Road

Everyone has his own way of killing time on the lengthy drive that we've just begun to the start of stage 6.

Cadel Evans just can’t seem to catch a break this season. The Australian’s chances of overall victory were torpedoed Saturday with an ill-timed puncture near the top of the decisive Alto de Monachil climb late in the five-climb 13th stage. Confusion over a wheel change cost Evans critical seconds and he lost contact with the top GC rivals just as the leaders were nearing the final charge up to the summit finish at Sierra Nevada.

America’s Tejay van Garderen narrowly missed victory in Saturday’s individual time trial at the Tour de l’Avenir, finishing second on the stage en route to climbing into second place overall. Race leader Romain Sicard (France A) confirmed his grip on the overall with a narrow, three-second victory in the 27km time trial course in Ornans. Russian rider Timofey Kritskiy, who started the day second, crashed out of the race with a broken leg and other serious cuts.

Matthew Goss (Saxo Bank) proved fastest in a bunch sprint on Saturday to win the 217.6km Paris-Brussels. The Australian crossed ahead of compatriot Allan Davis (Quick Step) and Belgium's Kristof Goddaert (Topsport Vlaanderen) to take the victory in the 89th annual classic. It was the 23-year-old Goss's fifth win of the season and his third in Belgium after two stage triumphs on the Tour de Wallonie during the summer. "It was a difficult sprint especially towards the end when it was vital not to go too early," said Goss.

Australia's Chris Sutton (Garmin-Slipstream) sealed the biggest win of his career by claiming the first stage of the Tour of Britain with a sprint finish victory in York on Saturday. Sutton, the nephew of British track cycling coach Shane Sutton, held off Barloworld's Michel Merlo and home riders Ben Swift and Russell Downing following a 172km stage from Scunthorpe to Newcastlegateshead. And he paid tribute to Garmin teammate Bradley Wiggins, fourth in the Tour de France earlier this year, for his stellar lead-out efforts.

David Moncoutie (Cofidis) padded his lead in the mountains competition by winning stage 13 of the 2009 Vuelta a Espana on Saturday. The mountains leader was the lone survivor of a break that formed up on the day’s first climb, and he set about taking the points on each of the next four categorized ascents before finally riding off the front of the crumbling break to solo in for the victory at the ski resort of Sierra Nevada, above the city of Granada.

Grega Bole of Slovenia kicked off the 22nd CISM World Military Cycling Championships by winning the time trial on Friday in Clonmel, Ireland. The 24-year-old, who recently signed a contract to race for Lampre in 2010, blitzed the 20.52km course in a time of 24 minutes and 16 seconds — just seven seconds off the record for the same course set by Sean Kelly in the 1986 Nissan Classic. German teammates Stefan Schaefer and Robert Bengsch were second and third, respectively. The top three were the only riders to crack the 25-minute mark.

Laughter resounds through the camper as Mark’s joke carries from the back to the front where George, who is at the brunt of it, sits. On the puffy pleather couches and fabric chairs we lounge in our cycling shorts, waiting until the last minute, like school kids, before heading to the start. Our radios dangle from our ears, our jerseys are piled along with our helmets and race food ready to be pulled on at the very last minute.

After four days of racing that left the first two riders tied and the first 85 riders within one minute of the leader, the 2009 Tour of Missouri finally took shape Friday in the stage 5 time trial. Garmin-Slipstream's David Zabriskie demolished the field, taking the stage victory and the yellow jersey on the same day his teammate Ryder Hesjedal took a historic stage win at the Vuelta a Espana.

The Italian Amore & Vita Detweiler Hershey & Associates team put Philip Mamos into the leader’s jersey of the Univest Grand Prix on Friday with a victory in the stage-1 team time trial. The TTT in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a first for the Univest GP, was two laps of a 3.8-mile course that featured several turns and a technical section near the end that included a short, steep climb.

Tire talk consumes an inordinate amount of conversational time when one engages with an off-road bicycle racer. What is Barry Wicks running right now? The best (even if it's all in his mind)!

Tom Danielson is licking his lips ahead of Saturday’s decisive climbing stage to Sierra Nevada in the 13th stage at the Vuelta a España. The route will retrace some of the roads over the Cat. 1 Alto de Monachil where he attacked three years ago to claim his biggest win of his career into Granada during the 2006 Vuelta. Danielson has twice finished in the top 10 at the Vuelta, but is now poised to make a run for the final podium — or perhaps even more.

Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Slipstream) made history Friday when he became the first Canadian to win a stage at the Vuelta a España. Hesjedal also delivered Garmin’s second consecutive stage victory at the Vuelta with a gutsy late-stage performance up the grueling Velefique climb. Hesjedal spoke exclusively to VeloNews following his emotional stage victory. Here are excerpts from his post-stage reaction: VeloNews: Describe your feelings coming across the line.

1. Alessandro Vanotti (ITA) Liquigas, starts 2:00 p.m.
2. William Frischkorn (USA) Garmin-Slipstream, starts 2:01 p.m.
3. Francesco Chicchi (ITA) Liquigas, starts 2:02 p.m.
4. Charly Vives (CAN) Planet Energy, starts 2:03 p.m.
5. Matthew Rice (AUS) Jelly Belly Cycling Team, starts 2:04 p.m.
6. Francois Parisien (CAN) Planet Energy, starts 2:05 p.m.
7. Tyler Wren (USA) Colavita/Sutter Home P/b Cooking Light, starts 2:06 p.m.
8. Bradley Huff Charles (USA) Jelly Belly Cycling Team, starts 2:07 p.m.
9.

There were no major shakeups in the Tour de l’Avenir on Friday and America’s Tejay van Garderen and Peter Stetina remained securely in the top 10 going into Saturday’s decisive individual time trial. The Colombian team tried to shake things up, putting two riders into the day’s main breakaway in the 182.5km run from Gérardmer to Ornans. The pack came back together for the bunch sprint, and German rider Andreas Stauff out-kicked Russian Timofey Kritskiy to take the flowers.

Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Slipstream) launched a desperate, last-ditch attack in the final meters to win the 12th stage of the 2009 Vuelta a España atop the Alto de Velefique on Friday.

JJ Haedo (Saxo Bank) took the yellow jersey in the 2009 Tour of Missouri on Thursday after winning a tough uphill sprint against race leader Thor Hushovd (Cervélo TestTeam) on the “capital wall” in Jefferson City. It was another mass dash after the peloton gobbled up a four-man break — Bernard Van Ulden (Jelly Belly), Bradley White (OUCH-Maxxis), Michael Creed (Team Type 1) and Jeff Louder (BMC) — as they began the first of three circuits around the Missouri Capitol.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Throughout his long career on the road and mountain bike circuits, some of the Canadian’s best performances have come in September. Part of that is purely coincidental, especially since some of mountain biking’s biggest events (World Cup finals and worlds) often fell in September. But there’s no denying the tall, all-rounder from western Canada seems to rise to the top when the leaves start falling.

Americans Tejay van Garderen and Peter Stetina confirmed their places in the top 10 overall after Thursday’s summit finish at the Tour de l’Avenir. Russian rider Timofey Kritskiy won the 146km sixth stage from Chateau-Salins to Gérardmer, just ahead of new leader Romain Sicard of France, in a race that features young talent and is contested by national teams. Sicard started the day just one second behind compatriot Julién Bérard, who fell from first to fourth at 2:12 back.

Following Wednesday's announcement of six British riders, Team Sky released 10 names of international riders joining the team spearheaded by David Brailsford, the driving force behind Team Great Britain's dominant Olympic team. The list includes three riders from Columbia-HTC, including Norwegian time trial champion Edvald Boasson Hagen, who won Ghent-Wevelgem winner this year, plus Thomas Lovkvist and Greg Henderson, who recently won a stage of the Vuelta a España.

3, 2, 1, Go! Third on stage one; second on stage two; first on stage three. Not one to settle for mediocrity, Thor Hushovd’s track record at this year’s Tour of Missouri is nothing short of impressive. Oh and to ice the cake, Thor’s going to look pretty spiffy in yellow in stage 4. With four tough stages still to go, we say “game on.”

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Is it OK to file off 'lawyer's tabs' on mountain bike forks?

What's that little red thing on Tour de France bikes' chainstays?

Can someone repair my Campy carbon crank?

Can I use Campy 10-speed shifters with 11-speed derailleurs?

Team Sky, the pending British road cycling team, announced six of its riders for the 2010 season, including Olympic gold medal winner Geraint Thomas and 2009 Tour of Ireland winner Russell Downing. More riders are set to be announced on Thursday, with speculation that British star Bradley Wiggins could be among them. Thomas, 23, was the youngest rider in the 2007 Tour de France and won team pursuit gold in Beijing alongside Wiggins, who finished fourth in July's Tour.

Thor Hushovd took advantage of a difficult final 2km and a tired Columbia-HTC team on Wednesday's third stage of the Tour of Missouri to take his first stage win and the overall lead.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Tyler Farrar got the monkey off Garmin-Slipstream’s back. After a string of close calls, with no less than nine second places in grand tours in 2009, including second by Ryder Hesjedal in Tuesday’s 10th stage, Farrar was first across the line in a major three-week race in Wednesday 11th stage at the Vuelta a España. It’s an important milestone for both Farrar and Garmin.

Can stem height affect high-speed shimmy?

America’s Tejay van Garderen slotted into the top 10 on Wednesday at the Tour de l’Avenir after sneaking into the day’s winning breakaway. Van Garderen was among 13 riders to attack early in the hilly, four-climb stage across the French Ardennes in the 166.5km fifth stage. Spanish rider Jonathan Castroviejo won out of the break and Van Garderen came across the line seventh with the same time. Overnight leader Julién Bérard retained his leader’s jersey he’s worn since stage 1 after finishing safely in the main pack, which crossed the line nine seconds in arrears.

Can mis-aligned rear dropouts cause rear wheels to pull over?

Can I use a Campy 9-speed rear derailleur with a 10-speed drivetrain?

What can I do about a broken SRAM road shifter lever?

Can Dura-Ace shifters be rebuilt?

Can I use a Shimano 7900 chain with a 7800 rear derailleur?

Can I use a Dura-Ace 7900 crank with a 9-speed drivetrain?

Can I mix SRAM XX parts with SRAM road parts?

How can I stop my rear wheel from slipping in the dropout?

Does greasing threads negate the effects of threadlock?

Can I convert or rebuild Campy 8- or 9-speed shifters?

Are Shimano road and MTB external bottom brackets interchangeable?

Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) finally got his stage win on Wednesday at the 2009 Vuelta a Espana. It was a desperately long sprint for the American, racing in his third grand tour of the year. And he had to fight his way back to the lead group to do it, having been dropped on the final climb of the day, the Cat. 2 Alto Campo de San Juan. But Farrar gutted it out to take his first victory in a grand tour, crossing just ahead of Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto) and Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil).

Are Ultegra 6700 parts compatible with Ultegra 6600?

Excess weight increases risk for a number of diseases, and the current weight epidemic is actually an overeating epidemic.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Mark Cavendish has not left a stage race since March of last year without at least one win to his name. The Columbia-HTC sprinter handily kept that streak alive in Missouri, grabbing the first and second stages. This year Cavendish has won stages at nine stage races, including the Tours of Qatar, California, Switzerland, France, Ireland and Missouri, plus the Giro d’Italia, Three Days of De Panne and Tirreno-Adriatico. Last year he won stages at eight stage races.

Tom Zirbel (Bissell Pro Cycling) and Alison Powers (Team Type I) have been crowned as USA Cycling National Racing Calendar champions for 2009. It was the first NRC title for both. Zirbel unseated two-time defending champ Rory Sutherland (OUCH-Maxxis), taking the title with 1,127 points, just seven ahead of Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Colavita-Sutter Home). Sutherland finished third with 952 points.

Race leader Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC) rocketed past Cervélo's Thor Hushovd on Tuesday to win stage 2 of the 2009 Tour of Missouri. It was another chaotic finale as ProTour and domestic teams butted heads in Cape Girardeau, battling to set up their sprinters in the final miles of the 112.3-mile ride from St. Genevieve. No matter. Cav' simply attached himself to Hushovd's wheel when the Cervélo man made his dash for the line, then shot past for his second consecutive win in this year's tour. The Norwegian hung on for second with Saxo Bank's J.J. Haedo third.

Garmin-Slipstream is still waiting for that elusive individual grand tour stage victory, but no one can criticize the U.S.-registered team for a lack of trying. With second to Simon Gerrans in Tuesday’s 10th stage, Canadian Ryder Hesjedal once again put the argyle jersey at the sharp end of the action at the Vuelta a España. The squad won the team time trial at the 2008 Giro d’Italia in its grand tour debut, but has since come enticingly close to a major stage win at the grand tours in two seasons at the elite level of the sport.

It was a close call for America’s Peter Stetina, who crossed the line second in Tuesday’s fourth stage at the Tour de l’Avenir and bounced into the top 10 overall. Denmark’s Troels Vinther won with a late attack that included Stetina and another rider. Vinther sprung his winning move in the final kilometer, gapping Stetina to claim the win by seven seconds. The main pack roared across the line 11 seconds slower, with French rider Julién Bérard retaining the overall lead that he’s held since an opening stage breakaway.

Simon Gerrans (Cervélo TestTeam) wasn’t included in this year’s Tour de France, but he proved to his team that he can be counted on to win in big-time races. The Aussie played it smart to take a four-up sprint out of the day’s winning 19-man breakaway to win stage 10 of the Vuelta a España on Tuesday. The win gave Gerrans a victory in every grand tour (with stage wins in last year’s Tour and this year’s Giro d’Italia) and gave his Cervélo squad a stage victory in all three grand tours in its rookie season.

The last time many American fans saw Jens Voigt on television, he was sliding along the road on his face, unconscious. Many of those fans in St. Louis saw a much healthier Voigt take the start of the Tour of Missouri Monday, and gave him big cheers.

Ten-lane highways. Venti. And of course, the mere fact that there exists something called a Triple Baconator. There’s no getting around the fact that seemingly everything is bigger in America. This is noticeable the moment I got back on home soil, since the list of “everything” includes the two-hour wait I slogged through immediately after landing while creeping through customs.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) hit the deck within sight of the finish line on stage 1 of the Tour of Missouri, and X-rays later disclosed that he fractured a bone in his hand. Still, he said he plans to start stage 2 — without a cast. “Luck hasn’t been on my side this year,” said Vande Velde, who crashed out of the Giro d’Italia this year on stage 3.

Longtime criterium stalwart Frank Travieso (Championship Porsche) scored the biggest victory of his career Monday in Marietta, Georgia, by winning the 2009 edition of the US 100K Classic. The Cuban-born rider leapt out of the slipstream of Team Type 1’s Aldo Ino Ilesic at the tail end of a blistering 90 kph downhill sprint just in time to come around the Slovenian and take his first NRC title. Jake Keough (Kelly Benefit Strategies), who still holds the lead in the USA CRITS Series, was third.

Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC) survived a chaotic finale to win stage 1 of the 2009 Tour of Missouri on Monday in St. Louis. Cavendish's train was derailed in the final kilometer, and a pair of crashes threw additional monkey wrenches into the works, but he managed to close the deal anyway, finishing ahead of J.J. Haedo (Saxo Bank) and Thor Hushovd (Cervélo TestTeam).

America’s Alex Howes was one of the main protagonists in Monday’s 189km third stage at the Tour de l’Avenir. Howes snuck into the day’s main breakaway, which built up a menacing lead and put pressure on the French team to work hard to neutralize the dangerous escape.

A heavy Spanish accent was back on the Vuelta a España in Monday’s wild and unpredictable seven-climb stage from Alcoy to Xorret de Catí. After a week of stages dominated by non-Spanish riders, Gustavo Cesar Veloso (Xacobeo-Galicia) found himself the sole survivor of a daylong breakaway that tore itself to shreds on the final obstacle, the Category 1 Alto Xorret de Cati at 185.6km. Veloso became the first Spanish winner so far in the 64th Vuelta, having just enough in the tank to fend off the fast-chasing GC favorites.

You may not recognize many of the new names on the Columbia-HTC 2010 squad, but take note, says team owner Bob Stapleton, as they will likely be big names in the near future. Among the 10 new riders on the men’s roster, eight are under 25. They are: twin brothers Peter and Martin Velits, 24, Slovakia Matt Goss, 23, Australia Patrick Gretsch, 22, Germany Tejay Van Garderen, 21, USA Jan Ghyselinck, 20, Belgium Rasmus Guldhammer, 20, Denmark Leigh Howard, 20, Australia

Defending champion Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream) will be joined by three Olympic medalists, 18 current or former national champions and 10 Tour de France stage winners when the Tour of Missouri rolls out for stage 1 on Monday in St. Louis.

Messe Friedrichshafen is the name of the group of massive exposition halls in which Eurobike takes place. Each hall is about the size of an airplane hangar, and there are 14 of them, including a center courtyard and several side wings. It boggles the mind to see so many bicycles on display in one place. Each of the halls has a number and letter (e.g., A7) and each booth has a number. Finding individual booths can be hard, but fortunately most exhibitors are roughly grouped by the type of gear they are showing, country of origin or some other characteristic.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Another French rider won at the Tour de l’Avenir, taking a bunch sprint in Sunday’s second stage. Jean-Lou Paiani (France B) was first across the line in the 138km stage from Dreux to Tourville-la-Campagne, outkicking European U-23 champion Kris Boeckmans (Belgium). Compatriot Julien Bérard, winner of Saturday’s opener, retained the overall leader’s jersey in the nine-day race across France.

Damiano Cunego (Lampre) won stage 8 of the Vuelta a España on Sunday, a mountainous, six-hour slog that ended atop the fog-shrouded categoría especial Alto de Aitana. Cunego shot out of an elite group of contenders to overhaul David Moncoutie (Cofidis) in the final kilometer of the 204.7km stage. The Frenchman hung on to take second with Robert Gesink (Rabobank) third. It was a big boost for Cunego, who has been criticized in Italy for his inability to live up to his promising Giro d’Italia victory in 2004.

Two-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador, under contract with Astana until 2010, has received offers from Garmin, Caisse d'Epargne and Quick Step as well as a proposed contract extension from Astana, a source close to the rider said Saturday. The proposal from Caisse d'Epargne, which is home to several other Spanish riders including Alejandro Valverde, is the most attractive for Contador, the source told AFP. Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of the Garmin team’s management company, Slipstream Sports, has said that the team had only considered making an offer.

The French drew first blood in the opening stage of the Tour de l’Avenir, which clicked into gear Saturday with a 130km circuit course in Dreux. Julien Bérard (France B) won the stage ahead of compatriot Romain Sicard (France B) and grabbed the leader’s jersey. The two riders stayed clear in an all-day breakaway that pulled clear just seven kilometers into the stage. The main pack, with five of the six starting Americans, roared across the line at 1:29 back, led by Dutch rider Dennis van Winden.

Columbia-HTC's Ina-Yoko Teutenberg racked up her 23rd win of the year in Saturday's stage of the Ladies Tour of Holland. Teutenberg outpowered Netherlands rider Kirsten Wild in the bunch sprint that decided the 108 kilometer stage in Nieuwegein. Teutenberg has now taken 23 victories this season, whilst her latest win takes the tally for Columbia-HTC women's team this season to 45.

Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) proved he’s on track to add another gold medal to his growing collection with another superb time trial victory Saturday in the rain in Valencia. With the world championships on home roads less than three weeks away, the big Swiss time machine slogged through a rain-slickened course to claim his second win in a week at the Vuelta a España and regain the golden race leader’s jersey.

Editor's note: For detailed reports on the cross-country events, including exclusive interviews with the Americans and other racers, check out singletrack.com. Swiss Nino Schurter upstaged four-time world and reigning Olympic champion Julien Absalon of France to win the world cross-country championship. American Willow Koerber finished third in the women's event, behind Russian winner Irina Kalentieva and Lene Byberg of Norway.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

This week the Danish newspaper / Web site Ekstra Bladetran published an article in which physiologist Jakob Mørkeberg examined Lance Armstrong's Tour de France blood samples and said they might indicate a blood doping program.

Tyler Hamilton's attorney, Chris Manderson, issued the following statement on Friday, in response to a decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency to withdraw its appeal of the eight-year suspension of the former Rock Racing rider. - Editor

Although his team didn’t walk away with a stars-and-stripes jersey for its efforts, Kelly Benefit Strategies director Jonas Carney feels his squad was collectively the strongest across August’s national criterium, time trial and road championships. It’s an biased opinion, to be sure, but results sheets don’t lie.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has withdrawn its appeal of the eight-year suspension of former Rock Racing rider Tyler Hamilton. Hamilton tested positive for testosterone or its precursors in February. He later acknowledged the positive test, declined to ask for further confirmation of the result and announced publicly that he had taken DHEA as self-medication for depression.

Astana’s Levi Leipheimer broke his wrist during this year’s Tour de France, and returned to his home in California to recover. He was soon back on the bike training — although it was often the time trial bike so he wouldn’t stress his wrist. Now, the man who took third at the 2007 Tour de France prepares to return to racing at the Tour of Missouri, which he last raced in 2007. VeloNews caught up with him to get his thoughts on the 2009 edition. VeloNews: 2008 Tour of Missouri winner Christian Vande Velde says you are the big favorite.

Without a doubt, the cycling industry brings its “A” game to Eurobike in Freidrichshafen, Germany, each year. While the week-long Interbike show represents the American trade show scene, Eurobike elevates the entire game with larger booths, larger halls, and larger crowds that have no problem filling vast aisles. It's a bonanza for bike tech hounds sniffing out new and exotic stuff.