Road Racing

Stefano Zanini (Quick Step) team has won the 128-mile opening stageof the Tour of Britain in Manchester city centre. The Italian out-sprintedKevin Van Impe of Belgium and Alejandro Borrajo of Argentina. British national champion Roger Hammond, of Oxford, finished sixthin the same time as Zanini. By winning the first stage Zanini pulled onthe race leader's jersey which he will wear during tomorrow's stage fromLeeds to Sheffield over 107 miles.Navigators are thereThe Navigators will be racing this week in the revival of the BritishTour that began Wednesday and concludes with a circuit course in

My fellow VeloNews editor Neal Rogers and I just got back from the final round of the NORBA national points series down in Durango, Colorado. Since this was the final opportunity for many of the racers to score some very-needed points, many pulled out all the stops when it came to equipment choices. So, while Rogers was running willy-nilly from racer to racer getting quotes for his cross-country and short track race reports, I found myself sneaking around the start and finish lines scouring every inch of some of the fastest bikes in the business. Both the men and women showed up to Durango

Dear Lennard,I read with interest your article "Wobble? Not!" in the September 20issue of VeloNews.Of special interest was your side bar on page 61 in which you discuss smallpads inserted in your shoes to relieve pedaling induced foot pain.I too suffer from what I describe as "hot foot" which becomes very problematicon longer rides. I use custom footbeds in my cycling shoes, but theyoffer little relief. I live in Denver - can you share more informationabout the pads that you use and where you got them?RayDear Ray,It is a small, foam metatarsal pad that lifts the metatarsal arch (atthe "ball

Under the innovative drive of title-sponsor Crank Brothers and the collaborativevision of both the organizers and the promoters, the 2004 U.S. Gran Prixof Cyclocross Series is poised for take-off. With cooperation from USACycling and the UCI, the landmark USGP of Cyclocross seeks to bolster thethriving regional U.S. cyclocross scene by incorporating six races intoa national series with USA Cycling automatic world championship selectiongoing to series overall winners."Our hope," according to Series Marketing Director Bruce Fina, "is tobring out the best of USA cyclocross-the top riders

Colombian cyclist Maria Luisa Calle Williams, bronze medalist in last week's Olympic women's points race, has tested positive for a banned stimulant and has been stripped of her medal, the International Olympic Committee announced on Sunday. As a result, American Erin Mirabella has been awarded the bronze medal, the only American track-cycling medal of this year’s Games. Mirabella's bronze brings the total medal count for American cyclists to four along with Tyler Hamilton's gold, Dede Demet Barry's silver and Bobby Julich's bronze in the individual time trial on August 18. Traces of

Canadian Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) and local favorite Shonny Vanlandingham (Luna) each took convincing cross-country wins Saturday at the final event of the NORBA National Series in Durango, Colorado, both securing their respective titles in the eight event series. In the absence of NORBA Nationals regulars Todd Wells, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Seamus McGrath, Ryder Hesjedal, Mary McConneloug and Jimena Florit — all in Athens for the Olympic Games — the pressure was on for series leaders Kabush and Vanlandingham to maintain their leads. Kabush’s main concern was the possibility of a DNF, as his

ScrewedFirst off, you’re probably wondering why you’re looking at a photo of VeloNews’s Lennard Zinn drilling a hole into the sole of a perfectly good $400 pair of cycling shoes. Good question. As we put the finishing touches on our 2004 carbon road shoe comparison, we’ve begun to notice that actual sole thicknesses seem to vary a bit from numbers claimed in advertising. Because most manufacturers want their numbers to reflect the lightest/stiffest/thinnest “interpretation” of the measurements, Zinn and I decided that the only way to find out exactly how thick the soles were was to measure

Track racing at the 2004 Olympics in Athens wrapped up Wednesday with the Madison, the keirin finals and the women's points race. As has been the case throughout these Olympics, VeloNews photographer Casey Gibson has been there to record his impressions on film... well... a really large array of digital pixels.

For the second straight day the Russians proved to be the masters of the points race. This time it was Olga Slyusareva, who powered to a six-point win over Mexico’s Belem Guerrero in the 100-lap race at the Olympic velodrome on Wednesday. Slyusareva was quiet early in the race, while Guerrero and Colombian Maria Luisa Calle Williams were trading the lead, but the Russian won two straight sprints at lap 80 and 90, putting her over the top. Guerrero came back to score two points in the final sprint snagging the silver, with Calle settling for bronze. Slyusareva is a four-time world champion,

In the moments after a tacitly perfect run to Olympic glory in the Madison, Aussie Graeme Brown could barely stand. Minutes earlier he and teammate Stuart O’Grady had given Australia its fifth gold medal of these Athens Olympics, but now Brown needed help getting his shoes off. “It was the most painful race I’ve ever ridden,” said Brown. “I never been in so much pain in my life.” Clearly the pain was worth it, though. Brown and O’Grady started fast, gaining a lap along with the German duo of Robert Bartko and Guido Fulst. From there the Aussies picked their spots wisely, winning the fourth

Aussie Ryan Bayley affirmed his status as world’s fastest man on a bike, taking his second gold medal of the 28th Olympiad by winning the keirin on the final day of track racing in Athens on Wednesday. The shaggy haired 22-year-old shot out from the bunch in the final of the keirin, cruising across the line well ahead of second-place finisher Jose Escuredo of Spain. German Rene Wolff was third, but was later relegated by the judges giving Shane Kelley the bronze, yet another medal for the green and gold. Paired with the Madison win by Graeme Brown and Stuart O'Grady, Australia will leave

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) said on Tuesday it will ask Athens Olympic organizers to try and get medals for cyclists Peter Dawson and Stephen Wooldridge who missed out on a team pursuit gold medal. Dawson and Wooldridge were nearly inconsolable after missing out on Australia's gold medal win on Monday in the 4000m team pursuit after riding in the record-setting qualifying round on Sunday. Under cycling's rules, unlike swimming's relays, only those who ride in the final get the medals. The Olympic rule differs from world championship events, in which all teammates share in the

In a battle of grace and finesse versus brawn and power, the brute force of Australian Ryan Bayley was the ticket to gold in the men’s sprint at the Olympic velodrome on Tuesday. After losing the opening heat of the best-of-three final against Dutchman Theo Bos, Bayley stormed back to take two straight, giving Australia its fourth cycling gold medal of the 28th Olympiad. It’s the best ever showing for the green-and-gold clad team that had been shadowed by a drug scandal on the lead-up to the Games. “After I lost the first heat I just got really agro,” said Bayley, who fits the part of a

Lori-Ann Muenzer earned Canada's first-ever Olympic cycling gold medal in the women's match sprint on the boards of the Athens Velodrome Tuesday. To reach the podium, Muenzer first had to reverse her world championship sprint loss to Australian Anna Meares in the semifinals and then dispatch Russian star Tamilla Abassova in the final. In a sport which rewards youthful power and speed, where certified legends like Florian Rousseau (30) and Jens Fiedler (34) just retired, Muenzer climbed to her sport's summit at 38 years of age and has no plans whatsoever to quit. "Age is just a number

It's been an eventful two days at the velodrome in Athens. Photographer Casey Gibson has been there, documenting everything from Australia's team pursuit title to Lori-Ann Muenzer's ride to Canada's first-ever Olympic cycling gold medal.

Olympic cover-upDear Lennard,After watching the Olympic road race and time trial, I noticed an abundanceof tape covering helmet, bike and component logos. Why would countriesgoverning bodies force this on riders knowing that they race professionallyfor other teams?Some examples: Julich and Hamilton covering up the Bell logo on thesides of the TT helmet but not the front. While it looks like most peoplein the TT field were covering up bike and fork logos on the headtubes andfork legs. What gives?ShawnI’ll let Bell Sports answer that:It basically comes down to limits on equipment logo sizes

In the battle for supremacy at the Olympic velodrome in Athens, the men from Australia beat back the challenge of Great Britain, claiming gold in the team pursuit. The Aussies’ effort didn’t match their world record time from qualifying the day before, but their mark of 3:58.233 on Monday was easily enough to outclass the Brits, who trailed throughout on their way to a 4:01.760. That left the gold medal count for the two countries at two apiece, with Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins having each taken wins for Great Britain, while Anna Meares and now the team pursuit squad of Graeme Brown, Brett

I lost the services of the digicam for a day after its memory card bit the dust. But I managed to find another one while walking around Pireas before Monday’s track racing. Pireas is Greece's main port and the jumping off point for trips to the Greek Islands. Here’s some of the sights, plus some odds and ends from the velodrome.

It’s been a long road to the summit for Sara Ulmer of New Zealand. As a callow 20-year-old in Atlanta, she was an anonymous seventh in the 3000-meter individual pursuit final. Four years ago in Sydney, 24-year-old Ulmer finished the 3000-meter individual pursuit in the cruelest Olympic position — eight-hundredths of a second out of bronze. Ulmer lost third to 39-year-old Yvonne McGregor’s of Great Britain with just 125 meters to go, and remained deep in the shadow of Sydney’s golden girl of cycling, Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel, who crushed silver medalist Marion Clignet by five seconds

Fassa Bortolo’s Juan-Antonio Flecha took advantage of a the ongoing World Cup duel between series leader Davide Rebellin and his nearest challenger, Olympic champion Paolo Bettini, to charge out of the field in the final meters of Sunday’s 241km event in Zürich, Switzerland. Bettini, who finished second in the Zürich Championships, has now moved to within six points of leader Rebellin, after eight rounds of the 10-race series. The Gerolsteiner rider figured in the final break and now stands on 314 points to Bettini's 308, with Rabobank's Oscar Freire a distant third with 198 points. With

Hot, humid and blazing fast. Track racing in Athens Sunday was all that and more as three world records toppled in a single day. Casey Gibson was there to capture some of the highlights

Cycling was the teen-age Colby Pearce's therapy. He'd take long weekend rides in the Colorado mountains, a distraction from losing his mother to cancer when he was 8 and his father to a heart attack five years later. Pearce never stopped riding. Now, nearly two decades later, he's reached the Olympics as part of a seven-rider American track contingent. Competition at the velodrome opened Friday, with the first U.S. cyclists set to begin competing Saturday. “Everybody, to a degree, has their childhood wrapped up in them,” Pearce said. “They're a product of their past. That's inevitable. I

As his mentor and one-time gold medalist Chris Boardman looked on from inside the velodrome at the Olympics in Athens, Bradley Wiggins scored the second gold medal in two days for the team from Britain, winning the individual pursuit. Wiggins beat back the challenge of Aussie Brad McGee in the final, while Spain’s Sergi Escobar topped the U.K.’s Rob Hayles in the bronze-medal round. Wiggins said his Olympic dream first began while watching Boardman win gold at the 1992 Games in Barcelona. Since then the two have become good friends, as Boardman helped guide his protégé to Saturday’s golden

VeloNews photographer Casey Gibson is more than a shootist – occasionally, he's an ironist. In sending his shots from Saturday's record-shattering day at the Olympic velodrome, he noted: "Too bad this track is slow, and the heat keeps them from going fast."

If the “warm-up” races in Downer's Grove, Illinois, were any indication, the national criterium championships on Sunday could see an unprecedented hat trick in the elite women's category, while the men's USPRO Criterium Championship could be a rough-and-tumble affair among the major domestic teams gunning for one of the last big races of the season. Saturday night's Ice Mountain USCF International Women's Open saw two-time defending national criterium champion Tina Pic (Genesis Scuba-FFCC) take a convincing victory on the eve of her title defense, while in the men's American Airlines Pro-Am

For most Olympic athletes in Athens the heat is a hindrance, but when it comes to track racers, the balmier the better. The heat makes the boards of the 250-meter wooden track expand and tighten, and that makes conditions fast. That was certainly the case on the opening day of competition at the Olympic velodrome, where two Olympic records and one world record were eclipsed on a sizzling Friday afternoon in Greece. The new world’s best came in the women’s 500-meter time trial, with Aussie Anna Meares becoming the first woman to complete two laps in under 34 seconds. Her time of 33.952 also

Track events kicked off in Athens on Friday, and VeloNews photographer Casey Gibson was there.

Britain, desperately searching around Athens for an Olympic gold medal, gets their big chance with an assault on the men's kilometer time trial on the opening day of the track cycling on Friday. The British look strongly placed to break through as they did in Sydney four years ago with world champion Chris Hoy, Craig MacLean or, possibly, defending Olympic champion Jason Queally in strong contention for gold. Back in 2000 it was a similar scenario before Queally became an instant hero when he claimed the kilo ahead of German Stefan Nimke and Australian Shane Kelly. Hoy has the form on the

In the days leading up to women’s Olympic time trial, Dutchwoman Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel admitted she thought she might not be able to start. The triple gold-medalist from Sydney crashed hard in Sunday’s road race and said she had pain all over her body. But with the end of her career looming, Zijlaard-van Moorsel couldn’t let that be her final cycling memory. On Wednesday she authored a more appropriate chapter, winning a gold medal on a sun-kissed 24km course in the coastal suburbs of Athens. Zijlaard-van Moorsel stopped the clock in 31:11.53, 24.09 seconds ahead of American Dede

As the sun crept above the horizon, bringing dawn to a new day here in Athens, Tyler Hamilton awoke with a terrible case of nerves. The afternoon Olympic time trial that awaited him was his last shot to truly erase the disappointment of his failed Tour de France bid a month earlier. Hamilton had said all week he had a good feeling about the 48km race to be contested in the southern suburbs of Greece’s capital, but now it was time to deliver. Half a day later the nice guy of American cycling had seen his premonition come true, besting reigning Olympic TT champion Viatcheslav Ekimov on a

When Bobby Julich crossed the finish line just 26.45 seconds behind teammate Tyler Hamilton in Wednesday’s Olympic individual time trial, it wasn’t just a victory for a man and his country–technology also won in the streets of Athens. Helping to power Julich’s bike were two very unusual chainrings that could very well transform the way we propel our bicycles in the future. Julich was riding a pair of French made, out-of-round, “Osymetric” chainrings which Julich claims have helped him all season. Now before you say, “Biopace,” think again. In a phone interview with VeloNews from France

Dear Lennard,On one of the tech segments during the OLN coverage, they interviewed someone from CSC and he talked about a different type of chainring they were using for the time trials. But they didn't explain what the differences were. Did you hear anything about this?Leonard Dear Leonard,Those chainrings are called Harmonic, and they offer a larger gear ratio when the crank is horizontal than when it is vertical (the opposite of Biopace). I asked Bobby Julich about them, and he referred me to the company’s website. And lest you think they are a revival of the old Biopace design, Julich

The contrast couldn’t have been greater as the latest batch of cycling medalists faced the media shortly after the conclusion of the women’s Olympic road race on the downtown streets of Athens on Sunday. In the center seat of the raised podium sat Sara Carrigan, a starry gaze striped across her youthful face. Moments earlier the Aussie had grabbed gold, after pushing away from Judith Arndt on the last lap of the 118.8km race. Meanwhile, Arndt looked downright disgusted despite the silver medal swinging from her neck. The German was still seething over the Olympic-team exclusion of former

In the aftermath of the brutal 224.4km men’s Olympic road race run on the historic downtown streets of Athens on Saturday, the sentiment toward race winner Paolo Bettini was nearly universal. For a man so marked to still pull off a gold-medal victory was testament to his vast abilities on the bicycle. Outside of a stacked Spanish squad, Bettini’s name was the one most proffered when the favorites list was compiled, yet the Italian still managed to pull one of his trademark late-race escapes, earning him the first cycling gold of the 2004 Summer Games. Bettini grabbed victory by slipping away

Alison Dunlap (Luna) held off an impressive late-race charge by Jimena Florit (RLX Ralph Lauren) to collect her 14th career NORBA short-track win Sunday at Snowmass Village near Aspen, Colorado. With a stiff wind kicking up clouds of dust on the slopes of Snowmass, Dunlap's Luna team put in a show of power that only Florit was able to challenge. After two laps on the dry, dusty course, which climbed one of the lower ski slopes and then descended through a series of loose, rocky S-turns, Dunlap launched a vicious attack. “I could just tell there wasn't anyone feeling really gung-ho today,”

Overcoming the disappointment of mechanical problems that might have cost him the win in Saturday's cross-country race at round seven of the NORBA series in Snowmass Village, Colorado, Maxxis rider Geoff Kabush put in a show of power to win the men's short-track event on Sunday. Riding his gold full-suspension Turner bike, Kabush wasted little time fighting his way to the front, while the other 55 pro men swapped elbows and swallowed dust behind him. “I watched the women's race and saw that there wasn't going to be much drafting in this race,” said Kabush after beating GT-Hyundai's Todd

Kathy Pruitt completed the Luna-team double at Snowmass Village, Colorado, on Sunday, winning the women’s NORBA downhill race and adding to Alison Dunlap’s win in the short-track earlier in the day. In the men’s downhill, Australian Nathan Rennie (Santa Cruz Syndicate) ended Greg Minnaar’s three-race unbeaten streak to collect his second career NORBA downhill win. On a super-fast course that reminded riders of NORBA downhills of old, Pruitt edged her Luna teammate Marla Streb by 1.79 seconds for the win. “The key was to be consistent and not go off the course,” said Pruitt, the 2000 world

On Saturday in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina, Ivan Dominguez displayed his knack for winning big-time money criteriums, as he took the win at the inaugural Bank of America Invitational, featuring one of the biggest one-day payouts in the world. With $125,000 in prizes on the line, including $25,000 for first place, the Colavita Olive Oil rider beat out Health Net-Maxxis's Gord Fraser and Navigators Insurance's Henk Vogels in the mad dash to the finish. In the closing 10-laps of the 44-lap, 53-mile race, Health Net took control of the race, chasing down the late-race break that included

It was a good day for Olympians at the Snowmass NORBA National event near Aspen, Colorado, on Saturday. Todd Wells (GT-Hyundai) and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (RLX Ralph Lauren), the two American men selected for the Olympic mountain bike race in Athens later this month, finished first and second in the 24.6-mile men’s cross-country race. Jimena Florit (RLX Ralph Lauren), who will represent Argentina at the upcoming Olympic Games, won the 20-mile women’s cross-country race to move into the overall series lead in the women’s standings. It was the climbing strength of the 29-year-old Wells that

Chris Stockburger (U.S. National Team) rode to victory in the 36th edition of Le Tour de l’Abitibi after seizing the lead on the fifth of nine stages in the weeklong race. The race, run July 19-25 in Québec, Canada, is the only UCI Junior World Cup Race in North America. Stockburger, of Fort Collins, Colorado, took an eight-second lead on Zach Taylor (Hot Tubes) after the 83.5km road race from Senneterre to Val-d’Or, Québec. As part of a 14-rider breakaway, Stockburger picked up 1:31 on the rider from Marietta, Georgia, who had held the brown leader’s jersey since the first-stage team time

Dear Lennard,There was much discussion before the Tour about Lance's mountain TT bike. In “The Lance Chronicles” he was trying several different models and he used the aero' bars on Mont Ventoux. What happened to them? Was it something at Ventoux that made him change?Anthony Dear Anthony,I’ll let Trek’s team liaison, Scott Daubert, field that one: There are two answers here. Steve Hed used one of the formulas we developed through F-One and learned that the clip-on’s weight would cost Lance six or seven seconds during his assault up L’Alpe d’Huez. Their aerodynamic advantage is impossible to

After narrowly missing a rainbow jersey in the 200-meter sprint at the junior world track championships on Saturday, Michael Blatchford was looking toward Sunday night’s team sprint as an opportunity for redemption. “We’ll get another chance tomorrow,” said the 18-year-old U.S. junior national sprint champion after taking the silver behind Australia’s Shane Perkins at the ADT Event Center velodrome near Los Angeles, California. Come Sunday, once again it was the U.S. versus Australia – but this time, the race was for bronze, after Germany and Japan advanced to the gold-medal round. In the

With a final stage breakaway at the International Tour de 'Toona in Pennsylvania, Health Net’s John Lieswyn and Scott Moninger were able to snatch the race lead away from Webcor Builders’ Chris Horner, with Moninger capturing the stage win and Lieswyn nailing down the overall title. In the women’s race, Quark’s Lyne Bessette led the seven-day event from start to finish, beating Canadian Olympic teammate Sue Palmer-Komar (Genesis Scuba) by 34 seconds in the overall. In the men’s race, Colavita Olive Oil’s Nathan O’Neill made an impressive return to the race where he suffered a crash that

With the overwhelming support of a partisan home crowd, all signs seemed stacked in favor of American junior national sprint champion Michael Blatchford securing a rainbow jersey at the junior track world championships Saturday, held at the ADT Event Center velodrome near Los Angeles, California. Blatchford, who hails from the nearby city of Cypress, was first in the 200-meter qualifying sprints Friday, laying down a 10.696 ahead of Australia's Shane Perkins, winner of Thursday night's keirin, who rode a 10.701. And when both Blatchford and Perkins required just two rides in the

When American Kimberly Geist took third place in the women’s 2km individual pursuit Friday, USA Cycling officials could breathe a sigh of relief. Though it was a narrowly won bronze medal, the host country was “on the board” at the junior track world championships, held in Los Angeles at the new world-class ADT Event Center velodrome. After qualifying fifth behind Marlijn Binnendijk (Netherlands), Geist beat out Australian Amanda Spratt, winner of the points race Thrusday, to enter the 3-4 final against New Zealand's Paddy Walker. Though Geist seemed to fade slightly during the middle

Cyclist Jobie Dajka was dropped from Australia's Olympic team after being found to have lied to a doping inquiry involving the country's top cyclists, the Australian Olympic Committee announced on Friday. Dajka admitted on Thursday he had been untruthful when he told an inquiry that he had not injected himself with performance-enhancing drugs in the room of a former teammate at the Australian Institute of Sport's cycling base in Adelaide. DNA evidence subsequently contradicted Dajka's statement to the inquiry, which was chaired by lawyer Robert Anderson, QC, the AOC said. "Given Anderson's

While Australia’s elite track program continues to facehardships and scandal, the country’s juniors have taken a strongholdat the junior track world championships, held at the new Home Depot Center’sADT Event Center velodrome in Carson, California, outside of Los Angeles. Two days into the five-day event, held July 28 through August 1, Australiahas taken three gold medals in six events; Germany leads the medal countwith five. Perhaps the greatest beacon of hope for the program’s new blood comesin the form of Michael Ford, the reigning junior world record holder inthe 3km individual pursuit.

Euskadi bikesDear Lennard,I have noticed that the Euskaltel team is riding a bike called Orbeathat looks very much like the new Kestrel full carbon frames I have seenin my local stores. Is the design just a common configuration of the tubedesign or are these companies in some way connected?Steve Dear Steve,Orbea is a large bike manufacturer. Indeed, it’s far bigger than Kestrel.Located in the Basque country of Spain, Orbea is part of the CooperativoMondragón, the world’s largest worker’s cooperative. Being co-ownersof their companies, workers tend to work harder and more devotedly thanthey

Australian trackster Ben Kersten will have his appeal to be reinstated to the Athens Olympic team heard by a Cycling Australia (CA) tribunal on Thursday, his manager said on Monday. Kersten is appealing the decision by CA to remove his nomination for the Olympic team after Sean Eadie, the man he was called up to replace, was renominated by CA after being cleared of trying to import banned human growth hormones. The appeal is not connected with Eadie’s drugs tussle, but based on the assertion that Kersten should have been picked ahead of Eadie in the first place. Kersten originally missed

American climber-extraordinaire Tom Danielson (Fassa Bortolo) set anew record at the Mount Evans Hillclimb Saturday, taking a full four minutesand ten seconds off Mike Engleman’s 12-year-old course record. The threat of fog, rain, and snow didn’t deter Danielson, 26, who wason hiatus from his European schedule as he prepares to compete in the Vueltaa Espana in September. In his first ascent of the highest paved road inNorth America, Danielson hoped to break the mark and claim the $500 bonusfor doing so. “Given the weather, gradient inconsistencies, and the altitude change,it is too much to

Dear Lennard,Here’s a question. There was some hype about Lance’s speciallydeveloped skinsuit (Project 1 as seen on OLN) with wind tunnel testingand so forth. Special light jerseys for climbing and so on.How does that factor in when he’s in the yellow jersey? Does Nikehave to submit samples to the tour organization for approval to wear asthe yellow jersey?Charlie Dear Charlie,Yes, Nike made the white, yellow, polka-dot and green jerseys withthe same fabrics as the Postal clothing, so the TT suit is the Swift andthe jersey for mountain days is the HC, which I described in detail in the tech

Dear Lennard,How about a report on the stuff that hasn't work in the Tour? I don't think I've ever heard of more riders being injured in crashes or having to stop from broken handlebars, stems and forks and other equipment-related mishaps. One really goofy example is Phonak using track tires in the rainy team time trial. Are these folks pushing the envelope too far? I didn't used to thinkthe minimum bike weight was a good idea, but it might keep things safer. On the other hand, how about Ulrich on L'Alpe? It looks like he carriedan extra couple of pounds of useless aero stuff up the hill.

Dear Lennard,What was Ivan Basso using for a bike in today’s time trial up l’Alpe d’Huez?William Dear William,Funny you should ask, since I was just putting a few finishing touches on a piece John Wilcockson sent in last night.Lennard Readying Basso’s rideIvan Basso rode the new bike he will race on Wednesday in the Alpe d’Huez time trial for a few hours on the rest day on Monday. He was planning to ride it in the stage from Valréas to Villard-de-Lans on Tuesday, and his race number 61 was already affixed to the rear end of the carbon-fiber Cervélo. But when weighed on the UCI scales before

Watching the Tour de France, one can easily conclude that one of Lance Armstrong’s biggest strengths is he can be coldly calculating, but the same can be said of the U.S. Postal Service team, which also plays the Tour de France as if it were a game of chess. Armstrong and the team have brought many new things to the Tour, like chiropractors, team chefs, and the scouting of every single stage route prior to the race. Less publicized and perhaps as unprecedented are the tiny details of meticulous planning that the team does. As in chess, every move a team or rider makes during the Tour has

Breanna Loster (Dr. Walker) added a victory in the 200-meter sprint to her 500-meter time trial win on Sunday in the Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge, while Mike Creed (U.S. Postal Service-Berry Floor), fresh off winning the overall at the Cascade Cycling Classic, claimed a win in the 100-lap points race. Sunday’s racing in Portland, Oregon, began with 200-meter qualifiers for the women’s sprint. Defending champion Annette Hanson (Team Rubicon) qualified second in 13.44 behind Loster (13.28), with top local sprinter Heather Van Valkenberg’s (Sorella Forte) third in 13.80. Hanson lost in the

Drizzly Oregon weather didn’t keep Trexlertown regular Cassandra Osorio-McKenna (Hot Tubes) from winning the miss-and-out and points race Saturday at the Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge, though a couple of events had to be shortened to accommodate the damp conditions, including the men’s scratch race and Madison, won by Milton Wynants and Agustin Margaleff (Uruguay National Team). Saturday’s racing at Portland’s Alpenrose Velodrome began with the 200-meter qualifiers for the sprint tournament. Dean Tracy (Team Rubicon) posted a 12.01, with Stephen McLaughry (Bike Central) upping the ante in

Dear Lennard,After watching the prologue and the TTT in this year's Tour, I have noticed T-Mobile is not riding rear discs. Why is that? Everyone knows that a rear disc is faster than a non-disc. What gives?John Dear John,First, all of the T-Mobile riders I saw in the prologue used a reardisc. Here is one on the start ramp, on the new Giant time trial frame. As for the team time trial, Dirk Spiers of Giant Europe said that T-Mobile chose to not use rear discs out of concerns raised by that day's strong crosswinds on the course. He is not at all sure that it was the right choice in

Annette Hanson (Team Rubicon) and Kenny Williams (First Rate Mortgage) kicked off the sixth annual Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge on Friday in Portland, Oregon, with wins in the men’s and women’s pursuit. Hanson, a multiple national and world masters pursuit champ from Kirkland, Washington, won the 3000-meter race in 4:09:87 on the 268-meter, cigar-shaped concrete track ahead of teammate Brie Gudsell of New Zealand and Hot Tubes’ Cassandra Osorio of Florence, South Carolina. In the men’s 4000-meter contest, it was Williams turning a 5:01:64 for 4000 meters to outpace a pair of Kiwis racing

Athens-bound Marie-Helene Premont (Rocky Mountain-Business Objects) took her second consecutive title at the Canadian National Mountain Bike Championships on Saturday in Mont Sainte-Anne, while Ricky Federau (GearsRacing.com) won his first title in the elite men's category. A total of 64 men and 34 women rode through wet and muddy conditions for the chance to win the maple-leaf jersey of the nationalchampion. Premont took charge immediately in the women's 25km, five-lap race, attacking on the first climb and establishing a 10 second gap on Karen Dewolfe (Cannondale), Chrissy Redden

Dear Lennard,What is up with Erik Zabel's shifting cables? Is he trying to hide them like Campagnolo's under the bar tape? Looking at the pics of the finish of Stage 6, looks like Zabel has his Shimano Dura Ace shifter cables routed in this cute little loop around the shifters, and back under the bar tape, a la Campy cable routing. What’s the skinny on this? Looks like he is using Nokon cable housing to make the bend, but why? Is it a visual preference, or a tactile one?Stephen Dear Stephen,Yes, Eric Zabel is one of a number of riders who has concealed shift cables with his Shimano STI

When Domina Vacanze's Filippo Simeoni scampered off the front of the peloton today, he did it astride one of Specialized's new full-carbon, 1100-gram Tarmac S-Works frame. The bike features some pretty cool touches that are worth a closer look. His teammate, Michele Scarponi, gets a special, 40-gram-lighter versionusing finer-weave carbon fabric, while sprint ace Mario Cipollini got his own custom version... well, before he pulled out of the Tour the other day. Last year’s half-aluminum/half-carbon Tarmac will still exist as the Tarmac E5, and the new one has a similar shape to the top

Dear Lennard,This isn't a technical question per se, but it's still got me scratching my head: why doesn't Lance have rainbow stripes on his sleeves like all the other former World Champions? Chris Dear Chris,He has had them on his jersey in the past. I expected him not to have them on the time trial suit and on the yellow jersey, but sure enough, he does not have it on his road jersey. I figured that since Nike prepared all kinds of special clothes for the Tour, including new versions of the Swift skinsuit for time trials and the HC jersey for mountain stages, maybe in the rush to produce

Nestled away in the rugged mountain valleys of central Switzerland, the posh Euro town of St. Moritz is better known for its fur-covered, jet-setting ski bunnies than for high-tech carbon fiber. But for three days in July, carbon was en vogue as Scott showed the press its 2005 product line. The media event July 6-8 showcased the company’s impressive investment into the ever-developing world of carbon-fiber frame construction. Unlike frame manufacturers that simply day-trip over to Taiwan, pick a stock carbon configuration from a major producer, alter a few shapes and call it their own

Getting a rider ready for the Tour de France, and the six- and seven-hour days in the saddle that come with it, requires a great deal of attention to detail. One detail that gets constant attention before and during the Tour involves the proper set up of new shoes and other equipment. These are often critical issues, because if a new shoe cleat is in even a slightly different position from where the old one was or a seat is a bit higher or lower or more forward or back from what the rider is used to, or the bar is positioned differently than before, it can be a big problem. Riding so hard

Today, for the team time trial, I caught a ride in the second of Saeco’s team followcars. It was very interesting from a technical standpoint, even thoughthe team had no mechanical problems until the very last moment. Saeco wasamong the first teams to start, so I watched the remainder of the teamsfrom the finish. In the end, I think that the cycling gods smiled on TylerHamilton for the second day in a row, and they did not Gilberto Simoni,both of which I will explain. The director sportif, Giuseppe Martinelli, is in the first vehicle andcommunicates with the riders over their radio

Those of you who watched the prologue time trial may have been wondering why some teams were using standard road helmets and others using aero’ helmets. In October 2003 the UCI passed a requirement that all time-trial helmets meet certain safety standards as of January 1, 2004. This threw out the old time-trial helmets, which were little more than thin plastic fairings with straps. Helmet companies were caught largely unprepared by the ruling, so in the spring, most pro teams were racing time trials with standard road helmets. By the Giro d’Italia, many teams were using clear plastic covers

During the Tour, you can now see exactly how hard some of the riders are pedaling, as well as how fast they are going, how fast their pedals are going around, and how fast their heart is pumping. This is due to special agreements between SRM and the Saeco and T-Mobile teams. Even though many riders would like to use SRMs in more races, it is often not possible due to it conflicting with their crank sponsor. Furthermore, the SRM cranks are not as light, and not as stiff as the latest oversized hollow cranks, so riders are reluctant to take that step backward. But now SRM’s Ulrich Schoberer

So what’s up with tubeless tires these days? A fair amount, actually. There are now three teams riding tubeless road tires at the Tour de France. As in the past, teams that have both Mavic and Hutchinson as sponsors are in a position to use them, but now, teams that have both Shimano as a wheel sponsor and Hutchinson tires could ride them as well. Shimano, it seems has joined the group of companies sharing the technology and working together on the project. That group is now Shimano, Mavic, Hutchinson and Michelin, but no Michelin-sponsored teams are racing on them. Mavic’s Chris Zigmont

On a rainy afternoon when pedaling prowess was just as important as downhilling skills, Frenchwoman Celine Gros and Spain’s David Vazquez Lopez scored World Cup wins at the final day of racing in Calgary, Alberta. The combination of a short, relatively flat course, along with extremely muddy conditions, made for a tough test on a track that paralleled the bobsled circuit used in the 1988 Olympics. “You were pretty much pedaling top to bottom,” said American Marla Streb (Luna), who spent some time in the hot seat before being knocked off by teammate Kathy Pruitt. Streb wound up sixth, while

Hi from the Tour de France! I have been in Liège for a few days, visiting the teams and taking lots of photos of bikes and equipment, sometimes even of people. There is always lots of new equipment at the Tour, since every team and sponsor focuses more on this event than any other. When team technical sponsors start developing new products for racing, they always point to the Tour start as the date for completion. There is no better place to premiere a new product, and the riders and teams place so much emphasis on Tour results that they create pressure which helps the development process

On a day with more story lines than a Tom Clancy novel, Filip Meirhaeghe and Gunn-Rita Dahle reaffirmed their status as Olympic favorites, after each took impressive cross-county wins at World Cup No. 6 at the Canada Olympic Park in Calgary. As for the litany of North American Olympic spot battles, it was Americans Mary McConneloug, Todd Wells and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski closing in on start spots in Athens, while Canadians Marie-Helene Premont, Kiara Bisaro and Seamus McGrath also looked to be a step closer to their Olympic dreams. Following the women’s race, which was yet another dominating

Let’s start things off with a first-look at Tyler Hamilton’s freshly unveiled BMC time-trial bike, which he will ride at this year’s Tour de France (from a BMC press release): The core structure of the bike is a 100% carbon-fiber monocoque frame — and when we say carbon-fiber, we really mean it: Even the smallest details, such as our fork drop-outs and derailleur cage, are made of carbon-fiber. The revolutionary new fork-stem design (patent pending) sets the standard in cycling technology. In addition to perfect aerodynamics, we also achieve maximum rigidity from the minimum possible

With the 90-meter Nordic ski jump used at the 1988 Winter Olympics serving as a backdrop, Czech rider Michal Prokop and Frenchwoman Sabrina Jonnier cruised to convincing four-cross wins at round No. 5 of the UCI World Cup series at Calgary's Canada Olympic Park on Friday. It was the second straight World Cup win for Prokop and third straight for Jonnier, pushing both riders over the top in the race for the series crown. Both now have insurmountable leads with one race to go. Despite qualifying third behind Eric Carter and Roger Rinderknecht, Prokop (Author) had little trouble in his run to

Gord Fraser's smile said it all as he crossed the finish line during the Canadian national road race Sunday in Kamloops, British Columbia — the Health Net-Maxxis rider was finally the national champion, and had moved into strong contention for a spot on his country’s Olympic team. Fraser played a waiting game in the 180km race, sprinting away from a small lead group over the top of the final hill and soloing away to the finish lline. Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) took second, with Alexandre Lavallee (Volkswagen-Trek)third. In the women's race, meanwhile, Lyne Bessette (Team Québec) was dominant,

Sue Palmer-Komar (Genesis-Scuba) virtually assured herself a position on the Canadian Olympic team after winning the individual time trial Friday at the Canadian National Cycling Championships. Palmer-Komar covered the 30km out-and-back circuit in 43:20, 41 seconds ahead of defending champion Lyne Bessette (Quark). In the men's 40km event, Svein Tuft (Symmetrics) turned a 51:35.56 to decisively beat eight-time defending champion Eric Wohlberg (Sierra Nevada), who was 1:12.66 slower. The circuit was not particularly difficult, but the riders had to battle strong winds and extreme heat —

The recent announcement that Discovery Communications would be sponsoring Lance Armstrong and his mates for the next few seasons got me to wondering…. Do you suppose Armstrong might pop in from time to time as a special guest host on one or another of the TV network’s 14 channels, like Animal Planet or Discovery Español? Can’t you just imagine the wily Texan wrestling with an endangered white rhino and somehow relating his past Tour experiences to getting a friendly mauling from the giant albino beast? Or instead of trying to make a Tour de France winner fit its programming mold, might the

Aaron Olson took the biggest win of his career in the final stage of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce on Sunday, giving Colavita-Bolla its third stage win of the race. Olson jumped off the front of a disintegrating breakaway to solo in, just ahead of a fast closing peloton. Viktor Rapinski (Navigators) beat Andrew Pinfold (Symmetrics) in the field sprint for second, wrapping up the points jersey in the process. In the overall standings, Tomasz Brozyna (Action ATI) faced no serious threats to his hold on the race lead, and retained his 41-second margin over Nathan O'Neill

On a day when timing was everything, Jason McCartney and Kristin Armstrong picked the most important moments to shine. Each took impressive wins at the 2004 Pool Gel USCF National Road Championships, and now both are headed to Athens come August to represent America in the Summer Olympics after winning the Team USA Selection races on Saturday in Redlands, California. Armstrong also picked up a national-championship jersey for her efforts. The genesis of Armstrong’s win came on the third of six laps during the 116.8km women’s race. Taking instructions from T-Mobile team manager Jim Miller to

Nathan O'Neill (Colavita-Bolla), won stage 5 of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce on Saturday, less than a year after suffering a life-threatening injury at the Tour de 'Toona. O'Neill won the 14km individual time trial with a time of 17 minutes and 9.09 seconds, less than a second ahead of Viktor Rapinski (Navigators). Svein Tuft (Symmetrics), was the top North American finisher, in fifth place, 22.41 seconds behind O'Neill, and one spot ahead of Scott Moninger (Health Net). Overall race leader Tomasz Brozyna (Action ATI), finished third in the stage, and continues to hold the yellow

Tomasz Brozyna (Action ATI) solidified his lead at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce after finishing second behind Radoslaw Romanik (Hoop CCC) on the difficult climb up Mont Megantic. Scott Moninger (Health Net) managed a strong performance to finish third, and take over third in the general classification. The 5km climb to the Observatory at 1100 meters above sea level has become legendary at Beauce. Averaging 10 percent, with sections as steep as 16 percent in the final 2km, it usually reduces the contenders for the overall title to a handful. This year was no exception, with only Romanik