Road Racing

Bobby Julich (Team CSC) advanced one day closer to the most important victory of his career after safely negotiating Saturday’s potentially dangerous 184km, six-climb stage into Cannes. Big Dutchman Joost Posthuma (Rabobank) took an impressive solo victory after dropping the remnants of the winning break on the day’s final climb at the Col du Tanneron with 20km to go. Julich, meanwhile, rode inside the protective cocoon of Bjarne Riis’s big red machine and enjoyed a relatively easy sunny ride through France’s stunning Var region. Jens Voigt muscled up the Cat. 2 Tanneron to reel in some

Bobby Julich went to bed last night joking to Team CSC roommate Jens Voigt about their prospects of snagging the maillot jaune in Friday’s 172.5km climbing stage up Mont Faron at Paris-Nice. “I said, ‘If one of us doesn’t come home today with the yellow jersey, we’re both sleeping on the floor,’” said the 33-year-old Julich. They’ll both get a very good sleep thanks to Julich, who surged into the leader’s jersey after holding off late attacks by Spanish rivals Alejandro Valverde (Illes Balears) and Constantine Zaballa (Saunier Duval) on the upper reaches of Mont Faron. Julich started the

With the hint of spring in the air and the Buyer’s Guide long gone, I figured last week was the ideal time to follow up on an invitation to visit custom shoe builder D2 in Eagle, Colorado, about 20 miles east of Vail. Don Lamson and Dan Kurtanich (D2, get it?) have been working together the past three years to provide cyclists what they call “the finest cycling footwear money can buy.” You may recognize Lamson’s name. He has more than 20 years in the custom-shoe business, including time spent with Lampson Design and Doni. His business partner and old skiing buddy Kurtanich returned to

The winds of change blew through Paris-Nice in Thursday’s weather-shortened fourth stage as the peloton traded winter for the mistral. Lance Armstrong packed it in as cold and snow forced organizers to shorten the third stage in a row, but the peloton was back in shorts after the race moved into warmer climes of the Rhone valley. Fabian Cancellara (Fassa Bortolo) put down a Herculean sprint to beat veteran Jaan Kirsipuu (Credit Agricole) against a strong headwind into Montélimar while Bobby Julich (CSC) surged into contention after sneaking into the winning break late in the 101km

In what was great weather to go skiing in central France on Wednesday, the Paris-Nice bicycle stage doggedly pushed on despite frigid temperatures and snowy roads that forced organizers to shorten a stage for the second straight day. With snow piled four-feet deep alongside the road, race organizers had no choice but to cut the stage from 174km to 118km and eliminate the highest, snow-covered reaches of the course. Despite an early breakaway that included Floyd Landis (Phonak) and defending champion Jörg Jaksche (Liberty Seguros), the sprinters once again drove it home. Vicente Reynes (Illes

Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) won Wednesday’s opener of Tirreno-Adriatico to take the bragging rights in the race stacked with sprinter talent. The win gives Petacchi a big boost following his upset loss to a resurgent Mario Cipollini (Liquigas-Bianchi) in the pair’s first duel of the season in the Giro di Lucca on Monday. Fassa Bortolo was back to its dominating self, executing the perfect train to deliver Petacchi to the line unchallenged in the 160km stage in Civitavecchia. Bernhard Eisel (FDJeux.com) finished second while Australian champion Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) took

Belgium's Tom Boonen, of the Quick Step team, on Tuesday won the second stage of the Paris-Nice cycling race, reduced to 45km between Aigueperse and Thiers in central France because of snow. The 24-year-old, who had also won the first stage, earned the leader's jersey because of the bonus points he picked up. The Belgian rider finished several lengths ahead of Norway's Kurt-Asle Arvesen and Ukrainian Yaroslav Popovych. While Boonen said it had been a good try out for the Milan-San Remo classic later this month he added that taking the overall lead did not put him in pole

Marketing ploy?Dear Lennard,Shimano's website lists the Dura Ace 7800 hubset as being only 10-speedcompatible, but the Ultegra 6600 hubs are listed as both 9- and 10-speedcompatible. Is there actually a difference or is this "10-speed only" designation a marketing ploy?RobertDear Robert,The Dura-Ace hub has an aluminum 10-speed freehub body, while the Ultegrahub has a steel 9-speed freehub body. The 10-speed freehub body has a largerouter diameter and deeper splines. The deeper splines are more resistantto damage to the freehub body’s spline ribs due to torque on the cogs forcingthe

Tom Boonen (Quick Step) won stage 1 of Paris-Nice on Monday, sprinting to victory ahead of a peloton that had been cracked into thirds by a pair of crashes in the final kilometers. Chilly weather, with temperatures barely above freezing, greeted the Race to the Sun as the peloton set off on the 186.5km stage, a relatively flat affair from the Parisian suburb of Etampes south to Chabris, with only the very small Category 3 Cote de Graviers at 10km to stretch the legs. American Fred Rodriguez (Davitamon) took the first intermediate sprint at 42km, edging Rabobank's Erik Dekker and

Jens Voigt (CSC) ripped the short, 4km prologue Sunday to win the Paris-Nice opener and earned the distinction of being the first winner on cycling’s new ProTour while six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong played it safe 27 seconds slower. Voigt was the hottest thing going on a sunny, but cold day in the Parisian suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux to kick off the season-long ProTour series with the 63rd Paris-Nice. The concise course featured a short punchy climb to start and some tight corners, but it was the on-form Voigt who delivered the winning ride of 5 minutes, 15 seconds. Tour

Last month I mentioned I had the opportunity to drop in on SRAM’s 2006 OE product camp in Oracle, Arizona, for a sneak peek at what’s comin’ down the pipe from the Chicago folks for 2006. While I was able to post some details about SRAM’s new products, only now are we allowed to show you some of the tantalizing photos. Here’s a collection of what’s what from SRAM for next year.

As I mentioned last week, it wouldn’t be until today – March 1 – that I could speak freely about a few of Manitou’s new-for-2006 products. If you couldn’t guess from my somewhat cryptic comment last week, Manitou is back to taking a serious look at the cross-country segment for 2006. Welcome to the lightweight, high-performance world of the Manitou R-Seven. While the race-oriented Skareb served its purpose quite nicely for the past three years, Manitou’s Joel Smith recently explained that it’s the company’s goal to “redefine suspension for the XC market.” Considering what Manitou has

Just got back in the office after a five-day trip (or was it six? I’ve never been good with time travel) to check out a bit of Manitou’s 2006 suspension technology. While trapped on Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, one of the Canary Islands, just off the coast of Morocco, I’m pretty sure I signed a piece of paper promising I wouldn’t spill the beans on the new fork. So I’ll be particularly brief and vague here; the full story can be told on March 1. Manitou, which in my opinion has set the standard for freeride and downhill suspension over the past five years, has chosen to dump a ton of R&D into

With frame materials and production processes becoming so advanced,one must wonder if there is room for the custom frame builder to competewith major manufacturers. Dotting the map from coast to coast, custom buildersare often individuals working in their garages making one frame at a time.These individuals rarely have home offices to visit, so to get a read what’snew with custom builders, VeloNews visited the 1st Annual HandmadeBicycle Show, held in Houston, Texas, in January.Aftera lap of the show floor, it was evident that these builders favor variety.The 30 craftsmen who went to Houston

Unwelcome floatDear Lennard,I have 1997 Campy chorus (9-speed) on my bike and other than the factthat I have to replace the right lever indexing spring every four years,I love it.My friend has '99 Chorus (also 9-speed) and is not as happy. It seemsthat sometime between those two years Campy changed the "balance" of thesprings in the right lever and the rear derailleur, so that instead ofclicking into one set position, the rear derailleur has about 1-2 millimetersof lateral "float" that allows you to center the chain on the selectedcog. Maybe they thought it was a good idea for folks who

The Netherlands emerged the overall winners of track cycling's World Cupafter finishing second to Australia in the fourth and final event in Sydneyon Sunday.The Australians ended the Sydney leg with 132 points after claimingfour gold, two silver and three bronze medals and six other top ten placingsto finish 12 points clear of the Netherlands.The Dutch came away from the final event with six gold medals and 120points but it was enough to crown them overall World Cup champion nationwith 360 points from Russia (324), Great Britain (297) and Australia (281).Australian Anna Meares won her

World sprint champion Theo Bos claimed his second win of the Sydney UCI World Cup track cycling meet in Sydney with victory over Australian Jobie Dajka in the sprint on Saturday. Bos won his final 2-0 and led another night of Dutch success at the Dunc Gray Velodrome with compatriots Marlijn Binnendijk winning the women's individual pursuit and Yvonne Hijgenaar claiming the 500m time trial. Bos, who won the world title in Melbourne last May, beat eight-time world champion Laurent Gane of France for the keirin title on Friday's opening night along with Levi Heimans win in the

World sprint champion Theo Bos led a Dutch hat-trick of victories on the opening night of the fourth and final UCI World Cup track event at Dunc Gray Velodrome on Friday in Sydney. Bos claimed the keirin title while Levi Heimans won the men's 4km individual pursuit and Wim Stroetinga took out the men's 15km scratch race. Bos beat eight-time world champion Laurent Gane of France in the ride-off for first and second place with Czech Republic's Pavel Buran beating Australian Joel Leonard for third. “We've trained very hard here and done a lot of kilometers on the road,” said

Well, it's finally over!The 2005 VeloNews Buyer's Guide has been printed and will be hittingmailboxes and newsstands next week. The late nights, frantic flipping throughtattered productcatalogs, desperate searches through image CDs and annoying late-nightcell phone calls to product managers are over...for the time being. The end result? The largest Buyer's Guide that VeloNewshas ever published (at 156 pages). With a feature section on14 of the coolest ProTour bikes available in 2005, a report on custom buildersand five detailed race scenarios features, I'm certain you'll

It's lemmony fresh, too!Dear Lennard,Could you recommend a good method and/or product to clean and maintaina titanium frame (unpainted finish)? Also, do you have any suggestionsto keep aluminum parts (i.e. Campy hubs, etc.) clean and shiny?E.J.Dear E.J.,You can clean the titanium frame first with soap and water and thenwith a solvent on the greasy patches that did not come clean. Be carefulyou don’t remove decals, if you use a really strong solvent like acetone(and make sure you wear gloves and a respirator). Usually, a biodegradabledegreaser is sufficient to clean it up. After cleaning,

Dear Lennard,I have two sets of wheels I use for my bike with two different sets of clinchers, each with a different maximum-pressure rating. My race wheels have tires with a max pressure rating of 116 psi (Michelin Pro Race). However, my training wheels have tires with a max pressure of 145 psi (Vredestein Fortezza Tri Comp). I use my training wheels as my pit wheels while racing. If I have to change a wheel during a race, will the different pressures between the front and rear cause me handling problems or other dangers? Secondly, I am 175 pounds and use paired-spoke wheels (Shimano

With the king of Malaysia looking on from the VIP seats at the finish line, Aussie Graeme Brown affirmed his status as ruler of the Tour de Langkawi sprints, easily taking the 10th and final stage of the 2005 Tour de Langkawi on Sunday in downtown Kuala Lumpur. The win was Brown’s fifth at the 10th anniversary of the Malaysian national tour, upping his all-time wins record to nine.

You could not have scripted a more appropriate ending for the ninth stage of the 2005 Tour de Langkawi on Saturday. The 164.8km run from Menara Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya started with the standard early attacks, continued with solid team tactics by Barloworld, and concluded with Ceremica-Panaria coming to the front to deliver yet another sprint win for Aussie Graeme Brown. The win was Brown’s fourth at the 10th anniversary of this 10-day race in Malaysia, and it extended his all-time wins record to eight.

Jose Rujano’s run at the overall Tour de Langkawi title won’t officially come to an end until the finish of Sunday’s stage 10 criterium in Kuala Lumpur. But in his mind, the pint-sized Venezuelan climber’s concession likely came with 3km to go in Friday’s stage 8 run from Kuala Kuba Baru to the top of the Genting Highlands. It was there that Rujano’s chief rival in the chase for the GC title, South African Ryan Cox, rolled up beside him and gave him a glaring gaze of confidence.

Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) finally got it right in a week dominated by sprinting’s biggest names. After watching Tom Boonen and Mario Cipollini take the glory earlier, the Aussie boxer punched his way to victory in the 153km final stage from Sealine Beach Resort to Doha Corniche. There were some early attempts at a breakaway, but the sprinter teams were anxious for one more stab at the spoils before leaving behind the oil-rich Persian Gulf nation. Boonen came through third, but McEwen scored the win that eluded him all week in Qatar. Team CSC delivered Lars Michaelsen into the overall

This is crunch time for the tech’ guys in VeloNews editorial. Whilemost of our colleagues may dread the workload heading into July, Lennard and I are hard at work putting together the annual Buyer’s Guide. Still, Iwas lucky enough to sneak away from the office to spend two precious daysin the Northern Sonoran Desert with the folks of SRAM last week. On theagenda: two days of riding the latest SRAM, Truvativ, Avid and RockShoxproduct. Held a month before the official SRAM press launch, this particularcamp was designated for bicycle product managers intent of putting thefinishing touches on

Mario Cipollini is back at the front of the pack after scoring an importantvictory in Thursday’s fourth stage of the Tour of Qatar, his first sincelast year’s Tour de Georgia. The 37-year-old Tuscan held off 24-year-old Tom Boonen (Quick Step)in a significant objective for the Lion King, who edged near retirementbut joined the Liquigas-Bianchi team with new motivation to come back tothe elite levels of sprinting after two lackluster seasons. “Every win encourages you very much and this one in a particular waysince it comes after months full of sacrifices and a very tough training,”Cipollini

Dear Lennard,I have an ’04 Specialized S-Works E5 frame. I’ve noticed after a ridein the rain when I tip the bike up some pretty murky water runs out thechain stays near the rear wheel. Last night I was changing my bottom bracket(the new Dura-Ace 10-speed, if that matters) and it made a nice little pondon my garage floor. Since water and probably some nasty road salt, gritand grime are getting into my frame, do I need to strip it down on occasionand flush it out with some clean water?MattDear Matt,Yes, that is a very good idea. Also, a drain hole in the bottom bracketshell is a good idea – or

Team CSC blew through the Tour of Qatar peloton in Wednesday’s thirdstage like a tornado, doing a ditty much like the team pulled off in lastyear’s Paris-Nice and delivered Danish veteran Lars Michaelsen an over-duestage victory.Team CSC put six of its eight riders into the day’s decisive move of17 riders in the blustery 194km stage across the otherwise flat Qatar,leaving pre-stage leader Tom Boonen (Quick Step) gasping for air.In the end, five Team CSC riders were in the top seven (Fred Rodriguezfought bravely to finish sixth), with Michaelsen taking the flowers androokie Matti Breschel in

It’s not supposed to be this easy, but following the bunch sprint that concluded the fifth stage of the 2005 Tour de Langkawi, you got the feeling Graeme Brown and the Ceremica-Panaria crew could win these things with one foot unclipped. After Brown and teammate Ruben Bongiorno grabbed victories in stages 1 and 2, Brown earned another win on Tuesday in Kuala Terengganu. That gave the Aussie an all-time best six Langkawi stage wins.

The outcome of Monday’s stage 4 time trial at Malaysia’s Tour de Langkawi came as a surprise to almost no one. A naturally strong time-trialist, Aussie Nathan O’Neill has always ridden well at this early-season race in Southeast Asia, and Monday was no exception. The Navigators pro blasted his way around the flat seaside circuit, posting a day’s best 24:42 on the 20.3km course in Bachok.

It probably won’t be the big break that launches him onto a ProTour team roster. And it is not likely the signal that the dawn of Asian cycling dominance is upon us. But make no mistake about it, the fact that Japan’s Koji Fukushima finally made one of his suicide breaks stick, winning the third stage of the 2005 Tour de Langkawi on Sunday, had plenty of significance.

Imagine that if besides the backbiting that so often characterized the Kobe-Shaq era, the pair of NBA stars had literally fought for the ball during their stint with the L.A. Lakers. Sounds preposterous, but don’t think it never happens in the world of sports — including cycling. Take for example, the pair of speedsters from Italian pro squad Ceramica Panaria. Though Graeme Brown and Ruben Bongiorno sport the same bright orange jerseys, when it comes time to sprint one might as well be riding for the Hatfields, the other the McCoys.

We just received word from Zipp that the company has chosen to go ahead and “dimple” many of its popular carbon road wheels. In fact, everyone of its Deep-V wheelsets will receive what company says is a major aerodynamic enhancement. “In every wind, speed and direction ZIPP's dimpled wheels are more aerodynamic our same wheels without the dimples. In 90 percent of riding conditions the innovation will save you between 1 and 4 watts of energy," Zipp claims. "The aerodynamic benefit mimics the reason golf balls have dimples, aircraft wings and race cars use trip strips and vortex

Straight blades?Dear Lennard,Thanks for the discussion on rake and trail and various geometry issues in your December 21st column. I have a follow-up question: Since it appears you can achieve trail change via head tube angle and fork geometry, what are the implications of a straight fork like a Colnago Star, versus a fork that has blades that curve as they near the axle?Jeffrey Dear Jeffrey,I should have put something about this in the book, because it is such a common misperception. Straight forks do have rake (i.e., offset of the front hub from the steering axis)! Look at your

Robbie McEwen likened the roar of the crowd in the home straight to that of a football grand final after charging home to win the final stage of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under on Sunday. Like he has done so many times in a star-studded career, McEwen, 32, timed his run perfectly down the 500-meter finishing straight to get over the top of Italian Paride Grillo (Ceramiche Panaria-Navigare) and Queenslander Allan Davis (Liberty Seguros).

Italian cyclist Damiano Cunego will call upon the spirit of dead rock star Jim Morrison to help him in his bid to defend his Giro d’Italia title later this year. The 23-year-old is a huge fan of Morrison's legendary 1960s rock band “The Doors” and believes the music of the American group can play a pivotal role when the 88th edition of the race gets underway on May 7. "I can only say that on paper I like this Giro, but I will need to go and have a look at it to get a better idea," said Cunego. "It seems to me like the tour will suit the climbers, but we'll see. As usual, there will be Jim

Spaniard Alberto Contador celebrated his recovery from life-threatening brain surgery by winning the fifth stage of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under in Willunga Saturday. But his better-credentialed Liberty Seguros teammate Luis Sanchez will take an almost unassailable lead into Sunday’s final stage in Adelaide. And the best local hero Stuart O'Grady can finish is third, as he trails Sanchez by 47 seconds, while Queenslander Allan Davis splits them at 35 seconds off the pace. Saturday’s 147km stage, which included a torturous 3km climb to the top of Old Willunga Hill, was expected to blow

Matthew White stepped out of the shadow of teammate Stuart O'Grady Friday with a hollow victory in the fourth stage of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under. “I've waited six bloody years for this,” White said after he crossed the line a clear winner from fellow Australian Robbie McEwen, referring to his last major stage win in the Tour of Switzerland in 1999. Better known as a domestique on the world stage, White, 31, helped his Cofidis teammate O'Grady win last year's World Cup in Hamburg, and has carved out a profitable living for the past 10 years in that role. But Friday was his chance to

Since we’re hunkering down to produce the 2005 VeloNews Buyer’s Guide, I’m going to have to keep this week’s column a bit tighter (read: shorter) than usual. Excuses aside, I have to say that the most exciting part of producing this year’s BG has got to be the “Bikes of the ProTour” section. When the idea of rounding up every production ProTour replica bike was first pitched in November, I have to admit it seemed more than far-fetched to me. I mean, I was going to be the guy responsible for ordering 15 of the hardest-to-get road bikes of 2005 – a long shot in full production months of May

Spain's Luis Sanchez, touted as the next Miguel Indurain, is the new leader in the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under after an enthralling third stage between Glenelg and Victor Harbor on Thursday. Sanchez, 21, from the Murcia region and riding for Liberty Seguros, outsprinted Belgian Johan Van Summeren to win the stage after both riders attacked a 26-man breakaway 20km from the finish. The win catapulted Sanchez into the leader's yellow jersey after he trailed Queensland's Robbie McEwen by 12 seconds overnight. McEwen, 32, winner of the opening two stages was the day’s biggest loser, missing

Robbie McEwen overcame a rogue civilian and a near crash into the barriers to win an unprecedented 10th stage of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under in Tanunda on Wednesday. In another bunch sprint finish, McEwen just had too much power for Italian Paride Grillo and Queenslander Allan Davis. The Tour de France sprint champion won clearly, but the margin would have been greater had he not had to change direction about 250m from the line. “We nearly hit some bloke on his bike with about 800m to go,” McEwen said. “He was just riding along the road. It's bad enough with the parked cars and then

Robbie McEwen continued his brilliant early season form with a thrilling victory in the opening stage of the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under in Adelaide's East End Tuesday evening. In an All Australian trifecta, McEwen beat Queenslander Allan Davis with South Australian hero Stuart O'Grady third after 25 frenetic laps of a 2.5km circuit before a crowd estimated at close to 65,000. It was McEwen's ninth stage victory in seven years and followed closely on his win in the Australian Open road championship in Echunga on Saturday.

Dear Lennard,I recently converted to wheels with bladed spokes, and now my speedometermagnet no longer fits onto the spoke (I have a Performance brand Axiom8.0C). Is there any solution where I don't have to buy an entire new computer?If I do have to upgrade, can you recommend one that will mount to a bladedspoke?AndrewDear Andrew,You can buy separate magnets for this type of spoke. For example, lookingin the Quality Bicycle catalog, and estimating the retail price, it lookslike you could get a hand-tightening Campagnolo magnet for $27 that I ampretty sure I have used on bladed spokes, a

Like the annual return of the swallows to Capistrano, this is the time of year that VeloNews staff get to pump-out another edition of our Buyer’s Guide. In its third year of production, the VeloNews Buyer’s Guide has grown from a “let’s see if it works” publication to a “keystone property,”or so our marketing staff likes to call it. To me, the tremendous amount of work we put into it is well worth it because of the Guide’s sheer usefulness and “drool factor.” You won’t see a larger collection of “to-die-for” bikes anywhere in 2005 than our Buyer’s Guide. This year we’ve enlisted the help of

Oh my achin' backDear Lennard,My bones are getting stiff and achy, and I am looking for a way tosoften my every day/training bike, a Cannondale CAAD 5 with the stock all-carbonfork. The bike fits me like a glove and is very responsive.Would a carbon bar and stem combination damp the ride and add comfort,or are carbon bars just as stiff and noncompliant as alloy bars?Are any carbon bars "softer" than others? Have you ridden Specialized'sRoubaix? Is there a significant improvement in the ride? Isthere a real tradeoff in performance? My 59-year-old neck, arms andback thank you!Bill Dear Bill,I

Americans Rebecca Quinn and Jenny Reed won medals Sunday, the final day of competition at the third round of the track cycling World Cup.Quinn won the silver behind Australian Katherine Bates in the women's scratch race, with France's Virginie Moinard third.Reed claimed the bronze in the women's Keirin, which was won by Belarus' Natalia Tsylinskay. Germany's Susann Panzer took the silver.The British trio of Chris Hoy, Jason Queally and Craig Maclean won the team sprint in the final event of the World Cup leg at the Manchester Velodrome on Sunday to give the hosts enough points to win the

Colby Pearce grabbed a share of the overall World Cup lead on Saturday in the men's points race with a bronze medal effort behind Vasil Kiryienka (BLR) and Nikita Eskov (RUS) at the penultimate stop of the four-race series. Pearce scored points in half of the 12 intermediate sprints and lapped the field once to score 35 points. Silver medalist Eskov also scored 35 points but bested Pearce in the final sprint to take the tiebraker. Kiryienka scored 39. Pearce's performance moves him into a tie for the overall world cup lead with 2004 Olympic gold medalist Russian Mikhail Ignatiev. The

First off, a while back in (almost) sunny Southern California for Christmas, I managed to pull Shimano PR guy Jasen Thorpe out of his cubicle for a morning of off-road riding and tech chit-chat. Thorpe came to the famed Aliso Viejo riding trails armed with one of his truly fish-out-of-water bicycle creations–a one-size-too-small GT Ruckus hardtail fully equipped with 2005 Shimano Hone components. “It is too early in the year to start riding fast, so I’d rather stick to my hucking bike for general trail riding,” Thorpe offered. Oddball or not, the point of the Ruckus was to show off

Belgian Sven Vanthourenhout (Rabobank) won the eighth round of the UCI’s cyclo-cross World Cup on Sunday, beating his compatriots Sven Nijs and Erwin Vervecken in Aigle, Switzerland. Vanthourenhout scored the win on a 2.6km course that encircled the World Cycling Center, the headquarters of the Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling’s world governing body. Ben Berden and Italian Enrico Franzoi finished respectively in fourth and fifth places. It was those five riders who dominated throughout most of the race, staying together in a lead group until the penultimate lap when Nijs and

Where is that table?Dear Lennard,Where can I find the torque charts that the latest issue of VeloNewssaid were on the Web site?CharlesDear Charles,Hereyou go!LennardAsking SantaDear Lennard,I'm suggesting an inch pounds torque wrench from Santa for Christmasand I'm a little confused on which to put on my list. The one I want isa 1/4" twist knob type US, but they have a few options on the increments.Should I go with a 40-200 or 10-50? I'm most doing all the stuff onmy road and mountain bike, stems, cranks bolts etc.PaulDear Paul,Sorry if my answer is too late for Santa, but click on the torque

Dear readers,I have gotten so many questions on fork rake and front-end geometryfrom my Nov. 23 posting that I realized the need to fully address thissubject again. I have written about this before, both here and in the magazine,but there obviously remains a bit of confusion out there about the subject.Consequently, I have posted a number of the recent questions I have receivedabout it as well as the “block” I wrote on the subject from my most recentbook, Zinn’sCycling Primer. I hope it clarifies some handling questions for a lot of you out there.Merry Christmas,Lennard Dear Lennard,I'm

More tire talkDear Lennard,I really enjoyed your recent wet-road tire discussion with Tom Petrie and Alberto De Gioannini. Just the topic I was looking for, but I'm still a little confused. I thought the cord compound made a big difference and it wasn't mentioned at all. I recall racing in the rain in a crit next to a friend who was running cotton-cord sew up tires as opposed to my silks. While we'd been comparable in bike handling otherwise, I found myself nearly sideways in corners while hewent around like on a rail. We'd pumped our tires to comparable pressures.I'm taking a group over for

Indoor track cycling, which was one of America’s most popular sports until World War II, is starting to rediscover its roots at the ADT Event Center in Carson, California. On Saturday, the second night of the three-day UCI track World Cup saw a near-capacity crowd entertained by a variety of world-class performances. And the new fans were on their feet at the end of the evening, cheering all the riders in the men’s 30km points race in which Colorado’s Colby Pearce almost pulled off a stunning victory against Russia’s immaculate Mikhael Ignatiev. After both men had gained three laps on the

Theo Bos closed the Los Angeles round of the 2004-05 UCI World Cup the way he started it, with an outstanding win, to lead the Netherlands to a convincing overall victory. After setting an astounding personal-best kilometer TT time of 1:01.768 on Friday night, Bos anchored his Dutch team to a winning 45.163 seconds for the three-lap, 750-meter team sprint on Sunday afternoon. Bos did not compete in the sprint, the discipline in which he is the current world champion, although he will defend his title on this same track in March; he will also do the kilometer and team sprint. “Today we did

There were only a couple of hundred people left in the ADT Event Center when Dutchman Theo Bos, the world sprint champion, burst out of the starting gate in the men’s kilometer time trial. It was the last event of Friday night on the first day of the Los Angeles round of the UCI track World Cup. On the other side of the track was Jason Queally of Great Britain, the 2000 Olympic kilo champion, who was using this ride on the newest American indoor velodrome as a nice try-out before the world championships at this venue in March. Bos is notorious for his bad starts in the kilo, but this time

Australian sprinter Ryan Bayley, who won the sprint and keirin gold medals at the Athens Olympics in August, and the women’s 500-meter TT champion Anna Meares star in the three-day UCI World Cup track classic this weekend in Los Angeles. This will be a dress rehearsal at the ADT Event Center indoor velodrome in Carson for the full-blown UCI track world’s next March. The three-day track meet on the 250-meter Schurmann-designed wood track with its 45-degree bankings should provide a feast of racing from most of the nations that will race at the world’s. Qualifying round take place Friday and

You simply can’t get away from it. Obviously, bicycles for commuting purposes rule the earth when compared to their internal combustion engine bastard off-shoots, but who would have imagined running into a pack of dedicated mountain bike racers in the middle of nowhere? With the racing season on winter hiatus, and activity here at VeloNews a bit slower than in the heavy season, I felt it the perfect time to grab a bit of vacation time a couple of weeks ago and head south across the Mexican border aboard my motorcycle (yeah, yeah... I said motorcycle. Deal with it). My original route

Need a long-valve tubie? Try VittoriaDear Lennard,I have been looking around and have been unable to find a long-stem tubular tire. Almost all the tire websites don't even mention the stem length. I thought for sure with the popularity of deep carbon rims there would be at least one company that offered a model with a long valve stem. Thanks for any help.Brian Dear Brian,My tire-aficionado friend Tom Petrie assures me that at least Vittoria offers tubular tires with 51mm long valves with a removable valve core as well as 42mm-length valves without a removable valve core. Vittoria also offers

What happened to Clement red glue?Dear Lennard,I have been riding tubulars my whole life, and I have always liked the Clement red glue. Now I cannot find it anymore. Do you know of a source? Also, I have been using the Tufo tubulars with good luck. I just don’t understand how they measure the number of threads per inch in the casing. They claim 420, yet Vittoria says their 290tpi is the highest density on the market. Any observations?Mark Dear Mark,I, too, loved that glue and have missed it. When Clement went bankrupt and was acquired by Pirelli, I think that the Clement red glue might have

Look Cycle, a member of the pro peloton since 1983 and always an innovator, has introduced a host of high-end products for the new season. In keeping with the company’s design tradition, the French manufacturer’s new pedals, frames and forks are extremely light and purposeful to meet the demands of pros who depend on their equipment to make a living. Look’s carbon fiber technology is particularly advanced. The company was among the first to deliver carbon steerer tubes on forks, and has now produced a fork entirely in carbon fiber, including the dropouts. Look has also introduced a new

Rake, trail and the difference between the twoDear Lennard,In your November9 Technical Q&A you said that a 44/45mm rake would steer less quicklyand be more stable than a 47mm rake. Is that a typo? I thought shorterrake would tighten up the wheelbase and make the head tube angle feel steeper--yieldingquicker handling and a more "twitchy" feeling bicycle.Jeremiah Dear Jeremiah,Sorry, but the statement is correct and your interpretation about forkrake’s effect is wrong. Indeed, a steeper head angle does make the bikehandle more quickly (reduces fork trail), yes. However, a reduced forkrake

Rob Vandermark has always had a knack for turning the impossible into the desirable. As the head designer for Merlin Metalworks, back when Merlin was a struggling independent, he figured out how to create externally butted, seamless titanium tubing. The result was the Merlin Extralight, which for many years reigned as a benchmark in the road bike stratosphere. He also created the Merlin Newsboy, a bona fide mountain bike disguised as the most stylish of cruisers. Easy to do, you say, if you have all the money in the world to work with. So at the opposite end of the price scale, he delivered

I just returned to a very chilly Boulder, Colorado, after spending a few days in the warm sun of Santa Barbara, California, where Giant Bicycles arranged to show off its 2005 product line. While the majority of major manufacturers already paraded their 2005 wares this past summer, Giant was forced to wait until the Interbike tradeshow because its new Maestro suspension mountain bikes weren’t quite ready until then. Indeed, even the bikes that Giant brought to Interbike’s Outdoor Demo were not 100-percent ready, so I was eager to try out the actual production road and mountain models that

Time Sport International, founded in 1986, is a comparatively young company, but it has been at the forefront of the pro racing scene ever since the debut of its revolutionary TBT pedal in late 1987. The TBT was the first modern clipless pedal to allow rotational float, a common feature on high-end pedals today but one that was unheard of at the time. Despite the system’s unusual approach, the TBT was an immediate success, garnering victories in the men’s and women’s Tour de France in 1988 with Pedro Delgado and Jeannie Longo. Shortly thereafter, Time developed a clipless mountain-bike

Losing my gripDear Lennard,I am having a problem with the removal of the drive-side bottom bracketcup. It is a Shimano UN 72 and it has been removed so many times that thesplines are now gone. The bottom bracket itself works fine and I can leaveit in, but eventually it will need to be replaced. The splines are so rounded off that when pressure is applied in an attemptto remove the cup, the bottom bracket tool spins and further chews up thesplines. I am turning the tool clockwise for removal.Jeff Dear Jeff,The first thing to try would be to get your hands on a Tacx BB cupremover, since it

After two years with Mario Cipollini’s Domina Vacanze team, Specialized Bicycles announced that it was switching its sponsorship to Germany’s Gerolsteiner squad for 2005, in part because the team has added American Levi Leipheimer to its roster. Specialized also announced an expansion of its domestic sponsorship role next year, adding its support to the men’s side of USA Cycling’s under-23 development program. Specialized will supply bikes and equipment for road, mountain, cyclo-cross and track to the U-23 team. We chatted with Mike Sinyard, Specialized’s president and founder, about his

The Crank Brothers Cobalt crank was one of the big hits of this year’s Interbike trade show in Las Vegas, largely due to its unexpected and unconventional design. Eschewing carbon, the Cobalt is a composite of a different kind: an aluminum base bonded to a stainless steel cover. Like all Crank Brothers products, the Cobalt combines a striking industrial aesthetic with hardcore cycling functionality. Andrew Herrick, who serves as Crank’s marketing guy (though not officially; the company does not use job titles) gave us the lowdown on how this unusual product was created. VeloNews: When did

Questions of rakeDear Lennard,I have a 1994 Trek 5200 54 cm. I want to raise up my handlebarheight for comfort reasons. I figure I need to raise it 2 cm.I thought about the Serotta head tube extender. It's titanium, pressedin and adds 2 cm. I would have to buy a new fork. The literaturefor that model year states a 47mm fork rake.I think I could accomplish two things - more comfort and better ride- with the right fork. From a safety standpoint, is this a good idea?If so which fork? Since less rake equals more trai that would make it morestable with same head angle, right? Would a 44 mm rake

Andy Ording, President of Zipp Speed Weaponry, is determined to maintain his company’s lead in lightweight composite technology, and he’s also committed to making his products in the United States. With the miniscule margins most bike companies have to work with, that’s not an easy task, especially considering that most of Ording’s competitors source their products in China, where labor and materials costs are but a fraction of Zipp’s. Moreover, in Ording’s quest to create the lightest, most advanced wheels and components possible, he does not shy away from expensive solutions. The new

While a record number of you turned out to vote on Tuesday, it’s only the VeloNews editorial staff that for better or for worse has a say in our upcoming 2004 Awards issue. While the crew is hard at work arguing over who might be named the Masters Road Racer of the Year, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the award that matters most to me: the Technical Development of the Year. A number of candidates have crossed my mind, but unfortunately the one idea that sticks out most prominently is not a component, frame or wheelset. Instead, the most notable impact has been made by a technology

If proof were needed that the dollars you spend on racing sponsorship come right back to your bottom line, Trek Bicycle Corporation’s investment in the U.S. Postal Team and Lance Armstrong would be the only spreadsheet you’d need to see. Although the company’s longstanding domestic team programs made Trek a top brand among cycling fans many years ago, it was Postal power that put Trek on the map for a much wider base of casual riders. Today, Trek is a familiar name in millions of households worldwide, and the Trek brand has become the most valuable franchise in cycling. Of course, Lance

Ever since its days as a stop on the Super Cup circuit, the Gloucester, Massachusetts, cyclo-cross race has been lovingly referred to as “New England Nationals.” The implication, that every rider worth his or her salt makes an annual October pilgrimage to the seaside Gloucester course, seemed borne out by the inclusion of back-to-back Gloucester races in this year’s Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclo-cross.

Interbike may have ended for the rest of the bicycle industry three weeks ago, but for us here at VeloNews, the annual trade show wasn’t over until Tuesday, when we wrapped up 13 pages of coverage. We visited nearly a hundred companies at this year’s show, and it was very difficult to decide what to include in the magazine. Still, somehow, we managed. Even so, we had to trim a few items right at the very end, and so we’re telling you about them here. Don’t think of these reports from me, Lennard Zinn and Chris Milliman as “leftovers,” but rather as “first looks.” Gore Bike WearIt was 92

Fortunately for New England sports fans, they have last week’s Red Sox World Series win to look back on with a smile, because out-of-towners dominated today’s third round of the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclo-cross in Gloucester, Massachusetts. In front of a huge, partisan New England crowd, Canadian Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) claimed his biggest ‘cross won to date, while Seattle’s Anna Knapp (Kona) took a win in one of the few ’cross events where victory had eluded her.

Cane Creek has a long history in bicycle suspension, starting with its role in manufacturing the original Rock Shox forks. The company went on to develop some of the lightest air shocks available, perfecting a novel Delrin seal technology and speed-sensitive valving that lives on in CC’s current Cloud Nine and AD air-sprung and air-damped shocks. But the big news this year is Cane Creek’s partnership with Swedish suspension-maker Öhlins Racing AB, a company that dominates the field in high-end motorsports suspension. Starting with its first 250cc motocross victory in 1978, (only two years

Today’s report will be a short one, describing a few final items from this year’s Interbike trade show that you might not hear about any other way. Spiuk-KuipsKuips is a Basque Country bicycle brand being imported into the USA by DPM Sports. Joanne Somarriba, multiple winner of the women’s Tour de France and the 2003 world time trial champion, races on Kuips road bikes; Spain’s professional cyclo-cross champ rides a Kuips, too. The pictured frame is the top cyclo-cross model. The company has a full line of accessories and clothing under the Spiuk name. Altogether, it is an extensive and

We are just putting the finishing touches on VeloNews magazine coverage of the 2004 Interbike Expo, and I found myself thinking about all the companies and product we didn’t see while out in Las Vegas. Here we are providing plenty of ink to the Treks and Specializeds of the bicycle world, but what about the little guy who couldn’t or wouldn’t cough-up the dough (let alone take a week of vacation from their “real” job) to set-up a booth at the Sands Convention Center? Certainly there are hundreds of creative minds out there producing quality products that just didn’t make it to Las

After a long period of hit-or-miss availability in the United States, Guerciotti bikes returned to Interbike this year with a new importer, Torelli, and a new commitment to widespread distribution and support. Paolo Guerciotti’s bikes gained fame among American riders in the 1980s as part of a wave of high-end Italian imports that raised the expectations for what a great road bike could be. Guerciotti’s cyclo-cross models were especially sought after, thoroughbreds in a field of balky, unwieldy CX beasts. Today, the Guerciotti family — Paolo, his son Alessandro and daughter Micaela — still

As I sit down to write about Interbike for VeloNews, it seems a shame not to show you some of the things that there probably will not be room for in the print magazine. So here we go…. SDGSDG has forged ahead with its I-Beam saddle, which eschews the normal saddle rails for a longitudinal beam molded into the saddle shell. SDG also is offering new super-light carbon-fiber seat posts that grip the beam. Since a saddle is normally a suspension item, like a hammock suspended between two rails, it seems that a saddle with a single, unyielding center rail might be a little hard on the crotch. But