2013 Cycling Thread

[Smallville22]

Sagan lands GP Citta di Camaiore

The prolific Peter Sagan won the GP Citta di Camaiore in Italy.
The Cannondale rider from Slovakia beat the Italians Diego Ulissi and Rinaldo Nocentini in a small group sprint at the end of the 183 kilometre course.
It was a third victory this season for the 23-year-old, following two wins in Oman earlier in the year.
An early five-man break featuring Taylor Phinney (BMC), Stefano Agostini (Cannondale), Maxim Belkov (Katusha), Alessandro Proni (Vini Fantini Selle Italia) and Pedro Paulinho (Ceramica Flaminia) built up a 12:15 lead after 64km.
But that advantage was whittled down as the peloton tackled a circuit that features six climbs up Monte Pitoro, a 1.9km ascent.
With 15km to go the riders were all back together and an elite 12-man group that included Vicenzo Nibali, Michele Scarponi and Denis Menchov formed on the final ascent of the 7% climb.
But the climbers were unable to shed Sagan, who claimed victory in the sprint with Matthew Busche and Mauro Santambrogio completing the top five.
“It was a win that had a great contribution from my team-mates,” said Sagan, who had Moreno Moser for company at the finish.
“I could feel my condition improve lap after lap, and I took some morale from that. When it all came back together on the last climb, Moser was exceptional in closing down the attacks and bringing it to a group finish.
“At that point, it came down to me to bring out my best and win.”

 

[Smallville22]

Coquard sprints to more Langkawi success

Bryan Coquard took his second win in as many days as stage nine of the Tour de Langkawi again came down to a bunch sprint.
The Europcar rider, in his first year as a road pro, took advantage of a crash inside the final kilometre to lead home Francesco Chicchi (Vini Fantini – Selle Italia) and Allan Davis (Orica GreenEdge) at the conclusion of a 123.6km stage from Pasir Puteh to Kuala Berang.
It is 20-year-old Coquard's fourth win of 2013.
"It's very good, it's amazing and just very happy for Team Europcar," said Coquard. "There was a crash, I was lucky to avoid it and after Kevin Reza launched me perfect into third position for the sprint.
"I was behind [Graeme] Brown and Davis. At 200m I opened up my sprint."
Coquard, who previously won two stages at the Etoile des Bessegges and took silver for France in the London 2012 Omnium, said his success in track cycling gives him a good grounding to contest the sprints.
"The track is a better school for sprinters I think because I am very [skilled] on the bike," he added.
Julian Arredondo (Team Nippo–De Rosa) looks likely to win the GC on Saturday's final stage after again coming home in the lead group.
"I'm very happy. I hope for a bunch sprint finish again tomorrow," he said. "That would confirm me as the champion of the Tour de Langkawi."

 

[Smallville22]

Italian Ricco loses appeal against 12-year ban

Italian cyclist Riccardo Ricco has lost an appeal against his 12-year ban from the sport, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has said.
The 29-year-old was ****** by the Italian Olympic Committee Anti-Doping Agency in April after being found guilty of ***** doping.
He had been admitted to hospital in February 2011 after transfusing his own *****, an act which doctors said nearly ****** him.
Ricco appealed the ban, arguing the CONI tribunal was not impartial and the proceedings were flawed.
However CAS, sport's highest tribunal, rejected his case.
"The case was handled by a sole arbitrator, Professor Ulrich Haas (Germany), who considered that the arguments of the rider were unfounded and that, in particular, he had failed to demonstrate a lack of impartiality by the CONI Anti-Doping Tribunal," said CAS.
"Accordingly, the 12-year suspension was confirmed."
Ricco was kicked off the 2008 Tour de France while in second place after failing a test for the *****-booster CERA.
He served a 20-month ban from cycling and was also tried and fined €5,710 (£5,000) by a court in Padua, Italy.

 

[Smallville22]

Menchov to lead Katusha in season debut

Russian team Katusha, led by Denis Menchov, will make their 2013 World Tour debut at the prestigious Paris-Nice stage race beginning this weekend.
The start to Katusha's 2013 campaign was delayed after they were initially denied a spot on the tour by the UCI.
But having won their appeal to CAS and subsequently retaining their elite place, Menchov and his team-mates are now ready to get their season up and running.
Katusha - who finished second in the World Tour standings last season - enjoyed a decent showing in Paris-Nice 12 months ago, with Simon Spilak finishing fourth on the general classification.
The 'Race to the Sun', in its 71st year, begins on Sunday and finishes in Nice on March 10.

Kautusha team for Paris-Nice: Xavier Florencio, Alexander Kristoff, Alberto Losada, Denis Menchov, Gatis Smukulis, Simon Spilak, Iuriy Trofimov, Eduard Vorganov.

 

[Smallville22]

Lotto Belisol target top 10 in Paris-Nice

Lotto Belisol will attempt to propel team leader Bart De Clercq into the top 10 at the upcoming Paris-Nice stage race.
De Clercq has already enjoyed some impressive results this season, most notably at the Tour de San Luis and the Ruta del Sol.
And the Belgian team's sporting director Mario Aerts believes his main climber is capable of troubling the leaders once the 'Race to the Sun' gets under way this Sunday.
“Our main goal is a place in the top ten with our climber Bart De Clercq and possibly higher than top ten. He will get the support of some riders of the team," Aerts said.
"Lars Bak will return to competition so we have to see how his condition is. Apart from De Clercq we start with riders who have a free role and we hope for individual strong performances.”
“Our young Belgian Gaëtan Bille can ride a good prologue and De Greef can possibly join a long breakaway.
"There will be sprints as well and we give the chance to Jens Debusschere and Dennis Vanendert to prove themselves in the bunch sprints. Robert Gesink and Tejay Van Garderen can be on the highest spot after the climb time trial."
The prestigious Paris-Nice stage race starts on Sunday and finishes on March 10.

Lotto Belisol team for Paris-Nice: Lars Bak, Gaëtan Bille, Bart De Clercq, Francis De Greef, Jens Debusschere, Dirk Bellemakers, Dennis Vanendert, Frederik Willems.

 

[Smallville22]

Vandewalle wins Driedaagse prologue

Kristof Vandewalle of Omega Pharma-Quick Step collected his first win of 2013 as he claimed the time trial prologue at the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen in Middelkerke.
Vandewalle finished eight seconds ahead of Radioshack Leopard's Tiago Machado, with his team-mate Gert Steegmans just a further second behind.
"It was great to win today, with it only being my fifth race of the season." Vandewalle said, before adding that his team's unusual warm-up gave him the edge.
"We started warming-up by pacing behind our bus driver Dirk Clarysse, which was 40km from the start. I think it was the right decision to do it like that."
The winner said that he was relieved even to be at the start line after falling ill recently.
"My condition was good for this race. But last week I became sick so it was one big question mark if I would be good today or not.
"So I had quite a good feeling when I started today, but did not come into this race expecting to have such a good result."
Vandewalle believes that his team will win more stages as the race continues over the next two days, with sprinter Mark Cavendish expected to contend.
"We will do our best to keep the leader's jersey in the team. Hopefully we can come into the next races with a win," he said.
"I think it can be two times a bunch sprint if the wind is not that strong in either stage. With a guy like Cavendish on the team we always have a good chance."

 

[Smallville22]

Chicchi wins final Langkawi stage as Arredondo claims GC

Francesco Chicchi sprinted to the final stage of the Tour de Langkawi as Julian Arredondo secured the overall win, the biggest of his career.
Vini Fantini-Selle Italia rider Chicchi stayed close to Rico Rogers (Synergy-Baku), who had begun his sprint early, before accelerating to his second stage of the 10-day race.
Graeme Brown, the lead-out man for Theo Bos before the Dutchman retired through illness, continued Blanco's excellent start to the season with third place into Kuala Terengganu.
Italian Chicchi took enough intermediate sprints to win the points leader's jersey while Colombian Team Nippo-De Rosa rider Arredondo, a former U23 star, easily finished in the main group.
"I've prepared for this race very well... I've raced Langkawi in a small team but everyone from the team has done their best on the road," said Arredondo.
"This team is like a ****** and in the difficult moments of the race they have remained close to me.
"I hope this is only my first victory and there are many more to come.
"I hope to have the opportunity to join a big team and I've made a lot of sacrifices to reach that goal."
Chicchi was over the moon with his points triumph. Andrea Guardini (Astana) was in prime position to take the points jersey before he became affected by food poisoning ahead of the final two stages.
"Hey, what can I do?" Chicchi said. "I came here with the goal of winning the points jersey and I got it. I've been lucky once in 10 years.
"I'm very happy, for me and my team. We wanted to win one stage and we pulled all day for the win. We won stages and the blue jersey, we are very happy.
"This team has worked a lot for me. This year there were a lot of sprinters like Theo Bos and myself. [There are] great sprinters from big ProTeams. We are just happy with what we have achieved here.
"I'm always strong at the beginning of the season and this year is different because I am considered one of the leaders. This is not a WorldTour team but it's a team where we are united and friends. Our friendship makes it a great team, even if we are not in the WorldTour."
Meiyin Wang (Hengxiang Cycling Team) confirmed his King of the Mountains win on the flat 114.8km loop.
Diago Rosa (Androni Giocatolli), Meron Russom (MTN-Qhubeka), Amin Sharul (Terengganu), Seo Keong Loh (OCBC), Yasuharu Nakajima (Aisan Racing Team) and Rauf Nur Misbah (Malaysian National Team) led an early breakaway, building a steady two-minute lead.
Nakajima was dropped around 47km then not long afterwards five became two as Rosa and Rauf sustained their ******. On the second lap of six around the 5km finishing circuit in the seaside town, Rosa was alone out front with a lead of 30 seconds.
He was sucked in with plenty of time to spare and the teams jostled for control before the final sprint.

 

[Smallville22]

Moser takes victory in Strade Bianche

Moreno Moser won the Strade Bianche in Siena.
The emerging Cannondale rider took the seventh edition of the race, finishing six seconds ahead of team-mate Peter Sagan with Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r-La Mondiale) third.
After departing the village of Gaiole in Chianti, deep in Tuscany’s ****-producing area, Giairo Ermeti (Androni), Aleksejs Saramotins (IAM), Maxim Belkov (Katusha) and Michael Schar (BMC) attacked.
Going under the Flamme Rouge, the latter trio were still in the lead but they had been joined by Moser and the 22-year-old had the power in the extremely demanding final kilometres, with gradients reaching 16%, to take the victory on the famous Campo.
Prolific Slovak Sagan, who won the GP Citta di Camaiore on Thursday, escaped out of the chase group to follow his team-mate - who won five races in his debut professional season last year - over the line.
Ermeti, Saramotins, Belkov and Schar built up a two minute lead as they crossed the first of the eight sections of unpaved roads that characterise the 190km race.
They extended that advantage to 10:20 but after the sixth unpaved section, that lead had been whittled down to little more than two minutes with Juan Antonio Flecha having escaped from the chase group behind.
But the Spaniard was caught by Moser on the penultimate white-road section where the riders went sharply up the Colle Pinzuto.
Moser left Flecha on a steep ramp on the final upaved section and went in pursuit of Schar and Belkov, who had left their fellow long-time escapees, on the 12km run-in to the finish.
With 6km remaining Moser had dragged Saramotins up to Schar and Belkov and they had a small advantage on an elite chase group ahead of the race-deciding final climb.
Moser soon made his move inside the city walls of the UNESCO World Heritage town to take a famous victory with Radioshack Leopard’s Fabian Cancellara back in fourth.
The Swiss star was trying to obtain an historic third victory in the Strade Bianche to add to his previous victories in 2008 and 2012.

 

[Smallville22]

Napolitano wins Driedaagse sprint, Cavendish 23rd

Danilo Napolitano sprinted to stage 1 of the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen while Kristof Vandewalle keeps the lead he built on the prologue ahead of Sunday's final stage.
Accent Jobs-Wanty rider Napolitano took advantage of a crash inside the final five kilometres of the 175.4km stage from Brugge to Harelbeke to claim victory in a bunch sprint.
Tom Van Asbroeck (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) was second and Barry Markus (Vacansoleil-DCM) third.
Omega Pharma-Quick-Step's Mark Cavendish was denied a seventh win of 2013 as he finished 23rd.
OPQS worked to bring an early escape group back into the peloton's midst to enable Vandewalle to preserve his lead.
That group consisted of Jelle Wallays (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Jean-Pierre Drucker (Accent Jobs-Wanty), Niels Wytinck (An Post-Chainreaction) and Christoph Pfingsten (Rijke-Shanks).
After 56km they had a lead of 3:56 which was then steadily eroded. It was down to under two minutes with 40km remaining then 44s with 21km to race.
"They (my riders) were organised for the sprint, but there was a crash inside the final 5km and it involved Gert Steegmans," OPQS sport director Tom Steels said.
"So our leadout was a little bit compromised. It was also really dangerous as there was a lot of tailwind, making it a hectic and high speed sprint.
"Cavendish tried, but not 100 percent as it was a bit too risky. But, okay, Kristof maintained his jersey as OPQS controlled the race today. We will see tomorrow for the last stage."
Eight Radioshack-Leopard Trek riders were ****** to ride on spare bikes after an overnight theft.

Results

1 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Accent.Jobs - Wanty

2 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise

3 Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM

4 Kenny van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM

5 Jarl Salomein Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise

6 Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R-La Mondiale

7 Adrien Petit (Fra) Cofidis

8 Kenny De Haes (Bel) Lotto Belisol

9 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke - Shanks

10 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise

 

[Smallville22]

Thomson wins South African title

MTN-Qhubeka's Jay Thomson became the new South African National road champion in Nelspruit.
His team-mate Louis Meintjes attacked what was left of the main field with 35 kilometres to go.
Thomson bridged the gap and although a big group formed behind to bring the dangerous move back, the chase was in vain as the 26-year-old took the victory.
“There are no words that can describe what it means to be the South African champion,” Thomson, who was second behind Daryl Impey in Thursday's individual time trial, said after the finish.
“It feels like a weight has been taken off my shoulders. I am really excited about it and can’t be happier.
“I can’t not name one of my team-mates today. They were just super strong. We were hoping that one of us would get away and other teams would chase and if it got brought back we’d ****** again.
"When I saw Louis go up the road I attacked up one of the steep sections and got across to him as I sensed that was the moment in the race.
"With the two of us being in the top four of the time trial on Thursday, we knew we had the legs to take it to the finish.”

 

[Smallville22]

Kadri wins Roma Maxima

Ag2r-La Mondiale's Biel Kadri won the 75th Roma Maxima.
The Frenchman was part of an early ****** and then left his fellow escapees to win the race, formerly the Giro del Lazio, by 37 seconds from 2005 winner Filippo Pozzato with Grega Bole (Vacansoleil-DCM) in third.
A four-man group featuring the 26-year-old from Bordeaux was established after the departure from Via dei Fori Imperial and built up an 8:45 lead as they went through the lower slopes of the Colli Albani and across the Agro Pontino.
Kadri and Caja Rural's Manuel Antonio Cardoso then went clear on a challenging, hilly section and held a lead of two minutes over the peloton with 40km to go.
Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha), Francesco Reda and Miguel Angel Rubiano (Androni) and Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) went in pursuit of them.
But Kadri left Cardoso and held off the chasers to win the race within sight of the Coliseum.

 

[Smallville22]

Ciolek claims stage win in Ichtegem, Vandewalle overall victor

Gerald Ciolek of Germany claimed his first victory for MTN-Qhubeka in Ichtegem on the second stage of Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen as Kristof Vandewalle took the overall classification win.
It was the first win for the African team in Belgium as Ciolek negotiated the 181.8km ride from Nieuwpoort to Ichtegem better than any of his rivals.
Adrien Petit of France was second, with Bobbie Traksel of the Netherlands finishing third in the stage.
But it was Vandewalle of Omega Pharma - Quick Step who took the overall victory, having won his first race of the season in the opening 7km prologue time trial at the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen on Friday.

 

[Smallville22]

Gaudin produces shock win in Paris-Nice prologue

Damien Gaudin of France was a shock winner in the Paris-Nice prologue on Sunday as the Team Europcar rider recorded the fastest time.
Gaudin covered the 2.9km test in a time of 3:37 to pip compatriot Sylvain Chavanel of Omega Pharma-Quick-Step by just a second.
Lleuwe Westra of Vacansoleil was third, while Dutchman Wilco Kelderman was just two seconds off the fastest pace in fourth.
The opening stage of seven begins in Saint-Germain-en-Laye on Monday and will see the riders negotiate the 195km route to Nemours.

 

[Smallville22]

Giro d'Italia - Eurosport signs four year broadcast deal for Giro d'Italia

British Eurosport will exclusively show the Giro d'Italia live in the UK for the next four years.
Eurosport Group and RCS Sport have announced the extension and enhancement of their long term partnership for an additional four years with extended and upgraded live production and broadcasting in High Definition for the first time.
The deal covers 2013 to 2016 and involves TV and digital rights for the Giro d'Italia as well as five other major Italian cycling races: Milan - Sanremo, the Giro di Lombardia, Tirreno-Adriatico, Strade Bianche and Roma Maxima.

The agreement includes 70 territories* covered by Eurosport in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. In a change to the previous deal Eurosport now has exclusive rights in 59 countries**, including key markets such as UK, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Poland.

More live action will also be produced with three hours live per stage for the Giro – it was previously two and a minimum of two hours live for the other races per day of competition. All races will also be available in HD for the first time.
Digital rights will see all races broadcast on internet and mobile on the Eurosport Player online streaming service.
Eurosport Group chairman Laurent-Eric Le Lay said: "Eurosport has been a long-term partner of Giro d'Italia since 1998 and contributed to the continuous growth of this premium property in Europe and to the development of its notoriety in Asia and Pacific.
"We are pleased to extend this partnership for four additional years. With increased live coverage of Giro and other Italian races, HD quality and new exclusivities in 59 countries, Eurosport significantly consolidates its cycling offer.
"In 2013 our cycling portfolio is more than ever unrivalled and features the best events of the season with the three big Tours, the great classics and more than 40 races."

2013 calendar of the races related to the agreement

- 2 March: Strade Bianche

- 3 March: Roma Maxima

- 6-12 March: Tirreno - Adriatico

- 17 March: Milano - Sanremo

- 4-26 May: Giro d'Italia

- 6 October: Il Lombardia

*with the exception of France

** In Europe the rights are exclusive for all kinds of broadcast in all territories except Andorra, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Monaco, San Marino, Spain, Switzerland and Vatican. In Netherlands, non exclusive rights for Milan San- Remo and Giro di Lombardia races but exclusive live rights for the four other races, including Giro d'Italia. In Asia-Pacific, exclusive live rights in all Eurosport's territories except Australia.

 

[Smallville22]

Bouhanni takes stage and lead at Paris-Nice

French champion Nacer Bouhanni won the opening stage of Paris-Nice in a bunch sprint finish in Nemours.
The FDJ rider beat veteran sprinter Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-Merida), Elia Viviani (Cannondale) and Jens Debusschere (Lotto-Belisol) to the line at the end of the 195km stage from Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
Orica-GreenEdge led the peloton around a sharp left hand turn with 550m to go as they looked to set up the sprint for Leigh Howard but it was Bouhanni, who picked up his first win of the year by pipping Matthew Goss on the final stage of the Tour of Oman, who edged out the Italians by the narrowest of margins.
And in the process he took the leader's jersey from Team Europcar's Damien Gaudin who was the shock winner of Sunday's prologue.
Almost immediately after departing from one of the wealthiest suburbs of Paris, Yannick Talabardon (Sojasun), Romain Sicard (Euskaltel) and Bert-Jan Lindeman (Vacansoleil) attacked.
They built up a 7:05 advantage after 75km but that lead had been greatly reduced when they reached the only climb of the day, the cat. 4 Cote de Buthiers at 119.5km.
The gap had been whittled down to 2:45 with 45km to go and Sicard had returned to the peloton before the other two riders were caught with just over 20km remaining.
A surge in the pace then saw the peloton split and sprinters like Marcel Kittel and Tom Boonen were marooned in the second group and unable to contest the finish in the first road stage of the 2013 World Tour in Europe.

 

[Smallville22]

Kittel takes stage as Bouhanni crashes out of Paris-Nice

Marcel Kittel won stage two of Paris-Nice in a bunch sprint as overnight leader Nacer Bouhanni abandoned the second World Tour race of the season after a crash.
German powerhouse Kittel of Argos-Shimano took the victory in an uphill finish at Cerilly at the end of a 200km stage from Vimory.
Kittel, who was in the second group on Monday and unable to contest the sprint, was a clear winner from Elia Viviani (Cannondale) who inherits the yellow jersey.
The Italian, who also took the final intermediate sprint of the day, now leads by seven seconds on GC from Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) after French champion Bouhanni was ****** to quit the race after crashing on a left hand corner with 55km to go.
Early reports suggested that the FDJ rider was bruised but had suffered no fractures or broken bones.
Latvia's Gatis Smukulis (Katusha), Belgium's Kris Boeckmans (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Dane Mads Christensen (Saxo-Tinkoff) escaped almost immediately after the start but they were back in the peloton at the 55km mark.
The average speed for the second hour of the race was just 26.7kph with reports that riders were riding slowly in protest at the stage distance.
After 70km, Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel), Maxime Bouet (AG2R), Thomas de Gendt (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil-DCM) went away and swiftly built up a lead over four minutes.
But they were caught with 45km remaining to set up the inevitable bunch sprint. The ORICA-GreenEDGE train hit the front in the final stages but the 4% uphill finish caused a messy sprint and their man Leigh Howard had to settle for third.

 

[Smallville22]

Star studded field for Tirreno-Adriatico

An elite field has gathered for the third World Tour race of the season, Tirreno-Adriatico.
The 48th edition of the Corsa dei Due Mar starts on Wednesday in San Vincenzo with Alberto Contador, Cadel Evans, Chris Froome, world number one Joaquin Rodriguez and defending champion Vincenzo Nibali all lining up.
Mark Cavendish will be going for stage wins for Omega Pharma-Quickstep but will face stiff competition in the form of Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol), Peter Sagan (Cannondale), Tyler Farrar (Garmin), Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEDGE) and John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano).
A 16.9 kilometre team time trial opens the seven-day race and 2011 Tour de France champion Evans said he looks forward to testing himself against a talented field.
"Some of the biggest stage racing riders in the world will be there," Evans, who finished third in his first stage race of the season at the Tour of Oman and won Tirreno-Adriatico in 2011, said.
"Strade Bianche was a good indication for me, though I didn't make the final in the front group. We'll see how the team time trial goes and then we'll take it from there."
The focus for the GC riders will be Saturday's stage which concludes with the steep climb of Prati di Tivo and the final stage, a 9.2km individual time trial.
Saxo-Tinkoff's Contador, one of only five riders to have won all three Grand Tours of road cycling, Astana's Nibali, Rodriguez of re-instated World Tour team Katusha and Team Sky's Froome will look to be in the shake-up.
Contador said: “I’m very happy with the quality of the field. I think it will be the most competitive stage race of the year, outside the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España”
Thor Hushovd, Tony Martin, Damiano Cunego, Samuel Sanchez and Fabian Cancellara are amongst the other elite names in the field while MTN-Qhubeka make history by becoming the first African team to start a WorldTour race.

Stages:

Stage 1: Wednesday 06/03: San Vincenzo – Donoratico (16.9km)

Stage 2: Thursday 07/03: San Vincenzo – Indicatore (232km)

Stage 3: Friday 08/03: Indicatore – Narni Scalo (190km)

Stage 4: Saturday 09/03: Narni – Prati di Tivo (173km)

Stage 5: Sunday 10/03: Ortona – Chieti (230km)

Stage 6: Monday 11/03: Porto Sant’Elpidio – Porto Sant’Elpidio (209km)

Stage 7: Tuesday 12/03: San Benedetto del Tronto – San Benedetto del Tronto (9.2km)

Most wins - Riders

6 Roger De Vlaeminck (BEL) 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977

2 Francesco Moser (ITA) 1980, 1981

2 Giuseppe Saronni (ITA) 1978, 1982

2 Toni Rominger (SUI) 1989, 1990

2 Rolf Sørensen (DEN) 1987, 1992

Most wins - Countries

23 Italy

7 Belgium

5 Switzerland

3 Spain

3 Netherlands

2 Denmark

1 Norway

1 Sweden

1 Germany

1 Australia

Last 10 podiums

2012: Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Chris Horner (USA) Roman Kreuziger (CZE)

2011: Cadel Evans (AUS) Robert Gesink (NED) Michele Scarponi (ITA)

2010: Stefano Garzelli (ITA) Michele Scarponi (ITA) Cadel Evans (AUS)

2009: Michele Scarponi (ITA) Stefano Garzelli (ITA) Andreas Klöden (GER)

2008: Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) Thomas Löfkvist (SWE)

2007: Andreas Klöden (GER) Kim Kirchen (LUX) Alexandr Vinokurov (KAZ)

2006: Thomas Dekker (NED) Jörg Jaksche (GER) Alessandro Ballan (ITA)

2005: Óscar Freire (ESP) Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Fabrizio Guidi (ITA)

2004: Paolo Bettini (ITA) Óscar Freire (ESP) Erik Zabel (GER)

2003: Filippo Pozzato (ITA) Danilo Di Luca (ITA) Ruggero Marzoli (ITA)

 

[Smallville22]

Talansky wins stage and takes lead in Paris-Nice

American Andrew Talansky claimed victory in stage three of Paris-Nice on a wet day in Auvergne in central France and inherited the overall race lead.
The stage exploded on the category two climb of the Cote de Mauvagnat, which peaked with 15km to go, as an elite group of seven riders came to the finish together.
And it was the 24-year-old Garmin-Sharp rider who took the sprint in Brioude ahead of Davide Malacarne (Europcar) and Gorka Izaguirre (Euskaltel).
The Team Sky duo of David Lopez Garcia and Richie Porte followed ahead of Romain Bardet (AG2R) and Andriy Grivko (Astana).
Overnight leader Elia Viviani was distanced on the ascent and lost nearly three minutes so Talanksy now leads by three seconds on GC from Grivko and Malacarne with Sylvain Chavanel a further second back in fourth.
Alexis Vuillermoz (Sojasun), Martijn Keizer (Vacansoleil-DCM), Sébastien Minard (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and Mads Christensen (Saxo-Tinkoff) were involved in the break of the day, the quartet escaping shortly after the start of the 170km stage in Châtel-Guyon.
They built up a lead of 2:15 after 15km which quickly grew to over four minutes as they crossed two climbs, and they still had a 4:10 advantage with 56km to go.
But Cannondale lead the peloton and their advantage was quickly reduced and the escapees were caught with 22km to go.
The race splintered on the climb and groups formed on the descent. Team Sky's Vasili Kiryienka was one who was prepared to take risks in the hazardous conditions but he went over his handlebars whilst leading the stage with Grivko.
BMC were chasing hard but the leading septet held on with a group of around 25 riders crossing the line, seven seconds behind Talansky.
"Anderew and the team did a fantastic job today and met our objective of getting Andrew in a good position going into the final climb," said Garmin-Sharp sports director Geert Van Bondt. "Taking the leader's jersey was a great bonus, we're happy and proud and looking forward to the coming stages."

 

[Smallville22]

Cavendish leads as Omega Pharma win Tirreno-Adriatico TTT

Mark Cavendish holds the overall lead in the 48th Tirreno-Adriatico after his Omega Pharma-QuickStep team won the opening team time trial.
The Belgian squad, including in their ranks the reigning world individual time trial champion Tony Martin, completed the 16.9km route from San Vincenzo to Donoratico in 19:24 - an average speed of 52.268 km/h in wet conditions in Tuscany.
Team Movistar was next, 11 seconds slower, with Cadel Evans's BMC squad a further five seconds back in third.
Over the same route last year, Orica-GreenEdge set the winning time of 18:41, 17 seconds faster than Fabian Cancellara’s RadioShack-Nissan.
But the Australian squad had to settle for sixth this year in 19:48 behind Cannondale (19:42) and the Astana squad of defending champion Vincenzo Nibali (19:44) while RadioShack were back in tenth in 20:00 behind Chris Froome's Team Sky (19:49), Alberto Contador's Saxo-Tinkoff (19:53) and Lampre (19:59).
MTN-Qhubeka, who became the first African team ever to start a UCI World Tour race, came home in 20:24.
Cavendish said: “It was raining when we trained yesterday and this morning, but the guys didn’t care about the weather. They wanted to keep practicing and practicing and get it right, and they really did. It was nice to be part of it.
"It’s a misconception that the five who crossed the finish line together were the strongest. Tony rode away from us on the climb. Geert Steegmans waited for us and led the rest of the team back to him. He had one of the best rides today.
"It was planned I’d cross the line first. With hindsight it would have been better to let Tony [Martin] cross first because he did about half of it on his own today. He’ll probably get the jersey later in the week. “I expect a pretty straightforward sprint tomorrow. We’ll be riding to keep the jersey, although I hope it’s not left to us to ride the whole day.”
The World Tour race has a star-studded start list which includes the winners of 11 Grand Tours, 14 one-day monuments, 12 World Championships, two Olympic gold medals on the road and three Olympic track champions.

 

[Smallville22]

Spain seeks parliamentary approval for new doping law

The Spanish government has asked parliament to approve a new anti-doping bill that seeks to bring national law into line with international norms.
The legislation is seen as an important step in reversing Spain's reputation as soft on doping and the government hopes it will improve Madrid's chances of winning the right to host the 2020 Olympic Games.
"We are going to need some time to become credible," Ana Munoz, director general of Spain's anti-doping agency, told local radio.
"The image of Spanish sport abroad is magnificent but in the fight against doping our image is not good," she added.
"Having this law in parliament is the guarantee that Spain is in the vanguard of nations who want to tackle doping and protect the health of athletes."
The bill seeks to bring the country into line with the World Anti-Doping Code, which went into ***** at the beginning of 2009 and provides a framework for anti-doping policies, rules and regulations for sports organisations and public authorities.
An attempt to update Spanish legislation under the previous government foundered but the current centre-right administration hopes this time the bill will clear parliament.
Athletes caught cheating will face fines of up to 400,000 euros, although the use of ****** substances and other doping methods will not be considered a criminal offence.
The bill also gives authorities the right to conduct doping tests between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. in exceptional cases as long as the reasons are explained to the athlete.
The presentation of the new law coincides with the "Operation Puerto" trial in Madrid of Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes and four other defendants accused of running a doping ring in professional cycling.
The World Anti-Doping Agency is optimistic the trial, which started at the end of January and is due to conclude at the end of March, will finally lead to evidence of possible wrongdoing in other sports being made available.
Fuentes has revealed that as well as cycling he had clients in other sports including football, tennis, athletics and boxing.
WADA's requests for access to evidence seized by police in raids in 2006 have been repeatedly denied by the Spanish courts, although the judge in the "Puerto" trial has said she will consider a fresh WADA request.