Kittel puts 2015 woes behind him
ciclismopavese.it
After sickness effectively wrote off his season last year, questions have been flying around over how Kittel would fare with his new Etixx-Quick-Step team, and how long it would take before he returned to the blistering form of 2014. The answer? One race.
The Dubai Tour was his first competitive ride in the blue of his new team, and he beat Mark Cavendish into second, repeating the success in the fourth and final stage to win the overall honours too. He really stuck it to his doubters by taking another two stages in the Volta ao Algarve, winning the points jersey there.
I must admit I was looking forward to the sub-plot this year of Kittel trying to claw his way back to form in time for the Grand Tours, but now I'd be surprised if he wasn't once again a regular across podium in the Giro and Tour. Cavendish, Greipel et al, be warned.
Katusha dodge a bullet
UCI anti-doping rules state that if a team has two of its riders test positive for doping offences within a year of each other, the whole team should be banned for anywhere from 15-45 days.
So you can imagine Katusha's worries when Eduard Vorganov tested positive for meldonium, a drug which helps improve blood supply to muscles. Coupled with Luca Paolini's unceremonious dismissal from the Tour de France last year for cocaine use, they should have been looking at being banned for as long as through the upcoming Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico.
The UCI Disciplinary Commission chose to overlook its own rules however, deeming Paolini's recreational use of cocaine as not being a serious enough offence to warrant the two-strike ban, as it isn't performance enhancing. Should it, then, have been a serious enough violation to warrant Paolini's initial four year ban suggested by the UCI?
The Movement for Credible Cycling, of which Katusha was a member, mandated a self-imposed 8 day ban for the second infringement, but, in another kick in the teeth for the MPCC's credibility, Katusha left the increasingly irrelevant group a week later.
World Champions' curse dispelled by Armitstead and Sagan
Marc Vanhecke
Both the men's and women's rainbow jersey holders raced at Omloop het Nieuwsblad in Gent, and the annual talk of the Curse of the Rainbow Jersey was pushed aside, as both put up superb showings.
Peter Sagan showed he's still at the level which saw him take gold in Richmond last year, by finishing in his agonisingly traditional second place behind winner Greg van Avermaet.
Meanwhile, in the women's race, Lizzie Armitstead showed once again that she is one of the greatest women's riders in history, by soloing to victory by half a minute, the first female rainbow jersey holder to take the season opener.
Big names get off to strong starts
Graham Watson
With so many potential Grand Tour winners in the peloton, a strong start to the season is almost a must now, lest you be seen to be lagging behind your rivals. And in February, the key protagonists come summer did indeed hit the ground running.
Chris Froome took victory in the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, after a race-long battle with his teammate Peter Kennaugh. Sky's menacing start to the year was further underlined by Geraint Thomas' win in the Volta ao Algarve, where Alberto Contador was third.
Mark Cavendish put the Dubai disappointment behind him by winning the Tour of Qatar for a second time, albeit largely down to an unfortunate double puncture for his teammate, and then race leader, Edvald Boasson Hagen.
Alejandro Valverde beat Tejay van Garderen into second in Andalucia, while Vincenzo Nibali beat Romain Bardet to win the Tour of Oman, reminding his Astana team why he should be favoured over rival Fabio Aru.
Have we overlooked a big story? Got any thoughts on Katusha's non-ban, riders' form, or just my writing? Comment below, tweet using the buttons on the right, or send us your views in any other ways you can think of!
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