Kevin Evans donned the leader's jersey after winning the prologue alongside teammate David George. The two would not be so lucky on the first stage to George.
Defending champions Karl Platt (left) and Stefan Sahm signed some autographs the day before the race
The Absa Cape Epic's sign-in is a chance to show off the toned legs and new kit, however hideous it may be.
Trek/VW's Jeremiah Bishop meets a new friend on the eve of the race
Haywood (left) and Smith took their second straight stage win on the 2008 Absa Cape Epic's longest stage
The winners of the 2007 Absa Cape Epic, the Bulls squad of Stefan Sahm and Karl Platt took their first victory of the 2008 race, winning the fifth stage from Swellendam to Bredasdorp. The two out sprinted the Alb-Gold team of Hannes Genze and Joschen Kaess for the win. The victory took a sizable chunk out of the overall lead of the Cannondale-Vredestein squad of Jakob Fuglsang and Roel Paullissen, who crossed the line in 5th place, nearly eight minutes down.
Mark Cavendish (High Road) charged to victory in Wednesday’s second stage of the Three Days of De Panne in Belgium, while Enrico Gasparotto (Barloworld) retained the overall lead. Cavendish, who notched 11 wins in his rookie season last year, unloaded an electrifying sprint to relegate Francesco Chicchi (Liquigas) to second with Sebastien Chavanel (FDJeux) coming across the line for third.
July 1949 of Italian cyclists Gino Bartali (L) and Fausto Coppi (R) waiting before the start of a stage of the Tour de France. The two champions won 2 Tour de France each : Bartali in 1938 and 1948, Coppi in 1949 and 1952.
Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali are Italy’s two cycling icons. The duo have become legends because of their heroics on the bike, the mystique and contrast of their lives, the intrigue of their rivalries, the beauty evoked in the images taken of them — black and white; sweat and dust — and the courage and passion they gave to a post war Italy.
Troubled Belgian cyclist Frank Vandenbroucke is set to be quizzed by the Ypres justice department in the coming days over whether he bought cocaine. If found guilty it can carry a custodial sentence. The 33-year-old looked set for a glorious career when he won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic in 1999, but has been plagued by problems ever since including a ban for doping in 2002. His toubles reached its nadir when he tried to commit suicide in June 2007.
Network covers historic bicycle races LIVE from Indiana University – April 11 and 12 WHAT: For the 6th consecutive season, HDNet will cover the greatest single-speed bike races in the world - the Men’s and Women’s Little 500 LIVE from Indiana University. Steeped in tradition and high on excitement, these races are known as the nation’s premier intramural collegiate cycling event. The races have the reputation of being the best of their kind anywhere in the world, earning the nickname "The World's Greatest College Weekend."
Organizers of the proposed 2,200-mile Tour of America have postponed their inaugural event until fall 2009. "Everyone we have spoken with wants to see a 'Tour de France-style' race here in the United States," said Frank Arokiasamy, the race director and president of Aqu, Inc., the race's organizing company. Arokiasamy proposed the coast-to-coast race last fall, scheduling it for September 2008.
Colorado Premier Training (CPT), the nation’s leading facility for wind tunnel pro team testing and pre-race camps has selected Kurt Kinetic as the center’s official trainer. Teams fine-tuning their start of season performance are already making use of the first trainers to arrive: the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine. “This partnership creates a more comprehensive package for CPT athletes,” says Steve Owens, CEO of Colorado Premier Training.
Editor’s Note: - By now, most long-time readers of VeloNews and VeloNews.com realize that our favorite – albeit not legally recognized – holiday is April Fools’ Day. Many of us here have long enjoyed the once-a-year opportunity to set aside our normal duty of checking sources, facts and the veracity of quotes and just make the stuff up.
Slipstream-Chipotle’s Tom Danielson, Rock Racing’s Oscar Sevilla, Health Net-Maxxis’ Rory Sutherland and Toyota-United’s Chris Baldwin will be among the high-caliber riders rolling out of the start house Thursday at the Redlands Bicycle Classic.
The TT rig is an old U.S. Postal/Discovery Channel Trek. Steve Hed fit Bajadali to this bike, which he believes belonged to either Lance Armstrong of Viatcheslav Ekimov.
It’s been a bumpy ride for Andy Bajadali. The 34-year-old has gone from pro mountain biker to pro roadie, to amateur roadie and back to pro roadie. Oh, and there was a stint living in a Turkish slum, while racing in Belgium with his buddy Alex Candelario, thrown in there for good measure. This year, Bajadali is shaking off a rough early season and heading into the Redlands Bicycle Classic as the defending champion, riding for Kelly Benefits Strategies-Medifast.
Roadie Happy Hour! Michigan Bike Race Announcer Jamie Smith and "Frazz" Illustrator Jef Mallett Launch Book at Kinetic Systems Join Jamie Smith and Jef Mallett for a book launch event at Kinetic Systems in Clarkston, Michigan, on Saturday, April 5th at 4pm. Smith and Mallett are launching their new book Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer during a happy hour event at the shop. ROADIE Book Launch Event Saturday, April 5 beginning at 4:00 p.m. Kinetic Systems 60 S. Main St. Clarkston, MI 48346 (248) 625-7000 www.kineticsystemsbicycles.com
Enrico Gasparotto (Barloworld) snagged an overdue victory Tuesday in the opening stage of the Three Days of De Panne after several close calls this spring. The former Italian national champion out-kicked a four-man breakaway in the 192km first stage from Middelkerke to Zottegem to win his first victory in his new Barloworld jersey for the 2008 season.
The Dolphin-Trek squad of Alban Lakata and Bart Brentjens took the fourth stage of the Absa Cape Epic, winning the 121km journey from Riversdale to Swellendam in 4:28:38. The duo finished 23 seconds ahead of MTN Energade and race leaders Cannondale-Vredestein.
Today started off a little rocky. We overslept by an hour and Benno had to knock on the motor home window to wake us up. I guess the cumulative fatigue is taking over and we needed the sleep. It was nice to have the extra snooze, but it made the morning ritual a bit hectic. We made it to the start on time and had the usual rude wake up call with a long uphill climb on cold, tired legs. We found our groove though and were motoring along through the course.
It's been something of a tradition here at VeloNews to start the month of April with things a bit skewed from the normal. In the past, on April 1st, we've fired Patrick O'Grady, revealed the development of new mag-lev wheel bearings, declared Dick Pound to be head of the UCI (with Hein Verbruggen taking the helm of WADA) and scorched the French countryside with fatally flawed sunflowers that perfectly match the color of the Maillot Jaune. Yup, it's April Fool's Day.
The Italian Olympic Committee’s (CONI) court of last instance suspended the doping case against Giro d'Italia champion Danilo Di Luca on Tuesday in order to allow three scientists to analyze a sample provided by the LPR team rider last May. CONI has requested a two-year suspension for the former Pro Tour champion after he returned an anomalous sample following the 17th stage of last year's Tour of Italy in May. A decision was expected Tuesday but instead judge Francesco Plotino asked for the sample to be re-analyzed by independent scientists with a view to reconvening on April 16.
Juan Pablo Santiago Duran y Smith captured the first stage of the Pesce d'Aprile demi-classic on Tuesday, after riding away from the remnants of the peloton on the brutal final climb to Pesciolino. The win marks a turning point in cycling, being the first conducted under controversial rules developed by Tour de France organizer, the Amaury Sport Organisation. “Juanpa showed he can pedal a bike from point A to point B faster than the other guys,” said Stefano Puchi, the team's general manager.
Responding to numerous reader complaints, VeloNews publisher Andy Pemberton announced Tuesday that the site will be abandoning its new design after a four-month trial period, starting some time after April 1. “To fully comply with the many, many emails we're received on this issue - most typed in capitals and without punctuation - we will revert to the site as it was presented originally, in 1996,” Pemberton said. Outgoing web developer Kevin Hankens said he was not at all bitter about the seven months of 70-hour weeks he spent developing the new site design.
As a companion to our annual Buyer's Guide we are featuring some behind-the-scenes photos, taken by VeloNews photo editor Brad Kaminski during his visit to the Specialized headquarters in Morgan Hill, California. To read Fred Dreier's complete article on the Specialized factory, along with an array of other factory tours, you'll have to grab a copy of our Buyer's Guide.
Scores of favorites for this weekend’s clash at the Tour of Flanders will be stretching their legs in preparation this week at the Three Days of De Panne. Starting Tuesday, the 32nd edition of the race is contested on four stages over three days on windswept course that provides a good preview of who’s on form heading into Sunday’s Flanders. The route hits such cobblestone sections as Leberg, Berendries, Stuivenberg, Eikenberg and the Tiegemberg sectors that the peloton will see on Sunday.
For domestic road racers, the road to the top is a long one. USA Cycling's National Racing Calendar includes 35 events across 23 states, stretching from the Amgen Women's Criterium, held during the Tour of California in February, through to the Priority Health Grand Cycling Classic in September in Michigan. The men's series starts this week with the Redlands Bicycle Classic in California. The womens series began with the Amgen Womens Criterium.
Professional endurance competitor Rebecca Rusch has tackled her fair share of adventure races and 24-Hour mountain bike races throughout the years. Now, the Idahoan is in South Africa, competing alongside teammate Cristina Begy in the Absa Cape Epic, a nine-day endurance mountain bike stage race across the country’s scenic Western Cape. And we’re along for the ride. — Editor
The lead has again changed the men’s division at South Africa’s 2008 Absa Cape Epic as the Cannondale-Vredestein squad of Jakob Fuglsang and Roel Paulissen won the stage 3 journey from Calitzdorp to Riversdale, and assumed the yellow leader’s jersey after the Songo.info team of Burry Stander and Christoph Sauser abandoned.
If you haven’t heard of him already, Greg Van Avermaet is a name to watch in the upcoming northern classics. Strong and fast, the 22-year-old Silence-Lotto sprinter won five races last year as a neo-pro. Some in Belgium are already calling him the “next Tom Boonen.” Van Avermaet, shy and reserved, shrugs off such talk.
David Salomon (P&S-Specialized) and Leda Cox (America's Dairyland) were crowned the champions of the 22nd Tucson Bicycle Classic after the third and final stage on Sunday. Brian Forbes (RideClean) and Clare Vlahopoulos (America's Dairyland) won their respective races during the finale, the Artisan Prosthetics Circuit race, run on a rolling, 5.6-mile loop with 300 feet of climbing per lap.
Barry Wicks’ transition from top-tier cyclocrosser to mountain bike strongman appears to be going well. The 26-year-old Kona rider, already a household name on the domestic ‘cross scene, took his first-ever NMBS victory at Sunday’s short-track in Fontana, California. Wicks out-sprinted breakaway companion Adam Craig (Giant) to take the STXC win and then followed up the victory with another win, again out sprinting Craig to take the Super D title.
If Jennie Reed couldn't quite believe her world title, then neither could the home crowd at the Manchester velodrome. Reed's jubilant gold medal in the women's keirin, the climactic event in five days of racing, was greeted with stunned silence by the British fans who had become drunk on the success that Team GB had claimed in the 2008 World Track Championships. "This is the first world championship of my career and I have got a gold medal so I am just elated," Reed said, as she came off the track.