The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Tuesday that downhill racer J.D. Swanguen has accepted a three-month suspension from competition after testing positive for a metabolite of marijuana at this year’s national championships. A urine sample provided by the 20-year-old Swanguen at the USA Cycling national mountain bike championships on July 19 of this year tested positive for Carboxy THC, a metabolite of cannabis.
Nick Wieghall (California Giant Berry Farms) ensured there would be no repeat men's winners yet this year, while Kristi Berg (Redline Bicycles) made it three for three at the sand-heavy course third stop of the Seattle Cyclocross Series.
Two cyclists were looking for a fight before an incident that led to assault charges being filed against a California driver, the driver's attorney suggested in court Monday. The attorney for Dr. Christopher Thomas Thompson also suggested that one of the cyclists may have simply fallen on his own accord. Thompson is on trial in Los Angeles Superior Court, charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and other violations in connection with a July 4, 2008, confrontation in a Los Angeles area canyon and an earlier incident involving a cyclist on the same road.
Spanish team Fuji-Servetto will ride on in the 2010 season thanks to a new title sponsor coming on board under its new name, Footon-Servetto. The team announced Tuesday the arrival of new title sponsor, Footon, a Swiss-based company specializing in foot insoles and other health care products. The news comes as the team’s future looked bleak.
16-year-old gravity phenom Neko Mulally is ready for his first year on World Cup circuit and the mountain bike Worlds at Mont Ste Anne.
Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich on Tuesday brushed off the latest doping allegations against him and repeated his position that he will speak only when he is ready. On Monday, German magazine Der Spiegel cited a police investigation report which states Ullrich went to Madrid 24 times between 2003 and 2006 to see doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, the Madrid gynecologist at the center of the Spanish probe Operación Puerto.
Despite its ProTour status for 2010 being still up in the air, Astana continues to bolster its squad for the upcoming season. Italian workhorse Paolo Tiralongo revealed he’s signed a two-year deal to join the Kazakh-backed team while Aussie sprinter Allan Davis confirmed he’s seriously considering an offer to join Astana despite having one more year on his contract with Quick Step. Meanwhile news media in Kazakhstan reports that two time Giro winner Gilberto Simoni may, too, be poised to sign with the team.
Navigation systems manufacturer Garmin Ltd. has announced plans to extend its sponsorship of the Garmin-Slipstream team, adding three years to a deal that was set to expire at the end of 2010. Citing the team’s performance and its commitment to “ethical sporting and developing the next generation of cycling champions,” the company said its sponsorship for the past 18 months has exceeded expectations.
There were a number of special bikes that I saw at Interbike that I have still not had much opportunity to write about. So I’ll use this week’s column to do so.
With the introduction of two new helmets for 2010, Rudy Project is taking a stab at the top of the helmet hierarchy, and hoping riders will take notice. “In essence, we’re calling 2010 the ‘year of the helmet,’” said Paul Craig, Rudy Project's North America CEO. “It’s the culmination of two to three years of research, development, and testing which has allowed us to leapfrog, in our eyes, other helmet technology.”
As a trail runner for over 30 years and sometime mountain biker I can assure you that trail runners never forget about horseback riders
The 2009 mountain bike campaign was in question earlier this year for Luna racer Katerina Nash, but dominating Downieville and posting podium finishes are just a part of her season so far.
It is not unusual during a full season of racing to hear about a pro cyclist or two breaking a clavicle or other bone in a multi-rider pile-up. But is there something inherent to cycling that increases your risk for developing a break when you hit the pavement hard? A growing body of research indicates that being fit through cycling training alone does not guarantee optimal bone density. Cycling only may be bad for your bones.
Team Rubicon-ORBEA, presently known as Land Rover-ORBEA; Benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a first year UCI-continental team, is in search of a title sponsor. Rubicon’s two-year partnership with Land Rover will end December 31st, 2009. In order to continue with the team goals for 2010, the team needs to come up with a title sponsor by November 5th.
After one cyclist slammed into the rear of his car and vaulted over it into oncoming traffic, and another crashed through his rear window, Dr. Christopher Thomas Thompson called 911 and told the operator, “They’ll tell you they are seriously injured, but they’re not.”
Kona’s Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks went one-two at Sunday’s cold and windy Wissahickon Cross in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, while Luna’s Georgia Gould won by a large margin. The women started off the UCI double-header, and despite the storm that turned the previous day’s Granogue course into a quagmire, the circuit at Wissahickon remained solid, though somewhat cooler than normal.
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Ryan Trebon (Kona) and Georgia Gould (Luna Pro Team) came out on top in the slop at Granogue Cross on Sunday. Suburban Wilmington, Delaware, felt more like northern Europe as riders lined up in 40-degree temperatures and drizzle to tackle a thick slime of mud brought on by three days of steady rainfall. Since 2001, the Granogue course has gained a reputation for its relentless punchy climbs, tricky off-camber descents and searing run-ups, but the addition of greasy mud added a new level of challenge to the UCI Cat 2 event.