Road Racing

Part way through the ’cross season, Amy Dombroski is switching to Primus Mootry and a new set of sponsors.

The brother of Alberto Contador says the two-time winner will likely stay with Astana in 2010, but no longer.

Do tubeless tires work for cyclocross?

Giro d'Italia

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Mud surely took its toll on both riders and bikes at Saturday's Blue Sky Velo Cup in Colorado.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Running from Saturday July 3rd to Sunday July 25th 2010, the 97th Tour de France will be made up of 1 prologue and 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,600 km.

Lennard shares some recent experiences and insights from the cyclocross races.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

The 2010 Time catalog includes not just bikes and pedals.

Sue Butler (Monavie-Cannondale) suited up for the costume race at Cross Crusade No. 6 Sunday in Astoria and rode to her first series win of the season, while Barry Wicks (Kona) doubled up after taking Saturday’s opener in the Halloween weekend of racing. Mud from Saturday’s intermittent rain got tacky when Sunday turned into an unseasonably warm, clear day on Oregon’s northern coast.

Sir Chris Hoy won his third gold at the UCI Track World Cup on Sunday in Manchester as Great Britain ended the meeting with yet more medals. Four-time Olympic champion Hoy, who at this event was making his international return from injury, added team sprint gold to the keirin and sprint crowns he'd already won and in the process replicated his Beijing haul. In all Britain won 10 golds from 17 events, as well as four silvers and a bronze medal on their home track.

Seattle’s Nick Weighall (California Giant Strawberries-Specialized) ran away from Mike Broderick (Kenda-Seven-NoTubes) to win the MAC Beacon Cyclocross Saturday in Bridgeton, New Jersey. In contrast, Mary McConneloug (Kenda-Seven-NoTubes) rode away from a tough women’s field that included defending MAC champion Laura Van Gilder and perennial front-runner Dee Winfield (C3-Athletes Serving Athletes), and 2008 MAC champion Mo Bruno-Roy (MM Racing p/b Seven Cycles)

American Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France victory after a positive doping test and a public battle to prove his innocence, has told a New Zealand newspaper that he may never compete again in cycling's most important race. Landis, now 34, told the Herald on Sunday newspaper that infighting between cycling's biggest movers and shakers will likely mean he will not be returning to the Tour.

Kona pro Barry Wicks came to Astoria Saturday and put the hurt on the Cross Crusade regulars, while Veloforma’s Alice Pennington fought back from several hard crashes to take her first win in a women’s A race after three runner-up finishes. Intermittent showers and sun breaks kept the temperatures warm and the course sloppy as the Cross Crusade invaded the northernmost tip of Oregon’s coast for a Halloween weekend doubleheader at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds.

Lance Armstrong's Treks make a post-season, cameo comeback of their own.

Response of the UCI to a report from AFLD relating to anti- doping activities at the 2009 Tour de France PART 1: GENERAL COMMENTS The concept of partnership

The UCI is striking back at the French anti-doping agency AFLD, which earlier this month accused the UCI of giving Astana special treatment at the Tour de France.

How do I remove a seatpost stuck in my frame?

Maureen Bruno-Roy (MM Racing-Seven Cycles) and Jeremy Powers (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) lead the USA Cycling cyclocross points series following this weekend's races. Bruno-Roy, from Arlington, Massachusetts, won both days at the weekend's Verge New England Series races in New Gloucester, Maine. Powers, from Hadley, Massachusetts, was third at Sunday's USGP race in Louisville, Kentucky, and has scored a series of wins and top finishes this season, including going three-for-three at the Cincinnati Cyclocross Festival.

Zack McDonald (Classic Cycles) got his second win of the SCX series and Kristi Berg (Redline Bicycles) continued her domination at a chilly but mostly dry Ft. Steilacoom this weekend.

The route for the 2010 Giro d’Italia — which was unveiled on Italian national television by race director Angelo Zomegnan in Milan last Saturday night — has elicited much praise from both the European media and the racers.

Carlos Sastre likes what he sees for next year’s Giro d’Italia. With a climber’s course laden with monster ascents, including the Mortirolo, the Gavia, Zoncolan and Plan de Corones, the punishing Giro course could well tempt Sastre back to the Italian tour in 2010.

Portland Bicycle Studio's Molly Cameron made it two in row Sunday by taking the Men's A race at Cross Crusade No. 4, while Emily Van Meter (Hudz-Subaru) notched her first win of the season in the Women's A race. The skies finally opened up and dumped enough precipitation to bring out the mud for the first time this Cross Crusade season, and the rain had riders slipping and sliding over the pancake-flat course at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Hillsboro.

For every hot piece of gear in our Interbike coverage there are ten we missed — here's a few.

Sam Schultz and Lisa Curry won Rolling Thunder under the lights Saturday night in Missoula, Montana. The fourth annual Rolling Thunder nighttime cyclocross race was held on crisp fall night in Montana. Kevin Bradford-Parish and defending champion Sam Krieg gave Schultz all he could handle. Also racing was Craig Richey, John Curry and Kenda rider Andy Schultz.

The sun shone down on the Verge NECCS Sunday in New Gloucester, Maine, but the mud hung like a black cloud over the head of many racers. Maureen Bruno-Roy (MM Racing p/b Seven Cycles) and Dan Timmerman (Richard Sachs/RGM/Radix), on the other hand, had great days in the saddle, each doubling up on the weekend and extending their series leads. Bruno-Roy kept herself upright through the start of the race, but that was the only change from Saturday as she dominated from the gun to the finish. On the first half lap, she had pushed out a 12-second lead and never looked back.

Arley Kemmerer of Hub Racing and Ryan DeWald of Battley Harley-Davidson won the elite races in the third annual DCCX cyclocross race in Washington, D.C., this weekend. The race, which is run by the DCMTB biking team with Family Bike Shop as the title sponsor, had a record 533 racers on a course carved into the landscape of the seldom seen Armed Forces Retirement Home.

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Race No. 4 of the US Gran Prix of Cyclo-cross on Sunday saw Katerina Nash (Luna) repeat Saturday's victory and Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) continue his tradition of a Sunday win in Kentucky’s Derby City Cup for the third consecutive year.

Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank) won the Japan Cup on Sunday in Utsunomiya. The Dane, with an assist from teammate Jens Voigt, hit the line after 151.4km of racing just 24 seconds ahead of a chasing trio composed of Spaniards Dani Moreno (Caisse d’Epargne) and Juan Jose Cobo (Fuji-Servetto) and the Italian Ivan Santaromita (Liquigas). Sorensen launched a series of attacks in the last 40km, backed by Voigt, and the young Danish climber finally left the field behind, crossing the line alone for the win. Moreno took second with Santaromita third.

The New England Championship Cyclo-cross Series made its return to New Gloucester, Maine, Saturday, with the first day of the Downeast Cyclocross Weekend. Racers were greeted with a nagging, persistent rain, deep, slick mud and cold temperatures. Maureen Bruno-Roy (MM Racing p/b Seven Cycles) and Ryan Timmerman (Richard Sachs-RGM-Radix) proved to be the toughest through the storm.

The USGP series made its third stop in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday. With record crowds in attendance and some seriously heavy mud on the course, Katerina Nash and Ryan Trebon raced to victory and into the series leaders’ jerseys at Day One of the USGP Derby City Cup.

The 93rd edition of the Giro d’Italia in 2010 will start in the Netherlands on May 8 before embarking on a 3,416.5km journey around the Italian peninsula and ending in Verona on May 30. That was the course unveiled in Milan on Saturday with 21 stages and plenty of tough climbs. Reigning champion Denis Menchov, the Russian Rabobank rider, was among the guests at the official presentation alongside former winner Damiano Cunego and Italian stars of the past such as Mario Cipollini.

The route for the 2010 Giro d’Italia won’t be revealed until Saturday, but hints of what’s in store are already being leaked in Italy. Several media outlets, including rival daily Tutto Sport, have scooped the newspaper owned by Giro organizers, La Gazzetta dello Sport, by cobbling together several pieces of the Giro puzzle. What’s already confirmed is that the 2010 Giro will start in Amsterdam. From there, it’s a matter of speculation and informed guessing. Here’s a sampling of what’s been whispered. The official route will be revealed Saturday:

The managers of the Tour de France arrived in Ajaccio, the capital city of Corsica Wednesday to kick off three days of meetings to explore the possibility of starting the race on the autonomous French Island in 2013. "This is the first step of a process to see if the Tour de France can be successfully held on Corsica,” said Tour director, Christian Prudhomme. During a press conference at the Corsican Assembly, Prudhomme said the meetings mark the first of "several trips” that will be necessary to rate the island’s ability to host the 2013 Grand Départ.

Just as word leaked out beforehand about the route of the 2010 Tour de France, so several sources in Italy have published reports on the likely stages for the 2010 Giro d’Italia — which will be formally unveiled this Saturday in Milan. Race organizer RCS and its daily newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport have announced only the first three stages, which will all start in the Dutch city of Amsterdam next May 8, 9 and 10; but rival papers Tuttosport, La Stampa and La Repubblica have all carried stories on the likely route.

Katie Compton (Planet Bike) has become the first American to lead the UCI's international cyclocross points rankings. Compton, from Colorado Springs, Colorado, owes her lead to her win at the Treviso, Italy, world cup last month, combined with a string of wins at U.S. UCI races. She has won all seven UCI races she has started this season.[nid:99492] Compton is training in Colorado and will resume racing at the NACT weekend in Colorado next weekend.

Challenge Grifo Pro

Check out CyclingTips's author page.

Nick Wieghall (California Giant Berry Farms) ensured there would be no repeat men's winners yet this year, while Kristi Berg (Redline Bicycles) made it three for three at the sand-heavy course third stop of the Seattle Cyclocross Series.

There were a number of special bikes that I saw at Interbike that I have still not had much opportunity to write about. So I’ll use this week’s column to do so.

With the introduction of two new helmets for 2010, Rudy Project is taking a stab at the top of the helmet hierarchy, and hoping riders will take notice. “In essence, we’re calling 2010 the ‘year of the helmet,’” said Paul Craig, Rudy Project's North America CEO. “It’s the culmination of two to three years of research, development, and testing which has allowed us to leapfrog, in our eyes, other helmet technology.”

Kona’s Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks went one-two at Sunday’s cold and windy Wissahickon Cross in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, while Luna’s Georgia Gould won by a large margin. The women started off the UCI double-header, and despite the storm that turned the previous day’s Granogue course into a quagmire, the circuit at Wissahickon remained solid, though somewhat cooler than normal.

Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Georgia Gould (Luna Pro Team) came out on top in the slop at Granogue Cross on Sunday. Suburban Wilmington, Delaware, felt more like northern Europe as riders lined up in 40-degree temperatures and drizzle to tackle a thick slime of mud brought on by three days of steady rainfall. Since 2001, the Granogue course has gained a reputation for its relentless punchy climbs, tricky off-camber descents and searing run-ups, but the addition of greasy mud added a new level of challenge to the UCI Cat 2 event.

The Zipp OVCX Tour paused in Bloomington, Indiana, on Sunday for a quick dive through an untraditional mix of fast single-track, multiple bridges, a paved climb and some sloppy field sections, with fall colors in full bloom. In the elite men’s field it was harvest time with no time to enjoy the landscape as OVCX leader Mitchell Kersting (Bob’s Red Mill) sprinted from the start and never looked back.

Popular Portland ‘crosser Molly Cameron (Portland Bicycle Studio) took the win during the Cross Crusade Sunday in Sherwood when series leader Sean Babcock (Team S&M) flatted in the closing laps of the Men’s A race. Despite taking a tumble on the last lap, masters national champion Wendy Williams (Hudz-Subaru) continued her dominance over the Women’s A field when she won her third straight in another tight back-and-forth battle with Veloforma’s Alice Pennington.

Natasha Elliott (Garneau) made it two for two on Sunday, winning the second round of the Toronto International Cyclocross, while Jeremy Powers led a Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com sweep of the podium. It was another course entirely that the field tackled on Sunday — instead of square mazes and a climb up the ski hill, racers faced flowing, off-camber turns, spiced with a bit of sand and mud to keep the spectators happy.

Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) and Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli won their respective events at the 28th Chrono des Nations on Sunday in Les Herbiers, France. Vinokourov covered the 48.7km men's course in 1:00:09, 1:07 ahead of French time trial champion Jean-Christophe Péraud (Creusot Cyclisme). Yuriy Krivtsov (Ag2r) finished third at 1:12. It was Vinokourov’s second win of the season and his first for Astana. His victory in the time trial of the Tour de l’Ain came as he rode for a Kazakh national team.

World champion Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) won the second round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup on Sunday in Pizen, Czech Republic. On a circuit made more difficult by a steady rain, Albert took his second consecutive World Cup win in 1:05:13 with Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago) second at 19 seconds back. Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea) finished third at 0:21. American Jonathan Page (Planet Bike) finished 13th at 1:37. Niels leads the World Cup standings with 160 points. Stybar is second with 135 and Klass Vantornout (Sunweb Pro Job) third with 115.

It may be a new race to the North American Cyclocross Trophy series, but both winners were repeats from last year’s edition of the GNC Toronto Cyclo-cross on Saturday. Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com) and Natasha Elliott (Garneau) scored wins at the popular event, now a part of the NACT series.

With four kilometers to go, it was obvious that an Italian wasn’t going to win Giro di Lombardia for the ninth consecutive year. A Belgian and a Spaniard ? Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto) and Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) – were 12 seconds clear of a chasing group that included three-time winner Damiano Cunego (Lampre), enough gap to end the Italian stranglehold on the season-concluding fall classic.

Seatposts with 1-bolt saddle rail clamps are not uncommon—in fact, several designs have all proven to work just fine. But Ritchey’s WCS 1-Bolt system is especially effective in that it’s adaptable to saddles with different rail dimensions.

The mystery surrounding Garmin-Slipstream’s tactics for the final stage of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, a 62km circuit in Melbourne, was solved Saturday evening as the team committed to defending the lead of yellow jersey Bradley Wiggins, rather than triple-stage winner Chris Sutton, who sat second overall by just five seconds. Fly V Australia’s Jonathan Cantwell won the stage in front of large crowds ahead of Michael Matthews (Jayco AIS), bookending the tour following his win in the opening preface criterium.

Over a technical and windy 10km time trial course in Geelong, Garmin-Slipstream’s Bradley Wiggins took not only the stage 5 win at Australia’s Jayco Herald Sun Tour, but also the race lead with one stage remaining. Wiggins blitzed the course around Geelong’s Botanical Gardens and along its coastal roads, which used some of the same roads as both the annual Jayco Bay Cycling Classic series and the 2010 UCI world road championships, in a time of 13:07, 14 seconds faster than the second-place finisher, Garmin teammate Svein Tuft.

Philippe Gilbert must be wishing he had this ripping form a few weeks ago at the world championships in Mendrisio. Just days after taking scalps at Paris-Tours and Coppa Sabatini, the Belgian bomber rounded out his October treble with victory Thursday at Giro del Piemonte in the season’s penultimate race. Sixth at the road worlds in Switzerland, Gilbert has been laying it on thick during the final races of the 2009 European racing calendar, taking three consecutive victories this week.

Related: Interactive Google Map of the 2010 Tour route

While Garmin-Slipstream’s Chris Sutton made it a hat trick at Australia’s Jayco Herald Sun Tour Thursday, beating out Fly V Australia’s Jonathan Cantwell in a bunch kick for a third consecutive stage, what was more interesting was how the general classification now sets up for Thursday’s 10km time trial. The fourth stage of this tour, a 139km roundabout route from Anglesea to Barwon Heads, played out in nearly identical fashion to the previous day: two riders escaped, were caught close to the finish, and Sutton, led out by teammate Bradley Wiggins, beat Cantwell in a sprint.

Carlos Sastre, the 2008 Tour de France champion, says he won’t commit to racing the 2010 Tour until he’s studied the routes of all three grand tours. After getting a glimpse of what’s a harder, more climber-friendly Tour in Wednesday’s roll-out of the 2010 route, Sastre’s comments over doubts of a possible Tour start come as a surprise.

In the cutthroat pro peloton, Garmin-Slipstream rider Bradley Wiggins is the exception — a non-stop joker with outside interests in music, fashion, Mod-era scooters and when he’s not preparing for a race, a pint or two of beer. Take, for example, this exchange between the British rider and a TV reporter prior to the start of Thursday’s fourth stage of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour. (Background info: British Sky Broadcasting, the sponsor of the new-for-2010 British cycling team Sky, is the United Kingdom’s largest pay-TV provider.)

Related: Interactive Google Map of the 2010 Tour route

Here are some reactions from the main players during Wednesday’s Tour de France presentation: Alberto Contador – 1st overall: “My authentic rival is Andy Schleck. Looking at the time trial, it’s better for me than last year. This Tour is better for me than last year, especially with a stage finish atop a climb so difficult as the Tourmalet.

When the lights dimmed in the Congrés de Palais in Paris for the presentation of the 2010 Tour de France, the unexpected was the plat du jour. Surprises are always part of the Tour presentation, and 2010 certainly didn’t disappoint. Hard days in the Pyrénées and a long, penultimate-day time trial in Bordeaux set the stage for a final week clash that should keep fans on the edge of their seats.

The scenario was different but the outcome the same for Garmin-Slipstream sprinter Chris Sutton, who took his second consecutive stage win at Australia’s Jayco Herald Sun Tour Wednesday. Unlike his win Tuesday, which came from a group whittled down through attrition in the wind, Sutton took the victory and subsequent race lead Wednesday out a hard-charging lead group established over a cat. 2 climb just 15km from the finish line.

Beverly Park Elementary in Burien, Washington, hosted the second stop on the 2009 Seattle cyclocross (SCX) series. The day broke chilly but sunny and with the sun, the temp came up nicely for most races. Still no traditional 'cross weather for SCX. The course was very compact, consisting of an old cintrex running track and associated field on one terrace and then a back section of thicker grass and pavement on an upper section, separated by about 30 vertical feet.

Even though the September trade shows are over, there are still plenty of new products on the horizon. Based on company press releases, we found the following to fuel our post-Interbike gear lust. We'll start with the bling - Campagnolo's new clothing and wheels, and then come back to reality with some new lubes from Motorex and some affordable race-proven clothing from Pactimo.

Campy keeps the pressure on

Prosecutors in Paris said Tuesday that they have launched an investigation into doping at this year's Tour de France after the discovery of suspicious medical equipment, including "syringes and drips," disposed of by teams in July. According to French daily Le Monde, the investigation involves a number of teams including the Astana squad of Tour winner Alberto Contador and his soon-to-be-former teammate Lance Armstrong. Prosecutors, however, noted they are reviewing materials from several teams and have not targeted individual riders or specific teams thus far.

Garmin-Slipstream took control of the Jayco Herald Sun Tour Tuesday during a 141km battle of attrition from Colac to the coastal town of Warrnambool that was marked by strong winds that fractured the peloton into pieces. By the finish only six riders remained at the front of the race, three of whom wore the blue-and-orange argyle of the American squad, including stage winner Chris Sutton.

It’s been three weeks since Interbike, but I still get questions asking what really caught my eye at this year’s show. There was plenty and, until now, there really hasn’t been space in the articles I’ve done on VeloNews.com and in the print version for all of it. Aside from what I’ve already posted and put in the magazine, there were some real treasures and I’ve decided to devote today’s column to some of the other things that I found to be really cool. So here are some new components that appealed to me.

Modern retro

Katie Compton (Planet Bike-Stevens) made it three for three on Sunday in the final round of the Cincinnati UCI3 Cyclocross Festival, while Jeremy Powers (Cyclocrossworld.com-Cannondale) used a tight corner just before the finishing straight to get the better of Ryan Trebon (Kona). The women’s race followed the script that had been written over the previous two rounds. Sue Butler (Monavie-Cannondale) got the hole shot, while Compton, who did not reconnoiter the course beforehand, was content to do her inspection during the race before riding off to another dominating win.

Let the record show that upon crossing the finish line first Sunday in Rhode Island, Tim Johnson's first question was not about how his beloved Red Sox had fared in a playoff game that afternoon. Instead he asked how his Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com teammate Jeremy Powers had fared at the races in Ohio. Johnson made the Red Sox query next.

Sven Nys (Landbouwkredit-Colnago) came from behind to win the opening round of the Superprestige cyclocross series on Sunday in Ruddervoorde, Belgium. World champion Niels Albert (BKCP Powerplus) took the lead from the gun, leaving Nys, Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Projob) and Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea) in his wake. But with six laps to go Nys had fought his way up to Albert, and in short order he put the hammer down, quickly building a gap that the world champion could not close.

Belgian Philippe Gilbert (Silence-Lotto) on Sunday won Paris-Tours for the second straight year. Gilbert beat compatriot Tom Boonen and Slovenia's Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil) in a three-man dash for the line in the 230km semi-classic. Italian Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) finished fourth with Spaniard Oscar Freire fifth, some 20 seconds off the leading trio. For Gilbert the win brought a measure of revenge after Boonen pipped him to the Belgian championship in June.

It was a pair of Australian sprinters battling for opening honors at the Jayco Herald Sun Tour Sunday in the former gold-mining town of Ballarat, with Fly V Australia’s Jonathan Cantwell edging out Garmin-Slipstream’s Chris Sutton in a bike throw to the line. Cantwell got the better of Sutton after the Garmin rider opened his sprint 200 meters from the line out of a group of 18 riders that separated from the peloton halfway through the 60-minute “preface” criterium, which does not count towards the overall classification.

The Cincinnati UCI3 Festival moved north Saturday to the pocket-sized Sunset Park in Middletown, Ohio, for the Java Johnny’s – Lionhearts International; and Jeremy Powers and Katie Compton once again delivered an old-fashioned whuppin.'

Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) and Katerina Nash (Luna Chix) dominated the first day of the inaugural Providence Festival of Cyclocross in Rhode Island on Saturday. The race was held under dry, fast conditions at Roger Williams Park, a sprawling in-town venue strewn with duck ponds, a carousel, a zoo and a Parthenon-like stage that made a perfect podium. The park, which hosted the national cyclocross championships in 2005 and 2006, also was home to the Interbike trade-only bike demo days Thursday and Friday and a public bike expo this weekend.