Latest Cycling News, November 3, 2008Edited by Bjorn Haake Schleck fears damaged image
Andy Schleck of Team CSC Saxo Bank is worried that his image and that of his older brother Fränk has been damaged by doping rumours, even as he took his first win of the season in the Amstel Curaçao Race. "I am frightened that we will not be presented in the press in the same light as before," he said, noting that two months ago it was rumoured that five CSC riders had tested positive during the Tour de France. Those rumours have been laid to rest, but "there have never been any apologies for the reports," Schleck told sportwereld.nl. Older brother Fränk was placed on inactive status after he admitted having paid 7,000 euro to Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes in 2006. Fränk called it "a one-day problem" and said that the matter was now in the hands of the Luxembourg anti-doping agency, which recently said it hoped to have things cleared up by the end of the year. Fränk, the older of the two Luxemburger, said that he was enjoying his time off "because I have a clear conscience". He added, "the last two months have been great. I had free time, I went fishing and had a vacation in Florida."(SW) Armstrong doubles up and heads to wind tunnel
Lance Armstrong has won the two-team time trial in the Tour de Gruene with his partner John Korioth, covering the 43.7 kilometres in 56:37. The duo averaged 46.561 km/h to win by 2:34 over David Wenger and Steven Wheeler. The win for Armstrong came one day after he took the victory in the individual time trial. He raced the 25.6 kilometres in 33:14. With his first two time trials under his belt and looking fit, Armstrong is now taking the next step. This week he will do some wind tunnel testing in San Diego, California. The aim is to test the equipment for the upcoming season. Cyclingnews will bring you more details on Armstrong's preparation for the 2009 season soon. Cyclingnews' complete coverage of Lance Armstrong's comeback. Cyclingnews' recent coverage of Lance Armstrong's comeback January 18, 2009 - Armstrong announces start of Catlin's drug testing programme Cyclingnews' complete coverage of Lance Armstrong's comeback British brilliance overshadows the rest at World CupBy Daniel Friebe, Procycling magazine It's Saturday lunchtime, the second day of three in round one of the Track World Cup, and I'm sitting in the middle of the Manchester velodrome wondering whether to commit suicide, heresy or maybe both at the same time. OK, sod it, here goes: what I'm actually wondering is whether this is the biggest sporting no-contest I've ever seen. Now, don't get me wrong, no quibbles with the calibre of the venue, the organization, the audience volume or the standard of the performances. As they say in these parts, that's all sound as a pound. And when I say no-contest, it's not even intended as a negative remark, really it's not. You only have to look around at the packed stands and hark the sounds of patriotic fervor to see that paying punters are having a very good time indeed. Read the complete feature. Ullrich investigation rumbles onBy Susan Westemeyer
The Swiss Olympic Committee has still not made any progress in its investigation of Jan Ullrich on doping charges, more than two years after the German rider was suspended for his relationship to Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes. "We are still working on it and we have not yet finished everything. I hope to finish it in November," Bernhard Welten, head of the Swiss Olympic anti-doping committee said to Cyclingnews on Monday morning. It is a difficult case with "a lot of documents," Welten said. The agency "had many other projects going on this year and their human resources are not big enough for all the work. Further it is a case based on indices and therefore a very careful and thoroughly work is required." In August, Welten said that he hoped to finish his report and submit it to the disciplinary commission "within the next few weeks." In April he told Cyclingnews that he expected to submit his report in early summer. The Swiss are investigating Ullrich's connection to Operación Puerto and Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes. The German rider, who lives in Switzerland, was suspended by T-Mobile Team the day before the 2006 Tour de France. Ullrich ultimately announced his retirement in February 2007, denying ever having doped. However, blood taken into custody during Operación Puerto was linked to him by DNA tests in April 2007. European 'cross champions crownedThe European cyclo-cross champions in three categories were crowned on Sunday in Liévin, France. Germany won two titles with Hanka Kupfernagel in the women's category and Philippe Walsleben in the U23 race. Dutch junior Tijmen Eising took the third title given out on the day. Kupfernagel is back on regular form after a season plagued by sickness and won the women's race three seconds ahead of France's Maryline Salvetat. Katerina Nash (Czech Republic) was a further ten seconds back in third spot. In the U23 race, Walsleben took a convincing victory, one day after prevailing in the extremely difficult conditions at the Koppenbergcross. Like in the women's event a rider from the host nation finished second, with Aurélien Duval. Duval was already 56 seconds behind, while Kenneth Van Compernolle from Belgium in third trailed by 1:04. Eising won with 11 seconds over his compatriot Lars Van Der Haar, with Belgian's Sean De Bie 16 seconds back in third. The rain had made the parcours difficult, but it wasn't quite the mudfest as most racers endured the previous day at the Koppenbergcross. Crampton cashes in on Britain's golden weekendBy Ben Atkins in Manchester
Great Britain's Matt Crampton has taken the title, and the big money prize, in the fifth JKA International Keirin Event, capping a weekend of unprecedented success for the host nation. He took the lead early on and used the endurance that earned him fourth place in the Kilometre at this year's World Championships to hold off a strong challenge from Olympic silver medallist Ross Edgar (Sky+ HD). Asked how he felt, Crampton replied "Good!" He continued to warm down on the rollers while chatting to Cyclingnews. "The money's going to be really handy!" Read the full report here. Wilson and MacGregor renew with Team Type 1
Team Type 1 will be bolstered in 2009 by the return of stage racing specialists Matt Wilson and Ian MacGregor. Wilson, 31 years old, rebounded from breaking his right wrist in March to score stage wins at the Tour de Beauce and the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic. The 2004 Australian national road champion also earned King of the Mountains titles at the Tour of Ireland and the Jayco Herald Sun Tour in Australia. Twenty-five-year-old MacGregor was a pivotal contributor in overall victories at the Tour of Arkansas and the Vuelta Mexico, as well as the Team Type 1's team title at the Tour de Beauce. The 2004 and 2005 Under 23 US national road champion enjoyed a good July, winning stage 2 of the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic and the Colorado road racing championship, while finishing second at the Bob Cook Memorial Mt. Evans Hillclimb. Sports Director Ed Beamon said the pair represent the core of the team's general classification hopes in 2009. "Matt was brought on as a leader, and certainly in the second half of the season, he displayed his leadership abilities and matured in that capacity," Beamon said. "Ian continues to improve and he showed last year that his climbing abilities - when he is on form - are up there with the top guys in North America." Team Type 1 previously announced the re-signings of Mexican Olympian Moises Aldape, stage racing specialist Fabio Calabria and American climbing specialist Chris Jones. The team has also signed sprinters Ricardo Escuela of Argentina and American Kenneth Hanson as well as promising young Belgian allrounder Willem Van den Eynde. Calabria and Van den Eynde represent the athletes on the professional team who have Type 1 diabetes. They join team co-founders Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge, who led Team Type 1 to back-to-back victories in the Race Across America (RAAM) in 2006 and 2007.
Raisin finishes his first marathon
Saul Raisin has finished his first marathon after only around five weeks of training. He ran the New York event in 4:27:10 and achieved his goal to run the marathon without walking. It was an emotional day for Raisin, a day that he ranks up there with learning to walk again and riding his bike on the road for the first time after his accident. In the absence of two-time participant Lance Armstrong, former cyclist Stephen Roche ran the 42.195 kilometres. Roche clocked in some six minutes ahead of Raisin, in 4:21:09. Raisin will now prepare to do the Ironman. (Contributed by Jason Goldberg) For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here Images by Jason Goldberg
Yates jumps to Southland leadJeremy Yates (Subway-Avanti) jumped into the lead in the Tour of Southland after the opening day, which was split into a time trial and a road race. Yates won the road race with a solo break and leads the overall by 25 seconds over Heath Blackgrove (Colourplus). The day was started with an individual 8.42-kilometre time trial, where Blackgrove won. The short time trial was a tight affair, with four riders tied on time, distinguished only by the hundredths of seconds. Another four riders were two seconds back, including Yates. Full results are here.
Gates says good-bye, gets Tour bike from Evans under hammerBy John Trevorrow Silence-Lotto professional Nick Gates is having his final race in Townsville, Australia, this Saturday, November 8, followed by an auction that includes Cadel Evans's Tour de France bike. The auction will be part of the launch of the Nick Gates Foundation, which is designed to help aspiring young cyclists. The auction will be part of a Gala dinner at Jupiters Casino Townsville and see precious prizes, like some unique signed jerseys. But Evans's bike will be the big ticket item for the evening. Evans has donated the bike that propelled him to second place in Paris in July. It is the real deal - a Ridley Helium with full Campagnolo components. Anyone can bid by emailing Nick Gates on nicholas.gates@telenet.be. All funds raised will go to the Foundation. Superstars of Australian cycling are racing in the Nick Gates Foundation Classic including Evans, Robbie McEwen, Henk Vogels, Baden Cooke and Matthew Lloyd. There are also corporate events and races for kids. Celebrate with Cyclingnews' End of Season Sweepstakes
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, the road and mountain-bike seasons are winding down and it's time to plan to get through the off-season blues (and if you live in the Southern hemisphere and your season is just getting started, no worries – your offy will be here in no time so this sweepstakes is for you too). We and our friends at CycleOps and DiNotte Lighting want to help you. So while you're reading through our trade show coverage, dreaming about the gear you'll need to meet you 2009 riding and racing goals, and leafing through our 2009 Bike & Gear Buyer's Guide, enter our sweepstakes for a chance to win: Our lead prize is a 2009 CycleOps PowerBeam Pro Indoor Trainer. An innovator in power measurement and training tools, CycleOps is bringing power training for cyclists indoors for winter. With their PowerBeam Indoor Trainer, you control the variables of training, you use CycleOps' software tools to plan precise workouts and you measure your power output to compare your effort with your goals. Dinotte Lighting is offering two sets of their high-powered front and rear LED-based Pro Series light systems. The use of proprietary batteries in lighting systems is a large complaint among cyclists. Too many lights permanently fail after one season due to the chemistry of the proprietary NiMH or NiCad batteries used in value priced lighting systems. DiNotte's Pro Series lights use AA rechargeable batteries. The adoption of standard NiMH rechargeable batteries means customers can replace batteries at a moment's notice. Hurry and enter now to be in the draw. Good luck! (All rights reserved/Copyright Future Publishing (Overseas) Limited 2008) |
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