04-Sep-2011: Tom Boonen was involved today in a group pile up before the Alto del Cordal. Boonen finished the race regardless, but he suffered a serious contusion to his left hand due to the fall. The Quick-Step rider was taken to the General Hospital in Gijon (Spain) for further tests, that evidenced a fracture to his left scaphoid. 

As a consequence of his hand fracture, Boonen won't be on the start line for the 16th stage of the Vuelta on Wednesday, September 6.

"I was twentieth in the group when in the span of a moment I found myself on the ground, due to a sudden movement of the peloton. I immediately understood that my problem was serious, but I wanted to finish the race and then evaluate what to do together with the team's medical staff. I didn't even manage to hold the handlebar, I had a lot of trouble getting to the finish line. It's a really tough moment for me. I was doing really well in the past few days and, as we're getting closer to the World Championship, it was perfect. The entire scenario changed in a moment. I am very disappointed."

After a difficult uphill section in the final kilometre shredded the pack, the 26-year-old blasted out of the field with 350 metres to go for his first ever Grand Tour win.

Spain's Vicente Reynes shadowed Sutton's late burst but faded to take second, while first-year German sprinter Marcel Kittel, the winner of 12 races this season, continued to punch above his weight to come third in his first Grand Tour.

Italian fastman Daniele Bennati moved into the overall lead after his sixth-place finish enabled the Leopard Trek rider to move ahead of Danish team mate Jakob Fuglsang.

Less than 24 hours after Team Sky finished third last in the opening team time trial, the British outfit showed it had not lost its morale.

"I wouldn't say Saturday was disappointing, to finish so far back was a little bit of a setback and today we showed we'd kept the team spirit high," Sutton told reporters.

"I knew it was a hard uphill finish, every sprinter would probably try to accelerate too early.

"So I was waiting and waiting and then when someone from [Omega-Pharma] Lotto attacked, I got on his wheel.

"I looked behind and from 200 metres to go I knew I had it."

Great day
On a great day's racing for Sky on Sunday, Sutton's team mate Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway won the Vattenfalls Cyclassic, Germany's biggest one-day race.

Bennati dedicated his leader's jersey to the memory of Belgian Wouter Weylandt, who died in a high-speed downhill crash in the Tour of Italy in May.

"I spent a lot of time with Wouter in the Tours of Qatar and Oman this year, and in Italy he was going to be my leadout man in the sprints," Bennati told reporters.

"I'm pleased I can dedicate this win to him."

Bennati confirmed that his strong racing on a difficult uphill sprint should strengthen his status as team leader for Italy in next month's world championships.

Sutton's victory came close to the town of Orihuela, where in last year's race Sky's team assistant Txema Gonzalez died of a bacterial infection. Sky then pulled out of the race the following morning.

The Tour of Spain finishes on Sept. 11 in Madrid.

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

Cap Fréhel, France

Tour de France Stage 5: Dangerous Day

Cadel Evans avoided a number of crashes that took down several overall contenders at the Tour de France Wednesday as the BMC Racing Team's leader held onto his second place overall.

Stayed In Front

Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard), Bradley Wiggins (Sky Pro Cycling) and Robert Gesink (Rabobank) each crashed, but all were able to get up and continue. Evans finished 11th as Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) won the uphill bunch sprint finish on the 164.5-kilometer stage. "It was really windy, with narrow, winding roads," Evans said. "We worked hard to stay in front all day. I just kept hearing on the radio over and over again, 'crash, crash, crash' and sort of kept going, and then I saw Gesink all covered in dirt. It was a dangerous day."

Good Guidance

Evans remains one second behind yellow jersey wearer Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervélo) heading into the longest stage (226.5 km) of this year's race. The two-time Tour de France runner-up said he's appreciating the fine teamwork he has received, particularly from Manuel Quinziato and Marcus Burghardt. "They're used to riding the classics and riding in the front all day, and dodging traffic islands is their speciality," Evans said. "I'm very grateful to have them here for that as well as their role in the team."

Team Astana’s Sweden, Fredrik Kessiakoff, wins solo on top of the Kitzbüheler Horn. He explains "I feel very well since the last training camp at altitude, the legs are there. Yesterday evening I watched the road of the stage and saw the mountainous profile, I felt that it could fit me. The team has worked very well to place me before the mountain, then after a kilometer climb, the attacks started from, I moved in a group, but I decided not to respond to attacks I preferred to keep my own rhythm. The others left me do and I left without looking back, then I crossed the finish line alone in the lead, it was wonderful! "

Indeed, it is a big emotion that invades Fredrik tonight. He joined the very first time a professional road cycling team three years ago. Former Mountain Bike specialist it’s his first victory on the road "I am delighted, I can not believe it, I think tonight I'll sleep with a big smile on the face! ".

Fredrik is now leading the overall standings of the Tour of Austria with a 1min18s on Italian Mauro Santambrogio (BMC), second in this ranking, "I am proud to wear the leader's jersey, and of course we will do everything for defend it! We have a good team here, we are all in good shape, we will give the maximum, but it won’t be so easy”

27 Jun-2011: Today in his own way, Sylvain Chavanel clinched his first title as French National Champion in road racing. The strong rider from Quick-Step Cycling Team stood out in a race marked by eliminations on a difficult, selective route at Boulogne-Sur-Mer. Chavanel and Pineau united against everyone, literally blowing up the race. 

Chavanel made his first attack at the 60 km mark, catching up to the break-away group. After accelerating even more, the neo French champion went on a solo ride, resisting a return by Anthony Roux and Thomas Voeckler, who finished second and third, respectively. 

“There couldn’t have been a better way to win,” Chavanel says. “Arriving solo you get the chance to savour the victory. I attacked from far away because there were many riders ahead and if I had waited any longer I would have risked getting shut out of the final. Jeje did a great job for me. The two of us made a fantastic team,” jokes Chavanel. “I’m really happy, it will be a huge honour for me to wear this jersey on the roads in the Tour. I’ll try to honour it as best I can, showing my fans a good time by attacking my way.” 



Marc De Maar Champion of Curacao

After his success in yesterday’s time trial, today De Maar also clinched the road title after a distance of 130 kilometres. 

“I’m happy,” explained De Maar. “It was a great feeling to win. The best thing is I get to wear this jersey on the road in upcoming races.” 

There’s also good news from Germany. In fact, Ciolek closed out the National Championship there in second place, only beaten by Robert Wagner in the sprint. 

“I launched a very long sprint,” explains Ciolek. “Only one rider caught up to me; I really could have won. I’m in good shape and I’m preparing to take on the Tour with determination

23 Jun-2011: Quick-Step Cycling Team is pleased to announce that Tom Boonen has renewed his contract with the team.

Boonen will race with the team guided by Patrick Lefevere for the next two seasons (2012 and 2013), with an option to extend his contract until 2014.

"We are very satisfied about the agreement we have reached," Team Manager Patrick Lefevere said. "Our team's history is strictly connected to Tom's history. Our team grew thanks to Tom, too, just like his personal achievements and the trophies he got are a result of the effort our team made to help him. Tom has been with us ever since the team was founded in 2003, and it's a pleasure to be able to go on working together."

"I always said this team was my first choice," said a satisfied Boonen. "I feel great here, it's like a family. There's a good, professional environment which is exactly what I want. I had a long chat with Patrick about the sports goals, and not just those, that he and Mr Bakala have for the team in the near future, and I was fascinated by their ideas. I am proud Patrick asked me to be a part of it, it's a big sign of the team's trust and consideration for me. Reaching this agreement will be a further incentive to do my best in the next few races and to give the team new successes as soon as possible”