Van Aert starts 2015 with a bang in Baal.

Wout van Aert continued his dominance of the cyclo-cross scene when he crushed the opposition in the prestigious GP Sven Nys on New Year’s Day. The Belgian rode almost half of the race as the lone leader of the race and distanced Lars van der Haar and Kevin Pauwels completed the podium, almost a minute behind the youngster. With the win, van Aert virtually sealed the overall win in the Bpost Bank Trofee series.

Two days after his impressive performance at the Azencross in Loenhout, van Aert again put his excellent condition on show when he took an equally dominant victory in the first race of 2015, the GP Sven Nys in Baal. On the muddy circuit in Nys’ home town, he was again in a class of his own and easily distanced all his rivals at the midpoint of the race.

Nash takes victory in Baal.

Katerina Nash continued her winning ways of 2014 into 2015. Two days after beating world champion Marianne Vos in Loenhout she won again on Belgian soil on New Year’s day. It’s her twelfth victory of the season.

During the seventh and penultimate round of the Bpost Bank Trophy-series in sunny Baal the 37 year-old US-resident beat Belgian riders Sanne Cant and Ellen Van Loy  - Vos didn’t race in Baal. Overnight series leader Sophie de Boer abandoned, passing on the BPost-series lead to Van Loy. She now holds a 1:54 lead over Cant.

Neri Sottoli manager explains Scinto's withdrawal.

A few days ago, Luca Scinto announced his decision to take a break from his role as first sports director at Neri Sottoli. Manager Angelo Citracca explains that the job will now be taken by Serge Parsani.

In addition to the former Tuscan rider, Serge Parsani was absent from the list of sports directors that was published on the UCI website.

However, manager Angelo Citracca explains that Parsani will remain an important part of the management team.

Incycle-Cannondale announces 2015 roster.

Along with adding Cannondale as a co-title sponsor, the Incycle-Cannondale UCI Continental team announced its roster for the 2015 season this week. The team, which was registered as Incycle-Predator Components in Puerto Rico last year, will continue to focus on USA Cycling's National Racing Calendar and National Criterium Calendar as well as other international races.

You Are Dario Pegoretti.

Prospective customers who focus on money annoy you. If you receive an e-mail from one of them and the first question is How much? sometimes you simply punch the delete button. Customers like that don't understand what you do. And if they don't understand what you do, they certainly don't understand you.

The rich art collectors aren't much better. They buy your work, they display it, they polish it, exchange photos of it with other collectors. They don't understand your work. They don't understand your energy, your philosophy. They don't understand hard labor like you do. You don't want your creations hanging on walls. That's not the point of what you do.

2014-15 Races & Results.

Santos Tour Down Under 2015 - Jan 18-25 (Stages),

Dubai Tour 2015 - Feb 4-7 (Stages),

Giro d'Italia 2015 - May 9-31 (Stages),

Tour de France 2015 - July 4-26 (Stages),

UCI Road World Championship 2014 - Sept 20-27 (Results),

Vuelta a España 2014 - Aug 23-Sept 14 (Results),

Tour de France 2014  - July 5-27 (Results),

Giro d'Italia 2014 - May 9 - June 1 (Results),

More ...

 (cyclingnews.com)

Ferrand-Prévot hints at rivalry with Vos.

Nibali: I’m determined not to repeat the mistakes of last winter.

Offseason Capsule: Team Ehrfürchtige.

Liam Earl: Recovering from competing with the best.

Adam Myerson's Inside Dirt: Cross of the Aces.

New year’s resolutions and goal setting – approaches that work.

Marcel Kittel interview: “It is going to be a challenging year for everyone.”

If 2013 was the breakthrough and 2014 the confirmation, the upcoming season could well be the year when Marcel Kittel makes further strides in terms of his superiority in the sport’s top sprints.

Now 26 years of age, the German is moving into what should be his peak period as a competitor. Stronger, more experienced and more confident than before, his momentum should carry him up a notch in 2015.

Still, despite quadruple stage victories in the past two Tours, Kittel has admitted that he isn’t feeling confident about landing his first green jersey next July.

Steele von Hoff a marked man.

When the criterium returns to Sturt Street, Ballarat, on Wednesday 7 January, for the 2015 Mars Cycling Australia Road National Championships, the defending champion Steele von Hoff will be among the men to watch.

But von Hoff isn’t limiting his ambitions to the criterium in 2015. He has his eyes on the biggest prize of all. The road race.

As the reigning champion he’s had the privilege of riding in the green and gold jersey throughout the year in criteriums and wants more of the same in 2015.

2014 Domestic Women’s Rider of the Year: Alison Powers.

Alison Powers is no stranger to Velo’s awards issue, having won the Domestic Rider of the Year award in 2013 after an amazing season with NOW-Novartis. She has proven to be, far and away, the best all-arounder in the domestic peloton. Whether she’s fighting for GC, blazing against the clock, or duking it out in a crit sprint, Powers’ results speak for themselves.

Making the jump to UnitedHealthcare for 2014, she opened up her year with a stage victory and overall win at the Tour Femenino de San Luis in January. She took wins in the time trial at Redlands, and the crit at the Tour of the Gila, before doubling-up in the road race and individual time trial at the national championships in May. Already holding the national criterium title at that time, Powers became the first American in history to simultaneously hold national championships in all three road disciplines.

Peraud trying to leave media attention behind.

Jean-Christophe Péraud resumed his preparation as most pro cyclists have done by now, but he still has time to pay at the end of the year to the media, and in particular 20minutes.fr.

The Frenchman, 37, second in the Tour de France 2014, has said: "It took me a month to recover and recharge my batteries after the Tour, it makes it difficult to recover both mentally and physically. The pleasure of the bike is to be outside so no bike for me that was tough. But now I am back riding regularly again. This is what I like and that motivates me."

2014 Tech Innovation of the Year: Shimano XTR Di2 .

Shimano XTR Di2 is an entirely new way to think about a bike transmission. The future has, quite literally, shifted.

It is not just a road group repurposed for the dirt. Shimano took the electronics a step further, creating a shifting platform that riders can customize more than they’ve ever been able to on the Di2 E-tube road drivetrains.

XTR Di2 is the first predictive shift system to hit the market. It auto-shifts the front derailleur based on the position of the rear derailleur. A double-chainring configuration can be ridden without a front shifter thanks to the Synchro software.

Raced and Reviewed: Liv Brava SLR 1.

"I race road and track. I like to go fast on smooth surfaces. Off-camber sections, gravel, and anything muddy are not my forte. But as the fall approached this past year, I got ‘cross-curious. And when I was given the chance to ride the Liv Brava SLR 1—one of the only women’s cyclocross bikes available—I jumped at it, figuring that racing 'cross in the cold and mud was better than sitting on the trainer for hours.

I wrangled some friends into teaching me the ins and outs, and over several weeks, I raced the Brava weekly in a local nighttime series and nearby women’s category 3/4 races. My first race was rough: New bike plus riding in the dark equals a very slow me (I got beat by a man dressed up like a woman on Halloween). Still, I fell in love with the sport, and once I got to ride in daylight, I found out I wasn’t so bad at it after all, riding to a bronze medal in the women’s 3/4 field at the Pennsylvania State Championships."

PEZ: Daily Distractions.

(pezcyclingnews.com)

Inrng: 2015 Pro Cycling Calendar.

Stetina targetting California and Tour de France in 2015.

Peter Stetina will target the Tour of California and a return to the Tour de France in 2015. Stetina made his debut at the Tour de France last season where he rode in support of Tejay van Garderen. It was an experience that put him through the ringer but, in spite of himself, he’s eager to put himself through it again this coming July.

Riders show off their new jerseys for 2015.

Due to UCI regulations riders are unable to wear the jerseys of their new team until January 1, so the new year means lots of riders in new kits. Cyclingnews has collated a selection of the riders who have moved teams this winter in their new kits for the first time.

Doug Ryder: MTN-Qhubeka is destined for greatness.

MTN-Qhubeka are looking to make history in 2015 by becoming the first African team to make it into the Tour de France. The team, which began in 2007, has been growing quickly over the last few years. They took the step up to Pro Continental level in 2013 and took part in their first Grand Tour at last year’s Vuelta a España.

To help them in their hopes of making history, the team have signed eight new riders including Edvald Boasson Hagen, Tyler Farrar and future Grand Tour rider Natnael Berhane. Cyclingnews sat down with Doug Ryder, the man behind the team, to discuss making history, putting together one of the strongest lead-out trains in the business and trying to inspire a continent.

Strava introduces annual Achievement Awards for 2015.

Online ride community Strava has introduced annual King of the Mountain (KOM), Queen of the Mountain (QOM) and other achievement awards for 2015, which will recognise the fastest riding times on segments for the year, as well as all-time records.

The annual KOMs and QOMs will fit better into yearly targets set by riders, says Strava.

“We know that for many of our athletes on Strava, they plan goals and track improvements a year at a time,” said Strava’s Director of International Marketing Gareth Nettleton.

Kicking Butt.

Gladys Bikes owner Leah Benson wants women to fall madly in love with their bikes—even if it means having some candid conversations about rear ends.

Video: There Will Be Mud. 2014 Azencross Loenhout Men’s Highlights – Bpost Bank Trophy #6.

Adios 2014!

Top 14 stories of 2014: Eternal flame.

Carmen Small aims at 2016 Olympic team pursuit.

Talk: Philippe Gilbert.

Luis León Sánchez to lead Astana at Tour Down Under.

Rapha’s exclusive new cycling club.