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The Olympic Champion, Julien Absalon, has won at Houffalize for the first time. It is the French rider’s 13th World Cup win and he logically takes the lead in the overall standings.

Nino Schurter made a big impression with his second place, the best result of his career. Christoph Sauser also put in a great performance to take third place.

You really need to search the history books to find a French victory at Houffalize. Indeed, since Christophe Dupouey’s win in 1999, no Frenchman has raised his arms in victory in the world’s cross-country capital. Continue Reading »

The Kellogg’s ‘Tour of Ireland Cycle Challenge’, takes to the highways and biways next month. Over 300 riders accompanied by 60 support staff will travel over 500 miles through the four provinces of Ireland.The Challenge starts in Lisburn, Co Down on Thursday 9^th May and finishes in Lucan, Co Dublin on Monday 12^th May. All proceeds from the event will go towards the National Council for the Blind of Ireland and the Irish Paralympic team. At the launch, Paralympic Cycling Ireland received a donation  of two competition standard bicycles that will be used in the upcoming Paralympic Games in Beijing.

Last year’s inaugural Challenge was a great success and this year’s event promises to be bigger and better. In 2007, 125 cyclists entered and the 2007 challenge was voted the best organised event of its type by the international cycling community.

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Returning after a strong showing last year, the line-up of the Dutch national team for the FBD INSURANCE RÁS has been announced. The 2008 selection has a distinct track racing background and, as proven by the British and Recycling.co.uk teams in the past, will have a related turn of speed which could really shake up the eight day world ranked race.

Making the announcement Race Organiser Dermot Dignam said “I’m really pleased the Dutch are returning again this year, they are a great cycling nation, and with the experience gained last year will be favourites to defeat the pro teams from Iran, Norway, Ireland and Britain, and also the powerful amateur squads from Bulgaria, France and Germany and of course the best of our own county riders” Continue Reading »

A record field of more than 400 competitors will line up at the start of the first leg of the 2008 Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Olympic Cross Country competition this weekend.

Some 273 men and 130 women are expected on the start line in Houffalize, Belgium, on Sunday April 20. This represents a World Cup record both in numbers and in quality: the 60 top men and the 40 top women from last season (according to the 2007 World Cup classification) are registered to race. Absalon, Hermida, Sauser, Kalentieva, Prémont, Spitz, all the big names will be present.

The high quality turn-out is the result of an exceptional year, with Beijing and its Olympic Games providing the focal point. While some athletes are assured of their ticket to China, others have yet to qualify. The competition will therefore be fierce. Continue Reading »

Germany’s Andre Greipel (High Road) still leads the UCI ProTour standings after the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco but the big-name stage race and classics riders have closed in and are now breathing down his neck.

Greipel scored a total of 62 points thanks to dominating the Tour Down Under in Australia but Tour de France winner Alberto Contador (Astana) is now second with 58 points after winning the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco. Contador scored 50 points for overall victory and picked up eight other points for two stage victories and second place on another. Continue Reading »

Two members of Italy’s paralympic cycling team trained at the World Cycling Centre (WCC) in Aigle, Switzerland, this week.

Fabrizio Macchi and Fabio Triboli, who will compete in the individual pursuit at the Paralympic Games in Beijing in September, trained on the WCC’s track on April 9 and 10.

The two athletes have also qualified for the Paralympic Games in the road disciplines, and will compete in Beijing in both the road race and the individual time trial.

French para-cyclist, Sébastien Serrière, will train at the WCC from April 14th – 18th. Serrière, who competed in the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney and the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, aims to qualify for his third Paralympic participation.

The Paralympic Games in Beijing will take place from 6th – 17th September.

The head of the International Olympic Committee has said anti-China protests had created a “crisis” but that the Games in Beijing would “rebound”. Jacques Rogge told a meeting of national Olympic committees in Beijing that the Games would succeed.

But Mr Rogge urged China to respect its “moral engagement” to improve human rights ahead of the Games.

China said it hoped the IOC would steer clear of what it called “irrelevant political factors”.

“I hope IOC officials can eliminate all kinds of disturbance and continue to adhere to principles of the Olympic charter,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said. Continue Reading »

The anti-doping programme of the UCI is recognised as one of the most comprehensive and effective in the world. It covers all the cycling disciplines and is continually being improved.

The programme has two objectives:

- To detect doping,

- To deter riders from resorting to doping.

An effective anti-doping programme should act as a deterrent and should also expose cheats. As our programme becomes increasingly effective, it is possible that the number of anti-doping rule violations and thus the visibility of doping within the sport may increase. We accept this consequence. Removing the cheats from the sport is essential to deter others and we are determined to take the tough measures necessary.

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The Tour of Taiwan provided the highlight in March with the American John Murphy emerging victorious by the tightest of margins in cold pre-summer weather.

An expanded race of eight stages, the Tour of Taiwan got off to a splendid start with Wong Kam Po of the Hong Kong national team registering the first of his two stage wins in a bunch sprint on the scenic Love River 88 kilometre criterium.

Wong, 34, also won the penultimate stage to emerge sixth in the general classification and third in the Asian riders’ classification.

Murphy (Health Net Presented by Maxxis) seized the overall lead on the second stage and kept it to the finish, beating compatriot and Team Type 1 rider Shawn Milne by a mere 10 seconds. Murphy also proved by far the best sprinter, winning the points classification as well with a 22 point margin over second placed Japanese rider Takashi Miyazawa of the Meitan Hompo-GDR team.

There was however no denying Miyazawa the Asian riders’ title, albeit by a very slight two second margin, over compatriot Taiji Nishitani of the Aisan Racing Team. Home team Giant Asia Racing Team, proved too strong in the battle for the overall teams classification, edging out the Netherlands registered Skil-Shimano, who featured an all-Japanese line-up, by a 15 seconds margin.

All top Asian riders will now prepare for the biggest event in April, the Asian Cycling Championships in Nara, Japan from April 15 to 17.

06 April 2008 – Kristin Armstrong (USA) from Cervélo-Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team finished second in today’s third Women’s World Cup race of the season – the Tour de Flanders. She was only beating by the German Judith Arndt in the finish sprint. Both racers came together to the last few meters but Armstrong couldn’t match the German. The sprint for third was taken by Kristen Wild (NED) from a group of fourteen riders.

The fifth edition of „Ronde van Vlaanderen“ started in Oudenaarde and run over 114 tough kilometres and all the famous uphill’s as well cobblestone passages like „Valkenberg“, „Muur“ und „Bosberg“ to Meerbeke.

The Women’s World Cup series continues next weekend on 12th of April with the “Ronde van Drenthe” in the Netherlands.

More information to the race: http://www.rvv.be