| Daily News Digest

In this morning’s edition of the CyclingTips Daily News Digest: John Degenkolb wins Paris-Roubaix; Joaquim Rodriguez wins Vuelta al Pais Vasco; Lisa Brennauer wins Energiewacht Tour; Ramunas Navardauskas wins Circuit Cycliste Sarthe; Alex Edmondson wins U23 Tour of Flanders; Paddy Bevin wins men’s Jayco Adelaide Tour; Michaela Parsons wins women’s Jayco Adelaide Tour; UCI to investigate Vuelta al Pais Vasco crash; CompetitiveCyclist.com offers store credit for Strava rides; Emma Johansson’s Tour of Flanders, three weeks after breaking her collarbone; Michael Matthews snacks on pizza at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco; #Boomgate - riders dash across tracks as train approaches; King of the Mountain - from genocide to a cycling team in Rwanda.

John Degenkolb wins Paris-Roubaix

by Shane Stokes

John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) has become just the third rider in history to win Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in the same year after sprinting to victory on the Roubaix velodrome yesterday. The German outsprinted five others to the line, with Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-Quick-Step) taking second and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) finishing third.

The basis of Degenkolb’s victory was an impressive bridging move which saw him join up with then leaders Van Avermaet and Yves Lampaert (Etixx-Quick-Step) in the closing stages.

Lampaert refused to work, knowing that Stybar was chasing behind in a small group. And while the Stybar chase bunch did manage to bridge up, handing the Belgian team a numerical advantage, Degenkolb and Van Avermaet’s driving at the front delayed the junction and ensured that the chasers didn’t have time to launch any meaningful attacks before the line.

Degenkolb was already regarded as the fastest finisher but as he also managed his energy to perfection in the finale, he had enough left at the end to easily win the gallop to the line and nab a huge win.

Earlier in the day a very quick start saw a group of nine wrest its way clear and build a gap of 10 minutes before kilometre 80. The day’s 27 cobbled sectors saw a gradual thinning of the lead group, and indeed the peloton, as the end of the 253km race approached.

1.	DEGENKOLB John Team Giant - Alpecin	05:49:51
2.	TYBAR Zdeněk Etixx - Quick Step	-
3.	VAN AVERMAET Greg BMC Racing Team	-

Click here to read more at CyclingTips.

Joaquim Rodriguez wins Vuelta al Pais Vasco

Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) has won the six-stage Vuelta al Pais Vasco off the back of two stage victories and another strong performance in the final-stage ITT.

After winning stages 3 and 4, Rodriguez sat second overall with the same time as leader Sergio Henao (Sky). On stage 5, Rodriguez maintained his position, finishing eighth as Mikel Landa (Astana) won on the uphill finish to Aia.

And on the final stage ITT, Rodriguez capitalised on the 18.3km stage’s two climbs, finishing second behind stage winner Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin).

The result on the final stage saw Rodriguez move 13 seconds clear of Henao in the final standings with Ion Izagirre (Movistar) taking third.

Final Classification: > - Stage Result

Saturday 11th April 2015

1.	RODRíGUEZ Joaquim Team Katusha	21:49:38
2.	HENAO MONTOYA Sergio Luis Team Sky	0:13
3.	IZAGIRRE Ion Movistar Team	0:29

Click here to read more at VeloNews.

Lisa Brennauer wins Energiewacht Tour

World time trial champion Lisa Brennauer (Velocio-SRAM) has held on for victory in the Energiewacht Tour in the Netherlands, winning the six-stage race by nine seconds ahead of her teammate Trixi Worrack and Boels-Dolmans’ Christine Majerus.

Brennauer went into the final stage of the race with a lead of just one second and by finishing fourth was able to hold on to that lead. Anna van der Breggen (Rabo-Liv) added to her prologue time trial success with a solo victory on the final stage by more than a minute.

Earlier in the weekend Velocio-SRAM won the stage 2a team time trial ahead of Boels-Dolmans and Rabo-Liv, pushing Velocio-SRAM’s Trixi Worrack into the overall lead.

Later that day, Lucinda Brand (Rabo-Liv) won the bunch sprint to take out stage 2b after positioning herself perfectly coming into the final corner. Velocio-SRAM’s Barbara Guarischi took the overall lead after finishing fifth.

On the penultimate stage, Kirsten Wild (Hitec Products) took a sprint victory from an elite eight-rider lead group while Lisa Brennauer capitalised on her third place on the stage to take the overall lead going into the final day of racing.

Final Classification: > - Stage Result

Sunday 12th April 2015

1.	BRENNAUER Lisa Velocio- SRAM	11:30:29
2.	WORRACK Trixi Velocio- SRAM	0:09
3.	MAJERUS Christine Boels - Dolmans Cycling Team	-

1.	WILD Kirsten Hitec Products	81
2.	BRAND Lucinda Rabobank-Liv Woman Cycling Team	77
3.	D\'HOORE Jolien Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling	77

1.	KOSTER Anouska Rabobank-Liv Woman Cycling Team	11:34:06
2.	MACKAIJ Floortje Team Liv-Plantur	0:44
3.	KOREVAAR Jeanne	14:29

1.	Boels - Dolmans Cycling Team	34:33:56
2.	Velocio- SRAM	0:56
3.	Rabobank-Liv Woman Cycling Team	3:06

Click here to read more at Cyclingnews.

Ramunas Navardauskas wins Circuit Cycliste Sarthe

Ramunas Navardauskas (Cannondale-Garmin) has taken a second consecutive overall victory at the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe, moving into the overall lead after dethroning Manuele Boaro (Tinkoff-Saxo) on the final stage.

Circuit de la Sarthe. L'étape pour Bouhanni, le général à Navardauskas via @ouestfrance http://t.co/CW7xWoTomV pic.twitter.com/o5nUF1CbJo

— Mathieu Coureau (@mcoureau) April 10, 2015

Boaro had gone into the final stage of the five-stage race with a lead of just three seconds after winning the race’s penultimate stage. But by winning the two intermediate sprints on the final stage, Navardauskas was able to move from third place, five seconds down, into the overall lead.

The final stage was won by Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) who also won the race’s first stage earlier in the week.

Final Classification: > - Stage Result

Friday 10th April 2015

1.	NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas Team Cannondale - Garmin	15:47:13
2.	BOARO Manuele Tinkoff - Saxo	0:01
3.	MALORI Adriano Movistar Team	0:04

1.	MEINTJES Louis MTN - Qhubeka	28
2.	JACOBS Pieter Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise	18
3.	MINNAARD Marco Wanty - Groupe Gobert	13

1.	BOUHANNI Nacer Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	64
2.	TSATEVICH Alexey Team Katusha	49
3.	NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas Team Cannondale - Garmin	38

1.	BYSTRøM Sven Erik Team Katusha	15:47:45
2.	MEINTJES Louis MTN - Qhubeka	0:27
3.	VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael Tinkoff - Saxo	0:37

1.	Team Cannondale - Garmin	47:22:44
2.	Team Katusha	0:06
3.	Bretagne - Séché Environnement	0:20

Click here to read more at Cyclingnews.

Alex Edmondson wins U23 Tour of Flanders

Jayco-AIS WorldTour Academy rider Alex Edmondson has taken the biggest road victory of his young career, winning the U23 Tour of Flanders on Saturday.

Edmondson, who has already signed a contract with Orica-GreenEdge for the 2016 season, broke clear of the lead group roughly 20km from the end of the 176.6km race, with Italian Gianni Moscon for company.

The pair worked well together to build a lead before contesting the final sprint in Oudenaarde. Edmondson proved too strong, beating Moscon, while Truls Engen Korsaeth (Joker) was third, seven second behind the pair.

People who say dreams don't come true are wrong! 1st in the Under 23 Flanders today! What an unreal day!! #RVVU23 pic.twitter.com/guMR38tujH

— Alexander Edmondson (@alexedmo) April 11, 2015

The win is Edmondson’s second for the Jayco-AIS WorldTour Academy this season, after the South Australian won Trofeo Antonietto Rancilio a few weeks ago.

1.	EDMONDSON Alexander	04:29:04
2.	MOSCON Gianni	-
3.	KORSAETH Truls Engen Team Joker	0:07

Click here to read more at De Morgen.

Paddy Bevin wins men’s Jayco Adelaide Tour

Paddy Bevin has led an Avanti Racing Team domination of the men’s Jayco Adelaide Tour, the New Zealand-based Continental team taking out the top three places on the podium.

Bevin won the opening two stages of the four-stage race and was able to defend his lead through the weekend. Stage 3 was won by CharterMason-Giant’s Ben Hill who attacked solo and was able to hold off the Avanti-led peloton to take victory.

The result wasn’t enough to dislodge the Avanti trio of Bevin, Matt Clarke and Neil van der Ploeg from the top of the table, however. Van der Ploeg would go on to win the final stage in a bunch sprint, wrapping up a tremendously successful weekend for the team.

Bevin now leads the individual standings in the 2015 men’s Subaru National Road Series.

Click here to read more at the Subaru National Road Series website.

Michaela Parsons wins women’s Jayco Adelaide Tour

20-year-old Michaela Parsons (Specialized Securitor) has claimed the biggest win of her career, taking out the Jayco Adelaide Tour and moving into fourth overall in the Subaru National Road Series.

Parsons raced into the Tour lead after claiming stage one of the four-day Tour, before riding consistently to seal victory 12 seconds ahead of Kristy Glover (Bicycle Superstore) and Rebecca Wiasak (High5 Dream Team).

Stage 2 of the four-stage race was won solo by Lucy Coldwell (Holden Women’s Cycling) while stages three and four were won by national criterium champion Kimberley Wells (High5).

Click here to read more at the Subaru National Road Series website.

UCI to investigate Vuelta al Pais Vasco crash

The UCI has said it will investigate the circumstances that lead to a nasty crash on stage 1 of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco last week, a crash that saw several riders injured, including BMC’s Peter Stetina.

Stetina underwent surgery late last week to repair a broken tibia and patella, the American also suffering broken ribs and other injuries in the incident.

The crash was caused by several bollards in the finishing straight, immediately after the final corner of the stage. The bollards were covered with orange traffic cones, but several riders collided with the obstacles, causing significant injury.

The UCI told Cyclingnews: “The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has expressed its concerns to the race organiser. Under the UCI Regulations, race organisers are responsible to ensure that all necessary safety measures are taken and clearly the presence of exposed pavement posts in the finish line were unacceptable.

“The UCI will be investigating the circumstances in which these crashes occurred at the close of the event and upon receiving the commissaires’ report and any other testimonies.”

Click here to read more at Cyclingnews.

CompetitiveCyclist.com offers store credit for Strava rides

If you’ve ever wanted to get paid to ride your bike, then this news from bike retailer CompetitiveCyclist.com might be of interest. The online retailer is offering customers $1 of store credit for each hour of riding they record on Strava, to a maximum of $40 a month.

Ok, so you won’t be able to quit your day job, but if you’re riding your bike and using Strava anyway, this offer would seem to be a case of getting something for nothing.

“Strava at its core is about motivating athletes. Our partnership with Competitive Cyclist leverages our platform and rewards activity with the types of perks to keep athletes more active,” said David Lorsch, Strava’s VP of strategy and business development. “This is one more way we’re extending the power of Strava’s community to motivate athletes and help them improve.”

Click here to read more at Competitive Cyclist.

Emma Johansson’s Tour of Flanders, three weeks after breaking her collarbone

This is a great story over at Emma Johansson’s website. The Swedish national champ rode in last weekend’s Tour of Flanders despite having broken her collarbone just three weeks earlier. Not only did she start and finish the race, she also came a respectable 13th in the process. Impressive.

Here’s an excerpt from the piece:

“

There are not many kilometres between the Paterberg and the finish line, but a surprising number of thoughts can go through your head during that distance.

I was thinking about how I crashed three weeks ago and was standing on the road and crying because the Ronde was gone. I was thinking about everything that went into my super fast comeback and how I stood on the start line when no one believed it was possible that I would do that. I thought about how these three weeks have felt like three months and a blink of the eye all at once. It seems like both forever ago and yesterday that I was in the hospital and the doctor was telling me the collarbone was broken.

Click here to read the full post.

Michael Matthews snacks on pizza at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco

We had a good chuckle at this photo of Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) helping himself to some pizza during stage 4 of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco over the weekend.

@blingmatthews I'm the pizza boy, how was the pizza? pic.twitter.com/7ReInZFK8S

— Jontxu Martinez (@JontxuMartinez) April 9, 2015

It’s not quite an Adam Hansen beer hand-up but it’s still pretty cool.

#Boomgate: riders dash across tracks as train approaches

If you’ve ever done any racing before you’ll know that riders can sometimes lose their better judgment when the adrenaline is flowing and when the only thing that matters is following the wheel in front. A bunch of riders in yesterday’s Paris-Roubaix took that habit to dangerous extremes when they crossed some tracks as a high-speed TGV train approached.

The UCI rules are pretty clear — any riders crossing train lines when the boomgates are down must be disqualified. In the end no riders were disqualified, with race director Thierry Gouvenou saying the UCI commissaires were too far back to identify the riders.

As The Inner Ring writes: “The UCI could still follow up with video evidence [but] don’t hold your breath.”

Click here to read more about the incident at The Inner Ring.

King of the Mountain: from genocide to a cycling team in Rwanda

This is a beautiful short film that shows, once again, that cycling has a power far beyond its simple joy.

What You Missed

And finally this morning, here are a few things you might have missed at CyclingTips in the past few days:

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Today’s feature image comes from Kristof Ramon and shows the 2015 Paris-Roubaix podium.

Daniel

What a rather poor message being sent by the refusal to enforce a clear and important safety rule. As if they could not have had someone spend the last couple of hours watching and re-watching the footage of the crossing to determine who broke the rules. If one or two of them got away with it, that’s not that big a deal. The message would still have been clear; if you get caught braking such a significant rule, you will be DQ’d. Instead, the message was that it is OK to break the rule if others do as well. The idea of “let’s not punish riders when heaps are doing it anyway; that would distract from the romanticism of the sport” is not an idea that has worked out well in the past
- Robert Merkel
  
  I wonder, given the inability to identify individual riders, could some heavy fines be handed out to their teams?
  
  In future, have a volunteer with a GoPro on a tripod at each crossing.
  - thomasrdotorg
    
    Thanks for beating me to it! A GoPro at 60fps would have every number and rider as clear as you need.
    - Dave
      
      In motorsport this sort of person is called a ‘judge of fact’ and they can often be found at chicanes or pit lane entrances. Could be a useful concept to import into cycling.
- Arfy
  
  UCI seem to have an attitude of “enforcement if we feel like it” to their rules. Most sporting codes are pretty clear on their rules, and come down hard and consistently if they’re broken. Not the UCI though, it makes a joke of having rules in the first place.
- http://www.classixracing.com fabio
  
  Wonder how Hoste, Van Petegem, and Gusev (who placed 2-4 in 2006 and subsequently DQ’ed) feel about this?
  - Michele
    
    I know it’s not right - but if I remember correctly in that instance those 3 gained a time advantage that couldn’t be neutralised before they reached the velodrome (it happened in last 20 kms or so).
    
    Doesn’t excuse last night. But it’s slighty different.
    - http://www.classixracing.com fabio
      
      That’s true, it was as crossing with 10km left and Boonen came in later for “2nd”.
- The Rabbit
  
  I wonder if the reaction from race director Gouvenou and his team at ASO would have been any different if the French National Champion was not implicated. In any case the behaviour of the riders was inexcusable and it’s pathetic of the UCI to not DQ them.
  - Michele
    
    The problem is unless you can tell who EVERYONE is, then it’s a little unfair to just DQ those who are easy to identify like Démare.
    
    Looked like there were a couple of SKY riders involved. Or were they from Team Giant? I guess that’s one bonus in having a lot of black in your kit.
    
    The GPS technology is available now to place some form of beacon on each rider (not bike) and track them accurately. You’d be able to use telemetry to determine who stopped and who diced with death.
    - Daniel
      
      It would surprise me greatly if, with enough time and discussions with the teams, 80%+ of those involved could not be identified. It seems very much like they just did not want to face the possibility that they would have to DQ major players or delay the presentation.
      
      I don’t think it’s unfair to say that unless you can punish all you should punish none. Surely the last rider to go through was just taking the piss? And in any event, it sometimes must be justified to put aside fairness in place of safety. If they had DQ’d twenty riders, I can guarantee that nobody would be pulling that stunt again, particularly given that it was useless in light of the race being neutralised.
      - Michele
        
        Well they did DS 3 riders just a few years ago - 2 of them were podium ‘finishers’.
        
        That hasn’t prove to be a deterrent.
        
        I agree with you - they should all be DS.
        
        Hypothetical:
        Let’s say 25 of the 30 riders are identified and they are all promptly DS.
        
        One of the riders isn’t Degenkolb, but it’s determined his team mate Bert de Backer was. He is promptly DSQ.
        
        One could argue Degenkolb’s win is now compromised - especially l if no Etixx riders were caught up at the crossing. Who could say for certain Degenkolb would’ve won if De Backer was DS immediately after the incident.
        
        Since those 30 riders broke the rules but were still able to finish the race, Paris-Roubaix has been compromised.
        
        Daniel
        
        Oh for sure that’s an issue. As soon as you start DQing people you get big questions over what could have been. It was a great finish and I don’t think people wanted to be seen to be ruining that. It’s like the on-bike slap fest at the Giro (I think) last year; the two involved weren’t DQ’d for hours and it could have changed the race if they had been pulled out earlier.
        Something is better than nothing. Maybe now the best option is to fine the teams per rider involved (lot easier to identify), but there would need to be a rule for that; there are enough problems in cycling with “figure it out as you go along” (Stelvio). At the moment, there is a very clear rule of disqualification. In the absence of something better, they should exercise that power retrospectively.
        
        Dave
        
        DQ those who come forward and fess up, but those who get caught on video and don’t fess up should get DQ’s from both Roubaix and the next WorldTour race where they sign on at the start line.
  - Dave
    
    That stripy jersey has got to be good for SOMETHING every now and then!
- jules
  
  I agree it sends a poor msg. what scares me the most is the possibility of pro riders being squashed by the TGV. I think they need to look at this more and put in a back-up loop on the course or something if the riders are heading towards the crossing at the same time as the train. surely they can do better than just asking them to wait at the boom gates?
  - Michele
    
    It’s too hard Jules. Having ridden the sportiv, I was amazed how many railroad crossings there were.
    
    Basically from the Forest onwards there is a good half dozen. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same line either: as the route zig zags to get these sectors in.
    
    Any back up look might mean missing a sector of pave. Fans on roadside might not appreciate that. :-)
    - jules
      
      I haven’t ridden it so take my comments with a grain of salt, but I didn’t mean an alternative route - I meant more a spare loop that would put the riders back onto the ‘main’ course, but just occupy them for 10 minutes or so for the train to pass. It may be too complicated..
      - Michele
        
        It’s far too complicated for me. :-)
        
        Shame is this incident is taking the limelight off of Degenkolb, who rode a very good race, and was a deserved winner.
      - Dave
        
        How about just have them obey the rules, but allow them to go back to their team cars while they wait (without penalty for going backwards on the course) so it doubles as a feed station?
        
        Or coordinate to keep the crossing open for the peleton to go through, as is done at the Tour Down Under at least a couple of times each year.
  - a different ben
    
    I once saw the aftermath of a herd of veal calves meeting a fast train — it was very messy. I would much prefer to see a bunch of DQs than something similar happen to people.
- JBS
  
  Agree its extremely poor. What’s the point of a rule if it isn’t enforced.
  
  Plus in this case, not enforcing the rule deprived the fans of seeing one last monumental bike throw by Wiggins when he gets DQ’d (he was the Sky rider nearly getting decapitated by the boom gate).
  - Dave
    
    No commissaire would have been that brave.
- Michael Sproul
  
  If the UCI/race organiser made it clear they’d neutralise the race in the event of a train crossing there’d be no reason for riders to take the risk, it’s clear the riders thought the race would carry on without them and in the heat of the moment smashed on through. Rules should be upheld and DQ’s handed out but IMO you need to remove that “oh shit I’m getting dropped because of this” feeling.
xponti

Woohoo, Pool Boy won Flanders. I guess he can give up his day job on the Pool Vacuum now…..Bow Wow Chicka Bow Wow….
Michele

U23 Flanders podium photo - imagine what people will think when they come across that in some archives in 100 years time from now???

That is a classic.
- Arfy
  
  Heath Ledger fanboy?
  http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1540857/images/n-HEATH-LEDGER-THE-JOKER-large570.jpg
Steel

Great finish to Roubaix. As much as it was amazing to see Boonen and Fabu solo to wins in recent years, I enjoyed the bunch sprint around the velodrome. Not sure why Stybar didn’t try something further from the line though, although when you’ve ridden 257 km over those roads, he’s probably just happy to finish.

Great ride by Degenkolb. I was surprised he had so much left in the tank after bridging to GVA’s breakaway. Must be in some epic form.

Giant Alpecin now arguably have the best sprinter in road cycling and the best finisher on flat, but difficult stages. Not bad for a team who were saved by a last minutes sponsorship a couple of years ago.
Andy Logan

Great ride by Deggs, didnt just sit in and wait for the bunch kick. Rode across and didnt panic and then dispatched them with ease, tbh I am not sure there would of been more Etixx could of done. Unfortunately Stybar bridging up put the pressure on them to attack the bunch, but he dragged 3 other guys with him to nulify the attacks so that didnt work out, plus they only had 3km to go once Stybar had bridged across.

Great win imo, as good as Kristoff Flanders win, i loved both. I loved how they both committed and were willing to lose it all. That to me seems to be biggest difference this year, some riders have been prepared to play their hand and come up empty, while others have been happy to settle for 2nd or 3rd and sit on wheels and look for others to do the work. The people that have committed have come up Trumps, Kristoff, Deggs, Paolini, Thomas and even Stannard for Omloop, although he did sit on the wheels for 40km, he took the opportunity to attack when he did well and that as we know what that.

As for the Bridge crossing, poor decision really. You could tell they were going to brush that under the carpet.
- Michele
  
  I was really impressed with his brief post-race interview. I liked how he said he needed to ‘invest’ in the race.
  
  There I was thinking all he had to do was stay with the front bunch and win it in a sprint. As he said in the interview he came second last year in those circumstances. Who’s to say someone wouldn’t got off the front in the closing kms?
  
  Loved how he took the race on and was duly rewarded. And there was a similarity in the way both he and Kristoff went about it.
  
  I agree with your comments re: Etixx. I think they played their cards as well as they could. I was hoping Stybar [that’s Stee-bar, not Sty-bar SBS, Phil and Paul et al.] could get across quicker. Might have given him a couple of more kms to catch his breathe and go again.
  
  Was a little bit miffed by Wiggo’s tactics. Not sure why he went then. An effort like that with 10 kms to go might have been more worthwhile. Can’t remember which was the wind was blowing in the run into Roubaix after the Gruson pave.
  
  The cobbled classics weren’t necessarily ‘classics’ in the truest sense; but so happy to see 2 first time winners for both races.
Bracksy

Can someone explain this sudden influx of cycling Instagram photos that are taken whilst riders are riding? If we consider ourselves as vehicles, why are we using a mobile phone whilst riding? If it were a driver using a mobile phone, good lord, the driver would be blasted left right and centre. Talk about hypocrites…
- Michele
  
  I blame Kim Kardashian.
  - Dave
    
    Cyclists were narcissists long before KK, only now they have smartphones.