Johansson dominant but no longer unbeatable in Belgium

In Saturday’s race in Oostduinkerke Grace Verbeke (Lotto Ladies) managed to break the stranglehold that Emma Johansson (RedSun Cycling) has had over Belgian racing this season. She won a two-up sprint in a breakaway with Johansson’s RedSun teammate Marie Lindberg. Johansson salvaged a podium spot by winning the sprint for third 1’35” behind them.

The next day in Deerlijk Johansson reasserted herself over the rest. The Swedish Olympic silver medallist outsprinted Liesbet de Vocht (Nederland Bloeit) and Verbeke from three-woman breakaway to repeat the podium of last month’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Result Oostduinkerke
1. Grace Verbeke (Bel) Lotto Ladies
2. Marie Lindberg (Swe) RedSun Cycling
3. Emma Johansson (Swe) RedSun Cycling

Result Deerlijk
1. Emma Johansson (Swe) RedSun Cycling
2. Liesbet De Vocht (Bel) Nederland Bloeit
3. Grace Verbeke (Bel) Lotto Ladies

Local winner as season opens in France

Chambéry born Sophie Creux (ESGL 93-GSD Gestion) won her fourth hometown race, the Grand Prix de Chambéry, as the fastest member of the break of seven riders that reached the finish together. The Michela Fanini-Record-Rox duo of Edwige Pitel and Martina Ruzickova made up the rest of the podium places.

51-year-old evergreen Frenchwoman Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli finished seventh, last in the breakaway but in the same time as Creux.

Result Grand Prix de Chambéry
1. Sophie Creux (Fra) ESGL 93-GSD Gestion
2. Edwige Pitel (Fra) Michela Fanini-Record-Rox
3. Martina Ruzickova (Cze) Michela Fanini-Record-Rox
4. Pascale Schnider (Swi) Bike-import.ch
5. Elena Berlato (Ita) Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo-Ghezzi
6. Valentina Carretta (Ita) Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo-Ghezzi
7. Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (Fra)
8. Nina Ovcharenko (Ukr) Michela Fanini-Record-Rox @ 8.14
9. Mélodie Lesueur (Fra) ESGL 93-GSD Gestion
10. Valentina Bastianelli (Ita) Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo-Ghezzi

Stage racing in the USA

Much takes Tucson Classic
Rebecca Much gave Team Tibco its biggest win of the season so far with the overall classification at the Tucson Bicycle Classic. The 23-year-old from Chicago, Illinois won the stage 3 circuit race in the knowledge that the ten bonus seconds on offer would be enough for her to take the race lead.

“I haven’t won a sprint in a long time,” said Much. “There was another time bonus sprint on the line about half-way through the race, and I used that one as practice to make sure I got it right for the finish.”

Susannah Gordon (ColoBikeLaw) won the opening time trial and managed to hold the lead through the stage 2 road race, won by Cara Bussel (Trisports Cycling). Tayler Wiles (Colavita) took second place behind Much to secure the final overall podium spot.

Result stage 1
1. Susannah Gordon (USA) ColoBikeLaw

Result Stage 2
1. Cara Bussell (USA) Trisports Cycling

Result stage 3
1. Rebecca Much (USA) Team Tibco

Final overall standings
1. Rebecca Much (USA) Team Tibco
2. Susannah Gordon (USA) ColoBikeLaw
3. Tayler Wiles (USA) Colavita

More top European teams presented

Champions unveiled at Team Valdarno
World champion Tatiana Guderzo is joined by Monia Baccaille, Marta Vilajosana, Tatiana Antoshina and Bridie O’Donnell – the Italian Spanish Russian and Oceania champions, respectively – in the new Team Valdarno. The majority of the rest of the team is made up of riders from the Gauss-RDZ-Ormu team and the defunct Dila Kuota and Selle Italia-Ghezzi teams.

The team will unsurprisingly be built around Guderzo during her season in the rainbow jersey.

Bronzini joins Pucinskaite at Gauss-RDZ-Ormu
Despite losing a number of riders to Team Valdarno, there is no loss of quality in the 2010 Gauss-RDZ-Ormu team. The team is still built around Lithuanian two-time Giro Donne winner Edita Pucinskaite, but adds a number of new quality riders.

The two biggest names to arrive are reigning points race World champion Giorgia Bronzini from Safi-Pasta Zara, and Dutch rouleur/sprinter Martine Bras from Selle Italia-Ghezzi.

Trofeo Binda World Cup race presented
The historic Villa Calcati in Varese was the venue of the presentation of the first round of this year’s UCI World Cup, the Trofeo Alfredo Binda.

The 129.8km race will start, as usual, outside the Afredo Binda Museum in the town of Cittiglio, taking an out and back route to the Lago Maggiore town of Luino. On its return to Cittiglio the course takes in the 6.2km Brinzio climb before ascending the 3km Orino four times in a 17.3km finishing circuit.

The race, has in recent years, been won by breakaway riders. Last year’s edition saw a two-up sprint between the Netherlands’ Marianne Vos and RedSun Cycling’s Emma Johansson, in what was a foretelling of their season-long battle for the World Cup jersey. The previous two years went to solo Britons Nicole Cooke and Emma Pooley; Pooley’s win marking the race’s first year as a World Cup event.

Varese born Noemi Cantele (HTC-Columbia) was present at the presentation and once again expressed a strong desire to win her local race. “To prepare for my best possible race I will be in staying in Cittiglio with my team from Monday,” said the double World championship medallist.

For the first time ever, Italy is among the national teams invited.

Teams for 12th Trofeo Alfredo Binda:
Italian National Team
Netherlans National Team
Australian National Team
Great Britain National Team
French National Team
USA National Team
Russian National Team
Ukrainian National Team
Slovenian National Team
HTC Columbia women (Ger)
Cervelo Test Team (Ned)
Noris Cycling (Ger)
Redsun Cycling Team (Bel)
Lotto Ladies Team (Bel)
Valdarno (Ita)
Safi Pasta Zara (Ltu)
Gauss RDZ Ormu (Ita)
Fenix – Petrogradets (Rus)
SC MIchela Fanini Record Rox (Ita)
Hitec Products UKC (Nor)
Esgl 93-GSD Gestion (Fra)
Lointek (Spa)
MTN (RSA)
Top Girls Fassa Bortolo (Ita)
ASC Chirio Forno D’Asolo (Ita)
Kuota Speed Kueens (Aut)
Vaiano Solaristech (Ita)