Month: March 2013

March 17, 2013

Iditarod Finishes in Les Cuspides; No Fulcrum

An even number of mushers and their teams finished the 2013 Iditarod, the last team arriving Sunday afternoon. As a result, there is no Point d’Appui for 2013. Les Cuspides are shared by two mushers, each of whom had held the Point d’Appui at intermediate stages of the race, Curt Perano and Matt Failor.

Perano finished one day and slightly less than six hours behind the winner, Mitch Seavey, and about three days and nine hours ahead of the final musher, No. 54, the Lanterne Rouge, Christine Roalofs.

The musher with the time closest to the median time for the 998-mile dogsled race was Mike Williams Sr., whose son Mike Williams Jr. also raced the course and held one of the Cuspides after Day 6.

March 17, 2013

Title Defender Gerrans Wins Point d’Appui at Milan-San Remo

Simon Gerrans during the 2012 Tour Down Under.

Simon Gerrans during the 2012 Tour Down Under.

Simon Gerrans, winner of the 2012 Milan-San Remo spring classic, finished at the center of the pack, what was left of it, to win the Point d’Appui in the 2013 Milan-San Remo race. Snow atop one of the mountain passes forced race organizers to stop the race, bus riders to a second starting point and restart after more than an hour delay, leaving surviving riders a bit colder in what was already quite a cold ride.

Aside from winning Milan-San Remo in 2012, Gerrans was also the National Road Race of Australia in 2012 as well as the Tour Down Under for the second time. He has also won individual stages in the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a Espana. Obviously he was a bit off his game today, as were many racers due to the weather. His teammate, Matthew Goss, who won Milan-San Remo in 2011, was one of more than 60 riders to abandon the race Sunday.

Gerrans finished 5 minutes and 13 seconds behind the winner, Gerald Ciolek of MTN-Qhubeka, and 13 minutes and 12 seconds ahead of the Lanterne Rouge, Vladimir Isaichev of Katusha.

The rider with the time closest to the median was the Italian rider Marco Bandiera of IAM Cycling.

March 14, 2013

As First Mushers Finish, Failor Running on Fulcrum of Iditarod

Matt Failor

Matt Failor

Matthew Failor, 29, was at the fulcrum of the 2013 Iditarod as the first mushers finished at Nome, Alaska, late Tuesday night. Failor, who grew up in Ohio, was an Eagle Scout along with three brothers and learned his way around the outdoors during that period. He began learning about sled dogs and mushing while working summers at Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau.

He moved to Alaska in 2010 to accept a dog handling position with the Buser family. His boss, Martin Buser, somewhere ahead of him on the trail, asked if he would be interested in running a yearling team to Nome. Said Failor: “That is when I became interested in running the Iditarod.”

Failor arrived at White Mountain, the penultimate checkpoint, at 11 a.m. Wednesday with 10 dogs still on the run.

The winner of the Iditarod appears to be Mitch Seavey with a time of nine days, 7 hours, 39 minutes and 56 seconds. So far, the Lanterne Rouge continues to be Cindy Abbott.

We’ll update again once all finishers have crossed the line and we have a final Point d’Appui, if indeed the odd number of mushers survives to the finish.

March 10, 2013

Kruijswijk Holds onto Point d’Appui to Cap Paris-Nice

Steven Kruijswijk

Steven Kruijswijk

Steven Kruijswijk, the leading racer for Blanco Pro Cycling Team in the 2013 Paris-Nice stage race, has won the Point d’Appui, finishing at the middle of all 151 riders who finished Stage 7, the final stage of the race.

Kruijswijk grabbed hold of the fulcrum during Stage 6 and staved off competitors during the final time trial at Nice, despite some jockeying among other riders to slip into the middle spot. He finished 36 minutes and 19 seconds behind winner Richie Porte and 47 minutes and 31 seconds ahead of the Lanterne Rouge, David Millar of Garmin-Sharp.

The rider with the time closest to the overall Paris-Nice median was Martin Elmiger of IAM Cycling.

A recap of the stages:

  • Prologue – No fulcrum
  • Stage 1 – Jerome Cousin
  • Stage 2 – Jon Izagirre
  • Stage 3 – No fulcrum
  • Stage 4 – No fulcrum
  • Stage 5 – Stijn Vandenbergh
  • Stage 6 – Steven Kruijswijk
  • Stage 7 – Steven Kruijswijk
March 10, 2013

Goss Holds Point d’Appuit on Stage 4 of Tirreno

Australian Matthew Goss of Orica-GreenEdge holds the overall Point d’Appui of the 2013 Tirreno-Adriatico after Stage 4. He is 17 minutes 19 seconds behind the current leader, Michal Kwiatkowski of Omega Pharma-Quick Step, and 18 minutes and 32 seconds ahead of the Lanterne Rouge, American Joseph Dombrowski of Sky Procycling.

Miguel Minguez of Euskaltel-Euskadi holds the median time in the race.

Earlier results showed no Point d’Appui after Stage 3 and tracing off among Lotto Belisol riders before that:

  • Adam Hansen of Lotto Belisol held the overall Point d’Appui after Stage 2.
  • Marcel Sieberg of Lotto Belisol held the overall Point d’Appui after Stage 1.
March 10, 2013

Perano Mushes into Iditarod Point d’Appui

Curt Perano

Curt Perano

Curt Perano, a dog handler who now calls Willow, Alaska, his home, is running his second Iditarod and has become the Point d’Appui of the race on Day 7 of the 2013 Iditarod. Perano, 40 has lived in New Zealand, Singapore, Europe, the United States and British Columbia, so staying on the move doesn’t appear to be a problem for him. He began running dogs in 2000.

Martin Buser continues to lead the race, and the new Lanterne Rouge is Cindy Abbott.

March 10, 2013

Field Narrows; Kruijswijk Holds Fulcrum Going into Finale

Steven Kruijswijk

Steven Kruijswijk

After 14 abandons during Stage 6 of the 2013 Paris-Nice spring classic, Steven Kruijswijk of the Blanco Pro Cycling Team found himself at the center of the overall race, the Point d’Appui, going into the final stage.

Kruijswijk is 33 minutes and 27 seconds behind race leader Richie Porte and 46 minutes and change ahead of Blanco teammate, Rick Flens, the latest Lanterne Rouge.

Surrounding Kruijswijk are notable contenders: Vasil Kiryienka, the Point d’Appui of the 2012 Tour de France, is just a place ahead, and Remi Pauriol, who held the Point d’Appui after Stage 2 of the 2012 Vuelta, is one second behind Kruijswijk.

Kruijswijk, who took a tumble earlier in the Paris-Nice race, saw some success in 2011 while riding under the RaboBank colors, reaching the podium of the Tour de Suisse as the third-place finisher. He also finished eighth at the Giro d’Italia. During Paris-Nice, he has been riding in support of teammate Robert Gesink, but Gesink bowed out of Paris-Nice before the end of Stage 6 along with two other Blanco riders, Mark Renshaw and Wilco Kelderman. This leaves Kruijswijk as the team leader for Blanco.

The rider with the time closest to median time for the overall race is once again Mattia Cattaneo of Lampre-Merida. Cattaneo held the median time after Stage 4 as well and also was on the cusp of the fulcrum after Stage 3.

On the stage, Ivan Basso of Cannondale finished at the fulcrum.

March 9, 2013

Iditarod Continues Without Fulcrum Into Day 6

Sixty-two of the Iditarod mushers continue to hang with the race, many of them having passed the midway point of the 998-mile race on Day 6. The Lanterne Rouge, James Volek, is the only musher who hasn’t made it to the Ophir checkpoint yet. The half-way point is somewhere between the Shageluk and Anvik checkpoints. Nineteen teams have made it to Anvik and another dozen have made it to Shageluk

With an even number, no Point d’Appui can be awarded for Day 6, but on the cusp of the fulcrum are Michael Williams Jr., a Yupik Eskimo and native of Alaska, and Aaron Peck, a Canadian. Martin Buser is back in the lead after taking mandatory rest periods.

March 9, 2013

Vandenbergh Gains Fulcrum on Stage 5 of Paris-Nice

Stijn Vandenbergh of Omega Pharma-Quick-Step nearly scored the Point d’Appui Double. He finished with an overall race time at the dead center of all the surviving riders, placing him on the fulcrum for general classification, and he finished only spot off the fulcrum within the Stage 5 finish as well.

Vandenbergh’s time is 27 minutes and 1 second behind the newest race leader, Richie Porte of Sky Procycling, and 38 minutes and 44 seconds ahead of the newest Lanterne Rouge, Andreas Klier of Garmin Sharp. The 28-year-old Belgian’s great claim to fame prior to this stage was winning the Tour of Ireland his first year as a professional in 2008. He has also shown some good form this year, finishing second this year at the Omloop Het Nieusblad.

The median time for the general classification also changed, with the 2012 Point d’Appui of the Tour de France, Vasil Kiryienka of Sky Procycling, adding to his plamares, finishing at the chronological center of the race so far with a time of 32:56.

On the stage, Alessandro Petacchi of Lampre-Merida finished at the fulcrum position.

Only two stages left. Can Vandenbergh hold onto the fulcrum? Will Kiryienka make a stab at it? And what of Markel Irizar, who usually finds his way to middle of any race? Stay tuned.

March 7, 2013

Siutsou Holds onto Share of Cuspides on Stage 4

Kanstantsin Siutsou of Sky Procycling held onto a piece of les Cuspides during Stage 4 of the Paris-Nice spring classic, being joined by Dennis Vanendert of Lotto Belisol, who holds the lead Cuspide. Despite more abandons of the race, the final number who came home on Stage 4 was even, and so no fulcrum could be awarded.

Kanstantsin Siutsou has had a decent career, winning the Tour de Georgia in 2008 and finishing 16th in the Tour de France that same year. In 2011, he finished high in the standings for the Criterium du Dauphine and the Giro d’Italia. Since joining Team Sky in 2012, his role has shifted to more domestique work in support of Bradley Wiggins and Michael Rogers. He was part of the team for the 2012 Tour de France, but crashed on Stage 3 and was forced out of the race. Good to see him back.

Speaking of back, there’s a new Lanterne Rouge. Andrea Palini of Lampre-Merida has fallen to the rear of the bus. After Stage 3, he held the median time for general classification. After Stage 4, Mattia Cattaneo of Lampre-Merida, had the median time. Cattaneo, of course, was on the cuspides after Stage 3, so you can see there have been some major shifts in standings between the two stages.

On the stage, the two riders on the cusp of the fulcrum were Yoann Offredo of FDJ and Kristijan Durasek of Lampre-Merida.