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Xavier Tondo Killed in Accident

Just two weeks after the tragic loss of Leopard-Trek’s Wouter Weylandt in an accident at the Giro D’Italia the cycling world is mourning once more with news that Xavier Tondo of Team Movistar has been killed in a freak accident at his home close to the Spanish city of Granada. At 10am today (May 23) Tondo was reportedly crushed and killed by an automatic door on his garage as he was leaving with team-mate Beñat Inxtausti for a training session.

 

Although he didn’t win a single stage the 32 year old Spaniard was overall winner at this year’s Vuelta a Castilla y Leon and had previously won stages at races as prestigious as the Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya; where he also finished sixth overall. He will also be remembered as a strenuous anti-doping campaigner, having been a whistle-blower earlier this year after being contacted with the proposition of acquiring illegal performance-enhancers.

 

In an official statement Movistar have confirmed that his team-mates at the Giro d’Italia will continue to race there.

 

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Tour of Cali-Horner

Despite an event initially beset by meteorological turmoil – with the cancellation of the Lake Tahoe first stage and delay and alteration to the start of Stage 2 due to unprecedented freezing weather – the 2011 Amgen Tour of California has provided 8 blistering days of competition. Yesterday (May 22) whilst Matthew Goss (HTC-Highroad) took the final stage, it was Chris Horner of Team RadioShack who finished with an overall time of 23:46:41 to take the leader’s jersey and confirm his place at the top of the podium. At the grand old age of 39 Horner becomes the oldest rider to win the event in its six year history. Meanwhile Team Garmin-Cervelo took the overall Team Competition for the second year in a row, helped by Thomas Danielson’s final stage third place achievement.

 

For full results and analysis see: www.amgentourofcalifornia.com

 

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Hamilton VS Armstrong

Another day, another drugs story. Tyler Hamilton has not only confessed to his previously protested drug use during an interview for America’s highly rated “60 Minutes” but has also sworn that his former US Postal team-mate Lance Armstrong was similarly involved in illegal doping. Hamilton who has, until now, always steadfastly denied any wrong doing despite a two year ban between 2005 and 2007 now readily admits that he cheated and, in a letter to friends and family ahead of the US documentary (that he has now made public), states: “During my cycling career, I knowingly broke the rules. I used performance-enhancing drugs. I lied about it, over and over.” With regards Armstrong and in reference to his Tour de France participation between 1999 and 2001 Hamilton reports in the interview that, “I saw (EPO) in his (Armstrong’s) refrigerator. … I saw him inject it more than one time, like we all did. Like I did, many, many times,”

 

Armstrong has been quick to refute the allegations, claiming that Hamilton is merely looking for salacious stories in order to make money from a book deal, and writing on Twitter concluded: “20+ year career. 500 drug controls worldwide, in and out of competition. Never a failed test. I rest my case.”

 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have confirmed that they are looking into Hamilton’s confessions and may consider stripping him of his 2004 gold medal.

 

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If Your Names Not on the List…

As if the seemingly ever-present rider scandals over doping allegation isn’t bad enough the pro sport now finds itself further mired after the French sports newspaper L’Equipe published a confidential list – known as the “doping suspicion index” – which had been compiled by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The list, which refers to the 2010 Tour de France, ranked each of the 198 competitors with a score from 0 to 10 with a ranking of 0 referring to the least suspicious level of drug involvement and 10 the highest. The UCI has announced an internal review to trace the source of the embarrassing leak, whilst the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has also pitched in with its own independent investigation.

 

UCI president Pat McQuaid published an open letter to both teams and riders on Tuesday (May 17) in which he states: “I am fully aware of the anger and strong reactions that the publication has generated and I can tell you that I was angry as well…It is essential to understand that this is not a list that indicates degrees of suspicion of doping, but a working document that establishes an order of priority for carrying out doping tests.” Several riders including Yaroslav Popovych (Team RadioShack) and Carlos Barredo (Rabobank), both of whom were listed as a maximum 10 by the UCI, have reacted quickly and angrily to their public humiliation, vehemently denying any drug involvement.

 

With a perhaps more positive note, it should be pointed out that of the 198 riders graded in the report, 156 were deemed to demonstrate “Little or no risk” of doping. So that’s okay then…

 

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Etape Saboteurs

For the second time in three years last Sunday’s Etape Caledonia has been plagued by saboteurs attempting to disrupt the 130km event. Police and organisers were originally alerted on Saturday (May 14) to a short section of the route on which a large number of drawing pins had been scattered; with authorities on higher alert a further section covered with what has been described as “thousands of nails and tacks” was identified in the early hours of Sunday morning, less than four hours before the race was due to begin. In 2009 a similar incident saw a large quantity of pins removed from a section of route more than five miles long, which delayed proceedings for 90minutes.

 

Organised in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support the etape (which features an impressive ascent of just under 2000m) is the largest closed-road event of its kind in the UK with upwards of 5000 riders pitching up to test their mettle against the rugged beauty of Highland Perthshire. This year’s winner was Evan Oliphant with a finishing time of 3:27:38. Organiser’s have promised great vigilance at the Etape’s sister event, The Sky Ride Etape Hibernia, which takes place in August.

 

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Snow Stops Play

Not quite the start that organisers of the 2011 Amgen Tour of California had hoped for as dramatic weather conditions forced the cancellation of Stage 1 – the 191km Lake Tahoe loop (Sunday May 15). Initially a three-hour delay to Stage 1 had been announced (along with a proposed shorted route) but as temperatures plummeted and freezing winds continued to rise there was growing concern amongst teams and riders that safety could be seriously compromised; leading, eventually, to the official cancellation.

 
Race officials have announced that they will continue to monitor developments overnight and will work on contingency plans for the event’s subsequent stages, including announcements on possible delays to Stage 2, due to start later today in Squaw Valley. However it is understood that at the time of writing storm conditions have already forced the closure of the Donner Pass on Highway 80, the only practical exit route out of the High Sierra Mountains. The Pass, with an elevation in excess of 2000m, gained its name from the Donner Party of East-West emigrants who, in 1844, found their way similarly snow-bound and resorted to cannibalism to survive. Cyclo wants to make it clear that, as much as we love cycling, we don’t condone any such course of action…

 

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Bespoked Bristol

Bespoke BristolIf you’re thinking of treating yourself to a little boutique beauty, or just fancy a nose around at the best of what UK crafts has to offer, then the date for your diary should be June 11 and 12 and your destination Bristol. The inaugural Bespoked Bristol is the first event of its kind in the country and is setting out to showcase the wealth of talent from both independent makers and small-scale manufacturers of bikes, components, kits and accessories. Names to conjure with at the show include Swrve for a fresh approach to beautiful apparel, Hammoon Cycles (Dorset-based handmade bikes), Enigma Titanium with a wealth of world-beating lightweight bike and component experience, Brian Rourke whose framesets have been synonymous with excellence for almost 4 decades, Welsh specialists Paulus Quiros and dozens more…

 

The show takes place at Paintworks part of Bristol’s “Creative Quarter”; tickets are £5 on the door (with accompanied children under 14 free) or buy online for an additional £1 administration fee. A limited offer for 2 for 1 tickets offer is available until May; full details available at: www.bespokedbristol.co.uk

 

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California Dreamin’

With so much drama (not to mention of course tragedy) unfolding at the Giro it would be easy to forget this month’s other great cycling event The Tour of California which starts tomorrow (Sunday May 15). Sponsored by Amgen – a biotech company with focus on cancer treatments – the race has grown from it’s beginnings in the mid-2000s to become the biggest pro cycling event in the USA which has largely been without a major competition since the Coors Classic ceased to be in 1988. Last year the Tour was shifted from it’s early-year February slot up to its new May dates, but despite now clashing with the Giro d’Italia it still attracts an impressive roster of teams and riders.

 

This year’s 8-stage event will see riders competing in the best the Western State has to offer. Challenges including Stage 1’s 191km loop around Lake Tahoe, Livermore to San Jose with a 1900ft climb over Mount Hamilton and a punishing 9.4% gradient finish (Stage 4), and the final day’s Santa Clarita to Thousand Oaks trek with a 129.1km profile almost entirely devoid of anything approaching flat.

 

The Tour of California runs May 15-22. For further information, live updates and daily results see: www.amgentourofcalifornia.com