Tiny Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina, can finally say it owns the best collegiate road cycling team in the United States. After a series of near misses at collegiate cycling’s biggest race, the Bobcats finally grabbed the coveted Division I team omnium, squeaking by Fort Lewis College, 473-424. The Bobcats’ Andrew Talansky and Carla Swart also took home the Division I individual omnium titles — another first for the school of 900 students.
to VeloNews.com's Live Updates from the second stage of the 2008 Giro d'Italia, a 207km race from Cefalu to Agrigente. This stage features two climbs, the Category 2 Gatteri, at 26km and then the Cat. 3 Polizzello at 112km. This is not a simple and easy flat sprinters' stage typical of the early days in the grand tours. This is the sort of stage that may favor a strong all-arounder, like Paolo Bettini ...
Christian Vande Velde stepped off the Slipstream-Chipotle team bus Sunday morning along the beach at Cerfalù with a big smile on his face. Proudly decked out in the maglia rosa, Vande Velde was clearly enjoying his moment as the first American since Andy Hampsten won the 1988 Giro to wear the Giro’s leader’s jersey. “We hope today goes just like yesterday, but we know it’s a complicated stage,” Vande Velde said. “To win yesterday’s stage was our big goal, everything else is just icing on the cake at this point.”
VeloNews staff and wire reports David Zabriskie’s 2008 Giro d’Italia ended Sunday when he was caught at a pileup with about 55km to go in the 207km second stage from Cerfalù to Agrigento. Zabriskie, 29, went down with several other riders as the peloton approached a railroad crossing. Zabriskie, who started the day second overall, was knocked off his bike and was unable to rejoin the pack. Doctors immediately attended to the reigning U.S. time trial champion and transported him to a local hospital.
Phil Zajicek (Health Net-Maxxis) and Mara Abbott (Team High Road) won the kickoff to the 2008 Tour of Colorado race series on Saturday in Boulder. The 9.14-mile Excel Sports Sunshine Hill Climb up Sunshine Canyon served up 3226 feet in elevation gain with a maximum grade of 23 percent. Conditions didn’t make the climb any easier, with temperatures in the low 40s under cloudy skies at the start and mid-30s with snow at the finish.
Cofidis rider Stephane Auge of France claimed overall victory in the Four Days of Dunkirk cycling race on Sunday. Norwegian Thor Hushovd, riding for the Credit Agricole team, won Sunday's sixth and final 128.4km stage between Coudekerque and Dunkirk in a sprint finish. Please check back soon for results.
Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott) uncorked a tremendous sprint in the final 100 meters to win Sunday’s exciting 207km second stage, but Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) snuck into fourth to short circuit Christian Vande Velde’s run in the maglia rosa by just one second.
Carla Swart clung to the back of the elite seven-woman breakaway in the waning minutes of the 2008 Division I women’s road championship, held Saturday in Fort Collins, Colorado. Outnumbered and without teammates, the Lees-McRae sophomore didn’t appear to have the numbers or legs to win. Looks, however, can be deceiving.
Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Colavita-Sutter Home) took the stage 2 sprint win at the Joe Martin Stage Race in Arkansas. Action Images photographer Kurt Jambretz was there to catch all the action.
I have been in Sicily since Wednesday and have been watching the buildup in excitement and preparation among the teams, both riders and staff members. The atmosphere has been light and was getting less so as the race draws closer. And here also is the first of many cool Giro bikes you will see here in the coming days and weeks.
Ivan Basso should not be held up as a model for young riders, Scottish rider David Millar said on Saturday. Millar said that despite 30-year-old Basso — who is allowed to ride competitively again from October 24, 2008, and has agreed a two-year deal with Liquigas — serving a two-year ban for his involvement in the Operation Puerto scandal he was in no way a role model for those aspiring to become professional cyclists.
France's Cyril Dessel, of the AG2R-La Mondiale team, won Saturday's 179.4km fifth stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk cycling race between Calais and Cap Blanc-Nez. Cofidis rider Stephane Auge of France, who won Tuesday's first stage, retained the leader's pink jersey and looks set fair to win the race following Sunday's sixth and final stage, a 128.4km stretch around Dunkirk. Dessel clocked 4:23:48 to finish ahead of Gerald Ciolek of Germany and France's Samuel Dumoulin during this relatively short but tense stage.
Christian Vande Velde might have the pink jersey, but it was a team victory in every sense of the word Saturday for Slipstream-Chipotle in the 23.6km team time trial to open the 91st Giro d’Italia. Vande Velde, 31, becomes the first American since Andy Hampsten won the 1988 Giro to don the prized maglia rosa, but he’d love nothing more than to have eight more to pass among his teammates.
Levi Leipheimer was at home in California when he woke up a week ago with a surprise message. Instead of racing the Volta a Catalunya and the Dauphiné Libéré as planned, he was going to the Giro d’Italia. Leipheimer’s Giro debut in Saturday’s team time trial might have come as a surprise, but the American promises to make the most of the unexpected opportunity. Along with Astana teammates Andreas Klöden and Alberto Contador, the team starts with three options for the podium.
In Palermo, Italy Alberto Contador was sipping a beer on the beach in Spain last week when he received a phone call from Astana team boss Johan Bruyneel. The news caught the defending Tour de France champion by surprise: Pack your bags, you’re heading to the Giro d’Italia. “I was sitting at a chiringuito on the beach with my girlfriend, now here I am at the Giro!” Contador told VeloNews on Friday. “I wasn’t expecting to be at this Giro, so we’ll see how it goes.”
The USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships started Friday with the team time trial in northern Colorado. Photographer Casey Gibson was there. With traditional powerhouses shining in Division I and some impressive underdog performances in the Division II race, the University of California-Davis and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology took the lead in the overall team standings.
Health Net - Maxxis' Rory Sutherland won his second prologue of the 2008 National Racing Calendar on Thursday, setting a course record at the Joe Martin Stage Race's opening Devil's Den Time Trial. The Australian storming through uphill 2 1/2-mile race in 8:14, ten seconds ahead of Anthony Colby (Colavita-Sutter Home). Sutherland also won the prologue at the Redlands Bicycle Classic earlier this spring.
Frenchman Pierrick Fedrigo, riding for the Bouygues Telecom team, claimed victory in the fourth stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk race on Friday. Fedrigo beat home Australian Allan Davis and Spaniard Jose Joaquin Gil Rojas in a sprint finish. Frenchman Stephane Auge, of Cofidis, retained the race leader's jersey after the 193km stage between Wasquehal and Calais.
With a world champion, winners of all three of last year’s grand tours and a top-notch field of sprinters, does the Giro d’Italia boast the best lineup of the season? If you ask the riders ahead of Saturday’s start of the 91st Giro, they seem to agree. “Without any shadow of a doubt, this year’s Giro has the best field of any race,” said defending champion Danilo Di Luca (LPR). “We have a deep field in the Giro this year. Whoever wins this Giro can be proud of what they achieve.”
Argentinian Ariel Maximiliano Richeze, who rides for CSF, tested positive for doping last month and has been withdrawn from the Giro d'Italia, his team announced Friday. Richeze tested positive for an anabolic steroid during his victory in the fourth stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe on April 11 in the French city of Le Mans. He went on to win the seventh stage of the Tour of Turkey on April 20. His withdrawal on the eve of the Giro means CSF will join the peloton with just eight riders.
The principal climbs in the 2008 edition of the Giro d'Italia: Stage 7: Vasto - Pescocostanzo, 180 km Rionero Sannitico: 10 km climb at 6.3 average gradient climb to Pescocostanzo: 2.8 km at 6 Stage 11: Urbania - Cesena, 199 km Monte Carpegna: 6 km at 9.9 Stage 14: Verona - Alpe di Pampeago, 195 km Passo Manghen: 23.4 km at 7.1 climb to summit finish at Alpe di Pampeago: 7.7 km at 9.6 Stage 15: Arabbo - Passo Fedaia, 153 km Passo Pordoi: 9.2 km at 6.9 Passo di San Pellegrino: 11.8 km at 6.4 Passo Giau: 15.7 km at 7.9
Climbers who can keep their time trial losses to a minimum will be among the top contenders for the pink jersey in the Giro d'Italia which clicks into gear Saturday. The 91st edition of the Giro begins with a team time trial, and includes three other, individual, races against the clock as it snakes its way up from Sicily towards the crucial mountains stages in the Dolomites. With five mountain-top finishes in total, including one uphill time trial, the race's top prize is more than likely to be claimed by a master climber.
Editor’s note: Watch for John Wilcockson’s Friday morning column on a regular basis, taking you inside the world of cycling. This week he introduces one of the young, unsung heroes of the European peloton. Matt Lloyd loves racing in Italy. So when he lines up Saturday with his Silence-Lotto team at the Giro d’Italia he’ll feel right at home.
Retail:$199 (saddle and bar tape) Weight:199 grams Web site:www.fizik.it Fi'zi:k is releasing a new saddle model, the Arione CX, in six team replica colors, sold with matching fi'zi:k microtex handlebar tape. The Arione CX has a new foam formulation to reduce the weight by 30 grams. The foam is higher density and requires less bulk, reducing weight and producing a lower and sleeker saddle than the Arione.
What can I do about a noisy Mavic freehub?
In Palermo, Italy Perhaps it’s only appropriate that during the 20th anniversary year of Andy Hampsten’s historic 1988 Giro d’Italia victory that another American rider could recapture the maglia rosa. While it’s too early to say if one of six U.S. riders from three teams starting the 91st Giro can survive the grueling Dolomites with a shot for final victory, there’s a very real possibility that one of them could grab pink jersey in Saturday’s team time trial.
Retail price: $4499 (frame only) Number produced: 50 Web site: www.lookcycle.com Look is producing a limited number of Look 586 Mondrian frames this year. [nid:75937]The paint jobs are in the style of the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, and of course will remind old timers of the La Vie Claire team kit worn by Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond in the 1980s. That team used Look pedals from its inception and began using Look frames in 1987.
Belgian Kenny De Haes of the Topsport team claimed victory in the third stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk race Thursday after upsetting Norwegian sprint ace Thor Hushovd at the line. Frenchman Stephane Auge of Cofidis retained the race leader's jersey after the 193km stage from Le Cateau-Cambresis to Saint-Quentin, France. Cofidis and the Skil team of the race's best climber Clement Lhotellerie, were forced to work throughout most of Thursday's stage to protect their respective jerseys.
Belgium's Gert Steegmans of the Quick Step team won a sprint finish in the second stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk on Wednesday. France's Stephane Auge of the Cofidis team retained the leader's pink jersey after the 192km stretch from Henin-Beaumont. Steegmans, who averaged an impressive 40.2km/h, crossed the line just ahead of Australia's Marc Renshaw and Jean-Patrick Nazon of France.
When it comes to downhill and freeride components, there is a real need to make them tougher. Manufacturers want parts to last longer and stand up to greater abuse, but the riders using them often take durability for granted and strive for something else — light weight.
Dear Lennard,
I want to replace the Raceface X-type road bottom bracket on my Giant TCR C1 road bike.
I want to replace it with one that is smoother running, likely one with ceramic bearings. Will any Shimano compatible ceramic bearing bottom bracket work?
I guess this sounds like a very general question, but it is probably because
I have never changed or installed a bottom bracket before. I didn't know if I would have to worry about spacers to keep the proper chain line, etc.
Darrin
Organizers of the 2008 Giro d'Italia have released the preliminary start list for the three-week grand tour, which begins on Saturday. LPR Brakes, (Ita)
Toyota-United made it two NRC victories in a row during a big weekend of racing in the Southeast, by taking the win at Sunday’s Nalley Historic Roswell Criterium just outside of metro Atlanta. Caleb Manion benefited from the same race situation that delivered teammate Hilton Clarke to the line first during the Sunny King Criterium on the previous day in Anniston, Alabama. In Anniston, Manion figured in the winning breakaway, and in Roswell he was also one of four riders that left the 70-man field behind.
Team Tecos-Trek's Colombian climber, Gregorio Ladino Vega, used the Tour of the Gila's mountainous final stage on Sunday to regain the race lead he lost in the stage 3 time trial. [nid:75825]Bissell's Burke Swindlehurst, a three-time winner of the Gila overall, won the final stage and vaulted from sixth to second. Bissell's Tom Zirbel started the day in the pink leader's jersey, and stayed with the lead group over the first major climb, but crashed on the descent and abandoned the race. His team said Zirbel broke his collarbone, some ribs and a finger.
It could have been 2006 at the Mountain Bike World Cup in Madrid, with Julien Absalon (Orbea) and Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå (Multivan Merida) winning this third round of the series. For Absalon, it was business as usual, as he took his third straight victory. However, for Dahle Flesjå it was an emotional moment as she completed her journey back to the forefront of the field after a year of illness. Absalon cemented his lead in the men's overall standings, while Marie-Helene Premont (Rocky Mountain) donned the leader's jersey for the women, the third leader in three races.
Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) won the fifth and final stage of the Tour de Romandie as Astana’s Andreas Klöden took the overall title. Bennati proved fastest of the bunch after it swept up a late break by Nick Nuyens (Cofidis), who took off with 10km to race and was reeled in 5km from the finish of the 152.4km stage from Le Bouveret to Lausanne. Markus Zberg (Gerolsteiner) and Maxim Iglinsky (Astana) took second and third on the day while Klöden crossed with the bunch to secure the overall win ahead of Roman Kreuzger (Liquigas) and Marco Pinotti (Team High Road).
The Italian sports newspaper, Gazzetta dello Sport reported on Saturday that Giro d'Italia organizers may be ready to do an about-face and invite the Astana team to this year’s race. At least one team official has confirmed that the invitation has already been extended. The team issued a statement on Sunday, confirming the invitation and that it will bring its three top riders to the event: Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and the winner of the Tour of Romandie, Andreas Klöden. Astana general manager Johan Bruyneel gladly accepted the invitation.
The last turn of the Tour of the Gila's criterium is key for daredevil sprinters with the nerve to attack into the narrow left-hander and charge to the finish less than 300 meters away. The riders enter the turn at top speed thanks to a wide-open descent, and a mistake means high-siding it into a raised Old Western-style sidewalk on the outside of the turn. On Saturday, to the glee of the spectators who assemble on the sidewalk, the men's and women's winner each attacked coming into the turn and held their advantage to the line.
Francesco De Bonis (Gerolsteiner) pulled off a gutsy victory in the mountainous stage 4 of the Tour de Romandie, answering late charges by Manuel Beltran (Liquigas) and John Gadret (Ag2r-La Mondiale) to cross the line first in Zinal after having spent most of the day out front. Andreas Klöden (Astana) retained the overall lead by 35 seconds over Roman Kreuziger (Cze), Liquigas with Marco Pinotti (Team High Road) third at 0:43.
On another blustery day in southwestern New Mexico, Bissell's big men Tom Zirbel and Ben Jacques-Maynes hammered on the GC contenders to take the first two spots in the 16.4-mile Tyrone time trial. Zirbel turned a 34:26, beating his teammate by about 17 second and third place rider Chris Wherry (Toyota-United) by 49 seconds.
Andreas Klöden (Astana) won the stage 3 individual time trial and seized the overall lead of the Tour de Romandie on Friday. The 18.8km course included a dozen flat kilometers, a 266-meter climb with a pitch of 12 percent, and a rapid descent to the Place de la Planta with a twisting, turning final 500 meters that almost proved the Astana man’s undoing — Klöden clipped a barrier in the finale, but kept it upright to win the stage in 25 minutes and 32 seconds.
Tyler Wren (Colavita-Sutter Home) won Thursday's second stage of the Tour of the Gila with a final kilometer solo attack, while overall leader Gregorio Ladino Vega's Team Tecos-Trek put on another powerful show, setting a blistering pace over 80 miles of wind and hills. The Tecos effort kept a small breakaway within two minutes of the pack for most of the stage. It also forced a number of abandons throughout the day.
Karsten Kroon (Team CSC) won the 48th Rund um den Henninger Turm for the second time on Thursday. The 32-year-old Dutchman took the 179km race by outsprinting a nine-rider lead group that included Italian Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and Columbian Mauricio Ardila (Rabobank). "I had a strong spring, unfortunately without success," said Kroon, who first won here in 2004. "But today I felt very good. Andy Schleck has worked great for me."
Robbie McEwen (Silence-Lotto) sprang from a mad dash to the line to win stage 2 of the Tour de Romandie on Thursday. The Aussie speedster free-lanced his way to the front in a chaotic bunch sprint and shot off Milram rider Björn Schröder’s wheel to claim his first victory of 2008 ahead of Daniele Bennati (Lampre) and Matti Breschel (CSC). Michael Albasini (Liquigas) retained the overall lead.
Ryder Hesjedal is making the most of his new opportunity to race against the best in Europe. Following the collapse of the Phonak team in 2006, Hesjedal raced on the North American circuit last season before signing with Slipstream-Chipotle to return to Europe this year. The Canadian ex-mountain biker has quietly been posting some of Slipstream-Chipotle’s best results this spring, capped by a top-10 at Tirreno-Adriatico.
Sampson Sports has put together some of its existing and new products to create a time trial bike package that it says will allow riders to affordably assemble a sub-16-pound aero bike. The package includes Sampson's new Stratics time trial bars with Sampson's stem, brake levers, brakes, cranks, bottom bracket, pedals, saddle, and front and rear derailleur. The package includes Shimano Dura-Ace shifters and cassette. Sampson Sports' Eric Sampson said combining the package with a 1700-gram frame and 2100-gram wheels will produce a 15.5-pound bike.
Team Tecos-Trek continued its domination of Southwestern road cycling Wednesday by taking two of the top three spots on the first stage of the Tour of the Gila, a 94.1-mile stage that ended with a brutal climb to Mogollon, New Mexico. Colombian Gregorio Ladino Vega won the stage after gliding away from a select group at the base of the climb. He quickly gapped the group, which included Toyota-United's Chris Baldwin and Heath Blackgrove and built up a gap of about a half minute by the top of the 2,100-foot climb. Baldwin finished sixth.
Michael Albasini (Liquigas) seized the lead of the Tour de Romandie on Wednesday as Maxim Iglinsky (Astana) won stage 1, a 182km grind from Morges to Saignelégier. The Liquigas man, third in Tuesday's prologue and second today ahead of Markus Zberg (Gerolsteiner), proved fastest of an elite group that chased down a late breakaway by Alexandre Botcharov (Crédit Agricole), Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Jussi Veikkanen (Française des Jeux) on the descent from the category-1 climb to Saulcy.
Ritchey is all about white for the new season. The California company showed a new "Wet White" WCS alloy road handlebar at Sea Otter. It's already in use by the brand’s star domestic road team, Health Net–Maxxis and by the Tibco women's team. The company also is making a matching Wet White WCS 4-Axis alloy stem.
In last week’s column, I mentioned suspension as a likely Next Big Thing in road bikes. I also promised another prediction this week. This one I think is coming, but it’s going to take awhile.
Mark Cavendish continued High Road's winning streak by claiming the kickoff to the Tour de Romandie on Tuesday. The Brit won the 1.9km prologue in 2:07:60 ahead of Daniele Bennati (Liquigas), who was given the same time. Michael Albasini (Liquigas) rounded out the podium at one second back.
Final Overall 1. Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr), Team High Road, 22.44'44" 2. Trent Lowe* (Aus), Slipstream-Chipotle, 0:04 3. Levi Leipheimer (USA), Astana, 0:14 4. Antonio Colom (Sp), Astana, 1:02 5. Inigo Cuesta (Sp), CSC, 1:11 6. Oscar Sevilla (Sp), Rock Racing, 1:25 7. Christian Vande Velde (USA), Slipstream-Chipotle, 1:32 8. Moises Aldape (MEX), TT1, 1:37 9. Rory Sutherland (Aus), Health Net Maxxis, 2:08 10. Bobby Julich (USA), CSC, 2:31 11. Rubiera Vigil José Luis (Sp), Astana, 2:39 12. Scott Nydam (USA), BMC, 2:49 13. George Hincapie (USA), Team High Road, 3:19
In probably the most dominant team showing since the revival of La Vuelta de Bisbee, Team Tecos from Mexico swept the top four spots in the final stage to push Colombian Gregorio Vega to a wire-to-wire victory. Vega donned the yellow jersey following Friday’s prologue and wore it all weekend, beating teammates Fausto Muñoz, Carlos Guinez and Francisco Navarro, who finished second through fourth in the overall.
This year’s Sea Otter was better than ever with regards to new product roll-outs. There was too much to see during the short four days I was in Monterey, but we caught the vast majority in the hottest new stuff category. I’ll cover the rest of the best in this final photo gallery, but look for a few more stories from the Otter that go deeper than these galleries have. You should expect a rundown of Shimano’s new Saint group online tis week, while reports on Tomac, Yeti and FSA will pop up in future pages of VeloNews and VeloNews.com.
The 2008 Tour de Georgia couldn’t have ended better for Team High Road on Sunday, as Kiwi sprinter Greg Henderson won the final stage and Belarusian Kanstantin Sivtsov secured his overall race lead by four seconds ahead of Slipstream-Chipotle’s Trent Lowe.
A new climb with 20km to go lived up to expectations, breaking Liège-Bastogne-Liège wide open, but Alejandro Valverde relied on tactical savvy and his fiery finish-line punch to win La Doyenne for the second time in three years Sunday. After working into the decisive four-man move, Spain’s “Green Bullet” collaborated with Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) to fend off searing attacks from the Schleck brothers on the Saint-Nicolas climb with 5.5km to go only to relegate the Italian to bridesmaid status with his winning sprint.
Gregorio Vega (Team Tecos) won his second consecutive stage of La Vuelta de Bisbee on Saturday morning, then finished eighth in the afternoon’s time trial to hold a 21-second lead going into Sunday’s final stage, the Tombstone Road Race. In women’s racing, Marisa Russell (Procon-FNBA) won the Sulphur Springs Road Race and Kelly McDonald (Touchstone Climbing) the Warren Time Trial; McDonald took the yellow jersey from Chloe Forsman (Luna).
Despite a recently diagnosed injury that has kept him in near-constant pain, Rock Racing’s Rahsaan Bahati roared across the line at the Athens Twilight Criterium to capture his first major victory of the 2008 season. In a race that featured a relentless pace throughout in front of thousands in downtown Athens, Georgia, Bahati was able to beat a charging field to the line with enough time to lift his arms to the sky in tribute to a fallen friend.
Kanstantin Sivtsov (High Road) attacked Levi Leipheimer (Astana) and race leader Trent Lowe (Slipstream-Chipotle) in the final 500 meters to win the sixth stage of the Tour de Georgia and move into the overall lead on Saturday. Sivtsov, the under-23 world champion in 2005, started the day six seconds down on Lowe in eighth place, but well off most people’s radars.
If Friday’s prologue time trial is any indicator of what the weekend has in store, La Vuelta de Bisbee will come down to Team Tecos vs. the rest of the field. Tecos riders posted seven of the top 10 times in the 2.8-mile hill climb, which began on Main Street in Old Bisbee and ascended through Tombstone Canyon to the top of the Mule Pass Tunnel. The Guadalajara-based team brought nine riders to the 30th installment of the three-day race.
Acqua e Sapone's Stefano Garzelli won his second stage of the Trentino stage race in Italy on Friday, a mountainous 178.6km stage from Lavarone to Pejo Fonti. Liquigas' Vincenzo Nibali took the overall win in the four-day stage race; Garzelli finished second overall. Nibali took the overall lead after winning Thursday's stage from Torri del Benaco to Folgaria.
After sitting behind a ProTour engine over 133 hilly miles, Bissell’s Richard England timed his sprint right to take stage 5 of the 2008 Tour de Georgia on Friday. Slipstream-Chipotle’s Trent Lowe finished in the select front group of 22 riders to take the yellow jersey from High Road’s Greg Henderson, who had a hard day and came off the group on the second KOM climb.
Kona Bicycle has a new line of gloves with models for mountain biker, freeriders, roadies and kids. The men’s Chevron glove ($25) is intended for cross-country. It features a Chamude palm for increased durability, silicone grip finger tips for better braking control and a terry snot wipe thumb. The women’s XC glove offers an air-mesh palm with Chamude overlays for added durability and circulation, 4mm gel palm pad and gripped finger tips.
Stage 4's team time trial featured a short, hilly, twisty course. Although race officials banned the use of time trial bikes, disc wheels and aero helmets, equipment choice was still a factor. The teams used their standard road bikes, though many used the deepest-section wheels in their inventory. Race winner Slipstream-Chipotle pushed the limits the furthest, using deep section Zipp wheels and even trying to sneak aero helmet covers past the commissaires.
Starting the day one man down after Timmy Duggan’s frightful crash on Wednesday, an inspired Slipstream-Chipotle won the Tour de Georgia’s stage 4 team time trial Thursday at the Road Atlanta automotive raceway. Slipstream rode four laps of Road Atlanta’s rolling 2.5-mile racetrack in 19:36, 3.41 seconds faster than Astana, at an average speed of 29.14 miles per hour.
Fairwheel Bikes makes colored hoods for recent Campagnolo and Shimano's Dura-Ace, Ultegra and 105 shift/brake levers. Hoods for SRAM levers will be available later this year. The company says the hoods are exact replacements and are available in six colors. Suggested retail is $25.
Highroad’s Greg Henderson went pretty quick to win Wednesday’s stage 3 sprint — 81.3 kph to be exact; that’s more than 50 mph. We were able to take a look at the maximum values on Hendy’s SRM after the stage. Assuming he was putting out his hardest effort of the race in the final sprint it took 1250 watts to win.
J.J. Haedo isn’t the only rider toughing it out at this year’s Tour of Georgia. Team Type 1’s Matt Wilson, too, has a broken wrist and is racing in a soft cast. While pain isn’t too much of a problem, the cast on his right hand and wrist doesn’t allow him enough freedom of movement to easily operate his right Double Tap shifter.
After two slight misfires, High Road’s heavy artillery got its coordinates dialed Wednesday, firing Greg Henderson into the yellow jersey with an explosive win on stage 3 of the Tour de Georgia. Toyota-United’s Ivan Dominguez, winner of stage 1, lost the leader’s jersey when he came off the group in the hilly closing circuits of Gainesville.
Stefano Garzelli (Acqua e Sapone) won stage 2 of the Giro del Trentino on Wednesday. The Italian took the 178km leg from Torbole to Torri del Benaco ahead of compatriots Mauro Finetto (CSF) and Riccardo Chiarini (LPR). Jure Colcer (LPR) took the leader’s jersey from Volodymyr Zagorodny (NGC Medical-OTC Industrial), the winner of Tuesday’s opening time trial, a 9.7km race against the clock from Arco to Riva del Garda.
Dutch phenom Marianne Vos outgunned her challengers on the painfully steep slopes of the Mur de Huy to take a repeat win at the Flèche Wallonne women’s World Cup. Vos scaled the brutal kilometer-long pitch the fastest, dropping Marta Bastionelli (Italian National), Judith Arndt (High Road) and three-time winner Nicole Cooke (Great Britain) near the summit to take the fourth World Cup round of 2008. The victory was reminiscent of her 2007 victory, which saw Vos ride a tiring Cooke up the 25 percent pitch, then sprint to victory in the closing meters.
Sea Otter is over, but this year’s expo was bigger than ever and the overflow of what we saw there can and will go on for the rest of the week. In this edition we’ll look at brakes from Magura, Ridley frames, Rotor cranks and accessories from Lezyne.
SRAM trickles down its technologies rather quickly. It was two years ago that the company launched its road line at the Sea Otter Classic. That initial introduction included both the Force and Rival groups. Early last fall at the Eurobike tradeshow, SRAM unveiled Red. And now SRAM introduced improved Force and Rival groups, by incorporating the most pertinent shifting technologies of the Red group; namely Zero Loss and its adjustable reach levers.
It was a mur too far for Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) as Kim Kirchen (High Road) sprang past the attacking Australian on the final ramps of the knee-busting steeps up the Mur de Huy on Wednesday to win a wet and wild Flèche Wallonne.
Joy Industrial's Novatec hubs may become a popular item among wheelbuilders, because they allow relatively easy swaps between four different front hub/fork drop out standards. Riders with multiple wheels and forks in their garages also might find these hubs convenient. The 4in1 front hubs can interchange — without tools — to fit standard quick releases, or 9mm, 15mm or 20mm thru axles.
You don’t need to tell J.J. Haedo to harden up — he’s tough enough; he’s racing in Georgia with a broken wrist. He’s got a little extra tape on his bars to soften the ride as well as on his wrist as a brace, but that’s it. He’s a tough guy. As for his bike, it’s a pretty standard issue. VeloNewsTechnical Editor Matt Pacocha checked it out Tuesday.
A tender hand didn’t slow CSC’s J.J. Haedo in the sprint finale of the second stage of the Tour de Georgia. Haedo took a convincing win in Augusta ahead of High Road’s Greg Henderson, stage 1 winner Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United) and Tyler Farrar (Slipstream-Chipotle). Just a week out of a cast, Haedo is riding Georgia with his left hand heavily taped. Tuesday’s flat to rolling stage from Statesboro concluded after two, 5-mile laps of Augusta that ventured across the Savannah River into South Carolina.
People constantly ask me, “What do you see as the next big innovation coming with road bikes?” Their eyes tend to glaze over if I reply with any of the incremental improvements that every bike show or exhibition, like last week’s Sea Otter, is rife with. A new oversized bottom bracket standard will only briefly hold their interest. No, they want the goods, the “Next Big Thing.” It looks like the third coming of electronic shifting may be here soon, so mentioning that will no longer placate them. But what else is coming around the bend?