Road Racing

First off, a while back in (almost) sunny Southern California for Christmas, I managed to pull Shimano PR guy Jasen Thorpe out of his cubicle for a morning of off-road riding and tech chit-chat. Thorpe came to the famed Aliso Viejo riding trails armed with one of his truly fish-out-of-water bicycle creations–a one-size-too-small GT Ruckus hardtail fully equipped with 2005 Shimano Hone components. “It is too early in the year to start riding fast, so I’d rather stick to my hucking bike for general trail riding,” Thorpe offered. Oddball or not, the point of the Ruckus was to show off

Belgian Sven Vanthourenhout (Rabobank) won the eighth round of the UCI’s cyclo-cross World Cup on Sunday, beating his compatriots Sven Nijs and Erwin Vervecken in Aigle, Switzerland. Vanthourenhout scored the win on a 2.6km course that encircled the World Cycling Center, the headquarters of the Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling’s world governing body. Ben Berden and Italian Enrico Franzoi finished respectively in fourth and fifth places. It was those five riders who dominated throughout most of the race, staying together in a lead group until the penultimate lap when Nijs and

Where is that table?Dear Lennard,Where can I find the torque charts that the latest issue of VeloNewssaid were on the Web site?CharlesDear Charles,Hereyou go!LennardAsking SantaDear Lennard,I'm suggesting an inch pounds torque wrench from Santa for Christmasand I'm a little confused on which to put on my list. The one I want isa 1/4" twist knob type US, but they have a few options on the increments.Should I go with a 40-200 or 10-50? I'm most doing all the stuff onmy road and mountain bike, stems, cranks bolts etc.PaulDear Paul,Sorry if my answer is too late for Santa, but click on the torque

Dear readers,I have gotten so many questions on fork rake and front-end geometryfrom my Nov. 23 posting that I realized the need to fully address thissubject again. I have written about this before, both here and in the magazine,but there obviously remains a bit of confusion out there about the subject.Consequently, I have posted a number of the recent questions I have receivedabout it as well as the “block” I wrote on the subject from my most recentbook, Zinn’sCycling Primer. I hope it clarifies some handling questions for a lot of you out there.Merry Christmas,Lennard Dear Lennard,I'm

More tire talkDear Lennard,I really enjoyed your recent wet-road tire discussion with Tom Petrie and Alberto De Gioannini. Just the topic I was looking for, but I'm still a little confused. I thought the cord compound made a big difference and it wasn't mentioned at all. I recall racing in the rain in a crit next to a friend who was running cotton-cord sew up tires as opposed to my silks. While we'd been comparable in bike handling otherwise, I found myself nearly sideways in corners while hewent around like on a rail. We'd pumped our tires to comparable pressures.I'm taking a group over for

Indoor track cycling, which was one of America’s most popular sports until World War II, is starting to rediscover its roots at the ADT Event Center in Carson, California. On Saturday, the second night of the three-day UCI track World Cup saw a near-capacity crowd entertained by a variety of world-class performances. And the new fans were on their feet at the end of the evening, cheering all the riders in the men’s 30km points race in which Colorado’s Colby Pearce almost pulled off a stunning victory against Russia’s immaculate Mikhael Ignatiev. After both men had gained three laps on the

Theo Bos closed the Los Angeles round of the 2004-05 UCI World Cup the way he started it, with an outstanding win, to lead the Netherlands to a convincing overall victory. After setting an astounding personal-best kilometer TT time of 1:01.768 on Friday night, Bos anchored his Dutch team to a winning 45.163 seconds for the three-lap, 750-meter team sprint on Sunday afternoon. Bos did not compete in the sprint, the discipline in which he is the current world champion, although he will defend his title on this same track in March; he will also do the kilometer and team sprint. “Today we did

There were only a couple of hundred people left in the ADT Event Center when Dutchman Theo Bos, the world sprint champion, burst out of the starting gate in the men’s kilometer time trial. It was the last event of Friday night on the first day of the Los Angeles round of the UCI track World Cup. On the other side of the track was Jason Queally of Great Britain, the 2000 Olympic kilo champion, who was using this ride on the newest American indoor velodrome as a nice try-out before the world championships at this venue in March. Bos is notorious for his bad starts in the kilo, but this time

Australian sprinter Ryan Bayley, who won the sprint and keirin gold medals at the Athens Olympics in August, and the women’s 500-meter TT champion Anna Meares star in the three-day UCI World Cup track classic this weekend in Los Angeles. This will be a dress rehearsal at the ADT Event Center indoor velodrome in Carson for the full-blown UCI track world’s next March. The three-day track meet on the 250-meter Schurmann-designed wood track with its 45-degree bankings should provide a feast of racing from most of the nations that will race at the world’s. Qualifying round take place Friday and

You simply can’t get away from it. Obviously, bicycles for commuting purposes rule the earth when compared to their internal combustion engine bastard off-shoots, but who would have imagined running into a pack of dedicated mountain bike racers in the middle of nowhere? With the racing season on winter hiatus, and activity here at VeloNews a bit slower than in the heavy season, I felt it the perfect time to grab a bit of vacation time a couple of weeks ago and head south across the Mexican border aboard my motorcycle (yeah, yeah... I said motorcycle. Deal with it). My original route

Need a long-valve tubie? Try VittoriaDear Lennard,I have been looking around and have been unable to find a long-stem tubular tire. Almost all the tire websites don't even mention the stem length. I thought for sure with the popularity of deep carbon rims there would be at least one company that offered a model with a long valve stem. Thanks for any help.Brian Dear Brian,My tire-aficionado friend Tom Petrie assures me that at least Vittoria offers tubular tires with 51mm long valves with a removable valve core as well as 42mm-length valves without a removable valve core. Vittoria also offers

What happened to Clement red glue?Dear Lennard,I have been riding tubulars my whole life, and I have always liked the Clement red glue. Now I cannot find it anymore. Do you know of a source? Also, I have been using the Tufo tubulars with good luck. I just don’t understand how they measure the number of threads per inch in the casing. They claim 420, yet Vittoria says their 290tpi is the highest density on the market. Any observations?Mark Dear Mark,I, too, loved that glue and have missed it. When Clement went bankrupt and was acquired by Pirelli, I think that the Clement red glue might have

Look Cycle, a member of the pro peloton since 1983 and always an innovator, has introduced a host of high-end products for the new season. In keeping with the company’s design tradition, the French manufacturer’s new pedals, frames and forks are extremely light and purposeful to meet the demands of pros who depend on their equipment to make a living. Look’s carbon fiber technology is particularly advanced. The company was among the first to deliver carbon steerer tubes on forks, and has now produced a fork entirely in carbon fiber, including the dropouts. Look has also introduced a new

Rake, trail and the difference between the twoDear Lennard,In your November9 Technical Q&A you said that a 44/45mm rake would steer less quicklyand be more stable than a 47mm rake. Is that a typo? I thought shorterrake would tighten up the wheelbase and make the head tube angle feel steeper--yieldingquicker handling and a more "twitchy" feeling bicycle.Jeremiah Dear Jeremiah,Sorry, but the statement is correct and your interpretation about forkrake’s effect is wrong. Indeed, a steeper head angle does make the bikehandle more quickly (reduces fork trail), yes. However, a reduced forkrake

Rob Vandermark has always had a knack for turning the impossible into the desirable. As the head designer for Merlin Metalworks, back when Merlin was a struggling independent, he figured out how to create externally butted, seamless titanium tubing. The result was the Merlin Extralight, which for many years reigned as a benchmark in the road bike stratosphere. He also created the Merlin Newsboy, a bona fide mountain bike disguised as the most stylish of cruisers. Easy to do, you say, if you have all the money in the world to work with. So at the opposite end of the price scale, he delivered

I just returned to a very chilly Boulder, Colorado, after spending a few days in the warm sun of Santa Barbara, California, where Giant Bicycles arranged to show off its 2005 product line. While the majority of major manufacturers already paraded their 2005 wares this past summer, Giant was forced to wait until the Interbike tradeshow because its new Maestro suspension mountain bikes weren’t quite ready until then. Indeed, even the bikes that Giant brought to Interbike’s Outdoor Demo were not 100-percent ready, so I was eager to try out the actual production road and mountain models that

Time Sport International, founded in 1986, is a comparatively young company, but it has been at the forefront of the pro racing scene ever since the debut of its revolutionary TBT pedal in late 1987. The TBT was the first modern clipless pedal to allow rotational float, a common feature on high-end pedals today but one that was unheard of at the time. Despite the system’s unusual approach, the TBT was an immediate success, garnering victories in the men’s and women’s Tour de France in 1988 with Pedro Delgado and Jeannie Longo. Shortly thereafter, Time developed a clipless mountain-bike

Losing my gripDear Lennard,I am having a problem with the removal of the drive-side bottom bracketcup. It is a Shimano UN 72 and it has been removed so many times that thesplines are now gone. The bottom bracket itself works fine and I can leaveit in, but eventually it will need to be replaced. The splines are so rounded off that when pressure is applied in an attemptto remove the cup, the bottom bracket tool spins and further chews up thesplines. I am turning the tool clockwise for removal.Jeff Dear Jeff,The first thing to try would be to get your hands on a Tacx BB cupremover, since it

After two years with Mario Cipollini’s Domina Vacanze team, Specialized Bicycles announced that it was switching its sponsorship to Germany’s Gerolsteiner squad for 2005, in part because the team has added American Levi Leipheimer to its roster. Specialized also announced an expansion of its domestic sponsorship role next year, adding its support to the men’s side of USA Cycling’s under-23 development program. Specialized will supply bikes and equipment for road, mountain, cyclo-cross and track to the U-23 team. We chatted with Mike Sinyard, Specialized’s president and founder, about his

The Crank Brothers Cobalt crank was one of the big hits of this year’s Interbike trade show in Las Vegas, largely due to its unexpected and unconventional design. Eschewing carbon, the Cobalt is a composite of a different kind: an aluminum base bonded to a stainless steel cover. Like all Crank Brothers products, the Cobalt combines a striking industrial aesthetic with hardcore cycling functionality. Andrew Herrick, who serves as Crank’s marketing guy (though not officially; the company does not use job titles) gave us the lowdown on how this unusual product was created. VeloNews: When did

Questions of rakeDear Lennard,I have a 1994 Trek 5200 54 cm. I want to raise up my handlebarheight for comfort reasons. I figure I need to raise it 2 cm.I thought about the Serotta head tube extender. It's titanium, pressedin and adds 2 cm. I would have to buy a new fork. The literaturefor that model year states a 47mm fork rake.I think I could accomplish two things - more comfort and better ride- with the right fork. From a safety standpoint, is this a good idea?If so which fork? Since less rake equals more trai that would make it morestable with same head angle, right? Would a 44 mm rake

Andy Ording, President of Zipp Speed Weaponry, is determined to maintain his company’s lead in lightweight composite technology, and he’s also committed to making his products in the United States. With the miniscule margins most bike companies have to work with, that’s not an easy task, especially considering that most of Ording’s competitors source their products in China, where labor and materials costs are but a fraction of Zipp’s. Moreover, in Ording’s quest to create the lightest, most advanced wheels and components possible, he does not shy away from expensive solutions. The new

While a record number of you turned out to vote on Tuesday, it’s only the VeloNews editorial staff that for better or for worse has a say in our upcoming 2004 Awards issue. While the crew is hard at work arguing over who might be named the Masters Road Racer of the Year, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the award that matters most to me: the Technical Development of the Year. A number of candidates have crossed my mind, but unfortunately the one idea that sticks out most prominently is not a component, frame or wheelset. Instead, the most notable impact has been made by a technology

If proof were needed that the dollars you spend on racing sponsorship come right back to your bottom line, Trek Bicycle Corporation’s investment in the U.S. Postal Team and Lance Armstrong would be the only spreadsheet you’d need to see. Although the company’s longstanding domestic team programs made Trek a top brand among cycling fans many years ago, it was Postal power that put Trek on the map for a much wider base of casual riders. Today, Trek is a familiar name in millions of households worldwide, and the Trek brand has become the most valuable franchise in cycling. Of course, Lance

Ever since its days as a stop on the Super Cup circuit, the Gloucester, Massachusetts, cyclo-cross race has been lovingly referred to as “New England Nationals.” The implication, that every rider worth his or her salt makes an annual October pilgrimage to the seaside Gloucester course, seemed borne out by the inclusion of back-to-back Gloucester races in this year’s Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclo-cross.

Interbike may have ended for the rest of the bicycle industry three weeks ago, but for us here at VeloNews, the annual trade show wasn’t over until Tuesday, when we wrapped up 13 pages of coverage. We visited nearly a hundred companies at this year’s show, and it was very difficult to decide what to include in the magazine. Still, somehow, we managed. Even so, we had to trim a few items right at the very end, and so we’re telling you about them here. Don’t think of these reports from me, Lennard Zinn and Chris Milliman as “leftovers,” but rather as “first looks.” Gore Bike WearIt was 92

Fortunately for New England sports fans, they have last week’s Red Sox World Series win to look back on with a smile, because out-of-towners dominated today’s third round of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclo-cross in Gloucester, Massachusetts. In front of a huge, partisan New England crowd, Canadian Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) claimed his biggest ‘cross won to date, while Seattle’s Anna Knapp (Kona) took a win in one of the few ’cross events where victory had eluded her.

Cane Creek has a long history in bicycle suspension, starting with its role in manufacturing the original Rock Shox forks. The company went on to develop some of the lightest air shocks available, perfecting a novel Delrin seal technology and speed-sensitive valving that lives on in CC’s current Cloud Nine and AD air-sprung and air-damped shocks. But the big news this year is Cane Creek’s partnership with Swedish suspension-maker Öhlins Racing AB, a company that dominates the field in high-end motorsports suspension. Starting with its first 250cc motocross victory in 1978, (only two years

Today’s report will be a short one, describing a few final items from this year’s Interbike trade show that you might not hear about any other way. Spiuk-KuipsKuips is a Basque Country bicycle brand being imported into the USA by DPM Sports. Joanne Somarriba, multiple winner of the women’s Tour de France and the 2003 world time trial champion, races on Kuips road bikes; Spain’s professional cyclo-cross champ rides a Kuips, too. The pictured frame is the top cyclo-cross model. The company has a full line of accessories and clothing under the Spiuk name. Altogether, it is an extensive and

We are just putting the finishing touches on VeloNews magazine coverage of the 2004 Interbike Expo, and I found myself thinking about all the companies and product we didn’t see while out in Las Vegas. Here we are providing plenty of ink to the Treks and Specializeds of the bicycle world, but what about the little guy who couldn’t or wouldn’t cough-up the dough (let alone take a week of vacation from their “real” job) to set-up a booth at the Sands Convention Center? Certainly there are hundreds of creative minds out there producing quality products that just didn’t make it to Las

After a long period of hit-or-miss availability in the United States, Guerciotti bikes returned to Interbike this year with a new importer, Torelli, and a new commitment to widespread distribution and support. Paolo Guerciotti’s bikes gained fame among American riders in the 1980s as part of a wave of high-end Italian imports that raised the expectations for what a great road bike could be. Guerciotti’s cyclo-cross models were especially sought after, thoroughbreds in a field of balky, unwieldy CX beasts. Today, the Guerciotti family — Paolo, his son Alessandro and daughter Micaela — still

As I sit down to write about Interbike for VeloNews, it seems a shame not to show you some of the things that there probably will not be room for in the print magazine. So here we go…. SDGSDG has forged ahead with its I-Beam saddle, which eschews the normal saddle rails for a longitudinal beam molded into the saddle shell. SDG also is offering new super-light carbon-fiber seat posts that grip the beam. Since a saddle is normally a suspension item, like a hammock suspended between two rails, it seems that a saddle with a single, unyielding center rail might be a little hard on the crotch. But

Damiano Cunego ended his dream season much like he started it: attacking with panache and winning. The 23-year-old Saeco rider barnstormed through the 2004 Italian racing calendar, racking up 12 wins in one-day races, short stage races and the granddaddy of Italian racing, the overall title at the Giro d’Italia. And Cunego had one more surprise to cap his breakout year. Following disappointment in the road world championships two weeks ago in his hometown, Cunego couldn’t be beat in the Giro di Lombardia on Saturday. Cunego outsprinted Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) and compatriot Ivan Basso

I am still settling back in from last week’s non-stop insanity - otherwise known as the 2004 Interbike International Bicycle Expo in Las Vegas. Sleep deprived, fighting a cold, I am only today regaining an ability to see in full color. But enough whining… I thought I would share a few notes I gathered while attending all five days Interbike. After two days at Outdoor Demo and three days in the Sands Convention Center, I knew what the standard question would be: “So what was cool this year?” I would usually find myself responding with something like, “well, it’s not like it used to be in

Flying Dutchman Erik Dekker measured his efforts just right to pull off a stunning victory in Sunday’s Paris-Tours. The 34-year-old Rabobank veteran was off the front all day as part of a five-man breakaway across the Loire Valley in France. When his fellow escapees dissolved under pressure from the fast-charging peloton, Dekker hitched a ride with a counter-attack late in the 252.5km race. Dekker sprinted hard with 500 yards to go to hold off the peloton and notch his first major victory since his injury-plagued 2002 season. “In the end, everybody was chasing me thinking I was tired,

Days of life under bright fluorescent lighting, breathing air-conditioned air and listening to the thump, thump, thump of “tunes” emerging from the BMX section of the showroom floor is enough to put even the cheeriest bike geek in a foul mood. And, were the Interbike International Bicycle Expo anything else, say, a convention of ladder salesmen or mobile home dealers, we’d have lost it by now. But the great thing about the country’s largest bicycle industry trade show at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas is that it’s all about bikes and that part can make the lights, the air and the

Day two of the 2004 Interbike Exposition kicked-off with hundreds of enthusiastic retailers packing shuttle busses and heading 35 miles out of Las Vegas for another day of road, mountain and ‘cross bike test rides in the Nevada desert. With attendance numbers nearing and possibly surpassing last year’s numbers at the increasingly popular Outdoor Demo, manufacturers were kept busy setting up rides on Bootleg Canyon’s miles of tricky singletrack and twisty paved roads. Here’s a look at what made news today. Giant NewsOne thing is standard at Interbike, no matter what the year. It’s the

The doors of the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas opened up Tuesday morning to the usual swarm of retailers looking for stock, manufacturers looking for customers and bike racers looking for contracts. (We won’t mention the usual gang looking for swag.) Two steps into the hall, many were surprised to spot Tyler Hamilton already cruising the aisles, greeting sponsors, working the crowd and signing autographs. The American Olympic gold medalist decided that even after his positive blood test at the Vuelta a España that he would be attending the trade show. "People say you're crazy to go

The first of two days of the Interbike Outdoor Demo kicked off on Monday, October 4 without a hitch. This was the second year at the Bootleg Canyon venue above Boulder City, NV and overlooking Lake Mead. The trail system is extensive and challenging and keeps growing, unlike the previous location, which was threatened by development and would continue shrinking until it disappeared. This year, in addition to cross-country trails, downhill trails, a BMX loop, and various large man-made jumps of different sizes, there is a cyclo-cross trail with obstacles to mimic a European ‘cross course

How satisfying it must feel to be Oscar Freire when the days grow shorter and the leaves begin to turn. There’s something extra gratifying about winning the last big event of the year, when instead of just getting back to work in the following weeks, you can enjoy the success in the quiet off-season. Winning the world championships is cycling’s version of a walk-off homer, the buzzer beating swish. And no one in today’s pro ranks does it better than Freire, a Spaniard who put his name alongside cycling legends Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx by winning his third world road

The plan of attack has been formulated. Reinforcements put on notice. Theweaponry checked twice. Notebooks and pens held at the ready… Yup, Interbike kicks-off next week (October 4th-8th) and the crack staffat VeloNews are ready and waiting… With two days of On Dirt Demo and three days of convention floor timescheduled for this year, look for daily reports from several of us attendingthe show. Indeed, with more than half of the editorial staff attendingthe Las Vegas, Nevada trade show, you can be sure we’ll do our best tohave every angle of the show covered: from the latest technology to

This is show season, and between traveling a lot and writing the fourth edition of “Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance” (due this week) as well as building a few bikes, I have had my hands full. Although I have received your questions, I am filing them away for now in favor of answering the questions people have been asking about new products at the shows. This, combined with my article in the print version of VeloNews, will conclude my coverage of the 62nd annual Milan bike show, held this year September 17-20. Next Monday, it’s off to a week at Interbike! Among all of the cool

There was never really any doubt about the outcome of the 2004 Vuelta a España. At least not in the mind of Roberto Heras, who had a 43-second head-start going into Sunday’s 28.2km final time trial through the mean streets of Madrid. Heras forfeited 13 seconds to the surging Santi Pérez (Phonak) but rode with calculated confidence to claim his record-tying third Vuelta crown in five years. He won the 2000 Vuelta as a member of the Kelme squad, joined U.S. Postal and then lost the 2002 Vuelta in the final time trial to Aitor Gonzalez, came back and won as a Postal rider in 2003 and then

The Vuelta a España is coming down to the final time trial once again. Saturday’s 178km 20th stage was the last chance for anyone to attack race leader Roberto Heras going into Sunday’s finale and Santi Pérez rose to the occasion on the steep road to Puerto de Navacerrada. The rail-thin Phonak rider started the Vuelta’s penultimate stage second at 1:13 back, but he trimmed Heras’s lead by 30 seconds after putting down a vicious acceleration with 2km to go that the defending champion couldn’t answer. Pérez couldn’t win his third stage of this Vuelta – his Phonak teammate Enrique Gutiérrez

Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) remains on track to win his third Vuelta title in five years with just two days remaining in the 59th Vuelta a España. Heras and the other favorites decided to save their energy for the exciting two-day finale and played the role of kingmakers. The main bunch only watched as such riders as Damiano Cunego (Saeco) and Stefano Garzelli (Vini Caldirola) peeled away early in the stage to fight for leftovers. It was Constantino Zaballa (Saunier Duval) who fought the hardest and won a well-deserved solo victory, holding off pursuers on the final run into Collado

The Bermuda Grand Prix kicked off Thursday evening in downtown Hamilton. Cruise ships sat stoically near the start-finish as racers sped down the main strip and tourists cheered from the balconies of bars and restaurants lining the course. While the island has a distinctly laid-back vibe, the race did not. With a steep climb, a 180-degree turn, and thousands of dollars in primes on the line, the course took a toll on both the men and women's fields. In the 30-minute elite women's race, Webcor, Quark, Genesis and Rona all took turns attacking the front, eventually splitting the field into a

The road to Madrid is always bumpy in the Vuelta a España. A day after Wednesday’s decisive stage to La Covatilla, Thursday’s four-climb 196.6km stage from Béjar to Avila was perfect for a breakaway. In fact, one stayed away with journeyman Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Valenciana-Kelme) hanging on for his team's fourth win of this Vuelta. But there was certainly no cease-fire among the favorites. While Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) was able to hold his 1:13 lead over Santi Pérez (Phonak), several challengers went on the attack on yet another blistering hot day. Fourth-place Francisco Mancebo

The hometown roads of La Covatilla high above his childhood home of Béjar were good to Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) in Wednesday’s four-climb 17th stage -- but perhaps not good enough. Heras gained valuable time on archrival Alejandro Valverde (Valenciana-Kelme) – 2 minutes, 10 seconds to be exact – but the verdict is still out on whether it will be enough for Heras to win his third Vuelta a España in five years. Even Heras cautioned that he’d like to have more time going into Sunday’s final time trial. “Today we made a big step toward my team and myself winning the Vuelta, but there

Valenciana-Kelme might be Spanish cycling’s red-headed step-child, but it’s taking the Vuelta a España by the throat once again. Despite getting recent setbacks that include doping allegations from ex-rider Jesus Manzano, struggles with its budget, the migration of major stars and the likely exclusion from cycling’s new super-league to debut in 2005, Kelme just keeps on truckin’. On a day that saw the news of a possible doping ban for Olympic time trial champion Tyler Hamilton overshadow the stage, little Kelme stepped up one more time. (See "Hamiltonblood tests show

Coming a week before the 2004 world road championships in nearby Verona, the 62nd annual Milan bike show, September 17-20, marked the beginning of the 2005 selling season for road bikes and products in Italy. In a season that’s packed with international trade shows, Milan 2004 set itself apart with a focus on improving the climate for cycling in Italy and worldwide. Maurizio Fondriest, one of several former world champions from Italy who showed up to speak about the future of cycling in Italy, stressed the need for better bike paths. The 1988 world champion, who hails from Cles in the

Ever since the Vuelta a España started, two-time champion Roberto Heras has been playing the cautious hand. The quiet, reticent Spaniard is hardly known for his flamboyant manner, and perhaps his bitter memories of losing the 2002 Vuelta on the final day was another reason for his prudence. Days after snagging the maillot oro at Calar Alto, the Liberty Seguros captain insisted the Vuelta was still wide open and he was wary about playing the confident patrón. It was obvious Heras knew more than the overzealous Spanish press, which had all but crowned him winner of the 59th edition – because

Phonak came to the Vuelta a España hoping for big things from Tyler Hamilton and Oscar Sevilla. With Hamilton gone and Sevilla struggling, the Swiss team has been more than happy to watch Santiago Perez step into the void. On Thursday’s etapa reina, the three-climb monster that saw Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) claw his way into the overall lead, Perez finished an impressive second behind the two-time Vuelta champion. The result was a jolt of positive energy for the 27-year-old Spanish rider, who has had his share of hard knocks the past few years. “I was able to stay with the strongest

Alessandro Petacchi sped into Málaga Friday, outsprinting Erik Zabel, and offering up his traditional victory salute, this time raising four fingers – the number of stages he’s won thus far in this year’s Vuelta a España You’d think some days he’d lose count. The win is the 21st of the year for Fassa Bortolo’s sprint ace, the 13th in a major tour this season, joining the nine he won at this year’s Giro d’Italia. Indeed, Petacchi’s only disappointment this year is that he failed to score a single victory in this year’s Tour de France, after he tore a ligament in his shoulder in a

Roberto Heras insisted that a win on the slopes of Calar Alto wasn’t in his game plan for Thursday. The defending Vuelta a España champion said after winning the 145km 12th stage from Almería to the Observatory complex at Calar Alto that he had simply hoped to “put a little time on some of my main rivals.” Whatever his game plan, the Liberty Seguros team captain found himself putting time on all of his rivals, including Kelme’s Alejandro Valverde and the man who began the day in the leader’s jersey, Floyd Landis of U.S. Postal. Landis finished 3:06 off Heras’s winning time, ending the

It’s as predictable as the swallows to Capistrano: Big tour, flat stage, early break, heart-breaking capture and a field sprint. It happens so often that one begins to wonder, why bother? But every now and then one of those early gambles pays off. This time it was U.S. Postal’s David Zabriskie who hit the jackpot in the 11th stage of the Vuelta a España with an exhausting 161km solo ride to the finish. The win added another to the team’s laurels this Vuelta, as team leader Floyd Landis stayed in the maillot de oro for another day, keeping the jersey in Postal hands, where it’s been since

It almost had to be. Not only had Kelme’s Eladio Jimenez won when the 2000 Vuelta finished here at Xorret de Catí, he had done so while working for his then Banesto team leader, the late Jose Maria Jimenez, who won the stage in 1998. On Monday, after winning the tenth stage of the 2004 Vuelta a España, Eladio Jiminez took his laurels from none other than the great 1960s climbing sensation Julio Jimenez. Are we beginning to see a pattern here? Unlike his win in 2000 – a battle of top climbers – Jimenez’s win this time around came at the end of a long, long, break that began in the first

A California teen-ager is America's newest national sprint champion as the USCF Elite Track National Championships concluded this weekend at the Superdrome in Frisco, Texas. Eighteen-year-old Michael Blatchford of Cypress, California, began his season by setting records in the 200-meter qualifying rounds at the Pan Am Championships and went on to become the junior national match-sprint champion and the silver medalist in the sprint at the junior world championships. On Friday, he added an elite-level national title to his collection, beating 2004 Olympian Giddeon Massie (Lansdale,

Well, they said the Vuelta a España would open up when it hit the hills. It was, after all, in the script. Sunday’s 162km ride from Xátiva to the beyond-category mountaintop finish at Alto de Aitana was put there for a reason, and, simply put, that reason was to shake up the general classification in a way that no stage in this race has thus far managed to do. And it should come as no surprise that it was defending champion Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) who did much of the shaking. While he may have finished four seconds in arrears of the day’s winner, Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval),

British national champion Nicole Cooke (Safi Pasta-Zara Manhattan) broke away on the final climb up San Francisco's steep Taylor Street to win the T-Mobile International on Sunday. It was the second consecutive win here for the 21-year-old Cooke, who soloed in for the victory ahead of the charging field in the 51.6-mile race, which started and finished on the Embarcadero, near San Francisco's famous Ferry Building. After Quark’s Manon Jutras spent a lap away with a maximum lead of 50 seconds, the French Canadian was brought back with two laps remaining. T-Mobile’s Dede Barry then

You might think a weekend that included a broken arm for Anne-Caroline Chausson, a DNF for Miguel Martinez and no podiums for Cédric Gracia would be considered a disaster for French mountain biking. And you might think it was even worse when you added in the fact that this was the weekend of the world mountain bike championships — and the event was being held in France. But clearly a new era has dawned for the country that puts on the world’s biggest cycling show each summer. And while the French may continue to search for new stars at their grand tour in July, their fat-tire ranks are thick

The third time was not a charm for Jason McCartney, who was off the front alone and apparently bound for victory in the final miles of the T-Mobile International in San Francisco Sunday. His Health Net-Maxxis team had put five riders - McCartney, Danny Pate, Mike Sayers, John Lieswyn and Mike Jones - into an early 15-man break in the hilly 108.4-mile race, the finale of the 2004 Pro Cycling Tour. With nine 8.8-mile laps and five five-mile laps, the course dished up a total of 23 trips up the steep Fillmore and Taylor Street climbs, peaking at gradients of over 20 percent. Also in the break

Maybe it was the Olympic rings on the shoulders of his skinsuit. Perhaps it’s that the guy just thrives when he’s in pain. Whatever the reason, Phonak’s Tyler Hamilton had a near-perfect time trial Saturday, becoming the first American to win a stage in each of the world’s major tours. Hamilton, fresh from taking the Olympic gold medal in the individual time trial in Athens, vaulted up the Vuelta’s general classification Saturday, winning the seventh stage of Vuelta a España, a flat 40.1km time trial around the massive Ford Motor factory in Almussafes. The performance moved him from 10th in

If he’s there, he wins. Alessandro Petacchi may have missed the cut on a relatively tough day of climbing Wednesday, but he sure made up for it Thursday, scoring his third victory of this edition of the Vuelta a España. “I know this finish, it seemed almost perfect for me,” the Fassa Bortolo sprinter said. “I asked my team to do what they could for me and they came through and they did so on what has to be the best run to the finish at this Vuelta . . . at least as far as the sprinters are concerned.” It was one surely designed with riders like Petacchi in mind: a wide, nearly

With its rich tradition of great road racers, you’d think the Germans would have had a few breakthroughs in cross-country racing, too. But the fact is no German man has won so much as a World Cup during the last decade, and their record in world championships is even worse: 0-for-all time. The same goes for Great Britain. The last time a U.K. rider won a cross-country World Cup (Gary Foord in 1994), Ned Overend was still a mainstay on the circuit. Outside of the junior ranks, "God Save the Queen" has never been sung at the world championships. But all that began to change on Friday in Les

Becky Conzelman continued her winning ways during the USCF Elite Track Nationals on Thursday, adding a victory in the 500 meter time trial to her gold medal in the previous day's sprint finals. The Pennsylvania native turned a 36.272 at the Superdrome in Frisco, Texas, to best silver medalist Annette Hanson (Kirkland, Washington) and bronze medalist Miranda Moon (Beaverton, Oregon). In the 200 meter time trial, 18-year-old Michael Blatchford, a resident at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, turned a 10.719 to win gold over 2004 Olympians Giddeon Massie (Lansdale,

For the bulk of Thursday morning Nathalie Schneitter was just trying to salvage something out of nothing. The Swiss rider crashed hard during the start lap of the junior women’s cross-country race in Les Gets, France, leaving her 30th in the 36-rider field. But give Schneitter credit for not mailing it in. Backed by some serious descending skills, and bolstered by an untimely mechanical for Czech rider Tereza Hurikova, the 17-year-old Schneitter clawed her way back to the front, winning the first individual title at the 2004 world mountain bike championships. “When I crash I thought my race

Another day, another jersey. Ever since Saturday's opening team time trial the U.S. Postal team has been in what team director Johan Bruyneel describes as "a very comfortable position." "The time trial gave us the lead and we really don't feel like we need to protect it," Bruyneel told VeloNews before the start of Thursday's 157km stage from Benicarló to Castellón de la Plana. "We're here to see what happens, but there really is no pressure on any of us." Pressure or not, the Posties again succeeded in keeping one of their own in the leader's jersey when a group of nearly 80 riders charged

Three national champions were crowned Wednesday during the USCF Elite Track National Championships at the Superdrome in Frisco, Texas. Nerac.com – Colby Pearce of Boulder, Colorado, Jame Carney of Durango, Colorado, Robert Lea of Taneytown, Maryland, and Guillaume Nelessen of Bellemead, New Jersey – turned a 4:31.9 to win the team pursuit. Team Veloworx – Douglas Beck of Maynard, Ohio, Curtis Gunn of Tucson, Arizona, Julian Cushing of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Kenneth Williams of Kirkland, Washington – raced to the silver in 4:36.4. The bronze went to Cody Racing – Marcus Black,

It was all a matter of timing, and Denis Menchov knew he had timed it right when he looked over his shoulder near the finish line of the fifth stage of the Vuelta a España on Wednesday and saw that Alejandro Valverde wasn't with him. Menchov (Illes Balears-Banesto), was not in the minority at the start in Zaragoza when he pegged the Kelme rider as the day's favorite. "This course suits a rider like Valverde," Menchov said of the 186km haul to Morella. It wasn't the wind-blown flats that opened up the stage, or the seemingly endless run of tough, but un-rated, climbs that peaked out with

If depth is the true measure of a country’s cycling strength, then Canada certainly deserves the nod as one of the world’s best. Despite fielding a team that included just one world’s team relay veteran, the Canadians powered to a 24-second win over Switzerland in the opening event of the 2004 world mountain bike championships at Les Gets, France on Wednesday. It was the third relay victory in four years for Canada, which also took the world’s title at Vail in 2001 and Kaprun in 2002. “We know we have good depth,” said Geoff Kabush, who rode the opening leg of the four-lap race, giving

Dear Lennard,I just installed a new Wippermann 10-spd chain on an otherwise Campy Record group. All the components are one year old. I'm trying to eliminate an annoying "tinging" that I'm getting when climbing hard out of the saddle or sprinting. No success with the "tinging" but I introduced a new problem ... the new chain jumps and skips and won't stay engaged in the larger cogs. Have I worn out the rear cogs? I'm now thinking that the "tinging" noise may be coming from the engagement of the chain with the chainrings (30-42-52 ); the old Campy chain engages the rear cogset okay, but perhaps

Juan Jose Haedo of Colavita Olive Oil took the overall title at the World Children's Cycling Classic in Georgia over Labor Day weekend, while U.S. Postal Service's George Hincapie won the weekend's final event, the U.S. 100K road race in Marietta.

Bobby Lea (T.E.A.M. Fuji) and Annette Hanson (Team Rubicon) won national individual-pursuit titles on Tuesday during the USCF Elite Track National Championships at the Superdrome in Frisco, Texas. Defending champ Lea, of Taneytown, Maryland, and Hanson, of Kirkland, Washington, each posted the fastest times in the morning’s qualification rounds. Lea went on to beat Kenny Williams (First Rate Mortgage) of Kirkland in the evening’s finals. Tucson’s Curtis Gunn (Veloworx Racing) won the bronze from Boulder’s Colby Pearce (TIAA-CREF-5280). In the women’s pursuit, Hanson defeated North

Winds were the star of the fourth stage of the 59th Vuelta a España, all but smothering the action in the 167.5km stage from Soria to Zaragoza. Heavy cross- and headwinds made escape all but impossible. Several tried in vain, but the stage finally came down a mass sprint with Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) taking his second win in three days. And the day wasn’t without mishaps. Several riders hit the deck, including Olympic time trial champion Tyler Hamilton (Phonak), who crossed the line with a bloodied right knee and hip. Zaragoza equals wind Wind is always a protagonist in

There’s never a dull moment in the Vuelta a España. Well, not if you slept through the first 100km of Monday’s soggy 157.1km third stage from Burgos to Soria. For the first half of the stage it seemed the peloton was on siesta as a four-man breakaway that included U.S. Postal Service foot soldier Benoit Joachim chalked up a lead of nearly 10 minutes. But the bunch awakened from its slumber when it got a sniff of the finish line and the lead quickly dwindled against headwinds and heavy pressure from T-Mobile, Valenciana-Kelme and Cofidis – but not before Joachim gobbled up all three

Following Saturday’s team time trial to kick start the 59th Vuelta a España, the peloton hit the road Sunday with the 207km second stage, the longest of the three-week romp across Spain. With a largely flat course across the treeless expanse of northern Spain, two factors proved to be decisive in the Vuelta’s first road stage: the wind and Fassa Bortolo’s silver train. Both were protagonists, with heavy crosswinds buffeting the peloton in the second half of the stage before the bunch came in for a mass gallop. Alessandro Petacchi was back to his old tricks, winning his eighth career Vuelta

By the morning of day three, with the Eurobike show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, only half over – the show opens its doors to the public for a day after three business-only days – the consensus was already firm: This was one of the best bike shows in years. Some of that good cheer is a spillover from the general heartiness in the industry. Through June, 2004 was on track to be a banner year, with bikes of all kinds selling well at all prices. Sales went suddenly soft in July and August, in Europe and the U.S., but the slowdown in spending affected all discretionary purchases, not just bikes,

Mit der golden and silver people yet.

History has a way of repeating itself at U.S. Postal Service and now Floyd Landis is hoping that trend continues after he became the first American to wear the leader’s jersey at the Vuelta a España on Saturday after his team roared to victory in the opening team time trial. “We didn’t have a particular plan about who would come across first, but we had a plan on how to ride the time trial,” said Landis, who enjoyed some quality time on the podium following the stage. “Johan called in on the radio in the last 500 meters and he was generous enough to give me the lead, so I wasn’t

More items of note from the shores of the Bodensee: personal trainers, power measurement devices, saddles — do you detect a theme here? Tacx i-Magic Fortius trainerThe i-Magic Fortius trainer from Tacx is billed as a "virtual reality trainer," a claim that may seem overly modest when you witness the stunning capabilities of this amazing device. Hooked up to your PC or projection television, the Fortius can put you in the middle of a virtual reality race that you program, or a ride up the Alpe d'Huez taken with real-life video. You can also load in training software that analyzes and