Road Racing

Russell Downing of the British squad Pinarello CandiTV captured the race lead with a winning sprint on stage 4 of the Tour of Ireland. Downing took the kick from a 22-man group at the finish in Dingle, after Garmin-Chipotle’s David Millar shattered the field over the Cat. 1 Conor Pass. Downing started the day 32 seconds down on race leader Mark Cavendish. He took the lead through snatching time bonuses at the finish (10 seconds) and at the day’s first and last intermediate sprints (3 seconds a piece).

On the eve of the USPRO Road Race Championships, Garmin-Chipotle showed it intended to dominate the championship weekend in Greenville, South Carolina, taking four of the top five spots in the time trial, led by David Zabriskie. Only Bissell’s Tom Zirbel kept Garmin from taking the entire podium and then some, with a brilliant second place ride, coming in five seconds behind a clean-shaven Zabriskie, who captured his third straight USPRO time trial jersey.

Alexander Kristoff followed last year’s successful script and launched an early sprint with 350 meters to go, but Mark Cavendish, as he continues to do with his blossoming career, is following his own plan. At stage 3 of the Tour of Ireland from Ballinrobe to Galway, that plan was simple: win. Cavendish was one of many riders to go down on slick tarmac just over the top of the final categorized climb, but Columbia put him back into the front group and wound it up in the closing kilometers to 70kph.

The 63rd Vuelta a España roars out of Granada on Saturday afternoon in a fitting start with a team time trial in what should be a dogfight between cycling’s two strongest teams and Spain’s two biggest stars. The showdown between Alberto Contador and Carlos Sastre and their respective Astana and CSC-Saxo Bank teams should provide plenty of drama during a three-week course loaded with hard mountains spread judiciously among a long string of sprint-friendly stages.

Set aside for the day’s top riders, the winner’s circle in Loughrea served as a photo booth as fans of all ages took turns posing for pictures with Mark Cavendish. The Team Columbia rider again won handily at the Tour of Ireland, in the 158km stage 2 from Thurles to Loughrea, and the popularity of the four-time Tour de France stage winner is only swelling.

Thirty-eight year old Eric Zabel will lead the Milram team at the Vuelta a Espana starting Saturday. The German vet will lead an otherwise young team looking for stage wins at the Spanish tour. The team's average age is under 25.

Sastre leads CSC-Saxo Bank

Neither a four-man breakaway nor getting spit out on a climb could stop Columbia’s Mark Cavendish from taking a commanding sprint win in the opening stage of the Tour of Ireland. Columbia rode the front of the peloton all day, then strung it out in the rush to the flat finish along River Suir in downtown Waterford.

Spaniard Jose Ivan Gutierrez, riding for Caisse d'Epargne, won the Tour of Benelux in Brussels as Latvia's Raivis Belohvoscicks (Saunier Duval) won Wednesday's final stage, an 18km time trial around Mechelen. Gutierrez was second on the stage, 8 seconds back. He finished without a saddle, which fell off his bike with about 800 meters to go, according to reports.

Astana brings a loaded team looking for nothing short of domination in the 63rd Vuelta a España that opens with a team time trial Saturday in sunny Granada. Still miffed it was left out of the 2008 Tour de France, the Astana blue swaggers into Granada with its A-team for the season’s third tour with overall victory as the main objective. Andreas Klöden and Levi Leipheimer provide heft to the nine-man lineup, but it’s budding Spanish super star Alberto Contador who will be captain of this ship.

Ingredients per serving: Sodium (150mg); Calcium (40mg); Magnesium (30mg); Potassium (95mg) Calories: 0 Cost: $11.98 for 90 tablets. Web site: www.eletewater.com Tablytes are electrolyte tablets, designed to be swallowed with water to replace electrolytes lost in exercise.

Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen of the Columbia team won the sixth and penultimate stage of the Tour of Benelux here Tuesday, as German team-mate Andre Greipel held the overall race lead. Boasson won a sprint finish ahead of France's Jimmy Engoulvent and Serguei Ivanov of Russia. Wednesday's final stage is an 18km time-trial around Mechelen. In Tuesday's stage, a nine-rider breakaway looked set to fight out the finish but Columbia did a lot of work to chase the riders and then Hagen jumped past late attacker Jimmy Engoulvent within sight of the finish line.

Robbie's ride
Dear Lennard,
I saw photos of it during the Tour, but can't tell what the model name of the San Marco saddle pictured on Robbie McEwen's Ridley is.
Kito Dear Kito,
It’s a Selle San Marco Regal, nice retro-looking saddle due to its big brass rivets around the back edge. Yet it has a nylon base, foam padding and a cover, just like most modern saddles.
Lennard

Sizes available: 700 x 32 and 700 x 35 Weight:350 grams (32 width); 395 grams (35 width) Suggested Retail: $39.99. Web site: www.kendausa.com/bicycle The Kommando is a new bi-directional cyclocross tire from Kenda. It is designed to be run in one direction for soft conditions and the other way for hardpack. The tire, which has a folding bead, also features Kenda's Iron Cloak puncture resistant material that runs bead to bead under the tread.

Despite a strong showing by Minnesota riders, Wisconsin took home the trophy after the inaugural Border Battle race on Sunday afternoon. The contest pitted over 350 racers from the Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS) against nearly 250 racers from the Minnesota State Championship Series (MNSCS). The White Tail Ridge course in River Falls, Wisconsin, was mostly flowing singletrack but included a steep lead-out climb, a long climb through an open field, and a rocky technical section.

German rider Carlo Westphal (Gerolsteiner) won the fifth stage of the Tour of Benelux on Monday. Compatriot Andre Greipel of the Columbia team holds the overall race lead.

During his three-week assignment to cover the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, VeloNews reporter Fred Dreier roamed China's capital city armed with his point-and-shoot digital camera. A professional photographer he is not, but Fred managed to snap a few photos of a side of the games not seen by all.

Price: $13 for 12 tabs Servings per tab: Four Web site: www.nuun.com Bigger is Easier? Nuun is now offering its sugar-free electrolyte replacement drink effervescent tabs in a larger four-serving size. Each tab now makes 32 ounces, instead of 16 ounces, so that only one tab fills liter sized bottles and hydration packs. The price per serving is the same as the smaller size.

Suggested Retail:$355 for fixed hub set, $436 for singlespeed disc hub set Web site: www.bythehive.com The Hive is a new brand from Perigeum Development, a distributor that has been involved with product development for several well-known brands. Chub Hubs from The Hive have massive flanges and large carbon center tubes, which the company says increase torsional stiffness and reduce spoke stress. The carbon lay-up in the center section is optimized to transfer torque between the flanges.[nid:82273]

Belgian rider Tom Boonen (Quick Step) won a sprint finish for Sunday's fourth stage of the Tour of Benelux. Dutch rider Kenny van Hummel finished second and Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen (Columbia) in third. Boasson Hagen 's teammate Andre Greipel took the leader's jersey going into Monday's fifth stage over 171.8km from Ardooie to Ostend.

Italy's Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) sprinted to victory in the third stage of the Tour of Benelux on Saturday, taking the leader's jersey from Spain's Jose Ivan Gutierrez. Bennati crossed the line ahead of Belgians Tom Boonen and Jurgen Roelandts.

Frenchman Julien Absalon took his mountain bike status to new heights on Saturday when he became the first rider to defend the men's Olympic cross country title. US and Canadian men had a dismal day, with Canadian Geoff Kabush the top North American finisher in 20th place. At only 28 years old, he said motivating himself for a third consecutive gold in London should be no problem. "The Olympic Games is a massive motivation for every athlete and four years passes quickly, as it has from Athens to Beijing," said Absalon.

Germany’s Sabine Spitz owns a closet full of silver and bronze medals from mountain bike racing’s biggest events — the Olympics, world championships and World Cup. The 36-year-old patiently rode in the shadows of ’04 Olympic champ Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå during the four years in which the Norwegian ruled over the sport.

Germany's Andre Greipel (Team Columbia) won the second stage of the Eneco Tour in The Netherlands on Friday. Greipel beat Argentina's Juan Jose Haedo (CSC-Saxo Bank) and compatriot Robert Forster(Gerolsteiner) in a rain-soaked sprint finish in Nieuwegein, in the north of The Netherlands. Kenny Van Hummel (Skil-Shimano) was fourth and stage one winner Tom Boonen was fifth.

France’s Anne-Caroline Chausson out-pedaled, out-jumped and out-maneuvered the world’s best female BMX riders to win the inaugural Olympic BMX race at the Laoshan cycling venue. The Frenchwoman, who also owns 16 world titles in gravity mountain bike racing, grabbed the biggest single prize of her storied career ahead of compatriot Laetitia le Corguille. Amerian Jill Kintner crossed the finish line in third to bring the United States its first-ever medal in Olympic BMX.

Web site: www.liquidgoldenergy.com Suggested Retail Price: $5.99 for a 6.5 ounce flask (five 2-tablespoon servings) GloryBee Foods' Liquid Gold is an organic honey-based sports energy gel. The Eugene, Oregon-based company says that honey contains a mix of carbohydrates that help prevent sugar spikes.

Suggested Retail: $79.95 for saw with one blade. $49.95 for five replacement blades. Web site: www.cantitoeroad.com The CarboCut from Effetto Mariposa has toothless, grit-edge tungsten carbide blade that is intended for cutting hard materials such as ceramics, titanium and steel, and for cutting carbon fiber (the company says a traditional toothed blade is still best for cutting softer materials like aluminum and plastic).

Maris Strombergs put Latvia on top of the BMX world by taking the inaugural Olympic gold medal in flying fashion. The 21-year-old Latvian, who won the BMX world title earlier this year, earned Latvia its first medal of the 2008 Olympics, crossing the line ahead of Americans Mike Day and Donny Robinson. “It didn’t matter if it was the Olympics, the world championships or the European championships, the feeling is the same,” Strombergs said. “I was very cool and concentrated.”

Suggested Retail: $260 Weight: 200 grams Dimensions: 290mm x 135mm Web site: www.sellesanmarco.com Selle San Marco’s new Mantra is a new road bike saddle. It features the company's patented NoShuffle system, which involves a narrowed nose to reduce thigh chafing for riders with a knee-in riding style. It also includes an arrowhead-shaped cut out and a synthetic "microfeel" cover. [nid:82174]

Belgian rider Tom Boonen (Quick Step), won the first stage of the Tour du Benelux in The Netherlands on Thursday. Spain's Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne), retained the yellow jersey after winning Wednesday's prologue. Boonen, 27, is the 2005 world champion. In June he was barred from the Tour de France after testing positive for cocaine.

Price: $369 Web site: www.kurtkinetic.com A portion of the revenue from sales of the special pink Kurt Kinetic trainer go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, a grassroots organization of breast cancer survivors, advocates and activists. The organization has pledged $2 billion in the next ten years to fight breast cancer.

Cadel Evans will not be in the Silence-Lotto team competing in the Tour of Spain, starting on August 30 at Granada, the team announced on its Web site. The Belgium-based outfit has left the Australian out of the Vuelta, which finishes on September 21 in Madrid. The 31-year-old, who injured his knee in the aftermath of finishing second overall in the Tour de France at the end of July, finished 15th in the road race and fifth in the individual time trial at the Beijing Olympics.

Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne) won the prologue of the Eneco Tour of Benelux in Sittard-Geleen, Netherlands, on Wednesday. The Spanish cyclist, winner of the event last year, was judged to be leader after clocking 5:31.09 minutes over the 4.4 kilometer stage — fractions of a second in front of French rider Cyril Lemoine (Credit Agricole). Norway's Edvald Hagen (Team Columbia) was third.

Irish cyclist Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) won the first stage of the Tour du Limousin on Tuesday. Roche, 24, powered along the country roads between Limoges and Guéret to win the 166km stage in four hours, four minutes, beating the field to the line by three seconds. France's Steve Chainel (Auber 93) and Roche’s teammate Sébastien Hinault came second and third.

Britain confirmed their status as rulers of the Olympic velodrome Tuesday, claiming two of the last three track cycling gold medals on offer to finish with seven out of 10. On a day that Australian blushes were saved in timely fashion by Anna Meares' sprint silver, giving the team that dominated in Athens just one medal, Britain were celebrating a total of 12 out of 30 medals awarded in Beijing. They medalled in eight of the 10 events, only failing to claim a medal in the women's points race and the men's Madison.

Victoria Pendleton of Great Britain grabbed her first Olympic gold after dominating Anna Meares of Australia over two legs of the women's sprint final in Beijing on Tuesday. Meares picked up the silver with China's Guo Shuang winning the bronze. Pendleton's maiden Olympic crown means she has taken Britain's track cycling gold tally to six. The 27-year-old Englishwoman is also the first British woman to win Olympic gold in track cycling's blue ribbon event. It is also Britain's first women's track medal since Yvonne McGregor won pursuit bronze in Sydney eight years ago.

Flying Scotsman Chris Hoy equaled a 100-year-old British Olympic record on his way to winning his third gold medal of the Beijing Games on Tuesday. Hoy, who had already won gold in the team sprint and keirin, claimed his first ever Olympic sprint crown after a dominant display over teammate Jason Kenny. Hoy claimed his third gold medal of the Games, and fourth of his career, after beating England's Kenny in two successive sprints.

Dear Lennard,
You mention you use the No Tubes set up with your Ksyriums and Hutchinson’s Road Tubeless tires. I would like to do the same, but am concerned about Hutchinson’s warning against doing so. Something about ammonia breaking down the inside body of the tire. Any thoughts here?
Matt

Argentina's Juan Curuchet and Walter Perez grabbed Olympic gold in the men's Madison in Beijing on Tuesday when all three medals were decided on the last lap's 10th and final sprint. Spain finished second to take the silver with Russia winning the bronze. Britain's pursuit and team pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins, aiming for a record-breaking third gold medal of the Beijing Games, was never in contention with teammate Mark Cavendish. Argentina's pairing was a constant threat for their rivals in the 50km, 200-lap race where points can be won at intermediate sprints.

Price: $449.99 Weight: 230 grams Web site: www.exposurelightsusa.com The Enduro model from Exposure Lights is a cable-free high-powered LED light intended for racing or high performance trail riding. The handlebar mounted light has a CNC-machined alloy body, anodized and laser etched. It uses three "Super LEDs" with a lifetime warranty. It has four settings that produce burn times ranging from three hours at the Max setting to more than 24 hours in flash mode.

It’s said that racing in the yellow jersey gives a rider wings. It’s also said that there’s no motivation like racing in front of friends and family. Both notions proved true Sunday during the final stage of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, in which Utah native Jeff Louder of BMC Racing overcame a seven-second deficit to Garmin-Chipotle’s Blake Caldwell to take the overall victory by eight seconds.

The four-man pursuit squad of Ed Clancy, Paul Manning, Geraint Thomas and individual pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins won Great Britain its fifth gold medal of the 2008 Olympics. Team Great Britain nearly lapped Denmark in the finals of the team pursuit, breaking their own world record from Sunday’s qualifying round with a 3:53.314 finishing time. The Brits led wire-to-wire against Denmark, which eased up on the throttle once the Brits came nipping at their heels on the final lap. The Danes finished with a time of 4:00.040. New Zealand took home the bronze with a 3:57.776.

Michael Blatchford might not own the bulky track sprinter’s physique, but the lean, mean American proved this season he can be competitive on the international circuit. Blatchford came up a hair short in Sunday night’s 1/16 round of the men’s match sprint. The 22-year-old saw his chances at qualifying for the finals dashed by France’s thick sprinter Kevin Sireau, one of the fastest men in the sport. Midway through the bell lap Sireau appeared to commit too early to his sprint, opening the door for Blatchford.

Dutchwoman Marianne Vos erased the demons from her sub-stellar finishes in last week’s road and time-trial events by dominating the Points Race. Vos, 21, earned 30 total points in the 100-lap race, 20 of which came from lapping the field. Yoanka Gonzalez of Cuba finished second with 18 points with Leire Olaberria of Spain grabbing the bronze. “I had a lot of confidence coming into [the points race] — during my training I felt very good,” Vos said. “It wasn’t like I felt bad in the road race or the time trial, of course I was trying to get a medal. I was very disappointed.”

Price: $269 Web site: www.dinottelighting.com DiNotte's 400L headlight is a new model introduced in time for fall training, trail riding and 24-hour racing. The standard double-LED light produces 400 Lumens and can be mounted on a variety of bar diameters with horizontal or vertical orientation. A helmet/head strap kit option is available this month. The user can experiment with different beam patterns with an optional lens kit, which the company recommends for helmet use and trail riding.

Michael Ball's fashion designers will be busy this week after Rock Racing's Rahsaan Bahati on Sunday earned his latest stars-and-stripes jersey, winning the Saab USA Cycling Pro Criterium Championship on the course in Downers Grove, Illinois, on which he last triumphed in 2000 as an amateur. It's the first time in three years that an American has earned the championship by winning the 100km race outright. And while Rock Racing betrayed a certain confidence by kitting up in red, white and blue, it also fulfilled a seasonlong goal for Bahati, who is still battling a bum leg.

Rebecca Romero pumped her fist and let out a shriek after crossing the finish line to win Olympic gold in the individual pursuit on Monday night. The finishing gesture mimicked that of her compatriot Nicole Cooke, who won last Sunday's women’s road race. “I’m trying to hold it together,” said Romero, who defeated compatriot Wendy Houvenaghel to take the win. “I’ve had to search deep inside and fight for it and do what I know I’m capable of. Olympic gold medals don’t come easy.”

Two-time Olympic pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins expects a tough battle on Monday when he leads Britain out in a bid to claim its first Olympic gold in the coveted team pursuit. Britain’s four underlined their credentials as heirs to defending champions Australia by beating their own world record in Beijing on Sunday in a time of 3:55.202 seconds. It allowed the Brits to finish fastest in the first round and book the gold medal match against Denmark. An impressive New Zealand quartet will face Australia in the fight for bronze.

Newly-crowned Olympic keirin champion Chris Hoy is primed for a semi-final clash with three-time world sprint champion Theo Bos as he looks for more gold in the men's sprint. Scottish sprint king Hoy continued his bid for his third Beijing gold medal after coasting into the quarter-finals of the men's sprint Sunday. Hoy, 32, beat a 12-year-old Olympic record for the 200 meters flying start in the qualifying round in a stunning time of 9.815 seconds.

Britain's Rebecca Romero made Olympic history in Beijing Sunday when she became just the second woman to claim medals in two different sports at the summer Games. England's Romero dominated the 3km individual-pursuit final to leave Wendy Houvenaghel of Northern Ireland with the silver medal after posting a winning time of three minutes, 28.32 seconds. Lesya Kalitovska of Ukraine defeated New Zealand's Alison Shanks to win the bronze medal.

To the cheers of a partisan crowd, BMC’s Jeff Louder won the queen stage of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Saturday, a grueling slog from Park City to Snowbird Ski Resort that delivered 15,000 feet of climbing and three KOM points over 98.7 miles. At Snowbird Ski Resort at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon the Salt Lake City native finished seconds ahead of Garmin-Chipotle’s race leader Blake Caldwell, who finished second on the stage. Team Type 1’s Glen Chadwick, less than one week off a return flight from Beijing, finished third.

With three golds, a silver and a two bronzes through four events on the Laoshan Velodrome, Great Britain is living up to its pre-Olympics hype as the track dominator. So far it hasn’t been a benevolent ruler. Day Two saw Chris Hoy take a crushing victory in the men’s keirin (with Ross Edgar in silver), just 24 hours after the Brits mowed their way to gold in the Team Sprint.

Spaniard Joan Llaneras produced a stunning display of endurance and sprint riding here at the Laoshan velodrome to reclaim his Olympic crown in the men's points race. Germany's Roger Kluge took the silver with Britain's Christopher Newton taking the bronze. Llaneras, 39, reclaimed the title he won at Sydney in 2000 after a stunning ride in the 160-lap race which he finished with 60 points. Kluge, the halfway leader, finished on 58 with Newton on 56.

Wiggins sets new standard in pursuit

Jennie Reed is heading into Sunday’s sprint qualifying rounds with the added air of confidence that comes with owning a world championship gold medal. True, Reed did not take her world title at this year’s worlds in Manchester in the sprint — she won it in the keirin, which is not an Olympic event. But the fast and furious keirin is often a litmus test for how strong a track sprinter’s legs are firing. And this year, Reed’s legs have been firing full blast.

While Mother Nature teased participants with tiny showers up to about an hour before the start, this year’s Mt. Washington Hillclimb went off without a hitch. At start time the temp at the base of the New Hampshire peak was a mild 61, while the summit was a sunny 46 with literally no wind. [nid:81910] The 600-rider field — containing none of the more well known riders of the past few years such as Tyler Hamilton, Tom Danielson or Ned Overend — left the field wide open for up-and-coming riders.

American Taylor Phinney held his head high as he rolled off the wooden track at Beijing’s Laoshan velodrome. The American’s quest for an Olympic medal had just fizzled in the semi finals of the men’s Individual Pursuit, as Phinney fell to New Zealander Hayden Roulston. Above the American, his parents — cycling greats Connie Carpenter and Davis Phinney — chanted “We love you buddy!” as Phinney stepped off his bike to end his whirlwind 2007-08 season.

Britain's Bradley Wiggins of Britain successfully defended his Olympic crown when he won the individual pursuit track cycling gold in Beijing on Saturday. New Zealand's Hayden Roulston took silver with Britain's Steven Burke winning the bronze medal. American Taylor Phinney missed a spot in the medal rounds, riding 4:26.6 in Round 1. The 27-year-old Wiggins clocked a time of 4:16.5 in Round 1 to secure his place in the final against the New Zealander, who finished in 4:19.2.

Disproving critics that downplayed his Successful Living team’s chances of taking victory at the national level in 2008, Argentinean Ricardo Escuela won the stage 3 criterium of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Friday evening in downtown Salt Lake City. It was Successful Living’s third NRC win of the 2008 season.

Scotland's Chris Hoy anchored Britain to an historic victory in the coveted Olympic team sprint final in Beijing Friday to leave world champions France with the silver. Hoy, who is aiming for a further two gold medals in the five-day, ten final race anchored the team home after stunning rides from England's Jamie Staff and Jason Kenny in a time of 43.128. France took the silver in 43.551 with defending champions Germany beating Australia to the bronze medal.

In the lead up to the Beijing Olympics, American track pursuit cyclist Sarah Hammer graced the pages of both Sports Illustrated and ESPN magazines. As her sport’s world champion in both 2005 and 2006, Hammer was touted in print as America’s best shot at grabbing a medal in track racing.

Options: Available to fit Campagnolo or Shimano brakes. Weight: 24 grams/pair Web site: www.serfas.com Retail: $70. Includes pads for aluminum and carbon rims. Serfas carbon fiber brake pad holders are intended to be lighter and stronger than other pad holders. The company also claims the pad holders dissipate heat quickly and evenly. The titanium mounting nut allows a fully adjustable pad angle. The pad itself has a three-stage braking surface.

The top stage racers in the country wasted no time Thursday in tearing apart the general classification at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. A select group of 13 riders emerged during the day’s third and final mountain pass as the most likely contenders for overall victory, while Garmin-Chipotle’s 24-year-old Blake Caldwell took his second career Tour of Utah stage win. For the second consecutive day, the stage winner came out of a small breakaway, and for the second consecutive day the winner wore a Garmin-Chipotle jersey, which was then traded for yellow atop the podium.

Call it MaskGate.

Four world-class track cyclists land in one of the most polluted cities in the world and want nothing more than to protect the one organ – their lungs – that most determines whether or not they’ll win an Olympic medal.

They don masks, given to them by their Olympic governing body, and an international scandal erupts.

Sarah Hammer, Jennie Reed, Michael Friedman and Bobby Lea unintentionally created a furor on August 5 when they walked into Beijing’s international airport wearing USOC-issued masks to cover their nose and mouths.

What a way to

Neal Henderson is the Sport Science Manager at Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. He is a USA Cycling certified coach and works with a diverse clientele at BCSM. He has been Taylor Phinney’s personal coach since 2006 and will is traveling with Phinney and his family in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics.

Jason Donald (Garmin-Chipotle) bridged to an early breakaway and then won the Tour of Utah's first stage after working a day-long break. Donald's win in the 101-mile flat-to-rolling stage gives him the early overall lead in the stage race. Second place went to Sheldon Denny of the Fan Sports Network team; third was Brad White of Successful Living. Thursday's second stage is hillier: the University Health Care Road Race, at 84.6 miles, has four climbs. It begins in downtown Ogden and ends in Salt Lake City.

Colors: Black Sizes: Waist sizes: 28, 32, 34, 36, 38-inches. Material: 100 percent polyester outer shell with poly/spandex liner and one-piece molded chamois Suggested retail: $110 Web site: www.yeticycles.com Yeti's new Raptor shorts are part of the company's new 2008 Ride Wear line of comfortable, baggy tech jerseys and shorts that are designed for long trail rides and gravity riding.

German rider Linus Gerdemann (Team Columbia) won the Tour de l'Ain cycling race after the fourth and final stage on Wednesday. Gerdemann clocked 14:14:03 over the four stages to finish 12 seconds ahead of French rider David Moncoutie of Cofidis, with AG2R rider Stephane Goubert of France third at 36 seconds. The 25-year-old German, holder of the yellow jersey after his victory on Tuesday, and his Columbia teammates were dominant on the hilly Bugey stage.

Suggested retail: To be determined Size: 26 x 2.00 Weight: 630 grams Web site:www.geax.com The Geax Saguaro Tubular is 26 x 2.00 tubular mountain bike tire, part of Geax's revamped 2009 model line. The Saguaro has very round profile, with a polycotton casing derived from road racing tires. The casing is designed to offer comfort and low rolling resistance. The casing is hand made of Corespun K 290TPI cotton and Kevlar fibers.

Suggested retail: $9.99 Capacity: 21 ounces Web site: www.rocketsciencesports.com The Rocket Bottle is an aerodynamic water bottle that fits standard bottle cages. Rocket Science claims that wind-tunnel testing shows the bottle has 16 percent less drag than a standard bottle, which the company says equates to saving 53 seconds in a 40km time trial.

Price: $119.99 Weight: 94 grams per set OLD: 100mm front and 130mm rear (Fits standard road bikes). Web site: www.fullspeedahead.com FSA's new K-Force QR quick release levers feature a 3K-weave full carbon fiber lever, designed to be aerodynamic and ergonomic. The skewer, pivot barrel and springs are stainless steel. The set weighs 94 grams.

Fabian Cancellara’s finish-line salute at the end of Wednesday’s Olympic time trial erased any concerns that the big Swiss rider has lost his edge in the race against the clock. He rolled into the finishing straight with 33 seconds in his pocket over Swede Gustav Larsson, stopped pedaling, lifted his arm in a very un-aero fist and punched the air.

Toyota-United's Canadian strongman Dominique Rollin won the 2008 Rochester Omnium after winning the rain-soaked Twilight Criterium and coming in second in the opening time trial of the three-stage event. Rollin, a Tour of California stage winner and former Canadian national champion, also scored points in the road race to lock up an overall win over BMC's Tony Cruz, who won the 101-mile road race.

Dear Lennard,
Why would changing a tire on a Zipp 530 be so difficult? I beat my fingers and snap tire levers trying to get a tire off.
Steve Dear Steve,
It’s a good question, but one I thought might be best answered by the folks at Zipp.
Lennard