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Doug Report Daily Cycling News Archive

Valverde, Movistar and Spain receive WorldTour trophies.

Movistar, Alejandro Valverde and Spain have officially been awarded their trophies for their respective victories in the WorldTour. In a ceremony at the headquarters of team sponsor Telefonica in Madrid, UCI president Brian Cookson was on hand to dole out the awards to Valverde, Movistar boss Eusebio Unzué and Royal Spanish Cycling Federation chairman José Luis López. Giro d'Italia winner Nairo Quintana was also on hand to accept the plaudits. (cyclingnews.com)

11 tips to make you a better crit racer.

The opening 15 minutes of the race will always be fast and furious with attacks and breakaways. A famous saying goes: “He/she who pedals the least, wins the race.” The intuition being that attacking off the front from the gun feels good, but it doesn’t maximise your chances of victory, it lessens them. (cyclingtips.com.au)

Neri Sottoli officially declared winners of 2014 Coppa Italia.

The League of Professional Cycling which manages the Coppa Italia, have officially given the title to Neri Sottoli "after a careful assessment of the circumstances and conditions that led to an interim delay and temporary results."
Neri Sottoli beat Bardiani-CSF by just a single point. The win had been questioned due to irregularitetes, mainly the forbidden use of some riders as the rules require all riders to live in Italy. (cyclingquotes.com)

Summerhill a favorite to win cyclo-cross stars and stripes.

With his impressive double wins earlier this month at the two-day Derby City Cup in Kentucky, where he toppled US cyclo-cross national champion Jeremy Powers from his streak of UCI C1 race wins, Danny Summerhill has set himself up as one of the favorites for the US National Championships in Austin, Texas in January. (cyclingnews.com)

Van der Poel to ride World Cup in Koksijde with the elite.

Mathieu van der Poel continues to ride both at the elite and U23 level. The talented Dutchman has announced that he will riding with the elite riders in Saturday's World Cup race in Koksijde.
The BKCP-Powerplus rider is usually riding with the U23 riders in that race series but there is no U23 race in the sand of Koksijde. Hence, van der Poel is one of 8 riders selected for the race by Ducth national coach Johan Lammerts. (cyclingquotes.com)

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...

Day Three of Jingle Cross – McFadden Gets First UCI Win, Driscoll Takes his Third in 2014.

For the few years, Courtenay McFadden has periodically been a major contender at the largest events in American cyclocross. Those who watch her race know that she is a furious starter, usually dictating the pace for the first three or four laps even against some of the best names in the sport. (cxmagazine.com)

Colombia to pay salaries in near future.

A few weeks ago Jarlinson Pantano and Robinson Chalaud complained that their Colombia team had not paid their salaries for several months. Now the South American team reports that they are about to solve the problem. (cyclingquotes.com)

Frost: Sky doesn't need Roche's knowledge about Contador.

Retiring Sky sports director Dan Frost appreciates the fact that the British team has signed Nicolas Roche who will fit well into the team in several aspects. However, the team doesn't need his knowledge about Alberto Contador as Chris Froome already knows his Spanish rival very well. (cyclingquotes.com)

Winter’s here: Flu fighting foods.

It’s time to batten down the hatches, as the months of wind, rain, sleet and snow head our way. Yep, whether you like it or not, winter is here and unfortunately, so are the bugs, germs and infections of flu season.
Cue the obsessive health nuts with their flu masks, rubber gloves and disinfectant spray, panicking and giving every person who dares sniffle near them an evil ‘don’t get near me or touch me’ look.  (cyclingweekly.co.uk)

Mekk Pinerolo AL 1.5.

BikeRadar verdict: 3.5 out of 5 stars. "High quality first fast road bike but slightly more expensive than some of the opposition." (bikeradar.com)

Vantornout puts on master klaas in Gavere mud.

Powers Returns to Winning C1s at Jingle Cross Day Two, Nash Becoming Unstoppable.

Sweeping calendar changes edging toward reality.

Sweeping changes of how elite men’s professional cycling will look in the near future are no longer “pie in the sky” ideas, but are instead edging toward reality.
Is smaller better? Size doesn’t count for everything, especially as far as the UCI is concerned, and cycling’s governing body continues to press its makeover of how the elite men’s racing calendar will be structured.
As reported last week, the UCI and representatives from the peloton’s key players had a major sit down November 13 in Paris. That was the latest of several meetings this season, and came ahead of an official UCI report that is expected to produce concrete suggestions for changes, most likely to be revealed at a UCI WorldTour seminar in Montreux, Switzerland, in early December. (velonews.com)

Into The Waste Zone.

The pro peloton’s existence is predicated on imitation. You can buy the same bike as the world champion, you can have the same clothing as the yellow jersey. “What the pros ride” is the sporting equivalent of “as seen on TV”.
There’s one aspect nobody should be copying: the practice of slinging used bottles, wrappers and other waste into the countryside. Time after time riders hurl their empty food packets away. This might change in 2015. (inrng.com)

Dani King released from the hospital after collapsed lung.

Olympic champion Dani King was released from the hospital on Monday after spending two nights in the intensive care unit and nine additional days as an inpatient following a crash that resulted in five broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
The British track and road cyclist crashed when a member of her training group hit a pothole in South Wales Valley on November 6. She was taken to the Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil where she was treated for her injuries. (cyclingnews.com)

Host Cities Offer Early Route Clues for Tour of California.

The 2015 Amgen Tour of California will get its first ever high-altitude time trial and a return to Lake Tahoe, but they won’t be part of the same event.
Wait, how’s that work?
America’s longest-running stage race will enter its 10th edition with a mix of old and new, including the new TT and the return to the ill-fated 2010 Tahoe start, which got nixed by a powerful spring snowstorm. The twist is that the riders headed to Tahoe will be the women’s field, not the men’s. (bicycling.com)

Cyclo-cross shorts: Cant at the top of her game in Gavere.

Nys leads Superprestige, Nash on a roll in the US, Juniors race in Kentucky and Gavere, World Cup heads to Koksijde, USA Cycling Professional Cyclo-cross standings. (cyclingnews.com)

Italy’s national team ‘must change’ to improve results.

Italy’s national team will change shape over the coming 2015 season, incorporating more Under 23 and junior-level cyclists in professional races
“We want to make a jump in quality,” Director Davide Cassani told national sports daily, La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“The national team needs to exist year around for the youngsters to gain experience.” (cyclingweekly.co.uk)

Former Belkin sports director explains reasons for decision to leave.

In August, Michiel Elijzen announced that he would quit his job as team manger at Belkin. In an interview with Wielerrevue, the Dutchman explains his decision. "At Blanco I was involved in all decisions but my influence became smaller."
At the end of 2012, Michiel Elijzen left Lotto-Belisol to join Rabobank. (cyclingquotes.com)

Andorra back as more Vuelta details emerge.

It appears the Vuelta a España organizers are pulling out all the stops for 2015, the 80th edition of the Spanish tour.
The official unveiling of the route won’t happen until January, but details, both through official channels and reports in local media, suggest another interesting and challenging course for the Vuelta. (velonews.com)

France holds Olympic Games training camp.

The Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro may be well over a year away but the French national team are ensuring that they will be well prepared. National coach Bernard Bourreau has called together 12 of the country’s riders for a training camp in December, with the 2016 Olympics in the forefront of his mind. (cyclingnews.com)

Polygon Helios A9X review.

Polygon divides its road range into two major categories – race and endurance – with a smaller selection of cyclocross and flat bar bikes. There are seven race models in the Helios A series and eight endurance bikes in the Helios C series. Both categories are dominated by carbon framesets, where the race-oriented bikes feature aerodynamic profiles, while the Helios C series employs conventional tube shapes. (cyclingtips.com.au)

Cant beats Harris in Gavere mud bath.

Sunweb – Napoleon Games conquers Gavere.

PEZ: EuroTrash Klaas Monday!

WADA opposed to jail terms for dopers.

ESPN and the Associated Press report that The World Anti-Doping Agency said it is against the imposition of criminal sanctions on cheating athletes despite a tougher code that will come into effect on Jan. 1.
This comes after news of a recently proposed German law that would punish cheating athletes with criminal sentences of up to three years in jail.
“An athlete should be sanctioned under the sports rules which have been developed over many years,” WADA President Craig Reedie said, “and he should not be sanctioned under criminal law.” (velonews.com)

Ted King on Cannondale-Garmin move: “Opportunities for me should be more frequent than years past.”

Ted King has said he believes that his move to Cannondale-Garmin will be a big boost to his career, with the American stating that both the line-up and the opportunities should work well for him.
King was one of 27 riders confirmed on Friday as part of the roster for 2015. He is one of several moving across to the current Garmin-Sharp setup from the previous Cannondale team, joining seven other riders plus that title sponsor. (cyclingtips.com.au)

Nathan Earle: Perks of being a pro (Part 1).

Nathan Earle still can’t quite believe he’s living his dream. After his first season as a WorldTour professional the excitement is still evident in his voice as he talks about his year with Team Sky.
The 26-year-old Tasmanian has just completed the first half of a two-year deal with Sky that saw him riding in support of Tour de France winners Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins, plus of course Richie Porte, something Earle still finds hard to believe. (sbs.com.au)

2014 Report Card: Garmin-Sharp.

A return of 23 wins – up from last year’s 17 – is not to be sniffed at, and with major wins in Il Lombardia and the Critérium du Dauphiné, thanks to the team’s brightest talents, Garmin-Sharp can look back on a season peppered with successes. The campaign, however, was also defined by a number of setbacks, crashes, and valiant yet ultimately unsuccessful near misses. Dan Martin’s tumbles at Liége-Bastogne-Liége, the Giro d’Italia and Worlds almost ruined his season, while Andrew Talansky’s injuries and abandonment at the Tour de France took some of the shine off of his sublime ride in June. (cyclingnews.com)

Offseason Capsule: BMC.

"For some reason or other BMC always seems to be one of the first of our offseason team analysis pieces. I wanna say it's for alphabetical reasons but clearly even I'm not that poor with the alphabet so it has to be something else. There is obviously something intriguing about Andy Rihs' well funded Swiss/American creation." (podiumcafe.com)

Quintana: I am already focused on the Tour.

Giro d'Italia winner Nario Quintana The Colombian Nairo Quintana, winner of the Giro, dreams about the 2015 Tour de France and starts the first Movistar team gathering with the French race in mind, believing that it is a good opportunity "with a perfect Tour with good mountains." (cyclingquotes.com)

News shorts: José Viejo passes away, Bono injures arm in New York.

Drapac eyeing WorldTour in 2017, Conti wants Giro stage win, Melbourne Kermesse Championships. (cyclingnews.com)

Movistar confirms 2015 team line-up.

Movistar confirmed its team line-up for the 2015 season late last week, with four new additions to a squad which remains largely unchanged.
Three riders, Sylvester Szmyd, Jose Ivan Gutierrez and Ruben Plaza, who has left for Lampre-Merida, will be the only riders not returning to ride for the Spanish team next year.
New riders brought in for the new season include Australian Rory Sutherland, who’s joined from Tinkoff-Saxo, as well as Rubén Fernández, Winner Anacona and Marc Soler who will join the WorldTour squad as a neo-pro. (cyclingweekly.co.uk)

Uvex Sportstyle 111 Vario glasses.

BikeRadar verdict: 4 out of 5 stars. "Tough, protective glasses with a superb fit and great optics." (bikeradar.com)

Gear Break: BBB Signal, Scicon Aeronaut, Wahoo RPM.

Ex racer Chris in France has been checking out some cool new products from BBB accessories and Scicon Bags and ex-Pro mechanic Alastair in Spain has been spinning his legs with the latest in accessories from Wahoo. 3 products that won’t break the bank but proved to be very practical indeed. (pezcyclingnews.com)

Steve Tilford: One Week since I Rode.

Nibali discusses doping, Astana and Tour de France rivals.