After sustaining a deep leg injury in the Paris Roubaix on Sunday, Movistar's Fran Ventoso has issued a strong protest about the introduction of disk brakes to the pro peloton.


https://www.facebook.com/fran.ventos...56809619355611

The open letter is in Spanish with the English translation below. WARNING: there is a strong image of the injury below the letter.

I just read on Dutch Teletext that UCI has now banned those disc breaks.

Found the story in English http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/...-racing-220931

Glad they acted quickly to review this.

Not a big name, but 24 y/o British rider Dan McLay won today's GP de Denain - last week, he was 10th in Scheldeprijs.

Looking back on his career, I see he won a stage of Tour de l'Avenir in 2014 (Gav was third that day, as it happens) and came second in the 2010 junior P-R.

-----

Here's an overhead shot of the sprint.

And now Russ Downing is at it too - a stage in the Tour du Loir et Cher E Provost (thank goodness for copy & paste)

His teammate Chris Lawless was second in the previous stage.

You wait ages for one...
(As far as the minor names are concerned, anyway)

Sir Wiggo is going to ride the Tour de Yorkshire at the end of April, beginning of May

The men's race is a 3 day race and the women have a one day race.......Lizzie is riding the women's event which starts in her home town of Otley

I think it was on ITV4 last year ?........maybe Eurosport ?

The Bike Channel are showing an evening highlights package which they're also doing for the Tour of Turkey according to the commentators on the Belgian race on Wednesday

Amstel Gold underway on ES2.........99K to go

Kwiatkowsky won it last year

Amstell Gold is one of those races where only the last 30km, or even the last 3km, decide the outcome. The rest is a slow wearing down process. Usually it includes urban sectors that are obstacle courses of traffic calming and bollards.

One rider had a nasty crash in the neutralised zone this morning. His hand was drawn between fork and spokes as he tried to remove debris: https://twitter.com/cyclingnieuws1/s...33485501427712

Motorised doping allegations have resurfaced: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/mech...investigation/

Big win for a small team. Gasparotto's win dedicated to his former teammate Antoine Demoitié who died recently in the motocycle collision. The contenders group all waited for someone else to close the gap and lead them out. Looking at the size of the main group at the foot of the Cauberg, the rain shower seems to have chilled a few riders and taken its toll.

Lots of cycling this week. Tour of Croatia on Eurosport 2, a pretty low-key race last year. Giro de Trentino on the Bike Channel, kind of a dress rehearsal for the mountain stages of the Giro, like the Dauphine is for the Tour de France. Flèche Wallonne on Eurosport on Wednesday, and highlights of the early season British races as well.

Martin Mortensen and Peter Williams made it a 1-2 for OPC in yesterday's Tro-Bro Léon - their biggest win to date.*

Pooley's brief return to road cycling (alongside her other endurance commitments^), includes the TdY, where she'll ride as part of the GB national team. She's also back with Lotto-Soudal Ladies, as part of which she'll also ride the Women's Tour and the Giro Rosa (where she won 3 stages back in 2014)...and probably the national championship ITT in-between.

Vos will ride La Flèche Wallonne Féminine on Wednesday - her first top-level race since the 2014 WCh RR. On paper the Rabo-Liv looks the strongest it has been this season, though it remains to be seen if they (or one of the other big teams) can end Boels' unbeaten record in the WWT. Subject to start-list confirmation, I'd say Johansson (who won the Euskal Emakumeen Bira) is the form rider.

[* Bialoblocki's ITT win in last year's TdP was as part of the Polish national team]
[^ Her main target in the first half of the season is the Rapperswil 70.3]

Tour de Yorkshire will be live on ITV4 - in fact they have the whole five hours of stage one!

Bit disappointing that Cav couldn't win the bunch sprint in Croatia given that he appears to be the only decent sprinter there.........he looked to be well placed as well, just behind the leaders with about 300 metres to go

To be fair though the cameras then took us back along the peloton for some reason so we didn't see the front of the race until someone was crossing the line........pretty amateurish !

If you're watching 'Trentino' on The Bike Channel note that tomorrow's stage is on air from midday and scheduled to finish at 1.30.........just as the Fleche and Croatia are starting on the two ES channels

3 live races in a day !.........

new name of the Eurosport commentary roster

Jonathan Harris-Bass is doing Croatia with Smithy

Carlton is out injured at the moment after a crash whilst on his ski-ing trip, I think one of them said he done a collar bone

There is a God!

Think this is the guy who does all the fill-ins in the Tour de France, ie recipe of the day, history of the chateau the peleton is passing, round-up of yesterday's press etc etc.

Quite a bit of news around today.......

Jess Varnish has been dropped from the Track Team after failing to qualify for Rio. Shame as like Jess........

Sky have suspended Sergio Henao as problems over his biological passport have resurfaced (he's been suspended before).........no doubt more to follow on this

Track cycling commentator Tony Gibb has been found guilty of a 'road rage' offence and given a 3 month suspended jail sentence and a long driving ban. Tut tut

Cav has his revenge in Croatia. I think the commentator did the Tour of Norway in 2013. I recognise the voice.

The Tour of Croatia seems more exciting than the Fle.

I hope the Bike Channel will join TV Player +.

Yes, well done Cav.......

I watched Croatia because it was 40K ahead........still almost 40K to go in FW when Croatia finished

Some of those Roman remains were good !

Anna van der Breggen broke the Boels monopoly on WWT races by successfully winning her second straight FW, although Evelyn Stevens and Megan Guarnier (both Americans) took the other podium spots.

Steve Cummings has gone for a solo in FW.........probably doomed but he's got 45 seconds with 20k to go

And nothing at all to do with her very public criticism at the Worlds of the incompetent decision-making by the coaching team over the last few years, going as far back as the preparation for London 2012, which cost her a nailed-on gold or silver oh no, not at all, who could possibly think such a thing.

And it's tough for her because having dedicated 5-6 years as a track sprinter there is now no very obvious place to go to, unlike distance riders who always have a chance on the road, criterium circuit, cyclo-cross etc. Perhaps BMX?

I doubt Sutton would have been said this if it was not borne out by BC records:


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2...gramme-on-per/

Watch out for the shocking segment in the Vox Women's video shown on the Bike channel this evening. A professional cyclist shown filming a video selfie whilst driving. The mobile device used to film can be seen in her left hand reflected in her black shades. Not looking where she going, driving distracted, and with one hand permanently off the wheel. With the number of cyclists taken out by distracted drivers, how did they let it go to air?

Can she ride a horse?

This must happen with a lot of people that sacrifice years trying to reach the top of their discipline or fail to keep momentum once there.

Some manage to transition into other sports and even get Olympic medals in those sports. They must have a base strength (mental and physical) and fitness level that makes it possible, so all may not be lost. Certainly a life changing decision whatever comes next.

Two good stages today in the Trentino and Croatia if you want to look out for repeats. Incidentally, Ned, I reckon those are hops. not vines they are going past in the Trentino.