Tony Martin

After taking three consecutive sprint stages, Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) [aping Sagan - Ed] won the sprints jersey, most combative rider was Colombian Leonardo Duque (Cofidis), Pieter Serry (Topsport-Vlaanderen Mercator) was best young rider, while RusVelo were top team.

Here’s how the race unfolded.

Stage 1: Mechelen to Buggenhout, 162km

Tour of Belgium stage one winner Andre Greipel (image courtesy of Lotto-Belisol)

German sprinter Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) won the opening stage in a photo-finish - his eighth victory of the season – ahead of Danilo Napolitano (Acqua & Sapone) and third-placed Kenny Van Hummel (Vacansoleil-DCM).

A group with riders from eight different teams had gotten away early in the stage but never gained more than three minutes on the peloton. 15km from the finish, just as the peloton was about to absorb the break, three of the eight attacked. But that trio too was back in the pack with 7km to go.

Then Kenneth Vanbilsen (An Post-Sean Kelly) launched a solo counter-attack, but the sprinters teams quickly shut down his bid for glory and the stage ended in the inevitable bunch sprint, won by Greipel.

Stage 2: Lochristi to Knokke-Heist, 169.5km

It’s two from two at Tour of Belgium for Andre Greipel (image courtesy of Lotto-Belisol)

Greipel took his second stage victory, again beating Napolitano – shades of  Groundhog Day – this time on a stiff uphill ramp to the finish. Astana’s Jacopo Guarnieri (Astana) got the jump on Van Hummel for third.

The breakaway of five was established after 25km of racing and built a lead of five minutes only to be slowly dragged back by the sprinters’ teams. With just 3km to go, Ramon Sinkeldam (Argos-Shimano), soloed off only to be captured a kilometre later by the Lotto-Belisol-led charging pack.  

Stage 3: Knokke-Heist to Beveren, 163km

Three in a row for Andre Greipel in Tour of Belgium (image courtesy of Lotto-Belisol)

Greipel took his third consecutive stage ahead of – yes, you’ve guessed it - Napolitano once again, with Adam Blythe (BMC) in third place.

Another quintet went clear after 30km and managed to open a gap of four minutes but the peloton had matters well in hand and they were slowly reeled in like fish on a line. Maxim Belkov (Katusha) wriggled free only to be caught within the last 10km.

This time, Greipel sprinted from further out but was able to maintain his sprint to the line. Afterwards he confirmed:

We are here to refine our sprint preparation for the Tour. On day one it was really good, yesterday we lost each other a little bit, but today we still had all the boys together a kilometre from the finish.

Stage 4: Turnhout to Arendonk, 20.5km individual time trial

He’s back and he’s won stage four of the Tour of Belgium (image courtesy of Omega Pharma-Quick Step)

Tony Martin confirmed his comeback in emphatic style with a dominant performance in the individual time trial, finishing the flat, straight course 46 seconds faster than runner-up Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM) and teammate Niki Terpstra who was third, a further six seconds back.

Martin was clearly delighted with this victory:

It took a while but now I’m satisfied. It was hard - a windy time trial, maybe not one of the best of my career but it was important to break the ice. We have a really strong team. We will try to fight for the GC tomorrow. There are a few guys we have to watch.

Tomorrow it will be a battle. It’s a hard stage, but I feel very good and I will try for it, surrounded by a great team able to ride without fear in the wind. The guys here know every metre of tomorrow’s race and they are really motivated.

Here’s how he did it:

Stage 5: Clavier to Engis, 212km

Carlos Betancur takes Tour of Belgium’s stage 5 (image courtesy of official race site)

Tony Martin wrapped up the overall and his first stage race victory of the season with a seventh place on the difficult Ardennes Classic-like stage which was won by the promising young Colombian Carlos Betancur (Acqua & Sapone), ahead of cyclocross star Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Revor) and with Sergey Firsanov (RusVelo) third.

This time it was a nine-man breakaway which successfully formed after 40km of racing and included Stijn Devolder (Vacansoleil-DCM), Carlos Barredo (Rabobank), Romain Zingle (Cofidis), Betancur, cyclocrosser Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet-Euphony), Pieter Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator), Dmitriy Fofonov (Astana), Maxime Vantomme (Katusha) and friend of VeloVoices Amael Moinard (BMC).

Barredo had started the day just 60 seconds behind Martin who took himself to the front of the pack and worked tirelessly to pull them back. On the run-in on the steep climb of the Rue Des Fagnes, Belgian champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC) had a dig which was easily countered by Pauwels but it was Betancur who took the sprint for the line with Martin not far behind.

Afterwards Martin explained:

The whole stage was pretty hard, as expected. I think the profile had 16 really hard climbs from the Ardennes Classics, so we knew it would be a difficult stage. But we really had a strong team here. We controlled the race right from the beginning, and then in the final I took the risk to stay in front, so that the gap in front couldn’t get far away. It was really hard, but I have to say thank you to the whole team. The whole week they always protected me. I am really happy for this team that we could win this race here.

Closing thoughts

Tour of Begium 2012 podium (image courtesy of official race site)

Tony Martin’s back and he’s hitting top form ahead of the Criterium du Dauphine and Tour de France. Andre Greipel too seems to have his ducks in a row to take on Cavendish at the Tour.

Scan down the order and, with the possible exception of PhilGil, there’s the names of  riders vying for places to ride in support of their Tour leaders. They’ll have done their cause no harm.

At VeloVoices Towers, we were looking out for Baptiste Planckaert (Lanbouwkrediet-Euphony) who finished 70th, 14:58 off the pace and was 20th-placed best young rider. No doubt this race will have provided him with valuable experience in his quest to move up the ranks.

General classification

1. Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) 16:51:28

2. Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM) +0:43

3. Carlos Barredo (Rabobank) +1:02

4. Sergey Firsanov (RusVelo) +1:11

5. Andriy Grivko (Astana) +1:26

6. Francesco Reda (Acqua & Sapone) +1:38

7. Philippe Gilbert (BMC) +1:45

8. Simon Spilak (Katusha) +1:47

9. Manuel Quinziato (BMC) +1:50

10. Maarten Wynants (Rabobank) +1:58

Links: Preview, Official website

Image courtesy of BMC website

Name: Amaël Moinard

Age:  30

Nationality: French

Team: BMC

Role: Stage racer and climber

Twitter: @amaelmoinard

Career highlights:

• 2007 (Cofidis): won stage 3 of Route du Sud.
• 2008 (Cofidis): 3rd in stage 4 of Criterium du Dauphine, 14th overall at Tour de France.
• 2009 (Cofidis): 6th in stage 4 of Paris-Nice, 6th in stage 16 at Tour de France, 17th overall at Vuelta a Espana.
• 2010 (Cofidis): Won stage 7 of Paris-Nice and King of the Mountains jersey, 2nd in stage 3 and 7th overall at La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
• 2011 (BMC): 2nd in stage 2 at Tour de France (team time trial)

I’m back in my favourite spot on the VeloVoices sofa, just before the start of Paris-Nice, sipping an espresso and chatting with BMC Racing’s Amaël Moinard  – a fellow Cote d’Azur resident – who was an integral part of Cadel Evans’ 2011 Tour de Romandie and Tour de France winning teams.

I’m going to be discussing Amaël’s experiences with BMC and his role in helping Evans win that coveted maillot jaune, lusting after his BMC bike [you’ve already got two of them – Ed], his objectives for 2012 and getting a few all-important tips as to how he maintains his svelte physique.

Amael Moinard wins final stage and King of Mountains jersey Paris-Nice 2010 (image courtesy of Susi Goetze)

After six seasons as a professional rider with Cofidis, where Amaël had built a solid palmares – including two top twenty Grand Tour finishes – he signed to ride for BMC Racing Team in mid-2010 for the following two seasons, off the back of his magnificent stage win on the final day of Paris-Nice (beating Thomas Voeckler) and his King of the Mountains jersey.

Sheree: French riders are often criticised for spending their entire careers shuttling around the French teams. This is not something that can be levelled at your door. Perhaps you can explain to us your motivation for the move to BMC, your role on the team and expand on your positive experiences with the team?

Amaël: Well, when I was a student, my dream was to go to a foreign country to study for one or two years. I always like to discover new cultures and languages. So naturally, when I decided to finish with Cofidis, I first looked for a foreign team, and of course, I wanted to try a new experience in a strong team to have a great experience in high-level cycling. And when I met the management of BMC, I directly knew that was a good team for me. Sure it’s different, because now my role is more to help my leaders compared to Cofidis where I had a nice role to race for myself. Anyway, I really like it and am still racing as an offensive rider to try to win some races.

Sheree: I don’t normally covet anything but when I saw you last year on the BMC time trial bike – seriously hard-core bike porn – I wanted to use my superior bodyweight to drag you from the machine and ride off with it. Luckily for you I restrained myself. I love watching team time trials. Ridden well, they’re beautiful to watch. So, explain to us about the art of riding team trials as the team’s second place at Les Essarts in 2011’s Tour de France was important, wasn’t it?

Amaël: Yes, for the team and for our sponsor, it was really important. And clearly, the goal was to win. That’s why we spent a lot of time training all together, on the race circuit in Zolder, Belgium, especially to understand what to do. The aim of the team is to show the power of the BMC bikes, so to be there in second place was a really good spot for them.

Sheree: So, tell me, just out of interest, does anyone on the team ride a size 47 frame?

Amaël: Only one rider, Mauro Santambrogio.

Sheree: I’ve made a note and do warn him he’ll be getting begging letters from me towards the end of the season. Now this is a tale you’re going to be telling again and again, particularly to your grand-children, in years to come. But just walk us through how great it felt to ride up the Champs Elysees with your BMC teammate Cadel Evans, the universally popular winner of the 2011 Tour de France. I seem to recall the whole team wore yellow sunglasses and had mile-high smiles didn’t they?

Amaël: It was a great day for all of us, because since the beginning of last year we all rode with only one goal: to win the Tour de France. So, everybody was dedicated to ride for Cadel and forgot all his personal ambitions. That was our strength. And we achieved it. Yes, it was a big moment for us and everyone will remember it for their entire lives.

Sheree: You started the season at the Volta ao Algarve, finishing 23rd overall having ridden in support, presumably, of Tejay Van Garderen, who finished seventh. What other races will we be able to see you in this year and in which races are you hoping for a good result? I assume you’re still harbouring ambitions of a stage win in the Tour de France?

Amaël: I would really like to be good this week in Paris-Nice. Now, like I said previously, I just want to win any kind of races. So I will go for a stage, then if I am not in the front I can support my leaders, especially when it’s hard. Also, I can bring my experience to Tejay who is focussing on GC. I don’t want to focus on GC for myself because I’ve been disappointed the last couple of years. Anyway, I will be in the Criterium International, Pais Vasco, Ardennes, Dauphine. Of course, I hope to support Cadel another time at the Tour!

I’ll look forward to watching Amaël, and his BMC Racing team mates, in the Tour of the Basque Country, which I’ll be following live and riding some of the parcours.

Sheree: Places on the French squad in an Olympic year will be keenly contested. Do you harbour any Olympic ambitions? What about the World Championships in Valkenburg? I seem to recall you rode for the French Squad at the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart.

Amaël: About the Olympics, the route doesn’t suit me. So I prefer to keep aiming for a spot at the World Championships. I already did it twice 2007 and 2008. And this year, I would again like to support the national team.

And, finally, Amael has an enviably, and I suspect naturally, slim physique. But, nonetheless, I’m still going to ask him for a few tips.

Sheree: How do you maintain your racing weight? Describe what you eat in a typical day. Are there certain foods you avoid? Does BMC have its own nutritionists and chefs?

Amaël: Weight is always a problem for cyclists. Of course, the skinnier you are, the better you climb. But you still need to eat a lot to have the energy your body needs! We have a chef with BMC, who is really good. [No good submitting your resume Sheree - Ed.] We can ask whatever we want to load ourselves with before and after a race. But we still need to be careful, especially during summertime, to eat meals which are easily digestible for us. And everybody is different. For example, I avoid eating any kind of animal milks and meals with gluten. Just to exclude those things and eat normally allows me to lose weight. Strange, isn’t it?

Sheree: No, it’s not strange, but I suspect burning thousands of calories tearing up the roads helps too!

As Paris-Nice edges closer to the finish and territory that’s very familar to Amaël, we might see him in a breakway. But it’s more likely that he’ll continue to ride in support of his team mate Tejay Van Garderen, who’s wearing the best young rider’s jersey and is lying sixth on GC, having lost a couple of places on yesterday’s stage five finish into Mende. Before today’s stage into Sisteron, Amaël’s lying 62nd overall having lost a packet of time in the wind-induced havoc of stage two. Meaning he’ll be no threat to the leaders if he does have an opportinity to slip away.

Sheree: Finally, Amaël thank you for your time, for sharing with us some precious memories, future ambitions and a few all-important diet tips. Everyone here at VeloVoices wishes you good luck for the rest of the season, and we’ll be keeping a keen eye both on your results and those of BMC. We’d also like to thank Blandine Roquelet of BMC Racing Team for her assistance in facilitating the interview.

March is even busier. All the big stars will be coming out to play as they start their serious preparations for the big spring Classics and the Giro d’Italia.

Strade Bianche (3rd)

Saturday sees only the sixth running of this Italian one-day race. However its distinctive 190km course, which features eight sectors of strade bianche (white gravel roads) totalling nearly 60km, has already made it a firm favourite for many riders and teams preparing for either the cobbled Classics or Tirreno-Adriatico, which starts the following week.

Starting in Gaiole in Chianti and finishing 190km later in Siena’s spectacular cathedral square, the parcours is not excessively vertical but is constantly punctuated by short, sharp digs, meaning the riders will need to be constantly wary of attacks. Previous winners include Fabian Cancellara (2008) and Philippe Gilbert (2011).

Gilbert returns to defend his title with a strong BMC team which includes Tour de France champion Cadel Evans, Paris-Tours winner Greg Van Avermaet and Alessandro Ballan, who may end up being their protected rider. Also likely to feature in a strong 14-team field are 2010 winner Maxim Iglinsky (Astana) and Paris-Roubaix champion Johan Vansummeren (Garmin-Barracuda).

You can find out more on the official race website here.

Vuelta a Murcia (3rd-4th)

A victim of the parlous state of the Spanish economy, this race was cut from five days to three last year, and two this year. However, it remains on the calendar – barely – and now comprises a mountain-top finish followed by a short (11km) individual time trial.

Nonetheless the start list includes several top riders, including Vuelta champion Juan Jose Cobo, Samuel Sanchez, Robert Gesink and Britain’s early-season sensation Jonathan Tiernan-Locke.

You can find out more on the official race website here.

Paris-Nice (4th-11th)

The 70th edition of Paris-Nice – the ‘Race to the Sun’ – comprises an eight-day, 1,155km route, and provides a testing all-round challenge suitable for those whose ambitions centre on the Grand Tours. This year’s parcours is book-ended by a pair of short individual time trials – stage one is merely hilly, while the final stage is a straight climb to the top of the first-category Col d’Eze. In between is a mix of flat days for the sprinters and three consecutive uphill finishes on stages three to five. The last of these is the race’s queen stage, which finishes at the summit of the cat. 1 Cote de la Croix Neuve, a short (3km) but vicious ascent averaging 10.1%.

Tony Martin returns to defend his title against a strong field which includes a raft of big names: the brothers Schleck, Basso, Cunego, Menchov, Valverde, Kloden, Leipheimer and Wiggins. But watch out also for Nicolas Roche (AG2R), Janez Brajkovic (Astana), Tejay Van Garderen (BMC), Bauke Mollema (Rabobank) and Rein Taaramae (Cofidis), all of whom will be looking to break into the elite ranks.

You can find out more on the official race website here.

Tirreno-Adriatico (7th-13th)

Overlapping with Paris-Nice, most of the top stage racers who aren’t heading for the south of France will be racing coast-to-coast in Italy instead in this seven-day, 1,063km west-to-east event, known as the ‘Race of the Two Seas’. Like Paris-Nice, the race starts and ends with short time trials, although both are flat and here stage one is a team rather than individual effort. In between, stage four features the first major mountains before ending in a punchy climb in Chieti – a finish won last year by Michele Scarponi. The queen stage follows the next day with a summit finish on Prati di Tivo, a 14.5km ascent averaging 7%. The penultimate stage is a rolling affair which will have breakaway artists licking their lips before the final day’s potentially decisive individual time trial.

Tour de France champion Cadel Evans achieved a battling victory here last year, holding off Scarponi, Robert Gesink, Ivan Basso and Vincenzo Nibali. Team line-ups have yet to be announced, but Evans should be back to defend his title against 2010 and 2009 winners Scarponi and Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone), as well as Nibali and a whole host of Italian climbers eager to impress ahead of the Giro.

You can find out more on the official race website here.

Milan-San Remo (17th)

The so-called ‘sprinters’ classic’ will notch up its 103rd running this year and still remains the ultimate challenge for the fast-twitch men. The first of the five ‘monuments’ of European cycling is the longest one-day race on the professional calendar, totalling a massive 298km and stretching the riders’ endurance to their limits on a course which usually takes close to seven hours to complete.

A top-class field is likely to include 2009 and 2011 winners Mark Cavendish and Matt Goss, and Andre Greipel (already a six-time winner in 2012) – all former HTC-Highroaders. The first 120km or so is flat but starts to drain the legs ahead of a series of hills in the back half of the race. It’s not uncommon for an initial selection to occur on any of these climbs, but it is the Poggio, whose summit is just 6km from the finish, which is often crucial. Last year Goss was the strongest finisher from a lead group of just eight riders, and he should be back to defend his title with new team GreenEDGE.

You can find out more on the official race website here.

Volta a Catalunya (19th-25th)

The week-long Volta a Catalunya, which was first held in 1911, is the third-oldest stage race in existence (behind only the Tour and Giro), and remains the second most important race in Spain after the Vuelta. The parcours traditionally contains plenty of challenging climbs, but also lots of opportunities for the sprinters.

The general classification is generally won by a climbing all-rounder, with the last three winners being Alejandro Valverde, Joaquim Rodriguez and Alberto Contador (now Michele Scarponi after Contador’s back-dated ban).

You can find out more on the official race website here.

E3 Harelbeke (23rd)

Also known as the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, this 203km Flandrian race is quite literally a race of two halves. The initial eastern leg of the route flat for its first 99km, with three sets of cobbles to help loosen up the riders before the real fun begins on the return leg. The final 104km of this year’s route features 13 climbs, some of which are also cobbled, with seven reserved for the final 55km: Taaienberg (1,250m of cobbles averaging 9.5% at a maximum of 18%), Kruisberg, Kapelberg, the excruciating Paterberg (362m, cobbled, 12% average, 20% max), Kwaremont, Knokteberg and finally the Tiegemberg, which summits just 15km from the finish. The attacks and counter-attacks will be non-stop across these climbs in what is always a thrilling final 1½ hours of racing.

Last year Fabian Cancellara overcame a series of mechanical problems to catch the lead group and then launch a solo attack which took him to victory for the second year in a row. Tom Boonen also won the E3 four years in a row between 2004 and 2007.

You can find out more on the official race website here.

Criterium International (24th-25th)

The two-day, three-stage race returns will take place in Corsica – the site for the 2013 Tour de France Grand Depart – for the third year running on the weekend of the 24th/25th. This year’s event sees the two-day running order swapped round, with Saturday opening up with a flat morning stage of 89.5km, followed by a 6.5km individual time trial in the afternoon. The second day will see the riders tackle a summit finish on the Col de l’Ospedale.

First run in 1932, the race’s former winners include Sean Kelly, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain, Stephen Roche and Laurent Fignon. RadioShack’s Jens Voigt has won the event five times, most recently in 2009, while last year his teammate Frank Schleck claimed overall victory.

You can find out more on the official race website here.

Gent-Wevelgem (25th)

First run in 1934, the 74th edition of Gent-Wevelgem sees some changes designed to inject a greater degree of challenge. This year’s race has been extended from 205km to 235km and introduces two ascents of the Casselberg, a tough climb which regularly features in the Four Days of Dunkirk. Added to the cobbled Kemmelberg climb, which is usually located around 40km from the finish, this should provide additional opportunities for attackers to chance their arm.

Often referred to as a sprinters’ classic, the race is rarely decided in a bunch sprint. It is usually won by either a breakaway or a strong-man sprinter from a select group. Last year Tom Boonen emerged victorious in a small group sprint. Previous winners also include Thor Hushovd (2006), Oscar Freire (2008), Edvald Boasson Hagen (2009) and Bernhard Eisel (2010).

You can find out more on the official race website here.

Look out for full previews in advance of each race here on VeloVoices.

This month’s birthdays

A selection of the more notable birthdays in the peloton this month:

2nd: Igor Anton, Euskaltel-Euskadi (29 years old). The Basque climber enjoyed some notable successes in 2011 after crashing out of the lead of the previous year’s Vuelta a Espana. Although he was unable to maintain a concerted challenge at either the Giro or the Vuelta, he won a stage at each, and also placed fifth at Fleche Wallonne.

18th: Fabian Cancellara, RadioShack-Nissan (31). The four-time time trial world champion had a successful but frustrating 2011, losing his mantle to Tony Martin in Copenhagen and being marked out of contention by his rivals at the spring Classics after winning the E3 Harelbeke. Nonetheless, he claimed several time trial wins and podium finishes at Paris-Roubaix, Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders. Not bad for an ‘off’ year.

22nd: Jakob Fuglsang, RadioShack-Nissan (27). The Danish all-rounder lives in the shadow of the Schlecks, but emerged as a seasoned stage racer in his own right in 2011, riding to 11th at the Vuelta, his first top 40 finish at a Grand Tour. He also finished fourth overall at the Tour de Suisse and Amstel Gold, and went on to record tenth place in the time trial at the Worlds.

Also on the blog

We have a great set of Friday Features coming up this month, including Sheree’s interview with Amael Moinard, a key cog in the BMC machine which delivered Cadel Evans to Tour de France victory last July. Kathi is also penning a piece on cycling photographer Roz Jones, whose outstanding work we will be showcasing around the blog.

Of course, we’ll also bring you the all the key race reviews and analysis from this month’s key stage races and one-day Classics, Kathi’s Tweets of the Week every Tuesday, plus whatever else tickles our fancy as the month progresses.

Whether serious or light-hearted, VeloVoices is the place to come for all the latest cycling news and views!

Now, let’s examine some of the firsts:

• Cadel Evans, first Tour de France winner from Australia
• Frank and Andy Schleck, first brothers on the podium
• Mark Cavendish, first Brit (and Manx man) to win the green jersey
• First time the Norwegians have taken 4 individual stages

I’m sure there were many more firsts but these were the ones which sprang to mind.

Not forgetting, of course, that there was plenty of cheer for the home nation:-

• Europcar’s Thomas Voeckler’s 4th place was the first since 2000 (Christophe Moreau) having spent 10 days in the maillot jaune
• Five Frenchmen (Voeckler, Peraud, Rolland, Coppel, Jeannesson) in the top 15 was the best result since 1991
• First best young rider classification (Pierre Rolland) since 1999
• First winner (Pierre Rolland) atop Alpe d’Huez since 1986 (Hinault)
• FDJ’s Jeremy Roy voted most combative rider
• Amael Moinard, the only Frenchman on the winner’s team (BMC)

The hopes and dreams of a number of notable riders were dashed largely due to crashes in the first week. Some struggled on to Paris, others departed the Tour in ambulances. A speedy recovery and return to two wheels to you all. Sadly, one of my favourite riders has decided to retire. It was on the cards and his fall in the Tour only accelerated matters. You’ll be sorely missed Alex but I’m sure you’ll lead your team to many more victories albeit from the team car.

Finally, congratulations to the winners of the various jerseys and classifications. I’m sure Dave Z was touched to see his full-sized cardboard cut out atop the podium as part of the winning team. I wonder, does Garmin Cervelo have one for each of the team?

It seems as if the entire world has proclaimed this the best Tour for the past 20 years. I can’t comment as I’ve only been addicted since 2004.

Finally and thankfully

Dear Cadel,

You’re a fine man & a champion athlete. You have shown that time & again. Last night was no different. You rode your own race … and a few others’ as well.

Tonight: the Alpe d’Huez. Tomorrow: the race of truth.

Marcus Burghardt said it best in a tweet after stage 4:

Today we saw what BMC Racing Team can do with 9 riders and 19 staff pulling for one goal

Now, there is a million-plus army clad in the black & red of BMC.

A whole country willing you on.

Your bella Chiara – her humour & grace beloved by all.

All pulling in the same direction.

One goal – to see you in the maillot jaune on the only road that matters … the Champs Élysée.

Two more efforts. Chapeau. Forza

 

Close to Flying

One man against the clock

Chiara Passerini and her World Champion, Mendrisio, 2009

BMC Pro Racing, on their way to 2nd in the Team Time Trial, 2011 TdF

It’s the latter that concerns me today, as 198 riders saddle up and take on perhaps the greatest challenge in sports: a three-week, nearly 3500-kilometer test of the human body and spirit. It’s the kind of multi-faceted, drama-wrought, ever-changing spectacle that fans and analysts live for, and it lasts for almost a month.

So without further ado, here are the full start lists for all 22 teams involved, including past data on the riders and a breakdown of what might be ahead for them.

In Part 2 are teams 8-14 on the start list:

AG2R La Mondiale

Maxime Bouet, Hubert Dupont, John Gadret, Sébastien Hinault, Blel Kadri, Sébastien Minard, Jean-Christophe Peraud, Christophe Riblon, Nicolas Roche

Tour de France stage wins: Riblon

Other Grand Tour stage wins: Gadret, Hinault

Grand Tour GC Top 10s: Gadret (4th in 2011 Giro); Roche (7th in 2010 Vuelta)

Days in Maillot Jaune: None

AG2R’s m.o. in the Tour is generally to get as many guys in breakaways as possible, maybe poach a stage or two, and if they’re lucky, increase their camera time with the odd Yellow Jersey from time to time a la Ricardo Nocentini in 2009. But this year, they have GC threats in Roche and Gadret, who finished 15th and 19th overall last season, respectively. There was some discord last season with Gadret allegedly refusing to help the then higher-placed Roche when the latter had a mechanical issue. As long as team harmony is restored, they could make some noise this year. Gadret won a stage in the Giro en route to a 4th place finish, and Roche finished 7th in his last Grant Tour, the 2010 Vuelta. The likes of Peraud, Riblon et al will continue to look for stage wins, but could soon find themselves doing heavy lifting for the team leader, whoever that turns out to be, in the high mountains.

Alexandre Vinokourov. Courtesy of Creative Commons.

Astana

Alexandre Vinokourov, Remy Di Gregorio, Dmitriy Fofonov, Andriy Grivko, Maxim Iglinskiy, Roman Kreuziger, Paolo Tiralongo, Tomas Vaitkus, Andrey Zeits

Tour de France stage wins: Vinokourov 4

Other Grand Tour stage wins: Vinokourov 4, Vaitkus

Grand Tour GC Top 10s: Vinokourov 4 (Won 2006 Vuelta, 3rd in 2003 Tour, 5th in 2005 Tour, 6th in 20010 Giro); Kreuziger 3 (9th in 2009 Tour, 9th in 2010 Tour, 6th in 2011 Giro); Tiralongo (9th in 2009 Vuelta)

Days in Maillot Jaune: None

This might as well be called Vino’s last ride. The 37-year-old could be mounting his last chance at that elusive Tour glory. He’s got stage wins at the Tour of the Basque Country and Tour de Romandie as well as 3rd on GC at Romandie. He’s got an excellent team behind him. But after the first few days in the mountains, it could be Kreuziger, a tremendous young talent whose finished 13th, 9th and 9th in his last three Grand Tours, who emerges as the leader, leaving Vino to run for stage wins as he has in the past. Any change in the GC picture could free up the likes of Di Gregorio – who won a stage in Paris-Nice this year – Grivko, Tiralongo and Fofonov to try and get into whatever breaks they can.

Quick Step

Tom Boonen, Sylvain Chavanel, Gerald Ciolek, Kevin De Weert, Dries Devenyns, Addy Engels, Jerome Pineau, Gert Steegmans, Niki Terpstra

Tour de France stage wins: Boonen 6, Chavanel 3, Steegmans 2

Other Grand Tour stage wins: Boonen 2, Ciolek, Pineau

Grand Tour GC Top 10s: None

Days in Maillot Jaune: Boonen 4 (Stages 3-6 in 2006); Chavanel 2 (Stage 2 and Stage 7 in 2010)

It’s been a few years since Boonen has been himself on a bike, thanks to injuries and drug problems. But this team is built around his ability to win stages in the springs once again. It is a thin field of sprinters that includes a number of talented by still maturing young riders that’s conducive for Boonen and his team of leadout men, including Ciolek and Steegmans. Boonen enters with two wins this season, a stage of the Tour of Qatar, one of his favorites, and a win at Gent-Wevelgem. The lack of a prologue reduces his chances at wearing yellow early, but he can still contend for the Green Jersey in the points classification, which he won in 2007. Chavanel, a rider whose worn yellow and won his fair share of stages, will likely be out in breaks from day 1, as will Tour veteran Pineau.

Team Sky

Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas, Ben Swift, Juan Antonio Flecha, Rigoberto Urán, Xabier Zandio, Simon Gerrans, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Christian Knees

Tour de France stage wins: Flecha, Gerrans

Other Grand Tour stage wins: Boasson Hagen 2, Gerrans 2; Wiggins

Grand Tour GC Top 10s: Wiggins (4th in 2009 Tour)

Days in Maillot Jaune: None

Wiggins is in excellent form and has to be considered among the favorites. He proved himself in the mountains of the Dauphine-Libere, taking home the overall title. He’ll have some climbing help with the likes of Uran and Zandio, though this isn’t a team that has the muscle in the mountains to shepherd a rider into Yellow and help him defend it. The sprinting duties look likely to fall to Boasson Hagen, who enters with two wins on the season. But either Swift, who has three wins this season, or Thomas could also be up for those duties. If all else fails, there’s always guys like Gerrans and Flecha to get into groups on rolling stages and try to eke out wins.

FDJ

William Bonnet, Sandy Casar, Mickael Delage, Arnold Jeannesson, Gianni Meersman, Remi Pauriol, Anthony Roux, Jerome Roy and Artur Vichot.

Tour de France stage wins: Casar 3

Other Grand Tour stage wins: Roux

Grand Tour GC Top 10s: Casar (6th in 2006 Giro)

Days in Maillot Jaune: None

The youngest team in this Tour with an average age just under 26 boasts a single rider – Casar at 32 – on the downside of 30. The team selection here is somewhat perplexing. The veteran Casar is the undoubted leader and the rider in the side with the best credentials. But lacking from that squad is Pierrick Fedrigo, a three-time stage winner who made a big money move from Team Europcar (formerly BBox-Bouygues Telecom), and Yauheni Hutarovich, a young Belarusian sprinter who has come close to winning stages on several occasions and would benefit from the scarcity of sprinting talent in this field. That leaves FDJ with little concrete to offer beyond Casar. Casar will likely be the big GC hope – as has become a popular refrain, the lack of time trials aids him in that pursuit – but could instead look to grab stage wins as the race progresses. FDJ should get plenty of camera time on their home roads, populating the breaks as often as they possibly can. One to look for is Pauriol, who managed to take home the mountains classification at Paris-Nice and the Tour of the Mediterranean this year and could compete for the polka dot jersey.

Cadel Evans. Courtesy of Creative Commons.

BMC Racing

Brent Bookwalter, Marcus Burghardt, Cadel Evans, George Hincapie, Amaël Moinard, Steve Morabito, Ivan Santaromita, Manuel Quinziato, Michael Schär

Tour de France stage wins: Hincapie 2, Evans, Burghardt

Other Grand Tour stage wins: Evans

Grand Tour GC Top 10s: Evans 7 (8th in 2005 Tour, 4th in 2006 Tour, 2nd in 2007 Tour, 2nd in 2008 Tour, 5th in 2010 Giro, 4th in 2007 Vuelta, 3rd in 2009 Vuelta)

Days in Maillot Jaune:  Evans 6 (Stages 10-14 in 2008, Stage 9 in 2010); Hincapie 2 (Stages 1-2 in 2006)

Much like RadioShack, BMC is putting all its eggs in the GC basket with former world champion Evans. Unlike RadioShack, however, BMC lacks a team to carry his championship aspirations. He’s had an excellent season, claiming the overall in Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour de Romandie and second in the Dauphine-Libere. But his supporting cast is sparse. Bookwalter proved himself able to finish both the Giro and tour last season, but a heavier load will be placed on him this year. Hincapie, Burghardt, Morabito and Quinziato are veterans with varying degrees of usefulness in the mountains. But the team lacks a sprinter for stages that finishes in the pack. It looks like Bookwalter will have to be Hincapie’s last man, the trusted rider whose the last to leave him in the big mountain passes. That’s a bit much to ask for such a young rider to accompany a podium hopeful.

Cofidis

Julien El Fares, Samuel Dumoulin, Leonardo Duque, Tony Gallopin, David Moncoutie, Rein Taaramae, Tristan Valentin, Mickael Buffaz, Romain Zingle

Tour de France stage wins: Moncoutie 3, Dumoulin

Other Grand Tour stage wins: Moncoutie 3, Duque

Grand Tour GC Top 10s: Moncoutie (8th in 2008 Vuelta)

Days in Maillot Jaune: None

Taaramae will wear the leader’s jersey after the Estonian won the youth classification in both Criterium International and Paris-Nice this year, finishing 3rd and 4th overall, respectively, in addition to 8th overall in the Volta ao Algarve. But the bulk of the attention will be on a pair of French veterans in Moncoutie and Dumoulin. Moncoutie has three stage wins to his credit. He’s won the last three King of the Mountains jerseys in the Vuelta and could contend for one in France this season. Dumoulin also has tasted stage victory, and he’s likely to be a constant protagonist in lead groups throughout this race. He’s looking to build on a total of four wins this season, including two in the hilly Volta a Catalunya. Whether its those two or some of the team’s more inexperienced members, expect to see the red jerseys of Cofidis on the television screens early and often.

One of ours!

What can I say? The weather was fantastic, the event was well supported and everyone enjoyed themselves. The local rag gave us a two page spread in the Sunday paper – unprecedented. Amael Moinard and Geoffroy Lequatre (wearing his G4 Dimension kit) both kindly rode the 105km course and gave one of our promising young riders a day to remember, for ever.  I should add that he was only the unofficial winner as, aged 15, he was too young to take part in the event.  The shorter course proved twice as popular as the longer one, with the winner completing it in 3h 00′ 22 “. That’s a wee bit quicker than I’d have managed to do it.

Those competing in the 175km cyclosportif also had some illustrious company: Alexandre Vinokourov, Andriy Grivko and Max Iglinsky. The winner, Gregoire Tarride, time-trialled his way to victory in 4h 58′ 47″, 11 minutes ahead of his nearest rival.  Remember that name, you’re going to be hearing it again. He’ll be riding as a neo-pro for VC La Pomme Marseillaise from next month. Another of our promising youngsters finished 3rd, Jeremy Couanon. That too is a name to remember.

While the amateur riders were happy to tuck into the delicious post race feast, including my cakes, the pros were more restrained, making a bee-line instead for the orange quarters. Though, I did see Grivko eating a piece of my pain d’epice.

We had lots of positive feedback from the participants, many of whom were taking part for the first time. They were particularly complimentary about the course security which for us is always the primordial issue. My Swiss friends, who had not ridden the course before, took it at a more leisurely pace than the winner, stopping to re-fuel at the feed zones en-route and generally enjoying the surrounding countryside.

One of the highlights of these events is the tombola. This year we surpassed ourselves with some prizes that I thought (for once) were actually worth winning, largely thanks to generous donations from club members, the Moinards and the Lequatres – thanks guys.

You might be wondering what happened to my beloved. He had a whale of a time playing at being Graham Watson on the back of the biggest motorbike I have ever seen. He’s taken some great shots which I will be featuring on the blog whenever he deigns to share them with me. To be fair, he left for Italy on Sunday evening and is due back this evening.

By the end of the day, at our wrap up evening meal, we all felt tired but content with a job well done. Typically, I was buzzing with ideas as how to improve next year’s event and I’m sure the others have some too. You cannot stand still and rest on your laurels, there’s always things that can be improved upon.

Postscript: You can find the photos from both courses on Picasa under “La Laurentine Andrei Kivilev 28 mai 2011″

I have just spent all day pleasurably toiling in the warm sunshine handing out dossards and signing up participants for tomorrow’s, rather today’s event. If I’ve had such a tiring day why aren’t I tucked up in bed? Good question. I have been working in the kitchen to maintain my reputation as a domestic goddess. Tom III is packed to the gunwales with edible delights, mostly for the riders, but some for the volunteers, including a big batch of banana and maple syrup muffins for breakfast. In addition, I’ve made desserts for this evening’s post-race BBQ.

I had a complete change of heart largely brought about by the climatic conditions. Never, ever make meringues when it’s humid. I used the berries intended for the Pavlova in a summer pudding. The cream was used to make thyme-infused lemon creams and I whipped up a batch of chocolate rice pudding. M le President has also bought some fruit tarts. Let’s hope it all satisfies the hungry hordes who are facing a long day today. It all kicks off at 05:00. I’ll be leaving home in just over two hours. So exactly what is this all in aid of:-

On 12 March  2003, the Kazakh rider Andréï Kivilev, racing for Team Cofidis, tragically died from head injuries sustained in a fall on the 2^nd stage of Paris-Nice.  Kivilev regularly trained on the roads of the Nicoise hinterland often in the company of his Kazakh compatriot, Alexandre Vinokourov. To honour  Kivilev, in 2006, the management of my cycling club decided to rechristen their annual randonée « La Laurentine Andréï Kivilev ».

The 6^th edition of this event in Kivilev’s memory will,  for the first time, also include a timed cyclosportive, raced under UFOLEP rules, open to all entrants over 18. There are three different routes:

1. 175km with 2,532m of climbing
2. 105km with 1,242m of climbing
3. 40km along the traffic-free cycling tracks of the Var valley

The first two routes can be ridden either as a cyclosportive or as a randonnee. Last year’s randonnnee event enjoyed unprecedented participation with 561 entrants  (2009 –  421) 342 of whom took part in 105km, 204 cycled 175km while a further 15  rode on the cycle tracks along the Var valley. We’re going to be hard pushed to break that number this year.

The prizes were awarded in the presence of the first secretary of the Kazakh Embassy in France, Mr. Anuarbek Akhmetov and Andréï’s widow, Nathalya Kivilev, accompanied by their son. A Kazakh journalist and film crew recorded the event which was subsequently shown on Kazakh television. It is anticipated that a representative from the Embassy will again be in attendance this Saturday, as will his son and widow.

The club had hoped that the addition of a cyclosportive would make the event even more attractive, particularly to those living outside the region and  overseas. But it’ll probably take us a few years to cement our reputation. A number of professional riders, including Alexandre Vinokourov, Amael Moinard and Geoffroy Lequatre have confirmed their participation. Ideal cycling weather is forecast: warm and sunny with just a light breeze. I wish I were cycling it……………………………

I’m not, you understand, complaining. I’m in the quiet carriage, no mobile phones, which would be impossible for my beloved who I’m quite sure has already annoyed the hell out of his fellow travellers by loudly chatting, in several different languages, on his mobile. I have my picnic lunch, I’m next to the buffet car for my regular infusions of strong coffee, I have a pile of newspapers and magazines, my really difficult Sudoku book and, of course, my notepad. Really, what else does a girl need?

The first part of the journey is largely along the coast and affords great views of some of my favourite places to cycle. The sun is shining, the sky is bright azure blue, the grass is lush and the foliage is every shade of green from citrus bright lime through to British racing green interrupted very so often by splodges of pale pink, almond white or puce blossom. Even when we head inland, and the surroundings are less salubrious, the clear bright Mediterranean light gilds everything be it industrial estates or graffiti strewn, railway sidings and derelict farmhouses. As we journey further north, away from the urban sprawl, there’s a few fluffy clouds in the sky, herds of sheep gambolling on the gently rolling countryside, and the crops are just starting to sprout.

Of course, I’m excited to be heading to Roubaix to see the Hell of the North. I’ve noted that a number of people have gotten on the train with cycling bags, no doubt planning to ride tomorrow’s cyclosportif. I did entertain brief thoughts about aping them until one of the pros I know told me what riding over the cobbles was really like. I have heeded his words of wisdom.

Hard as it may be to believe but I have already started planning my trips for next year. I have so enjoyed watching this week’s Tour of the Basque Country that I simply have to go and watch it in person next year. The stages are all based around a small geographic area, meaning you can easily stay in the same place all week and ride to and from the start and finish of each day’s stage. Additionally, it’s a race which features some of my favourite riders. Two have already won stages (Alexandre Vinokourov and Sammy Sanchez) and another (Amael Moinard) is gracing the spotted jersey. For succinct summaries of each day’s stages, go and read www.thearmchairsportsfan.com.

According to my training programme, this is a rest week: just a couple of hours of gentle cycling, stretching and gym work. However, the weather’s been so fabulous that I’ve been out riding most days, mindful that during this 4-day trip I won’t be able to ride at all. I could tell from yesterday’s ride that my form is back to where it was before the cold. So, I’m now about a month behind in my preparation. The real tests will be my times in the forthcoming sportives. I’m going to be crushed if I don’t show an improvement on last year.

As forecast, it started raining heavily just as the peloton hit the descent from Gourdon, a broad, sinuous and steep road which dangerously narrows at Chateauneuf. Roads are always at their most dangerous with a little rain: they’re greasy and very slippy. Many were cautious, indeed one could say over cautious. But with good reason, no one wants their season compromised.

Yesterday, it was a case of right team wrong rider, Alexandre Vinokourov had said that they were going to put an Astana rider on the podium. I assumed he would be that rider. I was wrong. It was instead, Remy di Gregorio who, after a couple of years in the FDJ wilderness, showed that he’s been revitalised by the Astana lifeline.

Right on Remy

Remy set off with around 13km to the finish with no one quite believing that he would manage to stay away, particularly given the narrow margin of his advantage.  His team had controlled the peloton for the first 80km or so and by the time we had television coverage, Garmin-Cervelo were on the front picking up points to preserve the green jersey of Heinrich Haussler. In the final stretch, Movistar took over, one assumes, to catapult Xavier Tondo up the GC. Instead, he slid off his bike just before the finish line.

The favourites all looked to be in preservation mode, not willing to gamble in the perilous conditions. Haussler fell over three times, the last time sliding into a wall. Robbert Kiserlovski (Astana) ended up under a parked van. Those two weren’t the only riders to fall. With 2km to go, Remy’s back wheel slid and  his right leg shot out of the pedal, allowing him to steady himself. Miraculously, he remained upright and continued to press his slim advantage.

Sammy Sanchez decided to use the work done by Movistar to move up on GC, finishing behind di Gregorio to record his 33rd runners-up position. Does this make him a Spanish Poulidor? There was no change to any of the jersey holders, nor the podium.

Today’s stage was much shorter and took in the usual sights of Nice which, one has to say, still looked magnificent on the television coverage despite the constant falling rain and huge waves crashing onto the beach. Sheltering under our brollies, warmly wrapped up, we watched the riders depart and them promptly retired to a bar to warm ourselves and watch the tv coverage. We were joined by many of the walking wounded: riders who have retired thanks to niggling injuries, colds and stomach upsets.

Only 134km to go!

Seizing the opportunity of last year’s last stage winner’s absence (Amael Moinard has retired with a heavy cold), Thomas Voeckler rode away from his breakaway companions to record his 2nd win (3rd French stage win) of this edition of Paris-Nice. You would be hard pressed to find a more popular winner. Sammy set off again, this time with a team mate from the breakaway,  to pull back a few seconds which moved him up another place on GC into 5th. That aside, there were no changes on the podium nor with the jerseys. Tony Martin rode a well judged race to record his first stage-race GC win and provide HTC with another Grand Tour card to play. Andreas Kloeden was 2nd and Bradley Wiggins 3rd. Jean-Christoph Peraud was the best placed Frenchman in 6th place. Rein Taaramae (4th on GC) was the best young rider, Henrich Haussler won the green point’s jersey and Remi Pauriol the spotted mountain one.

(all photographs courtesy of my beloved)

L’Equipe devoted half a page today to last year’s revelation, Peter Sagan who, having shone in the recent Tour of Sardinia, is obviously on form and keen to seize his opportunities. He’s not the only young gun keen to cement his credentials. Over at HTC-High Road, there’s Tony Martin and Tejay van Garderen plus Ritchie Porte at SaxoBank-Sungard and Jurgen van den Broeck at Omega Pharma-Lotto. The latter’s team mate, Philippe Gilbert sparkled on the Strade Bianchi today finishing in Siena ahead of Allessandro Ballan, Damiano Cunego and Spartacus.

Let’s not forget the old guard,  those who have triumphed before in the race to the sun, such as Luis Leon Sanchez and Alexandre Vinokourov. The latter’s bought plenty of support with Tomas Viatkus, Robert Kisverlovski and Roman Kreuziger. Also in the reckoning for the overall, Sylvain Chavanel (Quickstep) and Levi Leipheimer (Team RadioShack).

If we’re looking for stage winners, we should look to the French who are always “en forme” in the early season: Voeckler, Fedrigo, Le Mevel, Moinard, Peraud, Moncoutie, Pauriol. Personally, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the boys in orange: Sammy Sanchez, Romain Sicard and Gorka Izagirre.

The 1,307km route kicks off tomorrow with 154.5km from Houdan to Houdan. Yes, they’re going round in circles. Monday’s one for the sprinters too. Look out for Grega Bola (Lampre-ISD) and Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha). The rest of the sprinters, with an eye on the Classics, are doing Tirreno-Adriatico.

After two flattish stages, it gets progressively lumpy on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Friday. (I’ll be there), sees a 27km ITT from Rognes to Aix-en-Provence. This could be the decisive stage. Next up is 215km, and the longest stage, from Brignoles to Biot followed by 124km around Nice, including the Category 1 climbs up La Turbie and Col d’Eze. Never one to miss an opportunity to watch live racing in my backyard, I’ll be seeing both of these stages.

There are no testing climbs in the race and one wouldn’t expect them at this stage of the season. The winner will be a puncheur who can time-trial. I would suggest we should look no further than Alexandre Vinokourov who last won the race in 2003 (homage to Andrei Kivilev) and 2004. He’s made it one of his priorities this year and he’s a guy who can focus – go Alex go.

Today was just as hot as the previous day but there was a cool, rather than warm, breeze which was deliciously refreshing on the run in to home. We had picked up the newspapers on the way back and, once home, I had a cold shower and slipped into something cool and flimsy. I fed my beloved and settled down to watch stage 14: 184.5km from Revel to Ax-3 Domaines. The showdown in the Pyrenees was about to begin.

I was expecting things to kick off on the Port de Pailheres. Astana took control on the ascent and their pace shattered the peloton while leaving the contenders together. The remnants of the day’s breakaway was still up the road and a number of riders, including Carlos Sastre, had set off in hot pursuit.

A rider who lives locally, Amael Moinard, was one of two riders still up ahead from that morning’s breakaway but he’d been distanced by the other, Christophe Riblon, probably better known for his exploits on the track. Riblon hung on to give the French their 4th stage win. Meanwhile, Alberto and Andy were eyeballing one another, but neither was prepared to concede. Sensing a stalemate, both Sammy Sanchez and Denis Menchov decided to profit from the stalemate.  They gained 13 seconds. Roll on tomorrow.

I’ve been waiting with excitement for today. I’m not sure that it will be a stage for fireworks but I am looking forward to watching it live on Eurosport HD in the company of Mark Harmon and the incomparably dry Sean Kelly (In my eyes, Kelly can be forgiven everything because he was my first ever cycling hero!).

The Great Man – Kelly!

I’m going to try to update the blog a few times over the day but my first thoughts are that this could be a very interesting day (and a sumptuous one to look at as well). I’m not the greatest expert by any means but this could be a day for someone like Nico Roche or Geraint Thomas to take advantage. None of the big boys will have a go and these two could be allowed to get away. Another name that jumps out is Remi Pauriol. He is lying at about three and a half minutes behind and might be allowed to launch an attack. An even better bet might be Amael Moinard - he won the Mountains jersey in the “Race to the Sun” and is eleven and a half minutes off the Maillot Jaune: could be a good stage for him. Last year Thor Hushovd surprised everybody by riding off in one of the mountain stages and sealing his green jersey victory over Cavendish with some intermediate sprint finishes. This day would not be too hard for Hushovd - but I don’t think his need for points is as great this year. If Fabian Cancellara fancies stretching his lead, he could have a punt at this stage. However, he’ll have to do it alone. With Frank Schleck out of the race, Saxobank will be putting their resources into looking after Schleck’s brother Andy. I’ll nail my colours to the mast and go for Moinard. Why not join me for the day to see what happens?

Moinard – now he’ll probably crash!

12:50 – The early breakaway now has 8 minutes on the pack. Of course, Pineau is making an effort to garner some more King of the Mountains points but otherwise the rest of the break holds no threat to the GC contender as the next best placed is Knees. This break might be allowed to stay away if they can keep it up on the bigger climbs at the end.

14:13 - Simply wonderful coverage on Eurosport as the race winds it way through the Jura Mountains. Stunning helicopter shots of dams and lakes as the main group begin to bring back the break away group. Arashiro, the battling B-Box Japanese rider is doing a lot of work at the front. Maybe they are hoping to bring them back and watch Thomas Voeckler launch an attack. I can’t see the other GC contenders allowing that to happen though.

The Beautiful Jura Mountains

16:42 - In the end, this stage was too enthralling to draw myself away from. As the riders at the head of the course pedaled over the line, their scorching wheels leaving tracks in the molten tarmac, I was already reflecting for the thousandth time that cycling is a sport of Herculean fortitude. Here is Sylvain Chavanel: a man who fractured his skull a few months ago; who, having taken the yellow jersey on stage one suffered a punishing duo of punctures across the cruel cobbles of Belgium now determinedly taking back the yellow jersey in a startling display of resilience and, not a little, panache.

However, the tour is also a sport for stalkers in the shadows. Notice how without ever really appearing to do anything; Evans, Contador, Vinokourov, Menchov, Wiggins et al have edged themselves into the top ten. As ever, the mountain air allows the cream to rise to the top.

That Cancellara faded so completely was a surprise but there will be other days for the great Swiss. Maybe the gods didn’t like his machinations on Stage One.

Chapeau Monsieur Chavanel! Roll on the opening first category climb en route to Morzine tomorrow!

To see the current standings:

http://www.letour.fr/2010/TDF/LIVE/us/700/classement/index.html

Pretty much all my administration had been pushed to one side to accommodate the workload generated by the Kivilev and therefore it needed to be tackled first thing on Monday morning. My beloved went for a ride on his own, therefore I didn’t head out until much later, opting for one of my regular routes with some interval sprint training. In fact I was doing just this when I was passed by Amael Moinard and Rein Taamarae, going in the other direction. They were positively loitering, it must have been a recovery ride. Amael waived and looked impressed as I shot past them. Fortunately, I managed to sustain my effort for longer than the required 15 seconds.

Since my last brush with the tarmac, still a fairly frequent occurrence, the largest gears on my rear cassette had been slipping. I don’t have to tell you that these are the ones that I use most frequently. A trip to my LBS, on the way back, to get them sorted was in order. I arrived just before afternoon opening hours and found the owner enjoying a coffee in the cafe next door with Sean Yates, one of only a handful of  Englishmen to grace the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, and currently a DS with Team Sky.

Having been introduced, we briefly discussed the Giro. I sympathised with him over the difficulty of this year’s edition, particularly given the appalling weather conditions. I later mentioned that I was training for London-Paris at the end of the month. He said he’d heard that it was really difficult. Thanks Sean, I did not need to know this! Remember, ignorance is bliss.

Yesterday, I rode with my trainer: always very informative. As someone who’s not been riding long, I’m keen to improve my technique and this is the best way to do it. He proffers loads of very helpful advice while we ride along. Yesterday’s session involved more interval training which is always easier to accomplish with someone else watching the stopwatch.

The last three days I have been riding  strongly and feel really well, totally fired up for London-Paris. Which rather emphasises the importance of rest days and today’s another one. However, I have four days of riding in Varese to look forward to, starting tomorrow,  and plenty of odds and ends to complete today before we depart.

I have only done this once before and that was two years ago. I arrived at the pointage at 11:10am to discover it was closed. Nul points, no refreshments; I almost wept. My girlfriend nearly suffered a similar fate yesterday. But I’d told her that VC Menton had said the pointage would be open until 11:30am. She made them go and get their papers to record the points and licences for her and her clubmates.

As I wound my way up the climb, I realised I had forgotten how tricky it is in parts. Amael Moinard overhauled me with about 6km to go. He’s shortly off to the Tour of Turkey where I’m sure he’ll do well. About 2km from the top, I felt my energy ebbing and, to keep going,  promised myself a cold coke (and a sugar rush) as soon as I reached the village. Sadly, all I got was a top up at the fountain. As we headed off in the direction of Peille, my legs felt like jelly and I was feeling light-headed. Yes, I was bonking and had absolutely nothing with me. (Memo to self: never, ever go out without something to eat). But I struggled on and having crested the hill, it was downhill all the way to La Turbie, and a late lunch.

Which restaurant to choose? In these instances, my preference is to go for the one with tablecloths and napkins but none of them had these. I then had a quick look at the diners and their plates. I chose the restaurant next to the fountain which turned out to be an excellent choice. The lobster and asparagus salad was delicious, as was my strawberry and violet dessert. Much fortified, we set off in the direction of Col d’Eze and descended back into Nice on the Grande Corniche.

The traffic was backed up all the way round the port and we had to resort to using the cycling path alongside the Promenade. It’s a bit of an obstacle course requiring nerves of steel, good eyesight and eyes in the back of one’s head (or at least helmet). There’s pedestrians, cyclists, joggers, in-line skaters, dogs, other cyclists one or two abreast and kids on scooters, trikes and bikes unable to control their trajectory. We fled back to the road only to meet an Austrian who was cycling from Graz to Santiago di Compostela. We wished him good luck and God speed.

Clearly, still smarting from last season’s relegation to the ranks of Continental-Pro, the boys of Cofidis feel that they have a point to prove. While their place in the Grand Tours is assured, for this season, invitations to some events: most notably, Tour of the Basque Country, Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of Flanders have gone missing in the post.

Cofidis have been sponsoring a cycling team since 1996 and are reflecting on whether they’ll continue. An answer is anticipated at the end of the month. The boys have done their best. In any event, if Cofidis bow out, they’ll all be looking for new posts and will not have done their case any harm.

To be fair, Cofidis also had a reasonably successful start to the 2009 season, so this is nothing new, but maybe it better reflects the depth and spirit in the squad since Leornardo Duque, Amael Moinard, the diminutive Samuel Dumoulin, Jens Keukeleire and Julien el Fares have all recently graced the podium. It would be a great shame to see this new self-belief crushed. I for one will be keeping my fingers crossed for them.

Postscript: Strictly speaking HTC-Columbia are now on level pegging with Cofidis, as Cavendish today recorded his maiden vistory of the season.

Post-postscript: Cofidis have renewed their sponsorship for a further two years – hurrah!

That'll do nicely!

I’ve just watched a re-run on television of yesterday’s final stage of Paris-Nice. Given that I saw the stage “live”, you might think it odd. Not so, there’s always something that one misses first time around. In any event, it was great to watch once more one of the riders who both lives locally and is a friend of our cycling club win big. Indeed, he enjoyed the best win to date of his career, also scooping the spotted jersey. I, for one, am looking forward to him gracing the podium on many, many more occasions. 

I’m delighted that it was finally a race to the sun and the broadcasts on both Saturday and Sunday beautifully showcased the wonderful area in which I’ve chosen to live. Sunday, M le President and I, in the company of our better halves, enjoyed the corporate hospitality of our club sponsors, Skoda, while savouring the final stage. Indeed, given that the Spaniards were likely to dominate the podium we expressed the desire for a French winner on the final day. It was therefore fitting that a rider who lives locally, one we know and who regularly trains on these roads won. Sometimes home advantage helps.   

Also worthy of note were the 9th and 10th places on GC for Jean-Christophe Peraud and Jerome Coppel respectively. The first is a former mountain biker (and current French time-trial champion) who, fed up with playing second fiddle to the incomparable Julian Absalon, turned to the road this year with Omega Pharma Lotto. The latter is a former U23 time trial silver medallist who floundered, rather than flourished, for a couple of years at FDJ and now seems to have found his feet (or should that be legs?) again at Saur-Sojasun.  

Talking of former mountain bikers, I cannot ignore double stage and points jersey winner, Peter Sagan (a former junior world mountain biking champion) who has exploded onto the road racing scene this season and delivered on the promise he showed in the Tour Down Under. His teammate Roman Kreuziger won best young rider and was 4th on GC. Liquigas are surely a team loaded with talent.

Another young, talented rider who lives locally much animated the race and finished 8th on GC. He’s Rein Taamarae, the Estonian national champion and a team mate of the stage winner, Amael Moinard.  Cofidis team management must be feeling very pleased with their overall performance. 

Vacansoleil, Skil Shimano and Saur Sojasun were obviously hoping to sufficiently impress ASO to gain that oh-so-coveted invitation to The Tour this summer. Vacansoleil heavily sponsored Paris-Nice while Saur Sojasun, along with Etap Hotels, made up the Paris-Nice caravan. It all helps boys but I can’t help feeling that money talks loudest, so mine’s on Vacansoleil. 

Who's he shooting?

Last, but not least, Bert let his legs do the talking. Yes, like any rider who weighs only 61kg, he’s always going to suffer in the wind. However, let’s not forget, the one rider who did get blown off his bike in the Prologue weighs more than me – Gert Steegmans. I saw him sitting on the steps of the RadioShack bus on Sunday looking well on the road to recovery. But, back to Bert. He raced intelligently and was well shepherded by his Astana team mates who, from their performances here and in Tirreno-Adriatico, are showing they’re nowhere near as lacking in talent as some would have us believe. My money’s on Bert for a consecutive Tour win.   

Both photographs courtesy of my very good friend Susi Goertze

This morning was still a bit damp from some overnight rain but it quickly dried up in the warm sunshine. The temperature reached 20 C degrees today; truly wonderful, despite the gale force wind. I had a great ride, waived to Amael Moinard, who like me was training on his lonesome,  before returning home to get ready for my trip to Nice, to New Vision. 

Yes, I’ve decided to take the plunge and have my eyes lasered. I’ve been thinking about it for some time but what’s brought it to a head is the need to replace all my pairs of glasses. The cost of the two options are not dissimilar, so it’s now or never. Today was part I of the process to determine whether or not I’m a suitable candidate, eyeswise. It would appear that I am and now have an appointment with the opthalmic Surgeon who’ll undertake  part II of the assessment and then the  procedure itself. Nice has quite a reputation in opthalmic circles and there are a number of companies offering this service. I opted for New Vision because they support OGCN.

I arrived back home with enough time for a quick snack before heading back to the club for the monthly meeting of our racers to hand out their racing licences. Yesterday, I lent my club house keys to one of my team mates who’s kindly giving some IT instruction to those who are IT illiterate. The DS had assured me that it wasn’t a problem for this evening’s meeting as the Treasurer had agreed to come down and open the club house for us. Knowing that I was going to be there too, and assuming that I had my keys, the Treasurer went on an emergency call out with her husband. The net result was a 45 minute wait in the cold (and dark) for all of us. Interestingly, no one suggested going into the cafe opposite to have a drink and wait for the keys to arrive.  

Before heading off to bed, I decided to check the start time of the television coverage of this week end’s races and discovered, to my horror, that RTBF Sat has discontinued broadcasting. This was the channel on which I used to watch all the Belgian classics, largely because of its superior and lengthier coverage. Now what am I going to do? Coverage in France is only on Sport+. It’s no good, I can see that I’m going to have to subscribe to Canal+. Meanwhile, I’ll be checking the net for links. I’ll probably end up watching it either on a Norwegian or Japanese channel!

I managed to fit in yesterday’s ride before it started raining. My path crossed with that of Amael Moinard who waved enthusiastically from the other side of the road. He was in the company of a Vacansoleil rider I’ve seen a few times over the past month or so. The brothers Feillu live up the road in Frejus, but it wasn’t either of them. A quick look at the team’s website reveals that they’ve another Frenchman riding for them, a neo-pro called Stephane Rossetto. So I’m assuming that’s who it is. 

I’ve only got the first two weeks of the programme so that we can assess whether it’s too easy or too hard, and amend accordingly. The programme includes a twice weekly regime of exercises and stretching. There are no rest days and each week there are 3 days of interval training: two on the home trainer, one on the bike. In addition, I have to undertake two of my rides in a fasted state: all the better to burn that excess fat!

Unfortunately, today’s 2:30hr ride has had to be switched with tomorrow’s interval training thanks to the weather. This is one-legged training to improve my pedalling technique. Clearly, I need it as I can’t seem to pedal smoothly through the top of the stroke, the so-called “dead-zone”. Would  elliptical cranks help?  After completing the 20 minute warm up my Polar decided to pack up, leaving me to estimate the timing of the intervals, the cadence and the wattage. I don’t think I did it too badly.

I can just about do an hour or so on the home trainer after that I get exceeding bored. However, if the weather doesn’t improve I’ll have to do my 2:30hr ride on the home trainer tomorrow. On the bright side, I’ll be able to watch the round up of the previous day’s action at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver so it won’t be too bad.

Given that a little R&R was in order, I donned my fleecy tracksuit, flopped onto the sofa and picked up this month’s copy of Velo Magazine which had been delivered  LAST WEEK and had remained unread. What can I say? Too much to do.

There’s a picture of Cav on the front, sporting a beard, endeavouring to look mean and moody and failing. This month’s a bit of a bumper issue as, among other things, it contains details of all the French cyclosportifs, a team guide, the season’s calendar, features on afore-mentioned Cav and Boassen Hagen plus a list of the 50 top cyclists most likely to be hitting the headlines this season. I thought I’d check out this list to see if we’re in accord.

Their top 3 are Bert, Cav and Lance. I think that’s wishful thinking. Whichever continent you’re on, Lance generates more news than all the other riders put together. This is obviously a French perspective and they’re assuming (and why wouldn’t you) that Bert is going to retain his Tour title while Cav is going to win loads of sprints.  The next three, in order, are Schleck the Younger, Fabulous Fabian and Cuddles Evans – hard to disagree there. They’ve ranked Philippe Gilbert (7th) ahead of Tom Boonen (11th). I’m not sure I agree with that one. Though, to be fair, Tom is probably hoping for more coverage of his cycling, rather than non-cycling, activities than last year.

Surprisingly, there’s a dearth of Frenchmen in the top 50. First up in 25th place is the U23 Road Race Champion, Romain Sicard who this season will be riding as a neo-pro for the boys in orange, Euskatel-Euskadi. Just behind him in 28th place is Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), the so-called French housewives’ favourite. Christophe Le Mevel (FDJ), 10th last year in the Dauphine and Tour, is only in 37th place. There are three further Frenchmen bringing up the rear: Brice Feillu (Vacansoleil), the younger of the brothers, is 42nd, 45th is Pierre Rolland (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) and Anthony Roux (FDJ) is 48th. No place for Amael Moinard, David Moncoutie, Tommy Voekler, Pierrick Fedrigo, Romain Feillu or, indeed, the Frenchman who’s garnered the most column inches to date, the viral celebrity, young Arthur Vichot (FDJ).

Turning next to the team guide, I check out the new teams and kit changes. By and large, I favour simple colour schemes which are easy to pick out in the peloton: such as, Cervelo, BMC, Sky and FDJ. Omega Pharma Lotto’s shirt is a big improvement on previous years.  I rather like the retro styling and black shorts for Quick Step, but the shorts are too short. Quel horreur, what were the folks at Footon-Servetto thinking? There’s an Italian team (Carminooro NGC) who wear a black kit edged in gold which looks quite classy. Though it would look even classier if  they dropped the outline round the crotch. 

Better in black

If only Footon-Servetto had gone for all black shorts. I really feel for those boys. You just know that those “gold” shorts are going to look “nude”  and turn see-through in the wet. You have been warned.

Andre Greipel, in imperious form, had won the Tour Down Under. The previous holder of the title, one Alan Davies, was cast asunder on Day 1 because his team had forgotten to bring the radios. I’m not sure who was to blame for this blunder, but I have a suggestion – checklists. Come on, you know it makes sense! 

Meanwhile, over on another continent, Anthony Charteau of Bbox Bouygues Telecom won La Tropicale Amissa Bongo. Our local boy, Amael Moinard was 7th. Over on another continent, lime-green clad Vicenzo Nibali won the Tour of San Luis. Next up, the Tours of Qatar and Oman. Don’t forget your buckets and spades.

I had been looking forward to seeing a sprint fest between Boonen, who has laid claim to the sand dunes these past few years, and Cavendish, the fastest man on two (non-motorised) wheels.  Sadly, due to an infected tooth or teeth, Cavendish won’t be putting in an appearance before Ruta del Sol. It’s all yours Tom.

Good enough to eat

I was hoping to illustrate this post with some fine photographs, taken by my beloved, of my club mates, our sponsors and a couple of pro-riders (Amael Moinard and Andrei Mizurov) enjoying the Galettes des Rois yesterday evening. Sadly, his photos were not up to scratch. This has left me in something of a quandary as I also needed a photo to illustrate my article for Nice Matin. I’m now going to have to ask my fellow club mates if any of them have photos which fit the bill. I knew I should have taken my camera too.

Mizu and ex-M le President

Many of my fellow cyclists remarked on how much they had seen of my beloved recently, noting that it’s very rare for him to be at home for this length of time. They also expressed their concerns as to how I was coping with this. I replied that I was bearing up well despite insane provocation.   

The evening went well. We had a good turnout of members and their families with everyone enjoying the selection of galettes, the mince pies, the Xmas cake and the Rocky Road. I took a couple of the remaining few slices of Xmas cake down to my LBS where it was enjoyed in record time by the owner, his assistant and a local rider.

Monday and Tuesday were cold but sunny. We rode for a couple of hours both days. But it started raining late last night and continued well into this morning. I really don’t need to ride outside in the rain. After a quick session this morning in the gym, this afternoon I cleared a few administrative matters relating to the club. The outlook for the rest of the week thankfully looks clear ahead of the defence on Sunday of our regional title at Beausoleil. M Le President will be working, so I have been entrusted to rally the troops. Woe betide anyone who turns up without their licence!

Other points of interest: we saw Cadel Evans attack, albeit not for long; Johnny Hoogerland, the supreme escape artist of la Vuelta, is in 12th place;  Amael Moinard is the best placed Frenchman in 15th. 

Sammy Sanchez

One of my faves, Sammy Sanchez, had to grit his teeth on two occasions, when others have attacked and left him distanced, to work his way back, and now lies 3rd, up from 6th. I’ve looked at the remaining stages and while there’s downhill finishes to both stages 15 and 19, I don’t think they’re decisive enough to allow him to take back enough time on Valverde, but maybe on Gesink. We’ll have to see. Likewise, I see little opportunity for Basso and Evans to get on the podium, unless bad karma is visited on those above. 

The peloton is much diminished, down to 154 riders, by the departures of those who have their sights set on Mendrisio.

Postscript: As I suspected, Sammy did have a go on the final descent today but it was neither steep enough nor technical enough to distance anyone.

Tot grote verbazing van Ducrot en tot grote hilariteit van mij, raakte Moinard een beetje in paniek toen zijn achtervolgers er een ploegentijdritje van maakte, en zijn voorsprong gestaag terugliep. Hij was net bezig met een afdaling en liet de wereld maar weer eens zien dat niet elke renner even goed kan dalen. ‘Weer zo’n idioot slechte bocht,’ riep Ducrot uit, ‘hij rijdt 93 meter om!’ Bij de volgende bocht groeide zijn verbazing: ‘Het lijkt wel alsof-ie bang is dat in de binnenbocht valkuilen gegraven zijn ofzo, dat-ie daar door het asfalt zakt…’