Campy’s Red Shifters Red is, and always has been, the color preferred by Italian auto racing teams, says the Italian bicycle components manufacturer Campagnolo. And using this symbolism Campy will turn the Record shifters it supplies to its professional teams red. The letters on the shift bodies of both shifters will be changed from white to red.
After going into the Sydney round of the track World Cup with high hopes, a chest infection has forced Magnus Backstedt to withdraw from the second round in Beijing. "I was flying right up until the morning of the pursuit. When I woke up I just didn't feel 100 percent,” he said. “During my ride as soon as my heart rate hit anything close to my max I started coughing, which at full speed in a pursuit is not ideal. I was disappointed with my ride, but then I jumped straight up and rode the points race qualification and my legs just had nothing!" The big Swede spent the majority of the
2006 World Bicycle Trials Champion Vittorio Brumotti
Fiera Milano trade-fair venue
Italian marketing relies on a tried and true method for a targeted audience
The Green City Bikes
You don't see this too often at trade shows
The Milan Four-day featured some wild racing
Pippo Pozzato gave track racing a shot in Milan
One of the strangest marketing efforts we saw.
San Patrignano's bamboo bike
The Bianchi 9-2-8 Carbon SL monocoque
The new Selle Italia Monolink seatpost/saddle combo
Cipo' is still a big draw
The Cinelli Neo Morphe
The Deda Phazer
Retro in the modern world: the Deda Campione
Campagnolo’s professional issue red shifters.
SRAM’s Red shifter.
SRAM’s Red cassette
Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski’s Superfly
JHK’s 45mm Dugast XL 29-inch/700c mountain bike tubulars mounted to prototype Bontrager carbon rims
Pacocha gets a chance to beat up a pricey set of wheels
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. The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and should not be viewed as reflecting the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company,
Maureen Bruno Roy came and conquered not only the season-ending Capital Cross Classic, but also the 2007 Verge MAC SRAM season championship. Davide Frattini couldn’t make the finale in Reston, Virginia, but claimed the Verge MAC SRAM season championship by a single point based on his previous conquests. A big part of the story of this year’s Capital Cross Classic, presented by the Bike Lane, was what didn’t happen. Rain, snow, sleet and freezing rain were all part of the forecast, but Sunday’s weather turned out nicer than the previous day, marked by wind and bitter cold. One thing that
Bruno Roy rides to a weekend sweep and the verge MAC title
"Cycling in the News" is a regular service of VeloNews.com. Readers,reporters and friends are encouraged to send links to current stories aboutcompetitive cyclists and cycling that appear in the mainstream media. Ifyou come across a news item that you believe may be of interest to otherVeloNews readers, we would be grateful if you choose to send it to rosters@InsideInc.com. USA Cycling mulling move (Canada)The Colorado Springs GazetteUSA Cycling officials have set a Dec. 15 deadline for their 48-employee organization, which is considering new Colorado Springs locations and options in Ogden,
Mickael Bourgain led a French domination of the men's sprint on the final night of the opening leg of track cycling's World Cup in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday. Bourgain fought off team-mate Kevin Sireau, winning both his races in the final. England's world keirin and kilometer time trial champion Chris Hoy prevented a French clean sweep of the medals, beating world team sprint champion Gregory Bauge of France for the bronze medal. "I felt very very good and I am happy with the tournament," Bourgain said. "My hardest match-up was against Greg Bauge, but that is how it goes.
Cadel Evans rates his No.1 ranking at the end of the 2007 ProTour more highly than even his runner-up finish in this year's Tour de France. "For me, personally it was better than getting second at the Tour and it's not easy to do," the 30-year-old Australian said Sunday. "It's taken from all of the big races from February to October so it's a long time to have to be good for. "In terms of races or contracts or whatever, maybe it isn't (better) but for me personally it was." Evans faces a testing 2008 season with the Tour de France and the Beijing Olympics road race just
Belgian Sven Nys (Rabobank) won the fifth round of the UCI World Cup of Cyclocross in Igorre, Spain, on Sunday. Nys took the top spot ahead of compatriot Bart Wellens (Fidea), a repeat of the finishing order in last year’s World Cup in Igorre. Nys’s victory further solidifies his hold on the overall standings in the nine race series.
The first half of the final weekend of the 2007 Verge MAC Series brought the first taste of the winter weather to the Mid Atlantic racing scene after an unusually warm autumn. The Carlisle Cross Classic took place on Saturday at Pennsylvania's Carlisle Fairgrounds, a location more famous for its massive antique auto shows than for human powered speed. "Speed" was the name of the game on the course designed by Mike Hebe on the wide open spaces of the fairgrounds. It sent riders up and over every side of the only hill, but its dominant characteristic was the extremely long, paved approach
Demonstrating why they were crowned the overall winners of this year’s Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross, Kona-YourKey.com rider Ryan Trebon and Luna’s Georgia Gould each soloed to victory on Sunday in wet and windy Portland, Oregon. Trebon’s competition for series supremacy was Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Leer-Cyclocrossworld.com), who won Saturday but finished a distant second on Sunday. Gould, who had the series wrapped up after winning Saturday, outlasted perennial rivals Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) and Lyne Bessette (cyclocrossworld.com), who both abandoned the cold,
Saturday Afternoon - It was drizzling in Oz this morning. That’s okay, because the track is covered making us feel less guilty about being inside. The scratch race has no consequences for the Olympics but it’s a popular event and full of surprises. Travis Meyer squeaked through in his heat. We remember him from his days at Junior Worlds when he won three world track titles in a 10 hour time span. His brother Cam took the bronze last night in the points. A poignant moment for me yesterday came when a struggling Magnus Bäckstedt (bronchial infection) was working with Travis to regain the
Gould does the double
Trebon gets his jersey back
Johnson saw the overall vanish again, but conceded that Trebon was a worthy winner
Trebon working the barriers in a driving rain
The national champ, suffering from a cold she brought back from Europe, abandoned
Gould leads Compton
Bos earns bronze in the Keirin
Glöss hit the deck after her bike came apart
Glöss survived the crash.
Chris Hoy won the men's keirin event as British cyclists claimed two goldmedals on the second night of the UCI World Cup track meet in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday. Hoy, the reigning keirin and kilometer time trial world champion,downed compatriot Ross Edgar and world sprint champion Theo Boss of theNetherlands to take gold. Great Britain followed up with gold in the men's team pursuit, beatingNew Zealand. The British team of Edward Clancy, Stephen Cummings, Chris Newton andindividual pursuit world champion Bradley Wiggins won in a time of 4:01.196seconds over 4000 meters. Team
Chris Hoy won the men's keirin as British cyclists claimed two gold medals on the second night of the UCI World Cup track meet Saturday in Sydney, Australia. Hoy, the reigning keirin and kilometer time trial world champion, downed compatriot Ross Edgar and world sprint champion Theo Boss of the Netherlands to take gold. Great Britain followed up with gold in the men's team pursuit, beating New Zealand. The British team of Edward Clancy, Stephen Cummings, Chris Newton and individual pursuit world champion Bradley Wiggins won in a time of four minutes 01.196 seconds over the
Upsets were the theme of the day in Portland, Oregon, at the fifth round of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross. On a muddy day that saw brief snowfall turn to cold rain, pre-race favorites Ryan Trebon and Katie Compton, the reigning elite U.S. men’s and women’s national champions, were beaten by their top domestic rivals, Tim Johnson and Georgia Gould. Racing was held at the Portland International Raceway, site of the 2003 and 2004 national cyclocross championships. The course, which was relatively flat, would have been a fast and uneventful track if not for the rains that
Germany's Dana Glöss is comforted by teammates after her fork broke (below) in competiton
A big score for the Commonwealth in the Team Pursuit.
Glöss's bike
Hoy tops the keirin podium
'08 Giro route announced
Johnson, the mudder, emerges triumphant
Gould shows the national champion her wheel
Trebon was short a little horsepower
Johnson scored himself a jersey
Compton had a mechanical and an off day
Portland's fans turned out in droves
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the latest edition of The Prologue, the weekly summary of news from the world of competitive cycling from your friends at VeloNews.com.
“A 60 percent chance of snow before 10 a.m., then rain and snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 36. South wind between 8 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.” Welcome to December cyclocross in Portland, Oregon, host city to the2007 Crank Brothers U.S.Gran Prix of Cyclocross finals. The forecast for this weekend’s events,a pair of races that will determine the series winners, is wet, cold andmuddy. It’s going to be a sloppy weekend. Saturday appears to be the harsherday of the two, with colder temperatures bringing the possibility of snow.Sunday is predicted to be nearly 10 degrees
Editor’s Note: - Connie Carpenter is at the UCI World Cup in Sydney, Australia, this week, accompanying her son, 2007 world junior time trial champion Taylor Phinney, as he enters his first elite level track competition. The 1984 Olympic gold medalist has agreed to send us reports throughout the event. Friday Morning - All the buzz is in the infield as the Track World Cup got under way on Friday morning. The track is outside Sydney, further than the Olympic Park complex – in a quiet zone known as Bass Hill. It’s familiar, but oh so strange, to be here in my first trip to Oz. Everyone is
Dual Olympic champion Ryan Bayley and Athens silver medalist Katie Mactier delivered Australia a golden opening night at the cycling World Cup season opener in Sydney, Australia, here Friday. Bayley continued his build-up to next year's Beijing Games by spearheading Australia's Team Toshiba to victory in the men's team sprint final, while Mactier claimed gold in the women's individual pursuit. Australia's time trial world record holder Anna Meares took silver in the women's sprint as she seeks to make the event her own for the Olympics after her favorite event, the
Just like most of the T-Mobile riders this week, Michael Rogers wasn’t sure what lay in store when he heard news that the German telecommunications giant was pulling the plug on its title sponsorship of the team. Despite some uncertainty, the Aussie GC rider believes the team’s future is safe as team manager Bob Stapleton scrambles to reorganize the squad in time for the start of the new season. “I did think [the team was dead]. T-Mobile chips in several million dollars a year and to find a sponsor of that caliber, in these conditions, is no easy thing,” Rogers said in an interview with the
Yehaw! That's Tim Johnson in there someplace
The outlook is ... muddy
The course: Now imagine it brown and splattered with mud and possibly snow
Bessette, Gould and Compton, still clean at the start of last year's muddy Portland USGP
Carl Decker and Barry Wicks after the 2004 Portland USGP race
Trebon went to New Jersey wearing the stars and stripes, but left wearing the white USGP leader's jersey.
Psyching up
... and he's off.
Grrrrrrrrrrr!
While news of Deutsche Telekom’s decision to withdraw its support fromits cycling program was disappointing, it was far from unexpected, saysT-Mobile rider Michael Barry. Barry told VeloNews that he and his teammates formally learnedof the decision just prior to the release of the news to the public thisweek, but had been prepared for the possibility since May, when time trialspecialist Sergei Honchar was suspended for violating the team’s own internaldoping policies. Honchar was subsequently fired “for violations of theteam code of conduct.” “When Honchar was suspended, the situation
The official route details won’t be revealed until Saturday, but more features of the 2008 Giro d’Italia are being discovered. Local officials in Sicily unveiled the profiles of the opening three stages of the 2008 Giro set to begin May 10 on the Italian island. The corsa rosa will begin with a 28.5km team time trial in Palermo and pass most of the city’s most interesting landmarks with the start in front of the Teatro Politeama and concluding near the Massimo theatre. The first road stage will roll from Cefalu to Agrigento, running from the north to the south of the island over a route
Twenty Americans will compete in the opening round of the 2007-08 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, which runs from Friday through Sunday in Sydney, Australia. The U.S. national team and seven American pro track teams are among the 48 nations and 23 trade teams set to compete in the season’s first major international event, which factors into Olympic qualification. The U.S. national team includes Adam Duvendeck (Momentum), Brad Huff (Slipstream-Chipotle), Bobby Lea (Toyota-United), Giddeon Massie (T-Town Express), Dotsie Bausch (Colavita-Sutter Home-Cooking Light), Liz Reap (T-Town
Dear Readers,In my lastcolumn, I promised a report on the “WeAre All Traffic” rally in Portland. To recap a bit, in Bicycling& the Law, I wrote that "gaining the right to the road was thecycling cause of the late nineteenth century; securing that right willbe the cause of the early twenty-first century." To that end, I arguedthat "the time has come for a second civil rights movement for cyclists."Following a recent spate of collisions between drivers and cyclists inPortland (see “AFatal Bias?”), Joe “MetalCowboy” Kurmaskie called for a cyclist’s civil rights movement, andthe “WeAre All
The Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis, winner of four consecutive NRC team titles, announced its 2008 roster this week, making it one of the domestic scene’s strongest teams for the coming season. “The guys we’ve re-signed for ’08 were instrumental to the success of the team in 2007,” said team director Mike Tamayo. “Building the squad around these guys will ensure the team is just as strong next season.” Anchoring the returning group is individual NRC title winner Rory Sutherland. In his first season racing in North America, the 25-year-old from Canberra, Australia, showed
Barry says he's remains confident going into '08.
Hamid Akhavan, the CEO of T-Mobile International, is probably glad that the name of his company won’t continue to be trashed by the German media, which has made dope-tainted cycling its principal target over the past 18 months. This 46-year-old Iranian, who has held the top position at T-Mobile for less than a year, was previously the German company’s chief technology officer, with degrees from the California and Massachusetts Institutes of Technology. Akhavan is carving out a name for himself in the world of wireless technology but, at least in the sports world, he will be remembered as the
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. The letters published here contain the opinions of the submitting authors and should not be viewed as reflecting the opinions, policies or positions of VeloNews.com, VeloNews magazine or our parent company,
The Tour of Germany will go ahead as planned in 2008 despite the decision by Deutsche Telekom to end its sponsorship of the T-Mobile team after a succession of doping scandals. "The Tour of Germany will take place no matter what happens," said Kai Rapp, head of the organizing committee. "The most important thing for us is that television does not take cycling off air. The rest is secondary." The Tour of Germany is the biggest stage-based race organized in Germany, and is one of two that figure in the ProTour calendar. T-Mobile, the mobile phone division of German telecommunications giant