Road Racing

The Belgian Quick Step team announced Friday that it is reviewing its legal options in a final-hour bid to overturn a decision by Tour de France race organizers to ban classics specialists Tom Boonen from the 2009 edition. Tour officials announced Thursday that Boonen would not be allowed to start the 2009 Tour on July 4, citing Boonen’s recent troubles with a second out-of-competition test for cocaine.

Astana named six of its nine riders who will battle for overall and stage wins in next month's Tour de France, where Alberto Contador of Spain will start as a yellow jersey favorite.

Contador, the 2007 champion, will be joined by seven-time winner Lance Armstrong, Andreas Klöden, Levi Leipheimer, Yaroslav Popovych and Haimar Zubeldia.

The remaining three riders will be picked from a group that includes Jani Brajkovic, Chris Horner, Benjamin Noval, Dmitriy Muravyev, Sergio Paulinho, Gregory Rast and Tomas Vaitkus.

Euskaltel-Euskadi will be hoping for big performances at the Tour de France following relatively lackluster spring campaign.

The Basque Country-based Euskaltel team will ride this year without the services of consistent top-10 threat Haimar Zubeldia (who’s already punched himself a ticket back to the Tour with Astana), so the team will look to Igor Antón and Mikel Astarloza to fill the void.

Astarloza has already finished in the top-10 and rode well to a top-5 finish at the Dauphiné Libéré.

Mark Cavendish earned his second stage win at the Tour of Switzerland on Thursday, the 178 kilometer sixth stage from Oberriet to Bad Zurzach. The 24-year-old Columbia-Highroad rider – winner of four stages in last year's Tour de France – won in a sprint finish ahead of Spain's three-time world road race champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank). Cavendish had already won Monday's stage from Davos to Lumino. "It may have appeared easy but it wasn't that evident to me," said Cavendish. "We had to cope with a second category climb eaarly in the stage and then a strong headwind."

Quick Step's Tom Boonen has been banned from competing in the Tour de France due to his positive drug test for cocaine, organizers ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation) announced on Thursday. The 28-year-old tested positive for cocaine in April, less than a year after he first tested positive for the drug in May 2008. The three-time winner of Paris-Roubaix may also face disciplinary proceedings by UCI. Boonen's team have backed him and previously promised to provide legal support if he was refused entry to the Tour.

Rabobank will bring a strong and balanced team to the 2009 Tour de France, with a quiver full of stage hunters and podium contender Denis Menchov. It will be interesting to see how Menchov performs in the Tour after being pushed to the limit by Danilo Di Luca to claim a thrilling victory at the Giro d’Italia in May. Third last year at the Tour (after Bernhard Kohl's results are negated), Menchov will be one of the favorites for victory, especially if he can ride as consistently and strongly as he did at the Giro.

The Astana team announced Thursday that it has reached an agreement with its Kazakh sponsors that will ensure its continued operation through the year. In a release issued Thursday, the team credited productive meetings between Johann Bruyneel and intermediary Rinus Wagtmans, who served as a representative of Kazakhstan’s government for an accord, “which gives riders and staff of the Team sufficient guarantees for the operation and functioning of the Team for the remainder of the season.”

Luis León Sánchez says he’s ready to lead Caisse d’Epargne if star Alejandro Valverde isn’t allowed to race. Valverde is appealing a decision by Italian authorities to ban him for two years for what they say is clear evidence linking him to the Operación Puerto blood doping scandal. If Valverde isn’t allowed to race the Tour, his Caisse d’Epargne team will lean heavily on the 25-year-old León Sánchez during the season’s most important race.

Milram's Niki Terpstra won the 6.9km prologue of the Ster Elektrotoer sgtage race in Holland on Wednesday, taking the first leader's jersey of the race. Terpstra beat Liuwa Westra (Vacansoleil) by two seconds.

Columbia-Highroad's Michael Albasini won the fifth stage of the Tour of Switzerland, a 202-kilometer race from Staefa in Switzerland to Serfaus in Austria. Tadej Valjavec (Ag2r) retained the race lead, even managing to drop his biggest rival on Wednesday – Saxo Bank's Andy Schleck - down the overall standings. Valjavec now leads Swiss rider Oliver Zaugg, of Liquigas, by 14 seconds with four stages remaining.

The strongest, most durable bike at the ShoAir Pro XCT mountain bike race in Colorado Springs this past weekend wasn’t a full-suspension, cross-country racing rig, or even an all-mountain trail bike. It was a 45-pound, coaster-braked singlespeed, equipped with riser bars, a rear rack, fenders and is capable of carrying a 100-kilogram cargo load. But it’s not a bike you’ll ever see in your local bike shop.

Why does my tubular tire thump near the valve stem? - Feedback

What are the rules for a 'Cannibal' time trial?

Tejay Van Garderen (Rabobank) finished with the bunch on Tuesday to take the overall victory in the Circuito Montañes in northern Spain. Vicente Grau Jorda (Camargo-Ferroatlantica-Floortex) won the 152km seventh stage from Potes to Santander in a bunch sprint ahead of Van Garderen’s teammate Boy Van Poppel, with Jorge Martín Montenegro (Andalucía-Cajasur) third. But Van Garderen crossed safely in 39th place to claim the final leader’s jersey by 35 seconds over Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Orbea). Sergio Pardilla Bellón (Carmiooro-A Style) finished third overall at 1:01.

Matti Breschel (Saxo Bank) triumphed in the fourth stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Tuesday. The Dane held off Astana's Maxim Iglinsky by a whisker to take his third victory of the year in the 195km ride from Biasca to Staefa. Tadej Valjavec (Ag2r-La Mondiale) finished third in the nine-man sprint to take the leader's jersey from Saxo's Fabian Cancellara, who crossed 1:03 down on the escapees. Cancellara had led the race since winning the opening time trial.

Why does my tubular tire thump near the valve stem? I have ridden them several times and I have noticed a significant pulsation whenever I coast at 20-28 mph. I don't notice it when I am pedaling although it is probably there.

Alejandro Valverde's win at the Dauphine solidified his position atop the UCI's world rankings, and also brought hit team, Caisse d'Epargne, and country, Spain, to the top of their respective rankings. Valverde has earned points at Fleche Wallone (where he was seventh), the Tour de Romandie (where he was in the top 10 in three stages) and with his wins at the Volta Catalunya and the Dauphine. The rankings are weighted toward the grand tours, which is how Denis Menchov remains in third with the 218 points he picked up on the way to winning the Giro d'Italia.

Ever since Shimano introduced the 7900 Di2 group at last fall’s Interbike show, it’s been surrounded by questions (as is any revolutionary new product). At first, the major question was simply Shimano’s wisdom in daring to venture down a path previously abandoned by Mavic and Campagnolo. Then the question was: will it pass the litmus test of adoption by professional riders and mechanics, who are historically traditional and resistant to change? Finally, will the parts ever actually become available at retail — and if so, will consumers buy?

Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara held on to the lead of the Tour of Switzerland as Britain's Mark Cavendish powered to victory on the 195.4km third stage on Monday. The 24-year-old from the Isle of Man, who won four stages at last year's Tour de France, produced an impressive decisive surge in the dying meters after Norwegian Thor Hushovd's final dash for the line ran out of steam. As Cavendish soaked up the win, Spanish ace Oscar Freire of Rabobank came through late to leave Cervelo's main sprinter Hushovd in third place. [nid:93406]

Tejay Van Garderen moved into the overall lead Monday after stage six at the Circuito Montañes in northern Spain, an important proving ground for up-and-coming pros. The American rider on the Rabobank continental team finished second to Sergio Pardilla (Carmiooro) in the 143.6km stage from Torrelavega to Santo Toribio, some 20 seconds behind the Spanish rider. With just one stage remaining, Van Garderen moves up into the overall lead, now 35 seconds ahead of Jonathan Castroviejo (Orbea), with Pardilla slotting into third at 1:01 back.

It’s looking more likely that a Japanese rider will be at the Tour de France for the first time in more than a decade. Bbox Bouygues Telecom has named Yukiya Arashiro as one of the riders assured to start the 2009 Tour on July 4 in Monaco. The others include Thomas Voeckler, Pierrick Fédrigo, Pierre Rolland and William Bonnet. Bouygues team boss Jean-René Bernaudeau had high praise for Arashiro, a former Japanese national time trial and road champion who’s racing in Europe for the first time this season.

Alejandro Valverde could barely enjoy his victory Sunday at the Dauphiné Libéré when the questions started again: will he or won’t he be at the start line in Monaco on July 4 for the 2009 Tour de France? Since May, Valverde is banned for two years from racing in Italy for what authorities say is clear evidence linking him to the Operación Puerto blood doping scandal. The year’s Tour dips into Italy for about 80km during stage 16, enough to likely torpedo Valverde’s hopes for a shot at the Tour podium despite being arguably in the best form of his career.

The 2009 Nature Valley Grand Prix concluded on Sunday in Stillwater, Minnesota, with a GC shake-up in the men’s race and a win by women’s race leader Kristin Armstrong. Philip Mamos (Amore e Vita) and Armstrong (Cervélo TestTeam) both took stage wins by attacking from small breakaways. Armstrong sealed up her fourth consecutive overall victory with her win, and Rory Sutherland (Ouch) took home his third overall victory in as many years by ousting Tom Zirbel (Bissell) with a late attack.

I’ve probably spent less than 10 hours riding tubular tires. I’m not ashamed to admit that I come from a mostly mountain bike background. I’ve never wanted to bother with gluing tubular tires, despite the significant benefits in lighter weight and supple ride quality.

Scott Zwizanski (Kelly Benefit Strategies) won the Tour de Beauce on Sunday as Bernard Sulzberger (Fly V Australia) collected the final stage win in the St. Georges circuit race. The 130km race consisted of 12 loops of 10.8km with a climb on each lap just before the finish line. Breakaways coalesced and faded under the watchful eye of Zwizanski’s Kelly Benefits squad until the eighth lap, when a dangerous nine-man move containing the Colombian National Team’s Sergio Luis Henao and Darwin Artapuma — second and third on GC, respectively — went clear.

Tyler Farrar did what he had to do in to wrap up the overall title at the Delta Tour Zeeland in Holland on Sunday. The Garmin-Slipstream rider sprinted ahead of archrival Alessandro Petacchi (LPR Brakes) in Sunday’s 185km stage, finishing second to winner Robert Wagner (Skil-Shimano), but ahead of Petacchi, who crossed the line third. When the time bonuses were added up, Farrar came out on top, winning the three-day race in southern Holland by 11 seconds ahead of Petacchi. Wagner claimed third overall at 13 seconds back.

There were two races for Bernhard Eisel in Sunday’s 150km second stage at the Tour de Suisse — the first to try to win the stage, and the second to try to confirm a spot on Columbia-Highroad’s highly competitive nine-man Tour de France team. The Austrian sprinter achieved the first and went a long way toward securing the second after out-kicking the bunch in a tightly fought sprint to win Sunday’s romp around Davos.

Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) on Sunday won his second successive Dauphiné Libéré cycling race as Dutchman Stef Clement (Rabobank) won the final stage, a 146km hump from Faverges to Grenoble. American Timothy Duggan (Garmin-Slipstream) took second ahead of Frenchman Sebastien Joly (Française des Jeux), all three having been members of an initial 28-man breakaway. World time-trial champion Bert Grabsch (Columbia-Highroad) enjoyed a long spell at the head of affairs before being reeled in 37km from the finish.

The breakaways finally found success in Saturday’s Mankato Road Race at the 2009 Nature Valley Grand Prix, in Minnesota. Andrew Crater (Wheel & Sprocket) and Alexis Rhodes (Webcor Builders) both delivered wins from small escape groups after 92 miles of aggressive and unpredictable racing.

Max Plaxton pulled off mountain biking’s version of a Hail Mary pass to win Saturday’s Sand Creek International cross-country race, the fourth round of USA Cycling’s Pro Cross-country Tour (ProXCT). Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) appeared to have the Sho Air-Specialized rider boxed out on the final band of twisting singletrack, which descended a steep fall line before spitting riders onto a stretch of pavement to the finish. Whoever left that trail in the lead had the upper hand in the sprint to the line.

For the second day in a row, a Frenchman won in a breakaway at the Dauphiné Libéré, this time with veteran head-banger David Moncoutie snagging an impressive victory in the week’s hardest stage over the French Alps. And for the third year in a row, it appears that Cadel Evans will finish runner-up, but it’s not for a lack of trying. The Silence-Lotto captain has finished second twice in a row at the Dauphiné before going on to second at the Tour de France in 2007 and in 2008.

Saxo Bank’s Fabian Cancellara may well have put a tough spring behind him as he scored an impressive win in the opening time trial of the Tour of Switzerland on Saturday. Cancellara covered the tough 7.8km course from Mauren to Ruggell, in Liechtenstein, in a time nine minutes and 21 seconds. Defending champion Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) was 19 seconds slower with Astana’s Andreas Klöden rounding out the podium at 22 seconds.

Bike racing is quite unlike the mainstream “stick-and-ball” sports that most Americans grew up playing, and can often be confusing, or a even a complete mystery. Even other endurance sports, such as marathon running or triathlon, lack the complexities and tactics of professional road cycling. In those sports, the person that is in the front of the race is usually the one that wins. That’s seldom always the case in cycling. In fact, it’s possible to win the Tour de France without crossing the line first on any of the 21 stages.

Colavita’s Sebastien Haedo and Brooke Miller (TIBCO) delighted fans on the crowded streets of Uptown Minneapolis by uncorking powerful sprints to win Stage 3 of Minnesota’s Nature Valley Grand Prix on Friday evening. The second criterium in a busy week of racing brought the racers back into the Twin Cities. This year, however, the race was moved to Uptown Minneapolis from the downtown course that has been used in years past. The pancake-flat, six-corner criterium was the perfect venue for fans to take in the action as the racers sped around Calhoun Square at twilight.

Heather Irmiger and Todd Wells both rode 29-inch wheeled mountain bikes to victory at the Carmichael Training Systems Sand Creek short track in Colorado Springs. The event was the second round of the 2009 Trailwatch.net national short-track series, and was held at Bear Creek Terrace Park on the western edge of the city.

Scott Zwizanski (Kelly Benefit Strategies) took over the lead of the Tour de Beauceon Friday, after winning the stage 4 20km time trial. It was a battle of the Z's as Zwizanski took a narrow stage victory over Fly V Australia's Phil Zajicek, who put up the fastest time for awhile, before Zwizanski came in 26 seconds faster. Trek-Livestrong's young New Zealander, Jessie Sergent, was third. Overnight race leader Sergio Luis Henao of the Colombia national team was 21st at 1:42 behind Zwizanski and fell to second on the GC, at 1:03 behind. His teammate, Darwin Atapuma, is third.

Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom) delivered a French stage victory Friday out of a breakaway in the short, 106km sixth stage from Gap to Briancon at the Dauphiné Libéré. Overnight leader Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) rode confidently in the main pack as 14 riders escaped over the day’s main obstacle up the Col d’Izoard to finish 16th with the same time as archrivals to retain his narrow 16-second lead going into the final weekend of racing.

Twenty-one teams are heading to the Vuelta a España in late August, but not everyone is going to be happy. Among the major teams left on the sidelines for the season’s third grand tour are two ProTour squads, the Russian-backed Katusha and Spanish Fuji-Servetto teams, as well as the Italian continental standout, LPR. The Vuelta organization, which released its list of invitees Friday morning, included 16 of 18 ProTour teams among the starting lineup.

Colavita’s Alejandro Borrajo and Erica Allar (ValueAct Capital Team) sprinted to wins in the second stage of the 2009 Nature Valley Grand Prix, a 66.5-mile road race through rural Minnesota. Despite a challenging course and aggressive racing, both Tom Zirbel (Bissel Pro Cycling) and Kristin Armstrong (Cervélo Test Team) retained their overall race leads.

Rabobank mechanic registered one of the all-time best bike changes to keep Denis Menchov in pink in Rome

Sylvester Szmyd is one of those riders who do all the dirty work yet rarely get the praise. The 31-year-old Polish rider toiled for years in the shadow of Damiano Cunego at Lampre before switching over to super-domestique duty at Liquigas, where he rode superbly at this year’s Giro d’Italia to help Franco Pellizotti secure his first career podium with third overall.

While cycling’s grand tours represent some of the best bike racing in the world, they also offer a lot of us a first-hand look at some of the best racing bikes in the world. I spent some time at this year’s Giro d’Italia and sorting through my files, I wanted to share a look at two bikes that really caught my eye in Italy last month.

David Zabriskie’s Giro TT bike

Colavita’s Sebastien Haedo and Kristy Broun (Riverstone CDA) raced to victory in Stage 2 of the 2009 Nature Valley GP on Wednesday in the Downtown St. Paul Criterium. With plenty of fast action on the streets of St. Paul, the evening criteriums did not have a significant impact on the overall standings, with Bissel’s Tom Zirbel and Cervélo’s Kristen Armstrong holding the overall leads they first established in the opening time trial on Wednesday morning.

Trek’s development of a new TTX time trial bike could almost have been predicted: Giant, Scott, and Specialized have all engineered new TT frame platforms for their ProTour teams in the last 12 months, while Trek’s design cycle apparently remained static (at least in public). (Editor's Note: If you don't recall, click the links for articles on Giant's new bike, Scott's new bike and Specialized's new bike.)

Tom Zirbel (Bissel Pro Cycling) and Kristin Armstrong (Cervélo TestTeam) stormed over a wet, 6-mile time trial course on Wednesday to take the opening stage of the 2009 Nature Valley Grand Prix in Minnesota.

Reigning world time trial champion Bert Grabsch (Columbia-Highroad) won Wednesday’s fourth stage at the 61st Dauphiné Libéré, while Australia Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) finished second and recaptured the overall leader’s jersey. Grabsch stopped the clock in 51 minutes, 26.48 seconds, overcoming a 12-second mid-race deficit to Evans to win by seven seconds on an undulating 42.4km course east of Valence.