Video highlights of Santos Tour Down Under stage 6
Racing out the finale today on the streets of Adelaide, the riders of the Santos Tour Down Under brought the 2012 edition of the race to a close with a fast, aggressive 90 kilometres of competition. As expected, several big attacks went clear during the 20 lap event, with the two intermediate sprints making things tactical due to the fact that the top two riders were level on time. Alejandro Valverde’s Movistar team would have liked to see the Spaniard take time there; race leader Simon Gerrans’ GreenEdge squad were determined not to give him any opportunity, and so it suited them to give moves a bit of leeway. The video summary below gives an indication of how things played out, and also features post-stage interviews with two key players. A full race report can be found here, while a gallery of 25 photos is here:
Video highlights of Santos Tour Down Under stage 5
Images from penultimate day of competition With the Santos Tour Down Under coming down to the final day of racing on Sunday, here’s a video summary of how Saturday’s tough stage to the summit of Old Willunga Hill shaped the race and greatly reduced the list of potential winners. Defending champion Cameron Meyer (GreenEdge) and Matthew Lloyd (Lampre ISD) were two of the pre-stage favourites who were surprisingly isolated and left behind. A small group pushed forward and at the end, Australian champion Simon Gerrans (GreenEdge) opened up the gallop to the line. Former Vuelta a España winner Alejandro Valverde managed to squeeze past after the final sweeping left hand bend, but Gerrans had the considerable consolation of taking the leader’s jersey. The two are locked on time heading into Sunday’s last stage, with the Australian rider knowing that Movistar's Valverde needs to pick up time in a bonus sprint [...]
Robin Seymour Video Interview: Irishman takes eighteenth cyclo cross title
Stunning record increased further at forty years of ageRobin Seymour further extended his superb run of senior national championship titles when he took his eighteenth Irish cyclo-cross jersey this weekend. The record, when combined with his seventeen cross country and one downhill MTB gold medals, gives him a senior offroad national championship tally which is likely unprecedented globally. He has also taken one marathon XC title, bringing his overall total close to forty gold medals. The Team WORC competitor finished far ahead in St. Anne’s Park in Raheny on Saturday, with double champion Roger Aiken crossing the line one minute 42 seconds back and his Banbridge team-mate Matthew Adair a further one minute five seconds in arrears. Aiken had been expected to challenge, but dropped his chain twice and was unable to get back on terms. “It went really well,” forty year old Seymour smiled, speaking in a video interview [...]
Video Interview: Phil Liggett says next year’s Tour does not favour Andy Schleck
Admits he thought Evans was too old to win the raceRenowned cycling commentator, Phil Liggett spoke to VeloNation recently about Andy Schleck’s chances at next year’s Tour de France and whether he should contemplate riding the more climber-friendly Giro d’Italia instead. The 2012 Tour route was released in October and revealed and increase in time trials from this year. The race against the clock is known to be a weakness for the three times runner up. He lost the chance to win this year’s race in the time trial to Cadel Evans. “Andy at the moment is like Raymond Poulidor was in the Jacques Anquetil era in the 60’s and 70’s,” he said. “Raymond became more famous by never winning the Tour de France, and he never wore the maillot jaune either. He thought he had on one occasion but he found out he was beaten in a prologue time [...]
Video: Gesink believes he's on track for Tour de France and world championships
Recovering ahead of schedule at this point in timeAlthough he broke his leg in September, Robert Gesink believes that things should be on track for him to regain strong form by the time the first of two named big season goals comes around. He returned to road training in late October and since then has been making solid progress. “Normally the goals would be the same as last year, but maybe a little later,” he said, referring to his early-season victory in the 2011 Tour of Oman. “Of course the Tour will be a big goal again and the end of the year with the world championships in Valkenburg in the Netherlands…they are the main moments of the season, so I have got some time to get back to the old level.” Gesink was speaking in a video interview carried out by Rabosport.com, a new website dedicated to the team [...]
Video Interview: Dean Downing talks about Rapha Condor Sharp changes
Says he is happy his brother Russell is leaving Team Sky after bad treatmentSpeaking to VeloNation recently in South Africa, Rapha Condor Sharp rider Dean Downing commented on the changes the team will be making next season. The British based team has decided to focus on young rider development but has kept some of its more experienced campaigners on board to guide them, including the 36 year old Downing. “It’s a really good decision [to overhaul the team]. I spoke to [team manager] John Herety quite at length towards the end of the season," he said. "He was telling me the plans of the sponsors. They’re in charge of the team; they want to get out of it for their companies what they want to do. “I think Sharp technologies have been a really big driving force in a younger team so luckily I’ve got a start for next year. [...]