SB Nation User Blog: steph-

Amgen Tour of California, 2010: Ten ideas for a better race

steph- — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:50:43 -0000

James Raia posted his ideas to better the Tour of California. My personal fav is #9!!....and it made me think of how the ToC could be improved even more. My first thought was to include the women!!

Amgen Tour of California, 2010: Ten ideas for a better race

Now that the route for the 2010 Amgen Tour of California has been announced, it's time get on with more important things.

A late-race mountaintop finish is cool. A downtown Los Angles individual time trial appears to be a great idea, too.

And the route for the fifth annual event will be the race's most difficult to date.

But here are 10 things I'd to see happen to make the Tour of California better. Some really should occur. The others? Just having a a little fun, you know?

10. A ban on the use of the word "grueling" throughout the entire eight days by anyone associated with the race. Bike racing is hard. It doesn't need embellishment.

9. A ban on white cycling shorts.

8. A young, unheralded pro taking a flyer and staying away from the big boys.

7. Levi Leipheimer winning a road stage. He's won two prologues, four individual time trials and three overall titles in four years, but not a road stage.

6. The fifth year as the last year of the race's eight-day format. Jonathan Vaughters said it best at the Rose Bowl press conference two years after the final stage. "The race should expand into a two-week race or longer. Let's go for it and do it right or not bother."

5. Discontinue the announcement of attendance estimates after stages. The totals aren't acccurate, they're guesses at best, tablulated by officials with vivid imaginations at worst. Besides, no one cares.

4. Hey, you other 15 cities. Take a look at Santa Rosa. Best city support every year so far. Store front windows decorated with old bikes, woolen jerseys, etc. Fans on rooftops and crowding the streets, all well-behaved and into the race, rain or shine.

3. Media wish (a): A four-color slick race magazine. Not a canned supplement, but the real deal. Athlete profiles, human-interest pieces, statistics, historical cycling essays. OK, sponsors' stuff included if it has to be.

2. Meda wish (b): Mainstream network of radio stations start to finish.

1. Pick any city. Peloton cruising through a small town. Grade school kids are out of classes for few minutes holding up handmade signs about the race. Word gets out. Peloton stops. 125 riders do "knuckles" with 200 kids for a minute or two. Peloton rolls out of town. Kids never forget.

New doping case?

steph- — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:20:00 -0000

New doping case?

Moises Dueñas Nevado, contrôlé positif à l'EPO durant le Tour de France 2008, a collaboré avec la police et avait cité le nom de Jesús Losa, le médecin qui fut impliqué dans cette affaire. Le journal El País révèle que des sms se seraient échangés entre des coureurs encore actifs aujourd'hui comme Francisco Mancebo (déjà impliqué dans l'affaire Puerto de 2006), Daniel Moreno, Luis León Sanchez, Alexandr Kolobnev et Luis Maté. Ces contacts seraient-ils mêlés à une nouvelle affaire de dopage, en relation avec le médecin Losa ? Affaire à suivre...

or....

Moises Duenas Nevado, tested positive for EPO during the Tour de France 2008, worked with police and had mentioned the name of Jesus Losa, the doctor who was involved in this case. The newspaper El Pais reveals that sms will be exchanged between riders still active today and Francisco Mancebo (already implicated in Operación Puerto, 2006), Daniel Moreno, Luis Leon Sanchez, Kolobnev and Luis Maté. These contacts should they be involved in a new doping scandal in connection with the doctor Losa? Stay tuned ...

Team Astana best team in 2009 / Alberto Contador best rider

steph- — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:31:52 -0000

from Team Astana....

After the Giro di Lombardia, the 24th and last race of the UCI World Calendar, which took place in Italy on October 17th, Alberto Contador is the final overall winner of the 2009 UCI individual World Ranking and his success during the season helped Team Asana top the team ranking. Spanish rival and 2008 number one Alejandro Valverde was second with 483 points. Spain completed their domination of the individual ranking, with Samuel Sanchez of the Euskaltel team third with 357 points.

Contador scored the most points (264) by winning the Tour de France victory (and three stages). He confirmed there that he is currently the best stage race rider in cycling. Earlier in the season Contador scored 76 points by finishing fourth and winning two stages in the Paris-Nice race in March. He then scored a further 112 points thanks to winning and taking two stages at the Vuelta al Paìs Vasco in April and also scored 75 points by finishing third overall in the Dauphiné Libéré stage race in June.

Contador’s individual success, together with the points scored by Andreas Klöden (in Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour de Suisse and Tour de France), Lance Armstrong (in Giro and Tour), Haimar Zubeldia (in Tour of Catalunya and Vuelta) and Levi Leipheimer (in Giro) helped his Astana team secure the victory in the UCI World Team Ranking. The Kazakhstan team scored a total of 1100 points during the season; beating nearest rivals Caisse d’Epargne by 52 points. Team Columbia was third.

Final Individual World Ranking

1. Alberto Contador (AST) 527 points
2. Alejandro Valverde     483
3. Samuel Sanchez         357
4. Andy Schleck           334
5. Cadel Evans            333
6. Edvald Boasson Hagen   322
7. Roman Kreuziger        319
8. Mark Cavendish         304
9. Philippe Gilbert       295
10.Robert Gesink          266

Final Teams World Ranking
1. Team Astana           1100 points
2. Caisse d’Epargne      1048
3. Team Columbia          957

Reactions Team Astana on 2010 Tour de France course

steph- — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:00:25 -0000

Received the press release a couple hours ago....interesting read....

Manager Johan Bruyneel

I think it’s a very traditional course. There is a little bit less time trialing than normal but other than that there are no surprises. In the beginning the stage with the cobblestones can be tricky but other than that it is very predictable. It’s a pity that there is no team time trial. Now at least they have eliminated the TTT which I think is better than the strange rules - about the time won or lost after a TTT - that existed in the past. It’s either you have it or you don’t have it, without special rules. Now it is easy; there is no TTT. At least that is fair.

Alberto Contador

I like the course. It will be a better Tour for climbers than for rouleurs. Honestly I would have preferred a 10 K shorter time trial and a second one of 20 or 30 K, but I am really happy about the course. It will be a very difficult race to control in the first week, which is particularly difficult with the Paris-Roubaix cobblestones, but I don’t give it too much importance. The most important thing will be not to crash. I hope it will not rain there.

The Alps stages will be less hard. The Pyrenees will be twice as hard as this year, especially with the double climb of the Tourmalet, one of them with a mountaintop finish. I will recognize those stages to know more about them.

Lance Armstrong

I think it’s an interesting course. It starts exciting. The first few days will provide a lot of drama for people between the crosswinds in Holland and the hills in and around Brussels and Spa and then with of course the cobblestones when we first come into France. The cobbles themselves are dangerous but what is even more dangerous is the run into the cobblestones. The kilometers before, the nerves, the anticipation before, the positioning, that is the most dangerous part. You need obviously an all rounded team but I think you have to take some big guys who can definitely support you in that first week because with the cobble sections you have to be in the front. I remember we did those sections in 2004 and I had great support from Ekimov and Hincapie. We came in the cobble zones first. It makes a big difference.

There will be only 60 K individual time trial but the only thing that is unfortunate for us, is that there will be no team time trial. The race will technically and tactically be much different than this year. You will have more guys who will be factors in the race because of the lack of the team time trial. In 2009 the TTT eliminated half of a dozen guys.

I think the organizers like what they had this year with a summit finish so late in the race. It keeps things close, it keeps everybody guessing. It keeps the riders sharp too. The race will not be decided before the last three or four days. Two times on the Tourmalet is unique too. I like it.

I will be close to 39 years old but the goal and ambition will be to try to win. I’m excited for the whole upcoming season. I like to think that I will be better than last year but Alberto has shown that he is the best in his sport right now; he will be tough to beat

USA Worlds Teams

steph- — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:05:19 -0000

Elite Men
Tom Danielson (Durango, Colo./Garmin-Slipstream)– Road Race and Time Trial
Tyler Farrar (Wenatchee, Wash./Garmin-Slipstream) – Road Race
Brent Bookwalter (Lookout Mountain, Ga./BMC Racing Team) – Road Race
Jeff Louder (Salt Lake City, Utah/BMC) – Road Race
Craig Lewis (Greenville, S.C./Columbia-High Road)– Road Race
Andrew Bajadali (Boulder, Colo./Kelly Benefit Strategies)– Road Race
Jason McCartney (Coralville, Iowa/Team Saxo Bank)– Road Race
Tim Duggan (Boulder, Colo./Garmin-Slipstream)– Road Race
Tom Peterson (North Bend, Wash./Garmnin-Slipstream)– Road Race
Tom Zirbel (Boulder, Colo./Bissell) – Time Trial

Elite Women
Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho/Cervelo-Lifeforce) – Time Trial and Road Race
Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif./ Equipe Nürnberger) – Time Trial and Road Race
Kimberly Anderson (Santa Barbara, Calif./Columbia-High Road) – Road Race
Mara Abbott (Boulder, Colo./Columbia HTC) – Road Race
Meredith Miller (Fort Collins, Colo./Team TIBCO) – Road Race
Evelyn Stevens (New York, N.Y.) – Road Race
Jessica Phillips (Aspen, Colo./Team Lip Smackers) – Time Trial

U23 Men
Peter Stetina (Boulder, Colo./Garmin-Felt-Holowesko) – Road Race and Time Trial
Tejay Vangarderen (Superior, Colo./Rabobank Continental Team) – Road Race and Time Trial
Kirk Carlsen (Boulder, Colo./Garmin-Felt-Holowesko) – Road Race
Chris Barton (Ojai, Calif./BMC) – Road Race
Alex Howes (Boulder, Colo./Garmin-Felt-Holowesko) – Road Race

Representing the U.S. in both the elite men’s road race and time trial will be Tom Danielson (Durango, Colo./Garmin-Slipstream). In the time trial, Danielson will be joined by Tom Zirbel (Boulder, Colo./Bissell), the silver medalist from this month’s USA Cycling Professional Time Trial Championships.

Complementing Danielson on the road will be eight teammates including Tyler Farrar (Wenatchee, Wash./Garmin-Slipstream), who recently won a stage of the Vuelta a Espana and three stages in the Eneco Tour of Belgium, and Brent Bookwalter (Lookout Mountain, Ga./BMC Racing Team,) who was fourth in this month’s USA Cycling Professional Road Race Championships. The squad will also be comprised of Jeff Louder (Salt Lake City, Utah/BMC), Craig Lewis (Greenville, S.C./Columbia High-Road), Andrew Bajadali (Boulder, Colo./Kelly Benefits Strategies), Jason McCartney (Coralville, Iowa/Team Saxo Bank), Tim Duggan (Boulder, Colo./Garmin-Slipstream), and Tom Peterson (North Bend, Wash./Garmin-Slipstream).

Leading the women’s team for 2009 will be defending time trial world champion, Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif.), and Olympic gold medalist and three-time time trial world championship medalist (2005-2007), Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho). Both women received automatic nominations to race the time trial and the road race based on their top-25 UCI rankings.

The pair will be joined in the time trial by Jessica Phillips (Aspen, Colo./Team Lip Smackers), who received an automatic nomination to race the clock with her win in the USA Cycling Elite Time Trial National Championship earlier this summer.

Neben and Armstrong will be complemented on the road race squad by four additional teammates. Kimberly Anderson (Santa Barbara, Calif./Columbia-High Road) received an automatic nomination by means of her overall win this summer in the UCI 2.1 La Route de France while Meredith Miller (Fort Collins, Colo./Team TIBCO) automatically qualified with her win in the elite women’s road race at the USA Cycling Road National Championships. The six-woman road race squad will be rounded out by two discretionary nominees – Evelyn Stevens (New York, N.Y.) and Mara Abbott (Boulder, Colo./Columbia HTC). Stevens won a stage of La Route de France this summer and finished right behind Anderson in second overall while Abbott rode to second-place overall in the UCI 2.1 Giro Donne

USA Cycling announces complete for Road World Championships

Kristen Armstrong to join Proman-Hitsquad after retirement in 2010

steph- — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:27:46 -0000

Kristen Armstrong to join Proman-Hitsquad after retirement in 2010

"Kristin Armstrong will bring her world-class expertise to the California-based Proman-Hitsquad women’s cycling team in 2010. The Olympic Games gold medallist and former UCI World Time Trial Champion, who currently rides for Cervelo Test Team, announced that she would retire from bike racing after next month’s International Cycling Union World Road Championships in Mendrisio, Switzerland."

This is great news for our young developmental team!

Analysis: Fight for Tour green jersey is between Cavendish and Hushovd

steph- — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:11:19 -0000

Analysis: Fight for Tour green jersey is between Cavendish and Hushovd

Cycling Weekly - by Lionel Birnie

Mark Cavendish sprinted as hard for his 16th place in Barcelona as he had to win in Brignoles and La Grande-Motte and get third place in Perpignan.

Had he finished two places worse off, in 18th, he'd have seen the green jersey switch to the shoulders of the stage winner Thor Hushovd......

Tour de France, cycling a clash of cultures for Americans, Europeans

steph- — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:38:41 -0000

Tour de France, cycling a clash of cultures for Americans, Europeans

from Sports illustrated - By Alexander Wolff, SI.com

Alberto Contador is a 26-year-old professional bike racer from Spain who in two seasons has won the Tours of France, Italy and his homeland. It's a feat matched by only four other riders in history, and by last fall Contador's performances had depleted the European press of its supply of superlatives. Then, in March, wearing the yellow leader's jersey one week into the Paris-Nice stage race.....

[Ed. - updated title to reflect original piece's correction from "class of cultures"]

JerkStrong - How Lance Armstrong is like Sarah Palin.

steph- — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:36:14 -0000

JerkStrong - How Lance Armstrong is like Sarah Palin.

from Slate....By Bill Gifford

Is Lance Armstrong running for something? Had you shown up for the prologue of the Tour of California back in February you might have thought so. Thousands of fans crammed against barricades to see Armstrong's first race on American soil in almost four years, a 2.4-mile loop around the state capitol in Sacramento......

Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia-HTC) Recovers from Broken Collarbone in Time to Ride the Tour de France.

steph- — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 04:55:52 -0000

Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia-HTC) Recovers from Broken Collarbone in Time to Ride the Tour de France.

I was able to spend a few minutes chatting with Kim Kirchen earlier this season. I rather liked his view of riding the Tour as a Classics rider.