Road Racing

In a day marked with cold, wet and windy weather, Matt Decanio of Prime Alliance and Saturn's Manon Jutras took big wins in the Sea Otter Classic's Stage 4 road race on Saturday. In the men's race, an initial break consisting of Danny Pate (Prime Alliance) and Jacob Erker (Schroeder Iron) dangled in front of the field for almost the entire day, reaching a maximum gap of 1:45 — with Saturn’s trio of GC leaders controlling the front off the field — before it was brought in at the base of the final climb. Once there, the peloton spread thin as racers, tired from nearly three weeks of continuous

I just managed to sneak away from the Tech area at Sea Otter long enough for a quick update. A pre-dawn raid on SRAM's tech headquarters proved fruitful with us coming away with another first-look at 2004 products. Wanted to make sure you read it here first. Here's the short story (look for complete coverage in VeloNews #8 due out in two weeks). SRAM has introduced two all-new trigger shifters: the X-9 and X-7. Both use 1:1 "Impulse Technology" which is said to provide riders the flexibility to activate shifts with multiple parts of their hand. This translates into shifting ability with

Day three of racing at the Sea Otter Classic pro stage race saw no major changes on the leader board, as Saturn’s Lyne Bessette and Prime Alliance’s Michael Creed took stage wins in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Originally planned to be a criterium in Santa Cruz, Friday’s course was, at the last minute, changed to the raceway circuit of years past, due both to concerns over the integrity of the Santa Cruz course and a push to intensify the stage race after the pro men protested the controversial Redwood City circuit. Instead, the circuit race course was used, a course that includes a steep

Day two of the Sea Otter pro stage race — a 12-mile time trial course finishing with a long, sustained climb — brought few surprises on the leader board, as Nathan O’Neill (Saturn) and Genevieve Jeanson (RONA-Esker), both time trial and subsequent overall winners last week at Redlands, again put their stamp on the general classification. Often called the race of truth, Thursday’s time trial lived up to the name. It was a case of déjà vu all over again, as the strongest riders from the Redlands time trial rose to the top: the women’s event contained the same top-five as the Redlands time

Andreas Klier was in no hurry to leave on Wednesday afternoon. Perched in a dirty brown chair in a smoke-filled room of reporters in Wevelgem, Belgium — the finishing town of the 65th running of the midweek classic known as Ghent-Wevelgem — the blond-haired, blue-eyed German was soaking it all in.

Sitting at the start-finish line before the Sea Otter’s opening Redwood City road race, Saturn’s Chris Horner was concerned. Relaxed, of course, as he always is, but concerned. In lieu of the Sea Otter’s traditional Fort Ord road race, which was replaced after permit issues hindered a full road closure, the Northern California stage race designed a new circuit race, in the hometown of Sea Otter chief operating officer Rick Sutton. But many of the riders that had pre-ridden the tight and twisty residential course, with its sharp, short climbs and narrow, technical streets, felt it was too

Dear Lennard,With the unfortunate event at Paris-Nice, I thought I would ask. Ihave read in various forums, that helmets should be replaced every-so-many-years (Lance Armstrong's book, for example, places this number at five years).However, most citations I see are closely connected to a helmet manufactureror a bike store. Setting aside the obvious ("because it was in a crash"), why would Ineed to replace an otherwise good helmet? Also, does this imply a "shelflife" for helmets (say, I find a deal on a new old stock Air Attack)? Isuppose what I'm after is, do helmets need to be replaced like

It was a scene you’re unlikely to see anywhere else. The sun was barely up, having made a feeble attempt to rise on a damp, chilly Sunday morning, but already the restaurant patios were filled with customers. And in the hands of those customers were mugs filled with beer.

There wasn’t a good deal of bike racing to speak of, in either the men or women’s events, during Sunday’s fifth stage at the Redlands Classic. In fact, the parallels between the two races, held over a twisty, hilly and technical 7.5-mile loop, were the most remarkable story on an otherwise unremarkable closing day of racing. In the women’s 8-lap, 62-mile event, overall leader Genevieve Jeanson (RONA-Esker) attacked up the first hill on the first lap and simply never looked back. A brief chase ensued by Saturn’s Manon Jutras and Lyne Bessette, second and third on the GC, respectively, and

The Redlands Classic continued Thursday with it's most feared stage, the Oak Glen road race, 106 miles (82 for the women) that finishes off with a nasty 10-kilometer climb that gains 2400 feet in elevation. Needless to say, it was a day for the climbers, as Canadian Genevieve Jeanson (RONA-Esker) confirmed her position as the premiere climber in North American women’s racing, riding away from her closest GC contenders in the final kilometers and winning the stage by nearly three minutes. In the men’s race, Saturn’s Nathan O’Neill showed that not only can he time trial, as evidenced by his

With spring rumored to be on its way, this past weekend provided a perfectwindow of opportunity to sneak in a little racing. A couple of my pals and I packed up our cars and headed over to the campusof University of Colorado's arch rival, Colorado State for a little early seasoncrit’ action. Located 56 miles due north in Fort Collins, the race providedthe perfect opportunity to test out a few products you'll see in upcomingissues of VeloNews, including our road-pedal comparison in issue No. 7 and our bib-short comparison in issue No. 9. There's nothing like a healthy dose of high-speed

The second day of racing at the Redlands Classic brought stage victories to two familiar names in the domestic race scene, as Health Net’s Gord Fraser and Saturn’s Ina Teutenberg won the hilly stage 1 Highland circuit race. With short, steep climbs and a long, gradual downhill into a headwind, the circuit wasn’t exactly made for aggressive racing; any attempt to get away was vulnerable on the windy, wide-open descent. Although the day was claimed by a pair of sprinters, the course — a five-mile loop consisting of a 300-foot stair-step climb through a local housing community, raced eight

Under bright, sunny skies and intermittent winds, the 19th annual Redlands Bicycle Classic kicked off April 1st in Southern California with a hard, fast 5km prologue time trial ending atop Riverside’s Mount Rubidoux. The day’s winners included Geneviève Jeanson (RONA), the talented young Canadian who set the course record last year, and a heavily favored Saturn men’s team that swept the podium and took control of the six-day event almost before it had begun. Although characteristically known as the grand season-opening National Racing Calendar (NRC) stage race, the Redlands Classic was

Frenchman Laurent Brochard (Ag2R) dominated Sunday’s double-stage finale to win this weekend’s Criterium International. Brochard won the morning sector Sunday to take the race lead and finished third-fastest in the afternoon time trial to win for the first time this season and give his team’s a big boost at earning an at-large bid for July’s Tour de France. Brochard’s win is the first by a Frenchman at Criterium International since Laurent Jalabert won eight years ago. “It is important to win after Laurent, I hope I can go on this way,” Brochard said. “Today, the final victory was very

It was all about Saturn at Solano on Saturday. The criterium, the third stage of the Solano Bicycle Classic, proved to be a showcase for the red and yellow, with Eric Wohlberg taking first on the men’s side and Laura Van Gilder atop the women’s race. Saturn led a charging breakaway in the men’s race, with five teammates pulling together, including Chris Horner, Trent Klasna, Mark McCormack and Viktor Rapinski, to keep the pace very high. Horner put in terrific turns at the front, stringing along Prime Alliance’s Jonathan Vaughters, Ben Brooks of Jelly Belly and all the strong GC contenders

On a road so steep that many found it easier to walk their bikes over the final kilometer, T-Mobile's Kim Bruckner and Prime Alliance's Jonathan Vaughters took top honors on what has to be one of the toughest hill climbs in North America, the second stage at this year's Solano Bicycle Classic. Bruckner maintained her overall lead in the Solano Classic, winning the Stage 2 hill climb up Mix Canyon under warm, but windy skies. Saturn’s Manon Jutras and Lyne Bessette bucked and swayed up the 22-percent grade locals like to call the "death zone" behind her to finish more than a minute and a half

Chris Horner and Kim Bruckner won Thursday’s windy opening stage of the Solano Bicycle Classic, both beating a field of strong climbers on the day's final ascent to the finish at the Lake Berryessa recreation area. Horner, who has won the Solano Classic twice before, charged off the front soon after a serious mid-race breakaway had been reeled in... and he was certain that his teammate Will Frischkorn had not gone up the road solo. “I didn’t want to pull other guys up with me if Will was up there. He’s the National Road Champion, so he’s totally capable of controlling the break,” said

First off, wanted to drop a big thanks to all those who sent kind wordsof encouragement to all of us here at the magazine as we fought to bravethrough the, "Blizzard of '03." It wasn't easy, but with a snow shovelfull of perseverance and moral encouragement from all our fans (all threeof you) I'm happy to announce that VeloNews is back up to full productionsteam. [Note: everything I just wrote is a gross exaggeration:the whole event was blown way out of proportion, and really, what itall boiled-down to was an unexpected day off of work and a losing snowballfight to my six year old

Dear Lennard Zinn;I have an Ultegra-equipped bike but would like to replace the shifter/ brake piece with Veloce Ergopower shifter. Will this set up work? --AlbertDear Albert,No, it will not work. The cable-pull per shift is different. However,you might find some words of wisdom (and hope) among the responses belowregarding converting old seven-speed systems to ErgoPower. --LennardHow long is the chain?Dear Lennard,Can you please confirm or comment on the relative lengths of Campyand Shimano chains? I have a Park chain length tool that shows expectedchain length on my Shimano chain but a much

Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Davitamon) won Saturday's World Cup opener, the 297km classic, Milan San-Remo. Stay tuned for a complete race wrap-up from Andrew Hood, more photos from Graham Watson and complete results. Meanwhile, to see how today's race unfolded just clickhere, to pull up our Live Update window. The defending World Cup champion of the Quick.Step-Davitamon team won an exciting sprint finish ahead of Mirko Celestino and Luca Paolini.

With something like 24 inches of snow expected over the next two days, I figure that now is the perfect opportunity to talk about an oft-overlooked product: The lowly fender. I know, not cool, not fast, but I'll let you in on a little secret: They work! On top of that, they are a cheap investment if you ever use a bicycle for anything other than racing. Maybe it was the "skunk tail" on über-commuter Bryan Jew's butt or the chest/neck/face splattering I received on my way into work Tuesday morning, but fenders are mandatory equipment for a splatter-free commute. As luck would have it, SKS

Dear Lennard Zinn;To date I have not had much experience with threadless headsets. Howdoes one adjust (raise) the handlebar height on a threadless headset system?--Craig Dear Craig;If you have spacers on the steering tube above the stem, you canraise it. You pull off the top cap and the stem and move spacers from abovethe stem to below it. If there are no spacers above the stem, you do nothave enough length of steering tube to allow raising it. If you have adown-angled stem, you can flip your stem over so it angles up. Or you getanother stem that has more up angle to it. --Lennard  That

An emotionally spent Alexandre Vinokourov was more relieved than happy after wrapping up the 61st Paris-Nice on Sunday. It was a tumultuous week for the quiet Kazakh, who fulfilled his promise to win the race in honor of his fallen compatriot and friend, Andrei Kivilev, who died from injuries in a spill in Tuesday’s third stage. “It’s been a very hard week and I’ve given all my concentration to winning the race for ‘Kivi,’” said Vinokourov, who finished 43 seconds ahead of ONCE’s Mikel Zarrabeitia. Spanish rider David Bernabeu scored a big win for his Portuguese-based Milaneza team to

Alexandre Vinokourov pushed one day closer to delivering victory in the 61st Paris-Nice after surviving a cold, blustery day along France’s Cote d’Azur. CSC’s Tyler Hamilton lit up the 194km sixth stage from Toulon to Cannes in what he called a “suicidal attack,” riding solo for more than 100 kilometers. His escape, which he described as “a training ride,” gave Hamilton the best climber’s jersey for his efforts. ONCE’s Joaquim Rodriguez won coming into classy Cannes in a five-up sprint on the famed Boulevard de la Croisette after attacking on the Category 2 Col du Tanneron with 23km to

An emotional Alexandre Vinokourov rode to victory atop Mont Faron Friday to take the overall lead of the 61st Paris-Nice, a race he now vows to win in the name of his fallen friend Andrei Kivilev. It was another tumultuous and exciting stage in the “Race to the Sun,” with race leader Dario Frigo (Fassa Bortolo) not starting after team officials said he came down with a sudden attack of stomach flu overnight. With Frigo gone, the second-placed Vinokourov became the leader, but he declined to wear the maillot jaune in the Italian’s absence. He started the difficult 152.5km from Aix en

Fassa Bortolo's Dario Frigo stamped his authority on the 61st edition of Paris-Nice, winning Thursday's 16.5km individual time trial and jumping into the overall lead, while defending champion Alexandre Vinokourov (Telekom) promises to take the overall title for his fallen friend and comrade. The focus was back on racing after Wednesday's emotional stage when the peloton woke up to news that Cofidis rider Andrei Kivilev had died from head injuries suffered in a crash Tuesday. A subdued mood still hung over the race on Thursday, but riders decided the best way to pay homage to Kivilev was to

Forget the fact that we just got the run-down on the 2004 Dura-Ace (10-speed as reported). Hold off on the report about the latest road hardware unveiled at this weekend's Pomona Valley Stage Race. Don't worry a bit about Jonathan Vaughters's speed secrets, because I've got much bigger news. I got to hang out with Kelly Osbourne on Monday night. You know, Ozzy's daughter? Bad hair, short, a bit on the chunky side…? Well, "hang-out" might be pushing it, but I did run into her at baggage claim at Denver International (and boy, does she have plenty of baggage to claim). She was on her way

Dear Lennard;I have a 2000 60cm Trek 5200 OCLV carbon fully stock bike. Notlong after I bought the bike, I noticed a periodic creaking coming fromthe bottom bracket area of the bike that usually appears when torquingon the pedals out of the saddle. I had my shop pull the bottom bracket,grease it up, and reinstall it, but it still makes the noise. I'vegotten new pedals and make sure the crank bolts are nice and tight, butthe noise is still there. My mechanic told me that OCLV frames arenotorious for this mysterious creak, and indeed I have noticed the noisedon 2 other OCLV frames (one in a guy

Orlando's Festival of Speed was very nearly an all-Ivan affair, as Saturn's Ivan Dominguez won the Saturday criterium and local rider Ivan Franco (Jet Network-Home Finance) tested Jittery Joe's Jeff Hopkins in Sunday's circuit race. Hopkins, though, managed to edge out Franco for the win to complete the weekend of National Racing Calendar racing. On Saturday, Dominguez was clearly the strongman in the evening criterium, winning out of a group of seven that included 7UP-Maxxis teammates John Lieswyn and Brice Jones, who tried repeatedly to work over the Saturn rider. "Ivan was just

Thursday's 8.5-mile uphill time trial turned out to be the perfect showcase for Saturn's Tom Danielson and RONA-Esker's Genevieve Jeanson, as each rode to impressive wins in the opening stage of the Pomona Valley Stage Race in Southern California. Danielson and Saturn teammate Chris Horner went one-two, with the Tour de Langkawi winner taking the stage with a time of 27:51. Horner clocked in at 28:24, while Prime Alliance's Jonathan Vaughters was third, more than a minute behind Danielson. Jeanson took the women's race by a huge 1:48 margin over T-Mobile's Amber Neben, with Sue Palmer Komar

Lampre’s Jan Svorada came back to Spain and did what he did this time last year: Win the opening stage of the Tour de Murcia in a tough field sprint. But this year he had to beat Erik Zabel to do it. The two battled to the line at the end of Wednesday’s 162km first stage between Murcia and Ceuti in southeastern Spain, a day that also served as the season debut of four-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. Indeed, Armstrong was the clearly the center of attention before the start in Murcia as big crowds hovered around the U.S. Postal Service bus hoping to catch a glimpse of the

Dear Lennard Zinn;It's a long sob story, but suffice it to say that I had to take apart an Ultegra STI lever to remove some debris. I almost have it completely rebuilt but for the coil spring for the big (upshift) lever. It needs to be preloaded quite a bit, and it's almost impossible to tension it and push everything together. Do you have any experience with this, or do you know someone who can do it? --Andy Dear Andy;Oooooh. I wish I had some good news for you, but I don’t. Shimano STI levers are not designed to be overhauled. Here is the response fromShimano’s Chris DiStefano:No one is

A torque wrench is an incredible tool. It allows you to accurately determinethe tightness of a bolt, which can reduce the likelihood of a part slippingfrom not being tightened enough as well as of breaking from being tightenedtoo much.The downside of a torque wrench is that it has a long lever arm andif you are tightening to the wrong torque spec you can tighten a lot tighterthan you could with a little hex key.When you get a torque wrench, it is necessary to get used to it. Itshould not replace your own feel for a bolt’s tightness; rather, it shouldbe supplementary to it. If you would choke

There's no doubting that beefed-up national security is a necessary evil these days. The need for stricter airport security goes in tow with the WOT (War On Terrorism)--I've got no beef with that. But like most things big, beautiful and American, our culture can have a funny (or most times, not so funny) way of taking things too far. Take, for example, my recent visit to the Midwest for a few factory visits. After setting off the metal detector at the Madison airport, I was pulled aside by security for "secondary screening." No problem, with the assortment of titanium and stainless steel

Funny how you go through life redefining your personal high-water marks. Your longest ride, the toughest climb, your best placing – all of these achievements are subject to improvement. On a purely personal note, I'm proud to announce a double whammy of sorts, having surpassed two new personal highs (or, in this case, I should say lows) in one fell swoop. You see, I just returned from a quick little jaunt over to our Midwestern friends in Minnesota and Wisconsin to visit with a few cycling-related manufacturers. It was on this trip that I achieved my new marks–the first being coldest

Can you direct me to a source for a 10 speed shifter cam so that Ican convert my 9 speed record shifter?--GaryDear Gary;Any bike shop can order the 10-speed right index gear. Many distributorscarry the parts.--LennardA matter of wheel choiceDear Lennard;What is more important and under what circumstances i.e. terrain, ridertype, etc., light wheels regarding weight or heavier wheels for momentum?This has come up for our team regarding light and aero wheels i.e. HedAlps or Zipp 404 vs. Mavic Carbones and the like. Your comments would bevery interesting to us. --ChrisDear Chris;There is never a

National criterium champion Kevin Monahan (7UP) kicked off the season by taking the National Racing Calendar opener, the two-day Florida Cycling Grand Prix, in Gainesville over the weekend. Monahan won the opening race of the criterium stage race on the Gainesville Raceway Saturday, and finished well enough in Sunday’s race, won by Jason Snow, to take the overall. A scheduled third event on Saturday evening was cancelled due to hurricane warnings. On Saturday, Monahan and teammate John Lieswyn finished one-two ahead of Keith Norris, and that would be the final order of the overall in the

I have a new pair of Sidi shoes and am considering going from Lookpedals to either Campy Record Pro-Fit Plus or Shimano DuraAce SPD-SL's.Which, if either, will work better with the Sidi sole and plate? Will I need to get longer cleat bolts for either system?  Will I needto use the Sidi plate with either system?How about Sidi with Ritchey Road pedals?  (I understand the Ritcheycleat is a 2-hole SPD style.) --PhilDear Phil;For the Campy or new Shimano SPD-SL pedals, you will use the sameSidi plate you did with the Looks, and both pedals will work identicallywith that shoe as the Looks did. The

BLACK OUT -vi- 1: to become enveloped in darkness; specif: black out date: A set date at which exclusive press release information can be released to the public;specif: utilized to protect current inventory from abandonment in premature anticipation of the next model year;see also: screwing the manufacturer over and killing bike shop sales. While not one to complain about the goings-on at other cycling publications, I'm about to (briefly). Two weeks ago Manitou presented the media with a sneak-peek at its 2004 product line which we lightly reported on, but I adhered to the requested black

Wow, it's been a whirlwind of activity around here. I won't bore you with the down-and-dirty details of trying to push our 2003 Buyer's Guide out the door (I'm beginning to think of it as one of those drunk party guests that refuses to leave your house at 3:30 a.m. when everyone else has split). Instead let's stick to the part where I tell you how I just got back in from a weekend of riding with the Manitou boys down in sunny Phoenix, Arizona. Perfect timing to sneak away from the near zero cold snap that had Boulder firmly in its grasp. Unlike most manufacturers, Manitou chooses to show

I have a question regarding race radios. We have an elite/pro Canadian team that we are just starting up. I have been doing a bunch of research on which race radios are the best for use for our team. I find it strange how little information I can find on this topic. We have tested a few different options and we seem to be coming up short in our quest for a good solution. We have tried the Motorola FRS type radios - they only work when our riders are very close together. If we have one guy up the road they fail miserably. We then tried more robust, higher power radios, which had a better range

Chances of anything significant happening on the last day of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi were slim when the day started. But when race officials neutralized the race two laps into the 12-lap criterium because of threatening skies, Tom Danielson and his Saturn team could sit back and coast, assured that the 24-year-old from Durango, Colorado was going home with a yellow jersey in his suitcase.

How good could Tom Danielson be? Consider this. In the moments after finishing just an eyelash behind stage winner Hernan Dario Munoz on stage 9 of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi, the 24-year-old seemed more upset by the fact that he’d lost the stage than exultant that he’d just all but locked up the overall title in the fourth richest stage race in the world.

Someday someone will actually pull it off here in Malaysia. Break away from the field early in the race, hammer hard for a few hours, and catch the peloton napping just long enough to grab a solo victory. That day, however, was not today. Despite a Herculean effort from the increasingly famous Koji Fukushima, the eighth stage of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi ended with another mad-dash sprint at the end. And like he did two days before, Australian Stuart O’Grady came away the winner.

Saturn’s plan all along, if it worked, was to have Tom Danielson sporting the yellow jersey come the final day of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi. It just wasn’t supposed to happen this early.

Stuart O’Grady just shrugged his shoulders when asked the last time he’d won a bunch sprint like the one that concluded stage 6 of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi. “I don’t know,” he said after a brief pause. “It’s been a while.” Indeed, until Wednesday, it had been nearly three years since the Credit Agricole rider had broken through with a win like the one he grabbed at the end of the 136.3km run from Marang to Cukai on another scorcher of a day in Malaysia. Before that you had to go all the way back to the third stage of the Midi-Libre in May of 2000.

Don’t tell anyone, but I managed to sneak away from the tidal wave that is the VeloNews 2003 Buyer's Guide. We've been building this monster since early December, and with any luck, we'll have it out the door in two weeks (in your hands at the beginning of March). So far, so good I'd have to say. Even if you're not in the market for a new bike, components or accessories (do I see any hands out there?) I'm sure you'll find the numerous interviews with pro riders and their personal racing setups interesting. We even threw-in a few interviews with a handful of bicycle racing's biggest names

Leaning against the Ceremiche-Panaria team van 20 minutes before the start of stage 5, Graeme Brown was very matter of fact about the first four days of 2003 Tour de Langkawi. Sure the Aussie, who went neck and neck with Mario Cipollini at last year’s Giro, had been beaten in three straight sprints by a younger, brasher foe. But Brown wasn’t ready to concede anything to Mendonca Pagliarini, the 24-year-old Brazilian Lampre rider who’d won three straight sprint finishes here in Malaysia.

QuestionI recently purchased an NOS Time/Look carbon fork to put on my '87 Paramount. I am running a 2002 Record triple group and am wondering about the mounting of the front brake caliper on the fork. With the steel fork I was not worried about the washer with the "teeth" on both sides biting into the fork, as that is what it is designed to do. However, with my carbon fork there is no aluminum plate to mount the brake against and I am wondering if it is smart to use this washer? Will it possibly case problems biting into the composite material? If not this washer, then what should I use to

One star continued to shine, while another emerged at the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia on Sunday. For the third straight day Brazilian Mendonca Pagliarini took top honors in a bunch sprint, this time winning the 172.9km stage 4 trip from Gerik to Tanah Merah. But getting equal billing on this day was Canadian mountain biker Roland Green, who showed it didn’t matter whether it was dirt or tarmac when it comes to climbing.

The third day of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi lacked the bloody drama of its predecessor, but when the bunch cleared the line in the mining city of Ipoh the result was the same. For the second day in a row Brazilian Mendonca Pagliarini took a sprint-finish win in Malaysia. The pair of victories are the first of the 24-year-old’s 2-year pro cycling career. In the chase for the overall, there was no change at the top, as Saturn’s Nathan O’Neill maintained his 23-second lead over Canadian national team rider Roland Green.

The question at the post-race press conference might have raised a few eyebrows, but the point was well made. “So, is this becoming a version of the Belgian national championship,” asked the German reporter, "with maybe a few other nations invited to fill out the field?” Newly crowned world cyclo-cross champion Bart Wellens smiled, cast a glance at Mario De Clerq on his left and Erwin Vervecken on his right and shrugged.

It has to be cause for concern when you look around and see you’re off the front of a bike race with only a two-time world champion on your wheel … and Daphny van den Brandt is no different than anyone else. “I was worried,” Van den Brandt said after earning her first world title in the women’s cyclo-cross world championship in Monopoli, Italy on Sunday. “If you have Hanka Kupfernagel with you in a cyclo-cross race, there really is no time you can relax.” Like virtually every other race on the world’s course in Monopoli this weekend, the outcome of the women’s event was decided largely on

The finish stretch for the second day of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi looked to be perfect for a clean, hard-fought sprint. The road was wide and the final straightaway long. But after what overall race leader Nathan O’Neill called “a bunch of guys racing like it was the last crusade,” two major crashes wreaked havoc on stage 2 Saturday in Malaysia. In the aftermath, Saturn’s Charles Dionne was one of at least a half dozen riders who ended up in the hospital, suffering from a severe laceration on his left thigh and several broken fingers according to a hospital official. Up front Mendonca

In his first race as a member of the American Saturn squad, Australian Nathan O’Neill showed his new employer what a good hire they’d made. O’Neill was the only rider to post a sub-12-minute time, winning the opening stage of the 2003 Tour de Langkawi on Langkawi Island in Malaysia Friday. O’Neill clocked an 11:53 around the rolling 9.5km time trial course, 23 seconds faster than second-place finisher Roland Green (Canadian National). Third place went to fellow Saturn rider Tom Danielson, with Canadian teammate Eric Wohlberg one place back in fourth. All told four Canadians placed in the top

Dear Lennard Zinn;We've been looking around for a good road bike for my girlfriend andone thing we've noticed is that the Shimano STI shifters do not fit herparticularly well. She has relatively small hands and the levers are justtoo far away from the bar for her to comfortably brake. I believe thatShimano addressed this issue in the mountain bike brake set up, but dothey or anyone else address it in the road arena? --MikeDear Mike;There is no alternative, short brake lever from Campagnolo or Shimanowith an integrated shift lever like ErgoPower or STI in it. You can addressit with the

Ag2R's Mikel Astarloza relied on the sprinting prowess of his teammate Jaan Kirsipuu to hold off a final stage challenge from Stuart O'Grady, and a host of other Australians, hoping to keep the Spaniard from claiming the overall title at the Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under. Meanwhile, Ceramiche-Panaria powerhouse Graeme Brown should have had little reason to complain after surviving a week of frustration to finally win a stage in this year’s race.

Fabio Sacchi says he is enjoying the scorching heat of South Australia that baked the Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under peloton with temperatures reaching 110 degrees Friday. But when asked about the heat Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen is putting upon his overall lead in the six-stage race that ends on Sunday, the Saeco leader becomes a bit wary. After the 144km fourth stage from Unley to Goolwa on Friday, Sacchi’s overall lead on McEwen dropped from 10 seconds to eight. Racing into a head wind, Australia’s Baden Cooke (FDJeux.com) won the leg in a sprint from Graeme Brown (Panaria), Stuart

With Robbie McEwen and Graeme Brown battling the final sprint in the third stage of the Jacob’s Creek Tour Down Under on Thursday, surprisingly much of the day’s attention was turned to a war of words between race leader Fabio Sacchi (Saeco) and Aussie Stuart O’Grady. Sacchi blasted the Credit Agricole star for questioning the abilities of the visiting Italian team. Sacchi, who continued to hold the race leader’s jersey after the third stage from Glenelg to Hahndorf, was upset over comments made by O’Grady in his daily newspaper column. Published in the local Adelaide newspaper The

Saeco’s Fabio Sacchi has learned one thing about racing in Australia: forget trusting anyone, even your mates. Sacchi took the race lead by winning yesterday's second stage through the Barossa Valley to Kapunda. The result continues the Milan rider's success in the event, which includes two spells in the yellow leader's jersey and a stage win from the 2001 and 2002 races. Asked what his past appearances in the race had taught him, he said he came away with just one clear lesson. “I learned not to trust anyone, including your friends,” Sacchi noted. By Sunday, when the 735km race ends in

Dear Lennard Zinn;My question has to do with Campy Record 10-speed rear derailleur and cog compatibility. My current setup has 53x39 chainrings, a 12x25 cogset with a short (standard) cage rear derailleur, and I recently switched to a Wipperman 10-speed chain. For mountain riding, I would like to substitute a cogset with a larger inside cog - say, 26 to 29 teeth - rather than switching to a triple chainring setup. How high can I go before I have to use a medium or long cage derailleur? Also, for cost considerations, is there any problem using a Chorus 10-speed cogset if the rest of the

With the Holidays behind us it's officially Buyer's Guide season around here and we're working fast-and-furious to produce the most interesting guide you've ever flipped through. Whether you're in the market for a new bike or not, we've planned plenty of engaging copy to pique your interest in the latest product trends in bicycles, wheels, forks, stems, handlebars and a few other critical categories. But unlike any other bike-related Buyer's Guide that has been produced, ours isn't designed to denigrate your intelligence with features such as: "How to buy your

That sweet position on your road bike should be as comfortable as your favorite pair of slippers — and once you find it, you won’t want to give it up. But discovering the perfect position in the first place often requires many tiny adjustments in the height and reach of your handlebar to get it right. In the current issue of VeloNews, technical writer Lennard Zinn helps you work through the steps necessary to find that perfect position. As mentioned in the article, Alan Hills of Hills-Scientific.com in Boulder, Colorado, has shared a handy program he designed to choose the stems for his

Transplanted from California less than a year ago (there, it's official, everyone in Colorado can now hate me) the guys here at the office say the winter has been unusually mild. My early morning frozen water bottles and icy trails might disagree, but hey, at least we're out there and not relegated to the trainer (like I was told I would be before moving out here). Weather aside, the racing/product seasons are right around the corner and we're gearing-up for some pretty hectic travel schedules. For racing coverage, Jason's off to Malaysia, Charles is heading over 'cross

Dear readers;I get a lot of questions about cranks – crank lengths, non-standardcranks, compatibility, etc., so I thought I’d just combine a number ofthem here.  --LennardDear Lennard;I would like to read your comments or opinions on a product calledPowerCranks (see at Powercranks.com). I would like to buy a pair to improvemy technique. Thanks for your help. --HeltonDear Helton;PowerCranks are cranks with a clutch bearing at the bottom-bracketconnection in order to only engage the bottom bracket in the forward direction.You can only keep them turning if you pull up and around the entire

A question that I receive often through my "Tech Q&A" column on thissite is how one should remove a seatpost that is stuck in a frame. Ratherthan answer each one, I can simply reprint the section from Chapter 10of "Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance" that touches on thatvery subject.Removing a seatpost that has frustrated all normal methods of removingit is a difficult job requiring lots of attention and skill because ofthe risk involved. This may be a job best done by a shop, because if youmake a mistake you run the risk of destroying your frame. If you’re not100-percent confident

Dear Lennard ZinnI'm 50 and have arthritis in my left hip. I've been riding a pretty laid-back road bike for years (A LeMond with a 72.5 seat angle, seat all the way back)I do Yoga regularly, and that has helped, but my hips ache when I ride. I’m wondering if sitting further back might be "working" my hips more. The second part is that I have another frame I could have built up, but it's radically different: 73.5 seat, 40.5 stays. The front end is almost the same as the LeMond. Both bikes are steel, the other frame is 753. I'm 6'2" and weigh240. Some people have said the shorter bike would

Well, things are certainly back up-to-speed here at the magazine after the holidays. I hope you had a good one. You'll be glad to know that even though we're all a little teary-eyed over Jeremy "Showtime" McGrath's sudden retirement, we're still focused on getting another issue out the door. It's NORBA's 20th anniversary and in the spirit of celebrating, we're working on a pretty interesting feature piece highlighting the highs (and some lows) of the governing body of mountain biking.Personally, I'm working on a few techy pieces that highlight just how far technology has come in the past 20

Dear Lennard Zinn; My right foot (third and fourth toes especially) goes to sleep after only a short time on the bike (10-15 minutes).  I've had the problem for quite a while, but just got new shoes (with plenty of toe room) and it's back - these shoes are stiffer than my others too.  If I stand or unclip for a few seconds it helps, but comes right back.  I use the same MTB shoes for road and MTB riding (recreational) - the problem is worse on the road.  What can I do to help?  --JeffAnswer: It sounds like perhaps you need custom orthotics. I have a similar problem, which in my case was

Dear Lennard Zinn;Everyone knows you don't have to work as hard if you're drafting off the person in front of you. How does your work effort change if someone is drafting behind you?Here is why I ask: I always thought that if you were riding by yourself, then you had to work harder than if somebody was drafting behind you because as you move through the air, it flows past your bike and body and creates turbulence as it swirls around in the void of space behind you. This almost creates a suction behind you pulling you back against your forward progress (if my logic is correct).

One of the more frequent questions I get on my “Tech Q&A" column is why Campagnolo changed its 10-speed chain and eliminated the PermaLink and, therefore, the tool to install it, now requiring the purchase of a different chain tool. In late July, I visited Campagnolo in Vicenza, Italy, and I got the answer to this question directly from Mario Meggiolan, the engineer who designed the new chain tool as well as the carbon Hyperon wheel. Campagnolo first supplied the PermaLink with 10-speed chains because that was the best way it could see at the time to make such a narrow chain strong enough.

The U.S. distributor of Look Cycling products, Veltec Sports, has issued a voluntary recall of the French manufacturer’s “Carbostem” handlebar stems. According to a Veltec release issued Friday, there have been no accidents or injuries involving any of the stems, but Look has reported that the stems, constructed of carbon fiber and aluminum, are subject to failure as a result of fatigue. Obviously, if that were to occur, a rider could lose control and crash. Therefore, Veltec is overseeing a full recall of the small number of stems distributed in the U.S. Veltec’s vice president of

Watch your head, because the component war continues to wage at full-fury. First, with Shimano's intentional/accidental shot over the bow with its posterboy Armstrong showing up all big and beautiful in the latest Sports Illustrated sporting next-gen Dura-Ace. And now with Campagnolo granting VeloNews the first detailed images of its much-rumored electronic gruppo. Our visit to Campagnolo world headquarters in Vicenza, Italy last week (look for a full report in two weeks) certainly helped smooth-out the tight-lipped policy that Campagnolo has so far held about any official comment about

VeloNews technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder, a former U.S. national team rider and author of several books on bikes and bike maintenance. Zinn's VeloNews.com column is devoted to addressing readers' technical questions about bikes, their care and feeding and how we as riders can use them as comfortably and efficiently as possible. Readers can send brief technical questions directly to Zinn. Zinn’s column appears each Tuesday on VeloNews.com.Question:The question about the MTB carbon steerer tube and the recent column about carbon forks begs the question – what do you think about

With the racing off-season in full bloom, the past two weeks provided a short window of opportunity to sneak out of the office. But unlike a leisurely jaunt to ride the back roads of Tucson or a few days railing Fruita singletrack, we needed to get some work done (so said the boss). With a week's notice, I was told I needed to, "Pack my bags and grab as many notebooks as I could," because we were off to Italy for a manufacturer meet-and-greet. Part social call, part product fact-finding tour, this trip provided the opportunity to introduce myself to a good segment of the Italian manufacturers

If Dr. Irwin Goldstein’s warnings about cycling-caused impotency or those Specialized saddle ads of a few years ago weren’t enough, now we learn from our evening news and newspapers and news magazines that the pounding experienced on a mountain bike now poses risks to your manhood as well. So, what do we do? Of course, after the Goldstein scare we were offered a flood of bike saddles designed to cure the problem. Are we now going to have bike designers claiming their suspension systems will not only improve your comfort and bike handling, but will also enhance your personal life? But isn’t

After years of being the bridesmaid, Ann Grande (Kona-Kenwood) finally won her long sought-after national cyclo-cross championships on Sunday, overcoming the elements and a deep field at the nationals at the Domaine Chandon winery in Napa, California. An hour later, Jonathan Page (Richard Sachs), 26, put in a dominating race to score what could be the first of many elite national titles and ensure himself of a trip to Monopoli, Italy, as part of the U.S. team for the world championships.

The epic Pacific storm that camped out on the Northern California coast made a soupy mess out of the first day of the national cyclo-cross championships at the Domaine Chandon winery in Yountville, California, on Saturday, producing a sloppy, but compelling day of racing. The day was capped by the repeat win in the under-23 championship by Giant’s Adam Craig, who beat out Kona-Kenwood’s Barry Wicks and a surprising Ryan Trebon (Krystals) of North Carolina. Eight inches of rain fell on Domaine Chandon, just north of Napa, on Friday, forcing organizers to re-route the course around some of the

A can of beer always helps to make problems seem less important, butsometimes, it can actually fix bike problems! Aluminum beveragecans are 0.1mm thick and are easy to cut with a knife or a pair of scissors,rendering them quite useful for making minor spacing adjustments on a bike. Slipping seatpostA seatpost that gradually slips downward as you ride can be causedby an ovalized seat tube, a sizing difference between the seatpost andseat tube or a tolerance buildup over a number of parts; the latter isparticularly rampant with suspension seatposts in oversized seat tubes.What can you do? A

VeloNews technical writer Lennard Zinn is a frame builder, a former U.S. national team rider and author of several books on bikes and bike maintenance. Zinn's VeloNews.com column is devoted to addressing readers' technical questions about bikes, their care and feeding and how we as riders can use them as comfortably and efficiently as possible. Zinn’s column appears each Tuesday on VeloNews.com. Question:I have a question on the durability of the RockShox World Cup carbon steer tube. I am very comfortable on my MTB with a low front end but it is causing problems on steep descents. I am