Backspin: ‘Classic’ start to Le Tour continues, Van Vleuten wins Giro Rosa, Hermans tops Austria …

With the 2018 World Cup now history following a dramatic French victory on Sunday, the world of sports can now turn its full attention to the 105th edition of Le Tour de France, which has already been one for the books in its own right.

Seven days after lifting the yellow jersey from Stage 2 winner and archival Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) following BMC Racing’s team time trial win on Stage 3, reigning Olympic road champion Greg van Avermaet finds himself still atop the general classification after a thrilling Stage 9 which turned the race on its head in Roubaix.

Featuring 15 cobbled sections, 12 of which were used in this year’s Paris-Roubaix won by Sagan, the ninth stage had that ‘big fight feel’ that lived up to its billing in every way. Already the Tour had given us glimpses of what was to come, specifically speaking of that exhilarating Stage 5 finish in which the green jersey-clad Sagan found himself coming out on top after barreling down the finishing chute wheel-for-wheel with the likes of fellow world champion road racer Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors), four-time Liège-Bastongne-Liège winner Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and race leader van Avermaet among others. To see both the points leader and maillot jaune sprinting for the stage win inside the final 500 metres is a rare sight — and one that should not be taken for granted.

However on Stage 9, Sagan was regulated to second behind Gilbert in the chase group — fifth overall — as 2015 Roubaix winner John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) clipped 2017 winner van Avermaet at the line with break-mate Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step) third.

It was an en more exciting finish given the circumstances the 29-year-old German has been battling through — both physically and emotionally — since being hospitalised with five Giant-Alpecin teammates during a training camp accident in 2016.

“Pure happiness,” exalted Degenkolb after the stage win. “Really, I was chasing this victory for so long and it’s really hard to describe.

“It was a really hard fight the whole day. It’s a victory of the team — we really had a plan to stay out of trouble all the time and it worked out really well. It was unbelievable.”

Degenkolb, still showing the visible reminders of a missing finger as a result of the crash from two years ago in Spain, dedicated the victory to a close friend who passed away during the winter.

“This is a very big victory, and I’ve been through a lot of things in the past,” he said. “It was such a hard time and I’m so happy to dedicate this victory to one of my best friends — he passed away last winter and this was really something for him.

“Everybody said I’m done and that after this accident I will never come back and I said ‘no I’m not done — I have to make at least one really big victory for this guy. His name is Jörg — he was my second father and it was a horrible accident. It was a huge loss and I’m so happy to get this victory now for him.”

“There’s no way to make it more dramatic, more nice, more fantastic. I’m totally overwhelmed.”

Despite finishing fifth on general classification at the Tour in 2016, Richie Porte (BMC Racing) has been relatively unlucky in Grand Tours since crashing out of the Giro d’Italia a year earlier. With another disastrous, race-ending spill inside the first 10 kilometres of Stage 9 on Sunday — his second-straight ninth stage Tour crash-out, the 33-year-old Tasmanian’s bad luck continued.

The pained grimace on Porte’s face said it all while sitting curbside as medical personnel assessed the situation before race announcers relayed the news he was abandoning the race with what would later reported as a broken right clavicle.

Now facing a recovery period from six to eight weeks, any hopes of Porte returning in time to race La Vuelta a España in five weeks now appears out of the question.

“Obviously I’m devastated,” stated Porte in an official team media release. “For the second year in a row I am ending the Tour de France like this. I was on the ground before I knew it and straight away felt pain in my right shoulder.

“I wanted to say a big thank you to my teammates for their incredible work over the first nine days. We had a great first week. I’m so disappointed that I won’t be continuing to Paris.

“I hope to recover as fast as possible and get back to racing.”

A disappointed teammate echoed many of BMC’s sentiments after the stage.

“It was stage nine last year, stage nine this year,” said Stefan Küng. “It’s not meant to be, to get Richie on the podium in Paris in the BMC colours. There was nothing we could have done. We kept him out of trouble the whole first week. It’s a big bummer.

“We were ready. We had a good build up to this … He was ready,” Küng continued. “His main goal was to get through today, then hit it in the mountains. I feel so sorry for him. I wish him all the best.”

Even without Porte, BMC still holds the yellow jersey as van Avermaet increased his overall lead to 43 seconds from seven over Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas. However, with all but three sprint stages remaining in the three-week, 21-stage Grand Tour, the race moves into the French Alps on Tuesday following the first rest day and race contenders such as reigning four-time winner and recent Giro champion Chris Froome sits eighth on GC at 1:42 with fellow Brit Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) and former Sky teammate Mikel Landa (Movistar) of Spain.

While Landa battled back following a fall, Movistar’s main GC candidate Nairo Quintana (COL) is 2:50 down. 2017 Giro winner Tom Dumoulin is 2:03 back, while Grand Tour triple crown winner Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) is 1:48 adrift.

Crashes and punctures on the punishing cobbled stage also took its toll on Frenchman Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale) at 2:32 and Colombian Rigoberto Urán (EF Education First-Drapac) at 2:53.

With Porte out, BMC turned to Tejay van Garderen, who has twice finished fifth at the Tour. However the 29-year-old American was not up to the task and found himself on the granite more than once to finish 88th on the day and slip 30 spots to 33rd overall at 6:05 behind the leader.

“But for this to happen two year’s in a row is sad for Richie,” he continued. “He was well-prepared and in good shape in Switzerland so we really believed in him. I wish him all the best in his recovery and hopefully, he is back soon.

“Now, we will try to make the most out of the second and third week. It will be a little bit more relaxed but we will try to do as good as possible.”

Last year’s La Course by the Tour de France winner Annemiek van Vleuten won three of the last four stages, including the last two, to claim the 2018 Giro Rosa in Italy on Sunday.

After lifting the pink leader’s jersey from Stage 6 winner and Mitchelton-Scott teammate Amanda Spratt following her individual time trial win, the reigning women’s time trial world champion dominated atop the Stage 9 mountain finish at Monte Zoncolan with a 40-second win over nearest rival Ashleigh Moolman (Cervélo-Bigla) of South Africa.

The 35-year-old Dutchwoman then finished off the 10-stage women’s Grand Tour with 27-second win over compatriot Lucinda Brand (Sunweb) to claim the overall win by a deafening margin of 4 minutes 12 seconds over Moolman. Spratt was third overall (+6:30).

“This is a dream come true, not only for me, but for the whole team,” said van Vleuten, who also finished first on points and second on KOM behind Spratt. “We prepared so well for this race and to win six stages, the overall and three jerseys and do it in this way racing with confidence and control it’s a super story for the team.

“Especially because before I thought that I would never win the Giro-Rosa. My first one was in 2010 and I always thought that I am not a climber, so it won’t happen, but yesterday to win on the Zoncolan and then today to win the GC, it’s very special.”

Spratt concurred.

“We came here wanting to win the Giro-Rosa as a team and Annemiek has done it and it is really thanks to the entire team,” said the 30-year-old Australian. “The riders, the staff, everyone has worked so hard for this, it’s giving me goosebumps to see how well we have all worked together.”

Former WorldTour rider Ben Hermans won Stage 3 at the Tour of Austria and never looked back, closing out the eight-stage UCI 2.1 Europe Tour road race with arguably Israel Cycling Academy’s biggest win to date.

Although Italian sprinter Giovanni Visconti (Bahrain-Merida) wrapped up the race with his third victory of the week, it was the 32-year-old Belgian who claimed the general classification beating Visconti’s teammate Hermann Pernsteiner by 18 seconds.

“I have more freedom here,” said the former BMC Racing and RadioShack rider. “It’s a milestone victory for us."

For ICA co-owner Sylvan Adams, the milestone achievement has not gone unnoticed.

“Today’s win at the Tour of Austria is ICA’s best result to date, and our most important stage race victory,” he said. “This win provides validation of our strategy, including the strength of our riders and support provided by our dedicated staff at every level.

“Congratulations to Ben Hermans and the entire team for this beautiful victory. Ben seized the moment on stage 2, and the team worked in support while he bravely defended the jersey each day against formidable competitors, culminating in this win.”

After a stellar run, Australian cycling great Katrin Garfoot is calling it a career at age 36. The German-born Queenslander, who last rode professionally for Orica-Scott (now Mitchelton-Scott) last year, is fresh off a 2018 Commonwealth Games women’s time trial gold medal in April.

Garfoot, who is the only Australian woman in history to win two medals in one event after claiming back-to-back time trial bronze at the UCI Road World Championships in 2016 and 2017, also claimed the silver in the women’s road race in 2017 to join Anna Wilson by claiming dual medals in the same year.

The 2016 Olympian also joins compatriot Michael Rogers as the only two riders to claim three medals for Australia.

“I am content with my journey over the past few years. I thank everyone involved and everyone who supported me,” said Garfoot.

“After the Commonwealth Games I wanted to see if life swept me up and it sort of has. I did not feel like training anymore,” she continued. “My cycling career was an intense time for me and now I want to enjoy life with my friends and family.

“A lot of people asked me “what comes next for you”. I am not certain of what that is, but I am taking my time to mull over some ideas and see what comes of it.”