After several years of trying to make a breakthrough on the domestic cross-country racing circuit, mountain biker Ross Schnell needed just one event last season to launch his career in a new direction. Schnell’s 2008 win in California's legendary all-mountain race, the Downieville Classic, catapulted him to almost instant widespread fame in both cross-country and downhill circles.
Track powerhouses Britain will be without a host of big names as the four-year cycle towards the London Olympics in 2012 clicks into gear at the world championships in Poland this week. Britain claimed an astonishing seven of the ten track gold medals on offer at the Beijing Olympics last year but will be without three of the stars who, in Beijing, won six golds between them.
Morgan Chedhomme (Auber 93) won the prologue to the Tour de Normandie on Monday. The 22-year-old Frenchman covered the 5.1km course in Mondeville in 6:20, four seconds faster than Thomas Berkhout (Rabobank) and five better than Frederik Wilman (Joker-Bianchi). His average speed was more than 48 km/h. Tuesday’s second stage takes the 130 riders from Colombelles to Forges-les-Eaux.
Very few people will be talking about the biggest win of Joaquín Sobrino’s career. The Burgos Monumental rider sped to victory in the opening stage of the Vuelta a Castilla y León, but the world’s media were focused on the crash involving Lance Armstrong (Astana) with about 15km to go. The seven-time Tour de France winner went down in a nasty pileup as the peloton was completing its chase of a four-man breakaway and left the race in an ambulance (see main story).
Fly V Australia's Ben Day turned a blistering opening time trial performance into an overall victory at the three-day San Dimas Stage Race in California this weekend. Day's teammate Jonathan Cantwell won the final stage criterium, ahead of Colavita's Lucas Haedo and OUCH-Maxxis' John Murphy. Team Type 1's Shawn Milne added to Team Type 1’s polka dot jersey collection by winning the King of the Mountains classification.
If there was any doubt about who is cycling’s most exciting sprinter, Mark Cavendish erased it Saturday with an explosive victory in the 100th Milan-San Remo. Judges had to break out the zoom lens to determine Cavendish the winner in a photo-finish to a devastated Heinrich Haussler as Cervélo TestTeam went two-three with Thor Hushovd rounding out the podium. Haussler pounced out of the left side of the pack with 350 meters to go —he said to set up Hushovd — only to look back and see that Hushovd wasn’t on his wheel and a surging Cavendish was closing in fast.
Fly V Australia's Ben Day and Columbia-Highroad's Mara Abbott won Friday evening's 3.7-mile prologue up a piece of Glendora Mountain Road in the San Gabriel Mountains.[nid:89496] Mitchell Clinton was there to photograph the action for VeloNews. The race continues Saturday with a 84-mile circuit race for the men; pro women will do 56 miles.
Price: $250 Sizes: Small to Extra Large Colors: Blue or Red Web site: www.showerspass.com
Options in aftermarket brakes have multiplied in recent years. A category once defined by feathery but flimsy-looking carbon and aluminum has matured, and the TRP R960 is evidence that shedding weight need not result in shredded skin from a blown corner. At 245 grams for the pair (with pads, but minus mounting hardware) they are almost 50 grams lighter per pair than Shimano Dura-Ace, but proved to function almost as well.
Price: $90 Weight: Colors: Silver and Black Web site: www.ryderseyewear.com
Price: $189 Weight: 315 grams Sizes: 39 to 48 Colors: Black/red Web site: www.lakecycling.com
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Price: Tubular $2500; Clincher $2800 Weight: Tubular 1840g/pair; Clincher 1910g/pair Web site: www.bontrager.com New from Bontrager, the high profile Aeolus 9.0, a 90mm-deep time trial wheelset. As with past Aeolus models, the 16 spokes are embedded within the rim for better aerodynamics. Why upgrade to the 9.0 model? Bontrager reports that the Aeolus 9.0 is 10 seconds faster over 40km than the Aeolus 6.5.
I’m still being deluged with letters about CO2, and I promised to end it, so now I’m switching to letters about wheels. However, at the bottom, you’ll find one more CO2 letter addressing environmental points, which I think to be important and a duty to bring up.
Mark Cavendish wasn’t going to let anyone pass him this time. Just days after Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) relegated Cavendish to a rare second place in Friday’s third stage, Cavendish evened the score in Tuesday’s 169km finale at the 44th Tirreno-Adriatico. Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) tried in vain to sprint early, but Cavendish darted past him in easy work to win for the fifth time in 2009. Farrar trailed through second in another strong performance for the American while Baden Cooke (Vacansoleil) took third.
Twenty teams have been selected for the 2009 Tour de France, but Fuji-Servetto won’t be among them.
Price: $220 Weight: 350 grams/pair Web site: www.time-sport.com New from Time are the Julien Absalon signature ATAC XS mountain bike pedals. Even if you can't attack like Absalon, at least you can ride the same pedals.
It was another day of epic racing at Tirreno-Adriatico, this time with Michele Scarponi (Diquigiovanni) snatching the stage victory and the leader’s jersey in Monday’s 235km climbing stage to Camerino. Scarponi, back to the winner’s circle after serving a racing ban after being implicated in the Operación Puerto doping scandal, darted ahead of Stefano Garzelli (Acqua e Sapone) to win the stage. Ivan Basso (Liquigas), riding with strength in grand tour-like conditions, crossed third.
Four-time Tour de France stage winner MarkCavendish has been included in a largely experimental 19-man British track cycling squad that will head to the World Championships in Pruszkow, Poland next week. Cavendish, who normally plies his trade with the Columbia-High Road team, is a surprise inclusion in a squad that will be shorn of many of its big names. At last year's Olympic Games Britain won seven of the ten golds on offer at the Laoshan velodrome in Beijing, with Scotland's Chris Hoy claiming three and Bradley Wiggins winning two from both pursuit events.
It was another day of the double at Tirreno-Adriatico. Twenty-four hours after Joaquim Rodríguez (Caisse d’Epargne) won a stage and claimed the overall leader’s jersey; it was Andreas Klöden’s turn in Sunday’s individual time trial. The veteran Astana rider notched a commanding, 20-second victory in the 30km fifth stage featuring two short but steep hills. With his first victory of the 2009 season, he takes the overall leader’s jersey, six seconds ahead of Thomas Lövkvist (Columbia-Highroad).
Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d’Epargne) trumped compatriot Alberto Contador of Astana to win the 67th Paris-Nice cycling race after the eighth and final stage here on Sunday. Sanchez finished the race one minute ahead of Luxembourg's Frank Schleck in the overall standings, with French rider Sylvain Chavanal a further 9 seconds adrift in third.
It was a double-whammy times two for Caisse d’Epargne in racing across Europe on Saturday. Barely an hour after Luís León Sánchez won the stage and took the overall lead at Paris-Nice in France, Joaquim Rodríguez pulled off the same feat at Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy. Attacking with less than 500m to go up the punishing Montelupone climb, Rodríguez held off Davide Rebellin (Diquigiovanni) to win the hilltop finish and claim the overall leader’s jersey in the 171km fourth stage.
Spain's Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) won the seventh and penultimate stage of Paris-Nice on Saturday to take the leader's yellow jersey. Overnight leader Alberto Contador (Astana) suffered over the final four kilometers, losing almost three minutes. He later admitted that he had forgotten to eat and drink properly. Sanchez broke away 15km from the finish line and eventually came home 50 seconds ahead of Antonio Colom (Katusha), Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank) and French rider Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step). Sanchez said afterwards that everything had gone as expected.
Price: $125/pair Weight: 205 grams Sizes: 700 x 23 only Colors: White! Web site: www.conti-online.com With the popularity of white cycling gear gaining ground, Continental is releasing a limited model GP4000 white tire. The tire will use the same casing and construction as the GP4000 S, including Vectran puncture protection.
Suggest retail:$24.95 Pages: 352
Suggested Retail: $12.24 Web site: www.cacoethespublishing.net
Price: $290 Weight: 165 grams Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL, and XXL Colors: Black, Orange, and Blue Web site: www.rapha.cc New from Rapha, a high-end producer of stylish cycle wear, is the windproof and water resistant Stowaway jacket. Meant for year-round use, the Stowaway is designed to keep you protected from the elements, without compromising your sense of style.
Re-introduced in September 2008, after a two year hiatus, the Litespeed Blade is a bike with a storied history. The signature titanium airfoil tube shape was created by accident in the early 1990s and brought to widespread prominence when Lance Armstrong used one (disguised as a Trek) in the 1999 Tour de France. Ten years after that historic ride, Litespeed is wielding a totally new Blade, and we had a chance to check out one of the first bikes to leave the test lab.
There’s seemingly no one who’s capable of stopping Alberto Contador through the first weeks of the 2009 season. The Spanish climber dropped arch-rival Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank) on the mountain dubbed Mont Ventoux’s “little sister” to win Friday’s sixth stage and take back the overall lead at Paris-Nice. Contador, winner of the opening time trial in Amilly on Sunday, bolted away from the pack on the snow-covered, 1600m Montagne de Lure summit to win for the fourth time this year.
Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) bolted past Mark Cavendish (Columbia-Highroad) to win Friday’s third stage at Tirreno-Adriatico. Cavendish looked to have the sprint in the bag when Farrar came off Cavendish’s wheel and surged past his left shoulder to take the biggest win of his European career.
The Segal I rode most of last season was without a doubt the finest Israeli-made magnesium road bike I've ever had the occasion to try. That's an admittedly subjective statement, but I feel pretty sure I can back it up.
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Alessandro Petacchi (LPR Brakes) won the second stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico over 177km from Volterra to Marina di Carrara on Thursday. Petacchi edged out compatriot Daniele Bennati of Liquigas and Spaniard Koldo Fernandez in a sprint finish. Frenchman Julien El Fares of Cofidis, who won the first stage on Wednesday, held onto the leader's jersey with Bennati in second 15 seconds behind.
Jeremy Roy (Française des Jeux) won the fifth stage of Paris-Nice on Thursday. Roy won the 204km stage from Annonay to Vallon Pont d'Arc, crossing the line in 4hr 58min 47sec. Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), retained the overall lead.
If you’re an early adapter and have been aching to try out a tubeless road system, you now have a new option, the Hutchinson RT1 carbon wheelset. The wheels are Hutchinson-branded, but are made by Corima and are exactly the same as Corima’s Aero + Tubeless wheelset (which is not available in the United States).
French rider Julien El Fares (Cofidis) held off the chasing peloton to win the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. Led by Liquigas and Columbia-Highroad, the chasing pack fell 11 seconds short of ending the Frenchman’s adventure in the 147km stage to Capannori on Wednesday. El Fares dropped his fellow escapee, Vladimir Duma (Flaminia), with about 20km to go but Duma chased back with 9km to go. They held a slender lead of 1:34 to hungry sprinters.
Christian Vande Velde’s world went from black to kisses from the podium girls in just four days at Paris-Nice. The Garmin-Slipstream captain attacked with 20km to go out of a seven-man breakaway to snatch a thrilling solo victory in a hard-fought rainy and cold day in Wednesday’s fourth stage at the 67th Paris-Nice. “I was good at (Tour of) California, nothing special, so to come out and do that today, it gives me a lot of confidence,” Vande Velde told VeloNews. “The form is coming along really well. I am just surprising myself.”
Alberto Contador gave up his yellow jersey — at least temporarily — to Quick Step's Sylvain Chavanel Tuesday after losing 1:10 in the third stage to a breakaway group containing Chavanel.
Dear readers,
I’ve enjoyed the recent exchange on CO2 cartridges, and judging by the volume of lighthearted mail I’ve received on it, so have a lot of you. I thought we’d thoroughly covered all of the technical aspects of it to the point that no more needed to be said.
Price: $70 Weight: 71 grams Web site: www.eastonbike.com Easton EC90 bar ends, new for 2009, are made of Easton composite carbon fiber and are ergonomically molded. One-piece carbon construction lends strength and a clean look. The pair weighs in at just 71 grams and is approved for use with Easton bars. The EC90 bar ends carry a limited 5-year warranty.
Price: $389 Weight: 315 grams per brake with rotor Sizes: 160, 180, and 203mm rotor sizes Web site: www.magura.com The Magura Marta SL hydraulic disc brake is now available in a magnesium model, which is about 20 grams lighter than the original SL model. The Marta SL Magnesium uses magnesium for the master cylinder and the slave cylinder, typically the heaviest parts of the system. For added look and feel, carbon levers are used and for additional weight saving, Magura uses titanium hardware.
Heinrich Haussler slammed home his third victory of the 2009 season on Monday in the second stage at the 67th Paris-Nice. The Cervélo TestTeam rider cranked up his sprint with 250m to go in the 195.5km stage and had plenty of time to thump his chest as he crossed the line clear by three bike lengths. Coming through second was Mark Renshaw (Columbia-Highroad) with Mirco Lorenzetto (Lampre) slotting into third. "The sprint wasn't easy. We were racing into a headwind so I tucked my bike in behind Renshaw and the Columbia team,” said the 25-year-old Haussler.
Price: $575 to $900 Sizes: 120mm spacing Colors: Silver, black, gold, red, blue, green, and purple Web site: www.philwood.com As part of their 38th anniversary, Phil Wood will be releasing 100 specialty track hubs. The 3.5 Track Limited hub has a 3.5-inch flange and is only available in 32 and 36 spoke models. [nid:89071]
J.R. Grabinger (Fly V Australia p/b Successful Living) and Janel Holcomb (Webcor Builders) collected the overall titles at the 23rd annual Tucson Bicycle Classic on Sunday. Nick Clayville (Hagens Berman LLP) won the final stage, the Speedway/Anklam Circuit Race, crossing five seconds ahead of Sean Mazich (Team Waste Management) and Chad Beyer (BMC). But Grabinger finished with the bunch at 1:48 to claim the overall after three days of racing. Michael Mathis (CRCA-Empire Cycling Team) took the runner-up spot at 17 seconds back with Waste Management’s Scott Stewart third at 0:24.
Canadian Andrew Pinfold (OUCH-Maxxis) won the final stage of the 2009 Vuelta Mexico Telmex on Sunday, wrapping up the eight-stage race by winning a massive field sprint at the finale of the Hospedaje circuit race.
Denis Menchov wrapped up the overall title at the Vuelta a Murcia in Spain on Sunday to claim his first victory since winning the 2007 Vuelta a España. There was no major shakeup in the overall standings as a busted-up peloton came in for a mass sprint for the fifth and final stage.
Alberto Contador likes to say he doesn’t feel obliged to win, so perhaps it's just that he can’t help himself. The 25-year-old Spaniard is turning into a modern-day cannibal, seemingly winning at will as he continues his superb start of the 2009 season.
J.R. Grabinger (Fly V Australia p/b Successful Living) and Janel Holcomb (Webcor Builders) lead the 23rd annual Tucson Bicycle Classic going into stage 3, the Speedway/Anklam Circuit Race. Grabinger holds a 12-second lead on overall runner-up Michael Mathis (CRCA-Empire Cycling Team) with Caleb Fairly (Felt-Holowesko-Garmin) third at 14 seconds. In women’s racing, Holcomb sits just six seconds up on Melissa McWhirter (Veloforma) with Webcor teammate Rebecca Much third at 11 seconds.
Tecos' Florencio Ramos won stage of la Vuelta Mexico on Saturday, while Team Type 1's Shawn Milne was second and Jackson Rodriguez (Serramenti PVC) continued to lead the general classification. Americans featured in the day's key breakaway and remain atop the sprint and U23 competition leader boards.
Spanish rider Rubén Plaza (Liberty Seguros) won Saturday’s “etapa reina” climbing stage at the Vuelta a Murcia in Spain and Denis Menchov (Rabobank) surged into the overall lead. Plaza was first out of a group of 10 riders that pulled clear after topping over the Cat. 1 Collado Bermejo some 22km from the finish line in Alhama de Murcia. Coming through second was Jesús Herrada (Contentpolis) while Menchov crossed the line third in the 156km fourth stage.
Swedish rider Thomas Lövkvist (Columbia-Highroad) bolted home to victory in the 3rd Monte Paschi Strade Bianche Toscana on Saturday as foreign riders dominated the popular one-day race on gravel roads across Tuscany. Coming through second was German Fabian Wegmann (Milram) at four seconds back with Swiss rider Martin Elmiger (Ag2r-La Mondiale) completing the podium with third.
Cameron Evans (OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis) won a three-up sprint to take the victory at the end of Stage 6 of la Vuelta Mexico. The rolling, 190 km stage saw a break succeed for the third consecutive day. And for the third consecutive day, an OUCH rider made the most of it. “We knew a break had a good shot to stay away to the finish,” Evans said. “We wanted to make sure we had a guy in every move.”
Columbia-Highroad’s romp through the opening weeks of 2009 continues. This time with Frantisek Rabon, who took a surprise victory in Friday’s 16km time trial at the third stage of the Vuelta a Murcia in Spain.
Rock Racing’s David Vitoria rode to his second straight stage win and donned the King of the Mountains jersey Thursday following the fifth stage of the Vuelta Mexico Telmex. Meanwhile Jackson Rodriguez (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni) took over the overall leadership of the race, displacing his teammate Gilberto Simoni.
Heavy winds wreaked havoc in Thursday’s second stage at the Vuelta a Murcia in Spain, prompting officials to cut the distance and then halt the race due to blustery weather. Dangerous winds topping 80kph before the race started prompted race organizers to trim the distance by nearly 75km and eliminate the day’s main obstacle at the Cat. 1 Alto de San Juan.
Several show-goers were surprised to see a De Rosa booth at NAHBS, placed within sight of trendy urban single-speeds and wild one-off full suspension mountain bikes. The De Rosa bikes on display cut a uniquely classic image compared to some of the exotic and experimental show bikes. Here’s a look at both ends of the spectrum: the handcrafted De Rosas, backed by years of history and family tradition; and some one-off show bikes not found anywhere else.
Rock Racing's David Vitoria won the Vuelta Mexico Telmex's fourth stage in a solo breakaway, while Italian Gilberto Simoni retains the overall lead in the race. Vitoria, a fourth-year Swiss pro, escaped from three others — Arquimedes Lam (Tecos), Francesco Rivera (Amica Chips-Knauf) and Andrew Pinfold (OUCH-Maxxis) — on a steep climb in the closing miles to beat Lam by 20 seconds. Pinfold was third, 1:53 behind.
Price: $1.70 each Weight: 30 grams per packet Flavors: Wild Berries Web site: www.carbboom.com Carb Boom now offers all natural wild berry Energy Chews. These nutrient-rich snacks are perfect for times when an energy gel is not enough and an energy bar is too hard to chew.
Belgian rider Wouter Weylandt (Quick Step) won the GP Samyn ahead of compatriot Bjorn Leukemans (Vacansoleil) out of a successful breakaway in the 191km race in western Belgium. Weylandt was part of a six-man move that stayed clear late in the race. Joining him and Leukemans were Belgians Geert Omloop, Roy Sentjens and Jan Bakelants, with French rider Rèmi Cusin (Agritubel) coming across the line third. It was the first win of the season for the 24-year-old Weylandt and the eighth for Quick Step.
Graeme Brown (Rabobank) took vengeance on Greg Henderson (Columbia-Highroad) on Wednesday by winning the opening stage of the Vuelta a Murcia in Spain.
Mirco Lorenzetto (Lampre) continues on good form, out-kicking Grega Bole (Amica Chips) to win the Giro del Friuli Wednesday in Pordenone, Italy. It was the third win of the season for Lorenzetto, who took two stages last week at the Giro di Sardegna. Taking third in the 188km race in northeastern Italy was Manuel Belletti (Diquigiovanni) with Alessandro Petacchi (LPR) fourth out of a lead pack of about 30 riders.
Italian Gilberto Simoni (Serramenti PVC Disquigiovanni) attacked on the last climb to win stage 3 of the Vuelta Mexico on Tuesday and take over the yellow jersey.
With so many exhibitors combining to bring unlimited creativity to NAHBS this year, the stories and photos are far from exhausted. Among the myriad of bicycle configurations on display in Indianapolis, those with only a single cog and chainring represented a majority. Many were track bikes, urban fixed gear bikes, commuters, town bikes, and even a cyclocross bike or two.
Jackson Rodriguez (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni) won Monday's second stage of the Vuelta Mexico, a 205km route from De Huajuapan to León-Puebla. Canadian Andrew Pinfold (OUCH-Maxxis) finished second while young American Peter Stetina of a composite U25 American team leads the Most Aggressive category of the eight-stage event.
Sid Taberlay (Sho Air-Specialized) and Krista Park (NoTubes-Magura) claimed victory at the Bonelli Park cross-country race in San Dimas, California on March 1. The race was the opening round of the inaugural US Cup, a 13-race series of mountain bike races across the United States. The race was also the first event of the Kenda Cup West, the seven-race West Coast half of the US Cup. The race opened with motorcycle rider Jason Britton, star of Speed Television’s show “Super Bikes,” riding a wheelie at the head of the men’s field through the neutral start on his stunt motorcycle.
Chris Hoy, Britain's four-time Olympic track-cycling gold medalist, announced on Tuesday he was withdrawing from this month's World Championships in Poland because of injury. Hoy, who has suffered complications following a hip injury sustained when falling off his bike in the keirin final of the Copenhagen leg of the World Cup in February, said: "I'm hugely disappointed that I'm not going to be riding in the Worlds."
Dear Lennard,
You may want to do a little better research when answering these questions next time because both of your CO2 answers were completely wrong.
Price: $80 Weight: 117 grams Sizes: EBB Shells 68 x 55mm Colors: Red, blue, silver, black Web site: www.ninerbikes.com Do you rely on an eccentric bottom bracket (EBB) for proper chain tension on your single speed, internally geared hub, or tandem? If so the new Niner Bio-Centric EBB may come as a relief to your current creaking and ovalized EBB shell woes.
More than 1,700 people attended Sunday's final day of the fifth annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Indianapolis, bringing the weekend’s total to almost 6,500. Exhibitors commented on Saturday’s huge crowds, and many shared the feeling that this was the best NAHBS ever. Awards for the best bikes on display were announced near the close of the show.
The 2009 Giro d’Italia promises to be a star-studded affair, with defending Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre expecting to be one of the favorites duking it out for the maglia rosa. The Cervélo captain has some unfinished business of sorts with the Giro. Boasting podium spots in both the Tour (1st in 2008, 3rd in 2006) and Vuelta (2nd in 2005, 07 and 3rd in 2008), the Spanish climber only lacks a top three in the corsa rosa to join an elite club of grand tour podium finishers.
Among all the builders and the wide selections of material, color, construction and size at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, one common theme that I’ve noticed is a distinct respect for all-purpose, utilitarian bikes. Perhaps it’s a reaction to fuel prices during the summer, or simply an expression of the small builders’ ethic, but at least 70 percent of the builders on display are showing some variant of an urban town bike, a cargo bike or an all-purpose touring road bike.
Juan Pablo Magallanes of Mexico’s national squad won the opening stage of the Vuelta Mexico-TelMex, outsprinting his fellow breakaway companion, Francesco Rivera (Amica Chips Knauf). The two left the field early in the day, building up to a lead of 4:15 before being reeled back over the final lap of a nine-kilometer circuit in Lunes del Cerro, in the province of Oaxaca.
Quick Step's Tom Boonen claimed his first big spring classics win of the season at the Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne semi-classic on Sunday. A former world champion, Boonen finished ahead of Columbia-High Road's sprinter Bernhard Eisel of Austria and Britain's Jeremy Hunt (Cervélo TestTeam ), who was third in a bunch sprint for the line. At Sunday's race, held over 194km, the 194-strong field stopped to pay tribute to Belgian racer Frederiek Nolf, 21, who died in his sleep at the Tour of Qatar on February 5.
One striking juxtaposition (among several) that I’ve noticed at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show this year is the use of cutting-edge modern materials and design mixed with old world craftsmanship and utilitarianism. Hand built carbon fiber bikes are dressed in fenders and racks. A hand welded single-speed town bike is built with an integrated seat mast and carbon fiber fork. No matter what the blend of exotic materials, wheels and components, the most common saddle on bikes in the show is a classic leather Brooks.
Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Cervélo TestTeam) lived up to his promise to focus more on the classics this season by taking an important victory in Saturday’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad that officially opened the Belgian racing calendar. Formerly known as Het Volk, the semi-classic delivered a nail-biter to kick start the classics season as Hushovd steered clear of two late crashes to steer to victory ahead of Kevin Ista (Agritubel) with Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) coming through third.
I came away from my first five hours at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show with more than 350 photos. OK, so only 15 percent of them are usable, but even so, the volume of eye-catching hardware on display is second to none. Most of the products on display are bicycles from small builders that show unique details, exquisite handwork, and timeless paint schemes. Yet even a multi-million dollar company like SRAM has a clever product to offer this market, which is oriented more toward singlespeeds, retro-styled road bikes and urban fixies.
With more than 100 exhibitors and a seemingly endless array of handcrafted bicycles and parts, the North American Handmade Bicycle Show feels like an oasis of optimism amid the current business climate.
Price: $230 Colors: Six colors Sizes: Small to Large Weight: 230 to 270 grams Web site: www.trialtir-usa.com LAS introduces their new top shelf helmet, the Victory. Designed with safety as the most important attribute, the Victory also excels in ventilation, fit, and style.
The night before the North American Handmade Bicycle Show begins, bikes are unpacked, booths are built, and one of the newest trade shows in the country begins to take shape. Held last year in Portland, Oregon, the annual NAHBS comes to Indianapolis, Indiana, for 2009.