Tour of Austria: Baldato took opening stage

After his victory in Salzburg last year,  Italian Sprinter Fabio Baldato (Lampre-Fondital) again won a stage at the 59th edition of the Tour of Austria. The 39-year old Lampre-rider outsprinted the U23 World Champion Gerald Ciolek from T-Mobile in a bunch sprint after 130.7 kilometers in Mayrhofen/Zillertal. Italian cyclist Elia Girotto came in third. Best Austrian rider was Werner Riebenbauer from the Volksbank team place number 9.

Baldato is also the first leader in the general classification. Baldato said after the race: "This was a perfect start for me and my team. I hope, this motivates my team colleagues Benatti and Napolitano at the Tour de France!" In the Gerneral Classification Baldato, the oldest rider at the Tour of Austria, has a lead of one second on T-Mobile's Gerald Ciolek, who leads the the T-Mobile- Points classement. The mountain jersey will tomorrow be worn from Juergen Van de Walle (Discovery Channel).

The second stage of the 59. International Tour of Austria starts today at 11:30 o'clock in Mayrhofen/Zillertal and ends after 194.9 kilometers at 16:20 o'clock on Mirabellplatz in Salzburg, the very same place of the finish of last years World Championships.

Results

Stage 1

1 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Lampre-Fondital                              2.49.32 (46.26 km/h)
2 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) T-Mobile                                           
3 Elia Rigotto (Ita) Milram                                              
4 Steffen Radochla (Ger) Wiesenhof-Felt                                  
5 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Predictor-Lotto                                  
6 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Unibet.com                                         
7 Davide Viganò (Ita) Quickstep-Innergetic                               
8 Steven Caethoven (Bel) Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen           
9 Werner Riebenbauer (Aut) Volksbank                                     
10 Gianni Meersman (Bel) Discovery Channel

Bazzana took Cougar Mountain Classic

Alessandro Bazzana survived a last-lap multi-rider crash to win the men’s 90-minute NRC Road Criterium race. Bazzana (Team Successful Living) managed to avoid the five-rider crash with 200 meters left in the race to post his second victory of the season. He was followed by second-place Jonathan Cantwell (Los Angeles, Kahala-La Grange) and third-place Jackson Stewart (Los Altos, BMC Racing Team).

Bazzana was second at the time of the incident, which also involved teammate Ricardo Esculea, who was leading at the time.

“Ricardo crashed and I avoided it but the guys in third, fourth and fifth didn’t,” said Bazzana, a third-year pro from Italy who now resides in Ventura. “It was a tight left turn and it happened.”

In other racing on Saturday, Santa Cruz’s Barry Wicks (Kona-Les Gets) won the mountain bike cross country event over the 7.7-mile course. The victory continued Wicks’ success in the Sonoma Valley as he also won in short track at last year’s Cougar Mountain Classic. Jamie Stamps (Lotus) won the pro women’s cross country feature race.

Toyota-United's Ivan Dominguez and Henk Vogels were injured in separate crashes Saturday at the Cougar Mountain Classic Criterium at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

Dominguez went down in the final turn just as he appeared to be on his way to winning the 90-minute National Race Calendar event. The Cuban sprint specialist was part of a group of riders who had lapped the field during the 90-minute race. Dominguez, who only returned to racing last weekend after a crash sidelined him for eight weeks, suffered minor road rash and is expected to be OK.

Vogels was not as fortunate. The Australian lead-out specialist struck a barrier with his shoulder and had to be rushed to the hospital. X-Rays and a CAT scan revealed a crack in his scapula that is expected to keep him out of action for up to eight weeks. Through Saturday, Vogels had compiled five podium finishes and two victories this season.

Results

Criterium (Saturday)

1. Alessandro Bazzana (SuccessfulLiving.com P/B Park, Ventura)
2. Jonathan Cantwell (Kahala-La Grange, Los Angeles)
3. Jackson Stewart (BMC Racing Team, Los Gatos)
4. Devon Cutino (California Giant/Specialized, Oakland)
5. Sean Mazich (Team Waste Management, Phoenix)
6. Christopher Jones (Nreac Pro Cycling, New Haven)
7. Jared Barrilleaux (Metromint, San Luis Obispo)
8. Chuck Coyle (SuccessfulLiving.com P/B Park, Ventura)
9. Darren Lill (Navigators, Emeryville)
10. Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United Pro Cycling, Agoura Hills)

Road Race (Sunday)

1 Alessandro Bazzana (SuccessfulLiving.com)     
2 Ben Jacques-Maynes (Priority Health)          
3 Christopher Jones (Nerac Cycling Team)        
4 Christian Valenzuela (SuccessfulLiving.com)   
5 Jorge Alvarado (Kahala-La Grange)             
6 Jose Manuel Garcia (Toyota-United)            
7 Daniel Ramsay (SuccessfulLiving.com)          
8 Curtis Gunn (SuccessfulLiving.com)            
9 James Mattis (California Giant/Specialized)   
10 Darren Lill (Navigators)

Persson wins Tour de la provence de Luxembourg

Swedish rider Lucas Persson (Unibet.com CT) has won the overall classification of Tour de la provence de Luxembourg on Saturday. The fourth and final stage went to Dutch rider Maikel Paas (NHT Cycling Team).

Persson said: "I'm very satisfied with this win. The team did an excellent job for me today, too bad I couldn't win the stage today", said Lucas Persson.
It's the fifth win for Lucas Persson this season. Persson already was victorious in the Belgian Linden and Merelbeke, the second stage of Triptyque Ardennais, the first stage and now the overall classification of the Tour de la provence de Luxembourg.

The Pole Maciej Ulanowski (Unibet.com CT) is the winner of the mountains classification, Unibet.com CT was the best team.

Rookie Gonzalo first rider to abandone Tour de France

Spanish rider Eduardo Gonzalo (Agritubel) is the first rider rider to withdraw from the 94th Tour de France. After crashing the first kilometres of Stage One from London to Canterbury, the young rider who started for the first time in La Grand Boucle, calls it a day on the second and final day in England.

The 23-year-old from the French team Agritubel was forced to end his Tour debut prematurely. Agrtitubel now have only eight cyclists left in the team for the 19 remaining stages.