Tour de Clock - Will Andy Schleck be the bridesmaid again?

The hearts of both the Schleck brothers collectively dropped, when they discovered the route of the 2012 Tour de France.

Frank and Andy put on a brave face at the unveiling of the next Tour route, despite it having 100km against the clock. 2012 looks to be a very different year for the Grand Tours, with the Giro much flatter than its predecessor. The Olympic Games has probably got something to do with it, with riders not wanting to tire themselves out before the Games. The Grand Boucle will start a week earlier than normal to accommodate the games.

Video: Final Stage of the 2011 Vuelta a Espana

The first video is the peloton and the support vehicles going through after to finish their third lap of the Madrid circuit.

VaE: Cobo takes red as Sky falter on the Angliru

Juan Jose Cobo assumed the lead of the Vuelta a Espana, after a solo attack up the very difficult Alto de l’Angliru on stage 15.

Cobo went off the front, with 6km left, and never looked troubled, even on the 23% sections. The Spaniard kept pedalling at a constant rate, which enabled him to gradually pull out a big enough gap to take the red jersey. In contrast Bradley Wiggins struggled and even began to weave across the road, on certain sections.  By the time he reached the finish line, he had been distanced by his teammate Chris Froome.

Nobody was aware of the distancing until they came to the line, as the camera bike following them succumbed to the gradient and fell over. With the time bonuses taken in to account, Cobo now sits at the top of the GC with Froome 20 seconds behind him and Wiggins down to third. The directors at team Sky will have a tough rest day, deciding who will assume the race leadership. Wiggins may now be forced to work for Froome, to try and ensure Sky leave the race with the red jersey.

Video: Sagan wins stage 12

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.

Sagan pips Martin to Tour of Poland title, as Kittel claims his fourth stage

Peter Sagan claimed victory, at the Tour of Poland, on the final sprint, as Marcel Kittel claimed a fourth stage victory.

Sagan started the day three seconds down, on last year’s winner, Dan Martin, but the bonus points put him five seconds ahead of the Irishman. The Slovakian road champion used Kittle as his lead out man and enjoyed a double celebration, with the German.

Despite seeing his title denied at the last, Martin remained positive about the result. The Garmin-Cervelo rider chased down Wouter Poels, who had leaped off the front with around 500 metres to go, and claimed victory on the tour’s queen stage. It was this victory, as Sagan blew a gasket with 600m to go, that helped the Liquigas rider, on the final stage.