Road Racing

Just as word leaked out beforehand about the route of the 2010 Tour de France, so several sources in Italy have published reports on the likely stages for the 2010 Giro d’Italia — which will be formally unveiled this Saturday in Milan. Race organizer RCS and its daily newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport have announced only the first three stages, which will all start in the Dutch city of Amsterdam next May 8, 9 and 10; but rival papers Tuttosport, La Stampa and La Repubblica have all carried stories on the likely route.

Katie Compton (Planet Bike) has become the first American to lead the UCI's international cyclocross points rankings. Compton, from Colorado Springs, Colorado, owes her lead to her win at the Treviso, Italy, world cup last month, combined with a string of wins at U.S. UCI races. She has won all seven UCI races she has started this season.[nid:99492] Compton is training in Colorado and will resume racing at the NACT weekend in Colorado next weekend.

Challenge Grifo Pro

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Nick Wieghall (California Giant Berry Farms) ensured there would be no repeat men's winners yet this year, while Kristi Berg (Redline Bicycles) made it three for three at the sand-heavy course third stop of the Seattle Cyclocross Series.

There were a number of special bikes that I saw at Interbike that I have still not had much opportunity to write about. So I’ll use this week’s column to do so.

With the introduction of two new helmets for 2010, Rudy Project is taking a stab at the top of the helmet hierarchy, and hoping riders will take notice. “In essence, we’re calling 2010 the ‘year of the helmet,’” said Paul Craig, Rudy Project's North America CEO. “It’s the culmination of two to three years of research, development, and testing which has allowed us to leapfrog, in our eyes, other helmet technology.”

Kona’s Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks went one-two at Sunday’s cold and windy Wissahickon Cross in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, while Luna’s Georgia Gould won by a large margin. The women started off the UCI double-header, and despite the storm that turned the previous day’s Granogue course into a quagmire, the circuit at Wissahickon remained solid, though somewhat cooler than normal.

Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Georgia Gould (Luna Pro Team) came out on top in the slop at Granogue Cross on Sunday. Suburban Wilmington, Delaware, felt more like northern Europe as riders lined up in 40-degree temperatures and drizzle to tackle a thick slime of mud brought on by three days of steady rainfall. Since 2001, the Granogue course has gained a reputation for its relentless punchy climbs, tricky off-camber descents and searing run-ups, but the addition of greasy mud added a new level of challenge to the UCI Cat 2 event.

The Zipp OVCX Tour paused in Bloomington, Indiana, on Sunday for a quick dive through an untraditional mix of fast single-track, multiple bridges, a paved climb and some sloppy field sections, with fall colors in full bloom. In the elite men’s field it was harvest time with no time to enjoy the landscape as OVCX leader Mitchell Kersting (Bob’s Red Mill) sprinted from the start and never looked back.

Popular Portland ‘crosser Molly Cameron (Portland Bicycle Studio) took the win during the Cross Crusade Sunday in Sherwood when series leader Sean Babcock (Team S&M) flatted in the closing laps of the Men’s A race. Despite taking a tumble on the last lap, masters national champion Wendy Williams (Hudz-Subaru) continued her dominance over the Women’s A field when she won her third straight in another tight back-and-forth battle with Veloforma’s Alice Pennington.

Natasha Elliott (Garneau) made it two for two on Sunday, winning the second round of the Toronto International Cyclocross, while Jeremy Powers led a Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com sweep of the podium. It was another course entirely that the field tackled on Sunday — instead of square mazes and a climb up the ski hill, racers faced flowing, off-camber turns, spiced with a bit of sand and mud to keep the spectators happy.

Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) and Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli won their respective events at the 28th Chrono des Nations on Sunday in Les Herbiers, France. Vinokourov covered the 48.7km men's course in 1:00:09, 1:07 ahead of French time trial champion Jean-Christophe Péraud (Creusot Cyclisme). Yuriy Krivtsov (Ag2r) finished third at 1:12. It was Vinokourov’s second win of the season and his first for Astana. His victory in the time trial of the Tour de l’Ain came as he rode for a Kazakh national team.

World champion Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) won the second round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup on Sunday in Pizen, Czech Republic. On a circuit made more difficult by a steady rain, Albert took his second consecutive World Cup win in 1:05:13 with Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago) second at 19 seconds back. Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea) finished third at 0:21. American Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) finished 13th at 1:37. Niels leads the World Cup standings with 160 points. Stybar is second with 135 and Klass Vantornout (Sunweb Pro Job) third with 115.

It may be a new race to the North American Cyclocross Trophy series, but both winners were repeats from last year’s edition of the GNC Toronto Cyclo-cross on Saturday. Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com) and Natasha Elliott (Garneau) scored wins at the popular event, now a part of the NACT series.

With four kilometers to go, it was obvious that an Italian wasn’t going to win Giro di Lombardia for the ninth consecutive year. A Belgian and a Spaniard ? Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto) and Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) – were 12 seconds clear of a chasing group that included three-time winner Damiano Cunego (Lampre), enough gap to end the Italian stranglehold on the season-concluding fall classic.

Seatposts with 1-bolt saddle rail clamps are not uncommon—in fact, several designs have all proven to work just fine. But Ritchey’s WCS 1-Bolt system is especially effective in that it’s adaptable to saddles with different rail dimensions.

The mystery surrounding Garmin-Slipstream’s tactics for the final stage of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, a 62km circuit in Melbourne, was solved Saturday evening as the team committed to defending the lead of yellow jersey Bradley Wiggins, rather than triple-stage winner Chris Sutton, who sat second overall by just five seconds. Fly V Australia’s Jonathan Cantwell won the stage in front of large crowds ahead of Michael Matthews (Jayco AIS), bookending the tour following his win in the opening preface criterium.

Over a technical and windy 10km time trial course in Geelong, Garmin-Slipstream’s Bradley Wiggins took not only the stage 5 win at Australia’s Jayco Herald Sun Tour, but also the race lead with one stage remaining. Wiggins blitzed the course around Geelong’s Botanical Gardens and along its coastal roads, which used some of the same roads as both the annual Jayco Bay Cycling Classic series and the 2010 UCI world road championships, in a time of 13:07, 14 seconds faster than the second-place finisher, Garmin teammate Svein Tuft.

Philippe Gilbert must be wishing he had this ripping form a few weeks ago at the world championships in Mendrisio. Just days after taking scalps at Paris-Tours and Coppa Sabatini, the Belgian bomber rounded out his October treble with victory Thursday at Giro del Piemonte in the season’s penultimate race. Sixth at the road worlds in Switzerland, Gilbert has been laying it on thick during the final races of the 2009 European racing calendar, taking three consecutive victories this week.

Related: Interactive Google Map of the 2010 Tour route

While Garmin-Slipstream’s Chris Sutton made it a hat trick at Australia’s Jayco Herald Sun Tour Thursday, beating out Fly V Australia’s Jonathan Cantwell in a bunch kick for a third consecutive stage, what was more interesting was how the general classification now sets up for Thursday’s 10km time trial. The fourth stage of this tour, a 139km roundabout route from Anglesea to Barwon Heads, played out in nearly identical fashion to the previous day: two riders escaped, were caught close to the finish, and Sutton, led out by teammate Bradley Wiggins, beat Cantwell in a sprint.

Carlos Sastre, the 2008 Tour de France champion, says he won’t commit to racing the 2010 Tour until he’s studied the routes of all three grand tours. After getting a glimpse of what’s a harder, more climber-friendly Tour in Wednesday’s roll-out of the 2010 route, Sastre’s comments over doubts of a possible Tour start come as a surprise.

In the cutthroat pro peloton, Garmin-Slipstream rider Bradley Wiggins is the exception — a non-stop joker with outside interests in music, fashion, Mod-era scooters and when he’s not preparing for a race, a pint or two of beer. Take, for example, this exchange between the British rider and a TV reporter prior to the start of Thursday’s fourth stage of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour. (Background info: British Sky Broadcasting, the sponsor of the new-for-2010 British cycling team Sky, is the United Kingdom’s largest pay-TV provider.)

Related: Interactive Google Map of the 2010 Tour route

Here are some reactions from the main players during Wednesday’s Tour de France presentation: Alberto Contador – 1st overall: “My authentic rival is Andy Schleck. Looking at the time trial, it’s better for me than last year. This Tour is better for me than last year, especially with a stage finish atop a climb so difficult as the Tourmalet.

When the lights dimmed in the Congrés de Palais in Paris for the presentation of the 2010 Tour de France, the unexpected was the plat du jour. Surprises are always part of the Tour presentation, and 2010 certainly didn’t disappoint. Hard days in the Pyrénées and a long, penultimate-day time trial in Bordeaux set the stage for a final week clash that should keep fans on the edge of their seats.

The scenario was different but the outcome the same for Garmin-Slipstream sprinter Chris Sutton, who took his second consecutive stage win at Australia’s Jayco Herald Sun Tour Wednesday. Unlike his win Tuesday, which came from a group whittled down through attrition in the wind, Sutton took the victory and subsequent race lead Wednesday out a hard-charging lead group established over a cat. 2 climb just 15km from the finish line.

Beverly Park Elementary in Burien, Washington, hosted the second stop on the 2009 Seattle cyclocross (SCX) series. The day broke chilly but sunny and with the sun, the temp came up nicely for most races. Still no traditional 'cross weather for SCX. The course was very compact, consisting of an old cintrex running track and associated field on one terrace and then a back section of thicker grass and pavement on an upper section, separated by about 30 vertical feet.

Even though the September trade shows are over, there are still plenty of new products on the horizon. Based on company press releases, we found the following to fuel our post-Interbike gear lust. We'll start with the bling - Campagnolo's new clothing and wheels, and then come back to reality with some new lubes from Motorex and some affordable race-proven clothing from Pactimo.

Campy keeps the pressure on

Prosecutors in Paris said Tuesday that they have launched an investigation into doping at this year's Tour de France after the discovery of suspicious medical equipment, including "syringes and drips," disposed of by teams in July. According to French daily Le Monde, the investigation involves a number of teams including the Astana squad of Tour winner Alberto Contador and his soon-to-be-former teammate Lance Armstrong. Prosecutors, however, noted they are reviewing materials from several teams and have not targeted individual riders or specific teams thus far.

Garmin-Slipstream took control of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour Tuesday during a 141km battle of attrition from Colac to the coastal town of Warrnambool that was marked by strong winds that fractured the peloton into pieces. By the finish only six riders remained at the front of the race, three of whom wore the blue-and-orange argyle of the American squad, including stage winner Chris Sutton.

It’s been three weeks since Interbike, but I still get questions asking what really caught my eye at this year’s show. There was plenty and, until now, there really hasn’t been space in the articles I’ve done on VeloNews.com and in the print version for all of it. Aside from what I’ve already posted and put in the magazine, there were some real treasures and I’ve decided to devote today’s column to some of the other things that I found to be really cool. So here are some new components that appealed to me.

Modern retro

Katie Compton (Planet Bike-Stevens) made it three for three on Sunday in the final round of the Cincinnati UCI3 Cyclocross Festival, while Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale) used a tight corner just before the finishing straight to get the better of Ryan Trebon (Kona). The women’s race followed the script that had been written over the previous two rounds. Sue Butler (Monavie-Cannondale) got the hole shot, while Compton, who did not reconnoiter the course beforehand, was content to do her inspection during the race before riding off to another dominating win.

Let the record show that upon crossing the finish line first Sunday in Rhode Island, Tim Johnson's first question was not about how his beloved Red Sox had fared in a playoff game that afternoon. Instead he asked how his Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com teammate Jeremy Powers had fared at the races in Ohio. Johnson made the Red Sox query next.

Sven Nys (Landbouwkredit-Colnago) came from behind to win the opening round of the Superprestige cyclocross series on Sunday in Ruddervoorde, Belgium. World champion Niels Albert (BKCP Powerplus) took the lead from the gun, leaving Nys, Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Projob) and Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea) in his wake. But with six laps to go Nys had fought his way up to Albert, and in short order he put the hammer down, quickly building a gap that the world champion could not close.

Belgian Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto) on Sunday won Paris-Tours for the second straight year. Gilbert beat compatriot Tom Boonen and Slovenia's Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil) in a three-man dash for the line in the 230km semi-classic. Italian Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) finished fourth with Spaniard Oscar Freire fifth, some 20 seconds off the leading trio. For Gilbert the win brought a measure of revenge after Boonen pipped him to the Belgian championship in June.

It was a pair of Australian sprinters battling for opening honors at the Jayco Herald Sun Tour Sunday in the former gold-mining town of Ballarat, with Fly V Australia’s Jonathan Cantwell edging out Garmin-Slipstream’s Chris Sutton in a bike throw to the line. Cantwell got the better of Sutton after the Garmin rider opened his sprint 200 meters from the line out of a group of 18 riders that separated from the peloton halfway through the 60-minute “preface” criterium, which does not count towards the overall classification.

The Cincinnati UCI3 Festival moved north Saturday to the pocket-sized Sunset Park in Middletown, Ohio, for the Java Johnny’s – Lionhearts International; and Jeremy Powers and Katie Compton once again delivered an old-fashioned whuppin.'

Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) and Katerina Nash (Luna Chix) dominated the first day of the inaugural Providence Festival of Cyclocross in Rhode Island on Saturday. The race was held under dry, fast conditions at Roger Williams Park, a sprawling in-town venue strewn with duck ponds, a carousel, a zoo and a Parthenon-like stage that made a perfect podium. The park, which hosted the national cyclocross championships in 2005 and 2006, also was home to the Interbike trade-only bike demo days Thursday and Friday and a public bike expo this weekend.

Robert Gesink made up for some of his Vuelta a España disappointment by winning the 100th edition of Italy’s Giro dell'Emilia on Saturday. The Rabobank rider beat Denmark's Jakob Fuglsang (Saxo Bank) and Swede Thomas Lovkvist (Columbia-HTC) in a sprint finish after 198.2km and five ascents of the San Luca climb. Australia's new world champion Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) finished fourth at 20 seconds, and 10 seconds ahead of Kazakhstan's Alexander Vinokourov (Astana). It was Geesink's first win since a crash forced him out of Vuelta contention last month.

Only Saturday’s 72-mile (118 km) stage at the Vuelta a Chihuahua stands in the way of Oscar Sevilla (Rock Racing) delivering a victory. “I’m feeling relaxed, with no pressure,” Sevilla said. “I have very talented teammates around me who know what to do to make sure I maintain my lead through to the end.”

Jeremy Powers (Cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com) and Katie Compton (Planet Bike) were victorious by wide margins in Friday’s Cyclo Stampede, the opener of this year’s Cincinnati UCI3 Cyclocross Festival. But the race was truly dominated by the team of Mother Nature and Gravity. Mother Nature delivered plenty of pre-race rain, while gravity took advantage of riders as they rode, or rather, tried to ride, the multiple off-camber straights and turns on the course. Even Compton was victimized by the muddy slopes, falling twice and running off course in the first lap.

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Caisse d’Epargne’s Daniel Moreno won the fourth stage at Mexico’s Vuelta a Chihuahua Thursday, as Oscar Sevilla (Rock Racing) increased his lead in the overall standings with a third-place finish on the day. Sevilla finished 19 seconds behind Moreno in the 192km stage from Guachochi to Parral. Michael Rasmussen (Tecos Trek), who held the overall lead earlier in the race, was second, two seconds behind Moreno.

Niels Albert is on a roll. The world cyclocross champion, a rider who became the discipline’s new prince last season, started his season with four victories in the lead-up to the first World Cup in Treviso, Italy, which he went on to win. Until now, Sven Nys has been regarded as the king of ’cross, but he’s had a very different start to his season. After a top-15 placing at the 2009 mountain bike world championships, his cyclocross season had a rocky start.

Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto) won Italy's Coppa Sabatini Thursday, outsprinting ISD's Giovanni Visconti and Leonardo Bertagnoli (Diquigiovani) after joining a large and successful 24-man break earlier in the 199km race. Gilbert's teammate, recently crowned world champion Cadel Evans, was part of the break and remained aggressive throughout. Evans made a late surge on the final two-kilometer climb on the lastlap, setting a strong tempo for Gilbert and leaving the group strung out in single-file.

Vuelta a España points competition winner André Greipel added another win to an impressive 2009 record as he outsprinted the field at Paris-Bourges on Thursday. Greipel, powered ahead of a 91-rider field, beating JJ Haedo (Saxo Bank) and Cofidis’ Alexandre Usov to the line. The win is Greipel’s 20th of the season. Greipel was quick to credit his team for countering late attacks as other teams attempted to deny the German a shot at a field sprint.

What can I do if I need to replace my tapered-steerer fork?

Are SRAM shift levers durable?

Should I be concerned about the durability of my Shimano 105 shifter?

How can I keep water out of my aero frame?

Editor’s note: The Clothes Line is an occasional column about clothing, shoes, helmets, and other accessories we’ve encountered. Clothing is possibly the most personal of all gear choices: two riders can try the same jersey and come back with completely different opinions. This is not meant as an extensive review (as in, worn until threadbare), but we simply hope to ride these products for as long as possible and report back on the basic fit and features. We hope you find it helpful.

The 2009 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships concluded on Sunday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, and Mitch Clinton was there, clicking away. His gallery can be found below.

A record field of nearly 1,400 racers and their cowbell-clanging families, friends and fans spilled onto the fields of Alpenrose Dairy in southwest Portland Sunday to ring in the start of the 2009 River City Bicycles Cross Crusade series. Home of the Alpenrose Velodrome, the dairy-turned-corporate-headquarters also features a Wild West town, a go-kart race track and a world-class baseball field that plays host to the Little League Softball World Series every summer. And just about all of it played a part in the race Sunday.

The UCI has rejected charges that its doping testers showed preferential treatment to the Astana team at this year's Tour de France. The governing body's response was in reaction to published reports that the team of Tour de France winner Alberto Contador and third placed Lance Armstrong were given an easy ride during dope tests at the 2009 event.

Why do my feet slip inside my cycling shoes?

The sun shone on Massachusetts' Cape Ann on Sunday, as local boy Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) and Canadian Natasha Elliott (Louis Garneau) won on the second day of the Great Brewers Gloucester Grand Prix of Cyclocross, in much different conditions than the first day.

Katie Compton (Planet Bike) and Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) won their respective races on Sunday as the 2009-10 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup opened in Treviso, Italy. Compton hit the line 28 seconds ahead of Daphny Van Den Brand with Christel Ferrier-Bruneau (Vision 1 Racing) third at 34 seconds. World champion Albert, meanwhile, crushed the competition, finishing 42 seconds ahead of Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea) with Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb Pro Job) third at 52 seconds back. The second round of the World Cup will be October 18 in Pizen, Czech Republic.

Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) won the four-stage Circuit Franco-Belge on Sunday. The final stage win went to Juan José Haedo (Saxo Bank), who out-kicked Yauheni Hutarovich (Française des Jeux and Roger Hammond (Cervélo TestTeam) in a bunch dash to the line after 147.1km of racing from Mons to Tournai. Farrar punctured in the final 5km, but chased back on to finish 53rd on the day, in the same time as the stage winner, to take the overall by eight seconds over runner-up Tom Boonen (Quick Step) and 14 on Roger Hammond (Cervélo TestTeam).

Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) scored a rare win on this side of the Atlantic on Saturday, riding away from all challengers on a muddy course in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Quick Step's Tom Boonen won the third stage of the Franco-Belge stage race on Saturday in a sprint finish ahead of England's Roger Hammond (Cervélo TestTeam) and American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream). Farrar continues to hold the overall race lead after winning the first two stages in the race which finishes Sunday at Tournai.

Rio de Janeiro will become the first South American city to host the Olympics after the International Olympic Committee voted to award the 2016 Games to the former Brazilian capital on Friday. The city of Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics came to an early end after the city was eliminated in the first round of voting during the IOC's site selection meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Thor Hushovd wants to make it loud and clear: he’s intending on racing the 2010 Tour de France and defending his green jersey. There were some conflicting reports that the Norwegian winner of the 2009 sprinter’s jersey might skip the Tour, but the Cervélo TestTeam rider confirmed that next July will be much like this year.

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he 2009 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships opened in the velodrome at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, on Wednesday as Cody O’Reilly (Bissell) and Cari Higgins (Proman) were awarded the first-ever elite omnium national titles. In all, three national champions were crowned on the first day of competition inside the country’s only 250-meter indoor velodrome.

Lennard Zinn has been spending time in the shop (as always) and had a chance to try out a new hacksaw specifically designed for cutting carbon fiber tubes (like fork steerer tubes, handlebars, and seatposts). He and test editor Matt Pacocha reviewed several additional tools in our November issue, which is on sale now. Also in that issue, we have a rundown of 12 must-have tools for your shop or garage. Effetto Mariposa CarboCut hacksaw Retail price: $65

Tyler Farrar is back in the winner’s circle, sprinting to victory Thursday in the opening stage of the Circuit Franco-Belge. Farrar out-kicked Danilo Napolitano (Katusha) to claim victory in the 213.6km stage from Templeuve, France, to Mouscron, Belgium. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) came across third in the mass gallop and Saxo Bank's JJ Haedo rounded out the top four. The win also puts the leader’s jersey on Farrar’s back after the opening stage of the four-day Franco-Belge race.

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Dear Readers, As many of you know, I spent last week in Las Vegas, attending the Interbike trade show and the outdoor demo that preceded it. While my tech department colleagues and I have been posting stories and photos since the start, we’ll be doing more over the next few days. There was just so much there, it’s hard to offer even a glimpse at everything that struck us in a single story, or even two or three. Looking through my files last night, I spotted some interesting items I’d like to share with you today.

Ryan Iddings (Lapiere) survived a hard-charging chase in the men's elite field and Kristi Berg (Redline Bicycles) dominated the women as the Seattle Cyclocross Series (SCX) kicked off in Washington this weekend. Sun, warmth and a dry, fast course greeted racers to start the largest 'cross series in Washington. Some hard core 'crossers felt a little guilty enjoying the sunshine on race day; but we all knew the rain and mud would be here soon enough so we might as well break out the lawn chairs and soak up the last bit of summer in Seattle with 650 of our closest racing buddies.

David Espinoza (Penn State), Colleen Hayduk (Kutztown University of Pennsylvania) and David Williams (Marian University) turned in strong performances during the USA Cycling National Collegiate Track Championships, held last Thursday through Saturday at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania. Racing started Thursday at the former Lehigh Valley Velodrome with Espinoza winning the kilometer meter time trial in 1:06:54, 2.3 seconds faster than runner-up Matthew Fox (Midwestern State).

Last year at Vermont's Green Mountain Cyclocross Weekend, Dan Timmerman (Richard Sachs/RGM Watches/Radix) made everyone take notice when he was the only rider to keep in sight of winner Jamey Driscoll. Now the Richard Sachs rider has ascended to the mountain top by sweeping the weekend and taking the overall series lead. Timmerman took advantage of his front-row position to establish a lead on the first lap of each day. Saturday quickly turned into a battle for second place, as no one was able to keep the Ithaca, New York, rider is sight. [nid:98800]

Despite its late-season date, a near-conflict with the Interbike expo and ’cross races around the country, the first-ever TD Bank Mayor’s Cup attracted a deep field of domestic pros and regional elite riders, to race through the warren-like streets of Boston’s government district. Of course, the purse — $40,000 split evenly between men and woman – may have given some racers a little extra incentive to extend their season.

Wamsley conquers the break

Interbike 2009 is officially over, in the books. We at VeloNews escaped Sin City without injury, and have just a few more tech tidbits and quick looks to share. Look for more detailed reporting on certain items in the months to come as we get to test them out for ourselves.

Limar touts ‘world’s lightest helmet’

Katie Compton (Planet Bike) made it two-for-two on Sunday at the Planet Bike Cup, once again riding Luna’s Katerina Nash and the rest of the women’s field right off her wheel. Belgian Erwin Vervecken (Revor-Baboco-Champion System) came out on top in the men’s race, which doubled as round 2 of the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross. Compton attacked Nash mid-race, going to the front after and drilling it to win by nearly a minute. As in Saturday’s race, Nash hung on for second with teammate Georgia Gould third.

Cadel Evans erased a career of close calls with a daring attack on the final climb to drop a super-star group of riders to win the 2009 world road cycling championships. The Aussie climbed out of the saddle in the closing kilometers of the 259km epic battle to win the most important victory of his career. No one can say Evans doesn’t attack anymore. “This is for all the critics I’ve had this season,” Evans said. “I have seven worlds medals from mountain biking at home, but none of them are gold. People say I never win, but today I won something pretty big.”

For the entire elite women’s race, and half of the men’s, the title sponsor of the Planet Bike Cup looked poised to sweep the top step of both podiums. Held in near summer heat on Saturday at the Angell Park Speedway in the Madison suburb of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and doubling as the opening weekend of the sixth annual U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross, the Planet Bike Cup was looking like a two-fer for the home team until the dream scenario quickly went awry under a rolled tubular tire.

The U23 worlds race is always an unpredictable affair, but French phenomenon Romain Sicard did what just about everyone thought he would. Fresh off winning the Tour de l’Avenir in dominating fashion ahead of a strong U.S. team earlier this month, Sicard surged away from a fractured peloton with two laps to go in the 13-lap, 179.4km course Saturday to win France’s first U23 world title since competition began in 1996.