Sigma Sport 2011 team

Sigma Sport-Specialized will continue as a UCI Continental registered team in 2011. New signings include Tom Copeland who has been racing in France for the past few seasons, Russell Hampton who rode for Team Sprocket in 2010 and Steve Lampier who joins from Pendragon.

Stephen Adams - GBR
Tom Copeland - GBR
Dan Duguid - GBR
Kit Gilham - GBR
Russell Hampton - GBR
Steve Lampier - GBR
Tom Last - GBR
Tom Murray - GBR
Simon Richardson - GBR
Matt Stephens - GBR
Wouter Sybrandy - NED
Phil Sykes - GBR
James Williamson - GBR

Raleigh line-up for 2011

Team Raleigh have overhauled their squad for the 2011 season with only three riders continuing with the team. The three staying are Dan Fleeman, Richard Handley and Liam Holohan. The squad will have a more international feel next year with riders joining from France, Canada and the USA.

Matt Cronshaw - GBR
Dan Fleeman - GBR
Matt Gee - GBR
Richard Handley - GBR
Liam Holohan - GBR
Jeroen Janssen - NED
Matt Jones - GBR
Matt Kipling - GBR
Gael Le Bellec - FRA
Phil Mooney - USA
Ryan Parnes - USA
Jamie Sparling - CAN

Endura Racing for 2011

Endura Racing has stengthened their team significantly for 2011. Two riders sign from ProTour teams - Rene Mandri and Paul Voss. Other new signings are Jack Anderson, Maarten De Jonge, Alex Wetterhall and Dave Clarke who had a successful year racing for Pendragon in 2010. Endura look likely to do more international races in the upcoming and will start their season by competing in the Tour de San Luis in Argentina.

Jack Anderson - AUS
Jack Bauer - NZL
Alexandre Blain - FRA
Iker Camano - ESP
Dave Clarke - GBR
Maarten De Jonge - NED
Rob Hayles - GBR
Rene Mandri - EST
James Moss - GBR
Evan Oliphant - GBR
Rob Partridge - GBR
Scott Thwaites - GBR
Paul Voss - GER
Alexander Wetterhall - SWE
Callum Wilkinson - GBR
Ian Wilkinson - GBR

Sky team for 2011

Sky has signed six new riders for 2011. Australian Michael Rogers joins from HTC-Columbia where he won the Tour of California and Ruta del Sol. He will likely be the leader for similar one-week stage races in 2011. Rigoberto Uran and Xabier Zandio join from Caisse d'Epargne, from Cervelo comes Davide Appollonio and experienced British rider Jeremy Hunt. The final signing is neo-pro Alex Dowsett who rode for Trek Livestrong in 2010.

Davide Appollonio - ITA
Kurt Asle Arvesen - NOR
John-Lee Augustyn - RSA
Michael Barry - CAN
Edvald Boasson Hagen - NOR
Kjell Carlstrom - FIN
Dario Cioni - ITA
Steve Cummings - GBR
Russell Downing - GBR
Alex Dowsett - GBR
Juan Antonio Flecha - ESP
Chris Froome - GBR
Simon Gerrans - AUS
Mathew Hayman - AUS
Greg Henderson - NZL
Jeremy Hunt - GBR
Peter Kennaugh - GBR
Thomas Lofkvist - SWE
Lars Petter Nordhaug - NOR
Serge Pauwels - BEL
Morris Possoni - ITA
Michael Rogers - AUS
Ian Stannard - GBR
Chris Sutton - AUS
Ben Swift - GBR
Geraint Thomas - GBR
Rigoberto Uran - COL
Bradley Wiggins - GBR
Xabier Zandio - ESP

Wegelius in Omega Pharma-Lotto Tour team

Charly Wegelius has been picked in the Omega Pharma-Lotto team for the Tour de France. He will be riding in support of Jurgen Van Den Broeck in the race. Wegelius has already ridden the Giro d'Italia this year where he was the top British finisher in 29th place overall. Wegelius has finished the Tour twice before recording 44th and 59th place finishes.

Charly Wegelius Stats

Hunt in Cervelo TDF squad

Jeremy Hunt has been named in the Cervélo team for this year's Tour de France. This will his first Tour de France in his 15 year professional career. Hunt will be helping Cervélo team leaders Carlos Sastre and Thor Hushovd. Fellow British rider Dan Lloyd is listed as a reserve.

Jeremy Hunt Stats

Japanese stage win for House

Kristian House of the Rapha-Condor-Sharp team has won stage 6 of the Tour of Japan. The British national champion won the 97km circuit race around Izu (Shizuoka) by 19 seconds.

Result
1. Kristian House - Rapha-Condor-Sharp
2. Shinichi Fukushima - Geumsan Ginseng Asia +19"
3. Michael Matthews - Jayco-Skins +21"



Kristian House Stats

Cavendish takes first Cali stage

Result
1. Mark Cavendish - HTC-Columbia
2. JJ Haedo - Saxo Bank
3. Alexander Kristoff - BMC Racing

Mark Cavendish Stats

Swift takes first GC win

Ben Swift took his first overall stage race victory at the Tour de Picardie. Swift finished ninth in the sprint on the final stage to take the title. All stages of the race were sprints but the work by the Sky team to lead out and create splits in the field on stage two alongside two podium finishes by Swift proved to be the decisive factors.

Result
1. Ben Swift - Sky
2. Koldo Fernandez - Euskaltel-Euskadi +7"
3. Allan Davis - Astana +10"
4. Russell Downing - Sky +12"

Swift goes one better in Picardie

Ben Swift won the second stage of the Tour de Picardie, following on from his second place yesterday. Swift beat Australian Allan Davis in the sprint with fellow Sky rider Russell Downing taking third place.

Swift and Downing are now also first and third in the general classification with one stage remaining.

Result
1. Ben Swift - Sky
2. Allan Davis - Astana
3. Russell Downing - Sky

Cadel Evans wins epic Giro stage

Cadel Evans took a great victory today on the strade bianche in Tuscany. The gravel roads had actually turned brown with mud due to rain on what proved to be a very tough day in the saddle.

Race leader Vincenzo Nibali and team-mate Ivan Basso were involved in a crash before the first gravel section and were left to play catch-up all day. Alexandre Vinokourov and Stefano Garzelli were among those to take advantage and slip off the front. Cadel Evans looked to be the strongest of those left behind and bridged across the gap impressively. Vinokourov and Evans then broke away together but could not maintain the gap.

A group of five came together on the run into Montalcino, with Damiano Cunego initially looked like he had got a jump on the rest. However Evans brought him and then lead out the sprint where no-one else had the strength left to challenge him.

David Millar did well to stay with the leaders for most of the day and eventually finished eleventh on the stage. He is now back up to third place overall, 1 minute and 29 seconds behind Vinokourov.

Result
1. Cadel Evans - BMC Racing
2. Damiano Cunego - Lampre-Farnese Vini +2"
3. Alexandre Vinokourov - Astana +2"

Swift second in Tour de Picardie

Kenny van Hummel narrowly beat Ben Swift in the sprint finish of the first stage of the Tour de Picardie. Swift had been well lead out by his Sky team-mates but van Hummel timed his sprint well to pip Swift to the line.

Result
1. Kenny van Hummel - Skil-Shimano
2. Ben Swift - Sky
3. Danilo Napolitano - Katusha

Wiggins loses more time after crash

Wouter Weylandt won stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia but there was more bad news for Bradley Wiggins. After misjudging a corner 10km from the finish four of the Sky team came down including Wiggins. Most of the team was called back to help team-leaders Wiggins and Cioni, but they ended up losing nearly four minutes to the winner of the stage.

Race leader Cadel Evans also lost time in the incident and finished in a group 46 seconds back. Alexandre Vinokourov takes over the lead for the Astana team.

Young British sprinter Adam Blythe escaped all the drama to figure in the sprint finish with fifth place. David Millar also finished in the lead group and is now in third place overall, just one second behind.

Result
1. Wouter Weylandt - Quick Step
2. Graeme Brown - Rabobank
3. Robert Förster - Milram
4. Danilo Hondo - Lampre-Farnese Vini
5. Adam Blythe - Omega Pharma-Lotto
---
12. David Millar - Garmin-Transitions
56. Dan Lloyd - Cervélo Test Team +1'33"
62. Steve Cummings - Sky +3'59"
63. Bradley Wiggins - Sky +3'59"
139. Chris Froome - Sky +7'59"
174. Charly Wegelius - Omega Pharma-Lotto +7'59"

Rowe third in GP Industrie del Marmo

Luke Rowe, riding for the Great Britain Academy team which is based in Italy, has finished third in the GP Industrie del Marmo. The race based around the city of Carrara was won by Tomas Alberio ahead of his team-mate Rafael de Mattos Andriato.

Result
1. Tomas Alberio - UC Trevigiani Bottolli
2. Rafael de Mattos Andriato - UC Trevigiani Bottolli
3. Luke Rowe - Great Britain

Wiggins loses grip on Maglia Rosa

Bradley Wiggins lost the lead of the Giro d'Italia today in a stage marred by numerous crashes. Wiggins came down in one accident on the road from Amsterdam to Utrecht but was able to regain contact with the peloton thanks to the help of his team-mates. However with 7km to go the was another mass crash which split the peloton and left just 60 riders to finish in the lead group.

David Millar was one of those to escape the crash and he was able to help set up Tyler Farrar to win the sprint finish. World Champion Cadel Evans was also there and takes over the lead of the race from Wiggins who finished in a large group 37 seconds behind. Farrar is one second behind Evans with Millar now fifth, four seconds back.

Result
1. Tyler Farrar - Garmin-Transitions
2. Matt Goss - HTC-Columbia
3. Fabio Sabatini - Liquigas-Doimo
4. Andre Greipel - HTC-Columbia
5. Alessandro Petacchi - Lampre-Farnese Vini

Wiggins wins Giro prologue

Bradley Wiggins has won the prologue time trial of the Giro d'Italia around the streets of Amsterdam. Wiggins covered the 8.4 km course in 10 minutes and 18 seconds, 2 seconds ahead of Brent Bookwalter and Cadel Evans both of BMC Racing. Scot David Millar finished in seventh place, six seconds behind the winning time.

The victory is Wiggins' first grand tour stage win, and earns him the first Maglia Rosa of this year's Giro.

Results
1. Bradley Wiggins - Sky
2. Brent Bookwalter - BMC Racing +2"
3. Cadel Evans - BMC Racing +2"
4. Alexandre Vinokourov - Astana +5"
5. Greg Henderson - Sky +5"
---
7. David Millar - Garmin-Transitions +6"
49. Charly Wegelius - Omega Pharma-Lotto +26"
69. Steve Cummings - Sky +33"
76. Dan Lloyd - Cervélo Test Team +36"
138. Chris Froome - Sky +51"
182. Adam Blythe - Omega Pharma-Lotto +1'08"

Giro d'Italia British competitors

The Giro d'Italia starts in Amsterdam with the prologue time trial on Saturday. There will be seven British riders at the start line for this year's event. Bradley Wiggins, Steve Cummings and Chris Froome will be there for Sky, Adam Blythe and Charly Wegelius for Omega Pharma-Lotto, Dan Lloyd for Cervelo Test Team and David Millar for Garmin-Transitions.

Adam Blythe will be making his first grand tour start while team-mate Charly Wegelius has completed ten in the past including six Giro d'Italia.

Best Overall Finishes:

Steve Cummings - 96th (2008)
Chris Froome - 36th (2009)
Dan Lloyd - 114th (2009)
David Millar - 94th (2008)
Charly Wegelius - 46th (2005)
Bradley Wiggins - 71st (2009)

None of the competing British riders have won an individual stage in the Giro before. However Charly Wegelius was part of the Liquigas team that won the team time trial in 2007.

Bellis plans comeback

Jonathan Bellis is hoping to make his comeback at the British Championships in June. Bellis suffered serious head injuries in a scooter accident last September. Bellis was placed in an induced coma for several weeks and only left hospital in March. Saxo Bank is planning for his return to the team after the championships.

cyclingnews.com

Tour de Romandie stage 2

1. Mark Cavendish - HTC-Columbia
2. Danilo Hondo - Lampre-Farnese Vini
3. Robbie Hunter - Garmin-Transitions

Mark Cavendish pulled from Tour de Romandie after obscene gesture (guardian.co.uk)

East Midlands Classic

1. Michael Berling - Glud & Marstrand
2. Dan Craven - Rapha-Condor-Sharp
3. Yanto Barker - Pendragon-Le Col-Colnago

Paris - Roubaix

Result
1. Fabian Cancellara - Saxo Bank
2. Thor Hushovd - Cervélo Test Team +2'00"
3. Juan Antonio Flecha - Sky +2'00"
4. Roger Hammond - Cervélo Test Team +3'14"
5. Tom Boonen - Quick Step +3'14"

Success for Bibby in Mallorca

Ian Bibby has won the first stage of the Cinturón Ciclista a Mallorca. Bibby, who is riding for the GB national team in the race, won the 2.2km prologue time trial by one second from Toni Tauler. Peter Williams and Ed Clancy finished in fourth and fifth places also riding for the national team.

Result
1. Ian Bibby
2. Toni Tauler +1"
3. David Muntaner +1"

Cancellara dominates Ronde van Vlaanderen

Fabian Cancellara has won the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) after breaking away from Tom Boonen on the penultimate climb of the day. The pair had split away from the field on a previous climb and were being chased by a trio including David Millar as well as Phillipe Gilbert and Björn Leukemans.

Cancellara made a big effort on the Muur climb as simply powered away from Boonen who had no response. By the top Cancellara had got enough of a gap to be able to time-trial to victory over the final 15km. Boonen had to be content with second place. Millar also suffered on the Muur and dropped back to the main chase group alongside compatriots Roger Hammond and Geraint Thomas.

Phillipe Gilbert won the two-man sprint for third place whilst Hammond came third in the bunch sprint to finish seventh overall. Cancellara's win is his third Monument victory as he previously won Milan-San Remo in 2008 and Paris-Roubaix in 2006.

Result
1. Fabian Cancellara - Saxo Bank
2. Tom Boonen - Quick Step +1'15"
3. Phillipe Gilbert - Omega Pharma-Lotto +2'11"

Millar wins time-trial and overall in De Panne

David Millar won the afternoon time-trial in the Driedaagse De Panne today to take the overall victory in the race. Millar had figured prominently in the breaks on the first two days to set himself up with the opportunity against the clock. Millar beat Lieuwe Westra by seconds in the time-trial but more importantly gained 47" and 1'19 from Andriy Grivko and Luca Paolini, respectively, the previous joint leaders.

The victory is Millar's fourth overall stage race win. His previous wins were the Tour de Picardie in 2003, the Circuit de la Sarthe in 2001 and the Post Danmark Rundt also in 2001.



Stage 3b Result
1. David Millar - Garmin-Transitions
2. Lieuwe Westra - Vacansoleil +5"
3. Svein Tuft - Garmin-Transitions +24"

Overall Result
1. David Millar - Garmin-Transitions
2. Andriy Grivko - Astana +35"
3. Luca Paolini - Acqua & Sapone +1'07"

Driedaagse De Panne stage 2

Driedaagse De Panne stage 1

Two British wins in Corsica

Russell Downing won stage two of the Critérium International on Sunday morning. With no pure sprinters in the lead group, the HTC-Columbia train lead out for Michael Albasini. Downing was able to follow their wheels and come through to beat the Swiss rider to the line. In doing so he recorded the first British victory for Sky. Race leader Pierrick Fedrigo finished third to increase his lead.

In the individual time-trial in the afternoon it was the turn of David Millar. The experienced rider was fastest around the technical 7.7km course, finishing two seconds ahead of Alberto Contador. Fedrigo held on to take the overall win ahead of Michael Rogers and Tiago Machado. Millar finished the event in fifth place on the general classification.



Stage 2 Result
1. Russell Downing - Sky
2. Michael Albasini - HTC-Columbia
3. Pierrick Fedrigo - Bbox-Bouygues Telecom

Stage 3 Result
1. David Millar - Garmin-Transitions
2. Alberto Contador - Astana + 2"
3. Michael Rogers - HTC-Columbia + 4"

Best British results in Spring classics

Gent - Wevelgem

1. Barry Hoban 1974
2, Tom Simpson 1963
2. Sean Yates 1989
2. Roger Hammond 2007

Ronde van Vlaanderen

1. Tom Simpson 1961
3. Tom Simpson 1963
5. Tom Simpson 1962
5. Barry Hoban 1967
5. Max Sciandri 1993

Paris - Roubaix

3. Barry Hoban 1972
3. Roger Hammond 2004
5. Sean Yates 1994

Amstel Gold Race

3. Malcolm Elliott 1987
4. Joey McLoughlin 1986
5. Max Sciandri 1993

La Fleche Wallone

3. Tom Simpson 1965
4. Brian Robinson 1955

Liège-Bastogne-Liège

3. Barry Hoban 1969
3. Robert Millar 1988
5. Michaël Wright 1965
5. Max Sciandri 1997

First win of season for Cavendish

Mark Cavendish has got his first victory of 2010 in the Volta a Catalunya today. Cavendish beat Argentine JJ Haedo in the sprint finish in Banyoles. Cavendish had finished seventh in the prologue prologue just four seconds back on Paul Voss to show his form is improving after a difficult start.

Bradley Wiggins was due to compete in the race but had to withdraw due to a stomach infection. Charlie Wegelius of Omega Pharma-Lotto is riding his first race in over a month since crashing in the Trofeo Mallorca.

Result
1. Mark Cavendish - HTC-Columbia
2. Juan Jose Haedo - Saxo Bank
3. Aitor Galdos - Euskaltel-Euskadi

Freire wins third Milan - San Remo

Oscar Freire took the victory in the Primavera today, his third in the race after 2004 and 2007. Freire held off Tom Boonen and Alessandro Petacchi in the sprint from a group including most of the pre-race favourites.

The race was together until the climb of the Cipressa when the peloton was split in two with Mark Cavendish being one of the casualties who fell behind. However it wasn't until the Poggio that the big names showed their cards. Among those who tried to escape were Michael Rogers, Phillipe Gilbert, Vincenzo Nibali and Filippo Pozzato.

Pozzato managed to get a good lead ahead of the chasers but was brought back primarily by the Liquigas team working for Daniele Bennati. Bennati opened the sprint but Freire had a good position as third in line and no-one had an answer for the acceleration of the Spaniard. Freire ended up taking the win by a comfortable margin.



Result
1. Oscar Freire - Rabobank
2. Tom Boonen - Quick Step
3. Alessandro Petacchi - Lampre-Farnese Vini

Milan - San Remo Preview

Mark Cavendish won Milan - San Remo on his debut in the race last year but it seems doubtful if he will be able to do the same this year. His dental problems earlier in the year mean he is significantly behind in his training and has only competed in two sprints this year. However, if he is there at the finish Cavendish will certainly be a danger to the rest of the field.

Ian Stannard will be racing for Sky who will be looking for Edvald Boasson Hagen to demonstrate his all round ability and his ever improving sprint finish. Roger Hammond and Jeremy Hunt of Cervélo Test Team will also be supporting a Norwegian in the shape of strong sprinter Thor Hushovd.

David Millar is the fifth and final British rider in the race, his Garmin-Transitions team-mate Tyler Farrar will be looking to figure at the finish. The other main contenders include Daniele Bennati, Filippo Pozzato, Alessandro Petacchi of Italy, Philippe Gilbert and Tom Boonen from Belgium, Spain's Oscar Freire and of course, Fabian Cancellara.

Best British Results

1. Tom Simpson - Peugeot-BP-Englebert - 1964
1. Mark Cavendish - Columbia-HTC - 2009
3. Brian Robinson - St. Raphael - 1957
3. Max Sciandri - Motorola-Merckx - 1993
4. Max Sciandri - Motorola - 1996

Opie wins again

Chris Opie has concluded Pendragon-Le Col-Colnago's successful trip to Libya with victory in the GP Al Fatah one-day race.

Result
1. Chris Opie - Pendragon-Le Col-Colnago
2. Abdelbasset Hannachi - Algeria
3. Jani Tewolde Weldegaber - Eritrea

Downing wins sprint in Taiwan

Dean Downing has won stage 5 of the Tour de Taiwan. The Rapha Condor rider narrowly defeated Takashi Miyazawa, winner of the two previous stages, at the line. "It was perfect for me and in the last 250 metres," said Downing. "I rode off the rider from CCC and went in for the finish. I thought it wasn't going to be enough but when I saw the line, I knew that I had it."

Irishman David McCann still leads the overall courtesy of the breakaway on the first stage. Downing is now in seventh place in the classification with two stages remaining.

Result
1. Dean Downing - Rapha Condor-Sharp
2. Takashi Miyazawa - Japan
3. Shinri Suzuki - Shimano


tourdetaiwan.org.tw

Success for Pendragon in Libya

Following his second place in stage two, Chris Opie took wins in stages four and five of the Tour of Libya. The final stage was actually awarded as a dead heat between Opie and Abdel Basset Al-Hanachi of Algeria. In the general classification Pendragon's Yanto Barker took fourth place with Dave Clarke in eight place.

Pendragon-Le Col-Colnago are remaining in Libya to take part in the GP Al Fatah on Saturday.

Rapha Condor in Taiwan

The Rapha Condor-Sharp is taking part in the Tour de Taiwan. Dean Downing and Graham Briggs were both up with leaders in the first two stages picking up top ten finishes. On stage three today Downing was part of a successful three man break with two Japanese riders. The trio broke away with 40km to go and held on by just two seconds over the peloton at the line. Takashi Miyazawa riding for the national team took the sprint ahead of compatriot Suzuki and Downing.

Result
1. Takashi Miyazawa - Japan
2. Shinri Suzuki - Shimano
3. Dean Downing - Rapha Condor-Sharp

Pendragon in Libya

British team Pendragon-Le Col-Colnago are taking part in the UCI 2.2 ranked Tour of Libya this week. The team is lead by Yanto Barker and Dave Clarke, winner of the Tour du Cameroun last year. Chris Opie finished second in the second stage from Al Ajaylat to Sbrata behind Algerian cyclist Abdel Basset Al-Hanachi.

Result
1. Abdel Basset Al-Hanachi - Algeria
2. Chris Opie - Pendragon-Le Col-Colnago
3. Bilal Saada - Algeria

Paris-Nice stage 1

The first stage of Paris-Nice looked as though it would be ideal for the sprinters. However the strong winds made it otherwise. The Caisse d'Epargne team of Alejandro Valverde and Luis Leon Sanchez sought to take advantage of the conditions and managed to break the peloton into pieces and take a small group clear in the latter part of the stage.

Prologue winner Lars Boom saw the danger and bridged the gap by himself. The numbers in the front group gradually increased as riders such as David Millar, Nicolas Roche and Jens Voigt made the jump across. By the finish 15 riders had gained 17 seconds on the rest of the field.

Heading up the finishing straight Grega Bole emerged from the group but Greg Henderson was in his wheel and was able to come around him just before the line to take another win for Sky. Millar finished safely in the leading group and is now in third place overall, thirteen seconds behind Lars Boom.



Result
1. Greg Henderson - Sky
2. Grega Bole - Lampre-Farnese Vini
3. Jérémie Galland - Saur-Sojasun

British riders at Continental teams 2010 (updated)

An Post-Sean Kelly Team (BEL)
Mark McNally

Endura Racing (GBR)
Ross Creber
Gary Hand
Rob Hayles
Sandy King
David Lines
James McCallum
James Moss
Evan Oliphant
Robert Partridge
Scott Thwaites
Ian Wilkinson
Callum Wilkinson

Giant Asia Racing Team (TWN)
Alex Coutts

Motorpoint-Marshall's Pasta (GBR)
Ian Bibby
Steven Burke
Ed Clancy
Lee Davis
Malcolm Elliott
Jonathan McEvoy
James Sampson
Andy Tennant
Peter Williams

Palmeiras Resort-Prio-Tavira (POR)
Tomas Swift Metcalfe

Qin Cycling Team (BEL)
James Spragg

Rapha-Condor (GBR)
Graham Briggs
Matt Cronshaw
Dean Downing
Ben Greenwood
Kristian House
Chris Newton
Tom Southam
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke

Sigma Sport-Specialized (GBR)
Stephen Adams
Dan Duguid
Kit Gilham
Tom Last
Gareth Montgomery
Tom Murray
Simon Richardson
Tom Snape
Matt Stephens
James Williamson

Team Sprocket (SWE)
Russell Hampton
Tobyn Horton
Joseph Perrett

Team Raleigh (GBR)
Dale Appleby
Tom Barras
Michael Cumings
Dan Fleeman
Richard Handley
Liam Holohan
Daniel Shand
James Stewart

Trek-Livestrong (USA)
Alex Dowsett

Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne

The second major Belgian race of the weekend took place today in horrendous conditions with heavy rain and strong winds. The race was split into pieces early on and a three man lead group eventually formed consisting of Bobbie Traksel, Rick Flens and Ian Stannard of Sky. Three men, Thor Hushovd, Jeremy Hunt and Hayden Roulston escaped from the chase group of around 12 to try and close the gap.

However the leaders were working well and when Jeremy Hunt had to abandon the race and Hushovd started to suffer, it became clear that the leading three would decide the race between them. Stannard and Flens both made several attempts to escape their companions in the closing kilometres. They suffered for their efforts however as it was only Bobbie Traksel who had any energy left for a sprint finish.




Result
1. Bobbie Traksel - Vacansoleil
2. Rick Flens - Rabobank
3. Ian Stannard - Sky +2"

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Juan Antonio Flecha has given Sky their first major victory in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. He was in the leading group of five from which Phillipe Gilbert attacked on the cobbled section with 20km to go. Flecha went with him and then sensed his chance in the crosswinds and attacked Gilbert, immediately getting a gap which he would increase to around 40 seconds. From then on the victory for Flecha was never in doubt.

The Spaniard crossed the line giving his famous bow and arrow salute and dedicated his win to Frank Vandenbroucke. The sprint for second place was won by Heinrich Haussler ahead of Tyler Farrar and Edvald Boasson Hagen.

Result
1. Juan Antonio Flecha - Sky
2. Heinrich Haussler - Cervélo Test Team +10"
3. Tyler Farrar - Garmin-Transitions +10"

A busy weekend ahead ...

The Belgian season starts on Saturday with the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and then Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne on Sunday. Russell Downing and Ian Stannard will take part in both races supporting Edvald Boasson Hagen. Roger Hammond, Jeremy Hunt and David Millar will also be in both races for Cervélo Test Team and Garmin-Transitions while Dan Lloyd and Mark McNally will just compete in the Omloop.

In Switzerland Chris Froome, Peter Kennaugh and Ben Swift will compete in the GP dell'Insubria and GP Lugano for Sky. The Clasica de Almeria is Spain will feature Mark Cavendish in his second race of the season and Steve Cummings.

More Middle East racing

The Tour of Oman started on Sunday evening with a race around the streets of Muscat. The sprint finish was won by Jimmy Casper from Edvald Boasson Hagen. The second stage saw a long breakaway by four cyclists including Britain's Alex Dowsett riding for Trek-Livestrong. However the sprinter's teams brought them back with 15km to go. This led to a sprint won by Daniele Bennati ahead of Tyler Farrar and Boasson Hagen.

Endura at the Tour Méditerranéen

The newly expanded Endura Racing had a tough time in the Tour Méditerranéen last week. The race took place in freezing conditions and featured plenty of attacking riding.Francesco Masciarelli won the final stage up Mont Faron while behind him Alejandro Valverde took the overall win after coming second on the climb.

Ian Wilkinson and Evan Oliphant were the only two Endura riders to be classified in 70th and 71st places respectively.

Read Evan Oliphant's thoughts here ...

Metcalfe stays with Palmeiras Resort

Portuguese team Palmeiras Resort-Prio-Tavira have announced their 12 man squad for the 2010 season. British rider Tomas Swift Metcalfe will remain with the team for a third successive year. Metcalfe was also named in the squad for the Volta ao Algarve later this month.

Sprint finishes in Qatar

The final four stages of the Tour of Qatar end in sprint finishes. Tom Boonen and Francesco Chicchi claimed two wins each. The Cervélo riders Roger Hammond and Jeremy Hunt featured prominently while working for Heinrich Haussler and Theo Bos.

The two escapees from stage two finished first and second overall. Boonen's sprint victories moved him up to third place in the general classification but Wouter Mol and Geert Steurs advantage was too much to claw back. The top British riders were Hammond in 13th and Hunt in 16th postion. Ian Stannard was the best placed Sky rider in 35th place.

Overall Result
1. Wouter Mol - Vacansoleil
2. Geert Steurs - Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator +35"
3. Tom Boonen - Quick Step +1'45"

Meanwhile in Mallorca ...

The Challenge Ciclista a Mallorca races have been taking place on the Spanish island. The series of five day races cover a variety of terrain. The first two events finished as sprints won by Robbie McEwen and Oscar Freire respectively.

Adam Blythe and Charlie Wegelius having been racing for Omega Pharma-Lotto, while Tom Faiers made his professional debut today for Footon-Servetto.

Winds split the field in Qatar

A two man breakaway defeated the peloton in stage 2 in the Tour of Qatar. Geert Steurs and Wouter Mol stayed away for 145km with Steurs of Topsport Vlaanderen taking the stage win and Mols the overall lead.

Meanwhile Cervélo and Quickstep were attacking the main field as the race turned and was affected by strong crosswinds. Sky and most of the rest of the peloton were caught out and gaps quickly opened. In the front group were many of the big names including Tom Boonen, Phillipe Gilbert and Heinrich Haussler. Also there were British Cervélo riders Roger Hammond and Jeremy Hunt.

Both Hammond and Haussler attacked the group to split it further and to try and recover the minute received in penalties yesterday. They were unable however to shake off Boonen, Gilbert and Marcus Burghardt amongst others who are now well placed for the general classification.

Ian Stannard was the best placed Sky cyclist three-and-half minutes back. Previous race leader Edvald Boasson Hagen finished over nine minutes back on a day to forget for the Sky team.

Result
1. Geert Steurs - Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator
2. Wouter Mol - Vacansoleil
3. Roger Kluge - Milram +1'51

Etoile de Bessèges final stage

A mass outbreak of gastroenteritis meant that many riders did not start the final stage of the Etoile de Bessèges today. These included the race leader Arnaud Molmy and British riders Steve Cummings, Peter Kennaugh and Mark McNally.

The stage itself ended in an another sprint finsih which was won by 39-year-old Nico Eeckhout, ahead of Kazakh rider Valentin Iglinskiy. Samuel Dumoulin took the overall win due to the withdrawal of Molmy.

Stage Result
1. Nico Eeckhout - An Post-Sean Kelly Team
2. Valentin Iglinskiy - Astana
3. Hans Dekkers - Landbouwkrediet

Overall Result
1. Samuel Dumoulin - Cofidis
2. Matthieu Ladagnous - Française des Jeux +3"
3. Pieter Ghyllebert - An Post-Sean Kelly Team +4"

Sky win Qatar time trial

Sky have won the team time trial, the opening stage of the Tour of Qatar. The team featuring Bradley Wiggins, Russell Downing, Ian Stannard and Geraint Thomas were the strongest over the short distance finishing with an 8 second advantage. Edvald Boasson Hagen will wear the yellow jersey tomorrow after leading the team across the line.

Cervelo Test Team with a line-up including Roger Hammond and Jeremy Hunt finished second with Garmin-Transitions third, also 8 seconds behind. The team of Alex Dowsett - Trek-Livestrong - finished in 16th and last place in their first ProTour race.

*Cervélo Test Team heve been penalised 1 minute for pushing

Result
1. Sky
2. Garmin-Transitions +8"
3. Saxo Bank +13"

Etoile de Bessèges stage 4

Arnaud Molmy took the win on the fourth day of the Etoile de Bessèges after being in the top three on two previous stages. The victory is his first as a professional. Samuel Dumoulin had crossed the line first but was declassified from the results for short-cutting the course in the final kilometre.

Result
1. Arnaud Molmy - Roubaix-Lille Metropole
2. Matthieu Ladagnous - Française des Jeux
3. Pieter Ghyllebert - An Post-Sean Kelly Team

Tour of Qatar preview

The Tour of Qatar begins on Sunday with an 8.2km team time trial. The Tour consists of 6 stages on which the main challenge is expected to come from strong cross-winds. Bradley Wiggins will be making his debut for Sky after his controversial transfer from Garmin-Transitions.

The other British cyclists competing for Sky will be Russell Downing, Ian Stannard and Geraint Thomas. Alongside them will be the three Norwegians - Kurt Asle Arvesen, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Lars Petter Nordhaug - and Juan Antonio Flecha.

Alex Dowsett will be making his debut for the under-23 team Trek-Livestrong in the race. Also competing are Jeremy Hunt and Roger Hammond for Cervélo Test Team. Mark Cavendish was planning to compete but has put back his season debut after having an operation on a tooth abcess.

Last year the race was won by Tom Boonen for the third time in its history. British riders Roger Hammond and Dan Lloyd finished in third and fourth places respectively. Mark Cavendish won two stages in the race with Hammond also claiming a victory.

Etoile de Bessèges stage 3

Borut Bozic was prevented from winning a third stage in a row by Frenchman Samuel Dumoulin. Bozic finished second with Tom Veelers in third place.

Result
1. Samuel Dumoulin - Cofidis
2. Borut Bozic - Vacansoleil
3. Tom Veelers - Skil-Shimano

Etoile de Bessèges stage 2

The second stage of the Etoile de Bessèges saw a very similar result to the first. Borut Bozic was again the winner with second and third, Arnaud Molmy and Nico Eeckhout, reversed from the previous day.

Dan Lloyd was a doubt to start the stage but seems to have recovered well after his crash yesterday as he finished in the peloton, along with the three other British riders, on the same time as the winner.

Result
1. Borut Bozic - Vacansoleil
2. Arnaud Molmy - Roubaix-Lille Metropole
3. Nico Eeckhout - An Post-Sean Kelly Team

Etoile de Bessèges stage 1

The first stage of the Etoile de Bessèges took place today with a route from Aigues Mortes to Le Grau du Roi. Sky are fielding the same team as the GP Marseillaise on Sunday including Steve Cummings and Peter Kennaugh. Mark McNally is also staying on in the south of France to compete.

Dan Lloyd was drafted in to replace Thor Hushovd for Cervelo Test Team. However the start to his season did not go well as he crashed and hit a tree. Lloyd was taken to hospital for checks after finishing the stage.

Despite a breakaway gaining nearly 10 minutes on the peloton, the race ended in a sprint finish which was won by Slovenian Borut Bozic who held off veteran cyclist Nico Eeckhout and Arnaud Molmy.

Result
1. Borut Bozic - Vacansoleil
2. Nico Eeckhout - An Post-Sean Kelly Team
3. Arnaud Molmy - Roubaix-Lille Metropole

GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise

The first race of the French cycling season took place today in and around Marseille. The race took place in cold but sunny conditions and saw plenty of attacks in the opening stages. Lieuwe Westra was in one of those moves and held the lead until the final climb, where he was swept up by a leading group of nine.

Steve Cummings of Sky was in that group which would just manage to hold off the peloton to the finish. In the sprint Frenchman Jonathan Hivert took the victory from Johnny Hoogerland and Samuel Dumoulin. Cummings finished in fourth place.

Result
1. Jonathan Hivert - Saur-Sojasun
2. Johnny Hoogerland - Vacansoleil
3. Samuel Dumoulin - Cofidis
4. Steve Cummings - Sky

European season kicks-off

The European cycling season starts on the road this weekend with the Giro della Provincia di Reggio - Challenge Calabria in Italy and the GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise in France.

Several British riders will be starting their season in Marseille. Steve Cummings and Peter Kennaugh will be racing for Sky and Mark McNally will be competing for An Post-Sean Kelly Team.

1 - 2 for Sky in first race

The Tour Down Under Classic took place today and it saw a perfect start for the new Sky team. In the sprint finish New Zealander Greg Henderson took the victory ahead of his lead-out man Chris Sutton. It was the culmination of a good team effort by Sky where they were on the front for the final two laps.

Russell Downing was an important part of the train, "We were there from two to go," he explained after the finish. "Then Columbia got it organised on the left hander down the back; we were still in formation so I lead it round the outside and straight out of the corner and took the Columbia train off. The boys were yelling behind and I took it all the way down the straight and into the corner."

The Tour Down Under Classic does not count towards the overall results of the ProTour event which starts for real on Tuesday.

Quotes from cyclingnews.com

Sky launched, Swift confirmed

The Sky team was officially presented on Monday 4th January. Ben Swift was one of the 26 riders announced confirming his transfer from Katusha had got the go ahead. Seven other British riders will race for the team. They are Steve Cummings, Russell Downing, Chris Froome, Peter Kennaugh, Ian Stannard, Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins.

Team Sky also announced their line-ups for the first races of the season. In the Tour Down Under, the team will be led by Greg Henderson and Chris Sutton. Russell Downing, Chris Froome and Ben Swift will also take part. The first European race will be the GP d'Ouverture La Marseillaise with Steve Cummings and Peter Kennaugh riding.

In February the team will enter the Etoile de Bessèges where Bradley Wiggins will make his Sky debut with the first part of his preparation for the Tour de France.

Visit the official Team Sky site...

Swift to Sky transfer to go ahead?

It looks as though Ben Swift's transfer from Katusha to Sky will go ahead. Swift has been left off the latest squad list released by Katusha, despite their previous insistence that Swift would have to see out his contract for the 2010 season.

Ben Swift had already been announced in the Sky team for the Tour Down Under in anticipation of a deal taking place.