Cyclocross Nationals 2015 Preview: Jeremy Powers ‘has to win’.

The heavens opened over Austin, Texas Thursday night, spitting a cold rain down on the dust and parched grass of Zilker Park, home of this year’s U.S. cyclocross national championships. The course, a technical pinwheel of limestone steps, fast straights, and sharp corners, will be battered by three days of rain and ice before the elite fields line up on Sunday.

The nation’s fastest men wouldn’t have it any other way.

The odds-on favorite in the men’s elite race is Jeremy Powers, recently returned from a European campaign over the holidays. (velonews.com)

Boonen, Cav, and co. looking to get back on track in 2015.

There are a lot of teams claiming to be cycling’s best squad. Team Sky won two straight yellow jerseys. BMC Racing is solid across all disciplines. Movistar is the peloton’s most prolific. Oleg Tinkov has made it a personal mission to boast the virtues of Tinkoff-Saxo. All of them have bragging rights, but it’s perhaps Etixx-Quick-Step that is the peloton’s deepest, most balanced across all disciplines.

Northern classics? The team eats cobblestones for breakfast, with Tom Boonen, Zdenek Stybar, Stijn Vandenbergh, Guido Trentin, and defending Paris-Roubaix champion Niki Terpstra lining up as the favorites across Flanders. Anything short of victory is a national disaster, at least in Belgium.

Hartford, Reno selected to host 2017, 2018 U.S. cyclocross nationals \.

USA Cycling announced Friday that Hartford, Connecticut, and Reno, Nevada, will host the 2017 and 2018 USA Cycling cyclocross national championships, respectively.

USA cycling vice president of national events Micah Rice made the announcement from Austin, Texas, where 2015 nationals are underway.

“The cyclocross national championships are the pinnacle of cyclocross racing in the United States each year,” said Rice. “Going from the East in 2017 to the West in 2018 with Hartford and Reno is indicative of how quickly the sport is spreading from coast to coast, and these two cities will do an excellent job of helping us crown the best in the sport in the coming years.”

Powlison Takes Muddy Masters Women 30-34 Race at the 2015 National Championships.

Let there be mud! 30 minutes before the start of the Women’s 30-34 Race in Austin, turning the course into a slip-n-slide. Ellen Sherrill warned that rain would make the course feel like oil on concrete, and she couldn’t have been more right.

Leslie Timm took the holeshot and led the riders for the first half of the first lap. As the race played out, she looked like one of the strongest riders on the day, and could have seriously dominated this race had the conditions looked much like those of the last few days. The first time the riders came back to the front of the course, however, Timm slid off her bike through each of the four off-camber turns.

White: Porte is the strongest rider in the world right now.

After watching Richie Porte beat the field at the Australian national time trial championships in Ballarat, Matt White has described the Tour Down Under contender as the "strongest rider in the world right now."

Porte beat Hour Record contender Rohan Dennis by seven seconds over the 40.9 kilometre test to kick-start his 2015 campaign. It was a dominant performance for a rider who endured a disappointing 2014 season on the bike, and White believes that Porte heads into next week's Tour Down Under as the out-right favorite for the overall prize.

Race heats up for Giro d’Italia wildcards, with Italian teams in pole position.

Pro Continental teams will know their May plans next week, with organizer RCS Sport set to name the wildcard teams for its 2015 Giro d’Italia.

The 17 WorldTour teams, like Team Sky, already have secure tickets to race, but second division teams must fight for the five remaining invitations if they want to be on the start line on May 9.

“Wednesday, at the latest Thursday, we will announce the teams,” race director, Mauro Vegni told Tutto Bici website. “This year, again, we are going to keep our eye on Italian cycling.”

Singlespeed Rider Interview: Ellen Sherrill on Handling the Course, and How Her Race Played Out.

During Wednesday’s Women’s Singlespeed National Championship, Mo Bruno Roy was able to pull away early from the larger field with Jessica Culter in tow. Last year’s second place, Ellen Sherrill, had a rough start and had to fight through traffic for her third place finish.

Like many riders coming to Nationals, Sherill came to Austin believing that Zilker Park was “flat,” and was surprised to see a course laden with chicanes where you had to scrub speed consistently.

2014-15 Races & Results.

Australia Road National Championships - Jan 7-11 (Stages & 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)

News Short: Europcar granted Professional Continental license.

Daddy Degenkolb, Androni take Hoogerland to court.

Dekker: Dennis a better rider but doing hour at altitude could be key.

Left stranded without a contract at just 30 years of age, Thomas Dekker has staked everything on an all or nothing bid to break cycling’s world hour record. Although his recent record against the clock is not as good as that of some of the other riders who will try to surpass Matthias Brandle’s 51.852 kilometres, Dekker has two things going for him which could give him the edge.

Women’s movement: The slow march toward equality.

It is midday in Paris, in the bleaching sunlight of July. It makes everything bone pale.

The Tour de France is ending in hours, and up from the Champs-Élysées will drift a cloud of noise; through the cuts in the cobbles tiny rivers of beer and champagne will run.

There will be hundreds of reporters stuffed into the corrals at the finish and they will jump over the fencing and onto the world’s great boulevard in order to record the same quotes that everyone else will record. They will dive right into the river of carbon and color and shining racers slick with sweat.

But right now, Marianne Vos has just won a bike race — the inaugural La Course by Le Tour event — on the very same street, and there are, maybe, five reporters waiting on an empty boulevard. Vos stops right in front of them, and hardly anyone is there to see her in her white jersey with rainbow stripes on the Champs.

It’s a moment that crystallizes the current state of women’s cycling — filled with potential, largely unrealized. But why?

Stybar disappointed to miss cyclo-cross World Championships.

Zdenek Stybar will close out his reign as cyclo-cross world champion in three weeks after confirming that he won’t be racing at the World Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic. Stybar has said that a shoulder injury sustained in a crash in October means he will be unable to defend his title at the start of next month.

Marcel Kittel hopes wins Down Under will ease early pressure.

Marcel Kittel says performing well at the Tour Down Under will lift some of the early-season pressure from his shoulders.

The German sprinter notched up his first win in 2014 at the People’s Choice Classic in Adelaide, but failed to break the top-50 i..n any stage of the Tour Down Under.

But, like any sprinter, Kittel likes to get that winning feeling as early in the year as possible rather than suffer a lingering wait for glory.

Confident Quintana Talking Tour Victory.

The 24-year-old was second in the 2013 edition, but was rested from the 2014 Tour after winning the Giro d’Italia. He was also leading the Vuelta a Espana in 2014 before crashing badly on his less favored time-trial. There is very little time-trial on the 2015 Tour de France.

“We are one of the contenders to win the Tour,” said team manager Eusebio Unzue, who said veteran team leader Alejandro Valverde will target the Vuelta this season. “We’re all hoping for him (Quintana) to just explode, waiting for his definitive confirmation,” added Unzue.

Mark Cavendish hopes to 'crush this year' and aims for Tour de France success in 2015.

Cavendish spoke to the media as the Belgian super team, who have changed headline sponsors from Omega Pharma to nutrition supplier Etixx for 2015, was presented in Calpe, Spain.

And the former world champion hopes to play his part in ‘crushing’ the year by sprinting to Tour de France stage success, after his 2014 race was ended by a crash on the finishing straight in Harrogate on stage one.

Ketones: Controversial new energy drink could be next big thing in cycling.

University of Oxford develops new super-expensive ketone energy drink that provides body with an alternative source of energy. Ketones have already been used by pro riders to win 'significant internationally famous events'.

Five-a-side: This week's new bike gear - 2015 week 2.

Fancy road shoes, a retro-styled Bianchi and a ready-to-build Santa Cruz frame.

Belgian National Championship Preview: Women’s Race, Examining the Favorites.

While the race for the Elite Men’s Belgian jersey will most likely be a blowout with Wout van Aert taking the win, there is a real show expected to be put on by the women’s Elite field. The pre-race favorite may again be 4-time Belgian Champion Sanne Cant, but coming much closer to her level this time around is Ellen van Loy.

Of the 26 races Cant’s entered this season, she’s won 16 times – including Koksijde and Milton Keynes World Cups and landed on the podium an additional 5 times. She may have had even more victories if it weren’t for succumbing to the stomach flu just after Namur World Cup held December 21st.

Belgian Men Championships Preview: Examining the Favorites.

Most years, the Belgian Championships serve as a mini precursor of what to expect at World Championships three weeks later – minus a couple of Netherlanders. This year at is no different. But instead of 38 year old Sven Nys as the clear frontrunner for the 2015 Erpe-Mere edition, we have 20 year old Wout van Aert.

This season Van Aert has been killing it not only in the U23’s where he’s World Champion but also in the Elite events where he’s been throwing his competition around like ragdolls. Of his 20 races so far, he’s walked away with 15 wins, 4 2nd places and a 7th – in Ronse where Nys took the win.

Preview: Australian National Road Championships – women’s road race.

The women’s road race (like all the national road races) will be contested over a 10.2km circuit that starts and finishes in the small town of Buninyong, roughly 80 minutes north-west of Melbourne.

From the main roundabout in Buninyong the riders face a step-like, 2.9km uphill drag (average gradient 5%) on the Midland Highway and Mount Buninyong Road. From the KOM line the riders turn left and begin an undulating section of the course, before turning left on to Fisken Road at 5.7km. From here it’s more or less downhill all the way to the finish in Buninyong.

The elite women will tackle 10 laps of the course for a total of 102km.

Preview: Elite men’s road race at the Australian National Road Championships.

PEZ: Daily Distractions.

(pezcyclingnews.com)

FatCyclist: Fatty’s Book Club 1.0 - Fat Tire Flyer.

Australian Road Nationals: Elite women's road race coverage.

Up to date curated coverage of the women's elite road race at the Mars Cycling Australia Road National Championships at Buninyong.

The 102km road race on the tough course near Ballarat looms as a fascinating tactical duel among Australia's top women.

Tony Martin's Hour Record planning still in early stages.

It’s a question Tony Martin is growing used to hearing – 2015, after all, promises to be the Year of the Hour Record. With four serious attempts already pencilled into the calendar, the expectation is that it’s simply a matter of when – rather than if – the triple world time trial champion decides to throw his hat into the ring.

2015 Pro Team Bikes.

Here is the list of who is riding what in 2015. You’ll find all the pro team bikes for the 17 World Tour teams and the 19 Pro Continental teams.

Heinrich Haussler: “I’m ready to race.”

The past several seasons have not been easy for two-time Monument runner-up and Tour de France stage-winner Heinrich Haussler. After a marquee 2009 campaign in which he racked up those big results and a few others, crashes and injuries slowed him down for a number of the seasons that followed.

Haussler recovered from a broken hip and pelvis in 2013 to race a full 2014 schedule, ultimately taking a stage win in Bayern Rundfahrt and a few top tens (including a 2nd place in the Tour de France) on the year, though the results were still not where they used to be.

Roma Maxima cancelled for 2015, Strade Bianche confirmed and teams named.

The former Giro del Lazio, which was relauched as Roma Maxima in 2013, has run into further troubles with organizers RCS Sport confirming today that the race will be put on hold due to what it terms organizational problems.

The event was first run in 1933 and ran practically without interruption until 2009. It was then shelved between that year and 2012, returning as Roma Maxima in 2013 and showcasing the Italian capital to great effect.

Blek Kadri triumphed that year, while Alejandro Valverde took the 2014 edition.

Orica riders hoping to avoid shutout at Aussie road nationals.

Orica-GreenEdge hopes to avoid its first shutout at the Cycling Australia Road National Championships when the elite men line up for the road race in Buningyong, Victoria on Sunday.

Australia’s first — and only — UCI WorldTour team is batting .000 on the top step, and has only secured a silver during the national criterium championship when last year’s under-23 winner — and neo-pro — Caleb Ewan finished a close second to reigning champion and former Garmin-Sharp rider Steele von Hoff.

(velonews.com)

Evans content with career ahead of retirement.

Cadel Evans will begin the end of his cycling career Sunday when he lines up in the road race at the Cycling Australia Road National Championships on home roads in Vitoria. After a winter’s break, he will start the 2015 season and his last three events before retiring next month.

His schedule includes the nationals, the Santos Tour Down Under stage race (January 20-25), and on February 1, the event he created — the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.

“I had some regrets and bitterness, but I go away happy and I know I gave the most I could,” the 37-year-old said when he announced his retirement in September.

New tech to help you shoot your best video footage ever - CES 2015.

This year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was chock full of new gear designed to help you collect your best footage ever.

Aerial drones are such a hot segment of the consumer electronics market that the show had an entire area dedicated just to them. Many of the options catered to the extremes of the spectrum, with huge six- and eight-rotor models packing enough power to haul full-blown dSLR movie cameras at one end, and pint-sized versions, aimed at casual users who just want to play around, at the other.

10 of the most interesting cycling gadgets.

"There's a plethora of cycling-specific gadgets available these days, so we've rounded up 10 of the most interesting gadgets, from lights to crash sensors and navigational aids. Whatever your need, there's probably a gadget for it."

Token 11-speed CNC Cromo cassette.

BikeRadar verdict: 3 out of 5 stars. "Best kept for those needing 11-speed on 10-speed race wheels, this cassette is extravagant both in terms of outlay and drivetrain noise."