2012 Cycling Thread

[Adam]

Big year in cycling potentially for the British riders, Team Sky have acquired several HTC riders, most notably Mark Cavendish of course, and Wiggins, Cavendish and Boasson Hagen have all had pretty good starts to the year. Of course yesterday Wiggins sealed the Paris-Nice title after a terrific performance all week; he did a great job to retain the lead and take the title by winning the final stage. Today Chris Boardman has tipped Wiggins for possible Tour de France glory, and of course it's an Olympic year as well.

So yes...who here enjoys their cycling? I know we've got a few...

[Adam]

I don't care if I'm the only one who ever posts in here

David Millar breaks right clavicle

David Millar suffers broken collarbone in Belgium

British cyclist David Millar has fractured his right collarbone in a crash while competing in Belgium.

The 35-year-old, who is waiting to hear if can appear at the London Olympics after being banned for doping, was taking part in the E3 Harelbeke race for his team Garmin-Barracuda.

Team doctor Kevin Sprouse said: "David has fractured his right clavicle. This is the same one he's broken before."

A team spokesman said it was not known how long he would be sidelined for.

Sprouse added: "His health is our top priority and we'll continue to evaluate him to determine the best next steps. David is doing well and in good spirits."

Millar, who admitted taking the blood-boosting drug EPO in 2004, is currently banned from competing at this summer's 2012 Olympics because of a British Olympic Association (BOA) by-law which prevents drug cheats from competing at the Games.

However, the by-law has been challenged by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), who say it is not compliant with the Wada code and is therefore unenforceable.

A special hearing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) began earlier this month, with a decision on the matter due in April.

Friday's 203km E3 Harelbeke, a one-day World Tour race, was won by Belgian Tom Boonen. The Omega Pharma-Quickstep rider edged out three-time world champion Oscar Freire in a sprint finish.

Edited March 23, 2012 by AdamDRFC

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Millar breaking his collar bone is disappointing. He was going to get a run through the classics this year and could have either placed or been a strong team member in them.

As usual BBC fills half of the article with his previous drugs and can he/can't he ride in the Olympics. Millar has repeatedly said that he doesn't think about the Olympics and gave up on them years ago.

Compare this to the cyclingnews article:

David Millar's Classics campaign is over after the Garmin-Barracuda rider crashed and broke his right collarbone in E3 Harelbeke. It's the second time the Brit has sustained a clavicle break, having crashed out of the 2009 edition of Paris-Nice with the same injury on the same side.

"I got out of the car at the crash and I saw David. It looked like his shoulders were at different angles," Garmin-Barracuda's team director Allan Peiper told Cyclingnews at the finish of the race.

"I asked him what he thought, and he said he thought it was broken.

"I don't know how bad the break is. It may mend by itself it may need an operation. All those things come into the equation. The Classics could be over in that sense so it means moving onto the next objective for David and shuffling the team a little bit."

Which is more informative.

Great news with Boonen winning at E3 though. Love that guy, he's on great form this season.

Oh and the Tour de France route this year will be the best ever for Wiggins but he won't win it.

So to conclude: Yay for Boonen, boo for Millar....and I hate Sky, even more now they've taken Cavendish and automatically taken away some of my love for him.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Tom Boonen takes Gent-Wevelgem! Great sprint finish from the lad. Sagan takes second and Matti Breschel takes third.

The Spanish champ Rojas was sprinting like a total liability, swerving all over the road and crashed into a BMC rider in the final burst for the line. Serves him right for terrible sprint form, feel sorry for the BMC guy who could have taken a top 10 placing.

Still, huzzah for Boonen and his great form continues - the best he's been in a few years.

In fact, the top five is full of top classic riding quality:

1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep

2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale

3 Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team

4 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team

5 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Boonen just won the Tour of Flanders - one of the biggest one day races (probably only second to Paris-Roubaix really).

Alessandro Ballan got away on a 2km cobbled climb just less than 20km from the end. Filippo Pozzato and Tom Boonen chased after him and the three formed a group that was never caught - then in the last 3km Ballan (the weaker sprinter) was trying to engineer a sneaky attack so they were all slowing down, speeding up, zigzagging around the road...then Ballan opened up the sprint, Boonen went past and Pozzato took second but just couldn't overtake Boonen. Pretty rubbish race until the last 30km though - they've changed the course this year and taken out pretty much the most famous climb.

Oh and Fabian Cancellara had a horrible crash with 61km to go (was laid out on the road for ages and taken off in an ambulance) and Gilbert was rubbish.

1. Boonen

2. Pozzato

3. Ballan

4. Van Avermaet

5. Sagan (who has positioned in pretty much every big spring race so far)

The rest of the top ten was the usual who's who of strong classics riders (like Breschel, Voeckler and Chavanel).

The crowd at the finish line was great. When Boonen won they were all celebrating like Belgium had scored a goal in the World Cup. I love the Belgian fans.

[Adam]

Is Cancellara alright? Sounded nasty that.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Fractured his collarbone in four places. He's out of surgery and will be fine. Should be back and riding in a few months but will miss the rest of the spring classics.

[Lineker]

Great Britain have won gold in a new world record in the Men's Endurance Team Pursuit at the Track Cycling World Championships in Melbourne. The team of Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Peter Kennaugh and Geraint Thomas set a new best time of 3:53.295 seconds.

[Adam]

Victoria Pendleton wins sprint gold despite crash

Victoria Pendleton picked herself off the floor to record a brilliant semi-final victory over Australia's Anna Meares en route to world sprint gold.

Pendleton suffered track burns after a crash in her first best-of-three semi-final heat against arch-rival Meares.

The Briton struck back to reach the final in Melbourne, where officials relegated Lithuania's Simona Krupeckaite to hand her gold.

"I was right next to her: I heard it, saw it and felt it, the vibrations through the wood. Even if she'd held it up, she'd probably have been relegated for moving out, just as I was in the second round. I then made a technical error in the second round and a tactical error in the third. It's so deflating."

"That's not necessarily the way I'd like to win, in an ideal scenario, with relegations and stuff. It always feels a bit weird and not very true to the sport, but those are the rules.

"I'm delighted with the result. I didn't think it was going to happen coming into today. It's great to end on a high."

Pendleton intends to retire after the London Olympics and will now do so with nine career world titles to her name, including six in the sprint.

To keep her hopes of winning this one alive, she first had to peel her battered right side up from the Hisense Arena track. She clashed arms with Meares in the midst of a frantic finish to their first semi-final heat, sending the 31-year-old crashing down and burning her right shoulder, elbow and hip on the wooden surface.

"It's not too bad. I lost my balance, went too far in one direction and lost my traction," she said.

"My dad always said you don't do track cycling unless you're prepared to crash. I slid quite nicely, which sounds random, and I felt fine. I could tell it was just surface wounds."

Meares told BBC Sport: "I'm getting sick of meeting Vicky in the semi-final, it's making it really hard. For her to pick herself up after that heavy fall and come back as hard as she did is a mark of the woman and the great champion that she is."

Olympic champion Pendleton against world champion Meares is the London 2012 sprint final to which track cycling fans and the media have been eagerly building ever since Beijing 2008, where they finished first and second respectively.

If the Australian has recently appeared out of Pendleton's league on one or two occasions, the latter laid her body on the line to prove more than Meares' match in Melbourne.

Officials relegated Meares from the second heat for straying outside her racing line, levelling the score at 1-1.

Pendleton - burns showing through large holes in her GB skinsuit - then upstaged the 28-year-old Meares in a spectacular deciding heat, winning in a photo finish.

The final against Krupeckaite, last year's silver medallist, felt predestined for Pendleton in front of a muted Australian crowd.

But the victory came in odd circumstances. Pendleton won heat one and Krupeckaite seemed to have levelled in the second race before the Lithuanian, too, was relegated in identical circumstances to Meares.

Pendleton, already off the track and preparing for a deciding heat when the relegation and her consequent victory were announced, fell into an emotional celebration as she won Britain a third gold medal of the week in Olympic events (fourth overall). Meares took the bronze.

"I was disappointed with the team sprint [on Wednesday, when Pendleton and Jess Varnish failed to earn a medal]," said Pendleton.

"It left me flat, I must admit. Picking myself up for this was quite hard. I thought this was going to be a stepping-stone and I hoped I might do a better performance than I did at the London World Cup.

"I feel I did that and I'm more than pleased."

Elsewhere on Friday, Sir Chris Hoy took a lengthy route to the men's sprint semi-finals, where he will now face team-mate Jason Kenny.

The Scot first came through a repechage round following an early defeat by France's Mickael Bourgain, then edged past Germany's Robert Foerstemann in their deciding quarter-final heat, which also required a photo to separate the pair.

Kenny defeated Frenchman Kevin Sireau in their last-eight decider with a bold, early bid for the line to set up an all-British semi-final on Saturday. The outcome of that race could help to decide which of the pair rides in the sprint at the Olympics, with only one slot available.

In the six-event men's omnium, Britain's Ed Clancy lost some ground on his rivals with seventh place in event five, the scratch race, eventually claiming fourth overall despite a strong time trial to finish.

Britain's Dani King took fourth place in the non-Olympic women's scratch race, having been part of the women's pursuit team that won world gold a day earlier.

There's video of the final decider and the dramatic semi-final - I cannot believe how marginal the width of victory was for Pendleton there against Meares, astounding stuff. It did seem a little harsh in the final on Krupeckaite as well, it's a shame we didn't get to see a true final heat for the gold medal. But well done to Vicky Pendleton, she looks in good shape to compete well at the Olympics.

Edited April 6, 2012 by AdamDRFC

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I love Pendleton.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Let's have a brief look at the final results of a tough little 1 week Spanish stage race the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco 2012.

Basically while the classics riders do Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Amstel Gold etc, the strong climbers ride through a few meaty little week long hilly stage races. al Pais Vasco is one of them and my favourite Spanish rider Samuel Sanchez won it with a great time trial in the last stage. My fave Italian Damiano Cunego got fourth overall.

1 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 20:58:15

2 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team 0:00:12

3 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:00:42

4 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:00:47

5 Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:00:54

6 Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Sky Procycling 0:01:03

7 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:07

8 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:01:19

9 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 0:01:27

10 Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha Team 0:01:29

[EddieG]

Is that not your favorite Dutchman in third?

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Come on, everyone's favourite Dutch rider is Johnny Hoogerland.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

BOOOOOONEN!

50km solo break. Legendary. Fourth Paris-Roubaix win and only the second rider in history to manage that.

[EddieG]

So for years of seeing Andy Murray being referred to as Scottish/British depending on his performances, today is the first time I found out Cavendish was from the Isle Of Man. He was always a British rider when he was doing well, but he fell today in the Giro and BBC are sure to report he's from the IoM.

[Adam]

He only fell today because of Ferrari's reckless riding. To be fair anyway, I think of Cav being Manx as more a quirky fact about him than I think of it meaning he isn't British in any way, bit different from Scotland not that I ever do anything but support Andy Murray anyway.

Same goes for any of our athletes who weren't born on our shores. Heather Watson is from Guernsey, Laura Robson born in Melbourne. To bring it back round to cycling David Millar was born in Malta I believe.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Millar's from everywhere. His folks are from the UK, his father was an RAF pilot and Millar was born in Malta while his dad was stationed there. They moved back to Scotland then to the UK when still young and then when his parents divorced, he moved to Hong Kong to live with his father at 13.

He's Scottish though and is very proud of it. His accent is all over the place though, pretty English.

Ferrari's move today was appalling. Terrible and I hope he's fined or kicked out of the tour.

[Adam]

He was demoted to last place in today's race, so perhaps that's as far as it went. I'm glad Cav was alright to pick his bike up and cross the finish line, because it could've been a very nasty incident indeed.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

The cyclists on twitter are demanding that he should be removed from the race. Renshaw was after his headbutting with Dean a couple of years ago on the Tour de France and that was a much less serious offence.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Millar: What's crazy about Ferraridiot is that it will be a surprise if the UCI throw him off the race.

Geraint Thomas: You can get suspended in football for a 2 footed challenge,or a spear tackle in rugby. Kick Ferrari out Giro for crashing 10guys at 60kph!!!

Greg Henderson: That was a madmans move by Ferrari. Unbelievable. That is what make bunch sprinting dangerous. Guys like him.

Michael Barry: Riders should be heavily fined and suspended for putting their co-workers livelihoods and lives at risk in the peloton. It happens too often

Let's hope @taylorphinney and @MarkCavendish aren't too badly hurt. Inexcusable move by Ferrari.

Mark Renshaw: I was hoping the left side would open to start my sprint but it didnt. Glad I didn't go right now, would have been taken out by a Ferrari.

Congrats to @mattgoss1986 on the win, also hope @MarkCavendish is ok after that fall. That was one wild move. #igotsenthome for much less.

Mark Cavendish: Ouch! Crashing at 75kph isn't nice! Nor is seeing Roberto Ferrari's manoeuvre. Should be ashamed to take out Pink, Red & World Champ jerseys

Apparently Roberto Ferrari has said to journalists, when asked about the incident, that he can't see what happens behind him & doesn't care.

Is the team of Roberto Ferrari or the UCI going to do the right thing? Other riders, including myself, have been sent home for much less.