I’ve been in Europe since nationals, a little over two weeks actually and usually by this point in my trip I’m tired and ready to a break and relax for a couple days. A year wiser and happier makes such a difference. This year I made a tough decision to skip the Nommay World Cup in France when I got to Europe, let myself recover, get settled in my new home away from home and then give it the stick in the hardest races of the year.
Twenty teams have committed to racing in the 2009 Tour de Langkawi, the Malaysian stage race scheduled to run from February 9 to 15. The Tour de Langkawi is slated to start in Putrajaya, the home of Malaysian government, and finishing in the country’s capital Kuala Lumpur with the traditional criterium at Dataran Merdeka.
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Torque wrenches and temperature ranges Dear Lennard, I own both deflecting beam and click-type (Giustaforza) torque wrenches. They are stored in my garage where the temperature can get below freezing in the winter and over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. Do torque wrenches need to be stored and used within a certain temperature range to maintain accuracy? Gary Answer from Effetto Mariposa:
It seems that joining the international calendar may not have been as important as Tour of the Battenkill Valley promoter Dieter Drake initially thought. Even after being denied a spot on the UCI America Tour in early December — largely due to concerns over the race’s mix of dirt and paved roads — the two-day event has secured a major presenting sponsor in the form of microprocessor manufacturer AMD, and registered nearly 1,300 in the week registration opened.
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California Giant-Specialized has announced its roster for the 2009 racing season. Three riders will leave the squad to move up to the pro ranks — Andy Jacques-Maynes to Bissell Pro Cycling, Ken Hanson to Team Type 1 and Max Jenkins to the Danish team Glud & Marstrand Horsens.
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Check out CyclingTips's author page.
Two-time Tour Down Under winner Stuart O'Grady will lead Denmark's Team CSC Saxo Bank in Australia’s premiere stage race next month, organizers announced Monday. O'Grady, 35, who won the inaugural tour in 1999 and again in 2001, has ridden in the Tour de France since 1998 and won the gold medal in the Madison at the 2004 Athens Olympics. "Stuart has won here twice before and I know he will hit the race hard, looking to add a third title to his crown," race director Mike Turtur said in a statement.
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Check out CyclingTips's author page.
Dutchman Thijs Al (Be One) won the cyclocross world cup in Friday in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, prevailing over Belgians Kevin Pauwels and Sven Vanthourenhout. The top American male was Jamey Driscoll in 26th, followed closely by new U.S. champion Ryan Trebon in 27th. American national champ Katie Compton (Spike) was fourth. Compton won the Nommay, France, world cup, but her husband Mark Legg said she had bad legs Friday. "On the race day the legs didn't feel good and she couldn't open it on on the road or fast pedaling sections," Legg said. [nid:86170]
It's been a big year in professional cycling and the editorial staff at VeloNews took some time to look back at 2008 for our 21st annual awards issue.
Topping the list is the magazine's pick for International Cyclist of the Year, Alberto Contador. In the past, our editors' picks have often been at odds with those of our readers, but there seemed to be a strong consensus for 2008. A VeloNews.com reader poll showed overwhelming support for the man who won two of cycling's three grand tours this year.
Team Type 1 has hired a new director sportif, Vassili Davidenko, and a new assistant director, Gord Fraser, for the 2009 season. Davidenko was Team Type 1’s assistant director last year under Ed Beamon, who is not returning, the team said. “We were very fortunate to have someone with Ed’s experience to help guide us down the path of success in our first year,” said Team Type 1 General Manager Tom Schuler. “With Vassili and Gord, we have two former pros who can also relate well to the challenges a rider faces on and off the bike.”
The Amgen Tour of California will be expanded in 2009, covering more than 800 miles over nine days and visiting 16 host cities, race presenter AEG announced Wednesday. The fourth Amgen Tour will begin February 14 with a road stage in Sacramento — a first for the race — and finish in Escondido on February 22. Also for the first time, the riders will cross the Golden Gate Bridge at the beginning of stage 3.
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Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was among the guests earlier this week as the country's first fully professional cycling team, Katyusha, convened in chilly Moscow.
Managed by former Paris-Roubaix winner Andre Tchmil, Katyusha features some of cycling's elder statesmen like Australian Robbie McEwen and Filippo Pozzato of Italy, as well as younger talents such as former Olympic points race champion Mikhail Ignatiev.
It is the first Russian-owned team to compete in European cycling's elite, and will do so as of January 200
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Riders Elodie Touffet and Claudia Häusler, along with sports director Patrick Banfi, have signed with Cervelo TestTeam, the squad has announced. Touffet has been a member of Gauss RDZ Ormu (2008), Menikini-Selle Italia-Gysko (2007), Nobili-Rubinetterie-Menikini-Cogeas (2006) and Pruneaux d”agen (2005), with French National Championship rankings of third in 2006 and fourth in 2007.
Though BMC's Jeff Louder has not made a point of getting out of the cold and snow Utah has offered these last few weeks, he has been pleased with the results from his creative training regime. Content to make use of the wintry conditions by snowshoeing and skate-skiing, Louder nevertheless is looking forward to returning to riding on the road at the team training camp in California, as this chat with team media rep Georges Luechinger makes clear. Q: How are you coping in the cold; has it been snowing for you since September?
Ridding the rim of remnants
Dear Lennard,
I have some carbon tubular rims that I glued Vredestein Fortezzas into, and when I removed them there were parts of the casing stuck to the rim (I think it might have been latex that covered the casing but it wasn't able to be removed before mounting). Is there a safe way to remove this substance from a carbon rim?
Jared
Dear Jared,
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The United States’ best-ever female collegiate cyclist is not an American. But someday she might be. South Africa’s Carla Swart, 21, just capped off a mind-boggling collegiate campaign, taking an unprecedented 11 national (both individual and team) titles in road, mountain bike, cyclocross and track. Grabbing that many jerseys in a single year is a feat that no collegiate racer ? man or woman ? has yet accomplished in the history of the National Collegiate Cycling Association.
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Italian UCI ProTour teams Liquigas and Lampre-NGC have confirmed their entries for Australia's Tour Down Under next month, organizers said Monday. Liquigas finished fourth overall in the team classification in the 2008 Tour Down Under and race director Mike Turtur said he expected the team to be competitive again in next month's tour around Adelaide in South Australia. This year Francesco Chicchi of Liquigas won stage seven of the Tirreno-Adriatico and was first in a stage of the Settimana internazionale di Coppi e Bartali.
World champion Lars Boom and U.S. women’s champion Katie Compton scored big wins in a muddy World Cup cyclocross race in Nommay, France, on Sunday. Compton topped a strong ride in the women’s field, earning first place as she edged out world champion Hanka Kupfernagel by 19 seconds. Fellow Americans Georgia Gould and Rachel Lloyd finished in third and eighth places at 24 seconds and 2:17 respectively.
Stefan Schumacher told a German newspaper on Sunday that despite the fact that he tested positive for CERA at this summer’s Tour de France that he “never resorted to doping” and fully intends to ride for Quick Step in 2009. Despite his plans to ride, Schumacher conceded that he has is uncertain if he will be able to pull it off in time to join the Belgian team. "I am innocent, I like my job,” Schumacher told Germany’s Sonntag Aktuell. “I'm only 27 years old and I'm super motivated. I want to win races and want to get my career back on track.”
The Astana cycling team on Sunday has denied earlier reports that Lance Armstrong would compete in next year's Tour of the Sarthe-Loire. Organizers said on Saturday the American seven-time Tour de France winner had confirmed his participation in the April 7 to 10 event. The Kazakh-financed team, however, issued a statement on Sunday denying that Armstrong is confirmed. "Contrary to certain announcements, Lance Armstrong will not be competing in the Tour of the Sarthe-Loire. Astana will confirm Lance Armstrong's schedule once it is finalized."
Australia’s Hilton Clarke (formerly with Toyota-United) and Russian Boris Shpilevsky (formerly with Preti Mangimi) are the two latest signings of the team FUJI-SERVETTO for the 2009 season. With these two transfers, the team’s lineup raises up to 23 riders, the minimum amount required by the UCI for ProTour teams. Clarke will start his ninth season as professional rider. He has raced almost his entire pro career in the U.S., starting with the NetZero team in 2001. He did race in 2003 for in Europe for Barloworld. He will make his debut with the new team at the Tour Down Under.
Cervélo TestTeam has signed Heinrich Haussler of Germany and Jose Angel Gómez Marchante of Spain. Born and raised in Australia, Haussler moved to Germany to pursue cycling in 1999. His wins include a stage in the Vuelta a Espana (2005), two stages in the Vuelta a Murcia, and a stage in the Dauphiné Libéré (2007). José Àngel Gómez Marchante rode for Saunier-Duval (and subsequently Scott-American Beef) starting in 2005.His career highlight to date is an overall victory at the Vuelta al País Vasco in 2006 after winning the final time trial.
Organizers for the Tour of Italy said on Friday that Olympic time trial champion Fabian Cancellara will join former seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong on the start line for the centenary 2009 edition. It promises to be one of the strongest Giro line-ups in recent history with Italian former winners Ivan Basso — returning from a two-year doping suspension — Damiano Cunego and Danilo Di Luca as well as Spaniard Carlos Sastre, the current Tour de France champion, amongst the riders.
Besides Lance Armstrong, Astana's team roster for next month's Tour Down Under in Australia includes three riders from the 2008 Giro d'Italia, organizers said Friday. Also riding for Astana as Armstrong makes his return to professional cycling is Jose Luis Ruberia who rode in five of the Texan's Tour de France-winning teams. "We all know that Lance Armstrong is a champion, but the rest of his Astana teammates heading Down Under should not be underestimated," race director Mike Turtur said. Giro winner Alberto Contador will not be taking part in Tour Down Under.
Editor's Note: Tom LeCarner, VeloNews' copy editor, is an avid cyclist who has been unable to ride and train for most of 2008 because of knee pain. He is being treated at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine and using Specialized Body Geometry equipment and services at Specialized's expense, and reporting on his progress in regular columns.
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Colors: Khaki Sizes: 30 to 38 inch waist Price: $90 Web site: www.cordarounds.com You may not be a "hardcore" commuter, but there's a good chance you use two wheels to get around town every once in awhile. In that case, a good pair of commuting pants that are not made of lycra may be just right for you. [nid:86098]
Size: 12" x 12"[nid:86095] Price: $13.95 Web site: www.velogear.com Collected by the editors of VeloNews, here's a full year of the best photographs of road cycling, from the spring classics to cyclocross. Full 12" by 12" color photographs.
Italy's Olympic Committee (CONI) anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri on Thursday asked for disgraced cyclist Leonardo Piepoli to be banned for two years. Piepoli failed a dope test during July's Tour de France for a variant of blood-booster EPO that was undetectable at the time but was later found in re-tested samples. The 37-year-old, who had failed to show for a previous hearing in October, denied knowingly doping during his 20-minute hearing to which he arrived without his lawyer.
German cyclist Stefan Schumacher, who failed two drugs tests at the Tour de France, confirmed Thursday he was suing the French anti-doping authorities (AFLD) for defamation. A statement issued by Schumacher's lawyer Michael Lehner said: "These tests were undertaken ... with a number of possibilities of blood contamination, of mixing up samples and other circumstances which could have distorted the result." The 27-year-old Schumacher is one of four riders to have failed drugs tests at this year's Tour de France.
Fluid and energy packaged together appeals to cyclists.
Bad days come and go. Everyone has one, no one’s immune to a real day “rocker.” It just happens. Well folks, I had mine last weekend and it sucked. Another year is gone and the opportunity at the national title will have to wait 362 days before I get another crack at that jersey. The race was over and done with and I barely even showed up to the race. I never put my face in the wind, I didn’t contribute to my teammates and it was the day I was dreamin’ and screaming about all season long!
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The Versus cable network will broadcast 30-minute daily reports from the Tour Down Under, the Australian race that will mark Lance Armstrong's return to stage racing next month. Versus also will webcast the entire final stage of the January 20-24 event on www.VERSUS.com. The half-hour telecasts will air at 4 p.m. ET except for the January 24 telecast which will air at 3:30 p.m. ET.
The 2009 Tour of Spain will begin in the Netherlands, in the first overseas launch of the race in more than 12 years, organizers announced Wednesday.
Electric D-A: Why not a little step instead of a big leap? Dear Lennard, Great review of the new electronic Dura-Ace in this month’s VeloNews. I have to say there have been a lot of comments about the “why?” of electric and it was nice to finally read an article that included a good reason — shifting under load that can't be done with cable.
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Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Georgia Gould (Luna) locked up their respective titles in the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Calendar on Sunday during the cyclo-cross national championships in Kansas City, Missouri. Trebon won the elite men’s race and also took the series win in commanding fashion, with 620 points. Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale) finished second in the standings with 479 points while his teammate Tim Johnson was third.
Sizes: 280 and 350mm length; 27.2 and 31.6mm diameter Price: $100 to $325 Web site: www.thenew3t.com 3T may be an unfamiliar brand name to those of us in the U.S., unless you’re the new owner of a 3T fork after Cervélo recalled their Wolf forks, but 3T is a familiar name in Italian cycling.
Sizes: 500ml Price: $25 Web site: www.elite-it.com Are frozen water bottles during the winter riding months betraying your thirst? Or is the scalding water in your bottle during the dog days of July preventing you from hydrating properly? The Nanogelite water bottle from the Italian company, Elite, is a thermal bottle for keeping your liquids at just the right temperature.
In a sterile hotel presentation room, roughly 40 male and female cyclists, dozens of staff and seven managers and directors, sat and listened. The group was pushed into the last rows of seats while the front two were empty — like school kids scared of the front, the spotlight, or the teacher. A contrast to our poised powerful cycling positions, the riders slouched in their lethargic off-the-bike state, with their legs up and resting on the backs of chairs in front of them.
Oscar Pereiro will join Lance Armstrong in competing in the Tour Down Under in Australia next month, officials said Tuesday. Organizers said it will be the first time that two Tour de France winners have competed in the 800km event in South Australia, slated for January 18-25. "The Tour Down Under is honored to have Pereiro and Armstrong competing at our event," race director Mike Turtur said. "Spectators in Adelaide will get to see some of the best cycling champions of our time. It's a great coup for the sport in this region."
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Rock Racing, the team that advertised “Here to Stay” as its rallying cry, may feel the pinch next year as its primary sponsor, fashion company Rock & Republic, tightens its belt. An email from within the company this week detailed layoffs within the luxury jean company as well as the cycling team. Team spokesman Sean Weide confirmed that he had heard about the layoffs but could not elaborate. “We are aware of the situation,” Weide said Monday afternoon, “but we don't want to put out any false information right now concerning Rock Racing, either.”
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Check out CyclingTips's author page.
Ryan Trebon (Kona) proved himself the strongest man on the course Sunday in Kansas City, powering to a second national cyclocross championship on a bitter cold but dry day. Trebon's win on a course that many said suited his strengths to a T was impressive but not a huge surprise, and continued the run of national titles held by just four men since 2000; Trebon, Jonathan Page, Todd Wells and Tim Johnson have passed around the stars and stripes jersey like an Illinois Senate seat.
Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) raced to her fifth national cyclocross title on Sunday in a chilly, windswept Kansas City. The course was dry, the temperature low and the wind brisk as the women lined up at Tiffany Springs Park. Rebecca Wellons (Ridley Factory Team) scored the hole shot with Compton second and Deidre Winfield (Velo Bella–Kona) third. The defending champ hovered in second place on the climb, then went to the front and gave it the gas.
Nick Weighall (Rad Racing) won a hard-fought battle with Nick Keough (Jittery Joe's-Sonic) on Saturday to claim the men’s under-23 title at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships at Tiffany Springs Park in Kansas City, Missouri.[nid:85931] Danny Summerhill (Clif Bar) took third. Keough shot off the line first ahead of Weighall, who then took the lead with Bjorn Selander (Riley Factory Team) and Summerhill in pursuit in gray, windy conditions on a comparatively dry, tacky course.
At first glance, Jeremy Powers' Cannondale looks like a fairly standard pro mount: a Cannondale aluminum frame with Mavic wheels and SRAM Red parts.
A former road bike product manager at Specialized, Andy Jacques-Maynes has an eye for detail when it comes to bikes, and has the advantage of riding a frame he helped design. Jacques-Maynes won the 30-34 national cyclocross championships for the second year in a row on Saturday, aboard a carbon Tricross. [nid:85912] The bike features an array of Specialized parts and thanks to the light frame and Roval Alpiniste climbing wheels, weighs in at just 15.2 pounds.[nid:85913]
Ryan Trebon's Kona Major Jake is very similar to the mount that he's been racing on for the last few years, except for the change to Challenge tubular this season. Trebon also switched from 175 to 177.5 mm cranks this fall just before the Gloucester, Massachusetts, race. He says the longer cranks help him get the full benefit of his size. [nid:85926] Ryan Trebon's Kona Frame: Kona Major Jake scandium, 63cm Fork: Alpha Q CX20 Wheels: FSA Carbon RD488 tubular Shifters: Dura-Ace 7800 Brakes: KORE Brake pads: Swissstop
Georgia Gould's Orbea is a simple, solid race machine. Gould runs virtually all Shimano parts, and is one of the few top pros to use clinchers (although sharp eyes might have noticed her on some blackwall tubulars at nationals). She also prefers a single front chainring, a set-up that appears to be becoming a bit less common among the top pros. Frame: Orbea Lobular aluminum Fork: Easton EC90X Wheels: Mavic R Sys clincher Tires: Maxxis Raze clincher 700x35 Shifters: Dura-Ace 7800 right; Shimano aero left. Rear Derailleur: Dura-Ace 7800
Defending champ Andy Jacques-Maynes (Specialized-KMC-California Giant) took the hole shot and rode solo to victory in the men's 30-34 category on Saturday at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships in Kansas City, Missouri.[nid:85933] Jacques-Maynes took the win in in 41 minutes, 58 seconds ahead of Weston Schempf (C3-Sollay.com) and Ali Goulet (Ridley Factory Team), who fought out a tough sprint at 40 seconds back.[nid:85935] Other winners include: Men 35-39: Brandon Dwight, Boulder Cycle Sport. Men 40-44: Roger Aspholm, Westwood Velo.
Lance Armstrong may have seven Tour de France victories under his belt, but he’s not predicting victory for himself when he tackles the Giro d’Italia for the first time in May. Organizers unveiled the route for the centenary edition on Saturday, and Armstrong said that while he taps Ivan Basso as the favorite for overall victory, he’s nonetheless looking forward to competing.
The Giro d’Italia, which in 2009 will welcome seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong for the first time, will start its centenary edition in Venice on May 9 and finish in Rome on May 31, organizers said in unveiling the 3395.5km route on Saturday. The race, which Spaniard Alberto Contador won this year, will comprise 21 stages and take in major cities including Milan, Turin, Florence, Bologna and Naples.
Amy Dombroski (Velo Bella-Kona) grabbed the hole shot and rode away from the field toward a second consecutive under-23 cyclocross title on Saturday at Kansas City. The Durango, Colorado, rider was never seriously challenged in her title defense on day 3 of the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships, which saw temps in the 40s, a brisk wind and a comparatively dry course at Tiffany Springs Park. Ally Stacher (Lees-McRae College) took second with Ashley James (IS Corp.) third.
Just days before she attempts to win her fifth national cyclocross title, Katie Compton and her husband/mechanic Mark Legg have decided to switch from a hodge podge of Shimano and Campagnolo drivetrain components to a new set of Dura-Ace 7900 shifters and derailleurs.
Cadel Evans has denied he will ride in next year's Giro d'Italia, putting him at odds with his Silence-Lotto team, reports said. Race organizers on Wednesday announced that the 31-year-old runner-up in the past two Tours de France was set to take on seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong in the Giro next May. The race director of his Belgian team, Roberto Damiani, also said that Evans would ride in the three-week Italian stage race. But Evans, who is currently in Australia preparing another assault on the Tour de France, on Friday denied he would be taking part.
European ProTour teams Silence-Lotto and BBox Bouygues Telecom have confirmed they will compete in next month's Tour Down Under in Australia. BBox Bouygues Telecom will send an all-French team and Belgium's Silence-Lotto will field an experienced European contingent. "I am pleased to see Mario Aerts back in Australia riding for Silence-Lotto, he is a Tour Down Under favourite," race director Mike Turtur said Friday. "Mario is a consummate professional in the peloton, having achieved some major cycling milestones in his career."
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Check out CyclingTips's author page.
National criterium champion Rahsaan Bahati is optimistic about his status with Rock Racing, the team he has ridden for since 2007, even though he appears to have been relegated to amateur status for the 2009 season.
The last lap of the last event of my 2008 season provided a perfect encapsulation of this first year of serious training and racing. Just after passing the one-to-go sign during the waning moments of the cat. 4 Colorado state championships cyclocross race, I twisted the throttle and moved past two riders into what I’m fairly certain was a top 10 placing.
The 2010 Tour de France will open with a nine kilometer individual time trial through the streets of Rotterdam, race director Christian Prudhomme announced in Rotterdam on Thursday. It will be the first time that the Tour will have started from the Dutch port city, but four other cities in the country — Amsterdam (1954), Scheveningen (1973), Leiden (1978) and 's-Hertogenbosch 1996) have previously enjoyed the honor. The 2009 race kicks off from Monaco.
It was a crisp fall day here in Boulder as I pulled up to the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine with my bike on my car and all my gear in a bag. I was swiftly directed to the locker room and changed into my kit while my bike was rolled away to the fit lab by a staff member for “calibration.” I was then brought into the biomechanical fit lab, which was impressive, and, frankly, a bit intimidating. When I walked in, my bike was already there in the center of the room, mounted to a trainer, which was hooked up to a remote unit that controlled the wattage output.
Sizes: 43, 46, 51, and 56cm Price: $2500 Web site: www.carryyourdreams.com Just in from France: the new Lapierre Passport, a full suspension folding mountain bike and travel case. When packed inside of its travel case, this 24.5-pound, aluminum mountain bike only weighs 35 pounds, which means no extra weight fees for air travel.
Luxembourg's anti-doping agency will not open a disciplinary case against Fränk Schleck, who said he transferred nearly 7000 euros in March 2006 into an account belonging to Eufemiano Fuentes, the alleged ringleader of the Operación Puerto doping ring. According to European news reports and a press release from Schleck's Saxo Bank team, the agency found no evidence of actual doping violations and has decided to close the case.
It is the week before the US National Championship of Cyclocross and I am having trouble figuring out a good topic for my biweekly VeloNews.com journal. I wish this was because I am so focused and preoccupied with the impending championship event, but in reality my mind wanders as I think of the upcoming off season that directly follows the race.
Australian cycling ace Cadel Evans is set to take on seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong in the Giro d'Italia next year, race organizers announced Wednesday. The 31-year-old — runner-up in the past two Tours de France — will also face Italian stars Ivan Basso, Damiano Cunego and Danilo Di Luca in what will see the race in its 100th year since its creation. Evans wore the overall leader's pink jersey for a day during the 2002 edition and eventually finished 14th overall.
Cuban sprinter Ivan Dominguez has won just about every major one-day race in the U.S. since he defected from the Cuban national team at the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York City. Now the "Cuban Missile" is headed to the Fuji-Servetto ProTour team for the 2009 season, and he'll get his first chance to race in Europe at age 32. And, in an interview with VeloNews Wednesday, Dominguez said he didn't want to hear from any doubters about his chances at success. "For those people, I say, just keep it to yourselves and let me try," he said.