Maxim Iglinsky

Freddy Maertens Freddy Maertens, born on this day in Nieuwpoort, Belgium in 1952 was the rider who did the unthinkable in 1981 - at the World Championships in Brno, he beat Beppe Saronni and Bernard Hinault. That was just one of the many successes in his 14-year professional career. He'd already been National Amateur Champion (1971) and come second in the World Amateur Championships (1972) when he turned professional in 1973, the year he won the Four Days of Dunkirk and the Scheldeprijs...Read Full Story

President Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to pull out of Europe's open-border zone and called on China and Japan to open public markets, the Journal du Dimanche reported, citing an interview. Greece needs to police its border with Turkey, otherwise France The young singer/songwriter has far greater aspirations than the typical YouTube star du jour: She wants to creat music as meaningful as Van Morrison's. Australian newcomer Gotye has gotten a lot of attention in recent weeks thanks to his chart...Read Full Story

The penultimate stage of this year’s Dauphine featured a 192.5km course, starting in Les Gets, climbing six categorized climbs, and summit finishing on the HC Collet d’Allevard.  Nicolas Roche (AG2R) did not start the stage today, following his crash from yesterday, so 165 riders began.On the first climb of the day, the peloton was all together, but Leonardo Duque (Cofidis) continued hunting for KOM points and took the top prize offered on the Côte de Châtillon-sur-Cluses.  Maarten Tjallingii...Read Full Story

The 63rd edition of the Dauphine came to a close today with a 117.5km route from Pontchara to a summit finish on the montee de la Toussuire.  In addition to that cat-1 climb, the 149 riders who took to the start today also had to tackle the HC Cold de la Croix de Fer.Unlike yesterday where a break struggled to form, at 15kms, a break of 11 riders escaped and, at one point, pushed their advantage out to nearly 4.30.  This group consisted of Andrey Zeits (Astana), Leonardo Duque and Tristan...Read Full Story

Tuesday’s Stage 2 lead the riders 179kms from Voiron to Lyon.  The day started in rain, but it did not last long, though winds and four category 4 climbs did face the riders.At the 10kms mark, the day’s breakaway trio formed consisting of Brice Feillu (Leopard Trek), Jurgen Van De Walle (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Martin Tjallingii (Rabobank).Over the climbs, Van de Walle was first on the Cote de Miribel-les Echelles, and Feillu led over both the Cote du Chateau de Saint-Julien and Cote de...Read Full Story