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2009 Paris-Nice route and teams announced; Ventoux’s “little sister” makes an appearance.
The inclusion of a never-used climb dubbed Mont Ventoux’s “little sister” should prove decisive in the eight-day Paris-Nice. Garmin-Slipstream and Columbia-High Road each received invitations Thursday to start the 67th Paris-Nice as officials released details of the eight-day route with a few surprises thrown in for the season’s first major stage race. Just a day after being snubbed for the Giro d’Italia, Fuji-Servetto and Barloworld were both left off a list of 20 teams invited to the Race to the Sun, set for March 8-15.
Mountain bike teams list ’09 rosters
Beijing Olympians Adam Craig and Ollie Beckinsale will lead Giant Bicycles’ global mountain bike racing team in 2009. The American Craig and Brit Beckinsale will be joined by Australian downhill racer Jared Rando. Craig, 27, repeated as U.S. cross-country champion last season. He also collected his sixth consecutive U.S. Super D title. Consistent international results earned Craig a spot on the U.S. Olympic team at the 2008 Summer Games.
Filippo Pozzato wants to put 2008 behind him
Filippo Pozzato makes his season debut in his new team colors at Katusha this weekend at the Tour of Qatar a very different rider than he was one year ago. After a sub-par 2008 campaign with just two minor victories and a snub at selection for the Italian national team for the world championships in Varese, a fresh start at the Russian-sponsored Katusha is just what Pozzato says he needs to erase the bad memories.
How Much Of Your Work Time Is Taken Up With Cycling?
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How To Beat The Heat
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VeloGear sold
Omaha, NE - Midwest Velo, a national leader in bicycling merchandising, online and catalog retailing, announced today the acquisition of VeloGear (www.velogear.com). Midwest Velo predicts a seamless transition for VeloGear operations, which will remain in Boulder, Colorado. "Customers won't initially notice a lot of change," said a company spokesperson. "What they will notice over time is an improved online retail experience. VeloGear gives us a great online platform to offer cyclists a one-stop shopping experience to find those lifestyle items you simply can't find anywhere else."
Tech Report: Giro honors Contador with limited-edition shades
Giro’s vision was 20-20 when it signed Alberto Contador to promote its new eyewear line.
Money woes force postponement of Oregon Pro Cycling Classic
The Oregon Pro Cycling Classic will be a little late getting to the start line — the 500-mile, seven-day race is being postponed to 2010 after organizers were unable to secure a title sponsor and the necessary money to run the event this year. The National Racing Calendar event had been scheduled for May 11-17, kicking off with a prologue in Portland and stage finishes in Salem, Corvallis, Timberline Lodge, Hood River and Mt. Hood Meadows before returning to Portland for a concluding circuit race.
Italian champ absent from Giro teams list
Italian national road champion Filippo Simeoni, who famously had a run-in with Lance Armstrong during the 2004 Tour de France, is not among the riders invited to this year’s Giro d’Italia. Simeoni’s Flaminia Bossini team was not on the preliminary list of 20 teams announced Wednesday. Other teams absent from the initial list include Cofidis, Euskaltel, Française des Jeux and Fuji, formerly Saunier Duval.
The Explainer – When strict liability ain’t that strict
Dear Explainer,
The Biggest Loser Week 3
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New route for BC Bike Race
Riders at the 2009 BC Bike Race will begin their seven-day journey through British Columbia’s singletrack with a spin over an automobile bridge. Not just any bridge, however. The scenic 1800-foot Lion’s Gate suspension bridge that connects downtown Vancouver with that city’s North Shore municipalities will host the opening miles of the race to Whistler, slated June 28 to July 4. The North Shore area is also home to some of the region’s best riding.
Sitting In and Bowing Out: The Art of Pass/Fail Racing
I was looking through some blogs last night and came upon Bike Snob NYC . This guy writes a great blog and this post in particular gives some humorous TIPS that I though I would post. Cycling should be an enjoyable endeavor. However, if you find yourself in an amateur road race in the first place you’re the sort of person who seeks suffering rather than avoids it. If you simply must participate in amateur road racing, here are some tips to help ameliorate the adverse effects: Know Your Limits There is a fine line between ambition and delusion. The former is the fuel for success, and the latter is the way to ruin. I believe it was either Sheldon Brown or Ben Franklin who said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” This is especially true when it comes to road racing. Basically, if you’ve never won a race before, you’re not suddenly going to start winning them now. So settle down, pick a wheel to follow, and stay out of trouble. Unfortunately, though, too many people fail to realize this, especially in the lower categories, where everybody stupidly sees him-or herself as a potential winner. When everyone’s going for the podium the result is a pile-up. It becomes like some moronic slapstick routine where eight people bend down to pick up the same $100 bill and just end up bashing their heads together as a gentle breeze carries the money down the street. The reason the higher categories generally see fewer crashes is not because
Winter Riding TIPS
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Team Kelly Benefit Strategies hits the slopes
While a few teams were racing Down Under, the Kelly Benefit Strategies team took advantage of everything a Northern Hemisphere had to offer this weekend, getting in some slope time at Colorado's Winter Park and Mary Jane downhill resort and the nearby Snow Mountain Ranch nordic ski area. VeloNews photographer Casey B. Gibson tagged along to capture some of the action. Casey reported no snowball fights, but noticed a contrast between the team's Canadian stalwarts and its Southern California contingent.
Book authors offer free bicycle power analysis
Hunter Allen and Dr. Andrew R. Coggan are collecting data for the second edition Training & Racing with a Power Meter via www.peakscoachinggroup.com online power profile analysis survey, with the first 250 applicants receiving a free power profile analysis and the first 1,000 receiving a sneak preview of the results.
Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn – Questions to ponder
Dear Lennard,
Can I run a new CN-7900 chain with 7800 derailleur, cassette, and FSA crank set (53/38)? It is time to replace my 7800 chain and would like to upgrade to the CN-7900 chain.
Mike
Sprint kings Mark Cavendish and Tom Boonen will line up at next week’s Tour of Qatar
It looks like Tom Boonen (Quick Step) will face stiffer competition in this year’s Tour of Qatar.
The 2009 Tour of Missouri will start in St. Louis and finish in Kansas City.
Cuesta: Still going strong at 40
Spanish veteran Iñigo Cuesta will be among the oldest riders in the peloton in 2009. Cuesta – who turns 40 in June – is still going strong as the right-hand man of Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre. When Sastre committed to Cervélo, he made sure there was a place for the hard-working Cuesta on the start-up team. The prolific climber won such races as the Vuelta al País Vasco and a stage in the Dauphiné Libéré early in his career before evolving into a super domestique, riding at such teams as Euskaltel, ONCE, Cofidis and Team CSC.
Lip Smacker® Professional Women’s Cycling Team announces 2009 roster
Handmade bike show honors “Original Six”
The North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) today announces the launch of its “Original Six” 2009 promotional campaign, highlighting a select group of frame builders that has exhibited every year since the show began five years ago. The Original Six builders exhibited at the first NAHBS in Houston, Texas in 2005. They will return as the show celebrates its fifth year, February 27 – March 1, 2009 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
Team Type 1 cycling team talks with students about diabetes
CAS overturns Pecharromán ban
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has overturned a nine-month ban imposed on ex-Spanish rider José Antonion Pecharromán, who tested positive in 2007 for a product that was revealed to be a balding treatment. According to reports on the Spanish wires, CAS agreed with an appeal filed by Pecharromán’s attorney, José Rodríguez, and over-turned the racing ban issued by the Spanish cycling federation. Initial reports did not detail why CAS overturned the racing ban.
Off To The European Peloton
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American women go 1-2 in the pre-1960 category at the World Masters Cyclocross Championships
Americans brought home three medals from the 2009 UCI World Masters Cyclocross Championships last weekend, claiming one world title and two silver medals. Katherine Sarvary (Lunenberg, Massachusetts) earned the gold medal in the women’s pre-1960 class, while compatriot Lillian Pfluke claimed silver in the same category. For Sarvary, it was her second consecutive world title after also winning gold in 2008.
Ken Mills Becomes General Manager of KBS Pro Team
Update on the UCI’s biological passport
Following recent declarations published in the press according to which the profiles of some thirty riders registered in the biological passport are to be considered as suspect, the International Cycling Union (UCI) would like to clarify this matter. In actual fact, these statements do not correspond exactly to what an in-depth analysis by the UCI experts has established is the present situation. Throughout 2008 the UCI collected approximately 8’300 blood samples which were integrated into the biological passports of 804 riders.
UCI, anti-doping experts study suspicious rider profiles
The Union Cycliste International (UCI) has taken issue with published reports that some 30 riders registered in the so-called biological-passport system have come under suspicion. Sports physician Robin Parisotto, an anti-doping expert at the Australian Institute for Sport who analyzes blood tests for the UCI, told German television ARD on Sunday that 30 riders were under suspicion of having doped and that some of those could face bans from competition.
Webcor announces 2009 squad
Webcor Builders Women’s Professional Cycling has announced its roster for the 2009 racing season. Longtime team leader Christine Thorburn has retired to pursue her career in medicine, but Canadian Olympians Erinne Willock and Gina Grain have returned for another season.
J.J. Haedo wins final stage of the Tour de San Luis
Stage 7: San Luis circuit
167.1 km (103.8 miles)
Stage Winner's average speed: 42.7 kph. (26.5 mph)
Final overall winner:Alfredo Lucero (Argentina-A), 1014.5 km in 24:37:52
GC winner's average speed: 40.9 kph (25.4 mph)
Former tri’ champ Raña racing the road
Former world triathlon champion Ivan Raña will make his road racing debut with Xacobeo Galicia at next month’s Ruta del Sol-Vuelta a Andalucía. Race officials confirmed that Raña will join Xacobeo Galicia teammates David Herrero, Iban Mayoz and David García in the five-day Ruta del Sol, which begins February 18 in Jaén, Spain. Raña, fifth at the Olympic Games in Beijing, signed a one-year deal to race with the Spanish Continental team in what he’s calling a fulfillment of a long-held dream.
The Italian Olympic Committee slaps Leonardo Piepoli with a two-year ban
The Italian Olympic Committee (Coni) on Monday suspended cyclist Leonardo Piepoli from competition for two years for failing a dope test taken during last year's Tour de France, Ansa news agency reported. The 37-year-old Piepoli won the 10th stage of the race in the Pyrenees, but in October the French Anti-Doping Agency announced that the Italian had tested positive for CERA (Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator) — the new generation of EPO — in two re-tested samples from the Tour.
Lewis: Ready for bigger and better things
There’s something different about Craig Lewis going into the 2009 season. Behind his youthful veneer, the 23-year-old is more determined and a whole lot more confident about what lies ahead. The natural-born climber from the hills of South Carolina finished off his first year with Team Columbia with a solid ride at the Giro di Lombardia last October and he’s carrying that momentum into the upcoming racing season.
Mailbag: Why is Levi left out? Will Jan join Landis?
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No love for Levi? Editors,
Running To Supplement Your Cycling?
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Kelly Benefits announces 2009 roster
The Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast pro cycling program that came from nowhere two years ago but closed last season among the top few domestic teams in North America, today announced a name change and a revised lineup for the coming 2009 season.
TransRockies Ambassador Program kicks off in 2009
For most riders, the single greatest goal of their TransRockies experience is to reach the finish line each day in one piece and within the time limit. By doing so, they remain officially scored in the event and on track for the treasured finisher t-shirt and medal—mementos of their achievement. While riders come to the start line with ample physical and logistical preparation, the singularly wild and rugged nature of the TransRockies means that there are always unexpected obstacles to overcome along the way to the finish line.