Dan Martin vows to fight on after losing time, Tour of Utah announces broadcast partners for August race,
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Simon Gerrans was at the front of the peloton, setting the pace when he crashed around a corner and broke his collarbone(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Simon Gerrans (Orica-BikeExchange) stage 3 Tour de France(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Dan Martin (Etixx-QuickStep)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The peloton passes through the Grand Staircase Escalante National Park(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Ashleigh Moolman Pasio wins the most aggressive rider at Aviva Women's Tour 2016 - Stage 3(Image credit: Sean Robinson/Velofocus)
Gerrans out of Tour de France with broken collarbone
Simon Gerrans (Orica-BikeExchange) will not start stage 13 of the Tour de France after crashing while leading the peloton down a descent on Thursday. Gerrans posted several pictures with his announcement on Twitter, adding that he couldn't find the words to describe the depth of his disappointment.
Gerrans was leading the peloton off the Col des Trois Termes, the second climb of the day, when his front wheel slipped out in a tight right-hand turn. Team Sky's Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe followed him to the tarmac, while the rest of the Sky train, including overall leader Chris Froome, remained upright.
Gerrans finished the stage in 158th place, nearly half an hour behind the winner, but X-rays later revealed the fracture. This was the 36-year-old's 11th Tour de France. He's tasted victory at the Tour previously with a stage win in 2008 with Crédit Agricole, and in 2013 he was part of Orica-GreenEdge squad that won the stage 4 team time trial.
Media type: Twitter Media src: https://twitter.com/simongerrans/status/753647209615327232 Media caption:
Dan Martin vows to fight on after losing time
Irishman Dan Martin had been enjoying his best ever start to the Tour de France, and was sitting third overall after 11 stages, 31 seconds behind race leader Chris Froome. But the Etixx-QuickStep rider suffered on the slopes of Mont Ventoux, and dropped down to 9th, losing 1:25 to Froome on the stage.
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"I felt good all day and the guys did a great job. Everybody was fully committed. I was good, but not good enough, and I must say I am gutted for losing some time," Martin said. "I lost a wheel when Sky decided to up the tempo, but I continued to ride hard, even if this meant going into the red."
Martin vowed to try to gain back some time in the two time trials and mountain stages ahead. "The Tour de France is not over, I'm not too far behind and I vow to fight. I'm the kind of rider who likes more a mountainous day than a big explosion effort, and fortunately such stages are yet to come."
Luckily for Martin, he had some help from teammate Iljo Keisse, who dropped back from the breakaway to help him. "When he joined me, I went full gas for around 1.5 kilometres, until I exploded. It was a hard day, but I am happy I could still do something for him," Keisse said.
Tour of Utah announces 2016 broadcast partners
FOX Sports Networks will return as the national broadcast partner for the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah in August. FS2 will broadcast 21 hours of national programming for the August 1-7 race, including 14 hours of live coverage.
FOX Sports Networks return as the national broadcast partner for the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. A total of 21 hours of national programming will be provided on FS2 across the U.S. for the professional cycling stage race, Aug. 1-7, including 14 hours of live, high-definition coverage. Studio announcers will be Steve Brown, Todd Gogulski and former professional cyclist Lucas Euser.
Tour Tracker will return for its sixth year of online livestream coverage from start to finish with commentators Frankie Andreu and Tim Johnson.
Cervelo-Bigla's Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio confirmed for 2016 Rio Olympics
The selection of South African Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio for the Rio Olympic Games Road Race has been confirmed by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee. The Cervelo-Bigla rider will be making her second appearance at the Olympic Games having placed 16th in 2012.
"It's always an honour to be selected to represent your country but to be selected to the Olympic Games is even more special," Moolman-Pasio said.
"I've already shared what the Olympic Games means to me as a sporting event. It's an event where everyone unites to inspire others through sport. In London 2012, it was all about just going to the games for me but from there I made myself a promise that I wanted to use the four years in the build up to Rio to be able to go there with a chance to medal. It's exciting to be selected. I've been to Rio and I think it's an amazing place and I am going to make my country proud."
Moolman-Pasio will be racing against three of her Cervelo-Bigla teammates with Lotta Lepistö (Finland) and German duo Stephanie Pohl and Lisa Klein also earning selection for Rio.
