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The benefit of foresight: Serpa scores a win
Before the race started, Jose Serpa was tipped to be a serious contender for the overall classification of the 2008 Tour de Langkawi. But with 25 teams and 150-odd riders, controlling the race is near impossible and making the right break is a bit of a lottery. So when things didn't go to plan on Day 1, he decided to tack and change course.
Fresh Korn: The lifeline
Ask me what was at the root of the most stressful afternoon I’ve had in a while and I’d, somewhat ashamed, have to say “The Blackberry.” Even with some crazy life happenings of late, this past afternoon spent in a hotel room in France nearly put me under. What happened you ask? I’m not sure. IT caught a virus; a bug. A glitch in the software reared its ugly head. I downloaded another third-party application IT wasn’t happy with.
Rachel’s return
It’s been two weeks since Rachel Lloyd closed out her 2007-08 racing campaign at the 2007 UCI world cyclocross championships in Treviso, Italy. Lloyd, a native of Fairfax, California, was the highest-finishing American during the January 26-27 championship weekend, crossing the line in 9th place. She briefly rode as high as third, until waning fitness from a long season caught up with her.
AEG’s dilemma: ToC organizer speaks on Astana riff
The exclusion of Astana from any events hosted by the Amaury Sport Organization in 2008, including the Tour de France, put Amgen Tour of California organizer AEG in an unusual situation. This year’s race kicks off Sunday and marks the first U.S. appearance by the new Astana team of defending Tour of California champion Levi Leipheimer.
Chicago Hopeless
Chicago Hopeless
Hushovd wins Med Tour opener
Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) has donned the first yellow jersey of the 35th Tour Méditerranéen after winning the first stage, a 120km run between La Crau and Hyères. The 30-year-old Norwegian, winner of the green jersey in the 2005 Tour de France, outsprinted Italian Liquigas teammates Francesco Chicchi and Alberto Curtolo to take the victory.
Gilbert elbows way to win in Mallorca
With rain clouds threatening to dampen Wednesday’s mountainous fourth stage at the Mallorca Challenge, overnight leader Filippe Gilbert (FDJeux) wasn’t sounding too optimistic about his chances of defending his jersey. “It’s going to be too wet and dangerous. It’s not worth crashing to try to stay with the lead group in this mountainous stage,” Gilbert told VeloNews before the stage. “I already won a stage. That was the main goal for this race, along with getting ready for Milan-San Remo. I will take it easy today.”
Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast Announces Tour of California Roster
Minneapolis, Minn., February 13, 2008 – Few teams can claim such a meteoric rise as the Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast pro cycling team. A year ago Jonas Carney was grabbing the reigns of a brand new team with a lot of goals. Fast forward 12 months and he's leading many of those same athletes plus some high performance new additions to the Amgen Tour of California.
Contador: ‘We deserve to be in Tour’
Alberto Contador heard the bad news crackle on his earpiece early in Wednesday’s fourth stage at the Mallorca Challenge and then uncorked a rage-fueled solo attack across the rainy mountains. The 25-year-old yelled with emotion to a Spanish television camera: “Astaná, en el Tour!” he said, defiantly grabbing his jersey. “Astaná, in the Tour!”
Astana barred from ASO events
Amaury Sport Organization, the company that owns the Tour de France announced Wednesday that the Astana team of defending champion Alberto Contador will not be invited to compete in that race or in any other event it organizes in 2008.
Inside Cycling: Playing with fire
When Johan Bruyneel, Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and many of their Discovery Channel colleagues switched allegiance to the Astana team last fall they knew there was a risk that their new team might be excluded from events organized Amaury Sport Organisation — including the 2008 Tour de France. Now that ASO has done just that, we aren’t surprised, but like UCI president Pat McQuaid, we “can’t understand” the logic of ASO bosses Patrice Clerc and Christian Prudhomme’s decision.
Vuelta says Astaná welcome
Alberto Contador and his Astaná teammates might not be racing in July, but Vuelta a España officials were quick to say that the team is welcome in the season’s final grand tour. Vuelta director Victor Cordero told the Spanish wire agency EFE that the Spanish tour will not follow the lead taken by the Giro d’Italia and the Tour to exclude Astaná and said he hopes to see the team for the Vuelta start in Granada on Aug. 30.
High Road, Slipstream earn Paris-Nice bids
Lost amid Wednesday’s headlines was the official release of the invited teams for the upcoming 66th edition of Paris-Nice. The “Race to the Sun” will have a strong American presence with both High Road and Slipstream-Chipotle earning bids. Twenty teams with eight riders each will take the start March 9 with a 4.3km opening prologue in Amilly. The race concludes per recent tradition on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice on March 16. Route details have not been released.
ASO v. Astana: Readers react
The Mailbag is a regular department on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have read in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to webletters@insideinc.com. Please include your full name, hometown and state or nation. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.
Loddo scores win at Langkawi
He'd won the first three bunch sprints, but each time there had been a breakaway ahead. Nonetheless, Alberto Loddo’s Tinkoff teammates continued to believe in him, so on Tuesday they sacrificed everything for him, only to see him boxed in at the finish. It was all for nothing. By this time last year he'd already won two stages and was on his way to a hat trick.
Chart No.3
The chart above shows how hard is was for Mario Aerts to maintain a consistent pace within the 2007 Solvang time trial.
Chart No.2
This chart highlights the Sierra Rd climb where Mario Aerts averaged 385w for 20 minutes in the 2007 Tour of California.
Chart No.1
This chart shows Mario Aert’s Training Stress Score (TSS), total kJ’s, maximum 6-minute value and maximum 20-minute value for each stage of the 2007 Tour of California.
Training Stress Score (TSS)- defined
Training Stress Score (TSS)- The TSS represents a calculated number that takes into account the duration and intensity of a workout to arrive at a single score of the overall training load and physiological stress created by that session. One hour of functional threshold (as hard as you can go for one hour) = 100 Training Stress Score points.
Lance Borrows MTB Kerrville TX 1993 Post Worlds
Lance Borrows MTB Kerrville TX 1993 Post Worlds
High Road meets the neighbors in new hometown
The members of Team High Road introduced themselves to their new neighbors over the weekend at Art's Cyclery in San Luis Obispo, California. High Road recently registered its headquarters in the California town, making it the sole American ProTour team this season. High Road manager Bob Stapleton introduced the athletes — some of whom were straight off a training ride as part of a team camp — to a packed crowd at Art's Cyclery. City mayor Dave Romero, also on hand, said he was thrilled to have a team of High Road's caliber based out of his town.
Powering up for the Tour of California
It is often said that races are won - and lost - in the off season. One thing is certain: The rider who steps to the top of the podium on the last day of 2008 Tour of California has surely been training with rock-solid focus over these past few months, and those who haven’t will soon pay the price. The Tour of California is back with a vengeance.
Rojas wins, Gilbert takes lead
Steep climbs couldn’t slow down the peloton in Tuesday’s third stage at the Mallorca Challenge. Despite tackling some of the steepest roads in Mallorca’s dazzling Tramuntana range, the peloton came through for another mass sprint in the 168.4km stage from Pollença to Alcúdia.
High Road teams with Right To Play
The High Road professional cycling team announced a partnership with Right To Play in an effort to increase awareness of the charitable organization and in turn help improve the lives of children through the power of sport and play.
“Right To Play’s values and mission align with those of High Road. They develop the values and benefit of sport and play in society. Team High Road focuses on clean and fair sport and upon success won by fair means. We believe in the global work of Right To Play and hope that we can help, “says Team High Road owner, Bob Stapleton.
U.S.
Hondo back on track in Batu Pahat; Sprick’s lead narrows to a second
A forced time-out can sometimes be a good thing. As long as you're allowed to return to what you did before, have the strength to come back and deal with the consequences, it can make you a better rider. Perhaps even a better man.
Anticipation grows ahead of Paris-Nice selections
Teams are on edge this week with growing uncertainty about who will be invited to the 2008 Tour de France. Amaury Sports Organisation is heightening that anxiety ahead of Wednesday’s expected release of Paris-Nice invitations in what’s seen as the clearest signal for things to come ahead of the Tour.
Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn – Questions of standards and compatibility
Dear Lennard,
I'm confused about the BB30 design. How do they increase the spindle diameter from 24mm to 30mm and put the same sized bearings inside the BB shell? Is a larger diameter BB shell the design change the article mentions?
James
Dear James,
Yes, the bottom bracket shell is larger. Here are specs: www.bb30standard.com.
Lennard
Road Warriors: Bissell takes on title-sponsor role
There’s a new title sponsor in domestic road racing this year, one that has already built a growing legacy in the sport. Bissell, the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based floor-care products company, enters its sixth year in pro-cycling sponsorship. Bissell's support for the sport began in 2003 with the U.S. Postal Service team. From 2005 to 2007 the company co-sponsored Discovery Channel, and last year it co-sponsored the Priority Health continental team. When that company scaled back its commitment, Bissell stepped in as title sponsor.
Brown wins in Mallorca, takes lead
This time the sprinters got it right. A day after Philippe Gilbert (Francaise des Jeux) upset the peloton’s fastest men with a late-stage attack, the sprinters got it back on track Monday in the second stage at the Mallorca Challenge in Spain’s Balearic islands. A heavily bearded Graeme Brown (Rabobank) won easily ahead of Denis Flahaut (Saunier Duval) and Gert Steegmans (QuickStep) in an eight-up sprint that saw the bunch splinter in the late going in the 162.7km rolling stage across eastern Mallorca from Cala Millor to Son Servera.
Truly a family business
It takes three generations of a single Italian family to make the Ghisallo rims, crafted from Slovenian beech using a laminated construction method that doesn’t produce a seam. Hjertberg sells them for $175 apiece.
Yes, that’s a wooden rim
Ric Hjertberg was at the show with the Italian wooden rims he imports. “They have DNA,” he says, “and they’re incredibly lively.” They’re also quite durable — he has nine months of everyday commuting on a pair of the wooden clinchers he imports. He also brings in two tubular rims: One weighs a mere 320 grams; the other, 420.
Shimano’s 29er wheel
Shimano used the Handmade Show to unveil its 29er wheel. The nine in the graphic is a snake. Snakes eat frogs; if that’s an indication, the competition should look out. The wheels are built on a XT platform with 24 spokes, a 7075-T6 aluminum rim and XT freehub body. The set weighs 1810 grams and will be available in July.
The view from up front
The Grognard from the front.
Flat bars and an integrated brake lever
The bar McCormick built has a purposefully large, flat top, palm-sized bullhorns and an integrated brake lever.
Hand-cut dropouts
Its dropouts are hand cut, something craftsman Dave McCormick will do in any custom build.
Grognard’s fixie
Grognard Bicycle built this special fixie for the show.
Junk for the junker
Romano and Norstad built it up using Paragon’s junk bins.
Investors ink deal for VeloNews, parent company
The owners of VeloNews have entered into an agreement for the sale of the magazine, its website and parent company, Inside Communications Inc., to Competitor Group Inc., a recently formed private equity-financed media company based in San Diego, California. The deal, announced to staff on Friday, is intended to add needed financial clout to VeloNews and other ICI divisions, including VeloPress, VeloGear, VeloSwap and Inside Triathlon magazine.
The Garbage Fiber 3000
Romano couldn’t throw the CAD scraps away, so he saved them for four years and molded the Garbage Fiber 3000.
This Romano ain’t cheesy
Franco Romano, who was sharing space with Norstad at the show, builds CAD cut carbon frames using T-700 fiber.
If you have to ask . . .
Norstad, who has enough tubing for three more ti' couches, estimates this one's price at $16,000.
A truly titanic project
Norstad’s titanium couch. The titanium rods were originally made for medical usage as femur implants but when tested had too much iron in the alloy. They came to Norstad in a bundle 1.5 feet wide by 20 feet long. The couch took 300 hours to complete and is built on an aluminum frame. He has enough tubing for three more and estimates its price at $16,000.
Bits and pieces
Paragon’s business: All the little bits and pieces to build a bike.
Open(er) house
Mark Norstad of Paragon Machine Works explains the intricacies of one of his bottle openers.
Styles for men and women
Moon's britches come in two styles, shorts and plus fives for men and women. The plus fives are shorter than pants and longer than knickers. The herringbone series Britches will cost $170.