Dumoulin Wins Opening Giro Stage

Dumoulin in Apeldoorn - Getty Images

Tom Dumoulin won the opening individual time trial of the Giro d’Italia by the finest of margins in Apeldoorn on Friday. At the end of the flat 9.8km route the Dutchman beat Primoz Roglic of Slovenia by one hundredth of a second.

“It’s incredible. I can almost not describe it in words,” said Dumoulin, who added that he felt sick afterwards. “A hundredth of a second is a breath of air and that’s it.

“It’s better than I could have imagined. In front of my home crowd to get the most beautiful jersey in cycling is very special. I did no big mistakes. You always think you could have done this corner a bit better or that one … it wasn’t my best time trial but I’m wearing this jersey now. I will defend this as long as possible. I don’t think I have the level to compete in the real big mountains.”

Roglic took the lead off Dumoulin’s Giant-Alpecin team-mate, Tobias Ludvigsson, who had been in the hot seat for around 90 minutes. Ludvigsson eventually finished fourth, eight seconds behind the leading pair and two seconds behind the Costa Rican Andrey Amador.

Another time trial specialist, Fabian Cancellara, was hoping for a victory that would have handed him the first maglia rosa of his long career. But he was hampered by stomach flu and finished eighth, 14 seconds behind Dumoulin.

The overall favorite Vincenzo Nibali, the 2013 champion, was 19 seconds behind in 16th. “It was a very explosive time trial. I had to make a really big effort,” Nibali said. “It’s one stage out of the way now.

“I can be more than satisfied by what’s happened but let’s just keep our feet on the ground. One or two days before a Grand Tour you can feel nervous and I’m just happy we’re under way now.”

The Swiss rider Stefan Kung threatened to challenge Dumoulin’s lead as he was only one second slower at 4.8km but he crashed into the barriers and finished 16 seconds behind.

The 99th Giro continues in the Netherlands with two sprint stages before an early rest day and a transfer to Italy. The race ends in Turin on 29 May.

Related articles

• Pro-cyclist gets six-year ban for mechanical doping
• Arnaud Démare wins Milan-San Remo despite earlier crash in 295km classic
• Specialized Venge ViAS Disc spotted on Gaviria's bike
• This Is Just The Dumbest Way To Lose A Bike Race
• Rio 2016 Olympics faces a 'big challenge' to get Barra Velodrome finished on time
• New Javascript malware: Price list

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.

Related articles

• Record season of cycling on British Eurosport as Tour de France, Vuelta a Espana and Giro d'Italia grow
• Vincenzo Nibali won Coppa Bernocchi
• Cycling-Aru seals debut grand tour triumph in Tour of Spain
• Aru's time comes at end of wacky Vuelta cycling race
• Aru completes Vuelta triumph
• Italy's Fabio Aru seals debut grand tour triumph in Spain

Ivan Basso Gets All Clear

Two-time Giro d’Italia winner Ivan Basso, who withdrew from this year’s Tour de France after revealing he had testicular cancer, has been given the all-clear following treatment, his Tinkoff-Saxo team has said.

The 37-year-old Italian felt pain in his left testicle after crashing in the fifth stage of the Tour and tests later showed he had a small tumour. Basso had surgery in Milan.

“Fabulous news on @ivanbasso! 

Results from final controls show no need for extra treatment. The dark period that started at @letour is over,” Tinkoff-Saxo posted on Twitter.

Basso finished third and second overall in the 2004 and 2005 Tour de France but has won the Giro – his only grand tour titles – thanks to impressive climbing performances.

His career, however, was stained with a two-year ban for his implication in the Operation Puerto blood-doping scandal.

Basso admitted to “attempted doping” in 2007 and was hit by a backdated suspension. He won the Giro in 2010, less than two years after his comeback, to add to his 2006 success.

Related articles

• Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso cleared after cancer scare
• Kiryienka wins world men's time-trial crown, Aussie Dennis suffers puncture
• Vasil Kiryienka takes time trial gold as Tony Martin's run ends
• Kiryienka Wins Time Trial
• Vasil Kiryienka takes time trial gold as Tony Martin's run ends
• A 34-year-old Belarusian cyclist becomes the fastest time trialist on the planet, and officials checked his bike for a motor

Roche Vuelta Stage for Sky

La Vuelta

Nicolas Roche gave Team Sky the victory they were longing for in this Vuelta when he won the 18th stage while Tom Dumoulin held off his main rival to retain the overall lead.

Ireland's Roche beat breakaway companion Haimar Zubeldia (Trek Factory) of Spain in a two-man sprint after going solo in the last climb of the 204-km ride from Roa to Riaza.

Jose Goncalves (Caja Rural) took third place 18 seconds behind while Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) won the sprint of the favourites' group to end up fourth, 38 seconds off the pace, as Movistar took over from Sky at the top of the team classification.

Overall, Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) still leads Fabio Aru (Astana) by three seconds after the Italian climber repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, attacked in the last climb.

Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) remains third, 1:15 adrift of Dutchman Dumoulin. 

Talansky (Cannondale-Garmin) called it quits after suffering from a cough for days while Terpstra (Etixx-Quick Step) abandoned after hurting his knee with his handlebars during yesterday's time trial.

Velits (BMC Racing), Van den Broeck (Lotto-Soudal) and Meyer (Orica-GreenEDGE) did not start either.

A group of 25 riders formed the day's breakaway.

Roche (Sky), Minard (Ag2r), Atapuma (BMC), Gonçalves and Madrazo (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Lemoine and Rollin (Cofidis), Serry (Etixx-Quick Step), Courteille (FDJ), Pellaud and Reynes (IAM), Durasek (Lampre-Merida), De Clercq, Hansen and Van der Sande (Lotto-Soudal), Rojas (Movistar), Jim (MTN-Qhubeka), Cardoso (Cannondale-Garmin), Cousin and Gautier (Europcar), Vorganov (Katusha), Roosen (LottoNL-Jumbo), Bennati, Poljanski (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Zubeldia (Trek) were the fugitives. De Clerq's presence in the break, though, was a threat to Meintjes's 10th place in the GC and his MTN-Qhubeka team controlled the gap, which rose up to six minutes.

Astana took their share of work with about 50 kilometres left.

Vicioso launched an attack meant to serve as a launchpad for Rodriguez, who joined him shortly afterwards, but both were calmly reined in by the Astana-led peloton 35 km from the finish.

In the last climb to the Puerto de la Quesera (10 km at 5.2 per cent), Roche left his breakaway companions before being joined by Zubeldia. 

At the beginning of the ascent, Aru attacked the group of favourites but Dumoulin managed to stay in his wheel.

Chaves (Orica-GreenEDGE) then jumped away from the red jersey group and was joined by Nieve (Team Sky), Valverde (Movistar) and Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo). But they regrouped and the red jersey pack caught most of the fugitives in the final descent, with only Roche, Zubeldia and Goncalves staying ahead.

Related articles

• Dumoulin fends off Aru to maintain Vuelta lead
• Vuelta a España 2015: Team Sky's Nicolas Roche claims stage 18
• Cycling-Road-Vuelta a Espana classification after stage 2
• Team Sky's Chris Froome stays seventh at Vuelta a Espana
• Roche takes 18th stage, Dumoulin retains Vuelta lead
• Froome loses time on summit finish

Stage 16 - Schleck Wins Climb

Frank Schleck dug deep to win a brutally mountainous 16th stage of the Vuelta a España on Monday while Joaquim Rodríguez leapfrogged Fabio Aru at the top of the overall standings.

However, it was arguably the Dutchman Tom Dumoulin, who is not recognised for his climbing prowess, who put in the most impressive performance on the third of three consecutive summit finishes as he again avoided losing too much time on his main rivals and is now the clear favourite.

Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) is just under two minutes behind Rodríguez in fourth heading into Tuesday’s rest day and is expected to surge into the lead after Wednesday’s time trial in Burgos, a discipline he excels in.

“That was much better than expected,” Dumoulin said. “I didn’t feel so good on the first [category] climb. It went really fast but I was never really in trouble and I thought, ‘Ah, we’ll give it a go on the last climb.’ I had really good legs. To lose [only] 28 seconds is really, really good. Still everything is open.”

Rodríguez (Katusha), who won Sunday’s 15th stage to close to within one second of Aru, finished almost nine minutes behind in ninth, trying desperately to put some distance between himself and Aru, who hung on desperately. Rodríguez finished two seconds ahead of Aru to claim the leader’s red jersey.

The Trek rider Schleck, whose impressive victory came 45 years after his father Johny won a Vuelta stage in Madrid, was part of a small group that broke away near the start of the 185km slog from Luarca to Ermita de Alba, which included seven punishing climbs and some eye-watering gradients.

By the time the 35-year-old reached the final ascent after nearly six hours in the saddle he had dropped all his rivals except Rodolfo Torres (Team Colombia) and he surged away to cross the line one minute and 10 seconds ahead of the Colombian.

“I was very nervous, Torres was tough,” said Schleck, who missed the Tour de France with a knee injury. “I didn’t really know much about Torres or what he could do.”

Poland’s Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo) is in third overall, just over one and half minutes behind Rodríguez and Aru. The three-week race ends on Sunday in central Madrid.

Related articles

• Vuelta a España: Tom Dumoulin poised as Frank Schleck wins stage 16
• Schleck wins brutal Vuelta stage, Dumoulin favourite
• Schleck wins brutal Vuelta stage, Dumoulin favourite
• Schleck wins brutal Vuelta stage, Dumoulin favourite
• Schleck Wins Brutal Stage at Vuelta a España
• Cycling-Schleck wins brutal Vuelta stage, Dumoulin favourite

Stage 15 - Rogriguez Second From Aru

Joaquim Rodríguez won the mountainous 15th stage of the Vuelta a España to reduce Fabio Aru’s overall lead to only one second.

Rodríguez attacked on the final steep ascent, riding high off his seat and breaking into a smile as Nairo Quintana faded and Aru also dropped behind, leaving the Spaniard alone to crest the gruelling peak.

He finished the 175.8km ride, culminating at the Sotres category-one summit, in four hours, 33 minutes and 31 seconds.

Aru was fifth across the line, 15 seconds behind. The Italian just barely saved the leader’s red jersey for Monday’s third consecutive stage with a summit finish in the northern mountains.

The Dutchman Tom Dumoulin fell from third overall to fourth, now one minute, 25 seconds back. Rafal Majka of Poland is third.

Related articles

• Vuelta a España: Joaquim Rodríguez wins stage 15 to close gap on Fabio Aru
• Rodriguez slashes Aru's Vuelta lead to one second
• A Little Steam Engine Celebrates 120th Birthday
• New peaks to conquer
• START TRAINING NOW – NEPAL TO SLASH COST TO CLIMB EVEREST
• Joaquim Rodriguez closing on Fabio Aru after Spaniard claims victory in Vuelta a Espana stage 15

Danny van Poppel Wins Stage 12

Danny van Poppel sprinted to victory on stage 12 of the Vuelta a Espana as Fabio Aru retained the overall lead.

Van Poppel (Trek Factory Racing) beat Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEdge) into second place and Tosh Van Der Sande (Lotto Soudal) into third in Lleida, but only after a frantic chase of the day's breakaway.

The five escapees still led by 40 seconds with 5km remaining and it wasn't until about 350m to go that the last of them was finally caught by desperate sprint teams within the peloton.

Van Poppel's win was the biggest of his career and came despite being forced to chase back on to the main bunch following a puncture with about 12km left.

Aru (Astana) and all the other contenders for overall victory finished in the peloton, which means the Italian remains 27 seconds ahead of second-placed Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and 30 seconds in front of third-placed Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin).

Van Poppel said: "This was my first chance in this Vuelta. I missed the opportunities in the first week because I was not feeling good and struggled with the heat, and I was a little bit angry that I missed those chances. I knew that today was another chance, and I needed to take responsibility."

The Vuelta continues on Friday with a 178km 13th stage from Catalayud to Tarazona. Follow the action with our live blog from 3.30pm BST.

Stage 12 result

1 Danny van Poppel (Lux) Trek Factory Racing, 4:02:11

2 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge, same time

3 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal, st

4 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step, st

5 John Degenkolb (Ger) Giant-Alpecin, st

6 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing, st

7 Tom van Asbroeck (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, st

8 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) MTN-Qhubeka, st

9 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar, st

10 Leonardo Duque (Col) Colombia, st

General classification

1 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, 47:14:30

2 Joaquim Rodriguez (Esp) Katusha, +27

3 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin, +30

4 Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo, +1:28

5 Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-GreenEdge, +1:29

6 Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, +1:52

7 Daniel Moreno (Esp) Katusha, +1:54

8 Mikel Nieve (Esp) Team Sky, +1:58

9 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, +3:07

10 Louis Meintjes (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka, +4:15

Related articles

• 2015 Vuelta a Espana Results - Stage 12
• Cycling-Dutchman Van Poppel recovers from puncture to win stage
• Orica's Chaves back on top at Vuelta after stage-six win
• Esteban Chaves back on top at Vuelta after second stage win
• Team Sky's Chris Froome stays seventh at Vuelta a Espana