flanders

On Easter Sunday the 94th Tour of flanders took place in Belgium between Bruges and [detalii...]

Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland has won the Tour of flanders, the one-day Belgian Classic, ahead of local [detalii...]

British rider pulls out on fifth stage because of flu He is expected to compete in Tour of flanders Mark Cavendishs troubled start to the season continued today when he withdrew from the Tour of Catalonia with flu. The HTC-Columbia rider won stage two on Tuesday for his first victory of 2010 but finished down the field in the two hillier stages that followed and on the 181km fifth stage, won by Davide Malacarne, he pulled out.The Spanish stage race, which finishes on Sunday, was a late addition to Cavendishs programme as the Isle of Man rider seeks the form that carried him to 24 wins last season. It meant sacrificing Sundays Gent-Wevelgem classic - a race that would ordinarily suit him - but an HTC-Columbia spokesperson said tonight that his illness is not expected to rule him out of the next big classic, the Tour of flanders, a week on Sunday.Mark CavendishCyclingRichard Moore guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More [detalii...]

John flanders intercepted a pass in the end zone with 36 seconds left, stopping Notre Dames final drive Saturday as Tulsa pulled off one of the biggest wins in school history, stunning the Irish [detalii...]

Lance Armstrong has it all to do in this years Tour de France after a wrought day in flanders during stage [detalii...]

Saxo Bank rider outpaces Tom Boonen in one-day classic Swiss adds title to Paris-Roubaix and Milan-San Remo winsFabian Cancellara demonstrated his class to win the Tour of flanders ahead of the home favourite, Tom Boonen.The Swiss added the Ronde van Vlaanderen to his long list of honours, which include three Tour de France prologue wins and victory in Paris-Roubaix and Milan-San Remo, with a superb solo success in the 258-kilometre cobbled classic.Boonen (Quick Step) clung on to second place, while his compatriot Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma Lotto) took third ahead of another Belgian Bjorn Leukemans (Vacansoleil).Cancellara overcame a bike change in the final 50km and attacked on the Molenberg with 44km to go. Boonen was on his wheel and the duo forged forward together before Cancellara again kicked ahead on the Kapelmuur climb with 15km remaining.The world and Olympic time-trial champion, of team Saxo Bank, opened up a gap on Boonen and was able to secure a clear win.Cycling guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More [detalii...]

Swiss wins Paris-Roubaix in style Thor Hushovd is second, with Juan Antonio Flecha thirdFabian Cancellara produced a second scintillating performance in a week to win the Paris-Roubaix classic today.The 29-year-old Swiss backed up his Tour of flanders victory with a solo success in the cobbled classic known as "The Hell of the North".In a performance reminiscent of his win seven days ago, Cancellara, of Team Saxo Bank, burst away with little more than 40 of the 259-km race remaining and no one could compete with him as he won the race for a second time, finishing with a lap of honour in the Roubaix velodrome.Thor Hushovd (Cervelo Test Team) was two minutes behind in second after winning a sprint finish with third-placed Juan Antonio Flecha, of Team Sky, while the defending champion Tom Boonen (QuickStep), who was seeking a record fourth win, was fifth behind Britains Roger Hammond, of Cervelo.Cancellara, the world time-trial champion, won Paris-Roubaix for the first time in 2006 and added a second title to his list of honours, which include three Tour de France prologue wins and victories in Milan-San Remo and the Tour of flanders to stake his claim to be the greatest all-round rider of his generation.Cycling guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More [detalii...]

American not starting second stage because of gastroenteritis Finished 27th on Sunday in the Tour of flandersThe American Lance Armstrong has pulled out of the Circuit de la Sarthe four-day race because of illness, his RadioShack team said today."He is not starting todays [second] stage because of gastroenteritis," RadioShack spokesman Philippe Maertens said.The seven-times Tour de France champion is now due to fly back to the United States.He was using the race as part of his preparation for the Tour de France in July. He finished 27th on Sunday in the Tour of flanders, and said he felt the best he had all year.Lance ArmstrongCycling guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More [detalii...]

Ashes squad back from training camp in Germany Every player has gained greater insight into themselvesEnglands Ashes squad returned from a team-building camp in Germany today, with the captain, Andrew Strauss, calling the five-day trip "tough but rewarding".The location of the camp in southern Germany had been a tightly controlled secret in an attempt to avoid long lenses scuppering the morale-boosting plans of Hugh Morris, Englands managing director, and Andy Flower, the coach. The 16-man squad undertook a series of team-building exercises before visiting the memorial site at Dachau, the first of Nazi Germanys concentration camps, where more than 40,000 people died."Following our trip to flanders last year, this was an opportunity for the players to spend time away from the cricketing environment, learn more about the wider world and develop ourselves both individually and collectively," Strauss said. "It was a tough but rewarding five days and I know every player has gained greater insight into themselves, their own team environment and environments outside cricket."The wisdom of the trip had been questioned by some, who believed the squad would have been better served by being allowed to rest with their families following a gruelling and chaotic series against Pakistan. England fly out to Australia next month, with the first Ashes Test at the Gabba beginning on 25 November.But the England and Wales Cricket Board hierarchy will breathe a sigh of relief that the trip passed off without the controversy of the last similar pre-Ashes excursion, when Andrew Flintoff was disciplined after missing the team bus for a trip to the first world war trenches in flanders.As the England team came home, the Pakistan Cricket Boards chairman, Ijaz Butt, also returned to London for talks with the International Cricket Councils chief executive, Haroon Lorgat. Butt refused to say whether he would apologise to the ECB, after it dispatched a legal letter demanding he retract claims that England players had played to lose in the third one-day international at The Oval.Butt said: "There is a lot of confusion. Once Im through, this confusion will be overcome." He promised a conclusion within two to three days. The ECB is reluctant to set a deadline but wants to see progress on the matter before the end of the week.Meanwhile Ravi Bopara will join his England team-mate Kevin Pietersen at the South African side KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins this winter. Bopara, who was overlooked for the Ashes squad, will play in two first-class matches as well as South Africas domestic limited-overs series, which runs from 29 October to 10 December. The 25-year-old will use the matches to prove his credentials for the seven-match one-day international series against Australia, which follows the Ashes Test matches.England cricket teamAshesAndrew StraussCricketOwen Gibson guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More [detalii...]

A chance to develop individually and collectively, says Strauss Team-building exercise includes visit to Dachau memorial siteEnglands players completed the first stage of their preparations for this winters Ashes series after returning home from their "development camp" in southern Germany today.Andrew Strauss, the teams captain, said the trip had been a worthwhile venture: "Following our trip to flanders last year, this was an opportunity for the players to spend time away from the cricketing environment, learn more about the wider world and develop ourselves both individually and collectively."The five-day camp saw the 16-member squad undertake a series of team-building exercises before visiting the memorial site at Dachau, the first of Nazi Germanys concentration camps where more than 40,000 people died."It was a tough but rewarding five days and I know every player has gained greater insight into themselves, their own team environment and environments outside cricket," said Strauss.England will fly out to Australia next month before beginning their Ashes defence in the first Test at the Gabba on 25 November.England cricket teamAshesCricket guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More [detalii...]

Cancellara joins the Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project Says newly-formed team will be the most successful in cyclingThe four-times world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara has joined the Schleck brothers Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project on a three-year deal.Cancellara, who achieved a rare Tour of flanders Paris-Roubaix classics double this year, is joining from Bjarne Riiss Saxo Bank team."I had many interesting options, but in the end I knew that the project in Luxembourg would have all the ingredients I would need to continue improving myself without skipping a beat," Cancellara said."It is a unique mix of familiar personalities with new surroundings which will ensure continuity while instilling a new motivation to make this project the most successful in cycling."Tour de France runner-up Andy Schleck and his brother Frank left Saxo Bank at the end of the season to launch their own team and have attracted several team-mates to Luxembourg.The Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project is managed by Brian Nygaard, a former media officer at Saxo Bank and Team Sky.Cycling guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More [detalii...]

Riders accused of hiding small motors in their bikes UCI creating scanner to ensure practice does not occurCycling officials have dismissed reports that competitors are using small motors concealed in their bikes to given them an illegal advantage over their rivals, but admitted they are taking preventative measures to ensure such "mechanical doping" does not occur in the future.Two Italian newspapers, LAvvenire and Il Giornale, ran stories earlier this week about the motors, claiming they have been hidden within bike tubing. The suggestion is that a rider could use such a device to save energy in the first five hours of racing, then change to a standard bike and ride the finale with an unassisted machine.Il Giornale reported that spot checks have already been carried out on riders in the recent Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of flanders, but speaking to cyclingnews.com, Enrico Carpani from UCI, the sports governing body, dismissed that."We do not have any knowledge if this product is already in use in competitive cycling," he said. "At this point in time, we dont have any evidence that leads us to the conclusion that this kind of engine is already in use in the peloton."But our equipment commission will follow this issue very carefully because they are obviously interested in everything that could affect cycling in the future."Elaborating on the UCIs preventative measures, Marco Bognetti, consultant to Jean Wauthier, the current head of the bodys materials unit, said: "Weve discovered that it [the motor] could save a rider between 60 and 100 watts, which is an enormous advantage in the finale of a race. Our technicians are working on a special scanner that will discover hidden motors inside the frames. All the bikes at the major races will soon be checked."Stefano Allocchio, the Giros assistant race director, added: "According to all the checks that have been done, all the bikes are OK. The chief judge is very attentive - if there was something unusual, he would have seen it straight away."I understand its something the UCI have been looking at since last November but at amateur level, not at professional level."CyclingSachin Nakrani guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More [detalii...]

Bob Stapleton says riders will mostly not race in same races Cavendish remarks add to speculation on Greipels futureBob Stapleton, team manager of HTC -Columbia, sought yesterday to defuse the tension between his star riders Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel after Cavendish claimed in last weeks Guardian that there was "no chance whatsoever" that he would line up alongside Greipel in the team."They are going to race as team-mates whenever they are called upon to do that," said Stapleton, "but it really doesnt make sense for us to put two top sprinters in the same races. In most cases they have multiple races to do and we want multiple wins, so it makes sense that they follow different programmes."Cavendishs comments followed Greipels criticism of his team-mate - who has been struggling for form this season - after the British rider was picked ahead of him for Milan-San Remo. Stapleton rejected the suggestion that their feud presents a problem for the team, however. "Theyre competitive guys who I think should focus their attention on the bike," he said. "Any issues theyve got [with each other] theyll handle personally."But theyre guys who are both trying to [win]," added Stapleton. "Mark wants to get in shape, hes super competitive and sometimes that shows up in ways that are less desirable. But he has said himself, When Ive got my helmet on, dont listen to me - I put [these comments] in the same camp."Greipel - who won his sixth race of the season at yesterdays Tour of Turkey - is out of contract at the end of the season and there has been speculation that he will leave. Cavendish is contracted to HTC for another year. "We would like to keep all of our quality riders on the team and Andre is a quality rider," said Stapleton. "We think very highly of him. I think we are a big enough team to support multiple races and riders; if we cant do that, then the management hasnt done a very good job."Stapleton was speaking at Paris-Roubaix, which was dominated by Fabian Cancellara, the Swiss claiming his second classic in a week, after last weekends Tour of flanders. Team Skys Juan Antonio Flecha was third and there was an outstanding fourth for Britains Roger Hammond, who rides for the Cervelo Test Team.Mark CavendishCyclingRichard Moore guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More [detalii...]