The UCI on Thursday confirmed that Katusha rider Christian Pfannberger has been provisionally suspended after failing an out-of-competition test for Recombinant Erythropoietin (EPO). The Austrian rider tested positive for EPO in an out-of-competition test on March 19 and analysis was conducted at the WADA-accredited laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria, the UCI reported.
Of all the major players, Carlos Sastre has been the quietest so far through the 2009 season. While riders such as Alberto Contador or Andy Schleck have notched impressive victories, the defending Tour de France champion has been in an early-season hibernation. Sastre insists that he’s fully awoken from his spring slumber and vows to come to life in the three-week Giro d’Italia, starting Saturday in Venice.
Born in the shadow of the Brickyard, Zipp Speed Weaponry has a history like no other company in cycling. Headquartered within sight of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Zipp design, production and testing facility is deeply rooted in both motor sports and bicycle racing. Folded into the carbon laminate of every part that leaves the factory is knowledge gained from years of trial, error and wind tunnel testing.
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After four years of racing in February, the 2010 Amgen Tour of California will be held May 16-23, during the same time slot as the Giro d’Italia. America’s biggest stage race will move from its winter dates into the spring, taking dates on the UCI calendar occupied this year by the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya ProTour event.
Rising star Catharine Pendrel of team Luna Chix was a slim 14 seconds short of winning the Houffalize World Cup on Sunday. The featherweight Canadian had a breakout season two years ago and continues in her bid to become the top North American female mountain bike racer. Although Team Luna Chix is taking a more selective approach to the 2009 World Cup series, she’ll still have plenty of opportunity to thrive.
Caisse d’Epargne’s Alejandro Valverde announced on Wednesday that he intends to file a lawsuit against Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri. "Mr Torri acts, in a repeatedly obstinate manner, with total disregard for the Spanish legal authorities, refusing to submit to the decision of the Madrid judge that forbids CONI from using criminal evidence against athletes," Valverde said in a statement.
French rider Jimmy Engoulvent gave his small Besson-Sojasol squad another big win in the second stage at the Four Days of Dunkirk on Wednesday. Engoulvent out-kicked the pack in the 178.9km stage to claim victory. André Greipel – the big German sprinter who is back to racing action for the first time since breaking his leg at the Tour Down Under back in January – finished second in the stage to take the leader’s jersey. Greipel moves ahead of second-place Sebastian Chavanel (FDJeux) with Stephen De Jongh (Quick Step).
The Russian-sponsored Katusha team has suspended Austrian rider Christian Pfannberger following a non-negative doping control, the team reported Wednesday. According to Katusha officials, Pfannberger gave a non-negative result in a surprise, out-of-competition control at his home on March 19. There was no indication of what type of product might be involved.
Defending Giro d’Italia champion Alberto Contador will be watching this year’s corsa rosa on TV. That’s just fine for Contador, who has bet everything on winning the Tour de France. “I’m going to be able to enjoy it from home, even though good memories from last year will make me feel a little nostalgic. This year my objective is the Tour. There’ll be a time for going back to Italy,” Contador explained in a press note. “It’ll be a lovely Giro, with lots of very good riders fighting for victory. It’ll be quite interesting for the spectator.”
Garmin-Slipstream’s Giro d’Italia starts upside down, with the team’s most important stage coming on day 1 and everything else after that being a bonus in the three-week Italian grand tour starting Saturday. With that in mind, the American team lines up with a loaded squad that should bring more firepower in the team’s quest to defend its title in the team time trial in the opening stage in Venice.
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Hood River, Ore., May 5, 2009 – This year’s Mt. Hood Cycling Classic is excited to announce that Pacific Power, one of the West’s leading electric utilities serving approximately 1.7 million customers in six western states, has signed on as the race’s Title Sponsor for 2009. With hard times falling on many American races, Pacific Power’s commitment is a sign of the strength and viability of one the toughest stage races in the U.S.
You’re likely to see lots of Felt bikes in the coming days, especially with the Garmin-Slipstream team at this week’s start of the Giro d’Italia. Rest assured, however, none of them will racing this new bike from Felt. We caught a glimpse of this prototype mountain bike last month. It’s a new full suspension cross-country machine that Felt makes for sponsored racers.
Dutch rider Kenny van Hummel out kicked the pack to win the 186.5km opening stage at the Four Days of Dunkirk on Tuesday in northern France. The Skil-Shimano sprinter came through ahead of Sebastian Chavanel (FDJeux) and Belgian Steven de Jongh (Quick Step). The victory comes as Van Hummel is posting a string of promising results. He notched three second places in April before notching his first win in 2009 at the Ronde Van Overijssel on Saturday. The 55th Four Days of Dunkirk continues Wednesday with the second stage from Coudekerque-Branche to Arques.
Filippo Simeoni thought winning the Italian national championship last year would help him salvage the final years of his career. He was wrong. The prestigious tricolore jersey didn’t help him find a ride with a larger, better-funded team and Simeoni was forced to stay with bottom-rung Ceramica Flaminia during 2009. At least he was holding out hope on wearing the distinctive Italian jersey during the Giro d’Italia. But those dreams were dashed when race organizers overlooked Simeoni’s modest squad when handing out wild-card invitations.
After strong performances in 2008, Joaquim Rodríguez has finally earned the confidence of his team and rolls into the Giro d’Italia as team leader for Caisse d’Epargne. With four Giros under his belt, including 17th last year, he will carry the Caisse d’Epargne hopes into the season’s first grand tour. “I hope to be up front in the GC and win a stage,” Rodríguez said. “That’s my objective, but in the Giro, the most important thing is to do well and enjoy being on the bike last year.”
The Italian L.P.R. Brakes team appears to have its bases covered for the upcoming Giro d’Italia. The team will boast the firepower of Alessandro Petacchi in the sprint stages and then work for 2007 champion Danilo Di Luca for the overall title. Sprint ace Petacchi will be back in his first grand tour since the 2007 Vuelta a España following his controversial ban for high levels of the asthma medication Salbutamol. A winner of 19 Giro stages, Petacchi will also take aim for the points jersey.
The Astana cycling team on Tuesday named an international line-up to support Americans Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer in the Giro d’Italia, which starts in Venice on Saturday. Six nations are represented in the group containing Leipheimer and seven-time Tour de France champion Armstrong, who has returned to the sport this season after retiring in 2005. Leipheimer and Armstrong took first and second place in last week's Tour of the Gila in New Mexico, where they competed alongside compatriot Chris Horner.
With the season’s first grand tour clicking into gear this weekend, there’s not a lot on the international calendar this week. Stage races in France and Poland are the main highlights, along with the fifth leg of the women’s World Cup this weekend in Switzerland. Otherwise, all eyes will be on the buildup for the Giro d’Italia, starting Saturday in Venice. Tuesday to Sunday
Dear Readers,
I’m in the Denver airport about to fly to Italy for the Giro d’Italia. I have enjoyed a lot of the feedback from a few recent columns, and I thought you might as well. Next time you hear from me will be from the Giro, so look for some cool bikes for the team time trial soon.
Lennard
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Price: $200 Sizes: 39 to 48 Colors: White/blue, white/black, and red/silver Web site: www.northwave.com Northwave introduces the Aerlite 3 road shoe, an evolution of the Aerator concept. As one of Northwave's top-shelf cycling shoes, the Aerlite 3 is designed for comfortable lightweight performance.
Colavita-Sutter Home teammates Kyle Wamsley and Tina Pic both needed the finish-line camera to confirm their respective victories in Sunday's Global BMW Sandy Springs Criterium in Sandy Springs, Georgia. The photo finish in the men's USA CRITS Speed Week finale gave Wamsley the edge over Ken Hanson (Team Type 1) and Andrew Pinfold (OUCH-Maxxis), while Pic took the win from Kori Seehafer (Team Type 1) and Brooke Miller (Team Tibco). It was so close at the line that a weary Wamsley didn’t even realize he had won until announcer Chad Andrews congratulated him on the victory.
Mark Cavendish, the only member of Britain's successful track cycling team to fail to win a medal at the Beijing Olympics, has hit out at the nation's obsession with the Games. Cavendish went to Beijing as the Madison world champion alongside Bradley Wiggins, but the duo's competitions earlier in the year left them weary and they finished ninth. The 23-year-old from the Isle of Man had won four Tour de France stages in July, while Wiggins had already won golds in the individual pursuit and team pursuit by the time he competed in the Madison.
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Fly V's Phil Zajicek won Sunday's Gila Monster stage of the SRAM Tour of the Gila, outsprinting Mellow Johnny's teammates Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer in the final, technical meters of the 106-mile stage. Zajicek, who has won several stages at the Gila in prior years, said the win Sunday was the biggest of his career. "Because I beat Lance and Levi," he happily told VeloNews at the finish. Leipheimer secured his overall win, while Armstrong moved up to second and Zajicek moved into third on the final GC standings.
Czech rider Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) won the Tour of Romandie after the fifth and final stage which was won by three-time world champion Oscar Freire in Geneva on Sunday. Freire scored his second win in the Swiss stage race in bunch sprint for his Rabobank team holding off the threat of promising young American Tyler Farrar of the Garmin team. Kreuziger, an up-and-coming stage race specialist who is only 23 years old, won the Tour of Switzerland last year having finished runner-up in the 2008 edition of the Tour of Romandie.
French champion Jeannie Longo, won France’s Trophée des Grimpeurs (the Climbers' Trophy) in Argenteuil for the fifth time in her career on Sunday. The 50-year-old from Grenoble finished alone, 53 seconds ahead of teammate Edwige Pitel. Longo won the event 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2008, a record made all the more impressive given that the Trophée des Grimpeurs, part of the Coupe de France, didn’t include a womens event until 2000.
Moving one step up on the winner’s podium from his place in 2008, Karl Menzies of the OUCH Pro Cycling Team beat out Colavita-Sutter Home speedster Kyle Wamsley to win the 2009 installment of the Sunny King Criterium in Anniston, Alabama Saturday. “This is a great town (to race in).” Menzies said after his win. “I finished second here last year to Hilton Clarke, and I didn’t want to finish second here again.” Despite early bouts of heavy showers, the weather was once again ideal for racing by the time the pro squads took to the 1.1 km course.
Citing a lack of financial support due “extremely challenging economic times,” organizers of the inaugural Tour de New York have cancelled the event for this year. Tour de New York Executive Director, Scott Page, said that despite solid support from the City of Rochester, the race did not have enough money to “produce the world-class event” organizers had hoped for.
Levi Leipheimer's Tour of the Gila almost went sideways just six corners from the end of Saturday's Downtown Silver City crit, when the race leader rolled a tire while dodging a crash. Leipheimer finished on teammate Chris Horner's bike and retained his lead.
VeloNews, along with two other reporters, sat down with Chris Horner, Levi Leipheimer and Lance Armstrong Saturday morning at the house where they're bunked, up in the hills outside of Silver City, New Mexico.
Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) won the 157.5km “Queen stage” of the Tour de Romandie, between Estavayer-le-Lac and Sainte-Croix, and took over the leader’s jersey for his efforts. Kreuziger, who outsprinted Estonian Rein Taaramae (Cofidis), and seven seconds ahead of Russian Vladimir Karpets (Katusha), who now sits second overall. Kreuziger emerged at the front of the field after a long day that whittled the peloton down to just 35 or 40 riders.
With about 20 kilometers remaining in the Grand Prix Hoboken, the course narrowed and the smooth pavement gave way to cobblestones. The jarring straightaway suddenly bent into an abrupt 150-degree turn. Adding insult (and injury), three sets of railroad tracks crisscrossed the tight turn creating a maniacal web of steel ruts, cracked cobbles and skinny tires.
Following an exciting Stage 4 victory that earned him the yellow jersey, Rock Racing’s Francisco Mancebo held on in Saturday’s fifth and final stage of the 53rd Vuelta a Asturias to claim a GC win in his home country of Spain. In Friday’s stage from Cafes Toscaf to El Acebo, Mancebo crushed three category one climbs and a mountain-top finish to move him from eighth place into the race lead. He placed fifth in today’s 178 km stage from Cangas de Narcea to Oviedo and was still a comfortable 24 seconds ahead of his closest challenger, Tiago Machado of Madeinox Boavista.
After a busy spring I’m back in Boulder enjoying a break from racing and logging some great training in the hills above town that are just barely free from snow. While collecting my mail upon coming back from one such ride, I notice a little slip along with the random assortment of junk. I toss the mail aside. I stretch, shower, eat, screw around for a bit, and then all of a sudden I remember that slip.
Two casino companies hoping to become players in Philadelphia have taken a hand in underwriting the financially strapped TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship. SugarHouse and Foxwoods Development have committed $100,000 each as part of a one-year agreement, according to Pro Cycling Tour CEO David Chauner.
Levi Leipheimer continued to stamp his authority on the SRAM Tour of the Gila, winning the 16-mile stage-3 time trial in a record time of 32:59. Bissell's Tom Zirbel placed second at 33:52 with Leipheimer's Mellow Johnny's teammate Lance Armstrong rounding out the podium. In the women's race, Kristin Armstrong (Cervélo TestTeam) also broke a course record — Jeannie Longo's — winning her second stage in 37:36 and maintaining her overall lead. Alison Powers (Team Type 1) finished second, with Anne Samplonius (Lip Smacker) third.
Columbia-Highroad won the stage-3 team time trial at the Tour de Romandie on Friday, slotting Czech Frantisek Rabon back into the leader’s jersey he first claimed in the prologue. Caisse d'Epargne finished second at 10 seconds back with Saxo Bank third a further six seconds in arrears.
Milram put two riders on the podium in the Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop on Friday, with Fabian Wegmann outsprinting Karsten Kroon (Saxo Bank) for the win and teammate Christian Knees taking third at 19 seconds back. The 48th edition of the race, formerly called the Rund um den Henninger Turn, covers a series of loops around Frankfurt in southwestern Germany.
Saxo Bank will line up at September's Tour of Missouri, adding some more star power to an already packed roster. The race announced Thursday that the Danish-based team would join Quick Step, Garmin-Slipstream, Columbia-Highroad, Cervelo TestTeam, Astana, Liquigas, Jelly Belly and BMC Racing. Team rosters for the Sept. 7-13 race will be announced in August. The race will host a total of 15 teams.
Colavita's Lucas Sebastian Haedo won a field sprint to end Thursday's second stage of the SRAM Tour of the Gila in New Mexico, as Levi Leipheimer finished in the lead pack to retain his overall lead heading into Friday's time trial stage. Leipheimer's teammates on the Mellow Johnny's team, Lance Armstrong and Chris Horner, slaved at the front of the pack for much of the day, keeping in check a four-man breakaway containing Floyd Landis (OUCH-Maxxis).
With these last few prototypes and new products, we thought we’d add a few items to those that struck our fancy at this year’s Sea Otter tech expo. We still have more new bikes, frames, parts, and accessories that were shown, so we plan to gradually get those stories, along with some pro mountain bikes, up on VeloNews.com over the course of the next few months. Niterider has a bright future
Austria’s former national Nordic ski coach Walter Mayer was released on Thursday after spending more than a month in custody, on suspicion of dealing in doping substances, court sources said. The 52-year-old Mayer was arrested on March 22, suspected of obtaining and providing illegal doping substances, including the banned blood booster EPO and its modern successor CERA, according to the prosecution. He was remanded into custody on March 25.
Three-time world champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) won the second stage of the Tour de Romandie on Thursday after a breakaway by teammates Cadel Evans and Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto) was stifled just a few kilometers before the finish line. The Silence-Lotto duo took advantage of the hilly course around northwestern Switzerland to break away on the final climb near the town of La Chaux-de-Fonds. But Evans, the 2006 Romandie winner, and Gilbert were reeled in by the peloton led by late entry Alejandro Valverde just four kilometers from the finish.
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Christian Vande Velde is facing a busy schedule in coming weeks, with the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France looming as his main targets of the year. For the Giro, Vande Velde wants to help his team defend their victory in the team time trial and get another crack at the pink jersey. For the Tour, the 32-year-old wants to pick up where he finished off last year in his breakthrough performance and aim for the final podium in Paris.
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After weeks of uncertainty, organizers of the TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship announced Wednesday that the annual race will be held as scheduled on Sunday, June 7.
Did they come to race or train? The "Mellow Johnny's" team — AKA Astana's Levi Leipheimer, Lance Armstrong and Chris Horner — just couldn't resist going for the win Wednesday at the SRAM Tour of the Gila. Leipheimer sprang from a disintegrating pack on the finish climb, taking a clear win ahead of young phenom Peter Stetina (Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin) and recently-rehired Chris Baldwin (Rock Racing). Leipheimer said he had some doubts about whether the team should go for the win so early in the five-day race.
Spaniard Ricardo Serrano (Fuji) won the first stage of the Tour de Romandie on Wednesday, a shortened 91 kilometer stage between the Swiss towns of Montreux and Fribourg. Lars Bak (Saxo Bank) was second, while Swiss rider Gregory Rast (Astana) was third and took over the leader's yellow jersey. The stage was shortened because of snow fall on the Jaunpass.
For a race that came within days of being canceled two months ago, the SRAM Tour of the Gila has rebounded in spectacular fashion, now boasting its largest and most star-studded pro fields in history as it begins Wednesday. The race achieved high stature — and the perhaps inevitable resulting controversy — with the appearance of Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner, three Astana teammates who, under agreement with the UCI, will race the Gila in the Mellow Johnny's kit of Armstrong's Austin, Texas, bike shop.
The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) confirmed Wednesday that the athlete under investigation for a doping violation at last summer’s Olympics is cyclist Davide Rebellin. The 37-year-old, who earlier this month won the prestigious Flèche Wallonne spring classic, tested for the new generation of EPO — a Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator (CERA) — in an International Olympic Committee re-test of samples from Beijing.
Christian Vande Velde relished a day at the beach with his two young daughters over the past weekend because he knew it would probably be his last quiet day for a long time. The Garmin-Slipstream captain is entering the heart of his racing season, with the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France looming as his main targets of the year. For the Giro, Vande Velde wants to help his team defend their victory in the team time trial and get another crack at the pink jersey.
Dear Lennard,
In your Earth Day column there was a question about a cracked carbon frame. Since it is a save the earth day of posting I thought I would ask about the possibility of repairing a cracked carbon frame (small crack obviously). Since you can buy epoxy and carbon, would it be possible to repair a carbon frame? It would be ugly but would it be rideable?
Scott
Dear Scott,
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Czech rider Frantisek Rabon (Columbia-Highroad) on Tuesday won the Prologue of the Tour de Romandie, a 3.1km time-trial through the streets of the Swiss city of Lausanne.
French cyclist Sandy Casar (Française Des Jeux), took second place two seconds behind.
One of the favorites of the six day race in western Switzerland, late entry Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) of Spain, was third, while American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) took fourth.
Prologue, Tour de Romandie
1. Frantisek Rabon (Cz), Columbia-Highroad, 3.1km in 3:45
The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) announced Tuesday it has learned that one of that country's athletes tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance at last summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing. According to a news release issued Tuesday, CONI was informed of a positive A sample and has notified the athlete of the result. Under the provisions of the World Anti-Doping Code, he or she has the option to ask that his B sample be tested to confirm the result.
It seems Lance Armstrong will meet the Gila Monster after all. The seven-time Tour de France winner and two Astana teammates will race the SRAM Tour of the Gila in Silver City, New Mexico, after USA Cycling and the UCI negotiated a compromise over the international governing body’s rules regarding UCI Pro riders’ participation in national events.
One big breakaway and a stage victory can change everything for a professional cyclist. Just ask Simon Gerrans, a fifth-year pro at Cervélo TestTeam who scored a breakthrough win in last year’s Tour de France in stage 15 to Prato Nevoso in Italy.
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Almost four years ago, someone handed me a set of synthetic brake and shifter cables, and said, “Check these out!” Until then, I’d never thought that traditional steel cables were heavy, but the feathery Power Cordz were dramatically lighter than any other cables I had used. Without any instructions (other than to wrap the cables 180 degrees around pinch bolts for the most secure attachment) I installed them on my road bike. Two years of virtually friction-free and flawless performance left me with a great impression.
Rocky Mountain and Specialized both exhibited new hardtail and full-suspension 29ers during the April 16-19 Sea Otter Classic at Laguna Seca Raceway, while Niner frosted its extensive big-wheel cake with an array of sweet-looking rigid carbon forks.
Any plans for Team Astana to compete in this week's SRAM Tour of the Gila appear to have been quashed by the UCI's decision to enforce a rule barring ProTour teams from competing in lower-tier events. Astana's Chris Horner told VeloNews on Monday that the team's Levi Leipheimer and Lance Armstrong will not compete in the New Mexico race because of the UCI's stance. Armstrong spokesman Mark Higgins told VeloNews over the weekend that Armstrong would not race the Gila. Horner decided earlier this month that he couldn't do the race because of injuries.
Veteran sprinter Tina Pic (Colavita-Sutter Home) scored a sixth victory in the Historic Roswell Criterium on Sunday while relative newcomer Tom Soladay (Team Mountain Khakis) took a surprise win from a field of hardcore sprinters. The event was the second in the USA CRITS Speedweek series and the sixth on the 2009 National Racing Calendar.
The dust is still settling following Sunday’s exciting conclusion of the spring classics with Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but there’s no time for the European peloton to catch its breath. There’s a full menu of racing this week in what’s a transition between the one-day spring classics into the season’s first major grand tour, with the centenary Giro d’Italia looming in Venice on May 9.
In stark contrast to the gentle winds coming off of the Pacific Ocean just below the race course, Rahsaan Bahati (Rock Racing) and Nikki Butterfield (Webcor Builders) both powered out of their respective fields to win bunch sprints in the Dana Point Grand Prix in the Southern California city of Dana Point on Sunday afternoon.
Andy Shleck times his attack to perfection on the Côte de la Roche aux Faucons and rides alone to victory in the 95th La Doyenne
The Little 500 in Bloomington, Indiana, has many traditions and teams that are contenders every year. There have even been what people consider dynasties in the race, such as the Delta Chi teams of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Out of that program came some disgruntled riders who decided to form their own independent team in 1984, calling themselves the Cutters, after the fictional team from the movie "Breaking Away." They won the race that year and the team has gone on to win eight more times since, including the past two years.
Julien Absalon (Orbea) seized the lead of the cross-country Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup on Sunday after winning round two of the series in Offenburg, Germany. It was Absalon's 18th World Cup victory — a record that tops the 17 wins scored by Thomas Frischknecht — and leaves him undefeated at Offenburg. In women’s competition, Ren Chengyuan (China) took the win while Austrian Elisabeth Osl (Central Ghost Pro Team) finished fifth to retain the overall lead.
Heath Blackgrove took a surprise victory at the 30th running of the Athens Twilight Criterium Saturday in downtown Athens, Georgia. The Team Hotel San Jose rider was one of three survivors from a large breakaway late in the 80km race that refused to cooperate long enough to secure its survival to the finish. “It’s the biggest crit in America, and I’ve heard a lot of stories about it. So to win the first time doing it, with a crowd like this, is pretty special,” he said.
Garmin-Slipstream sprinter Tyler Farrar will return to racing next week after recovering from a shoulder injury that sidelined him during the spring classics. Farrar suffered an AC separation during a crash at Milan-San Remo and will race the Tour de Romandie (April 28-May 3) before a likely start at the Giro d’Italia next month. “The shoulder has healed up so I’m getting back in the game,” Farrar told VeloNews. “I’m currently down to ride the Giro, so Romandie is a way to get my legs going again before Italy.”
Ivan Basso is back in the winner’s circle for the first time since his comeback from a 16-month racing ban after claiming overall victory Saturday at the 33rd Giro del Trentino race in northern Italy. The Liquigas captain out-dueled overnight leader Janez Brajkovic (Astana) in the fourth and final stage for his first victory since he was banned for links to the Operación Puerto blood doping ring.
Big time criterium racing returns to the southeastern United States as it does every year at this time with two major events scheduled back to back in the Peach state of Georgia – Saturday’s Athens Twilight Criterium and the Historic Roswell Criterium the following day. The 30th running of the Athens Twilight Criterium will once again take place beneath the streetlights of one of the South’s biggest college towns. Because of its proximity to the University of Georgia, the crowds around the 1km course can on occasion reach the 40,000 mark.
Thus far, the 2009 Classics season has provided cycling fans plenty of drama and nail-biting finishes. Tom Boonen’s Paris-Roubaix winning escape on the Carrefour d l’Arbre cobbles, Sergei Ivanov’s cagey tactics in the final meters of the Amstel Gold Race and Davide Rebellin’s last-minute burst on the Mur de Huy stand out as key moments when the aggressor came out on top. Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège caps off the 2009 Classics season, and the question on everyone’s mind is whether tactics of attack will again prevail.
Luxembourger Frank Schleck has been cleared to start Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège after crashing hard at last week’s Amstel Gold Race. “I joined the boys for a ride down in Bastogne [today] and it’s the first day I have felt better,” Schleck said. “I have one more day to get better and I hope to make the best of it.”
The shit really hit the fan on lap number three. Some Euro with tree trunk legs and a wavy mullet charged to the front on his time trial bike and took a monster pull. Our group had swollen to more than 100 riders, and we were already chugging along at a descent clip. I knew right away that things were about to get crazy. The acceleration shredded the group just as we were barreling into a tight chicane. I focused ahead and prepared to navigate the tight s-turn. But I caught a glimpse of such a bizarre sight I had to look up. [nid:91150]