Daily Cycling Facts 01.12.2013

Alex Rhodes, born today in 1984
(image: GSL CC BY-SA 2.5) 

Alex Rhodes was born on this day in 1984 in Alice Springs. After a very promising early track career, Alex was seriously injured in a road accident in 2005 that led to the death of team-mate Amy Gillett, but she returned the following year to win one stage of the Bay Classic and two bronze medals at the Australian National Track Championships. Since then, she has won three more stages at the Bay Classic and a bronze at the National Time Trial Championships. In 2011, she came 5th overall in the Ladies' Tour of Qatar and became Australian Elite Road Race Champion, then in 2012, she became National Criterium Champion, was seventh overall at the Tour of Qatar and ninth at the Chrono de Gatineau. She rode that year for GreenEDGE, and was a part of the squad that came second at the Open de Suede Vargarda, the Holland Ladies' Tour and the World Championships.

David Nicholas, born in Rockampton, Australia on this day in 1991, won the gold medal for the Individual Time Trial and a bronze in the Individual Road Race at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. Born with cerebral palsy, he also competes in karate competitions.

Other cyclists born on this day: Eduard Vorganov (Russia, 1982); Matthew J. Feiner (USA, 1963); Radim Kořínek (Czechoslovakia, 1973); John Bugeja (Malta, 1932); Uwe Nepp (Germany, 1966); David Dibben (Cayman Islands, 1959); Fons van Katwijk (Netherlands, 1951); Pietro Bestetti (Italy, 1898, died 1936); Eddie Testa (USA, 1910, died 1998).

Daily Cycling Facts 30.08.2013

André Trousselier, 29.05.1887-10.04.1968

Today, Liège-Bastogne-Liège always takes place in late April but this was not always the case - it has been organised in Spring, Summer and even Autumn and, while there was a gap of fourteen years between the third and fourth editions, when the race reappeared on this day in 1908 it was the second consecutive edition to be held in August. The winner was Frenchman André Trousselier, who took 8h12'09" to score the first victory by a non-Belgian - and the last by a non-Belgian until 1930. His older brother Louis was more famous, having won the Tour de France in 1905.

Maurice Archambaud
Born in Paris on this day in 1906 and nicknamed Le Nabot, "The Dwarf," on account of his diminutive height, Maurice Archambaud was the envy of all cyclists for his enormous, heavily-muscled thighs. He used them to set a new Hour Record of 45.767km at Milan's famous Vigorelli velodrome in 1937 - it would not be bettered until Fausto Coppi managed 45.798km in 1942.

Archambaud was fantastically good at winning stages and would sometimes win them with a large enough margin to lead races. This happened  at the Tour de France in 1933 when he won Stages 1 and 11, getting himself into the maillot jaune for nine days, and again in 1936 when his Stage 4 victory and a series of good places saw him lead for five days. He also won stages at the Tour in 1935 (5a, 14b), 1937 (2) and 1939 (10B, 10C, 12B, 17B) and at the 1935 Giro d'Italia (14b), but suffered from an inconsistency that prevented him from achieving more in the Grand Tours. When circumstances went his way in a shorter stage race, however, he could do very well indeed - he won Paris-Nice in 1936 and 1939.

Natallia Tsylinskaya
Born in Minsk, USSR (now Belarus) on this day in 1975, Natallia Tsylinskaya began road racing when an instructor came to her school (and you can say what you want about Soviet Communism, but they were on the right tracks when they came up with the idea of sending people into schools to encourage the kids to start racing bicycles) and later started track cycling on the recommendation of a friend. Aged 14, she won a National Youth Championship; two years later she won bronze at the World Junior Championships.

Natallia Tsylinskaya

Following the fall of the USSR, which left athletes free to turn professional, Tsylinskaya was ready to move into the Elite ranks when she met Alexander Markovnichenko, a Ukrainian champion cyclist with whom she fell in love. They married and, in 1996, Tsylinskaya gave birth to a daughter. She had no intention of ever returning to cycling at that time and Markovnichenko apparently didn't want her to do so. However, he didn't oppose her training to be a sports instructor and she qualified in 1998. Later that year, the Belarusian Cycling Federation approached her in an attempt to persuade to start competing again. She had a choice - her husband or her sport, and she made the right decision.

Two years later, she won the 500m time trial and the sprint at the World Track Championships in Manchester, then she won them again in 2002 and won the 500m TT for a third time the year after that. In 2004 she won a bronze medal for same event at the Olympics, then she regained her 500m TT World title in 2005 and successfully defended it in 2006, also winning back the World Sprint Championship that year.

Javier Otxoa

Javier Otxoa in 2009

Javier Otxoa, a Basque born in Barakaldo on this day in 1974, won Stage 10 on Hautacam in freezing cold, wet conditions at the Tour de France in 2000, an achievement that instantly brought comparisons to Charly Gaul - the greatest climber of them all and winner of the 1958 Tour de France - and earned him second place in the overall King of the Mountains.

Seven months after the Tour ended, he and his twin brother Ricardo were on a training ride when a car ploughed into them. Ricardo was killed; Javier did not awake from his coma for a month and was left severely disabled for life. Just three years later, he qualfied for the Paralympics and won the road race, then took a silver  in the Pursuit race on the track. He was disqualfied from the Pursuit in 2008 when judges deemed him to have ridden too closely behind his opponent Darren kenny, with Kenny later expressing his disappointment in their decision because he'd been looking forward to trying himself against Otxoa; but he won the road time trial and came second in the road race.

Adam Bergman, born in the USA on this day in 1980, began competitive mountain biking in 1995, then moved into road racing a year later. In 2004 he tested positive for EPO, at first denying that he had never taken the drug, but later confessing during his subsequent two-year ban. He returned to racing in 2007.

Other cyclists born on this day: Luc de Smet (Belgium, 1957); Derk van Egmond (Netherlands, 1956); Aneta Hladíková (Czechoslovakia, 1984); Danny Clark (Australia, 1951); Federico Canuti (Italy, 1985); Enzo Cesario (Chile, 1980); Jesús Torres (Venezuela, 1954); Milan Zyka (Czechoslovakia, 1947); Alessandro Messina (Canada, 1941); Dorjpalamyn Tsolmon (Mongolia, 1957); Marissa van der Merwe (South Africa, 1978); Agustín Sebastiá (Spain, 1964); Diego Calero (Colombia, 1940).

Daily Cycling Facts 01.12.2012

Alex Rhodes, born today in 1984
(image: GSL CC BY-SA 2.5) 

Alex Rhodes was born on this day in 1984 in Alice Springs. After a very promising early track career, Alex was seriously injured in a road accident in 2005 that led to the death of team-mate Amy Gillett, but she returned the following year to win one stage of the Bay Classic and two bronze medals at the Australian National Track Championships. Since then, she has won three more stages at the Bay Classic and a bronze at the National Time Trial Championships. In 2011, she came 5th overall in the Ladies' Tour of Qatar and became Australian Elite Road Race Champion.

David Nicholas, born in Rockampton, Australia on this day in 1991, won the gold medal for the Individual Time Trial and a bronze in the Individual Road Race at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. Born with cerebral palsy, he also competes in karate competitions.

Other cyclists born on this day: Eduard Vorganov (Russia, 1982); Matthew J. Feiner (USA, 1963); Radim Kořínek (Czechoslovakia, 1973); John Bugeja (Malta, 1932); Uwe Nepp (Germany, 1966); David Dibben (Cayman Islands, 1959); Fons van Katwijk (Netherlands, 1951); Pietro Bestetti (Italy, 1898, died 1936); Eddie Testa (USA, 1910, died 1998).

Daily Cycling Facts 30.08.12

André Trousselier, 29.05.1887-10.04.1968

Today, Liège-Bastogne-Liège always takes place in late April but this was not always the case - it has been organised in Spring, Summer and even Autumn andwhile there was a gap of fourteen years between the third and fourth editions, when the race reappeared on this day in 1908 it was the second consecutive edition to be held in August. The winner was Frenchman André Trousselier, who took 8h12'09" to score the first victory by a non-Belgian - and the last by a non-Belgian until 1930. His older brother Louis was more famous, having won the Tour de France in 1905.

Maurice Archambaud
Born in Paris on this day in 1906 and nicknamed Le Nabot, "The Dwarf," on account of his diminutive height, Maurice Archambaud was the envy of all cyclists for his enormous, heavily-muscled thighs. He used them to set a new Hour Record of 45.767km at Milan's famous Vigorelli velodrome in 1937 - it would not be bettered until Fausto Coppi managed 45.798km in 1942.

Archambaud was fantastically good at winning stages and would sometimes win them with a large enough margin to lead races. This happened  at the Tour de France in 1933 when he won Stages 1 and 11, getting himself into the maillot jaune for nine days, and again in 1936 when his Stage 4 victory and a series of good places saw him lead for five days. He also won stages at the Tour in 1935 (5a, 14b), 1937 (2) and 1939 (10B, 10C, 12B, 17B) and at the 1935 Giro d'Italia (14b), but suffered from an inconsistency that prevented him from achieving more in the Grand Tours. When circumstances went his way in a shorter stage race, however, he could do very well indeed - he won Paris-Nice in 1936 and 1939.

Natallia Tsylinskaya
Born in Minsk, USSR (now Belarus) on this day in 1975, Natallia Tsylinskaya began road racing when an instructor came to her school (and you can say what you want about Soviet Communism, but they were on the right tracks when they came up with the idea of sending people into schools to encourage the kids to start racing bicycles) and later started track cycling on the recommendation of a friend. Aged 14, she won a National Youth Championship; two years later she won bronze at the World Junior Championships.

Natallia Tsylinskaya

Following the fall of the USSR, which left athletes free to turn professional, Tsylinskaya was ready to move into the Elite ranks when she met Alexander Markovnichenko, a Ukrainian champion cyclist with whom she fell in love. They married and, in 1996, Tsylinskaya gave birth to a daughter. She had no intention of ever returning to cycling at that time and Markovnichenko apparently didn't want her to do so. However, he didn't oppose her training to be a sports instructor and she qualified in 1998. Later that year, the Belarusian Cycling Federation approached her in an attempt to persuade to start competing again. She had a choice - her husband or her sport, and she made the right decision.

Two years later, she won the 500m time trial and the sprint at the World Track Championships in Manchester, then she won them again in 2002 and won the 500m TT for a third time the year after that. In 2004 she won a bronze medal for same event at the Olympics, then she regained her 500m TT World title in 2005 and successfully defended it in 2006, also winning back the World Sprint Championship that year.

Javier Otxoa

Javier Otxoa in 2009

Javier Otxoa, a Basque born in Barakaldo on this day in 1974, won Stage 10 on Hautacam in freezing cold, wet conditions at the Tour de France in 2000, an achievement that instantly brought comparisons to Charly Gaul - the greatest climber of them all and winner of the 1958 Tour de France - and earned him second place in the overall King of the Mountains.

Seven months after the Tour ended, he and his twin brother Ricardo were on a training ride when a car ploughed into them. Ricardo was killed; Javier did not awake from his coma for a month and was left severely disabled for life. Just three years later, he qualfied for the Paralympics and won the road race, then took a silver  in the Pursuit race on the track. He was disqualfied from the Pursuit in 2008 when judges deemed him to have ridden too closely behind his opponent Darren kenny, with Kenny later expressing his disappointment in their decision because he'd been looking forward to trying himself against Otxoa; but he won the road time trial and came second in the road race.

Adam Bergman, born in the USA on this day in 1980, began competitive mountain biking in 1995, then moved into road racing a year later. In 2004 he tested positive for EPO, at first denying that he had never taken the drug, but later confessing during his subsequent two-year ban. He returned to racing in 2007.

Other cyclists born on this day: Luc de Smet (Belgium, 1957); Derk van Egmond (Netherlands, 1956); Aneta Hladíková (Czechoslovakia, 1984); Danny Clark (Australia, 1951); Federico Canuti (Italy, 1985); Enzo Cesario (Chile, 1980); Jesús Torres (Venezuela, 1954); Milan Zyka (Czechoslovakia, 1947); Alessandro Messina (Canada, 1941); Dorjpalamyn Tsolmon (Mongolia, 1957); Marissa van der Merwe (South Africa, 1978); Agustín Sebastiá (Spain, 1964); Diego Calero (Colombia, 1940).

Cycling Evening News 23.04.12

Greipel wins in Turkey - Berlin withdraws Tour bid, cites cost and doping as reason - Contador case "Mr. X" was Liberty Seguros soigneur - Canadian event designed to promote women's cycling -  Boost for British CX - Tour prologue extended - Ng Yong Li hit by car - Paracycling in mainstream news - Meersman to ride Romandie - Gilbert Bros. compete at Tour of Belgium - Sky announce Romandie roster - Newswire - Addison Lee protest - The importance of hydration

Andre Greipel, now with Lotto-Belisol

Racing
Greipel wins in Turkey
Lotto-Belisol's Andre Greipel won the second stage at the Tour of Turkey today (Monday), winning a sprint against Matthew Goss of GreenEDGE (who took second place for the second time in the race) after a very hot 153km ride along the coast from Alanya to Antalya featuring a tough climb to Aksu at 130km. Greipel's form appeared to take a dive over the last month or so after good results and six wins early in the year, so his cosy advantage as he crossed the line will have come as something of a relief to him and his team management.

Five riders led by Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) broke away early in the stage and remained out in front for the majority of the race, at one point achieving a lead of 4'30"; but they'd all been caught with 5km to go to the finish line. (Full results when available)

Tomorrow, the riders face another grueling 152km from Antalya, heading inland to the mountains and Elmali and twice climbing to more than 1,600m. (Stage 3 map and profile)

Berlin withdraws Tour bid
Success in Yorkshire's bid to host the start of the 2016 Tour de France comes a step closer today with an announcement made by the Sports Minister of Berlin stating that the German city will withdraw its own bid due to the high cost. Hosting the start would cost about ten million euros, "a damned high sum of money" says Andreas Statzkowksi. Instead, the city hopes to instead attract the World Track Championships, a far more affordable prospect at 1.5 million euros.

Cycling has done more than any
sport to combat doping, but still
suffers from the association

It's good news for Yorkshire, but bad news for cycling because, worryingly, doping was also part of the Berlin government's decision - according to newspaper Der Tagespiegel, "the Senate was encouraged to cancel the bid by the years of doping scandals in cycling... A World Indoor Championships would be worth more [to the city] than the Tour, which has been battered by doping scandals," an indication that despite the sport and the Tour taking up widespread measures that are frequently above and beyond what is required by the UCI and WADA to rid itself of the problem, the names of cycling and its greatest race are still tarnished. (More from Der Tagespiegel)

Contador rode for Liberty from 2003
to 2006

Contador case "Mr. X" was Liberty Seguros soigneur, says Spanish magazine
Mr. X - the mysterious figure who claimed to have seen Alberto Contador injecting himself at the 2005 Tour de France with insulin supplied by Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes - has been revealed as an ex-soigneur at the Spanish rider's then team Liberty Seguros by Spanish magazine Interviu.

Mr. X is understood to have been sworn in during the hearing and asked for anonymity, saying he was afraid for his own and his family's safety. However, his WADA-requested admission in the case was refused by the CAS after moves by Contador's legal team. The magazine does not say if it knows his identity, but it's surely only a matter of time before someone remembers who was working for the team that year. (More from Interviu.es)

Canadian Cycling teams up with Fast and Female to bring more girls into the sport
The Canadian Federation is working with Fast and Female to run an event at the Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau, Canada's only women's UCI road race and time trial, on the 20th of May with the aim of encouraging girls and young women aged between 9 and 19 to take up competitive cycling. Tickets cost $20 (for which every attendee will receive lunch and a t-shirt valued at $40) and the event will feature various motivational activities including talks by famous riders including National Criterium Champion Leah Kirchmann. More details here.

Boost for British CX
British cyclo cross is due to receive a massive boost following an announcement made by British Cycling that a series of summer events will be held in Cumbria this year. Open to anyone who pays a small entrance fee, whether they ride a CX bike or a mountain bike, races at Ulverston, Ambleside, Whitehaven, Whinlatter, Sedbergh and Penrith are already confirmed and the Federation says more will be added if they prove successful.

Every venue will host races for under 10s, under 12s, under 14 and under 16s, women, juniors, seniors and veterans - and as a result will help introduce a wide range of people to one of the most accessible forms of competitive cycling and, with a bit of luck, result in some future champions. (More information from British Cycling)

Other Racing News
The 2012 Tour de France prologue - to be held in Liège and originally intended to be as identical as possible to that in 2004, when a 23-year-old Fabian Cancellara beat favourite Lance Armstrong by 3" - will have to be extended by 300m due to roadworks. The parcours will now be 6.4km in length. (More from Cycling News)

Malaysian National team member Ng Yong Li considers himself fortunate to have escaped with deep cuts to his back, arms and head after he was hit by a motorcycle during a training ride yesterday. "I was cycling alone and I don’t know how the motorcycle hit me as the road was clear,” says the 26-year-old, who became the first Malaysian rider ever signed to a European team with a contract from Portugal's Vitoria ASC in 2007. "Luckily there was a police patrol car passing by and they took me to the hospital - my back really hurts after the accident but luckily I don’t have any broken bones," he adds. (More from The Star Online)

Congratulations are due to The Daily Mirror which carries an article on paracycling's Sarah Storey this morning - a story about paracycling is a very welcome sight in the British tabloid newspapers, which have only begun to cover cycling at all over the last couple of years (largely inspired by The Sun, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which also owns 39.1% of Sky and thus has a vested interest in promoting the sport). That Storey happens to be very pleasing to look upon (there's a large-format portrait proving the fact) very likely helped encourage editors to go with the piece, but nevertheless: paracycling in the mainstream news = a good thing. (More from The Daily Mirror)

Gianni Meersman has recovered from the knee problem that has plagued the start of his 2012 season and hopes to perform well in the Tour di Romandie this week. I've now had three painless training rides, and I'm hoping it'll stay that way in competition," he told Het Nieuwesblad. "My form should not have been too badly affected by my short break from riding and it ought to be possible for me to get something from each Romandie stage." (More from Het Nieuwesblad)

Jerome Gilbert - little brother to BMC's Philippe - signed up to Accent Jobs-Willems Veranda's recently and made his professional debut at Liège-Bastogne-Liège last week. Now, the brothers are to compete against one another for the first time in a stage race, as both have been selected by their teams for the Ronde van België which begins in one month's time. (More from Het Nieuwesblad)

Team Sky have revealed their Tour di Romandie squad. General Classification contender Bradley Wiggins will be joined by Mark Cavendish, Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome, Danny Pate, Richie Porte, Michael Rogers and Kanstantsin Siutsou. The race begins tomorrow (24th April) with a 3.34km time trial at Lausanne.

Team Sky ‏ @TeamSky
#Romandie squad: @MarkCavendish @chrisfroome @TheDPate @richie_porte @mickrogers Kanstantsin Siutsou, @GeraintThomas86 @bradwiggins

Newswire
Andrea Guardini warming up for the Giro d’ Italia 2012 (Bettor.com)

MIRC Patiala’s Atul Kumar wins Mumbai-Pune Cycle Race (The Indian Express)

Imagine training next to speeding cars (PressDemocrat)


Cycling
Addison Lee protest

British cyclists plan to hold a "die-in" protest at 18:00 this evening outside the Central London offices of minicab firm Addison Lee this evening after boss John Griffin used the company's in-house magazine Add Lib to claim riders should be held responsible for their own misfortune when injured or killed on the capital's road because "throwing themselves onto some of the most congested spaces in the world...[on] a vehicle which offers them no protection except a padded plastic hat" is their own choice. Those who wish to take part should meet at the corner of Stanhope Street and William Road (51°31'37.80"N 0° 8'27.00"W). Pedestrians and responsible drivers are also welcome. More details here.

Other Cycling News
Cyclist dies of dehydration in Palm Springs (2News/AP)

Annoyed at the authorities' lack of haste in providing cycle lanes and failure to consult cyclists when they do, Moscow cyclists took matters into their own hands by creating their own (RT)

Cycling deaths are raising concerns in New York City, with drivers who kill cyclists walking away without criminal charges laid against them (World News Australia)

Evening Cycle News

Paracycling in US MTB Nats - Van Dijk victory in Borsele - Cav supports Millar for London - Other racing news

Racing
Paracycling debuts in US MTB Nats
Sun Valley Adaptive Sports and US Cycling have announced that paracycling will form a part of the USA National MTB Championships for the first time this year with a handcycling cross country race taking place on the 5th of July at the Sun Valley course. (More from Cycling News)

Van Dijk victory in Borsele
Ellen van Dijk (Specialized-Lululemon) won the Omloop van Borsele after approaching the finish line in a group of seven riders and getting the better of them after a furious final sprint. Gracie Elvin, 2009 Australian Under-23 Mountain Bike Champion, performed extraordinarily well to take second place, holding off Rabobank's Sarah Düster who took third. The top ten looks like this:

  1.  Ellen Van Dijk Specialized-Lululemon 3h3'18"
  2.  Gracie Elvin ST
  3.  Sarah Düster Rabobank ST
  4.  Chantal Blaak AA Drink-Leontien.nl ST
  5.  Amy Pieters Skil-Argos ST
  6.  Melissa Hoskins GreenEDGE ST
  7.  Megan Guarnier Team TIBCO ST
  8.  Kirsten Wild AA Drink-Leontien.nl +46"
  9.  Laura Van Der Kamp Dolmans-Boels ST
  10.  Anastasiya Chulkova ST

(Full results)
(For photos of the race, Bart Hazen is the man to see)

Cav would love to ride with Millar in London
After Dave Brailsford's announcement that he would select David Millar for Team GB if a challenge to the IOC lifetime ban on any athlete to have been found guilty of doping is successful, Mark Cavendish has said that he "would love him to be on the team for London." However, Millar has not yet given any indication that he would accept a place on the team even if the rules are changed: "I've nailed myself to a few crosses and I'm not sure if I'm prepared to go for the final big one on this," he told the press last month. (More from the Daily Mirror)

Other Racing News
"Spain's Joaquim Rodriguez is hoping to make amends for a missed opportunity in 2006 by upstaging former teammate Alejandro Valverde to claim his maiden win at Liege-Bastogne-Liege." (AFP)

"Swiss bike manufacture BMC has committed to sponsoring its eponymous WorldTour team for four more years" (Velonation)

Cycling
Why Cyclists Wear Ugly Shirts and Other Important Things (Winnetka-Glencoe Patch)

Tommy Godwin's unbreakable cycling record (BBC)

Belfast ghost bike: Widow moved by memorial at site of husband’s accident (Belfast Telegraph)

Cycling offers hope to amnesia sufferer (New Zealand Herald)