Reigning world marathon cross-country champion Christoph Sauser and his young teammate Burry Stander grabbed the overall lead of South Africa’s Absa Cape Epic in winning the race’ stage 1 from Knysna to George. The Rocky Mountain duo of Pia Sundstedt and Alison Sydor took the victory in the women’s race, also moving into the overall lead with seven stages remaining.
Kurt-Asle Arvesen (CSC) is one of those riders who can be counted on to work into breakaways and win. He pulled off a stunning victory last year in stage 8 in the Giro d’Italia against Paolo Bettini in the rainbow jersey and George Hincapie as part of a huge, 18-rider move. In 2005, he has two major close calls, finishing second in Paris-Tours and second to Paolo Savoldelli in a stage in Lance Armstrong’s last Tour de France. The 33-year-old Norwegian used all of his accumulated savvy Saturday to out-fox a six-man breakaway in the 51st E3 Prijs Vlaanderen in Belgium.
Those no-hope breakaways that inevitably get reeled in within sight of the finish line seem to be working more these days. Some say it’s a sign that the peloton is cleaning up and that attacking riders have more chances of winning. Others insist it’s business as usual, at least tactically, and that sometimes breakaways work, but usually not.
South Africa's Absa Cape Epic kicked off Friday, March 28, with a prologue around the port city of Knysna on the country's Western Cape. Saturday saw the riders tackle a 123km journey to the inland town of George. Lucky for us, South Africa's trails and forests provide a spectacular backdrop to a remarkable race.
Silence-Lotto’s Cadel Evans won the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, which finished with the fifth and final stage over 169.1 kilometers from Castellarano to Sassuolo on Saturday. Emanuele Sella won the final stage by holding off the fast charging Stefano Garzelli and Vincenzo Nibali at the finish. Sella surprised all by breaking for home with just over one kilometer still to ride. Garzelii and Nibali were trying to overhaul Evans in the overall standings but the Australian held on to win by 17 seconds ahead of Garzelli, with Nibali third at 1:15.
Joshua Liberles (Colavita-New Mexico-JNF) and Melissa McWhirter (Colavita-Arizona) took the honors on Friday as the 22nd Tucson Bicycle Classic kicked off with the Old Tucson/McCain Loop Road Time Trial. Liberles finished the 3-mile course, which featured a pair of stiff climbs, in seven minutes and 35 seconds. Drew Miller (Landis-Trek) took second at three seconds back with Phillip Gaimon (Fiordifrutta) third at eight seconds. McWhirter won the women’s race in eight minutes, 16 seconds, with Sarah Swanson (Summit Velo) second at 0:22 and Melanie Meyers (Specialized) third at 0:27.
The Beijing Olympic mountain bike course is punctuated by short, steep, smooth climbs that favor a powerful rider like Giant’s Adam Craig. The descents on the Chinese course, too, are smooth. It’s the sort of terrain that doesn’t offer advantage to Craig’s Anthem Advanced full suspension bike; rather it calls for a light, stiff frame able to transfer maximum power on smooth trails. Giant just delivered on Craig’s special request for an Olympic hardtail.
Foggy racing in California
Rding in Vermont in early spring
Despite suffering a mechanical near the finish, Rock Racing's Oscar Sevilla scored a win in the opening stage of the San Dimas stage race, a 3.8-mile uphill time trial in San Gabriel Canyon. While losing more than 30 seconds as he fixed his bike, Sevilla managed a seven-second win over second-placed Peter Stetina (VMG-Felt), who now leads the under-25 category. In the pro women's division, team High Road's Mara Abbott and Kimberly Anderson took top honors, finish first and second, with times of 15:27 and 16:13 respectively.
Far from the hullabaloo and pre-Olympic hype surrounding Great Britain’s track team, Jennie Reed of the United States was quietly making her resolute way into the medal positions in the women's sprint finals. Reed, 29, has maintained the good form that took her to runner's up spot in the sprints in the Los Angeles World Cup earlier this year, where she also won the keirin.
Britain's Chris Hoy made a mark in track cycling’s history books by winning his first try at a world sprint title in Manchester, England, on Friday Hoy, the reigning world keirin champion and a former kilometer and team sprint champion, claimed the gold medal ahead of Frenchman Kevin Sireau in a tense two-round final. Sireau, racing in white as the reigning World Cup sprint champion, finished second to claim the silver with his French compatriot Mickael Bourgain claiming the bronze after a two-leg victory over Italian Roberto Chiappa.
Comin' and goin' at the Exeter, CA ITT
Defending Tour de France champion Alberto Contador denied rumors Friday he was preparing to jump ship to defend his title in July with another team. Moments after securing the overall title at the Vuelta a Castilla y León on Friday’s fifth and final stage, Contador told reporters he won’t change teams to race the Tour even though Astana has been denied entry into the race.
If I were to write the perfect classified ad to recruit top female athletes to track cycling it would look like this:
Tired of your current sport? You might have an Olympic future in Cycling! Oarswomen, listen up – Rebecca Romero of England came from a top career as a single sculler to win a silver medal in cycling in less than 365 days. Add another year to that and she’s a double World Cycling Champion, supported by the best funding in women’s cycling. And to top it off, the crowds and media LOVE her, she’s a national hero. What more could a girl want?