EuroTrash Monday!

The behemoth that is the Tour de France has got off to an exciting start in Corsica; exciting racing and a bit of controversy with a bus, but, thank goodness no doping, except from 1998, that’s today’s TOP STORY. It’s not all Tour; we also have the Giro Rosa and the Tour of Austria and anything else we can find. A fun packed EuroTrash Monday, we need coffee!

TOP STORY: 1998 Doping Report
Last week it was leaked by L’Equipe that Laurent Jalabert was positive for EPO in a retroactive test on his sample from the 1998 Tour de France. This will be part of a report that is scheduled to be released by the French Sports Ministry on July the 18th, the day that this year’s Tour crosses the Alpe d’Huez twice. A rider’s delegation asked Valerie Fourneyron to delay the release of the report until after the finish of the Tour.

Jens Voigt, Jérémy Roy, Samuel Dumoulin, Jerome Pineau, and Luis Angel Mate met the Minister before stage 1 to put their point across that it was “not of our generation” as this is from 14 years ago and even the oldest man in the race, Voigt, had only turned Pro that year. Dumoulin added that “Today it is a sport like any other. There are no more positive cases than elsewhere.”

The Sports Minister Valerie Fourneyron said: “On this issue, there is the independence of the AFLD compared to the UCI, with the use of the biological passport, whereabouts, pre-departure checks. There is also a coordination of those who fight against the traffic (of drugs): the Ministries of Interior, Justice, Customs and our ministry.” Fourneyron also agreed that “cycling has been the victim of a media lynching.”

I guess these retroactive tests have to be done, although I wonder how far we have to go back. Samples were not frozen back in Eddy Merckx’s day and for that matter Miguel Indurain and Stephen Roche are safe, but what about other the other sports? France won the 1998 football (soccer) World Cup at the same time as the Festina affair hit the news, were they tested at the time and were their samples frozen, like Jalabert’s, to be retroactively tested in 2013? I could list all the sporting winners in 1998; the New York Yankees in Baseball, Denver at the Super Bowl, Pete Sampras and Jana Novotna at Wimbledon, what about the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur and then there were the Winter Olympics in Nagano where no athletes were caught doping.

Another point is that WADA didn’t exist until November the 10th 1999, so many countries had different regulations in those days, so maybe we should draw a line then? If you read any of the doping books of the time all the teams had a “medical system” or their riders were left behind, so retroactive positive tests shouldn’t come as a surprise now. The answer could be the suggested Truth and Reconciliation Commission, although it would only confirm much of what we already know or suspect. Is it time to move on?

The Tour de France 1998, quel bordel!

Tour de France 2013
Stage 1 of the 100th Tour de France looked to be following the usual plan of the long breakaway being pulled back in time for the sprint. Apart from Juan José Lobato (Euskaltel-Euskadi) taking the only KOM points and the jersey, the only other excitement was the discussions between the other riders in the break; Jerome Cousin (Europcar), Lars Boom (Belkin), Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Cyril Lemoine (Sojasun) as to whether they should race or call it a day and go back to the peloton.

That was until about 13 kilometres to go when all hell let loose. First a crash for Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil-DCM), then a bigger crash with over ten riders involved, including Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp). Orica-GreenEdge was next in the headlines as the team bus got stuck under the finish gantry and (at first) couldn’t be moved. So the finish was moved to the 3 kilometre to go point. Next was an even bigger crash that took out many of the sprint stars; Cavendish, Griepel and Sagan could not contest the sprint. The bus was shifted and then so was the finish line back to its original point.

Argos-Shimano had the upper hand and took Marcel Kittel to the line for the stage win, Yellow jersey, Green jersey and the Young rider’s White jersey. Just behind him was Alexander Kristoff (Katusha), Danny Van Poppel (Vacansoleil-DCM) and David Millar (Garmin-Sharp) in fourth.

Of the crashed riders Tony Martin probably came off worst with a broken collar bone, others; including Sagan and Contador lost skin, but with nothing broken.

Race Quotes:
“I stayed too much time in the head-wind,” said second placed Alexander Kristoff (Katusha). “So I lost lots of energy and in the end I was a bit tired. Anyway, I managed to come back to the first positions: but when I wanted to start my sprint I was closed in. As soon as I saw a chance to sprint I did it, but I saw that Kittel was really fast. Moreover, he’s usually faster than me when the finish line is flat because I’m less explosive than him. But I’m satisfied with my performance. I’m in a good shape, so tomorrow let’s see what’s going to happen.”

“I was warned that it would be crazy and you can be sure that it was”, smiled Danny van Poppel straight after his great result (3rd) while getting rid of his race nerves. “In the last ten kilometers the speed on my computer didn’t get under 65 kilometers an hour. As a sprinter you shouldn’t be scared and it was even more hectic with a possible changed finish line but I stayed focused. I decided to look at Kittel and other strong sprinters. My brother (Boy) and Kris (Boeckmans) did a great job helping me out in the final. This helped me get a perfect position and I managed to finish third.”

“Speeds ramped up sharply”, World Champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC) said. “You can imagine if you hear 10 minutes before we should finish that the finish line is moved to the third-to-the-last kilometre – that this creates a kind of chaos and then it becomes unsafe. Unfortunately I was one of those guys who crashed. I was riding around 25th position and they crashed in front of me. Of course this was a pity, certainly because van Garderen was riding on my wheel.” Van Garderen said like Gilbert, he was fortunate not to be seriously injured. “We were doing our best to stay out of trouble but you just can’t avoid everything,” he said. “All things considered, I think I came away really lucky. All my joints are working, no bones are broken; I have a couple of scabs, but that’s about it.”

Brent Bookwalter, who had been helping Evans stay near the front in the final 30 kilometres, gave up his BMC to van Garderen after the crash. “The first half of the race was actually a little more calmer than what I would have expected,” Bookwalter said. “But at the Tour, you always pay for that with the baseline of insanity that you’re going to hit by the end. Sure enough, it got really crazy at the end.” Ultimately, race officials gave all 198 riders the same finish time. Evans, who placed 23rd and in the front group that escaped the pile-up, said the final minutes of the race were confusing. “We don’t always get the information, so I didn’t know what was going on,” he said. “So we just rode to the finish line and did our job.” Evans said he was feeling good despite not having raced since his third place at the Giro d’Italia more than a month ago. “Race speed is always difficult to train for, but I’m really happy with physically how it started off,” he said. “The guys are all riding really well, which is also important.” BMC Racing Team Directeur Sportif John Lelangue said he had warned the team in the pre-race briefing to be well-positioned in order to stay out of trouble. “We know these races are always nervous, the first stages of the Tour de France,” he said. “It will be like this every year and surely on the sprinter stages.”

Movistar’s José Joaquín Rojas was 9th: “It’s been pretty crazy into the final 25k: the chaos with the finish, not knowing if it was at 3k from the original one or not; the narrower roads, the need to keep pushing, paying attention, staying all team-mates together… At least, we went well through the day, and apart from Rui, we did not catch any crashes. I went for a little chance after completing my work for Alejandro, because we know first comes first and my duty this year is protecting him. Should I have chances like this one, I’ll profit, but it’s easier for it to come later. We tried to ride always at the front, from the 1st kilometre, not to mess things up like last year: we know you spend a lot more, but it’s crucial to avoid any problems. Tomorrow and Monday will be more of the same. We’ll ride this attentive and together to keep Alejandro safe.”

Mark Cavendish: “I didn’t crash luckily, I was just behind the crash,” Cavendish said. “The stage wasn’t too bad, not too different from what is normal at the Tour de France. What caused the problems is there was a change in the finish. We heard it on the radio with literally 5km to go that the sprint was in 2km. About a kilometre later when heading to the finish it was just carnage. “

“I think the majority of the favourites for today’s stage were caught up,” Cavendish said. “Luckily I didn’t go down. I was behind it. I’d seen my teammates end up a lot worse off. Tony Martin is in a bit of a state here. I can count myself lucky. It’s not as bad as it could be for me, but my bigger concern is my teammates who were not so lucky.”

André Greipel: “Of course I’m very disappointed, I’ll probably only get this chance to take the yellow jersey once; it was the opportunity of my life. I didn’t crash, but my derailleur was hit. That’s why I stood on the side of the road a few hundred meters later. Six kilometers from the end we heard that the finish would be three kilometers earlier, because there had been an incident with a bus. As a team we immediately did everything we could to ride a good sprint, but when I was hit the game was over for me. You can’t change bad luck, you have to accept it, but that doesn’t make it less disappointing.”

Saxo-Tinkoff’s leader; Alberto Contador: “Now it is important to continue as if I had not fallen. It was a difficult day, but this is the Tour de France. Sometimes you catch the falls and sometimes not, it is a lottery, you do not know whether it will happen, if on the left or on the right. I have had bad luck and I hope it’s nothing serious,” he said after receiving the first attention in the team bus.

“I have hurt both sides, but I think it is superficial, and I hope it stays that way. Now, it’s time to put a lot of ice and recover on the following stages for the team time trial, to see if I have no problem to put elbows on the handlebars.”

When asked if he had any fracture, Alberto said it was too early, “but I don’t think so. I have a sharp blow on the left shoulder and right knee, but I hope it stays there. Now I’ll be uncomfortable on the bike, but it remains much Tour. We knew that time was the same for all of us and, as far as it goes, I had some calm because I broke a shoe and could not pedal.” Alberto would not blame anyone for what happened. “We all want to be in front. I think someone from behind crashed me, if not, I might have escaped. Sometimes it catches one and other times, another. Now it is important to continue as if I had not fallen, to sleep as best I can and tomorrow will be another day”.

Contador did not think it would have been more confusion because of the problem of the finish line. “These are the typical first-day jitters, everybody looking to not waste time. At least, we’re all in the same time, unlike the last time in the Tour, and I feel very supported by a very strong team. I’m happy with all that support. The Tour is the Tour and you never know where it might be the fall.” He concluded.

Saxo-Tinkoff’s DS Fabrizio Guidi said: “It was an insanely chaotic stage and it’s really a shame for everyone that the stage was opened in this chaos. We were confused to say the least in the car behind the field. First, we were told that the finish line was moved because of a bus blocking the road. We passed the information on to the riders who then did the sprint. The moment later, the finish line was moved back to its original spot and then in all the confusion the big crash happened. Alberto went to the ground and we still don’t know about his precise condition. The boys have done such a good job all the way to avoid this situation and I think the desperation in the field because of the situation caused the crash.”

KOM Leader Juanjo Lobato: “It’s a very nice start. To get up on the podium of the Tour on the day of my debut makes me very happy. In the best race in the world and wear the jersey leader of the mountains,” he said excitedly. “The break worked well and the understanding was good. During the team meeting in the bus, we knew there would be a strong move on the road to get the jersey, it was a juicy prize and we were psyched for the Tour fights. We were very motivated and we managed to finish the job. It was very complicated, but we have achieved it and I am satisfied ”

The Orica-GreenEdge team are said to have been fined €1,600 due to the stuck bus. The organisers are saying that the bus was told to drive through the finish, but to stop before the line. The team say that the bus was led under the finish gantry. Matt White, Orica-GreenEdge DS said on the team web-site that “our bus driver was told to move forward and became lodged under the finish gantry. He followed all instructions in the process that followed thanks to the hard work by ASO that allowed him to remove the bus before the finish. It was the best possible outcome given the situation.”

Tour de France Stage 1 Result:
1. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Argos-Shimano in 4:56:52
2. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha
3. Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM
4. David Millar (GB) Garmin-Sharp
5. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
6. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale
7. Gregory Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol
8. Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol
9. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar
10. Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM.

Tour de France Overall After Stage 1:
1. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Argos-Shimano in 4:56:52
2. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha
3. Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM
4. David Millar (GB) Garmin-Sharp
5. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
6. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale
7. Gregory Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol
8. Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol
9. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar
10. Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM.

Stage 1 confusion:

And the “Backstage Pass” from Orica-GreenEdge:

Stage 2 was another exciting day, but this time for all the right reasons; racing, not crashes and stuck team buses.

Four riders, Lars Boom (Belkin), Ruben Perez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Blel Kadri (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and David Veilleux (Europcar) created the gap and formed the long-lasting breakaway of the day from Bastia to Ajaccio, 156 kilometres. Halfway through the stage, the peloton met a handful of small but categorized climbs, which had a deep impact on the field, especially on the sprinters and significantly the race leader; Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) who was dropped with 70 kilometres to go and finished at over 17 minutes down.

In the front group were all the top GC men and on the last little climb with 12 kilometres to the finish line the attacks started. Cyril Gauthier (Europcar) and Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM) were first to try, but Cannondale had them pegged back. Chris Froome (Sky) showed his strength, but there was no real point. The next move looked more serious and a group of Flecha (again), with Jan Bakelants (RadioShack-Leoprad), Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), Jon Izagirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Manuel Mori (Lampre-Merida) and birthday boy; Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma – Quick-Step). With everyone on the same overall time the bunch was giving anything away and as the group were nearly caught, Bakelants jumped with 2 K’s to go and the others looked at each other. The Belgian pushed on the pedals for all he was worth to hold the pack off for a 1 second win which also gave him the Yellow jersey.

Race Quotes:
Stage winner Jan Bakelants (RadioShack Leopard Trek): “I saw in the final what was going to happen and I knew I would probably also take this yellow jersey. Maybe it will be the first and the last time in my career, but today I wear it. I saw in the last 500 meters that I still had a gap and I told myself, ‘Come on, hold this. It’s going to be the nicest day of your life!’ And then I did it,” he said, chalking up his first win after five years as a professional.

After a knee problem this year, Bakelants is participating in his first Tour de France: “It is so incredible for me to take this jersey and to give something back to the team after all the misery that I’ve had this year. When I crossed the finish line I was overwhelmed with joy.”

“Coming in to the last 10km we were quite a big group and I cannot win in a sprint. I had to gamble and go. When we were six in the finale I knew if everybody gave 100 percent that it was possible to go to the finish. It felt so easy in the break and every time I went to the front, I felt like I rode faster than the other guys. I don’t know, maybe I was just stronger than the others. In the end I was thinking, ‘Come on! Are we going to ride and be the first six riders or are we just going to wait for the bunch to come back and see another win of Sagan?’ I kept the gap and in the radio they were shouting for me to go. I was pushing my 11 and it didn’t look good but I went fast. I just kept pushing the pedals. And when I looked back and saw I had it, I said, ‘I’m going to win! I’m going to win a stage in the Tour de France!’ I’ve had to wait five years but what a victory. It’s hard to believe but it’s the second day of the Tour so now our nerves are settled. It’s incredible.” In addition RadioShack Leopard Trek fittingly leads in the Teams classification.

“I’m incredibly happy,” Bakelants concluded. “I think it’s going to be a short night tonight; I don’t think I’ll sleep much.” Asked if he has GC aspirations, the Belgian rider replied, “We have to be realistic. I don’t have the separation like Chris Froome and I don’t climb like him or Contador. My goal was to win a stage but I didn’t think it would happen so fast. After the Belgian championships (he was 3rd) I could dream and could see in my data that I was in great shape. But then to go against the best riders in the world here and win, that’s another thing. I did it. I will never forget this.”

In the sprint for the second place, a top performance by Davide Cimolai (Lampre-Marida), gave him 4th position. “Just after the arrival I was a bit upset because I knew I missed an important chance to obtain a top result in Tour de France. It’s my first participation in the Grande Boucle, but I immediately understood well how demanding this race is. So, I could be quite satisfied with the fourth position. I hope there will be other chances for me.”

BMC’s Cadel Evans moved into 10th overall, he was among the first few riders to crest the final climb: “It was a little bit uncomfortable at race speed, but that’s normal,” Evans said. “But I had a bigger break from racing than any of my competitors. So that’s kind of normal.” Evans finished 22nd while the BMC Racing Team’s two riders who crashed Saturday – world road champion Philippe Gilbert and Tejay van Garderen – showed no ill effects, placing 18th and 27th, respectively. Directeur Sportif John Lelangue said the strength of the BMC Racing Team was evident on the day’s major climb, the Category Col de Vizzavona. “We had only one guy dropped on the climb, but all the rest were around Cadel, so that’s a good sign for the next three weeks,” he said. “For the moment, everything is going well. We know we have still one difficult day in Corsica and then we are entering the team time trial in Nice.”

Omega Pharma – Quick-Step’s Michal Kwiatkowski took the White jersey for the young rider: “It’s an amazing day,” Kwiatkowski said. “I had a plan to finish the Tour de France but I didn’t have a plan to have the white jersey. So, I was so happy. Especially after such an unlucky day yesterday. I finished 3rd in the stage today and I took the white jersey. This jersey is well respected. I really don’t know how many stages I will be able to keep it, but it will be nice to have it even for one day. My goal in this Tour de France is to learn as much as I can and finish this Tour de France. I don’t really think about the white jersey like that.”

Crash victim of stage 1 Tony Martin: “Actually it’s not too bad,” Martin said of his condition. “First of all I was happy to be able to start here. OK, my feeling was good today compared to what happened yesterday but for sure I suffered today. I’m happy to be able to finish today. I’m quite optimistic about the next stages.”

Sylvain Chavanel: “I attacked after the group caught Kwiatkowski and Sagan,” Chavanel said. “I think it was the right moment to move. The other five riders came with me. We were working well together since the last 2km. When Bakelants went I didn’t want to take the responsibility to close the gap alone. If you want to win sometimes you have to take a few risks and play tactically. It’s a pity because I was strong and a win on my birthday would have been fantastic. However let me congratulate Kwiato for his white jersey, and Tony for the courage he showed today after yesterday’s crash.”

Tour de France Stage 2 Result:
1. Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack Leopard in 3:43:11
2. Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale at 0:01
3. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
4. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida
5. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky
6. Julien Simon (Fra) Sojasun
7. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana
8. Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge
9. Daniele Bennati (Ita) Saxo-Tinkoff
10. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM.

Tour de France Overall After Stage 2:
1. Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack Leopard in 8:40:03
2. David Millar (GB) Garmin-Sharp at 0:01
3. Julien Simon (Fra) Sojasun
4. Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge
5. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky
6. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
7. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
8. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM
9. Christophe Riblon (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale
10. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC.

Stage 2 finalé:

Giro Rosa 2013
Team Argos-Shimano rider Kirsten Wild has won the first stage of the eight day Giro d’Italia Femminile (2.1) riding for the Netherlands.

Kirsten Wild was quickest at the finish of the 124.3km stage between Giovinazzo – Margherita de Savioa, outpacing World and Olympic champion Marianne Vos (Rabobank-Liv Giant).

Back in April Kirsten broke her shoulder during the Omloop van Borsele and she finally returned to racing earlier this month. Today’s performance shows she’s already back to her winning ways.

This is the second big win in two days for Team Argos-Shimano after Marcel Kittel’s victorious start to the Tour de France in Corsica yesterday.

Following the stage, Kirsten said: “This is a great feeling to win the first stage of the Giro. It is a big race and confirms that I am back to my old level. Before the start we made a good plan and all the girls worked for me throughout the day. It was very close but luckily I could finish the job.

“When I came to Italy I didn’t know how my shape would be after my injury and to win this stage ahead of Vos feels like a relief. This was my first goal after the crash and so it’s good to get it under my belt.

“It’s been a good weekend for the team, unfortunately I didn’t see Marcel’s stage win yesterday as we were travelling but it’s still inspiring and motivating. Tomorrow will be a bit tougher so we will see how that goes and after that there’s one more flat stage where I can sprint again.”

Kirsten now leads the point’s competition in Italy but Vos will wear the leader’s yellow jersey thanks to bonus seconds during the stage.
Thanks to the Argos-Shimano team for the race info.

Giro Rosa Stage 1 Result:
1. Kristen Wild (Ned) Netherlands in 2:53:55
2. Marianne Vos (Ned) Rabobank-Liv Giant)
3. Marta Tagliaferro (Ita) MCipollini-Giordana
4. Edita Janeliunaite (Lit) Pasta Zara-Gogeas
5. Oxana Kozonchuk (Rus) RusVelo
6. Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Rabobank-Liv Giant
7. Shelley Olds (US) Team TIBCO-To The Top
8. Lauren Hall (US) United States
9. Lauren Kitchen (Aus) Wiggle Honda
10. Anns Trevisi (Ita) Vaiana-Fondriest.

Giro Rosa Overall After stage 1:
1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Rabobank-Liv Giant.
2. Kristen Wild (Ned) Netherlands at 0:02
3. Marta Tagliaferro (Ita) MCipollini-Giordana at 0:08
4. Edita Janeliunaite (Lit) Pasta Zara-Gogeas at 0:10
5. Julie Leth (Den) Hitec Products UCK
6. Cecilie Gotaas Johnsen (Nor) at 0:11
7. Aizhan Zhaparova (Rus) Rusvelo
8. Edita Janeliunaite (Lit) Pasta Zara-Gogeas at 0:12
9. Oxana Kozonchuk (Rus) RusVelo
10. Annemiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Rabobank-Liv Giant.

Giro Rosa Stage 1:

Tour of Austria 2013
Stage 1 of the Tour of Austria was launched with a demanding 134 kilometre long mountainous stage from Innsbruck to the mountain summit, Kühtai – 2018 meters above sea level. A breakaway consisting of four riders stole some time in the spotlight in the beautiful Austrian landscape but just few kilometres done on the uphill finish, the escapees were brought back.

Team Sky and BMC pulled the peloton hard on the climb and riders were constantly dropped. After a couple of attacks, Team Saxo-Tinkoff went to the front to control the pace and soon, only 40 riders were left at the front. However, Kevin Seeldraeyers (Astana) managed to leap away from the group and take the stage win as well as the leader’s jersey.

Team Saxo-Tinkoff DS, Steven De Jongh comments: “We went to the front at the top of the climb to control and to put the hammer down on the peloton but we weren’t able to deny Seeldraeyers the victory. Chris Anker Sørensen was our best rider today finishing about one minute behind the stage winner.”
Thanks to Saxo-Tinkoff.

Tour of Austria Stage 1 Result:
1. Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel) Astana in 4:06:02
2. Riccardo Zoidl (Aut) Team Gourmetfein Simplon at 0:08
3. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Sky at 0:13
4. Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step at 0:24
5. Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack Leopard
6. Alexandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana
7. Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Katusha at 0:59
8. Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis
9. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana
10. Petr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha.

Tour of Austria Overall After Stage 1:
1. Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel) Astana in 4:05:52
2. Riccardo Zoidl (Aut) Team Gourmetfein Simplon at 0:12
3. Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Sky at 0:19
4. Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step at 0:34
5. Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack Leopard
6. Alexandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana
7. Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Katusha at 1:09
8. Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis
9. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana
10. Petr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha.

65th Österreich Rundfahrt-Tour of Austria 2013:

Peter Sagan Parking
We know how good a bike handler Cannondale’s Peter Sagan is, but if you take a look at this video you’ll see how he puts his bike on the roof rack. Clever!

New Rapha Condor JLT film by Andrew Telling
Following the success of the 2012 film ‘Sella’, filmmaker Andrew Telling has collaborated with Rapha Condor JLT to produce a new film, ‘Nowhere to Nowhere.’

The film, shot over the final two weeks of the 2013 Tour Series, takes a rare glimpse at the life during the series, not only at the races but also between them. In these moments riders are tested mentally as well as physically while they try to cope with balancing the highs of performance with life on the road.

Andrew Telling explains: “I wanted to create an intimate portrait of the riders without interfering in their routine, to create something fluid that allowed the viewer a glimpse into their world without getting too close.”

“What was amazing to me was that even off the bike, they maintain a great sense of discipline. They have different rituals and routines to conserve their energy for the race, but also patiently battle with the boredom that comes with the waiting.”

Through the film the contrast between the team’s elder statesman Kristian House, and the young development riders is shown through the differing experiences of House, and his young team mate Felix English.

Telling’s film is also accompanied by an article by former rider Tom Southam, who compares life on the road at the Tour Series to that of life in a band on tour. You can read Tom Southam’s Tom Southam’s full article here.

After working closely with Telling to define the initial concept, Southam too looks into the strangely detached world the riders inhabit where the challenges of life on the road blur the line between athlete and performer, and they find themselves learning to balance the adulation of the crowd with the loneliness of the road.

Rapha Condor JLT and Andrew Telling would also like to give special thanks to Campagnolo and Muc-Off, for their involvement in the making of the film.

The PEZ NEWSWIRE!
Don’t forget to check the “NEWSWIRE” section, you can find it down the right hand side on the home page, just above the EuroTrash section. The bits of news that missed the EuroTrash deadline are in there, plus any news as-it-happens will be in there too.

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