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The first official artistic cycling World Championships were held in 1956. This sport is most popular in Germany, where there are no fewer than 10000 licence holders. As a sport, artistic cycling is a bit like ice-skating or gymnastics. It is a discipline requiring skill, balance, concentration and courage. The competitors (entering either as individuals or in pairs) offer a 6-minute programme with a musical accompaniment. A jury judges the quality of the figures.

The first World Cycle-Ball Championships were held in 1930. This is an exclusively masculine discipline, with two teams of two players (who act both as goalkeepers and outfield players). A match is made up of two 7 minutes halves. The ball (approx. 18 cm in diameter), which can be struck with either the front or the rear wheel, is filled with horsehair. It can reach a speed of 60 km/h. Inside the penalty area, the goalkeeper can use his hands to stop shots on goal. The goal itself measures 2 m by 2 m. As in football, fouls are punished with free kicks and penalties.

Putting in a sensational finish, Ren Chengyuan took out her second consecutive win at Houffalize. Even the World Champion, Topeak Ergon rider Erina Kalentieva (2nd) and Marie Helène Prémont (3rd) were powerless in the face of Chengyuan’s fiery finish.

With just four months left until the Beijing Olympic Games, the Chinese contingent once again proved that they will be in the running for an Olympic podium. One year ago at Houffalize, Ren Chengyuan took out a first World Cup victory for her country. Yesterday, the former Under-23 World Champion (in 2006) once again made a huge impression.

But it was not all plain sailing as the competition was tough from the outset… At the beginning of the race Margarita Fullana (ESP) took the lead without making a significant break. The Spanish rider holds the record for victories at Houffalize (from 1999 to 2002) and appeared set to add a fifth victory to her name.

However, for her first race with the rainbow jersey the Russian Irina Kalentieva succeeded in taking over the lead after several kilometers. With the Canadian Champion Marie Hélène Prémont (Rocky Mountain) also in the battle for the podium, the competition for victory was intense.

But Ren Chengyuan was not to be overwhelmed by the experienced field. Ill at ease on muddy territory, she found a second wind and began to fight her way back.

“I tried to hang on but could do nothing,” said Marie Hélène Prémont at the finish. Margarita Fullana finally finished fourth, while Georgia Gould (Luna MTB Women’s team) surprised by taking fifth place.

In Offenburg next weekend, last year’s winner Irina Kaentieva, who lives some of the year in Germany, will be the one to watch.

The Olympic Champion, Julien Absalon, has won at Houffalize for the first time. It is the French rider’s 13th World Cup win and he logically takes the lead in the overall standings.

Nino Schurter made a big impression with his second place, the best result of his career. Christoph Sauser also put in a great performance to take third place.

You really need to search the history books to find a French victory at Houffalize. Indeed, since Christophe Dupouey’s win in 1999, no Frenchman has raised his arms in victory in the world’s cross-country capital.

Before the start, Julien Absalon (Orbea) did not hide his affection for the race. “This is the mountain bikers’ Kitzbühel,” he said, referring to the skiing World Cup leg in Austria, which bewitches the specialists. Since his overall World Cup win in 2003, most international mountain bike events have been a walkover for Julien Absalon. Very few races are out of his reach.

Last year’s winner, Spanish champion José Hermida, took things in his stride from the outset of the race. A group of six riders followed behind the Merida Multivan rider. Ravanel (Lapierre), Peraud, Julien Absalon (Orbea) Vogel and Schurter (Swisspower MTB Team) together with Roel Paulissen (Cannondale Vredestein) formed the leading group.

However, Absalon was rearing to go and did not wait long to take command of the race. The French rider has already said that Nino Schurter (Under-23 World Cup winner last year) should be the discipline’s next boss. And that was confirmed during the first kilometers of the race. The Vice World Champion gave the current world boss of cross country a hard time. Even though he was in the lead, Absalon was unable to shake off Schurter completely. Thirty seconds, then forty… after two hours and nearly seven minutes, Julien Absalon became the third French rider (after Martinez and Dupouey) to take out the Belgian classic. With his 13th victory, he closes the gap on Thomas Frischknecht’s record of 17 victories.

Christoph Sauser (Specialised) finished third while fourth place went to the Under-23 World Champion, Jakob Fuglsang (Cannondale Vredestein), the best result of his career.

Next week the World Cup stops in Offenburg, Germany. Last year, Julien Absalon was victorious. But watch out for the competition…..

Italy’s Damiano Cunego of the Lampre team is the new leader of the UCI ProTour after winning the Amstel Gold Race on Holland.

Cunego beat Frank Schleck (CSC) and Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) in a thrilling sprint to the finish at the summit of the Cauberg climb after an exciting race through the twisting hills of southern Holland.

Cunego scored 40 points for his victory and moved past long-term leader André Greipel (High Road) who won the Tour Down Under in Australia. Cunego now has a total of 73 points after also scoring 33 points in the recent Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco in Spain. Greipel did not ride the Amstel Gold Race and so slipped to second place with 62 points.

Spain’s Alberto Contador is third overall in the individual standings with 58 points thanks to his victory in the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco.

Cunego was riding the Amstel Gold Race for the first time and it is also the first time the talented 26 year-old from Verona has lead the UCI ProTour.

“I always knew I could win this race and it’s hugely satisfying to do it at the first attempt,” Cunego said after pulling on the white UCI ProTour leader’s jersey.

“It was a nervous race because of all the twisting climbs but thanks to my team mates we kept the race together and I started to really believe I could win it when the break of nine riders got away on the penultimate climb.”

“After that it was about keeping a cool head and controlling my rivals. I think I won because I’m more relaxed in the way I approach races and because I’ve really started to believe in my ability. I won the Giro d’Italia in 2004 but it was only after winning the Tour of Lombardy last October that I started to have confidence in myself in the big one-day races.”

CSC LEAD TEAM STANDINGS

Team CSC had Schleck second and Karsten Kroon ninth at the finish and so jumped from fourth to first in the team standings of the UCI ProTour.

The three-time winners of the special competition now have a total of 72 points. However the competition is still very close with Caisse d’Epargne second with 70 points, and Astana third, also with 70 points. The other ProTour teams are spread across another 40 points, with Lampre surprisingly in last place despite Cunego victory in the Amstel Gold Race.

The nations standings are a little more clear cut with Spain topping the table with a total of 203 points. Belgium is second with 150 points and Italy is a close third with 146 points.

The next race in the 2008 UCI ProTour is the Tour de Romandie stage race in Switzerland between April 29 and May 4.

British Cycling returned to Aigle, Swizerland, this week to train on the BMX track at the World Cycling Centre (WCC) in preparation for the European BMX Championships.

British Cycling was the first National Federation to send its athletes to train on the track after its reconstruction a year ago. The track was completely modified to resemble the track that riders will encounter at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Since the British team’s 4-day training camp in May 2007, 12 National Federations have trained on the WCC track, most of them on more than one occasion.

Three British BMX athletes, Shanaze Reade, Joanne Gough and Liam Phillips, were back in Aigle from April 12th – 17th to train under the guidance of new coach Grant White, formerly of Bike New Zealand. They then traveled to Echichens, Switzerland, for rounds 9 and 10 of the European BMX Championships which take place this weekend.

New Zealand’s top two BMX athletes will train at the WCC from April 27th – May 7th. Marc Willers and Sarah Walker currently lead the UCI BMX rankings, and will use their stay in Switzerland to prepare the third leg of the UCI BMX Supercross in Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 9th and 10th.

Five Australian BMX athletes will also train on the WCC track in preparation for the Copenhagen Supercross leg. Nicole Callisto, Tanya Bailey, Kama Kazi, Luke Madill and Jared Graves will be in Aigle from May 4th -7th before traveling to Denmark.

Meanwhile the French training structure Optimal Training will also return to the WCC from May 14th -15th with BMX athletes Anne-Caroline Chausson, leader of the UCI European BMX rankings, and Romain Saladini.

The World Cycling Centre (WCC), which is both the headquarters for the International Cycling Union and a coaching and training centre recognized by the International Olympic Committee, now has a new website.

This website is full of information on the missions, activities, architecture and history of the Centre.

Moreover, it offers visitors the chance to look over different parts of the WCC: the velodrome, BMX track, cyclo-cross course, gymnasium, fitness room, conference rooms, restaurant, etc.

As the Centre aims to meet the needs not only of athletes but also of people wishing to organize events, the WCC website sets out the services available to the public as well as the price list for the different offers (training camps, use of installations and rooms, accommodation).

At present, the WCC website is available only in French.

A record field of more than 400 competitors will line up at the start of the first leg of the 2008 Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Olympic Cross Country competition this weekend.

Some 273 men and 130 women are expected on the start line in Houffalize, Belgium, on Sunday April 20. This represents a World Cup record both in numbers and in quality: the 60 top men and the 40 top women from last season (according to the 2007 World Cup classification) are registered to race. Absalon, Hermida, Sauser, Kalentieva, Prémont, Spitz, all the big names will be present.

The high quality turn-out is the result of an exceptional year, with Beijing and its Olympic Games providing the focal point. While some athletes are assured of their ticket to China, others have yet to qualify. The competition will therefore be fierce.

While the quality and quantity of the field is assured, the weather is the unknown factor. Rain and cold is predicted by the specialists, while the more pessimist are talking about snow.

However, bad weather could not dampen the enthusiasm that reigns in Houffalize in the run-up to the competition. While the more impatient competitors whet their appetites on the slopes of Arsenal or Ol Fosse d’Outh, others soak up the atmosphere in the village which is filling up each day with journalist, mechanics, spectators and competitors.

By tuning into YouTube, you can now discover the highlights as well as a glimpse backstage of the Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano

The channel, called “ucimtb”, provides a report in images of each day of competition as well as interviews, short personality profiles and interesting details and anecdotes that set the World Cup apart.

The Tour of Taiwan provided the highlight in March with the American John Murphy emerging victorious by the tightest of margins in cold pre-summer weather.

An expanded race of eight stages, the Tour of Taiwan got off to a splendid start with Wong Kam Po of the Hong Kong national team registering the first of his two stage wins in a bunch sprint on the scenic Love River 88 kilometre criterium.

Wong, 34, also won the penultimate stage to emerge sixth in the general classification and third in the Asian riders’ classification.

Murphy (Health Net Presented by Maxxis) seized the overall lead on the second stage and kept it to the finish, beating compatriot and Team Type 1 rider Shawn Milne by a mere 10 seconds. Murphy also proved by far the best sprinter, winning the points classification as well with a 22 point margin over second placed Japanese rider Takashi Miyazawa of the Meitan Hompo-GDR team.

There was however no denying Miyazawa the Asian riders’ title, albeit by a very slight two second margin, over compatriot Taiji Nishitani of the Aisan Racing Team. Home team Giant Asia Racing Team, proved too strong in the battle for the overall teams classification, edging out the Netherlands registered Skil-Shimano, who featured an all-Japanese line-up, by a 15 seconds margin.

All top Asian riders will now prepare for the biggest event in April, the Asian Cycling Championships in Nara, Japan from April 15 to 17.

The Tour of Flanders is one of the biggest races in the World Cup Series. The race runs in parallel with the men’s (Pro Tour) event, with the closing kilometres covering the same parcours. The legendary climbs of the Muur (in Geraardsbergen) and Bosberg (11% and with 400 metres of cobbles) just 12 kilometres from the finish have been known as the place for the winner to launch her attack in the past.

In this, the fifth running De Ronde van Vlaanderen, there was action throughout the race, with the first riders attacking on the very first climb, Molenberg. Delays caused by crashes on the wet cobblestones made others nervous to maintain their position in the bunch without expending extra energy chasing back to position.

Trixi Worrack (Équipe Nürnberger) was particularly unfortunate; she suffered crashes at both ends of the race. Initially falling in the opening 25 kilometres, she was forced to switch to a spare bike and continued racing. Then, with only a few kilometres remaining, she was floored by a race motorcycle and taken to hospital. Whilst the German was not seriously injured, reports are that she is battered and heavily bruised; she had been in a position to help Suzanne De Goede with her sprint in the breakaway. After the event, De Goede admitted that she had been aware that a good finish could put her into the World Cup lead. “I was sorry for Trixi and disappointed that she was missing, she was in the front group and we could have worked together in the sprint.”

At Molenberg, Chantal Beltman (Team High Road), Marianne Vos (DSB Bank), Emma Johanssen (AA Drink) and Noemi Cantele (Team Bigla) got away. Giorgia Bronzini (Italy) and Luise Keller (Team High Road) jumped to close the gap over the cobbles through Mater. The lead group never managed to gain more than 1 minute 30 seconds, but the aggressive format for the race had been created.

The Muur caused the race to ‘explode’ and a group of fifteen riders formed. There were some attacks and counter-attacks on the way to Bosberg and it was on the final climb that the ever-active Chantal Beltman (Team High Road) attacked again, with Cantele, Duester (Cervélo Lifeforce), Johanssen (AA Drink), Vos (DSB Bank) and 2007 winner, Cooke (Bike Hut) going with her. Initially, Judith Arndt hesitated, given that the team already had Beltman ahead. Then she went, countering an attack by 2007 winner, Nicole Cooke (Bike Hut), which Beltman had closed.

On the rolling roads to the finish, it was only Kristin Armstrong (Cervélo Lifeforce) who could break away. She launched a strong attack and the only rider strong enough to go with her was Judith Arndt. The pair worked together on the run-in along the wide, dual carriageway, road. They turned right into the final 500 metres of the course and began sprinting. Despite a brave challenge by the American, Arndt opened up the gap and had time for an uncharacteristic celebration on the finish line (she is known for wisely making sure of the win and giving a victory salute well after the line). Kirsten Wild (AA Drink) won the sprint for third from Oenone Wood (Team High Road), with Marianne Vos (DSB Bank) fifth and Suzanne De Goede (Équipe Nürnberger) sixth. The remainder of the fifteen rider breakaway was completed by Nicole Cooke (Bike Hut), who rolled in at the rear. Her trump cards had been played earlier

Judith Arndt was overjoyed with her win. The German was quick to praise the efforts of her team-mates, recognising that “I didn’t have to do much because I had a team-mate [Chantal Beltman] in the break”. The place that Flanders has in the hearts of the elite women’s peloton is without doubt; “It is the best feeling. It is so special to win here at Flanders.” For the former World Champion and formidable stage race and one-day winner, this was the addition of yet another World Cup race of those regularly included in the series from recent years.

Suzanne De Goede (Équipe Nürnberger) was announced World Cup series Leader and presented to the crowd alongside Pro Tour leader, Andrei Greipel.

Consistent finishing in all three World Cups so far put De Goede on 95 points. She leads Arndt and Emma Pooley (Team Specialized Designs for Women) in the standings. The second and third-placed riders are equal on 75 points each.