Web site: www.liquidgoldenergy.com Suggested Retail Price: $5.99 for a 6.5 ounce flask (five 2-tablespoon servings) GloryBee Foods' Liquid Gold is an organic honey-based sports energy gel. The Eugene, Oregon-based company says that honey contains a mix of carbohydrates that help prevent sugar spikes.
Suggested Retail: $79.95 for saw with one blade. $49.95 for five replacement blades. Web site: www.cantitoeroad.com The CarboCut from Effetto Mariposa has toothless, grit-edge tungsten carbide blade that is intended for cutting hard materials such as ceramics, titanium and steel, and for cutting carbon fiber (the company says a traditional toothed blade is still best for cutting softer materials like aluminum and plastic).
Maris Strombergs put Latvia on top of the BMX world by taking the inaugural Olympic gold medal in flying fashion. The 21-year-old Latvian, who won the BMX world title earlier this year, earned Latvia its first medal of the 2008 Olympics, crossing the line ahead of Americans Mike Day and Donny Robinson. “It didn’t matter if it was the Olympics, the world championships or the European championships, the feeling is the same,” Strombergs said. “I was very cool and concentrated.”
Suggested Retail: $260 Weight: 200 grams Dimensions: 290mm x 135mm Web site: www.sellesanmarco.com Selle San Marco’s new Mantra is a new road bike saddle. It features the company's patented NoShuffle system, which involves a narrowed nose to reduce thigh chafing for riders with a knee-in riding style. It also includes an arrowhead-shaped cut out and a synthetic "microfeel" cover. [nid:82174]
Belgian rider Tom Boonen (Quick Step), won the first stage of the Tour du Benelux in The Netherlands on Thursday. Spain's Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne), retained the yellow jersey after winning Wednesday's prologue. Boonen, 27, is the 2005 world champion. In June he was barred from the Tour de France after testing positive for cocaine.
It was over in an instant, but the altercation between a Tour of Utah race staffer and Garmin-Chipotle team doctor Prentice Steffen was years in the making. During the stage 3 criterium in Salt Lake City last Friday, Tour of Utah team liaison Marty Jemison, a former U.S. Postal Service rider, punched Steffen after the team doctor made what Jemison considered to be an inflammatory remark about alleged doping dating back over a decade.
Price: $369 Web site: www.kurtkinetic.com A portion of the revenue from sales of the special pink Kurt Kinetic trainer go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, a grassroots organization of breast cancer survivors, advocates and activists. The organization has pledged $2 billion in the next ten years to fight breast cancer.
Nicolas Roche — fresh off winning the opening stage of the Tour de Limousin this week — has penned a two-year deal with French outfit Ag2r-La Mondiale. The 24-year-old son of Irish great Stephen Roche, he leaves Credit Agricole to join the French team through the 2010 season. “Nicolas is a rider with a big future with important physical abilities,” said Ag2r manager Vincent Lavenu. “He already has some solid experience and is arriving at maturity as a rider. All of that should enable to realize his potential in the big races.”
Cadel Evans will not be in the Silence-Lotto team competing in the Tour of Spain, starting on August 30 at Granada, the team announced on its Web site. The Belgium-based outfit has left the Australian out of the Vuelta, which finishes on September 21 in Madrid. The 31-year-old, who injured his knee in the aftermath of finishing second overall in the Tour de France at the end of July, finished 15th in the road race and fifth in the individual time trial at the Beijing Olympics.
Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne) won the prologue of the Eneco Tour of Benelux in Sittard-Geleen, Netherlands, on Wednesday. The Spanish cyclist, winner of the event last year, was judged to be leader after clocking 5:31.09 minutes over the 4.4 kilometer stage — fractions of a second in front of French rider Cyril Lemoine (Credit Agricole). Norway's Edvald Hagen (Team Columbia) was third.
A California Superior Court judge dismissed defamation suit against former Rock Racing soigneur Suzanne Sonye by Kayle Leogrande, a racer on the team. Leogrande filed suit after a recording of her telephone conversation with an anti-doping activist was posted on the Internet. In that conversation, Sonye repeated allegations outlined in an affidavit she provided to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that Leogrande had admitted using performance-enhancing substanstes.
Irish cyclist Nicolas Roche (Crédit Agricole) won the first stage of the Tour du Limousin on Tuesday. Roche, 24, powered along the country roads between Limoges and Guéret to win the 166km stage in four hours, four minutes, beating the field to the line by three seconds. France's Steve Chainel (Auber 93) and Roche’s teammate Sébastien Hinault came second and third.
Britain confirmed their status as rulers of the Olympic velodrome Tuesday, claiming two of the last three track cycling gold medals on offer to finish with seven out of 10. On a day that Australian blushes were saved in timely fashion by Anna Meares' sprint silver, giving the team that dominated in Athens just one medal, Britain were celebrating a total of 12 out of 30 medals awarded in Beijing. They medalled in eight of the 10 events, only failing to claim a medal in the women's points race and the men's Madison.
Victoria Pendleton of Great Britain grabbed her first Olympic gold after dominating Anna Meares of Australia over two legs of the women's sprint final in Beijing on Tuesday. Meares picked up the silver with China's Guo Shuang winning the bronze. Pendleton's maiden Olympic crown means she has taken Britain's track cycling gold tally to six. The 27-year-old Englishwoman is also the first British woman to win Olympic gold in track cycling's blue ribbon event. It is also Britain's first women's track medal since Yvonne McGregor won pursuit bronze in Sydney eight years ago.
Flying Scotsman Chris Hoy equaled a 100-year-old British Olympic record on his way to winning his third gold medal of the Beijing Games on Tuesday. Hoy, who had already won gold in the team sprint and keirin, claimed his first ever Olympic sprint crown after a dominant display over teammate Jason Kenny. Hoy claimed his third gold medal of the Games, and fourth of his career, after beating England's Kenny in two successive sprints.
Dear Lennard,
You mention you use the No Tubes set up with your Ksyriums and Hutchinson’s Road Tubeless tires. I would like to do the same, but am concerned about Hutchinson’s warning against doing so. Something about ammonia breaking down the inside body of the tire. Any thoughts here?
Matt
Argentina's Juan Curuchet and Walter Perez grabbed Olympic gold in the men's Madison in Beijing on Tuesday when all three medals were decided on the last lap's 10th and final sprint. Spain finished second to take the silver with Russia winning the bronze. Britain's pursuit and team pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins, aiming for a record-breaking third gold medal of the Beijing Games, was never in contention with teammate Mark Cavendish. Argentina's pairing was a constant threat for their rivals in the 50km, 200-lap race where points can be won at intermediate sprints.
Price: $449.99 Weight: 230 grams Web site: www.exposurelightsusa.com The Enduro model from Exposure Lights is a cable-free high-powered LED light intended for racing or high performance trail riding. The handlebar mounted light has a CNC-machined alloy body, anodized and laser etched. It uses three "Super LEDs" with a lifetime warranty. It has four settings that produce burn times ranging from three hours at the Max setting to more than 24 hours in flash mode.
It’s said that racing in the yellow jersey gives a rider wings. It’s also said that there’s no motivation like racing in front of friends and family. Both notions proved true Sunday during the final stage of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, in which Utah native Jeff Louder of BMC Racing overcame a seven-second deficit to Garmin-Chipotle’s Blake Caldwell to take the overall victory by eight seconds.
The four-man pursuit squad of Ed Clancy, Paul Manning, Geraint Thomas and individual pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins won Great Britain its fifth gold medal of the 2008 Olympics. Team Great Britain nearly lapped Denmark in the finals of the team pursuit, breaking their own world record from Sunday’s qualifying round with a 3:53.314 finishing time. The Brits led wire-to-wire against Denmark, which eased up on the throttle once the Brits came nipping at their heels on the final lap. The Danes finished with a time of 4:00.040. New Zealand took home the bronze with a 3:57.776.
Michael Blatchford might not own the bulky track sprinter’s physique, but the lean, mean American proved this season he can be competitive on the international circuit. Blatchford came up a hair short in Sunday night’s 1/16 round of the men’s match sprint. The 22-year-old saw his chances at qualifying for the finals dashed by France’s thick sprinter Kevin Sireau, one of the fastest men in the sport. Midway through the bell lap Sireau appeared to commit too early to his sprint, opening the door for Blatchford.
Dutchwoman Marianne Vos erased the demons from her sub-stellar finishes in last week’s road and time-trial events by dominating the Points Race. Vos, 21, earned 30 total points in the 100-lap race, 20 of which came from lapping the field. Yoanka Gonzalez of Cuba finished second with 18 points with Leire Olaberria of Spain grabbing the bronze. “I had a lot of confidence coming into [the points race] — during my training I felt very good,” Vos said. “It wasn’t like I felt bad in the road race or the time trial, of course I was trying to get a medal. I was very disappointed.”
Pat McQuaid, the head of cycling’s world governing body, said Monday a long-running feud that has "split the cycling family" is nearing its end, as he announced the creation of a new international calendar. UCI president McQuaid has been fighting resistance from major race organizers, including the Tour de France, in recent years following disagreements over the ProTour calendar of races.
Price: $269 Web site: www.dinottelighting.com DiNotte's 400L headlight is a new model introduced in time for fall training, trail riding and 24-hour racing. The standard double-LED light produces 400 Lumens and can be mounted on a variety of bar diameters with horizontal or vertical orientation. A helmet/head strap kit option is available this month. The user can experiment with different beam patterns with an optional lens kit, which the company recommends for helmet use and trail riding.
Michael Ball's fashion designers will be busy this week after Rock Racing's Rahsaan Bahati on Sunday earned his latest stars-and-stripes jersey, winning the Saab USA Cycling Pro Criterium Championship on the course in Downers Grove, Illinois, on which he last triumphed in 2000 as an amateur. It's the first time in three years that an American has earned the championship by winning the 100km race outright. And while Rock Racing betrayed a certain confidence by kitting up in red, white and blue, it also fulfilled a seasonlong goal for Bahati, who is still battling a bum leg.
Rebecca Romero pumped her fist and let out a shriek after crossing the finish line to win Olympic gold in the individual pursuit on Monday night. The finishing gesture mimicked that of her compatriot Nicole Cooke, who won last Sunday's women’s road race. “I’m trying to hold it together,” said Romero, who defeated compatriot Wendy Houvenaghel to take the win. “I’ve had to search deep inside and fight for it and do what I know I’m capable of. Olympic gold medals don’t come easy.”
Two-time Olympic pursuit champion Bradley Wiggins expects a tough battle on Monday when he leads Britain out in a bid to claim its first Olympic gold in the coveted team pursuit. Britain’s four underlined their credentials as heirs to defending champions Australia by beating their own world record in Beijing on Sunday in a time of 3:55.202 seconds. It allowed the Brits to finish fastest in the first round and book the gold medal match against Denmark. An impressive New Zealand quartet will face Australia in the fight for bronze.
Newly-crowned Olympic keirin champion Chris Hoy is primed for a semi-final clash with three-time world sprint champion Theo Bos as he looks for more gold in the men's sprint. Scottish sprint king Hoy continued his bid for his third Beijing gold medal after coasting into the quarter-finals of the men's sprint Sunday. Hoy, 32, beat a 12-year-old Olympic record for the 200 meters flying start in the qualifying round in a stunning time of 9.815 seconds.
Britain's Rebecca Romero made Olympic history in Beijing Sunday when she became just the second woman to claim medals in two different sports at the summer Games. England's Romero dominated the 3km individual-pursuit final to leave Wendy Houvenaghel of Northern Ireland with the silver medal after posting a winning time of three minutes, 28.32 seconds. Lesya Kalitovska of Ukraine defeated New Zealand's Alison Shanks to win the bronze medal.
To the cheers of a partisan crowd, BMC’s Jeff Louder won the queen stage of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Saturday, a grueling slog from Park City to Snowbird Ski Resort that delivered 15,000 feet of climbing and three KOM points over 98.7 miles. At Snowbird Ski Resort at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon the Salt Lake City native finished seconds ahead of Garmin-Chipotle’s race leader Blake Caldwell, who finished second on the stage. Team Type 1’s Glen Chadwick, less than one week off a return flight from Beijing, finished third.
Greg LeMond has reached a $39.5 million settlement with the owners of an exclusive retreat for the super rich that has its own ski resort and uses ex-Secret Service agents for security. Last week's settlement resolves a two-year legal dispute in which LeMond, his in-laws and an associate accused businessman Tim Blixseth of trying to buy out their minority stake in the Yellowstone Club for less than its actual value. A related settlement between Blixseth and his estranged wife, Edra Blixseth, in their divorce case also resolves a bitter struggle over control of the enterprise.
With three golds, a silver and a two bronzes through four events on the Laoshan Velodrome, Great Britain is living up to its pre-Olympics hype as the track dominator. So far it hasn’t been a benevolent ruler. Day Two saw Chris Hoy take a crushing victory in the men’s keirin (with Ross Edgar in silver), just 24 hours after the Brits mowed their way to gold in the Team Sprint.
Spaniard Joan Llaneras produced a stunning display of endurance and sprint riding here at the Laoshan velodrome to reclaim his Olympic crown in the men's points race. Germany's Roger Kluge took the silver with Britain's Christopher Newton taking the bronze. Llaneras, 39, reclaimed the title he won at Sydney in 2000 after a stunning ride in the 160-lap race which he finished with 60 points. Kluge, the halfway leader, finished on 58 with Newton on 56.
Jennie Reed is heading into Sunday’s sprint qualifying rounds with the added air of confidence that comes with owning a world championship gold medal. True, Reed did not take her world title at this year’s worlds in Manchester in the sprint — she won it in the keirin, which is not an Olympic event. But the fast and furious keirin is often a litmus test for how strong a track sprinter’s legs are firing. And this year, Reed’s legs have been firing full blast.
The motorcade of team cars raced through downtown Beijing, the usually congested roads virtually emptied for the Olympics, to the start. In each unbranded white car, the riders were piled in the back, as the directors drove. A small flag on the side was the only thing differentiating each team. On the roof, the bikes were covered in tape and the carbon wheels logo-less to appease the Olympic rules that control which companies can be featured in their event.
While Mother Nature teased participants with tiny showers up to about an hour before the start, this year’s Mt. Washington Hillclimb went off without a hitch. At start time the temp at the base of the New Hampshire peak was a mild 61, while the summit was a sunny 46 with literally no wind. [nid:81910] The 600-rider field — containing none of the more well known riders of the past few years such as Tyler Hamilton, Tom Danielson or Ned Overend — left the field wide open for up-and-coming riders.
Before the Tour of Utah's stage 4 twilight criterium began Friday, the start line was buzzing with the news that Toyota-United would not be returning in 2009. “Maybe some guys are more surprised than others, but I’ve been in this game long enough to know that the sponsorship search is not an easy one,” Toyota-United team director Scott Moninger said, adding that he didn’t foresee other domestic teams being able to absorb Toyota’s roster into its own.
American Taylor Phinney held his head high as he rolled off the wooden track at Beijing’s Laoshan velodrome. The American’s quest for an Olympic medal had just fizzled in the semi finals of the men’s Individual Pursuit, as Phinney fell to New Zealander Hayden Roulston. Above the American, his parents — cycling greats Connie Carpenter and Davis Phinney — chanted “We love you buddy!” as Phinney stepped off his bike to end his whirlwind 2007-08 season.
Britain's Bradley Wiggins of Britain successfully defended his Olympic crown when he won the individual pursuit track cycling gold in Beijing on Saturday. New Zealand's Hayden Roulston took silver with Britain's Steven Burke winning the bronze medal. American Taylor Phinney missed a spot in the medal rounds, riding 4:26.6 in Round 1. The 27-year-old Wiggins clocked a time of 4:16.5 in Round 1 to secure his place in the final against the New Zealander, who finished in 4:19.2.
Disproving critics that downplayed his Successful Living team’s chances of taking victory at the national level in 2008, Argentinean Ricardo Escuela won the stage 3 criterium of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Friday evening in downtown Salt Lake City. It was Successful Living’s third NRC win of the 2008 season.
Toyota-United team riders are free to seek new teams, and — though the team's owners continue to search for a new title sponsor for 2009 — the team is unlikely to continue next year with anything resembling its current lineup. And the team's owner says the UCI is partly to blame. Managers told team members in a conference call on Friday that they are released from their contracts because the team will be unable to sign up a new title sponsor in time to meet a UCI team license registration deadline.
Scotland's Chris Hoy anchored Britain to an historic victory in the coveted Olympic team sprint final in Beijing Friday to leave world champions France with the silver. Hoy, who is aiming for a further two gold medals in the five-day, ten final race anchored the team home after stunning rides from England's Jamie Staff and Jason Kenny in a time of 43.128. France took the silver in 43.551 with defending champions Germany beating Australia to the bronze medal.
In the lead up to the Beijing Olympics, American track pursuit cyclist Sarah Hammer graced the pages of both Sports Illustrated and ESPN magazines. As her sport’s world champion in both 2005 and 2006, Hammer was touted in print as America’s best shot at grabbing a medal in track racing.
Options: Available to fit Campagnolo or Shimano brakes. Weight: 24 grams/pair Web site: www.serfas.com Retail: $70. Includes pads for aluminum and carbon rims. Serfas carbon fiber brake pad holders are intended to be lighter and stronger than other pad holders. The company also claims the pad holders dissipate heat quickly and evenly. The titanium mounting nut allows a fully adjustable pad angle. The pad itself has a three-stage braking surface.
The top stage racers in the country wasted no time Thursday in tearing apart the general classification at the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. A select group of 13 riders emerged during the day’s third and final mountain pass as the most likely contenders for overall victory, while Garmin-Chipotle’s 24-year-old Blake Caldwell took his second career Tour of Utah stage win. For the second consecutive day, the stage winner came out of a small breakaway, and for the second consecutive day the winner wore a Garmin-Chipotle jersey, which was then traded for yellow atop the podium.
Call it MaskGate.
Four world-class track cyclists land in one of the most polluted cities in the world and want nothing more than to protect the one organ – their lungs – that most determines whether or not they’ll win an Olympic medal.
They don masks, given to them by their Olympic governing body, and an international scandal erupts.
Sarah Hammer, Jennie Reed, Michael Friedman and Bobby Lea unintentionally created a furor on August 5 when they walked into Beijing’s international airport wearing USOC-issued masks to cover their nose and mouths.
What a way to
Here are some interesting factoids and other non-essential, but mildly entertaining, factlets from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games data base: DOUBLE TIME: Fabian Cancellara (Swi) did more than win gold in the time trial and bronze in the road race. “Spartacus” became only the fifth rider to win a medal in both road events in the same Olympic Games.
Dutch rider Thomas Dekker has confirmed that he is looking for a new contract after a fallout with his Rabobank team over alleged “abnormal blood values” in a UCI test earlier this year. Dekker’s agent, Jacques Hanegraaf, told the Dutch news service ANP that both sides decided it would be “mutually beneficial” for the rider to look for another team.
Neal Henderson is the Sport Science Manager at Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. He is a USA Cycling certified coach and works with a diverse clientele at BCSM. He has been Taylor Phinney’s personal coach since 2006 and will is traveling with Phinney and his family in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics.
Jason Donald (Garmin-Chipotle) bridged to an early breakaway and then won the Tour of Utah's first stage after working a day-long break. Donald's win in the 101-mile flat-to-rolling stage gives him the early overall lead in the stage race. Second place went to Sheldon Denny of the Fan Sports Network team; third was Brad White of Successful Living. Thursday's second stage is hillier: the University Health Care Road Race, at 84.6 miles, has four climbs. It begins in downtown Ogden and ends in Salt Lake City.
World Anti Doping Agency president John Fahey said earlier this week that the Olympic movement should consider banishing cycling and weight lifting from the Games because they are sports that have doping problems. UCI president Pat McQuaid immediately shot back that no other sport is doing as much as cycling to fight the cheats, and that several major sports have been dragging their heels on anti-doping issues for years.
Colors: Black Sizes: Waist sizes: 28, 32, 34, 36, 38-inches. Material: 100 percent polyester outer shell with poly/spandex liner and one-piece molded chamois Suggested retail: $110 Web site: www.yeticycles.com Yeti's new Raptor shorts are part of the company's new 2008 Ride Wear line of comfortable, baggy tech jerseys and shorts that are designed for long trail rides and gravity riding.
German rider Linus Gerdemann (Team Columbia) won the Tour de l'Ain cycling race after the fourth and final stage on Wednesday. Gerdemann clocked 14:14:03 over the four stages to finish 12 seconds ahead of French rider David Moncoutie of Cofidis, with AG2R rider Stephane Goubert of France third at 36 seconds. The 25-year-old German, holder of the yellow jersey after his victory on Tuesday, and his Columbia teammates were dominant on the hilly Bugey stage.
Suggested retail: To be determined Size: 26 x 2.00 Weight: 630 grams Web site:www.geax.com The Geax Saguaro Tubular is 26 x 2.00 tubular mountain bike tire, part of Geax's revamped 2009 model line. The Saguaro has very round profile, with a polycotton casing derived from road racing tires. The casing is designed to offer comfort and low rolling resistance. The casing is hand made of Corespun K 290TPI cotton and Kevlar fibers.
Suggested retail: $9.99 Capacity: 21 ounces Web site: www.rocketsciencesports.com The Rocket Bottle is an aerodynamic water bottle that fits standard bottle cages. Rocket Science claims that wind-tunnel testing shows the bottle has 16 percent less drag than a standard bottle, which the company says equates to saving 53 seconds in a 40km time trial.
A few days ago I was chatting with American Christine Thorburn about Wednesday’s individual time trial. The Californian went through a laundry list of meticulous technical and training specifications she had nailed down in preparation for the race against the clock — an event that historically rewards a rider’s attention to detail. I said something like, “wow, that sounds really Type-A.” Dr. Thorburn, the rheumatologist, cracked a smile.
Price: $119.99 Weight: 94 grams per set OLD: 100mm front and 130mm rear (Fits standard road bikes). Web site: www.fullspeedahead.com FSA's new K-Force QR quick release levers feature a 3K-weave full carbon fiber lever, designed to be aerodynamic and ergonomic. The skewer, pivot barrel and springs are stainless steel. The set weighs 94 grams.
Cadel Evans said he is unlikely to compete at the world championships this year after revealing the extent of his knee injury following the Olympic cycling time trial on Wednesday. After finishing 15th in the road race last Saturday, the Australian battled through the pain to finish a commendable fifth in the 47.3km race at 1min 23sec behind unstoppable Swiss winner Fabian Cancellara. The 31-year-old Australian admitted he was happy with the result as he had spent the run-up to the Games trying to recover from a damaged anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee.
Fabian Cancellara’s finish-line salute at the end of Wednesday’s Olympic time trial erased any concerns that the big Swiss rider has lost his edge in the race against the clock. He rolled into the finishing straight with 33 seconds in his pocket over Swede Gustav Larsson, stopped pedaling, lifted his arm in a very un-aero fist and punched the air.
It’s not often that a domestic event strives for UCI stage-race designation, falls short on sponsorship, is cancelled and then returns the following year as the country’s highest-elevation stage race. But that’s exactly what the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah has gone through in recent years. After going national in 2006, the Tour of Utah was postponed last year when race owners determined the event was not ready due to fiscal troubles.
Toyota-United's Canadian strongman Dominique Rollin won the 2008 Rochester Omnium after winning the rain-soaked Twilight Criterium and coming in second in the opening time trial of the three-stage event. Rollin, a Tour of California stage winner and former Canadian national champion, also scored points in the road race to lock up an overall win over BMC's Tony Cruz, who won the 101-mile road race.
Tony Martin (Columbia) won the second of two stages on Tuesday in the Tour de l'Ain while teammate Linus Gerdemann retained the leader’s yellow jersey. Martin won the 8.9km time trial in the town of Saint-Genis-Pouilly, crossing the line in 10 minutes and 17 seconds. Gerdemann finished second at 10 seconds back with David Moncoutie (Cofidis) third at 18 seconds.
Spanish cyclist Iban Mayo has been banned for two years after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld an appeal by the UCI, the Lausanne-based court said on Tuesday. Mayo tested positive for the banned blood-booster EPO on July 24 during last year's Tour. However, the Spanish national federation refused to discipline Mayo, saying the testing process at laboratories in Paris and Ghent, Belgium, was flawed. The UCI appealed, and a CAS panel of three lawyers decided EPO was present in Mayo’s urine.
The Olympic peloton returns to the Juyongguan Pass sector of the Great Wall on Wednesday for a 23.5km individual time trial that has its ups and downs. The circuit, which features a climb and descent just beneath the wall, proved the pivotal point in the weekend's road races and will decide the victors once again on Wednesday. It begins with the gradual 12.5km climb up Badaling Pass, which averages just 4 percent as it winds to the summit. The ensuing descent, on a wide-open highway and into a headwind, is for power riders. Men race two laps, women one.
Dear Lennard,
Why would changing a tire on a Zipp 530 be so difficult? I beat my fingers and snap tire levers trying to get a tire off.
Steve
Dear Steve,
It’s a good question, but one I thought might be best answered by the folks at Zipp.
Lennard
It’s easy to spot recently arrived journalists in Beijing. They’re the ones haunting the hotel lobby at 3 a.m., emailing like mad to fill the jet-lag time after a 12-hour trans-Pacific flight. By mid day, there is a crowd of new arrivals milling around the information desk at the Main Press Center (MPC), all clutching tattered maps and Chinese-English translation cards as if their lives depended on it. Around 4 p.m., the new recruits make a run on the coffee machines. Or they simply slouch in their chairs and nap. Many drool.
UCI president Pat McQuaid has called for more support from the World Anti-Doping Agency following comments by WADA president John Fahey which placed doubt on cycling's future at the Olympics. WADA chief Fahey said Monday that cycling was among several sports, including weightlifting, that risked their Olympic futures if they continue to be plagued by doping. McQuaid, speaking a day after it was announced that Spanish cyclist Maria Isobel Moreno had tested positive for EPO (erythropoietin), admitted that cycling has been left with an unwelcome legacy.
The 2008 USA Cycling Elite Nationals concluded Sunday in Orange County, California, with the men's elite, U23 and Junior 17-18 road races. U23 Road Race
Belgian Greg Van Avermaet (Silence Lotto) team won the second stage of the Tour de l'Ain on Monday. The 23-year-old edged ahead of Czech Frantisek Rabon and Maxime Bouet of France in a sprint to the line after the 169km stage from Trevoux to Hauteville. Sunday's stage winner Floris Goesinnen of the Netherlands finished in 18th and slipped to second in the overall standings, now tied with Van Avermat on time.
Travis Woodruff (MomentumEndurance) and Abigail Strigel (Polska/Fond du Lac Cyclery) won Sunday's Sunburst Showdown at Wisconsin's Sunburst Ski Area.. The race was the eighth event of the Wisconsin Off Road Series. After five laps of the course, Woodruff took the Elite Men's win (1:24:39), ahead of second-place Brain Matter (Geargrinder-Hyundai; 1:24:57) and third place Jeff Melcher (Team Pedal-Moraine; 1:28:05). By coincidence, all three rode Gary Fisher Superfly bikes.
When they call Swiss time trial specialist Fabian Cancellara “Spartacus,” it hits the mark. The 27-year-old battled uphill to a well-deserved Olympic bronze in the road race on Saturday, and is ready to fight off the specialist climbers to stand two steps higher on the podium of the time trial on Wednesday. "I've been building towards the Games for a long time and I've showed with this bronze medal that I'm on great form," said Cancellara, who has a list of victories that would make any professional proud.
Spanish cyclist Maria Isobel Moreno became the first athlete to fail a doping test here at the Olympic Games, the IOC revealed on Monday. The 27-year-old tested positive for EPO having undergone the test on July 31. She left the athletes' village on the evening of the 31st before she knew of the results of the test. Giselle Davies, IOC spokeswoman, announced Moreno's positive test.
Floris Goesinnen (Skil Shimano) sprinted to victory in the first stage of the Tour de l'Ain in eastern France on Sunday. The Dutchman took the leader's yellow jersey after crossing ahead of Paul Moucheraud (Roubaix Lille Metropole) with the peloton led by Belgian Greg Van Avermaet (Silence-Lotto) arriving close behind. A breakaway group gained a 10-minute lead ahead of the pack early in the 149km stage from Lagnieu to Montreal-la-Cluse but the gap narrowed as the course became more mountainous.