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His arms wrapped around two team-mates as they guided him towards an ambulance, Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervélo) was unable to put any weight on his left foot or hip after crashing at the end ofFriday's stage six in the Vuelta a Espana.

One of the first riders to crash when he and Poland's Michal Golas (Vancansoleil) collided together at high speed, Farrar was able to finish - but at least five minutes after Marcel Kittel (Skil-Shimano) had taken his 13th win of the season - and even then the American was only pedalling with his right leg.

He briefly entered the team bus before two Garmin-Cervelo riders guided him to a waiting ambulance, limping heavily and the back half of his jersey ripped to shreds.

Farrar was far from the only rider affected by the crash, and was almost certainly the one of the worst, although a large number of top contenders were also caught up in the Vuelta's first big crash this year.

Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) had a big scrape on his upper thigh, Michele Scarponi (Lampre) banged his left ankle so badly he shouted when a race doctor attempted to touch it, Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Omega-Pharma Lotto) had cuts on one elbow and one knee, whilst Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) hit the deck but said he was shaken up but ok.

Although all riders involved crossed the line and were credited with the same time, there were unconfirmed reports that Golas had a broken collarbone. The Polish rider was also bleeding heavily above one eyebrow and also attended hospital for a check-up.

Sky said their riders were all ok, although Ian Stannard braked so hard to avoid crashing his rear wheel blew.

Whatever the damage, none of it was welcome as the Vuelta heads back into the mountains yet again, with two second category climbs and a first category on Saturday's 177.3 kilometre stage across the sierras west of Madrid.

Although the climbs are far enough from the finish that most of the frontrunners should stay together, the finale - a short and steep uphill finish in San Lorenzo de el Escorial - is another story.

Apparently, although not quite as hard, it is very similar to the tough uphill finish in Valdepeñas de Jaen on stage five and could see the same sort of time differences, too.

Whilst Kittel's victory is a major breakthrough for the young German in his maiden Grand Tour - only Philippe Gilbert (Omega-Pharma-Lotto) has more wins this season, which says it all - it remains to be seen if Farrar's injuries are so severe they affect his chances in the World Championships, where he was due to be one of the favourites.

Either way, the crash cast a big shadow over one of the very few bunch sprint finishes of the 2011 Tour of Spain.

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Damiano Cunego will led Lampre-ISD in Clasica San Sebastian, scheduled on Saturday 30th July.

Cunego just finished Tour de France in 7th position, blue-fucsia captain will rely on Bertagnolli, Bono, Gavazzi, Kostyuk, Mori, Perez Arrieta and Pietropolli.

The team will be directed by Bruno vicino, supported by mechanics Carminati and Gaia, masseurs Borgognoni and Inselvini and doctor Guardascione.

"Cunego is the main athlete, but I think that the whole team will be very competitive - sport director Vicino said - In fact, at the start of the race there will be many our riders that took part in Tour de France and got a top quality level of condition".

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July 12 Yaroslav Popovych will not take the start of stage 10 in the Tour de France. Since Sunday Popovych has fever. As the rest day didn’t bring any amelioration, the team decided not to let him start in Aurillac. The former Tour de France stage winner will undergo some extra tests today.

In stage five Popovych crashed twice. With a lot of character he survived four more stages. The current illness however makes an end to his Tour de France. Earlier this Tour Team RadioShack lost Jani Brajkovic with collarbone fracture and Chris Horner with severe concussion and nose fracture. Other team leader Levi Leipheimer crashed three times and Andreas Klöden suffers from lower back hematoma and muscle contracture after the big crash in last Sunday’s stage. Klöden will take the start today and hopes for improvement the coming days.

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Over the past week I have been living the high life with my team in the Czech Republic...Not. I hope you've made yourself a cup of tea or at least a strong alcoholic beverage as this is going to be a long one... And it ain't going to be pretty.

The Tour de Feminin in Krasna Lipa, a UCI 2.2, was my first race in the For Viored Brookvex colours, and a harsh reminder that I, along with most women, don't do this sport because of the glitz and glamour.

The team :)

For me the trip started off with a 13hr drive from Belgium to Krasna Lipa with a well welcomed pitt stop at close to 2am in a local hotel in Germany where the team and staff were able to get some decent shut eye and freshen up. Departing again just after 9am, we arrived in Czech with enough time to get to our accommodation and have a quick spin on the bikes before tea. Pulling up to the accommodation we were greeted by a 7 story run down school building. This should've served as the first warning sign for all of us to take extra precautions in relation to hygiene over the next few days...

We were staying on level 5 and the lift was so rickety and old that it could only hold 3 people at a time. We stretched the limit and would sneak 4/5 girls in but the next morning we heard that a team had loaded themselves into the lift and it had gotten stuck between floors - from then on it was strictly 3 people to the lift for us, or 2 if we felt that we had eaten too much.

At 4 to a room, the dorms were actually quite big and the girls and I had thought we'd scored the good room until 11pm on the first night when we could hear a guy snoring...from the next room. This was a trend for the next 4 nights and we would rush to get to bed before our neighbor did, because if we didn't, we were in for a long sleepless night.

Our room...excuse the mess :s

The bathrooms were communal - toilets and showers for use by both men and women. The toilets weren't too bad as they at least had doors but I had forgotten how confident most Europeans are with their bodies until I noticed that only 2 out of the 8 showers had shower curtains. It also wasn't uncommon for you to go into the bathrooms and have a naked person, male or female, happily standing there whilst you brushed your teeth or filled up your race bottles. I'm all for feeling confident about your body but somethings are better left to the imagination... Please. I was going to try get a photo of the bathrooms but couldnt do it without feeling like a dirty perv. And nice try euros but p.s, a face washer does not classify as a towel.

Before i knew it was race day and sitting on the start line after all the debacle in actually getting my butt over to Europe, i was excited about finally starting my first UCI tour. The gun went off and for the first 20 odd k I haven't braked so much in my life. 161 nervous girls meant that positioning yourself at the front was mandatory - if you wanted to live. It took me a while to get settled in the bunch but once I did, I really started enjoying myself and remembered just why I love racing! I managed to stay with the first bunch until the final climb 3k from the finish when i dagged off the back. I rolled in just over 1min behind and in 54th place. I was quietly stoked about my performance given the circumstances and lack of racing and was looking forward to riding into the rest of the tour! What was most exciting was seeing the other Australian teams and super legend Amanda Spratt take out the win with former track sprinter Nettie Edmondson in 2nd!!! It's always nice seeing other Aussies on the otherwise of the World, and doing so well!!

Back to the accommodation for showers and dinner, we were greeted in the kitchen by yet another serving of chicken and potatoes or rice if you thought the rice from lunch would taste better a second time round. In all fairness though, it was edible.

On this trip were fortunate to have 6 staff members accompanying us. Each night Jody and Ian were the Soignys in charge of tricking our legs into thinking the day's racing never happened. Gerard from Rouleur was our own personal photographer for the week, stalking our every move for an article about soigneurs on tour ( i can't wait the see the pictures he took, they are definitely uncensored) Then there was Steev our mechanic and assistant mechanic Boudewijn and last but not least, Rene our DS.

Day 2 and on paper it definitely looked rough. We had to climb that same set if climbs I had gotten dagged on the previous day 3 times before entering a 20k flatter circuit. My goal for the race was to finish first bunch. Up the climb for the first time, dagged. Chased back on on the decent and caught up through the cars a few k before starting the climbs the 2nd time. 2nd time up the climb, dagged again. This time got into a rhythm and got over the top in the cars and so managed to get back pretty quick. 3rd time up the climb and i somehow hauled my ass over with the first group, thank god. Rode in the bunch and crossed the line at the back of the first group - one happy camper :) Aussie Jayco rider Mel Hoskins took the win with Nettie again taking 2nd spot ahead of Aussie National rider Belinda Goss! Spratty again put in a huge effort to keep the jersey.

It was from the moment we got back to the accommodation that things started to go downhill... Having dinner I instantly felt ill. Attributing it to carbooverlading, I went for my massage and laid in bed thinking nothing of it. It wasn't until 1am that I knew something wasn't right, I rushed to the bathroom and felt sick. I emerged from the toilet and saw a handful of other riders including another one of our own, Gabby Shaw sitting out front. About an hour later the German National DS walked in from the lower level and said 'oh no, not you too' - turns out there was a bunch of us who had felt the wrath of dodgey fish night at the canteen.. I stayed up crippled with a fever and stomach ache until 5am when i crawled my corpse into bed. 6am and the alarm went off for breakfast as we had a double stage and had to leave just after 7am. Needless today, I wasn't feeling it. I felt as though I had a horrible hangover, without the awesome memories from the night before - I got ripped off big time. I hadn't felt that ill for a LONG time.

I couldn't even lift my head from the pillow let alone get myself out of bed and I quickly came to the realization that there was no way I was going to be getting on the bike today. I was filthy to say the least. Having to pull out of a tour is a hard and frustrating enough decision as it is, made even more so when it is due to unnecessary things outside of your control.

Welcome to the perks of lower level women's cycling. The higher ranked teams were put up in hotels whilst us club teams were in these dorms. Riding tours are hard enough as it is and after each stage it is particularly important to put extra emphasis on recovery strategies. Most higher level teams have staff to look after meals, washing and even booking different accommodation when the set accommodation it isn't up to scratch. Unfortunately this isn't the case for most other women club teams. Once we get home from the stage, it's into the open communal showers with hot water if your lucky (don't forget your thongs). Next its time to hand wash your kit in the sink and cross your fingers that it will dry in time for the next stage, otherwise you're riding in a wet chamois - yummy. Down for dinner and if it looks slightly poisonous or unappealing then tough luck, looks like you're going to starve unless there is a supermarket nearby where you can buy pre-made meals. After dinner you have to walk up 5 stories because the rickety lift has finally given way when legs burning, you eventually reach your bedroom and realize you've forgotten your room key on the table downstairs...Finally to bed where getting bedding provided to you is optional, I always bring a pillow and a towel so I don't have to use my backpack and paper towel or a face washer.
Before you know it, it's ridiculous o'clock at night and you shouldve been in bed hours ago but now you're lying awake because a dog is barking or the staff members of another team are all having a grand old time drinking beers - it's 2am and you've got 4hrs until you get up and have to do it all over again.

Our accomodation...

Welcome to pretty much women's cycling. And this was a UCI race!!! But what keeps me coming back year after year is the joy and excitement I get from racing and the people i meet along the way. I know if I continue to work hard my efforts will pay off and I will get the results which will enable me to eventually ride for a professional women's team and make all of this seem worthwhile. In the meantime, I'm trying not to stress too much and enjoy the ride - otherwise I'll never make it out alive :p

A big thank you to all the team at For Viored Brookvex for the support and a special mention to Jody Leach our swanky for sitting up with us and listening to a bunch of girls being sick. If you think being a male swanny for a team of girls would be the best job ever - ask this man. You definitely deserved a medal.

My eyes and ears will never be the same after this trip but i'll leave that all for another post. I'm now sitting in the van on te epic journey back to Belgium. I'm still feeling slightly average but I'm looking forward to getting back home, recovering and getting my body ready for my next race Dwars de Westhoek, a UCI 1.2 in Belgium. I broke my ribs at this race 20km in last year so here's hoping for some better luck!!! Lol...

Lost in translation in the race manual... I LOLed.

Until next time,

Stay safe and take care

Miff xx

 

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  Stage 6 – Dinan to Lisieux, 226.5km

 

RESULTS

 

1 - Edvald Boasson Hagen - Team Sky -
(5h 13m 37s)

2 - Matthew Goss (AUS) - HTC - Highroad - (same time)

3 - Thor Hushovd (NOR) - Garmin - (same time)

 

Norway’s Edvald Boasson Hagen today claimed his and Team Sky's first Tour de France stage success by winning the longest stage of the race in a bunch finish in Lisieux.

 

Edvald Boasson Hagen, Team Sky Rider:

 

"I felt really good today and I'm so pleased to win the sprint. Geraint Thomas did a great lead out and it's just fantastic it's all worked out.

 

"I was feeling strong and I knew from yesterday that I had the legs so the chance was there - I'm so glad we were able to take it.

 

"It's hard to describe the emotions, I'm just so happy. To get my first stage at the Tour de France is so special. It means so much to the team as a whole because this is the biggest race in the world. It's gone well for us so far and will hopefully continue to do so as we work for Bradley (Wiggins) in the general classification."

 

Dave Brailsford, Team Sky Team Principal:

 

“It’s a big day and a super-exciting moment for the whole team – the riders, the staff, our partners and all our fans.  This first Grand Tour stage win is also a key moment in our development and our history.

 

“Who better to get it than Edvald who’s been such a great rider for this team. It’s onwards and upwards from here but I think we should take a moment to savour it now and really take on board what we’ve achieved. We’re still a young team and to accomplish this in such a short space of time is very exciting and we’ll look forward to building on that now.

 

“We’ll have a glass of champagne to toast Edvald’s victory tonight but there will be no wild celebrations – we’ll save those until Paris. We just have to enjoy the moment now though because every member of this team has worked so hard to get us where we are today.”

 

Sean Yates, Team Sky Sports Director:

 

"It was a fantastic finish with Edvald taking the win. We’ve always known he is a great talent - he’s had a lot of bad luck over the last 18 months but today everything came together for him and the rest of the team.

 

"It’s fantastic, we’ve been there or thereabouts every day, and although it’s not the icing on the cake, it is the layer right underneath that! The icing on the cake is hopefully still to come but yes, this is a great win for the team.

 

"We’ve had good morale all Tour, even though we hadn’t won until today. We came close in the TTT and also close to the yellow jersey.  Edvald also came close to the stage win yesterday but hit out too early, and he wasn’t going to make that same mistake again.

 

"It all came right today, the finish worked to Edvald’s advantage because that hill in the final kilometre got rid of the purer sprinters like Cav – who on a flat finish is virtually unbeatable. The way G and the rest of the team guided Edvald was top-notch and then the stage was made for him really. That was a great performance and a great day for the team."

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06-Jul-2011: At about 10 km before the feed-zone Sylvain Chavanel fell hard on his right side, ending up off road and dislocating the acromion-clavicular joint in his right shoulder. 

"In the fall I also hit my head and broke my helmet” Chavanel says. “The consequences could have been much worse. Tomorrow morning I’m lining up for the start as usual, but it’s obvious that tomorrow I can look forward to a day of suffering." 

At about 70 km from the arrival it was Boonen, Steegmans, Ciolek and Engels who bit the asphalt. The four guys were pedalling close together when someone ahead of them took a fall and they all ended up on the ground.

"To avoid the riders ahead of me I braked but my front wheel touched another athlete’s back wheel” Boonen says .“I flew over my bike in an endo and I fell, hitting my head and the right side of my body. My helmet busted on impact."

In the fall Boonen suffered a series of abrasions to his shoulder, elbow and right gluteus, which is sporting a rather deep cut. 

"After the first few minutes of shock I got back on my bike and I wanted to finish the stage” continues Boonen. “I have to thank Engels for his support. Alone I would have risked ending up outside of the maximum time. Now all I only want to recover some Energy from tomorrow."

Boonen will be starting tomorrow’s stage.

In the fall Gert Steegmans took some scrapes to his knee and his left shoulder. The Belgian rider is also suffering from pain in his left wrist. Steegmans will line up for the start tomorrow. 

Kevin De Weert also fell with Contador in a stretch about 100 km from the arrival, fortunately without any consequences.

By Joey Esterhuyzen

After recently having won the 2010 World Cycling Championships in Geelong, we chose a select few questions from our readers and passed them on to the Champion himself. But before we go there, here’s a brief overview of the man wearing the Champions Stripes for the next year.

Thor Hushovd has a renowned ability for enduring great suffering, all in pursuit of a race win. This trait showed very early in his career, when he won the U23Men World Time Trial Championships. He then went on to win the U23Men version of the Paris – Roubaix Classic, before turning professional in 1998.

Seemingly unstoppable, Hushovd went on to claim honours in the Norwegian Time Trial Championships, both in 2004 and 2005. Claiming the most UCI wins of any Norwegian rider, Thor Hushovd has won seven UCI ProTour events.

Multiple stage wins in Tour De France and Giro D’Italia are all part of Hushovd’s palmares and go without mentioning – as with his Tour of California stage win. Surprisingly enough, Thor was not an outright favourite leading into this year’s World Championships.

On October 3, 2010, Hushovd won the UCI Road World Championships, which started in Melbourne and finished on a circuit in nearby Geelong, Australia. He was the first-ever Norwegian to win the men's elite road title. And we’re the first Australian website to submit reader questions to him…

Joey Esterhuyzen: Thor, thanks for your time! How’s life been, after having won the coveted Rainbow jersey?

Thor Hushovd: It’s been good. I’ve been busy, but I’m really enjoying it.

Joey Esterhuyzen: Well you deserve every stripe, so congratulations! Our readers have submitted questions they would have wanted to ask you… We did try narrow them down a bit, and got it down to three pages! But here are the surviving few…

Will Orchard – NSW: What is your main source of motivation during training throughout the year?

Hushovd: To always perform better, and get more out of my body. I’m also always thinking of my next big race, and that’s my motivation.

Boyd Friis – Victoria: As a sprinter, do you train to sprint or is it a natural ability?

Hushovd: Yeah I train to sprint. I do a lot of strength training and intense intervals – so lots of training specifically for my sprinting. 

(doorbell rings: “Sorry I just have somebody at my door”…….. “Hey look I have someone on the phone from Australia yeah, can we yeah…”…… “Oh sure no problem, cheers”

Hushovd: Just some jerseys from Castelli, sorry… Carry on.

Joey Esterhuyzen: (laughs) no problem, tough life hey!

Hushovd: Ah but somebody has to do it no? (laughs) 

Damon Maloney – Victoria: What training do you undertake specifically for the Classics, like Paris Roubaix?

Hushovd: I do several long, very intense intervals as well as longer sessions on the bike, like 6 hours. You really have to work on your endurance, working to make your engine bigger you know. Stronger, for much longer.

Chris Walker – Melbourne: In 1993 the Worlds were held in Oslo. Were you watching it then, when Armstrong won?

Hushovd: I was just 15, so I was like “wow, all these big riders coming here for the Worlds”. It was really great. I rode the circuit too, and it feels like so long ago now that I am World Champion!

Nick Symons - Victoria: Knowing you’re the best in the world, how do you now manage to gauge yourself against others?

Hushovd: I still have a lot of respect for all the other riders in the peloton, so that is the same. Also there is more pressure, and people expect more from me as World Champion. But in the end, I’m still the same person as yesterday, and the day before… 

Steven Martin – Victoria: What’s the most important part of your ‘pre race’ preparation?

Hushovd: My coffee! We have an espresso machine on the bus, and before a long race I like to just relax and keep warm. We have a team meeting, and go from there.

Matt McMahon – Victoria: When did you realize you had what it takes to become a Pro Cyclist?

Hushovd: When I won the Paris Roubaix for youth riders, I thought “hey I can really do this” – so I got in touch with teams and started making connections. Then the teams started getting in touch with me and it went from there.

Callum Fagg – Tasmania: Which race are you most looking forward to, wearing your World Champions jersey?

Hushovd: Definitely the Paris Roubaix! It’s a race I would really like to win next year…

Steve Nightingale – NSW: What went through your mind as you crossed the line, becoming World Champion?

Hushovd: It was completely different. Very hard for me to understand what had happened! I just focused on passing all the other riders, but when I crossed the line it was really something different to any other win. It was like “you’ve won the World Championships” but it still didn’t sink in at the time… 

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Some good questions there, thanks to the readers! Thor, has it sunk it yet that you are the 2010 World Champion – the best rider in the world?

Hushovd: It sounds crazy when I hear you say that! Yes now it has. I was sitting on the plane with champagne, and it was really nice just taking it all in. No people around me, just peace and quiet. And that’s when it really kind of made sense.

How did your homeland of Norway react to your win?

Hushovd:  Well I haven’t been back there yet, but everyone in Norwegian cycling is very happy (with my Worlds win) In the past seven years, cycling has grown a lot there – so they’re all very happy.

Last question! With 2011 in mind, what does it mean to be joining a new team, Garmin – Cervelo, with the World Champions jersey on your shoulders?

Hushovd: I’m not on the team as yet, so I’m just focusing on what’s at hand now. But yes I’m quite excited going into 2011, with all the Classics events in mind. It’s a big team, and now we will also have the rainbow jersey… I can’t wait for (it to) start.

VISIT http://www.joeysracing.com/