Contador ban: why this isn't the end

Finally comes the news that we were waiting for, CAS made their decision on the Alberto Contador clenbuterol case.

It has been 19 months since Contador gave that now infamous positive test and we may still not have a conclusive answer. The Spaniard has 30 days to appeal and could announce his intentions, in a press conference on 7^th February.  If he does choose to appeal, he could have competed through his entire ban and not feel the effects of it.

Whether you think Contador is innocent or guilty, you have to admit that this case has been handled as badly as it possibly could have been. I personally lean towards the side of the two/three-time Tour de France winner. However, if he is going to be punished it should be done properly and should actually be a punishment.

2012 Giro d'Italia Swaps Mountains for Sprints

Reigning champion Alberto Contador has given to 2012 Giro d’Italia his seal of approval, after calling it ‘more human’.

New Giro boss, Michele Acquarone, has gone for a completely different approach, to his predecessor Angelo Zomegnan. Compared with this year, which contained only four flat stages, 2012 will have a massive seven flat stages. With so many flat stages, there are sure to be plenty of sprinters hopeful of the red sprinter’s jersey. Mark Cavendish might look for the triple in 2012, with the Giro, Tour and Olympics. It could be possible, with the flatter nature of all of the events.

Vuelta a España - Exciting or Trying too hard

The Vuelta a España has been one of the Grand Tours and a regular on the calendar since 1955, but many people think it should hang it’s cycling shoes up and give the sport for another race.

Bing or Bust?

So what did the 2011 edition of the Vuelta a España do to quell its critics and was it exciting or just trying too hard. It certainly wasn’t the easiest, in a year where the Grand Tours have really challenged the riders in the extreme. The 2011 Vuelta was not one for the light hearted and I think it produced some of the most exciting racing this year. None of the “flat stages” were ever really flat and with gradients that reached 23%, you had t dig deep.

VaE: Nibali blows as Wiggins confirms his Vuelta lead on Stage 14

Bradley Wiggins may not have won the stage, but he looks like he may have just won the Vuelta, after a superb ride by himself and Chris Froome, on Stage 14.

Froome really put the hammer down, with two kilometres to go and immediately began to shell riders off the back of the peloton. Wiggins made sure to keep a tight hold of his Kenyan-born teammate’s back wheel and even took a few turns on the front. Next came the unexpected and Vincenzo Nibali popped and fell off the back.

The Italian was probably regretting not making a go of it on one of the several descents, which preceded the final climb. Joaquin Rodriguez couldn’t keep up with the pace either and was quick to join Nibali’s pity party, further down the mountain. When the finish finally came Wiggins had put a huge 1 minute 16 seconds, between himself and the defending champion. The effort really showed on the red jersey holder, after the finish line, as he slumped on to the front of his handlebars.

VaE: Moncoutie moves closer to fourth consecutive mountains classification, with victory on Stage 11

David Moncoutié’s efforts finally paid off, as he rode the final 19 kilometres of Stage 11 alone, to take his fourth Vuelta a Espana stage.

Moncoutié is known for his climbing prowess and moved himself within one point of a fourth consecutive Vuelta mountains classification victory. The Cofidis rider got in to a breakaway, with several other riders, after almost 70 kilometres of racing. He also went on to take points on two of the three climbs, placing him just behind Matteo Montaguti.

Cofidis have had a lacklustre year, when it comes to Grand Tours, so this victory will prove a big boost for them. Nobody could keep up with the pace of Moncoutié and second place man Beñat Intxausti rolled across the line over a minute down.

VaE: Martin beats the favourites on Stage 9 as Rodriguez struggles

Dan Martin took his first Grand Tour victory and moved in to the mountain’s jersey, as Bauke Mollema went in to red, on stage 9.

Martin sprinted the final metres of the climb and was almost caught, by a charging Mollema, but held out until the line. The Irishman had initially jumped off the front, with less than 5 kilometres to go, and was followed by his cousin, Nicolas Roche. The pair pulled out a small gap, but Roche was unable to keep up the pace and slid back in to the main group.

He was not on his own for too long, when he was joined by Vincenzo Nibali, and took out 15 seconds on his nearest riders. Michele Scarponi tried to bridge the gap, but he eventually went out the other end and lost time. Sky duo, Chris Froome and Bradley really put the hammer down and took Mollema and Juan Jose Cobo with them.

Froome took first shift and powered his way up the climb, before Wiggins began to time-trial towards the finish line. The Londoner looked unbeatable at times, while the others struggled to keep up with his pace. One of the pre-Vuelta favourites, Jurgen Van Den Broeck cracked before the top and ended up almost 20 seconds on the group.

VaE: Rodriguez wins again and takes the red jersey

Joaquim Rodriguez demolished the field on the San Lorenzo de el Escorial, putting himself in to the leader’s jersey on Stage 8.

Rodriguez was the only one who looked even remotely comfortable, on a climb which went up to 23%. Michele Scarponi knew there was nothing he could do to stop the Spaniard and concentrated on keeping himself ahead of the other big contenders. He now sits 32 seconds ahead of his teammate Daniel Moreno, in the GC.

Igor Anton showed that he is on his way back to form, by crossing the line with the lead group. Also in the front group were Jurgen Van Den Broeck and cousins Nicolas Roche and Dan Martin. Sylvain Chavanel, who started the day in the red jersey, lost just over a minute to Rodriguez and slides down the standings, but stays in the top ten. Bradley Wiggins lost a further 25 seconds to Rodriguez, while Vincenzo Nibali struggled and lost 32 seconds.

VaE: Sagan wins after great descent from Liquigas on Stage 6

Peter Sagan took the biggest victory of his short career, by beating his teammates to the line on Stage 6.

The Tour of Poland winner was the first of four Liquigas riders to take a top 5 spot, after the team used Vincenzo Nibali’s superior descending skills to push a break in the peloton. With 5km to go, the Italian team ripped the peloton apart and reached speeds of 89kph.

 With 20 bonus points up for grabs and the red jersey within reach, Nibali was the clear favourite for the victory. There seemed to be some confusion and Sagan rounded two of his teammates, to take the victory by half a bikes length. Splitting the Liquigas group was Pablo Lastras; the Movistar rider bonked severely on stage 5, one day after his solo victory.

VaE: Rodriguez doubles up for Katusha on Stage 5

Joaquin Rodriguez doubled Katusha’s stage tally, after a solid performance from his team, as took victory in Valdepeñas de Jaén.

Katusha controlled the final kilometres of the stage and used, yesterday’s winner, Daniel Moreno to launch Rodriquez to the line. The Spaniard has come in to the Vuelta with good form, after winning the Vuelta a Burgos. Moreno’s performance has moved him in to within nine seconds of the overall lead, with Rodriguez 14 second behind him.

Wout Poels was the man who separated the two on the stage, a late surge from him fell just short of the victory. Michele Scarponi and Nicolas Roche have helped their GC contentions, both finishing just 11 seconds down on the winner. Last year’s winner Vincenzo Nibali crossed the line 4 seconds later and sits 5^th in the GC. He will take some beating, if anyone wants to take the Vuelta crown away from him.

Vuelta a Espana - Team Preview, Part 1

AG2R La Mondiale

One of only two French teams, in the race, AG2R will be looking to show what they couldn’t, in this year’s Tour de France. Nicolas Roche will be looking to improve on his seventh place, from last year, but his lacklustre year could play against him. Joining him will be Guillaume Bonnafond, Dimitri Champion, Cyril Dessel, Steve Houanard, David Le Lay, Lloyd Mondory, Mathieu Perget and, the only other non-French rider, Matteo Montaguti. It is unlikely that the French team will really trouble the top GC positions, but they could gain another top-ten placing.

Contador: The Giro-Tour double is possible, but I need a stronger team

Alberto Contador hasn’t been deterred from trying the Giro-Tour double, despite failing to do it this year.

The Spaniard has come out saying he can do the double, provided he has a stronger team around him. Contador was involved in a flurry of crashes, during the tour, but also looked tired from his victory in the Giro. He went on to say that if there were enough stages that suited him, it would be possible, but that the team-time trial wasn’t a strong point.

El Pistolero said if next year’s tour had a mountain time-trial or possible to flatter time-trials, he could win both in the same year. Contador won the Giro d’Italia by a whopping 6 minute gap, to Michele Scarponi, but finished almost four minutes down on Cadel Evans.

Contador secures Giro with stunning time-trial victory

Alberto Contador stormed to victory during stage 16’s mountain time-trial and stamped his authority on the 2011 Giro D’Italia.

Contador looked to be struggling during the middle section on the climb and had to come out of the saddle on several occasions. El Pistolero came home over 30 seconds ahead of closest rivals Vincenzo Nibali and Michele Scarponi. Nibali seemed to have the stage wrapped up with his time of 29:29, which Scarponi couldn’t match.

Alberto Contador attacks on Mount Etna to take over the Maglia Rosa

Alberto Contador claimed his first victory of the 2011 Giro D’Italia, on the slopes on Mount Etna, and the pink jersey with it on stage nine.

Contador left it until 7km to go and left Michele Scarponi and Jose Rujano in his wake, as he powered up the side of the volcano. The Spaniard started the day 13 seconds behind leader Pieter Weening, but the win gives him a bigger 59 seconds over Kanstantsin Sivtsov. Some of Contador’s main rivals, including Vincenzo Nibali, weren’t able to respond and lost almost a minute on the man from Pinto.

The day’s route was one of the most punishing of the tour and scaled Etna twice, while also descending down towards the sea. Peter Kennaugh and Danilo Di Luca were part of a series of brief and unsuccessful attempts at a breakaway. Eventually it was a group of nine riders, including Mathias Frank and Yaroslav Popovych, who made the decisive move. The nine riders managed a maximum break of 5 minutes, but the gap yo-yoed for most of the day.

Video highlights of De Clercq just about holding on to Stage 7

Bart de Clercq holds off a charging Michele Scarponi for his first proffesional victory on Stage 7

Bart de Clercq started his professional career off with a bang by beating the Giro’s finest on Stage 7.

The Belgian attacked, as the peloton collected the breakaway with 7km to go, and managed to hold on to win on the first mountain top finish of this year’s Giro, going in to Santuario Di Montevergine. His teammates Sebastian Land and Francis de Greef took their chance, before De Clercq, taking advantage of the leaders watching each other. Michele Scarponi launched a late attack and almost spoilt the part for the debutant, but there wasn’t enough road for the Italian. Following close behind were Roman Kreuziger, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and maglia rosa wearer Pieter Weening.