PELOTOONS

Looking Forward...

2009-04-27T11:38:00.002+08:00

Tiii tiii cycle, tiii tiii cyle, bor training, bor training
tiii tiii chor kang, tiii tiii chor kang, bor training, bor training
tiii tiii chee thou, tiii tiii chee thou, bor sleeping, bor sleeping
tiii tiii training, tiii tiii training, bor recovery, bor recovery....
Gong khiii nia...
Looking forward to makan, tidur, matiii

Tour de Langkawi 09 - Stage 1

2009-02-11T01:09:00.004+08:00

Gavazziii, the name sounded like a soft drink, Mattia Gavazzi won the 1st stage of 2009 LTdL ahead of a fast charging Chris Sutton. Gavazzi took both the leader's and points jersey.
The Italian sprinter's thighs were as huge as tree trunks....
As usual, riders were given some freedom in the early part of the race, Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kazakhstan National Team), Jaco Venter (South African National Team), and Mohd Akmal Amrun (MNCF Cycling Team) receive some air time on TV.
Marco polo's latest recruit Ahmad Haidar Anuawar who was back from the dead after his horrible crash in indonesia a few months ago took a respective 7th in the final dash to the line.

Sleeping World Championship

2009-01-07T01:49:00.006+08:00

Neglecting this blog for some time has earned me the unofficial Sleeping World Champion...slept through the whole of 2008...maybe its time to get out of bed.

A.H.A.

2008-12-04T00:57:00.007+08:00

AHA is not that 80s band, AHA in this context is known as the pocket rocket man, Azizul Hasni Awang.

Today i decided to try out my luck in cyclingnews.com's 2008 readers' poll for fun.

If they had an additional poll ''most improved track rider'', i would definitely nominate Azizul Hasni Awang!

....having said that i do have some difficulty nominating names for ''best female cross rider'' and ''best female MTBer''....

This year alone, Azizul has done alot of amazing things to stamp his name in international track cycling. And that trademark wheelie is like some sort of satria baja hitam (kamen rider) bikership only to be mastered by locals from Dungun.

And if his gold medal from UCI Melbourne world cup is one of the many to come...looks like i am gonna have to start learning the art of rendering gold in photoshop!!!

伊蛮伐蘇

2008-11-23T20:06:00.006+08:00

伊蛮伐蘇 = Ivan Basso.

If it weren't for the samurai paint jobs on his Cannondale, i would have mistaken the whole theme for China Cup...

If you agree that Ivan should only ride a Protour team by 2010, count me in...anyway...welcome back

7000 Euros

2008-11-23T19:12:00.003+08:00

What game play?

Hokuto No Lance

2008-11-23T14:55:00.004+08:00

The long awaited Hokuto No Ken movie, ''Kenshiro Den'' has been released a few weeks ago.

If theres a Kenshiro in the world of cycling, that would be Mr Lance Armstrong, although i think Lance is much more like ken's brother, Raoh...

Check out the clip, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYDxxtsxckg

The Pozzato Metronome

2008-11-23T11:58:00.002+08:00

Tiiik Toook Tiiik Toook Tiiik Toook...

Alessandro Ballan - Jay Baruchel

2008-11-22T21:30:00.002+08:00

Watched ''Tropics Thunder'' the other day, typical Ben Stiller movie...

Feel that Alessandro Ballan looks abit like Jay Baruchel (Kevin Sandusky) in that movie.

Motto On Jerseys

2008-11-22T19:43:00.006+08:00

For once, i am willing to believe that this Captain-America-inspired-jersey for the Malaysian Cycling Federations boys were not designed by that black overated nursery centre in Cyberjaya.

I didn't notice this before...but now i do, instead of the usual maker's logo, there are some eye catching motto printed on the shoulders of MCF's jerseys.

On the left : '' Cermerlang, Gemilang, Terbilang '' which translates as.........err........i dunno.....
never mind....anyway, its just some meaningless political manifesto.

On the Right : '' Belia Benci Dadah '' which translates as youth hates drugs (hope thats true...) do have something to do with cycling and to promote cleaner sport awareness.
Just a suggestion....since our PDRM (Polis Diraja Malaysia) had one of the plainest jersey in the local cycling scene, maybe the Polis cycling team could consider printing ''Cepat, Mesra, Cekap'' onto their jerseys...

Doing The Joan Llaneras

2008-10-26T23:42:00.008+08:00

Some say it should be known as doing the Donald Budge (considered as one the best backhand player in the history of tennis). While to most of us in the world of cycling, it is famously known as ''Doing The Joan Llaneras''.

''Doing The Joan Llaneras'' has to be one of the most interesting riding posture i've ever came across to date. Unlike ''Doing the Spiderman'' à la Gary ''The Wild Man'' Choong....the race proven Llaneras-style has a unique way of placing both hands on the cockpit while not compromising the power transmission of each pedal stroke.

Through observation, majority of the track racers that competed in the recent Beijing Olympics tend to stick with the more conventional/traditional way of gripping the handlebars, that is by holding onto the drops (...and pray that they do not brake due to consistent + excessive hammering...). As you can see, this kind of riding posture does not suit some of the Pros let alone lesser being like us.

I've tried to adapt (...more like force...) myself into this riding posture, only to find out that i couldn't even do 50 meters while maintaining a moderate power transmission to the pedals. It was too uncomfortable and painful for my hands!!! (...the back and also the perennial area...)

An article of Ride magazine mentioned that this style was quick to be copied/adapted by young potential racers such as Australia's Cameron Meyer. In that same article, he told readers that this riding posture allows both his hands to be placed backhanded on the bar, as a result, a flatter and a more aerodynamic posture could be achieve on the bike, hence producing more power into each cycles. In fact, his handlebars were custom made by Easton, which provides him a more comfortable position while resting backhanded on the bars.
Among other prestigious victories that were contributed by the Llaneras-style (...on road races that i can think of...) includes.

- Stijn Devolder's (a.k.a. Volderke) great escape in the 2008 Edition of Ronde Van Vlaanderen ( otherwise known as Tour of Flanders )

- Jae Won Lee ( i think he looks abit like Bike Boutique's Daniel Lim Fhu Zhen ) of Seoul Cycling solo ride to the finishing line of the third stage of 2008 Tour de Langkawi (Sitiawan - Banting, 209.4 km)

Note : Devolder was holding backhanded onto the Campy brake hoods while Jae Won was on the drops.

Conclusion : The Llaneras-style is popular on both track and road racing. It seems to be well adapted by the pursuit-er or time-trialist

Some of you might still remember that Joan Llaneras almost quit cycling in 2006 after the tragic death of his madison tag team partner, Isaac Galvez in the Six days of Ghent Racing Curcuit. After a timely consideration that track cycling is all he have, Llaneras returned to racing a year later in 2007 and finished off his career with a fantastic palmares (Gold in point race, Silver in madison) in 2008 Beijing Olympics as one of the greatest track racer of all time.

So perhaps the term ''Doing The Joan Llaneras'' could also be used to describe the resurrection of a few once-considered-retired cyclists.

Ps : Saw some photos of Joan Llaneras (in cyclingnews.com) wearing an overkilling-but-well-earned shiny gold helmet while doing a farewell ride with Paolo Bettini. Other notable gold helmets includes Vino's matte gold finished Specialized Decibel in the 2006 Vuelta a Espana.

Flipping The Table !!! ちゃぶ台返し!!!

2008-10-25T23:36:00.003+08:00

A typical old fashion Japanese dad (culturally regarded as the Big Boss in the house) who flips the family’s dining table with an outburst of rage best illustrates the feelings of almost each and every pro cyclist who were cheated by theirs fellow dishonest peers and those involved.

What If

2008-10-24T01:18:00.015+08:00

This is the Scott Addict that Riccardo Ricco raced on during the 2007 Giro d' Italia. The chinese characters on the steed's head tube were written as '' 若者 '' (ruo zhe). A direct translation would mean ''what if''. (...that is if u pronounce it in Cantonese...without any Hollywood-Mandarin accent...)

It is unclear to me what role does these chinese characters have to do with Riccardo Ricco let alone suits his character. I am sure that the cobra ( champion with a small 'c' ) does not know the meaning of those words as he do not like to read. He thought it would be cool to have some decals with foreign language, hence gave the green light to whoever it was to finalized the outlook of his 2007 Scott Addict.

Probably, he was trying to say, ''Hey, what if the tifosi do believe i am clean or what if i could really beat the system?.'' But it is obvious that he wasn't thinking about what if he's surely gonna be caught.

Another word that had almost the same pronunciation but brings different meaning would be '' 弱者 ''. It means the weakest link. Now i believe that would serve him well for what he did for the sport of cycling.

Tour de France - Overdue

2008-10-22T07:19:00.006+08:00

Here are some overdue sketches of the Tour back in the month of July.

Had been very busy with work lately, thus been missing for a long time, will try to find time to update as frequent as possible.

She would have liked to see these sketches...rest in peace my friend...

Tour de France - Stage 4

2008-07-10T06:19:00.004+08:00

Germany's Stefan Schumacher had improved on his time trialing and thus conqured the 29.5-kilometre Tour de France stage around Cholet and move into the race leader's maillot jaune.

Cadel Evans finished 3rd and lived up to his name as the top seeded favourite. He did a great job by extending his lead on GC against his rivals.

My biggest surprise on this stage has to be Damiano Cunego, who finished 17th place.

I guess those training guides were right, its not about going as fast as hard and as long as you can in a time trail race, its about how you pace yourself and make your efforts count!!!

hmmm....i wonder how yellow would smell like?

Tour de France - Stage 3

2008-07-10T03:06:00.003+08:00

It was as if the third stage of the 2008 Tour was made for French riders to shine. Four riders got away from kilometer zero and manage to held it to the end!!!

At the end Samuel Dumoulin (Confidis) wins the sprint. A change of yellow jersey holder, Frenchman Romain Feillu (Agritubel) is the leader in GC after 3rd stage. while Robbie McEwen leads the main bunch home by finishing 4th, around 2 minutes behind the stage winner.

Some protesters interrupted the race midway to make their voices heard, but the situation was well handled by the people from ASO.

Bernard ''The badger'' Hinult again assumed the role of patron arresting one of the protesters who interrupted the prize giving ceremony.

Tour de France - Stage 2

2008-07-08T03:09:00.003+08:00

As usual, in todays stage, a handful of French rider manage a not so dangerous early breakaway. However at the only Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) manage to survive till the closing kilometers where the chase was led by the green train of Credit Agricole.

And then Fabian Cancellara (CSC) tried a final kilo kimikaze...but failed. Norwegian Thor ''Viking'' Hushovd wins the up hill sprint, holding off a fast charging Team Highroad Columbia duo, Kim Kirchen & Gerald Ciolek.

Alejandro Valverde remains yellow with a tiny lead of 1 second. Kim Kirchen takes over the green jersey.

Tour de France - Stage 1

2008-07-07T02:43:00.006+08:00

The 2008 Tour de France started rather differently from previous editions. Besides the mid season change of race kit design, there was no traditional prologue starts and a definite defending champion of previous edition.

Put 200 riders on the road that try to get to the front and add all those with some strong winds, you will get the usual nervous and stressful first stage of TDF. Nevertheless, The first breakaway of the day got away and built up a fairy decent time gap, until the peloton lead by Team Liqigas decided to give chase.

The finishing was a false flat, a rather final uphill surge to the line. German Stefan Schumacher launched a final kilo kamikaze attack, only to be brought back by the sharp acceleration of Team High Road-Columbia's Kim Kirchen.

Finally, newly crowned Spanish national road champion, Alejandro Valverde had a better timed last charging effort to the line and subsequently kill two birds with one stone by claiming the stage and the yellow.

As Usual, crashes are inevitable in the opening week of Grand Tour racing, among the high profile crash victims was last year's KOM winner, Juan Mauricio Soler, who ended the stage almost 3 mins behind the main bunch. It was believed that the crash could have caused a fracture to his left wrist, the same wrist he had broken while riding in this year's Giro.

Frandy Schleck

2008-07-06T18:07:00.014+08:00

I m a big fan of Frank Schleck and Andy Schleck, the Schleck brothers, or shall i call them Frandy Schleck. I am also a supporter of CSC, among my other favourite riders, such as Fabian Cancellara and German warhorse, Jens Voight ( famous quote : '' Don't mess with my breakfast & don't play with my Gameboy!!!'' ).

Team CSC – Saxo Bank team is one of the strongest teams lining up for this year's Tour de France. Among the three aces in that team will be team leader Carlos Sastre, Frank & Andy Schleck. Carlos will be aiming on GC, while Frandy, (according to team boss Bjarne Riis)will play their part in the mountains. This will be Andy's first TDF, and i am sure Frank will be there to watch out for his talented younger brother!!!

If everything goes to plan CSC targets to hold the yellow jersey in Paris!!!
So, good luck to CSC and the Schlecks!!!

Pelotoons picks for 2008 TDF...
GC - 1. Cadel Evans 2. Denis Menchov 3. Carlos Sastre
Green - Thor Hushovd
KOM - Frank Schleck
White - Andy Schleck
Team - Garmin Chipotle - H30....sorry CSC...will be close, but yellow is more important.
Most Agressive Rider - It will never be a man by the certain name of Cadel Evans!!!!

Chicken Run

2008-07-06T16:28:00.002+08:00

Micheal ''Scoffield/Chicken'' Rasmussen sues Rabobank, got verdict, Rabobank paid 10% of Chicken's demand, Chicken suspended for 2 years, Chicken not happy, decided to appeal the case to CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport)...in hoping to reduce his suspension.
At least, he finally gets the chance to put on some weight during Christmas dinner. How about anger eating, just stuff himself with food, and by the time he gets to ride again (if he ever gets to or wants to), he might well be racing as a sprinter cum classic/cobbles specialist!!!!

Giovanni Lombardi - Jack Bauer

2008-07-06T00:27:00.007+08:00

I think Giovanni Lombardi looks a bit like Keifer Sutherland (Jack Bauer)....ok...minus the hair....

LPR Brakes hunting for Rebellin and Petacchi

2008-07-01T21:46:00.003+08:00

Team LPR Brakes-Ballan is looking into signing Italians Alessandro Petacchi and Davide Rebellin for the 2009 season. Though talks are informal at the moment, Team Manager Fabio Bordonali confirmed that his Professional Continental team has contacted one of the best sprinters and one of the best one-day riders on the market."There are these projects in course," stated Bordonali to Cyclingnews regarding his search for new riders. "Rebellin raced with us in 2000 and 2001 [as part of Liquigas]. He is a rider that could work well with [Danilo] Di Luca in the Classics and races like Tirreno-Adriatico." This year's Paris-Nice winner is currently riding with Team Gerolsteiner, but the team faces being without a financial backer for 2009. Rebellin stated his desire to remain with the team if it can find a new sponsor. "I would like to finish my career with him," Rebellin said of Gerolsteiner Team Manager Hans Michael Holczer. Bordonali stated that it is obvious that his team is considering signing Petacchi as he is a big name rider in Italy. He warned a contract would not be easy, "He does not move on his own, he needs more men at his side. Maybe he will change his mind and want to bring along less men." Super-sprinter Petacchi will be allowed to race when his suspension ends this August. (www.cyclingnews.com)

UCI to seal Vinokourov

2008-06-22T22:59:00.004+08:00

The UCI is ready to fight a possible return to competition by Alexander Vinokourov, after reports that the Kazakh rider is back in training and intends to ride at the Beijing Olympics. Vinokourov tested positive for a blood transfusion during last year's Tour de France, but was handed a relatively lenient one-year suspension by the Kazakh cycling federation. Since the suspension was back-dated to the day of his failed test, the former Astana rider would be eligible to race again by mid-July.
When the Kazakh cycling federation handed down its decision in December 2007, the UCI had initially planned an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but subsequently withdrew after Vinokourov announced his retirement from professional cycling. However, on May 31 Vinokourov participated in the Laurentine Kivilev, a 100 km cyclosportif held on the French Riviera as a tribute to his compatriot Andrei Kivilev, who died at the 2003 Paris-Nice. Vinokourov revealed at the event that he was training three times per week, but denied a comeback was on the cards.
"We have had indirect reports that Vinokourov is training again," said UCI legal adviser Philippe Verbiest to AFP. "Should it appear that Vinokourov really is training for a comeback we will start up the appeal procedure again." According to the Belga news agency, the Kazakh cycling federation has made little secret of its desire to see the 34 year-old participate in the Beijing Olympics. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tom Boonen Cocaine Fiasco

2008-06-22T21:51:00.004+08:00

Belgian Tom Boonen will not be sanctioned by his team for his positive cocaine test, it was announced Wednesday morning at a press conference in Wielsbeke, Belgium. The 27 year-old Quick Step rider apologised for his actions and said that he would take a short break from competition. The team continued to show its support for the sprinter, as did the sponsor, which prolonged its contract. The 2005 World Champion tested positive for cocaine in an out-of-competition doping control three days before the Tour of Belgium last month. He does not face any sporting sanctions by the International Cycling Union (UCI) nor his national federation.
He indicated that he would take a short break from racing, but did not state how long that might be, and did not make himself available to answer questions. (www.cyclingnews.com)

UCI suspend French Cycling Federation

2008-06-22T18:07:00.002+08:00

Citing a lack of “loyalty” the management committee of the UCI has suspended the French Cycling Federation from the ranks of the international body for the duration of 2008. The decision follows months of tit-for-tat feuding between the UCI and France’s major race organizer, the Amaury Sports Organisation the firm responsible for the Tour de France and other major events, a dispute in which the FFC has sided with ASO in recent months. The FFC became embroiled in an ongoing dispute between the UCI and ASO in March this year, just prior to another ASO race, Paris-Nice. The so-called “Race to the Sun,” the season's stage race opener, is a UCI-sanctioned event but was finally held under the auspices of the FFC, much to the ire of UCI president Pat McQuaid.
The sanction will not affect French riders or events, nor will it exclude the French riders from Worlds or the Olympic Games, however, it does shut the French representatives who are part of the UCI out of the next UCI Congress, and makes them ineligible as candidates for elections. The French representatives will not be allowed to partake in committees and commissions, or the organisation of the World Championships.
The FFC responded harshly to the news, calling the decision "a new escalation in intimidation". It called the suspension a "threat to impose silence all those who do not approve [of the UCI's plans for the sport] without reservation". The statement from the French federation continued, saying, "This penalty will change absolutely nothing in the serious crisis that currently present in international cycling." FFC president Jean Pitallier condemned the action, which he called "undemocratic" in that it affected people who were elected by the European Cycling Union. (www.cyclingnews.com, www.velonews.com)

60th Criterium du Douphine Libere - Stage 7

2008-06-22T17:09:00.002+08:00

Dimitri Fofonov has taken his first victory in more than six years after outsprinting Jurgen Van de Walle (Quick Step) and the revelation of this year's Dauphiné, Yuriy Trofimov (Bouygues Telecom) on the final stage to Grenoble. The Kazakh from Crédit Agricole last tasted victory on the final stage of the 2002 Tour of Catalunya. Rolling across the line some two minutes later was overall winner Alejandro Valverde. The Spaniard claimed the most prestigious victory of his career and positioned himself as a favourite for the Tour de France, while Cadel Evans also served notice that his best form is not far away. (www.cyclingnews.com)

60th Criterium du Douphine Libere - Stage 6

2008-06-17T23:34:00.003+08:00

With astonishing resilience to the chasing group of favourites, Dane Chris Anker Sørensen of CSC took his greatest career win, his first as a professional, to date. He was part of the day's break, then continued solo from the start of the final climb up to La Toussuire and prevailed by over a minute. In the fight for GC, Alejandro Valverde countered moves by Cadel Evans and Levi Leipheimer and added two seconds to his overall margin of now 39 seconds. The up and coming Danish climber Sørensen ruled out any comparison with his compatriot Michael Rasmussen after his magnificent solo victory in La Toussuire, where Rasmussen won a stage of the Tour de France two years ago. "I definitely don't want to be the new Rasmussen, let's forget about Rasmussen! But I hope to become the new Danish climber. My first pro win couldn't be a greater one than the queen stage of the Dauphiné, which is a great race, with the col de la Croix-de-Fer, which is one of France's most beautiful climbs. I used to watch the Tour de France pass through it when I was a kid. It's a dream come true for me to win here." (www.cyclingnews.com)

60th Criterium du Douphine Libere - Stage 5

2008-06-17T01:48:00.003+08:00

Russian Yuriy Trofimov created a surprise by claiming a stunning solo victory in Morzine. The Bouygues Telecom rider distanced his breakaway companions on the Col de Joux-Plane, and then held off the charge of the favourites to the line, just 18 seconds ahead of an unusually aggressive Cadel Evans and yellow jersey Alejandro Valverde. The steep slopes of the Joux-Plane also provided the battlefield of champions, where a fit and feisty Gesink, who caused the selection of the group of favourites with a strong acceleration. The harshest attack came from Valverde, who made Levi Leipheimer come unglued. The American clawed his way back into the group only to come off again with an attack from Evans.
The Australian was very active towards the top of Joux-Plane but admitted he didn't think he'd be able to dethrone Valverde in Morzine. "I tried more to get some time onto Leipheimer," he commented. "I go one step at the time. I've tried to become second before thinking of getting first. Tomorrow we'll see. The day after is also selective but tomorrow is a hectic stage. Today in the hills I felt just ok, there's still a little bit of improvement that I need in my climbing." While Valverde is more of a favorite than ever, the Silence-Lotto rider is laying in an interesting waiting position prior to the queen stage. (www.cyclingnews.com)

60th Criterium du Douphine Libere - Stage 4

2008-06-15T22:40:00.003+08:00

AG2R's Cyril Dessel, already a stage winner at the Four Days of Dunkirk and the Tour of Catalunya, added to his impressive 2008 palmares with a spectacular solo win on stage four in the Dauphiné. The Frenchman attacked the survivors of a day-long breakaway, catching and passing the young French hope Pierre Rolland (Crédit Agricole) on the final climb with 20 kilometres to go, and then courageously holding his lead to the line. In the group of favourites, only Michael Rogers of High Road attacked the yellow jersey Alejandro Valverde, breaking clear before the line, but only gaining a few seconds over his rivals.
"It was a very fast stage," Valverde noted. "Initially we didn't want to let a breakaway go, but the presence of Oscar Pereiro in it made things easier for us. In the final climb, we controlled the situation. I had very good sensations. On the climb I could feel some pain in my legs, but that was the consequence of the time trial the day before, otherwise I was climbing well.'' There was a race within a race as the breakaway realized that none of them would threaten Valverde's yellow jersey – the highest ranked rider was Lars Bak in 12th place at 2'47 with Pereiro in 13th at 2'48. It was then an all-out battle for stage glory. (www.cyclingnews.com)

60th Criterium du Douphine Libere - Stage 3

2008-06-15T22:15:00.004+08:00

Spaniard Alejandro Valverde powered to the win in the 31 kilometre stage three time trial, putting in a stunning performance to beat Levi Leipheimer (Astana). Valverde exceled in the difficult and rainy time trial, taking 19 seconds out of the American, who slipped in ahead of Silence Lotto's Cadel Evans, who took no risks in the slippery conditions, by one slim second. The ride pulled Valverde into the lead in the overall classification, where he now sits 23 seconds ahead of Leipheimer. The morning's leader, Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole), who excels only in shorter tests, gave up his goal to do well when he saw how hilly and technical the course was.
With his significant win, Valverde took charge of this year's event. "It was a very, very hard course," the Spaniard said. "Our directeur sportif Yvon Ledanois went to see it yesterday and described it as hard but when I saw it this morning, it appeared to be even harder. The rain made it slippery and very complicated."
Valverde was very focused but didn't expect to go so well. "I'm a little bit surprised, considering the quality of the riders I beat out," he commented. "The first 20 kilometers were an uphill time trial, which is my speciality. The downhill was very technical and it was more to my advantage that to a pure time triallist." It looked like Leipheimer wasn't comfortable in the corners in the second part of the race, but he actually lost more time to Valverde on the climb, as he was 36 seconds behind at the first check point and only 19 seconds behind at the end. From 28 seconds after the climb, Evans also reduced his deficit a little bit to 20 seconds. (www.cyclingnews.com)

60th Criterium du Douphine Libere - Stage 2

2008-06-15T21:30:00.003+08:00

The big names are in action at the Dauphiné. Following the examples of Levi Leipheimer and Alejandro Valverde, George Hincapie won stage two in Vienne. Hincapie anticipated the action of the sprinters and preceded Sébastien Chavanel while Thor Hushovd finished in fifth place and kept his yellow jersey for the time trial. It was a typical day of racing with with a three men breakaway chased down by the bunch. High Road gave a hand to Crédit Agricole but its plans were totally changed when their top sprinter André Greipel had a flat tyre with 15km to go. "We were working for him for the sprint," said Hincapie. "Until the last five kilometres, that was the plan but with three kilometres to go while riding at 70km/h, we heard from our director Allan Peiper that he was not coming back."
It didn't take long to the American to figure out that he had a personal card to play instead. "I was a little bit sick in the Pyrénées last week," he recalled. "I had no power during the prologue. I felt better yesterday in the lead out for André. Today I took some risk in the last curve. I made a big effort to catch Sebastian (Lang). It worked out. I won, and it was a nice finish."
It's Hincapie's second win under the colors of High Road after stage seven in the Tour of California. He seems to be enjoying life within his new team. "It's different because we are no longer the favorites of the Tour de France," he said. "But we win more than any other team in the world. We've got guys who can win any kind of race, guys that are good people. We have some of the best sprinters in the world. In my 15th season as a professional, it's nice to give back some of my experience to these young kids." Now Big George has set his sights on the Tour de France. "For me, I'd love to win another stage at the Tour de France. I hope to have a good Olympics as well," he concluded after a beautiful day of racing in the valley of the Rhône. (www.cyclingnews.com)

60th Criterium du Douphine Libere - Stage 1

2008-06-13T20:29:00.003+08:00

All the big names feel concerned about the Dauphiné this year: Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner Alejandro Valverde sprinted to the win on stage one in the uphill finish and only missed the yellow jersey by one second, and it's the first time in his career that Thor Hushovd leads the Alpine race. It was also notable that Cadel Evans, Levi Leipheimer and Haimar Zubeldia took part in the sprint for the stage win. They finished 5th, 6th and 8th respectively - none of them hiding their strength, setting up expectations of a great battle in the mountains later in the week. "Since yesterday I had good sensations," said Valverde who took third at the prologue in Avignon. "With this stage win, I have completed one goal already, now we'll see how it goes in the mountains, I hope I'll keep going well. It means a lot to me to win a stage here. It's a good motivation for the team who has done phenomenal work today." (www.cyclingnews.com)

60th Criterium du Douphine Libere - Prologue

2008-06-13T03:40:00.003+08:00

One year ago Levi Leipheimer was the defending champion at the Dauphiné Libéré, but lost the prologue by one second to Bradley Wiggins. Fast forward 12 months and the Californian was victorious by the same margin, this time over powerful Norwegian sprinter Thor Hushovd. "For sure I'm in a better form than one year ago when I was coming back racing after a break following the Tour of Georgia," said Leipheimer. He felt at ease on the 5.6 km prologue course around the historical town of Avignon. "I like straight and non-technical time trials," he explained. "When I saw the course I knew it was a good one for me. With a tail wind, it was even better. I felt great. The racing conditions were much better for me against riders like Thor Hushovd who is very good in corners."
The rider from Crédit Agricole was confident he'd win the race when he crossed the line 11 seconds faster than the previous best, then held by Maxime Monfort from Cofidis. "When I heard how big the gap was, I thought I'd win today," Hushovd said. "I know that Levi is a specialist but I didn't think he'd go so well after riding the Tour of Italy. It means he came out of the Giro with a lot of speed in his legs. "As for myself, I shouldn't be disappointed," added Hushovd. "I didn't prepare specifically for this time trial because I have a few more things to think about at the Dauphiné, like sprinting and finishing the race as a preparation in the mountains for the Tour de France. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Giro d' Italia - Stage 21

2008-06-12T23:23:00.003+08:00

Giro d' Italia - Stage 21

2008-06-12T23:23:00.002+08:00

Giro d' Italia - Stage 20

2008-06-12T23:20:00.001+08:00

Giro d' Italia - Stage 19

2008-06-12T23:06:00.001+08:00

Giro d' Italia - Stage 18

2008-06-12T08:06:00.001+08:00

Giro d' Italia - Stage 17

2008-06-12T08:04:00.003+08:00

Giro d' Italia - Stage 16

2008-06-12T08:03:00.003+08:00

Giro d' Italia - Stage 15

2008-06-12T08:02:00.004+08:00

Giro d' Italia - Stage 14

2008-05-25T19:06:00.006+08:00

Stage 14 marks the Giro's first mountain stage, some riders would not start today, as they don't see the point for suffering in the mountains and would prefer to focus on second half of the season. Italy's Emanuele Sella of Team CSF Group Navigare throw down the hammer by attacking with nearly 50 kilometres to go on the Passo Manghen. Italian Champion Giovanni Visconti (Quick Step), who had held the race leader's maglia rosa for the last eight stages, succumbed to the high mountain passes and lost time to the leaders. Italy's Gabriele Bosisio (LPR Brakes) took over the race lead with a lead of five seconds over Astana's Alberto Contador.

Giro d' Italia - Stage 13

2008-05-25T13:00:00.003+08:00

Stage 13 marks the last flat stage for the sprinters before the Giro heads to the mountain for the following week until the finals in Milano. Alot of Sprinters a aiming to win the stage, but it was Mark Cavendish from Team High Road who gets it in yet again a close finish agaist points jersey leader Daniele Bennati. Cavendish had postponed celebrations for his 23rd birthday two days ago as he is convinced that he could win this stage. A great sportmanship was shown by Daniele Bennati when he could have easily have stayed close to the barriers to prevent Cavendish from getting through, but chose instead to ease over to the left, opening the way for Cavendish. "If I would have done that I would have risked Cavendish crashing, and I prefer to be correct than to win another stage," explained Bennati. "The sprint was more adapted to Cavendish, who is very explosive. ... I am a little disappointed."

Giro d' Italia - Stage 12

2008-05-25T12:50:00.003+08:00

Thanks to the new bike he received from sponsor, Cannondale, Daniele Bennati was able to skillfully negotiate himself through the technical final twisitng kilometers towards the town of Carpi. Being the first rider out of the final corner with 250m still to go, Bennati had to do a long sprint to the line with a rocketing Mark Cavendish breathing down his neck, but the line had came abit early and the win was comfortably awarded on Bennati hands. The hishlight of the day was marked by an escape by Spain's Dionisio Galparsoro , the 29 year-old from the Basque Country attacked immediately as the race started to reach a maximum advantage of 14 minutes. However, the desire of the sprinters' was strong as they sent their henchmen to the front to close the gap, ending Galparsoro's freedom with 10 kilometres to go. Italian Champion Giovanni Visconti (Quick Step) continues to lead the race over compatriot Gabriele Bosisio (LPR Brakes) and Spain's Alberto Contador (Astana).

Giro d' Italia - Stage 11

2008-05-25T12:33:00.003+08:00

It was not always possible for a domestique to play his own card and race for his own glory, but today was a special day for Ultra Italian domestique, Alessandro Bertolini, after 16 years as a pro, he finally gets a a stage win in the giro. Bertolini is always the man to count on in most of the races, being a hard working and strong domestique, Bertolini had contributed many success to most of the team he rode for, and i think he will again be in the selection list for the Italian team in the World Championships and the Olympics. The near 200km race was animated when a group of riders rode clear off the sight from the peloton. Luck wasn't on Fortunato Baliani side when he crashed in the final kilometers to the finish, thus presenting Bertolini the advantage to win the stage in fine style. Race Leader Giovanni Visconti was involved in a crash in less than 30km to go but was able to carry on with the huge support from his Quickstep boys.

Giro d' Italia - Stage 10

2008-05-25T12:16:00.003+08:00

After a well deserve rest day, some light breakfast ride and some press conference, the riders are geared up again for another grueling stage in the Giro, the individual stage against the clock in the roads of Urbino. It was former Italian national time trail champion Marzio Bruseghin who got the best time amongst the other crono favorites, despite a fracture elbow, Astana rider Alberto Contador manage to snatch second spot on the stage and would have won had he not need to ride on the dampy road conditions. Astana now has three rider moving up the GC in top 20 and again proved to be a danger to the Italians who dream if winning the Giro. Race leader, Giovanni Visconti had a decent ride and manage to hang on to his lead.

Giro d' Italia - Stage 9

2008-05-25T12:08:00.004+08:00

Today is another flat stage made for the sprinters before a rest day. As usual there was a break early on the race and then being caught back by the main bunch of riders with most of the sprinters team doing the lion share of pace setting. Despite not being a pure sprinter, Paolo Bettini was attentive enough to go for the breakaway, and later held himself back to contest for the final sprint. The Italian world champion followed the Milram train behind the wheels of Erik Zabel in final kilometers, but it was Daniele Bennati of Liquigas sprinted out of nowhere to his second against a close Paolo Bettini win via a photo finish.

Giro d' Italia - Stage 8

2008-05-18T23:50:00.004+08:00

Riccardo 'Ricky' Riccò, 24 of Team Saunier Duval, blasted up the final straight in Tivoli to win stage eight of the 91st Giro d'Italia, 208 kilometres from Rivisondoli. The Italian from Formigine – winner of stage two in Agrigento and last year's stage to Tre Cime di Lavaredo – held off World Champion Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) and Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner). With a finish tailor-made for riders with an explosive sprint, Saunier Duval-Scott showed that it trusted the often erratic rider, Riccò, and set the pace-making in the race's closing 30 kilometres. Leonardo Piepoli, like last year and in the stages thus far in the 2008 Giro, dedicated himself 100 percent to team's effort. The Italian from Puglia took the reins in the final 2000 metres. "Piepoli is amazing," added the day's winner. The win in Tivoli marked the third time 'The Cobra' has struck in the Giro d'Italia, but one has to wonder if this early spray of venom is going to leave him weakened for the overall picture. The race hits the high- mountains at the end of next week and he will need all the muscle power he can muster to hold on to the likes of Di Luca, Alberto Contador (Astana) and Pellizotti. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Giro d' Italia - Stage 7

2008-05-18T23:20:00.004+08:00

After two days of shadowing each other, the race favourites finally threw down the gauntlet on today's 180 kilometre stage to the summit finish of Pescocostanzo. Defending champion Danilo Di Luca is from the area and had indicated days beforehand that he wanted to win, but instead it was his LPR Brakes team-mate and winner of the Giro d'Oro Gabriele Bosisio who triumphed. The 27 year-old won ahead of Bielorussia's Vasil Kiryienka (Tinkoff Credit Systems), Italy's Emanuele Sella (CSF Group Navigare) and Colombia's Félix Rafael Cárdenas (Barloworld). Bosisio, winner of the road race at the Olympic test event in Beijing last summer, was questioned about surging when Sella had a flat. He denied that there was anything unsporting going on. "I didn't know he had a puncture just when I attacked. I was surprised that he wasn't with me, I knew only after the finish that he had a puncture. I don't know who would have won between us if we were together going for the win. We are very different. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Giro d' Italia - Stage 6

2008-05-18T13:38:00.003+08:00

Taking his best ever career result, Italian rider Matteo Priamo (CSF Group Navigare) out-sprinted Alan Perez Lezaun (Euskaltel – Euskadi) to the line in Peschici to take his first Grand Tour victory, and the Giro d'Italia's longest stage. The duo were part of a twelve-man escape group which went clear just after the 50 kilometre point and which built a maximum lead of sixteen minutes, and was still twelve minutes clear as the finale approached. American rider Jason McCartney turned on the gas on the climb of Bosco della Risega, eleven kilometres from the end, but his effort was then countered first by Priamo and then Pérez. Priamo nailed Perez to the floor in the sprint – a bit slo-mo after 230kms – and scored the best win of his career. The shattered breakaway arrived like the survivors of some long walk to freedom, all over the road. The peloton trundled in well over 11 minutes later.
Swapping the tricolore of national champion for the fabled maglia rosa tonight is 25-year old Giovanni Visconti, hand-picked for QuickStep by none other than ‘Il Grillo’ himself. Paolo Bettini had been watching the youngster from his early days on Domina Vacanze and personally saw to it that he became a team-mate. And now Visconti’s racing future is secure as he pulls on one of the sport’s most beautiful jerseys. Maybe he was inspired by the race start in his Sicilian homeland, but the youngster was smart enough to keep tabs on Matthias Russ of Gerolsteiner, who was lying closest to him overall. By picking up the bonus sprint with 90kms to go, and a handful of seconds advantage over the finish line, he did enough to edge into the pink jersey. (www.cyclingnews.com) (www.pezcyclingnews.com)

Giro d' Italia - Stage 5

2008-05-18T13:31:00.005+08:00

Surging away from his breakaway companions with just over one kilometre remaining, Pavel Brutt took the first ever stage victory for the Tinkoff Credit Systems team in the Giro d'Italia. The hilltop finish of Contursi Terme also saw him become the first Russian winner since namesake Pavel Tonkov triumphed four years ago. Brutt hit the line ahead of four chasers: Johannes Fröhlinger (Gerolsteiner), Luis Felipe Laverde (CSF Group Navigare) and Francisco Pérez (Caisse d'Epargne) were next home, while David Millar (Slipstream Chipotle H30) suffered a broken chain at the precise moment the Russian kicked clear. He was disgusted at the ill luck and threw his bike over a barrier, eventually going on to finish 119th.
Millar was however given the same finishing time as Pérez. Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) led in a large main group 31 seconds after Brutt's triumph, with Maglia Rosa Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) well placed and thus retaining his one second advantage over Christian Vande Velde (Slipstream Chipotle H30."No, no, I didn't believe it," said Brutt when he was asked if he had thought the break would stay clear. "That was partly due to the fact that at the beginning, we had one minute 50 seconds, two minutes…the gap was not very much. But then I was with some very strong guys and it made the difference." (www.cyclingnews.com)

Giro d' Italia - Stage 4

2008-05-14T22:41:00.004+08:00

Still eight days short of his 22nd birthday, the 21 year-old benefited from strong team-work in returning after being dropped on the day's last big climb, 19 kilometres from the line. The High Road team then delivered him to the front and he repaid them by unleashed a strong kick inside the final 200 metres, passing Bennati and holding off a fast-closing Robert Förster (Gerolsteiner). A large crash inside the final kilometre meant that only a handful of riders contested the gallop, but the main fast men were there. He explained how the final moments played out. "I was expecting a tailwind, to be honest, but there was a headwind in the last kilometre. I was ten positions back at that point but my team-mate Tony Martin did a perfect job to get me to three positions from the front.
"I think for sure it is the biggest win of my career," said a delighted Cavendish afterwards. "I think to come to the Giro and win a stage is big for any rider. What makes it even more sweet is the way my team worked today. They had a lot of faith – even though there was a climb near the finish, they believed in me, they waited for me on the climb, they took me back and then they went straight to the front and got working."It was pretty incredible and so the only thing I could do [in response] was to finish it off with a win." (www.cyclingnews.com)

Giro d' Italia - Stage 3

2008-05-13T22:52:00.004+08:00

It was a day characterised by breakaways, crashes and high speeds but, as expected, the third stage of the Giro d'Italia came down to a bunch sprint. Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) did precisely what his team-mate and race leader Franco Pellizotti yesterday suggested he would do, winning in Milazzo and thus making it a double success for the acid green squad. With the sprint Victory, the Liquigas team not only kept the maglia rosa, but also grabbed hold of the sprinter's jersey and maintained the lead in the teams GC competition.
Bennati said that the frustration he felt earlier in the year was part of what drove him today. "The beginning of the season was very unlucky for me because I had a problem with my left knee," he stated. "I lost a lot of time because of that, and only came back in April for the Giro del Trentino.
The bunch gallop was made possible thanks to the work of the sprinter's teams, who controlled the advantage of the day's break. Liquigas and Milram were two of the squads driving it at the front towards the finale, with the latter looking to put Zabel up for a stage win in the absence of his team-mate Alessandro Petacchi. They will clearly regret that the suspended Italian is not in this Giro; so too, ironically, does Bennati, as beating the multiple stage winner would have added to his triumph."I am sad that Petacchi is not present because - with all due respect to the other competitors – we know that after Cipollini, Petacchi is the best of recent years," he said afterwards. "Therefore I wanted to compete with him in this Giro." (www.cyclingnews.com)

Giro d' Italia - Stage 2

2008-05-13T22:18:00.005+08:00

He talks the talk, and today, at least, Saunier-Duval’s mouth from the south walked the walk. As the finishing hills wrecked the peloton all over the road, Riccardo Ricco staked his claim to the Giro with a ballsy win. The 24-year old charged up the final ascent in Agrigento and edged Danilo Di Luca and ‘Tin Tin’ Rebellin for the first road win of this year’s Corsa Rosa. The profile didn’t look kind and it caused all sorts of havoc as the field splintered on the 13km closing circuit around our finish town. Dave Zabriskie unfortunately exits this year’s race on a stretcher, after a crash right at the head of the peloton at 50kms to go. The spill also felled Alberto Contador, but the favorite to win the Giro managed to get back up, and was right in the thick of things at the finish. (www.pezcyclingnews.com)

Giro d' Italia - Stage 1

2008-05-11T21:23:00.006+08:00

Scooping its biggest ever win and simultaneously propelling Christian Vande Velde into the first American maglia rosa since Andy Hampsten 20 years ago, Slipstream Chipotle H30 thundered to team time trial success on day one of the Giro d'Italia. Vande Velde has spent much of his career in support of other riders, helping Lance Armstrong to his first Tour de France success in 1999 and riding for both US Postal and CSC. He moved to Slipstream Chipotle H30 over the winter and now has a chance to have a bit more ambition. When asked if today's success was payback for all the effort he had put in for others, he said that it could perhaps be seen as that.
"We came here with one objective and one objective only, and that was to win today. We did that. It is a pretty unreal thing to do, especially when you are a second division team and in your first year of really getting together. We are over the moon.'' Vande Velde confirmed that there was no premeditated plan to have him cross the line first. "The main thing was that we wanted to win today," he said. "We didn't want to take the chance of making Dave go first or myself go first, because to lose by one second would be horrible. (www.cyclingnews.com)

2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships - Boleh Team

2008-04-02T02:05:00.009+08:00

The 28-year-old Josiah Ng's bid for a second appearance in the Olympics remained strong even though he did not get to achieve what was expected in world championships.
“He is really one phenomenal rider. I thought I had my national record back (Josiah set 10.352 also in qualifying) but later he went really fast and blew it away. He has a great future and he has also inspired me to keep up,” said Josiah in a telephone interview from Manchester yesterday.
“I still don't know why I'm so unlucky in the world meet. I was on good form but somebody just came from behind and took me down,” said Josiah, who felt he was fortunate to come out unscathed from a high-speed crash in the first round of the keirin event in Manchester. (www.nst.com.my)

It is a case of the understudy outdoing the mentor. And for that cyclist Josiah Ng has nothing but praises for youngster Azizul Hasni Awang, who looks set to ride alongside him in the Beijing Olympics in August. Azizul set a new Asian record of 10.160 in finishing 11th and remains the only Malaysian to make it to the knockout stages of the 200m sprint at the UCI-sanctioned world-level competitions over the last two years.
The Dungun-born cyclist upstaged Josiah for the second time in his pet event, the keirin, when he qualified automatically for the second round. It was only the inexperience in timing the breakaway that cost the 19-year-old a place in the final. But it will be good enough to see him making the grade for the Olympics when the new world rankings are released soon. (www.nst.com.my)
Time trial cyclist Rizal Tisin made heads turn with a smashing performance on the final day of the Track World Championships in Manchester on Sunday. In the 1km event, Rizal posted a cracking 1:02.409 for a fifth-place finish and it was more than a second faster than his national record of 1:03.649, which he set in the final leg of the Track World Cup in Copenhagen a month ago.
Rizal's awesome performance in the 1km time trial is the best finish by a Malaysian cyclist in a World Championships. The 1km time trial is not an Olympic event but his performance has certainly enhanced his chances of being among the sprint trio for the Beijing Olympics in August.
“Honestly, I was trying to go for a medal finish because I felt great. I was lying in bronze medal position until the last two riders posted better times. But I'm still happy. I achieved my goal of a personal best time in the world meet,” said the 24-year-old Rizal. It is impressive but the SEA Games gold medallist feels that the best is yet to come. (www.nst.com.my)

77th Critérium International - Stage 3

2008-04-01T00:35:00.003+08:00

Riding on the very comfortable time advantage he had achieved in the morning stage, German Jens Voigt had no problem saving his leader's jersey over the final time trial stage to score his fourth overall victory of the event. In the race against the clock, technical skills on a rainy day ruled and Norwegian specialist Edvald Boasson Hagen (High Road) was the one to navigate best around the 8.3km-course.

"This afternoon, my primary objective was not to crash," admitted Voigt, who now equals Jacques Anquetil's four victories in the event. "I knew I had a sufficient advance I didn't have to worry about, so I went for it calmly. I almost took some corners standing still, to not take any risks."

The CSC rider wa delighted to get a fourth trophy of the prestigious race. "It's important to have won it a fourth time, but I don't really look at the records. In fact, I was more touched last year when I equalled the score of Sean Kelly, one of my childhood heroes.

"This event is made for me. Throughout the years, I learned that I'm much more effective on short distances. If it's too long or too hard, I always lack something to make the difference. But here, I can defend my position on three stages - it is a format that suits me perfectly. I'll definitely come back next year!"

In the race against the clock, Team High Road had the upper hand for a long time, passing on the hot chair from Adam Hansen to Tony Martin, then to Edvald Boasson Hagen. The Norwegian TT champ had put such a good time on that even more experienced specialists like Bobby Julich (CSC), David Zabriskie or David Millar (both Slipstream) could not pass him. High Road placed three riders in the top ten. (www.cyclingnews.com)

77th Critérium International - Stage 2

2008-03-31T23:37:00.002+08:00

Australian Simon Gerrans took the second stage of the Critérium International on Sunday, scoring his first victory thus far this season. At the end of a long breakaway, together with three-times winner of the event, Jens Voigt (Team CSC), the 27 year-old of Crédit Agricole got the better of the tall German, who nevertheless claimed the leader's jersey he was out for.

It was a two-man show as of the second ascent of the Côte du Mont Malgré Tout with 13 kilometres to go, where Gerrans and Voigt dropped their breakaway companions Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux) and Mauro Santambrogio (Lampre). The quartet had been in front of the race since kilometre 15.

"This stage was my sole objective, coming to Critérium International," Gerrans admitted happily. "I'm not good enough a rouleur to hope for anything in the time trial, so this stage was the one I wanted to win."

The stage was interrupted half way through by a group of demonstrators, when the breakaway had already gained an advantage of nearly two minutes. The race was thus brought to a halt, and re-started once the road was cleared, using the same time gaps. "After the race had been stopped, it was difficult to start anew as we had cooled down. But we immediately rode fast enough again to continue hoping that the neak would succeed. That's how we kept our advance until the end," he added. (www.cyclingnews.com)

77th Critérium International - Stage 1

2008-03-31T23:10:00.005+08:00

Laurens Ten Dam fooled the whole of the bunch on Saturday in taking the first stage of the Critérium International from Signy-le-Petit to Charleville-Mézières in a solo move, just 10 seconds ahead of a charging field on the finish line. The Rabobank rider had escaped from the peloton after only two kilometres raced and, in the company of American Ian McKissick (BMC), had gained a maximum advantage of almost 17 minutes over the chasers on the flattish 193 km-long stage one of the Critérium International.

As usual in these sort of race situations, everybody thought the pair would be caught easily before the finish line, but this time, it was different. The peloton broke up into three groups while chasing the break. Still, Ten Dam and McKissick held onto their lead, until the American's forces faded in the finale. With 23 kilometres to go, he had to let his breakaway mate go off on his own. Ten Dam finished it in style and scored his first major victory in front of Benoit Vaugrenard (Française des Jeux) and Mirko Lorenzetto (Lampre).

In the general Classification, top favourite and three-time race winner, Jens Voigt, placed fourth, 28 seconds adrift, but only one second away from the rest of the overall contenders such as Damiano Cunego (Lampre), Robert Gesink (Rabobank), Alejandro Valverde and Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne), as well as David Millar (Slipstream). (www.cyclingnews.com)

99th Milano - Sanremo

2008-03-31T22:25:00.004+08:00

Swiss Fabian Cancellara succeeded in fulfilling the pundits' prognostics leading up to Italy's grandest one-day race, Milano-Sanremo. The 27 year-old of Team CSC – recent winner of Monte Paschi Eroica and Tirreno-Adriatico – made the final move of around 15 riders that was formed on the Poggio and then bided his time for one powerful surge with 2000 metres remaining to the finish along the Ligurian coast in Sanremo. Cancellara won the 298-kilometre Monument after seven hours and 14 minutes of racing with four seconds ahead of the group led by Italian Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) and Belgian Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux).

"I started as a big favourite" – admitted Cancellara – "but then I was able to give my most for the win. People thought I could do something. But the climbs are there and then the sprint is there. This race is full of stress, but I remained calm and tranquil."My attack came from the gut; It was similar to the one I made in Compiègne [to win the stage of the 2007 Tour]," Cancellara continued, following his win of the race's 99th edition.

Things went fast and furious in the final kilometres. Alessandro Bertolini (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli) was the first to give it a go on the Poggio. Several of the favourites went after him and on the descent a group of around 15 riders formed, including Fabian Cancellara (Team CSC), Enrico Gasparotto (Barloworld), Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner), Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas), Iñigo Landaluze (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Oscar Freire (Rabobank), Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux) and Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole). Rebellin and Pozzato had a slight lead when the road leveled, but the group came back together. After an attempt by Landaluze, that also didn't go anywhere, it was World Time Trial Champion Fabian Cancellara who put on the show. He took off at 2 kilometres to go and showed what he had – and what he had was a lot. He powered his way across the finish line after 298 kilometres some five seconds ahead of Pozzato and Gilbert. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Slipstream's Tour Plan

2008-03-23T02:15:00.002+08:00

With the ASO's announcement Thursday that Team Slipstream has earned an invitation to the Tour de France, team manager Jonathan Vaughters can now carry out the squad's original plan for the 2008 season, which was always centred around racing the Tour. "We planned from the beginning to do the Tour, but you can't expect anything in cycling," Vaughters told Cyclingnews. "Sometimes you do poorly in the races where you planned to do well, and well in the races where you'd least expect. It's funny, we got an invitation to the Tour, but not to Gent-Wevelgem! So you just never know what's going to happen."
Getting an invitation to the Tour was the result of a strong campaign to build the team's image as one with strong ethics and a sound anti-doping policy, creating one of the world's top teams, and also selling the ASO on the team's philosophy. "Last year, David [Millar] and I went up to Paris when he was deciding whether or not to sign for the team, and sat down with [ASO president Patrice] Clerc and [general director] Gilbert Ysern. We told them our team's concept, and we got a fairly positive reception. It's been generally positive since then."
"But we also established that we are one of the best teams out there," Vaughters insisted that the team earned its spot in the world's biggest race with its results as well as its philosophy. "If you objectively ranked how we did in California, Qatar, Tirreno – although Paris-Nice wasn't so great – we're certainly one of the top 15 teams in the world." (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tirreno-Adriatico - Stage 7

2008-03-20T00:45:00.003+08:00

Italian Francesco Chicchi won the final stage of the 43rd Tirreno-Adriatico, 176 kilometres starting and ending in San Benedetto del Tronto. The 27 year-old of Team Liquigas out-sprinted Italy's Danilo Napolitano (Lampre) and Great Britain's Mark Cavendish (High Road) to win on the seaside roads. Team CSC controlled the day to ensure Fabian Cancellara kept the overall leader's maglia azzurra, which he gained two days ago after winning the time trial. The Swiss, who today celebrated his 27th birthday, won the race with 16 seconds over Italian Enrico Gasparotto (Barloworld). "We have already selected the wine for tonight," said race overall winner Cancellara, who added to his win in the Tour of California prologue, Monte Paschi Eroica and stage five's time trial. "Last night we made a toast to the team's work this week. They put in some great efforts yesterday." He travels to Milano tomorrow and is considered a favourite for Saturday's Milano-Sanremo. Alessandro Petacchi (Team Milram) did not make his mark in the sprint. The Italian looked isolated for the finale and maybe preferred to save his energy for Milano-Sanremo on Saturday. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tirreno-Adriatico - Stage 6

2008-03-20T00:40:00.002+08:00

Spaniard Oscar Freire took his second season win on Tirreno-Adriatico's power climb to Castelfidardo, nipping past Italian Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) and Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes). The Liquigas and LPR teams had worked hard to position their leaders for the finale up the four-kilometre climb, but it was the 32 year-old three-time World Champion who ruled the hilltop town of accordion builders. he race was formed by an early escape, but it was closed down by the fifth and last climb up Castelfidardo. Freire managed the climb's 4.5-percent gradient and an attack by Gasparotto to take the sprint from an elite group. "If you win here it means you are going strong," Freire said, referring to Saturday's Milano-Sanremo, where he has won twice. "I think that the new finale won't change the race much. This year, the race will be changed by the riders, there are a lot of on-form, attacking riders. I think that it will be diverse for us [sprinters] at Sanremo. I also think that Cancellara can do it all, even win in the sprint." (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tirreno-Adriatico - Stage 5

2008-03-18T23:51:00.005+08:00

Time Trial World Champion Fabian Cancellara took the overall lead of the 43rd Tirreno-Adriatico by winning the 26-kilometre time trial to Recanati (Le Marche). Cancellara's form is targeted for the week of Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix, but he has shown that when the opportunity presents itself he is not afraid to have a go. He took the Tour of California prologue and he won RCS Sport's Monte Paschi Eroica last weekend, and looks likely to conquer the final overall in two days. "We are the start of the year, and the form is still coming on. Just like in Eroica, when there is a chance to battle for the win I will have a go."
The German from Munster, Linus Gerdemann (High Road), challenged for the stage win and the overall leadership; however, he crashed on his left side near the 12 percent stretch. The 25 year-old, wearer of the maillot jaune in the 2007 Tour de France, crossed the line with a time of 34'57" on his backup bike and then immediately sat on the ground. He suffered a blow to his back, left knee and hip, and was put on a stretcher for the Santa Lucia hospital in Recanati where a CAT scan was due to be preformed on his left knee. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Paris Nice - Stage 7

2008-03-18T23:16:00.003+08:00

After coming in second twice (in 2004 and 2007) and third once (in 2003), Gerolsteiner rider Davide Rebellin has finally won at the age of 36 the race that suits him the best. 24 hours after Sylvain Chavanel's win, the other favourite who was very frustrated on the Mont Ventoux, Luis León Sánchez (Caisse d'Epargne) got his consolation price with a stage win in Nice. This was one of the most beautiful Paris-Nice ever held, with a lot of battles and suspense. "It was a very hard and very nice race," Rebellin explained. "After losing to Alberto Contador last year on the final day, I was a bit nervous today. Especially because I know [Rinaldo] Nocentini very well. We've done the world championships together and we're very good friends. I only had three seconds advantage. That's nothing. I was afraid of crashing in the finale and lose everything. Even 45 seconds over [Yaroslav] Popovych wasn't much. He attacked strongly in the last climb. It was a highly contested race till the end." "This race has revealed Robert Gesink, who is a very good rider," Rebellin added. "He lost the yellow jersey because of a lack of experience but he was the strongest on the Ventoux and he was very strong again today. He's got a bright future ahead of him." Compared to last year when he lost Paris-Nice to Contador on the final day, Rebellin had a better Gerolsteiner team at his service and Nocentini's Ag2r setup wasn't as powerful as Discovery Channel. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Terrino-Adriatico - Stage 4

2008-03-16T17:48:00.003+08:00

Beaten three days ago in the opening stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico, 'Ale-Jet' Alessandro Petacchi hit back in stage four by beating Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) in Civitanova Marche. The 34 year-old Italian of Team Milram showed his form is on target for Milano-Sanremo, March 22, when he resisted a surge by Spaniard Freire at the end of the 166-kilometre day. Swede Niklas Axelsson (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli) kept in contact with the head group to retain the leader's maglia azzurra he claimed yesterday on Montelupone. After a surge by Manuel Quinziato (Liquigas), German Erik Zabel took control at 450 metres to go with his leader, Petacchi, in tow. It was a long lead-out and a good test for Sanremo, in one week's time. Zooming down the right hand side of the road, Petacchi came off the left of Zabel's wheel at 200 metres. The Italian from La Spezia held of Freire, who started just a little too late. "We are near a great race [Sanremo - ed.] and it is clear that everyone wants to see how I am doing. Second the other day and winning today is good for the morale. I have always been up there in the last years at Sanremo,"(www.cyclingnews.com)

Paris Nice - Stage 6

2008-03-16T17:44:00.003+08:00

"What goes up must come down" was the phrase of the day after all the good work done by Robert Gesink up the Mont Ventoux on Thursday was ruined on the descent from the col de Tanneron. An acceleration at the top of the final climb dropped the young Dutch yellow jersey, and on the treacherous descent the Rabobank rider lost contact with Italians Davide Rebellin and Rinaldo Nocentini, who pulled themselves into first and second overall. The yellow jersey could get no help chasing the leaders, and wound up in a second group behind 13 riders, including Yaroslav Popovych (Silence-Lotto) and green jersey Thor Hushovd. In the end, he lost 1'27" to Rebellin, and lost all hope of regaining the yellow jersey all because of a poor descent. "It went very fast uphill," Gesink explained. "Right at the top of the Tanneron, Rebellin went so fast that I couldn't stay on his wheel. The few meters I lost there made the downhill terrible. I didn't know what was going on. I was [terrified]. When I saw Fränk Schleck crashing in front of me, I was even more afraid and I could see the gap between Thor Hushovd's group and myself going bigger and bigger." (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tirreno-Adriatico - Stage 3

2008-03-16T13:13:00.004+08:00

Spanish Champion Joaquím Rodríguez took charge on the 20 percent gradients of Tirreno-Adriatico's Montelupone to win stage three and move into third overall. The 28 year-old of Caisse d'Epargne attacked near 200 metres remaining to distance LPR Brakes leader, Danilo Di Luca, who finished second at 12 seconds. Swede Niklas Axelsson (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli) rode strong and finished third to take the overall leadership from Enrico Gasparotto (Barloworld), who finished sixth. The Caisse d'Epargne rider moved himself up higher in the general classification with his victory, but isn't confident that he can move up. "I am now the third overall, but because of the long time trial that is still to come, I don't think that I have a chance to win the general classification." Many riders could not handle Montelupone's stiff gradients and were forced to walk the final 200 metres. Conditions were made worse when a race motorbike fell over, blocking many of the late arrivals. However, Frenchman and early escapee, Loyd Mondory, did ride his bike all the way home. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Paris Nice - Stage 5

2008-03-16T12:40:00.003+08:00

Following the two initial stage wins by Gert Steegmans, Carlos Barredo has added one more to Quick Step's tally in Sisteron. It's a well deserved win since the Spaniard was the most active rider in the 17-man breakaway that contested the stage. He did most of the work and attacked three times before coming to the line alone. He also moved into the top ten overall between his team-mates Juan Manuel Garate and Alexander Efimkin. This situation might give the Belgian team some ideas for the last two stages because there are more hills to come and the Rabobank team is suffering to protect its race leader, Robert Gesink. Super domestique Mathew Hayman was forced to pull out because of muscular problems following a crash earlier in the week, and after the first climb, Gesink was left with only four team-mates only who rode to their limits to keep the breakaway in check. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tirreno-Adriatico - Stage 2

2008-03-16T11:56:00.003+08:00

Italian Raffaele Illiano, who hadn't won in four years, profited from his team-mate Niklas Axelsson's work to win stage two of the 43rd Tirreno-Adriatico. The 31 year-old of the Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli team took the sprint over Barloworld's Enrico Gasparotto after the duo broke free from their fellow escape companions at 200 metres from the line. Linus Gerdemann (High Road), Saunier Duval's Eros Capecchi and Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval) also formed part of the winning move that went on Belvedere climb, 17.2 kilometres to go. For his efforts, Italian Gasparotto took the maglia azzurra leader's jersey from Spaniard Oscar Freire (Rabobank). The finale further went haywire for the Saunier Duval rider from Modena as he tried to re-accelerate and his rear wheel touched with Gerdemann's. He continued on but shortly before the line he had to dismount and walk his Scott bike over the line, where he immediately slammed it down in disgust, annoyed that the mechanical ruined his chances. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Paris Nice - Stage 4

2008-03-16T11:21:00.003+08:00

Cadel Evans, one of the favorites for the 2008 Tour de France, won the first big race of the year for the climbers as the claimed the Mont Ventoux at the station of Mont Serein located five kilometers before the top of the "giant of Provence". This confirms the good form already shown by the Australian when he won the mountain stage of the Ruta del Sol, his first race of the year in February. "It's good to win but my goal was to put Popovych in the best possible position in the overall standings," Evans said. "My job is done." However, the lead of the race went to young Dutchman Robert Gesink who did most of the work uphill and created a 32 second gap over Davide Rebellin, who made it clear prior to Paris-Nice that the Mont Ventoux was too hard for him. The Italian did well to limit the damage, and actually passed Popovych in the final kilometre. Evans is confident his team-mate can finish well in the overall, and warned, "Popovych still has a chance of doing a very, very good Paris-Nice." (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tirreno-Adriatico - Stage 1

2008-03-16T11:16:00.005+08:00

In a nail-biting finish Oscar Freire (Rabobank) narrowly beat Italian favourite Alessandro Petacchi (Team Milram). The Spaniard finished off a long sprint and, while fading at the end, held off Petacchi. The winner of the same stage last year, Robbie McEwen, tried the same tactic as in 2007, taking off early and trying to gap the peloton in the twisting finale. However, the Australian was not allowed too much leeway this time and eventually finished eighth. Petacchi declared after the race, "We knew it would be difficult to manage this finale and the nervousness in the group was high in the last kilometres. I was at risk of going down about one kilometre from the finish, and Zabel only managed to position himself in front of me at the very end. McEwen did another great showing, getting out of the last turn with a few metres on Zabel, Freire and me. Oscar managed to start the sprint a few seconds before me, because I was still in the turn, while he had already straightened his bike. There were only 180m left and catching Freire is not easy," (www.cyclingnews.com)

Paris Nice - Stage 3

2008-03-14T23:27:00.002+08:00

Something must have changed in cycling: long lasting breakaways can now succeed. Kjell Carlström (Liquigas) and Clément Lhôtellerie (Skil-Shimano) were well inspired to go clear after only eight kilometres with Bradley McGee (Team CSC). The duo lost the Australian on the day's final climb, and battled for the stage win in Saint-Etienne at the end of another hard day of racing. Lhôtellerie was stuck on the front in the finale and managed to keep 43 seconds lead over the chasing group in which Sylvain Chavanel took the lead over from Thor Hushovd, but could not prevent Carlström from coming past at the line. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Paris Nice - Stage 2

2008-03-14T22:24:00.003+08:00

Gert Steegmans has imitated the star of Quick Step, captain Tom Boonen, by taking a second stage win in a row in Paris-Nice. In the absence of the 2005 World Champion, who has chosen to ride Tirreno-Adriatico instead of Paris-Nice, Steegmans scored his second consecutive victory in Belleville, exactly where Boonen won stage two in the 'race to the sun' two years ago. Despite the controversy surrounding the unofficial international race, and the conflict between ASO and the UCI, the 75th anniversary of Paris-Nice has proven to be an interesting edition. The end of stage two looked like a Spring classic, something that Steegmans can reasonably aim at winning himself now. (www,cyclingnews.com)

Paris Nice - Stage 1

2008-03-14T22:20:00.004+08:00

As a winner of stage two of the 2007 Tour de France to Ghent, Gert Steegmans was known as a specialist for uphill bunch sprint finishes. He showed it once again by winning stage one of Paris-Nice in Nevers. The race was shortened in half to 93.5 kilometers due to severe weather, but was contested on a very high speed when Steegmans' team-mates from Quick Step decided to put the hammer down in the cross wind. Under the rain, the Belgian squad looked as comfortable as if it was racing in its own backyard, unlike the diminutive Spaniards from Euskaltel who were daunted by the high winds. The first flat stage of Paris-Nice caused some damage, but it pleased Thor Hushovd who retained his lead. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Paris Nice - Prologue

2008-03-14T22:16:00.004+08:00

Already a winner of the prologue of the 2006 Tour de France, Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) was the only rider able to beat the performance of Euskaltel-Euskadi's Markel Irizar, who was close to creating a huge surprise in the inaugural 4.6-kilometre time trial of Paris-Nice in Amilly. The 30 year-old Norwegian took the yellow leader's jersey with four seconds over the Spaniard and five over German Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner). The changing weather had played a key role in the result of the opening prologue, which did include all the teams originally invited by ASO, even though the International Cycling Union (UCI) had threatened to sanction both teams and riders if they took part in the event. This is part of the ongoing battle between the sport's ruling body (the UCI) and the powerful French conglomerate that owns many of the world's major cycling events. The teams voted on Friday to race and they presented themselves on the weekend, ready to race. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Rocket 7 - DAP Limited Special Edition

2008-03-09T19:03:00.004+08:00

Congratulations to DAP in the General Elections 2008. Great Success!!!

2nd Monte Paschi Eroica

2008-03-09T19:00:00.003+08:00

Fabian Cancellara duelled with Italy's Alessandro Ballan to win the second Monte Paschi Eroica after 181 kilometres of racing. Cancellara, the 2006 Paris-Roubaix champion, attacked with the Lampre rider before the start of the seventh and final gravel sector to catch the last of the day's escapees, Canadian Ryder Hesjedal (Slipstream Chipotle - H30). They maintained a 30-second advantage over the chasers heading into Siena's Piazza del Campo, where Cancellara took the win after hitting the front with 150 metres to go. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Mustache In Pro Cycling

2008-03-09T18:41:00.006+08:00

Yes, some may say mustache are cool...There's nothing wrong with this...i am not sure if Dave Zabrieski and Steven Cozza are members of A.M.I. (American Mustache Institute)....in fact, i just knew about A.M.I. while browsing through the internet before i was gonna blog about this, it appears that A.M.I. is a organization created to protect the rights of , and fighting discrimination against, mustached Americans by promoting the growth, care and culture of the mustache...here's the link, http://www.americanmustacheinstitute.org/

However...i also think mustache in pro cycling world only works very well for Mr. Gianni Savio, the boss of Diquigiovanni.

Oh, Dave once said these mustache gives him more power to pull off amazing rides

61st Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne

2008-03-09T18:34:00.004+08:00

Dutchman Steven De Jongh put the icing on the Quick Step cake by going free in the finale of the 61st Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne and winning the two-up sprint against 23 year-old Sebastian Langeveld (Rabobank). The 34 year-old, winner in 2004, was part of the successful move that formed when all six of his team-mates put the hammer down at 80 kilometres remaining of the 193-kilometre semi-classic. Australian Matthew Goss (Team CSC) finished third over last year's winner, Tom Boonen (Quick Step), and Italian Enrico Franzoi (Liquigas). The finale was marked by attacks from Leif Hoste (Silence-Lotto) and De Jongh's team-mate Gert Steegmans, but it was the rider who first made his mark in the 1999 Tirreno-Adriatico that took advantage of the final move of his younger compatriot when riding free at more than one kilometre out. With Quick Step members breathing down the duo's back, De Jongh played cool until the final 150 metres to open his sprint from off the left side of Brugsesteenweg. (www.cyclingnews.com)

63rd Omloop Het Volk

2008-03-09T18:29:00.004+08:00

Belgian Philippe Gilbert returned to win the Omloop Het Volk after taking his first victory in the Flemish race two years ago. The 25 year-old of Française des Jeux attacked solo at 49 kilometres remaining of the 199-kilometre race, and was never seen again by the race favourites. 2005 winner Nick Nuyens (Cofidis) tried to close in on the lone leader with a group of heavy hitters, including Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole), but the two finished second and third respectively. Gilbert, from the Wallonia region of Belgium, won his first Omloop Het Volk in 2006 by putting in a powerful performance and moving free in the final seven kilometres. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour of California - Stage 7

2008-03-09T18:24:00.004+08:00

After yesterday's penalty of Mark Cavendish cost the High Road team a stage win, the team was more motivated than ever to get a win in its new home of California. But with only one stage left, it was do-or-die on the tough run over the San Gabriel mountains into the finish at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. But team captain George Hincapie was not to be denied, catching solo attacker Tom Zirbel (Bissell Pro Cycling) with three others and then out-sprinting them for the win. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour of California - Stage 6

2008-03-09T18:22:00.002+08:00

Mark Cavendish (High Road) seemingly taking out the field sprint. However, a crash 8km from the finish involving Cavendish as well as Rock Racing's Mario Cipollini and Freddie Rodriguez, caused an issue. Cavendish had to swap for his spare bike and was escorted back to the peloton while his team car made derailleur adjustments. The race commissaries thought this was too excessive and penalized him twenty seconds, and taking away his win ahead of Saunier Duval-Scott's Luciano Pagliarini. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour of California - Stage 5

2008-03-09T18:20:00.003+08:00

Entering today's time trial, the discussion about who would emerge on top of the overall was mixed. World champion Fabian Cancellara (CSC) had put time into race leader Levi Leipheimer (Astana) in the opening prologue, and Slipstream-Chipotle had three good time trialists within striking distance. But at the end of the day it was Leipheimer putting all doubts to rest, smoking the rest of the field by nearly half a minute and extending is overall lead. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour of California - Stage 4

2008-03-09T18:16:00.002+08:00

The two years of nearly perfect weather for the Tour of California built up quite a balance in the karma bank, and the cycling gods cashed out everything for today's fourth stage, unleashing relentless rain, whipping wind and nearly freezing temperatures for seven long hours on wet and technical roads. Despite the horrid conditions, Dominque Rollin (Toyota-United) was able to come out smiling with a solo win out of a 200km breakaway, holding off American George Hincapie (High Road) and Spaniard Iker Camaño (Saunier Duval-Scott) by little more than thirty seconds. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour of California - Stage 3

2008-02-26T01:18:00.002+08:00

Defending tour champion Levi Leipheimer (Astana) got to work on today's first real climbing stage - a tough parcours with five rated climbs, including the hors category Mt. Hamilton and tough Sierra Road climbs. Like the past two years, Leipheimer was alone with Robert Gesink (Rabobank) over the top of Sierra Road, just 18 miles from the finish in downtown San Jose. The two had worked out a partnership before and rode it all the way to the finish, with Gesink taking the stage win, while Leipheimer claimed the leader's jersey. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour of California - Stage 2

2008-02-25T23:42:00.003+08:00

While usually known for pleasant weather, California looked a little more like Belgium during the Spring Classics during today's second stage. Temperatures around seven degrees Celsius and steady rain made for uncomfortable racing. Still, die-hard cycling fans lined the roads at the key spots to watch some of the top riders in the world compete. At the finish around the state capital the crowds were almost as big as last year, as they watched an impressive field sprint win from the man himself, Tom Boonen. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour of California - Stage 1

2008-02-25T23:34:00.003+08:00

The inaugural Tour of California was springboard that launched Juan Jose Haedo (CSC) from the domestic peloton into the spotlight of the ProTour. His two sprint wins in 2006 earned him a contract with the CSC team and the chance to race at the highest level, and Haedo returned the next year to match his performance with two more wins. In the third year of the race, Haedo got to work at matching his previous performances early, easily taking the field sprint on the first stage into Santa Rosa. The win by Haedo helped protect the slim overall lead held by his team-mate Fabian Cancellara. Haedo's win today gives him a total of five in the three years of the race - and with a total of eleven 'sprint' stages in the three years, Haedo has won almost half of them. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour of California - Prologue

2008-02-25T22:56:00.004+08:00

Having the world champion's rainbow jersey on your shoulders often gives a little extra motivation to perform, particularly in a specialty discipline such as the time trial. For Fabian Cancellara, the current world champion, that motivation resulted in a blistering 51kph average speed, putting four seconds into the next fastest rider over a short 3.4km prologue course. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour de langkawi - Stage 9

2008-02-25T22:52:00.003+08:00

Ruslan Ivanov entered the final stage with a 29 second margin over former yellow jersey Matthieu Sprick (Bouygues Telecom), but the Frenchman's team was satisfied with the points jersey worn by Swiss rider Aurélien Clerc, with the French ProTour squad not attempting to steal back time with bonuses offered on the stage. The Tour de Langkawi has marked a special moment in Ivanov's career, with the former Moldavian road champion spending the past two years without a professional contract. Ivanov turned professional in 1998 with Brescialat but despite recording 16 victories over the years that have passed found himself without a team after 2005, until Savio offered to take the now 34 year-old on for this season. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour de langkawi - Stage 8

2008-02-22T03:06:00.004+08:00

Before today's crucial stage, Serramenti team manager Gianni Savio asked his riders a simple question: did they want to win the stage itself or the 2008 Tour de Langkawi? Not surprisingly, they chose the latter. So it came as no surprise when José Serpa, the team's best climber, sacrificed his own chances to shepherd team-mate Ruslan Ivanov up the final four kilometres and in doing so drag the 34 year-old Moldavian clear of all his rivals for an almost certain victory when the race's 13th edition ends in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow. The Serramenti duo's performance on Fraser Hill, itself something of an unknown quantity before today, was only eclipsed by 22 year-old Italian Filippo Savini. The CSF Group Navigare rider going solo inside the final four kilometres for his first professional victory. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour de langkawi - Stage 7

2008-02-22T03:03:00.003+08:00

A dramatic Stage 7 of the Tour de Langkawi has seen Alexandre Usov (AG2R La Mondiale) claim a crash-marred finish, while Australia's Mitchell Docker (Drapac-Porsche) has taken over the leader's jersey. The action began early in the stage with Bouygues Telecom and Drapac-Porsche waging an intermediate sprint battle that saw Docker bridge the one second deficit to Matthieu Sprick (Bouygues Telecom) and take the yellow leader's jersey off the Frenchman. While it was fortunate for Sprick and Docker their battle didn't follow through to the day's final sprint, 2008 stage winners Alberto Loddo (Tinkoff Credit Systems) and Danilo Hondo (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli) were not so fortunate. Loddo was involved in a tangle with Argentinean Mauro Abel Richeze (CSF Group Navigare), who came away from the accident unscathed, while Loddo fell to the ground with Hondo, a passenger in the incident, and were struck by the bunch. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour de langkawi - Stage 6

2008-02-22T02:58:00.005+08:00

Today's technical finish - a sharp right at 600 metres followed by a similarly acute left 300 metres from the line - was always going to favour forward planning. Knowledge of the finale in advance a huge advantage. Fortunately for Serpa, Serramenti team manager Gianni Savio had done his homework, and when the 28 year-old rounded the final corner comfortably in front, he was untouchable from there onwards. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour de langkawi - Stage 5

2008-02-22T02:53:00.003+08:00

Big things were expected from the Tinkoff Credit Systems squad heading into this year's Tour de Langkawi, and finally on today's fifth stage the team started to deliver with Italian sprinter Alberto Loddo taking a bunch-sprint victory. Loddo not only entered the tour as the in-form sprinter, the Italian also had history on his side after winning a record equaling five stages at last year's event. The Tinkoff Credit Systems squad entered the event as the strongest team in the race. Despite entering the tour as the in-form sprinter, Loddo said at the pre-race press conference there was no pressure to win at this year's event. The Italian had already claimed his first victory of the season at last month's Tour of Qatar. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour de langkawi - Stage 4

2008-02-22T02:49:00.004+08:00

After signaling his intentions with a solo breakaway earlier in the day's stage, sprinter Danilo Hondo (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli) claimed his first victory in two seasons. The German rider noted that his earlier breakaway attempts demonstrate that he's a well rounded rider, not just a pure sprinter. The Malaysian stage race is the German's first event since returning from a doping suspension after testing positive for carphedon at the 2005 Vuelta a Murcia. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour de langkawi - Stage 3

2008-02-22T02:39:00.005+08:00

The composition of today's winning breakaway as two Malaysians, a Chinese, Japanese and Korean combined to hold off all the peloton could muster and prove beyond doubt that Asian teams must now be taken seriously in modern competitive cycling. Jae Won Lee surprised everyone, making his first move 5km from the line, then going all out just before the kilometer kite on Banting Bridge. Anuar Manan was forced to settle for second and receive the green points jersey as his consolation prize. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour de Langkawi - Stage 2

2008-02-12T00:56:00.002+08:00

Just when it seemed like Stage 2 of Le Tour de Langkawi was heading for a run-of-the-mill bunch sprint, veteran Jeremy Hunt proved that while Malaysia's biggest race may lack a few hills it's not short on surprises as the 33 year-old claimed victory in a totally lawless finale which no team could control. Displaying the kind of tactical nouse that comes with 12 seasons as a professional, the Crédit Agricole rider joined a 10-man move with 10 kilometres remaining, finally overhauling the day's breakaway and taking the sprint with ease. Originally from Great Britain, Hunt spends long periods training in Australia during the winter, a choice which clearly paid dividends in the tough tropical heat today. (www.cyclingnews.com)

Tour de Langkawi - Stage 1

2008-02-10T11:49:00.002+08:00

After joining a 19-man breakaway only 15 kilometres into today's stage, Frenchman Matthieu Sprick could never have imagined he'd be in yellow by the day's end. But that's exactly what happened as the Bouygues Telecom rider broke free from his breakaway companions with three kilometres remaining to claim only his second victory as a professional and by far the biggest of his four-year career. While not nearly enough to say he'll follow in the footsteps of last year's overall winner, countryman Anthony Charteau, in a race that's likely to come down to the one who picks up the most time bonuses over the following eight stages, it's a handy little lead nonetheless. (www.cyclingnews.com, www.velonews.com)

The Boleh Team - The Home Favourite

2008-02-09T21:51:00.001+08:00

Feb 9th to Feb 17th 2008 will be their big day, they are hoping for a good performance in 2008, so good luck and all the best to Boleh Team, the home favourite....the MCF jersey was probably inspired by Toyota united or George Hancapie's blue, red & white (Bolehland had copied their song as national anthem, their flag, and now jerseys, not surprising) ...and did someone forgot to print ''Malaysia'' in bold on the frontal of the Boleh jersey.....don't expect the rural folks to know what ''MCF'' stands for, and the flag should always be at the jersey's upper left, where the heart lies....

Michael Boogerd Goes Running

2008-02-08T23:07:00.002+08:00

Michael Boogerd isn't quite done with a little competition here and there. He's lacing up his running shoes now. The Dutchman plans on starting with a half-marathon in Den Haag, then moving up to the Rotterdam Marathon on April 13th (not too long before his beloved Amstel Gold Race mind you), and then by the end of the year he'd like to give the New York Marathon a go. Boogerd is following in the footsteps of other cyclists-turned-runners like Abraham Olano, Laurent Jalabert and Lance Armstrong. Skeptical about another bike racer turned runner? Boogerd has claimed two 10-mile foot races in the past. (www.cyclingnews.com, www.pezcyclingnews.com)