2013 Cycling Thread

[Smallville22]

Katusha suspend Vicioso over doping case

Katusha has provisionally suspended Spanish rider Angel Vicioso for failing to appear at a high-profile doping trial in his home country.
"As of now Vicioso is suspended from all competitions," a Katusha spokesman told Reuters.
The 35-year-old is one of several world-class athletes being linked to Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, who is currently on trial for allegedly masterminding a doping ring.
"He told us he had settled his case but it turned out that he didn't tell us the truth," Katusha general manager Vyacheslav Ekimov was quoted as saying by local outlet R-Sport.
Vicioso was originally supposed to testify in person in court in Madrid last week. However, Spanish media reported that he sent a doctor's note saying he had back problems so the court rescheduled his testimony for this Friday.
The Spaniard is due to appear by a video link from the town of Lleida in Catalonia. The judge said on Tuesday that Vicioso would be ****** to appear if he did not do it on his own.
Last week, Katusha won the right to compete on the elite World Tour this year following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In December, cycling's world governing body UCI rejected their application to compete in the top flight because of the team's doping record over the past four years.
"We want to cooperate with the UCI in every possible way, therefore such actions by Vicioso just discredits our image," said Ekimov.

 

[Smallville22]

Great Britain to race Australia for world team pursuit gold

Great Britain's team pursuit squad will face old rivals Australia in the race for gold at the track cycling World Championships in Minsk.
Andy Tennant, Steven Burke, Ed Clancy and Sam Harrison qualified second in time of 3:59.784 - just over two tenths slower than Glenn O'Shea, Alexander Edmonson, Michael Hepburn and Alexander Morgan. Burke and Clancy are the only surviving members of the team that struck gold at Australia's expense at the London 2012 Olympics and last year's World Championships in Melbourne. Denmark were third quickest and will race off against Spain for bronze. In addition to the men's team pursuit final, rising star Kian Emadi starts his championships tonight in the men's kilo - an event once dominated by his hero Sir Chris Hoy. Becky James and Victoria Williamson, a new-look British women's sprint team in the absence of the injured Jess Varnish and retired Victoria Pendleton, are also involved in qualifying.

 

[Smallville22]

Armstrong refuses to talk to USADA

The United States Anti-Doping Agency will push ahead with efforts to clean up cycling without help from Lance Armstrong after the disgraced cyclist rejected another deadline to meet anti-doping investigators.
Armstrong's lawyer Tim Herman said in a statement released on Wednesday that the former cyclist still had issues with USADA, who had exposed him as **** cheat and led to him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.
In a television interview with Oprah Winfrey last month, Armstrong admitted to using performance-enhancing ***** throughout his career.
Following his admission, USADA offered Armstrong an opportunity to come forward and tell what he knows about doping in cycling and provide details about how he cheated and was able to avoid detection.
The anti-doping agency had originally provided Armstrong with a deadline of February 6, but on the cyclist's request extended that offer until Wednesday.
"Following his (Armstrong's) recent television interview, we again invited him to come in and provide honest information, and he was informed in writing by the World Anti-Doping Agency that this was the appropriate avenue for him if he wanted to be part of the solution," USADA chief Travis Tygart said in a statement.
"Over the last few weeks he has led us to believe that he wanted to come in and assist USADA, but was worried of potential criminal and civil liability if he did so.
"Today we learned from the media that Mr. Armstrong is choosing not to come in and be truthful and that he will not take the opportunity to work toward righting his wrongs in sport."
Tygart said the anti-doping agencies were determined to rid the sport of doping with or without Armstrong's help.
"At this time we are moving forward with our investigation without him and we will continue to work closely with WADA and other appropriate and responsible international authorities to fulfill our promise to clean athletes to protect their right to compete on a **** free playing field," he said.
Armstrong would fully cooperate should an international tribunal be formed to address doping in professional cycling, his lawyer said.
"We remain hopeful that an international effort will be mounted, and we will do everything we can to facilitate that result," Herman said on behalf of Armstrong.
"In the meantime, for several reasons, Lance will not participate in USADA's efforts to selectively conduct American prosecutions that only demonize selected individuals while failing to address the 95 percent of the sport over which USADA has no jurisdiction."

 

[Smallville22]

GB pursuit quartet beaten into silver at Worlds

Australia got a measure of revenge for losing the Olympic gold to Britain by beating their arch-rivals in the men's team pursuit final at the World Track Cycling Championships in Minsk.
The Australian quartet of Glenn O'Shea, Alexander Edmondson, Michael Hepburn and Alexander Morgan completed the 4,000 metres at the wooden velodrome in the Belarus capital in three minutes 56.751 seconds to clinch the gold medal.
However, the result was well short of the world record of 3:51.659, set by the British at the London Games last August.
Britain only had two riders, Steven Burke and Ed Clancy, returning from London, with newcomers Samuel Harrison and Andrew Tennant replacing Geraint Thomas and Peter Kennaugh. The new quartet could only manage the time of 4:00.967 in the final.
Denmark beat Spain in the consolation final to win the bronze in 3:59.821.

Earlier, American Sarah Hammer won her fifth world title in the women's individual pursuit over 3,000 metres while France's Francois Pervis clinched his first in another non-Olympic event - the men's one kilometre time trial.

Hammer crushed Australia's Amy Cure in the final by more than eight seconds, coming home in three minutes 32.050 seconds, with another Australian Annette Edmondson taking the bronze.
Hammer, who also won in 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011, did not compete at last year's championships in Melbourne. The 29-year-old, who lost the Olympic gold medal in the omnium in London by a single point, said she did not plan a big celebration.
"I'm just going to call my parents at home, that's about it. I'll have a day's rest tomorrow, then get ready for more races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday," she said.

Pervis won the time trial, which was dropped from the Olympic programme after the 2004 Games in Athens, in one minute 00.221 seconds, with Simon Van Velthooven of New Zealand finishing second, 0.648 seconds behind, and German Joachim Eilers taking the bronze.
British team newcomer Kian Emadi just missed out on a medal in an event that six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy once dominated; Emadi's time of 1.01.756 was just over three tenths of a second slower than Eilers.
"I was stressed out, staying at the hotel and waiting for the championships to start. But finally, I'm a world champion," said 28-year-old Pervis, who was not selected for the French Olympic team in London.
"I hope to win another medal in keirin on Friday. I was second in 2009 but I'll try to go for the gold this time."

Germany won the last gold medal on offer on the opening night of the five-day championships, taking the women's team sprint title by edging out China in the final by just three hundredths of a second. Britain finished third ahead of Australia as Becky James produced a brilliant ride as she partnered teenager Vicky Williamson to bronze.
James, a double European junior champion when she last competed in Minsk four years ago, is due a busy weekend in the absence of the injured Jess Varnish and retired Victoria Pendleton.
And the 21-year old sprinter is clearly in top form, as Germany retained the title they won in Melbourne, edging out China in a repeat of last year's Olympic final
"I'm in the best form but this medal is still so unexpected, I'm shocked really, totally gobsmacked," said James, who saw her Olympic dreams ruined by an untimely bout of appendicitis.
"We came in with no expectations because we're a new line-up but I knew my form was coming through and to get on that podium is so encouraging.
"I've got plenty of events to come and after all the things that went wrong last year, it's just great that things are going right now.
"My training has been so consistent and that's the simple reason for my form. I've not raced this well since the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. .

 

[Smallville22]

Valverde claims Ruta del Sol victory

Alejandro Valverde produced a brilliant performance on the final stage to win the Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta del Sol for the second time.
The Movistar rider had led the general classification since the opening prologue, and held onto the lead throughout the next two days despite Jonathan Hivert winning stages one and two of the race.
Valverde then produced another winning display on the 183km third stage from Lucena to Rincon de la Victoria, keeping up with a lead group of 10 riders that was clear of the peloton entering the final descent, then beating Simon Spilak (Katusha) and Davide Rebellin (CCC Polsat Polkowice) to the line.
The stage win confirmed him as overall champion, with Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) coming second.
"We couldn't have closed this race in a better way," said Valverde.
"In the finale, everyone was thinking of the stage win rather than the GC. The last turn was only 250 metres from the finish and I came in fourth place, maybe a bit too far, but I had good legs and could get to the top and win.
"I think that this is my best ever start for a season, and I'm the first one who is surprised about that. I cannot say I'm not well, because you can't win in bad form, but I wasn't expecting to do so well here.
"I'm lucky to live in Murcia and enjoy the good weather, so I can build a strong training base day by day and that makes gaining fitness easier.
"But the big goals are still far away and our plan is not to race too many competitions at this time of the year. I want to thank all team members, because they were splendid from the first to the last one - hats off."

 

[Smallville22]

Bos victorious in Langkawi opening stage

Theo Bos was triumphant on the opening stage of the Tour of Langkawi as he lived up to the pre-race expectation on his shoulders with a fine sprint.
Bos positioned himself on the wheel of his Blanco team-mate Graeme Brown coming into the final corner, and powered through with 400m to go to take the win on the 162.7km stage.
A number of teams looked to try and control the bunch with Aisan, Orica GreenEdge, Blanco and Garmin all very involved, but the Blanco riders controlled their finish perfectly.
Brown stepped aside with 300m to go, with the Dutchman having a free run at the finish line to complete a fine stage win and pull on the first leader’s jersey in Kulim.
Bos admitted after the stage that, while his team were not overly concerned about their approach into the final sprint, it took a significant effort to close the race out.
"I knew it was going to be difficult in the final because there are a lot of good sprinters," said Bos at the finish.
"Brownie went early, I thought it was still a kilo to go but then I looked up and saw 500m and we took the last two corners in front. He went really fast, we couldn't go any faster.
"I looked back and saw we had a small gap and went early," he added.
Europcar sprinter Bryan Coquard came closest to challenging Bos, but had to settle for second place with Andrea Guardini of Astana taking third.
Friday’s stage two sees the riders take on the shorter 116km route from Serdang to Kuala Kangsar, with the race having 10 stages in all and finishing with the Kuala Terengganu Loop.

 

[Smallville22]

2014 Giro to begin in Belfast

The 2014 Giro d'Italia is to begin in Belfast.
Cycling's season-opening Grand Tour will spend three days in Ireland from May 10-12 next year, with stages based around Belfast, Armagh and Dublin.
"Belfast will provide spectacular backdrops for the 2014 Grand Partenza and will add something very special into the history of this great cycling event," said Giro chief Michele Acquarone.
The 104-year-old race used to begin in Italy every year, but has moved to overseas starts in recent years, and began in Denmark last year.
"Plans are already in motion to make the occasion a fabulous celebration worthy of Italian cycling traditions and the maglia rosa itself," said Northern Ireland Tourism Minister Arlene ******.

 

[Smallville22]

Great Britain's women claim pursuit world title

Great Britain underlined their dominance as the Olympic women's team pursuit champions claimed the world title for the third straight year.
Laura Trott, Dani King and Elinor Barker qualified quickest and were pushed in the early stages of their final by traditional rivals Australia. But with coach Paul Manning guiding their tactics, they didn't panic, powering to Great Britain's first gold in Minsk in a time of 3:18.140. Victory also secures Great Britain's place in the record books, with this the final three rider 3,000m team pursuit final - next year the race will be over 4,000m with four riders, just like the men's event. And considering Britain's impressive depth in endurance track riders - Olympic gold medallist Jo Rowsell is focussing her season on the road - the future looks promising. "It was very hard but it flowed so nicely and we stayed composed and stuck to our plans," said Trott. "We changed a few things from qualification and it came together and everything was just spot on. "We're really starting to dominate this now, we've only lost this event once back in 2010, so it's great to continue that record."

Becky James claimed her second bronze in 24 hours with a third place in the women's 500m time trial - and her best event is still to come. James, who partnered Vicky Williamson to bronze in the team sprint, edged out Lizandra Guerra Rodriguez to claim the last place on the podium while Hong Kong's Wai Sze Lee took gold ahead of Germany's Miriam Welte. "I really chuffed with that, it's a huge personal best for me," said James, who clocked 52.734. "I couldn't be happier with how it's going here. It's not my favourite event but I left nothing on the track and I've probably got my best event still to come - the sprint."

Ireland's Martyn Irvine won two medals in under an hour - shortly after taking silver in the pursuit, he clinched his first world title in the 15-km scratch race.
"How is it possible to win two medals in one day? I have no idea. It's unbelievable," the 27-year-old, who was born in Northern Ireland, told reporters.
"I just went 100 percent and it paid off. It's a magnificent moment for me and I just want to enjoy it," he said.
"I've been working hard. There's no track in Ireland so I have to travel a lot, training in Mallorca."
Austria's Andreas Muller was second and Australian Luke Davison third in the race over the 60 laps.

Australian Michael Hepburn retained his individual pursuit title, speeding around a fast wooden track over 4,000 metres in four minutes 16.733 seconds, beating Irvine in the men's final by almost eight seconds to give Australia their third consecutive gold medal in the event.
"It's a special feeling," said the 21-year-old Brisbane native, who won a second gold in two days after leading the Australian quartet to victory in the team pursuit on Wednesday.
"It was important for me to defend my title in this event," he added. "I have the ambition for road racing, but the Olympic gold medal is also a big goal for me so in next few years I'll decide if I want to concentrate on the road or the track."
Hepburn's time, however, was well outside of the world record of 4:10.659, set by fellow Australian Jack Bobridge in Sydney two years ago. Bobridge won the title in 2011.
Switzerland's Stefan Kueng won the bronze, beating another Australian Alexander Morgan in the consolation final.

The German trio of Rene Enders, Stefan Botticher and Maximilian Levy upset the favourites to clinch the men's team sprint title, with New Zealand coming second and France third.
Britain, with Jason Kenny and Philip Hindes - part of the team that won Olympic gold in a world record time in London - came a disappointing sixth behind Australia and Russia.
Newcomer Kian Emadi-Coffin had a tough time replacing six-times Olympic champion Hoy who is still pondering his future in the sport, as the British team finished more than a second outside their world mark.

 

[Smallville22]

Bos makes it two from two in Malaysia

Dutchman Theo Bos doubled up with stage two victory on the Tour of Langkawi after a bunch sprint.
The Blanco rider, who rode to a one-second win on the opening stage in Malaysia, beat Andrea Guardini (Astana), Aidis Kruopis (Orica-GreenEdge) and Bryan Coquard (Europcar).
After a shorter 116km run from Serdang, Bos began his sprint 200m from the finish in Kuala Kangsar after being set up by his team-mates.
He now leads the GC by 10 seconds from Guardini, with Meiyin Wang (Hengxiang) a second further back and Coquard and Anuar Manan (Baku Cycling Project) three seconds behind him.
The latter duo is two seconds ahead of Kruopis.
Saturday’s stage three sees the riders race over 145.4km from Sungai Siput to Cameron Highlands, with the race having 10 stages in all and finishing with the Kuala Terengganu Loop.

 

[Smallville22]

James continues to impress at track cycling Worlds

Becky James's bid for a third medal at the track cycling World Championship is still on track.
James has already won bronze in the team sprint and 500m time trial and impressively progressed to the women's sprint quarter-finals - her favourite event. The 21-year old was the only rider to go below 11 seconds in qualifying. That earned her a first-round bye and she comfortably eased past second-round opponent Lisandra Guerra Rodriguez, who had beaten British teenager Vicky Williamson in the first round. Three-time Olympic gold medallist Jason Kenny - fresh from yesterday's disappointment in the men's team sprint - needed two races to progress to the semi-finals of the men's keirin but team-mate Matt Crampton was eliminated.

 

[Smallville22]

US sues Armstrong for sponsor money

The United States has accused Lance Armstrong of defrauding the US Postal Service by taking its sponsorship money at the same time he was doping and using performance-enhancing ***** in ********* of cycling rules.
The government joined a civil suit against Armstrong, stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and ****** for life from cycling in 2012 after accusations he had cheated for years.
In January, he said the accusations were true in an interview with television host Oprah Winfrey.
A battle with the US government over civil fraud charges threatens to sap what remains of the once-revered athlete's reputation, and hurt his wallet.
Armstrong and his team-mates from Tailwind Sports wore the logo of the US Postal Service during their record-breaking wins.
"This lawsuit is designed to help the Postal Service recoup the tens of millions of dollars it paid out to the Tailwind cycling team based on years of broken promises," said Ronald Machen, the US attorney for Washington DC.
The sponsorship money totalled more than $30 million, the government said.
Armstrong plans to contest the suit because the Postal Service was not actually damaged, his lawyer, Robert Luskin, said.
"The Postal Service's own studies show that the service benefited tremendously from its sponsorship - benefits totalling more than $100 million," the lawyer said.
Prosecutors have said they do not expect to charge him with a crime.
Former Armstrong team-mate Floyd Landis filed a sealed whistleblower suit against Armstrong in 2010. The decision by the government to join the suit triggered its unsealing.
"I had come to a point in my life where I decided that I had to tell the truth for the sake of my conscience," Landis, who also admitted to cheating, said in a statement released by his lawyer.
Armstrong faces other suits arising out of his admission of cheating. This month, marketing firm SCA Promotions Inc alleged in a Texas state court that the cyclist defrauded it of $12.1 million in bonuses plus interest.
In January, two California men sued Armstrong and his book publishers, claiming that his memoirs were filled with lies but were billed as non-fiction.
The US government is suing under the False Claims Act, an 1863 law that encourages private individuals to file suit when they have evidence of fraud involving government money.
When the government believes a suit has merit, it may take over the litigation. The individuals, or whistleblowers, get a portion of the proceeds if the case is successful.
The government joins 20 to 25 per cent of all False Claims Act suits filed, and the government almost always wins the cases it joins, said John Phillips, who represents whistleblowers at the Phillips & Cohen law firm.
"That's a very good sign for the case: that the government after its own investigation, after looking at all the facts and the law, has decided to join the case," said Phillips, who is not involved in the Armstrong case.
Since the law was revitalized in 1986, it has been used frequently against military contractors, pharmaceutical companies and hospitals.
Armstrong is prepared to argue that claims over most of the sponsorship money are time-barred, a source close to his legal team said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The sponsorship agreement expired in 2004, and there is a six-year statute of limitations on recovery under a US anti-fraud law, the source said.
The source raised two other arguments that could help Armstrong. First, the sponsorship contract did not contain specific language or promises related to doping.
Second, Armstrong was not in charge of Tailwind Sports, the racing team firm that signed the contract with the Postal Service and that existed before Armstrong joined it.
Luskin is among the most sought-after defence lawyers in Washington. He represented former White House adviser Karl Rove in a case about the leak of a CIA officer's name.
Statements from government lawyers appeared to dismiss the idea that Armstrong could use the lack of specific contract language as a defence.
Armstrong and his team "agreed to play by the rules and not use performance enhancing *****. We now know that the defendants failed to live up to their agreement," said Postal Service General Counsel Mary Anne Gibbons.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government reached $5 billion worth of settlements and court judgments under the False Claims Act - a single-year record.
"If they intervene, that puts the ***** of the government behind the suit," said Matthew Orwig, a former Justice Department lawyer now at the Jones Day law firm. He is not involved in the Armstrong case.
"There's the FBI, other investigative resources, Justice Department lawyers - in effect, the richest client in the world," he said.

 

[Smallville22]

Kenny and Yates power to world titles in Minsk

Britain won two gold medals in quick succession as Simon Yates claimed his first major title in the points race and Jason Kenny took the keirin crown at the world cycling championships in Minsk.
The British team, who collected seven of the 10 golds on offer at last year's London Olympics, made a slow start before bouncing back on the third day of the five-day event in the Belarus capital.
Yates, 20, won by a single point from Spaniard Eloy Teruel with a last-gasp spurt after trailing his rival for much of the 40-km race over 160 laps around the wooden oval of the newly-built velodrome.
"I just tried to save some energy for the end and with 10 laps to go I realised I needed just one point," he told the BBC.
"When you've got a world title on the line you get that energy from somewhere."

Olympic sprint champion Kenny then shook off the disappointment of a sixth-place finish in the team sprint on Thursday to power past his rivals on the line of the eight-lap race.
It gave Britain their second consecutive keirin title following Chris Hoy's success last year in Melbourne.
Hoy is not competing at these championships while he still contemplates his future in the sport after winning his sixth Olympic title in London.
"It was a really tough day yesterday and today as well. I had some good fortune in the semi-finals when (Francois Pervis) got relegated," said Kenny referring to the Frenchman who was disqualified for blocking the British rider.
"But I kept working hard...it's unbelievable."
German Maximilian Levy had to settle for the silver for the second year in a row, with Dutchman Matthijs Buchli taking bronze.

Earlier, Poland's Katarzyna Pawlowska retained her title in the 10-km scratch race consisting of 40 laps around the track.
"My main task was to keep everyone close enough and not let anyone break away and lap the field," said the 23-year-old who won her maiden world crown in Melbourne.
"I still felt strong coming to the final lap and made sure I had a good lead before the finish."
Mexico's Sofia Navarro came second just ahead of Yevgeniya Romanyuta who gave Russia their second bronze of the night after Kirill Sveshnikov had finished third in the points race.
American Sarah Hammer, bidding for another medal after winning her fifth world pursuit title on Wednesday, started strongly but faded midway through the race to finish second last of the 18 riders.

 

[Smallville22]

Scarponi will race for Lampre until end of season

Controversial cyclist Michele Scarponi will race for Team Lampre-Merida until the end of this year after the two parties settled their immediate differences and agreed a deal.
Scarponi was handed a three-month backdated ban by the Italian Olympic Committee in December last year after his ties with disgraced doctor Michele Ferrari were revealed.
The Italian rider, who previously served an 18-month suspension for his involvement in the Operación Puerto ***** doping scandal, was missing from his team's official 2013 photos and was not sent to the Majorca Challenge, where he had hope to make his season debut.
However, the 33-year-old has now been given the all-clear to race again for the Italian team after his legal representatives met with Lampre-Merida and reached an agreement.
The team confirmed that Scarponi will now return to the saddle for the Gran Premio Citta di Lugano on February 24 before riding the rest of the season with them until the deal expires on December 31.
Scarponi has agreed to resign from his position should he again break the terms of his contract or the internal ethical code of the team.

 

[Smallville22]

Supreme Wang conquers HC finish to lead Langkawi

Chinese rider Meiyin Wang climbed to a sensational victory on stage three to take a commanding lead in the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia.
The Hengxiang Cycling rider won the 145.4km run from Sungai Siput which ended in Binchang in the Cameron Highlands by a mammoth two minutes 27 seconds from Julian Arredondo (Team Nippo-De Rosa).
Wang, who began the stage 20 seconds down on previous race leader Theo Bos (Blanco), holds a 2:43 lead from the Colombian after three days of the 10-stage race.
"This is the greatest day of my life," he said through a translator. "I just tried to do my best. I wanted to show myself today for Chinese cycling.
"I didn't think I could win today's stage but my feelings were very good. I had to time trial for more than 40km. In the last 5km I really wanted to win.
"We are a small team and everybody doesn't know us and that we could win a stage. They also don't know me and that's why I think I could win [today]. I was very lucky today."
Wang was among five riders in the day's early breakaway which also included Seo Keong Loh and Junrong Ho of the Singapore-based OCBC team, Harrif Saleh of Malaysian squad Terrengganu and Joon Yong Seo of Korean team KSPO.
The final 60km featured a steady climb to the end after a flat first part of the stage. Wang left his companions behind with 40km remaining - and no one could match him as he conquered an Hors Category climb to the finish 1,500m above sea level.
Loh took the first of three intermediate sprints with Saleh nicking the second and third ahead of the Cat.1 climb which preceded the HC finish.
Nathan Haas (Garmin Sharp) led the chase group, three minutes down on Wang.
"Our team will try for the final GC but we don't know about tomorrow," added Wang. "I think other pro teams will also want to take the final GC so we can maybe work together. We don't think we can win the final yellow [jersey] but we can try."
Haas said: "It's a very interesting race. The breakaway was under control, setting a really solid tempo up that climb with 40k to go and all of a sudden it went from five to six to seven to eight [minutes].
"It was a great ride to hold off. That was a hard day."

 

[Smallville22]

Paolini wins Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Luca Paolini won the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in Belgium after coming out on top of a two-man sprint in the final stretch.
The Katusha rider had broken away alongside Stijn Vandenburgh of Omega Pharma-Quick Step, and the two remained over fifty seconds clear of the peloton entering the final kilometre.
Paolini moved first and kept Vandenbergh at bay to take the victory in the first Belgian classic of the season.
Sven Vandousselaere of Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise won the sprint for third place.

 

[Smallville22]

Navarro wins Vuelta a Murcia

Dani Navarro won the Vuelta a Murcia after proving himself the strongest man in a tough, uphill finish in Alto Castillo de Lorca.
The Cofidis rider held off Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Bauke Mollema (Blanco Cycling) to claim victory in the 183km race.
The 2013 edition of the race had a strong field despite being reduced to a one-day race, but it was Navarro who dominated the climactic climb to claim the race.

Vuelta a Murcia results:

1 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 4:40:32

2 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team "

3 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team "

4 Robert Gesink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team "

5 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits "

6 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi "

7 Davide Rebellin (Ita) CCC Polsat Polkowice "

8 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team "

9 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Sojasun "

10 Enzo Moyano (Arg) Caja Rural "

 

[Smallville22]

Nick van der Lijke won the Beverbeek Classic one-day race in Hamont-Machel after winning a five-man sprint for the line, edging Dries Hollanders and Tom Vermeer for the win.

Beverbeek Classic results:

1 VAN DER LIJKE Nick Rabobank Development Team 2:53:21

2 HOLLANDERS Dries Metec Continental Cyclingteam "

3 VERMEER Tom Cyclingteam Jo Piels "

4 DERNIES Tom Wallonie - Bruxelles "

5 SENTJENS Roy Cyclingteam de Rijke - Shanks "

6 BOONS Ruben Lotto -Belisol U23 +0:03

7 JENSEN Christer Team Joker - Merida +0:52

8 MCLAUGHLIN Ronan An Post - Chainreaction +0:53

 

[Smallville22]

La Drome Classic, was cancelled due to freezing conditions and heavy snow.

 

[Smallville22]

James wins women's sprint gold, Kenny flops

Britain's Rebecca James and Aaron Gate of New Zealand upset the favourites to claim their first major titles on the penultimate day of the Track Cycling World Championships in Minsk.
But there was disappointment for British Olympic hero Jason Kenny, who went out of the men's sprint at the quarter-final stage against New Zealand's Sam Webster.

James, 21, won the women's sprint by beating German Kristina Vogel in the final for her third medal in the Belarus capital after taking two bronzes in the team sprint and the 500 metres time trial.
After splitting the first two races, James took the lead in the decider and held off her rival on the home straight to win by half a wheel.
With the victory she has taken the mantle of the world's fastest woman from compatriot and six-times world sprint champion Victoria Pendleton, who retired after the London Olympics.
Vogel was bidding for a sprint double after winning the team title with Miriam Welte on Wednesday but had to settle for silver.
"I didn't think of it being the final, for me it was just another race," said the Welsh rider, who won the 2009 world junior sprint title in Moscow.
"I stayed very calm... and came away with the gold medal."
Hong Kong's Lee Wai Sze, who won the 500 metres time trial on Thursday, beat China's Guo Shuang for the bronze medal.

Gate, 22, took the men's omnium crown by beating several big names, including defending champion Glenn O'Shea of Australia and Denmark's 2012 Olympic gold medallist Lasse Hansen.
The New Zealander was level with O'Shea on 17 points going into the last event - the one kilometre time trial - which he won to seal the overall victory. He also won the flying lap and the individual pursuit to finish with 18 points overall.
"It's pretty huge beating the world and Olympic champions," Gate, who only had two bronze medals in the team pursuit from the London Olympics and last year's world championships in Melbourne to his credit, told reporters. "I didn't expect to win coming into the race and I couldn't be happier."
Hansen's second place in the last event enabled the 20-year-old Dane to leapfrog O'Shea in the final standings by a point and take the silver.

Jarmila Machacova claimed the day's first gold by winning the women's 25-km points race to improve on her second-place finish two years ago in the Dutch city of Apeldoom.
"This was my ***** - to win a world title," the 27-year-old Czech said. "It was a very long and hard road but I'm glad that finally I was able to achieve it."
She took the lead on the 30th lap of the 100-lap endurance race around the wooden oval and held off fast-finishing Mexican Sofia Navarro to win by a point.
It was Navarro's second silver medal in two days after she also finished runner-up in Friday's 10-km scratch race. Italian Giorgia Bronzini took bronze to match her result from 2011.
After four days of competition Britain lead the overall medals table with four golds, one silver and two bronzes ahead of Germany and Australia, who have two golds each, going into the final day on Sunday.

 

[Smallville22]

James is golden girl at track cycling Worlds

Becky James kept the women's sprint title in British hands as her stunning week at the track cycling World Championships continued.
James followed the lead of six-time champion Victoria Pendleton, who retired after last year's London 2012 Olympics, with a victory over Germany's Kristina Vogel in a closely fought final in Minsk. It's Great Britain's fourth gold of the week and a third medal for the 21-year old James, who also won bronze in the team sprint and 500m time trial. And she certainly is struggling to comprehend her sudden elevation from promising rider to new world star, which goes some way for making amends for the appendicitis that ruined her Olympic dreams last year. James beat Cuba’s Lisandra Guerra Rodriguez and Australia's Kaarle McCollucha in the early rounds before claiming the scalp of China’s Shang Guo, the Olympic bronze medallist, in the semi-finals. But the experienced Vogel was always going to be a canny rival in the battle for gold and she won the first race narrowly, before James stormed to win the next two ties and claim the first rainbow jersey of her career. “I can’t even describe how I am feeling right now,” said James, who will now look for a fourth medal in Sunday's keirin. “It’s just not sunken in. I didn’t think about it being Vogel who I was riding against because I have never beaten her before. "If I think about the rider too much it messes with my head so I thought of it being another race, don’t think about it being in the world championships just that I wanted to win. “I stayed really calm, did my thing and came away with a gold medal. I had targets in my head and I wanted to get top eights in everything and I didn’t know who was here and what form everyone else had but to be stood on top of that podium is such a good feeling.” Elsewhere, Olympic champion Jason Kenny went out in the quarter-finals of the men's sprint - with his gold medal winning heroics in yesterday's keirin perhaps taking their toll - and Dani King finished eighth in the women's points race. Britain's best hope of another medal on the final day will probably rest with Olympic champion Laura Trott, who won her trademark elimination race to sit third in the omnium standings with three events to come.