High Road Sports has announced the riders that will start the 2008 Tour de France. The roster consists of nine riders from eight different countries, and five aged 25 and under. “We plan to be competitive in every stage without losing the focus on the support for Kirchen in the General Classification” explains Team Director Rolf Aldag. “This team is able to exploit and dictate the tactics on some stages”.
Philadelphia’s downtown cycling fans were offered a second round of excitement Tuesday afternoon when the current U.S. national criterium champion, Daniel Holloway (VMG-Felt) lit up the final 200-meters in Stage 1B of the American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania presented by Highmark Healthy High 5. Holloway captured a convincing field sprint victory in this elite U25 competition ahead of Jacob Keough (Kelly Benefit Strategies-Medifast) and Christoff Van Heerden of South Africa (Konica Minolta Continental) in the 25-lap criterium of day one.
Steven Van Vooren (Johan Bruyneel Cycling Academy) won the kickoff to the inaugural American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania on Tuesday in Philadelphia. Vooren took stage 1a, a 3.51km prologue time trial in Philadelphia, in four minutes and 18 seconds. Keven LaCombe (Kelly Benefit Strategies-Medifast) was second at three seconds back with Christoff Van Heerden (KON-Konica Minolta Continental) third at four seconds.
Russian Denis Menchov, one of the pre-race favorites, has been named as team leader for the nine-man Rabobank squad for the July 5-27 Tour de France, the Dutch team announced in the Netherlands on Tuesday. Menchov is a double winner of the Vuelta a España who finished fifth in the 2006 Tour de France. The team will also be in the hunt for stage wins, and perhaps the Tour’s points jersey, with the addition of Oscar Freire, the Spaniard who is a triple world road race champion (1999, 2001 and 2004). Freire won the Gent-Wevelgem ProTour one-day classic in April and is
The newly renamed Garmin-Chipotle team unveiled its Tour de France roster, which features three of only four Americans in the entire Tour peloton. The team, formerly known as Slipstream-Chipotle, is making its debut in the world’s biggest bicycle race, but the roster, released on Tuesday, includes several Tour de France veterans.
This year’s Tour de France should be a little more interesting following news Tuesday that outspoken Italian rider Riccardo Riccò will take the July 5 start in Brest. Riccò ? whose verbal outbursts are almost as lethal as his accelerations in the mountains ? will take aim at the best young rider’s white jersey during his second Tour appearance. The 24-year-old Riccò, seen by many in Italy as the heir to deceased Giro and Tour winner Marco Pantani, is considered a longshot for the Tour's yellow jersey.
Dear Readers,
I’ve got a bit of product testing and Tour de Suisse course scouting to tell you about.
Suggested retail: $20. Web site: www.mirrycle.com The Mirrycle Road Mirror was developed exclusively to fit Shimano STI shifter/brake levers while allowing the unrestricted use of the lever. The company says the mirror fits Sora, Tiagra, 105, Ultegra and Dura-Ace levers. The mirror can be folded out of the way or quickly removed for bike storage or rides where a mirror isn't desired. It can be attached to the right or left lever.
The San Francisco Twilight Criterium on September 13 is the newest race in the USA CRITS series. "Nothing compares to a 40 mph night-time race,” said event supporter Ryan Dawkins, president of Project Sport. Dawkins is working with Andy Ball, CEO of Webcor Builders, to put on the event. The four-corner, one-kilometer course will start and finish at Union Street—the so-called Rodeo Drive of San Francisco. The Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the San Francisco Bay will be visible from almost the entire course.[nid:78866]
Suggested retail: $79.99 Sizes: small, medium, large, extra large. Available from: www.kbsmedifast.com or www.mtborah.com The Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast domestic road team is using new jerseys manufactured from a knit fabric with 47 percent recycled fibers from post-consumer and post-industrial waste. Mt. Borah, which makes the team jerseys, estimates that for every dozen jerseys made with the process, two gallons of gas are saved.
Germany’s Gerolsteiner hopes it can crack the top 10 and win a stage in the upcoming Tour de France. The team brings Markus Fothen and Bernhard Kohl as GC hopes with Stefan Schumacher leading the charge in the hunt for an elusive stage victory. “Fothen and Kohl can challenge for the overall race, while we are looking for stage victories in the last week,” said team sporting director Christian Henn.
The Basque climbers at Euskaltel-Euskadi will be angling toward the podium this year. Haimar Zubeldia and Mikel Astarloza, fifth and ninth in last year’s Tour, headline the orange-clad Basques in its collective effort to improve on the team’s steady 2007 performance.
Bobby Julich won’t be heading back to the Tour de France for another crack at the maillot jaune. The 36-year-old veteran ? third overall in 1998 ? was left off the nine-man, Tour-bound squad revealed Monday by Team CSC-Saxo Bank. “I think we could have taken two teams to the Tour de France, with so many good riders to choose from,” said team manager Bjarne Riis on the team’s Web page. “We have taken the nine sharpest riders and we hope we can meet our ambitions with them.”
You’ve already seen Giant’s new road bike, the TCR Advanced SL. Prototypes have been in service by the High Road (now Columbia) team since last year’s Tour de France. The bike and its radically shaped tubes have been highly visible all season, so it comes as no surprise that it will be in the company's product line for 2009.
CSC's Fabian Cancellara chased down a last-kilometer attack by FdJ's Phillipe Gilbert, passed him and soloed to his second stage win in this year's Tour de Suisse on Sunday. The stage finished near Cancellara's hometown of Wohlen bei Bern, Switzerland. Liquigas's Roman Kreuziger finished in the main pack on the final day to retain the overall lead he took in Saturday's time trial.
Colavita-Sutter Home speedster Alejandro Borrajo won the 2008 AT&T Downtown Austin Criterium, the fourth installment of the 2008 USA CRITS Series. Borrajo fought off a well-stocked field of top-shelf criterium racers to take the fifth edition of the NRC race. Despite the Toyota-United train controlling the final five laps of the race, Borrajo found his way past Henk Vogels (Toyota-United) and Cuban teammate Ivan Dominguez (who came in second and third respectively.
Stage five of the 2008 Tour de Nez, a 45-mile up and down affair in and around the Village at Northstar resort, gave onlookers one last chance to see the main protagonists of the stage race fight it out on the tough technical course. The 1.75-mile loop took riders over stretches of the cobblestones that run through the village, lending an old-school feel to the race.
Liquigas’s Roman Kreuziger, a former world junior road champion, turned in a spectacular performance Saturday, winning the eighth stage of the Tour de Suisse, a 25-kilometer uphill time, and vaulting into the overall lead with just one stage remaining.
As expected, the fourth stage of the 2008 Tour de Nez stage race provided a big shake up in the general classification, as Kelly Benefit’s Andy Bajadali took the leader’s jersey away from BMC’s Ian McKissick. Eric Wohlberg of the Symmetrics team was able to come away with a hard earned victory on the 6.5 mile mountain circuit, while putting himself back into contention for the overall title.
BMC and Health Net-Maxxis made their mark at the Tour de Nez on Thursday, placing riders at the front of the morning uphill 2.75-mile time trial at Northstar at Tahoe and the evening Truckee Criterium. BMC's Ian McKissick won the time trial and his team helped him protect the lead in the crit, where Health Net's Roman Kilun won after outsprinting a three-man breakaway.
In his final year of espoir eligibility, Swiss phenom Nino Schurter stormed to his second world U23 cross-country title in three years. The 2006 U23 champ, who took silver last year, rode on the heels of South Africa’s Burry Stander for the first five or six laps in Val di Sole, Italy, before attacking on the penultimate loop for the win. “I attacked twice on the backside [of the course] and [Stander] could not close the gap,” said a triumphant Schurter. “It was in my advantage to have a mate riding behind us.”[nid:78672]
CSC's world time trial champion, Fabian Cancellara, won the seventh stage of the Tour de Suisse on Friday with a trademark solo attack in the final kilometers. Just like Cancellara's win at this year's Milan-San Remo and last July's stage 3 of the Tour de France, Cancellara attacked as the top sprinters were gearing up for a field sprint, and held them off for a narrow victory in a daring display of raw power.
One of the strongest pro fields in recent history competed at the 48th Father’s Day cycling classic in the Sierra foothills town of Nevada City, California on June 15th. As thousands of spectators lined the streets of this historic and bicycle-crazed town, it became clear with 10 laps to go in the men's race that the 48th winner of the Nevada City Bicycle Classic was likely to be one of the two riders who had built a 30-second gap from the pack.
Suggested retail: $8.95 for a tube of ten tablets. Web site: www.drinkzym.com BE Innovations has added 100mg of caffeine and B12 vitamins to its ZYM electrolyte tablets, which are intended to be carried along on a ride and dropped into 16-20 ounces of fresh water to create an electrolyte drink. The new ZYM Catapult tablets add the Guarana caffeine and the B12 to the ZYM Endurance tabs, which remain available for those who prefer no caffeine.
Retail price: $1.25 per wipe Web site: www.kongconcepts.com Grease Monkey Wipes are individually packaged degreasing towels that clean without water, perfect for cleaning up after a mid-ride repair. The wipes are non-toxic. Each package contains a 8-by-7 inch towel that can clean off grease, oil, road tar, permanent marker and adhesives. The wipes use a citrus-based formula enhanced with lanolin, vitamin E, and aloe vera.
Barloworld is hoping this year’s Tour de France is as good as last year’s. In 2007, the wild-card team was one of the Tour’s biggest surprises, winning a sprint stage with Robbie Hunter and a mountain stage and the King of the Mountains jersey with breakout Colombian Mauricio Soler. For this year, the team is heading into its second Tour with quiet ambitions that things will be just as good.
Luxembourg's Kim Kirchen, riding for the High Road team, surged into the overall lead of the Tour of Switzerland after winning the sixth stage on Thursday. [nid:78578] The stage was a 188km race from Ambri to Verbier, punctuated by two major climbs, the hors categorie Nufenenpass early in the race and the Category 1 finishing climb to Verbier.
The Tour de Nez, a five-stage race that bills itself as "the Coolest Race in America," got underway Wednesday with a criterium at a Reno, Nevada, casino. The Bissell team gave Michigan's Steven Howard a perfect lead out, setting him up for a bike-length win ahead of Riccardo Escuela (Successful Living) and Eric Wohlberg (Symmetrics). [nid:77952]
Felt Bicycles launched a new aerodynamic road frame under the legs of Garmin-Chipotle rider Martijn Maaskant last week. Maaskant rode the bike to a seventh-place finish in the 210k one-day Dutch Food Classic on Wednesday. Gerolsteiner's Robert Forster won the race. The new frame, called the AR, was intended to combine the aerodynamics of Felt's time trial and track bikes with the road manners of its road bikes.
Under course-drying Italian sunshine, Slovenia’s pint-sized wunderkind Tanja Zakelj swiped the U23 women’s cross-country crown from China, which had dominated the espoir field since 2006. The win earned Zakelj her third worlds medal in four years — she finished third as a junior in 2005 and won the junior title in 2006.
Gerolsteiner's Markus Fothen won the 189.7km fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse on Wednesday, following the crash of his breakaway companion, Frank Schleck (CSC), who appeared ready to take over the race leader’s yellow jersey before the mishap. Astana’s Serguei Ivanov crossed second at 50 seconds with Fothen’s Swiss teammate, Markus Zberg, taking third at 57 seconds.
In Feltre, Italy, this week, just 15km away from the memorial to Tullio Campagnolo at the summit of the Croce d’Aune pass, Campagnolo reintroduced its Super Record racing group. Super Record was Campagnolo’s mystical racing group, but it has been decommissioned for more than 20 years. For 2009, it, along with new Record and Chorus groups, will help celebrate the brand’s 75th anniversary. In addition to the groups, Campagnolo will offer new versions of its four top wheelsets: Hyperon Ultra Two, Bora Ultra Two, Shamal 2-Way Fit and Eurus 2-Way Fit.[nid:77896]
France’s four-person squad of Jean-Christoph Peraud, Arnaud Jouffroy, Laurence Leboucher and Alexis Vuillermoz stormed to a convincing win in the first event of the 2008 UCI mountain bike world championships, the team relay. The French led from start to finish, and stomped pre-race favorites Switzerland by more than two minutes. “It was very challenging at the start because [the Swiss] were favored to win,” Peraud said with the aid of a translator. [nid:77862]
Silence-Lotto's Robbie McEwen won a sprint finish in the 170km fourth stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Tuesday for his second consecutive stage win. The 35-year-old McEwen crossed the line ahead of Spaniard Oscar Freire of Rabobank and German Gerald Ciolek of High Road in exactly the same order as in Monday's third stage. [nid:77868]
Questions about fork failure from squirrel collisions, talcum powder and rolling resistance and bottom bracket life spans.
Michael Mathers (Rocky Mountain Racing) and Judy Freeman (Tough Girl/Contessa) won the opening event of the Winter Park Mountain Bike Series this weekend, a tough hillclimb up a ski resort access road with more than 2,000 feet of climbing and a finish at over 11,000 feet elevation. Mathers won in 33:12, followed by single speeder Walt Wehner (WaltWorks/Fuentes Design) in 33:24 and Tokyo Joe’s rider Brady Kappius at 33:50. It was the first time in series' 16-year history that three riders eclipsed the 34-minute mark.[nid:77853]
Silence-Lotto's Aussie sprinter Robbie McEwen won Monday's third stage of the tour of Switzerland, outsprinting Rabobank's Oscar Freire and High Road's Gerald Ciolek. "Leif Hoste and Greg Van Avermaet did well for me on the sprint," said McEwen. "It's exactly the tactic that we discussed this morning. "It's one of the first times that I've sprinted with the two of them and it worked well." This win, he said, "was good for confidence ahead of the Tour de France."
[nid:77758][nid:77759][nid:77754][nid:77755] Erik Barlevav of the Time Pro Cycling team scored the biggest win of his young career with a narrow advantage win over Rock Racing's Rahsaan Bahati on Sunday at the Harlem Cycling Classic. Barlevav's final effort was so intense that he lost control of his bicycle and crashed just after the finish line. The first-year professional managed to get up unassisted and take a victory lap with a bouquet of flowers.
The 23rd Tour de Beauce ended on Sunday with Symmetrics' Svein Tuft recording the first Canadian victory since 1995. Tuft and his team held off repeated attacks by both the Tecos Trek and Team Type 1 squads to take the overall victory. Matt Wilson gave Team Type 1 a victory in the final stage, and that team also wrapped up the Points and Climber's Jerseys, plus the top overall team on general classification.
Chilkoot Hill is just an eighth of a mile long, but with its 24-percent grade, it practically reaches up to bite you on the nose. It’s a hill with which Rory Sutherland (Health Net), the GC leader going into the final stage in Stillwater, is quite familiar. “It suits me down to the ground,” he said. But under sunny skies and mild breezes and among several thousand enthusiastic fans, one thing got between Sutherland and the finish line. His name was David Veilleux, and he’s just 20 years old.
Igor Anton (Euskaltel-Euskadi) pulled on the leader's yellow jersey after climbing to victory in Sunday's second stage of the Tour de Suisse. The Spanish climber crossed the line six seconds ahead of Luxembourg's Kim Kirchen (Team High Road), Italy's Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital) and CSC's Frank Schleck following the 197km run to the ski station of Flumserberg, which finished in rain and freezing conditions at 1400 meters altitude.
Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) locked up the most important stage-race victory of his already-prolific career Sunday with the 60th Dauphiné Libéré crown and pushed his name to the top of the list of Tour de France favorites. Despite the three-climb, 128km route across Massif de la Chartreuse above Grenoble in Sunday’s finale, Valverde’s Caisse d’Epargne teammates controlled the action to secure the 37-second victory over last year’s Tour runner-up, Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto).
There were two races underway Saturday at the Tour de Beauce - the race for the stage win and the race for the Yellow Jersey. Team Sparkasse won the first battle by taking first and second, while Symmetrics and team leader Svein Tuft won the second, by preserving Tuft's hold on the overall lead despite the efforts of both Team Type 1 and Tecos Trek.
Saturday’s monster, four-climb 233km stage to La Toussuire delivered Tour de France sparks and controversy as the battle for the Dauphiné Libéré reached a breaking point. Overall leader Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) withstood attacks but ended up padding his lead by two seconds as Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) tried to attack his way into the leader’s jersey.
Three-time world champion Oscar Freire sprinted to victory in the first stage of the Tour de Suisse, out-charging the field at the end of 146-kilometer race that started and finished in Langnau im Emmental. Freire pulled on the race leader's jersey at the end of the stage after beating Switzerland's Martin Elmiger at the finish line. In the general classification Freire has a four-second lead on Elmiger (Ag2r)and another local, Lampre’s David Loosli.
Until now, an ongoing patent dispute over Specialized’s FSR design kept Scott USA’s Genius trailbike from the U.S. market, leaving one of the world’s most lucrative markets uncontested by Scott. With a major redesign of the Genius platform it will enter the U.S. with a bike that pushes past conventional constraints of the trail category.
American manufacturer Saris will soon be selling wireless PowerTap power meter wheels that work with Garmin 705 GPS units. The move represents an important intersection of a GPS player and a major power meter company. Also, French wheel giant Mavic has joined the growing list of companies like Bontrager and Zipp in selling a PowerTap-hub version of its wheels.
To almost no one's surprise, Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) won the fourth stage time trial at the Tour de Beauce on Friday, and grabbed the overall lead in the process. What did raise eyebrows was the unexpectedly strong showing of Bernardo Cole Tepoz (Tecos Trek UAG), who had held the leader's jersey since winning the opening stage. The 24 year old Colex finished fourth, 58 seconds down on Tuft, and is only seven seconds behind in the general classification.
Bernardo Colex (Tecos Trek UAG) let his rivals know that he wasn't going to give up the Yellow Jersey at the Tour de Beauce without a fight, with an aggressive ride up Mont Megantic to finish second on stage three behind Miguel Martinez (Amore E Vita-McDonalds).
Most riders in the 60th Dauphiné Libéré will tell you they’re more worried about what’s going to happen in July than what’s happening this week in France. Don’t believe it. If Thursday’s attack-riddled 193km, three-climb stage from Vienne to Annemasse was any indication, the next few days are going to be a real dogfight. Cyril Dessel (Ag2r-La Mondiale) claimed an impressive solo victory after attacking over the Cat. 1 Le Salève climb out of a 16-man breakaway that threatened to ride away with the race.
Bernardo Colex (Tecos-Trek UAG) continues to hold the yellow leader's jersey at the Tour de Beauce after Wednesday’s second hilly 166-kilometer stage. Colex’s team did masterful job of controlling the field, with the stage coming down to a bunch sprint won by Yuri Metlushenko (Amore E Vita) ahead of Ciaran Power (Pezula) and Ramos Kleber (Garneau-Crocs). Charles Dionne (Equipe Quebec) was the top North American on the stage, finishing fourth, with Christian Meier (Symmetrics) the top in the overall standings in ninth place, 26 seconds down on Colex.
Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) rode the time trial of his career to beat the likes of Levi Leipheimer and Cadel Evans on a difficult, hilly 31km course Wednesday to win the stage and take control of the 60th Dauphiné Libéré. Valverde, who also won Monday’s first stage in a sprint, revealed impressive time trial credentials on wet roads to beat 2006 Dauphiné champ Leipheimer by 19 seconds and Tour de France runner-up Evans by 20 seconds.
Mexico's Bernardo Colex Tepoz (Tecos Trek UAG) took the biggest win of his career when a mid-race breakaway resulted in a solo victory and the yellow jersey in the opening stage of the 23rd Tour de Beauce on Tuesday. The classic Canadian stage race kicked of with the traditional 165-kilometer Lac Etchemin road race stage, contested on one long loop that encompasses typical Beauce terrain ? lots of climbing and rough roads.
George Hincapie (Team High Road) attacked in the final corner and overhauled Gerolsteiner's Sebastian Lang to win stage 2 of the Dauphiné Libéré on Tuesday. Sylvain Chavanal (Française des Jeux) took second in the 184km stage from Bourg-Saint-Andeol to Vienne, just pipping Lang at the line. After High Road sprinter André Greipel broke a wheel on the run-in to Vienne, Hincapie was given the green light to take his chance and made the most of it, rocketing after the attacking Lang.
Dear Lennard,
I currently have a Shimano compact (50x34) crank set and an Ultegra 12-27 cog. Rather than switching to a triple, can I change to a 12-30 or 12-32?
The 60th Dauphiné Libéré is a race of seconds – literally – at least through the first two days of racing. A day after losing Sunday’s opening prologue by one second, Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) captured the maillot jaune by that same margin over Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) after the Norwegian sprinter earned finish-line time bonuses in Monday’s 194km first stage from Avignon to Privas.
After quietly sitting in for most of the 156-mile race, CSC’s Matti Breschel went boldly to the front of the Philadelphia International Championship when it mattered most — coming across the finish line. The young Danish rider took the sprint win on Benjamin Franklin Parkway ahead of Kirk O’Bee (Health Net-Maxxis) and three-time Philly winner Fred Rodriguez (Rock Racing).
Levi Leipheimer (Astana) ripped to a dramatic victory in Sunday’s opening prologue at the 60th Dauphiné Libéré in a showdown between the Tour de France favorites. Leipheimer -- who won the 2006 Dauphiné – flew over the 5.6km course into Avignon to stop the clock at 6:10 to take a one-second victory to prologue specialist Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole), with Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) stopping the clock third at six seconds off the pace.
High Road’s Chantal Beltman won the Commerce Bank Liberty Classic in a late-race solo move. After Beltman and her High Road teammates Mara Abbott and Kim Anderson went clear with Tibco’s Joanne Kiesanowski on the last of four trips up Manayunk Wall, America’s strongest women’s team played its numbers. With less than three miles to go, Abbott attacked, drawing out Kiesanowski. Beltman then countered and it was game over.
It may have been the Scottish Highlands rather than the Alps, but the Swiss men were right at home in Fort William for the fifth round of the mountain bike cross-country World Cup. Swiss riders swept the top three spots of the podium, led by Florian Vogel (Swisspower). Vogel's teammate, U23 series leader Nino Schurter, came in right behind, with Christoph Sauser (Specialized) nine seconds back.
Marie-Helene Premont (Rocky Mountain), has accomplished the first major goal of her season by winning the fifth round of the mountain bike World Cup in Fort William, Scotland. Premont beat the previous week's winner, Marga Fullana (Massi), by 13 seconds on Saturday, and extended her lead in the overall standings to 60 points. Sabine Spitz (Ghost) finished third, with Lene Byberg (Specialized) and Laurence Leboucher (France) rounding out the podium. Georgia Gould and Catharine Pendrel (both Luna) finished 11th and 12th, respectively.
The third round of the 4-cross mountain bike World Cup got under way Friday under a most un-Scottish sunny sky. Fort William has a seven-year tradition of top-notch racing — however, great weather is not one of the attributes that springs to mind when regulars think of Fort Bill. A steady breeze even kept the biting midge flies away during the race.
Retail:$19.99 Web site:www.pacelineproducts.com Chamois Butt’r Eurostyle is formulated to produce a cooling and soothing effect for cyclists who prefer a traditional European style chamois cream. The cream ingredients include menthol, witch hazel and Brazilian peppertree. It is intended as a non-greasy skin lubricant and a conditioner for synthetic or leather chamois.
Ina-Yoko Teutenberg is making the most of her time in America. In the span of three days, the German High Road rider has won a pair of Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling criteriums, gotten her hair done and purchased new shoes. “Things are cheap here to begin with,” said Teutenberg of her weeklong stay in southeastern Pennsylvania that included a day of shopping on Wednesday. “Throw in the strength of the Euro and it’s even better.”
It’s not that his team’s Redlands Classic victory meant nothing, or that no one was paying attention to its prologue podium sweep at the Tour of Colombia. But clearly Oscar Sevilla’s win at Thursday’s Reading Classic was just a little sweeter for the Spaniard and his Rock Racing squad. Heretofore better known for flashy team kit, outlandish team boss Michael Ball, and a major run-in with the Tour of California organizers, on this day Rock Racing was simply the best team in a field that included four Tour de France-bound squads and all the top U.S.-based outfits.
Weight: 250g Price: $54.99 Colors: white, black, silver, faux carbon The limited edition white Raceblade fender from SKS is intended for fashion conscious road riders. The quick release fenders fit 700 tires from 18 to 23mm and come with an adapter for aero forks. The fenders mount quickly with no tools. Besides the limited edition white color, the fenders are available in black, silver and faux carbon finishes.
Three American track riders are locked and loaded for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and five spots are still up for grabs. Californian Sarah Hammer, Coloradan Taylor Phinney and Washington’s Jennie Reed all own spots for Beijing based on their 2008 results. USA Cycling will hold a talent camp June 15-16 at the ADT Events Center in Carson, California, to decide the final spots for the games.
Sizes:Eight, sloping. Colors: Three Web site: www.colnago.com Available: October 2008. Price: not available The Colnago CX-1 is the first product to come out of the company's Revolution development and design project. The company says the CX-1 was designed for "young racing riders who have asked for an aggressive, ultra-modern frameset. The CX-1 is a high-performance frameset with a dynamic ride that will allow riders to fly up climbs."
Alberto Contador received a hero’s welcome upon his return to Spain on Monday, with politicians toasting him and thousands of fans cheering him upon his arrival in Madrid’s Barajas airport. But before the recently crowned Giro d’Italia winner had a chance to celebrate his unlikely victory, there’s already growing speculation the 2007 Tour de France champ can complete cycling’s “grand tour triple crown” with a run at the Vuelta a España this fall.
Launching what his competitors called a late-race hail Mary, Ukraine’s Yuri Metlushenko scored a razor-thin sprint win in Tuesday’s Lehigh Valley Classic. Aussie Karl Menzies (Health Net-Maxxis) was second by half a tire width at the opening round of the 2008 Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling, with American Brad Huff (Jelly Belly) trailing home in third.
Mix-and-match
Dear Lennard,
At one time I read in your column that you can change Campy 9-speed ergo shifters to 10-speed. Is this true and what are the details?
Guido
Dear Guido,
With the introduction of its top-level Red group last fall, upstart road component manufacturer SRAM took a shot directly across the bow of the industry leader. Shimano’s soon-to-be-released 7900 series Dura-Ace group is clearly a direct response to Red and it adds considerable firepower to the full-on techno' wars raging among the three big component manufacturers.
Magura’s Marta three-model brake line-up is new for 2009. This is the first time the brake has been redesigned since its introduction at Interbike in 2001. While Hayes may have been the first to popularize disc brakes for mountain bikes, Magura’s Marta is responsible for making a high performance hydraulic disc brake light enough for even gram-counting cross-country racers to accept. The fact that it has had a seven-year run, without change, in such a competitive market is a testament to the strength of the original design.
Now Alberto Contador can go back to the beach. After interrupting a vacation a month ago to pack his bags to head to Italy, the defending Tour de France champion secured one of the most unlikely victories in cycling history to claim the 91st Giro d’Italia on Sunday. “It’s never been so worth it to leave a vacation early,” Contador said. “I didn’t know I was coming to the Giro until eight days before the race. This Giro has a special flavor and perhaps means more to me than last year’s Tour.”
Julien Absalon (Orbea) can be beaten. After three rounds of the World Cup, when the world champion looked untouchable, he faltered on Saturday in the high altitude conditions in Andorra, while Christoph Sauser gave Specialized their first World Cup victory of the season.
The second round of the 4X World Cup in Andorra was a bit of a slow speed affair, after rain in the morning undid some of the work the organizers had done to repair the ruts and soft spots from earlier in the week. Despite that, there was some exciting racing on a course that allowed riders to pass multiple times, and saw more than one come from behind win in the qualifying heats.
High Road's Judith Arndt won the Montreal World Cup road race Saturday, the second time in three years she has won the race. Her win pads her lead in the World Cup standings. Arndt attacked on the final climb of the 11-lap circuit with year's winner Fabiana Luperini. Arndt won the two-up sprint to take her second World Cup win this season. “I love coming to Montreal,” Arndt said before the race, “even though I’m always really tired when I get here [after coming straight from Tour de l‘Aude]. It’s a really great race and a great atmosphere.”
Alberto Contador (Astana) is 28.5km from winning a Giro d’Italia he never expected to start. The Spanish climber deflected a flurry of last-gasp attacks from arch-rival Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott) over the Gavia and Mortirolo in Saturday’s 232km mountain shootout to retain the maglia rosa and roll into Sunday’s final-day time trial with the narrowest of margins.
Marga Fullana (Massi) became the fourth World Cup winner in four races this season, with a completely dominating performance Saturday at VallNord in Andorra. Another breakthrough for Pendrel Canada's Marie-Helene Premont (Rocky Mountain) finished third behind Eva Lechner (Colnago), but added to her lead in the overall standings. Catharine Pendrel (Luna) put a second Canadian rider on the podium with her best ever World Cup result in fourth place.
Steven Cisar led the United States Cycling Team on Saturday with a silver medal in the elite men's contest at the 2008 UCI BMX World Championships in China. As one of two Americans to qualify for the final eight-man main, the Californian finished 0.384 seconds off the pace of winner Maris Strombergs (LAT), while Stifiso Nhlapo (RUS) took the bronze and American Donny Robinson (Napa, California) placed fourth.