2:30 inside the final 50km and the escape group split on the second ascent of the 365m climb at Sant’Elpidio al Mare, which averaged 19.8% with ramps of 27%.
The peloton were within striking distance on the third ascent of the climb and there was an ****** by Nibali on the descent. He was joined by Sagan and Rodríguez and they came to the line together and the Cannondale rider cruised to his second stage win of the race.
Santambrogio led Sanchez, Horner and Contador over the line 44 seconds back with Froome's group a further six seconds behind.

 

[Smallville22]

Nibali seals Tirreno-Adriatico victory, Froome second

Vincenzo Nibali won Tirreno-Adriatico after coasting home 12th on the stage 7 time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto, while Briton Chris Froome finished second on GC.
Astana rider Nibali took an insurmountable 34-second lead of the race from Froome after finishing in the leading three-man sprint in Monday's crucial stage.
The Team Sky rider, who was favourite on GC after himself taking the lead on Sunday, set a time of 10 minutes 40 seconds - good enough for sixth on the stage - on Tuesday to finish second overall, 23s behind the Italian.
At the halfway point Nibali was just four seconds down on Froome, who is tipped to lead Sky's charge in the Tour de France this year while Bradley Wiggins concentrates on the Giro d'Italia.
Thereafter he took no risks, coasting home and avoiding a crash or puncture which would have derailed his overall victory.
Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank) completes the podium, his time good enough for 15th and putting him just two seconds ahead of time-trial specialist Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick-Step), who could only manage eighth on the 9.2km course on wide avenues beside the Adriatic Sea.
World time trial champion Tony Martin (OPQS) was quickest on the day, his benchmark time of 10:25 six seconds faster than Adriano Malori (Lampre-Merida) with Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (Movistar) at 10 seconds finishing third.
RadioShack Leopard Trek's Fabian Cancellara, who won the finishing time trial at the last two editions of the race, was part of a 160km breakaway on Monday yet managed a time of 10:37 to finish fourth ahead of Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Movistar).
Joaquim Rodríguez (Katusha) was a contender for GC but finishing in inauspicious circumstances with 33rd to lose out to Kwiatkowski in the battle for fourth by one second.
The early riders were at a disadvantage as rain fell in the morning and early afternoon, stopping before the start - and the roads dried out as the stage continued.
That favoured the GC hopefuls, going last, and meant a fairly level playing field among them.
Tronto has hosted the final stage finish of every Tirreno-Adriatico since the race’s second edition in 1967.

 

[Smallville22]

Olympic champion Kenny to race in cars

Olympic and world track cycling champion Jason Kenny will turn his hand to motor racing this year.
The London 2012 individual and sprint gold medal winner will contest the Ginetta GT5 Challenge Series, which begins at Oulton Park on March 30.
"I'm looking forward to doing a few different things and one of them will be racing my car," Kenny said.
"I want to do a whole season - seven race weekends. I believe I can do so without affecting my training.
"It's still racing and I will see how it goes and take it from there."
The Bolton racer won gold in the keirin at the world championships in Minsk in February. He said he has not got a schedule in mind ahead of the next Olympics in Rio in 2016.
"I haven't got an aim for Rio in 2016, a lot of things are happening between now and then, including the Commonwealth Games," he said.
"I have never been to one - and I am just looking forward to those."
The Commonwealths are to be held in Glasgow in summer 2014.

 

[Smallville22]

Snow in Belgium cancels Nokere-Koerse

Wednesday’s Nokere-Koerse was cancelled due to snowy conditions in Belgium.
The 68th running of the race will take place next year after a meeting between the organising committee, governing body UCI, a delegation of the team leaders, the police and local authorities deemed conditions unsafe for those taking part and fans.
Most of the roads were cleared of snow thanks to the efforts of volunteers, but some had blown back on to the route.
Snow also cancelled Sunday’s Dwars door Drenthe in the Netherlands.