In this morning’s edition of the CyclingTips Daily News Digest: Nacer Bouhanni takes a second stage win at the Dauphine, Dennis retains overall lead; Paddy Bevin wins stage 4 of the Tour de Korea, Ewan still in yellow; Annamiek van Vleuten wins Euskal Emakumeen Bira prologue; LottoNL-Jumbo becomes third team to quit MPCC over disagreement with regulations; After California success, Sagan looking forward ‘to having more fun’ in Tour de Suisse; Cancellara in doubt for Tour de Suisse; Nibali - Aru not ready for the Tour de France; Dowsett keen to tackle Wiggins’ hour record; Fan’s-eye view of Wiggins breaking the hour record; The Win Tunnel - Aero At Slow Speeds; Trailer for The Program, the Stephen Frears’ Armstrong biopic.
Nacer Bouhanni takes a second stage win at the Dauphine, Dennis retains overall lead
Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) has dashed to his second stage victory in this year’s Criterium du Dauphine, beating Jonas van Genechten (IAM) and Luka Mezgec (Giant-Alpecin) at the end of the 228km stage into Sisteron.
The stage featured a two-rider breakaway for most of its duration, with Martijn Keizer (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Tosh Van der Sande (Lotto Soudal) building a lead that was as much as five minutes with only 30km left to race. The gap was closed down quickly, however, as several teams started to work hard on the front of the peloton.
After several riders made a late attempt to get free of the surging peloton the race was all back together for the sprint to the line.
Overall leader Rohan Dennis (BMC) finished comfortably in the bunch and will wear yellow again on today’s fifth stage of the eight-stage race. All four of the remaining stages feature an uphill finish including the 6.2km ascent to Pra-Loup to end stage 5.
Stage 4: Anneyron > Sisteron - Stage Result
Wednesday 10th June 2015
| 1. |  |
BOUHANNI Nacer
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
|
05:30:53 |
| 2. |  |
VAN GENECHTEN Jonas
IAM Cycling
|
- |
| 3. |  |
MEZGEC Luka
Team Giant - Alpecin
|
- |
Bouhanni
Dennis
Teklehaimanot
Bouhanni
Dennis
BMC Racing TeamClick here to read more via AFP/VeloNews.
Paddy Bevin wins stage 4 of the Tour de Korea, Ewan still in yellow
Paddy Bevin (Avanti) has won stage 4 of the Tour de Korea, edging out dual stage winner and overall leader Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) with Ewan’s teammate Adam Blythe finishing third.
Five riders comprised the day’s breakaway — Didier Alonso (Nippo-Vini Fantini), Gong Hyosuk (KSPO), Jeong Cheunggyo (Korail Cycling Team), Hamid Beykkhorzimi (Pishgaman Giant Team) and Kim Dohyoung (Seoul Cycling Team) — and the quintet managed to build a lead that reached eight minutes in hot, humid and windy conditions.
But with Orica-GreenEdge, Drapac and Avanti doing the chasing back in the bunch the leaders were eventually caught with 8km to race, setting things up for a bunch kick.
#TDK2015 Stage 4: @AvantiRacing @PaddyBevin wins today's stage and @CalebEwan @ORICA_GreenEDGE comes a close second pic.twitter.com/s3CnloiAmK
— Tour de Korea 2015 (@TourdeKoreaEN) June 10, 2015
Ewan’s second place ensures he holds on to the overall lead, plus the lead in the points classification and the best young rider classification. Today’s fifth stage of the eight-stage race takes the peloton 175km from Yeosu to Gangjin with a 2.4km climb peaking less than 5km before the finish.
Stage 4: Muju > Yeosu - Stage Result
Wednesday 10th June 2015
| 1. |  |
BEVIN Patrick
Avanti Racing Team
|
05:19:55 |
| 2. |  |
EWAN Caleb
Orica GreenEDGE
|
- |
| 3. |  |
BLYTHE Adam
Orica GreenEDGE
|
- |
Annamiek van Vleuten wins Euskal Emakumeen Bira prologue
by Jessi Braverman
Dutch time trial champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Bigla) has won the opening stage of Euskal Emakumeen Bira on Wednesay night, stopping the clock at 2:29 in the 1.9km prologue time trial. Australia’s Kat Garfoot (Orica-AIS) was second ahead of Anna van der Breggen (Rabo-Liv).
“I’m really happy,” said van Vleuten in a team statement. “I felt strong. It’s always great to win, especially when you come as one of the favorites for the prologue. I know that I am good over this distance but I also knew I couldn’t make any mistakes.”
Although the opener has provided an early sorting of the general classification, the top ten riders remained tightly grouped. Garfoot sits only one second behind van Vleuten. Van der Breggen is one second further afield. Six seconds separate van Vleuten in first and her teammate Ashleigh Moolman in tenth place. Orica-AIS and Rabo \-Liv each have three riders in the top ten. Boels-Dolmans and Bigla have two apiece.
Euskal Emakumeen Bira continues on Wednesday with a 96.8 kilometre road stage that starts and finishes in Arrasate. The first two-thirds of the stage are slightly lumpy. The final third includes an eight kilometre climb with gradients that extend into the double digits.
Prologue: Iurreta > Iuretta - Stage Result
Wednesday 10th June 2015
| 1. |  |
VAN VLEUTEN Annemiek
Bigla Pro Cycling Team
|
00:02:29 |
| 2. | |
GARFOOT Katrin
Orica - AIS
|
0:01 |
| 3. | |
VAN DER BREGGEN Anna
Rabobank-Liv Woman Cycling Team
|
0:02 |
Click here to read more at Ella CyclingTips.
LottoNL-Jumbo becomes third team to quit MPCC over disagreement with regulations
by Shane Stokes
Emphasising that it supports the philosophy of the MPCC anti-doping movement, the LottoNL-Jumbo team has nevertheless said that it is withdrawing from the group due to a disagreement over the rule requiring riders with low cortisol levels to take a break from competition.
The squad had first-hand experience of this situation prior to the Giro d’Italia, with the Kiwi rider George Bennett being blocked from competing. Pre-race cortisol tests detected that his levels were low and, as per MPCC rules, the team was unable to keep him on its roster for the race. However Bennett said on May 28 that tests had determined that his low levels were caused by his ‘legal, declared and prescribed’ asthma and allergy medication.
The team issued a long statement on Wednesday explaining why it was withdrawing from the body with immediate effect.
“Bennett underwent several additional tests, which proved that he was kept out of the Giro unjustly. This, as well as advice from external experts, shows that the MPCC procedure is not a 100% accurate. There has been a lot of contact between the team and the MPCC. Team LottoNL-Jumbo cannot conform to a procedure that is not 100% accurate. The team supports the MPCC’s standpoints and, for this reason, regrets this difficult decision.”
In leaving the MPCC, LottoNL-Jumbo joins Lampre-Merida and Bardiani-CSF, who both quit in the past three months.
Click here to read more at CyclingTips.
After California success, Sagan looking forward ‘to having more fun’ in Tour de Suisse
by Shane Stokes
Returning to action after putting in one of the most impressive rides of his career in the Tour of California, Peter Sagan has the sound of a rider who suddenly has had a lot of pressure taken off his shoulders. The Tinkoff-Saxo rider will recommence racing in the Tour de Suisse on Saturday, and will received the full backing of the team in his bid for stage victories in the run up to the Tour de France.
In contrast to the stress he was under when trying to get back into winning form heading into California, he heads into Switzerland knowing that he has already won big and will be without that same pressure.
“I’m very happy and excited to take part in the Tour de Suisse,” he said. “I’m back racing in Europe and I feel in very good shape. After a very positive Tour of California, I look forward to having more fun with the guys in Switzerland”, Sagan said.
“With the form Peter Sagan has been showing, he’ll naturally have the support from the team to go for stage wins,” directeur sportif Sean Yates said. “It’s a race that suits him well with several lumpy stage finishes and we know that Peter is very good at sprinting uphill.”
“Looking at the profile of the prologue, it suits Peter as well, so he could win there and take the yellow jersey, where we would then defend it to a certain extent.”
Click here to read more at CyclingTips.
Cancellara in doubt for Tour de Suisse
Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing), meanwhile, might have to miss the Tour de Suisse due to a bacterial throat infection.
The ailment will keep Cancellara out of today’s GP Kanton Aargau-Gippingen, the traditional curtain-raiser for the Tour de Suisse, and the Swiss powerhouse might miss his home tour as well.
“The medical staff of the team advised against participating in the race on Thursday,” a Trek Factory Racing statement read. “It is unclear whether Cancellara will be able to start at the Tour de Suisse. We will update you when there is more news.”
Cancellara didn’t ride the Spring Classics after fracturing a verebra at E3 Harelbeke. He returned to racing at Tour des Fjords last month. He won the Tour de Suisse in 2009 and has a total of 10 stage wins to his name.
Click here to read more at Cyclingnews.
Nibali: Aru not ready for the Tour de France
Defending champion Vincenzo Nibali has ruled his Astana teammate Fabio Aru out of contention for this year’s Tour de France, saying the 24-year-old won’t be in the right condition after finishing second in the Giro.
“In the future, he could come to the Tour de France, but this year, it’s not a good idea,” Nibali said at a press conference at the Critérium du Dauphiné.
“He spent a lot of energy at the Giro and the level here is so high at the Tour. If he were to do the Tour he would need a different preparation, but it could certainly happen next year.”
Click here to read more at Cycling Weekly.
Dowsett keen to tackle Wiggins’ hour record
Former UCI hour record holder Alex Dowsett (Movistar) has said he would like to have another go at the prestigious record and take back the title from Bradley Wiggins. Dowsett took the record last month when he covered 52.937km but last Sunday Wiggins went considerably further, pushing the record out to 54.526km.
“Wiggins ride was really impressive,” Dowsett told Cyclingnews. “We expected, everyone expected, massive things from him and he delivered. It was really good to watch and if anyone was going to take my record it was always going to be Bradley. I think it’s exactly what we expected.”
“It’s down to the management, it’s a big thing to organise an Hour Record. Personally I would like to have another crack. I’ve got a lot of time on my side though. It’s a huge ask. At 52.9 kilometres I made no bones about it, that it was a controlled effort from me. However the next step, it’s exponential to step from that to 54.5 is going to be massive, so it’s not something I want to rush into. So it would be something to look at over the next eight or nine years.”
“I would like to have another go because it was something I enjoyed doing, if just to better my own time, to take on something as monumental as Bradley’s record, it needs to be very well planned and executed.”
Click here to read more at Cyclingnews.
Fan’s-eye view of Wiggins breaking the hour record
Speaking of the hour record, check out this fan-shot video of Wiggins setting the new mark on Sunday. It gives you a real sense of the atmosphere inside the velodrome and of the speed at which Wiggins is riding.
The Win Tunnel - Aero At Slow Speeds
In this episode of The Win Tunnel Chris and Cam from Specialized look at aerodynamic efficiency and high and low speeds and compare the benefits.
Trailer for The Program, the Stephen Frears’ Armstrong biopic
Director Stephen Frears’ Lance Armstrong biopic isn’t too far away and the first trailer from the film has just been released. It’s in German and as far as we’re aware there isn’t an English version just yet. That said, it’s still more than worth a look.
What You Missed
And finally this morning, here are a few things you might have missed at CyclingTips in the past few days:
- The Secret Pro on the Giro: ‘There were days when you’d just despair’
- Bone density and the female cyclist: Mum was right about drinking your milk
- Daily News Digest: Wednesday June 10
