The rain stopped in Portland Sunday, but the mud stayed, and, if anything, it got muckier as racers contested the final day of the U.S. national cyclo-cross championships. The day’s two favorites scored big wins in the elite categories, as Alison Dunlap took a decisive win in the women’s race while Jonathan Page – visiting the States amid a season racing ‘cross in Belgium – repeated as first across the line in the men’s event.
[nid:26610]In just his first year racing in the U-23 category, 18-year-old Jesse Anthony took a fifth consecutive national cyclo-cross championship in a dramatic, mud-soaked battle with Alan Obye (Balance Bar-Devo) and Anthony’s Hot Tubes teammate Zak Grabowski. Obye’s teammate Troy Wells, younger brother of 2001 national ‘cross champ Todd Wells, was in the hunt early but fell off the pace to take fourth. Missing from the action was No.1 U-23 ranked Jeremy Powers (NCC-Bikereg.com) who suffered from the flu all week and finished out of contention.
I just got back in from Boston where VeloNews ad rep Nick Ramey and I narrowly missed New England’s, “Worst Winter Storm of the Year -- so far.” Thanks to a bit of sweet-talking from Ramey, we were able to sneak aboard one of the last flights out of Bean-town before the FAA cracked-down as hard on outgoing flights from Logan International as Tipper Gore did on harsh lyrics. But we weren’t just in town to shuck oysters and draw butter. Nope, we both actually had a bit of work to do while visiting a few key manufacturers. I needed to visit with two of the country’s top titanium manufacturers
Dear Readers;It's fall and, as is usually the case, some folks' hearts turn to cyclo-cross.I often get questions about brake selection on 'cross bikes, so I am offeringtwo recent examples.LennardDear VeloNews;Let me start by saying thanks to your magazine for making me a fanof cyclo-cross. I primarily ride the road with an occasional trip ontothe dirt on my mountain bike but have never owned or ridden a cross bike,my question is; why do cross racers prefer cantilever brakes over V-brakes?Mountain bikes changed over to V-brakes and/or disc brakes years ago forbetter brake performance, I don't
It looks like winter has been playing hooky around these parts, which is just fine with me. I have actually had a chance to do some real mountain biking for the past two 55-degree, sunshine-filled days. You’ll get no complaints from me about there not being enough snow here in Colorado. I say let’s keep the riding season rollin’. Don’t get me wrong – not all of our recent riding has been in the relatively toasty 50-degree range. There have been a few days in the mid-30s, and light-snow days in the teens, too. These chilly days have given me the chance to break out a few samples of the latest
More compact issuesDear Lennard;In response to your Q&Aabout compact cranks - I know that Stronglight makes chainrings ina 130mm bolt pattern that will fit Shimano cranks in sizes down to 38T.Do you know of any companies that make rings in the 34-36T range in a 130mmsize? As much as I would like to save money and just buy new rings, swappingout my inner ring from a 39 to a 38 isn't enough to justify a change. IfI want an inner ring smaller than 38, is my only option to change the wholecrankset? I'm already at 12-27 in the back.BarryDear Barry;You cannot fit any smaller than a 38T on a
Dear Lennard;I am considering changing my Dura Ace triple back to a double. I noticedthat FSA now makes a Carbon Pro Compact Crank with a 34/50. It would seemthat this combination would give me gearing that would benefit me duringthe "mountain" centuries that I enjoy. Any thoughts on the pros and cons of having a 34/50 crankset?PaulDear Paul;I just got one of these FSA cranksets myself to try out and ordereda Pinarello one as well. I have been intrigued by them ever since FaustoPinarello, who originated the modern incarnation of these size rings, ravedto me a couple of years ago about riding
There’s a ton of product to talk about, but first things first:58 years ago, on the 25th of November 1945, was the first day ofwork for a young Ernesto Colnago at the Gloria factory in Milan. Now that’san anniversary worth celebrating. On a more personal note: have spent a bit of time off the bike due toa bit of hardware removal surgery from my once-busted leg, but receiveda fine incentive last Friday to get off my butt and hit Boulder’s final‘cross race of the season. With any semblance of fitness long-gone, thelast thing I was looking to do was go head-to-head with the legion of
Dear Lennard;What is your formula for measuring crank arm length? I have a 73cminseam with a size 39 foot. I have been on 170's for two years and havebeen able to progress with all training except hills. I was becoming frustratedbecause I'm only 130 pounds and should be able to fly up them. I've trieddifferent styles of climbing, etc. My husband and I decided the lack ofa 25 was not the issue; I just could not get on top of the gears I wasusing. I read your column and we had a 165mm from my son's bike and decidedto try.I feel I'm getting on top of the gear, a good feeling because I feelI have
Just stopped by the offices of Maverick American to say hi to the guys and ran into resident marketing guru, Steven Elmes. To be totally honest, I was officially on the Maverick premises to visit with our resident mad engineer/tester Mark Rhomberg who inhabits a small corner of the spacious 5000 square foot facility (complete with 1 acre backyard dirt jumping area) . On my way through the Maverick assembly area I ran into Elmes and his beautiful assortment of freshly painted Maverick frames. As he briefly showed me a few of the latest paint schemes Maverick is offering (my favorite was the
Just 48 hours from the August 28 opening of this year’s Eurobike trade show, Shimano lawyers filed an injunction against the SRAM corporation forbidding the manufacturer from exhibiting and distributing its new trigger-shifter line in Germany. Caught by surprise, SRAM scrambled to amend its ’04 catalogs and pull all of its trigger-shifter technology from its display at the trade show in Friedrichshafen, Germany. For almost three long months SRAM waited with bated breath to see if the German court would interpret its trigger shifter as being an infringement on Shimano’s RapidFire Plus
Dear Lennard;I wonder if you could share your opinion on the compatibility of carbonfiber handlebars with some of the current four-bolt designed handlebarstems that have a split faceplate.Without naming brands, I've been getting feedback from a representativeof one of the handlebar companies that the four-bolt/split-faceplate designcould create an unsafe (his word was "scary") connection with carbon fiberhandlebars and might even cause breakage. The problem is, this opinionis just that - an opinion - and I’m not hearing this same concernfrom anyone else.Because a handlebar breakage could be
Like many of you, I’ve spent a good chunk of my cycling season parked infront of my TV watching OLN’s impressive road and mountain bike racingcoverage. And with that coverage I’ve received an equally significant shareof marketing bombardment from our cycling-friendly friends at Subaru NorthAmerica. You know the pitch, somewhere between 15 and 20 times an hour,you get a healthy does of Lance telling you he (and the latest Subaru model)are, “Driven By What’s Inside.” Now, I’m not sure about you, but I fail to make a firm connection betweenthe motivational “drive” it takes a cyclist to win five
The second day of the Vergegear.com Mid-Atlantic Cyclo-Cross Championship Seriesdouble-header moved to Marysville, Pennsylvania for the Harrisburg City Islanders’ Rockville Bridge ‘Cross Classic. For the second day in a row, the Gearworks/Spin Arts duo of Marianne Stover and Anna Milkowski overpowered the Elite Women’s field to claim their second one-two finish of the weekend. As she did in the previous day’s Saturn Classic, Stover established a sizeable gap on the first lap and hammered on to extend that lead out to approximately one minute over teammate Milkowski. Hanging tough in
The route of the 87th Giro d’Italia was announced Saturday, with organizers promising a more demanding opening week and a shorter, tougher finish than in this year’s edition. A nearly all-Italian event comprising a prologue and 20 stages, with one start and finish in Croatia, the 2004 Giro will cover 3435 kilometers, with 12 flat stages, four rolling and three in the high mountains. Organizers concede that Italy’s grand tour will be “slightly biased towards climbers,” with only a single time trial; there were two races against the clock in both 2003 and ‘02. The longer stages will come
A funny thing happened last week - my house almost burned down. Well, to be perfectly honest, the Jamestown fire that started last Wednesday morning burned to within about five miles of my house in the Boulder foothills. Other than worrying about losing everything I own, and possibly getting burned alive in the box canyon that encloses my place, the experience was quite enlightening. I say “enlightening” because the unpleasant situation afforded me less than an hour to evaluate all my stuff and decide what to cram into the back of my little Volkswagen. Sure, grab the important documents
Can roof rack separate carbon fork and dropout?Dear Lennard,The fork dropout on my 1-inch Kestrel EMS Pro carbon fork with steel steerer (actually it's a Cannondale Slice fork made by Kestrel that came on my CAAD4) de-bonded on me. I didn't notice it until I was checking the tightness of the bike on the Yakima roof rack with the fork mount (full-length wheel tray and rear wheel stripped down). Do you think using a roof rack with the fork-mount set-up causes undo stress on the fork's dropout bonding? I notice that bikes mounted this way shake while driving down the road. I replaced the fork
Can roof rack separate carbon fork and dropout?Dear Lennard,The fork dropout on my 1-inch Kestrel EMS Pro carbon fork with steel steerer (actually it's a Cannondale Slice fork made by Kestrel that came on my CAAD4) de-bonded on me. I didn't notice it until I was checking the tightness of the bike on the Yakima roof rack with the fork mount (full-length wheel tray and rear wheel stripped down). Do you think using a roof rack with the fork-mount set-up causes undo stress on the fork's dropout bonding? I notice that bikes mounted this way shake while driving down the road. I replaced the fork
In the closing lap of Sunday’s Clif Bar/ECV Cyclo-cross race in Gloucester, Mass., round two of the Verge New England ‘Cross series, Ryan Trebon came up a couple corners and a few squirts of tubular glue short of turning in one of the most impressive set of upset wins in American cyclo-cross memory. Having won Saturday’s UCI race in Worcester, Massachusetts, Trebon (Kona East) again made the decisive break in Gloucester, storming off the front with Todd Wells (Mongoose-Hyundai) in what seemed likely to end up as a two-man sprint for the win.
The Pittsburgh-based Fort-GPOA squad pulled off a double triumph Sunday in round five of the Vergegear.com Mid-Atlantic Cyclo-Cross Championship Series, winning both elite categories in the Beacon Cross in Bridgeton, New Jersey. In the women’s race, Betsy Schauer took early command and never looked back, though Megan Render (Snow Valley) never gave up and kept charging all the way to the line. Caitlyn Tuel (Sobe/Cannondale) rode solidly to claim third and Sami Fournier (Velo Bella) took fourth. Bonnie Stoeckl (Evolution Racing) finished fifth. In the men’s contest, Fort-GPOA teammates Ryan
Alison Dunlap (Luna) and Ryan Trebon (Easton-Kona) were the best of the best on Saturday at the Central Massachusetts Cyclo-Cross to End Homelessness in Worcester. The course in the UCI Cat. 2 race was dry and very fast, with riders in the elite men’s and women’s races turning laps of about five minutes. In the women’s race, the first lap saw a group of six riders coalesce, including Dunlap, Anne Knapp (Kona), Carmen D’Aluisio and Gina Hall (Clif Bar), Mary McConneloug (Seven Cycles), and Rhonda Mazza (Vanilla Bicycles-Sellwood Cycle). Constant pressure from D’Aluisio and Hall eventually
Okay, okay, I spoke too soon. A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned how clever I believed myself to be by running SpinSkins tire liners in the season kick-off cyclo-cross race here in Boulder. You see, Goathead thorn season is in full swing around these parts, and many of my less fortunate competitors fell victim to their penetrating bite. Me? I was able to finish the race thanks to the lightweight Kevlar tire liners I had installed the night before under my Michelin ‘cross tires. How clever I thought I was. Fast forward to the first annual VeloCross cyclo-cross race held in and around
Dear Lennard,I have two bikes. Each bike has the same saddle and handlebar.I set up both bikes with the same measurement from saddle tip to bottombracket. Each bike has the same measurement from saddle tip to the centerof the stem/handlebar. On one bike the stem blocks the view of the fronthub. On the other the front hub falls in front of the stem. I measuredand their is a 1cm difference from bb to front hub between the bikes.Should I be concerned that I can see the front hub? Should I usea longer stem? Will this effect my handling?--Jeff Dear Jeff,Don’t sweat it. If you are happy with your
American Tim Johnson on Sunday completed a fairytale ending to the VicRoads Herald Sun Tour when he came from behind to overwhelm leader Luke Roberts and claim the $10,000 winner's check. Trailing by 39 seconds before the tour's final stage on the torturous Australian Open course at Buninyong, Johnson, 26, surged from the peloton to join breakaway riders Scott Moninger and Scott Guyton with four of the eight laps remaining of the 10.2km circuit. The trio then defied the bunch to bring them back, although South Australian Roberts made a couple of fruitless attempts to bridge the gap. At
Former national cyclo-cross champion Marc Gullickson took advantage of a sparsely attended field at Soldier Hollow, Utah, taking top honors at yet another UCI event Saturday. While the majority of the country’s top racers were contesting a pair of UCI evens on the East Coast over the weekend, Gullickson found competition in Alan Obye (Balance Bar/Devo), who got out to an early lead before Gullickson took control, eventually finishing 39 seconds ahead. Obye held on to second place ahead of Bart Gillespie (Team Biogen). The women’s field saw only three starters, with Sally Warner (Team
The U.S. string of UCI-ranked cyclo-cross races swung back to the East Coast on Saturday with the Wooden Wheels Granogue ‘cross near Wilmington, Delaware. Despite a heavy morning frost that left the grassy track slick for the day’s opening races, weather conditions proved kind to elite racers, with the afternoon sun drying the course to a hard, fast surface. Held at Granogue Estate, on one of the several DuPont family estates that dot the rolling hills outside of Wilmington, the race’s tough power climbs, steep, barriered run-up, and numerous off-camber sections ensured that racers with
Ever get back from a vacation and only weeks later remember you still have undeveloped photos? In the digital age, there's less of an excuse but, nonetheless I still had a few left-over shots banging about my hard drive from the Interbike show. The following shots are some of random highs and lows of the 2003 Interbike trade show. Enjoy! Andrew--
Dear Lennard;I have used your book "Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance"quite a bit and love it. I just bought a road frame and am building a bikefrom scratch. Your book has lots of useful information, but I probablyneed more instruction on building up a bike (what order to do things in,etc.). Is there anything you can recommend?--JohnDear John;I can certainly recommend my "Mountain Bike Performance Handbook" ifyou are starting out with tapping and facing the bottom bracket and reamingand facing the head tube. You can buy that book from me directly, sinceVeloPress/VeloGear does not stock
A new technical edict from cycling’s international governing body has sent professional cyclo-cross racers scrambling for new equipment… and maybe grasping for an explanation. According to a technical updated posted to USA Cycling’s website, professional cyclo-cross racers will no longer be able to run disc brakes in UCI sanctioned events. According to the report, the ban will take effect on November 1, 2003, forcing riders and sponsors to quickly re-equip bikes. In some cases, that replacement doesn’t come easily. According to Chris Peck, Cannondale’s director of research and development,
Just like last year, Michele Bartoli (Fassa Bortolo) won Saturday’s Giro di Lombardia, the final major European race of the 2003 racing season. Just like last year, Bartoli was left off the Italian road world’s team and came into the “Race of the Falling Leaves” with something to prove. Unlike last year, this time he won the hilly Lombardia with a forceful solo attack with less than 20km to go. Cofidis rider Angelo Lopeboselli was the only rider who stood up to the challenge, but the cagey Bartoli held off the young gun to sprint to victory. Saturday’s 97th running of Lombardia started with
When Marc Gullickson decided to fly back east for the opening round of the 2003 Verge New England Cyclo-cross Series in New Gloucester, Maine, the Redline racer really didn’t know what to expect. With the world road championships only a week prior, surely top New England ‘crossers like Tim Johnson and Mark McCormack (Saturn) would rest after their efforts in Hamilton. But Gullickson, the defending New England series champion, ended up with a tougher fight on his hands than he might have imagined, as McCormack and five-time Canadian ‘cross champ Peter Wedge (Kona) both made surprise
1. Hydrapak Air Scoop RaceSilly as it sounds, many racers don't wear hydration packs simply because they cover up valuable sponsorship territory across their backs. Hydrapak's new Air Scoop Team pack solves the problem with a removable and interchangeable Lycra cover which can be printed with your sponsors logos or simply your favorite stylings. The bladder offers 70 fl. oz. of capacity, while the pack offers 125 cu. In. of capacity. Together the $60 pack weighs a scant 1 pound. 2. Pearl Izumi Viper shoePart of Pearl's new high-end Red Label collection, the revamped Viper off-road shoe
“So, what’s the coolest thing you’ve seen?” is pretty much the standard greeting at the Interbike trade show. With bike industry types from all over the world wandering the aisles of the Sands Convention Center opinions and answers can vary on that question. For me, I figure I’d start with five bikes I would love to see hanging in my garage some time soon. Kestrel limited-edition Tiki KM40The KM40 is distinctive in its smooth lines and lack of a seat tube, but its monocoque construction makes it cost-prohibitive to make a lot of sizes, so only two were ever offered, namely 52 and 56cm. The
Understanding that Interbike is a big show and there are a lot of cool new products here, culling it down to a handful of items is not only daunting, it is so subjective that you could argue until the cows come home about which items really are the best. Nonetheless, I’ll give it a shot, focusing on a few items that cool items that solve some problems you may have experienced… well and a few flashy items as well. Titec Knock Scoper seatpostAnyone with a full suspension bike that has an interrupted seat tube knows the frustration of not being able to lower their saddle as much as they might
On the final day of the Interbike trade show, we let a few of our editors loose with their digital cameras to grab a look at some of their favorite eye candy.
Belgian Erwin Vervecken and five-time national champion Alison Dunlap repeated their feats of a day earlier on Sunday, besting their respective fields consecutively during a two-day swing of UCI-sanctioned cyclo-cross events in the northwest. After a difficult day of racing in Tacoma, Washington, on October 11, the country’s top ‘cross racers drove three hours south to Portland, Oregon, for the Saturn Stumptown Classic, an event organized by the promoters of the area’s Cyclo-cross Crusade, one of the world’s most highly attended ‘cross series. As expected, over 400 participants showed up,
Morati SC 1.3 Ti Pro disc brake road bikeBuilt in the Czech Republic by aerospace manufacturer Mora Aerospace (now owned by Honeywell) Morati produces some of the most innovative titanium bicycles on the market. Most striking on this, the opening day of the 2003 Interbike trade show, was a full equipped Hayes mechanical disc brake road bike. Built using the company's SC 1.3 Ti Pro platform, the frame boasts the addition of a rear disc brake, a 130mm spaced VeloMax wheelset and reinforced Morati disc brake specific titanium road fork. While we're seeing disc brake technology slowly creeping
As photo editor of VeloNews, I spend my days living the lives and race experiences of the pro pelotons around the world vicariously through the eyes and lenses of some of the best photographers in the world. Unfortunately, most of the time this takes place while chained to my desk in VeloNews world headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, and my interaction with both the riders and their machines is limited to two dimensional representations, usually digitized on a computer screen. Interbike provides me with the rare opportunity to see with my own eyes, and more importantly touch with my own
Interbike: A view from the floor (Monday afternoon)
The key moment in Sunday’s magnificent world elite men’s road race championship — watched by an enthusiastic 104,000 fans — came 15 minutes from the finish of the 260.4km race, just after a peloton, still 90-strong, started the last of 21 laps. Igor Astarloa, winner this year of the Flèche Wallonne classic in Belgium, was riding alongside his Spanish team leader Oscar Freire, the two-time world champion. “I spoke with Oscar,” Astarloa said, “and he told me that he wasn’t feeling strong enough to follow [Paolo] Bettini, who was sure to attack on the final lap. So he told me to follow Bettini
What a place!The new Bootleg Canyon venue near Boulder City for the 2003 Interbike On-Dirt Demo made for great mountain-bike riding, no matter what you’re into – unless it’s trials. Where the Blue Diamond Ranch venue west of Las Vegas of the past few years had limited trail mileage, all of which were cross-country trails, this location southeast of Vegas has a vast number of challenging cross-country loops, many of which are many miles long. In addition, it boasts a half-dozen steep downhill trails (with names like Kevorkian, Poopchute and Elevator Shaft) dropping down from the top of a
Sweden’s Susanne Ljungskog scored her second consecutive world championship on Saturday, winning a physical, bar-to-bar sprint over a group of five other survivors at the end of the 124km elite women’s road race in the streets of Hamilton, Ontario. For the thousands gathered in front of Hamilton City Hall to witness the finish on Main Street, it was an electric ending to the day, but the final sprint was just one part of the most scintillating race seen so far at the 2003 road world’s. The real drama of the day was provided by a very familiar face, one that has been thrilling racing fans
Located 23 miles southwest of Las Vegas’(in)famous Strip, Boulder City’sBootleg Canyon park was ground zero for the 2003 Interbike Expo’s OutDoorDemo. Brimming with over 150 exhibitors this year, the event has grownalmost exponentially over its eight years. In fact, Interbike organizers felt the Outdoor Demo had outgrown bothits old location and its single-day format, expanding the event to a muchlarger venue and two-day format. This year offered not only a three loopcross-country mountain bike track and closed two mile road circuit, butalso boasted a 750 foot BMX track and shuttle-served
Racing in the United States for the first time in two years, Belgian 2001 world cyclo-cross champion Erwin Vervecken (SpaarSelect) dominated an impressive list of domestic ‘cross racers Saturday, taking a 13-second victory over former national champion Marc Gullickson (Redline) at the Clif Bar Grand Prix, held in Tacoma, Washington’s Fort Steilacoom Park. The only UCI Cat-2 event on the west coast for the 2003 season, the event drew former national champion Todd Wells (Mongoose-Hyundai), Andy Jacques Maynes and Jackson Stewart (Clif Bar), local favorite Johnny Sundt (K2), Ben Jacques-Maynes
With a powerful finishing kick disguised by her small build, 17-year-old Loes Markerink of the Netherlands won Friday’s junior women’s road race, adding a gold medal to the silver that she collected in Monday’s time trial. Markerink survived several crashes, 12 trips up Hamilton’s steep Niagara Escarpment, and a flurry of last-lap attacks to become the first double medal winner at the 2003 world road championships. “This race was very hard,” Markerink said of the six-lap, 73.8km race through the streets of Hamilton, Ontario. “In Holland there are no hills. For me, this was
No one can know how a world’s road circuit will perform until it is really tested. Although the one at Hamilton was used for the Canadian nationals a couple of months ago — and produced solo winners in both the men’s and women’s races — the world’s are different. Happily, the hilly Hamilton course proved its worth Friday afternoon, when three of the most aggressive riders in the 173.6km under-23 men race took the three medals: gold for Sergey Lagutin of Uzbekistan, silver for Johan Van Summeren of Belgium, and bronze for Thomas Dekker of the Netherlands. Lagutin, the most talented rider to
There was a very telling remark made by David Millar after he trounced the opposition in Thursday’s elite men’s time trial at sunny Hamilton, Ontario. “I’ve been like a junior the past 10 days,” he said, “just scared.” He was scared because he didn’t want to come up short again, as he did two years ago in Lisbon, Portugal, where Jan Ullrich made a desperate last push to snatch the victory from Millar. There was no doubt this time. He defeated an excellent Michael Rogers of Australia by 1:25 — it would have been closer to a minute had Rogers not flatted with 8km remaining — with Germany’s
PreservationistDear Lennard;I have several repair books including your “Art of Road Bike Maintenance,”and I can’t find the answer to this question. I have a nice late '80s Stronglightcrank that has the threads stripped on the drive side where you put thetool in to extract the crank. Is there anything I can do to get the crankoff and save the BB and crank?--Drew Dear Drew;Were you ever a trumpeter or other brass instrument player? I was,and I frequently managed to get my mouthpiece stuck in my trumpet. To removeit, you had to slip two notched steel plates around the tube of the mouthpiece,one
Looking like a young Viatcheslav Ekimov, compact and powerful, 18-year-old Mikhail Ignatiev put in an impressive performance to win the junior men’s time trial for the second year in succession on Wednesday. This second world TT title goes with the four rainbow jerseys he has won in the past two track world’s: two team pursuit titles along with the points race (2002) and Madison (2003). In 2002, on the flat Zolder, Belgium, TT course, the dark-haired Russian won by 10 seconds over Australian Mark Jamieson. On Wednesday in Hamilton, Ignatiev was already 12 seconds ahead of the competition
Michigan got a good taste of international cyclo-cross racing on Saturday with the Michael R. Rabe Midwest Cyclo-Cross Championships. Promoted by Robert Linden of Tailwind Enterprises, the first-time UCI event saw racers come from Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Massachusetts. To make it a true international event, riders even came from as far as Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The junior men's event saw a tightly fought battle among the top three. Konrad Lebas (Richard Sachs) had to take a change early on due to a problem with his rear wheel,
Germany finished the first day of the world road championships undefeatedas 22-year-old Marcus Fothen won the men’s under-23 time trial on a breezyTuesday afternoon in Hamilton, Ontario. Fothen beat Niels Scheuneman ofthe Netherlands by the comfortable margin of 18.99 seconds to score a secondgold medal of the day for Germany, after Bianca Knöpfle’s win in the junior women’s time trial. Fothen, who finished fifth in the U23 time trial at last year’s worldchampionships, was confident before the 30.3km race. In addition to beingthe 2003 German U23 time trial champion, he had won the time trial
Here in Colorado, the leaves are certainly turning but there sure isn’t a crisp in the air-at least not yet. Take, for example, this past weekend. Sunday was the official ‘cross season kick-off here in Boulder. Held at the local reservoir, it somehow felt a bit odd hoofin’ about while jet skiers slalomed past and Eliminator jet boats shot up mile-high rooster tails under a relentless 80-degree sun. Somehow racing seems so much easier when you’re not forced to watch attractive women sipping lemonade and laying out on the very beach you’re running across. While not in the hunt for the lead
The World Cup stop long hyped as a sprinter’s race finally delivered on its promise after successful breakaways have ruled the undulating Paris-Tours course since 1996. The sprinter teams led by Fassa Bortolo, Telekom and Saeco worked in harmony to keep an eight-man break that included the indefatigable Jacky Durand (Fdjeux.com) at arm’s length until 13km to go when the real fireworks started. Despite two attacks in the final 8km by World Cup leader Paolo Bettini (Quick Step), the 97th running of Paris-Tours came down to a mass gallop on Tours´ wide Avenue de Gammont. Bettini's 11th place,
The collision of two mega-events is quickly approaching. No need to uncoverthe ol’ bomb shelter in the backyard, just be on the lookout for the avalancheof cycling news about to come hurtling your way. Yep, early October is approaching and both the 2003 World Road Championships(“world’s” for those of you about to jump all over my inclusion of anapostrophe in the title) in Hamilton, Ontario, and Las Vegas's 2003Interbike trade show are coming up on the same weekend. If you’re not ableto attend either, your best bet to get the latest news is right here atVeloNews.com (as well as the print
Last week, you saw some of the new things from the Milan bike show, whichis primarily a fantastic display of road bikes, surrounded by a massivemotorcycle show. While most of the two-wheeled enthusiasts attending theshow are there to ogle bikes with motors, there is still plentyof passion in Italy for the human-powered bikes side as well. The movement toward making more and more elements of the high-end bicycleout of carbon continues unabated. Now, however, you see an increasing useof highly reflective white carbon (it actually looks more silver than white)and systems for damping the
For the second time in two months, U.S. Postal Service was celebrating victory in one of cycling's major stage races. Just eight weeks after Lance Armstrong won his record-tying fifth Tour de France, Roberto Heras rolled through Sunday's 148.5km finale into Madrid to claim his second career Vuelta title. "We never gave up fighting and made up time little by little and we were finally able to make up the difference," said Heras, who erased a 5 minute, 13 second difference to Isidro Nozal (ONCE) after the second time trial at Albacete. "This Vuelta victory means more to me than the first one
Roberto Heras (U.S. Postal Service) delivered the time trial of his life to win Saturday's penultimate stage of the Vuelta a España and vaulted into the overall lead after erasing a seemingly insurmountable gap to Isidro Nozal (ONCE). A year after losing the 2002 edition on a final-day time trial, Heras is about to claim his second career Vuelta title after obliterating Nozal's lead of 1 minute, 55 seconds, in an emotional victory that puts him 28 seconds into the race leader's golden jersey with one stage to go. "I wanted to win the stage but instead we saw a miracle," said Heras, who won
Roberto Heras (U.S. Postal Service) pumped some excitement into the Vuelta a España, perhaps making things a little too exciting for race leader Isidro Nozal (ONCE). Heras charged up the Category 1 Alto de Navacerrada and quickly put Nozal into trouble in the 164km 19th stage. Luckily for Nozal, it was a long 23km back down to the finish line in Collado Villalba and Heras could only reduce the gap to 1 minute, 55 seconds going into Saturday’s decisive climbing time trial at Abantos. “The time that I got back from Nozal was okay considering the circumstances, but ONCE was able to make the
It´s not often the little teams can knock off the big Division I powerhouses, but Pedro Diaz Lobato made just the right move to win Thursday´s short and very fast 18th stage around the hills west of Madrid. Lobato jumped ahead of a five-man leading break with 20km to go and held on to claim the biggest victory of his career and give his Paternina team a huge boost in the final week of the Vuelta a España. Paternina´s been riding like a D1 all season, snagging wins at Bicicleta Vasca and the Tour of Cataluyna, but emerging star Jose Antonio Pecharroman pulled out of the Vuelta early with a
David Millar perfectly timed an attack on the Category 2 Alto de Jerónimo and turned on the turbos in the snaking descent into Córdoba to win Wednesday’s 17th stage of the Vuelta a España. In a day that saw no major shake-ups in the overall standings, the Cofidis rider made up for two close calls in the individual time trials to score his third career Vuelta stage victory. Millar jumped off the front of the main bunch early up the 11km Jerónimo climb and later held off a chase group that included Oscar Sevilla (Kelme) and Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank). “I told my team this morning I wanted
After a few narrow misses, the Vuelta a España King of the Mountains Felix Cardenas (Labarca-2) finally got a stage win on Tuesday, but he didn’t make any friends in the process. Just like he did to Roberto Heras (U.S. Postal Service) going up La Pandera on Sunday, Cardenas sat on the wheels of Kelme’s Oscar Sevilla and Alejandro Valverde up the grinding 30km climb to Sierra Nevada before making a strong solo attack with 1km to go to reel in local hero Juan Miguel Mercado (iBanesto.com) to snag the victory. Heras, meanwhile, used Tuesday’s 16th stage to make the most of what was his last
Dear readers;I am writing this from Italy, a few days after I had the chance to visit Milan for what has to be one of the world’s best bike shows. So if you don’t mind, I would like to start my weekly column with a look at fewof the treasures I spotted at Milan’s EICMA show. Conducted under gorgeous warm, sunny weather, the 61st EICMA bicycleand motorcycle show marks the official launch of a new road season. Italy is a great place for a show, and Milan in particular, because of the heritage of great design. As always, gorgeous Italian bicycles are in abundance, and the theme of ever more
Last week I expressed my enthusiasm for the upcoming October 10th-14thInterbike trade show. After checking out the list of exhibitors forthis year’s show, I got to thinking about the host of manufacturers whoweren’t going to make it to Vegas this year. In speaking with afew of the manufacturers who couldn’t/wouldn’t make this year’s show itbecame clear to me why so many companies won't be making the trip outto Interbike: Cost. Even on the cheap, when all is said and done, to lease the smallestspace available; design, build and ship even the most a modest booth; paythe mandatory set-up
The 8.3km final hump to La Pandera to cap the 172km 15th stage of the Vuelta a España proved too short for Roberto Heras (U.S. Postal) and too steep for Isidro Nozal (ONCE), but just right for Alejandro Valverde (Kelme). Heras attacked as promised, but couldn't make up the time he needed to against Nozal on the steepest climb of the Vuelta. The young race leader forfeited some time to his rival - 1 minute, 11 seconds - but retained a comfortable 4:02 margin over Heras. "We're still pretty happy with how things went," said Johan Bruyneel, U.S. Postal's sport director. "The team controlled
Alessandro Petacchi just can’t help himself. Even in the sloppy sprint finish at the end of Saturday’s 14th stage, the Fassa Bortolo strong man still had the legs to claim his fourth stage of the Vuelta a España. Giovanni Lombardi (Domina Vacanze) tried to surprise Petacchi with an early sprint, but the Italian surged late to hold off Fred Rodriguez (Caldirola) by a half-bike length to claim victory. “This certainly was the hardest stage to win,” said Petacchi, who came through in 3 hours, 44 minutes, 16 seconds (44.9 kph). “It was a very strange sprint. Lombardi started very early and I
Now there's no doubt at all who's the strong man of the Vuelta a España. After some pesky questions regarding who was the true leader at ONCE, Isidro Nozal roared to his second time-trial victory in little more than a week and firmly established himself as the man to beat with nine days left in the 21-stage Vuelta. Nozal covered the windy 53.3km course - the Vuelta's longest in 35 years - in 1 hour, 2 minutes, 3 seconds (51.5 kph) and relegated time-trial specialist David Millar (Cofidis) into second place yet again by 13 seconds. No one else could come within 40 seconds. Nozal’s closest
They’re called abanicos in Spanish – echelons to the rest of the cycling world – and U.S. Postal Service played the peloton like a fiddle in the brisk cross-winds of Thursday’s 168.8km 12th stage of the Vuelta a España. With 50km to go, Postal Service massed at the front as the peloton roared across the bleak, treeless plains of Castilla-La Mancha. Strong winds were cracking from the left and the Posties' blistering pace quickly blew the peloton into three groups. Caught out of position were Fassa Bortolo’s Dario Frigo, who started the day fourth at 3:05 back, and defending champion Aitor
Erik Zabel made it through three stages in the Pyrénées to win Monday’s frenetic stage into Sabadell and snagged another victory after he got over a tough cobble-stoned Category 3 climb late in Wednesday’s 162km 11th stage. Zabel’s Team Telekom did great work to reel in the attacking David Etxebarria (Euskaltel) and Santos Gonzalez (Domina Vacanze), erasing a 39-second gap with 10km to go put Zabel in position to win. Gonzalez and Etxebarria were caught with 500 meters to go and Zabel charged up the left hand side of the finishing straight to nip a surging Tom Boonen (Quick Step) by inches.
Dear Lennard;I have 1990 Campagnolo 8-speed set-up, which still works fine, but,I have beaten my two sets of wheels to a pulp and they can no longer betrued to round. I would like some lighter, new-fangled (and hopefully round)wheels, however none of the new-fangled wheelsets are compatible with Campy8-speed and you can't buy new Campy 8-speed hubs anymore. Now, I’mtoo cheap to drop $700+ to upgrade the whole drive-train to Shimano 9 orCampy 9/10, then another $300 to $800 on wheels. Do you have any feedback on how well the "Wheels Manufacturing CassetteConversion Kit" works? Excel Sports
October is just around the corner and, if you’re a cyclist, that can meanonly one thing. No, not road world’s. I’m talking about the Interbike tradeshow. Coincidentally, the powers that be at Interbike were either unable orunwilling to reschedule their event (October 12 -14) around the road world’sin Hamilton, Ontario, (October 6 -12) the first time that event has hitNorth America since 1986. So, die-hard techie/race fans must choose betweenthe elite men’s road race or the opening day of Interbike. I suppose thosetruly devoted could hop on a plane immediately after the eventand scoot on out
Erik Zabel might not be as fast as he used to be, but the Telekom veteran still got around the man who is regarded as the peloton’s fastest these days to win Monday´s 10th stage of the Vuelta a España. Fassa Bortolo´s Alessandro Petacchi delivered on his promise to get through the Pyrénées and almost rewarded his team with his third Vuelta victory, but Zabel had his own plans. After Fassa and ONCE worked hard to reel in a six-man break early in the race and control a frenetic final 10km, Petacchi shot to the line with 400 meters to go up a slightly rising finish into Sabadell, a Barcelona
Coming into the final stretch of the T-Mobile International, Saturn’s Chris Horner knew he’d won the race, he just didn’t know preciselywhen. Away on a solo break — with a one-minute advantage over teammate Mark McCormack and loud crowds drowning out his earpiece — Horner passed through the start/finish area on San Francisco’s Embarcadero and kept right on rolling until spectators lining the area waved him around. “I absolutely believed I had another [5-mile] lap to ride,” Horner smiled, adding, “And I would have held them all off if I had to.” Course understanding aside, Horner and USPRO
Gunn-Rita Dahle (Merida) has completed her streak of World Cup victories, taking the fifth and final race in Kaprun in decisive fashion, ahead of teammate and new world champion Sabine Spitz of Germany. Marie-Helene Premont (Oryx) confirmed her status among the elite women riders by finishing third. The weather gods finally smiled, and for the first time in a week racegoers were treated to sunshine. Marga Fullana led the charge up the first steep climb, but by the end of the first of four laps it wasDahle at the front and pulling away. Fullana steadily dropped back, leaving Spitz and Premont
Who could have imagined a bunch sprint atop a 2410-meter chunk of rock in the heart of the Pyrénées? But that's just what happened in Sunday's 174.8km ninth stage. Okay, it wasn't a classic Mario Cipollini train, but Kelme phenom Alejandro Valverde won a 13-up sprint in an exciting summit finish up the "especial" Port d'Envalira climb in Andorra. "I'm very happy. I don't know what to say," said Valverde after nipping Italian Dario Frigo (Fassa Bortolo). "This stage was full speed all day. The team had a lot of confidence in me. I'm very happy with what's happened so far." Despite efforts
Someone needs to tell Isidro Nozal he's not supposed to be leading the Vuelta a España. Nozal retained the overall lead in Saturday's eighth stage on a day when all of the Vuelta's main players stayed on equal footing in the four-climb romp across the Pyrénées except U.S. Postal's Manuel Beltran, the one man poised to step into his shoes. Nozal powered the lead group across the line in the sun-blasted Plá de Beret ski area at 3:51 behind stage-winner Joaquin Rodriguez (ONCE-Eroski). Beltran couldn't match the accelerations initiated by a re-energized Aitor Gonzalez (Fassa Bortolo) and lost
The Bay Area is heating up as riders from across the globe have amassed in San Francisco for the T-Mobile International, an event that, in just its third year, is being hailed as the strongest field ever assembled on American soil. Organized and directed under San Francisco Cycling LLC, a joint cooperative of Tailwind Sports, the management company that runs the U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team, and Threshold Sports, organizing body of the Pro Cycling Tour, the event has again drawn Postal’s Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, as well as first-time appearances from two-time Giro
Sabrina Jonnier and Nathan Rennie are the 2003 World Cup downhill champions, each battling it out on the final run of the season in what were possibly the tightest races in the history of the World Cup. Marla Streb (Luna) and David Vasquez Lopez (MSC Bikes) won their respective races on a muddy, strength-sapping course in Kaprun, Austria, but all attention was on the overall standings. The bottom portion of the course gave many riders problems. If they slid too far down in the final corner, they would get bogged in a swampy dip just before the drop to the finish, with some riders coming to
With five kilometers to go to victory in Friday’s difficult four-climb stage, Michael Rasmussen knew he had it in the bag. The former mountain bike world champion held off a counter-attack from U.S. Postal’s Manuel Beltran and Cofidis’ Luis Perez on the Category 1 summit finish to the Cauterets Cam-Basque ski station and slipped across the line to win the seventh stage of the Vuelta a España. “This is a dream come true for me, to win a stage with a mountain top finish in a grand tour,” said Rasmussen, who won in 5 hours, 1 minute, 14 seconds. “By far this is the most important victory of my
The Vuelta a España always serves up surprises and Isidro Nozal’s winning ride in Thursday’s 43.8km individual time trial ranks as the biggest so far this year. To be sure, Nozal promised he’d put everything into defending his 50-second hold on the race leader’s jersey, but no one expected him to do it in such dominant fashion. Not even Nozal himself. “I thought I had good chances to limit my losses and keep the jersey, but I never dreamed of winning like this,” said Nozal, who powered through fierce winds to beat David Millar by an impressive 1 minute, 20 seconds. Nozal, whose lone
The king is dead; long live the king No, those weren’t obscene gestures from Alessandro Petacchi as he roared across the finish line victorious in Wednesday’s 165km fifth stage of the Vuelta a España. Two fingers, then six and another four followed by another two -- that was Petacchi’s version of sign language for what has been his history-making season. Petacchi became the first rider in history to win at least two stages in every major tour and wanted the rest of the world to know. “I made signs to show that it wasn’t by chance that I won. If you win once you can say it’s just luck,”