VaE: Lastras Rides solo in to the Red Jersey on Stage 3

Pablo Lastras pulled off a stunning solo ride, to win stage 3 of La Vuelta and take control of the red jersey.

Lastras attacked, with 11 kilometres to go, as the leaders reached the final summit and his breakaway companions struggled to catch him. The Spaniard time-trialled to the end and gained a well earned 15 seconds, on the chasing group. He dedicated his victory to, last year’s 6^th place rider, Xavi Tondo, who was killed in a freak accident earlier this year.

Sylvain Chavanel claimed second place, but it could have been more if he and the other chasers hadn’t argued over tactics. Lastras has a 20 second lead in the general classiment, with Chavanel sitting in second.

The breakaway began with Ruslan Pydgornyy, Nicolas Edet and Chavanel launching an attack, after 14km of riding. They were soon joined by Lastras and Markel Irizar, who finished third, and built up a gap of over seven minutes. Edet was the first to go, with 70 of racing left, when he dropped back to see the medical car and never regained the gap.

Video: 2011 Tour de France - Stage 18 Stuart O'Grady talks Schleck

Riders pay tribute to Wouter Weylandt on Stage 4 of the Giro D'Italia

Tyler Farrar lead the Leopard-Trek riders and the rest of the peloton across the line, as cycling paid tribute to Wouter Weylandt during stage four of the Giro D’Italia.

Weylandt lost his life during stage three, after a crash on the final decent on the Passo del Bocco. It is believed that the Belgian’s pedal clipped a wall, as he turned to look back up the hill. Riders paid tribute, along with viewers around the world, to Weylandt with one minutes silence before the stage.

Wouter Weylandt Dies after Giro Crash

Cycling is in mourning today after the sad news of Wouter Weylandt’s death, during the third stage of the Giro D’Italia.

The Leopard-Trek rider fell on the decent of the Passo del Bocco, just 25 km from the finish in Rapallo. It is unsure what caused the accident, but early reports indicate one of his pedals jammed and stopped him from releasing himself. Medical staff tried to resuscitate Weylandt, who was lying motionless on the ground, for 40 minutes, but were not able to. The few television pictures showed blood coming from the Belgian’s head, while he received cardiac massage.

2011 Tour de France Teams Named, Part One

The 22 Tour de France teams have been revealed with a few big names left out of the race so here is a little background on the ones that made it in and the big favourites from the team.

Astana
The Kazak team dominated the tour with Alberto Contador taking the overall GC for the third time in his career. Alexander Vinokorov also took a stage of his own to give the team its only stage win over the three weeks. This year should be much more difficult after losing so many good riders over the winter break and Vino will be their best bet for success.