|
Stijn Devolder took the Tour of Flanders for the 2nd year in a row. What a beast. I was rooting for Haussler (especially after he got nipped on the line in San Remo), but damn, gotta respect Devolder just storming away from the lead group on the Muur, 18km from the finish, and riding solo all the way to the finish. Nice ride! |
|
I just read an interesting question & answer at www.cyclingnews.com - "Eating on the bike". I don't know that I've seen anything definitive about caloric absorption rates (during exercise or otherwise) so the response from Scott Saifer is pretty interesting: "... typical [caloric] absorption rates quoted are in the vicinity of 150 calories per hour for small, un-fit people, up to 325 or so for large, fit, genetically endowed people on good days ..." The original question was posed because energy food manufacturers have suggested/recommended serving information that would have you consume 900+ calories per hour, which makes no sense whatsoever, except for the company that stands to make more cash by selling you more energy food. |
|
Well, after a few days of rumors, Lance is officially un-retired and will return to professional cycling in 2009. There's a blog entry with video clip on his website. He doesn't say much, so we don't know which team or any other details really. One rumor said he would rejoin Johan Bruyneel at Astana, but that has been denied by Astana team leadership. My guess is he's going to fund a brand new team centered around the LiveStrong foundation. |
|
Deutsche Telekom just pulled the plug on sponsoring the T-Mobile cycling team, effective immediately. They've sponsored the same team since 1991, and explicitly stated that the decision was based on doping: "We arrived at this decision to separate our brand from further exposure from doping in sport and cycling specifically." More details at www.cyclingnews.com |
|
Jörg Jaksche, himself an admitted doper, recently said: "There are still lots of possibilities to cheat, without anybody proving it. Right now you have to say: Only the dumb ones get caught. Or the poor ones, who can't afford the expensive doping." On the surface, his comment appears to express a sense of hopelessness in the fight against doping. Namely, there are still many riders who are cheating and getting away with it. But look again! He's given us two important new tests for doping: intelligence and financial status. Jaksche's insider information into the hidden practices of dopers is extremely valuable. Using this formerly secret information, I propose the UCI, WADA, and ASO add the following new rules to their anti-doping code: 1. If a rider is smart, as determined by a general skills or aptitude test, and all doping controls return negative results, then the rider is guilty of doping. Only smart riders can cheat and get away with it. Immediate two-year ban, possible lifetime ban if rider is not a French national. 2. If a rider is financially comfortable, then they are guilty of doping. One indication of sufficient financial stability is whether the rider signed the UCI's anti-doping charter, which includes a clause that the rider must pay one year's salary if found guilty of a doping offence. Surely, only those riders who are both cheating and can afford to pay a year's salary if caught would agree to such a clause. Therefore, all riders who signed the UCI charter are guilty of doping. Immediate two-year ban, possible lifetime if rider is found to have ever talked with, looked at, or been mentioned with another rider who is suspected (not necessarily guilty) of doping. It is self-evident that these new rules would solve many of the doping problems in our sport by helping us catch the cheaters, and we would be foolish to ignore Jaksche's insights in the fight against doping. (Yes, I'm being sarcastic.) |
|
According to cyclingnews.com, the city of Stuttgart - host to the 2007 World Championships - has threatened to sue the UCI (!) if Danilo Di Luca and Paolo Bettini are at the start line of the World Championship road race on Sunday. Di Luca I can kinda see, because he's been implicated (not proven, just implicated, which now means "guilty" in pro cycling) in another doping scandal (not Puerto). But Bettini? That's just plain dumb. Bettini has agreed to DNA testing, but - and this is where he's really taking a stand for something that matters, and why the city of Stuttgart is all bent out of shape - Bettini does not want to sign the UCI's code of ethics because the UCI puts all of the blame and all of the punishment squarely on the shoulders of the cyclist. NOT the team management. Only the cyclist. Clearly, it's his fault, his idea, his doing, his organization, all performed in a black box with no help or assistance from anyone at all, despite constant reports that managers, doctors and sponsors know about or even assist with doping. According to the UCI, the only party who should be punished when doping occurs is the cyclist himself, and that happens in the form of an annual salary. Unbelievable. The whole problem with doping in pro cycling is that the riders are pressured by teams, managers, sponsors, and organizers to do inhuman things. They're taunted with big bonuses if they can win sprints or stages, so can you really blame the rider alone for succumbing to pressure? To put it in perspective, if you make $30,000 to $40,000 annual salary as a domestique for a great team, that's basically your salary cap. If you've got a wife and kid, that's your max earning potential, so you'd really better make the best of it. And unless you're the next Lance or Boonen, you're not gonna get much better as a cyclist and consequently you probably won't make more money. But pro cyclists are people, too. They have bills, they take vacations, they have homes and repairs and unexpected costs. Surely some of those riders might try to bend the rules if it might increase their earning potential. Everyone could use an extra $10,000. I'm not condoning doping, but it's not solely the fault of the rider. The managers, sponsors, and organizers need to share in the responsibility. And right now, they're not. The UCI seems to think that all blame - 100% of it - should go to the rider himself. And I'm not even going to get into the constant "guilty by association" stories that make it in the news all the time. Ok, I will, but just a little bit. Why is it that the newspapers are the first ones to find out, even when doing so explicitly proves several lab protocols (disclosure rules and anonymous testing, for example) were totally violated? And the newspapers themselves stand (surprise!) to make a huge chunk of money when they sell extra copies of their otherwise worthless paper the next day? I don't trust the newspapers or the drug labs, because they're provably working together with direct financial gain at stake. And the UCI thinks the only party who should be punished is the rider... It's just stunning. The city of Stuttgart has threatened to sue the UCI if Danilo Di Luca and Paolo Bettini start in Sunday's World Championship road race. Di Luca is allegedly on the verge of being suspended on doping-related charges, and Bettini has still not signed the UCI code of ethics, the city said. |
|
The 2007 World Championship road race is only days away, and several countries have announced their final team selections. Germany is officially including Erik Zabel, he will be co-lead with Stefan Schumacher. Other favorites include Paolo Bettini, Damiano Cunego and Davide Rebellin on the Italian team, and George Hincapie, Vande Velde and David Zabriskie on the U.S. team. Unfortunately, a few days ago Tom Boonen officially dropped out of the Belgian team due to recent injuries. |
|
I know Performance Bike has been around for a long time (I've been a customer for 15 years), but I'm never spending another dollar there. These days, a retail store cannot afford to treat their customers poorly. It's too easy to find an alternative, or just shop online (great prices, limitless possibilities). Most businesses seem to have a handle on this. The customer is always right But Performance has demonstrated a few stunning moves that show they're still behind the times. 1. They sell your name+info to 3rd parties, possibly without informing you. In my case, they signed me up for a magazine subscription that I did not want (I cancelled it), and I've received new kinds of junk mail that seems suspiciously related (although I do concede this last point is speculatory). 2. No matter how many times you request it, they will never stop sending printed catalogs to you. I was signed up (against my wishes) ~6 months ago, and they just keep coming. And if you have a local Performance store, the store will send you crap, too. Catalogs, sales flyers, upcoming bonanzas, whatever... you'll know about it. I've been averaging about one catalog per week, and I've called at least twice asking to be removed. I get the impression the only way Performance can survive is by beating their customers over the head with another sale. Thanks guys. Can I send my trash bill to you, since that's where your catalogs end up? How many other hundreds of thousands of Performance catalogs end up in the trash each month? When someone gives you a flyer, it's like they're saying, "here, you throw this away." -- Mitch Hedberg 3. Their "Team" membership thing is another sneaky piece of work... when they pitch it to you, you think it's a great deal, but you probably miss the "one year" part and how it automatically renews itself every year. What kind of bullshit tactic is that? Auto-renewal anything is annoying and sneaky. Full disclosure, let the customer know what's happening and give them a choice. So there you have it. If you need bike stuff, spend your money somewhere else (local shop, perhaps?) and skip Performance. They just don't get it. |
|
There's a news flash that Iban Mayo has tested positive for EPO during this year's Tour de France; specifically on July 24, 2007. Not much else available right now, but here's my theory: Iban Mayo, Haimar Zubeldia and Roberto Laiseka are all dopers. Why? At one point, they were nowhere on the pro scene, then a few years back they were suddenly up there with the strongest riders. Also, all three were on the same team (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and thus subject to the same treatment by team doctors, and then *poof* they switched teams and now they can't deliver. |
|
It was just announced that Alexander Vinokourov has tested positive for blood transfusion on the day of the individual time trial (which he won). As a result, he and his entire team have been kicked out of the Tour. What a disappointment... |
The data here shows the time gaps in the 2007 Tour de France prologue time trial. The first bar is 0, that's the winner (Fabian Cancellara), so the time gap to himself is 0 on the chart. The 2nd place rider is Andreas Kloden, he was 13 seconds back so his bar on the chart is at 13. The 3rd, 4th, etc. places are all quite close each other, only off by a few seconds at most. It's only 1st and 2nd places that are so much faster than everyone else. I built this chart using the Prologue Time Trial time data from cyclingnews.com. This chart clearly shows that Fabian Cancellara is doping. Why? Because he's way, way ahead of everyone else. Sure, this isn't "proof", but proof is unnecessary - if you're much faster than everyone, it follows that you're on drugs. Many people use this as their only justification that Lance Armstrong was doping, so after we've established that shaky logic, it follows that every rider who performs substantially better than the rest of the field is in fact cheating. This spreadsheet illustrates the point beautifully, and from it we can conclude with absolute certainty that both Cancellara and Andreas Kloden are both cheating. |
|
Ok, I think I've figured out the "secret" to finding out who is and isn't doping in professional cycling. Here goes: 1. Any cyclist who wins a race (or comes close) is clearly doping. If a rider is racing clean, then basically he should lose against the rest of the field, because as we all know everyone in the pro field is doping, so whoever beats the field must clearly be doping, too. For example, Fabian Cancellara not only won the World TT Championship last fall but also just beat the entire field in the prologue TT. Clearly, he's cheating. 2. If a rider is implicated in any way, or involved (either directly or indirectly) with anything or anyone who ever has (or has not) been involved with anything that may (or may not) have been related to doping, then clearly that rider is guilty of doping. If you need examples on this point, just wait a few days and read the latest news. It seems we can't make it more than a few days without hearing of another "guilty" rider. Perhaps we should just ban the entire pro field on the grounds that at least some of them cheated, and the rest are surely friends with those guys, so they must all be guilty by association. 3. If the rider is French, he is excused from both of the above points (anyone remember Richard Virenque?). |
|
Man, the hits just keep coming. Yesterday, Erik Zabel admitted to taking EPO in the 90's, although he says he only tried it for a little while before deciding against it due to health risks. Today, Bjarne Riis - the winner of the 1996 Tour de France and current CSC team manager - admitted to taking EPO in the 1996 (Former Tour de France winner Riis admits doping). "My yellow jersey is in box at home, you can come and collect it," said Riis of his 1996 Tour performance. "What matters to me are my memories." Who's next? Ugh. |
|
This week, just before the start of the Giro d'Italia, the drama of the Operation Puerto drug scandal has kicked into gear once again. As ever, we're still awaiting actual proof that anyone specific did anything specific. Although, for a change, several riders are confessing their involvement. Sadly, many other riders are being dragged along, guilty or not, while this doping affair plods along at a retardedly slow pace. It was one year ago that the drama began. New t-shirt slogan, perhaps? Be a professional cyclist today Ugh. So anyway. I was saying something. Oh right, the latest round of casualties...
After a year of this silly, drawn-out drama, I officially care less about cycling and the Grand Tours, and find I'm only moderately interested in catching up on the latest drug scandal details. At the end of the day, I really don't give a shit if any of the pros are taking drugs. Seriously. They all have access to the same stuff, the same fancy doctors, the same medical advantages - it's a level playing field. Just let them race and make it fun again. Most of the stuff the organizations and teams are trying to do against doping isn't working, because the cheaters can (and do) easily stay several steps ahead. |
|
Jan Ullrich: World Champion, Olympic Gold Medal winner, Tour de France winner, and... Cheater. German sports news agency sid announced that blood bags from Operación Puerto have been proven as those of Jan Ullrich through DNA comparison. Public prosecutor Fred Apostel said the comparison shows "without a doubt" that the blood is Ullrich's. Ullrich's team has fired back that the results have been manipulated, he didn't cheat, etc. Several things stand out as important:
Of course, there's always the possibility that foul play was involved as Ullrich claims, and he's innocent, etc., but I just don't see it. Here's the full text from cyclingnews: German sports news agency sid revealed on Tuesday afternoon that the blood bags seized in Operación Puerto and marked "Jan," "number 1" or "Hijo Rudicio" ('son of Rudy') have been confirmed to contain the blood of the now-retired German cycling star, Jan Ullrich. Public prosecutor Fred Apostel told sports news agency sid that the comparison with a DNA sample taken from Ullrich's saliva showed "without a doubt" that the blood seized by the Guardia Civil last year indeed belonged to the only German to have ever won the Tour de France. |
More pictures here: |
|
The "Austin International" has been announced for June 17, 2007. This will be the biggest cycling event that Austin has ever seen, as well as the first international sporting event ever held in Austin. The UCI (International Cycling Union, www.uci.ch) has given it a 1.1 rating. That's pretty high and translates into "this race matters" to the pro riders, which should result in lots of professional riders (both women and men) coming to Austin from all over the world. Honestly, I hope this makes Austin seem like an even cooler city than it already is, because that might increase my property value a little more. |
|
Interbike 2006 is over and the photos are pouring in. Here are the online galleries from cyclingnews: |
|
Something that doesn't quite make sense is the total absence of any EPO in a urine sample. A small amount should exist, because it's a naturally occurring substance, so it's not right that a urine sample given for a sports drug test would come up with absolutely no EPO at all. Even though it should never be possible to give an EPO-free urine test, it's been occuring. And not just in isolated incidents, but as much as 10% of urine tests (accoring to the director of a Swiss doping lab). So what's going on? There is a powder that contains protease, an enzyme which has the effect of destroying EPO in a urine sample. The theory is that an athlete goes for a urine test, puts his hands into his pocket (which happen to have some of that powder inside), he then urinates over his powdered fingers which destroys any EPO in the urine. Yippee, you passed the drug test! Now go ride up that mountain. This is a big deal, for two big reasons. First, the testing labs have a bad track record of identifying EPO use through tests. Pro cyclists are busted periodically for it, but it's usually because they were already suspected and the police managed to find other proof (such as used, empty vials of EPO at home, as was the case with David Millar). Point is: there's no good way to test for EPO, only things that make investigators suspicious. This powder thing and the existence of a completely EPO-free urine sample might be enough to prove masking attempts, and that's probably punishable somehow. The other thing is that Jan Ullrich has been shown to have EPO-free urine samples during the past few years. He's already fighting the associations with Operation Puerto, and this sure won't help. Who knows, it ain't over 'til it's over, but I'm pretty happy concluding that Ullrich was on something. |
|
The Operation Puerto scandal has been rocking professional cycling for more than a month, and today things got worse. Even though the public has yet to find out the full story, the team managers have recently been given enough factual evidence to suspend certain riders from racing. And so today, the day before the 2006 Tour de France begins, some of the biggest names in professional cycling have been forced out of the Tour. At the top of the list are Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, the two favorites. Also among the suspended and sent home are Francisco Mancebo, Joseba Beloki, and Oscar Sevilla. So who's left to fight for overall? Floyd Landis, maybe somebody on the Discovery Channel team, perhaps some no-name rider? At this point, it's anyone's guess. |
|
According to this newsflash from cyclingnews.com, Manolo Saiz - team manager for the professional cycling team Liberty Seguros (and former director of ONCE, one of the biggest cycling teams ever) - has just been arrested on doping charges. He was arrested along with four others, including the former Kelme team doctor (remember Oscar Sevilla? Is there any correlation to his great results with Kelme, and his virtual non-existence in the years since?). This is pretty big news, not only for cycling in general, but mostly because Saiz was the team director behind Roberto Heras when Heras won the Tour of Spain in 2005. A lot of people were pretty suprised (myself included) to hear that Heras was stripped of the 2005 title - he was shown (after the race) to have failed a doping test on the second to last stage. But none of that seems so strange now. I think performance-enhancing drugs are a bit annoying. On one hand, there's a big push to catch the cheaters and keep the field clean. But on the other hand, current and former professionals come forward all the time with claims that "everyone" is taking drugs. That's one of the most popular bits of "evidence" against Lance Armstrong - despite having tested clean again and again, surely he must have taken drugs because "everyone else is". But you know what? If everyone is taking drugs, then it's a level playing field. Nobody will have an advantage, because they're all cheating. So screw the tests, forget the doping controls, skip all of the legal battles. All we have to do is change the rules to say that riders are allowed to take drugs (which they're presumably doing anyway). Then we can just watch some great bike racing, and do away with all of the drama. |
|
I found this on cyclingnews earlier today. Looks like a great chance to share any cycling-related stories you've got, and they'll pay you if your story is used. Publishing house Casagrande Press in Seattle, Washington, is seeking submissions for its forthcoming book, Cycling’s Greatest Misadventures. The press is looking for quality nonfiction stories about riding disasters, comical mishaps, pranks, crashes, bad judgment calls, misfortune, contest meltdowns, strange injuries, loss of wit, critical conditions, bike trips gone wrong or "non-riding episodes" that surround the cycling experience: well-written stories that tell a good tale, reflect a culture, and develop the depth of the characters involved. The call is open to writers and riders of any level and any kind of bicycle, i.e., racing bikes, road bikes, mountain bikes, bmx bikes, beach cruisers, etc. |
|
After 1 1/2 years of trials, appeals and waiting, the CAS has given their final ruling for doping charges against Tyler Hamilton: guilty of blood doping. Given the circumstances involved, this result does not seem right. At the top of the suspicion list is the whole blackmail thing where some guy demanded 20,000 Swiss Francs from Phonak team manager Urs Freuler or he would make Phonak riders fail the doping tests. They caught the guy and charged him all kinds of stuff, including blackmail, but not before Tyler and another Phonak rider both failed doping tests. I know there are arguments on both sides about Tyler's innocence, but I just think this whole thing is a big charade. Tyler is innocent. More details in this newsflash from cyclingnews.com |
|
In a newsflash from cyclingnews.com, it was announced that Roberto Heras, the only cyclist to have ever won 4 Tours of Spain, including the 2005 Tour, has been officially banned due to a positive test taken during the 20th stage of the race. As a result, he is officially no longer the winner of the 2005 Vuelta (Denis Menchov is the new official winner). |
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CPSC, Syntace USA Announce Recall of Bicycle Handlebar Stems WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. Name of Product: F99 (Force 99) Bicycle Handlebar Stems Units: About 2,300 Distributor: Syntace USA, of Olney, Ill. Hazard: The recalled bicycle stems can crack or break under normal conditions, causing the rider to fall and suffer serious injury. Incidents/Injuries: No incidents or injuries have been reported. Description: The recalled bicycle handlebar stem is black. Stems with production codes 01 03 through 45 04, and stems with no production code are included in this recall. The production code is the bottom set of numbers located on the end of the stem. Sold by: Bicycle dealers, mail order magazines and on the Internet from May 2003 through July 2005 for about $90. Manufactured in: Taiwan Remedy: Consumers should stop using bicycles equipped with the recalled handlebar stem immediately and contact Syntace for instructions to receive a free replacement stem and installation. Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Crystal Trout at Syntace USA at (800) 448-3876, extension 233, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or log onto www.syntaceusa.com - consumers also can e-mail the firm at syntaceusa@syntace.com or write to: Syntace USA, 1902 Miller Drive, Olney, Ill. 62450. To view this recall online, please visit our website at: https://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06069.html |
|
Things appear to be progressing with the Lance Armstrong life story movie. The rumor mill says Lance will be portrayed by Matt Damon and the film will be directed by Frank Marshall. Surely there must be some people here in Austin who can share their stories of inspiration. I've got a few, but they're just fun or gossipy, certainly not the kind of thing anyone would want to include in a movie. From http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/lancearmstrongproject/: Columbia Pictures and Lance Armstrong are teaming up to bring Lance's life-story of perseverance, courage, and survival to the screen. Lance Armstrong has inspired millions to push beyond physical barriers, fight against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and face fear and suffering with determination and hard work. We are interested in how Lance's story may have given you hope, provided strength in moments of darkness, affected your life. Our movie would not be complete without hearing from you. |
|
One of the best climbers in cycling history, Charly Gaul, died today. He won the Tour de France in 1958 as well as the Giro d'Italia in 1956 and 1959. After a fall at his home, he was taken to the hospital where he died from a pulmonary embolism. Cyclingnews wrote this about him. |
|
I've been waiting to see Hell on Wheels, but the wait is over. Hell on Wheels, the German documentary that follows riders from the Telekom team through the 2003 Tour de France, is now available on DVD in the U.S. from www.firstrunfeatures.com or www.worldcyclingproductions.com. Here's the description from the First Run Features website: On the Road... Behind the Scenes... With the Riders of Le Tour de France! |
|
Tomorrow at noon, a 50-year-old Dutchman will try to break the World Hour Record for riding without a saddle or seatpost. I'm just as suprised to hear about his attempt as I am to learn that a record already exists. When I was in high school, somebody stole my saddle/seatpost (damn quick-release), so I had to make due for a while until I could get a replacement. Boy that sucked. I can't imagine voluntarily doing that while also trying to ride as fast as possible for an hour. |
|
Ah, so much cycling eye-candy, courtesy of cyclingnews...
|
|
I posted this about a month ago, but I've finally made some of the improvements and changes that I had wanted to make to my interactive map of mountain bike trails in and around Austin, Texas. I think it just got a whole lot more usable. Right now, the list of trails includes: Barton Creek Greenbelt (360, Hill of Life), Bluff Creek Ranch, Cedar Hill Park, City Park (Emma Long), Flat Creek Crossing Ranch, Lost Creek, McKinney Falls State Park, Muleshoe Bend, Reimer's Ranch, and St. Edwards Park. I'd like to include more trails, but the limiting factor is finding latitude/longitude coordinates for each trail location. |
Tom Boonen has had an amazing season, capped nicely by winning the World Championship road race. With his talent he ought to do well next year and hopefully avoid the "curse" of the rainbow jersey that plagues so many world champions, including 2004 winner Igor Astarloa. |
|
Roberto Heras, one of the greatest cyclists of our time and the winner of this year's Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain, arguably the second biggest bike race after the Tour de France) has donated his Vuelta-winning golden bicycle to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina. It's an extra-special bike since Heras is the only rider to win 4 Vueltas, and he broke that record on this bike. From cyclingnews: |
|
I built this a few months ago when Google released their maps api, then I totally forgot about it. I'd like to have added more info to it, but it's a starting point for quickly finding mountain bike trails in the Austin area. |
|
News post taken from cyclingnews: Although he has now retired from cycling, accusations of doping continue to pursue seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. According to French newspaper L'Equipe, proof was produced today that Armstrong used the banned substance EPO to achieve his first victory in the race in 1999. Armstrong has already denied the claims, saying, "I will simply restate what I have said many times: I have never taken performance enhancing drugs." |
|
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC, American Classic Announce Recall of Bicycle Wheels The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firms named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. Name of Product: American Classic road and mountain bike wheels Units: About 2,850 Importer: American Classic, of Tampa, Fla. Hazard: The hub in the bicycle's rear wheel can fail to engage properly, causing no resistance when pedaling. The bicycle rider could lose balance, fall and suffer injuries. Incidents/Injuries: No injuries reported. Description: The recall includes all American Classic aftermarket rear wheels and hubs, as well as the following 2005 bike models which use American Classic rear wheels or hubs: Fuji Team Super Lite (Team SL); Orbea Aletta, Onix, Lobular 50, Dama Race, Mitis and Mitis Dama models; Felt F55 and F2C; Fetish Cycles Road and Mountain Bikes; Argon 18; and Motobecane LeChampion SL. The recalled models were made at the start of January 2005 and the outside of the rear hub shell has a serial number that starts with the letter "S." The serial number is printed on the center of the hub shell opposite to the American Classic logo. Front wheels and front hubs are not included in this recall. Sold at: Bicycle specialty stores nationwide from January 2005 through June 2005 for about $240 (per rear hub). Manufactured in: Taiwan Remedy: Consumers should stop using the bike wheels with the recalled hubs and contact your local bicycle retailer to receive a free inspection. If you have a recalled wheel, the dealer will provide a free repair. Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact American Classic at (800) 345-8356 or log on to the firm's Web site at www.amclassic.com To see this press release on CPSC's web site, including a picture of the recalled product, please go to http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml05/05239.html |
Nerdy cyclists, pay attention: you can order a matching jersey, bib shorts and arm warmers, all covered with the Google logo. And they're made by Hincapie Sportswear, so it's good quality stuff (not a cheapy brand that will fall apart). |
Cyclingnews wrote this review of FSA's K-Force carbon crankset with Mega-Exo bottom bracket. A cool $500 buys you 740g of carbon cranked goodness, and they look pretty sweet too. They gave it a 4.5/5 rating. |
Alexander Vinokourov rode an amazing race today to win the final stage on the Champs Elysées! This is one of the biggest stages for a sprinter to win, it has the biggest crowds and gets the most attention, and it's the last chance before the whole Tour is over. Vino showed that he's one of the strongest riders around by winning today, and it's extra cool that he was wearing the colors of the Kazakhstani national champion. The other big winner today is Lance Armstrong. After rolling across the line in Paris, it was official: Lance Armstrong won his 7th consecutive Tour de France, a record that will surely stand for many years. Also today, Michael Rasmussen was awarded the overall polka-dot jersey for best climber, and Thor Hushovd won the overall green jersey for best sprinter. Due to confusion about time bonuses today, 5th place Leipheimer did not put any extra effort into defending his overall position during today's stage, which shouldn't have mattered much except that Vino's victory resulted in a 20 second time bonus, thus bumping Vino from 6th overall into 5th, ahead of Leipheimer. Before the finish, the race commisaries had declared that no time bonuses would be awarded today due to rain-slicked roads, so it's clearly a small pile of crap for Leipheimer to lose his spot on GC when they decided to award Vino with a time bonus. But what can you do? The final podium for general classification for the 2005 Tour de France is Lance Armstrong, Ivan Basso, and Jan Ullrich. The overall top 10 looks like this:
|
Today's final time trial was the last chance for the overall contenders to fight for their final placing in this year's Tour. Before the start, Lance had yet to win a stage in this year's race, Rasmussen desperately needed to put in a great performance if he was to hang onto his 3rd place podium spot, and Ullrich had to do a good ride if he was to move from 4th overall and step onto the podium in Paris (thus displacing Rasmussen). After each rider had crossed the line, Lance had obliterated the field with the best time of 1h11m46s, winning today's stage. Ullrich rode superbly for 2nd place, just 23 seconds behind Lance, which means his overall time will put him on the podium in Paris (sorry Rasmussen). Vinokourov finished 3rd best at 1m16s back, with Bobby Julich in 4th (1m33s) followed by Ivan Basso in 5th. Hincapie was right up there again with the best, finishing in 8th place. Levi Leipheimer also rode very well, finishing in 14th place, moving him into 5th on overall classification. The big loss of the day was for Michael Rasmussen. His 3rd place overall went straight into the toilet when he crashed, had various mechanical problems and multiple bike changes during the time trial. It was extremely painful for all to see, as Rasmussen dropped from 3rd overall down to 7th in just over an hour's worth of racing. Laurent Jalabert later said that Rasmussen basically just freaked out, making the situation much worse than it actually was. As one of the most successful cyclists ever, Jalabert knows what he's talking about. Senator John Kerry, a cycling enthusiast, was hanging around today, signing autographs and doing interviews. The overall standings after today mean that, barring total disaster on tomorrow's stage into Paris, Lance will win his 7th consecutive Tour de France with nearly 5 minutes over 2nd place Basso, leaving no doubt that his retirement has nothing to do with his ability to keep winning. The top 20 overall standings look like this, and they'll most likely look the same after tomorrow's final stage:
|
After riding in a breakaway group for most of the day, Giuseppe Guerini attacked with more than 1km to go and won the stage. After winning the stage, Guerini told the press, "The last road in was very straight - I jumped away and got a good gap. They didn't chase me immediately, so I knew I could win it and I am delighted that I did." Not suprisingly, he made no comment about the hairiness of his forearms. Talking about tomorrow's final time trial, Lance said, "Big day tomorrow - I'll give it everything I have. It's difficult to really enjoy yourself too much because it's the Tour de France; every day, there's attacks going up the road. No-one's throwing their retirement party just yet." |
Marcos Serrano took today's stage, soloing to victory on the mountain-top finish. It's good news for his team Liberty Seguros, who have had an otherwise disappointing Tour with Roberto Heras and Joseba Beloki - both contenders for overall victory - coming up short for anything impressive (at the start of today's stage, Heras was in 45th overall at 1 hour 29 minutes behind Lance, while Beloki was in 74th overall at 2 hours 9 minutes back). On the steep climb just before the finish, the overall contenders shook things up a bit, so now here's how things stand in the top 10:
|
Paolo Savoldelli, the winner of this year's Giro d'Italia, won today's stage into Revel. Andreas Klöden abandoned after 18km of racing today after breaking his wrist yesterday, a sad way to go out for last year's runner-up. No changes in overall standings today. |
Oscar Pereiro got into a breakaway early in the day and managed to win the stage. He finished 2nd just behind Hincapie on Stage 15, and let the world know how angry he was that he had lost that stage. So today is not just a stage victory, but a bit of a revenge. Cadel Evans was also in the break, but his interests were increasing his standings on GC. He started the day in 11th position, and finished in 7th so that's good news for him to move into the top 10. Current top 10 on general classification look like this:
|
George Hincapie won the stage today! Everybody has talked about today's stage as being the most difficult of this year's Tour, full of big mountains with a difficult mountain top finish. Since Hincapie is not a climber, he was definitely not among those expected to take the win today. This is his first stage win (not counting the Team Time Trials that he's won) in any Tour, made even more special on one of the toughest stages ever. Cyclingnews posted an interview with Hincapie after his awesome ride today. "I knew it was going to be a tough day," said the visibly moved 32 year old after the finish. "I actually wanted to just go in the breaks and get a head start on the group, possibly wait for Lance and help him out at the finish. But we ended up getting 18 minutes. Johan said 'you guys aren't coming back, George do your race.' They gave me the go-ahead. It is a dream come true today." Lance and Basso finished together several minutes behind Hincapie, but Ullrich lost time today to Lance, as did Vinokourov and all of the other GC contenders. Today was a special stage because it passed the memorial to Fabio Casartelli, who rode for Motorola back in the mid 90's. Hincapie and Armstrong were teammates of Fabio, and when Fabio was involved in a fatal crash while descending the Col de Portet d'Aspet in the 1995 Tour, everybody was shaken. I remember the next day the entire peloton rode slowly in memorial for Casartelli, and when they reached the finish, without saying anything, everybody in the peloton dropped back leaving just the Motorola riders in front. It was powerful, beautiful and spooky. So it's extra special for Hincapie to win today on the 10th anniversary of Casartelli's death. After the finish today, the top 5 overall classification looks like this:
Also in today's stage, a crazy fan ran alongside two riders, and showed the world his stupidity by doing so right in front of a motorbike which proceeded to run him over. |
Austrian rider Georg Totschnig managed to take off and win today's mountainous stage. For the rest of the riders, everybody seemed intent on breaking Lance. T-Mobile worked hard along with other riders from different teams, but in the end Lance proved as strong as ever, finishing in 2nd spot two seconds ahead of Ivan Basso, 20 seconds ahead of Jan Ullrich, and even more time on everybody else. |
Out of the French Alps and headed to the Pyrenees, today's stage was relatively flat and one for the sprinters. In the end, Robbie "Hey Don't Blame Me!" McEwen took the stage and maximum finishing points in the green jersey competition. Stuart O'Grady took 2nd, and Thor Hushovd managed 5th. No change in GC, except 5th place rider Alejandro Valverde abaonded today due to a knee injury. That's bad news for him, he can't be happy about that, but there isn't much he can do with a bad injury. |
Who better to win on Bastille Day than a Frenchman? David Moncoutié managed to do just that (riding for a French team, no less). The locals in France go nuts for this kind of thing, and certainly Moncoutié will be hero there today. Tom Boonen did not start today's stage after his injuries from crashing on Courchevel worsened. Cyclingnews says he tried riding the rollers this morning as a test, but it was obvious he could not continue racing. With Boonen out of the Tour, that leaves the green jersey up for grabs. Thor Hushovd will take over, but it's close between Hushovd and Stuart O'Grady, and of course Robbie "Nothing Is Ever My Fault!" McEwen is still in it. Discovery lost one of their riders when Manuel Beltran crashed on his head and eventually abandoned (they took him to the hospital and he seems to be ok condition). No real changes in the overall classification today. Here's where they stand:
|
After a bad day yesterday, Vinokourov and Botero rode very well today to stay off the front over some huge climbs, and Vino took the stage win. Often when two riders reach the end of a long breakaway, they'll play cat-and-mouse games with each other in order to win the stage. But Vino and Botero have so much class. When they reached the final kilometer or so, they rode alongside each other and did a straight-up sprint. It's a pity when one rider has to lose, especially for guys like them. But unfortunately for Botero, Vino really wanted to win (you could see how much power he was delivering by watching his back wheel). Other highlights from today: Boonen crashed while descending Courchevel, and seems to have hurt his knee pretty badly, but he managed to finish the stage. A lot of the big names finished in the yellow jersey group, but a few didn't do so well. Roberto Heras was among them, finishing more than 16 minutes behind Lance. I noticed that Manuel Beltran and Jose Luis Rubiera (fellow Spaniards and former teammates of Heras) finished the stage with Heras, which is very cool for them to support each other despite being on different teams (they came across the line in 43rd, 44th, and 45th position). Iban Mayo also had another crap day, finishing more than 22 minutes off the pace. Ouch. |
On the first day of riding in the high mountains, the overall classification was blown apart just as everyone expected. Alejandro Valverde won the stage, but Lance was right there with him in 2nd place. But most of the serious contenders finished way behind, pushing Lance further ahead of the rest of the field. By the time all of the riders reached the finish, Ullrich had lost 2.14 to Lance, Vinokourov 5.18, Beloki 5.36, and Roberto Heras was more than 9 minutes down. Ivan Basso is still somewhat of a threat, as he managed to hang onto 5th place on the stage, limiting his time loss to 1.02. Several American riders did pretty well on today's tough finish, with Levi Leipheimer finishing in 6th place 1.15 down, Floyd Landis in 11th place at 2.14, Chris Horner in 20th place at 3.44, and Bobby Julich finishing in 25th place at 5.18. The top end of the overall classification now looks like this:
|
Only 4km from the start of today's stage, Michael Rasmussen attacked. He managed to stay away for the remaining 167km to win the stage while also scoring more points for the polka dot jersey. The top 10 GC shifted a bit, as Jens Voigt moved into 1st overall and Christoph Moreau moved into 2nd overall. Today was both good and bad for CSC, as they now are leading the Tour with Voigt in yellow, but Zabriskie was forced to abandon due to continuing problems from his crash several days ago. And speaking of crashes, Ullrich crashed on a fast descent. After the stage, Ullrich said, "I was in a pretty sharp twist of the road, doing about 60 km/h, when I caught a gust of wind which brought me to the right hand side. So I went off into this ditch and somersaulted three or four times. I have a couple of bruises but I'm fine." Some riders are known for being excellent descenders, but unfortunately for Ullrich, he is not among them. |
The Tour left Germany today and re-entered France, ending with a photo-finish between Pieter Weening and Andreas Klöden (Weening won the stage by a hair). The overall standings changed a bit, and although Lance is still in yellow, he didn't have a super day. In fact, he told French TV's Jean-Rene Godard in a post-race interview that it was a "shitty day". After the race, Lance told the press, "Clearly the team was not really on today and I wasn't feeling really good either, and the other teams did feel good. With situations like (today), it'll be hard to win the Tour, day in and day out. So now we have to evaluate where we are and make some adjustments. I don't know. Perhaps we've been a little too active in the race, worked a little too much, maybe the guys are tired. I can't really comment without actually sitting down with them and saying 'what's wrong with you, how did you feel, what's your problem, was it your legs, was it the rhythm? It's a strange climb too; it's a long climb but not very steep, so you can keep 30, 40, 50 guys there and they can take shots at you from the back. It's hard to follow those. Definitely was isolated, definitely was suffering... I have an idea of what to do in the next week. Not a great situation to be alone on a climb like that, with a fast downhill, it's difficult for my teammates to come back. I think we had a bad day; we have to go home and evaluate where we are and where the others are. We can't cry over spilt milk. There's a long way to go, but not a good start for us today, and I think definitely a good start for some others. We held on to the jersey, but I think there's some bruised egos on our team tonight." Personally, I think it's a bluff by the entire Discovery team. Today's finish wasn't too critical, as the final climb was followed immediately by a 15km descent. But by holding back a bit on an easier finish like today's, Lance and the rest of his team created a tempting situation for Vinokourov, Ullrich and the other competitors, so it became a bit of a test for them. Who among Lance's competitors was feeling strong? Who felt like they ccould take advantage of Lance's "weakness"? As it turns out, it was Vino who tried to capitalize on the moment. Vino's efforts amounted to nothing, as Lance responded immediately, but Ullrich did nothing on his own to threaten Lance, nor did the other big GC riders. Lance was able to finish the stage with the same time as his main competitors, but he gained a little bit of insider knowledge into how they're feeling. Specifically, how Vino is feeling, as he is the only rider who really played with the opportunity today. Whether or not Lance and co. were in fact bluffing, Vinokourov told reporters after the stage, "We really tested his legs, and we saw that he is in pretty good form, but that his team is not. Even though this is hard to judge in a medium mountain, it's good for morale. It's a good sign. We wanted to attack him before the high mountains. We didn't want to wait." |
In another stage for the sprinters with a crazy finish, Robbie McEwen beat Magnus Backstedt (by less than one wheel length) to take his 2nd stage victory. Green jersey leader Tom Boonen finished in 7th position. McEwen's win today bumped him a little higher in the points competition for the green jersey, but Boonen still has a solid lead. No changes in GC today. |
I couldn't find too much info about this, but I think it's a prize from the local town given to the yellow jersey rider. Right now, that's Lance, so he won his body weight in champagne. There are small prizes like this from the local race towns and stuff, but they usually don't make it in the news unless it involves a famous cyclist. |
In a rainy, crash-filled day, Lorenzo Bernucci got his first ever professional victory by taking the stage just ahead of Vinokourov. Vino, Bernucci and Mengin were off the front, and Vino would probably have won it out of the three, but Mengin went down in a corner, almost taking Vino with him, and Bernucci was able to finish just a bit ahead. It's a good result for Vinokourov though, he took 2nd in the stage and gained 16 seconds on Lance and the rest of the GC contenders. After today's finish, the top 10 GC standings are:
|
Today was another day for the sprinters, and thank god, McEwen finally got a stage win. I know the Tour is still in the first week, but McEwen's constant whining and excuses during the first several stages (and really, throughout a lot of his cycling career) have gotten really old. Listening to him rant about everyone and everything is about as interesting as listening to a group of 7-year-olds blame each other for getting in trouble at home. The more an "adult" like McEwen complains and spews excuses, the more he brings himself down to the level of a 7-year-old. He has the classic "victim" mentality: everyone seems to be against him all the time, and no matter what trouble he finds himself involved with, it's somehow never his fault. Anyway, McEwen won the stage and Boonen got 2nd. |
Today's stage was the Team Time Trial, which Discovery won by a mere 2 seconds over CSC. Zabriskie had an unlucky crash in the final section of the course, which bumped Lance into the yellow jersey. T-Mobile came in 3rd. |
Boonen makes it two in a row! What a sprint today, with highlights on McEwen shoving his head into Stuart O'Grady in the final meters, which (obviously) wasn't taken nicely. It's interesting to note the frequency that McEwen is involved in sketchy sprint finishes, but he's always quick to blame somebody else rather than swallow a little bit of pride and acknowledge that he may have been involved in shoving his head at a 90-degree angle into O'Grady. |
|
The 92nd Tour de France started today with the opening prologue, a 19km individual time trial. A bunch of American cyclists finished in the top placings, with David Zabriskie coming in 1st, Lance in 2nd, Hincapie 4th, Landis 6th, and my dark horse Bobby Julich in 11th. One rider who isn't happy at all with today's result is Jan Ullrich (he finished 12th, just behind Julich): After losing more than a minute to Lance in today's prologue, Jan Ullrich said, "I went flat out, I gave all I had. Of course I'm not satisfied with the fact that Lance caught me. I don't know if it had anything to do with my crash yesterday. I did lose some blood. I didn't have the feeling of being so bad [on the road], so I'll continue fighting. It's not my lucky day getting overhauled by Lance. I would have liked to ride better, and gave it all - it wasn't a nice feeling when he passed me. I'm down over it at the moment, but the Tour lasts three weeks. We'll see what's in it in time." |
|
This is a bad day for cycling, especially in the U.S., as one of the country's most popular and accomplished cyclists, Tyler Hamilton, was found guilty today of blood doping. I personally don't think he's guilty of anything, and I'm not just saying that out of wishful thinking. On the contrary, I've read quite a bit about this case, and it basically makes no sense for him to have doped in the manner he is accused of doing (even the experts testify this much). Beyond his own details, there are several other incidents (extortion, outside knowledge of events before they happened, various members of the team being implicated) that all suggest somebody deliberately sabotaged the Phonak cycling team. Whatever really happened, the verdict is final, so Tyler's career is over, but there are many unanswered questions still on the table. Tyler Hamilton posted a long entry on his website today (www.tylerhamilton.com), which I copied below. This is pretty big news, and due to the fishy nature of how it all went down, I suspect that Tyler's web entry might be a very interesting read at some point in the future, as I'm assuming this won't be the last we hear of his story. Continue reading "Tyler Hamilton found guilty, suspended for 2 years" |
|
Cyclingnews just posted an interview with Dave Zabriskie. Good stuff. |
Crank Brothers is finally making a set of cranks (!) with a hollow body. I snagged these pictures from cyclingnews.com's most recent report on InterBike, which includes another photo of a partially disassembled crank arm. |
|
The IsoTruss Bike Frame is one of the most unique designs I've seen for frame construction. The IsoTruss group has used the same technology to build all kinds of things, bike frames are only one. There's no mention of frame weight, so who knows if there are any real advantages for building a bike frame. |
In 4 months of owning a Salsa Caballero frame with a 5th Element rear shock, I have only one thing to complain about. And my complaint has nothing to do with the weight, suspension travel, plushness, climbing ability, frame warranty, or paint job. It's the access to the rear inflation valve on the 5th Element - once mounted on the frame, you can barely get a shock pump on there. In fact, I have only seen one pump that can make the clearance (I think I tried 5 different pumps), because there's almost no room to get in there. Bummer. After a ton of hunting on the part of myself and friend Barry (we both had the same frame, and thus the same problem...), a solution was found. Barry located these guys on the web, Myers Tire Supply, and found the exact part we were looking for. So I made a quick phone call to their San Antonio location (no Austin stores) at 800-292-1327 and ordered a pair (one for each of us) of "Type C curved extensions, part #22591" for $7.91 (plus shipping). The valve extensions arrived a few days later.
Once we screwed the extender onto the 5th Element valve stem, we quickly realized that there was no air flow (in or out). It was obvious that the valve extender was designed to work on a slightly longer valve stem than the one on the 5th Element. No worries, that's what hack saws are for. By inspection, it seemed like removing 2 or 3mm of material from the extender would be more than adequate, so I clamped it in a vice and cut very carefully, trying to keep things straight. See the picture for a before and after (yeah, I know the pics are crap quality... sorry). After cutting was complete, I ground and buffed the uneven edges on a grinder, then I cleaned the threads (find anything with a schrader valve, like an old tube, and screw the extender on, then unscrew it.. presto, clean threads). With the modified extender, we were able to put it on the 5th Element valve stem and add air! Success!
Barry and I talked about removing the valve extender between uses, but we decided it would be fine to leave on there all the time. The biggest risk seems to be losing it while out on the trail, so the last step was to put a few drops of Wheelsmith spoke prep (good substitute for loc-tite) onto the threads of the extender, then mount it on the frame. Sure, this was a bit of a pain in the ass, but it makes the Caballero with 5th Element a perfect cross-country setup (and at a great price, too). |
|
It's only a week away from Interbike and the ensuing flood of crazy, new products from the bike industry. Pez posted an Interbike preview with pictures. I kinda wish I was going again this year... |
|
Even though it's clearly biased** towards the new Park Spoke Tension Meter, Cyclingnews' article "Balancing wheel tension with the TM-1 Spoke Tension Meter" is an informative and interesting read (assuming you're into reading about wheel building and/or wheel maintenance). ** I'm not trying to knock Park at all, they make good tools. However, just about every bike shop crew or individual I know uses the Wheelsmith Tensiometer. |
|
Damn, this is so disappointing. I hope that after the dust settles, he is shown to be innocent of any illegal activity. More details from cyclingnews tidbits: The Vuelta a España has been rocked this morning by news that Tyler Hamilton has returned two positive blood tests that showed evidence of a homologous blood transfusion. One test was performed at the Athens Olympics and another at the Vuelta on September 13. Both tests showed evidence of a "mixed red blood cell population, an indication of a homologous blood transfusion," Phonak's press officer Georges Lüchinger was quoted by AP as saying. The results of the counter-analyses are not yet known, but are expected today (Tuesday). Update: here's video footage of Tyler at a press conference on 9/21. I've read elsewhere that he's already losing sponsorship deals, based on nothing more than what is widely accepted as "suggestive evidence" (ie, not proof). Another update: here's more information about the test for blood doping, how it works, and how reliable it is (basically, it says that the test is totally accuratem, and therefore implies that Tyler is guilty of blood doping). |
|
VeloNews posted excerpts from this interview with Filip Meirhaeghe ("Meirhaeghe speaks"), one of most famous mountain bikers in the world. In part, his fame comes from having won plenty of huge races, such as last year's Cross Country World Championships, but right now he's most notably famous for his positive EPO test (one of the most performance-enhancing drugs on the banned substances list). He tested positive in July, then immediately announced his retirement, and has basically gone into hiding since then. Part of me feels bad for him, because it's a huge devastation to go from being on top of the world to being busted as a liar and a cheater, but at the same time he deserves every punishment thrown at him for doing what he did (and he knows it). |
|
So apparently it is fast becoming general knowledge that Kryptonite bike locks, formerly known for being uber-secure, can be opened in 20 seconds with a ball point pen. Don't get me wrong, I don't think people should use this info to start stealing bikes - having your bike stolen sucks hard (I've had several thieves steal bikes of mine over the years, using all manner of theft techniques, which is why I no longer lock my bike up in public). But Kryptonite lock owners beware - your bike is not as safe as you once thought, so you might do well to take other security precautions. Here's a video of some dude opening a $90 Kryptonite EV lock using a Bic pallpoint pen. I tried opening two different models of Kryptonite U-locks with cylindrical keys, but could not open either one. But for any nonbelievers out there... REI (big outdoors store, all over the U.S.) has officially stopped carrying all Kryptonite products that use cylindrical keys (I saw the notice myself). |
I guess she thought the world wouldn't notice if she flashed the universal sign to go f*$k yourself. After all, it was only during an Olympic event (Women's Road Race, Cycling) that she flung the bird to the world. She's gotta be relieved to know that nobody was there to take a photo! Wait a second... they did. Details from Cycling News: After doing most of the work in the winning break with Sara Carrigan, only to finish with silver, Germany's Judith Arndt came across the line and flicked the bird "to the world". Later, when confronted by officials, she claimed that she did not, that it only looked that way and she was being misunderstood. But it is well known that she is extremely angry with the German Cycling Federation for not choosing her good friend and teammate Petra Rossner for the team. "I caught up to Sara and did a lot of work," said Arndt. "It would have been different if Petra (Rossner) had been here. She is the fastest sprinter in the world." |
|
Cyclingnews recently conducted an interview with Keith Bontrager. Good stuff. |
From cyclingnews.com... This will probably be one of the biggest public events Austin has ever seen. |
According to a Sky News report, actor Matt Damon could be picked to play Lance Armstrong in an upcoming movie, scheduled for release in 2006. Damon is in negotiations with producer Frank Marshall for the project. |
The overall standings in the Tour de France took a very interesting turn today. Tyler Hamiton abandoned in the middle of the stage. Jan Ullrich lost 2m42s to Lance at the end of the day (he's now about 7 minutes behind Lance in overall standings), and looked pretty goddamn bad on the final climb. Iban Mayo tried to abandon, but was coaxed back on the bike by his teammates (he eventually finished the stage 37m40s behind Lance Armstrong). Lastly, Bobby Julich lost more than 42 minutes to Lance. Oh yeah, Roberto Heras had a pretty unimpressive day, too. So that pretty much wraps up all of the favorites for overall victory in this year's Tour. And Lance won the stage, too. Today's results should answer any doubts about whether Lance will be able to win his 6th consecutive Tour. |
|
Fresh dirt from cyclingnews.com... I think it's rad that he hooked up with podium girl. US Postal rider George Hincapie has revealed that he and girlfriend Melanie Simonneau are expecting their first child in November. The couple, who recently announced their engagement, met at last year's Tour de France, where Simonneau was one of the "Credit Lyonnais girls" hired by the race's sponsor to hand out fluffy lions. |
|
The 91st Tour de France starts tomorrow with the opening prologue time trial. Not much to say in pre-Tour news, but I found some interesting bits of information at cyclingnews. This year's Tour will feature 188 riders from 27 different countries, broken down like this:
Other stats for this year's peloton:
|
|
Sweet, Sheryl Crow is into cycling these days, and is on record for climbing the famous Alpe d'Huez in 90 minutes. Her time won't break any world records (I think the fastest record time is about 32 minutes, set by Marco Pantani), but it's still a very respectable time for a recreational cyclist. From newsbits at Cyclingnews |
|
There have been countless small-time cyclists busted for using performance enhancing drugs. But today, the word is out that one of the best time trialists in the world, current World Time Trial Champion David Millar, confessed to using EPO (specifically, Eprex). This is pretty bad, considering that he's one of the best riders in today's peloton. This is the original article from L'Equipe, along with the English translation from babelfish. Here's what Cycling News had to say about it: According to Friday's edition of L'Equipe, World Time Trial Champion David Millar (Cofidis) has allegedly confessed to taking EPO. Millar allegedly made the confession to French police while he spent 48 hours in custody in Biarritz this week. Velonews posted a frontpage story on the David Millar affair. According to their article, the director of the Tour de France, Jean Marie Leblanc, has announced that Millar will not be allowed to compete in the 2004 Tour. I'm wondering if Millar might lose the title of World Time Trial Champion, too. However you look at it, this will be a huge blow to his cycling career. |
|
Cyclingnews.com has the details of Tinker Juarez, a living mountain biking legend, being robbed at gunpoint in Long Beach. Tinker was training on his road bike at the time, and the thief stole his bike. The thief probably has no idea that Tinker's Six13 road bike is among the most expensive production bike models currently produced. Oh well. Good thing Tinker didn't get shot. Mountain bike endurance specialist Tinker Juarez was robbed at gunpoint of his road bike and cell phone a couple of weeks ago, according to sources at his sponsor Cannondale. |
|
We're less than one month away from what promises to be an unforgettable Tour de France, and lots of things have been changing. Jan Ullrich has had his first good results this year, doing well in the Tour de Suisse. And Iban Mayo and Tyler Hamiton proved that they were among the best when they were the only riders who could beat Lance Armstrong in both time trials of the Dauphine Libere last week. Then Alexandre Vinokourov, third overall in last year's Tour de France, crashed a few days ago during the Tour de Suisse, and won't be on a bike at all for the next three weeks, which means he's out of the Tour altogether. Finally, I read in the news today that Joseba Beloki has quit riding with his team, and due to contractual details he cannot ride in this year's Tour on any other team. And even if he were able to land himself a spot on another team's Tour roster, his current form is questionable at best, as he hasn't shown that he's recovered fully from his horrible crash last July. We'll surely miss Vinokourov and Beloki in this year's Tour, but Hamilton, Mayo and the ever consistent Ullrich will keep things exciting. And even though he's been hiding from the spotlight this season, Haimar Zubeldia might be a player, as well as Bobby Julich. When all is said and done after this year's Tour de France, I'd like to see Hamilton win the overall, and Bobby Julich take a stage. I can barely stand the wait to find out what happens. |
Look also revealed a new carbon frame, the 585, which weighs an impressive 990 grams (just shy of 35 ounces). The new frame should be standard equipment for the Credit Agricole team during this year's Tour de France. Carbon is a great material for building high-end bike components, but I'm wary of using carbon on any of my bikes. Not only is the initial cost higher (which is kinda dumb, since it's pretty inexpensive to make carbon components), but your chances of equipment damage are a lot higher than with aluminum, steel or titanium, and the replacement cost is higher. I guess I might be in the target market if I were a serious racer, or had lots of money to burn. |
|
Today Alessandro Petacchi became the first rider to win 8 stages in a single Giro d'Italia since 1927. That year, Alfredo Binda won 12 out of 15 stages as well as the overall classification. So far in this year's Giro, there have been 10 stages that finished in a bunch sprint, and Petacchi has won an incredible 80% of them. Today's stage was the second to last opportunity for a sprint finish before the Giro finishes on Sunday in Milano. If things go well for Petacchi on Sunday's final stage, he could bump his record up to 9 stages in a single Giro. He's obviously one of the greatest sprinters of all time. Combining his 6 stages from lst year's Giro with those from this year, he's won 14 stages in only 2 years. If he continues to have good form over the coming years, perhaps he'll beat Cipollini's all-time Giro stage record (42 stages total). Results from stage 15, the 8th stage victory for Petacchi this year's Giro d'Italia. |
|
Postal, cycling parting ways at season's end As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. One of the biggest and most widely recognized sponsors in the sport of cycling will be no more after the 2004 year. There have been a number of snippets in the press from critics of the sponsorship program, saying it's a waste of money to sponsor a cycling team. They've asked for proof that the sponsorship had a positive impact, but like all marketing tactics, it is very difficult (if not impossible) to quantify the effect of an ad campaign or sponsorship move. Who can truthfully describe the exact effect of money spent on marketing? Sadly, because there was no easy way to describe the positive effects of sponsoring one of the biggest cycling teams in the world, the decision-makers at US Postal succumbed to pressure and decided to pull the plug at the end of the year. Curious to find out more, I did some digging and discovered interesting results. For an organization like the United States Postal Service that has annual operating expenses in the billions of dollars (look at the numbers yourself), it seems a bit unreasonable to cry over sponsorship money. We're talking a few million dollars (maybe 10?) a year on a high-profile, globally recognizable cycling team, which is literally only a fraction of a percent of what is spent by the US Postal organization. From the 2003 Annual Report, the operating revenue for the year was $68,529,000,000 (yes, that's 68.5 billion dollars), operating expenses came to $63,902,000,000, income was $4,627,000,000, and the number of career employees was 729,035. So we've got 3/4 of a million people working for a company with $68 billion dollars in revenue, $63.9 billion in expenses, $4.6 billion income (which I assume represents profit), and yet people blame a cycling sponsorship for the financial strains on the USPS organization. I don't get it. If you're gonna question anything about an organization's spending, why go after the something that represents 0.015% of total expenses? For sake of argument, consider the following. If you paid your average employee $30,000 annually, cutting headcount by just 500 people would reduce the outright operational costs by $15,000,000. That would still leave you with another 728,535 employees. Want to really make a difference? Reduce employee headcount by 28,535 (to bring the total to an even 700,000 people) - presto! You've just saved the US Postal Service $856,050,000 per year! |
|
I'm on the market for my next mountain bike. spending the time to research my options. I'm currently focused on the Specialized Epic, which stands out thanks to the Brain shock. In addition to a mountain of positive reviews floating around the net, I looked up the patent application with the US Patent Office ("United States Patent #6,267,400"). There's some interesting information in the patent app, including schematic drawings and stuff. Here's the abstract from the patent application: "A bicycle shock absorber for differentiating between rider-induced forces and terrain-induced forces comprising: a first fluid chamber having fluid contained therein; a piston for compressing the fluid within the fluid chamber; a second fluid chamber coupled to the first fluid chamber by a fluid communication hose; and an inertial valve disposed within the second fluid chamber, the inertial valve opening in response to terrain-induced forces and providing communication of fluid compressed by the piston from the first fluid chamber to the second fluid chamber; and the inertial valve not opening in response to rider-induced forces and preventing communication of the fluid compressed by the piston from the first fluid chamber to the second fluid chamber." |
|
Here's an interview with Filip Meirhaeghe, he talks about the 2004 season and how he's preparing for the Olympics in Athens. |
This is great news for Hincapie. He's an excellent rider, and definitely deserves recognition. George Hincapie wins overall at De Panne "After finishing third in the fourth and final stage, U.S Postal's George Hincapie has won the overall title at the Three Days of De Panne, the final warm-up before this weekend's World Cup Tour of Flanders. Quick Step's Hungarian time trial specialist, Lazlo Bodrogi, won the final stage a 13.7km time trial at Le Panne in northern Belgium. Hincapie's third place finish was enough to vault him past earlier race leaders Baden Cooke and Danilo Hondo. Check back soon for full results and a complete report." |
|
Nice write-up at IMBA ("Natural Resource Impacts of Mountain Biking") about trail damage caused by mountain biking. Various studies are gathered and summarized, and the article concludes by saying "A body of empirical, scientific studies now indicates that mountain biking is no more damaging than other forms of recreation, including hiking." Having personally been yelled at by hikers while riding local trails, I'm glad to see solid evidence that shows mountain bikes aren't so evil. |
Every now and then, I come across a photo of a world champion cyclist wearing much more than the standard rainbow jersey. I found this photo of Igor Astarloa at cyclingnews.com. I think it's fun when they get all rainbow'ed out during their year as world champion. Maybe he'll add some rainbows to his bike, too. |
World Cycling Productions has finally started to release some of the older races on DVD, including the 1989 Tour de France where LeMond beat Fignon. I'd really like to get some of the early 90's Tours where Indurain dominated, but they're not available on DVD yet. |
|
Kinda interesting to see Miguel Indurain's speculation at this point. From what I recall, last year Indurain wasn't too positive on the likelihood of Lance winning Tour #6, but now he seems pretty optimistic. It's gonna be tough to wait another 4 months see how things pan out for this year's Tour. From this VeloNews article: "As we see him going now, and looking at his rivals, I see him with the capacity to win a sixth Tour," Indurain said. "I see him with the same motivation as other years and his results so far this year indicate he took care of himself over the winter." "Physically, he looked good even though the last Tour there were a lot of problems," Indurain said. "It's obvious that the passing years don't count in your favor, because you lose your explosiveness and this has always been his strength. But you gain experience at the same time and that's important, too. Every year it's harder to find the form and it takes longer to recover during the races. It's essential to arrive in good form at the start." |
|
The "helmet debate" seems to never die. It's kinda like talking about abortion, gay marriage, or Israel/Palestine - there are good arguments for both sides, and whatever your opinions, it is clear that neither side can convince the other side that they're right. So yeah, helmets. There was a thread on a cycling forum recently about helmets, whether they should be required, etc. Here's the way I look at it:
Still don't agree? Just ask this guy. |
|
It's cool to see Julich in the press so much these days after spending the last 5 years in relative anonymity. Bobby Julich profile: Lost and Found. I'm torn between my 'dark horse' for this year's Tour, but right now I'd like to see it come down to Hamilton or Julich. It's still pretty early in the season though, so who knows. One thing's for sure: as the days go on, I'm less and less optimistic that Lance will be able to pull of his 6th victory. Maybe Tyler will win it, and then I'd be able to sell my signed posters on eBay for millions of dollars, then go into early retirement and hang out with my wife all day long. |
|
I'm considering tying and soldering a rear wheel that I'm about to build, so I did some hunting for info (wire gauge, type of solder, etc.). I bought Gerd Schraner's The Art of Wheelbuilding a while back, and he writes that a well-built, tied and soldered wheel will basically last forever. I found a few things here and there, but this article looks like one of the most informative. If I go ahead with this, I'd like to have as much information as possible. As with most things, I'm pretty sure that patience and care will produce good results. The first wheels I built (for my mountain bike) still stand and have needed only minor adjustments during the past few years. |
|
Note: ignore this if you're not into cycling... Excerpt taken from CyclingNews: George Hincapie: "The other day we were in Portugal and there was a young Rabobank rider away the whole day," he recalled. "He was away for 150 kilometres, it was pouring rain and it was a really nasty day. So we caught him right before the finish and after I went up to him and said 'hey man, good job, you were really strong today' and he looked up at me and said, 'No chain'. I thought that was pretty funny. |
|
I did some reading on power measurement systems for cycling. Great source of info at bike.com. I copied the summary here, just in case the article disappears: SRM – Best Performance
PowerTap - Best Performance Value
|
|
Wildcards announced for this year's Tour de France, write-up at VeloNews and CyclingNews. The wildcard list announced today:
Consequences: two contenders for overall victory are now confirmed; namely, Joseba Beloki riding for Brioches La Boulangere and Tyler Hamilton riding for Phonak. Oscar Sevilla is also a confirmed entry since he's riding for Phonak this year, but I'm not putting any money down on him for overall victory. Additionally, Mario Cipollini will ride this year's Tour with his Domina Vacanze team. I read recently in the press that Cipollini had pledged to finish the Tour if Jean Marie LeBlanc would grant his team a spot. Seeing as he's never made it to Paris before, we'll see if he makes good on his promise. The automatic team qualifications:
So we've got Lance with Postal, Roberto Heras with Liberty Seguros, both Jan Ullrich and Alexander Vinokourov with T-Mobile, and a dark horse in Bobby Julich who just signed with CSC. This year's Tour is gonna be great. |
|
Interesting, I found this tidbit at VeloNews: Wayne Stetina, Shimano's R&D manager, says, "If you remove the chain when it is only halfway worn out and flip it over," he says, "you will double your chain life." In other words, your chain will now be turned inside out. The other side of the rollers will now contact the gears, and the derailleurs will now be laterally bending the chain the opposite direction. Stetina says that Shimano engineers discovered this phenomenon quite by accident. |
|
CyclingNews has this interview with Andy Hampsten from February 20, 2004. Good stuff. |
|
It's a little old (June 2003) but still an interesting read (well, mostly, I skipped through some of it). Amusing tidbit: the interviewer asked if Carmichael and the rest of the 7-Eleven cycling team used to get free slurpees when they'd stop in a store... "Are you kidding me," said Carmichael, somewhat surprised at my built-in assumption. "They used to think we were employees." |
|
Latest news update from CyclingNews: In an upcoming interview in Italian news weeklyPanorama, one of Marco Pantani's relatives who is a doctor told the magazine that Pantani had become addicted to crack cocaine**. Pantani's parents asked their relative for help in curing Marco's addiction but without success. To save their son from crack, Mr & Mrs Pantani tried to get Marco to check into rehab, but according to the Panorama interview, he refused. In January, Marco Pantani and his father Fernando had an argument where the parents threatened to cut Pantani off from his money if he didn't get into a rehab program, specifically that of San Patrignano, one of Italy's best. But Marco didn't go for this, so instead, the Pantani family opted to propose a place in a halfway house in Trento. Once again, Marco Pantani decided to go his own way. Although some outsiders have accused Pantani's family of abandoning him, according to his relative, nothing could be further from the truth. "You can't imagine the things his father and mother did to help him," the relative told Panorama. "They lived for him." According to the upcoming interview in Panorama, Pantani suffered from insomnia for months. Problems with the wake-sleep cycle can be consequences of doping, according to expert testimony quoted in Panorama and Pantani's doctor-relative elaborated on this, saying "It's difficult to ignore that some substances could turn an athlete into a drug addict. Cocaine and other substances are only a step away." ** This reminds me of something I read a few years ago. It started by watching Traffic one night. The next day was a slow one at work, so I ended up spending several hours reading about crack addiction (prompted by the subject matter of the movie). I found a summary of a research project that had been conducted to study addictive behaviors in mice. You know the routine - mice are similar to humans in a lot of ways, so a lot of times there's a relationship between how humans and mice respond to the same input. So anyway, they taught the mice that if they pushed a little button, the mouse would get a little dose of drugs. It was always the same drug each time the mouse pushed the button. They used many different mice, and many different drugs. Mice that were hooked up to heroin would often run over to the button, get a dose, enjoy the high, and then go do other things (eat, play, sleep, whatever). But the mice that were hooked up to crack only pushed the button to get high - they did not stop to eat, drink, sleep, or do anything else. The crack mice literally sat there pushing the button, getting high, until they died of starvation, thirst, or some other health reason that was directly related to their single-minded focus on getting a crack fix. This is pretty much what humans do, only they've got slightly more self-control (but not much). In addition to that study, I found countless web pages describing the enormously addictive nature of crack. Even the people who have been clean for months or years are still total wrecks inside because of the urges to smoke more crack. It really freaked me out. Basically, once you're a crack user, you're stuck for life - there's no getting out. Follow-up: the following excerpt is from http://wings.buffalo.edu/aru/ARUanimals.htm: Most intravenous self-administration studies [on laboratory animals] use limited-access testing. This involves testing the animals for a limited number of hours each day (usually 3 to 10 hours daily) and then removing the subject from the test apparatus and returning it to its home cage. Animals are permitted to self-administer as much drug as they wish, but the duration of their self-administration session is limited by the experimenter. Under limited-access testing, few deleterious effects are seen even with chronic drug administration. |
Carnac has been making cycling shoes for about 2 decades from their small factory on the west coast of France. Here's a behind the scenes look in their factory showing how their shoes are made, and includes some history about the company. |
I never thought I'd see a Wonder Bread or Twinkie the Kid cycling jersey in... well, ever... I guess I can take that one off my TODO list. *whew!* |
From cyclingnews: Marco Pantani's hometown is in mourning. And all of Italy is in mourning for their fallen champion, the people's champion, Pantani. Today, February 18 is the day of Pantani's funeral, with huge crowds expected in his hometown of Cesenatico. Signs declaring "Cesenatico Will Always Be With Our Champion" are festooned throughout this Adriatic seaside resort city, while the fence outside Pantani's parent's villa is adorned with memorial banners and masses of flowers dedicated to the late, lamented Pirata. In Cesenatico's parish church of San Giacomo, a special alcove has been set aside for remembrances for Pantani. Pantani's body was released from the morgue at Rimini yesterday and moved to the church. A large crowd greeted the arrival of Pantani's coffin, applauding in respect for their hero. When TV crews entered the church, Pantani's mother an towards them shouting: "Go away! Go away! You killed him, you've persecuted him for four years! Leave us alone to mourn in silence," according to Reuters. There are no answers yet after Pantani's autopsy, since no immediate conclusion can be made at this time about his cause of death other than previously stated "heart failure due to cerebral and pulmonary edema", according to Coroner Prof. Fortuni of the University of Bologna. "It will take several months for a complete evaluation of the toxicological and histological exams", said Prof. Fortuni to the frenzied media scrum assembled outside Rimini Hospital. Pantani's personal doctor, Giuseppe Greco had strong words for the media zoo surrounding Pantani's tragic death. "I'm disgusted by all the morbid curiosity [about Pantani]. You can imagine how I feel having lost a patient... but I must say that we tried everything with Pantani, we looked at all the research, I discussed his case with many colleagues so we could have the most efficient treatment possible." But in the end, nothing worked for Marco Pantani. On Monday afternoon, Marco Pantani's parents Fernando (Paolo) and Tonina viewed their son's body in the Rimini hospital morgue. Both were visibly upset and are now sequestered in their villa with friends awaiting today's funeral. Pantani's family want the funeral mass to be open to all, so that all of the fans who supported Marco during his career can bid him farewell. While only friends and family will be able to enter the small San Giacamo church for the funeral, loudspeakers outside will convey the service to the 30,000 fans expected to attend. Pantani will then be buried in the Cesenatico cemetery in his family plot. |
Pantani died today, he was 34 years old. It's sad news, especially for a such a great and well-known cyclist. It also illustrates the fact that cycling can be an extremely unforgiving sport. I mean, whether or not Pantani used performance enhancing drugs a few years back seems irrelevant when talking about living or dying. I guess he took things pretty seriously though, and quite likely grew tired of the constant hounding from the press. For now, the cause of death is unknown (they're still investigating). I'd like to think that he didn't take his own life, becuase that would be a damn shame. We'll just have to wait and see. Articles at CyclingNews and VeloNews, as well as reactions from cycling notables. |
PezCycling just posted an interview with Bobby Julich. It's clear that Julich is stoked on joining CSC. Now he'll get the chance to be treated like the great rider that he is, instead being just another support donkey for other riders. I've been bothered that he hasn't lived up to the expectations that fell upon him after his 1998 podium finish in the Tour, because it seems like he's gotten a raw deal since then. So it's good to see him get another chance, and I hope he has a great season. |
|
Warning: put on your Gossip Hat before continuing! According to cyclingnews, Lance Armstrong and Sheryl Crow are dating. "Lance Armstrong and singer Sheryl Crow have made their relationship public at the Los Angeles premiere of Along Came Polly, a comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller. The couple were spotted strolling down the red carpet on Monday, the first time that they had made their relationship public after Armstrong separated from his wife Kristin late last year." |
|
|
