Monday, 14 May 2012
Top Bakersfield cyclist killed in women's race
48-year-old Suzanne Rivera, described by reports as "one of Bakersfield's best women cyclists," was killed on Sunday morning in an accident during Stage 4, the Bootjack Road Race, of California's Mariposa County Stage Race (formerly known as the Kern). She had taken up cycle racing only nine months ago.
Eyewitnesses say that the rider apparently failed to notice that a support vehicle had stopped on the parcours to assist another cyclist, then braked hard and lost control before colliding with the vehicle. It is not known which class she was racing in. A doctor and three nurses competing in the race attempted to resuscitate her, but she was declared dead at the scene.
Daily Cycling Facts 14.05.12
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| Giovanni Gerbi |
The Giro d'Italia has started on this day twice, in 1932 and 1955. 1932 consisted of thirteen stages and covered 3,235km, completed in Antonio Pesenti in a winning time of 105h42'41". It was the last time that Costante Girardengo, two months past his 39th birthday as the race began, took part; he abandoned during Stage 5. Older still was Giovanni Gerbi who, aged 47, became National Veteran Champion that same year. Incredibly, Gerbi rode in the third in the Giro of 1911 and come third. He was also the winner of the 1905 Giro di Lombardia. Sadly, he also would not finish this race.
In 1955, the 21 stages covered 3,861.km and saw an epic battle between Fiorenzo Magni, Gastone Nencini and Fausto Coppi. Coppi's Stage 20 victory would be his last in the Giro, while Magni won overall - then aged 35, he is the oldest rider to have won the race.
Nicki Sørensen
Nicki Sørensen, born in Hillerød on this day in 1975, is a Danish professional cyclist who currently rides for SaxoBank - with whom he has remained, through their various incarnations, since 2001 when he turned down the Linda McCartney team. Prior to that he had ridden with Chicky World and then Fakta, having begun cycling at the age of 19 after a successful amateur career as a runner.
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| Nicki Sørensen (image credit: YellowMonkey/Blnguyan CC BY-SA 3.0) |
Nevertheless, his palmares is impressive. In addition to a Tour stage win and Combativity award (Stage 12, 2009), several stages in other events and a smattering of victories at one-day races, he was National Road Race Champion in 2003, 2008, 2010 and 2011. Few riders have deserved their titles so much.
SaxoBank team mate Matteo Tosatto, born in Castelfranco Veneto in 1974, shares Sørensen's birthday. Tosatto won a stage at Paris-Nice in 2000, Stage 12 at the Giro d'Italia in 2001 and Stage 18 at the Tour in 2006; as well as a number of successes at smaller events.
Angharad Mason
Angharad Mason, born in Bridgend, Wales on this day in 1979, is a cyclist who represented her nation at the 2008 Commonwealth Games in India, then won the silver medal at the Welsh Championships a year later and the bronze in 2011; in both cases being beaten by Hannah Rich in first place.
Mason came relatively late to cycling after spending time competing in other sports - she is a karate black belt and at one time ran as many as nine marathons a year. Following the tradition of female cyclists tending to be far better-qualified than the men, she is a qualified physiotherapist and holds an honours degree from the University of Salford.
Born in Eckmannshausen, Germany, on this day in 1949, Klaus-Peter Thaler was race leader for two stages at the 1978 Tour de France after Ti-Raleigh won the team time trial and came 35th overall, his best result from the five times he rode. He was, meanwhile, massively successful in cyclo cross, winning the National title every year between 1976 and 1979, then 1982 and 1986-1988 as well as the World Championships of 1985 and 1987. Today, he organises the Tour of Hope which raises money for childhood cancer charities.
Lars-Petter Nordhaug had already been Nordic Cross CountryMountain Biking Champion at Elite level when he won the Norwegian Under-23 Road Race Championship in 2005 - but the two titles in two disciplines were not enough for Tønsberg-born cyclist, who was born on this day in 1984: so the next year he won the Elite Road Race too. Then, having surrendered the title for four years, he became XC MTB Champion for a second time in 2009 and won two stages, the Points competition and the overall General Classification at the Festningsrittet, one of Scandinavia's most prestigious races. In 2009, having come second overall at the Tour of Ireland, he joined Team Sky and remains with them to this day.
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Cycling Evening News 13.05.12
Racing: Chongming Island World Cup - Giro d'Italia Stage 8 - Bennati and van Winden abandon - Tour of California Stage 1. Cycling: The news you might have missed
Tour of Chongming Island World Cup
Sunday's most important race takes place on Chongming Island in China and constituted the fifth round of the 2012 Women's Road World Cup - held since 2010, both earlier editions were won by Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, who also won the preceding stage race. As an alluvial island created by silt washed down Yangtze river, it's almost completely flat (the only climb and descent of any note if formed by a bridge and a tunnel) and suits the sprinters. (Map, profile, starters)
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| Shelley Olds |
The final 600m to the finish line was both straight and flat, promising an exciting sprint as numerous hopefuls battled for time in the limelight that, had birthday girl Marianne Vos (currently training in Tuscany) and several other World Cup contenders who have stayed away to concentrate on training regimes been here, they'd have had very little chance of getting. Shelley Olds (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) turned out to be the fastest, but only by a tiny margin margin - the non-selective course led to no fewer than 67 riders crossing the line in her group and recording the same time of 3h11'51". Melissa Hoskins, winner of the stage race overall General Classification, was second and Monia Baccaille (MCipollini-Giambenini-Gauss) third. Vos retains her World Cup lead with an advantage of 61 points over second place Judith Arndt.
Top Ten
1. Shelley Olds AA Drink-Leontien.nl 3h11'51"
2. Melissa Hoskins Orica-GreenEDGE ST
3. Monia Baccaille MCipollini-Giambenini-Gauss ST
4. Chloe Hosking Specialized-Lululemon ST
5. Rochelle Gilmore Faren-Honda ST
6. Charlotte Becker Specialized- ululemon ST
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| Marianne Vos retains the Cup leadership |
8. Lucy Martin AA Drink-Leontien.nl ST
9. Lucinda Brand AA Drink-Leontien.nl ST
10. Marlen Johrend ABUS-Nutrixxion ST
(Full result)
World Cup Standing
1. Marianne Vos Rabobank 200
2. Judith Arndt Orica-GreenEDGE 139
3. Emma Johansson Hitec Products-Mistral Home 86
4. Kirsten Wild AA Drink-Leontien.nl 80
5. Shelley Olds AA Drink-Leontien.nl 75
6. Eveyn Stevens Specialized- Lululemon 75
7. Trixi Worrack Specialized- Lululemon 62
8. Adrie Visser Skil-1t4i 56
9. Monia Baccaille MCipollini-Giambenini-Gauss 53
10. Pauline Ferrand-Prevot Rabobank 20
(Full standings)
Today's Cycling Birthdays: The Giro d'Italia (103), Marianne Vos (25), Johnny Hoogerland (29), Gerrit de Vries (45)
Giro d'Italia Stage 8
Stage 8 was another medium mountain parcours (profile), this time over 229km between Sulmona and Lago Laceno. Sulmona - once home to the poet Ovid - lies on the flat and fertile Valle Peligna, formed when a prehistoric lake was filled in a a result of a series of earthquakes; but the riders headed skywards almost immediately as they climbed the uncategorised 1,284m Piano delle Cinque Miglia. One over the summit, the descent was gentle at first, then became steep before a short flat section followed by a smaller climb preceding a fast 10km descent to the foot of the day's first opportunity for King of the Mountains points, Cat 4 Valico di Macerone (684m, 61.9km). The middle section, from 65.5km to 197.3km, is hilly rather than mountainous with nothing too challenging, ideal ground for a break to get away and create a lead that might last; the highest point in this section (Montemerano, 836m, 193.5km) coming at the end of a long, rather than steep, climb. The last climb, Colle Molella, was far more difficult - from 212.2km it ascends 589m to the 1087m summit in 12.2km, giving an average gradient of only around 7%, but more like 12% at the steepest point according to Climbbybike. A small group of protestors attempted to stop the race at around the 60km to go point, but they were too few in numbers to prevent the police from confining them to the pavement as the riders sailed by.
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| Domenico Pozzovivo |
Top Ten
1. Domenico Pozzovivo Colnago-CSF-Bardiani 6h06'05"
2. Benat Intxausti Movistar +23"
3. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver Katusha +27"
4. Thomas De Gendt Vacansoleil-DCM ST
5. Dario Cataldo Omega Pharma-QuickStep ST
6. Damiano Caruso Liquigas-Cannondale ST
7. Gianluca Brambilla Colnago-CSF-Bardiani ST
8. Bartosz Huzarski Team NetApp ST
9. José Humberto Rujano Guillen Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela ST
10. John Gadret AG2R-La Mondiale ST
(Full stage result and GC)
Benevento is the most interesting city on the route: in addition to the Arch and theatre, it has numerous other monumental buildings ancient and modern including a Lombard castle. Sometimes known as la Città delle Streghe, the City of Witches, legend has it that witches from far and wide would meet to conduct rituals under a walnut tree hung with live snakes and engage in orgies with the devil in attendance. Frosinone looks to have once been a beautiful city, but little remained after it was struck by 56 bombing raids during the Second World War. Some old buildings survive and some of the new ones are good, but overall redevelopment has not been sympathetic and today the city is best known for its problems with air pollution which, in 2009, was twice as high as Rome.
Daniele Bennati and Dennis van Winden abandon
RadioShack-Nissan's Daniele Bennato has withdrawn from the Giro d'Italia after a fever he picked up during Stage 5 showed no signs of getting better. Dennis van Winden of Rabobank started on Sunday but abandoned after 30km, citing problems from a knee injury.
Tour of California Stage 1
Stage 1 starts in Santa Rosa (home to three-time winner Levi Leipheimer, who is racing this year but will not contest the title due to ongoing problems with injuries caused when he was hit by a car earlier this year) and takes a 186.5km route first north, then west to the coast before heading south and east back to Santa Rosa. There are several climbs: an uncategorised 230m hill at 70km, three categorised hills rising to 457m (Cazadero and two climbs on Fort Ross Road, followed by a hairy descent) in a 20km section starting at 100km and a fifth to around 270m at 149km (Coleman Valley). At 175km, the parcours flattens out and rises only slightly on the approach to the finish line, meaning the stage is likely to end in a sprint. There are two intermediate sprints, the first coming after 52.2km, the second after 142.8km. (Map, profile)
Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) won the stage despite being held up by a puncture with 10km to go and then having to avoid a crash in the final 3km. Daniel Oss did a superb job as lead-out man, enabling him to get past sprinter Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Barracuda) and take the stage with a 4" lead.
Top Ten
1. Peter Sagan Liquigas-Cannondale 4h42'25"
2. Heinrich Haussler Garmin-Barracuda +4"
3. Jeff Louder UnitedHealthcare Presented By Maxxis ST
4. Fred Rodriguez Team Exergy +6"
5. Benjamin Jacques-Maynes Bissel ST
6. Josh Atkins Bontrager Livestrong +9"
7. Adam Leigh Howard Orica-GreenEDGE +10"
8. Greg Van Avermaet BMC ST
9. George Hincapie BMC ST
10. Ryan Anderson Spidertech Powered By C10 ST
(Stage 1 results)
Stage 2 begins in San Francisco Marina and passes the Golden Gate Bridge en route for the Pacific coastline, with the first of three intermediate sprints at Pacifica 27.9km into the race. The second is at Half Moon Bay after 41.6km, then the race continues south down the coast through San Matteo County and on to Santa Rosa County. Having turned north-east, the riders face a climb up Cat 1 Empire Grade to 800m after 112km, followed by a fast descent to the next climb beginning at 144.8km - Bear Creek Road, rising to 686m. The third sprint begins at 165.6km, then the race arrives at Soquel and, after a right turn at 188.3km, the final straight 200m to the finish line. (Map, profile)
Other News
"Otago women shine at road champs" (Otago Daily Times, NZ)
"Harrif does it again" (New Straits Times, Malaysia)
"Schleck building form in Giro for last week in Alps" (Cycling Weekly)
Cycling
The News You Might Have Missed
Britain
Worldwide
"Cyclofemme celebrates women in cycling" (Bike Radar)
"Portugal: One man on a bike in a land of beauty" (The Independent)
"The most inventive cycling innovations! (Times of India)
"Another cycling wave in Kuching" (Borneo Post)
"In cycling, etiquette goes a long way toward safety" (Santa Fe New Mexican)
"Cyclists flock to Frankenbike swap meet" (Austin360, TX, USA)
Tweets
Mark Cavendish @MarkCavendishThe best thing about racing in Italy....? The fans!! I absolutely love them! The respect they have for the rainbow jersey is incredible.
Daily Cycling Facts 13.05.12
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| Stefano Garzelli (image credit: Sebastián García CC BY-SA 3.0) |
By 1995, the race had shrunk down to 3,736km but retained the 22 stage format. Marco Pantani had been a favourite but was kept away by injury, which left the unusual spectacle of sprinter and a climber battling one another for victory: Mario Cipollini was the sprinter and Tony Rominger was the climber, and they fought one another tooth and nail but on different stages all the way to the end. In the end, Rominger's secondary ability in the time trials stood him in good stead and he won the race. In 2000 there were 21 stages and a prologue, adding up to 3,676km in total. Stefano Garzelli won with 98h30'14".
The First Giro d'Italia
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| Luigi Ganna, photographed shortly after finishing Stage 8 at the first Giro d'Italia |
The race covered 2,445km over eight stages which, despite the daunting prospect of stages an average of 306km in length (the longest was in fact 397km, Stage 1), makes it the shortest edition ever held. Stage racing was a new concept when the Tour started in 1903 and as a result only 60 riders took part - and then only because director Henri Desgrange halved the entry fee and increase the prizes - but six years later the idea was both established and popular with a number of smaller events having sprung up in the intervening years (sadly, none have survived. The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, first run in 1911, is the world's third oldest stage race), so 123 Italians and four Frenchmen showed up at the start line. Another similarity with the Tour was that the results were decided on points in early editions, rather than on overall elapsed time as is the case today, with the lowest number of points getting the win. Luigi Ganna, born in Induno Olana in 1883, was declared victor with 25 - had it have been decided in the modern manner, his time of 89h48'14" would have seen Giovanni Rossignoli (third place with 40 points) take the honour.
The race started and finished in Milan, the riders setting off on Stage 1 at 02:53 in the morning. Ganna's prize was 5,325 lira, while La Gazzetta editor and race director Eugenio Costamagna was paid the princely sum of 150 lira. La Gazzetta, incidentally, was and still is printed on pink paper - which is why the race leader's jersey, known as the maglia rosa and first adopted in 1931, is pink; just as the Tour de France's maillot jaune is yellow to reflect the yellow paper used by L'Auto.
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| Marianne Vos - very possibly the greatest cyclist in the history of the sport (image credit: Maarten Thys CC BY 3.0) |
If you've been reading these Daily Cycling Facts and wondering, as I did while writing them, why it is that an apparently smaller number of notable professional professional cyclists were born in May than any other month, here's the reason: when Marianne Vos was born on this day in 1987, she was given the entire month's-worth of talent for several years in either direction.
A native of 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands, Vos has already had a career that surpasses that of most of the lauded cycling greats; a phenomenal athlete and very welcome to younger fans who missed out on seeing the greats of days gone by, riders such as Hinault, Merckx, Ancquetil, Burton, Bartali, Coppi and the like. Now 25, it's entirely likely that she will improve still further in the coming years and may yet eclipse them all. When it was announced that Tom Boonen had achieved an extremely respectable 100 wins during his career, a quick count revealed Vos had more than 143 to her name, not including stage wins - despite being six years younger.
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| Vos leading Kirsten Wild (© Eddy Fever CC2.0) |
Vos is also known for being one of the most personable professional cyclists around. Highly intelligent and articulate, she regularly talks to fans on Twitter and is as popular among the riders who race against her as she is with her supporters. As the finest all-rounder of her generation (and many before), she is frequently called "the female Eddy Merckx," but if she continues to ride as successfully as she has to date it's only a matter of time until her palmares eclipses even his.
Johnny Hoogerland
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| Johnny Hoogerland (image credit: Thomas Ducroquet CC BY-SA 3.0) |
Nicknamed The Bull of Beveland due to a large tattoo depicting a bull on his arm, Hoogerland came to international attention when he won the Junior Tour of Flanders in 2001 and then followed it up with numerous wins over the next few years, including the tough GP Briek Schotte - a race designed to reveal those riders who can be aid to be Flandriens, the toughest cyclists of them all, of which Schotte is considered to be the definitive example.
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| Hoogerland - a Flandrien to the core (unknown copyright, believed public domain due to widespread use) |
Both men got back on their bikes and finished the stage. Organisers extended the maximum permitted time so that they could do without being disqualified, then jointly awarded them what must have been the most-deserved Combativity Award for many years. Afterwards, Hoogerland was given 33 stitches.
Peter Longbottom
Peter Longbottom, born in Huddersfield on this day in 1959, was one of those cyclists whom were there any justice in this world would have been a household name. Respected among cyclists for his superb tactical mind, he was for many years in high demand among Tour of Britain teams for his ability to re-organise a team "on the road" according to rider performance, terrain, weather, opponents and a host of variable factors; frequently getting it correct and driving his team mates on to victory even when aware that he himself could not win. His skills saw him ride with Chris Boardman, assisting him at the Commonwealth Games, yet he chose never to turn professional and worked a full-time job even during the racing season.
Longbottom retired from competition in 1996 and spent the remaining two years of his life encouraging young people to take up the sport. On the 10th of February 1998, he was hit by a car on the A64 near York, the impact throwing him onto the opposite carriageway where eye-witnesses say he was hit by several vehicles
Gerrit de Vries, born in Oldeberkoop, Netherlands on this day in 1967 (and, so far as we can tell, no relation to Marijn de Vries of AA Drink-Leontien.nl) shared victory in the 1986 Amateur World Team Time Trial Championship. A a professional rider he took part in six editions of the Tour de France, his best result being 34th overall in 1991.
Eugène Van Roosbroeck was born in Antwerp on this day in 1928. At the time of writing, he is the oldest of the three surviving members of the gold medal-winning road race team at the 1948 Olympics.
Nino Schurter, born in Tersnaus, Switzerland on this day in 1986, was World Cross Country Mountain Bike Champion in 2009.
Other births: David López García (Euskadi, 1981); Tony Gowland (Great Britain, 1965); Fitzgerald Joseph (Belize, 1967); Morten Sæther (Norway, 1959); Marc Blouin (Canada, 1953); Josef Landsberg (Sweden, 1890, died 1964); Domenico Cecchetti (San Marino, 1941); Eugène Van Roosbroeck (Belgium, 1928); Pavel Cherkasov (USSR, 1972); Edoardo Severgnini (Italy, 1904, died 1969); Thomas Harrison (Australia, 1942); Mark Barry (Great Britain, 1964).
Saturday, 12 May 2012
Evening Cycling News 12.05.12
Giro Stage 7 (video) - Meersman abandons - Chongming World Cup start list - Tour of California - Bruyneel subpoena - Ruiter Dakkapellen closes women's team - New team for Davide Rebellin - Scott-Contessa struck by thieves - British riders recreate 1955 Peace Race - The news you might have missed - BBC Radio to broadcast Beryl Burton play
Giro d'Italia Stage 7
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| Paolo Tiralongo |
Saturday's parcours (are we really a week into the Giro already?) extended over 205km between Recanati and Rocca di Cambio (the highest village in the Apennines, where evidence of an earthquake in 2009 can still be seen despite the wealth the Campo Felice ski resort has brought). Like Stage 6, it was rated as a medium mountain stage, but the Cat 3 and Cat 2 along the way are far more like proper mountains than Friday's hills - the Cat 3 rises to 1,190m and the Cat 2 to 1,392m (British fans should remember that this "medium mountain" is 48m higher than Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles) and as we've seen over the last couple of stages, Giro organisers use a system all of their own when hinting at how difficult a stage might be.
Recanati was established as a city in 1150CE, growing up from villages that formed around three castles and became an independent republic 140 years later, but two necropolises dating from Neolithic times are evidence that the region was inhabited long before that. After a short downhill section over the first 5km, most of the first half of the race headed upwards with five hills leading to Cat 2 Col Galluccio some 96.1km into the race. A fast descent led into a long climb up an uncategorised 1,152km mountain (142km), then the riders enjoyed a chance to recover on a 46km descent to a little hill that came just before the 800m climb to the final few kilometres. The final 3km of this stage looked difficult on paper and seemed guaranteed to make a sprint finish improbable: the first 1.38km descended around 70m, then the remainder swung steeply upward and climbed 92m in a little over 1.6km; hitting a gradient of 10% over one 100m section 0.5km from the finish line. (Profile, final 3km)
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| Ryder Hesjedal |
Reto Hollenstein (NetApp), Matteo Rabbotini (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia), Fumiyuki Beppu (Orica-GreenEDGE) and Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil-DCM) took off early in the stage and had grabbed a lead of 7'05" after just 27km. As the stage drew towards its end, it was obvious that Mark Cavendish (Sky) fully realised how close he came to disaster yesterday when he finished within a minute of the time limit - keeping himself securely in the most populous part of the peloton, he let the momentum of the pack carry him up the hills.
As the finish line came within sight, José Herrada (Movistar) had a 100m lead but was rapidly caught and dropped, then Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) powered away and must have believed he had it in the bag - but Paolo Tiralongo (Astana) was on him, following in his slipstream. The two Italians battled all the way over the last 300m, then Tiralongo fired up the afterburners with 100m to go, muscled his way past and was first over the line for the second Giro stage win of his career before collapsing on the cobbles completely exhausted. Frank Schleck was a slightly unexpected third, suggesting that RadioShack-Nissan manager Johan Bruyneel's emergency training camps after the Schlecks' dismal Classics campaign worked, while Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda) was fifth and becomes the new race leader with a 15" advantage over Tiralongo. He is the first Canadian to wear the maglia rosa leader's jersey.
Top Ten
1. Paolo Tiralongo Astana 5h51'03"
2. Michele Scarponi Lampre-ISD ST
3. Frank Schleck RadioShack-Nissan +3"
4. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver Katusha ST
5. Ryder Hesjedal Garmin-Barracuda +5"
6. Domenico Pozzo Vivo Colnago CSF Bardiani +9"
7. Daniel Moreno Fernandez Katusha ST
8. Ivan Basso Liquigas-Cannondale ST
9. Mikel Nieve Ituralde Euskaltel-Euskadi +11"
10. Gianluca Brambilla Colnago CSF Bardiani ST
(Full stage result and GC)
Stage 8 is another medium mountain parcours (profile) over 229km between Sulmona and Lago Laceno. Sulmona - once home to the poet Ovid - lies on the flat and fertile Valle Peligna, formed when a prehistoric lake was filled in a a result of a series of earthquakes; but the riders head skywards almost immediately as they climb the uncategorised 1,284m Piano delle Cinque Miglia. The descent is gentle at first, then becomes steep before a short flat section followed by a smaller climb preceding a fast 10km descent to the foot of the day's first opportunity for King of the Mountains points, Cat 4 Valico di Macerone (684m, 61.9km). The middle section, from 65.5km to 197.3km, is hilly rather than mountainous with nothing too challenging; the highest point (Montemerano, 836m, 193.5km) coming at the end of a long, rather than steep, climb. The last climb, Colle Molella, is far more difficult - from 212.2km it ascends 589m to the 1087m summit in 12.2km, giving an average gradient of only around 7%, but more like 12% at the steepest point according to Climbbybike. Depending on the combined effect of all those little hills along the way, this is a stage that could conceivably go to a sprinter: the final 3km are flat with a left-hand turn leading into the last 500m.
The weather on Sunday isn't going to impress - there's a 90% chance of rain and temperature highs of 14C will feel much cooler at altitude. Winds should be no stronger than 19kph.
Meersman abandons
Gianni Meersman (Lotto-Belisol), who was reported by
Sportwereld to be suffering from a "tilted pelvis" this morning, has become the fifth rider to abandon this year's Giro after experiencing problems climbing some 70km into Saturday's Stage 7. The 26-year-old Belgian explained that while he could have finished the stage and possibly even remained competitive on future flat stages, he felt it unwise to risk compounding the problem that stems from a crash in Stage 2.
Tour of Chongming Island World Cup start list
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| Click to enlarge |
Tour of California
Among many (European) fans, there is still a feeling that US races are insignificant frivolities, at best gaudy sideshow entertainment to keep us entertained between the grand European tours and at worst amateur attempts by the the upstart American racing scene to emulate the splendour across the Atlantic.
It's complete rubbish, of course. The Americans gave the world several of the best riders both male and female of the last three decades, they make some of the finest bikes in the world, several of their races are spectacular - how could they not be in a nation that has such a varied, beautiful landscape and so much of it - and the Tour of California, which feels far more venerable than an event in only its sixth year, is the best of them all.
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| Stage 1 |
The Tour returns this year in its usual eight stage format covering 1,180.5km, starting in Santa Rosa on the 13th of May and ending in Los Angeles on the 13th. Along the way, it visits San Franciso, San Jose, Big Bear Lake and Beverley Hills, as well as climbing mountains as high as 2,210m. Stage 1 starts in Santa Rosa (home to three-time winner Levi Leipheimer, who is racing this year but will not contest the title due to ongoing problems with injuries caused when he was hit by a car earlier this year), taking a 186.5km route first north, then west to the coast before heading south and east back to Santa Rosa. There are several climbs: an uncategorised 230m hill at 70km, three categorised hills rising to 457m (Cazadero and two climbs on Fort Ross Road) in a 20km section starting at 100km and a fifth to around 270m at 149km (Coleman Valley). At 175km, the parcours flattens out and rises only slightly on the approach to the finish line, meaning this stage is likely to end in a sprint. There are two intermediate sprints, the first coming after 52.2km, the second after 142.8km
Bruyneel served US subpoena?
According to widespread rumours, RadioShack-Nissan boss Johan Bruyneel was served with a subpoena as he stepped off his plane and onto US soil this week on his way to the Tour of California. Though the rumours remain unconfirmed, it doesn't take a huge leap of the imagination to connect the story to Floyd Landis, who rode for Bruyneel's US Postal team between 2002-2004 and is currently subject to federal investigation related to the "Floyd Fairness Fund" he set up to pay for his legal team when he was accused of doping. (More)
Ruiter Dakkapellen closes women's team
It's always a sad occasion when a cycling team is forced to come to an end. A team is not an easy thing to put together, and keeping it together is even more difficult - managers, helpers and, away from the big salary glitz of the men's ProTour, riders put in a great deal of effort, more frequently inspired by their love of the sport than by the salaries they might receive. Even more sad is when a team facing financial hardship takes the all too common decision to save money by closing down its women's team, as has been the case with Ruiter Dakkapellen now that their main sponsor has gone bankrupt.
It's not the team management's fault, really. After all, in times when even high-profile squads such as the legendary HTC-Highroad can fall by the wayside when new backing can't be found, securing sponsorship for a relatively little-known men's team such as Ruiter is a task that would challenge Hercules. Doing the same for a women's team, when women's cycling is entirely ignored by the majority of the media and has suffered for years from what sometimes seems almost willful neglect at the hands of the UCI, would be enough to make Hercules throw his hands in the air and give up. Perhaps the managers will be fortunate and find a new company to sponsor the men. The chances of doing the same for the women is unlikely, so they're forced to release the riders so that they can seek contracts elsewhere.
Can the UCI help to prevent this happening? Almost certainly. They could provide more financial assistance to races - several have found themselves in difficulty recently, and races are what create exposure. They could also encourage more race organisers to run women's races alongside men's races, as has already been done at many of the Flanders Classics and at Britain's Halfords Tour Series - and in both cases has generated increased interest. They could create a dedicated women's cycling commission to look into what needs to be done if women's cycling is to be saved and listen more to the riders and managers, many of whom have some extremely interesting ideas. Will they? Past experiences suggest not.
Good luck Joan Boskamp, Ilona Hoeksma, Anne Heijkoop, Britt Jochems, Nathalie van Katwijk, Tessa van Nieuwpoort, Julia Soek, Lisanne Soemanta, Noortje Tabak, Annelies Visser, Hannah Welter and Melanie Woering. See you all on a parcours soon.
New team for Davide Rebellin
The 40-year-old, who returned to cycling with Christina Watches-Onfone last year from a two-year suspension after he tested positive for EPO-variant CERA at the 2008 Olympics, will now ride for Croatian Continental team Meridiana-Kamen.
British rider David McLean, who has been with Meridiana since 2011, is favourable. "What was clear when I was training with him was that firstly he is very, very good still and secondly this guy is extremely professional," he said in his blog. "He lives a dedicated lifestyle that is based solely around cycling, he has no distractions, no family, no worries, just the bike."
Scott-Contessa struck by thieves
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| Beth Crumpton completed the Czech MTB World Cup round in a borrowed bike - and still came ninth! |
The Scott Contessa MTB team was targeted by thieves who stole all the junior riders' bikes last night, just a day and a half before the start of the Nove Mesto na Morave round of the World Cup in the Czech Republic...
Beth Crumpton @BethCrumptoncant believe all junior bikes were stolen last night at czech, thankyou so much to @tracy_moseley and Annie for letting me and Al borrow!
Other News
"Cyclist Willow Rockwell gives up her Olympic dream" (ESPNW)
"Moyse mulling her sporting future" (The Guardian, Canada)
"BMX: Olympian Shanaze inspires young Jamie’s world bid" (This Is Wiltshire)
"Stolen Hog Hill bike recovered by police" (Cycling Weekly)
Cycling
British riders recreate 1955 Peace Race
It's been six years since the Peace Race was last held - once Eastern Europe's answer to the Tour de France, it gradually became superceded by other events and vanished: the end of a cycling era. This year, it lives again in the form of the Alf Buttler Peace Race Tribute Ride, in which cyclists will retrace the 2,414km and thirteen stages taken by the inaugural 1955 race between Prague (Czech Republic) and Warsaw (Poland).
Remarkably, the Ride came about as the result of one man's vision. Alan Buttler came up with the idea as a memorial to his father, a mechanic and manager with the British cycling team in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and who died in 2008. Alan, accompanied by Geoff Wiles (whom some might remember as British Road Race Champion in 1976 and as the man who brought BMX to Britain), has been keeping a blog journal of their travels - it makes for fascinating reading.
The news you might have missed
Britain
"London cyclists invited to join Alex Dowsett and Sarah Storey on Nocturne Peloton ride this Thursday" (road.cc)
"Champion cyclist urges Leeds kids to saddle up" (Yorkshire Evening Post)
Worldwide
"Travel picks: top ten cycling destinations" (Reuters)
"Olver to be honored for cycling efforts" (Gazettenet, MA, USA)
"Cycling: At 76, mountain biking 'hoon' has no plans to slow down" (NZHerald)
"Help train cycling officials, Ale begs CFN, NSC" (Vanguard, Nigeria)
Wooden bikes - "Craftsman turns love of cycling into new business" (Idaho Statesman)
BBC Radio 4 to broadcast Burton play
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| Burton was arguably the mot successful British athlete of all time |
Those commemorating the anniversary of the birth of the legend that was Beryl Burton will be pleased to know that later this year a short play telling the story of her life and remarkable career is to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Titled La Yorkshire Dame a Bicyclette, the play will star Maxine Peake - who also wrote the script, her first - as the British cyclist who won numerous titles and set world records during the 1950s and 60s.
"Despite beating men and women in championships across the globe, Beryl received no support, training or sponsorship and in fact, very little acclaim in the UK and Maxine wanted to dramatise her story," says producer Justine Potter. No date has yet been set for the broadcast, but it is likely to go out in the station's 45-minute Afternoon Drama (formerly and popularly Afternoon Play) slot.
Radio 4 is available worldwide on the Internet.
Bruyneel served with US subpoena rumours
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| Johan Bruyneel |
According to widespread rumours, RadioShack-Nissan boss Johan Bruyneel was served with a subpoena as he stepped off his plane and onto US soil this week on his way to the Tour of California. Though the rumours remain unconfirmed, it doesn't take a huge leap of the imagination to connect the story to Floyd Landis, who rode for Bruyneel's US Postal team between 2002-2004 and is currently subject to federal investigation related to the "Floyd Fairness Fund" he set up to pay for his legal team when he was accused of doping.
Others have suggested that if the subpoena really does exist, it could be part of an ongoing USADA investigation into Lance Armstrong. Whether or not USADA is able to issue a subpoena is unclear - Betsy Andreu, interviewed by Anthony Tan for Velonews, says that they can, other sources say they cannot, while the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which works with and partially funds USADA and is a component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, would certainly be able to seek a subpoena.
Velonation has since located a source "with knowledge of the matter" who claims that the team manager met with investigators on Friday. A USADA spokesperson told the website that an "investigation into the sport of cycling is ongoing."
The story took most of Saturday to get into the mainstream news, leading some fans to suggest it was all a load of rubbish; while others thought that the press had been told not to talk about it. Bruyneel Tweeted some photos from California at around 8pm (BST) the day the story broke, but made no mention of it.
Velonation has since located a source "with knowledge of the matter" who claims that the team manager met with investigators on Friday. A USADA spokesperson told the website that an "investigation into the sport of cycling is ongoing."
Daily Cycling Facts 12.05.12
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| Alfredo Binda |
30 years later in 1983, the race had increased to 22 stages but shrunk to 3,916km. The winner was Giuseppe Saronni, who had also won Milan-San Remo that year; however, had Saronni not have won stage bonuses, Roberto Visentini would have won - as he did in 1986 when he beat Saronni by more than a minute. Once again, there were 22 stages and the length shrunk to 3,858km; the race being shaken by controversy when the American Greg Lemond made an official complaint to organisers that Italian riders had illegally drafted behind him in the Stage 11 individual time trial and the (Italian) organisers chose to overlook the incident.
The 2007 Giro d'Italia
In 2007, the race was held for the 90th time. Back down to 21 stages, it covered 3,486km and included three stages on Sardinia. Danilo di Luca won the General Classification while Andy Schleck took second place and won the Youth Category. Three doping scandals hit the race that year: Iban Mayo was found to have abnormally high testosterone levels, but the Basque rider was rapidly cleared when his Saunier Duval-Prodir team produced evidence to show that not only was this natural, they'd also already informed the UCI of it and provided evidence from a doctor confirming it.
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| Danilo di Luca (image credit: Pitert CC BY-SA 3.0) |
Winner Danilo di Luca also provided a suspicious sample. Having been found to be clean in a test taken immediately after Stage 17, he was then subjected to a random control some hours later. Doctors claimed that hormone levels in the second sample were like "those of a child," thus leading them to suspect that he was either using a masking agent to disguise the presence of some other, unknown drug or that he had received a blood transfusion in the intervening time after the first test. However, they could not provide sufficient evidence for him to be disqualified and his results remained intact - but 2008 would be a quiet year as many races, loathe to risk scandal, chose not to invite his LPR Brakes-Ballan team to take part. In 2009, they received a wildcard entry to race in the Giro and his luck ran out - he tested positive for EPO after Stages 11 and 18, which led to a two-year ban (reduced on appeal to nine months and seven days) and a €280,000 fine (reduced to €106,400).
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| Beryl Burton, one of the greatest British athletes of all time (unknown copyright) |
On this day in 1937, Beryl Charnock was born in Halton near Leeds. She was not a healthy child and suffered a series of chronic illnesses, once remaining in hospital for fifteen months with rheumatic fever, a sometimes fatal disease that can leave patients permanently disabled.
However, Beryl got better and, having been introduced to the sport by her husband Charlie Burton, began cycling. She turned out to have quite a considerable talent for it, too - in fact, she won seven World Championships and more than 90 National titles, in addition to winning a World title in track cycling almost every year for 30 years. In the British time trial scene, Burton was quite literally unbeatable when she was at her best and she remained at her best for a very long time, winning the Road Time Trials Council’s British Best All-Rounder Competition for an incredible 25 consecutive years.
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| Beryl Burton, 12.05.1937 - 08.05.1996 |
In common with many people who have suffered rheumatic fever, Burton experienced heart complaints throughout her life and had to learn to live with arrhythmia. Yet, it was not in the heat of competition that she died - while out on her bike delivering birthday party invitations on the 8th of May in 1996, four days before she turned 59, she had a heart attack.
Burton was added to the Cycling Weekly's Golden Book of Cycling - a single-copy manuscript that pays homage to Britain's best cyclists - in 1960. By 1991, she had won so many races that it became necessary to give her a second page, something that had never happened before in the book's six-decade history nor in the 21 years since. She is now widely recognised as the greatest athlete Britain has ever produced.
Cath Swinnerton
Burton was not the only successful female British cyclist born on this day - 21 years after she was born, Cath Swinnerton came into the world at Fenton in Staffordshire. Swinnerton was twice a bronze medal winner at the National Road Race Championships and twice silver - and won the gold in 1977 and 1984.
With her brother Paul (a racing cyclist himself) and their extended cycling family, she now runs Swinnerton Cycles - a chain of bike shops established by their grandparents in 1915. The first shop is still in business and can be found at 69 Victoria Road, Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent (53° 0'6.74"N 2° 9'41.86"W).
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| Adelin Benoit, 12.05.1900 - 18.06.1954 |
On this day in 2002, Frenchman Eric Barone set a new record for highest downhill speed achieved on a standard production bicycle at 163kph on the slopes of Cerro Negro, a volcano in Nicaragua. The record would not be beaten until 2011, and then by less than 2kph. Barone holds the current record for custom-built bikes too, having reached 222kph in 2000.
Damian McDonald was an Australian cyclist born in Wangaratta, Victoria in 1972 and a gold medalist in the 2004 Commonwealth Games. He died on the 23rd of March 2007 in the Burnley Tunnel Explosion that occurred after a crash and fire in the Melbourne tunnel.
Other births: Andreas Hestler (Canada, 1970); Suwan Ornkerd (Thailand, 1941); Lieselot Decroix (Belgium, 1987); Jozef Schoeters (Belgium, 1947); Gunnar Andersen (Denmark, 1911, died 1981); Zeragaber Gebrehiwot (Ethiopia, 1956); Gustaaf Hermans (Belgium, 1951); Héctor Palacio (Colombia, 1969); Jürgen Barth (Germany, 1943, died 2011).
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