Juan José Cobo (Fuji-Servetto) attacked with just under 2km to go to win Thursday’s 145.4km “queen stage” over two first-category climbs at the 24th Vuelta a Castilla y León. Cobo, who started nearly three minutes out of the GC fight, timed it just right to bolt clear of a reduced pack of leaders to win for the first time this season.
Grimaces, frowns and faces of pain abounded during Thursday’s opening prologue at the 2009 Redlands Bicycle Classic. While the 5km journey from downtown Redlands to the top of Sunset Drive wasn’t long, it packed a serious punch in the form of 1000 feet of elevation gain, most of it within the final steep kilometer. The lion’s share of the 350 men and women racers spent the final meters out of the saddle, suffering their way to the summit.
Damiano Cunego won his second stage in a row to take the overall lead in the Coppi e Bartali race following Thursday's 163.4km fourth stage from Borgo San Lorenzo to Serramazzoni. The Lampre rider outsprinted Australian Cadel Evans to take the leader's pink jersey from Italian countryman Giovanni Visconti. The day's racing was marked by a break from Kanstantin Siutsou, Felix Cardenas and Enrico Rossi but they were caught 10km from home. With 1km left Evans made a bid for home on a steep climb but Cunego caught him and pipped him to the post.
Despite some wintry weather, attendance was up for Round 2 of the budding SoCal Interscholastic Cycling League’s 2009 race series. The event was held Sunday at Warner Springs Ranch, 40 miles east of Temecula. High rainfall so far this year had given these rolling hills an emerald green hue, but rain falling in sheets on race day, driven by 20 mph winds, added to the multiple challenges of rocks and thickets of prickly pears punctuating the 4.5 mile course.[nid:89777]
The Songo.info team of Burry Stander and Christoph Sauser partially made up for stage 4's penalty and mechanicals to win stage 5 and move back into contention for the overall. Songo.info finished 1:14 seconds ahead of the second team of Trek-Brentjens on the stage. It was Songo.info's fourth stage win.
LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (June 2009) - Cycling returns to Downtown Reno this June as the Northstar-at-Tahoe Tour De Nez gears up to bring the Reno/Tahoe area 5 days of racing action and parties galore. The 18th annual Tour De Nez will take place over 5 days, June 17-21, in Historic Downtown Truckee, Downtown Reno and wraps up at the village at Northstar-at-Tahoe. The race will feature both pro and amateur events including men’s and women’s races, hand cyclists, messenger races, the infamous clunker classic and even The Biggest Little Kid’s Race.
(March 24, 2009 - Minneapolis) The 2009 Women’s Prestige Cycling Series gets underway this week with the Redlands Bicycle Classic, the traditional opener for this women-only national series. Roster changes and changes in the Series schedule will add to the drama in this Series as it enters its sixth year. “Women’s racing is alive and well”, said Redlands Race Director Dan Rendler. “Our women’s field is the largest we have had in years with the who's who of women's cycling.”
The USA Cycling National Development Team's Cole House of Oneida, Wisconsin, won the 130km G.P. Waregem in Belgium Wednesday. Cole also is a member of the U23 BMC team. Around 50 kilometers into the UCI 1.12 race, the 20-year-old joined a 20-rider breakaway. With his teammates Austin Carroll and Taylor Shelden helping control a chase group, House's group stayed out front through several climbs and cobblestone sections. In the final kilometers House outsprinted the remaining 15 riders.
Jonas Carney's 2009 Kelly Benefit Strategies squad heads to the Redlands Classic this weekend with one of it's strongest line ups ever. The team moves west with an A-list roster that includes former Redlands Overall winner Andrew Bajadali, KOM jersey winner and new addition Jake Erker plus 2007 rainmaker Alex Candelario, pivotal in Bajadali's win two years ago. "We're beginning our season well rested but ready," says Jonas Carney, performance director. "There are a lot of teams out there with a ton of racing in their legs already but we're just getting started.
Editor's Note: Rebecca Rusch is competing in South Africa's Absa Cape Epic stage race on a Mixed team with fellow American Matthew Weatherley-White. Rusch, a two-time 24-hour mountain biking world champion, is sharing her daily diaries with VeloNews readers. This stage was reported to be an “easy” day. We are tired, bruised and the effects of this many days of racing are starting to show. Matthew and I are both feeling fine, but the legs are sore and the 5 am wake up call is taking its’ toll on me!
Teenage track sensation Taylor Phinney struck gold in the men's pursuit to end the United States' 16-year wait for the title at the world track cycling championships Thursday. Phinney, who turns 19 on June 27, fulfilled pre-race predictions to overcome a strong challenge from Australian Jack Bobridge, who finished second. Belgian Dominique Cornu won bronze after beating Volodymyr Dyudya. With 2008 world and Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins not competing, the way was open for the likes of Phinney, considered the new sensation of American cycling, to strike gold.
Carlos Sastre clipped out of his pedals following a time trial performance Tuesday at the Vuelta a Castilla y León that might have caused concern among certain quarters. While Levi Leipheimer and Alberto Contador roared to a one-two sweep in the 28.2km race of truth, Sastre was a lowly 36th at 2:32 off the pace, hardly what one would expect from the defending Tour de France champion. “Tranquilo, todo tranquilo,” Sastre said as he stopped to sign two quick autographs and disappear into a small, Cervélo TestTeam camper van. “Everything’s fine.”
The British team that has dominated track cycling at the Olympics and worlds competition in past years is set to redress the gold medals balance Thursday after missing out on victory four times on the opening day of the world championships in Pruszkow, Poland. Great Britain, which won seven of ten titles on offer at the Beijing Olympics last year, have so far lived up to claims of taking a relaxed approach to a gradual build-up to the London Olympics in 2012.
Editor's Note: Connie Carpenter is in Pruszkow, Poland, covering the Track World Championships for VeloNews.com while supporting her son, Taylor Phinney. Carpenter is a former world champion on the track and an avid fan of track cycling. Big surprises on the opening night! Yes!
Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong was recovering Wednesday after surgery to repair his right collarbone, which was broken into four pieces in a crash on Monday at the Vuelta a Castilla y León. In an article posted on the Astana team website, doctor Doug Elenz, the orthopedic surgeon who performed the procedure in Austin, Texas, said it wasn't yet clear when Armstrong would be able to return to racing.