Vuelta a España points competition winner André Greipel added another win to an impressive 2009 record as he outsprinted the field at Paris-Bourges on Thursday. Greipel, powered ahead of a 91-rider field, beating JJ Haedo (Saxo Bank) and Cofidis’ Alexandre Usov to the line. The win is Greipel’s 20th of the season. Greipel was quick to credit his team for countering late attacks as other teams attempted to deny the German a shot at a field sprint.
I am Barry's cracked and bleeding sinuses, pouring sticky sweet goo down into his nasal cavity. I am draining my wrath out on to his upper lip as he gasps for breath in the dry desert night. I am vengeful and full of hate. The evil stench of a million vacant souls trickles in past mucus and hair and fills me up to the brim, reinforcing my quest to punish in every way I can.
A day after Italian Gabriele Bosisio learned that he had failed a dope test, his countryman Francesco De Bonis has also been flagged as an EPO user. De Bonis, who rides with the Diquigiovanni team, tested positive for the new-generation EPO, known as a Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator (CERA), during the first stage of the Giro d’Italia on May 7, according to the Italian press. The news comes a day after it was announced that LPR's Bosisio was caught out by a suprise out-of-competition test conducted by the UCI on September 2 at Rogeno.
The head of the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) said Wednesday that his organization won't work with the UCI again until it takes steps to correct testing and procedural “failures” he observed during this year’s Tour de France. In press conference in Paris, AFLD director Pierre Bordry said he was bothered by the absence of positive test results from this year’s Tour, particularly in light of what he characterized as serious lapses in protocol by anti-doping testers from the UCI.
What can I do if I need to replace my tapered-steerer fork?
Are SRAM shift levers durable?
Should I be concerned about the durability of my Shimano 105 shifter?
The Bissell team will have seven returning riders for 2010, including the Jacques-Maynes brothers, Frank Pipp, Paul Mach, Cody O’Reilly, Pete Latham and Jeremy Vennell. And the team will pick up three new riders: Kyle Wamsley, Daniel Holloway and David Williams. The most notable absence from the team next year will be Tom Zirbel, who will race for Garmin-Slipstream in 2010. The team is expected to announce more riders later.
Italian cyclist Gabriele Bosisio (LPR Brakes) has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for EPO, the UCI announced Tuesday. The 29-year-old was found positive in an out-of-competition test conducted by the UCI on September 2 at Rogeno, Italy. Bosisio’s LPR teammate, Danilo Di Luca, had apparently finished second in the Giro d’Italia in May, but was later suspended for failing two doping tests during the race. A UCI statement said Bosisio has been provisionally suspended, pending the outcome of a follow-up test.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Tuesday that Houston-based Category 1 racer Mitch Comardo (Bike Barn) has been suspended for two years after testing positive for several prohibited substances.
When race director Christian Prudhomme unveils details of the 2010 Tour de France in Paris on October 14, his presentation will most likely emphasize the 100th anniversary of the first crossing of the Pyrénées with a course that culminates on the Col du Tourmalet just three days before the finish in Paris.
How can I keep water out of my aero frame?
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Editor’s note: The Clothes Line is an occasional column about clothing, shoes, helmets, and other accessories we’ve encountered. Clothing is possibly the most personal of all gear choices: two riders can try the same jersey and come back with completely different opinions. This is not meant as an extensive review (as in, worn until threadbare), but we simply hope to ride these products for as long as possible and report back on the basic fit and features. We hope you find it helpful.
It wasn’t a race. There was no prize money or podium ceremony. But crossing the finish line first Saturday at Levi Leipheimer’s inaugural King’s Ridge Gran Fondo, presented by Road ID, was a victory of sorts for Scott Nydam. On a sunny, if breezy, October day in Santa Rosa, California, the Team BMC rider who lives in the area was the first to finish the 103-mile Gran Fondo, one of three distances covered by more than 3,500 participants.
The 2009 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships concluded on Sunday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, and Mitch Clinton was there, clicking away. His gallery can be found below.
Chris Horner has signed with Team RadioShack for the next two seasons, according to an Oregon newspaper. Horner told The Oregonian that he had talked with other teams, “but wanted to stay here” — that being alongside Astana teammates Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer.
A record field of nearly 1,400 racers and their cowbell-clanging families, friends and fans spilled onto the fields of Alpenrose Dairy in southwest Portland Sunday to ring in the start of the 2009 River City Bicycles Cross Crusade series. Home of the Alpenrose Velodrome, the dairy-turned-corporate-headquarters also features a Wild West town, a go-kart race track and a world-class baseball field that plays host to the Little League Softball World Series every summer. And just about all of it played a part in the race Sunday.
The UCI has rejected charges that its doping testers showed preferential treatment to the Astana team at this year's Tour de France. The governing body's response was in reaction to published reports that the team of Tour de France winner Alberto Contador and third placed Lance Armstrong were given an easy ride during dope tests at the 2009 event.
Why do my feet slip inside my cycling shoes?
The sun shone on Massachusetts' Cape Ann on Sunday, as local boy Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) and Canadian Natasha Elliott (Louis Garneau) won on the second day of the Great Brewers Gloucester Grand Prix of Cyclocross, in much different conditions than the first day.
Katie Compton (Planet Bike) and Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) won their respective races on Sunday as the 2009-10 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup opened in Treviso, Italy. Compton hit the line 28 seconds ahead of Daphny Van Den Brand with Christel Ferrier-Bruneau (Vision 1 Racing) third at 34 seconds. World champion Albert, meanwhile, crushed the competition, finishing 42 seconds ahead of Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea) with Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb Pro Job) third at 52 seconds back. The second round of the World Cup will be October 18 in Pizen, Czech Republic.
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Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) won the four-stage Circuit Franco-Belge on Sunday. The final stage win went to Juan José Haedo (Saxo Bank), who out-kicked Yauheni Hutarovich (Française des Jeux and Roger Hammond (Cervélo TestTeam) in a bunch dash to the line after 147.1km of racing from Mons to Tournai. Farrar punctured in the final 5km, but chased back on to finish 53rd on the day, in the same time as the stage winner, to take the overall by eight seconds over runner-up Tom Boonen (Quick Step) and 14 on Roger Hammond (Cervélo TestTeam).
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Sitting in the middle of the peloton, riding along at a steady tempo as a team controls the pace on the front, I hear our director in the radio: “There is a dangerous descent coming up in four kilometers. Move to the front to stay out of trouble. There is gravel on the corners and many switchbacks. Get to the front.”
Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) scored a rare win on this side of the Atlantic on Saturday, riding away from all challengers on a muddy course in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Quick Step's Tom Boonen won the third stage of the Franco-Belge stage race on Saturday in a sprint finish ahead of England's Roger Hammond (Cervélo TestTeam) and American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream). Farrar continues to hold the overall race lead after winning the first two stages in the race which finishes Sunday at Tournai.
Reigning Vuelta a España champion Alejandro Valverde has brought his season to a premature end admitting he needs rest before beginning to plan his race objectives for next season. Valverde was originally slated to compete in the Paris-Bourges race on Thursday and the Paris Tours one-day classic next weekend, but after discussions with his Caisse d'Epargne team he has decided to hang up his bike. "I need to rest both mentally and physically before thinking towards next season and resuming training," said Valverde, who will compete in a few criterium races in the coming weeks.
We could start this year’s first cross’ diary by talking about racing, but for the moment we’re gonna talk about flyin’.
The owners of the Austrian laboratory Humanplasma, already at the center of a huge doping scandal, admitted tax evasion on Friday but denied any role in doping athletes. Officials for the lab admitted not declaring 300,000 Euros earned from taking blood tests from athletes but continued to deny accusations of being involved in doping. "We have informed the authorities for several months," said lab spokeswoman Michaela Eisler. "The blood tests were simply stocked on lab premises. There were no transfusions."
Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) made it two in a row Friday at the Circuit Franco-Belge. Just a day after winning the opening stage of the four-day race across the French-Belgian border, Farrar kicked his way to his 10th win on the 2009 season. Farrar won ahead of Alexandre Usov (Cofidis) in the 225.7km second stage from Maubeuge, France to Poperinge, Belgium, with French rider Jimmy Casper (Chausson-Sojasun) coming across the line third.
Rio de Janeiro will become the first South American city to host the Olympics after the International Olympic Committee voted to award the 2016 Games to the former Brazilian capital on Friday. The city of Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics came to an early end after the city was eliminated in the first round of voting during the IOC's site selection meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Emboldened by his bronze medal at last weekend’s world championship, Spanish rider Joaquím Rodríguez now wants to win the Giro di Lombardia. Called “Purito” within the peloton, the pint-sized puncheur still has a full racing calendar, with scheduled starts at Paris-Bourges, Paris-Tours, Giro del Piemonte, Giro di Lombardia and the Japan Cup. That heavy end-of-season schedule means there’s no time for celebrating a well-deserved worlds medal that helped save the honor for the heavily-favored Spanish team.
Thor Hushovd wants to make it loud and clear: he’s intending on racing the 2010 Tour de France and defending his green jersey. There were some conflicting reports that the Norwegian winner of the 2009 sprinter’s jersey might skip the Tour, but the Cervélo TestTeam rider confirmed that next July will be much like this year.
An expected 3,500 cyclists will take to the streets of Santa Rosa, California, at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning for the start of the inaugural King Ridge Gran Fondo, a mass-participation ride promoted by local cycling star Levi Leipheimer.
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Lance Armstrong said he still hasn’t decided whether he’ll race at the Tour of California or the Giro d’Italia next season as he prepares for the 2010 Tour de France. That’s according to an interview in the newest issue of Vélo magazine in France. Armstrong provided the first glimpse of what his racing schedule will look like with his new RadioShack team. Like he did in his comeback season last year, he will debut at the Tour Down Under in January in Australia.
he 2009 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships opened in the velodrome at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, on Wednesday as Cody O’Reilly (Bissell) and Cari Higgins (Proman) were awarded the first-ever elite omnium national titles. In all, three national champions were crowned on the first day of competition inside the country’s only 250-meter indoor velodrome.
Lennard Zinn has been spending time in the shop (as always) and had a chance to try out a new hacksaw specifically designed for cutting carbon fiber tubes (like fork steerer tubes, handlebars, and seatposts). He and test editor Matt Pacocha reviewed several additional tools in our November issue, which is on sale now. Also in that issue, we have a rundown of 12 must-have tools for your shop or garage. Effetto Mariposa CarboCut hacksaw Retail price: $65
Recently crowned world champion Cadel Evans promises to honor the rainbow jersey with aggressive racing for the remainder of the 2009 season. The 32-year-old Aussie isn’t wasting any time, and will make his debut in the famed rainbow jersey on October 8 in the Coppa Sabatini in Italy. “I will try to honor the rainbow jersey even if my legs are understandably a little tired after a grueling season,” Evans said during a press conference Thursday at the Silence-Lotto team headquarters.
Tyler Farrar is back in the winner’s circle, sprinting to victory Thursday in the opening stage of the Circuit Franco-Belge. Farrar out-kicked Danilo Napolitano (Katusha) to claim victory in the 213.6km stage from Templeuve, France, to Mouscron, Belgium. Tom Boonen (Quick Step) came across third in the mass gallop and Saxo Bank's JJ Haedo rounded out the top four. The win also puts the leader’s jersey on Farrar’s back after the opening stage of the four-day Franco-Belge race.
Alexander Kolobnev is quickly earning a reputation as a rider who delivers in major international competition. With his second world championship silver medal in three years, and a fourth-place that could turn into bronze from last summer’s Beijing Summer Olympic Games, the consistent Russia knows how to pack a punch come crunch time. “They call me the sniper,” Kolobnev told VeloNews. “You have one shot, then you have to wait 364 days until the next chance.”
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British sprint specialist Mark Cavendish has pulled out of Paris-Tours, the road sprint classic on October 11, his Columbia team announced on Wednesday. Cavendish, who won six stages at this year's Tour de France, had already withdrawn from the world championships in Mendrisio, Switzerland with a lung infection. The Isle of Mann rider recently pulled out of September's Tour of Missouri after two stage wins with the same problem.
The B-sample requested by former Silence-Lotto rider Thomas Dekker has confirmed his positive drugs test for the banned blood-booster EPO, the Dutch ANP news agency reported on Wednesday. The wire service said that Dekker has accepted the findings and is awaiting his sanction. The sample was originally taken on December 24, 2007, but new procedures introduced since then allowed for further tests which revealed a positive reading for EPO and the rider was ruled out of this year's Tour de France three days before the start in July.
A glance down the world championship results sheet reconfirms the notion that the best way to assure a shot at the rainbow jersey is to race the Vuelta a España … and to finish it. The entire top 10 of the elite men’s road race Sunday in Mendrisio competed in the Vuelta. Most of them rode all the way to Madrid, and the three that didn’t finish the Vuelta shared a total of five stage victories.
Alberto Contador spent time this week speaking with Spanish school children about a new book by author Jordi Sierra i Fabra, a collection of stories about the cyclist's early years and the challenges he's faced in his career. The two-time Tour de France champion presented the book aimed at children, “Querer es Poder,” (Where there’s a will, there’s a way) to a group of students Monday, but one story he’d like to conclude is where he will race in 2010. Contador said everything remains undecided about his home for the upcoming season.
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The UCI’s Licensing Commission has renewed the four-year ProTour license of the Italian Lampre team and a granted a one-year renewal to Milram, but denied the renewal applications of Bbox Bouygues Telecom and Cofidis. The license commission "has decided not to award a UCI ProTour license to the French teams Cofidis ... and Bbox Bouygues Telecom," the UCI said, without offering details for the refusal.
American national time trial champion Jessica Phillips didn’t win the elite women’s world time trial championship last week. She didn’t take a medal, or even finish in the top 10. And, designated as an alternate, she didn’t participate in Saturday’s road race, either. Yet just rolling out of the start ramp of the world time trial championship wearing national team colors was a victory in itself for the Aspen, Colorado, native. She finished 14th out of 41 starters, 2:11 behind the winner, U.S. teammate Kristin Armstrong.
Dear Readers, As many of you know, I spent last week in Las Vegas, attending the Interbike trade show and the outdoor demo that preceded it. While my tech department colleagues and I have been posting stories and photos since the start, we’ll be doing more over the next few days. There was just so much there, it’s hard to offer even a glimpse at everything that struck us in a single story, or even two or three. Looking through my files last night, I spotted some interesting items I’d like to share with you today.
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Ryan Iddings (Lapiere) survived a hard-charging chase in the men's elite field and Kristi Berg (Redline Bicycles) dominated the women as the Seattle Cyclocross Series (SCX) kicked off in Washington this weekend. Sun, warmth and a dry, fast course greeted racers to start the largest 'cross series in Washington. Some hard core 'crossers felt a little guilty enjoying the sunshine on race day; but we all knew the rain and mud would be here soon enough so we might as well break out the lawn chairs and soak up the last bit of summer in Seattle with 650 of our closest racing buddies.
David Espinoza (Penn State), Colleen Hayduk (Kutztown University of Pennsylvania) and David Williams (Marian University) turned in strong performances during the USA Cycling National Collegiate Track Championships, held last Thursday through Saturday at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania. Racing started Thursday at the former Lehigh Valley Velodrome with Espinoza winning the kilometer meter time trial in 1:06:54, 2.3 seconds faster than runner-up Matthew Fox (Midwestern State).
Last year at Vermont's Green Mountain Cyclocross Weekend, Dan Timmerman (Richard Sachs/RGM Watches/Radix) made everyone take notice when he was the only rider to keep in sight of winner Jamey Driscoll. Now the Richard Sachs rider has ascended to the mountain top by sweeping the weekend and taking the overall series lead. Timmerman took advantage of his front-row position to establish a lead on the first lap of each day. Saturday quickly turned into a battle for second place, as no one was able to keep the Ithaca, New York, rider is sight. [nid:98800]
Despite its late-season date, a near-conflict with the Interbike expo and ’cross races around the country, the first-ever TD Bank Mayor’s Cup attracted a deep field of domestic pros and regional elite riders, to race through the warren-like streets of Boston’s government district. Of course, the purse — $40,000 split evenly between men and woman – may have given some racers a little extra incentive to extend their season.
The future is bright for both U.S. men’s and women’s cycling. That’s according to USA Cycling’s director of athletics Jim Miller, who says there’s enough talent to assure more success by American riders on the road at the top levels of the sport. Miller says there’s plenty of firepower to fill the void left by the retirement of Olympic and world champion Kristin Armstrong on the women’s side as well as a bounty of prospects moving up from the U23 to the pro ranks on the men’s side.
Interbike 2009 is officially over, in the books. We at VeloNews escaped Sin City without injury, and have just a few more tech tidbits and quick looks to share. Look for more detailed reporting on certain items in the months to come as we get to test them out for ourselves.
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Katie Compton (Planet Bike) made it two-for-two on Sunday at the Planet Bike Cup, once again riding Luna’s Katerina Nash and the rest of the women’s field right off her wheel. Belgian Erwin Vervecken (Revor-Baboco-Champion System) came out on top in the men’s race, which doubled as round 2 of the U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross. Compton attacked Nash mid-race, going to the front after and drilling it to win by nearly a minute. As in Saturday’s race, Nash hung on for second with teammate Georgia Gould third.
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Spain and Italy have forged a healthy rivalry in the men's world championship road race, with four wins apiece this past decade. But both were left behind to watch on Sunday as Cadel Evans soloed away to claim the latest rainbow jersey on offer. Thanks to Paolo Bettini in 2006 and 2007, and Alessandro Ballan in 2008, Italy has been the team to beat of late. Damiano Cunego, second to Ballan last year, was hoping to make it four straight wins (Mario Cipollini also won for Italy in 2002).
Cadel Evans erased a career of close calls with a daring attack on the final climb to drop a super-star group of riders to win the 2009 world road cycling championships. The Aussie climbed out of the saddle in the closing kilometers of the 259km epic battle to win the most important victory of his career. No one can say Evans doesn’t attack anymore. “This is for all the critics I’ve had this season,” Evans said. “I have seven worlds medals from mountain biking at home, but none of them are gold. People say I never win, but today I won something pretty big.”
The UCI has unveiled a new educational program that will complement its ever-increasing anti-doping arsenal. UCI president Pat McQuaid said more than 14,000 doping controls were conducted across all disciplines in 2009 and said the fight against doping must include prevention as well as detection and enforcement. Dubbed “True Champion or Cheat,” an interactive video course will be required viewing for nearly 1,000 registered professionals and is aimed at prevention and awareness among pros and amateurs alike.
Bob Stapleton, the influential boss of the Columbia-HTC team, says the UCI’s plan to ban race radio is a step backward for cycling. The UCI management committee voted Wednesday to phase out the use of radio communication between riders and sport directors within elite men’s road racing in the coming seasons, a decision that’s quickly drawing the ire of many within the peloton. “I think it’s like driving a car looking in the rear-view mirror,” Stapleton said. “I think the basic premise is wrong. It’s just not taking into account how racing works.”
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For the entire elite women’s race, and half of the men’s, the title sponsor of the Planet Bike Cup looked poised to sweep the top step of both podiums. Held in near summer heat on Saturday at the Angell Park Speedway in the Madison suburb of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and doubling as the opening weekend of the sixth annual U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross, the Planet Bike Cup was looking like a two-fer for the home team until the dream scenario quickly went awry under a rolled tubular tire.
The U23 worlds race is always an unpredictable affair, but French phenomenon Romain Sicard did what just about everyone thought he would. Fresh off winning the Tour de l’Avenir in dominating fashion ahead of a strong U.S. team earlier this month, Sicard surged away from a fractured peloton with two laps to go in the 13-lap, 179.4km course Saturday to win France’s first U23 world title since competition began in 1996.
The cycling future of the Astana team, whose star rider is Tour de France champion Alberto Contador, could be in doubt, UCI president Pat McQuaid said Saturday. Astana, whose ProTour license is currently under review, is hoping to impress the UCI licensing commission to avoid the revocation of the final year of its ProTour status. However, McQuaid said there were several areas of concern.
Kristin Armstrong’s farewell race ended with an exclamation point as she powered into the winning, four-rider move in Saturday’s elite women’s road race. Tatiana Guderzo (Italy) – a bronze medalist in the road in the Beijing Olympic Summer Games – attacked on the final lap and soloed to victory 19 seconds clear of a three-rider chase group featuring Armstrong in the 124km race under cloudy skies in Mendrisio.
In what’s no surprise, the Italian and Spanish teams are leading the odds to win Sunday’s elite men’s world title. Just as they have for the past decade, Italy and Spain bring deep squads with two or three options to win the season’s most important one-day race on the calendar. Leading Sunday for Italy will be last year’s runner-up Damiano Cunego, with defending champion Alessandro Ballan and Filippo Pozzato waiting in the shadows. Spain comes with Alejandro Valverde, with Olympic gold medalist Samuel Sánchez and three-time world champ Óscar Freire ready to step up.