Stage 2: Visé – Tournai

It was a stage of injuries, of sprinters, of chateaux and long breakaways, and a stage of rising above.  Stage 2 of the 2012 Tour de France from Visé to Tournai saw all the things we’ve come to expect from the paramount race of the world – pain, triumph, inhuman achievement and a gripping finish to keep us all guessing.

After the crashes and dramatic finish of yesterday’s stage into Seraing, the peloton started off slowly, savouring the beautiful panoramas and elegant cathedrals of central Belgium.  It was 22 kilometres into the stage before Anthony Roux of FDJ-BigMat attempted a breakaway and was quickly joined by Europcar’s Christophe Kern and Saxobank-Tinkoff Bank’s Michael Morkov, wearer of the polka-dot jersey after his participation in yesterday’s breakaway.   The three rode rapidly away from the peloton to build up a lead that reached around eight minutes, Roux leaning on his handlebars as though for a time trial to avoid using his broken left hand, the result of one of yesterday’s crashes.

The young Frenchman wasn’t the only rider putting on a brave face for the stage.  World time trial champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) was also in considerable pain from a fractured scaphoid in his left hand which had caused temporary doubt as to whether he would start the stage.   The German’s Tour de France certainly hadn’t improved, with a puncture in the prologue time trial preceding the Stage 1 crash which left him in a plastic brace.

The breakaway trio’s lead had dropped down to 6’15” as they passed through the city of Namur and began the climb up to the King of the Mountains point at the Côte de la Citadelle de Namur, a Roman-era fortress sitting at the top of the winding cobbles.  Morkov dashed ahead of Kern and Roux to take the single point on offer, extending his lead over the polka-dot jersey competition to three points.  Objective achieved, Morkov assumed a position at the back of the leading group and let the French pair do the work for the rest of the stage.

The gap quickly receding, the idle peloton realised they’d left it too late to catch the breakaway before the sprint point at Soignies, allowing Kern, Roux and Morkov respectively to take top points, and instead prepared to sprint for 4th place.  The teams of the sprinters, already with a rider each at the front to do the pacemaking, sent up their leadout trains to contend for the vital green jersey points.  Liquigas-Cannondale’s train was pulling for Peter Sagan, but Australian outfit Orica-GreenEDGE once again slipped sprinter Matthew Goss up the side to take the win ahead of Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) and Mark Cavendish (Sky).

Intermediate sprint aside, the race continued west across Belgium as the lead group’s advantage slowly ticked down.  As the peloton loomed behind, Roux decided that the attitude of the day was ‘never say die’ and attacked again with 31 kilometres to go, an action that earned him the Combative Rider award for the day, while Kern and Morkov were swallowed up by the quickly-moving peloton and promptly spat out at the back end.  As the pace increased, the hopeful teams of the sprinters moved to the front of the peloton for a second time and began preparing their sprint trains for the battle royale that was to be the stage finish.

At the rear of the peloton, though, Argos-Shimano’s sprinter Marcel Kittel was having trouble.  While his team led the peloton charging towards Tournai, Kittel was falling off the back of the main field, his expression strained.  Despite the help of teammates Kittel was unable to keep in touch any longer and dropped off, victim of a stomach bug, surrendering his chance at the day’s stage win.

The front of the peloton barely noticed his absence, flying towards the finish at nearly 70kph, scooping up the still-fighting Roux along the way.  The key sprint teams of Liquigas-Cannondale, Lotto Belisol, Orica-GreenEDGE and Sky Procycling were jostling for position as King Albert II of Belgium, as keen a cycling fan as his countrymen, waited for the riders at the finish.  Though Lotto Belisol appeared to have the win lined up neatly for Andre Greipel, Liquigas-Cannondale’s Peter Sagan clinging to his back wheel, the aptly-named ‘Manx Missile’ of Mark Cavendish shot past Greipel to take his 21^st Tour de France stage win, Orica-GreenEDGE’s Matt Goss again slipping up the side to take third.

The win has done little for the overall standings, Peter Sagan taking the green sprinter’s jersey the only change in the classifications.  Tomorrow the Tour heads into northern France and more medium mountains, a newfound battleground for Sagan which may enable him to consolidate his lead on the maillot vert.

Roy Will Be Less Combative

Jérémy Roy sets off on the roads of the Tour de France

Last year, Jérémy Roy, inspired columnist in his free time, was designated Super-Combative* rider of the Tour de France thanks in particular to his 735km spent in the lead, the second- highest total behind his teammate, Mickaël Delage. But there’s no need to expect him to win a double like riders before him, such as Laurent Jalabert (2001-02), Jacky Durand (1998-99), Richard Virenque (1996-97), and also Eddy Merckx (1969-70, 74-75).

“Unlike past years, we have a sprinter on the team (Belarussian Yauheni Hutarovich),” he says. “It’s more necessary to protect him and perhaps that will be my role, that of breaking the wind, so I won’t be able to join breakaways as much. I will perhaps be less spirited but that will tire me just as much. That’s part of my job. Of course, I wouldn’t turn my nose up at another supercombative title either. But if I get it, it will mean that I’ve had some beautiful breakaways. The Tour that I had last year was fabulous and the hardest is yet to come. I hope to get there in winning a stage.”

* At the end of each, a jury composed of journalists, former cyclists and commissaires selects the Most Combative Rider of the day, rewarded for their spirit. At the end of the Tour, the jury also awards the Super-Combative Rider of the Tour through a separate vote.

On his second place during the French Time Trial Championships

“I’m trying to forget,” he says, half-jokingly. “13 seconds, that’s nothing over fifty kilometres. To come so close to the tricolour jersey… In a year, we will have forgotten that I finished second, we only remember the winner. But I have no regrets, I was at my max. I was a little weakened at the end, unlike Sylvain (Chavanel), but even so, I’ve succeeded in better managing my high-intensity efforts. Before, I perhaps used to go out a little too fast. I’ve always liked this exercise and I’ve always had reasonable results, especially in the time trials over 20kms. I've practised my position, my equipment and above all I’ve gained confidence."

Written by X.C. for L’Équipe at http://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme-sur-route/Actualites/Roy-sera-moins-combatif/295003

Translated by Caelli Greenbank

Where Do We Draw The Line?

It's been pointed out to me recently that we often hold our sports heroes to a much higher standard of morals and behaviour than we do our everyday heroes, like friends or parents. They also suffer far more public consequences for their lapses than do their everyday counterparts, and sometimes far more severe consequences too. But where do we draw the line? When is too much?

The event that brought about this train of thought was, of course, the drink-driving incident involving rising stars of cycling, Jack Bobridge and Michael Hepburn. When you become a professional Australian sportsman, a world champion or an Olympic athlete, you must expect that you're about to become something of a celebrity, and with celebrity of course comes the admiration, the hero-worship, the esteem of the viewing public. On some level these riders must have known they were signing up to become public figures with the expectations of many riding on their shoulders. On some level they've agreed to this, whether consciously or not.

But is it fair of us to place these high expectations on our sportsmen? Jack Bobridge is just 22 years old, Michael Hepburn only 20. How many of us know a 20-year-old male who could live up to the expectations we hold of the young men mentioned above? Conversely, how many of us know a 20-year-old who's made a mistake or a bad decision - or several - along the path to maturity? As someone who's been through university, I can promise that the intelligence to be accepted to one of the top universities in Australia does not necessarily bestow any of the above qualities. In fact, I can regale you with any number of epic stories, many featuring 20-year-old boys, that would thoroughly convince you otherwise. Unless we believe that signing a professional athlete's contract bestows magical powers of self-control, wise judgement and keen understanding, it can't be reasonable of us to have different standards for pro cyclists than we do for everyone else.

So where do we draw the line? Do we acknowledge that most 20-year-old boys we know have made their own mistakes, and that it's part of the process of growing up? Do we take into account that this is the first scratch on a pair of squeaky records that shine with accolades, and dole out a pair of second chances? Or should we reiterate the standard of behaviour expected of Australian role models and hand down a severe penalty as a deterrent from a repetition?

Somehow it seems a little harsh to me to tell a couple of 20-year-olds that the rules have changed just because they're very good at their jobs. After all, they're still human.

Balancing the Scales of Justice

It wasn't exactly what the clean and untarnished world of Australian cycling hoped to wake up to on June 20th. Stars of the track, professional road cyclists and Olympic gold medal hopefuls Jack Bobridge and Michael Hepburn were involved in what's being described by the media as a 'drink-driving incident' in northern Spain. Involved in a 'minor' car park collision while under the influence of alcohol, though no other cars were involved and no-one was hurt, Bobridge was fined $2,500 by Cycling Australia, $2,000 of which is suspended, and placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond, as well as being fined 700 euros ($880) by a Spanish court, while Hepburn received a 12-month good behaviour bond and $1,000 suspended fine. Without being sanctioned by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), both riders will compete as usual in the team pursuit in London, where Australia and Great Britain will once again take up their fierce rivalry for gold.

But is the penalty too light? The AOC recently handed down a much harsher penalty to so-called 'bad-boy' swimmers Nick D'Arcy and Kenrick Monk, which will force the troublesome duo to fly home directly after competing in their Olympic events, missing the Closing Ceremony and the celebrations that ensue. Granted, both swimmers have been in trouble with the police before - D'Arcy was actually excluded from the 2008 Beijing Olympics for beating a fellow swimmer in a bar brawl - but most people would suggest that the punishment should be proportional to the crime. D'Arcy and Monk posting pictures on Facebook of themselves posing with high-powered guns in an arms shop during a training camp in America shows them to be guilty of bad taste, certainly, but guilty of breaking no laws in either Australia or America - except for those of decency. Drink-driving, however, is not only illegal in both Australia and Spain but also endangers the lives of the driver, passengers and any other road users.  Of all road users, cyclists should be the most aware of the consequences of poor driving.

One has to wonder what was taken into consideration when the AOC chose not to impose their own penalty on top of the one handed down by Cycling Australia. Did they consider that without Bobridge and Hepburn, Australia's 50/50 chance at a gold medal in the team pursuit goes down the drain? Did they take into account the otherwise squeaky clean records covered in wins, deem it a mistake and decide to give them a second chance? Did they ponder the penitence of the pair, now training hard for the Olympics at the national training camp? How about the serious nature of the offence, and the fact that committing a criminal offence violates Cycling Australia's disciplinary code? And did anyone mention the sanctions of D'Arcy and Monk as a barometer?

It must be confessed that cycling's administration isn't known for its consistency - the stringent enforcing of usually lax rules at the 2012 Track World Championships, or the controversial banning of Alberto Contador for doping while other riders were let off on technicalities - but there are likely some shaking heads amongst the rest of the Australian Olympic team, as well as the general public. It seems a little hard to believe - and more than a little unfair - that D'Arcy and Monk will have to board a plane during the Olympics afterparty for a bad use of social media, while their teammate with a drink-driving conviction joins in all the festivities - albeit without the alcohol, which the cyclist pair are now forbidden from drinking while with the national team. The AOC declined to penalise Bobridge and Hepburn following their court sanctions and the Cycling Australia verdict, deciding they'd been punished enough, but now would be a great time for them to step in and play Lady Justice, balancing the scales to ensure that the penalties handed down to our Olympic athletes have been delivered with consistency.

Why Cadel Needs Andy

Alberto Contador has a skill that is almost unique in road racing – he has the ability to sprint full-pelt up the highest of mountains. I say 'almost unique' because there is one other rider who also makes the Alps look like a Sunday race meet – the Luxembourg hero, Andy Schleck. Only these two can do on a mountain what Mark Cavendish does on a flat, but there are of course other excellent climbers in the peloton, some of whom can keep pace with the dynamic duo when they start playing cat-and-mouse with each other. I'm thinking specifically of Cadel Evans. While he can't leap into a massive sprint like Contador and Schleck, Evans can build up his speed to match the pair and stay with them as they race away up France's highest climbs. There are merely a handful of other riders with any hope of doing the same, explaining why Contador, Evans and Schleck have dominated the Tour de France for the past few years.

But with Contador out on a doping suspension and Schleck out with a broken sacrum, Evans is the only one of the super-speed trio left to contend this year's Tour, and this year he has a very strong, very dangerous opponent to face – Bradley Wiggins. The Brit is every bit as canny as Evans on the flats, even a little stronger than him on the time trials and has a team to make everyone green with envy, and the only real advantage over Wiggins that Evans has is in the mountains, where Evans is a slightly stronger descender and – maybe – a slightly stronger climber.

But the real question is, will Evans bring his mountain-climbing speed into play? In recent years his punchy speed has always been a defensive reaction to moves made by Contador and Schleck, done simply to keep his chief rivals in check, always knowing that he could stick it to them in a time trial, his real strength. But the strategy won't work with Wiggins, who can usually better Evans in a race against the clock, meaning Evans needs to change tactics this year and gain his lead in the mountains. But without Contador or Schleck to provoke a reaction, can Evans turn his defensive skill into an offensive attack that will leave Brad Wiggins far enough behind to give Evans the advantage? Short of a twist to make a novelist jealous, a sprint up the mountains may be the only way for the Australian to hold off a British attack on his crown.

A Blessing In Disguise

Cadel Evans is one of the best cyclists in the world. The humble 35-year-old husband and father is a former World Champion and the defending champion of the Tour de France. In recent years he has been known for his quiet, calm nature and his laid-back riding style.

But despite the strengths and talents that have made him one of the best in the world, Cadel's years with the Lotto team were unremarkable. Though he managed a second place in the Tour de France – twice, in fact – Cadel received little support from the team, had no say in how the team was run and was generally miserable. A change to the newly-formed BMC team showed instant results. Within two years he had won the Tour de France.

Andy Schleck is in the same position now that Cadel Evans was in a few years ago. The switch from his homemade Leopard Trek to the merged Radioshack-Nissan-Trek has made it glaringly obvious to all that the arrangement isn't going well. The team hasn't even managed to keep the disagreement between Andy and directeur sportif Johan Bruyneel behind closed doors. From the beginning, Bruyneel made his plan to split the Schleck brothers across all the races clear, but it seems the idea hasn't panned out as well in practise. Andy has struggled to finish a race since the beginning of the season, culminating in an abandon of the Critérium du Dauphiné with a broken sacrum. The six-week healing period means that Andy won't recover in time to race the Tour de France, leaving big brother Frank to lead the team alone.

But a broken bone, odd though it may sound, could be just what Andy needs right now, in more than one way. A year away from the Tour and a serious shot at the Vuelta a España may be enough to give Andy some much-needed experience in winning a Grand Tour that he can bring to next year's Tour de France, more mature as a rider. More particularly, though, Andy's form this year has been, to put it very mildly, not good. Like Evans at Lotto, the team tensions have been weighing on the mind of an otherwise good rider, and they've been weighing Andy down. The 27-year-old was embarrassingly dropped on the lower slopes of climbs in the recent Dauphiné, and his time trialling ability hasn't improved any since the Tour in 2010. Andy's physical form is not likely to improve until he's in a better place mentally, and that doesn't seem likely to happen under Bruyneel at Radioshack.

This year's Grand Boucle is definitely not suited to Andy, with fewer high mountains and nearly 100 kilometres of time trials, and both defending champion Cadel Evans and his British challenger Bradley Wiggins are in superlative form, ready to pounce on the slightest hint of weakness from any of their rivals. An appearance at the Tour de France would simply have yielded another weak performance to add to a long list of failed races for the year, doing no good to Andy's teammates, his managers, or himself. Maybe Andy should be thankful for the respite and regard the next few weeks as less of a missed opportunity and more of a blessing in disguise.

The 2012 Fred Icke Memorial Handicap

It began in 1960.  Fred Icke put together the first ‘Wendouree 110’, a 110-mile race around the Ballarat area that started and finished in Wendouree.  When Icke passed away in 1981, the race was renamed the Fred Icke Memorial Handicap and Icke’s friend Wal Smith took over as organiser.  The race route has shifted several times over the 53 year life of the Classic and the 2012 race, now organised by the Ballarat Sebastopol Cycling Club, both starts and finishes 11 kilometres north of Wendouree in the small town of Creswick.

This year’s 133 kilometre route attracted 165 participants for the 44 kilometre loop from Creswick through Smeaton, Newlyn and Allendale.  The three waves of the elite riders left Albert St at 10 minute intervals, the first group hitting the course at 11:30am.  The groups came together during the first lap, and despite the usual attacks and splits in the peloton, the majority of riders were together three hours later as they chased down the lone rider 30 seconds ahead who crossed the finish line in a course record of 2:58:36.

For 17-year-old winner Alex Morgan, today’s race feels like a preview of a big career to come.  Despite being in the middle of completing his VCE, Morgan is already a Junior World Champion on the track, winning the team pursuit with Jack Cummings, Alex Edmondson and Jackson Law in Russia last August.  The dual track/road rider shows no signs of slowing down, either, citing plans to compete at the Australian National Junior Road Championships in Shepparton in June and the UCI Junior Track World Championships in Invercargill, New Zealand, as well as contesting the Junior Time Trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Limburg, Holland, in September.

"I just tried to sprint up the hill on the last climb.  The plan was to go outside of town," he said of the day's race.  "I sat up at one point, but I put the gas on at 10 kilometres to go.  My lead was building - 10 seconds, 20 seconds - and at five kilometres to go I knew I had it."  He described the win as 'unexpected'.  "Last year I was straight out of under-17s.  It all played out well, though."