Danish rider Martin Pedersen
pedals to Tour success
Martin Pedersen of the
CSC Team held a 51 second lead going into the last stage of the
Tour of Britain in London, finishing safely after the circuits
around some of the city’s landmarks.
After crossing the line, Pedersen paid tribute to his CSC
team-mates.
"It was very good team work which helped me. I was lucky at
times to have sat behind five good guys at times," he said.
The last stage was won by world champion Tom Boonen in a
dramatic sprint finish on The Mall, with Mark Cavendish coming
in third.
Final Stage Crash prompts
2007 Tour concerns
During the final stage of Sunday’s Tour of Britain, a
disastrous crash has led to growing concerns about London’s
ability to host two stages of the 2007 Tour de France.
Five people were badly injured following a police
motorcyclist collision with a marshal’s motorbike on The
Mall. Previous to this, the peloton had already raised
concerns that the roads were not being securely blocked.
Cyclists complained during stage three of the Tour of
Britain in Sheffield that the roadblocks were still allowing
traffic to seep through. These complaints were also made in
London, with the motorbikes ploughing into the crowd
barriers further highlighting the need to tighten staefy
procedures.
‘British cycling has a lot to be proud of and they have
shown no respect to the tour’ said British rider Ed Clancy
‘Its 100 percent unacceptable’
The conflict of opinions between the Europeans and the
domestic racers provided further sour feelings to the Tour
of Britain. However, the opening stage of the Tour de France
is set to take place in London in Trafalgar Square on 7 July
with the prologue time trial and a stage from London to
Canterbury following over the next two days.
Vinokourov makes it two in a
row with a Tour of Spain win
The Astan rider Kazak
Alexander Vinokourov leapt up the Tour of Spain rankings thanks
to his second successive stage win on Sunday 3rd September after
finishing 16 seconds ahead of the home favourite Alejando
Valverde on stage nine.
Vinokounov is now up to fifth in the rankings.
Competitor Valverde who rides for the Caisse d'Epargne team
stated "I saw I couldn't catch Vinokourov, so I went for the
overall lead instead," which meant it took him to overall lead
in the Tour of Spain for the first time in his career.
Monday is the race's first rest day. The race ends in Madrid on
17 September.
GB Team announced For World
Road Race Championships
The selected cyclists are as follows: Men's Road Race
Russell Downing
Roger Hammond
David Millar
Under-23 Men Road Race
Mark Cavendish
Ben Greenwood
Ian Stannard
Andy Tennant
Geraint Thomas
Under-23 Men Time Trial
Ian Stannard
Wales' Nicole Cooke becomes the first British cyclist to top the world road race rankings
23-year-old Nicole Cooke jumped from fourth to first place after
finishing second and first in events last weekend.
Cooke has won both the Grande Boucle Feminine, which is classed
as the women's equivalent of the Tour de France, and the
Thuringen Rundfahrt in Germany this season.
No British cyclist, female nor male, has ever before made the
top 20 of the world road race rankings. It is such a fantastic
achievement for her and the British Cycling Team.
In fact, there is not a single British male rider listed in the
166 riders who have gained points on the men's Pro Tour.
Former Commonwealth Games champion Cooke has a 118-point lead
over German Judith Arndt in the International Cycling Union
women's rankings.
She is already the favourite to repeat her victory of 2003 in
the season-long Women's World Cup.
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