Dear Readers,
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Prologue, a regular summary of news from the world of competitive cycling by your friends at VeloNews.com.
We received official word today that Discovery’s Johan Bruyneel is set take the helm of the troubled Astana team. European correspondent Andrew Hood reported on the move last week, and after a few days of denials from the Kazak cycling federation, the move was confirmed with an announcement on Friday. Unconfirmed reports also suggest that the former Disco manager is bringing some top talent with him, including Tour winner Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer. To paraphrase one of our favorite movies, it looks like they’re putting the band together again. [More]
With cool weather and fall colors, it’s a sure sign that cyclocross season is up and running. Last weekend’s events in Southampton, New York, drew some major talent, including world champion Erwin Vervecken, who found the competition a little tougher than the last time he raced here. Vervecken had to fight to the line to beat Kona’s Barry Wicks on Saturday and then suffered a mechanical on Sunday, giving Wicks the victory on the second day.
While New England fall weather is often regarded as some of the world’s most beautiful, the same cannot be said for region’s climate in the dead of winter. The cold, wind and humidity often make it downright unbearable and certainly not conducive to racing bikes, even cyclocross. One New Hampshire promoter plans to try an innovative solution, taking advantage of the climate-controlled environs of a domed training facility in Milford. “It’s certainly out of the ordinary, but it sounds reasonable,” says regional USA Cycling representative Diane Fortini. Hey, it’s worth a try, eh? [More]
The big news of the week, of course, involves a race that was finished more than a year ago. After last month’s decision to strip him of his Tour de France title, Floyd Landis has exercised his option to appeal the ruling to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. We don’t have a prediction for the outcome, beyond the fact that it will be at least 2008 before we see a final resolution of the 2006 Tour de France. Apparently, the wheels of justice move a little more slowly than do the carbon 700c’s used in the Tour itself. [More]
Finally, we’d like to encourage you to take a look at our (again) weekly gallery of reader-submitted photos. There are some terrific images in there and some might even inspire you to offer up your own, which you can do by clicking right here. You might see your photo in next week’s gallery and you might even win a copy of our new Coors Classic DVD
Meanwhile, have a good week and try to get a few miles in before the weather forces you indoors.
All the best,
Charles Pelkey
Editor, VeloNews.com
CPelkey@insideinc.com