Giro d'Italia stage 7 San Slavo - Pescara

Yesterday's stage did indeed prove to be a sprinters finish, although the first time over the finish line before two circuits did cause a major pile up. Coming just after Bradley Wiggins it could have been a disaster to him and other GC contenders if Kathusha on the front didn't neatralise proceedings while the pile of bikes at the back was sorted out. Team Sky then were at the front of the chasers as they came back taking most of the lap to catch the leaders and then Sky continued up the side of the road to announce they were back by taking the head of the race. Obviously the scare of losing more time as the result of a crash was praying on Bradley Wiggins' mind just a bid as he was leading the race into the final 3km, after which time a dealy would give him the same time as the leaders.

However, when it came to the sprint Argos Shimano hit the front a little too early with only one man in front of John Degenkolb. In his wheel was Gert Steegmans of Omega Pharma-Quickstep who was leading out Mark Cavendish. When the time came the Manxman was unleashed for his 12 Giro stage victory, although behind him Nacer Bouhanni. In his post race interviews and stage presentation Cav remembered Wouter Weylandt, the Belgian rider for Leopard Trek, who died in the road in the Giro 2 years previously. He has started his professional career with Quickstep and it was fitting that another rider of that team was first across the line yesterday to honour his memory.

Today is another 177km of going up and down, this time most of the way in some sort of undulation. So with two category three and two category four climbs toward the end of these stage of rise and fall do not expect to see Cavendish add to his stage wins today.

There are 11km from the last categorised climb to the finish and more rain is possible at the finish today. So there is a chance that on the descent there may well be slick conditions under wheel. But again it will largely be mechanicals, crashes or conditions that separate the main GC contenders from each other today. If someone is going to struggle today to keep up with the main pack they are unlikely to be able to do so day in, day out when the high mountain passes come.

Giro d'Italia Stage 6 Mola di Bari - Margherita di Savoia

Yesterday I did mention those couple of sharp left hand bends toward the end of the stage and they certainly did prove to be decisive in yesterday's race.

But before we got there, despite his best efforts to hang in there on the two climbs of the day Mark Cavendish was kicked out the back and his Omega Pharma-Quickstep team were trying to pace him back when a second kick up came along, he was in a group amongst the team cars some 45 seconds down, when the main peleton kicked on to the finsh.

Degenkolb triumphant and on the right in green Canola

There were several attacks on the drying roads towards the finish, one from Hubert Duport AG2R. But he was hauled back with Valvole Bardiani-CSF Inox on the front with Argos-Shimano in close attendance. However, on the first of those left hand bends Luka Mezgec ARG was second wheel and got caught out on the damp zebra crossing and slid into the barriers about another ten riders follwed as they attempted to break. It left Bardiani's Marco Canola in the clear, with John Degenkolb having lost his lead out man many bike lengths down, but everyone else was even worse affected. Degenkolb set off in pursuit and captured the fading Canola, meant to be a lead out man, in the final 400m, before powering to a 10 bike length win as the chasing group swallowed Canola as well.

Today's stage is 169 miles of flat road, without any little humps to take the pure sprinters out of the picture, There are two and bit laps of 16 km around Margherita di Savoia at the end, but today this should be gearing up to a group finish. The Omega Phara-Quickstep team once they realised they weren't going to get Mark Cavendish back into the hunt did all coast in for the last 20kms or so, so may be reasonably fresh in comparison to other teams, especially those that had a sprinter or lead out man fall in the crash. So things are looking good possibly for another Cavendish stage win today.

Giro d'Italia Stage 5 Cosenza - Matera

This year's Giro yesterday reached it the south and the rain, before today heading north to finish in the arch of Italy's foot. Yet again yesterday it was the mountains that separated the race. The final summit the Croce Ferrata had plenty of action.

A group of five hit the lower slopes ahead of the race, but with that gap coming down as Sky applied the pressure on the front of the peleton one of their number AG2R's Sylvian Georges pulled out a lead of his own. He was soon joined by Vini Fantini's Danilo Di Luca and then Robinson Chalapud of Colombia both bridged across to him in the wet and mist of the tree lined ascent. Georges couldn't hold their wheels for long and slide back into the pack, but these two reached the summit with a 10 seconds gap. There was 7km of downhill and flat wet roads and some of that pavé (cobbles), anything could yet happen.

As it was the two held on, mainly due to the work of Di Luca until the final km, but with Katusha leading the peleton with Paolini in his Maglia Rosa comfortable in second wheel chasing them down, Di Luca launched one final solo attack in the final 700m only to be absorbed by the peleton in the final 300m. The first man across the line was Enrico Battaglin, who shares the same name but is not a close relative of the 1981 champion of the Giro and Vuelta Giovanni. The young Italian on the Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox, lead an Italian 1-2-3 over the line with Felline AND and Giovanni Visconti in his wake, but further down what was meant to be the main pack there were time gaps of over a second meaning that not everyone who crested the Croce Ferrata together clocked the same time. Most significantly for GC may have been that after not just one but 2 splits was Sky's Bradley Wiggins so he clocked a time 17 seconds slower than most of the other serious contenders.

After the mountains of the last two days, today we have a flat stage as the Giro starts to head north once again. Mark Cavendish may be back in his Omega Pharma-Quickstep jersey having lost the red points jersey to Luca Paolini after his efforts over the last two day, but he may well be claiming it back on the line in Matera this afternoon.

There are a couple of sharp bends in the run in, but the last of this is at a roundabout with a km to go. Then it is the sort of sprint that you can expect to see the touch paper under the Manx Missile ignited once again and providing there isn't any unexpected rough stuff, mechanicals or crashes he may very well hit the line at the front once again. If OPQ actually get a lead out for him this time it could be by bike lengths rather than a wheel.

Giro d'Italia Stage 4 Policastro Bussentino - Serra San Bruno

Yesterday's two climbs really started to separate the contenders in this year's Giro.

The first of yesterday's climbs, San Mauru Cilento saw a group of six up the road, though with their gap already coming down, only 3'42" ahead of the peleton. But riders including the first Maglia Rosa Mark Cavendish OPQ had been dropped on the ascent, but Cav was only 28 seconds off the pace and not in the Autobus bringing up the rear which was over a minute down, he was to catch the peleton on the descent.

However, up at the front Vini Fantini rider Fabio Taborre set off from the leading pack in a bid for a long solo ride to the finish, as behind the breakaway Sky had come to the front of the peleton to ride at a tempo to bring the race altogether. When Taborre hit the slopes of the Sella di Catona he had opened a gap of 1'11" ahead of the rest of the group he had reached the previous summit with and 2'33" ahead of the peleton.

On that climb first Sky and then Garmin-Sharp started to boss the peleton. The slowing group and then Taborre were absorbed and then spat out the back of the peleton. Then with about 3km to the summit last year's champion Ryder Hesjedal GRS went on an attack after Rigoberto Uran SKY had opened a few bike lengths gap, but he was soon brought back in. But it wasn't to be his last attempt. However, this attack did see Salvatore Puccio in his pink jersey dropped from the confines of his Sky team mates. When they reached the summit there was a group of 33 left.

Then on the descent Hesjedal went again along with Luca Paolini KAT and Valerio Agnoli AST went up the road descending fast but others soon caught them up, when the descent flattened out a little. Then Paolini went solo with 6.5km to go. Behind him the Blanco Team took up the pursuit and Michele Scarponi was in third wheel when into one hairpin, first Scarponi the 2011 champion came off and the two Blanco riders collided with the wall, while the rest of the group came past unscathed.

In the end Paolini crossed the line 16 seconds clear, which with his time bonuses would leave him 17 seconds clear in the Maglia Rosa. Next over the line was a group of 16 lead by Cadel Evans BMC, then Hesjedal but also including Samuel Sanchez EUS, Bradley Wiggins SKY, Robert Gesink BLA and Vincenzo Nibali AST amongst others. Scarponi after his crash was a minute down on Paolini.

Today's stage again has a kick up at the end with first a category 3 climb of Vibo Valentia then the final category 2 climb of Croce Ferrata a mere 7km from the finish. It will be another day that those serious for the GC will be going out to steal seconds of the bonus seconds for a top three finish.

Once again expect to see a small selection at that final summit and don't expect many who may be dropped unless by only a handful of seconds to get back on the final run in, it is almost flat this time and not a twisting and complicated descent.

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.