Cavendish wins stage 2 of Driedaagse van De Panne
Mark Cavendish has won his seventh race of the season and the 96th of his professional career, taking out stage 2 of the Drieedaagse van De Panne overnight.
In the final kilometres of the race Cavendish’s Omega Pharma-QuickStep squad was all over the front of the peloton, driving the pace. When they hit the 1km to banner, they were pushing so hard that only one rider was able to stay on Cavendish’s wheel. But the peloton came back together before the final sprint and Cavendish was forced to jump from a long way out to take the win.
Arnaud Démare (FDJ) takes the overall lead from Peter Sagan after finishing fourth on last night’s stage. The final day of the race features a 110km road stage and a 15km individual time trial.
Click here for results from stage 2 of Driedaagse van De Panne and a video of the final 3km of the race.
Cavendish entertains in post-race press conference
Mark Cavendish (OmegaPharma-Quick Step) celebrated his seventh win of the season in Driedaagse van De Panne overnight, but was having trouble keeping warm afterwards.
“Can we stand away from the door because I’m f***ing freezing!” Cavendish said, interrupting himself mid-answer in a press conference.
Cavendish jumped from a long way back before eventually taking the win.
He kept talking about his victory, where the team’s Ronde squad, including Tom Boonen and Sylvain Chavanel, led out. He stopped again, however, when on-lookers held the door open again.
“Please stand away from the door!” Cavendish said, raising his voice. “Stand away from the door. For the fifth, sixth, seventh time!”
As Cycling Weekly reported, “No one can match Cavendish’s speed and for sure, no one can entertain like Cavendish.”
Click here to read more on Cycling Weekly.
Boonen abandons Driedaagse van De Panne ahead of Flanders
After crashing and injuring his knee at Gent-Wevelgem last weekend, Tom Boonen will tonight abandon Driedaagse van De Panne as a precaution for next Sunday’s Tour of Flanders.
Boonen told reporters that his knee was holding up OK and his withdrawal is merely a precaution before Sunday’s classic.
Boonen did a lot of work on stage 2 of Driedaagse van De Panne to control the peloton and ensure his teammate Mark Cavendish was in a winning position.
Click here to read more on VeloNation.
Armstrong faces criminal investigation in Spain
Lance Armstrong’s troubles are far from over. After admitting doping throughout his career and being banned for life, he faces a criminal investigation in Spain.
US broadcaster, ABC News reported: “Spanish sources believe crimes may have been committed in Spain and they are currently investigating to decide if charges should be brought against Armstrong and Spanish associates who worked with him on the U.S. Postal Service cycling team.”
It is not a crime to dope in Spain, but trafficking and distribution are criminal offenses. The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) report published on October 10 described such actions, which allows Spain to investigate Armstrong and his former Spanish helpers: doctors Pedro Celaya and Luis Garcia del Moral, and trainer José Martí.
Click here to read more on ABC News.
Spanish financial crisis continues to hit local races
Spain’s financial crisis is affecting more and more races, with the Volta a Catalunya and Vuelta a Madrid feeling the squeeze.
After seeing Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp) win last week, Catalunya may close shop. According to VeloNews, the regional government informed the race “unless a private sponsor is found in time for next year’s edition, public money will not be available to pick up the tab.”
On Monday, the organiser of the Vuelta a Madrid said the two-day race will be cut back to one day in future. Other races, such as the tours in Asturias and Murcia, are struggling while Vuelta a Valencia and Semana Catalana have ended.
Click here to read more on VeloNews.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège changes directions
The Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic on April 21 will change directions due to roadworks and skip the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons climb. Belgian daily La Dernière Heure reported that organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) is working on a new finish.
The climb was first introduced to the race in 2008, replacing the Côte du Sart Tilman, and has played host to several winning moves since then.
“Roche-aux-Faucons and [Côte de] Tilff are not possible, we’ll likely have to climb the [Côte de] Colonster,” ASO’s Jean-Michel Monin told the newspaper.
The only problem is that the approach to Colonster is technical with a hairpin turn beforehand. The road climbs 2.9km at an average 5.5% gradient.
Click here to read more on dhnet.be.
An interview with Richie Porte
Tasmania’s Richie Porte has had a terrific start to the season, winning Paris-Nice and finishing second in the Criterium International at the weekend. In this interview with the Global Cycling Network, Richie talks about his weekend, about training with Chris Froome and more.
How to build the Tour of Britain
Planning an eight-day long tour is surely a tough job, requiring route planners to find the right balance between flatter and hillier stages, time trials and mountain-top finishes, and much more. In this interview with Cycling Weekly, Andy Hawes, the Tour of Britain’s route and technical director, explains how the route for this year’s Tour of Britain was selected.
Click here to read the article on Cycling Weekly.
Houten, a town for built for bikes
Dutch city Houten is on the map because it caters to cyclists. Planners designed the city for cyclists putting automobile traffic second.
Cycling Weekly reported, “Houten is real. It exists in our space-time continuum and is a fully functioning, lived-in community of just under 50,000 people that’s turned modern urban design inside-out by putting cyclists and pedestrians right back at the top of the pecking order.”
The city, even by local standards, is radical. The centre of the city almost completely blocks cars, surrounded by barriers that bicyclists may easily pass. The design, however, would be difficult to apply to existing towns, according to planning engineer, André Botermans.
Click here to read the full feature article on Cycling Weekly.
Red-light running cyclists in Tokyo could face jail time
Here in Melbourne it seems that barely a week goes by without the media mentioning cyclists that run red lights. And while some road users would like to see such cyclists face stiffer penalties (if any) for their actions, such penalties are unlikely to be as strong as in Tokyo.
According to the RocketNews24 (and news.amega.jp before them), Tokyo cyclists that repeatedly infringe traffic laws — including running red lights — could face up to three months behind bars after the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office announced a crackdown.
Lawyer Hironori Oze was quoted on RocketNews24 saying: “The tightening of the law is obviously a strategy to reduce any further bicycle-related accidents. But it’s also a sign that many citizens are dissatisfied with the leniency of the current road traffic laws.”
Click here to read the article on RocketNews24.
Building a Campagnolo 80th anniversary collection bike
And finally, here’s a little bit of bike p*rn to ease you into the day. In this video we see some guy with a seriously bling watch unwrap then build up a Campagnolo 80th anniversary collection bike. Awesome.
BEHIND THE SCENES 80th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION from Campagnolo Srl on Vimeo.