Road

At any given pro bike race, there are hundreds of hard-life stories that line up at the start every day. The story of Adrien Niyonshuti (MTN-Energade), however, is unusual among them. Coming from Rwanda, where six of his brothers were killed in the 1994 genocide, Niyonshuti got a pro contract for this year after winning the 2008 Tour of Rwanda. Now Niyonshuti is about to start his first pro European event at the Tour of Ireland. [nid:96865]

American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) won the second stage of the Eneco Tour on Thursday, further consolidating his hold on the overall lead. Farrar won a field sprint at the end of a 178.1km stage from Ardooie to Brussels, adding to the sprint win he earned in stage 1 on Wednesday. Farrar outsprinted Yauheni Hutarovich (Française des Jeux) and Columbia-HTC’s Edvald Boasson Hagen for the win in Brussels. The stage was marked by several breakaway attempts, the last of which was reeled in just 500 meters from the line.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Felt Bicycles has issued a voluntary recall of about 1450 2007/2008 F1X Cyclocross bicycles. The bicycle’s fork steerer tube can break, causing the rider to lose control, fall and suffer injuries. There have been six reports of these forks breaking with minor injuries reported in two of the incidents. The recall includes all 2007/2008 Felt F1X Cyclocross Bicycles. These bicycles are available in Semi-Matte Black and have aluminum frames with carbon fiber forks with aluminum steerer tubes.

Tour de France winner Alberto Contador will not race this weekend at the GP Ouest France-Plouay. According to Astana spokesman Philippe Maertens, Contador has come down with a cold and will not participate in what was expected to be his final major race of the 2009 season. “He has a cold. He has no voice. He was not on the bike for a week,” Maertens told VeloNews. “It would be useless for him to start.”

There only thing certain about Alexander Vinokourov’s immediate future and whether or not he’ll race the Vuelta a España is that it is all far from certain. Despite some reports that Vinokourov has the go-ahead to start the Vuelta next weekend with Astana, nothing is settled yet for the returning Kazakh rider. According to Astana team spokesman Philippe Maertens, paperwork that would ease the way for Vinokourov’s return to the Astana fold is complete, but there’s still no final agreement between all the major players.

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Recent injuries have put GC-threat Juanjo Cobo's Vuelta a España in doubt. The 28-year-old Fuji-Servetto leader crashed during training last week ahead of the Trittico Lombardo, resulting in serious abrasions and bruises to his arms and hands. Later X-rays revealed a fracture in the Spaniard's right shoulder. Despite doctors’ orders to stay off the bike for three weeks, Cobo is still hoping to start the Vuelta. Team manager Joxean Fernández included Cobo as part of the starting nine for the Vuelta, with Iker Camaño as the first replacement.

Last year Team Columbia dominated the Tour of Ireland, taking four stages and the overall title. Shortened from five to three days this year, the Irish tour will again host Columbia’s powerhouse squad, with star sprinter Mark Cavendish, world time trial champion Bert Grabsch, 2008 race winner Marco Pinotti and American Craig Lewis among those taking the start.

Francisco Mancebo and Oscar Sevilla (Rock Racing) pulled off a one-two finish in the first stage of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah on Wednesday. The tandem sprang away from the fadiing peloton on the climb above East Canyon Dam and extended their lead to a maximum of 35 seconds before coming through the finish on the outskirts of Salt Lake City together, 25 seconds ahead of a disorganized chase group that contained overnight leader Brent Bookwalter (BMC). The result vaulted Mancebo into the overall lead over Sevilla by 9 seconds.

Cervelo is bringing three crowd-drawing racers to the Tour of Missouri: Tour de France green jersey winner Thor Hushovd, Tour stage winner Heinrich Haussler, and up-and-coming American stage racer Ted King. Haussler and Hushovd are sure to battle with Columbia's Mark Cavendish for stage wins in Missouri.

Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) sprinted to victory in the 184km first stage at the 5th Eneco Tour on Wednesday in Belgium. A major crash marred the finale into Ardooie, Belgium, sending scores of riders somersaulting to the ground in a high-speed melee. Farrar avoided the mishap and darted to victory, sprinting ahead of Tom Boonen (Quick Step), with Edvald Boasson Hagen (Columbia-HTC) coming through third.

Dutch classics rider Servais Knaven isn’t done yet. The 38-year-old signed a one-year contract extension that will keep him in a Milram jersey through the 2010 season. “I am looking forward to the coming year. I thank the Team Milram and manager Gerry Van Gerwen for the trust they have in me,” said Knaven. “I enjoy riding on this team. You can feel the great (talent) and I want to do my part to contribute to the team’s success.”

Start List – 2009 Tour of Ireland

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Defending champion Jeff Louder's BMC Racing Team put a resounding stamp on the first day of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah in Tuesday evening's prologue, placing four riders in the top ten with Brent Bookwalter taking the win beneath the Utah State Capitol Building. Bookwalter blazed through the foothills above Salt Lake City to win the 2.8-mile prologue with a time of 6:12. Garmin-Slipstream’s Dave Zabriskie stopped the clock two seconds off Bookwalter’s pace in 6:14. Ian McKissick (BMC) rounded out the podium less than half a second outside of Zabriskie’s time.

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How do the big races produce custom leaders' jerseys so fast?

Why does my bike 'autoshift'?

Why is my bottom bracket noisy?

Can I retrofit QR15 legs on my SID fork?

Over the years Jeff Louder (BMC) has been a pretty noticeable guy at The Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic – he’s been on too many stage podiums to count, and has finished in the top three overall five times, including third overall at the 2009 race, which concluded July 26. At this year’s race, he stood out in another way – he had an odd circular pink and black object stuck to the top of his helmet.

When Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) says he’s on good form, you better believe him. Fresh off sprinting to victory in Sunday’s Hamburg Cyclassics race in Germany, Farrar came within a whisker of winning the opening prologue at the Eneco Tour, which clicked into gear Tuesday with a 4.4km course.

Start List – 2009 Tour of Utah

BMC Pro Cycling Team
• 1. Jeff Louder
• 2. Brent Bookwalter
• 3. Steve Bovay
• 4. Jonathan Garcia
• 5. Ian Mckissick
• 6. Jackson Stewart
• 7. Chris Barton
• 8. Chad Beyer

Garmin/Felt
• 11. Peter Stetina
• 12. Peter Salon
• 13. Raymond Kreder
• 14. Taylor Shelden
• 15. Walker Savidge
• 16. Kirk Carlsen
• 17. Alex Howes
• 18.

The National Racing Calendar rolls into Salt Lake City Tuesday evening as the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah returns in 2009 to challenge the mountain goats of the North American peloton. The five-stage race covers 325 miles and features many of the most demanding climbs in northern Utah.

Gary Fisher is best known for producing innovative, race winning and fun-to-ride mountain bikes. That’s all about to change. With the introduction of the Gary Fisher road bike line in 2010, you can expect to associate the Fisher brand with both the dirt and the tarmac. Already, the Kelly Benefit Strategies pro team has ridden the Gary Fisher Cronus to major wins with the Tour de Beauce, by Scott Zwizanksi and most recently the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium by David Veilleux.

Tyler Farrar notched the most important victory of his career this past Sunday in the Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg, Germany. The classic win capped a break-out year for the 25-year-old Garmin-Slipstream rider, who’s won a stage at Tirreno-Adriatico, the overall at the Delta Tour Zeeland and five top-5s at the Tour de France so far this season. And he’s not finished yet.

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Lance Armstrong says he'd bet on a professional stage race returning to Colorado in 2011, in part because Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter is "motivated and eager" to make it happen. Armstrong, speaking to reporters after winning the Leadville Trail 100 on Saturday, also said he hasn't decided whether to race in the 2010 Tour of California, which has been moved back to May and now conflicts with the Giro d'Italia. On the Colorado tour, Armstrong says he remains in close touch with Ritter.

Knee pain has forced Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen to pull out of what was to have been his comeback race, the Eneco Tour, his Katusha team announced Monday. McEwen suffered several injuries, including a fractured tibia, in a crash on the Tour of Belgium at the end of May. But despite hoping to make a comeback at the Eneco Tour, the 12-time Tour de France stage winner has been advised to wait. "Doctors can't guarantee him that his knee will support the intense, repetitive efforts of racing," one of his team managers, Bart Leysen, said.

Wet and wild would not even begin to describe the conditions for Sunday’s U.S. criterium national championships in Downers Grove outside Chicago. Torrential rains soaked the elite amateur men's field and thunderstorms delayed the pro men's race by an hour. The slick course caused crash after crash, turning the races into survival contests and dashing the hopes of favorites.

After a relatively quiet week last week, things are cracking across Europe. There’s stage racing in France, Ireland and Holland, a women’s World Cup and the Trittico Lombardo across northern Italy. 5th Eneco Tour (Ned, ProTour) August 18-25 Now in its fifth year, the Eneco Tour was born for the ProTour to bring the series to the important Benelux market, one of bike racing’s hotbeds. Bobby Julich won the inaugural edition in 2005 and José Ivan Gutiérrez (Caisse d’Epargne) is the two-time defending champion.

Colombian climbing ace Maurcio Soler will leave Barloworld to ride for Caisse d’Epargne in 2010. That’s according to the Spanish wire service EFE, who reports Soler will join the Spanish team run by manager Eusebio Unzue. The 26-year-old Colombian burst onto the scene in 2007, when he won a stage and the King of the Mountains polka-dot jersey.

Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) and Lea Davison (Maxxis) won the short track on Sunday in the Yankee Clipper at Windham Mountain in New York. Kabush, following his victory in Saturday's cross country, added a little icing to the cake by taking the short track ahead of Sam Schultz (Subaru-Gary Fisher and Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air-Specialized). Davison, meanwhile, outfought Luna teammates Katerina Nash and Georgia Gould to win the women's race.

A matter of inches

Garmin-Slipstream's Tyler Farrar sprinted to victory in the Vattenfall Cyclassics on Sunday. Farrar out-sped Matti Breschel (Saxo Bank) and Gerald Ciolek (Milram) to become the first American to win the 216.4km circuit race in Hamburg, Germany. Having lost out several times on sprint stages to Columbia-HTC’s Mark Cavendish in this year's Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, the 25-year-old Farrar said he was pleased to finally get a win under his belt.

Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) and Willow Koerber (Subaru-Gary Fisher) won their respective Pro XTC cross-country races in the Yankee Clipper at Windham Mountain in New York on Saturday. Kabush overcame a close encounter with a stump to take the win in 1:38:46 ahead of Max Plaxton (Sho-Air-Specialized) with Todd Wells (Specialized) third. Koerber, meanwhile, celebrated her first pro win in five years by crossing just ahead of Luna teammates Georgia Gould and Catherine Pendrel, who finished second and third, respectively.

Into a gully, then into the lead

The Saturday evening before the national criterium championships in Downers Grove, Illinois, is traditionally reserved for pro-am races for the men and women, half of the distances of the main events on Sunday. But with money on the line the racing is an odd combination of sprinting for dollars while saving something for Sunday’s big event ? or doing one’s best to avoid disaster the night before the title match.

This just in from Northwave: The company is starting to show some early releases from the 2010 shoe line, including the Rebel SBS mountain bike shoe. The Rebel SBS is positioned as a mid-priced, high performance trail shoe that includes many features from the top-line product.

The Astana team said it intends to enforce its current contract with two-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador and promises the Spaniard will be the unquestioned leader of the team next season. The two-time yellow jersey winner is reported to be reviewing offers from rival teams following a tumultuous three-week race in which much of the focus was on his rivalry with teammate Lance Armstrong.

Phillip Gaimon defended his title at New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb on Saturday, as Canadian Sue Schlatterer easily won the women’s division. After near-record-setting spring and summer rains, Mother Nature blessed the 37th edition of one of the toughest hillclimbs in the country with a warm and near-perfect day. At race-time the temperature at the base of the Auto Road (1565 feet) was an unusually warm 75, while the summit (6,288 feet) posted a balmy 60, with wind speeds at just 20 mph.

Lance Armstrong (Mellow Johnny's) won Colorado's Leadville 100 on Saturday, knocking more than 15 minutes off of the old record, about a half hour ahead of six-time winner Dave Wiens. Armstrong rode about 60 miles alone off the front, finishing with a nearly flat rear tire. Armstrong ally Matt Shriver helped drive the pace in the early miles, powering a group of eight along the relatively flat mid-section of the course and into the base of the turn-around climb. Shriver hung on, despite problems with his cleat, to finish third.

Transition. In the hotel in San Sebastian the atmosphere was different than that which I left at the Dauphiné Libéré. There had been a switch in mentality in the six weeks between the two races. Like a student entering the final semester, there now seemed an eagerness as we neared the end the season. Although there are still dozens of races to ride, the end, somehow, now seemed in sight as we had passed the midway point.

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American Chris Horner is not yet signed for 2010, with Lance Armstrong’s RadioShack squad or any other team, he told VeloNews Friday. Horner said that while he was in discussions with Armstrong, he’s also in discussions with “at least four English-speaking” ProTour teams, adding that reports that riders have signed when they in fact have not can be damaging to their contract negotiations.

Columbia-HTC’s Kim Anderson claimed overall victory of the Route de France Friday. The American rider and her teammates celebrated the win after the 132km stage from Blanzat to Chatelguyon.

Back in June, Levi Leipheimer and his Astana teammate Lance Armstrong were joking about using the Tour de France as training for the Leadville 100. But things got sideways when Leipheimer crashed and broke his wrist on stage 12. Still in a cast, Leipheimer will not be racing the 100-mile mountain bike race high in the Colorado mountains Saturday. But that hasn’t stopped him from talking some friendly smack. VeloNews asked Leipheimer how he would have expected the race to play out if he had been able to compete.

Levi Leipheimer signed yesterday to ride with RadioShack in 2010, a source close to the team told VeloNews. “It’s not 100 percent, but it looks pretty likely on (Chris) Horner as well,” the source said. (Horner later told VeloNews that he is still weighing offers from several teams.) The two American riders were widely expected to follow Lance Armstrong from Astana to his new team. Contacted Friday, Leipheimer said he wasn’t at liberty to discuss his team situation for next year.

As we've already reported, several Trek-supported riders are on hand in the high country of central Colorado to keep the pace high as Lance Armstrong takes his second stab at the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race.

Jens Voigt is one tough customer and the German all-rounder is determined to return to racing following his harrowing accident at this year’s Tour de France. Recovering nicely from his high-speed fall, the hugely popular Voigt could mark his return to competition at next month’s Tour of Missouri, where his Saxo Bank team is among the starting teams.

Alberto Contador doesn’t have a home for 2010, but he’s not worried about it, at least not yet. The two-time Tour de France champ says he methodically considering his options as he looks to secure his future following a tension-filled run at Astana this season. “I have various possibilities, and some of them are quite attractive, and I am analyzing them with without a great deal of stress at this point,” Contador told the Spanish wire service EFE. “The offers might be abundant, but firm offers there aren’t so many.”

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Other than the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, few countries award a national championship jersey for criterium racing. The UCI does not even recognize it as an event and, therefore, does not recognize the national championship, but at least it kindly looks the other way, because criteriums are the most popular form of racing in these countries. In the U.S., criteriums dominate the racing calendar over road racing, culminating in the middle of August for the past 17 years in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove for the U.S. national criteirum championships.

Former Gerolsteiner rider Bernard Kohl said Friday that scientists working in laboratories accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) were bribed by his former manager, the alleged head of a doping network. Austrian Stefan Matschiner, who managed the careers of several top Austrian athletes including Kohl, is accused of organising an elaborate doping network which helped top athletes in Europe to cheat by using performance-enhancing drugs and methods.

Evelyn Stevens (New York, N.Y.) pulled off her first major European road stage race victory with a win in stage four of La Route de France on Thursday. Riding for the USA Cycling Women’s National Team, Stevens out sprinted fellow American Kim Anderson (Santa Barbara, Calif./Columbia-HTC) to take the stage win and second place in the general classification.

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Tom Danielson was back in the winner’s column last weekend with victory in the individual time trial at the five-day Vuelta a Burgos in Spain. It marked Danielson’s first European victory since 2006 and the end of a long comeback from the injuries that nearly derailed his career. The Garmin-Slipstream rider ended up third overall at Burgos, a promising result that indicates the worst is behind Danielson as he turns his attention next to the Vuelta a España, a race in which he’s already twice finished in the top 10.

Reigning Olympic road race champion Samuel Sánchez will wear the No. 1 bib for the upcoming Vuelta a España in the season’s third and final grand tour, August 29- September 20. With none of last year’s top-3 podium finishers back for the 2009 edition, race organizers released a preliminary start list Thursday that includes the Euskaltel-Euskadi leader with el número uno.

Preliminary Start List – Vuelta a España 2009

• 
  EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI (EUS) - ESP
  Race Numbers 1- 09
• SANCHEZ GONZALEZ Samuel (ESP)
• ANTON HERNANDEZ Igor (ESP)
• MARTINEZ DE ESTEBAN Egoi (ESP)
• PEREZ LEZAUN Alan (ESP)
• PEREZ MORENO Ruben (ESP)
• ISASI FLORES Inaki (ESP)
• HERNANDEZ GUTIERREZ Aitor (ESP)
• IRIZAR ARANBURU Markel (ESP)
• TXURRUKA Amets (ESP)
• • Reserve Rider - URTASUN PEREZ Pablo (

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The winner of the 2009 Tour de France mountain competition will start the Tour of Missouri next month. Team Liquigas has announced that Franco Pellizotti will be on its Missouri squad, as will Francesco Chicchi, who won the final stage of the 2008 race. “It is a great sign for the race to have the current King of the Mountain champion from the Tour de France and also a podium finisher from the Tour of Italy come to race in the United States,” said Jim Birrell, the Tour of Missouri’s race director.

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Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) won the final stage of the four-day Tour de l'Ain on Wednesday, snatching overall victory from Astana’s Chris Horner. Taaramae rode off to stage victory on the summit of the Grande Colombiere climb to finish ahead of teammates David Moncoutie and Damien Monier. Horner had started the 128.2km fourth stage in Belley with a 22-second lead on Taaramae but the American failed to defend his lead, finishing 37-seconds behind his Estonian rival on the stage.

Late in the riding season, the best ways to dress up your bike and make it feel like new include new cables and housing, new bar tape or grips, a new chain, and new tires. If you can’t afford new wheels or other components, there are little things that can make a big difference. It’s especially true for shifter and brake cables and housing. Aside from just improving the feel at the levers, actual shifting and braking performance will improve as well.

Caisse d’Epargne has one Tour de France champion who might not be coming back and another they’d love to sign up. So it goes for French-sponsored, Spain-based Caisse d’Epargne as it considers its immediate future. Óscar Pereiro and Alberto Contador are the names that Caisse d’Epargne boss Eusebio Unzue is contemplating right now.

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Time waits for no one, especially in silly season when contracts are up for grabs and riders are scrambling to secure jobs. That appears to be the case with Portuguese rider Sergio Paulinho, who was supposedly Alberto Contador’s right-hand man at Astana during July’s tumultuous and divided Tour de France.

Lance Armstrong’s growing love affair with Colorado could result in the return of big-time stage racing to the central Rockies by 2011. Armstrong has been in discussions with Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter for the past few months to explore the possibility of creating a stage race that would hearken back to the glory days of the 1970s and 1980s, when Colorado boasted the Red Zinger and the Coors Classic. Armstrong met with the governor Saturday for two hours over lunch to continue the dialogue.

Chris Horner (Astana) surged into the overall lead at the Tour de l’Ain in Tuesday’s 8.8km individual time trial won by none other than Alexander Vinokourov. Racing with the Kazakh national team, Vinokourov is back in the winner’s column for the first time since his two-year racing ban for blood doping during the 2007 Tour de France. The 35-year-old Kazakh was fastest on the hilly course, and showed glimpses that he’s back in fighting form. “Vino” covered the course in 9 minutes, 50 seconds; 10 seconds faster than Michiel Elijzen (Silence-Lotto).

Can I combine SRAM mountain and road components to produce hillclimb gearing?

What road wheels do you recommend for a 250-pound rider?

Can I get a Trek Madone seatcap with more setback?

Can I put a 105 compact crank on my Dura-Ace bike?

Why should I always put a spacer above my stem?

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SRAM, in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, has announced a voluntary recall of the SRAM 10-Speed Chain PowerLock connector links. SRAM reports that the PowerLock outer connector plate could crack during installation or early use, causing the chain to separate and leading to loss of bicycle control and possible injury. For this reason, SRAM is recalling and replacing all affected SRAM 10-Speed Chain PowerLock connector links.

American Chris Horner (Astana) narrowly missed a stage victory Tuesday morning at the Tour de l’Ain in France, but positioned himself to make a run at the overall title in the four-day French race. French rider Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r) won the morning sector of Tuesday’s two-stage schedule in a busted up sprint, just nipping Horner for his first victory of the season in the hilly stage into Lélex over the Jura Mountains. Horner crossed the line second, one second ahead of the chasing David Moncoutie (Cofidis).

Achilles had his heel, and Amber Neben has her index finger. The reigning time trial world champion, who lives in Irvine, California, has spent the last month recovering from injuries suffered July 8 at Italy’s Giro Donne, otherwise known as the women’s Giro d’Italia. The day after taking the leader’s jersey, Neben crashed on the third stage of the 10-day race while speeding down a descent at 60 kilometers an hour. The pileup resulted in a torn rotator cuff, as well as the usual cuts, bruises and road rash. Neben’s right index finger, however, took the worst battle damage.

Any tips for traveling with bikes with tubeless tires?

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It’s been a long time coming for José Rojas, but persistence paid off — the Spanish sprinter finally won his first race of 2009, taking stage 2 at the Tour de l’Ain. The oft-injured Caisse d’Epargne fastman finally got into the winner’s column in Monday’s 146.5km stage, out-kicking Belgian bomber Greg Van Avermaet (Silence-Lotto) with French rider Maxime Bouet coming through third.

Should I re-glue my tubulars annually?