Giro d'Italia Stage 3 Sorrento - Marina di Ascea

The time time trial on the island of Ischia was dominated by Team Sky. They even in the early part of the route sat up slightly to let Danny Pate get back on their train, to reach the intermediate time check in what was the second fastest time, as only Moviestar managed to be faster at that point. In the end Sky were 9 seconds faster than Moviestar, but one of the shock results was one of the innvited teams Vini Fantani who at only 22 seconds down  beat all but four of the pro-world tour teams.

So first time Giro rider Salvator Puccio from Sky slipped on the Maglia Rosa yesterday with the Tour de France champion in 2nd, but 14 seconds ahead of Vincenzo Nibali (AST) and 25 ahead of Giro champion Ryder Hesjedal (GRS).

Today sees the first point to point road stage, without circuits as the 23 teams head south from the southern end of the Bay of Naples at Sorrento, largely hugging the coast towards Marina di Ascea. However, there are two climbs on today's route. The category two San Mauro Cilento 69km from the finish and the category three Sella di Catona 19.8km from the finish.

It is probably a good thing for the sprinters that the climbs are in that order, it means there is a chance that they might be there for the finish. When the last 5km drop 200m to get to the sea level finish on the coast it is going to be fast and furious at the finale of today. So if the sprinters can get over the two climbs with the peleton today could well be another day for them to shine. But although Puccio is the surprised Maglia Rosa don't expect to see Team Sky going out to defend it, they have bigger battles to fight further down the road in the high mountain passes. They are liable to leave the hauling back of the break away to the sprinters' teams.

With Mark Cavendish (OPQ) and Matthew Goss (OGE) the best placed of the big name sprinters both at 28 seconds, even with the 18 second time bonus for winning they can only expect to rise to 11th in the GC all other things being equal.

Giro d'Italia Stage 2 Ischia to Forio

So stage one yesterday eventually came down to a sprint after Cannondale's Australia rider Cameron Wurf, who has been the lone survivor of a seven man breakaway. Wurf took part in the 2004 Olympics but on the rowing lake in the lightweight double skull. However it wasn't the total mass sprint finish that everyone was expecting after the work largely of Omega Pharma-Quickstep to bring it all under control with just over two laps of the 8km smaller circuit to complete.

After a while Sky took over the pace setting not for a sprinter but to keep Bradley Wiggins safe near the front, then it was the turn of Orega-GreenEDGE to take it up inside the final 10km, with Cannondale and Radioshack-Leopard also in close attendance. But with 5km to go Omega Phrama-Quickstep for so long at the head of the peleton had disappeared from proceedings.

Inside the final three km and Cannondale had taken up the pace, but then there was a crash near the frong from which only 13 riders rode clear unscathed or delayed. Orega-GreenEDGE with three men in the group including their sprinter Matthew Goss, Omega Pharma-Quick had one rider, Gert Steegmans, there to help Mark Cavendish, but there was also Cannondale's sprinter Elia Viviani, Radioshack's Giacomo Nizzolo,. Moviestar's Francisco Ventoso and two young spinters FDJ's Nacer Bouhanni and BMC's Brit Adam Blythe.

Into the final km it was Orega-GreenEDGE who were attempting to open it up for Goss, but Steegmans suffered a mechanical just as that point as the three Orega-GreenEDGE riders and Viviani gained daylight.  He came back unto fifth wheel with Bouhanni and Blythe had a little bit of shoulder banging as they both tried to stay in Cav's wheel. Then Radioshack's Danilo Hondo brought Nizzolo up alongside so Cavendish went wide to the left, only for Hondo to peel off almost into Cavendish's way. Goss and Viviani were heading straightest to the line, while Bouhanni was on Cav's wheel. But the engine was ignited in the Manx Missile and he crossed the line for his eleventh stage win in the Giro and to pull on the Maglia Rosa for a third time. He was followed by Viviani then Bouhanni.

Cav taking the line and the Maglia Rosa in Napoli

After racing around the streets of Napoli (Naples) today the Giro tomorrow heads out past the Bay of Naples to the volcanic island to Ischia in the Tyrrherian Sea, the largest of the Phlegrean islands.

The island is small but big enough to run a 17.4km team time trial. It is only a short time trial but in the team time trial you are only as good as your fifth best man, so any crashes or a deterioration in the weather for the later starters can be a disaster.

However, Sky are one of the best drilled team when it comes to TTT, but so are Omega Pharma-Quickstep indeed don't forget last year in TTT that Cavendish often took pride in doing good stints on the front especially toward the end, so it is possible with his 8 second lead thanks to the time bonuses that Cavendish might still be in pink when the team pack up to leave the island after the day's racing.

Giro d'Italia Stage 1 Napoli

Today's opening stage is a double loop criterium race. First there are four laps of the blue western loop, which includes a fourth category climb. There it is around the city for eight laps of the pink loop.

None of the GC contenders are going to win the Giro over today's 130km, but if there is a nervy start and the bunch gets jittery on the flatter circuits as they pick up speed to get their sprinter into the Maglia Rosa for the stage tomorrow wheels could touch and a collar bone of any rider even a team leader could break like that, remember Bradley Wiggins fate in the Tour of 2011 before he got to take the other contenders on in the first mountains.

So everyone is going to have to be alert at all times, which means that GC riders and sprinters will all be racing to stay near the front and out of danger, ironically opening the possibility of more danger, as the thread through the city street. Hopefully every rider will complete the day in one piece but watch out the shifting in the peleton going on all the time.

But today should be a stage set for the sprinters. Will Mark Cavendish win his first stage in a grand tour wearing the colours of Omega Pharma Quickstep. If he does he will go into tomorrow's time trail in the Maglia Rosa, but today we shall see which of the teams' sprinters have it in their legs. Even if they do not win it will be a matter of how much each of them ends up doing and also how well organised their  lead out trains can be. There aren't that many out and out sprinters opportunities in the Giro this year so they will all have to start out on form, even traditional late starter Cavendish.

Thoughts of those caught up in explosions at Boston Marathon

The 26 mile post of the Boston Marathon today was decorated to celebrate the lives of the victims of the Newton Elementary School shooting in Connecticut last year. Not from from that spot about three hours after the elite racers finished two explosions near the finish turned the 117th running of Boston Marathon turned into a blood bath.

Two explosions went off near the finish in Copley Square, blowing runners off their feet as they approached the finish but more frighteningly shattering the spectators who had gathered there to watch friends, loved ones of just the spectacle of one of the World's Great Marathons.

There are confirmations of deaths and injuries that have occurred numbers are still in the early days.

As a runner I know how much support the spectators on the side of the road are a lift when are you are feeling you cannot go on. So my thoughts and prayers are with those who had gathered to give that support today and have been caught up in this tragedy today.

Cancellara secures his third win of season with thrid Paris-Roubaix

If you have never watched a cycling road race I recommend that next year to find the time to watch the Paris-Roubaix even though this year the race was dry it was full of drama. It is also whether wet or dry one race where only the strongest are going to win as there isn't room to hide in the peleton if you want to stand on top of the podium. The Hell of the North as it is called is truly a strong man's race.

This year going in as I said myself yesterday the big question was is any other cyclist, as opposed to a mechanical incident or a crash going to deny the Swiss Radioshack-Leopard Trek rider from claiming his third classic of the season and third Paris-Roubaix.

There was some doubts at times in the race if Cancellera was going to be able to do it again. He was at once point in the fourth group on the road and heading back to his team car. With a little over 40 km to go it did not look like he would follow up his win the the Tour of Flanders last weekend.  He did make a surge but brought about 30 people with him in his wheel as he was preparing to make the final selection. But there were attacks being launched off the front and it didn't look like Cancellara was able to cover everything.

Then with two groups and one individual up the road he put in and push just before the Le Carrefour de l'Arbre (section 4) bring Bernie Eisel (SKY), Niki Tersptra (OPQ), Lars Boom (BLA) were the only ones able to mark him as he applied the pressure going after two groups up the road.

But then he closed down on the next group with included Zdeněk Štybar (OPQ), when he kicked again with about 28km to go on Gruson stretch of pavé (section 3) after Stijn Vandenbergh (OPQ) and Sep Vanmarke (BLA) who were up the road only Štybar was able to keep his wheel.

But then on the penultimate section of pavé while Cancellera was applying some pressure a slightly detached Vandenbergh collided first with a spectator and  then hard on the cobbles. But slightly further on his team mate Štybar collided with another one. The immediate aftermath is captured here with former cyclo cross rider Štybar showing all those skills to stay on two wheels. But the damage was done and the gap just kept going up.

Cancellara did try at one point to apply the pressure with about 4km to go when he was being called through by Vanmarke but the Belgian was quickly able to limit that chance and so it was that the 111th Paris Roubaix came down to the famous velodrome track that now ends this famous race. Cancellara managed to force Vanmarke to the front as they entered the track. But Vanmarke went up on the banking trying to make Cancellara come back past him. But the Swiss rider showed he had some sprinter's skills as he kept station and then when Vanmarke opened up the sprint of the last bend Cancellara timed his surge perfectly to take the race on the line by about a bike length as they were gaining on the second group who ended up just one circuit of the velodrome behind. Brave Štybar had been dropped by the chasing group but led out the third group to take 6th place in only his second full season concentrating on the roads.

So Cancellara has been the man of March and April so far. he didn't quite have the sprint in Milan-San Remo, but this time he was ready for a track sprint to go with his two wins that were both time trial lone breaks.

Preview of Paris-Roubaix

I haven't been posting on here for a bit, but I hope to correct that in the coming months. As those of you who read my main blog know I've been busy over the last few months with starting a new job and moving. But as I am more or less settled in it is a good time to get back to watching and writing about sport.

Tomorrow is the Hell of the North otherwise known as Paris-Roubaix and if like me you have been following the Spring Classics you will know that there are two men on form who are likely to feature yet again tomorrow on the cobbles and roads of northern France. But who will take the line in the famous velodrome in Roubaix that marks the finish of what many consider the toughest one day classic.

On St. Patrick's Day while Germany's Gerald Ciolek may have taken the honours in a shortened Milan-San Remo it was the men who shared that podium that have gone on to dominate the spring classics. Second was Slovakian Peter Sagan who maybe had gone too early for full power and third a fast closing Fabian Cancellera as a sextet of riders led out in a sprint for the honours.



Five days later at the E3 Harelbeke Cancellera went on the attack 35km out and despite early efforts Peter Sagan was unable to keep up with him but sprinted it out with his group about a kilometre behind for the second place spot.



Two days later at Gent–Wevelgem Sagan finally stood on the top step of the podium. This time starting his own attack 4km out which left Bernie Eisel (SKY), Yaroslav Popvych (RSL) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) unable to catch when it exploded.



However, last weekend the Tour of Flanders saw Cancellera and Sagan head to head one again and once again the former World Time Trial champion showed the young upstart who was the man for these races. On the final cobbled climb up the Paterberg the Swiss rider attacked and it looked initially that Sagan would keep up with him, however he applied more power further up the climb and broke the Slovak who reached the summit a distant second and sat up a bit waiting for the last survivor of the earlier break Jürgen Roelandts (LOT) to ride together to the finish.


So what about tomorrow over the 27 sections of pavé that make Paris-Roubaix so tough. Providing he can avoid a mechanical at the wrong point I would say place your money on Cancellera adding this title for a third time to his second Tour of Flanders and third Harelbeke already this season. The Swiss rider has certainly looked in form and Sagan will ride him close but Fabian will decide just when to take him down and apply the power tomorrow I suspect, having done it from 35km and 15km already he will pick his spot.

Britain's wonderful winter sports weekend

It has been a good weekend for Team GB's winter sports competitors, a year ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

First up on Friday in the skeleton bob at St. Moritz Shelley Rudman followed on from Kristan Bromley her partner's win in 2008 by taking the world title. She said she only considered this year a development year ahead of the Olympics, where she hopes to emulate Britain's defending champion Amy Williams in their event.

Then today after the penultimate round of the short track speed skating world cup in the Olympic venue at Sochi, Glasgow's Elise Christie, came second, which was good enough after her performance this season to ensure she cannot be overtaken for the 1000m title.

Back in St. Moritz today the men's 4-man bobsleigh came 5th just 0.07 secs away from a medal and 0.66 secs behind the gold medal winning German crew.

Lance Amrstong confession

Here is the opening of Lance Armstong's interview with Oprah Winfrey last night. It answers all the questions cycling fans like myself wanted answers to, the details came later.

The Yorkshire Grand Depart

As I've written before in the 5th July 2014 the Tour de France will be coming to Yorkshire and the three stages that will start the race in Britain that year will not disappoint.

There is no prologue so the peleton will be straight into a road racing stage when they pull out of Leeds. They will head off North off through Otley, Ilkley and Skipton towards the Yorkshire Dales. Then it will roll back south again, around Ripon and finish in Harrogate. Mark Cavendish's mother lives in Harrogate so that might be a nice way to honour here with a British win on stage one on British soil.

Stage 2 will roll out of York and head for Sheffield. Heading off West to Knaresborough,  then south through Keighley, Brontë country as they pass Haworth and Hebden Bridge. It also takes in Holmfirth famous for The Last of the Summer Wine and contains eights climbs many of them in the last 60km.

Stage three then heads off from Cambridge to London. It will enter London from the East via Epping Forrest, visit the Queen Elizabeth II Park (aka The Olympic Park). The Tour always finishes with some shots of the peleton racing along one famous river, this three day excursion to London will add another. From Stratford it will go along the Embankment past Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey before ending where else in an Olympic themed day but on the Mall. With that route it is likely to follow the end of the London Marathon to make it's way to the finish. So should be a sprinters finish hopefully this time Mark Cavendish will get to the front at the right time, it could well be one win in the year that he equals or beat Eddy Merckx's record of 34 stages wins. He is currently on 23 and when his is the team focus he can manage 5-6 wins a Tour.

Yorkshire man and Sky rider Ben Swift says:

"It looks like a really great route. Yorkshire is going to more than to do the Tour justice. 

"The fans are going to be amazing and if we get a nice bit of sunshine, it is going to be beautiful.

"Growing up in and around Sheffield, that's where I rode my bike, but I never thought that's where the Tour de France would one day be.

"I'm also familiar with the North Yorkshire roads and there are a lot of really interesting climbs up there, too." 

Cooke hits out at Armstrong and UCI

When she won the road race title in the shadow of the Great Wall of China in the 2008 Olympics she won Britain's 200th Gold Medal in the modern Olympic era. But she also became the first woman to win both the World and Olympic titles in the same year.

Cooke racing up Mount Ventoux on her way to one dream

Yesterday she announced her retirement from the sport at the age of 29, after 17 years of competitive racing. In her statement yesterday she recalls how after beating the boys in the Welsh cyclo cross championships when just twelve telling the television reporter that she wanted one day to win the Tour de France and Olympic Road Race. But as she recounts from that time on the opportunities for girls were limited and indeed there was no set up for girls within British Cycling at the time, this make the achievements of people like Cooke and Victoria Pendleton all the more exceptional.

Two years later she was denied the chance to compete against the senior women in the grass track 800m British Championship, even though it was arranged by Pendleton's father, the British Cycling Federation would not let her compete against the women. But in the non-championship Omnium there was the handicap 800m. The handicapper made her go off scratch against the British Champion and crossed the line first, it led to the BCF introducing girls age group events the following year after Cooke's father wrote to them demanding it.

After turning sixteen although still in the youth category, she could compete in the juniors, but if there was no equivalent junior event she could race up in the seniors. Thus it was that at 16 she won the first of her British titles as there was no junior event at the time.

This was the build up to the career that Cooke would end up having from 2002-2012 as a professional in the women's peleton. It was here that Cooke turned her attention to the issue of drug cheats.

How in one team house she stayed in the fridge was full of medicines, but how she took them all outside and told the fellow pros she was staying with either the drugs went or she did, the drugs went. She told how during one race she was actually asked openly what medicines she would take to help her recover.

She then went on the tell the story of Canadian Cyclist Genevieve Jeanson:

She was the Canadian superstar, a national icon. She never tested positive. She missed a drugs test when she beat me and received a meaningless fine as a consequence. She exceeded the 50% Hematocrit level and the authorities acted in line with their legislation and imposed a "health rest" on her.

Second fiddle to Jeanson during this time in Canada was a rider with morals called Lyne Bessette. Nobody can give back to Lyne Bessette or I the wins Jeanson stole from us. Throughout her career Jeanson repeatedly lied, just like Lance and yet now, she confesses that she had been on an extensive doping program since she was 16. The full story only came out, via quality investigative journalism.

Jeanson states, like all the others, she is "repentant" and all that is behind her. All these "born again" champions of a clean sport. They could be more accurately described as criminals who stole other's livelihoods who are only ever genuinely sorry about one thing — they are very sorry they were caught.

Olympic Champion in Beijing

She goes on to point out in a sport where the men get all the financing, her own team Vision 1 Cycling folded in 2009 after less than a year in existence, that Tyler Hamilton has made more from "his book [The Secret Race] describing how he cheated than Bessette or I will make in all our years of our honest labour."

She goes on to point out that over the past ten years the UCI have been doing all they can to defend Lance Armstrong, including taking legal action against whistle blower Paul Kimmage and Floyd Landis after he was caught himself for calling Lance a liar. However, in the same time female races have suffered gone are the women's Milan San Remo, the Amstel Gold Race, Tour de L'Aude, Tour Midi Pyrenees, and Tour Castel de Leon. No HP tour in America.

No Tours in Australia, New Zealand or Canada. Instead of a two-week Tour de France we have nothing. Also for the women just the day after the Paul Smith designed jersey for the men's race there is no route and no organiser for the Giro d'Italia Femminile for 2013, an event Cooke won in 2004.

The point being made is clear, the UCI for the past decade have spent more time protecting the honour of themselves and the god-like, now fallen image, of a certain American rather than giving women racers the opportunity. As we saw in the women's Olympic road race in London last year there is plenty of excitement there, but so many were uncertain about their future in the sport.

Unlike one tainted Tour de France champion first to cross the line the current champion has given back and to the women's sport, by establishing a team. It is time for the UCI to give back and give them something to race for that is equivalent to the men.

Cooke may have retired from racing, having achieved those 12-year-olds dreams, Gold in 2008 and the Grande Boucle (women's Tour de France) twice in 2006 and 2007. I hope that maybe she will take on a directeur sportif role with Dream Team Pro Cycling or something, she is the ideal person to take on such a role to work to enhance women's road racing.