Travis Brown also chose to race a single speed. His Trek 9.8 Elite hardtail came eqquiped with a wild assortment of parts including this Russian titanium Sibex fork (www.sibexsports.com)and 34x14 gearing
Both Craig and Brown ran Sibex titanium forks. Craig with the disc brake version and Brown with the canti version
Sibex Sports's Scott Mares showed his clean-looking Cossack cyclocross bike. At only $1200 for frame and fork, this Russian-made titanium rig seems like a steal
Brown found himself running the steep climb early on in the race after getting stuck behind slower riders, but later in the race could power up it in his monster gear
Legend Ned Overend chose to run the slightly heavier than a SID World Cup, but much stiffer and Motion Control equipped, '05 RockShox Reba
Maverick riders Abby Hippley and Ariel Lindsley were spotted riding Maverick American's new SC 32 race/ride fork. It features 125mm of travel and can be on-the-fly adjusted down to 80mm for climbing
Giant-Pearl Izumi rider Jared Rando was seen running the long-time ultra secretive Michelin 'System'. To date, no one outside of Michelin techs have seen was lurks inside this self-sealing, semi-tubeless downhill tire system
Held at pen-point Maxxis tire developer Chris Wyatt revealed the prototype tires on the Luna riders' bikes will be called 'ADVantage' and will offer higher volume and agressive tread patterns for loose terrain. Vanlandigham and Dunalp both rode them
Missy 'The Missile' put in a lightning-fast qualifying run, but some course tape delayed her arrival to the final run finish lin
The Colombian government and its national Olympic committee announced plans to appeal the disqualification of track cyclist Maria Luisa Calle Williams after she tested positive for a stimulant following the women’s points race. Calle Williams was stripped of her bronze medal in the event after testing positive for the stimulant Heptaminol. The bronze medal was then awarded to American Erin Mirabella, the only U.S. podium spot in an Olympic track event this year. Colombia earned just one other medal in the games, a bronze won by Mabel Mosquera in the 53kg category of women's weightlifting.
Hamilton at the Tour
The loose gravel start of the short track required the front row to 'dig in' to avoid wheelspin. Looked just like the start of a 250 main moto
Hydration packs might not be the coolest pro accessory but the Hydrapak Air Scoop Team is the sleakest option available with its customizable outer flap
Shonny Vanlandingham turned her Vetta computer into this minature shrine to The Artist Formerly Known As Prince for little on-trail motivation
Adam Craig chose to run a stock '04 Giant singlespeed frameset ($500) and a 40x16 gear in the short track
Talk about keeping yourself occupied during your race....
Haven and Tyler Hamilton and that souvenir they picked up in Athens
Not a bad day's haul: Dede gets silver, Tyler gold and Bobby grabs a bronze
With the Olympics done I finally got around to emptying out the digicam from the last few days. Below you’ll find a sampling of sights from the men’s cross-country, the final night of track and field and scenes from the Closing Ceremonies and the main Olympic Complex.
Lots of interesting architecture in this place.
The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame and Museum is excited to announce the2004 INDUCTEES TO THE MOUNTAIN BIKE HALL OF FAME & MUSEUM.They are as follows;Matt Hebberd-PioneersPat Follet and Tom Spiegel-PromotionKurt Loheit-AdvocacyPaul Thomasberg-IndustryTheir biographies are listed below.They join fellow mountain bike legends who are all listed at mtnbikehalloffame.com.Plan to attend the 17th Annual Mountain Bike Hall of Fame InductionCeremony in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 7th, 2004 at 6:30 P.M. The ceremonyis held during the annual Interbike Trade Show which is located at theSand's Expo and
Olympic Complex walkway.
The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. 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@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.It's more than medalsEditors,Stephen Burke claims to be mystified by Stuart O'Grady's block in thefinal lap of the Olympic Madison race (see Burke’s letter “O'Grady blockedBrits in Madison” Friday’sMailbag). Well mate, it shouldn't be too hard to work that one out. Aa any Aussiewill
The Closing Ceremonies.
More from the Closing Ceremonies.
Danielson showed his stuff on Mt. Evans
It's all over. Party time.
The men's 50-rider field...
...which only briefly contained Hesjedal.
Sauser, with broken chain in hand, was out early as well.
Absalon's winning ride.
Hermida got all choked up...
...talking about the crash that almost cost him a medal.
Crotia's No. 1 high jumper (she didn't win).
The Olympic flame above the stadium entrance.
A fountain in the Olympic Complex.
Pruitt had a helluva margin
In this case, it is about the bike.
Growing suggestions by critics before the Athens Games that IOC president Jacques Rogge would falter in his attempt to carry out his promised war on doping in the Olympics have been proved wrong. The 62-year-old former surgeon did more than wage a war - he oversaw a massacre that will be felt for years by those athletes who remain convinced that cheating and drug taking is the way to gold. While the 20-plus victims might have spilled tears instead of blood as they queued up to file out of the athletes' village in disgrace, their Olympic futures were dead and buried. Greek sprint idols
Mirabella in the points race
Bart Brentjens collected the bronze
Liam Killeen gutted it out for fifth
Thomas Frischknecht had a bad start, then fought his way to seventh
Seamus McGrath cracked the top 10 in ninth
Little Mig cracked, period; he would not finish
A flag-waving Absalon celebrates his triumph
Wells got gapped on the start loop but finished 19th
Absalon paid homage to his late father at the finish
Absalon doling out the pain on the descents ...
Vanlandingham all by her lonesome
... and through the woods
Kabush cracks a cold one
Hermida and Brentjens battled for the silver . . .
Carter takes the risks – and the win
. . . and Hermida won
Kinter shows her heels to the field
Brentjens had to settle for bronze
The medalists in the final cycling event of the 2004 Athens Olympics
Julien Absalon gave France something to cheer about
And he gave the credit to his late father
Jose Antonio Hermida took the silver
Jimena Florit finished 12th.
Dahle celebrates with sister Peggy.
Maybe the best thing about the mountain bike venue for Friday’s women’s cross-country was that it wasn’t in Athens. Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t have anything against the Olympic host city. I’m just not a city boy at heart, so it was nice to get up in the hills for a day. The course was set at the base of Mount Parnitha, which (fittingly) kind of looks like the hills east of Los Angeles (air pollution reference there). It’s barren, dusty, dry terrain. But when the sun finally tucked in behind the hills and the temperature came down, it was a pretty pleasant place to be. And the sky is
Mary McConneloug's family dons their war paint
McConneloug takes a moment to collect herself before facing the media.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (August 27, 2004)- Event producers Tailwind Sports and Threshold Sports announced today that a record 42 number of men’s and women’s teams will compete in the 2004 T-Mobile International, presented by BMC Software, on September 12th. The internationally diverse field will be comprised of 22 women’s teams and 20 men’s teams with riders representing the United States, Canada, Spain, and Italy, among others. Six-time Tour de France champion and U.S. Postal Service team leader Lance Armstrong will highlight the men’s field along with other standout Americans such as Olympic
The lone American racing climbed to a top-10 finish
Jose Antonio Hermida’s new carbon Merida.
The Mail Bag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. 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@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Olympics coverage much worse than Tour TV Editor:Having read your mailbag and other cycling forums with all the whining about Al, Bob, Phil and Paul during the coverage of the 2004 Tour de France, I found the comments quite comical after hearing some of the butchered commentary during
Mary McConneloug
Frischkorn bundles up for the brisk stage