The third and final grand tour, la Vuelta, started last night in the town of Pamplona, which means a few sleepless nights for keen cycling fans. The bulls gave way to bikes as the team time trial kicked off the Vuelta. While there was a large number of Australians racing in the final grand tour, unfortunately there is no one from Canberra.
Canberra, this week, has been marked by triumph and tragedy. Adam Phelan won his first race in Italy and Michael Matthews won the sprinters jersey in the Tour of Utah. However, we woke up to the news on Tuesday morning that Robbie Williams died while on a brunch ride with his mates.
ROGERS FINALLY GETS HIS BRONZE MEDAL
Just months before the final cut off date, Michael Rogers finally found out that he would be awarded the bronze medal from the Athens Olympics time trial event. While this is another important career result for Rogers, the reality is he missed out on standing on the dais on a monumental day because of a self-confessed drug cheat - Tyler Hamilton. Rogers said in the Canberra Times, "It would have meant a lot more had I received it on the day - my mum and
dad were over from Australia then, and my wife and her family. This medal doesn't really replace the photo that could have been -
that of being on the podium of the Olympics."MATTHEWS LEAVES RABOBANK FOR ORICA-GREENEDGE
The offer of a three-year contract for rising sprinting star, Michael Matthews, was not enough to prevent him from leaving Dutch team, Rabobank, for Orica-GreenEdge.
The decision by the Rabobank officials to leave him watching the Tour de France from home may have been a strong factor in his decision to leave the team for green pastures.
With several stage wins under his belt, he is likely to be one of the main sprinters for his new team. This could mean a debut start in the biggest cycling race in the world.
Matthews aims high. His target is the green jersey and Peter Sagan is in his sights.
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| Matthews win the under23 title in Geelong in 2010 |
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/cycling/matthews-aiming-for-green-jersey-20120818-24fmj.html
BEN HILL CONTINUES HIS IMPRESSIVE FORM IN THE SUBARU NRS
Ben Hill (RBS Morgans) continued his impressive form at the Tour of the Great South Coast. All that is missing is a general classification win. In horrible wet and windy conditions over the course of the ninth stage, Ben Hill narrowly missed out on another Subaru National Road Series stage win, finishing in second spot.
Teammate, Joe Lewis, was also in fine form, picking up three top 10 finishes in the first four stages. Lewis did not start the 5th stage as he travelled to Nowra to attend the funeral of a good mate, Robbie Williams. It was obviously a tough race for Joe and he done will well just to start this race.
WEEKLY UPDATE OF RACES AND RESULTS
Michael Matthew (Rabobank) - Won the sprinters jersey at the Tour of Utah. Tonight all roads lead to Hamburg. Matthews will be helping Theo Bos win the Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg.
Nathan Haas (Garmin-Sharp) - Nathan stays in the USA to participate in the Quiznos Challenge. It is a race that is growing in statue with Cadel Evans and Vincenzo Nibali joining the start list.
Micheal Rogers (Team Sky) - After a stage in the one day race in San Sebastian, Michael heads to Denmark for the Tour of Denmark that commences on 22 August.
Jessie Maclean (GreenEdge-AIS) - Jessie heads to Sweden with her GreenEdge teams to participate in the Open de Suède Vargarda in the one day stage race.
Miffy Galloway (Team Faren Honda) - Why stay in Itay when you can head to Sweden. Miffy will be helping team mates Rochelle Gilmore secure a stage victory in Sweden.
Gracie Elvin (Team Faren Honda) - Gracie is riding in France at the Trophée d'Or Féminin. It is a 6 stage race that comenced on 18 August. Gracie is currently sitting in 56th spot after the first stage. After the Trophée d'Or Féminin, Gracie will start in the one day race GP de Plouay-Bretagne.
Team Suzuki-Trek - After a disappointing Lakes Oil Tour of Gippsland, Suzuki-Trek came back strong in the Tour of Great South Coast, finishing in 9th spot.
Tim Camerson (Suzuki-Trek) - He was Canberra's best finisher in the Tour of the Great South Coast (31th spot). Although, Mitchell Pearson (Suzuki-Trek) from NSW finished in 17th spot. Ben Hill (RBS Morgans) came in at 39th spot. Other Canberra finishers were:
Brendan Johnston (Suzuki-Trek) - 36th spot;
Jamie Lacey (Suzuki-Trek) - 70th spot;
William Lind (Suzuki-Trek) - 71st spot;
Damien Wright (Suzuki-Trek) - 89th spot;
Mitchell Flynn (Suzuki-Trek) - 109th spot;
Ivan Michelin-Beard (Suzuki-Trek) - 116th spot
Joe Lewis (RBS Morgans) - DNF
Etienne Blumstein-Jones (Glenelg Shire) - DNF
Vikings Cycling Club ran the second Crace criterium today. Race results should be posted here once they are loaded. http://raceresults.vikingscycling.org.au/race/82/
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