Flanders News

Katusha's Joaquim Rodriguez may not have achieved his goal of winning the overall at the Giro d'Italia , but the Spaniard's second place was enough to push him to the top of the UCI's WorldTour rankings.

The week of climbing continues on stage 20 and comes to an end atop the Stelvio, once again the Cima Coppi, or the highest point, of the Giro d'Italia. But that is not the only climb of the day, there are four others, including the equally dreaded Mortirolo.

Roman Kreuziger won stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia at l'Alpe di Pampeago, an uphill finish steeped in the legend of Marco Pantani, but he didn't look like a happy man despite preceding the riders still in contention for the overall victory: Ryder Hesjedal , Joaquim Rodriguez , Michele Scarponi , Domenico Pozzovivo and Ivan Basso .

Come stage 17 of the Giro d'Italia there will be no place left to hide for any of the race contenders.

As the race's fastest men strained for the finishing line over the final few hundred metres into the Piedmontese town of Cervere, Cavendish ceased pedalling, dropped behind the leading group and then easily outstripped them from a more open position.

Asked to rate his 2012 season thus far - a season that includes a fourth-place finish at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad to highlight an otherwise disappointing spring classics campaign - the Garmin-Barracuda rider summarized it succinctly, saying, "it's been shit, really." It was a stark admission from a rider who has struggled to return to the form he ... (more)

Filippo Pozzato strode into the sign-in area of Tuesday's 10th stage like a Roman gladiator, resplendent in his fashion sunglasses and a signature "Pippo" baseball cap.

Vancansoleil-DCM's Stijn Devolder is preparing for an assault on the 2012 Tour de France , despite his team management stating that he is far from certain to feature in their squad.

Omega Pharma-Quickstep 's Tom Boonen will bring his star power to the Amgen Tour of California this week, but having taken an extended break from competition following his spectacular Classics victories including the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, he is not expecting to make a big splash on US soil.

Gregor Gazvoda is living his dream at the age of 30 as he takes part in his first Grand Tour, the Giro d'Italia , after thinking that he had no future in cycling.

Two months ago a bad crash in the prologue at Paris-Nice put an end to Nick Nuyens ' hopes for the spring classics, but The Saxo Bank rider is now finally returning to action and will be at the start line of the Four Days of Dunkirk Friday with one eye on the Tour de France.

While the external expectations will be higher following his fourth place finish last year, Thomas Voeckler insisted that he is not obsessed by the Tour de France and that he will approach the race in the same frame of mind as always this July.

In the June issue of Velo Magazine, read editor Neal Rogers' thoughts on how the Belgian vaporized years of doubts with a sterling spring campaign that saw a record equaling fourth win at Paris-Roubaix, from a dominant breakaway, and a smooth sprint win from a three-man break at the Tour of Flanders.

Swiss cyclist Fabian Cancellara gestures after a press conference on April 3, 2012 in Basel after an operation on his broken right collarbone following his fall last weekend in the Tour of Flanders classic.

STEP UP: Leading kiwi road cyclist Jack Bauer gets his first taste of Grand Tour riding at the Giro d'Italia starting this weekend.

Matthew Goss is primed to make up for a rough, winless spring campaign with some big results at the Giro d'Italia. Goss's spring classics campaign was derailed after coming down with a stomach bug; he was unable to defend his title at Milan-San Remo, and pulled the plug at Tour of Flanders.

Title: The Story of the Giro d'Italia - A Year-by-Year History of the Tour of Italy: Volume Two - 1971-2011 Author: Bill and Carol McGann Publisher: McGann Publishing Year: 2012 Pages: 312 Order: McGann Publishing What it is: What it says on the tin - the second part of a two volume year-by-year history of the Giro d'Italia , from the people who ... (more)