Recently retired Bobby Julich will be staying on with Saxo Bank-IT Factory next season in a new position as “rider development manager.” Julich ended his 16-year racing career this summer and will take on a managerial role in technical development, testing and time trial coaching for the squad where he enjoyed his most successful years from 2004-08.
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The premier event for single speed cyclocross enthusiasts returns to Portland this weekend, November 8th and 9th. A weekend of racing dedicated solely to those who race with just one gear, the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships (SSCXWC) gathers top-level racers from across the country and beyond to compete for the top prize in this category. Registered riders include Adam Craig, Ryan Trebon and returning champions Wendy Williams and Barry Wicks.
Jamey Driscoll (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale) scored double wins at the Cycle-Smart International race in Northampton, Massachusetts, this weekend, while Laura Van Gilder took the win in Sunday's race. Driscoll, in his first year aged out of the U23 category, has developed a formula for success in New England: a steady start on lap 1 and then turning on the pressure for each lap after that until he finds himself alone
Gustav Larsson, the silver medalist time trialist from the Beijing Olympic Games, has penned a three-year contract extension with Saxo Bank-IT Factory (formerly CSC-Saxo Bank). Larsson was rumored to be considering a deal with Caisse d’Epargne, but the 28-year-old Swede decided to stay with Bjarne Riis. Larsson -- who finished 14th in this year’s Giro d’Italia along with top-10s in the Tour of California, Criterium International, Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of Denmark – saw his profile rocket after mining silver in the Olympic Games.
Lance Armstrong powered to victory at this weekend’s Tour de Gruene, winning both the individual and team time trials in convincing fashion. Armstrong’s participation was a welcome surprise to co-promoters Will Rotzler and Tom Sickmann, who learned of the Tour de France winner’s plans just days before the event. Sickmann attributed record participation levels for the tour to the “Lance factor,” adding that, “people don’t look at him like a rock star, or celebrity, they see someone who has transcended sport with his story. They see inspiration; they see hope.”
The second day of UCI cyclocross racing in Boulder, Colorado, saw repeat scenarios develop as on Sunday, with an identical result in the women’s race and a new winner from the same podium finishers from Saturday’s men’s race. In men’s racing, a lead group quickly formed containing Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com teammates Tim Johnson and Jeremy Powers, Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Saturday’s winner Todd Wells (GT).
On a warm day under clear skies, Melanie Swartz and Ryan Dewald stormed to victory at the Wayne Scott Xross in Fair Hill Maryland on Saturday. The long and relatively flat course through the Cecil County Fairgrounds was fast and technical with few opportunities to recover. In the Elite Men’s race, Greg Wittwer (ALAN North America) took a lead on the first lap and made the rest of the field ? and himself ? suffer. “I was going real hard,” he said after the race. “I saw from the earlier races that the races were staying together in the front and I wanted to spread it out.”
Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale's Jamey Driscoll and Stevens Cycles' Natasha Elliott won in Northampton, Massachusetts on Saturday, at the Cycle-Smart Invitational race. Driscoll's win ahead of Specialized's Andy Jacques-Maynes solidified his lead in the Verge New England series. Check back soon for photos and a complete report.
It was no day at the beach for the hundreds of professional and amateur ’crossers who competed in the opening round of the Boulder Cup, held Saturday on a sand-laden course at the Boulder Reservoir in Colorado. Todd Wells (GT) and Georgia Gould (Luna) took wins in the elite races, which stood as the fifth of eight round of the North American Cyclocross Trophy (NACT).
Riders from Britain's successful Beijing Olympic team was out in front again as the hosts won all six golds up for grabs in Manchester Saturday on the second day of the opening leg of the World Cup. Ed Clancy and Geraint Thomas, half of Britain's gold medal-winning and record-breaking team pursuit quartet in Beijing, joined up with Rob Hayles and Steven Burke to enjoy a triumph on their home track. Bradley Wiggins, a member of the team that stood atop the podium in China, opted out in preference for Sunday's Madison while Paul Manning has retired.
Great Britain's track cyclists scored gold in five World Cup events at the Manchester Velodrome on Friday night in their first action since the team’s domination of events at the Beijing Olympics. Performance director Dave Brailsford said it was time to concentrate less on Britain's exploits in China, where the team won seven of 10 events in the velodrome, and to look towards the London Olympics in 2012. And his team was in a confident mood as a mixture of familiar faces and new names took top step on the podium as the Manchester leg of the World Cup series kicked off.
The Giro d’Italia will have some pretty spectacular digs for its 100th anniversary bash. Giro officials announced that the centennary edition of the rosa corsa will begin May 9 in Venice. The Giro will return to city of canals for the first time in 12 years. With Lance Armstrong leading an all-star cast that also will likely include 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre and Damiano Cunego, the Giro couldn’t ask for a better send off to celebrate a century of history.
Britain's track team may have dominated the boards of the Olympic velodrome in China, but for the man who helped orchestrate those remarkable achievements it's back to business. Dave Brailsford, the Performance Director of British track cycling, returned from Beijing a happy man after seeing his riders claim seven of the 10 gold medals on offer at the Laoshan velodrome in August. But he won't let his squad of deserved medal winners rest on their laurels.
USA Cycling is launching a revamped track program intended to get young trackies more international experience early in their careers. In recent years, USAC has sent national teams to four track World Cups each season. Under the new program, the team will send some riders to all the UCI Track Calendar events, as appropriate, including European Grand Prix races and 6-day races. USA Cycling also will launch several domestic track training camps.