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There’s no secret why Davide Rebellin pointed to his head after winning his third La Flèche Wallonne title on Wednesday. The Italian veteran proved he had the legs to summit the Mur de Huy alongside the other strongmen of the Ardennes races. But it was the cagy Italian’s brains that earned him the winning margin on the slopes of the feared climb. “It might just be the best of my three wins," Rebellin said. “I've been working hard in that respect (climbing)."

Dear Readers,
A bike tech column is going to naturally gravitate toward discussing new equipment. I regularly get letters, however, extolling the virtues of a more sustainable approach with less emphasis on the latest equipment. Given that it’s Earth Day, I thought it a good time to give voice to a couple of these letters. And for Earth Day (and every day), ride your bike and avoid motorized transportation as much as you can.
Lennard

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Kristin Armstrong wants to end her long and successful career this year on a winning note. The ideal scenario would be recapturing the rainbow jersey in the world championships in September in what will be her last major competition of her career. Rather than leave the sport after winning the Olympic gold medal in the individual time trial in Beijing last summer, Armstrong made the commitment to race this year, in part, to help nurture young talent on her Cervélo TestTeam.

All eyes will be on Dutchwoman Marianne Vos at Wednesday’s La Fleche Wallonne Femenine, the women’s component of Fleche-Wallonne. Vos is the two-time defending champion of the women’s race, which this year marks the fourth round of the UCI women’s World Cup. And Vos won the last World Cup, the Ronde van Drenthe, held in her home country on April 13.

Specialized is working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall some 2004-era Roubaix road bikes and some 2009 model year mountain bikes. The road bikes are being recalled because a riveted brake cable stop on the frame can come loose. The mountain bikes are being recalled because the handlebars can break. In both cases, the company and the CPSC are advising owners to stop riding the bikes immediately and return them to a Specialized dealer.

The Roubaix recall:

X-rays revealed Tuesday that Tom Boonen suffered a fissure in his right foot during a finish-line pileup at Scheldeprijs last week in Belgium.   Doctors ordered a 10-day rest for the recently crowned Paris-Roubaix champion, but Boonen’s injury couldn’t have come at a better time.   Considering that his first major goals of the season are already in the rear view mirror, Boonen could be philosophical about the setback.  

Price: $50 Sizes: One month supply Web site: www.intelligentendurance.com Intelligent Endurance is a new supplement producer that aims at improving athletic performance through the use their combination of vitamins, minerals, and herbs. Intelligent Endurance believes that their daily serving of ten natural ingredients will help to holistically bring the mind and body together to promote endurance and help the athlete reach his or her full potential.

Price: $60 Weight: 250 to 265 grams Sizes: 700x18-23 and 700x25-32 Colors: Black, white, silver, and carbon Web site: www.sks-germany.com The new SKS Raceblade fender is a wrap-around fender made for frame and fork designs that typically prohibit the use of traditional fenders. The Raceblade mounts tightly to a bicycle's seatstays and fork blades — no eyelets necessary.

Statistics can’t quite illustrate the challenge posed by the Mur de Huy, the final climb of La Fleche Wallonne. Sure, the climb’s average gradient is 9.3 percent. The road soars up 420 feet over the course of three-quarters of a mile. One particularly nasty ramp hits 25 percent. And the climb comes at the tail end of a five-hour race.

Dutch racer Theo Bos says he feels sick about Sunday’s crash in the final kilometer of the Presidential Tour of Turkey. His crash with yellow jersey wearer Daryl Impey (Barloworld) has generated a huge amount of Internet chatter and calls for Bos to be punished for his role in it.

Luxembourg's Frank Schleck has pulled out of Wednesday's Fleche-Wallonne race and is doubtful for Sunday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege after his fall in the Amstel Gold Race, his Saxo Bank team revealed on Tuesday. Schleck was taken to hospital after falling spectacularly during the Dutch race on Sunday but was discharged shortly afterward. The 29-year-old had hoped to compete in all three Ardennes classics this season, but his team said the seriousness of his fall prompted them to take extra precautions.

Event organizers are determined to save Philadelphia's one-day classic road race, one of the most important events on the domestic calendar for nearly a quarter century, facing severe financial challenges less than seven weeks before race day. "We’re tough," Dave Chauner told VeloNews. Chauner is the co-founder of the event now titled the TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championships, a race known to most in the cycling community simply as "Philly." The race is scheduled for June 7.

Beer wasn't atop my list of cravings as I inched up the Cauberg, rolled under the jumbotron and crossed the final finish line of the Amstel Gold Race cyclosportive. Pedaling 250 kilometers through Hollands hilly Limberg region had me wanting to get off my bicycle – pronto. The freezing rain that fell for the final two hours also didn't exactly put yours truly in the mood for some chilly suds. And after stuffing waffles and the sugary Euro sports drink Isostar down my pie hole for 10 hours, I craved something salty: corn chips, popcorn or frites.

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No longer a Hamilton fan

View flash animation panorama of the Sea Otter Tech Expo

The 2010 Tour of Italy is to start from Amsterdam, the Dutch news agency ANP reported on Monday, quoting a spokeswoman for the city authorities who added a further announcement is due to be made at a news conference on Thursday. The Netherlands is already to host the start of the 2010 Tour of Spain from Assen in August and likewise Rotterdam is to host the start of next year's Tour de France.

This year’s Sea Otter Classic, like so many of its predecessors, served as a launching pad for companies looking to introduce new products. The event also maintained tradition by hosting a few funky one-off project bikes, and a few sneak peeks at products in the works. Here’s a quick look at some legitimately launched products, and a few that were mostly kept behind the curtain. Also, to get yourself in the mood, take a look at Brad Kaminski's 360-degree panoramic shot of the Sea Otter tech expo.

A one-off, 12-pound Trek

Dutch climbing specialist Robert Gesink has been forced to pull out of Wednesday's Flèche Wallonne because of a painful right knee. The 22-year-old Rabobank rider, fourth in last year's race, felt the pain towards the end of Sunday's Amstel Gold Race, in which he finished third. A subsequent scan convinced team doctors that he should have two days' complete rest and resume training on Thursday, when a decision will be taken on whether he competes in Liège-Bastogne-Liège next Sunday.

Mont Ventoux will be the top attraction of a challenging 2009 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, a favorite warm-up for Tour de France contenders. BMC snagged an important invitation to race the demanding, eight-day course across the heart of the French Alps June 7-14, which might help ease some of the team’s disappointment after being overlooked for the Tour de Suisse later that month. Race officials on Monday announced details of the 2009 route, which will have few opportunities for sprinters and plenty of challenges for riders bucking for the overall.

Even though he didn’t race this weekend, Heinrich Haussler (Cervélo TestTeam), retained the top spot in the UCI world rankings. The German-Aussie sprinter headed to the beach following his impressive spring campaign and skipped Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race, but he held enough of a margin to retain the lead of the updated rankings released Monday. In fact, there were no major shakeups, with the exception of Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto), who catapulted from 21st to ninth after finishing fourth in the Dutch classic.