Road Racing

Price: $200 Web site: www.thuleracks.com The Thule 515 Prologue Pack is a new all inclusive bike rack system. The Prologue pack includes two Prologue fork mounts with locks and an extended ride-on adapter bar to fit factory car racks.

What does a prototype Ford F-150 SVT Raptor off-road truck have in common with Adam Craig’s Giant Anthem X Advanced SL? Aside from race-tuned motors, onboard navigation systems, and hydraulic brakes, they both share suspension technology from FOX Racing Shox.

When you come to Sea Otter with a sharp eye, you’ll bound see all sorts of cool stuff, whether it’s new team equipment or an in-the-works prototype. We saw wheels from Easton, a new bike from legend John Tomac and some natural wax lube designed by a MIT grad student — among other things.

The range of bikes and components on display at a typical Sea Otter Classic never fails to impress, and this 2009 edition is no exception. Although oriented more toward mountain riders than road, the products on display cross all categories. Here is the first sampling of goodies from the infield of Laguna Seca, as component and bike brands roll out the red carpet for riders, spectators and media. Ritchey

Team Bissell steamrolled the Sea Otter Classic criterium Thursday, attacking the field en masse until they had three men clear. Morgan Schmitt was given the win after riding essentially a three-man team time trial with Ben Jacques-Maynes and Kirk O’Bee. With the field split into two groups behind them on an out-and-back course, Bissell’s three leaders decided the podium on the road. Jacques-Maynes, one of Bissell’s marquee riders who has already found success this year, let Schmitt know who got the top step.

It’s official: Lance Armstrong will be in Venice next month to race the 2009 Giro d’Italia. "The recovery is going well and the plan is to be at the Giro," Armstrong spokesman Mark Higgins told VeloNews. Several Italian media outlets reported that Armstrong confirmed to race officials Thursday that he will be at the May 9 start of the centenary Giro.   Both La Gazzetta dello Sport and Tutto Bici reported that Giro race director Angelo Zomegnan received official confirmation from Armstrong on Thursday.  

Price: $750 to $3,350 Weight: Rim 195 grams Sizes: 606 effective rim diameter Web site: www.edgecomposites.com When it comes to weight, Edge Composites wants nothing to do with it for the new 25 Tubular wheelset, the company's premium climbing wheelset, with a low aero 24mm profile.

There’s just no slowing down Jimmy Casper.   The French sprinter from Besson-Sojasun bolted to his second win this week after sprinting to victory in the 50th GP de Denain in France on Thursday. Casper also won Paris-Camembert on Tuesday.   Casper, a winner here in 2005 and 2006, covered the 202.7km course, which included a 15.2km circuit completed five times, in 4:40:18.  

Alessandro Petacchi (LPR) avoided a massive pileup in the closing meters of the bunch sprint to win Scheldeprijs on Wednesday in Belgium. Canadian Dominque Rollin (Cervélo TestTeam) steered clear of the mayhem to earn his first European podium with third place while Tony Cruz bolted to fourth in strong showing by BMC Racing that also saw Jeff Louder work into the day’s main breakaway. Louder joined a 14-man breakaway early in the race and was only caught in the closing 10km.

Dear Lennard, I saw the Prestaflator tool showed on VeloNews.com. Looks cool, but what kind of compressor is reasonable and affordable for road tires?  I have looked at compressors in the past and I generally only find industrial-like ones for nail guns, etc.  Is there an affordable one just for low volume higher pressure road tires? Samuel Dear Samuel,

Price: $300 Web site: www.thecompetitiveedge.com New from Tanita, makers of precision scales and body composition monitors, the BC-558 Ironman InnerScan Body Composition Monitor. What sets the BC-558 apart from other body composition scales is its ability to measure the composition of each body segment — trunk, right arm, left arm, right leg, and left leg.

The Sea Otter Classic, which runs this Thursday through Sunday, is now in its 19th year. From humble origins in 1991, when just 450 attendees populated the event, to 2008, when almost 10,000 participants and 50,000 spectators packed the venue for the four-day festival, Sea Otter has become a fixture on the spring calendar.

A few days after Boonen's victory, the photos are still rolling in from Paris-Roubaix. Despite this year's mostly dry conditions, teams were ready with bikes for all conditions. Padded bar tape, oversized tubular tires, box section aluminum rims, and closely matched front chainrings were virtually standard equipment. Other teams took things a step further, using cyclocross bikes, cantilever brakes, bar-top brake levers, and in some cases, custom hybrid road/cyclocross frames. Reporter Andrew Hood and photographer Graham Watson captured a few photos of team bikes just prior to the race.

Kristin Armstrong is famous for both her success in bicycle racing, and the “type-A” attention to detail that keeps her climbing the podium at critical races every season. After a dropped chain in 2006 nearly cost her a gold medal at the world time trial championships, she resolved to never let the same mechanical malady derail another performance. She used a custom machined aluminum chain catcher in Beijing to help win gold. Now, after demand from both ProTour team mechanics and the public, a new K-Edge Chain Catcher has been refined for retail sale.

Swedish rider Emma Johansson (Red Sun) dashed to victory Monday in the Tour de Drenthe in Holland to take the third round of the 10-leg World Cup series. Johansson was the fastest out of a group of six riders that escaped in the 138km course. She ruined chances for a hometown victory, out-kicking Dutch riders Loes Gunnewijk and Chantal Black, second and third, respectively. Germany’s Ina Teutenberg led the main pack across the line to take seventh at seven seconds back.

Junior national team member Adam Leibovitz finished third overall in a very tight race at the Ster Van Zuid-Limburg stage race in Belgium on Monday, after leading the race through the weekend. Leibovitz won Friday's prologue, and held the overall lead through road stages on Saturday and Sunday, entering the final stage on Monday with a one-second lead over Belgium's Jonathan Breyne. On Monday, Leibovitz, from Indianapolis, finished in the pack at 66th, 22 seconds behind a six-rider breakaway.

Germany's Heinrich Haussler may have had a frustrating season so far at the major events, with second places at Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders, but he is on the top rung at one race: the UCI individual points rankings. Haussler's recent consistency has moved him into first place in the rankings, up from second place behind Allan Davis the last time the points were tallied. Meanwhile, Alberto Contador's win at the Tour of the Basque Country has vaulted him from 13th to second in the rankings.

Price: $40 Web site: www.prestaflator.com

Price: $1,700 Sizes: Four sizes Web site: www.litespeed.com Litespeed is re-releasing its titanium Pisgah mountain bike frame. Features on the new Pisgah include the RDS dropout system for quick conversion to singlespeed dropouts, new geometry showcasing an oversized tube set, asymmetric chain stays for maximum drivetrain stiffness, power transfer and tire clearance.[nid:90491]

Price: $60 Weight: 180 to 200 grams Sizes: 650 x 23 and 700 x 19, 23, and 25 Colors: Black Web site: www.bontrager.com The folks over at Bontrager are more than excited about their newest performance tire, the Race X Lite Aero TT tire. After testing this new tire they have concluded that it is the fastest tire on the market. Bontrager believes that the new Race X Lite Aero TT tire will shave seconds off of your time trial.

Defending champion Tom Boonen soloed to victory in a dusty, crash-filled Paris-Roubaix on Sunday as Quick Step, Cervélo TestTeam and Silence-Lotto slugged it out toe to toe over the cobblestone trophy awarded to the victor in the Hell of the North.?? "The race was very hard," said the big Belgian after collecting his third win here, following triumphs in 2005 and 2008. Praising runner-up Filippo Pozzato (Katusha), he added: "This victory for me is the most beautiful because I beat Pozzato, who is a great champion."

Astana's Alberto Contador won the Tour of the Basque Country on Saturday, after clinching the sixth and final stage, a 24km time trial around the town of Zalla. It was the second straight Tour of the Basque Country title win for the defending Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España champion. "It's incredible how I continue to progress in my time trial work," said Contador, who took part in the event as part of his preparations for the Tour de France.

The Italian cycling community is big on traditions, and the Giro d’Italia organizer’s choice to repeat one of the most famous stages in the event’s 100-year history was greeted with enthusiasm when it was announced in the winter. At 254-kilometer, stage 10 from Cuneo to Pinerolo through the high Alps was identical to the one in 1949, when campionissimo Fausto Coppi destroyed the opposition with a massive 200km-plus solo breakaway that saw him finish almost 12 minutes ahead of the runner-up, his national rival Gino Bartali, and more than 19 minutes ahead of the rest.

The product development offices Crankbrothers comfortably fill a medium-sized building three blocks from the water in downtown Laguna Beach, California. Step out the front door and you are presented two choices: Turn right to surf or left and take a short spin to rough trails that require a healthy dose of bike handling skill to negotiate. The area is the stomping ground of the Laguna Rads, a long-established group of mountain bike riders, many of whom were instrumental in shaping the sport in its early days.

As the Paris-Roubaix weekend draws near, several teams have announced plans to use special edition frames in the legendary race. German brand Canyon Bicycles, sponsor of Silence-Lotto, has created a “Pavé” version of its Ultimate AL frameset for the team to use. And thanks to a wild-card invitation, the BMC racing team will take the start in Compeigne, with four riders piloting a new carbon-aluminum SLX model, instead of the standard ProMachine SLC01 carbon model.

Silence-Lotto's special edition from Canyon Bicycles

Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) finished third in the 161km fourth stage at the Vuelta al País Vasco in Spain, joining a successful, three-man breakaway on Thursday. Michael Albasini (Columbia-Highroad) kicked to victory, with Jurgen Van den Broucke (Silence-Lotto) coming through second and Vande Velde slotting into third after an all-day break in a hilly, seven-climb stage in Spain’s Basque Country.

Edvald Boasson Hagen. His name doesn’t exactly roll off your tongue, but it’s a name you’d better remember because the young Norwegian is only 21 and he has just won his first spring classic. Ghent-Wevelgem may not be the biggest of the classics, and a lot of young riders have won it and not gone on to bigger and better results. But it seems that Boasson Hagen is a little different, a little more special.

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Agritubel's David Le Lay took a narrow lead in the Circuit de la Sarthe stage race in France on Wednesday, after winning the morning's 94km road race and then finishing 10 seconds off the pace, in 14th place, in the afternoon's 6k individual time trial. Jimmy Engoulvent (Besson Chausures-Sojasun) won the time trial, finishing one second ahead of Astana's Andreas Kloden. American Jeff Louder of BMC was eighth and moved into tenth place on the GC following the time trial. The race concludes Friday.

Scott teases time trial bike

In a thrilling preview of what awaits in the Tour de France later this summer, some of cycling’s top climbers went mano-a-mano up the precipitous green hills of Spain’s Basque Country in Wednesday’s third stage at the Vuelta al País Vasco. Alberto Contador (Astana) attacked with 5km to go on the short but steep Cat. 1 Alto de Ixua to drop rivals he’ll be facing off against in July and ride into the overall leader’s jersey.

Lance Armstrong's Astana team expressed optimism Wednesday over his prospects of recovering from his broken collarbone in time to line up for next month's Tour of Italy. The seven-time Tour de France winner's participation in the Giro, which starts on May 9 was thrown into doubt after he required surgery following his fall in the Vuelta Castilla y Leon race in Spain on March 25. The Texan had a stainless steel plate and 12 screws inserted to stabilize his right collarbone, which was broken in four places, but is now back in training.

The Giro d’Italia is losing one of its marquee stages across the Alps for its centennial celebration due to access problems on the French side of the border. Race officials announced Wednesday that the blockbuster, five-climb 250km stage over the Col d’Izoard and other emblematic climbs in the French Alps scheduled for stage 10 on May 19 between Cuneo and Pinerolo will be altered and stay entirely inside Italy.

Enrico Rossi (Ceramica Flaminia) snagged a narrow victory after being away in an 150km breakaway Tuesday to surprise the peloton in the opening stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe in France. Rossi attacked at 35km in the 192km stage and won by a whisker ahead of the chasing pack, taking a 13-second victory ahead of the sprinters and grabbing the leader’s jersey as an added bonus. Besson Chaussures and FDJeux thought they had things under control to set up their fast men, Jimmy Casper and Sébastien Chavanel, respectively.

Yury Trofimov (Bouygues Telecom) upset the chasing peloton to win Tuesday’s second stage at the Vuelta al País Vasco in Spain after slipping away in a four-man breakaway in the six-climb, 160km route. Trofimov dropped fellow escapee Rein Taarame (Cofidis) with 2.5km to go and crossed the line five seconds clear to celebrate a hard-fought victory. Ben Swift (Katusha) led the main pack across the line with third at 1:10 back.

After a relatively mild winter, colder temperatures and frequent snowfall have come to Colorado. The wide variation in our springtime weather — from 50s and sun one day to 20s and snow the next — has created a perfect opportunity to put the Castelli Insolito Radiation winter jacket to the test. With a retail price of $500, this jacket is not for the faint of heart. But it is packed with features that make it suitable for fall, winter, and springtime rides. I found that this single Castelli jacket could potentially replace two or three separate pieces of my winter wardrobe.

Although not as harsh as Paris-Roubaix, the cobbles of the Tour of Flanders do warrant a few concessions from racers’ typical bikes. For wheels, standard steel spokes and box rims are the rule (although of course there are exceptions). Beyond that, each team's mechanics have their own take on the ideal set-up for the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Here are a few of the details we found at a few teams’ hotels and inside the start village in Brugge.

Luís León Sánchez continues on his spring rampage, winning the opening stage and donning the leader’s jersey of the Vuelta al País Vasco in Spain. But it almost didn’t happen. The 25-year-old Caisse d’Epargne rider was gapped on a fierce second-category climb with 8km remaining in the 142.5km opening stage and only regained contact with 3km to go.

Cervelo's Ted King outsprinted OUCH-Maxxis' Tim Johnson Sunday at New England's traditional road season opener, the Michael Schott Memorial Circuit Race, on Marblehead Neck in Massachusetts. The Pro/1-3 race featured a few nationally known pros with New England connections, including King, Johnson, Adam Myerson, Mark and Frank McCormack and young cyclocross star Nick Keough.

When Stijn Devolder was asked Sunday what was different about his second Tour of Flanders victory in two years, he was close to tears. “A friend of mine died at the Tour of Qatar in February, and I promised to remember him the first time I won a race this year,” Devolder said. He was talking about Frederiek Nolf, the Topsport Vlaanderen team rider who died in his sleep one week short of his 22nd birthday.

Price: $90 Colors: Red, orange, pink, yellow, green, blue, silver, and black Web site: www.rockymounts.com RockyMounts is replacing its Lariat SL rack with the all-new PitchFork. The new rack is RockyMounts' standard in fork-mounted bike carriers for Thule and Yakima crossbars. The new design is a bit more sleek with a low-profile design for better aerodynamics.

Shimano is revamping its Ultegra group, cutting weight from the second-in-line road parts and, in trademark trickle-down fashion, incorporating many features that the company added to its Dura-Ace group last year. The company claims that the new Ultegra 6700 group will be more than 150 grams lighter than the current Ultegra 6600 and 45 grams lighter than the Ultegra SL group.

One of the most famous and unique endurance races in the world takes place annually in Alaska. The Iditarod sled dog race was won on March 18, when Alaskan Lance Mackey reached the end of the 1049-mile route from Anchorage to Nome in nine days, 21 hours, 38 minutes and 46 seconds. The last finisher came in nearly six days later.

Price: $2 per bar Weight: 40 grams Flavors: Cranberry Nut and Chocolate Peanut Butter Web site: www.forzegps.com Forze GPS is a new health bar from PacificHealth Laboratories, makers of Accelerade and Endurox products. Not so much a mid-race snack, Forze GPS is intended to help curb hunger to help keep endurance athletes lean.

Dear Readers, I’ve discovered the ultimate in compatibility of shifting components: Sturmey-Archer 3-speed shifters and hubs work perfectly with Campagnolo, Shimano or SRAM 9-, 10-, or 11-speed drivetrains. What a sweet deal! Now you can avoid all of those flashy colorful bikes and get top performance with a nice, practical black bike with steel upright handlebars. Or you can simplify your flashy lightweight modern bike with a practical, three-position lever.

Filippo Pozzato continues on his strong pre-Flanders form, notching victory in the opening stage of the Three Days of De Panne in Belgium.   Pozzato, who won the Prijs Harelbeke on Saturday, out-kicked fellow escapee Frédérick Willems (Liquigas) to win the stage and take the first leader’s jersey in the four-stage, three-day race.   Greg Van Avermaet (Silence-Lotto) won the bunch sprint, some 57 seconds back to take third place.  

Dear Lennard,
I always wondered about hanging my mountain bikes vertically too but not really worried about the shocks but about the hydraulic brakes and what that might do to the lines. Is it fine?
Paul Dear Paul,
That’s a good question. If the bike is hanging vertically with the front wheel up, there would be no problem, because any air bubbles would gravitate toward the lever, which would be where you’d want them. But how about with the rear wheel up?

Park Tool started in 1956 as Hazel Park Cycle Center, a bike shop on the northern edge of of the Twin Cities, adjacent a park of the same name. Owners Art Engstrom and Howard Hawkins fed themselves through the cold Minnesota winters by sharpening ice skates, and they built their own bike tools. They made the original Park Repair Stand out of old parts, and they patented the clamp’s design. The base that held it steady was a huge artillery shell casing filled with concrete attached to metal clawed chair feet. The “Hazel Park Bicycle Repair Stand Company” was born.

Geoff Kabush (Rocky Mountain-Maxxis) and Georgia Gould (Luna) took home impressive wins at the opening round of USA Cycling’s Pro Cross-country tour (ProXCT), held at Southridge Park in Fontana, California. The race was also the second round of the Kenda Cup West, the West Coast half of the ShoAir-Specialized U.S. Cup series.

BMC's Jeff Louder and Columbia Highroad's Ina Yoko Teutenberg won the 2009 Redlands Bicycle Classic's overall titles Sunday, as Kyle Wamsley (Colavita) and Alison Powers (Team Type 1) grabbed the stage wins. Apparently every second does count. The overall wins came down to just 1 second for Teutenberg, and to just 5 seconds for Louder. Teutenberg accumulated enough time bonuses in the final stage to take the jersey away from Amber Neben (Nurnberger Shoair) who fell to second place, while Alison Powers (Team Type 1) took third, 27 seconds down.

Frenchman Gregory Bauge overcame a tough test against Malaysia's Azizulhasni Awang to win the world sprint crown at the world track cycling championships in Pruszkow, Poland. on Sunday. Awang took the silver medal with another Frenchman, Kevin Sireau, beating Australian Shane Perkins to take the bronze. The men's sprint tournament is traditionally the most coveted of all track cycling events, and it lived up to that billing thanks to the unexpected rise of Awang to the final.

Price: $100 to $210 Web site: www.selleitalia.com Selle Italia and Troy Lee Designs have collaborated to produce three new saddle styles. The Selle Italia Shiver Troy Lee Designs Chito Saddle weighs in at 250 grams and uses manganese alloy rails. An all around saddle, the Shiver Chito is suitable for both road and mountain biking. Retails for $99.

Editor's Note: Connie Carpenter is in Pruszkow, Poland, covering the Track World Championships for VeloNews.com while supporting her son, Taylor Phinney. Carpenter is a former world champion on the track and an avid fan of track cycling. Track cycling seems much bigger and more diverse than ever before. While some may criticize the Brits for winning just two jerseys here in Poland, most of us are admiring the fact that so many countries represented so well … with the Aussies dominating the medal tally with ten medals.

Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank) was fast just enough in Sunday’s individual time trial to win the Critérium International for a record-tying fifth time. The veteran German was fifth in the 8.3km course in Charleville-Mézières and held off a challenge from Danny Pate (Garmin-Slipstream), who started the third and final stage in second place, just seven seconds off Voigt’s time.

Editor's Note: Connie Carpenter is in Pruszkow, Poland, covering the Track World Championships for VeloNews.com while supporting her son, Taylor Phinney. Carpenter is a former world champion on the track and an avid fan of track cycling.

Jeff Louder (BMC) and Amber Neben (Nurnberger Shoair) retained their yellow jerseys after the dust settled in bunch sprints for both the men’s and women’s Redlands Downtown Criteriums in Saturday’s stage 2 at the Redlands Cycling Classic. The top five in the men’s GC remained virtually unchanged, while Neben’s advantage over second placed Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (Columbia-High Road) narrowed from 14 seconds to just 2 seconds due to time bonuses.

Denmark relieved Britain of yet another world crown when they won the men's Madison gold at the world track cycling championships in Pruszkow, Poland, Saturday. Australia took the silver with the Czech Republic claiming the bronze. Defending champions Britain, featuring the two-man team of Mark Cavendish and fellow Manxman Peter Kennaugh, finished sixth at a lap down. Kennaugh suffered a crash before the seventh of the 10 sprints where points can be picked up for the first four riders over the line during the 200-lap race.

Besson Chaussures-Sojasun’s Jimmy Casper showed off his strong early season form Saturday, winning the opening stage of France’s Critérium International , a 190km ride from Monthois to Charleville-Mézières. The 30-year-old Casper had already won two stages in Etoile de Bessèges in February. Casper said he was especially pleased to be a member of a small continental squad making a mark on a prestigious race . Casper was quick to praise Christian Prudhomme, the director of cycling at ASO, for having "invited a small team to the Critérium International.”

Youth and wisdom. Four laps pretty much flat out. The kilo is short. Painful. Taylor rode off the track with his head down, I could tell from the stands that he was disappointed. Or as coach Neal said, “he’s stunned.” The former World Champion (2003) Stefan Nimke cranked a 1.00.666 in the ride just before T took to the track. Blazing fast. A sea level world best time. Taylor rode slightly faster than he rode in Copenhagen and set a new American record – but it was a full second behind the German. Deflated, he rolled to the infield to warmdown.

Jeff Louder (BMC) and Amber Neben (Nurnberger Shoair) emerged as the overall race leaders after a tough and windy Beaumont Circuit Race, the first stage of the 2008 Redlands Bicycle Classic on Friday. Louder followed a daring attack by Peter Stetina (Felt-Holoweko-Slipstream) over the day’s final climb, then put enough distance between himself and GC leader Ben Day (Fly V Australia) to snatch the yellow jersey, thanks to the 10-second bonus he snatched for the stage victory.

After winning gold in the 4k individual pursuit, American Taylor Phinney was second in the 1 kilometer time trial at the world track championships in Poland. Phinney rode a 1 01.611, Connie Carpenter told VeloNews in an email. That's about the same time as he did at the Copenhagen world cup last month, but a full second slower than the gold medalist, German Stefan Nimke. Mohd Rizal Tisin made history to hand Malaysia their first ever world championships medal with bronze in a time of 1:01.658.

The Saxo Bank Pro team is switching from Shimano to SRAM Red components, the component company announced Friday. "We are looking forward to racing with SRAM," said team director Bjarne Riis in a statement released by SRAM. “SRAM Red is proven reliable, remains the lightest gruppo available, and delivers perfect ergonomics. SRAM has demonstrated impressive product development, great quality and intense focus, just like our team," Riis said.

The cobbled classics in Europe are just around the corner, and ProTour team mechanics are likely to be prepping bikes in the coming weeks. In addition to fitting sturdy wheels, wider tires, and other heavy-duty parts, a common practice involves wrapping the handlebars with two or more layers of bar tape to soften the blows from rough roads.

Price: $120 to $220 Sizes: 140mm to 220mm Web site: www.sibexsports.com New for 2009 from Sibex Sports are titanium disc brake rotors. The rotors are available in eight sizes, between 140mm and 220mm, to meet the specific demands of the disc brake market. The Sibex rotors are made from hardened 6/4 titanium for maximum durability.

Two stage races and two victories, not a bad start to the 2009 season for Levi Leipheimer. The Tour of California champion finished safely in the bunch in Friday’s final stage behind winner Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) to wrap up the overall victory in the five-day stage race across northern Spain.

While American readers saw the big news from this week's UCI world track championships to be Taylor Phinney's victory in the men's individual pursuit, there was plenty of other racing at the velodrome in Pruszkow, Poland, on Thursday, including a return to the boards for recent Milan-San Remo winner, Mark Cavendish.

Men’s Scratch

Editor's Note: Connie Carpenter is in Pruszkow, Poland, covering the Track World Championships for VeloNews.com while supporting her son, Taylor Phinney. Carpenter is a former world champion on the track and an avid fan of track cycling. The beauty of that rainbow jersey — even when it’s a titch too big. The simplicity of the flowers doled out by ladies in red silky dresses. The glory of hearing your own national anthem and watching your flag raised. This is the view from the podium.

Juan José Cobo (Fuji-Servetto) attacked with just under 2km to go to win Thursday’s 145.4km “queen stage” over two first-category climbs at the 24th Vuelta a Castilla y León. Cobo, who started nearly three minutes out of the GC fight, timed it just right to bolt clear of a reduced pack of leaders to win for the first time this season.

Grimaces, frowns and faces of pain abounded during Thursday’s opening prologue at the 2009 Redlands Bicycle Classic. While the 5km journey from downtown Redlands to the top of Sunset Drive wasn’t long, it packed a serious punch in the form of 1000 feet of elevation gain, most of it within the final steep kilometer. The lion’s share of the 350 men and women racers spent the final meters out of the saddle, suffering their way to the summit.

Teenage track sensation Taylor Phinney struck gold in the men's pursuit to end the United States' 16-year wait for the title at the world track cycling championships Thursday. Phinney, who turns 19 on June 27, fulfilled pre-race predictions to overcome a strong challenge from Australian Jack Bobridge, who finished second. Belgian Dominique Cornu won bronze after beating Volodymyr Dyudya. With 2008 world and Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins not competing, the way was open for the likes of Phinney, considered the new sensation of American cycling, to strike gold.

The British team that has dominated track cycling at the Olympics and worlds competition in past years is set to redress the gold medals balance Thursday after missing out on victory four times on the opening day of the world championships in Pruszkow, Poland. Great Britain, which won seven of ten titles on offer at the Beijing Olympics last year, have so far lived up to claims of taking a relaxed approach to a gradual build-up to the London Olympics in 2012.

Editor's Note: Connie Carpenter is in Pruszkow, Poland, covering the Track World Championships for VeloNews.com while supporting her son, Taylor Phinney. Carpenter is a former world champion on the track and an avid fan of track cycling. Big surprises on the opening night! Yes!

Lithuanian Simona Krupeckaite won the women's 500 meter time trial in a record time of 33.296 at the world track cycling championships on Wednesday in Pruszkow, Poland Krupeckaite started second from last in the 23-strong field and powered over the two-lap event to beat the early pacesetter, Australian Anna Meares, into second place for the silver medal. In doing so Krupeckaite beat Meares' world record of 33.588, set at the 2007 world championships in Palma de Mallorca. Britain's reigning Olympic sprint champion, Victoria Pendleton, took the bronze medal in 34.102.

Former Giro d'Italia winner Damiano Cunego (Lampre) won the second stage of the Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali–Trofeo UniCredit Banca on Wednesday. Cunego edged out Colombian Jose Serpa (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni) in the 182.1km leg from San Lazzaro to Faenza, with third place going to Giovanni Visconti (ISD), the new overall leader. A group of nine riders broke clear on the Monte Trebbo before Cunego and Serpa separated themselves from the rest and the Italian easily took the sprint finish.

Price: $11.75 Sizes: 2 ounces Web site: www.dumondetech.com New from Dumonde Tech, G10 Bio-Green, a 100 percent plant-based and biodegradable chain lube made entirely from plant, vegetable, or seed oil. G10 Bio-Green is currently available in a 2-ounce bottle, and eventually in 1- and 4-ounce sizes.

Price: $5,200 Weight: 26.5 pounds Sizes: 15.5, 17, 19, and 21-inch Colors: Black Web site: www.diamondback.com New from Diamondback is the five-inch travel, 26.5-pound Sortie Black trail bike. Diamondback introduced its Knuckle Box suspension platform a few years ago with the six-inch travel Mission, and then scaled down to the four-inch travel Sortie last year. Understanding the need to find a happy medium, Diamondback designed the 2009 Sortie for five inches of travel.

Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) sprinted to his first victory of the 2009 season in Wednesday’s third stage at the Vuelta a Castilla y León. Levi Leipheimer (Astana) crossed safely with the pack in the second-category summit finish at the San Isidro ski area to retain the overall leader’s jersey he claimed after winning Tuesday’s individual time trial.