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The introduction of the finish on the top of Mt Baldy has proved a huge hit for the Tour of California, and this year was no exception. As the last real chance for the contenders in the General Classification, it's do or die stuff. For last years winner, Chris Horner, it appeared as though he was headed for a incredible come from behind win. Horner established himself in a dangerous break, that included two lieutenants, veteran Jens Voigt and neo-pro George Bennett. With  Voigt in particular doing a power of work at the front, the break extended a gap of around 4 minutes by the lower slopes of Mt Baldy. The relentless pace proved too much for most, with Bennett remarking afterwards via Twitter, "to me @thejensie is like a good wine, better with age. 2x my age and 2x the strength." By the time Voigt peeled off, Horner was in a commanding position and looked for all money to be on for a repeat of last years win.

The peloton had other plans, firstly with the whole Garmin team on the front, trying to protect Dave Zabriskie's lead, and eventually with some help from BMC, who fancied Tejay van Garderen's chances. BMC set a relentless pace which caused a serious selection in the peloton, but all that achieved was a launching platform for Rabobank's Robert Gesink. With the gap to Horner dropping like a stone, Gesink unleashed a blistering series of attacks, that only Columbian Darwin Atapuma was able to match. The duo soon caught and shot past Horner, and were soon locked in battle for the stage victory.

Heading into the final corner, Atapuma looked to have snuck through but Gesink counter attacked and had just enough momentum to carry him to the line. Atapuma had to be content with 2nd place, but got some solace from the arrival of teammate Fabio Duarte 14 seconds later for 3rd.

Joseph Dombrowski (Bontrager Livestrong) showed he will be a name to watch for the future, beating out Garmin's Tom Danielson for 4th place, with Horner only able to collect 6th, some 38 seconds behind Gesink.

It was always going to be a big ask for time trial specialist Zabriskie to hold onto the leaders jersey today, and in the end the vicious slopes of Mt Baldy proved too much. Zabriskie crossed in 11th spot, 1:25 down on Gesink, and now sits 46 second behind Gesink on the General Classification.

Barring any accidents, Gesink should now win the 2012 Amgen Tour of California. Stage 8 from Beverly Hills to L.A. Live is just 72km in length and will be a day for the sprinters.

Andrey Amador pulled off the biggest win of his career so far with a victory high in the mountains at Cervinia. The  25 year old  rider staged a remarkable come back from injury as a result of a nasty attack last year in his native land of Costa Rica, where he was beaten and left by a river. "I am proud. This victory shows that if you work, the results follow. " said Amador.

The stage today saw another come back, this time of Ryder Hesjedal who rode strong and managed to get a gap on his rivals on the final climb. His efforts were rewarded by reclaiming the Maglia Rosa as race leader. "What can I say? I Love Pink!", tweeted the Candian star after the stage. He holds a 9 second lead over Joaquin Rodriguez, but with Paolo Tiralongo, Sandy Casar, and Ivan Basso all nipping at his wheels, things are not going to be easy for the Garmin leader.

Sylvain Georges put himself through all sorts of agony but in doing so recieved the reward of a stunning stage victory at Big Bear Lake. The Ag2r-La Mondiale rider comes from the Puy-de-Dôme in France, famous as a Volcanic mountainous region, On the climb to Big Bear Lake today, he could have been forgiven for thinking he was back at home. Georges was part of the days break that started in the opening few kilometres before attacking and ultimately soloing for a courageous win.

The peloton chased hard but left it too late to close the gap. Peter Sagan won the bunch sprint for second place, just under 30 seconds behind Georges. Peter Velits took third.

Tomorrow see's the Queen stage of this years race, the ride to the summit of Mt Baldy. With a distance of only 126km,  the action will be fast and furious.

World Champion Mark Cavendish today displayed more evidence to support the claim that he is one of the best sprinters of all time, with a magnificent display of speed, tactical awareness, and coolness under fire. As always his Sky lead out train kept the pace high during the final kilometre, but after the last turn Cavendish found himself out of position against the barriers with GreenEDGE in control setting up Matt Goss. Cavendish remained calm and waited for the right moment to jump and by the end he was more than a bike length ahead of Alexander Kristoff who took second. Third place was taken by his former teammate and lead out man, Mark Renshaw.

Cavendish will be well pleased of this result given that from now on the terrain takes a definitely shift upwards in elevation. From here, the Giro hits the high mountains. The mountain top finish at Cervinia hits 2000m and for guys like Cavendish dreams of stage glory fade into nightmares of survival.

Dave Zabriskie repeated his performance in last years Individual Time Trial with a masterful exhibition in the discipline, winning a clear 23 seconds ahead of second placed Jens Voigt. Up and coming young favourite Tejay van Garderen took third spot, 34 seconds in arrears.

The Individual Time Trial is known as the Race of Truth because when you're out on the course, there is nowhere to hide. Before the stage started there were many unanswered questions regarding the form of last years stars Chris Horner and Levi Leipheimer. Unfortunately for the veteran champions, the 30km circuit around Bakersfield took no prisoners, and both riders will be disappointed to finish well down the order. Leipheimer was clearly still feeling the effects of his broken leg just five weeks prior to the start of the race, and could only manage 17th place. Horner is not traditionally a strong time trialist, but he will be frustrated with his showing at 42nd place and nearly 3 minutes behind Dave Z. Horner, the 2011 Tour of California champion, completed the Solvang time trial in 6th place and less than a minute behind, and surely even he will now be wondering if can come back to win this time around.

Lars Bak attacked from a successful break of 9 riders to win today's short stage into Sestri Levante. The Danish rider for Lotto Belisol attacked and used his time trialing skills over the final 1.5km for the win. He finished 7 seconds ahead of Sandy Casar and Andre Amador.

The peloton were unable to catch the break, finishing over three minutes behind, with Juan Antonio Flecha taking out the bunch sprint.

Joaquin Rodreguez remains the leader of the General Classification, with a 17 second gap to second placed Ryder Hesjedal.

Peter Sagan and Heinrich Haussler continue their incredible run of form, with another 1-2 finish, for the fourth time in as many days. And as in the previous stages, the only variance on the stage winners podium was the bottom step, this time with Michael Matthews taking his turn. 

Even Sagan himself was not expecting to win today, due to the significant climbs earlier in the stage. But with the last summit around 60km from the finish, the group of the days break were always up against it. Sagan's Liquigas team were fresh enough to pull back the break, and the rest was history.

Sagan further extends his lead in the General Classification to 16 seconds over Haussler, with Jeffry Louder now 34 seconds in arrears.

Roberto Ferrari bounced back from his controversial crash earlier in the race on Stage 3 to win in a strong finish ahead of Francesco Chicchi and Tomas Vaitkus. Stage favourite Mark Cavendish lost contact with his leadout train in the final turn due to a crash, and was not able to come through on his own for the win. He crossed in 4th place ahead of Italians Manuel Belletti and Giacomo Nizzolo.  All was not lost for Cavendish however, as he managed to collect enough points with his placing today in the sprinters Red Jersey competition to take it from previous leader Matt Goss.

The 2012 Amgen Tour of California is quickly in danger of becoming the Peter Sagan and Heinrich Haussler show. For the third day in succession the two rivals have completed a 1-2 sprint finish. The only difference on the podium for each day has been the rider in third place, and this time it was the turn of Belgian Tom Boonen to take the bottom step.

Sagan further extends his lead in the General Classification, which now stands at 12 seconds over Haussler, with Jeffry Louder now in third place.

At first glance of the stage profile, you wouldn't expect it to have suited climbing specialist Joaquin Rodriguez, but Stage 10 into Assisi had a sting in the tail that played right into the  diminutive Spaniards hands. He pulled off a series of attacks winning the stage ahead of Bartosz Huzarski. More significantly race leader Ryder Hesjedal was unable to match Rodriquez, finishing in 6th place. With the time bonus for the victory Rodriquez now leads Hesjedal by 17 seconds.

It was a case of history repeating itself for Peter Sagan and Heinrich Haussler, who like in the opening stage took first and second placings in an unexpected sprint finish. Third place was taken by Australian Leigh Howard from GreenEDGE.

Sagan holds an 8 second lead in the General Classification over Haussler, with Leigh Howard in third, 13 seconds in arrears.

In a crash affected finish, Francisco Ventoso won the sprint into Frosinone, benefiting from the misfortune of rivals Mark Cavendish, Filippo Pozzato, Mark Renshaw, and Matt Goss who were caught up in the mayhem.

Race leader Ryder Hesjedal finished safely in the bunch to retain the Maglia Rosa.

Peter Sagan followed up his excellent history with the Tour of California in a thrilling victory in the opening stage of this years race. The young Slovakian is only 22 years old but with todays result, now already has a total of 4 stage wins in the event. Along with the stage victory, Sagan was also presented with the race leaders yellow jersey.

Sagan's win was all the more sweet due to the manner in which it came. A puncture inside the final 10km required a huge effort by his Liquigas team to bring their designated sprinter back into contention. Sagan crossed the line ahead of Heinrech Haussler,  with veteran sprinter Fast Freddie Rodriguez taking third.

Climber Domenico Pozzovivo claimed the biggest win of his career so far with a powerful ride up to Lago Laceno. The Colnago CSF leader attacked from the lead group in the final few kilometres and held on to a 23 second lead by the finish.

Race leader Ryder Hesjedal struggled on the steeper sections but managed to retain his pink jersey for another day.

Yesterday saw the introduction of the mountains to this years Giro. Today saw the first mountain top finish, and in typical fashion a selection for the general classification occurred.

The days victor was Paolo Tiralongo (AST) who was too strong on the steep ascent of the Rocca di Cambio. Tiralongo responded to the attack of last years winner Michele Scarponi in the last half kilometre, coming around him in the final few metres to claim the win. Scarponi took second with the same time, and Frank Schleck showed his first glimpses of form this season by taking third, just a few seconds in arrears.

The big news for Canada was Ryder Hesjedal claiming his countries first ever pink jersey as the new race leader. He finished the stage in 5th place just 5 seconds behind Tiralongo, and now holds the GC lead by 15 seconds.

Miguel Rubiano from Columbia lived up to his countries reputation for producing quality mountain climbers with a victory in the first non flat stage of this years Giro. The first mountainous stage of a Grand Tour is always a test of form and filters out the true contenders for the General Classification. Despite a valiant fight Ramunas Navardauskas lost his battle to stay in pink, with Italian Adriano Malori taking the lead, 15 seconds ahead of Michal Golas. Canadian Ryder Hesjedal is two seconds further back in third.

World Champion Mark Cavendish completed a perfect execution by his Sky team to win Stage 5 into Fano. Cavendish was too strong for former teammate Matt Goss in a straight out drag to the finish leaving Goss to take second, with Daniele Bennati taking third.

The top stage race in North America is back again for another year. Each time this event grows in stature and like previous editions, the 2012 race has attracted a stellar line up.

Last year's victor Chris Horner is back, racing for Radioshack-Nissan, but this year his former teammate and last years runner up Levi Leipheimer will be leading rival team Omega-Pharma - Quickstep. The two veterans were head and shoulders above the rest last time, but this time they will not be able to count on each others as teammates.

With the preliminary line ups announced, we have loaded them into the site, and you can now pick your teams ahead of Sunday's start in Santa Rosa.

Another storming performance saw Garmin Barracuda take victory in the Team Time Trial in Verona. Garmin finished 5 seconds quicker than second placed Katusha, but both teams will be smiling tonight.

Garmin's time was good enough to put the race leaders jersey on young Lithuanian Ramunas Navardauskas' back who now leads fellow teammates Tyler Farrar, Robbie Hunter, and Ryder Hesjedal.

Former race leader Taylor Phinney had a self admitted bad day, perhaps succombing to the effects of the crash in Stage 2. He now sits in 5th place, 13 seconds in arrears.

Australian fast man Matt Goss took his teams first win in a crash affected finale in Horsens Denmark today. His new GreenEDGE cycling team were well disciplined and placed Goss perfectly in the hectic final few kilometres. 

On a emotional day of remembrance for the anniversary of the death of Wouter Weylandt in last years Giro, it was fitting that Goss should win wearing bib number 100. Teams are usually allocated bibs starting at 1 going through to 9, and GreenEDGE should have worn 101-109 but since Weylandt wore 108 last year, that number was retired and team leader Goss wore 100 instead of 101.

Yesterdays winner Mark Cavendish did not enjoy the luxury of good positioning and was forced to mount a come from behind sprint. Unfortunately he was involved in a clash of wheels with Roberto Ferrari and went down taking a number of riders including race leader Taylor Phinney with him. Phinney was treated by ambulance staff, but managed to make his was to the podium for his pink jersey presentation. 

Luckily for the injured riders, tomorrow is a rest day as the race makes it way down to Italy. Phinney will be hoping to make a full recovery in time for the team time trial, in which he is expected to do well.

Mark Cavendish won a hotly contested sprint against his former teammate Matt Goss, and in doing so showed rare early Grand Tour form.  

A look at the stage profile before the start suggested two obvious predictions.

1. An early break would get away.
2. That break would be caught before the finish leading to a mass sprint finale.

Given that it is week one of a grand tour, one other prediction would be that there would be nervous crashes that would affect the outcome.

And that is exactly what happened. The days early break was caught quite early, with around 40km to go, and the resulting attacks did nothing to calm the jitters of the teams protecting their sprinters. 

Tour leader Taylor Phninney had a nervous time of his own, clipping a wheel and dropping his chain in the final few kilometres, and required another enormous effort to regain his place in the peloton.

A crash just after the final corner split the peloton, and it was just a reduced set of contenders for the finish line. Cavendish timed his jump to perfection and will be well pleased with the outcome.

For the first time since the 1980s, there is an American rider in the pink jersey as tour leader of the Giro d'Italia. At just 21 years of age, Taylor Phinney (BMC) has taken his career to a whole new level by smashing the opening prologue time trial in magnificent fashion, and taking the leaders jersey with a 9 second margin. Phinney is fulfilling his promise as the son of former professional Davis Phinney, and Olympiad Connie Carpenter Phinney. The young American has brushed off the inevitable comparisons with compatriot Lance Armstrong stating, "I'm not going to say I'm the next Lance Armstrong, I'm the first Taylor Phinney and we'll see where that takes me".

Finishing strongly in second place, Welshman Geraint Thomas (SKY) pipped local Dane Alex Rasmussen (GRM) for third, at 9 and 13 seconds respectively from Phinney.

Of the overall contenders for the general classification, Canadian Ryder Hesjedal (GRM) will be pleased with his showing, coming in at 17th place at 29sec, and ahead of all his rivals. 

The peloton stay in Denmark for the next two stages, which look likely to be set up for the sprinters.  By stage 4 the riders will finally be in Italy for the Team Time Trial. For this first week, expect the contenders for the GC to try and keep out of trouble and reserve their energy. The final week of this years event is absolutely brutal, and most comentators are predicting the race won't be aggresively contested until then.

The first grand tour of 2012 is with us, the Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy).

There are 22 teams competing over 3 weeks, and the race commences Saturday May 5th in Herning Denmark! Stage 1 is a prologue time trial of just 8km, and the race will spend the first three days in Denmark, before flying to Verona Italy.

The team rosters have been announced, we've loaded them into the site, and the race is now open for selection. Pick your teams, invite your mates, the competition this year is going to be fierce!

Ciao!