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Doug Report Daily Cycling News Archive

Non-qualified elite racers may petition USAC to race ‘cross nationals.

In an email sent Tuesday, USA Cycling notified UCI-licensed American cyclocross racers that a petition process will be offered if they do not qualify to race national championships.
Elite racers automatically qualify to compete if they meet either of two requirements: Riders must hold one or more UCI point; or, riders must be ranked in the top-90 in the USA Cycling Pro CX standings. (velonews.com)

Dumoulin, Vos named Dutch cyclists of the year.

Tom Dumoulin won his first Dutch cyclist of the year award on Monday in a "surprise" victory. The 24-year-old won the award ahead of this year’s Paris-Roubaix winner Niki Terpstra and Lars Boom. Marianne Vos won the women's award for a ninth straight year. (cyclingnews.com)

Melas CX of the Chicago Cup Sees Technical Riders Swartz and Maloney Take Wins.

In its third year, Melas CX – the tenth race of The Chicago Cyclocross Cup, has earned both die hard fans and reluctant participants. The race, put on by Northbrook Garner Bicycle Club and Flatlandia, features lots of sand and a large drainage area dubbed the “Racin’ Basin” which provides many off-camber corners, punchy climbs and sharp descents.
This might be the most technically difficult course in the series. Hence why you hear mutters of “I hate this race,” in the five minutes preceding the race. Then it is glorified later as a “preposterously good time.” (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 ...

Dani King "thought she was going to die" after training crash.

“That was one of the worst things I have ever experienced,” she writes. “I could almost feel my ribs grinding together.”
“On the way to the hospital, I still couldn’t breathe properly. That was when I thought I was going to die. All I remember was looking up at the bright lights in the ambulance and trying to stay calm.
“And then I was worried because I couldn’t feel my feet. That turned out to be because I was so cold but I thought that even if I didn’t die, I might be paralyzed.” (road.cc)

2014 Report Card: FDJ.fr.

As the 2014 season began, Marc Madiot set his FDJ.fr team the lofty goal of landing more than 35 victories over the course of the year. Despite the best efforts of Nacer Bouhanni and Arnaud Démare, his charges fell a little short of that target but Thibaut Pinot's effervescent third place finish at the Tour de France means that the campaign cannot be deemed anything other than a success for FDJ. (cyclingnews.com)

Offseason Capsule: Tinkoff Saxo Bank Expand Their Horizons.

"Everyone knows Saxo Bank as the successor to Team CSC, which was a popular upstart squad back in the good ol' early 2000s, when everything seemed so simple and innocent. What? Anyway, Bjarne Riis invested in the original Professional Cycling Denmark project back in 1998 (while still riding for Telekom), divested from Team home-Jack and Jones, then took over the squad upon retiring in 2000 and signed on CSC as a sponsor. He quickly built a squad of riders other teams devalued or ignored, like Laurent Jalabert and Tyler Hamilton. Mostly we remember this for the resulting scandals, but CSC had cachet in the US all along, and I suppose we should be grateful for knowing Ja-ja a bit better than we otherwise would." (podiumcafe.com)

Polar Keo Power Bluetooth Smart power meter packages launched.

Polar’s Keo Power range has been relaunched to use Bluetooth Smart. Along with an updated full Keo Power package, which offers left-right leg power balance, there’s a cheaper Keo Power Essential option that combines data from both legs. (bikeradar.com)

Tech FAQ: Cold tires and brakes.

"Winter cyclists encounter a mix of fresh snow, compacted snow, and ice. And some will face rutted snow or ice on roads and trails.
Studded bicycle tires are fairly wide with the narrowest being around 35mm. In my winter riding experience, the width of the tire is more critical for riding in snow while the number and placement of studs is important for ice. For ice without ruts, studded tires of any width have superior traction." (velonews.com)

At team camp, Aru builds toward 2015 Giro.

UnitedHealthcare seeks invitations to Grand Tours.

Cancellara unhappy with new hour record regulations.

At first blush, it would seem that Fabian Cancellara would be happy with the momentum surrounding the hour record after the UCI changed its rules and, essentially, opened up the boards for a flurry of attempts.
Jens Voigt held the record for a brief period of time as he put on one final show before retiring, and then Matthias Brändle took the mark just 42 days later. It stands at 51.852 kilometers now, to be precise.
But there is one problem for Cancellara. He still looks at the longest hour as having two separate classifications. And he thinks all this “stuff” right now is “low level.” (velonews.com)

News shorts: Nibali expects Astana to be in WorldTour.

Sagan's Israeli team, Brussels wants 2019 Tour start, Serpa stays with Lampre. (cyclingnews.com)

Wankmeister: The Strange Pull of Cycling.

"I first saw the old elephant about three years ago. He was gray-headed and busting out at the seams as we flew past him on the Donut Ride. He’d gotten a good ten-minute head start but we overhauled him long before the first big climb. He huffed and puffed and mashed for about ten pedal strokes, trying to hang on before he was blown out the back.
As we passed him someone said, “Good job, Bill,” and then we were gone. (pelotonmagazine.com)

Cyclo-cross shorts: American Hecht wins junior World Cup in Koksijde.

Pauwels and De Boer lead World Cup standings. Compton suffers from asthma and allergies in Koksijde. A winning weekend for Van Aert in Belgium. Kemmerer wins back-to-back races at Super Cross Cup. World Cup heads to Milton Keynes. (cyclingnews.com)

A cyclocross story of redemption.

At that moment, lying in a muddy Wisconsin snow bank with her foot mangled and facing the wrong way, one would understand if pro cyclocross racer Cassie Maximenko called it a career. But Maximenko wasn’t thinking about quitting - she was actually already on the comeback. Turns out, that’s kind of her thing. (roadbikereview.com)

Péraud under more pressure for 2015 Tour de France.

Tour de France runner-up Jean-Christophe Péraud has admitted to being worried that too much might be expected of him at the 2015 Tour de France following his second place finish in this year's race.
In an interview with L'Équipe at his home in Villeurbanne, on the northern edge of Lyon, the 37-year-old Frenchman said that he is still coming to terms with that performance, and stresses that it should be seen in its context. (cyclingnews.com)

Comparative crankset stiffness data released by Fairwheel Bikes.

Arizona-based über-retailer Fairwheel Bikes just completed its latest round of in-house crankset stiffness testing and shared some of the findings. This edition covered a dozen recent models from seven manufacturers: Shimano, SRAM, Campagnolo, Rotor, Turn (Praxis), Lightning and THM-Carbones. Fairwheel also calculated the power losses due to crankset flex, too – and some of the results may surprise you. (bikeradar.com)

3T Illumina glow-in-the-dark cockpit components launched.

3T has bolstered its range of color-customised cockpit gear with new glow-in-the-dark options for low light visibility.
The Illumina range covers 3T's Ergonova Ltd bars, carbon compact drops designed for maximum comfort; the Arx Ltd stem, an all-carbon affair 3T describes as "the connoisseur's stem"; and the Ionic-25 Ltd seatpost, a full carbon monocoque with 3T's exclusive DiffLock clamp. 3T says all three add up to less than 500g in total. (cyclingnews.com)

Eleven WorldTour teams unite in Velon, a joint commercial venture.

ToolBox: Lex Albrecht Interview.

Acquarone loses work tribunal case but vows to clear his name.

Former Giro d'Italia director Michele Acquarone has lost his legal battle against RCS Media Group for wrongful dismissal but has promised to appeal the decision and continue to fight to clear his name.
Acquarone has discovered that RCS Media Group now plans to begin legal action against him to recover some of the alleged €17 million (up from an initial €11 million) that was allegedly misappropriated from its accounts between 2006 and 2013. (cyclingnews.com)

Velon interview part I: CEO Bartlett on how group can transform cycling.

Launched yesterday in what the group hopes will represent a major step forward for the growth and stability of the sport, first details of the Velon project were finally unveiled.
Comprising eleven of cycling’s top WorldTour teams and targeting goals of making the sport more dramatic, introducing new technology and building a more sustainable and credible future, the group aims to transform the landscape of the sport. (cyclingtips.com.au)

The Real Reason You Need a Massage.

Long hours in the saddle and hard workouts can leave your muscles riddled with knots and scar tissue created as they repair themselves. And because all your muscles are connected, those sore spots can spread throughout your body if not treated—a tight lower back creates an achy hip that leads to a twinged knee. That's why so many cyclists swear by massages. They help loosen tight spots, flush toxic chemicals, and keep your fibers smooth and limber so you can ride pain free. (bicycling.com)

Tour of Flanders gets two more climbs.

The organizers of the Tour of Flanders today announced the route for the 2015 race, which will be largely the same as the 2014 course but with two added climbs in the first half. The final 150km will remain the same, with three loops around Oudenaarde helping to funnel the spectators into the action-packed finale. (cyclingnews.com)

Tackling Mauna Kea, the world’s biggest climb?

"The Hawaiian volcano of Mauna Kea ("white mountain") is considered one of the most extreme cycling climbs in the world. From the beach in Hilo to the telescopes at the summit it's 4,200m of altitude gain in one continuous climb of nearly 70km. In fact, so large is Mauna Kea that if you measure from its actual base (many kilometres below the ocean) it's height is more than 10,000m, making it the tallest mountain on Earth.
Norwegian Martin P. Hoff flew from Oslo, Norway to Hawaii to experience first-hand what it is like to cycle to the top of Hawaii’s Big Island. (cyclingtips.com.au)

Squid Bikes: Aluminum, but far from average.

When you visit the Squid Bikes website, you’ll find no spreadsheets with the geometries for each of their models. There’s only one model, a cyclocross bike. It’s available in cantilever and disc brake versions, as well as several finish options. The geometry for this single model can be found in a low-res photo of some hand-written numbers on a legal pad.
This is Squid Bikes. The bikes are shipped out of a Northern California shop with paint applied, likely adorned with any variety of creatures, mermaids, or ghosts. Maybe even a squid. (velonews.com)

PEZ: EuroTrash Aussie Monday!

Should Nibali Leave Astana?

Adam Myerson: Koksijde and the new prince.