McEwen takes mountain points in Mallorca

It's just unusual to see so I'll repeat it - Aussie sprinter Robbie McEwen takes points on a mountain.
Coll de Claret
1 Bram Schmitz (Ned) Van Vliet EBH Elshof 10 pts
2 Rafael Serrano (Spa) Contentpolis - AMPO 7
3 Alejandro Paleo (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 5
4 Jesús Rosendo (Spa) Andalucia Cajasur 3
5 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team Katusha 2 6 Kenny De Haes (Bel) Team Katusha

Mind you, I don't think he stuck around to the bitter end... nor did his lead out man Steegmans for that matter. Bigger fish to fry.

Giro 2008: the fastest doesn't always win

Don't you hate that? Even when you are clearly the fastest in the sprint, gaining ground with every pedal stroke and making everyone else look slow, the line comes up too early... and you come anywhere from 2nd backwards. Ouch. How do you fix this, it just isn't fair!

Now it's happened to Cavendish: Coming into the final turn, Bennati had already taken the lead with McEwen right behind, and Cavendish was left chasing for the win. He made a strong comeback and thrust his bike at the line, but was just millimetres shy of the win. "The team worked really well, but Bennati had 10 metres on me out of the corner," stated Cavendish. "A few metres after the line, I had it but that is no use."

And yes, it's no use complaining. Bennati must have gone at exactly the right time, and McEwen must have faded just a tad. And Cavo is left 2nd.

A slower than usual start...

But as usual McEwen takes a win: Australia's Robbie McEwen of Silence-Lotto took his first win of the season, capturing a sprint finish in Fribourg ahead of Italy's Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) and Denmark's Matti Breschel (CSC). Swiss Michael Albasini (Liquigas) kept the leader's jersey.. Plenty of changes for Robbie this year - no early wins is unusual, and a Belgian team even more clearly split between 2 Aussies has taken away some of the dedicated support he previously expected. He's blaming other factors, but one has to wonder what happens in July, when Cadel Evans will be numero uno and his GC aspirations the clear focus of the team. (Cadel's not racing in Romandie so there's no conflict - yet.)

Whilst many will say that McEwen can look after himself in a sprint, he has also relied on teammates to get him into position (witness the work Steegmans used to do, launching McEwen to spectacular wins) or to catch sprint-threatening breakaways. If a breakaway doesn't threaten Cadel on GC, would the team help to it close down, for Robbie's sake? Or will it be down to just Robbie and pal Nick Gates to make the best of it?

McEwen makes it 3 in a row

I guess if you are going to have to sit out the Vuelta you may as well make the best of it. Is 3 in a row a good consolation prize?

From Cyclingresults.net:
Queensland’s Robbie McEwen has won his 3rd straight and 4th in total Paris-Bruxelles, edging out Brit Jeremy Hunt and Colombian Honorio Machado. Victorian Baden Cooke just missed out on a podium position for 4th.

Le Tour de France 2007 - Stage 1 - Rockin' Robbie

The Aussies keep bouncing back. First O'Grady falls in the prologue, now it's McEwen's turn. At least Robbie had the team support to get him back to the front, and the extra endorphins from the wrist and knee injury to supercharge him... yet it was still amazing to see him rocket past the other sprinters and take the win. With that one under his belt he notches up 12 stage wins, equalling the mighty Zabel.

McEwen's noted for pushing on with injuries, even broken bones, so I suspect he'll lay low for a few days, keep out of trouble and look for another win when the nervousness of the peloton has settled down a bit. Which leaves some room for Boonen and Hushovd to make amends. Or he may wake up stiff and sore, perhaps get an x-ray and just call it quits. I hope not, but it's hard to ride around France with a badly swollen wrist...

Tomorrow must be Boonen's day in Belgium, but Hushovd will be looking to change that. Breaks may happen but will get closed down by the sprinters' teams, unless an almighty crash splinters the field. It's happened before, and we can only hope it doesn't happen tomorrow (or today, really, given time differences).

So we now have... Fabian Cancellara holding onto yellow with Kloden 13 secs behind. By breaking away and chasing intermediate points David Millar has moved up to 3rd overall. Which moves George Hincapie down to 4th. Then Wiggins, Gusev, Karpets and the first of the sprinters,Thor Hushovd. Hushovd needs a win to get him within shot of the yellow jersey, so expect some fire tomorrow.

Next is Vinokourov, still well-placed to fight it out overall with Kloden over weeks 2 and 3, with Thomas Dekker an interesting wild card at 31secs off the lead. He could give it a go in the Alps. Of the other contenders we have Cadel Evans at 36secs, and Michael Rogers and Oscar Pereiro at 37secs. Levi Leipheimer, Denis Menchov and Alejandro Valverde remain comfortably under the minute but will be looking to gain time in week 2.

If everything remained as it is, no-one crashed or got sick, no-one rode out of their skin and amazed us (like Millar or Hincapie, or Dekker), and if no-one took a flyer and got away then we'd have Kloden winning the tour overall, followed by Vino 2nd, Evans 3rd and Rogers 4th. Pereiro would be 5th, then Leipheimer and Valverde. It actually sounds believable... but will Pereiro team up with Valverde and one-two the rest in the mountains? Will Vino settle for 2nd or will Kloden hand the lead to his captain? Will T-Mobile finally get it together and use their strength to boost Rogers up the order, and does Evans have what it takes to match the mountain goats and take a big lead out of the Pyrenees? Ahh, so much to watch during this beautiful race...

McEwen takes a stage, Schleck leads overall

Phew. In the lead up to Le Tour it's always good to see Robbie McEwen taking a long, hard and slightly uphill sprint in the Tour de Suisse. Kind of warms the heart to see McEwen, Bennati and Zabel up there, battling it out. Notable also that Frank Schleck has kept his leader's jersey - his first as a pro.

McEwen takes first Giro road stage

The McEwen formula is simple. Start the year early with some wins in Oz, to prove he's still got it. Go back to Europe and prove it again by getting into "the form of his life", only to get sick and lay low for a few months, missing some targets that he really wanted but never seems to be able to get. Then struggle back, just off the pace, just in time. With 2 races to go grovel at the back, just keeping within the time limit. Then win again, seemingly from nowhere, when no one is looking for him. Then front up at a Grand Tour and take the first stage. Easy as pie.

McEwen had good form earlier in the year, indeed he said he was climbing better than he ever has (being not a noted climber, of course, but better at it than 90% of the rest of us). Then he got sick. He always does. Somehow he gets enough form to hang in there on the first Grand Tour Giro stage, when the likes of Hushovd and Haedo are dropped and the bunch is thinned to a top 30 or so. Somehow his team get him into that selection, they grind back the gap to the breakaway and deliver him to the last 2 or 3 kms. He takes it from there, just sittin' in and waiting for Petacchi's train to leave the station. And then jump off, just in time to take the win. CN report here.

McEwen wins a stage

CN reports a bit of McEwen luck and power got him through a crash-plagued finish to yesterday's stage of the Tour of Romandie. Bring on Le Tour, please.

OK, OK, the Giro comes first, at least chronologically. Meanwhile Petacchi is getting close to form, McEwen has struggled and played it safe but clearly has some form, and Boonen is off on his post-classics rest. And the Giro approaches... bring on the Italians!

Nice win for McEwen at Tirreno-Adriatico

A short sprint out of a corner on a tight finishing straight... does that sound like McEwen country? Sure was. CN report here.