Road

Electric D-A: Why not a little step instead of a big leap? Dear Lennard, Great review of the new electronic Dura-Ace in this month’s VeloNews. I have to say there have been a lot of comments about the “why?” of electric and it was nice to finally read an article that included a good reason — shifting under load that can't be done with cable.

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Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Georgia Gould (Luna) locked up their respective titles in the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Calendar on Sunday during the cyclo-cross national championships in Kansas City, Missouri. Trebon won the elite men’s race and also took the series win in commanding fashion, with 620 points. Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale) finished second in the standings with 479 points while his teammate Tim Johnson was third.

Sizes: 280 and 350mm length; 27.2 and 31.6mm diameter Price: $100 to $325 Web site: www.thenew3t.com 3T may be an unfamiliar brand name to those of us in the U.S., unless you’re the new owner of a 3T fork after Cervélo recalled their Wolf forks, but 3T is a familiar name in Italian cycling.

Sizes: 500ml Price: $25 Web site: www.elite-it.com Are frozen water bottles during the winter riding months betraying your thirst? Or is the scalding water in your bottle during the dog days of July preventing you from hydrating properly? The Nanogelite water bottle from the Italian company, Elite, is a thermal bottle for keeping your liquids at just the right temperature.

In a sterile hotel presentation room, roughly 40 male and female cyclists, dozens of staff and seven managers and directors, sat and listened. The group was pushed into the last rows of seats while the front two were empty — like school kids scared of the front, the spotlight, or the teacher. A contrast to our poised powerful cycling positions, the riders slouched in their lethargic off-the-bike state, with their legs up and resting on the backs of chairs in front of them.

Oscar Pereiro will join Lance Armstrong in competing in the Tour Down Under in Australia next month, officials said Tuesday. Organizers said it will be the first time that two Tour de France winners have competed in the 800km event in South Australia, slated for January 18-25. "The Tour Down Under is honored to have Pereiro and Armstrong competing at our event," race director Mike Turtur said. "Spectators in Adelaide will get to see some of the best cycling champions of our time. It's a great coup for the sport in this region."

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Rock Racing, the team that advertised “Here to Stay” as its rallying cry, may feel the pinch next year as its primary sponsor, fashion company Rock & Republic, tightens its belt. An email from within the company this week detailed layoffs within the luxury jean company as well as the cycling team. Team spokesman Sean Weide confirmed that he had heard about the layoffs but could not elaborate. “We are aware of the situation,” Weide said Monday afternoon, “but we don't want to put out any false information right now concerning Rock Racing, either.”

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Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Ryan Trebon (Kona) proved himself the strongest man on the course Sunday in Kansas City, powering to a second national cyclocross championship on a bitter cold but dry day. Trebon's win on a course that many said suited his strengths to a T was impressive but not a huge surprise, and continued the run of national titles held by just four men since 2000; Trebon, Jonathan Page, Todd Wells and Tim Johnson have passed around the stars and stripes jersey like an Illinois Senate seat.

Katie Compton (Spike Shooter) raced to her fifth national cyclocross title on Sunday in a chilly, windswept Kansas City. The course was dry, the temperature low and the wind brisk as the women lined up at Tiffany Springs Park. Rebecca Wellons (Ridley Factory Team) scored the hole shot with Compton second and Deidre Winfield (Velo Bella–Kona) third. The defending champ hovered in second place on the climb, then went to the front and gave it the gas.

Nick Weighall (Rad Racing) won a hard-fought battle with Nick Keough (Jittery Joe's-Sonic) on Saturday to claim the men’s under-23 title at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships at Tiffany Springs Park in Kansas City, Missouri.[nid:85931] Danny Summerhill (Clif Bar) took third. Keough shot off the line first ahead of Weighall, who then took the lead with Bjorn Selander (Riley Factory Team) and Summerhill in pursuit in gray, windy conditions on a comparatively dry, tacky course.

At first glance, Jeremy Powers' Cannondale looks like a fairly standard pro mount: a Cannondale aluminum frame with Mavic wheels and SRAM Red parts.

A former road bike product manager at Specialized, Andy Jacques-Maynes has an eye for detail when it comes to bikes, and has the advantage of riding a frame he helped design. Jacques-Maynes won the 30-34 national cyclocross championships for the second year in a row on Saturday, aboard a carbon Tricross. [nid:85912] The bike features an array of Specialized parts and thanks to the light frame and Roval Alpiniste climbing wheels, weighs in at just 15.2 pounds.[nid:85913]

Ryan Trebon's Kona Major Jake is very similar to the mount that he's been racing on for the last few years, except for the change to Challenge tubular this season. Trebon also switched from 175 to 177.5 mm cranks this fall just before the Gloucester, Massachusetts, race. He says the longer cranks help him get the full benefit of his size. [nid:85926] Ryan Trebon's Kona Frame: Kona Major Jake scandium, 63cm Fork: Alpha Q CX20 Wheels: FSA Carbon RD488 tubular Shifters: Dura-Ace 7800 Brakes: KORE Brake pads: Swissstop

Georgia Gould's Orbea is a simple, solid race machine. Gould runs virtually all Shimano parts, and is one of the few top pros to use clinchers (although sharp eyes might have noticed her on some blackwall tubulars at nationals). She also prefers a single front chainring, a set-up that appears to be becoming a bit less common among the top pros. Frame: Orbea Lobular aluminum Fork: Easton EC90X Wheels: Mavic R Sys clincher Tires: Maxxis Raze clincher 700x35 Shifters: Dura-Ace 7800 right; Shimano aero left. Rear Derailleur: Dura-Ace 7800

Defending champ Andy Jacques-Maynes (Specialized-KMC-California Giant) took the hole shot and rode solo to victory in the men's 30-34 category on Saturday at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships in Kansas City, Missouri.[nid:85933] Jacques-Maynes took the win in in 41 minutes, 58 seconds ahead of Weston Schempf (C3-Sollay.com) and Ali Goulet (Ridley Factory Team), who fought out a tough sprint at 40 seconds back.[nid:85935] Other winners include: Men 35-39: Brandon Dwight, Boulder Cycle Sport. Men 40-44: Roger Aspholm, Westwood Velo.

Lance Armstrong may have seven Tour de France victories under his belt, but he’s not predicting victory for himself when he tackles the Giro d’Italia for the first time in May. Organizers unveiled the route for the centenary edition on Saturday, and Armstrong said that while he taps Ivan Basso as the favorite for overall victory, he’s nonetheless looking forward to competing.

The Giro d’Italia, which in 2009 will welcome seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong for the first time, will start its centenary edition in Venice on May 9 and finish in Rome on May 31, organizers said in unveiling the 3395.5km route on Saturday. The race, which Spaniard Alberto Contador won this year, will comprise 21 stages and take in major cities including Milan, Turin, Florence, Bologna and Naples.

Amy Dombroski (Velo Bella-Kona) grabbed the hole shot and rode away from the field toward a second consecutive under-23 cyclocross title on Saturday at Kansas City. The Durango, Colorado, rider was never seriously challenged in her title defense on day 3 of the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships, which saw temps in the 40s, a brisk wind and a comparatively dry course at Tiffany Springs Park. Ally Stacher (Lees-McRae College) took second with Ashley James (IS Corp.) third.

Just days before she attempts to win her fifth national cyclocross title, Katie Compton and her husband/mechanic Mark Legg have decided to switch from a hodge podge of Shimano and Campagnolo drivetrain components to a new set of Dura-Ace 7900 shifters and derailleurs.

Cadel Evans has denied he will ride in next year's Giro d'Italia, putting him at odds with his Silence-Lotto team, reports said. Race organizers on Wednesday announced that the 31-year-old runner-up in the past two Tours de France was set to take on seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong in the Giro next May. The race director of his Belgian team, Roberto Damiani, also said that Evans would ride in the three-week Italian stage race. But Evans, who is currently in Australia preparing another assault on the Tour de France, on Friday denied he would be taking part.

European ProTour teams Silence-Lotto and BBox Bouygues Telecom have confirmed they will compete in next month's Tour Down Under in Australia. BBox Bouygues Telecom will send an all-French team and Belgium's Silence-Lotto will field an experienced European contingent. "I am pleased to see Mario Aerts back in Australia riding for Silence-Lotto, he is a Tour Down Under favourite," race director Mike Turtur said Friday. "Mario is a consummate professional in the peloton, having achieved some major cycling milestones in his career."

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Check out CyclingTips's author page.

National criterium champion Rahsaan Bahati is optimistic about his status with Rock Racing, the team he has ridden for since 2007, even though he appears to have been relegated to amateur status for the 2009 season.

The last lap of the last event of my 2008 season provided a perfect encapsulation of this first year of serious training and racing. Just after passing the one-to-go sign during the waning moments of the cat. 4 Colorado state championships cyclocross race, I twisted the throttle and moved past two riders into what I’m fairly certain was a top 10 placing.

The 2010 Tour de France will open with a nine kilometer individual time trial through the streets of Rotterdam, race director Christian Prudhomme announced in Rotterdam on Thursday. It will be the first time that the Tour will have started from the Dutch port city, but four other cities in the country — Amsterdam (1954), Scheveningen (1973), Leiden (1978) and 's-Hertogenbosch 1996) have previously enjoyed the honor. The 2009 race kicks off from Monaco.

It was a crisp fall day here in Boulder as I pulled up to the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine with my bike on my car and all my gear in a bag. I was swiftly directed to the locker room and changed into my kit while my bike was rolled away to the fit lab by a staff member for “calibration.” I was then brought into the biomechanical fit lab, which was impressive, and, frankly, a bit intimidating. When I walked in, my bike was already there in the center of the room, mounted to a trainer, which was hooked up to a remote unit that controlled the wattage output.

Sizes: 43, 46, 51, and 56cm Price: $2500 Web site: www.carryyourdreams.com Just in from France: the new Lapierre Passport, a full suspension folding mountain bike and travel case. When packed inside of its travel case, this 24.5-pound, aluminum mountain bike only weighs 35 pounds, which means no extra weight fees for air travel.

Luxembourg's anti-doping agency will not open a disciplinary case against Fränk Schleck, who said he transferred nearly 7000 euros in March 2006 into an account belonging to Eufemiano Fuentes, the alleged ringleader of the Operación Puerto doping ring. According to European news reports and a press release from Schleck's Saxo Bank team, the agency found no evidence of actual doping violations and has decided to close the case.

It is the week before the US National Championship of Cyclocross and I am having trouble figuring out a good topic for my biweekly VeloNews.com journal. I wish this was because I am so focused and preoccupied with the impending championship event, but in reality my mind wanders as I think of the upcoming off season that directly follows the race.

Australian cycling ace Cadel Evans is set to take on seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong in the Giro d'Italia next year, race organizers announced Wednesday. The 31-year-old — runner-up in the past two Tours de France — will also face Italian stars Ivan Basso, Damiano Cunego and Danilo Di Luca in what will see the race in its 100th year since its creation. Evans wore the overall leader's pink jersey for a day during the 2002 edition and eventually finished 14th overall.

Cuban sprinter Ivan Dominguez has won just about every major one-day race in the U.S. since he defected from the Cuban national team at the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York City. Now the "Cuban Missile" is headed to the Fuji-Servetto ProTour team for the 2009 season, and he'll get his first chance to race in Europe at age 32. And, in an interview with VeloNews Wednesday, Dominguez said he didn't want to hear from any doubters about his chances at success. "For those people, I say, just keep it to yourselves and let me try," he said.

The French team which won this year's overall team classification at the Tour Down Under in Australia, Francaise des Jeux, will be returning in 2009 to defend its crown, organizers said Wednesday. "We will expect a competitive team performance in 2009 by Francaise des Jeux," race director Mike Turtur said. The team includes Jeremy Roy, who finished second overall in the 2008 Giro d'Italia Sprint Classification, and who Turtur said would be striving to secure sprint jersey points at the Tour Down Under.

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Check out CyclingTips's author page.

The Tour of Missouri, which enters its third year in 2009, on Tuesday formally announced its dates as September 7th to 13th, next year. The race organizers also announced that the race will be a UCI Category 2 Hors Category event next year. Missouri and the Amgen Tour of California are now the only Cat. 2HC events in the U.S. “The success of the first two years is really astounding,” said Missouri’s Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, in a statement. Kinder also serves as chairman of Tour of Missouri, Inc., the event’s rights holder.

Following last weekend's UCI races in Virginia, Rhode Island and Oregon, Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Georgia Gould (Luna) continue to lead the USA Cycling national cyclocross standings. The final races of the national calendar are this weekend: the national championships in Kansas City. Men's Top 5 Standings: | (Complete men's standings) 1. Ryan Trebon ( Kona, Bend, Ore.) 500 2. Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale, Hadley, Mass.) 479 3. Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale, Middleton, Mass.) 431

Well, the manuscript of the third edition of Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance is due today, and I’ve been burning the midnight and daybreak oil for some time now, especially the last week, to get it done. Still not certain I’ll make it. But somehow, despite not riding or answering the phone these days, I got sucked into answering this question in some serious detail while writing Chapter 8 on cranksets. Back to the book now. Lennard

Red crank in a Madone?

German cyclist Erik Zabel said Tuesday the return of seven-times winner Lance Armstrong to the 2009 Tour de France could provide the tarnished sport with a much-needed boost. Zabel, 38, who captured the Tour de France's green jersey for the points winner six times between 1996-2001, will retire after Berlin's Six-Days cycling in the German capital at the end of January. But the sprint king says Lance Armstrong's planned return to the Tour de France next summer will help boost the sport's image after a string of failed drugs tests in recent years.

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2009 USA Cycling Professional Tour

Team Rock Racing's 2009 roster, released last month, is an impressive list, containing former ProTour riders Baden Cooke, Francisco Mancebo, and José Enrique Gutiérrez, as well as top domestic talents Ivan Dominquez, Glen Chadwick, Chris Baldwin and Caleb Manion.

Colors: Gloss metallic black with scotch-bright panels Sizes: 50, 53, 56, and 59cm Price: $2,399.99 Web site: www.ironhorsebikes.com New from Iron Horse the Double Cross cyclocross bike is built around an aluminum frame. The Double Cross features Hutchinson Bulldog tubeless-ready tires and a SRAM Rival group.

Belgian cycling star Tom Boonen risks facing criminal charges over his positive test for cocaine, according to public prosecutors in Turnhout on Monday. Boonen, a former world champion and winner of Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, tested positive for the recreational drug in an out-of-competition test in May.

Team Columbia and Team Garmin-Chipotle are hiring the Anti-Doping Sciences Institute, run by well-known anti-doping researcher Don Catlin, to provide independent testing program for the teams next season, the teams announced Monday. ADSI also will be testing Lance Armstrong next year. The ADSI program takes over from ACE, a company that had been doing testing for Columbia, Garmin-Chipotle and Team BMC before shutting down last month. Columbia's owner Bob Stapleton said Catlin's program complements the UCI's biological passport program.

Sub-freezing temperatures greeted the participants who braved the elements to contest the final Zipp Ohio Valley Cyclocross Tour event at Brookside Park in Indianapolis.  Although the ground was snow covered in spots, icy in others with air temperatures hovering around 20°F, the racing action was anything but frigid. 

Team Kenda is entering its year as a women’s road team with a cast of returning riders and a few new young rides. Jakie Kurth, two-time junior national champion, returns in her final year of junior eligibility. Espoir riders will include Denise Ramsden, the 2007 and 2008 Canadian junior road race champion, Ashley James, who is currently racing for Lindsey Wilson College, and climbing specialist Ally Stacher, from the Lees-McRae collegiate program.

Weight: 200g/pair Suggested retail: $599.99/pair Web site: www.zerogravitybike.com The Vanderkitten Elite Women’s Team will be using a limited edition version of the Zero G brakes, which also will be available to the public next month. Ciamillo Components’ Zero G brakes are made in the U.S and feature a patented Power Cam that provides a mechanical advantage with modulated stopping power.

Kazakh cyclist Alexandre Vinokourov, who was kicked out of the 2007 Tour de France for doping, was dropped from a Dutchmountain bike event on Friday in what would have been his comeback race. The 35-year-old was to take part in the Beach Challenge in the Dutch town of Scheveningen, but he was withdrawan from the list of entrants, the ANP news agency reported. The organizers, who had originally accepted the Kazakh rider into the race, did not give a reason for their change of mind.