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As track worlds wrap up, Connie Carpenter says track racing seems bigger and more diverse than ever
Editor's Note: Connie Carpenter is in Pruszkow, Poland, covering the Track World Championships for VeloNews.com while supporting her son, Taylor Phinney. Carpenter is a former world champion on the track and an avid fan of track cycling. Track cycling seems much bigger and more diverse than ever before. While some may criticize the Brits for winning just two jerseys here in Poland, most of us are admiring the fact that so many countries represented so well … with the Aussies dominating the medal tally with ten medals.
Vos wins World Cup opener; Armstrong 3rd
Marianne Vos out-kicked Emma Johannson to win the Trofeo Binda on Sunday and grabs the first leader’s jersey to open the 2009 women’s World Cup. Vos surged ahead of her Swedish rival in a two-up sprint to claim the opening round of the World Cup series. Olympic time trial champion Kristin Armstrong crossed the line at 3:34 back to round out the podium with third.
The Bulls team takes top overall honors at South Africa’s Absa Cape Epic stage race
The Bulls Team of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm walked away with the overall win at eight-day 2009 Absa Cape Epic presented by adidas, which ended Saturday in Lourensford, South Africa.
Geslin wins Brabantse Pijl
French rider Anthony Geslin delivered FDJeux a big victory Sunday at the Brabantse Pijl in Belgium. Geslin won out of an eight-man group that pulled clear in the closing 30km of the 193.5km circuit course. Fabian Wegmann (Milram) tried to surprise the group and sprang off the final wheel with 250 meters to go with an explosive sprint. The German opened a promising gap, but Geslin was able to recover and catch him at the line to secure victory.
Sánchez wins in Spain
Olympic road champion Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) won for the first time in 2009 after nipping David de la Fuente (Fuji-Servetto) at the line to claim Sunday’s GP de Llodio in Spain. Sánchez covered the 175.5km course in 4 hours, 3 minutes, 58 seconds, crossing the line just ahead of De la Fuente, the winner in 2007. Rounding out the podium was Ezequiel Mosquera (Xacobeo-Galicia), who came through one second back. JJ Rojas (Caisse d’Epargne) led across a dozen-strong chase group at 21 seconds slower.
Voigt wins Critérium International for fifth time
Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank) was fast just enough in Sunday’s individual time trial to win the Critérium International for a record-tying fifth time. The veteran German was fifth in the 8.3km course in Charleville-Mézières and held off a challenge from Danny Pate (Garmin-Slipstream), who started the third and final stage in second place, just seven seconds off Voigt’s time.
Fontana kicks off new Pro XC Tour
American mountain bike racing begins a new chapter this weekend at Southridge Park in Fontana, California. On Sunday, the hilly park in this Los Angeles suburb hosts the opening round of USA Cycling’s Pro Cross-country Tour (ProXCT), a seven-race collection of UCI-sanctioned events which is set to replace the National Mountain Bike Series (NMBS) as the premier cross-country series in North America. The Fontana race is also the second round of the Kenda Cup West, the west-coast wing of the Sho Air-Specialized U.S. Cup.
Connie Carpenter offers a primer on the Omnium in time for Sunday’s world championship in that event
Editor's Note: Connie Carpenter is in Pruszkow, Poland, covering the Track World Championships for VeloNews.com while supporting her son, Taylor Phinney. Carpenter is a former world champion on the track and an avid fan of track cycling.
Redlands Crit: BMC’s Jackson Stewart and Columbia’s Ina Yoko Teutenberg win at Redlands
Jeff Louder (BMC) and Amber Neben (Nurnberger Shoair) retained their yellow jerseys after the dust settled in bunch sprints for both the men’s and women’s Redlands Downtown Criteriums in Saturday’s stage 2 at the Redlands Cycling Classic. The top five in the men’s GC remained virtually unchanged, while Neben’s advantage over second placed Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (Columbia-High Road) narrowed from 14 seconds to just 2 seconds due to time bonuses.
Denmark takes Madison gold
Denmark relieved Britain of yet another world crown when they won the men's Madison gold at the world track cycling championships in Pruszkow, Poland, Saturday. Australia took the silver with the Czech Republic claiming the bronze. Defending champions Britain, featuring the two-man team of Mark Cavendish and fellow Manxman Peter Kennaugh, finished sixth at a lap down. Kennaugh suffered a crash before the seventh of the 10 sprints where points can be picked up for the first four riders over the line during the 200-lap race.
The Coach(ed) Corner: The importance of being humbled
There’s a commonly held sports adage that says the best way to get better at your chosen activity is to play with people who are better than you. I certainly don’t agree with this in all cases. Hoops with LeBron would only equal thunder dunks in face. I’d probably drown in Michael Phelps’ wake. And clearly Troy Polamalu could rip all our heads off.
Cunego takes Coppi e Bartali
Lampre’s Damiano Cunego wrapped up his second Coppi e Bartali title on Saturday despite being beaten in a sprint finish by Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) on the fifth and final stage. Evans, the reigning champion, edged out Cunego, also the 2006 winner, and Italian Giovanni Visconti at the end of a 178.5km trek from Scandiano to Sassuolo. The Australian, who finished second overall, had begun the day 28 seconds behind Cunego with Massimo Giunti a further four seconds back.