Why Won't Lance Armstrong Go Away?

After years of speculation, denials and cover-ups it can no longer be denied that Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven times with the help of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). The USADA pursued Armstrong with particular vigour and did not stop until they had enough indisputable evidence to bring the man down. At the height of Armstrong's fame, doping was endemic throughout the peloton and many of his cohorts were also using PEDs, not that this serves as an excuse, but it does raise the question of why anti-doping authorities have come down so harshly on him in particular.

Of course, he only had himself to blame in that he thought he was invincible and convinced everyone else that he'd come back from cancer and won the Tour de France without any chemical assistance. He became the all-American hero who managed to triumph over adversity. His arrogance was unparalleled. Even when he was caught, it wasn't the authorities he co-operated with. Instead he turned to Oprah and 'opened up,' obviously hoping that the damage to his reputation and image would somehow be limited. He's a very good actor, though, and has demonstrated in the past the lengths he will go to in order to protect himself.

It's hard to feel sympathy for someone who has ruined people's reputations and destroyed individuals in an attempt to keep his doping a secret from the public. It even looks as though the UCI may have been complicit in protecting Armstrong from being found out, with Armstrong's camp even donating money to the anti-doping cause - ostensibly. Oh, the irony! All of this was happening in the 1990s and yet it took until 2012/2013 for the general public to learn that they had been scammed. Most cycling fans are cynical enough to have expected it, but for the casual cycling observer, his blatant deception was shocking.

Prior to Armstrong's admission, many of his fans had been ardent that it was a conspiracy; that he was indeed innocent, even though former team-mates had given evidence against him. However, once the words came out of his very own mouth, it could no longer be denied that he had cheated his way to victory and built up a reputation based on lies. To his credit, he did contribute towards charitable causes, but he even had to resign from the Livestrong Foundation, which he had established, following his doping revelations. He's no longer part of the cycling fraternity and yet there continues to be numerous articles about him popping up on cycling websites.

Cycling appears to have moved on from the bad years of doping and entered a near era of transparency, and yet Lance Armstrong still occupies space in cycling forums. Surely it's time to move on, isn't it? However, Armstrong hasn't lost his abilty or desire to be noticed. His latest ruse is to go around apologising to all the people whose lives he wrecked with accusations, probably in an attempt to rebuild his image, rather than out of any genuine sense of remorse. So, until those with influence in the cycling world stop giving Lance Armstrong the attention he desperately craves, he will continue to drag the sport down.

The Tour de France: Stages Twenty and Twenty-One

Stage twenty would provide the last opportunity for those with any GC ambitions to do something about it. Of course, it was always unlikely that anyone would dethrone Chris Froome from the top spot, but with Qunitana, Rodriguez, Contador and others looking to get on the podium, it was always likely to be an eventful day. In the end, it turned out that Quintana was the strongest, winning the stage and, in the process, taking runner-up spot. He was followed by Rodriguez, who finished 18 seconds down and secured third place on the podium, with Froome finishing third, 29 seconds down on the winner. Contador finished 2:23 down and consequently lost his podium position. With such an impressive display from the Colombian youngster, not only did he manage to secure the white jersey, but also the polka dot jersey.

Stage twenty-one was the usual procession. After three weeks of racing, all the riders were able to enjoy to an easy ride into Paris, this time later in the evening and taking in the Arc de Triomphe for the first time. There were the usual attacks - with David Millar and Juan Antonio Flecha giving it their all, but there was never any question that this would come down to a sprint finish. The question was would Cavendish achieve an unprecendented fifth win in along the Champs-Élysées, or would it be the turn of someone else? On the day, it turned out that Kittel would be the sprinter to triumph over Greipel and Cavendish. Whether it was due to a better leadout train or better legs, Kittel has shown himself to be a force to be reckoned with! All that remained was for Froome to stand on the podium and collect his yellow jersey, along with the other jersey wearers - Quintana and Sagan, who appeared to win the green jersey with ease. It was certainly an exciting edition of the Tour de France, but can it be topped in 2014?

The Tour de France: Stages Eighteen and Nineteen

Stage eighteen was very much one for the GC contenders, as riders had to negotiate the climb of Alpe d'Huez twice. Although, ultimately the win was taken by a rider who had got into an earlier breakaway group, it was here that time could be gained or lost by those in contention for the GC. In terms of GC ambitions, the biggest losers were the Belkin boys, Ten Dam and Mollema, as well as Contador for Saxo-Tinkoff, having lost a further minute to Froome. Quintana, on the other hand, was incredibly strong and managed to put time into his nearest rival, Contador. It is evident that the podium positions could change, so that Quintana ends up in second and Contador in third, as Quintana is a powerhouse on the climbs.

In the end, it was Christophe Riblon who was the first French winner of this year's tour, finishing ahead of van Garderen who had looked strong all day, but may have been hampered by having to chase back on after a mechanical problem, as he had to exert extra energy. He was not the only one to suffer from not having enough energy, as Christopher Froome showed signs of weakness for the first time this tour, so that he ended up getting Richie Porte to go back to the team car to get some energy gels, even though they were outside the feeding zone limits. This would lead to a 20 second penalty for both Froome and Porte and a fine for the two riders and their director sportif, although Froome asserted they hadn't been able to get food at the appropriate time because their car had a mechanical issue. With such a significant buffer, Froome clearly felt it was safer to risk a penalty than to go without food for the last few kilometres.

Stage nineteen turned out to be another victory for the breakaway and with much less action in terms of the GC, although there were a few changes such as Ten Dam and Rogers dropping out of the top ten and Valverde and Navarro moving up, with Kwiatowski losing a position and ending up in tenth place. Izagirre and Hesjedal were the first to get into a breakaway, but as Izagirre dropped off it was left to Pierre Rolland, who had made his way out of the chasing group up to the breakaway, and Hesjedal to keep it going. The pace was too much for Hesjedal who faded. Although Pierre Roland claimed his pursuit of the polka dot jersey was over, having secured points on this stage, he is only one point behind Froome.

Eventually, it was left to Rui Costa to go on the attack out of the chasing group, catching Rolland with 19 kilometres to go and quickly passing him. In the end it was he who took the victory, finishing just under nine minutes ahead of the rest of the peloton, with Andreas Klöden in second and Jan Bakelants in third.

The Tour de France: Stages Sixteen and Seventeen

It was hardly surprising that after a series of difficult stages and with even more tough stages to come, stage sixteen turned out to be one for the breakaway. A large break was able to get away, as GC contenders were happy to bide their time. 26 riders got into the break, including the likes of Jeannesson, Coppel, Navardaukas, Gilbert, Meyer and Rui Costa, as none were a threat in terms of the GC. In the end, it was Costa who managed to take the victory. Although the peloton didn't cross the line for another 11 minutes, there was still plenty going on in the background, as attacks were taking place, with Contador trying to take back time on Froome, only to misjudge a corner and nearly come off his bike. Froome followed his line and almost came off, too. In the end, they made it across the line safely, but some of the GC contenders lost time, including Fuglsang and Dan Martin.

Stage seventeen was a time trial stage that was going to be much more of a challenge than the first time trial, as the climbs were tougher and the weather more changeable. Some of the riders started off on normal road bikes and changed to time trial bikes once they had got past the climbs, whilst others decided to use road bikes with clip-on tri-bars. This was a decision which may have cost Alberto Contador the stage victory, because whilst Froome opted to change to a time trial bike, Contador did not, and Froome ended up winning the stage by nine seconds. The top ten also featured Rodriguez, Kreuziger, Valverde, Quintana, Kwiatowski, Fuglsang, Talansky and van Garderen. A number of GC riders lost time, including Ten Dam and Mollema. Thus, Contador is now in second place on the GC, 4:34 behind Froome, with Kreuziger in third, Mollema in fourth and Quintana in fifth. The next big test for the GC riders is L'Alpe d'Huez, which they will have to ride up twice in the next stage! Ultimately, it appears that everyone is now pretty much riding for second place.

The Tour de France: Stages Fourteen and Fifteen

Stage fourteen turned out to be day for the breakaway men. After a surprising stage twelve, the GC contenders were happy to sit back and let a group of 18 go down the road. Having slipped up previously, Sky made sure that Froome was securely placed at the front, so there would be no more unexpected attacks. Amongst the 18 riders were David Millar, Tejay van Garderen, Lars Bak, Simon Geschke, Jan Bakelants, Blel Kadri, Andrew Talansky, Michael Albasini, Julien Simon, Matteo Trentin and a number of others all looking to take the stage victory. As the stage neared the end, it looked as though Julien Simon was going to take the win, having gone off the front, but some of the other riders had managed to bring him back and it ended up being a sprint, which Trentin won ahead of Albasini and Talansky. The rest of the peloton rolled in about seven minutes later.

Stage fifteen, on the other hand, was very much a day for the GC contenders, as Movistar took control of the race, hoping to set up the stage for their superstar climber, Quintana, who would eventually go on the attack. Ultimately, the work put in by Peter Kennaugh and Richie Porte at the front helped decimate the field, so that when Froome went off to catch Quintana, there was no one who could match him. Having caught Quintana, it didn't take long for Froome to overtake him and it was he who ended up victorious at the top of Mont Ventoux. Froome managed to put even more time into his rivals, with Quintana finishing 29 seconds down, Nieve and Rodriguez 1:23 down, Kreuziger and Contador 1:40 down. Once again, Froome has shown he is the dominant force in the 2013 Tour de France and there were no visible cracks in Sky's performance this time, either.

The Tour de France: Stages Twelve and Thirteen

Stages twelve and thirteen were both designed with the sprinters in mind, but both threw up some surprises. In stage twelve it did come down to a bunch sprint, but there was a major crash within the last three kilometres which put paid to Greipel's chances of contesting the sprint and picking up points in the green jersey competition. Others were also caught out, including Sky's Edvald Boasson Hagen, who rode to the finish, but would later be declared out of the race, having broken his shoulder. The real surprise came at the finish line when Marcel Kittel powered past Cavendish, taking the victory and, no doubt, a huge amount of confidence from being able to beat 'the fastest sprinter in the world.'

Stage thirteen should have been just more of the same, really, but instead everything blew apart. It was clear that Omega Pharma Quickstep were determined to take charge of the race, keeping the pace so high that riders were struggling at the back, including Marcel Kittlel. Hearing news of this simply motivated the team to continue onwards and soon more gaps appeared, something which the side winds also contributed to. Unfortunately, for Movistar, Valverde had a mechanical issue at the wrong moment, so that even with most of his team-mates around him, it was going to be a struggle for him to get back on. Indeed, it turned out that he and his team-mates would be swept up by Kittel's group and none of them would catch up with the peloton.

Consequently, Valverde lost his second place position on the GC, and has now fallen out of the top 10, so that it looks as though Movistar have only Quintana as their main man. This turned out to be not the only change to the GC, as Saxo-Tinkoff decided to put in a surprise attack, with a number of other GC contenders including Laurens Ten Dam and Bauke Mollema making it into the group. Of those looking to win the green jersey, Cavendish and Sagan made it across, with Greipel losing out once more. Sky and other GC teams were fighting to bring the breakaway group back, but all their efforts were to be in vain, as the group ended up finishing 1:09 down on the winner. Despite the best efforts of Sagan, Cavendish was finally able to win his second stage of this year's tour.

In terms of the GC, it must be worrying times for Sky, seeing how strong the other teams are and not being able to respond, especially since they are already two men down. The question is whether there will be any more unexpected fireworks in the next stage, although it is only a medium mountains stage, or whether those aiming for the GC will wait for the high mountains of Mont Ventoux to attack.

The Tour de France: Stage Eleven

The time trial is known for being the 'race of truth,' as there is nowhere to hide when you're all by youself with no team-mates to pace you up the climbs and protect you from the wind. To be a true GC contender, it therefore helps to be a decent time trialist. Stage eleven would show who was still in with a shot of taking the yellow jersey and who would end up having to target stage wins. There were no surprises to see Rodriguez and Schleck struggle, whilst Dan Martin also had a hard day in the saddle, as did Quintana who ended up conceding his young rider's jersey to Kwiatowski who put in an incredible performance to finish the time trial in fifth position.

Ultimately, the GC riders were looking to limit their losses to Chris Froome, as the expectation was he would outperform them, which turned out to be the case. Cadel Evans, Alessandro Valverde and Alberto Contador all lost time. Being the last man to leave the start line, Froome had the benefit of knowing how all his rivals were doing and from the first time check it was looking good for him. Indeed, he clocked in with an even faster time than Tony Martin, the world time trial champion and fastest man in the stage up to that point. He looked on with trepidation as Froome came across the second time check a couple of seconds faster than him, believing his chances of a stage victory were slipping away.

However, when Froome finally crossed the line, he was actually 12 seconds down on Martin's time, but this didn't bother him, as his main objective was to put time into his rivals which he did. He now leads the GC by 3:25 ahead of Valverde, 3:37 ahead of Mollema, and 3:54 ahead of Contador. The race isn't over yet, as stage nine showed that it is possible to isolate Froome and that Sky are not invincible. It's just for the other riders to get their act together and think tactically, instead of waiting for Froome to have a bad day, as this may never happen!

The Tour de France: Stage Ten

After a rest day came a day for the sprinter's and so, of course, the focus turned to the usual suspects - Cavendish, Greipel, Sagan and Kittel, and the rest. As the sprint wound up, Cavendish brushed against Tom Veelers, Kittel's leadout man, and Veelers came down. Cavendish said that it was just because the road was bearing left and, indeed, when the commissaires looked at footage from the end of the stage they decided that no one was at fault and so Cavendish was not penalised. Even though Veelers was brought down, there was better news for his team-mate, Kittel, who managed to sprint across the line first, ahead of Greipel, Cavendish and Sagan. Luckily for Cavendish and the other sprinters there will be a number of other opportunities to sprint their way to victory this week, though tomorrow's focus is the individual time trial, which is really a day for the time trial specialists and GC contenders.

The Tour de France: Stage Nine

When Chris Froome took the yellow jersey, everyone seemed to expect that the rest of the race would end up looking pretty similar to the Tour de France of 2012 with Team Sky completely dominating the race. However, stage nine showed that even Sky can have bad days. After the impressive one-two finish for Sky on stage eight, Richie Porte lost about 18 minutes on stage nine, putting paid to his chances of a podium finish. Not only that, but Sky lost a key domestique in the form of Vasil Kiryienka who finished outside the time limit, having worked hard to try to bring Porte back to the lead group. Peter Kennaugh had crashed earlier on in the stage, whilst Geraint Thomas was still nursing an injury. Chris Froome therefore found himself isolated, riding behind a very strong Movistar team.

Movistar were keen to push on, as they wanted to consolidate Valverde's second place position, which meant trying to prevent Porte from getting back to the group. Consequently, none of the riders really had enough left in the tank to put in a sustained attack. It was left to Dan Martin and Jakob Fuglsang to set the race alight, but with Martin and Fuglsang not too far down on the GC, nobody was going to let them get too far ahead. Having won Liege-Bastogne-Liege, it was clear that Martin was in good form and, ultimately, it was he who went on to claim the victory, finishing just ahead of Fuglsang and coming across the line 20 seconds ahead of the next group of riders which included Kwiatkowski, Rodriguez, Valverde, Schleck, Froome, Mollema and Quintana amongst others.

It is funny that so many people were disappointed at Sky's dominance, believing that the race was already decided when there are still two weeks of racing to go. Cycling is an unpredictable sport, though, and so anything could happen!

The Tour de France: Stages Seven and Eight

Stages seven and eight were very different beasts from each other. Stage seven was classified as a medium mountains stage and so there was a question mark over whether the sprinters would get to the finish in order to contest the sprint. In the end, it turned out that the hills were just too much for many of the pure sprinters, such as Cavendish and Greipel. However, some sprinters did make it over the climbs and it was Peter Sagan who finally managed to get the win, after coming second so many times, thus strengthening his hold on the green jersey. He finished ahead of John Degenkolb, who is known as a sprinter who can get over climbs in a similar manner to Sagan. Daryl Impey also managed to finish in the front group, thus keeping hold of the yellow jersey.

Stage eight, on the other hand, was a high mountains stage and gave the GC contenders an opportunity to stretch their legs for the first time in the race. Rather surprisingly, it was Quintana who made the first move, putting in an early attack with about 40km to go. It was Team Sky that were at the front, but there was no sense of panic, as they kept to a tempo, as they are known for doing so well. Although Quintana was going well, he was ultimately brought back, as Peter Kennaugh and Richie Porte kept the pace high for their team leader, Chris Froome. Indeed, the pace was so high that many high-profile GC contenders were dropped, including Cadel Evans and his team-mate Tejay van Garderen. Eventually, even Contador began to suffer.

It must have been disheartening for all the riders, as they watched Chris Froome ride off the front so that he could put even more time into his rivals. Porte stayed behind and kept an eye on things, but decided he had enough gas in the tank to push on, so that whilst Chris Froome took the stage victory and, in the process, the yellow jersey, Porte was able to finish second, 51 seconds down. He was followed by Valverde who was 1.08 minutes down on the winner, Mollema who was 1.10 down and Ten Dam who was 1.16 down. Contador crossed the line in eighth place, 1.45 down on Froome's time.

Of course now it is up to Sky to control the race, but it's a position they're used to and seem comfortable with. Unfortuately, this doesn't bode well for the other teams and unless something unexpected happens, it is hard to imagine Froome being dislodged from top of the GC, even though there are still two weeks left of the race. If other riders don't find a way to challenge Sky's dominance, this could turn out to be a rather boring affair, as it would appear that everyone is now basically riding for third place and the lower placings.

The Tour de France: Stages Five and Six

Stages five and six were sufficiently flat for the sprinters' teams to target them, so that both ended up in bunch sprints. Having said that, stage five was a close call, as the breakaway group weren't brought back until near the end. Although there may have been initial doubts over whether some of the pure sprinters would get up the climbs, when it was clear Mark Cavendish was in good shape, Omega Pharma Quickstep set to work at the front and managed to create the perfect leadout train for Cavendish, who won the race ahead of Boasson Hagen and Sagan. Unfortunately, there was a crash behind, which left some sprinters such as Marcel Kittel unable to contest the sprint and took some riders out of the race.

Stage six was more of the same, although there was never any doubt that this would end in a sprint. It wasn't to be Cavendish's day, though, as he was brought down in a crash in the final kilometres and had to expend a lot of energy getting back to the group. Apparently, the team radios were down and so Cavendish found himself isolated and without any other riders to support him. In the end it was Lotto-Belisol that created the perfect leadout train for Andre Greipel, who cruised over the line with ease, followed by Sagan and Kittel. Peter Sagan retains the green jersey and having taken second place in the green jersey standings in stage five, Cavendish was overtaken by Greipel after he finished fourth in stage six.

There was also a time split at the finish line, which put Daryl Impey in the yellow, making him the first South African to wear the yellow jersey.

It may be awhile before the sprinters get another opportunity to go for a stage win, as the roads now head upwards, although before heading to the high mountains, there are medium mountains to negotiate, which may give some of the puncheur-type sprinters an opportunity to do something.

The Tour de France: Stage Four

Going into the team time trial, it was Jan Bakelants that was wearing yellow, but Radioshack Leopard were not seriously expected to finish high enough in the standings for Bakelants to retain the yellow jersey. Indeed, this turned out to be the case. Some of the favourites for the victory included Team Sky, Omega Pharma Quickstep and Garmin Sharp and, clearly, any teams targeting the GC as one of their major aims would have to put in a decent performance. The course was only 25 km long, so it was unlikely that any team would lose too much time, but for those chasing yellow it would clearly be preferable to put time into rivals, rather than to lose it.

What was somewhat unexpected was that it would be Orica Greenedge that would come away with the victory and the yellow jersey. After Simon Gerrans' victory in stage three, the pressure for the team to get a stage win was off, and this perhaps helped somewhat. In the end, they finished ahead of Omega Pharma Quickstep by a second; with Sky in third, three seconds behind; Saxo Tinkoff in fourth at nine seconds behind; and Lotto Bellisol in fifth, at 17 seconds behind.

Although Sky may have wanted to take the victory, they were riding with an injured rider, Geraint Thomas, and perhaps there is some relief that they won't have to defend the jersey and control the race, if it means Thomas can hide out in the peloton and work on recovering. Alberto Contador will be glad his team didn't lose too much time to Sky. BMC may be disappointed that they finished 26 seconds down on the stage winners, but it is not an unsurmountable amount of time to make up.

With a flat stage on the horizon, the yellow jersey could be on Simon Gerrans' shoulders for a number of days to come, although that is likely to change when the race enters the high mountains.

The Tour de France: Stages Two and Three

Stages two and three had a similar profile in that they were both set in the medium mountains, meaning that there was an element of uncertainty - would the sprinters hang in on there and contest the sprint at the end or would the peloton be thinned out enough for the puncheurs to make their mark?

It turned out that stage two would end up with many of the top sprinters being shed out the back and unable to stay with the peloton to contest the sprint. There was a little bit of drama towards the finish as an errant dog made its way on to the road as the peloton fast made its approach. Luckily, the dog realised it was in danger and got out of the way, but it could have been carnage! Jan Bakelants decided to make a move, realising he could not win in a sprint, which paid off, as he finished a second ahead of Peter Sagan, Michal Kwiatkowski and the rest of the peloton, taking the yellow jersey in the process.

The sprinters may have hoped that they were in with a chance of a win in stage three, but it wasn't to be, as Cavendish, Greipel and other pure sprinters were distanced. However, the likes of Gilbert, Sagan and Edvald Boasson Hagen managed to stay at the front. Ultimately, it was Simon Gerrans who took the stage victory, though, claiming the first Tour de France win for Orica-Greenedge, having just beaten Peter Sagan to the line. Jan Bakelants managed to hold on to the yellow jersey and will wear it in the team time trial which makes up stage four. It is doubtful Bakelants will keep it beyond that with so many strong teams, but anything is possible!

The Tour de France: Stage One

Well, at least one thing is for certain - cycling is far from being a predictable sport! What looked like being a run-of-the-mill sprint stage, which Mark Cavendish was favourite to win, turned out to be a rather farcical affair! Of course, the race started off in the usual way. The peloton set off, a few riders got into a breakaway and the sprinters' teams set about bringing them back in order to set their sprinters up for the sprint. However, nobody expected that one of the team's buses would end up getting stuck at the finish line, having become jammed underneath the overhead barrier. It must have been embarrassing for race organisers to watch the Orica-Greenedge bus wedged in as the peloton hurtled ever closer towards the finish line.

It appears that panic set in, as the route was amended with under 10km left to go, so that the riders were unsure of what was going on. News filtered in via team radios, but still there was a degree of uncertainty about what was actually happening. The pace was picking up, as riders geared themselves up for the sprint, only for there to be a massive crash, which was seemingly caused by Andre Greipel, whose attempts to make his way closer to the front ended up with a number of riders on the floor. Tony Martin hit the ground hard, as did Alberto Contador and Peter Sagan. Indeed, a significant number of potential contenders for the green jersey were unable to contest the sprint, including Mark Cavendish, Peter Sagan and Andre Greipel.

Eventually the bus was freed and so organisers decided to tell riders that they would now have to ride to the original finish line, which surely added to the confusion and perhaps pre-empted the crash. So, with many of the major sprinters out of the sprint, it was left up to others who had managed to come away unscathed by the crash to contest it. In the end, it was Marcel Kittel who took the victory ahead of Alexander Kristoff and Danny van Poppel. He now has the privilege of wearing the yellow jersey in stage two of the Tour de France, although the terrain means that he may be unable to keep it for longer than a day. However, it would appear that anything can happen in bike racing!

The Tour de France: Yellow Jersey Contenders

The winner of the yellow jersey, or the maillot jaune, is won by the rider who has completed the Tour de France in the fastest time. There are no time bonuses in the Tour de France and so riders targeting the general classification (GC) gain no advantage from winning a stage, except the prestige which a stage win brings. However, any serious contenders for the GC need to be consistently at the front to ensure that they don't lose time to rivals. Often, it is in mountain stages that time is lost, as some riders are just stronger than others; also time trials provide an opportunity for good time trialists to put time into their rivals. There have also been instances where riders have been held up by crashes, injured themselves and lost time that way, so it is important for riders to stay out of trouble. In 2013, Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky were in imperious form, but will it be the same in 2013?

Well, it could well be that Team Sky are yet again dominant, but this time it won't be Bradley Wiggins leading the charge, as Christopher Froome has been designated the team leader. Having shown his strength in the 2012 edition of the race, it was clear that if he hadn't been working for Wiggo, he would have been aiming for yellow himself, and so 2013 is the first year he will be entering the race as team leader. It's not as if he hasn't earned the right to, having won so many races this year already, including the Tour of Oman, the Critérium International, the Tour de Romandie and the Critérium du Dauphiné. Going into the Tour de France, he is favourite to win and he hasn't had to face questions over whether he has peaked too soon, as everyone saw how Wiggo was able to hold form last year. Even if something unpected were to happen, there are plenty of other riders who are in good shape, including his loyal lieutenant, Richie Porte.

So, who else is in the frame, then? Alberto Contador would appear to be the biggest threat to Froome, having won all three Grand Tours before, including the Tour de France on several occasions (of course, some of his results were scrubbed from his palmarès after he was found to have a banned substance in his system). Although he hasn't had the string of victories that Froome has, he has consistently been in the fray and finishing in the top ten of major races. He is known for his attacking style and if anyone can put Team Sky under pressure it is Contador. In 2012, spectators were used to seeing Team Sky controlling the race from the front, often shedding rivals, but it might not be so easy this year, although Froome is clearly better able to react to attacks, and to attack himself, than Wiggins.

Another potential contender for the yellow jersey is Cadel Evans, having shown he is still capable of performing at a high level in the Giro d'Italia, finishing third overall. However, he did appear to have a few bad days during the race and his form hasn't always been consistent; plus, he isn't getting any younger. Although he is officially the team leader, he is team mates with Tejay van Garderen who has also been in good form, winning the Tour of California. He won the best young rider classification in the 2012 edition of the Tour de France, and seemed to ignore Evans, the team leader, when he required a spare wheel, which left many wondering who the real leader was. There is always the possibility that BMC could end up working for the youngster, van Garderen, rather than for Evans.

Some people still think that Andy Schleck deserves a mention as a potential contender for the GC, but he hasn't really done anything to show that this is the case. However, he has always been known to come to the fore in the Tour de France, so if he has recovered his physical and mental strength, there is always the possibility he could do something. No doubt, there will be plenty of riders who have been saving there best for the Tour de France and the chance that someone unexpected will shine.

The Tour de France: Green Jersey Contenders

The green jersey, or maillot vert, is awarded to the rider who has accumulated the most points on the road, which can be picked up at the finish line and from intermediate sprints which crop up during each stage. In the Tour de France, the jersey is considered to be a sprinter's jersey, as the points awarded at the end of a stage are weighted towards sprinters, so that on flat stages, which a sprinter is likely to win, the winner is awarded more points than they would be for stages that finish in the mountains. The rider who is consistently at the front on flat stages and who hangs on in there over the mountains, picking up intermediate sprint points along the way, is likely to come away with the green jersey.

There are a number of contenders for the green jersey this year, from the pure sprinters such as Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel to riders who may not have as much out-and-out speed as the pure sprinters, but can get up climbs better and win sprint stages that do kick up a little bit, such as Peter Sagan. In 2012 it was Peter Sagan, the Slovakian wunderkind, who managed to secure the points jersey, having won three stages, including stages that finished uphill and, somewhat unexpectedly, stages that were completely flat. Thus, despite not being a pure sprinter, Sagan was able to capitalise on his ability to get over all kinds of terrain to win the jersey ahead of Andre Greiple and Matthew Goss.

Of course, in 2012 Peter Sagan did not have to contend with Mark Cavendish as a real contender. Although Mark Cavendish had signed with Team Sky in the belief that both the yellow and the green jerseys were being targeted, it soon became clear that all energies were being focused on securing Bradley Wiggins the yellow jersey. Thus, in the first few stages it seemed that Cavendish was left almost isolated, so that he ended up getting involved in a crash in a stage he should have won. There were also shots of him going back to the car in the world champion's jersey to act as the bottle carrier. Although he did go on to win three stages, he did not have the team support to win the green jersey as he had done in 2011.

However, this year, riding for Omega Pharma Quickstep, it is evident that the team is there to work solely for the Manx Missile and to help him secure the green jersey. He has already succeeded in wininng the points jersey in the Giro d'Italia, a race where it is much harder for sprinters to win the jersey, and has shown consistent form throughout the season. Peter Sagan has also been consistently up there and also has full team support, so that this is a battle that could come right down to the wire. There are also plenty of other sprinters on form, including Greipel, who similarly to Cav and Sagan, has just won the right to wear the national champion's jersey.

There are plenty of other sprinters desperate to make their mark on the Tour de France, including Nacer Bouhanni, John Degenkolb, Marcel Kittel, Matthew Goss and Alexander Kristoff. Of course, it is hard to gauge each rider's form until they actually start racing, and cycling can be an unpredictable sport, so that whilst on paper it might look like it will come down to a battle between Cavendish and Sagan, anything could happen. A young rider could come to the fore, just as Sagan did in 2012, or a crash could leave one of the contenders out of contention. The outcome remains to be seen.

Wiggins Breaks His Silence

After the heady heights of 2012, Bradley Wiggins has struggled to find the form needed to perform well in stage races this year. Although there was a lot of talk about him winning the Giro d'Italia and then riding at the Tour de France, it would appear that Wiggo has lost the motivation to challenge at the front. It appears that he still has goals he would like to achieve, such as the world time trial championships, but admits his priorities have changed and that he isn't prepared to make the same sacrifices that enabled him to win the Tour de France. It is understandable, really, since he has been racing since he was a youngster, won races off and on the track, which ultimately culminated in his Tour de France win. He also has a young family, though, and it must be tough being away from home so much.

The Tour de France is the most well known of the Grand Tours and is the race every professsional cyclist would love to win, so once you've won that it must be hard to find keep the momentum going, especially when you're nearing the end of your career. Whereas Chris Froome has stated winning the yellow jersey at the Tour de France would be his main goal for years to come, Wiggins doesn't appear to have the same passion to repeat his Tour win. Of course, it must be hard for any rider at Team Sky to acquire the role of team leader when there are so many talented riders who are worthy of leading the team. It is impossible to untangle fact from fiction, but the media has a tendency to highlight Wiggo's supposed fragile mental state and the idea that he may not be the easiest athlete to work with.

Nothing can take away from the fact that Bradley Wiggins secured Team Sky their first Grand Tour victory and was the first Briton to win the Tour de France, though. It was clear that in 2012 Wiggins had the determination, motivation, and the right team to help him achieve his goals, but if the same level of passion isn't there, it is obviously going to be a struggle to stay at the top, especially when there are plenty of others who are more than ready to take his place. It's just a shame he didn't realise this before taking on the Giro d'Italia when it would appear that he wasn't in the right frame of mind right from the off. Perhaps if the weather had been better and he hadn't crashed, hurt his knee and developed a chest infection he would have had been up there, but if not, then perhaps he shouldn't have been team leader at all.

Mind you, after so much success it must be hard to face up to getting older and reaching the end of your career, especially when you are well-known figure in your country and the face of cycling to many. Whatever Wiggins does or does not achieve in future, nothing can take away from his impressive palmarès and the contribution he has made to helping cycling become more widely recognised in Britain. Wiggins seems to be a love him or loathe him character, but at the end of the day nothing can take away from the fact he is an amazing time trialist with a huge engine that has enabled him to win races that others can only dream of.

The Tour de France: Froome's Relief

At the beginning of the year there was a bit of uncertainty over who would be leading Team Sky at the Tour de France. Although, ostensibly, Bradley Wiggins was set to target the Giro d'Italia, he kept making noises indicating he wanted to lead the Tour de France as well. This must have been so frustrating for Chris Froome, who worked so hard to help secure Wiggo the yellow jersey in 2012. The management didn't exactly shout from the rooftops that Froome would, without question, be the leader at the Tour de France, although in the world of cycling that was probably for the best, as it only takes a broken collar bone or fractured leg to significantly alter a rider's schedule.

When you take a look at how Froome and Wiggins have been performing this year, it is evident that Froome is in the form of his life, having won a variety of races from the Tour of Oman in February to the Critérium du Dauphiné in June. Nobody is questioning Froome's ability to continue to hold that form, having seen Wiggo successfully do so in 2012. Unfortunately, 2013 hasn't been Wiggo's year, having achieved only a fifth in the Giro del Trentino and the Volta a Catalunya and withdrawing from the Giro d'Italia after stage 12. It was hard to judge his form during the Giro, but there was some surprise when he failed to shine as much as was expected in the first time trial. Plus, he lost time after being held up by a crash and experienced a crash of his own, which seemed to knock his confidence when descending. Ultimately, he withdrew because of a chest infection, although there was speculation that maybe his form wasn't there or that he didn't have the necessary motivation to continue.

After withdrawing, Wiggins initially seemed to suggest he would be training in order to be able to ride the Tour de France. However, it soon emerged he had a knee injury and that there would not be enough time for him to recover and put in the training needed to be completely fit for the race. Of course, this was bound to lead to questions being asked about the 'real' reason why Wiggins wasn't going to defend his title. Had there been an agreement with Froome that Wiggo wouldn't ride Le Tour? Had management decided it would be too risky to have dual leadership with Wiggo's temperamental persona? Did Wiggins decide he didn't want to play second fiddle to Froome? Whatever the reason for Wiggins apparently deciding not to contest Le Tour, it obviously comes as some relief to Froome that his role as leader will be unchallenged by anyone else on the team.

If Wiggo was going to ride the 2013 edition of the Tour de France, it was almost guaranteed that the media would focus all their attention on the relationship between the two riders, especially as there appears to be no love lost between the two since Froome's apparent 'attack' on Wiggins in the 2012 edition of Le Tour. Overall, it would seem that whoever made the decision that Wiggo shouldn't ride Le Tour has realised that there needs to be clarity of purpose and that Wiggo's presence would have only confused the situation. Now, the focus can be on the racing between those targeting the GC on different teams, instead of competing egos within the same team.

The Critérium du Dauphiné: Froome's Dominance

Even before winning the Critérium du Dauphiné, Christopher Froome was one of the favourites to win the Tour de France. His dominant display in the Dauphiné has simply confirmed his position as being a real contender for the yellow jersey. In 2012, it was Bradley Wiggins' year, as it was he who won race after race, but this year it is Froome who has come away with equally, if not more, impressive victories in the Tour of Oman, the  Critérium International, the Tour de Romandie and the Dauphiné, with a hard-fought second place secured in the Tirreno-Adriatico. When Wiggo dominated in 2012, the question of whether he had peaked too soon continued to be asked, but Froome has not had to answer this. Clearly, Wiggo proved that it is possible to maintain form for a significant period of time.

Unfortunately, this always leads more cynical cycling fans to question whether it is doping that is responsible for such dominance. Of course, Team Sky are such a force to be reckoned with and have, within a relatively short space of time, come on to the scene and made their presence felt. They have employed different coaches, different strategies and tactics. Sometimes, these have paid off; other times they have not, as can be seen by their poor showing in the Spring Classics. It is also clear that Team Sky have a wealth of talent and riders who are working as domestiques when they could be the protected leader if they were riding for another team. They work at the front and set the pace, shelling those at the back. It is this tactic that helped secure Wiggo the yellow jersey, but Froome is a very different kind of rider.

Froome has repeatedly shown that it is not just a matter of hanging in there on the climbs- he is more than prepared to attack and it is for others to try to stay on his wheel. It seems that Richie Porte is his right-hand man and they are, indeed, best friends off the bike. Froome was prepared to work for Porte on the final stage of the Dauphiné in attempt to get him the stage win, but even Porte was struggling to stay on Froome's wheel. Ultimately, neither rider from Team Sky would get the stage honours, but it is evident that Froome is confident enough in his own abilities and has a great deal of faith in his team members. Whatever the circumstances surrounding Wiggo's decision not to participate in the Tour de France, it surely can only be good for the team and for Chris Froome, as there is no doubt who will be leading the team.

Paris-Roubaix: Review

Fabian Cancellara went into the race as favourite and, quelle surprise, he won! Of course, there were some mind games at work, as he dropped back to his car a number of times and didn't follow the lead breakaway group when it looked like he should. Other riders were perhaps under the illusion they had a chance, but it wasn't to be! Of course, there was no in-form Tom Boonen to push him and this race wasn't won in as dominant fashion as it had been in the 2012 edition of the race by the aforementioned Boonen. Indeed, it turned out that Cancellara was to be pushed right to the end by young Sep Vanmarcke who managed to follow Cancellara when he attempted to power away.

Zdenek Stybar also followed, but was unfortunate in nearly running off the road into spectators. He wasn't the only one to have an incident, though, as there were plenty of riders who were believed to have a chance of winning before the race, but who were beset by bad luck during the race, including the likes of Thor Hushovd and Sylvain Chavanel. By the time the race entered the velodrome, it was evident that the winner was going to come from the two who had successfully got away. Tactics were at play, as a little bit of track-standing went on and fighting for position. It certainly made the race more interesting, as Cancellara didn't just ride away with it. Instead, it came down to a sprint, which, despite Vanmarcke's gallant effort, led to Cancellara's third victory in the last of the season's monuments.

The Tour of Flanders

Before the race began there was a lot of hype surrounding the rivalry between Fabian Cancellara and Peter Sagan. Cancellara is the down-to-earth strong man of cycling; Sagan is young, up-and-coming, and a tad overexuberant when he crosses the finish line first. Although Tom Boonen has won the Tour of Flanders three times before, this doesn't appear to be his year. Whereas he was a dominant force in the spring classics campaign of 2012, he has not been as lucky in 2013. His season didn't get off to a great start after developing an infection which hampered his training. He's then been held up by crashes or crashed himself in a number of races, as was the case in this year's Tour of Flanders.

So, since Boonen was out of contention, who was left? The favourites were obviously Fabian Cancellara, who is always a strong classics rider, and Sagan, who has proved himself to be an excellent all-rounder. There were riders such as Greg Van Avermaet, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Geraint Thomas, Daniel Oss, Matti Breschel, John Degenkolb, and Sylvain Chavanel, amongst others, who were all expected to feature. In the end, though, it came down to a tussle between Cancellara and Sagan. If it came to a sprint finish, then it was obviously going to be Sagan's day, which is why Cancellara had to ride him off his wheel.

Sagan was trying to get out of doing his turn at the front, but Cancellara managed to keep his patience and eventually it was Sagan who cracked on the final climb, allowing Cancellara to time trial his way to victory. Sagan was hoping to get Jurgen Roelandts to work with him to bring back Cancellara, but got a taste of his own medicine, because Roelandts wasn't going to work for the faster, stronger Sagan. In the end, Sagan had to concede defeat, claiming second behind Cancellara, with Roelandts in third.

The Three Days of De Panne: Stage Three

Stage three of the Three Days of De Panne was divided into two parts, with a road race in the morning and a time trial in the afternoon. In the first part of the stage, despite the best efforts of a group of breakaway riders that included Russell Downing, Mike Terpstra, Tim De Troyer, Niko Eeckhout and Thomas Vanhaecke, there was never any doubt that the riders would be brought back and that the stage would end in a sprint. Although there were a number of other riders who tried to get away, in the end the winner was the fastest man on the day, as the sprinters had an opportunity to go for it. It was Alexander Kristoff who took the honours, ahead of Sacha Modolo and Elia Viviani. This put Kristoff into the leader's jersey ahead of Arnaud Demare.

The second part of the stage was a 14.75 km time trial which would ultimately decide the winner of the Three Days of De Panne. All eyes were on last year's winner, Sylvain Chavanel, who is a strong time trialist and is, in fact, the French time trial champion. At the start of the time trial, he was only 10 seconds down on Kristoff and so needed an 11 second gap to take victory. Chavanel went on to take the stage victory, finishing 19 seconds ahead of Anton Vorobyev and 32 seconds ahead of former race leader, Kristoff. It was therefore Chavanel who took overall victory, ahead of Kristoff at 22 seconds down and his teammate, Niki Terpstra, who was 31 seconds down.

The Three Days of De Panne: Stage Two

Mark Cavendish once again he proved he is the man to beat in a sprint during the second stage of the Three Days of De Panne, as the indefatigable Peter Sagan was distanced in the final six kilometres. The former world champion, Cavendish, was well-protected by his teammates, including Tom Boonen, whose own form has been undermined by illness and injury.

There was a breakaway earlier in the day that included Mattia Pozzo, Niko Eeckhout, Matt Brammeier, Tim Mertens and Kevin Claeys. They were brought back, but then the peloton split, with 28 riders going off the front, including 2012 winner, Sylvain Chavanel. Again, they were brought back. Three riders once more decided to go up the road - this time it was Koen Barbé, Alessandro Bazzana, and Dmitriy Gruzdev.

It was left to the extremely strong team of Omega Pharma-Quick Step to lead the charge and bring them back, which they did with eight kilometres left to go. It was up to Cavendish to finish the job, though, which he did to perfection, finishing ahead of Elia Viviani and Francesco Chicchi. Arnaud Démare moves into the leader's jersey having finished behind Peter Sagan in the sprint the day before.

The Three Days of De Panne: Stage One

In the build-up to the Tour of Flanders, the Three Days of De Panne gives riders an opportunity to test their legs and there was certainly plenty of attacking going on throughout the first stage. Peter Sagan, in particular, was keen to show his strength and in the last 20 kilometres put in a number of digs. Sylvain Chavanel contemplated going with him the first time around, but realised that to do so would simply secure him second place. Sagan came back to the group, but once again went off the front and this time a number of riders went with him, including Niki Terpstra, Alexander Kristoff, Arnaud Demare, Oscar Gatto, Maxime Vantomme, Jerome Cousin, Davide Cimolai and Johan Le Bon.

Fresh from his victory in the Gent–Wevelgem, Sagan was obviously keen to prove his dominance once again. However, it wasn't as easy as he had perhaps expected it to be and for once their were no histrionics as he crossed the line. Instead of holding his line, he had moved across towards the barriers, thus forcing Demare to sit down, which almost certainly cost him the win. However, there was no protest from FDJ and Sagan was awarded the victory. It was Andre Greipel who led the rest of the peloton in, finishing nine seconds behind the winner.

Tour of Catalunya: Stage Seven

Prior to the start of the Tour of Catalunya, who would have predicted that, in the end, it would be Dan Martin who would claim overall victory? It may not have been expected, but Dan Martin has frequently proved he has the climbing legs and he once again demonstrated this during the decisive queen stage (stage four) when he managed to get away and stay away, putting time into his GC rivals. It was evident that Martin really wanted the overall victory, as he sprinted for bonus seconds available for intermediate sprints on a number of occasions, which meant that he finished the race with a 17 second advantage over Rodriguez.

As for stage seven, it was Thomas De Gendt who went on to take the victory, after bridging the gap between the peloton and a ten man breakaway alongside David Lopez. Scarponi also made his way across, as did Kiserlovski, which forced Movistar to work alongside Garmin to bring the breakaway back in hopes of defending their man, Quintana's, podium spot. It was too little, too late, though, as De Gendt, Lopez, Kiserlovski, Scarponi and Dumoulin finished 21 seconds ahead of the peloton, with Scarponi making up enough time to finish third in the GC, and Quintana being pushed back into fourth position. It was certainly an exciting end to a closely fought race!

Tour of Catalunya: Stage Six

In a very fast-paced stage it turned out that Simon Gerrans was the man with the legs on the day, as he claimed victory over the rest of the riders who made it into the bunch sprint. The riders were strung out, because the pace was so high and a number of GC riders were caught out again, with Wiggins and Scarponi losing a further five seconds.

A break of eight riders managed to get away early on in the race, but BMC were in no mood to hang around and pushed the pace on, bringing them back with four kilometres to go. Towards the end there was a sharp left turn and it looked as though Meersman might get to the line first, until Gerrans shot forward and crossed the line ahead of Meersman, Dumoulin, Ratto and Wyss.

Whilst Gerrans took victory, Dan Martin further consolidated his position as leader, taking a three second bonus during an intermediate sprint, so that he now leads Rodriguez by 17 seconds. With less than a minute separating the top GC contenders, stage seven looks set to bring fireworks.

Tour of Catalunya: Stage Five

Coming the day after the queen stage, stage five probably came as somewhat of a relief for riders, as they had a somewhat easier day in what turned out, rather predictably, to be a sprinter's stage. That is not to say the day wasn't without some drama, as a number of GC contenders lost a few seconds coming into the finish, as the bunch split due to the presence of a number of roundabouts which riders had to manoeuvre around. Dan Martin managed to keep out of trouble at the front, though, and even picked up a one second time bonus during an intermediate sprint. However, Rodriguez lost three seconds, whilst Quintana and Wiggins both lost nine seconds. Thus, Martin now leads Rodriguez by 14 seconds, Qunitana by 42 seconds and Wiggins by 46 seconds.

In terms of the stage itself, Olivier Kaisen and Tristan Valentin got into a breakaway early on in the race, but the sprinters' teams were not going to miss the opportunity for a stage win and so Omega Pharma-Quick Step worked hard at the front, setting the pace to bring the two riders back, which they did with 15 km left to go. There were a couple of attempts by lone riders to attempt victory or at least get some TV coverage, including Andrey Kashechkin and then Marcus Burghardt. However, neither the Argos-Shimano or Cannondale teams were going to let that happen and so it was left for the sprinters to contest the finish. In the end, it was François Parisien in his first season for Argos-Shimano who took victory ahead of Samuel Dumoulin and Stéphane Poulhie.

Tour of Catalunya: Stage Four

The queen stage of the Tour of Catalunya proved to be a dramatic affair, as the leader of the tour, Alejandro Valverde, crashed out 119 km into the race, alongside his teammate, Eros Capecchi. Ultimately, it was going to end up being Dan Martin's day. Having struggled the day before, losing time on the GC contenders, Martin was determined to get into a break and successfully did so. A group of 23 riders got away, including Martin's teammate, Ryder Hesjedal, who was able to offer support and set a pace until he dropped back.

Dan Martin's form has sometimes been a bit up and down, and he is obviously relishing the chance to demonstrate just how strong he is on the climbs. Eventually, the group thinned out, with Nicolas Roche going off the front, before later being caught by Betancur, Santaromita, Martin, Losada, Herrada and Kiserlovski. The peloton was being driven by Team Sky, with Katusha initially contributing nothing to the pace-setting to bring back the breakaway group.

Martin was really pushing the pace and he was left with Herrada as his sole companion, though he wasn't prepared to contribute to the effort, knowing that this stage would be ideal for his teammate, Quintana, and could put him in the leader's jersey. The pace was too high for Herrada, though, and he dropped back. Meanwhile, Gesink and Van den Broeck attacked, as Katusha took up the pace-setting at the front, as Wiggins' sole surviving domestique, Uran, dropped back. Quintana attacked, followed by Rodriquez, and though they overtook Gesink and Van den Broeck, they were unable to catch Martin.

Dan Martin crossed the line first, followed by Rodriguez, Quintana, Van den Broeck and Gesink. Wiggins came in over a minute behind the winner alongside Stetina, Scarponi and Danielson. Martin is now leading the GC by 10 seconds. In second is Rodriguez, followed by Quintana at 32 seconds behind the leader and Wiggins at 36 seconds behind. The question now is will Martin be able to hold on to the leader's jersey?

Tour of Catalunya: Stage Three

What has happened to Wiggo? He seems to have become somewhat of an attack dog all of a sudden!! Wiggo is possibly the last man you'd expect to attack on the steep final climb of stage three, but with a kilometre to go, he went off the front and in the process thinned out the group of riders quite substantially. Perhaps he was testing his rivals' legs or showing that he is prepared to attack. Since he's not a natural climber, we've become used to Team Sky setting such a fast pace at the front that no other rider is able to attack and make it stick, with Wiggo protected at the back of the Sky train and able to use his strong time trialling skills to his advantage in stage races.

It would appear that by attacking in the way he did, Wiggo has made clear that his intention is to win this tour and has demonstrated that he definitely has some good form. This obviously bodes well for the Giro d'Italia. Unfortunately, it didn't quite come off, as Nairo Quintana, the climber extraordinaire, ended up winning the stage, with his teammate, Alejandro Valverde, finishing in second place and Joaquim Rodriguez in third. Bradley Wiggins was fourth and credited with the same time as his main GC rivals, though due to time bonuses gained in the first stage Valverde is now in the leader's jersey, with Wiggins in second and Rodriguez third, both only four seconds down on the GC.

Prior to the final climb, it had been Nicolas Edet, Martin Kohler, Karol Domagalski and Lucas Sebastian Haedao who were in the front group, but they were brought back by Sky, only for Jurgen van den Broeck - who was looking to make up time after losing 28 seconds on the first stage - to attack. He was quickly brought back before Tom Danielson tried his luck. It wasn't too be, though, as Movistar demonstrated their dominance with a one-two finish at the line, taking a stage win and the leader's jersey.

Tour of Catalunya: Stage Two

After the excitement of stage one, stage two of the Tour of Catalunya turned out to be a more predictable affair, ending in a bunch sprint. Although three riders got into a break, including Christian Meier, Olivier Kaisen and Christophe Laborie, there was never any doubt that the peloton were going to reel them back in. Driving the pace at the front was Omega Pharma-Quickstep, obviously trying to keep Gianni Meersman, the current leader of the GC, out of trouble and in the leader's jersey.

Other teams contributed to the pace and so the breakaway riders were brought back with 20 km to go. Although a number of riders, including Marcus Burghardt and Michal Golas, tried to get away with just over 3 km to go, AG2R La Mondiale and Blanco pushed on, bringing the escapees back with under 2 km to go. As the sprint wound up, there was a crash, which claimed a number of riders, but in the end Gianni Meersman was well-placed to win his second consecutive stage, which he did.

With the additional time bonus given for crossing the line first, Meersman is now leading the GC by 14 seconds, followed by Valerio Agnoli and Alejandro Valverde. However, it is during the next couple of stages where the road heads upwards and when the GC contenders are likely to make their move. For teams with GC aspirations, this stage was just about getting their team leaders home safely.

Tour of Catalunya - Stage One

Stage one of the Tour of Catalunya was predicted to end up as a sprint finish, but Sir Bradley Wiggins decided to set the race alight by attacking on the descent into Calella. Having seemingly been hidden away since the start of the racing season, whilst other big-name riders have been making their mark in some major races, most notably Vincenzo Nibali in the Tirreno-Adriatico, it was good to see that Wiggo has the determination to lead from the front.

Everyone has become familiar with Team Sky's way of working, with all the Sky riders strung out in a row, keeping their team leader protected at the back. They set the pace and it is for other teams to follow. However, it seems that there are occasions when Team Sky will take advantage of a situation and not necessarily follow their usual predictable pattern.

Perhaps it is the case that after having not raced for awhile, Wiggo has a point to prove. He looked comfortable on the descent and he had two more-than-capable teammates with him, Dario Cataldo and David López. By pushing the pace on, Wiggo managed to split the group and, although he didn't win the sprint or gain any time bonuses, he definitely proved to the other GC contenders that he has got some form.

Wiggo has actually managed to sprint to victory in the past, but of the 13 riders who were ahead, it was almost inevitable that Gianni Meersman was going to take the stage victory. Most of the other GC contenders had managed to make it into the Wiggo group, including Alejandro Valverde, Joaquim Rodriguez, Robert Gesink, Dan Martin and Michele Scarponi and they finished with a 28 second advantage over the peloton. After his aggression on the descent, Wiggo went on to claim sixth place, although ultimately it looks as though his main objective is overall victory.

Milan-San Remo: Review

So, Peter Sagan didn't win then! It was probably for the best, as we don't want him getting too big for his boots, now, do we?! There is always a danger of that happening when a rider is labelled the next 'superstar of cycling' and he certainly has a great deal of talent. However, in the end, it was the under-the-radar Gerald Ciolek, riding for the relatively small team of MTN-Qhubeka, who managed to cross the line first.

It was certainly an eventful edition of the Milan-San Remo. Bad weather led organisers to remove a couple of climbs from the race, including the Passo del Turchino and La Manie. Snow meant that it was just too dangerous to pass. Unfortunately, this meant that some riders got back on their team bus and never bothered to get off again when racing re-started, including Tom Boonen, Matt Goss, and Niki Terpstra. Another favourite, Vincenzo Nibali, was later to abandon due to the cold.

By the time the race reached the Cipressa, Team Sky were trying to dominate proceedings, as is their wont. Unfortunately, Geraint Thomas, one of the team leaders came down heavily, whilst their other designated team leader, Edvald Boasson Hagen, looked as though he was struggling up the climb. Philippe Gilbert tried to make a break for it, but Sylvain Chavanel was having none of it and he, alongside five other riders, brought him back.

It was when Sylvain Chavanel, Ian Stannard and Eduard Vorganov attacked that the race got really interesting, making it less and less likely that the race would end in a bunch sprint. Having grown used to seeing Sky colours at the front, rider after rider all in a row, it was somewhat exciting to see Ian Stannard going for it. He is so often the workhorse, sitting for long periods of time at the front, working for others, that he obviously decided to make the most of this opportunity, given that he no longer had to work for Geraint Thomas or Boasson Hagen.

Eventually, Voganov tired and dropped back, whilst the group containing Fabian Cancellara, Peter Sagan, Gerald Ciolek and Luca Paolini bridged the gap. Although Sagan can sprint, Ciolek was the only pure sprinter in the group, so it was looking good for him. However, Stannard decided to give it one last dig and attempted to time trial his way to the line with a few kilometres to go. He didn't get very far, though, and after over five-and-a-half hours in the saddle, it turned out that Ciolek had the strongest legs on the day.

Milan-San Remo: Preview

So, who is going to win Milan-San Remo this year, then? That's a tough question to answer in this highly unpredictable race which is most famous for covering the longest distance of all the one-day races in the racing calendar. Although it has been won by sprinters in the past and is known for being the sprinters' classic, there have been occasions when riders better known for their all-round abilities, such as Fabian Cancellara and Simon Gerrans, have managed to get away and stay away from the peloton to win in, as in 2008 and 2012 respectively. It takes an astute rider to foil the sprinters who are usually able to stay with the peloton to get over the climbs, including the Cipressa and Poggio.

However, being such a long race means that this is a real test of endurance very early on in the season and there will certainly be plenty of tired legs by the time the riders reach these climbs. It is therefore up to anyone who is not a sprinter to push on when a situation presents itself if they are to have any hope of scuppering the chances of the sprinters' teams. Clearly, of all the sprinters in the field, the ones to watch are Mark Cavendish, former world road race champion and winner of Milan-San Remo in 2009, as well as Matthew Goss who won the race in 2011. Edvald Boasson Hagen and Thor Hushovd could also make their presence known, though they are not out-and-out sprinters.

Indeed, although not a pure sprinter, cycling's new superstar, Peter Sagan, is also worth keeping an eye on, as he has shown that he can win in a sprint and also get over the climbs with relative ease. If you were going to put money on anyone, he's probably your man, although his teammate, Moreno Moser, has also shown some good form this season and they do seem to make a dynamic duo! If it comes down to a bunch sprint and all the major pure sprinters are there, it is hard to imagine anyone getting past Cavendish, but anything could happen. Of course, anyone who isn't a pure sprinter is going to want to put a spanner in the works and so you can expect the likes of Nibali to try putting in some attacks on the climbs. Ultimately, it remains to be seen who will cross the line first!