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Cavendish: ‘I wanted to prove I am a great rider’

Mark Cavendish proved the skeptics wrong yet again. After most experts believed he couldn’t get over the late-race climbs, the Columbia-Highroad rider sprinted to a dramatic victory to win the 100th Milan-San Remo. Here are excerpts from his post-race press conference: Question: What does it mean to you to win a classic?

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Road Culture

Rusching across Africa: Back for more

Professional endurance competitor Rebecca Rusch has tackled her fair share of adventure races and 24-Hour mountain bike races throughout the years. Now, the Idahoan is back in South Africa, competing for the second time in the Absa Cape Epic, endurance mountain bike stage race across the country’s scenic Western Cape. And we’re along for the ride. — Editor

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Road

Armstrong: ‘No guarantees’ to win Tour again

Lance Armstrong says his return to the top spot of the winner’s podium at the Tour de France is no guarantee. The seven-time Tour champion is confident he will attain a high level come July, but admitted he cannot take for granted he will be the same rider who won barnstormed to seven consecutive titles from 1999-2005.

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Road

Lure of history draws Armstrong to Italy

Lance Armstrong clicks into his pedals Saturday for the 100th Milan-San Remo in his first European race since winning the 2005 Tour de France, but even he admits he isn’t expecting to stand on the winner’s podium. The seven-time Tour champ acknowledges the Italian classic doesn’t suit his style of racing, yet Armstrong is promising to make a strong showing in the 298km race.

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Road

Cancellara: ‘I am not a machine’

Fabian Cancellara won’t be defending his Milan-San Remo title on Saturday and admits that he likely won’t be back at his best in time for the northern classics. A training crash and illness have derailed Cancellara’s hopes of repeating his extraordinary spring campaign last year that saw him win Monte Paschi, Tirreno-Adriatico and San Remo and claim second in Paris-Roubaix. Cancellara told VeloNews his spring campaign is all but a wash this year.

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Road

BMC gets invitation to Paris-Roubaix

BMC is one of three American teams invited to this year's Paris-Roubaix. Garmin-Slipstream and Columbia-Highroad are the other teams invited to the April 12 event. "It shows the level of confidence that the race organizations have in our future," team directeur sportif John Lelangue said.

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Road

Oscar Freire delays return to racing after California crash

Spain's triple world champion Oscar Freire was on Thursday forced to shelve his return to action which had been penciled in for the Tour of Castille and Leon from March 23-27, his Rabobank team said. Freire, who suffered broken ribs in a nasty fall during the Tour of California in February, has not recovered fully from the accident. "Oscar can't train normally," said Rabobank team sporting director Erik Breukink.

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Road

Milan-San Remo: Can Cavendish get over the Poggio?

Mark Cavendish isn’t expecting to win his first crack at Milan-San Remo, but he’s getting some advice from someone who has. Four-time winner Erik Zabel has been quietly working and training with the British sprinter since retiring. Cavendish is expecting that expert advice to pay dividends sooner than later. “He knows every race by the back of his hand, so it’s perfect for me,” Cavendish told VeloNews. “It takes away at least one year for experience. We’re talking and training together all the time, at the races or after.”

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Road Racing

Wrenched & Ridden bike reviews: TRP R960 dual pivot brakes

Options in aftermarket brakes have multiplied in recent years. A category once defined by feathery but flimsy-looking carbon and aluminum has matured, and the TRP R960 is evidence that shedding weight need not result in shredded skin from a blown corner. At 245 grams for the pair (with pads, but minus mounting hardware) they are almost 50 grams lighter per pair than Shimano Dura-Ace, but proved to function almost as well.

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Road

Henk Vogels talks about his new team, the North American peloton, and life as a director.

Henk Vogels is back. Well, sort of. After a career that included a pair of top-10 finishes in Paris-Roubaix, second at the 2003 Gent-Wevelgem, wins at the USPRO road and criterium championships, an overall victory at the Tour de Beauce and an Australian national road title, Vogels quietly retired at the end of the 2008 season. There was no announcement, no send-off race or ceremony — just a shift, from the bike to the driver’s seat in a new role as team director.

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Road

OUCH’s Cam Evans back to defend title at San Dimas

The domestic stage-racing calendar opens up this weekend with the three-day San Dimas Stage Race. The race begins Friday with a 3.7-mile climbing prologue, followed Saturday by a hilly road race run on a 7.15-mile circuit. The race concludes Sunday with the Old Town Grand Prix, raced on a 1.2-mile circuit in downtown San Dimas. Rising Canadian star Cameron Evans of OUCH-Maxxis returns to San Dimas Friday as the defending champion.

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Road

Crash sidelines Fränk Schleck

A bad crash during training this week meant a trip to the hospital and now a break from racing for Team Saxo Bank’s Fränk Schleck. The rider from Luxembourg skidded and crashed on a downhill curve. Seven stitches on the chin and a heavy contusion on his left wrist was the immediate damage.

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Road

Redlands teams announced

More than 200 men and nearly 150 women will line up for the Redlands Bicycle Classic, starting Thursday March 26. “Not only is this one of the largest number of entrants we’ve had for both the men’s and women’s fields, but it’s also one of the most prestigious,” said Race Director Dan Rendler. “The women’s field reads as a ‘who’s-who’ of female cycling, while the men’s field features 11 of the 13 registered UCI Continental teams.” Among the women are five current national champions, one current world champion and the current NRC champion.

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News

Columbia-Highroad for Milan-San Remo

San Luis Obispo, California, 18th March 2009 - Columbia-Highroad tackles Milan-San Remo this weekend with high hopes for Mark Cavendish, the recent winner of the last stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. However, the squad has no intention of placing their top sprinter under any pressure to come up with a specific result.

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