Dear Monique,Since the beginning of the year, I've been exercising regularly to lose weight. As a former competitive cyclist, my preferred method, up to this point, has been to take part in "spinning" sessions, or riding my indoor trainer, four to five days per week. I've also recently started to mix in some moderate weight/resistance training two to three times per week.
Here's my problem. Since the beginning of January, when I started my routine on a more regular basis, I have not been able to lose a single pound. According to my heart rate monitor, I've burned enough calories in four
Vicenza, April 14 2004 – Campagnolo’s complete wheels are renownedfor their lightness, smoothness, sturdiness and reliability. A reputationachieved thanks to the quality and performance of the Nucleon low-profilewheels introduced in 1999. Research conducted on a fully integrated projectencompassing rims, spokes and hubs, resulted in the creation of ideal bicyclewheels that are reactive during short sprints yet nevertheless comfortableeven on long rides.
Basing itself on these already solid foundations, Campagnolo soon expanded its wheel collection, presenting two new low-profile models
Spain's world road race champion Igor Astarloa could be set to leave Cofidis after he was told Wednesday he can leave the embattled French outfit, who have suspended all racing amid a doping investigation, if he wants.
"If he wants to join another team we'll let him go," said the manager of France's top cycling team, Alain Bondue.
Bondue added that 28-year-old Astarloa, who was recruited from the Italian Saeco team at the end of last season before winning the world title in Canada in October, had not requested a move. It has been reported however that other teams have made the Spaniard
The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@7Dogs.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Monday, Monday....To Editor and the Monday Bunch:I refer to the "Monday Bunch" as the group so quick to complain aboutGeorge Hincapie’s lack of support in exchange for Tour success.I'm pretty sure that had George won or placed and one of those
French rider Franck Bouyer (La Boulangère) won the Paris-Camembert race in France on Tuesday, edging Thomas Lovkist (FDJeux.com) to take the French semi-classic.
Bouyer, a winner of a stage last week in the Circuit de la Sarthe, escaped with Lovkist and held off the Swede to take the victory. Johan Coenem (Mr Bookmaker) led the main bunch in at 20 seconds back.
Paris-Camembert was the sixth leg of the French Cup series and Bouyer moves into third overall behind series leader Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole).
65th Paris-Camembert Lepetit (FRA 1.2)1. Franck Bouyer (F), La Boulangère, 4:29
Credit firm Cofidis, sponsor France's top cycling team, lost its claim for damages on Tuesday when a court dismissed the firm’s lawsuit against the sports daily L'Equipe, which last week published extracts of judicial statements into alleged doping.
The newspaper's lawyer said the court ruled the daily had not drawn any definitive conclusion about doping and was not bound by the laws of confidentiality.
The team, which includes world champions David Millar of Britain and Igor Astarloa of Spain, has pulled out of all competition while its sponsor reviews the situation.
Sacked former Cofidis
Dear Lennard,I would like to know how to assess whether a bicycle crank arm or the pedal shaft is bent following a road crash or just hitting an object with the pedal as often happens off-road.
Apart from obvious signs like the crank arm hitting the frame or other visible damage, there should be a way to determine that the pedal shaft is perfectly horizontal and 90 degrees to the frame. Hitting an object with the pedal may slightly bend parts upward when the pedal is at the bottom. Then when the pedal is at the 12 o'clock position the damage is effectively doubled as the effective bend is
Bobby Julich (Team CSC) is scheduled to fly to the United States on Tuesday, where he will race in the Tour of Georgia later this month.
It’s the first time the American has raced in front of the home crowd since 1996 and Julich is expecting a strong race following his impressive spring campaign in Europe.
Julich finished third at Paris-Nice in March and won the final time trial at the Tour of the Basque Country on Friday, his first win in Europe since 1997.
“Anything that happens in Georgia now will be icing on the cake,” Julich said after nipping compatriot Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) by
Australian veteran Scott Sunderland couldn't have asked for a better debut on the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix, the third round in the ten-race World Cup on Sunday.
Sunderland, at 37 made his debut on the world's toughest one-day cycling race over 261 km - 51 of which were over 26 bike-rattling cobblestones. Afterwards, the Aussie positively gushed with delight as teammate Magnus Backstedt secured an historic victory for Sweden, and for their Italian team Alessio. Backstedt, a 29-year-old sprinter, signaled his intentions with a second place finish behind Tom Boonen in Wednesday's
Dear Joe,I am 41-years-old and I do just about any activity that involves cycling, including triathlons and duathlons. One of the things that I noticed is that I can maintain a higher heart rate running than I can while on my bike.
Is there a different lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR) for running than there is for cycling?Thank you,Steven Crane
Dear Steven,Yes. Actually, this is quite normal for an athlete to have differences in heart rate at lactate threshold for different sports.
Part of the answer involves the amount of muscle fibers used within different sports. Running simply
The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@7Dogs.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Almost there… yet againDear VN.com,Poor George Hincapie. If only U.S. Postal would give the classics teamequal priority as its Tour de France team. It seems that every year Georgerides great at Paris-Roubaix, only to find himself all alone at
FDJeux.com’s Baden Cooke said Monday that he is about to file suit against a French newspaper over an article suggesting that he had injected himself with a banned stimulant.
Tuesday's edition of Le Monde includes extracts from a telephone conversation recorded by the police in September 2001. In it French cyclist Philippe Boyer, who was handed a one year prison sentence last year for drug trafficking, is claimed to be talking to a supposed friend of Cooke's, a woman called Sandrine.
She tells Boyer that Cooke, who won the Tour de France green points jersey last year, had felt ill after
Magnus Backstedt (Alessio) was as surprised as anyone after realizing a childhood dream by winning the 102nd edition of Paris-Roubaix in a sprint finish on Sunday.
The big Swede, 6-foot-3 and just under 200 pounds, outsprinted Tristan Hoffman (CSC) and Roger Hammond (MrBookmaker.com) to win the grueling 261km “Hell of the North.”
One of the greatest episodes in the history of cycling's World Cup will come to an end Sunday when Belgian classics king Johan Museeuw races his final Paris-Roubaix.
Considered the toughest one-day race in the world, the French classic needs no introduction. Tour de France legend Bernard Hinault once described it in less-than-glowing terms.
"It's not a race, it's more like a cyclo-cross," raged Hinault, who, nonetheless, had to have a go and eventually tamed the "Hell of the North" himself in 1981.
The 38-year-old Museeuw, who will finally hang up his wheels three days afterwards at the GP
As a former two-time winner of Paris-Roubaix, Marc Madiot knows all about the effects the weather can have on anyone's chances of victory on the race known as the "Hell of the North.”
Madiot, now the team manager with Fdjeux.com, won the race in 1985, sandwiched in between the two victories of Irish sprinter Sean Kelly, then did it again six years later, in 1991.
In good conditions, Paris-Roubaix is enough to give any pro rider cause for concern. But add a sprinkling of rain on one of the race's 26 cobblestone sections, and buoyant hopes of victory can soon drown in despair.
"When it
Cofidis, the sponsor of France's top cycling team, has made no decision on its future in the sport following its decision to pull the team out of all competitions.
The credit company's president, Francois Migraine, said very little after an emergency meeting Saturday in Marcq-en-Baroeil, France, with his team managers and a select few riders.
"It was a discussion between me and them," said Migraine.
Team sprinter Jimmy Casper, meanwhile, said Cofidis simply wanted to put things right and expressed confidence that its future could be assured.
"The boss told us we have to get back on the
During the days preceding Paris-Roubaix, the talk is often of the weather, which, over the years, has often put the hell in the Hell of the North at this one-of-a-kind spring classic.
TUNE IN TO VELONEWS.COM beginning at 8 a.m. Eastern time Sunday for our live updates from the 102nd Paris-Roubaix, with on-the-spot assistance from VeloNews editor Kip Mikler, European correspondent Andrew Hood and photographer Graham Watson.
If it rains for Sunday’s 102nd running of the race, as it did memorably two years ago, the 26 cobblestone sections of the 261km route will become the enemy of the 184
American Jennie Reed won gold in the keirin on Saturday during round three of the UCI Track World Cup in Manchester, England.
Reed, of Kirkland, Washington, fourth in yesterday’s women's sprint, beat Susan Panzer (Germany) and Daniela Larreal (Venezuela) in the keirin to take the first gold medal of the event for the United States.
ResultsWomen500 meter time trial1. Yvonne Hijgenaar (Ned) 35.1892. Yonghua Jiang (Chn) 35.3103. Victoria Pendleton (GB) 35.4993000 meter individual pursuit1. Katherine Bates (Aus), 3:35.352, beat 2. Emma Davies (GB), 3:42.768; 3. Hanka Kupfernagel (G), 3:43.275,
The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@7Dogs.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Regarding ManzanoEditors,The current situation in cycling has gone from bad to worse, and notjust because new allegations of drug use have surfaced.If true, these revelations are certainly shocking, more for their boldprevalence than any "I can't
The Olympic aspirations of Britain's top cyclist David Millar could be under threat after he was directly implicated Friday in the doping scandal which has engulfed France's top team Cofidis.
A potentially damaging report in L’Equipe newspaper claims that Millar, the world time trial champion who will bid for Olympic track gold in the Athens velodrome this summer, has been actively involved in doping and works closely with a shady doctor from the Spanish Euskaltel team.
The Cofidis doping affair was exposed in January when police, who had for months tapped the phones of several team
Johan Museeuw seeks a record-equaling fourth victory in the Paris-Roubaix classic on Sunday, knowing that most of his rivals come from within his own Quick Step-Davitamon team.
Victory would put Museeuw on a par with compatriot Roger de Vlaeminck, the only man to have conquered the cobblestones of "The Hell of the North" four times.
Apart from last year's winner, Peter Van Petegem, Musseuw's leading rivals will be familiar faces. Belgian hopeful Tom Boonen, winner of the Ghent-Wevelgem classic this week, Hungary's Laszlo Bodrogi, 2001 winner Servais Knaven from the Netherlands and
If it’s on the Internet, it must be true. So, when a recent “What’s ahead on VeloNews.com” item listed “Notes From the Road with Bryan Jew” as a regular Friday feature, one thing was painfully obvious to me. I’d failed in an attempt to make the VN.com editor forget about my column by going into hiding for a month. And sure enough, it was confirmed when the “Are you doing a column this week?” e-mail hit my in-box the other day. So, after a four-week hiatus, I’m back. No truth to the rumors that I’ve been in rehab to kick a junk-food habit. In fact, for part of that time I was off at Redlands,
American track rider Walker Starr has been prevented from taking part in round three of the UCI Track World Cup Friday in Manchester, England, after an abnormal result from a random blood test, according to official sources.
Starr, from San Diego, had been scheduled for the scratch race. He has been barred from competition for 15 days, in accordance with UCI rules.
Pre-competition or random blood tests focus on a rider's hematocrit level (the volume of red blood cells in the blood); a reading over 50 is an indicator, although not proof, of the use of banned blood boosters.
Thirty five
Bobby Julich (CSC) was back in the spotlight Friday at the Vuelta a Pais Vasco after nipping compatriot Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) by less than one second to win his first race since 1998.
Julich was ecstatic with the narrow victory on a technical, rain-slicked 8.5km course that featured a short, steep climb in the rugged mountains of northern Spain.
“It’s unbelievable. What a comeback in less than a couple of months,” Julich said after covering the course in 11 minutes, 57 seconds (42.62 kph). “The moment I signed with Bjarne Riis I knew this was possible. This feels really good.”
Russian
France's top cycling team, Cofidis, will not be entering any more races for the foreseeable future, beginning with Sunday's Paris-Roubaix classic, the third race in the 10-leg World Cup.
Cofidis is battling a series of doping allegations, and press reports in Friday's newspapers only served to further put the team in the mire.
Today, the team's sponsor, credit company Cofidis, issued a statement that said in part: "In the face of the seriousness of recent allegations, the Cofidis company has decided to take some time out to reflect on the current situation. As a consequence, as of today and
With 4 to 8 inches of snow expected to fall over Boulder, Colorado, between Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, the Colorado Roubaix road race has been rescheduled for late May.
The tough event, which features a rolling, 17-mile loop circumnavigating washboard dirt, paved and gravel roads around the Boulder Reservoir, was being billed as the stateside race most closely resembling a Paris-Roubaix-style event. Scheduled one day before the European classic, the race was expected to draw Colorado-based members of Health Net, Ofoto, and TIAA-CREF-5280, and many in the area’s elite-level
Bradley McGee signaled his intentions to better his Olympic bronze medal from four years ago when Athens comes around by scoring a comprehensive World Cup win in the 4000-meter individual pursuit Friday night in Manchester, England.
The Australian, who rides with the French professional road team FDJeux.com, finished nearly seven seconds ahead of Sergi Escobar Roure in the final with a time of 4:19.696. Great Britain's Paul Manning won the ride-off for bronze against Russian Alexander Serov.
The event was McGee's only chance of staking his claim to a spot on the Australian Olympic team
While working on a story this week about Webcor Builders women’s team rider Christine Thorburn for our upcoming VeloNews issue No.7, I dialed up Quark’s Lyne Bessette to get a comment or two about Thorburn’s surprising third-place overall finish at Redlands.
And along with getting the quote material I was looking for from the recent Redlands winner —“I was impressed by her amount of fight,” Bessette said of Thorburn’s second-place finish on the Oak Glen climb. “I knew that she was a good climber, but I was surprised that she could hang on that long.” — what surprised me was the voice that
Poke around our sport a bit and you’re sure to find a handful of ex-pro’s still making a healthy living as shills… er… spokespersons for a particular product. Sometimes, like George Foreman pitching his line of “Double Knockout” grills, many of the cycling spokespeople know (or care) little about the product they’ve associated themselves with (no offense George).
Still, even if you throw out the long list of “big time” names connected to product solely to make a quick buck, you’ll get a healthy list of riders who are seriously committed to improving the sport and bettering a particular
Scots cyclist Graeme Obree has abandoned his bid to reclaim the world hour record held by England's Chris Boardman.
Obree, who held the record before Boardman set his mark of 49.441km under new rules in 2000, told AFP of his decision after a test ride on Sunday at the Manchester velodrome suggested he was too far away from record-breaking fitness.
Obree, 38, has been retired from top-level cycling since 2001. He called off Sunday's test after 12 minutes in which he averaged 47 km/h, significantly below the pace required to break Boardman's record, established on the same track on October
Four American racers were poised to jump into contention for the overall title at the demanding Vuelta al Pais Vasco going into today’s challenging climbing stage to Lekunberri, won by Denis Menchov (Illes Balears).
Floyd Landis (U.S. Postal Service) and Levi Leipheimer (Rabobank) started Thursday’s stage in the select group of 20 riders tied with the same time as leader Alejandro Valverde (Kelme).
Bobby Julich (CSC) and Tyler Hamilton (Phonak) sit just eight seconds out of the lead going into the climb-riddled stage, which features a long Category 1 climb that tops out just 3km from the
Denis Menchov, a quiet Russian on the Illes Balears team, ruined the party for the hometown heroes of the Euskaltel-Euskadi team in Thursday’s decisive climbing stage in the Vuelta a Pais Vasco.
Menchov punched the accelerator with 500 meters to go up the short but steep Category 1 Alto Azpiroz climb near the finish of the 182km fourth stage to quickly drop David Etxebarria (Euskaltel).
The Russian didn’t look back as he crested the summit and hammered the final 3km to the finish line to score his second stage win this season and seize the overall lead. Menchov, the best young rider of the
Germany's Jan Ullrich said Thursday he is happy to amble along at the back of the peloton in preparation for his main challenge of the year - facing Lance Armstrong during what is bound to be an unmissable Tour de France in July.
Ullrich, the 1997 Tour winner who returned to form with another runner-up finish behind Armstrong last year, is taking part in this week's Circuit de La Sarthe race with no ambitions of winning stages or the race itself.
While 32-year-old Armstrong has increased his training load ahead of the July 3-25 showpiece, during which the American U.S. Postal rider will bid
Ludovic Turpin gave France its second winner in two days at the Circuitde la Sarthe as the Ag2r rider held off a pair of Aussies to win the secondstage.Two riders -- Yuryi Kristvov (Ag2r) and Luis Sanchez (Liberty Seguros)– went on the attack early on to build up an eight-minute lead. Kristvovwas reeled in with just 5km to go to set up the sprint.Franck Bouyer (La Boulangere) retained the overall lead after finishingsafely in the main pack that came into Montreuil for a mass gallop. Turpinedged Robbie McEwen (Lotto-Domo) and Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros), whocame through third. American Fred
It would have been a shame, really, if it had ended any other way.
After treating the local fans to a display of power in the 66th running of Ghent-Wevelgem in Belgium on Wednesday, the Quick Step-Davitamon team turned to its young gun Tom Boonen to close the deal. The 23-year-old did so magnificently, continuing his rise to stardom by outfoxing a group of seasoned sprinters including Magnus Backstedt (Alessio-Bianchi) and Jaan Kirsipuu (AG2R), who finished second and third respectively.
The troubled Kelme team hopes winning will help erase the bad memories of the past few weeks.
The Spanish team brushed off recent doping allegations by ex-rider Jesus Manzano and won Wednesday’s third stage of the Tour of the Basque Country and bounced back into the overall lead.
First-year pro Carlos Zarate held on during an epic solo move to win his first pro victory while Alejandro Valverde, winner of the opening stage, shot ahead of the peloton to claim second and recapture the overall lead.
“I still can’t believe I won,” said Zarate, who held a nearly two-minute lead over the Category
The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com, appearing each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@7Dogs.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.What? Huh? Hey, that's pretty good!Editors,Holy crap!Is he for real?It's like Jack Kerouac on wheels. “On the road...” with AgnettiSheldrake? (see “YoungGuns: "It's all just so caray-zee"”)Pretty good stuff. Keep it coming.Tim McDonaldRichmond,
SUN VALLEY, ID – Scott USA announced its return to theUSA in the coming months and offer a full line of bicycles and selectedcycling accessories for the 2005 model year. Beat Zaugg, President of ScottSports Group said, “We have always wanted to return to North America. Wefelt this was the perfect time as our bicycle line has been extremely wellreceived for years and is already sold in some 37 countries around theworld. We have been getting many requests from enthusiasts in the UnitedStates asking to purchase our cycling related products. Our brand is verystrong but we did not have the right