The Peloton & The Podium: Pro Cycling Update

Sammy Sanchez (Euskaltel) picked up a win today in a mountainous Stage 4 of The Tour of the Basque Country, with Adreas Kloden (Radio Shack) and Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) following on the podium. Sanchez attacked during the final km of a very tough stage which included seven graded climbs. GC remains the same as yesterday (see below), and USA's Chris Horner holds on to 4th place. Overall, this is a close one that is expected to be decided on Saturday with the Tour's Time Trial finish.

Yesterday’s Stage 3 of the Tour of the Basque Country was won by Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana), followed by Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and Paul Martens (Rabobank). Vinokourov staged a brilliant sprint in the last 5kms and crossed the finish line with an: 08 gap in the field.  In the GC, Joaqiun Rodriguez (Katusha) leads, followed by Adreas Kloden (Radio Shack) and Sammy Sanchez (Euskaltel).   Italy’s Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) had to drop out due to illness and has returned to Italy for tests. It's being reported that he will take a break from racing in order to assess his health issues. Fellow Italian Danilo Di Luca (Katusha) and Basso’s teammate Mauro Finetto also dropped out during Stage 3.  

Van Scheldeprijs 2011, a one day sprint fest among the Spring Classics, took place yesterday in Antwerp.  Mark Cavendish (surprise, surprise) (GB - HTC-Highroad ) was victorious with a first place finish. USA’s Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cevelo) couldn’t defend his title for this race. He was one of the race's DNFs, along with Wouter Weylandt (Leopard-Trek) who went down with Farrar in a high speed crash during the final sprint. Farrar suffered road rash and bruising on his left side. Look for him in Sunday's Paris-Roubaix.   USA’s George Hincapie (BMC) also dropped out due to two crashes earlier in the race. He reportedly bruised his right hip and banged his left knee, but does not expect the injuries to affect his riding in Paris-Roubaix. He had a great Tour of Flanders, finishing in 6^th place. 

Cavendish now has his sights on Paris-Roubaix. This will be a career first for him.  

Let’s hope he changed his shoes before taking the podium yesterday. Check out what happened in 2007 after his last Van Scheldeprijs win. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3_Yy4d8s9w&playnext=1&list=PL901D606875CB3FCA