"It's a real scandal. This has to stop." - Bernard Hinault

French retired cyclists Bernard Hinault has aired his thoughts on Chris Froome's win at the Giro d’Italia victory on Tuesday, saying that the Team Sky rider does not belong in the pantheon of cyclist such as himself and Eddy Merckx. In Rome on Sunday, Froome joined those two famous names by winning Grand Tours consecutively, having won last year’s Tour de France and Vuelta a España.

Bernard Hinault completed his wins between the 1982 and 1983 seasons, went as far as saying that Froome should not have even been on the start line  "Froome does not belong on that list," Hinault said, according to Belgian publication Het Laatste Nieuws. "He returned a positive test at the Vuelta and afterwards his B-sample proved positive, so he has used doping and he has to be suspended.

"He should never have been allowed to start in the Giro. Why do we have to wait so long for a verdict? Those two Italians who had the same thing [Alessandro Petacchi and Diego Ulissi -ed.] were suspended much faster. With what right does Froome get so much time to find an explanation? Is it because Sky has so much money?"

Froome is currently under investigation after an anti-doping test during the 2017 Vuelta a España, which he went on to win, showed him to have double the permitted levels of the asthma drug salbutamol in his urine. It remains for the British rider and his legal team must now prove that he did not exceed the allowed dosage in order to avoid a suspension. As salbutamol is a 'specified' substance on WADA's banned list, Froome is allowed to compete while the investigation is going on. Both Petacchi and Ulissi received immediate bans for elevated levels of salbutamol even though it took nine months for a verdict to be reached in Ulissi’s case.

Last week, UCI president David Lappartient told the emdia that he could not guarantee that Froome’s case would be resolved by the time the Tour de France begins in July. Also, could also not confirm whether or not the results that Froome earns during the time of the investigation will be removed if he is handed a suspension.

"This is all very sad," added Hinault. "Froome is not part of the legend of the sport, because what image does he give cycling? He may also start the Tour later."

"It’s a real scandal. This has to stop."

Bernard Hinault Bio

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Cummings Win Stage in Pais Vasco

Steve Cummings

Steve Cummings took a tightly bunched leading pack by surprise with a powerful sprint in the last kilometre to win the third stage of the Vuelta al País Vasco.

The British rider finished in 5hrs 1min 57sec and lies 39th place overall. The 35-year-old, riding for the Dimension Data team, timed his final surge perfectly, outsprinting Simon Gerrans of Australia and Italy’s Fabio Fellinem, who were second and third respectively. 

Both were given the same time as Cummings.

Spain’s Mikel Landa, riding for Team Sky, finished 37th in the same time but retained the leader’s jersey on the mountainous 193km ride from Vitoria to Lesaka that contained three category two climbs. The Dutchman Wilco Kelderman (Team LottoNl-Jumbo) lies second overall, while Landa’s Sky team-mate Sergio Henao is third.

“I’m happy with the way the race is going so far,” said Landa, who acknowledged Cummings had caught him off-guard.

Landa’s compatriot Alberto Contador, riding for Tinkoff, is fifth after a 16th-place finish on stage three, while Movistar’s Nairo Quintana is eighth after placing 26th, one behind Astana’s Fabio Aru, the winner of last year’s Vuelta a España. The Italian is down in 15th going into Thursday’s stage – the fourth of six – which is a 165km ride from Lesaka to Orio.

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We Must Learn from Demoitie Death - Bugno

The president of the Professional Cyclists Association, Gianni Bugno, has demanded that lessons are learned following the death of the Belgian cyclist Antoine Demoitié, who was hit by a motorbike after a fall during the Gent-Wevelgem cycling classic on Sunday.

The 25-year-old rider was taken to the University Hospital of Lille after the accident during a section of the race in Northern France but his team, Wanty-Gobert, confirmed Demoitié’s death on Sunday night.

Bugno said: “About the terrible accident that caused the death of the rider Antoine Demoitié during the Gent-Wevelgem race, the CPA and all the riders demand to shed immediate light on the accident and the circumstances that have caused it as well as on any of the responsible involved parties.

“At this time of sadness and sorrow for the death of Antoine we do not want to make controversy, but we have so much frustration inside. We have always stated that the safety of the riders must be in first place in the discussions of the cycling stakeholders and at the last CCP meeting we specifically asked to communicate the strategies to improve security during the races.

“I do not want to accuse anyone but I want to make everyone reflect on the responsibility we have to ensure that a very high level of attention, awareness and control over safety standards during each race is maintained.”

A team statement on Twitter read: “Thanks for your overwhelming support. The team is touched by all the messages. We will bounce back and #RideForAntoine.”

The two-times Tour de France winner Chris Froome paid tribute to Demoitié on social media, saying: “So sad to hear of the passing of Antoine Demoitié. Condolences to his friends and family.”

Mark Cavendish said on Twitter: “Such tragic news. RIP Antoine Demoitié. My thoughts and condolences are with your family, friends and teammates.”

#AntoineDemoitieRIP

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Nibali Wins Il Lombardia

Vincenzo Nibali won Il Lombardia in style on Sunday to claim his first Monument one-day classic victory. The Astana rider, who was thrown out of the Vuelta last month for holding on to a team car, attacked on the penultimate descent and never looked back.

Spain’s Dani Moreno (Katusha) and the Frenchman Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), who jumped away from the group of favourites on the last climb to lead the chase, finished second and third, 21 and 32 seconds back respectively after 245km from Bergamo.

“It was a fantastic day, the whole team worked very well,” said Nibali, who was sheltered by Diego Rosa in the last part of the race, one of the five Monument classics along with Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Nibali’s previous best result in the Monuments was third place on Milan-San Remo and second in Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2012.

“I tried to attack on the climb but I realised I had to do it differently,” he added.

Nibali attacked on the ascent of the Civiglio but was reined in by Pinot. He attacked again on the downhill and no rider was able to follow the Italian, one of the best descenders in the world. Pinot and Moreno were stronger than the rest of the top riders on the final climb but failed to close the gap, which increased on the last downhill.

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Nibali Aims forCycling Double

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Vincenzo Nibali is aiming to become the fourth rider to win the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana in the same year when the final three-week Grand Tour of the season starts in Spain on Saturday.

The Italian, 28, who won the Vuelta in 2010, claimed his second Grand Tour title by winning the Giro in May.

Colombia's Sergio Henao and Spanish pair Joaquin Rodriguez and Alejandro Valverde are among his chief rivals.

Nibali said: "I've got nothing to prove after the Giro but I want to do well."

Only Belgian legend Eddy Merckx (1973), Giovanni Battaglin of Italy (1981) and Spain's Alberto Contador (2008) have won the Spanish race in the same year as winning its Italian equivalent.

The three-week race is not as prestigious as the Tour de France and Giro but still attracts the biggest names in the sport - although defending champion Contador and Chris Froome, who became the second British winner of the Tour in July , are not racing.

With Froome focusing on the world road race in Florence at the end of September, Team Sky have chosen Henao to lead a nine-man squad that features 23-year-old Luke Rowe as the solitary British rider - the only other British rider in the race is Andrew Fenn, also 23, who rides for the Omega Pharma - Quick Step team.

However, Nibali has ambitions of using the mountainous route as a warm-up for the world road race, which is also expected to suit the climbing specialists.

"It's important to do well because a lot of people will be watching my performance here as a guide to how well I can ride there," he said.

"If I feel in good enough shape to win and have an advantage of just a minute or two, then I will go for broke in a single stage somewhere.

"If I'm suffering so badly I'm barely able to keep up with the rest of the favourites, I'll do things differently."

Valverde won the Vuelta in 2009 and is likely to feature highly but it is fellow Spaniard Rodriguez who comes into the race in decent form.

The 34-year-old Catalan finished the 2012 season as the top-ranked cyclist but is yet to win a Grand Tour, having twice finished third in the Vuelta (2012 and 2010), second in last year's Giro and third on this year's Tour de France.

"Winning one [Grand Tour] before I retire would be the high point of my career," the Katusha rider told Spanish paper AS.

"It's the difference between having a good career, like mine, and a magnificent one."

This year's Vuelta begins with Saturday's 27.4km team time trial from Vilanova de Arousa to Sanxenxo in north-western Spain and features 11 summit finishes. The penultimate 20th stage takes in the gruelling climb of the Angliru, which has gradients approaching 24%.

The race finishes in Madrid on Sunday, 15 September.

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Contador Rides to Armstrong Defence

Alberto Contador expressed support for disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong and claimed the American is being "humiliated and lynched" by doping accusations which have led to the stripping of his seven Tour de France titles.

Contador, a double Tour champion who returned from a two-year doping ban in August, told reporters in Paris at the presentation of the 2013 edition of the race that Armstrong deserved more respect.

"It seems to me that at certain times and in certain places Lance is not being treated with any respect," he said. "He is being humiliated and lynched, in my opinion.

"He is being destroyed," the Saxo Bank-Tinkoff rider, who had a difficult relationship with Armstrong when they were team mates at Astana, was quoted as saying by Spanish media. "Right now people are talking about Lance but there has not been any new test or anything,"

"It's based exclusively on witness statements that could have existed in 2005. I respect each rider's decision but I would have liked it to happen a bit earlier."

Armstrong was stripped of his 1999-2005 Tour victories on Monday when the International Cycling Union (UCI) ratified the US Anti-Doping Agency's decision to erase his results from August, 1998.

Armstrong, who fought back from cancer to dominate the sport, has always denied doping and says he has never failed a drugs test.

"What there is (in terms of evidence) I don't know, what I do know is that if cycling is popular in the United States it's thanks to him," Contador said. "If they know over there what the Tour is it's thanks to him, if there are top-level teams and races in his country it's thanks to him."

Contador said the current testing regime is adequate as a means of preventing illegal doping.

"There is little that needs to be changed at the moment. The tests we have are as rigorous as possible, we have to be able to be located at all times," he said. "There will be people who will have doubts, given everything that has come out, and I understand it.

"I say to them that they should believe completely that riders win races without help, also on the Tour."

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Contador Wins La Vuelta 2012

Alberto Contador secured overall victory in the Vuelta a Espana as Argos-Shimano rider John Degenkolb won the final stage of the race in Madrid.

Contador (Saxo Bank-TInkoff Bank) made it safely to the finish of the largely-processional final stage to win the Spanish Grand Tour for a second time.

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) finished one minute 16 seconds adrift in second position while Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) completed an all-Spanish podium.

As expected the Madrid finale ended in a sprint, with Degenkolb once again proving his credentials as the fastest man in the race by beating Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale) to the line for his fifth stage win.

The final stage of the race set out at a leisurely pace as Contador, who was riding in his first major race since serving a doping suspension, had time to savour his imminent victory.

As the riders approached Madrid for the finishing circuit six riders chipped off the front in a bid to upset the sprinters.

Kevin Seeldraeyers (Astana), Sergey Lagutin (Vacansoleil-DCM), Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Sergio Carrasco and Javier Chacon (Andalucia) and Javier Aramenida (Caja Rurual) were the riders who went up the road.

But the peloton kept them on a tight leash and it was the fast men who came to the fore on the run to the finish line.

Degenkolb was given a perfect lead out by his team-mates and finished off the job in his trademark powerful style, with Viviani edged into second and Daniele Bennati (RadioShack-Nissan) completing the top three.

Valverde showed his all-round abilities by sprinting to sixth place, meaning he overtook Rodriguez to claim victory in both the points and combination classifications at the last possible opportunity.

Rodriguez, who had been set for overall victory until a daring move from Contador on stage 17, ultimately finished the race empty-handed.

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