Temperatures finally hit the “crispy side” of things in Chicago and it actually felt like 'cross weather had finally arrived. Cyclocrossers came out fresh and ready to tackle the newly redesigned Carpenter Park course. Jeff Provisor, owner of Main Street Bicycles and race director added two fast paved sections with a u-turn and multiple twisty areas that kept racers with their thinking helmets on alert.
VeloNews.com will live stream Wednesday's presentation of the 2009 Tour de France route. The presentation will begin at 11:30 a.m. Paris time (5:30 a.m. EST). You can watch the stream here.
Tour de France organizers will finally end months of waiting on Wednesday by unveiling the route that they hope will provide another exciting, albeit cleaner, race for the famous yellow jersey. In the months since Spaniard Carlos Sastre claimed overall victory, seven riders - including KOM winner Bernhard Kohl and stage winners Ricardo Riccò, Leonardo Piepoli and Stefan Schumacher - have been exposed as drugs cheats. However a bigger question on the minds of some fans will be whether seven-time champion Lance Armstrong will take part.
VIG+ Racing dominated Tuesday’s opening stage of the 2008 Crocodile Trophy, sweeping the men’s podium. The Czech team attacked immediately following the start of the 80km leg from Mareeba to Irvinebank, using all six team members to build a stage-winning lead before the race hit the first serious off-road section.
Jason Sager secured his third win in as many weeks in the River City 'Cross Crusade series in Oregon. A pack of four emerged from the frenzied start at the third installment of the series held at Ranier High School October 19. Sager (SagerSports.com), Kona/Team S&M's Erik Tonkin, Sean Babcock (Team S&M), and Ryan Iddings of (Lapiexe) jockeyed for position through five laps before dropping Iddings.
The winners of Pennsylvania’s Wissahickon Cyclocross, round four of the Mid-Atlantic Cyclocross (MAC) Series, served up an exhibition of different ways to win a ‘cross race on Sunday. Laura Van Gilder (C3-Sollay.com) won the women’s race in the last minute of competition, while Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com) won the men’s race in the first minute of action.
Belgian Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) won the first round of the UCI’s World Cup cyclocross series in Kalmthout, Belgium, on Sunday. The Belgian national champion outsprinted compatriot Niels Albert (Palman Cras) in a head-to-head charge to the line. Fidea’s Kevin Pauwels took the third spot, ahead of Czech rider Radomir Simunek and Belgian Bart Aernout. World champion, Lars Boom, was the 10th, while American Jonathan Page pulled out after seven laps.
The Vuelta a España already has a new director. Victor Cordero, who is stepping down at the end of this season as the head of the Spanish tour, is making way for Javier Guillén. Guillén has been the secretary general at the Vuelta for the past five years and will help steer the season’s third grand tour into the future. Earlier this year, the Amaury Sport Organization (owners of the Tour de France, Paris-Nice and other major races) bought 49 percent of the race.
In a classic edition of the Cyclocross at Granogue saw a double dip of Kona as Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Dee Dee Winfield (Velo Bella – Kona) scored wins in the Autumn classic. Both wins came down to last lap moves in the UCI C1 event.
Damiano Cunego won the 102nd Giro di Lombardia, the season’s final one-day classic, for the third time in his career on Saturday. Cunego – winner in 2004 and 2007 – scored the win after taking a gamble and attacking 15 kilometers from the finish at lake front of Lake Como in northern Italy. Cunego won the famed “race of the falling leaves” ahead of a hard chasing Janez Brajkovic (Astana), who reached the line 20 seconds later. [nid:84391]Cunego earned the victor’s laurels at the end of the 242-kilometer race that had been largely controlled by his Lampre team.
Stuart O'Grady locked up the overall title of Australia’s Herald Sun Tour on Saturday, fending off a mid-race challenge from his most serious competitor, Ben Day (Toyota United) missed a chance to score bonus seconds in an intermediate sprint in a 66-kilometer, 33-lap race through the streets of Melbourne.
Stuart O’Grady won Friday's stage five individual time trial of Australia's Jayco Herald Sun Tour and took back the race leader’s yellow jersey, which he is likely to hold until the end of the week-long race. O’Grady started the day four seconds down on his CSC - Saxo Bank teammate Lars Bak, but after charging around the undulating 16km time trial course in the Yarra Valley he now holds a 17 second gap over Bak with Toyota-United’s Ben Day in third place overall at 19 seconds behind.
A new bike: It’s the time of year for new stuff. Interbike is over, but every manufacturer has something that’s still new, and they’re all excited to talk about their latest and greatest. Giant Bicycles is no exception. Andrew Juskaitis, Giant’s Global Communications coordinator, made a trip out to VeloNews’ home of Boulder, Colorado, for a fall ride on his brand’s new Anthem X performance cross-country bike, which Adam Craig rode to victory at this year’s national cross-country championships in Mount Snow, Vermont.
Weight: 25 grams Fit: small to medium faces Suggested retail: $59.95 Web site: www.tifosioptics.com The Tifosi Tyrant T-V660 is a new model for 2009. The frame is composed of TR-90 nylon front and injected aluminum arms. The Tyrant’s arms allow for a semi-rigid, adjustable ear piece that once adjusted, will stay in place for a custom fit. The adjustable nose piece brings the Tyrant closer to or away from the cheeks.
Sizes: 39 to 48 Colors: black; aluminum/silver; pearly white; aluminum/dark blue; faux patent leather red Web site: www.sidisport.com Retail price: 298 Euro (About $400) Sidi's MTB Dragon 2 Carbon Srs is the shoe worn by Olympic champion Julien Absalon. The shoe features an adjustable mechanism that allows for a snugger and safer fit around the heel, preventing slippage during climbs or sprints. The Dragon 2 also includes Sidi's Mtb Carbon Srs sole, in nylon with a carbon steel core from heel to toe.
Team Type 1 went on the attack in Thursday's fourth stage of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, but it was Panasonic's Chris Jongeward who won what was billed as the week-long race's most decisive stage. After the mountain top stage finish, CSC - Saxo Bank's Stuart O'Grady gave up his leader's jersey to teammate Lars Bak. Team Type 1 Sport Director Ed Beamon said he was disappointed that the racing was not more aggressive on the slopes of the finishing climb to Australia's popular ski resort, Mount Buller.
After playing second fiddle on two occasions in sprint finishes, former Tour de France sprint champion Baden Cooke finally took the honors on stage 3 of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour. Cooke, riding for Barloworld, had been edged out by early Tour leader Matt Goss (CSC - Saxo Bank) on the opening two days, but atoned in a desperate scramble to the line in Marysville. Canadian Dominque Rollin (Toyota-United) was second on the stage and was among the riders who protested Cooke's finish. Officials, however, upheld the win.
Stuart O'Grady continued the CSC-Saxo Bank domination of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, winning the second stage, after his 21-year-old teammate, Matt Goss, of Tasmania, won the prologue and stage 1. The American teams Toyota-United, Team Type 1 and Jelly Belly are participating in the week-long race. The best placed rider from an American team is Toyota-United's Australian Ben Day, who is in fourth, 20 seconds behind race leader O'Grady.
American Donny Robinson won the 2008 UCI Supercross World Cup of BMX racing after finishing second to countryman David Herman in the final round, held October 11 in Frejus, France. Robinson, the bronze medalist in BMX’s Olympic debut at the 2008 Games in Beijing, topped a stellar year for the United States, which took the top four spots in the final rankings, with Herman, Kyle Bennett and Olympic silver medalist Mike Day finishing second through fourth. Olympic gold medalist Maris Strombergs of Latvia finished fifth.
Jesse Lalonde and Jenna Zander won the final race of the Wisconsin Off Road Series on Sunday. In its eighth year, the Sunday’s Wigwam MTB Challenge in Sheboygan has become the traditional season finale for WORS. With a large cash purse provided by WORS and local organizers Wigwam Mills, the Sheboygan race draws regional and national stars to line up against series regulars.
More than 1,200 riders turned out for the second race in the River City Bicycles Cyclocross Crusade 2008 series October 12. The Wilsonville, Oregon, course resembled a plowed field surrounded by a rock quarry. The lumpy loose dirt, steep dirt piles, gravelly corners and rocky pits favored racers with strong technical skills. Most were thankful not to have mud added to the mountain bike-like course. [nid:84338]
Austria's Bernhard Kohl will be the "seventh and last" positive doping case from this year's Tour de France, according to sports daily L'Equipe on Tuesday. Kohl, the best climber at this year's race where he finished third overall, has become the fourth rider to test positive for CERA, a new generation of the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin). In all seven riders tested positive at this year's race, which was won by Spaniard Carlos Sastre of the CSC team.
While most cyclists (well, except for the cyclocrossers) are winding down their seasons, it's the most important time of the year for the triathlon crowd. Australia's Craig Alexander and Great Britain's Chrissie Wellington celebrated first-place titles at the 30th anniversary of the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, this past weekend.
For the second day in a row Matt Goss, of the CSC Saxo Bank team, relegated Tour de France green jersey winner Baden Cooke to the minor placings by winning the opening stage. And just like Sunday, Goss attributed a large portion of his win in the 130km trek from Traralgon to Inverloch to the work of his teammates, particularly Stuart O’Grady, who broke away from the peloton with 65km remaining only to be caught 15km from the finish.
Shadd Smith took another win in the De Stad Series as he won the Elite Men's race in Sunday's Chris Cross Cyclocross race and extended his points lead in the series.[nid:84346] Smith's teammate Joseph Schmalz put in a great ride for second place with Thomas Price and Brian Jenson taking third and fourth. Jeff Winkler continues to improve in 'cross and came back from a first lap crash to take the final podium spot.
Atypical cyclocross weather once again was around for the Chicago Cyclocross Cup #3 that had enthusiasts travel to Hawthorn Woods, a Chicago suburb. Sun and temperatures in the high 70s greeted the racers in this installment.
Belgian one-day specialist Philippe Gilbert handed his Francaise des Jeux team the ideal farewell gift by winning the Paris-Tours one-day classic on Sunday. Gilbert's first victory in the 102nd edition of the race, held over 252km, comes only weeks before he ends his five-year stay with the French outfit by moving to Silence-Lotto. The Belgian had been among a four-strong group of frontrunners that was being hunted down by the peloton inside the closing kilometer. However the four worked together to keep the pack at bay.
It shook out a bit differently, but the second day of the Erdinger Gran Prix of Gloucester ended up with the same men and women atop the podium: Kona's Ryan Trebon and Velo Bella-Kona's Amy Dombroski. Trebon and national champ Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale) separated themselves from the field on the first lap and dueled for most of the one hour race on another Indian Summer day on the Massachusetts coast. Just like Saturday, however, Trebon ramped up the pace in the last two laps and Johnson was simply unable to keep up.
In the country’s only three-day weekend of UCI cyclocross, Katie Compton (Spike Professional/Primus Mootry) and Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com) completed their respective hat-tricks in the Cincinnati International Cyclocross Festival, winning the BioWheels/United Dairy Farmers Harbin Park International on Sunday.
The final moments of the 2008 Vuelta Chihuahua were a virtual to-do list for Spaniard Javier Benitez. Fix collar: check. Straighten jersey: done. Blow kisses to crowd: got it. Toss arms in the air and win stage: mission accomplished for the third time in seven days.
Kona powerhouse Ryan Trebon withstood attacks from a trio of New England homeboys — and overcame a case of bad legs blamed on jet lag — on Saturday to win his fifth cyclocross race in Gloucester, Massachusetts. In the elite women's race of the 2008 Erdinger Gran Prix of Gloucester, Velo Bella-Kona's Amy Dombroski prevailed to win her first race in Gloucester, after a tough battle that saw five or six women in contention until the end. [nid:84187]
The course at England-Idlewild park rattled bones and tuned wheels to tacos at the Darkhorse Cyclo-Stampede UCI C-2 in Burlington, Kentucky on Friday, October 12th. The Cincinnati area hasn’t seen a soaking in weeks and the victims of the pounding course lined up for post-race massages at the Wellington Orthopedic tent throughout the day. The 80 degree heat compounded the hurt. In the Men’s race, after a lap-3 bike change which sent Barry Wicks (Kona) on the defensive, Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com) took advantage for the win.
Lance Armstrong never raced the Giro d’Italia during his seven-year Tour de France reign, but now it’s looking likely that he might be part of the corsa rosa during the race’s centenary. Giro d’Italia director Angelo Zomegnan officially invited Armstrong to the 2009 edition of the three-week national tour of Italy, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. Armstrong has already hinted he’d like to race in the Giro. Speaking to reporters earlier this month, the Texan said skipping the Giro was one of his few regrets during his racing career.
Giro d'Italia chief Angelo Zomegnan said he will not retroactively test samples from the 2008 race in a bid to weed out possible users of CERA, the latest generation of the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin). According to Gazzetta dello Sport on Friday, Zomegnan believes none of the riders on the race - won by Spaniard Alberto Contador - used the drug. "The Giro has already made the necessary checks and the laboratories, as well as the UCI, have affirmed there is nothing to suspect," said Zomegnan. "It would be useless to ask for new tests."
Francisco Mancebo is the new overall leader of the Vuelta Chihuahua, and if things work out the way the Spaniard hopes, the soon-to-be newest member of Rock Racing. On Thursday, Mancebo (Fercase-Rota dos Moveis) took a big step toward defending his 2007 title in this UCI 2.2 America Tour race, finishing third in the rolling 18.9km time trial from Pitoreal to Divisadero, and jumping from second to first in the overall standings.
Bernhard Eisel (Columbia) played off the interests of the French teams Thursday to sneak away with Paris-Bourges, the final round of the season-long French Cup series. Eisel followed Cédric Pineau (Ag2r-La Mondiale) into the day’s main breakaway just 18km into the 194km race and then nipped him in a photo finish. “It was a very fast start (48kph in first hour). I didn’t think it was going to be enough, but 13 minutes was good,” Eisel said.
Mexico’s ongoing — and frequently tragic — drug war literally took center stage at the Vuelta Chihuahua on Wednesday. Following stage 3’s 155.9km grind from Guachochi to Creel that included seven rated climbs but had only limited impact on the overall standings, a group of peaceful protesters unfurled several banners proclaiming their frustration with the lack of police action since the August 16 killings of 13 residents in this small tourist town that’s a gateway to stunning Copper Canyon.
Web site: www.elite-it.com or www.realaxiom.com Retail Price: 1,550 Euros (about $2100); Internet racing software is 99 Euros (about $135) The Elite Realpower CT is an indoor trainer that the company claims can accurately simulate up to 20 percent grades and now features Internet racing capabilities.
Suggested Retail Price:: $24.99 Web page: www.thewarmfront.com Material: Malden Mills fleece with water repellent finish. Sizes: Men's and Women's. The Warmfront is a backless fleece vest that can be worn next to the skin or over a jacket or jersey. It can easily be removed with one hand while riding, without removing other layers or a hydration pack. It compacts to fit in a jersey pocket.
Retail Price: $39.95 Web site: www.velogear.com Campagnolo: 75 Years of Cycling Passion is a new book from VeloPress that tells the story of the legendary component supplier from its humble beginning to its new 11-speed Super Record group. The 160-page hardcover "coffee-table" book includes deeply researched history (much of it from the company's private archives), spectacular color photography, rich text, and lavish presentation. It was written by Paolo Facchinetti and Guido Rubino.
The pressure of five rated climbs — and one harrowing descent — made for a decisive stage 2 at Mexico’s Vuelta Chihuahua on Tuesday.
Finishing on top at the conclusion of the 188.7km mostly uphill grind from Parral to Guachochi was Colombian Gregario Ladino (Tecos-Trek), who late in the race soloed away from breakaway companion — and defending Chihuahua champion — Francisco Mancebo (Fercase-Rota dos Moveis). Ladino crossed the line in 4:59:27, with Mancebo trailing in eight seconds later and Tecos-Trek’ Juan Magallanes completing the podium, at 0:22.
Spaniard Javier Benitez burst from the bunch in the final 100 meters to take the stage 1 sprint at the Vuelta Chihuahua on Monday. The Benfica rider stopped the clock in 3:19:30, with Steffen Radochla (Elk Haus-Simplon) and Juan Magallanes (Tecos-Trek) completing the podium at the end of the 147.8km ride from Chihuahua to Camargo. Benitez won by more than a bike length.
USA Cycling awarded the final ten stars and stripes jerseys over the weekend as the 2008 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships concluded at the ADT Event Center velodrome at the Home Depot Center on Sunday.
Jason Sager (SagerSports.com) edged Erik Tonkin (Team S&M) for the victory in Sunday's Cross Crusade race in Portland, Oregon. Ryan Trebon (Kona) lined up on a single speed, taking an early lead, but eventually faded to fifth place. The race attracted 1,267 registrants and was held on a rain-slick course at Alpenrose Dairy. The former USGP venue featured mud, grass, pavement, off-camber turns, gravel, stairs and even a lap in a velodrome. In the women's A race, Sue Butler (Monavie Cannondale) and Wendy Williams controlled the race and went 1-2.
Colombian Leonardo Paez and Swiss Petra Henzi won the second and final round of the UCI Marathon Mountain bike World Cup, held in Ornans, France on October 5. Paez (Gewiss-Bianchi), took a two-minute victory ahead of Swiss rider Lukas Buchli, with newly crowned German marathon champ Karl Platt (Bulls) in third.
With his win, Paez took the World Cup overall, beating defending champ Thomas Dietsch (Gewiss-Bianchi), 390 points to 370. Austrian Alban Lakata (Dolphin-Trek) finished third.
Former Saunier Duval climber Leonardo Piepoli is facing a ban from the sport after the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) announced Monday he had tested positive for banned substances twice at this year's Tour de France. Piepoli, who won a stage and helped former Saunier Duval teammate Riccardo Ricco win two stages at the race, will now come before a CONI commission on Friday in connection with the failed tests on July 4 and 15.
Check out Matt Pacocha's author page.
Taylor Phinney (Garmin-Chipotle) set a new track record in the men’s 4000-meter individual pursuit and won his third national title of the week on Friday at the 2008 U.S. elite track national championships at the ADT Event Center velorome in Carson City, California, on Friday.
During last week’s press conference at Interbike in Las Vegas, in revealing details of his comeback to racing, Lance Armstrong blurted out that he was “looking forward to the Mont Ventoux” stage in the 2009 Tour de France.
Garmin-Chipotle and Metro VW Cycling earned national titles in the team pursuit, as at the U.S. elite track national championships at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, Thursday. Meanwhile Proman’s Cari Higgins narrowly edged Liz Reap-Carlson to take the national jersey in the women’s 500-meter time trial.
Taylor Phinney opened the 2008 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships in Carson, California, with a gold medal in the men's 1 kilometer time trial.
Prosecutors at the anti-doping tribunal of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) have asked that rider Riccardo Ricco be handed a 20-month ban after he tested positive for a new variant of EPO during the Tour de France. Ricco, 24, was suspended from riding by CONI in July after admitting to using the banned blood-booster. He was kicked off the Tour de France and sacked by his Saunier Duval-Scott team after testing positive following the fourth stage time-trial. The team itself subsequently lost both of its title sponsors.
Saturday and Sunday's Jonathan Page Planet Bike Cup elite men's race had a stacked field with Jonathan Page (Planet Bike), Todd Wells (GT), Bjorn Selander (Ridley), Troy Wells (Clif Bar) and on Sunday Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale) in Wisconsin for the race. Add to this three Swiss riders, a Canadian and riders from throughout the US and the racing action was relentless on both days.
The Wolf River Rendezvous, 11th race in the 2008 Wisconsin Off Road Series, was the stage for two prodigious victories this Sunday as Cole House and Holly Liske took top honors. Before joining the U23 Development Team, House was a regular WORS series racer (2002 - 2005). Though he was closely followed throughout the five-lap race by teammates Chris Peariso (Adventure 212; 1:34:11) and Thomas Bender (Adventure 212 / Specialized; 1:34:17), House (1:34:10) maintained his lead for the top spot on the podium, which he last occupied in 2004, at the age of 16. [nid:83848]
Alessandro Ballan started Sunday’s men’s elite road race as a helper for the team’s biggest stars but ended the day world champion. Ballan attacked in each of the last three laps, but it was his move with about three kilometers to go to drop a leading group of about a dozen riders that included two Italian teammates that sealed Italy’s third straight rainbow jersey. It was a drag race to the finish, but the 2007 Tour of Flanders champion held on to win the world title on home roads.
Nicole Cooke’s perfect season just got better. Just six weeks after winning the Olympic gold medal in Beijing, the 24-year-old Welshwoman executed seamless tactics Saturday in a thrilling final lap to win her first world title. Cooke followed her instinct to make a final-stage attack by arch-rival Marianne Vos and then pipped her at the line to relegate the Dutch rider to silver with Judith Arndt collected her second bronze medal in the Varese world championships.
With three Italians in the eight-up sprint at the end of Friday’s heated 173km Under-23 world championship race, odds were stacked against Fabio Duarte. So the pint-sized Colombian uncorked a daring attack with 400m to go to leave the remnants of the winning breakaway choking on his fumes and deliver a huge upset against the heavily favored Italians racing on home roads.
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Las Vegas is a good place to put on a show. Jen McRae and Hilton Clarke — each of whom are looking for new teams next year — produced brilliant late season performances with wins at the USA CRITS Finals, held during the Interbike trade show in Las Vegas Thursday night. Clarke said the win under the lights at the Mandalay Bay Resort on the Vegas Strip will not be the end of his season. His Toyota-United team is expected to fold at the end of this season, or perhaps return with a much more modest program next year.
In front of an enthusiastic crowd of thousands, 2006 U.S. national cyclocross champions Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Katie Compton (Spike) won the CrossVegas UCI cyclocross race Wednesday night, held under lights in conjunction with the Interbike trade show in Las Vegas. After surging ahead of a persistent Tim Johnson (Cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com) with just under two laps remaining, Trebon finished alone in front of a field that included riders such as Jonathan Page (Planet Bike), Florian Vogel and Thomas Frischknect (Swiss Power), and surprise competitor Lance Armstrong (LiveStrong).
New York City's Ken Harris (CRCA / Jonathan Adler Racing) set a new world masters hour record for the age 40-44 group at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center velodrome in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania. On Tuesday evening, Harris added about 400 meters to the old record of 45.189 set by Dr. Neal Stansbury in September 2003 at Manchester, England. The new record is 45.587 kilometers. A UCI official was on site to certify the record. Harris is one of the leaders of a New York-based Adler team, and president of the Century Road Club Association, the largest racing club in the United States.
German workhorse Bert Grabsch won Germany’s first world time-trial title since 2001 on Thursday as Canadian Svein Tuft delivered the surprise ride of the day to claim the silver medal. American David Zabriskie powered to bronze in Varese, Italy, claiming his second world championship time trial medal in three years, while Levi Leipheimer didn’t quite have the day he expected and finished just off the podium in fourth.
Check out Matt Pacocha's author page.
The U.S. women’s team struck gold in Wednesday’s time trial at the Varese world championships, but it wasn’t Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong bringing home the rainbow jersey. With pre-race favorite Armstrong slotting into fifth, it was Amben Neben who stormed to victory in the challenging 25.15km course in dramatic fashion to win her first major international time trial race. “I don’t have any words, I’m just so excited, so happy,” Neben said. “I cannot speak right now, I don’t know what to say. It’s a dream come true.”
Host nation Italy started the 2008 world championships in winning fashion on Tuesday as Adriano Malori scored a gold medal for the home team in the under-23 men’s individual time trial. Malori started last but finished first, covering the 33.5km course around Varese in a winning time of 41 minutes, 35.98 seconds (48.389kph). Patrick Gretsch (Germany) stopped the clock in 42:25.65 for silver despite crashing late with Cameron Meyer (Australia) taking bronze in 42:40.34.
Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City, Nevada, has, for the past few years, played host to the traditional opening round of the Interbike Bicycle Trade Show in Las Vegas, offering two days of demo riding before the whole thing moves indoors to the vast Sands Convention Center. VeloNews’s Lennard Zinn and Matt Pacocha were there to get a first-hand opportunity to try out an array of new products, including Shimano’s Electric Dura-Ace group.
Interbike, the largest bicycle trade show in the U.S., opened Monday with the first of two days of outdoor bicycle testing at Bootleg Canyon, a park about a half hour outside Las Vegas, Nevada. After the demos in Boulder City, the show will continue with three indoor days at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas.
Tim Johnson and Jeremy Powers of Cannondale-cyclocrossworld.com played the numbers on Kona's Ryan Trebon at Sunday's Rad Racing GP in Tacoma, Washington, with Johnson coming away with the win in a two-up sprint. Wendy Simms (Kona) won the women's race after dropping Sue Butler (Monavie-Cannondale.com) in the final lap. The cyclocross race followed Saturday's nearby Star Crossed event in which Powers was able to get the better of Trebon after the Kona rider crashed in the last lap.
to VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the 21st - and Final! - stage of the 2008 Vuelta a España, a largely ceremonial cruise from San Sebastian de los Reyes to the traditional finish in Madrid.
With his third grand tour victory in barely a year, Alberto Contador has quickly grown from cycling’s boy wonder to the peloton’s new alpha male. The 25-year-old Spanish climber lived up to expectations to win the 63rd Vuelta a España to complete cycling’s “triple crown” and becomes just the fifth rider to win all three grand tours.
Vuelta a España director Victor Cordero called the 63rd edition of the Spanish tour the “best in years.” “We are very satisfied to see Contador likely to win and to see the quality of racing during this Vuelta,” Cordero told VeloNews on Saturday evening. “It’s the best Vuelta in years and we hope to build on this momentum in the coming years.”
The domestic cyclocross season began Saturday with a pair of upset wins under lights at the Full Speed Ahead Starcrossed event held at Marymoor Velodrome, in Redmond, Washington, near Seattle. Both the men’s and women’s victories were piloted aboard Cannondales, as Jeremy Powers (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) and Sue Butler (Monavie-Cannondale) emerged as underdog victors against Kona riders — Powers ahead of perennial domestic top dog Ryan Trebon, and Butler against Canadian national champion Wendy Simms.
Against the impressive backdrop of the Lehigh Valley’s South Mountain, the best of the MAC Cyclocross Series opened their 2008 season with the UCI Nittany Lion Cyclocross at Penn State University’s satellite campus in Fogelsville Pennsylvania on Saturday.
to VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the 20th stage of the 2008 Vuelta a España, a 17.1-kilometer individual time trial from La Granja de San Ildefonso to the summit of the Category 1 Puerto de Navacerrada.
Riders will be leaving the starting house beginning at 2:45 p.m. We have posted a complete list of riders and their departure times: www.velonews.com/article/83409