Cancellara wins stage two of Tour of Oman
Blasting home to take his first-ever stage win in the Tour of Oman and also his first victory of the season, Fabian Cancellara showed that he has worked hard over the winter and is staying true to his vow to win more races in 2015.
The Trek Factory Racing rider beat Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) and fifteen others on the uphill finish to Al Bustan.
“I am really super happy and satisfied about this win. It’s a deserved win and gives a lot of confidence for us,” he said afterwards. “We were already good in Qatar but missed a few occasions and never had the result, and this confirms everything.
“We did a really good meeting yesterday to wake up and motivate everyone again, and today everyone did great. Today is the benefit of everyone doing his job, and that allows me to stay calm during the race; now we got the win and that is really amazing.”
The stage saw a break by Gatis Smukulis (Katusha), Enrico Barbin (Bardiani CSF), stage one aggressor Jef Van Meirhaeghe (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise) and his teammate Preben Van Hecke.
Smukulis later pushed ahead from this group but was unable to fend off the chase. Cancellara was able to stick with an attack from Valverde and scooped both the stage and the overall lead. He is now four seconds clear of his Spanish rival.
Stage 2: Al Hazm Castle > Al Bustan - Stage Result
Wednesday 18th February 2015
| 1. |  |
CANCELLARA Fabian
Trek Factory Racing
|
04:36:46 |
| 2. |  |
VALVERDE Alejandro
Movistar Team
|
- |
| 3. |  |
VAN AVERMAET Greg
BMC Racing Team
|
- |
Cancellara
Cancellara
Cancellara
Konrad
BMC Racing TeamMeersman scoops first stage of Volta ao Algarve
Already successful this year in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean road race, Gianni Meersman (Etixx-Quickstep) added a second win to his tally when he sprinted in first at the end of stage one of the Volta ao Algarve.
#VoltaAlgarve Stage 1: @GianniMeersman wins in Albufeira, Styby & Kwiato 5th & 9th! http://t.co/N6WVkNjdN5 #TDWSPORT pic.twitter.com/c3h48NZpjn
— Etixx - Quick-Step (@Etixx_QuickStep) February 18, 2015
The Belgian rider judged his sprint perfectly and beat Ben Swift (Sky), Paul Maertens (LottoNL-Jumbo) plus the rest of the peloton to the line in Albufeira.
He took the first leader’s jersey at the end of the 168 kilometre stage from Lagos, and also notched up win number ten for his Etixx-QuickStep team.
“I was 20th position or something, but I stayed calm because a lot of guys were going full gas into a headwind,” Meersman said, describing the lead up to the sprint. “You can never hold that kind of effort for long into a headwind. So I moved up a little bit, and then at the top of the uphill part of the finish they slowed down a little bit. I accelerated at that point.”
He said he was helped by world champion Michal Kwiatkowski and Zdenek Stybar, with both putting him in the right place as the sprint opened up.
He dedicated the win both to his family and also to the former world champion Claude Criquielion, who passed away on Wednesday.
“I didn’t know him personally, but know he was a big champion,” he said. “It is a sad day for Belgian cycling.”
He is four seconds clear of Swift heading into stage two.
Stage 1: Lagos > Albufeira - Stage Result
Wednesday 18th February 2015
| 1. | |
MEERSMAN Gianni
Etixx - Quick Step
|
04:13:53 |
| 2. |  |
SWIFT Ben
Team Sky
|
- |
| 3. |  |
MARTENS Paul
Team LottoNL-Jumbo
|
- |
Gonzalez SalasContador holds race lead heading into day two of Vuelta a Andalucia
Although he tried to downplay his chances of overall victory – as he often does – Alberto Contador ended day one of the Vuelta a Andalucia in the red jersey of race leader.
The Tinkoff-Saxo rider avoided a number of huge crashes on the morning’s 121.3 kilometre first stage to Hinojos, rolling in 19th and in the same time as the lone winner Pim Ligthart of the Lotto - Soudal team.
Trek Factory Racing’s Fabio Silvestre was two seconds back in second place.
Contador then pushed to the fore in the 8.2 kilometre afternoon time trial to Coria del Río, netting fourth, six seconds behind the winner Javier Moreno (Movistar Team) and four behind the second-placed rider Wilco Kelderman (Team Lotto NL – Jumbo).
Chris Froome (Sky) lost eight seconds to Contador in finishing tenth.
“I’m happy because this has been a good day overall,” said Contador. “Not as much for the result I achieved, which is always welcome, but mainly for the feeling I had regarding my form. Leading the GC is, obviously, a good start, but it isn’t significant. The differences between the riders are minute and we still have many kilometers ahead of us.”
He added that he considered himself very lucky to miss one of the crashes on stage one, being just four slots behind riders who hit the deck.
He will begin Thursday’s second stage level on time with the talented young rider Bob Jungels of the Trek Factory Racing team.
1984 world champion Claude Criquielion passes away at 58 years of age
Three days after suffering a severe stroke, the 1984 world road race champion Claude Criquielion has sadly lost his battle for life.
The 58 year old was reported as being in a deep coma following his illness and passed away at 9am Wednesday morning in the General Municipal hospital in Aalst.
His death was confirmed by the Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, who described him as ‘a great champion.’
The Belgian rider competed as a professional between 1979 and 1991 and reached his zenith when he took the world road race championship at Barcelona in 1984.
Click here for the full story on CyclingTips.
Deep muscular injury for Frank Schleck after Vuelta a Andalucia crash
Hoping for a solid performance in the race after netting a solid ninth in the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana last month, Frank Schleck instead was forced to drop out of the first stage of the Vuelta a Andalucía due to a big crash.
The Trek Factory Racing rider was one of the worst affected in a fall towards the end of the opening 121.3 kilometre race from La Rábida/Palos de la Fra to Hinojos.
He finished 138th, seven minutes 35 seconds back, but was unable to continue in the afternoon stage 1b time trial due to his injuries.
“Frank came down in the second big crash inside the final ten kilometres,” explained team press officer Tim Vanderjeugd to CyclingTips. “It was the one where the Sky and Ag2r riders collided. It was like a tsunami in the bunch…so many riders came down.
“Frank’s leg was very sore afterwards…he actually couldn’t walk. He didn’t start the time trial, and went to hospital to have tests done.”
Click here to read the full story on CyclingTips.
Voigt calls for two week Tour of America, says Giro and Vuelta need to be shortened
Recently retired Trek Factory Racing rider Jens Voigt has called for a rejig of the calendar, saying that he believes there should be a two week Tour of America.
Speaking in recent days to a group of approximately 100 at a one and a half hour talk at Bicycle Habitat in Soho, the German justified the suggestion by saying that the country is a ‘huge market’ for cycling due to its population of 250 million people.
Voigt acknowledged that the calendar is already loaded with races. He suggested that the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España should each be shorted by a week to help free up the necessary space.
He suggested that this might be acceptable to those two events due to the financial shortages the organisers are currently facing due to the tough economic situation in Italy and Spain.
Voigt also spoke of his belief that women’s cycling should have a more equal status, both in terms of how it is regarded and also how it is funded.
He said that he had encouraged the Tour de France organiser Christian Prudhomme to increase the La Course race to two days. Looking further ahead, he hopes that will just be the start of a bigger evolution for the race.
“Maybe it will be two weeks at some point,” he suggested.
Click here to read the full story on Cyclists International.
Armstrong pleads guilty to careless driving
Following on from the news earlier this month that Lance Armstrong had been charged with crashing into two parked cars after an incident in Aspen on December 28, the former pro rider has pleaded guilty.
According to AP, the Texan entered his plea by mail last Friday under a plea agreement with prosecutors. Court records showed that he paid $238.50 to cover court fees plus a $150 fine. This agreement closed the case and avoided a court appearance.
The incident received attention as his girlfriend, Anna Hansen, originally claimed responsibility for the accident. She approached an Aspen resident who was related to those who had rented the two cars, speaking to him after he had called police to report a hit and run.
She apologised and said that she was driving, offering to pay for damages. She also told police she was behind the wheel, choosing to drive as Armstrong had been drinking.
However it later emerged that he had been driving. She admitted lying to police, saying that she wanted to keep their family out of the spotlight.
According to Deputy District Attorney Andrea Bryan, it is fairly common for people to reach plea deals in such cases and to enter pleas by mail.
He said that while careless driving can be punished by up to 90 days in jail, spending time behind bars is rare.
UCI dismisses allegation of bias against Astana and other Asian teams
Responding to allegations that it has acted in an unfair and biased way towards Asian cycling teams such as Astana, the UCI has categorically denied that this is the case.
Astana has been under pressure in recent months after two riders from its WorldTour squad plus a stagiaire tested positive, along with a further two riders from the similarly-named Continental team.
The acting president of the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC), Datuk Abu Samah Abdul Wahab, said that UCI president Brian Cookson told him about the claims after the 2015 ACC Congress meeting in Korat, Thailand, last week.
“This allegation was raised following a claim by a representative from Kazakhstan saying UCI was biased towards the Kazakhstan Cycling Federation (KCF) and Astana Pro Tour Team,” he stated, naming Allen Chaizhunussov as the individual in question.
He said that Chaizhunussov had claimed that UCI was not fair to both the KCF and the Astana WorldTour team. He had asked the Asian Cycling Confederation to protect the Kazakhstan Cycling Federation.
However Abu Samah stated that Cookson dismissed the allegation.
“Cookson explained that the question of UCI bullying Asian cycling teams did not arise, including KCF or the Astana Pro Team, and that in fact, UCI always cooperates with all parties around the world to fight against doping.”
He added that the UCI president told him he was prepared to give detailed explanations to both the KCF and the Astana Pro Team if required.
Click here to read the full story at the Malay Mail Online.
Video: The GCN Show Ep. 110
A roundup of some of the news, previews and action from the GCN crew.
3D printed bike - further off than hoped
3D printing is a technology that could change the world. At this point in time however, bikes may need to be made the traditional way.
When second-year Carleton University engineering students James Nugent and Michael Mackay-MacLaren decided to demonstrate the high-tech bicycle they had built using parts from a 3D printer, the plan was for Gabriel Wong to take the bike on a trial spin for the assembled media.
Best cycling flashmob ever?
We can’t all ride the Tour de France, but every cyclist deserves a little crowd support on their commute to work.
What You Missed
And finally this morning, here are a few things you might have missed at CyclingTips in the past few days:
- Roadtripping Cairns
- Power2Max Type S Powermeter review
- Putting the hour record into perspective: How does an amateur compare?
- Daily News Digest: Wednesday February 18