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Doug Report Daily Cycling News Archive

Worlds: Bystrom solos to gold in U23 road race.

Norway's Sven Erik Bystrom secured his country’s first gold medal in the under-23 men’s road race since Kurt Asle Arvesen in 1997 with victory on Friday at the World Championships in Ponferrada. Caleb Ewan secured silver with Kristoffer Skjerping capping an excellent team performance for Norway with the bronze medal. (velonews.com)

Silver medal at Worlds comes with no regrets for Ewan.

A last minute breakaway by Norway’s Sven Erik Bystrom may have scuppered Australia’s chances of gold in Friday’s UCI Road World Championships under-23 men's road race, but after taking silver as Australia’s protected rider, Caleb Ewan said he had no regrets about their collective strategy. (cyclingnews.com)

Worlds: Dideriksen wins second junior women's road race.

A perfectly calculated sprint for the line netted Danish rider Amalie Dideriksen her second straight gold in the World Championships Junior Women’s road race, easily outpowering Italy’s Sofia Bertizzolo for silver by a half bike length. Agnieszka Skalniak took the bronze for Poland. (cyclingnews.com)

Armitstead: I have a genuine chance of winning.

Britain's Lizzie Armitstead has a real sense that a gold medal might well be attainable for her in Saturday's World Championships road-race - even with stand-out favorite Marianne Vos of Holland as one of her rivals. (cyclingnews.com)

2014 Races & Results.

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

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

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

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

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

More...

France looks to bridge lengthy gap at Ponferrada Worlds.

With cars barred, officially at least, from driving on the circuit in Ponferrada on Thursday morning, French national coach Bernard Bourreau opted to take a final look at the World Championships by bike in the company of his riders. (cyclingnews.com)

Lizzie Armitstead defends Great Britain’s worlds selection policy.

The national team drew criticizm from Emma Pooley and Joanna Rowsell earlier this week when no riders were selected to compete in the elite women’s time trial on Tuesday. Armitstead also heads a young and inexperienced team in the road race, which in Annie Last and Alice Barnes includes two mountain bikers..

Busy ASO calendar for 2015.

The calendar for the 2015 cycling season was officially released yesterday by the International Cycling Union on the occasion of the world championships inPonferrada. The races organized by Amaury Sport Organisation will account for more than 100 days of cycling in eight different countries. Following an exceptional Grand Start to the Tour de France 2014, the Tour of Yorkshire makes its début between 1st and 3rd May, while the riders of the 102nd Tour de France will set off from Utrecht on 4th July. (cyclingquotes.com)

News shorts: Tetrick medals at Worlds; Riders to watch for the road race.

Alison Tetrick secured a bronze medal with the Astana-BePink squad in the team time trial in what was her debut at the UCI Road World Championships last Sunday. The American rider says that the opportunity to race with the Italian team was an “incredible experience.” (cyclingnews.com)

Games For Cyclists – The Lucky Cap.

Do you always stick to the same few routes on your ride, never turning down that road you always pass? Are you stuck in a routine of same old, same old; all out of love for your own backyard? (brooksengland.com)

2014 UCI Road World Championships LIVE.

Saturday's UCI Road Worlds Junior Men Road Race gets underway at 9:00am CET (3:00am U.S. Eastern).  Road Worlds live streaming video should get underway at around 9:00am CET (3:00am U.S. Eastern).

Saturday's UCI Road Worlds Elite Women Road Race gets underway at 2:00pm CET (8:00am U.S. Eastern).  Road Worlds live streaming video should get underway at around 2:00pm CET (8:00am U.S. Eastern). (cyclingfans.com)

Spanish national team promises to bury hatchet, ride for Valverde.

Worlds 2014: The Pro Road Race Review.

Boonen: I have three chances left to win another Worlds.

It’s sobering to think that it is now nine years since Tom Boonen sprinted to the rainbow jersey in Madrid and then told the world that he would be safely retired by the age of thirty – the sportsman’s equivalent of The Who’s defiant ‘Hope I die before I get old.’ (cyclingnews.com)

Training with the pros: Mark Renshaw talks sprinting and lead-outs.

The task of a domestique can, at times, be a thankless one – putting in the hard miles, slogging away in the wind and then having to sit back and watch as your team-mate bids for success and the headlines which come with it. And the same can be said of lead-out men, with every great sprinter having a trusted train leading the way through the frantic final kilometers. (roadcyclinguk.com)

Bike quote: Why bicycle tourists are the best tourists for small towns.

“Many (cross-country riders) stay at hotels and motels, lodges. They’re not whizzing by you with a tankful of gas. They’re stopping and buying a few things here and there. They’re there to interact with a local community instead of driving by in a car and looking out the windows.” (bikingbis.com)

Ride through Thailand with Sean Kelly on SpiceRoads tour.

Riders can share the roads of Thailand with legendary Irishman Sean Kelly at the second annual SpiceRoads Cycle Tours Sean Kelly Bangkok to Phuket ride next February. (roadcyclinguk.com)

Raring to Go with Race Tape: Interview with Course Designer Kelly Cline.

"If you travel around the Mid-Atlantic, watching the big masters’ races, you’ll likely see Kelly Cline, donning the Revolution Wheelworks Racing kit, near the front of the race. Not only does Cline make his presence known during the race, he has is signature all over cyclocross before the first whistle sounds. As the MAC Technical Director, he’s responsible for the course design and management, including several of the earliest UCI races of the season." (cxmagazine.com)

Malcolm Speed lauds Evans' impact on Australian cycling.

Following Cadel Evans' announcement that he will retire from professional cycling on 1 February, 2015, Cycling Australia (CA) [president-elect Malcolm Speed has praised the achievements of the 37-year-old. Evans is the only Australian to have won the Tour de France (2011) and the World Championships (2009). (cyclingnews.com)

Tour of Utah awarded UCI 2.HC status.

The Tour of Utah has been awarded 2.HC status by the UCI, placing the race at the same level as the Tour of Qatar, Critérium International, Amgen Tour of California and USA Pro Challenge. The higher level ranking enables the event to offer greater prize money and more UCI points for competitors, which allows organizers to invite and attract the best teams in the world.. (cyclingperspective.com)

Exploring Las Medulas Caves.

“Las Médulas (As Médulas or As Meduas in Galician language) is a historical site near the town of Ponferrada in the region of El Bierzo (province of León, Castile and León, Spain), which used to be the most important gold mine in the Roman Empire. Las Médulas Cultural Landscape is listed by the UNESCO as one of the World Heritage Sites." (pezcyclingnews.com)

Jeremy Powers explains switch to FMB tubular tires for 2015.

Reigning U.S. cyclocross national champion Jeremy Powers has made the switch to FMB tubulars for the 2014/2015 season, citing testing performed against Dugast tubulars. ...

2014 Soudal Classics Cyclocross-GP Neerpelt LIVE.

The 2014 Soudal Classics Cyclocross series (previously Fidea) gets underway Saturday, September 27 with the GP Neerpelt. Live streaming video: 5:00pm CET (11:00am U.S. Eastern). (cyclingfans.com)

Video: Mark Cavendish reveals his past as a ballroom dancer.

Cycling boss Cookson cracking down on doping.

One year after taking office in a hotly contested UCI presidential election, Brian Cookson is making moves to crack down on doping and cycling’s dodgy past. “I’ve been encouraged by everyone’s responses over the last year, from those in and outside of cycling,” Cookson said. “Many people acknowledge that the UCI needed to change and want to help the sport move forward.” (velonews.com)

Cookson confirms that Global Cycling Promotions will be wound down.

UCI president Brian Cookson has confirmed that Global Cycling Promotions, the governing body’s race organization arm, will cease operations following this year’s fourth and final edition of the Tour of Beijing. The Chinese WorldTour race was the sole event set up by GCP since its establishment in 2009. (cyclingnews.com)

What would be a success for the US men at Worlds?

Since Lance Armstrong won the rainbow jersey in Oslo, Norway in 1993 - one of the few remaining major victories left on his palmares - the United States has floundered when it comes to the elite men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships. Still the underdogs with a team of six to the 10 nations that have a full complement of nine riders, the country has selected a fresh crop of talent in hopes of turning around its somewhat poor string of results. Come Sunday afternoon in Ponferrada, what, short of a medal, would be considered a success for Team USA? (cyclingnews.com)

Cancellara criticizes UCI rules ahead of battle for rainbow jersey.

If Fabian Cancellara is going to win the rainbow jersey, he knows he will have to do it alone. On the eve of the most important world championship battle of his career, Cancellara knows the odds are stacked against him. Quite literally. Switzerland starts with just three riders, versus nine riders for nations such as Spain, Italy, and Belgium, something he says is out of tune with modern cycling. (velonews.com)

Women’s road race preview: World Championships 2014.

The women’s calendar has undergone some significant changes in 2014. The introduction of the Women’s Tour, held in Britain back in May, provided the peloton the opportunity to compete in their own stand-alone race, with the kind of financial backing and television coverage that the men regularly enjoy. (cyclingweekly.co.uk)

Teams prepared for all scenarios on unpredictable worlds course.

The race for the rainbow jersey is always unpredictable, but this year’s unconventional worlds loop makes that guesswork even more difficult ahead of Sunday’s race. The buzz heading into the elite men’s road race at the UCI Road World Championships is whether it will be a reduced bunch sprint or a breakaway that can pull away in the closing laps. (velonews.com)

Reversed roles for Van Avermaet and Gilbert in Belgian Worlds team.

Over the years, first at Lotto and then at BMC, Greg Van Avermaet has grown used to playing second fiddle to Philippe Gilbert, but the traditional hierarchy will be reversed in the Belgian team at the World Championships road race in Ponferrada on Sunday. (cyclingnews.com)

USAC Makes Major Changes to Eligibility Requirements for Cyclocross Nationals: Elite Field Less Participatory and Local Hero, More “True Elite.”

Elite race qualification: Both men and women riders must qualify for the elite national championship races.  Riders qualify if (a) they are in the top 90 of the Pro CX series rankings as of December 12, 2014, OR (b) they have at least one UCI point.  Previously, riders qualified based on their racing category.

Elite or Masters: Riders must now choose between elite and masters races.  Previously, riders could do either or both the elite and masters races. (cxmagazine.com)

Report: Vansummeren to Ag2r-La Mondiale.

Johan Vansummeren is reportedly on his way to Ag2r-La Mondiale from 2015 where he will join compatriot Jan Bakelants as a new signing. (cyclingnews.com)