Fuji Bicycles is proud to announce its sponsorship of Seamus McGrath, top Canadian mountain bike racer. He will be racing and training on Fuji bikes exclusively during this Olympic year. He joins Fuji teammates Austrian National XC Champion Christophe Soukup and German U23 National Champion Robert Mennen for the European World Cup circuit, as well as pro cross-country races in North America.
Another wet day at Paris-Nice and photographer Graham Watson was there to keep track of events.
Health Net’s John Murphy moved into the overall lead at the 2008 Tour de Taiwan, solidifying his hold on the sprint jersey as well by earning sprint points and time bonuses in the 111-kilometer second stage. Murphy won the second and third intermediate sprints out on the road during a circuit race, run on a 14 km course, and finished 10th on the stage while helping teammate Kirk O’Bee to 7th on the stage. Time bonuses for the two sprints moved him ahead of previous leader Kam Po Wong of Team Hong Kong.
What can I do about foot pain while cycling?
welcome to Velonews.com's Live Coverage of the second stage of the 66th edition of Paris-Nice, a 201-kilometer stage from Nevers to Belleville.
158 riders left Nevers this morning at 11:45. The official winner of the 2006 Tour de France Oscar Pereiro and Pierrick Fedrigo have opted not to start. Pereiro lost more than 13 minutes in yesterday's wind-blown stage. Fedrigo got caught in a crash and is suffering from the problems from that.
Current and former world road champions Paolo Bettini, Tom Boonen, Igor Astarloa and Oscar Freire will be among those toeing the start line at the opening of Tirenno-Adriatico Wednesday. Aside from the rainbow stripes, these men share another trait in common: a desire to win the season’s first big one-day classic, Milan-San Remo. Other world-class sprinters slated to race T-A include CSC’s Stuart O'Grady, Milram teammates Alessandro Petacchi and Erik Zabel, and Silence-Lotto’s Robbie McEwen. The seven-day, 1122km race opens in Mar Tirreno and heads east to Mar Adriatico.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed Tuesday that it will examine Giro d’Italia champion Danilo Di Luca's appeal against a three-month ban for his connection with a doping scandal on March 20. The rider was suspended in October 2007 for his association with Italian doctor Carlo Santuccione, the key figure in the so-called “oil for drugs” scandal, dating back to 2004. Santuccione was investigated for allegedly supplying banned substances to Italian sportsmen.
Crashes and nasty weather are turning the 66th Paris-Nice into a war of attrition as Gert Steegmans (Quick Step) sprinted to his second straight win Tuesday in an exciting, attack-riddled 201km soggy march. The big Belgian didn’t want to wait for the bunch and made easy work of a four-up sprint on a slight rise into Belleville, three seconds ahead of a 44-rider chase group that was missing several GC contenders, among them Fränk Schleck (CSC – 76th at 2:56) and Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel-Euskadi – 53rd at 1:15) and José Angel Gómez Marchante (Saunier Duval – abandon).
It’s not often you see Gert Steegmans first in line. Since last season, the 6-foot, 3-inch Belgian has often been second in line at Quick Step, developing into the preferred lead-out man for cycling superstar Tom Boonen. Before that, he was the pilot for Robbie McEwen at Silence-Lotto. The soft-spoken Steegmans is never one to shove his way into the limelight, but when he won Stage 2 in last year’s Tour de France, he couldn’t help but get noticed. This season, Steegmans is getting more freedom to ride for his own victories.
For a guy who would rather be somewhere else, Thor Hushovd is making the most of a bad situation. The Crédit Agricole fast man surged to an impressive victory in Sunday’s prologue and then sprinted to third in Monday’s first stage to retain his grip on the race leader’s yellow jersey. Not bad for a guy who’d rather be in Italy.
To tape or not to tape, that is the question.
Whether 'tis faster on the rim to suffer
The goops and globs of outrageous Tubasti,
Or to take Tufo against a sea of glue stains,
And by taping end them?
Dear Lennard,
In a recent article you make mention of the fact that you do not use adhesive tapes, like that produced by Tufo, on tubular wheels, preferring instead to use the old system of building up with glue.
Peterson won the category 4 race with a last lap solo attack.
Peterson won the category 4 event at the criterium with a last lap solo attack.
Kristy Gough won the women's Cat. 3-4 race at the Merco Credit Union Downtown Grand Prix, March 1, 2008.
Grieving cyclists, friends and family in California's Bay Area are planning memorial services for two road racers struck and killed by a sheriff's deputy's patrol car on Sunday. Matt Peterson was a driven 30-year-old Cat 4 who competed in 24-hour mountain bike races and Ironman triathlons but who achieved one of his proudest victories — first place in the Merced criterium — just a week ago. The next day he sacrificed his chances to help a teammate win another race, said friend Larry Rosa. "He said, 'I wish everyone could feel this experience just once,' " Rosa told VeloNews.
Three-time world time trial champion Michael Rogers will be out of competition for at least eight weeks as he recovers from Epstein Barr Virus, his team announced Monday. Team High Road physicians and Rogers' personal doctors confirmed the diagnosis. It is the second time the Australian has had the virus. Rogers plans to rest completely for at least four weeks, the team said. Rogers has not felt strong since last fall, said his agent, Paul DeGuyter.
Slipstream's Christian Vande Velde
Steegmans celebrates.
Stefan Schumacher chases.
Eventual stage winner Gert Steegmans.
Hushovd's Credit Agricole team chases.
Thor Hushovd celebrates his second day in yellow.
Cadel Evans chases back on after getting stuck behind a crash.
Paris-Nice organizers shortened Monday's stage 1 due to heavy rain and wind, but the result was one of the most exciting days in years. When the race hit the crosswinds, echelons formed and some favorites risked getting knocked out of contention. In the end, most of them caught back on to the front group and even race leader Thor Hushovd, who had been dropped on the days only climb, caught the front group and finished third to retain his yellow jersey. Graham Watson captured the stage and shared his gallery with VeloNews readers.
Southeast Women's (SEW) Cycling is a grass-roots effort for women, by women, created to encourage participation in competitive cycling at all levels. Ultimately, growth in women’s cycling will happen when we can offer race environments that are both challenging and fun. The goals of SEW cycling are to 1) grow women’s cycling by providing women the opportunity to race multiple events, earning points and prizes; 2) reduce barriers to beginner women by providing separate category 3/4 races where they learn and put into practice race tactics and pack skills;
The Mailbag is a regular department on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have read in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to webletters@insideinc.com. Please include your full name, hometown and state or nation. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Writers are encouraged to limit their submissions to one letter per month.
High Road's Bernhard Eisel and Niki Terpstra and Peter Velits of Milram were away for much of the day, but were reeled in in the final kilometers.
With excitement building after the announcement of 6-day bike racing's return to the U.S., Emmy winner Kent Gordis will produce television and webcast segments for the Las Vegas-6 race in Mandalay Bay Events Center September 23 - 28, 2008. Gordis, himself a lifetime cyclist, owns Kent Gordis Productions located in Manhattan just two blocks from Madison Square Garden, the birthplace of six-day bike racing. He has produced TV for six Tours de France and eight Olympic Games.
Gert Steegmans (Quick Step) wins the first stage of Paris-Nice ahead of Jerome Pineau (Bouygues Telecom) and race leader Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole).
On a stage dominated by local riders, Health Net-Maxxis’s John Murphy took the green jersey and sits second overall after the first stage of the Tour of Taiwan. Besides Health Net, the other American team in the race is Team Type 1. Their top rider after the first stage was Emile Abraham in 25th.
One of the worst winter storms of the year ripped across central France on Monday and left the Paris-Nice peloton looking like shredded wheat in a brutal, weather-shortened first stage. Only a Belgian could be happy racing in howling crosswinds, piercing rain and plummeting temperatures, so it shouldn’t come as a complete surprise as Tom Boonen’s favorite lead-out man, Gert Steegmans, out-toughed a reduced bunch in a 40-up sprint on a steep climbing finish into Nevers to claim victory.
The Mt. Hood Cycling Classic is stepping up its efforts this year with a brand new UCI designation for the women, one of the top-ranked NRC events for the men, and two brand new stages in downtown Portland, Oregon.
New Belgium Brewing, makers of Fat Tire Amber Ale, today announced that it will serve as the Title Sponsor of six of the eight Urban Assault Rides™ hitting streets across America this summer. The “Pedal Powered Urban Adventure” taps into the bicycle culture that New Belgium has long embraced with events like Tour de Fat and their bike commuter advocacy program, Team Wonderbike (www.followyourfolly.com ).
welcome to VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the 1st stage of the 66th edition of "The Race to the Sun," Paris-Nice.
Portrait of a Commuter
Virginia Tech Spring Break Training Camp
Bobbie Traksel (P3 Transfer) won the Three Days of West Flanders on Sunday after claiming victory in the third and final stage, a 186km leg beginning and ending in Ichtegem. The 26-year-old Netherlander took the final overall four seconds ahead of Belgian Niko Eeckhout (Topsport Vlaanderen) and 15 ahead of Russian Serguei Ivanov (Astana).
German prosecutors are reportedly prepared to drop charges against Jan Ullrich if the fallen cycling star cooperates with a doping inquiry and pays a one million euro fine. The report, which appears in Monday's edition of Focus magazine, suggests the tribunal in Bonn handling Ullrich's case is set to present this deal to the former T-Mobile rider's lawyers.
If it’s short, fast and flat, chances are good that Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) will be among the favorites in any opening prologue. The 30-year-old Norwegian sprinter confirmed he’s one of the peloton’s best “short course” time trial specialists Sunday with a solid four-second victory in the wet and windy 4.6km opener at the 66th Paris-Nice.