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Doug Report Daily Cycling News Archive

Mark Cavendish makes strong start to historic Ghent Six-Day race at iconic Belgian velodrome.

The aroma of fried onions, hot dogs, burgers and beer hits you even before you enter ’t Kuipke, Ghent’s iconic velodrome in the heart of Flanders, northern Belgium.
Even without any olfactory sense, though, it would not be difficult to navigate your way to the 5,000-seat arena; a procession of fans in varying states of sobriety were wending their way from Ghent’s bars and cafés to the Citadelpark long before the first evening of this year’s Six kicked off at around 8.30pm last night. (telegraph.co.uk)

2014 Report Card: Movistar.

The bad news for Spanish cycling in 2014 was that Movistar are now the country's lone star in the WorldTour firmament. The good news was that as the sport's top ranked team in the UCI WorldTour classification, Movistar continued to shine so strongly this season that their current success rate easily eclipses Spain's fast-disintegrating future as a cycling nation. (cyclingnews.com)

Cassani: Nibali is an atypical champion.

Italian national coach Davide Cassani has heaped praise over Vincenzo Nibali, claiming that the success has not changed the Tour de France champion. Furthermore, he insists that he is confident in the future for Italian cycling. (cyclingquotes.com)

Brems and Gritters Post Fast Times at SLOCross, Shriver and Brandt Take Day Two.

Two hundred and fifty miles is a bit out of the comfort zone for many cyclocross competitors in Southern California. If an event is more than an hour or two from home (not counting the area’s often crushing traffic), a lot of riders will opt for pedaling from their garage instead. Or check the surf report.
But the SLOcross simply had too much going for it. The fifth edition of the event dangled a fresh, juicy bundle of carrots to bring CX enthusiasts from SoCal (and beyond) all the way to San Luis Obispo. (cxmagazine.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...

News shorts: Cervélo links up with Bigla.

Lander still without contract, Wanty sign Seynaeve, Vos wins Momentum 947 Cycle Challenge, Geert Van Bondt joins BMC. (cyclingnews.com)

BMC Development Team reveals 2015 roster.

The American registered BMC Development Team has announced its 2015 15-rider roster which includes five new faces. The team was victorious on close to two dozen occasions in 2014 while two of its riders, Stefan Küng and Dylan Tuens, moved up the WorldTour BMC Racing Team. (cyclingnews.com)

The Anime Short That Can Help You Climb.

It turns out that Japanese animators are just as into Rapha and Bradley Wiggins as the Brits are - at least, according to a recently released anime short called "Hill Climb Girl." The video has quickly become a cycling sensation, thanks to a pithy-but-adorable plot and an inspiring TT up a grade that would make even the most seasoned cyclist cringe. (bicycling.com)

Why I Never Ride Without a Cycling Cap.

"I put on a cycling cap every day that I ride my bike. I've done so pretty much since I became a professional cyclist, when I felt that I had finally earned the right. Lately though, I sometimes feel ridiculous. Now that I am retired, why do I still feel the compulsion to stick so resolutely to this tradition, looking in the mirror each morning, straightening my peak before I head out the door?
Many of us have a bit of a 'first girlfriend' syndrome with cycling, an intensity and excitement that springs from the image of the sport the way it was when we first found it. For me, the cycling cap is central in that image." (bicycling.com)

Cyclocross Race Bike Shootout: Trek Boone 9 Disc Review.

"We’ve been riding and racing the top-of-the-line $6300 Boone 9 Disc for about two months now and have been roundly impressed. Subtle flex in the frame accompanied by a similarly behaving IsoSpeed (aka tapered) fork nets a cyclocross bike that feels smoother than any other we’ve ridden." (roadbikereview.com)

Valverde, Movistar and Spain receive WorldTour trophies.

11 tips to make you a better crit racer.

Neri Sottoli officially declared winners of 2014 Coppa Italia.

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

New team for Horner.

Chris Horner has had a hard time finding a team for next season. Now his agent Baden Cooke reveals that he has signed a contract with an unnamed team.
A little more than a year ago, he stood at the top step of the podium in one of the biggest races, the Vuelta a Espana, celebrating the biggest win of his career. (cyclingquotes.com)

Nicole Cooke: “Bring in Lifetime Bans.”

"Nicole Cooke says ‘no more heroes’ but, truth be told, she is one of mine. She was impressive as a cyclist of course, and her manner off the bike was equally striking.  I’ve never met a professional rider as aware of the legacy they created nor as measured or as thoughtful in their answers . She was kind enough to give me time for an interview, and it was a conversation that went on long after the recorder was turned off." (crankpunk.com)

Lighter and with renewed morale, Porte excited about 2015: “I’d love to have a big year.”

Stating he is over 14 pounds lighter than he was twelve months ago, Richie Porte has said he has got over the disappointment of a season frustrated by illness and is raring to go for 2015.
Any thoughts that the Australian’s morale might still be dented after an at-times difficult year have been dismissed, with the Team Sky rider saying that he is highly motivated to turn things around and show what he can do. (cyclingtips.com.au)

Switzerland, Land of Governing Bodies.

For years cycling was the whipping boy of sports administration. Turf wars, doping problems and other concerns beset the sport and the UCI’s HQ in Switzerland had a siege mentality. Now it’s the turn of FIFA, soccer’s governing body. There are allegations of cronyism, whistleblowers being blasted, talk of breakaways and a bizarre President who seems impossible to eject.
Cycling fans might feel like The Simpson’s Nelson Muntz as they point and laugh at FIFA’s self-inflicted woes. But any amusement is surely born from experience and a sense of nervous relief that another sport is humiliating itself? (inrng.com)

Deciding the Australian Tour de France 'Team of the Century'.

The plan by Cycling Australia (CA) to name a nine-rider Tour de France 'Team of the Century' at its annual awards night in Melbourne on Friday (local time) will surely spark plenty of debate with a number of world class candidates missing out.
Certainly, as one of six judges asked to select the team, debate is what I expect if the variety of nominations submitted from each member of the selection panel and what it took for us all to reach a final and collective decision is anything to go by. (cyclingnews.com)

Lefevere not in favor of Cavendish track campaign.

Tonight the 74th Six-Days of Ghent kicks off in De Kuipke and it is time to find out who will succeed Jasper de Buyst and Leif Lampater on the list of winners after their surprise victory 12 months ago. The Ghent audience can welcome back their local hero Iljo Keisse who will ride on the track with no less of a figure than Mark Cavendish. However, Omega Pharma-Quick Step manager Patrick Lefevere is less enthusiastic. (cyclingquotes.com)

Quintana: The Vuelta win was within reach.

Nairo Quintana is still not completely recovered from his two crashes in the Vuelta a Espana. However, the Colombian is more frustrated that he missed out on the chance to win the Spanish grand tour as he feels that he could have beaten eventual winner Alberto Contador. (cyclingquotes.com)

Gran Fondo Giro d’Italia to be held on queen stage of 2015 route.

Just in time for the holiday season, the Giro d’Italia is opening registration in December for its Gran Fondo event.
The ride is open to aficionados and cyclists who want to challenge themselves on the roads of the Corsa Rosa’s hardest stage. The ride is scheduled for Sunday, May 17, 2015.

Sweeping calendar changes edging toward reality.

Into The Waste Zone.

Toolbox: Fighting Flu Season.

Cookson open to shortening the Tour de France.

Brian Cookson has said that he would consider shortening the Tour de France in an attempt to declutter the cycling calendar.
The UCI president was speaking to the media in Spain after presenting the awards for the 2014 UCI WorldTour rider, team and nation at an event in Madrid on Monday. (cyclingnews.com)

Nathan Earle: Pressures of being a pro (Part 2).

It's hard to earn a place on one of the best cycling teams in the world and it can be even harder to keep it.
After his neo-pro year with Team Sky, Nathan Earle knows the joy and the demands of being a WorldTour worker.
While he happily grinds away at the front of the peloton to deliver Chris Froome, Richie Porte or any other Sky rider to success, the future is never far from his mind.
"There’s no real job security." (sbs.com.au)

Orica all-in for TDU defense with Gerrans; Ewan won’t race.

The peloton is starting to wake from its autumn slumber, with training camps and team meetings revving up following a few precious weeks of downtime after a wild 2014 season.
But there’s no rest for the weary, and even less so for riders from Australia, where the racing season will soon click back into gear. Orica-GreenEdge is already planning to race well on home roads, and the team will be riding for all-out victory with Simon Gerrans at the 17th Santos Tour Down Under (January 20-25). (velonews.com)

Tales from the High Country.

"It’s 7.45am on Friday. A chilled wind whips across the alpine lake, piercing through the lycra skins of the 20 hardy souls collected on the lake’s western bank. A long winter of frigid mornings and numb extremities has prepared us well and we are unmoved and unbowed. It is the morning of the first day.
Our group stands atop Falls Creek, and now, above the tree line, the landscape of granite and gorse rolls and falls below us in all directions. A coarse quilt of green, yellow, grey and purple spring flowers are tucked low and tight against the rolling terrain lest it be blown clean off by the merciless alpine wind." (cyclingtips.com.au)

Woman paralyzed after Vansummeren accident.

The 66-year-old cycling fan who was hit by Johan Vansummeren during the Tour of Flanders, will be paralyzed for the rest of her life. More than seven months after the accident, her husband has talked about the incident for the first time because his wife is unable to do so. On top of all the miseru, the medical treatment has cost more than 10,000 euro but they have not received a single penny in compensation. "I am not a millionaire," he says. (cyclingquotes.com)

2015 a season of self-discovery for Jay McCarthy.

Jay McCarthy's second season at WorldTour level with Tinkoff-Saxo, in which he made his grand tour debut at the Giro d'Italia, proved to one in which the Australian gained further insights into his characteristics at the top level of the sport.
The 22-year-old explained on the Tinkoff-Saxo website that he is closer to understanding where his strengths lie in the pro peloton after two seasons with the team. (cyclingnews.com)

Fan Club: Adam Myerson.

"Because he is 1) An Old Dog That Won't Quit, 2) controversial, 3) unwilling in many ways to "play the game," 4) due an immense amount of respect wether you agree with him or not (he's earned it!), 5) NOT A JOCK, at least not in the pedestrian and typical sense, and 6) because we simply like and respect and revere him as well as what we think he stands for, we asked Adam Myerson Thirty-one questions give or take. Though it was not our intention, having more to do with ineptitude rather than apathy, many of our questions were random, unsophisticated and poorly executed." (manualforspeed.com)

WADA opposed to jail terms for dopers.

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