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From the Vuelta
I’d like to thank my butcher
With only two days of racing to go, it seems to Spaniard Alberto Contador has sewn up the Vuelta after one of the best attacks seen in recent years. On the 17th stage, as the race came back together 50km from the finish, Contador unleashed an unexpected attack, leaving his main rivals Rodriguez and Valverde unaware. After crossing the category three climb on the Collado de Ozalba, Contador found himself with a 20 second lead over his opponents.
In what was a brilliant piece of tactical nous from Saxo-Bank, three of Contador’s teammates were in an earlier breakaway, giving the Spaniard great support for his bold attack.
After dismantling the field, there was only two men left on the front, Contador and former teammate, Paolo Tiralongo from Astana. The two worked together, eventuating in Contador picking up bonus seconds on an intermediate sprint, and driving the gap to two minutes. With 14km to go, Contador rode clear of Tiralongo, to use his time-trailing prowess to go solo to the finish.
It’s not easy being green
Meanwhile, Alejandro Valverde used his teammates, who were also in the earlier breakaway, to inflict more pain on the suffering Rodriguez. Inside the final kilometres, Valverde and Movistar teammate Benat Intxausti attacked in pursuit of Contador, with the gap rapidly dropping.
After several anxious looks over his shoulder, Contador crossed the finish line with arms aloft screaming his delight with what was surely the Tour clinching win. Valverde finished second on the stage, seeing him take second place overall, 2:38 behind the stage winner.
For Rodriguez, he was caught in a horrible position in his valiant chase to minimize his losses, with Saxo-Bank and Movistar riders on his wheel, refusing to cooperate. Whilst Rodriguez’s day may have been bad, it was nothing compared to what Chris Froome has endured over the past week. After being in a position to challenge for the win, the Sky rider has now lost more time, sitting in fourth, a mammoth 9:40seconds down.
On the overnight stage, Phillipe Gilbert of BMC confirmed his pre-race favouritism for this stage by pulling clear on the final kilometre to take his first win of the year.
The standings with two stages to go see’s Contador 1:35 ahead of Valverde, with Rodriguez a further 50seconds back. Froome, Moreno and Gesink are the next three on the standings, but all 10minutes or more off the leader.
This Vuelta has defiantly been the Tour of the year, with almost every stage providing fireworks. Tour de France organizers should be asking the Vuelta for favours in designing next year’s course.
One final note on the Vuelta is on Alberto Contador. In my humble opinion, no matter what you think of him personally, or have against him (due to his drug conviction), you have to admire his riding. In a world which has been suffering from the mundane (yet effective) riding of Team Sky supporting Wiggins, and the dual riding of the Schleck boys, having a rider such as Contador racing ensures that attacks are plenty no matter what the situation. Whilst I may not be his biggest fan, I would love nothing more then watch him cycle on every Grand Tour.
Gerro Conquers Quebec
Australian Simon Gerrans took out the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec in a thrilling race through the streets of the French-Canadian city. The Orica-GreenEdge rider triumphed in a strong field that featured classics favourites such as Peter Sagan, Luis-Leon Sanchez and Edvald Boassan Hagen.
After enduring 197km of racing over the circuit which included many climbs and rapid descents, Gerrans caught onto the wheel of BMC rider Greg van Avermaet, a pre-race favourite, on the final climb to race clear of the peloton. Over the final kilometres Slovak favourite Peter Sagan sought help from the remainder of the peloton to catch the two breakaways, but no one followed suit, meaning the Liquigas rider had to make a desperate chase to make the catch. Unfortunately for Sagan, in the final kilometre, just as he was closing in on the leaders, van Avermaet made his attack, only for Gerrans to make his move and sprint around the BMC man to take one of his biggest career wins.
“I attacked with everything I had and got away with Greg” Gerrans noted in a pre-race interview. “ I saw Sagan closing in, and I knew how fast he is. I kept the break moving with Greg to make sure that Peter did not get back on”. (SBS Cycling Central)
This win for Gerrans is an ominous warning to his competitors ahead of the UCI Road World Championships next week. His end of season form has been impressive, as seen by his second place in the Clasica San Sebastian and his strong racing in the Plouay Grand Prix last week.
In the wake of the Lance Armstrong case, the cycling world seems to be becoming rather infuriated that these doping offences are still prominent in the sport. During the week, many well respected riders have signalled their intent to speak out about this issue. In the past there has been a somewhat code of silence from riders about doping, but recently this barrier has been removed by riders wanting to speak about their own infringements and the ones of other riders.
Former teammates of Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton and Jonathan Vaughters have spoken about their previous offences, with Vaughters, the manager of Garmin-Sharp, insinuating the that three of his current riders, Christian Vande Velde, Dave Zabriskie and Tom Danielson, had all previously doped.
In a forum Q&A, Vaughters was asked what checks he made on riders when signing them to Garmin. He responded with
Meanwhile Tyler Hamilton has opened up on the alleged institutional doping at the former US Postal Service team. In his book called “In The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups and Winning at All Costs“, Hamilton stated that the team was “two years ahead of what everybody else was doing, in regards to doping”. He also accused Armstrong of forming a plan to have his gardener, and odd-job man, deliver vials of the banned EPO drug during the Tour de France to ensure no rider was caught with it in their possession. The plan included the man, Philippe, following the tour on his motorbike, carrying thermos full of EPO. When riders needed the substance, particular the climbers such as Armstrong and Hamilton, Philippe would drive through the traffic and make a drop-off.
If you want to read more on this interesting topic, SBS Cycling Central has provided a great overview of Hamilton’s statements against Armstrong and the teams doping in-digressions. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/road/news/39401/tyler-hamilton-reveals-us-postal-s-secrets
With all these confessions and accusations coming to the fore in recent weeks, the UCI has proposed an amnesty for riders and officials to confess doping offences. President Pat McQuaid stated that he will propose this framework and try to form an appropriate format for it to be successful. He also indicated that the UCI has yet to receive the USADA evidence against Armstrong, and that the life ban will only be challenged if there is a serious reason to do so. The president also questioned the viability of Hamilton’s statements, claiming the rider was also tainted and that he was not to be trusted.
There will be much more to come on this issue in the coming months.
Canadians Upset Aussies
Prior to the Quebec Grand Prix event, the race organizers put on a sprinting showpiece for the crowds as an entree to the main event. The relatively new concept to major racing consists of one rider per team racing over a one kilometre course. The format starts with heats of four with the top two progressing to the next round. Pre-race favourite Matty Goss of Orica-GreenEdge was joined by fellow Australian, Rabobanks Michael Mathews, as well as two Canadians, Remi Pelletier-Roy, and Olympic rider Zach Bell, in the final.
As the riders toyed with each other over the first 700m, the race exploded when Goss made his inevitable attack, which many expected would result in his victory. But as quick as Goss came around, the two Canadian riders were up to the challenge, with Bell taking the win on the line over his compatriot, with Goss in third and Mathews in fourth.
Whilst it may not be a major event, the large prize-winnings and the exciting nature of the event may see it implemented in many more Classics events.
Boonen Shows Form Leading Into WC
In the inaugural World Ports Classic in Rotterdam, Omega-Pharma sprint man Tom Boonen took the race win after two days of intense sprint challenges and aggressive racing. After Andre Griepel held the sprint points lead on the first day of racing after being the first over several sprint points, the German only had to win the favourable finish to take the GC.
With several riders making attempts at an unlikely win, the race was brought back together in the final ten kilometres, with Rabobank taking the train to the finish, before Argos-Shimano and Griepel’s Lotto-Belisol looked to decimate the field inside the final kilometre. It was looking like a duel between the pre-race favourites Griepel and Boonen was to ensure, but it was Rabobank’s Theo Bos who used his track skills to emerge the winner. With Boonen finishing ahead of Griepel, it meant the Belgian took the GC.
Boonen showed praise for the inaugural event, suggesting that it is a race that has a strong future ahead of it. “If you talk with some guys in the peloton, they can tell you that yesterday it was the hardest race of their life because of the wind and the high speed. Now, this is done and I’m happy about the result. It’s a good race in this moment of the season. Riders who didn’t race the Vuelta were all here, so the level was high.”
A positive for the Australians in the race saw Mark Renshaw, Jon Cantwell and Steele Von Hoff all finish in the top ten in the GC.
The post The Week In Cycling: Contador in Prime Postion in Spain appeared first on Green and Gold Cycling.
Continue reading...
I’d like to thank my butcher
With only two days of racing to go, it seems to Spaniard Alberto Contador has sewn up the Vuelta after one of the best attacks seen in recent years. On the 17th stage, as the race came back together 50km from the finish, Contador unleashed an unexpected attack, leaving his main rivals Rodriguez and Valverde unaware. After crossing the category three climb on the Collado de Ozalba, Contador found himself with a 20 second lead over his opponents.
In what was a brilliant piece of tactical nous from Saxo-Bank, three of Contador’s teammates were in an earlier breakaway, giving the Spaniard great support for his bold attack.
After dismantling the field, there was only two men left on the front, Contador and former teammate, Paolo Tiralongo from Astana. The two worked together, eventuating in Contador picking up bonus seconds on an intermediate sprint, and driving the gap to two minutes. With 14km to go, Contador rode clear of Tiralongo, to use his time-trailing prowess to go solo to the finish.
It’s not easy being green
Meanwhile, Alejandro Valverde used his teammates, who were also in the earlier breakaway, to inflict more pain on the suffering Rodriguez. Inside the final kilometres, Valverde and Movistar teammate Benat Intxausti attacked in pursuit of Contador, with the gap rapidly dropping.
After several anxious looks over his shoulder, Contador crossed the finish line with arms aloft screaming his delight with what was surely the Tour clinching win. Valverde finished second on the stage, seeing him take second place overall, 2:38 behind the stage winner.
For Rodriguez, he was caught in a horrible position in his valiant chase to minimize his losses, with Saxo-Bank and Movistar riders on his wheel, refusing to cooperate. Whilst Rodriguez’s day may have been bad, it was nothing compared to what Chris Froome has endured over the past week. After being in a position to challenge for the win, the Sky rider has now lost more time, sitting in fourth, a mammoth 9:40seconds down.
On the overnight stage, Phillipe Gilbert of BMC confirmed his pre-race favouritism for this stage by pulling clear on the final kilometre to take his first win of the year.
The standings with two stages to go see’s Contador 1:35 ahead of Valverde, with Rodriguez a further 50seconds back. Froome, Moreno and Gesink are the next three on the standings, but all 10minutes or more off the leader.
This Vuelta has defiantly been the Tour of the year, with almost every stage providing fireworks. Tour de France organizers should be asking the Vuelta for favours in designing next year’s course.One final note on the Vuelta is on Alberto Contador. In my humble opinion, no matter what you think of him personally, or have against him (due to his drug conviction), you have to admire his riding. In a world which has been suffering from the mundane (yet effective) riding of Team Sky supporting Wiggins, and the dual riding of the Schleck boys, having a rider such as Contador racing ensures that attacks are plenty no matter what the situation. Whilst I may not be his biggest fan, I would love nothing more then watch him cycle on every Grand Tour.
Gerro Conquers Quebec
Australian Simon Gerrans took out the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec in a thrilling race through the streets of the French-Canadian city. The Orica-GreenEdge rider triumphed in a strong field that featured classics favourites such as Peter Sagan, Luis-Leon Sanchez and Edvald Boassan Hagen.After enduring 197km of racing over the circuit which included many climbs and rapid descents, Gerrans caught onto the wheel of BMC rider Greg van Avermaet, a pre-race favourite, on the final climb to race clear of the peloton. Over the final kilometres Slovak favourite Peter Sagan sought help from the remainder of the peloton to catch the two breakaways, but no one followed suit, meaning the Liquigas rider had to make a desperate chase to make the catch. Unfortunately for Sagan, in the final kilometre, just as he was closing in on the leaders, van Avermaet made his attack, only for Gerrans to make his move and sprint around the BMC man to take one of his biggest career wins.
“I attacked with everything I had and got away with Greg” Gerrans noted in a pre-race interview. “ I saw Sagan closing in, and I knew how fast he is. I kept the break moving with Greg to make sure that Peter did not get back on”. (SBS Cycling Central)
This win for Gerrans is an ominous warning to his competitors ahead of the UCI Road World Championships next week. His end of season form has been impressive, as seen by his second place in the Clasica San Sebastian and his strong racing in the Plouay Grand Prix last week.
- Simon Gerrans (Australia) Orica-GreenEdge
- Greg van Avermaet (Belgium) BMC Racing
- Rui Cost (Portugal) Movistar
- Luca Paolini (Italy) Katusha
In the wake of the Lance Armstrong case, the cycling world seems to be becoming rather infuriated that these doping offences are still prominent in the sport. During the week, many well respected riders have signalled their intent to speak out about this issue. In the past there has been a somewhat code of silence from riders about doping, but recently this barrier has been removed by riders wanting to speak about their own infringements and the ones of other riders.
Former teammates of Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton and Jonathan Vaughters have spoken about their previous offences, with Vaughters, the manager of Garmin-Sharp, insinuating the that three of his current riders, Christian Vande Velde, Dave Zabriskie and Tom Danielson, had all previously doped.
In a forum Q&A, Vaughters was asked what checks he made on riders when signing them to Garmin. He responded with
Valid question. CVV, Zabriskie, Danielson, while all clearly have a past, and from an ethical standpoint are no different from JJ (Joerg Jaksche), there is a very pragmatic difference. That difference is performance based. Basically, I knew from what my time at USPS (US Postal), how “inside” or not those riders were. Based on this, I knew (their) transgressions, while ethically the same as JJ’s, were much less in terms of enhancing performance.
After much furore, Vaughters said he had talked to the riders and that they were all very comfortable with the truth, but were surprised at the comments. He added that he believed the sport is very much cleaner than it had been in the past.Meanwhile Tyler Hamilton has opened up on the alleged institutional doping at the former US Postal Service team. In his book called “In The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups and Winning at All Costs“, Hamilton stated that the team was “two years ahead of what everybody else was doing, in regards to doping”. He also accused Armstrong of forming a plan to have his gardener, and odd-job man, deliver vials of the banned EPO drug during the Tour de France to ensure no rider was caught with it in their possession. The plan included the man, Philippe, following the tour on his motorbike, carrying thermos full of EPO. When riders needed the substance, particular the climbers such as Armstrong and Hamilton, Philippe would drive through the traffic and make a drop-off.
If you want to read more on this interesting topic, SBS Cycling Central has provided a great overview of Hamilton’s statements against Armstrong and the teams doping in-digressions. http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/road/news/39401/tyler-hamilton-reveals-us-postal-s-secrets
With all these confessions and accusations coming to the fore in recent weeks, the UCI has proposed an amnesty for riders and officials to confess doping offences. President Pat McQuaid stated that he will propose this framework and try to form an appropriate format for it to be successful. He also indicated that the UCI has yet to receive the USADA evidence against Armstrong, and that the life ban will only be challenged if there is a serious reason to do so. The president also questioned the viability of Hamilton’s statements, claiming the rider was also tainted and that he was not to be trusted.
There will be much more to come on this issue in the coming months.
Canadians Upset Aussies
Prior to the Quebec Grand Prix event, the race organizers put on a sprinting showpiece for the crowds as an entree to the main event. The relatively new concept to major racing consists of one rider per team racing over a one kilometre course. The format starts with heats of four with the top two progressing to the next round. Pre-race favourite Matty Goss of Orica-GreenEdge was joined by fellow Australian, Rabobanks Michael Mathews, as well as two Canadians, Remi Pelletier-Roy, and Olympic rider Zach Bell, in the final.
As the riders toyed with each other over the first 700m, the race exploded when Goss made his inevitable attack, which many expected would result in his victory. But as quick as Goss came around, the two Canadian riders were up to the challenge, with Bell taking the win on the line over his compatriot, with Goss in third and Mathews in fourth.
Whilst it may not be a major event, the large prize-winnings and the exciting nature of the event may see it implemented in many more Classics events.
Boonen Shows Form Leading Into WC
In the inaugural World Ports Classic in Rotterdam, Omega-Pharma sprint man Tom Boonen took the race win after two days of intense sprint challenges and aggressive racing. After Andre Griepel held the sprint points lead on the first day of racing after being the first over several sprint points, the German only had to win the favourable finish to take the GC.
With several riders making attempts at an unlikely win, the race was brought back together in the final ten kilometres, with Rabobank taking the train to the finish, before Argos-Shimano and Griepel’s Lotto-Belisol looked to decimate the field inside the final kilometre. It was looking like a duel between the pre-race favourites Griepel and Boonen was to ensure, but it was Rabobank’s Theo Bos who used his track skills to emerge the winner. With Boonen finishing ahead of Griepel, it meant the Belgian took the GC.
Boonen showed praise for the inaugural event, suggesting that it is a race that has a strong future ahead of it. “If you talk with some guys in the peloton, they can tell you that yesterday it was the hardest race of their life because of the wind and the high speed. Now, this is done and I’m happy about the result. It’s a good race in this moment of the season. Riders who didn’t race the Vuelta were all here, so the level was high.”
A positive for the Australians in the race saw Mark Renshaw, Jon Cantwell and Steele Von Hoff all finish in the top ten in the GC.
The post The Week In Cycling: Contador in Prime Postion in Spain appeared first on Green and Gold Cycling.
Continue reading...