The SRAM Tour of the Gila is in its second year as a UCI race. But because of its (extremely remote) proximity, cycling fans in the U.S. – or anywhere in the world – don't enjoy live TV coverage, a bevy of media coverage or even regular tweets out of Silver City, N.M.

The five-stage race begins Wednesday and includes two mountain-top finishes, a criterium and a lumpy time trial (that includes two categorized climbs). Among the teams competing is the new Champion System squad, which includes Americans Chris Butler and Craig Lewis. Here is that team's news release...

(Photo of Lewis via champ-sys.com.)

Champion System Ready for U.S. Debut

Hong Kong, SAR – The Champion System Pro Cycling Team makes its U.S. debut Wednesday at the 26th annual SRAM Tour of the Gila with a pair of Americans, Chris Butler and Craig Lewis, on its five-rider roster.

General Manager Ed Beamon said the mountainous, five-day race in New Mexico is an ideal event to launch the first Asian pro continental team's American campaign.

"We won't have a full squad because of our international schedule, but I think we're sending a very good group of guys with the goal of trying to win the overall," Beamon said. "I know there will be some good, strong American teams there. But Craig is really starting to come into form and Chris and Australian Cameron Wurf are both ready to tackle the climbs. So we feel pretty confident we'll be able to challenge."

Joining Butler, Lewis and Wurf on Champion System's roster is former Malaysian national road champion Adiq Othman and past Chinese national road champion XU Gang. Othman's five top 10 finishes this year include a pair of third place performances at the Tour de Taiwan last month.

The SRAM Tour of the Gila features mountain-top finishes on Wednesday's opening stage and Sunday's final stage and a 16.15-mile individual time trial with two categorized climbs on Stage 3. Champion System Assistant Director Chris Wherry, a two-time winner (1999, 2002) of the Tour of the Gila himself, will direct the team.

Lewis has not competed at Gila before, but said he is familiar with some of the climbs after doing a few training camps in the area.

"It's been five or six years since I've last been there, but I remember the climbs and how the roads are," he said. "So I'm pretty comfortable with it even though I've never done the race. The altitude is kind of an unknown for everybody. And there aren't that many races at high elevations. But I'll be coming from Colorado. The courses are tough for the U.S. for sure, so that kind of suits me."

Champion System Vice President of Sales and Marketing Charlie Issendorf said he wouldn't mind seeing one of the team's riders trade their Champion System team jersey for a Gila leader jersey, which Champion System provides to the SRAM Tour of The Gila for competition in eight different competitor categories.

"Champion System has become a market leader in custom cycling apparel and America is our largest market," Issendorf said. "What better way to showcase the construction quality and performance functionality of our latest products than to have our own team racing in a top U.S. event?"

Champion System Pro Cycling Team SRAM Tour of the Gila Roster:
Chris Butler (USA), XU Gang (CHN), Craig Lewis (USA), Adiq Othman (MAL), Cameron Wurf (AUS)

Director: Chris Wherry (USA)

via www.amgentourofcalifornia.com

Always a source of speculation, we now know which teams will be competing in the seventh edition of the Amgen Tour of California.

Not everyone will be happy with who is taking the start line in Santa Rosa in May. Team Sky and Saxo Bank are notable omissions from the list of ProTeams. And pro continental squad Team Type 1, which once announced its desire to race in the Tour de France by 2012, won't even be riding in one of the major races in its own country.

What do you think of the field? Will you miss watching domestic teams like Jelly Belly (in all six previous editions), Competitive Cyclist (with 2011 National Racing Calendar individual champion Francesco Mancebo) and Jamis-Sutter Home (also in last year's race)? Are you excited about following Alex Merckx's Bontrager-Trek squad (likely the youngest team in the race since the U.S. national team was given a start in 2007)?

via champ-sys.com

We're beginning to get a better glimpse of the jerseys we'll come to get used to searching for in the pro peloton in 2012. Another one emerged today. The new Champion System team ("Asia's first pro continental team") pulled the curtain on its look, along with a list of sponsors.

Thoughts?

Here's the Champion System team's official release:

Champion System Reveals Jersey, Sponsors

Hong Kong SAR – The Champion System Pro Cycling Team has revealed its 2012 jersey while announcing supporting sponsors for Asia’s first Pro Continental team.

The new jersey design features Champion System’s company colors of navy blue and orange on a white background. Riders will compete in both the Champion System Tech short sleeve jerseys and the Elite short sleeve jersey, which is Champion System’s most aerodynamic and form-fitting jersey.

Champion System Vice President of Sales and Marketing Charlie Issendorf said the team will have a full arsenal of Champion System custom technical apparel at its disposal, both on and off the bike.

"As the only cycling clothing manufacturer to be the title sponsor of a Professional Continental team, we wanted to showcase our state-of-the-art printing and design expertise to offer technical garments that elite riders demand to perform at their best," Issendorf said. "The Champion System Pro Cycling Team will be our rolling R&D department and will play a key role in developing new products for our loyal customers."

The official team jersey and bib short can be purchased here.

In keeping with Champion System’s core philosophy, the team has chosen to partner with brands that also have a reputation for performance, function and style in their products. In addition to the announcement earlier this week that the Champion System Pro Cycling Team will be competing on Fuji bicycles, the team will also be supported by:

SRAM (groupsets)
OSEOUS-Edco (wheels)
Speedplay (pedals)
Giro (helmets)
Oakley (eyewear)
Selle Italia (saddles)
Vittoria (tires)
Oval Concepts (bars and stems)
Cat Eye (computers)
Super B Tools (tools)
Tacx (trainers)

We're hearing more and more about the new Champion System team, the first pro-continental team out of Asia and a product of former Navigators GM Ed Beamon.

The latest news is that we'll see this squad racing on Fuji SSTs when they line up in the Tours of Qatar and Oman in February. The team hasn't released its official roster yet, but we do know Americans Craig Lewis (formerly of HTC-Highroad) and Chris Butler (formerly BMC Racing Team) will be a part of it. What races the team will get entry in as far as the U.S. circuit remains to be seen.

Here's the official release from the Champion System team about its sponsorship from Fuji.

Fuji to be Official Bike Sponsor of Historic Asian Cycling Team

Philadelphia – Fuji Bikes is pleased to announce that it will be the official bike sponsor of the first pro-continental cycling team based in Asia: Champion System.

Born out of a desire to grow the sport of cycling in Asia, as well as create an avenue of opportunity for Asian cyclists on a world stage, the Champion System squad will race across the globe in 2012 aboard Fuji Altamira's and SST's.

The Altamira is Fuji's top-of-the-line, grand-tour winning, all-carbon race bike with a tapered head tube for precise handling, an oversized down tube for superior efficiency, and full-carbon dropouts for weight reduction. It's the bike that carried Juan Jose Cobo to victory at the 2011 Vuelta a España.

The SST is the ultimate sprinter's bike. Designed with asymmetrical chainstays, aero-shaped tubes, and Fuji's R.I.B. carbon membrane technology, the SST ensures maximum power transfer so that every sprint is explosive for Champion System's most powerful riders.

"We're thrilled to be a part of this historic project," Fuji V.P. of Marketing Karen Bliss said. "In partnership with title sponsor Champion System Sport, it is our mutual hope to grow the market and sport in a region with huge potential, as well as put Asia's rising stars on some of the best bikes in the world."

"Fuji is the brand we knew we wanted," Champion System General Manager Ed Beamon said. "More than a century old, Fuji's tested and proven, especially on the pro cycling level."

Likely one of the most international rosters in the peloton, the Champion System squad will feature riders from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Estonia, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States. Top signees include the former Chinese National Champion Xu Gang, Estonian four-time Tour de France stage winner Jaan Kirsipuu, and seven-time Asian BMX Champion Steven Wong.

With the team presentation scheduled for Jan. 11 in Bejiing and team training camp to follow in Hainan, Champion System will start its season at the Tour of Qatar and Tour of Oman in early February, having recently received invites from the ASO. The team will then begin a global campaign that includes prominent races in Europe and North America, as well as all of Asia's top races: the Tour of Langkawi, Tour of Qinghai Lake, Tour of China, Tour of Hainan, Tour of Taiwan, and Tour of Korea.

Additional technical sponsors and team presentation details will be announced in the coming days.

About Fuji Bikes
Established in 1899, the Fuji brand is one of the oldest surviving bicycle brands in the world. Fuji's steadfast philosophy in utilizing the most advanced technology and incorporating elite athlete input into its high-performance products has enabled the brand to endure while others have faltered. Fuji offers a complete line of premium bikes - road, specialty, mountain, women's, kids, urban, transportation, comfort, and cruiser - through its network of specialty bicycle retailers across the globe. To learn more, please visit www.fujibikes.com.

Photo copyright: Chris See (via www.tusharcrusher.com)

You might remember seeing the mix of bicycles on the start line of last year's aptly-named "Crusher in the Tushar." The brainchild of former pro Burke Swindlehurst, this grueling, 69-mile race crossed one of Utah's highest roads on the way to crowning Clara Hughes and Tyler Wren as its inaugural pro women's and men's champions.

Well, "The Crusher" is coming back in 2012, with the Beaver County Travel Council as a new title sponsor and a special registration program for all first-year entrants.

Continue reading this post »

A firestorm has erupted on Twitter – and some people's Facebook walls – over PezCyclingNews' decision to publish several (very NSFW) photos from the "follies" sideshow at the Grenoble Six track event in Grenoble.

Sure, it's Europe – where standards of decency are different. But what are your thoughts on scrolling down through a cycling story, only to stumble across photos of bare-breasted women? And some have taken offense to part of the article one reader describes as having "racist and sexist overtones."

Is this a case of a lot of hype about nothing? Or has Pez crossed the line?

With one exception (in 2010), the city of Solvang has been an annual stop on the Amgen Tour of California. Its time trial course often factors heavily into the outcome of what used to be the premier stage race in the U.S. (That status is now  bestowed on the USA Pro Cycling Challenge after an overwhelmingly successful inaugural year.)

For the 2012 edition of the Amgen Tour of California, we know Santa Rosa will host the start. And it now appears that Solvang will not host the time trial, much less any stage start or finish next May. Credit the Santa Maria Times for one of the most revealing stories about the financial requirements and demands placed on cities by the race's management company, AEG.

Get the full scoop here.

The BMC Racing Team is giving fans of the team a chance to get the same information it provides to journalists by making its new race guides available for download on its website.

The guides are PDFs and custom to each race (the one for the Tour of Qatar is online here) and include a photo of each rider, their specifications and a snapshot bio. There's also information on the team staff and the obligatory banner of sponsors.

The team says it will provide race guides for all stage races in 2011, as well as select one-day races.

Instead of watching the umpteenth reply of yesterday's Tour de France stage, why not tune in tonight to watch one of the best U.S. stage races? Universal Sports is televising an hour-long recap of last month's Nature Valley Grand Prix two times – 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT and 11 p.m. EDT/8 p.m. PDT.

Without giving it away for those of you who don't recall who won, the men's race came down to the last few laps of the final day's Stillwater Criterium, while the lead in the women's race changed hands four times over the course of five days.

via www.naturevalleybicyclefestival.com

Continue reading this post »

I know this will draw little attention, given that Podium Cafe is all about Euro pro racing, but the Nature Valley Grand Prix made an announcement this weekend that has a potential trickle-down effect on the rest of the domestic circuit.

At this year's National Racing Calendar event, the Nature Valley Grand Prix will prohibit the use of time trial bikes (and certain aero equipment like disc wheels and helmets). This might not be sitting well with the top-line professional squads, which are paid to ride the TT bikes you all salivate over. But for the elite and lower-level domestic squads, it has the potential to keep them from losing time to the tricked-out pro teams and it is also a big cost-saver (given that Delta is charging $175 each way for bikes).

What will be most interesting to see is whether any other NRC stage races follow suit. This is the first year that USA Cycling has had a rule on the books allowing promoters to mandate that "mass start" bicycles are used.

Continue reading this post »

via www.starz.com

The ShaverSport team, led by brothers Marcus and David Sommers, headlines the list of teams announced Thursday for this year's Amgen Tour of California.

Among the other teams in the field are a host of top toe-clip-and-strap talent: Team Cinzano, The Cutters, Team Major Taylor and a first for the five-year race – a two-man team of actor Kevin Bacon and Olympic gold medalist Nelson Vails known simply as "Team Quicksilver."

Surprisingly, the 7-Eleven squad of Barry "The Cannibal" Muzzin was not included, despite its respectable performance at the recent "Hell of the West" stage race.

It's that time again – when speculation begins as to which teams will be part of the most prestigious stage race in the United States.

For U.S. continental teams, a berth in this race brings unprecedented media attention and the opportunity to post results that can make or break an entire season. In the inaugural edition (2006), new-kid-on-the-block Toyota-United burst onto the scene with two stage wins. And until Rock Racing won the opening road stage last year, no other U.S.-registered team at the continental level had earned an ATOC stage win.

Rules stipulate that at least half of the field for a UCI 2.HC event must be comprised of U.S.-registered teams. Considering race organizer AEG has trimmed the race back by one day, it would not be a surprise if the field was cut from 17 to 16 teams this year.

Make the jump to see which teams were in the race last year and which ones are a lock to be there again in May.

Continue reading this post »

News that Floyd Landis has signed on with the the Bahati Foundation Pro Cycling Team is certain to send shockwaves through the domestic peloton.

Landis had been rumored to be a part of Rock Racing for 2010, until the team failed to land a UCI license. There was quiet speculation that he might sign on with a lower-level U.S. continental team – and perhaps even the amateur Yahoo! cycling team, but today's news puts all those rumors to rest.

One burning question remains – will Landis' presence on the team be enough to earn the Bahati Foundation team a spot in this year's Amgen Tour of California? Let the speculation begin....

Photos courtesy Brian Hodes, www.veloimages.com

The Fly V Australia team is doing its best to get noticed early on, putting on a lavish team presentation in Beverly Hills Friday night and already winning nine times – including at the big money criterium in Singapore on Sunday.

Perhaps lost in all the attention about the team that hopes to again be in this year's Amgen Tour of California, was the remarkable coincidence that team owner Chris White was diagnosed with testicular cancer on the same day as Lance Armstrong. White's story was told in a front-of-the-sports-page story in last week's Los Angeles Daily News.

More from the team presentation (including photos) at the jump...

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At a time when women's races are being canceled right and left, here comes some good news for female pros here in the U.S. The Women's Prestige Cycling Series will continue (for a seventh year) and it features four stage races for 2010.

VeloNews has the scoop. And former Team Type 1 rider Alison Powers (now with Team Vera Bradley Foundation) tells cyclingnews.com she is making the WPCS one of her targets this year (the other is the National Racing Calendar series that she also won in 2009).

Here's the official release (quoting the Peanut Butter & Co.TWENTY12 and TREADS.COM/DFT managers).

In a time when finances are tight, it's good to hear word of a new pro team in the United States.

SoCal residents are undoubtedly familiar with Adageo Energy Pro Cycling, since it was an elite team the past couple of years. But to a lot of cycling fans, the "Liquid Fitness" brand is a new one. From the sounds of it, they'll be competing in some NRC races (Redlands, Cascade Classic, Tour of Utah) in 2010.

It will be interesting to see how these guys flesh out. It sounds like their title sponsor is in it for the long haul and they have some respectable (if not young) talent coming on board. (more after the jump...)

Continue reading this post »

Wednesday's second stage was another display of power for Rock Racing, fresh off a four-month European campaign. Oscar Sevilla beat Peter Stetina (Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin) to the top after 80 miles and Francisco Mancebo (Rock Racing) was third.

CycleTo's Bob Cullinan is on-site, filing his always-interesting videos and Team Type 1's blog is offering "Behind The Scenes" video and photos. Check out former pro Gord Fraser working his way (in the team car) through the peloton.

If you haven't been following the Race Across America, now is the time to get caught up.

Team Type 1, which gets a lot of attention on here for its men's and women's professional teams, has an eight-rider team in the race that consists entirely of athletes who have Type 1 diabetes. Not only are they winning, but they have a chance to better the record set last year (five days, nine hours and 43 minutes) when they were pushed into second place for the first time.

The team's blog has all the latest news. And if you only read one story, catch the one about the impact of a special trip that was made to catch up to the team's crew car in Missouri.

While Lyne was delivering all the action from the Great White North during the Tour de Beauce, Team Type 1's blog was chock-full of behind-the-scenes content from the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Billed as the "Minnesota Bicycle Festival," this National Racing Calendar event annually draws huge crowds to the Minneapolis area.

This year was no different. The action was compelling on both the men's and women's sides – right down to the final minutes of racing. Kristin Armstrong made it four straight, but not without a fight. And defending champion Rory Sutherland (OUCH) pulled off a stunning upset over Bissell's Tom Zirbel on the final stage.

Check out Team Type 1's blog for some interesting video. And don't forget the official race site, either.

How many of you remember the days when a pro racer's wife was banned from following their husband at a stage race? Phil Anderson's wife, Anne, even went so far as to disguise herself as a man in order to follow her husband at the 1981 Tour de France.

That's another era now, but I was reminded of it today while reading a diary entry on Bike World News. It's from Cassie Jones, wife of Team Type 1 racer Chris Jones. She writes about what it is like to follow her husband during the Amgen Tour of California.

Click here to read more.

Versus delivered a solid chunk of cycling Saturday, capped off by its Amgen Tour of California preview program.

Some initial thoughts:

- This year's race is going to be hard. There is a lot of climbing. Let me repeat: there is a lot of climbing.

- The line-up of talent is stacked (which we already knew). But we also heard Lance Armstrong say he'll be happy to work for Levi Leipheimer because Levi "obsesses" about the Tour of California (Lance's words, not mine).

- Did anybody else realize Jelly Belly is now the longest-running domestic team (10 years and counting)?

- Craig Hummer (who did the voiceover) conveniently didn't mention that Floyd Landis was sidelined for two years by a doping violation and not simply a hip resurfacing surgery.

- Rock Racing got more than the 10-second mention it received on last year's show (after not getting any mention in the official race guide produced by VeloNews).

Apparently, a group of fans got a little too enthusiastic after the men's elite race at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships in Kansas City on Sunday.

There may have been two incidents - but the culprits appear to be the same.

Bicycling magazine's story makes mention (and includes a blurry photo) of a scuffle between "two shirtless, pant-less guys" after Ryan Trebon's win:

Better photos of a (separate?) fight show people being shoved face-first into a pile of bikes. (One of them has been rumored to be Jelly Belly pro Brad Huff.) Those pics are within this slideshow or direct link by clicking here.

Cyclingnews.com has a story about the new Midwest Cycling Series. Described as a "10-day professional cycling series to be held from June 18-28," it promises to feature top purses in best-of-class venues.

You can't argue with the men backing it - none other than U.S. Bicycle Hall of Famer and former 7-Eleven pro Tom Schuler and former executive direction of the BIke Federation of Wisconsin Jack Hirt.

The question is whether this series (which includes traditional Super Week series stops in Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Sheboygan and the cash-rich, spectator-friendly Downer Avenue) will shift cyclists' plans from making the trip to Wisconsin in June rather than July.

It's no secret that Super Week (officially titled the "Point Premium Root Beer International Cycling Classic") has been mired in financial difficulties the past few years - to the point of not paying officials, bouncing prize checks and even refusing to compensate the course barrier company - a story that is worthy of an entire post by itself.

With the 2009 ProTour team lineup announced, it seems like the appropriate time to start speculating on who's likely to show up at the Amgen Tour of California.

Last year, 17 teams participated in the eight-day (prologue and seven stages), 670-mile race: Astana (LUX), Bissell Pro Cycling Team (USA), BMC Racing Team (USA), Bouygues Telecom (FRA), Credit Agricole (FRA), Gerolsteiner (GER), Health Net Presented by Maxxis (USA), High Road Sports (GER), Jelly Belly Cycling Team (USA), Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast (USA), Quick Step (BEL), Rabobank Cycling Team (Netherlands), Rock Racing (USA), Saunier Duval-Scott (ESP), Team CSC (DEN), Team Slipstream Powered by Chipotle (USA) and Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team (USA).

This year's race will begin on a Saturday and include nine stages (Feb. 14-22), with precise routes and race distances yet to be announced.

A 16-team line-up is expected for 2009. At least one team (Astana) is a lock. With a 2.HC categorized rating, you can expect eight ProTour teams in this year's field. Let the speculation begin.

So we got our first look at Tyler Hamilton's new USPRO road champion's kit during the first stage of the Tour of Britain Sunday. It was very similar in design to the rest of the team's "London Rocks" kit.

Initial impressions? I'm guessing this isn't the last re-incarnation of the kit we see before the year is out. Though not shown here, Rahsaan Bahati's kit says "US Criterium Champion."

via www.truesport.com

The Tour of Ireland is featured in four one-hour shows on the Versus Network, beginning with Wednesday's program at 6 p.m. EST/3 p.m. PST.

Production is being handled out of Ireland, so expect a different slant than what you would normally see from Kent Gordis or Medalist Sports-produced events.

American teams are Garmin-Chipotle, Team Columbia and Team Type 1. The five-day race continues through Sunday, though Versus will only have coverage Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

Did anyone else see that Michael Ball, Ed Beamon and Jonathan Vaughters are running for USPRO Trustee positions?

Only USPRO license holders can vote in that category (USA Cycling is also electing representatives) but this part of the candidate statement by Ball is interesting:

"As the At-Large Trustee for USPRO, I will continue my commitment to you
and ensure your voice is heard. From periodic rider forums at major races to
establishing a dedicated rider forum online, I will listen to your ideas,
feedback and concerns. I will keep working toward changes that improve the
quality of events and increase the positive exposure the sport needs to grow.
I will also promote unified, cooperative action between teams, race
organizers and USA Cycling membership."

Vaughters is up against Ken Mills (a ROAD Magazine columnist who works for Kelly Benefit Strategies), while Rock Racing's Ball is running against Beamon, who directs Team Type 1. Athlete Trustees are Nick Reistad, Dylan Casey and Will Frischkorn (only Reistad has a statement up).

Votes have to be cast - USPRO or otherwise - by Aug. 15.

The Rock Racing online store went live overnight. The pro apparel won't be easy on your wallet - $210 for a jersey, $230 for bibs for the "Venom" kit.

A little disappointing are the extras: booties, arm warmers and gloves. All seem to be "coming soon." Socks are 15 bucks.

They have also added their "trackside" apparel and the prices are a little more reasonable than at the Tour of California. Water bottles are down to $8 (from $12) and a hat is only $20. They even have stickers ($5).

Rock Racing swept the top four places in Saturday’s prologue time trial at the Tour of Colombia.

Santiago Botero, like he did last year in winning the race, won the 8.3 km time trial, followed by Rock teammates Victor Hugo Peña (seven seconds behind), Oscar Sevilla and Tyler Hamilton (both 14 seconds behind).

Rock Racing is one of three non-Colombian teams (out of 15) in the 15-day race. Results of the prologue can be found here.

Cyclingnews.com is reporting that injuries have forced Saunier-Duval to withdraw its team from the Tour de Georgia.

The article goes on to say that the announcement comes on the same day that Rock Racing and Tour de Georgia organizer Medalist Sports are in court. Rock Racking is seeking an injunction against the race over a reported alleged verbal agreement the team had with Medalist over its entry.