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Giro d'Italia Week Two

5/17/2012

Images: Yuzuru Sunada

The Giro d'Italia remains a wide open race as it churns through the second week on the road. Photographer Yuzuru Sunada captures the imagery of the season's first grand tour.

Super Sagan Goes 4 for 4

5/16/2012

Stage 4 of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California started in Sonora, a first for the tour, and ended in Clovis after a 130.2-mile route that challenged the cyclists with six King of the Mountains (KOM) and two sprints. As the athletes skirted Yosemite, they encountered everything from climbs to twisty and technical descents, but very few sections of flat roadway. Peter Sagan (SVK) of Liquigas-Cannondale crossed the finish line first, taking his fourth stage win of the 2012 race and making Amgen Tour of California history (again) by becoming the most winningest rider with seven total stage wins.

Stage Four Results

1. Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale

2. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda

3. Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank

4. Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step

5. Roger Kluge (Ger) Argos-Shimano

Overall Standings After Stage 4

1. Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale

2. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda @16 seconds

3. Jeff Louder (USA) United Healthcare @34 seconds

4. Alex Howes (USA) Garmin-Barracuda @35 seconds

5. Fred Rodriguez…USA) Team Exergy @36 seconds

Ferrari Wins Giro's 11th Stage

5/16/2012

Italy's Roberto Ferrari of the Androni team won a sprint finish for the 11th stage of the Tour of Italy in Tuscany on Wednesday. Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez retained the overall leader's pink jersey after the 258km stage, the longest in this year's race, in which Italy's Francesco Chicchi was second just ahead of Lithuanian Tomas Vaitkus.

Britain's world champion Mark Cavendish finished fourth despite the Sky rider being well placed to challenge in third just 400 meters from the line when several riders fell coming out of the final bend. But the Briton could not match the final sprint of 29-year-old Ferrari, the rider who was responsible for Cavendish's fall during the third stage, and who achieved the biggest win of his career.

In a marathon stage lasting just under seven hours a group of five riders - Oliver Kaisen, Mickael Delage, Manuele Boaro, Stefan Denifl, Adrien Saez - broke away from the 10km mark and which lasted until the final kilometers.

Thursday's 12th stage covers 155km from Seravezza to Sestri Levante and includes one category two and two category three climbs the final just 11km from the finish line on the Ligurian coast in north western Italy.

Montecatini terme, Italy, May 16, 2012

1. Roberto Ferrari (ITA/AND) 6hr 49min 05sec (average: 37.840 km/h)
2. Francesco Chicchi (ITA/OPQ) same time
3. Tomas Vaitkus (LTU/GEC) s.t.
4. Mark Cavendish (GBR/SKY) s.t.
5. Manuel Belletti (ITA/ALM) s.t.
6. Giacomo Nizzolo (ITA/RSH) s.t.
7. Daniel Schorn (AUT/APP) s.t.
8. Arnaud Demare (FRA/FDJ) s.t.
9. Danilo Wyss (SUI/BMC) s.t.
10. Geoffrey Soupe (FRA/FDJ) s.t.

OSMO Nutrition

5/15/2012

The battle for your bottle is well and truly underway. We have the original players, from Gatorade to GU. This group consists of the brands that really paved the way in the hydration field - the Acccelerades, Hammers, Cytomaxs, to name but a few… These guys mix electrolytes with energy, combining hydration with calories. This thinking is being challenged by a new guard, companies that believe food, engineered or traditional, should provide energy and your bottle should be reserved for hydration. The tablet companies, NUUN and ZYM along with Allen Lim and his new Skratch brand have embraced this approach. While there are many differences among these companies the broad strokes are the same, the first group combine energy with hydration, the second want to keep it separate, each group believes their approach will result in better performance.

To this second group a serious new player has joined the fray, OSMO Nutrition. The name Stacy Sims may be familiar to some readers, she is OSMO’s Chief Research Officer and a PhD specializing in recovery, nutritional adaptation for health, body composition and performance. Dr. Sims has spent the last six years at Stanford as an exercise physiologist and sports nutritionist. She has worked with Lance Armstrong, Andy Schleck, Olympians, ultra swimmers and a slew of other high profile endurance athletes. The OSMO brand is based on the peer-reviewed research of Dr. Sims. For those of us familiar with the debate over global warming, we know what peer reviewed means. It is simply science that has been verified by other experts in the field, not products brewed up and sold base on the anecdotal evidence of athletes.

OSMO launched last week and announced four products, all aimed at hydration and recovery, but only one is aimed at your bottle. OSMO is really a hydration system, not simply a drink mix. There is a detailed routine to the product’s use and to truly get the most out of them they should be used together. OSMO begins with Preload, a hyper-hydrator, designed to be taken prior to exercise. Then comes Active, their low calorie ‘on bike’ mix. Following that comes Acute, your immediate post-ride recovery drink, which of course has calories and nutrients designed to start the recovery process. Finally OSMO offers Goodnight Recovery, a drink designed to promote deep recovery while you sleep, and help you get to sleep as well.

Each of these drinks and the method of use is designed to keep your body water at an optimum level for performance. According to OSMO if you are down 2% in body water you lose a whopping 11% in peak power output. The scary thing about this stat for cyclists is that at 2% you are only beginning to feel thirsty. Get really thirsty and your body water is lower and your power suffers even more. Starting rides properly hydrated may mean an end to those mystery bad days, when despite solid training and good rest you just don’t seem to be going well.

To ensure OSMO Active gets out of your stomach and to your cells as fast as possible it has been designed to have an osmolality lower than blood. That means it is actively pulled into your cells and, of course, where the brand’s name comes from. How’d the get it so low? By excluding all the calories and sugars in drinks that provide energy along with hydration.

OSMO uses nothing but top quality, organic ingredients. Think of them as the Whole Foods of the drink mix market. Of course, this also means you will pay Whole Foods prices. Both Pre-Load and Active are $25 each, that’s good for 10 and 20 servings respectively. Acute and Goodnight Recovery are $40 each, for 10 and 8 servings respectively. Some simple math reveals that a day of one serving of each product will cost $12.75. That is premium hydration. Look for a full review of OSMO, from flavors to effectiveness, soon.

To learn more about OSMO and the science behind it, head to osmonutrition.com. The information is compelling, inspiring and incredibly educational. Dr. Stacy Sims and OSMO are out to end hydration as normal. They have a unique angle, a unique marketing ploy - science, real, hard, peer-reviewed science.

Swift: Foxholes, Demons and Soldiers

5/15/2012

Foxholes

From the beginning, I've told people that we will need to come to Paris with every possible advantage, every possible bit of preparation covered off, the best possible training. And a lot of luck.

We can control so much – training, food, logistics, support, gear, and life balance – but at the end of the day, there are things that are out of our hands. I guess that's what makes it interesting. Just like the teams in the actual Tour de France race, we show up in the best possible form and then? We fucking pray.

I've been doing that a lot lately, which is curious because I don't actually believe in god. There are no atheists in foxholes.

Demons

Here's what is going to stop me from finishing this ride: my health. My immune system is notoriously mediocre. I was sick in January, sick for a week after returning from work in Belgium and I'm sick again now. Three times in five months: that's not the most convincing record. If I were a betting woman, not only would I not put money down on me, I'd probably shoot me and put me out of my misery.

Writing about my health tends to drive an onslaught of advice from all corners of the internet universe. Trust that I am in the good care of health providers and that it's nothing serious: I just get sick a lot. It's always been this way. I remember running the district cross-country championships with Fisherman's Friends lozenges tucked into my racing singlet.

I'm constantly disgusted in this inherent weakness in myself. In my inability to will myself into perfect health. People tell me that I'm overextended, that I try to do too much. Maybe they're right, but my (stubborn, irrational) position remains the same: I expect my body to keep up with my spirit and I'm disappointed when it doesn't.

We've all got demons and this is mine. I've been studying up on exorcism.

Soldiers

By this time next week, I'll be in Santa Rosa for our second and final training camp. We'll build up and receive our final bikes, we'll ride through the hills together, we'll take some photos, and we’ll hang out with sponsors and do interviews.

I need this camp.

I need to see everyone together and have everyone tell me that it's going to be ok: that we can do this, that I'll be well, that miracles can happen, that we're about to make six of them. I need a little sun and a lot of camaraderie.

I train like a soldier: ticking off workouts and hours with a sense of duty that I actually enjoy. But single soldiers don't win battles. I need an army and a battle cry.

Sagan Goes Three for Three

5/14/2012

Peter Sagan of Slovakia won his third-straight stage at the Tour of California Tuesday, surging past Aussie Heinrich Haussler who was runner-up for the third-consecutive day. Sagan sprinted into the lead in the last 100 yards, claiming victory in 4:50:49 and extending his lead in the USA's biggest cycling race.

"It's a surprise for me," said Sagan. "I want to say thank you to my team because they did very good work today."

Sagan, of the Liquigas-Cannondale team, had to swing wide to the right to finish off the 115.3 mile stage from San Jose to Livermore. Sagan now leads Haussler (Garmin-Barracuda) by 12 seconds overall, with five stages of the eight-stage race left. Tom Boonen of Belgium, the world's number one ranked cyclist, was third. Jeffry Louder is third overall, 24 seconds adrift of Sagan.

Tour of California Stage 3

1. Peter Sagan (SVK/Liquigas) 4:50:49

2. Heinrich Haussler (AUS) @ s.t.

3. Tom Boonen (BEL)

4. Alexander Candelario (USA)

5. Lloyd Mondory (FRA)

6. Freddy Rodriguez (USA)

7. Hugo Houle (CAN)

8. Koen De Kort (NED)

9. Michael Matthews (AUS)

10. Wesley Sulzberger (AUS)

General Classification After Stage 3

1. Peter Sagan (SVK/Liquigas) 14:34:54

2. Heinrich Haussler (AUS) @ .12

3. Jeffry Louder (USA) @ .24

4. Freddy Rodriguez (USA) @ .26

5. Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) @ s.t.

Rodriquez Takes Over at Giro

5/14/2012

Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez of the Katusha team took ownership of the leader's pink jersey after winning the 10th stage of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday. The Catalan, a noted climber, finished two seconds ahead of Poland's Bartsz Huzarski and Italian champion Giovanni Visconti at the end of the 186km ride from Civitavecchia to Assisi, which featured two short climbs in the closing 3,500 metres.

Italian Domenico Pozzovivo took fourth place at 6 seconds, just ahead of Frenchman John Gadret and Canadian former leader Ryder Hesjedal. Winner of the Fleche-Wallonne in April, Rodriguez showed all his explosive climbing abilities, leaving it until late on around the narrow streets of Assisi to reel in Dutchman Tom-Jelle Slagter to ensure his first Giro stage victory. For the 33-year-old Rodriguez, it is the first time he has worn the leader's jersey and he is a full 17 seconds ahead of Hesjedal, with Italian Paolo Tiralongo third at 32 seconds.

An early five-man breakaway built up a five-minute lead on the main peloton, but Hesjedal and his team reeled them back in 6.5km from the finish. Italy's Filippo Pozzato, who fractured his right wrist while causing a crash at the end of the ninth stage, did not start on Tuesday. Pozzato collided with Australian ace Matt Goss on Monday, bringing both men down and forcing British sprint specialist Mark Cavendish to take evasive action but without apparently injuring himself. Pozzato, the leader of the Farnese Vini team, later apologized for causing the crash.

Wednesday's 11th stage sees riders tackle a 255km run from Assisi to Montecatini Terme, in Tuscany, on largely flat terrain with two climbs, the second coming 11km from the finish line.

Giro d'Italia Stage 10

1. Joaquim Rodriguez (ESP/KAT) 4:25:05

2. Bartosz Huzarski (POL/APP) @ .02

3. Giovanni Visconti (ITA/MOV) @ S.t.

4. Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA/COG) @ .06

5. John Gadret (FRA/ALM) @ s.t.

6. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN/GRM)

7. Tom-Jelte Slagter (NED/RAB)

8. Dario Cataldo (ITA/OPQ)

9. Roman Kreuziger (CZE/AST)

10. Rigoberto Uran (COL/SKY)

General Classification After Stage 10

1. Joaquim Rodriguez (ESP/KAT) 40:27:34

2. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN/GRM) at @ .17

3. Paolo Tiralongo (ITA/AST) @ .32

4. Roman Kreuziger (CZE/AST) @ .52

5. Benat Intxausti (ESP/MOV) @ s.t.

6. Ivan Basso (ITA/LIQ) @ .57

7. Damiano Caruso (ITA/LIQ) @ 1:02

8. Dario Cataldo (ITA/OPQ) @ 1:03

9. Eros Capecchi (ITA/LIQ) @ 1:09

10. Rigoberto Uran (COL/SKY) @ 1:10

Pozzato Out of Giro

5/14/2012

Italy's Filippo Pozzato, who fractured his right wrist in a crash at the end of stage nine of the Giro d'Italia, did not start the 186km 10th. Pozzato collided with the Australian ace Matt Goss on Monday, bringing both men down and forcing British sprint specialist Mark Cavendish to take evasive action but without apparently injuring himself. Pozzato, the leader of the Farnese Vini team, later apologized for causing the crash.

peloton Issue 12 & the Italiano

5/14/2012

Take a look inside our classics inspired issue and a very special newspaper the evokes the magic of the Giro.

Sagan Scores Again in California

5/13/2012

Peter Sagan survived a 10-cyclist crash to retain the overall lead Monday after the second stage of the Amgen Tour of California. All of the fallen riders got up and returned to the race including Slovakia's Sagan who powered his way to the finish to win his second consecutive stage. The crash occurred 73 miles into the stage.

The stage took the starting field of 128 along the scenic California coastline. Sagan was timed in the 117.1-mile road race from San Francisco in five hours and two minutes and now leads the eight-day competition by eight seconds over Aussie Heinrich Haussler. Former Tour de France stage winner Haussler was second for the second straight day. He finished a half-dozen bike lengths back of Sagan. Leigh Howard was third.

Tour of California Stage 2

1. Peter Sagan (SVK/Liquigas) 5:02:00

2. Heinrich Haussler (AUS) @ s.t.

3. Leigh Howard (AUS)

4. Koen De Kort (NED)

5. Freddy Rodriguez (USA)

6. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL)

7. Lawson Craddock (USA)

8. Marc De Maar (NED)

9. Tom Dumoulin (NED)

10. Peter Velits (SVK)

General Classification After Stage 2

1. Peter Sagan (SVK/Liquigas) in 9:44:15.

2. Heinrich Haussler (AUS) @ .08

3. Leigh Howard (AUS) @ .13

4. Jeffry Louder (USA) @ .14

5. Freddy Rodriguez (USA) @ .16

6. Ben Jacques-Mayne (USA) @ s.t.

7. Marc De Maar (NED) @ .17

8. Markel Irizar Aranburu (ESP) @ .19

9. Joshua Atkins (NZL) @ s.t

10. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) @ .20

Ventoso Captures Stage 9 of Giro

5/13/2012

Spain's Francisco Ventoso (Movistar) claimed victory in the ninth stage of the Giro d'Italia in a sprint finish on Monday, with Canada's Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin) holding onto the leader's pink jersey. British world champion Mark Cavendish (Sky) was unable to take part in the sprint after being involved in a crash on the last bend.

With 400 meters remaining, Italy's Filippo Pozzato collided with the Australian Matt Goss (GreenEdge), bringing both men down and forcing Cavendish to take evasive action but without apparently injuring himself. Pozzato, the leader of the Farnese Vini team, apologized for causing the crash.

"It was my fault," Pozzato told Italian television channel RAI. "I was scared when Goss turned into the last bend and I touched the brakes. I apologize for causing the crash. I hope that Goss, who's a friend, and the other riders have no serious injuries. I hurt my side and I can't move one of my wrists, but I don't intend to withdraw."

Ventoso pipped Italians Fabio Felline and Giacomo Nizzolo on the line at the end of a flat 166km stage punctuated by occasional rain showers. Ventoso, 30, was celebrating his second career stage win in the Giro, having won a stage in last year's renewal in the same region of Italy.

"In the early sprints I found it tough to stay up at the front, because the peloton is very compact and the risks are greater," he said. "However, after a week, when the first one has been so tough as it has been in this Giro, things change. Realizing this, I decided to save my energy for the second week. In the final sprint I wasn't in a very good position but when the crash occurred I saw that I could benefit from it and I launched my effort."

Earlier in the stage a three-man breakaway of Pierre Cazaux, Martin Keizer and Brian Bulgac made a bid to pull away shortly after the departure from Giorgio del Sannio, but the Sky-led peloton managed to keep their advantage below five minutes.

Dutchman Keizer pulled away from his companions with 30km remaining but he was reeled in 17km from the finish. In the final stages, Spain's Joaquim Rodriguez, 8 seconds behind Hesjedal in second place in the overall standings, tried to steal a march on his rivals, but with no success.

Ventoso, 30, claimed his second Giro success after a previous stage win in nearby Fiuggi last year. Tuesday's 10th stage is a 186km ride from Civitavecchia to Assisi, which finishes with two short climbs in the closing 3,500 meters.

Giro d'Italia Stage 9

1. Francisco Ventoso (ESP/MOV) 3hr 39min 15sec

2. Fabio Felline (ITA/AND) @ s.t.

3. Giacomo Nizzolo (ITA/RSH)

4. Damiano Caruso (ITA/LIQ)

5. Daniel Schorn (AUT/APP)

6. Alexander Kristoff (NOR/KAT)

7. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN/GRM)

8. Matthias Brandle (AUT/APP)

9. Manuel Belletti (ITA/ALM)

10. Daryl Impey (RSA/GEC)

General Classification After Stage 9

1. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN/GRM) 36:02:40

2. Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP/KAT) @.09

3. Paolo Tiralongo (ITA/AST) @ .15

4. Roman Kreuziger (CZE/AST) @ .35

5. Benat Intxausti (ESP/MOV) @ s.t.

6. Ivan Basso (ITA/LIQ) @ .40

7. Damiano Caruso (ITA/LIQ) @ .45

8. Dario Cataldo (ITA/OPQ) @ .46

9. Frank Schleck (LUX/RSH) @ .48

10. Eros Capecchi (ITA/LIQ) @ .52

Pozzovivo Claims Stage 8 of Giro

5/13/2012

Italian Domenico Pozzovivo of the Colnago team capped a superb solo performance with victory on the hilly eighth stage of the Giro d'Italia Sunday. Canadian Ryder Hesjedal, of Garmin, retained the race leader's pink jersey despite struggling to keep pace with the chasing bunch on the final climb of the 229 km ride from Sulmona to Lago Laceno.

Diminutive, but known for his climbing skills, Pozzovivo attacked 2km from the summit of the Colle Molella, whose summit was around 7km from the finish of the stage, to open up a gap of around 30secs on the chasing bunch. As some riders struggled with the pace, Spaniard Benat Intxausti of the Movistar team counter attacked, and despite doing well to open up a gap on the peloton he finished second at 23 second behind Pozzovivo.

It was 29-year-old Pozzovivo's maiden win on the Giro on what is his sixth participation and comes after a notable overall win at the Tour of Trentino last month.

"It's my first win on the Giro, it seemed that it would never happen," said Pozzovivo. "The last two kilometers never seemed to end, but I just felt like it was my day."

Overall victory contender Joaquim Rodriguez led the peloton over the finish line a few seconds later, with Hesjedal, who struggled on the steepest pitches of the Molella climb, just saving the race lead. The 31-year old Hesjedal, who became the first Canadian to wear the race's pink jersey when he took the race lead Saturday, now holds a lead of just nine seconds on Katusha rider Rodriguez.

The race's ninth stage on Monday takes the peloton back to flatter terrain for a 166 km ride between San Giorgio nel Sannio and Frosinone, to the south of Rome. It should entice sprinters like Britain's world champion Mark Cavendish, who has already claimed two stage wins for Team Sky on this edition.

Giro d'Italia Stage 8

1. Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA/COG) 6:06:05

2. Benat Intxausti (ESP/MOV) @ .23

3. Joaquim Rodriguez (ESP/KAT) @ .27

4. Thomas De Gendt (BEL/VAC) @ s.t.

5. Dario Cataldo (ITA/OPQ)

6. Damiano Caruso (ITA/LIQ)

7. Gianluca Brambilla (ITA/COG)

8. Bartosz Huzarski (POL/APP)

9. Jose Rujano (VEN/AND)

10. John Gadret (FRA/ALM)

General Classification After Stage 8

1. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN/GRM) 32:23:25

2. Joaquim Rodriguez (ESP/KAT) @ .09

3. Paolo Tiralongo (ITA/AST) @ .15

4. Roman Kreuziger (CZE/AST) @ .35

5. Benat Intxausti (ESP/MOV) @ .35

6. Ivan Basso (ITA/LIQ) @ .40

7. Damiano Caruso (ITA/LIQ) @ .45

8. Dario Cataldo (ITA/OPQ) @ .46

9. Frank Schleck (LUX/RSH) @ .48

10. Eros Capecchi (ITA/LIQ) @. 52

Sagan Takes California Opener

5/12/2012

Peter Sagan, who had to deal with a flat back tire in the last five miles, recovered by chasing down the field to win the opening stage of the Tour of California on Sunday. Sagan earned his fourth stage win in the Tour of California despite losing 20 seconds during the mechanical change in the final sprint.

"It was a confusing finish," said Sagan. "There were very few people in the peloton."

The Liquigas-Cannondale team rider also managed to avoid a crash ahead of him as he guided through a technical decent in the scenic wine country area to finish just ahead of Heinrich Haussler and Fred Rodriguez. The crash took place with about three miles to go and involved about 12 competitors, including one of the race's top sprinters, Michael Matthews.Sagan overtook Haussler and Rodriguez in the last mile.

The racers had to cycle through morning fog at the beginning of Sunday's stage, but blue skies provided a fitting finish as they sprinted through the streets of Santa Rosa. The 115.9-mile first stage of North America's most prominent cycling race began the eight-day, 733.5-mile journey that ends in Los Angeles.

Tour of California Stage 1

1. Peter Sagan (SVK/Liquigas) 4:42:35

2. Heinrich Haussler (AUS) @ s.t.

3. Freddy Rodriguez (USA)

4. Leigh Howard (AUS)

5. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL)

6. George Hincapie (USA)

7. Ryan Anderson (USA)

8. Stijn Vandenbergh (BEL)

9. Lawson Craddock (USA)

10. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP)

General Classification After Stage 1

1. Peter Sagan (SVK/Liquigas) 4:42:25

2. Heinrich Haussler (AUS) @ .04

3. Jeffry Louder (USA) @ s.t.

4. Freddy Rodriguez (USA) @ .06

5. Ben Jacques-Mayne (USA) @ s.t.

6. Joshua Atkins (NZL) @ .09

7. Leigh Howard (AUS) @ .10

8. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) @ s.t.

9. George Hincapie (USA)

10. Ryan Anderson (USA)

Tiralongo Wins Stage 7 of the Giro

5/12/2012

Paolo Tiralongo out-sprinted one of the overall favorites in Michele Scarponi to win the seventh stage of the Giro d'Italia over 202km from Recanati to Rocca di Cambio on Saturday. Canadian Ryder Hesjedal took fifth on the stage, five seconds back, to take over the pink jersey from Italian Andriano Malori.

The stage finished with a 19km climb up to Rocca di Cambio that really ramped up in the final 1.5km. Escapees Stefano Pirazzi and Jose Herrada were caught in that final steep part after which Scarponi made a break for home from 400-meters out. Tiralongo gritted his teeth and stuck with his Italian countryman before nipping past in the final 50-meters. Luxembourg's Frank Schleck took third on the stage, three seconds back, with Joaquim Rodriguez in fourth with the same time.

It was the first stage in which the overall favorites started to show their cards with the likes of twice former winner Ivan Basso taking eighth on the stage, nine seconds down, to move up to that same position overall. Czech Roman Kreuziger also stuck with the leading group and is now seventh overall.

Tiralongo's 20-second time bonus for winning the stage helped him up to second overall, 15-seconds down on Hesjedal, with Spaniard Rodriguez now third just another two seconds back. American Garmin pair Christian Vande Velde and Peter Stetina round out the top five.

Giro d'Italia Stage 7

1. Paolo Tiralongo (ITA/Astana) 5 h 51:03

2. Michele Scarponi (ITA/LAM) @ s.t.

3. Frank Schleck (LUX/RSH) at @ .03

4. Joaquim Rodriguez (ESP/KAT) @ .03

5. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN/GRM) @ .05

6. Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA/COG) @ .09

7. Daniel Moreno (ESP/KAT) @ s.t.

8. Ivan Basso (ITA/LIQ) @ s.t.

9. Mikel Nieve (ESP/EUS) @ .11

10. Gianluca Brambilla (ITA/COG) @ s.t.

General Classification After Stage 7

1. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN/GRM) 26:16:53

2. Paolo Tiralongo (ITA/AST) @ .15

3. Joaquim Rodriguez (ESP/KAT) @ .17

4. Christian Vande Velde (USA/GRM) @ .21

5. Peter Stetina (USA/GRM) @ .26

6. Daniel Moreno (ESP/KAT) @ s.t.

7. Roman Kreuziger (CZE/AST) @ .35

8. Ivan Basso (ITA/LIQ) @ .40

9. Damiano Caruso (ITA/LIQ) @ .45

10. Dario Cataldo (ITA/OPQ) @ .46

Tour of California Preview

5/12/2012

Three-time Tour of California winner Levi Leipheimer of the United States plans to start this year's edition of the top US stage race Sunday despite breaking a leg last month.

"I'm very relieved and I'm very happy to say that I will start the race," Leipheimer said Friday. "It has all been with this in mind, to be part of this huge event on Sunday."

Leipheimer suffered a broken left leg last month after being struck by a car while preparing for a training ride. He posted an X-ray of his broken left leg on microblogging service Twitter.

"Some days are better than others," Leipheimer said. "There's obviously some pain there. The recovery is not as fast as you would hope. In the end, there's not a whole lot you can do. It heals as fast as it wants," he added. "It has been a trying 5 1/2 weeks. I go between a little bit of frustration and suffering and hurting and feeling sorry for myself to saying at least I'm here, able to ride my bike and enjoy being here and enjoy my life."

A total of 128 riders on 16 teams will compete in the seventh edition of the top annual US stage race, which opens in Leipheimer's hometown of Santa Rosa and concludes on May 20 in downtown Los Angeles after covering more than 750 miles (1,207 kilometers). Having the grand departure in his hometown made Leipheimer work extra hard to be ready for the event and not a liability for his Omega Pharma-QuickStep team.

"Our community has worked very hard to make this moment possible," said Leipheimer. "The thought of not starting in Santa Rosa, it just kills me. "So it was important when the team got here I was able to show them that I wouldn't be a burden, be a weak link, just roll out and do 50km or the first stage and quit. That's not fair to the team."

While admitting he will not be at full strength, Leipheimer said his issues are more about performance than coping with pain.

"When you have an injury like this, it shuts the whole leg and the whole side of the body off," Leipheimer said. "I'm not at 100 percent that's for sure."

Defending champion Chris Horner hopes to become a repeat winner for RadioShack.

"It was a great win. It's amazing what it has done for my career," Horner said. "The team came here with the goal of winning again. This is the hardest I've seen the course."

Tour of Flanders winner Tom Boonen of Belgium, another Omega Pharma rider who tops the cyclist rankings, expressed excitement at ending a rest break and beginning his push to the Tour de France on the American West coast.

"It's the perfect race to get started again," Boonen said. "We have three or four stages that suit me. I'm looking forward to a big result."

Vincenzo Nibali skipped the Giro d'Italia to race in California and improve upon a sixth-place showing in the 2009 US race.

"It's difficult for an Italian not to do the Tour of Italy but I'm going to give my best and hope I have a great result," he said. "It may not be easy but I hope to improve on that result."

American Tom Danielson of Team Garmin, third in California last year, is ready to make a jump up the podium.

"Last year, I was able to be on the podium and compete with some of my idols in the sport," he said. "From that point, I looked at myself so much differently."

Giro: Phinney for Pain, Purito for Pink?

5/11/2012

As the 95th Giro d’Italia reached the end of its opening week, the upcoming battle for the maglia rosa looks as open as it did when the first man rolled down the starting ramp in the stage 1 time trial last Saturday in Herning, Denmark. That’s because (1) the early stages across the flatlands of Jutland didn’t produce the wind-blown echelons expected, and (2) the time gaps in the opening time trial and Wednesday’s team time trial were smaller than predicted. This has left the major overall contenders all within a minute of each other, while the pure climbers’ deficits of between 90 seconds and three minutes will look insignificant when the race reaches the Alps next weekend (see “Virtual general classification” below).

What looks most likely to happen at this weekend’s two summit finishes in the south of Italy is for the race leadership to move from the broad shoulders of Lampre-ISD’s Adriano Malori to the much slimmer body of Katusha Team’s Spanish climber Joaquim “Purito” Rodriguez. Like the “little cigar” (or cigarillo) he’s named after, Rodriguez can smoke up the small, steep gradients that await the peloton at the end of this Saturday’s and Sunday’s stages. Just a 20-second win bonus will be enough for him to overtake the virtual race leader, Canadian Ryder Hesjedal, who’s the first of three Garmin-Barracuda men in the current top 10.

Garmin riders are near the top of the current general classification because of their excellent team time trial victory at Verona; but that win and the prize of the pink jersey for its Ramunas Navardauskas could well have gone to rival U.S. team BMC Racing—had its race leader Taylor Phinney not been badly injured in a nasty stage 3 pileup.

That crash was indicative of the unruly nature of bunch sprints in the modern Giro. When Mario Cipollini was taking his record of 42 stage wins a decade or so ago, his team would give structure to the stage finishes, where the top sprinters had more respect for each other. The sprints this past week have been more like free-for-alls that even Mark Cavendish’s Sky team has not been able to control.

In the stage 3 sprint at Horsens, after Italian sprinter Roberto Ferrari crazily dived for a gap and sideswiped the front wheel of world champ Cavendish, the Brit’s Pinarello flew across the road in front of then race leader Phinney. The American T-boned Cavendish’s bike, with some part of it (Phinney thought it was a spoke, but it could have been anything sharp) cutting into the young American’s right ankle.

So, instead of a relaxing two-hour charter flight from Denmark to Italy and a good night’s sleep, Phinney was ferried in a wheelchair through the airports and by the time the team found a hospital outside Verona that would perform x-rays and put three sutures in his wounded ankle, it was the early hours of Tuesday morning. Luckily, that was a rest day, but the physiotherapy and medical treatment kept him from joining his teammates on a scouting trip around the team time trial course. And even when he was on the starting line Wednesday, no one knew how much pressure Phinney would be able to put on his badly bruised ankle and surrounding tendons.

In the team time trial’s opening 9 kilometers, completely flat alongside the Adige River, Garmin was the fastest in 9:56 (that’s 54.4 kph), with Katusha seven seconds slower and a slow-starting BMC at 15 seconds. Then came a 12.8-kilometer loop that included 330 feet (100 meters) of climbing to the hilltop village of Castelrotto, where Garmin again made the fastest split of 15:14 (50.4 kph), just two seconds better than Katusha, while BMC conceded another 21 seconds — mostly because of an incident caused by Phinney’s not having pre-ridden the course.

When he was following 2010 world champion Thor Hushovd around a fast, sweeping right bend, Phinney found he had too much speed to make the turn. He later told reporters that he “was on the outside of the wheel” in front of him and “just got kind-of pushed off the road.” The BMC rider managed to keep his TT bike upright as he bounced through some thick, newly cut grass, while Swiss teammate Mathias Frank and Italian Alessandro Ballan were also forced to leave the road. That delay, along with Phinney almost stopping to dislodge some muddy grass from his bike and the team then slowing to let Phinney catch back on, probably cost them at least the 13 seconds by which Phinney lost the maglia rosa that day to Garmin’s Navardauskas.

Indeed, BMC was the fastest team on the flat run-in to the ancient heart of Verona, rocketing through the final 11.4 kilometers in 11:52 (an average of 57.6 kph!), one second faster than Katusha and five seconds better than Garmin. At BMC’s Giro del Trentino team-time-trial victory last month, Phinney was the strongest rider, so if he hadn’t been riding with three stitches in a severely bruised heel on Wednesday, the team might well have won again. That would have kept Phinney in pink, but though Navardauskas held it for a day before he lost it Friday to breakaway rider Adriano Malori of Lampre-ISD, the news of the week was the unexpectedly fine team time trial by Katusha that established Rodriguez as the man most likely to wear pink through week 2 of this absorbing Giro.

It has been significant in the two stages since the Verona team time trial that two-time winner Ivan Basso’s Liquigas-Cannondale squad has flexed its muscles whenever the roads have pointed uphill. The other teams helping control the breakaways have been Hesjedal’s Garmin team, Michele Scarponi’s Lampre-ISD squad and Roman Kreuziger’s Astana men. As for the other race favorites, RadioShack-Nissan’s Fränk Schleck is riding a patient role, always near the head of the peloton, while the climbers such as Rodriguez, Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago-TK), José Rujano (Androni), John Gadret (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and Mikel Nieve (Euskaltel-Euskadi) have been content to wait until the real climbing begins.

Virtual general classification (main contenders after week 1)

1. Ryder Hesjedal (Can), Garmin-Barracuda 20:25:45

2. Christian Vande Velde (USA), Garmin-Barracuda, at 0:15

3. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha Team), at 0:19

4. Marco Pinotti (I), BMC Racing, at 0:26

5. Roman Kreuziger (Cz), Astana, at 0:29

6. Ivan Basso (I), Liquigas, at 0:36

7. Rigoberto Uran (Col), Sky, at 0:47

8. Fränk Schleck (Lux), RadioShack-Nissan, at 0:58

9. Damiano Cunego (I), Lampre-ISD, at 1:08

10. Michele Scarponi (I), Lampre-ISD, at 1:11

11. Domenico Pozzovivo (I), Colnago-TK, at 1:38

12. José Rujano (Ven), Androni, at 2:22

13. Emanuele Sella (I), Androni, at 2:29

14. John Gadret (F), Ag2r-La Mondiale, at 2:32

15. Mikel Nieve (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 3:12

You can follow John at twitter.com/johnwilcockson

Rubiano Steals Stage Six of Giro

5/10/2012

Colombian Miguel Angel Rubiano escaped to victory on the sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia over 207km from Urbino to Porto Sant'Elpidio on Friday, making the most of his wide knowledge of the local roads. Italian Adriano Malori, who sprinted to second in the stage just over a minute behind, took over the leader's pink jersey. Rubiano was clearly the man of the day and has moved up to fourth overall, coming within 30 seconds of also taking the pink jersey.

"I started to understand in the final 10km that I could do it," said Rubiano. "I know the roads because I've lived here for a couple of years but I didn't think it would be so tough. My sports director (Gianni) Savio was shouting me on and I pedalled, even though at one point I felt my energy sapping."

Being so close to the pink jersey, Androni Giocattoli's Savio says that is what they will be going for now.

"He will be the team leader over the next two days," said Savio.

Rubiano broke clear of his fellow escapees with about 35km left to ride, on a tough climb that left the rest of his breakaway group unable to respond. Thereafter he managed to maintain a lead against four chasers right to the finish. Malori outsprinted Pole Michal Golas to take 12 bonus seconds for finishing second, which was enough to ensure he took over the pink jersey.

"It's the best day of my life, those who started cycling dream of wearing this jersey at least once in their life," said Malori. "I know I'll lose it tomorrow but it doesn't matter, I'm not thinking about that now. For me this is an unforgettable and wonderful day."

Golas is now second overall, 15 seconds back, with Canadian Ryder Hesjedal two seconds further down after finishing in the peloton, just under two minutes behind the winner. Lithuanian Ramunas Navardauskas, who started the day in pink, was dropped several times on climbs and lost touch with the peloton for the final time on the same climb where Rubiano made his long break for home.

The day began with a 15-man breakaway, although four riders were shed on the first climb of the day. Sprinters Tyler Farrar and Thor Hushovd both abandoned along the way, reducing the competition facing world champion Mark Cavendish. By the penultimate climb it was down to nine men and Rubiano made his first attack there, although purely to take King of the Mountain points. He was reeled back in but attacked again on the next climb and this time he stayed away.

The peloton spent a long time controlling the breakaway's gap at around six minutes but having hauled it back to around four minutes, the chase abruptly stalled. It was not until the final 10km that they started to eat into the lead but they had left it too late and Rubiano was not to be caught. Saturday's 202km stage seven takes the peloton into the Abruzze region and a demanding hilly course that should start to see the race favorites coming to the fore and the overall standings taking shape.

Giro d'Italia Stage 6

1. Miguel Angel Rubiano (COL/AND) 5:38:30

2. Adriano Malori (ITA/LAM) @ 1:10

3. Michal Golas (POL/OPQ) @ s.t.

4. Alexandr Dyachenko (KAZ/AST)

5. Cesare Benedetti (ITA/APP)

6. Daryl Impey (RSA/GEC) 1:51

7. Filippo Pozzato (ITA/FAR) @ s.t.

8. Fabio Sabatini (ITA/LIQ)

9. Francisco Ventoso (ESP/MOV)

10. Michal Kwiatkowski (POL/OPQ)

General Classification After Stage 6

1. Adriano Malori (ITA/LAM) 20:25:28

2. Michal Golas (POL/OPQ) @ .15

3. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN/GRM) @ .17

4. Miguel Ángel Rubiano (COL/AND) @ .30

5. Christian Vande Velde (USA/GRM) @ .32

6. Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP/KAT) @ .36

7. Peter Stetina (USA/GRM) @ .37

8. Daniel Moreno (ESP/KAT) @ .39

9. Enrico Gasparotto (ITA/AST) @ .39

10. Luke Roberts (AUS/SAX) @ .41

Giro d'Italia Rolls Out

5/10/2012

Images: Yuzuru Sunada

The 2012 Giro d'Italia kicked off with an opening time trial in Herning, Denmark and in just four stages the race has not been lacking for first-week action. American Taylor Phinney targeted- and won- the time trial to take his first ever grand tour leader's jersey. Mark Cavendish sprinted to victory in stage 2, but both he and Phinney would soon be on the ground after a chaotic stage 3 sprint. Down but not out, they soldiered on through the team time trial, won in impressive fashion by the Garmin-Barricuda team.

Cavendish Wins Stage 5 of Giro

5/9/2012

Britain's world road race champion Mark Cavendish won the 209km fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia for his second win in this year's race on Thursday and celebrated by taking his baby daughter onto the podium. Lithuanian rider Ramunas Navardauskas retained the overall leader's pink jersey.

Cavendish, 26, shrugged off the deep bruising he suffered to his left side when he crashed at Horsens, Denmark, on Monday to edge out Australian Matt Goss, winner of Monday's stage, Italian Daniele Bennati and South African ace Robert Hunter. It was Cavendish's sixth win of the season and ninth overall in the Giro, in which he is competing for the fourth time, taking him to 32 stage wins in the major Tours.

"As I couldn't sleep after my fall, I wasn't 100% and I felt tired," said the Isle of Man born rider, who embraced his former model girlfriend Peta Todd and daughter Delilah Grace on dismounting.

Cavendish's task was made easier when several of his major rivals such as Thor Hushovd were dropped from the peloton in the final 30km when the Liquigas team of Ivan Basso upped the pace aided by Czech rider Roman Kreuziger. The British star's Sky team then came into their own in the final 10km as both Peter Kennaugh and Geraint Thomas paced him before the 'Manx Express' burst to the front to take the glory. Navardauskas, who took the leader's pink jersey on Wednesday's team time-trial, came in with the peloton.

On Friday, the riders have a 210km stage a little more challenging than Thursday's with four climbs, the last 33.5km from the finish. They will set out from Urbino, the birthplace of Renaissance painting master Raphael, and finish at Porto Sant'Elpidio on the coast.

Results to come.

Swift: 3mm

5/9/2012

The car comes out of nowhere. They have a habit of doing that. It could be any color, any car, any size. It doesn't matter and I won't remember anyway. I am slipping down a familiar descent when it appears in my lane. I'm probably thinking of something else.

It's warm: 75 degrees. I've already been riding hard for 2.5 hours and I've just completed an effort. I have an hour or so to go today. I'm happy and a little cashed as I navigate a lefthand curve. I'm safely towards the outside of my lane, but the car has gone wide.

So there it is. In the space that I should be taking up in just a matter of milliseconds.

This moment is a special one: terrifying and clarifying. There are no sequential thoughts. No rational progression of planning and then actualizing a plan. Whatever happens happens and was always going to happen. Your reactions are tiny things that have been waiting in your muscles for years. They fire despite your brain and the scene unfolds. You get to be a spectator in your own life-or-death moment.

Instead of assisting, which my brain cannot do, it suddenly fills with 5,000 simultaneous thoughts, which is as impressive as it is unhelpful. The sheer volume of memory and reflection that occurs in that single fragment of time is so essentially overwhelming as to be distracting. While my body saves or sacrifices me with its reaction, I get to experience a indescribable confluence of everything all at once.

The most trivial things always seem to rise to the top. In this case, I consider the fact that I am just about to smash the $10,000 Pinarello Dogma2 that I am borrowing to bits. In three days I'm meant to meet and interview Fausto Pinarello himself but instead they will be delivering him the shattered remnants of a carbon bicycle with a small note that says, "She was learning to ride downhill very fast. She loved the bike. She wanted to tell you that her first road bike was a 1999 Surprise. She thanks you."

All of this goes through my head. And then the more important thoughts rush in, pressed against each other tightly in the crush for my attention:

I will never ride the tour.

How will they know who to call when they drag me up the hillside?

Who will make the phone call to Sal?

No, I won't die. It looks like I'll go down over the front to the left.

Shit, I already separated that shoulder.

I'm a collection of bones and skin.

Sal is going to be so angry with me.

I should bring my mother to Tuscany.

I'm going to ruin this bike.

What was the name of that wine I had last night?

I will never ride the tour.

Perhaps its best I die in the saddle.

I hate that car. I hate that fucking car.

I'm not going to ride the Tour.

It's all so trivial and important at the same time. Life is comprised of all these little things: important and unimportant. What was clear to me as I held my breath waiting to see if I was going to live was this:

The Tour is important.

The Tour is not important.

People (and possibly me) have referred to this adventure as the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, but is it really? I'll admit I didn't spend much of the past 34 years dreaming of riding 2100 miles in three weeks. The idea came up and wrestled me to the ground. I didn't have a lot of choice. My spirit tends to be a little impulsive: it rarely pays attention to my brain.

This project is absolutely taking over my life. It is affecting my relationships and leading me to meet people that I otherwise would not have met. It is stealing me away from home, putting a pinch on finances, creating stress with clients and challenging my ability to keep my shit pulled together. I think about it all the time, all day long. I've become so one dimensional, I'm nearly sick of myself.

And there in front of the car on the curve on a fast descent in Tuscany, the Tour dominated me again. Mixed in with wine and mom and regret and worry and the thought of breaking things that didn't belong to me. Important, but not important.

The car didn't hit me. Instead, my body steered the bike onto the rough shoulder within 3mm of slipping over the edge of the hillside. The car corrected. I corrected. When I came to a stop I was still upright, sideways on the road with one foot unclipped and a tire mark on the pavement behind me where I'd locked the rear brake in a fishtail after re-entering the roadway from the shoulder.

I checked my equipment and kept rolling. I ate a little food. I stopped for an espresso.

At the coffee shop it started to sink in. I'm still alive. I'm going to go to France in July and ride bikes. Really, really far. Thank god I'm here unbroken. Thank god I'm not in pieces. And not just because of the Tour: it's important but not important.