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Doug Report Daily Cycling News Archive

Sixday-Nights Zurich LIVE.

The 2014 Sixday-Nights Zurich is being held November 26-29.  (In the past there was a Six Days of Zurich track cycling event that actually lasted 6 days.)  Once again there will be live streams. 
Live streaming video: 6:15pm CET (12:15pm U.S. Eastern)...

Victor Hugo Peña: Quintana has what it takes to win the Tour.

Former Tour de France yellow jersey Victor Hugo Peña has said that he is confident that his fellow Colombian Nairo Quintana has what it takes to win the Tour de France, but that it is impossible to say it is guaranteed to happen.
The ex-professional has competed alongside the 2014 Giro d’Italia winner in the past and believes that his abilities are clear. “Nairo is a good friend,” he told CyclingTips. “I was with this guy in the Colombia es Pasion team, and I know that he has real talent. (cyclingtips.com.au)

Aru ready to challenge Contador at the Giro d'Italia.

The Astana team is set to confirm that Fabio Aru will lead the Kazakhstani team at the 2015 Giro d'Italia and the young Sardinian rider is already working on his time trialing ability so he can limit his losses to Alberto Contador in the rolling 59km stage between Treviso and Valdobbiadene. (cyclingnews.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 ...

Merckx, Van Avermaet and Vanmarcke react to new Flanders course.

Yesterday the course for the 99th Tour of Flanders was unveiled. The difficult finale was retained but the organizers added the Tiegemberg and Berendries, meaning that the total number of hellingen will be 19. "It's definitely harder than before," said Eddy Merckx.
Immediately after the unveiling, Omega Pharma-Quick Step manager Patrick Lefevere criticized the race organizers, but "It's a beautiful route," Van Avermaet said. (cyclingquotes.com)

Will back pain force Tim Johnson to walk away?

All those bumps, lumps, dismounts, and run-ups were bound to take their toll.
Tim Johnson, something like American cyclocross royalty now, has been dousing the pyrotechnics of back spasms since 2007. But this year, the fiery pain has been more consistent, and kept him from his best form. And, flatly, if the injury doesn’t get any better, he may have to hang it up. (velonews.com)

German broadcasters mull airing Tour de France.

German state broadcaster ARD is considering screening stages of the Tour de France again after refusing to show live coverage since 2012 due to doping scandals in cycling.
A decision will be made at the end of the year, ARD chairman Lutz Marmor said on Wednesday at a press conference in Hanover, Germany.
Two years ago, both main German broadcasters ARD and ZDF pulled the plug on screening the world’s top cycling race in Germany after repeated doping scandals rocked the sport. (velonews.com)

Nautical Themed Pashmina Afghan.

The variety of team building exercises run the gamut. As fans of cycling you’re likely familiar with stories of survival camps and tromping around the snowy Dolomites in late November. An afternoon of ropes courses or tales spun around an open bonfire will interweave camaraderie. And seemingly nothing quite matches a bunch of professional athletes overrunning a bar and paying particular attention to make the younger riders imbibe. Who would have guessed.
That is until now. I stand by this statement: it will be a very very long time, if ever, before another team camp can reach what we did in terms of a) actual, constructive, intricate team building and b) having it done so in such a spectacular environment as the British Virgin Islands. (iamtedking.com)

GT Grade Alloy 105.

"A few weeks ago we tested GT's Grade Carbon Ultegra, and awarded it full marks. But some of the BikeRadar team were ever-so-slightly cynical about yet another species or sub-species of road bike hitting the market – it's not like there aren't plenty already – and wondered whether this more-than-a-gravel-racer machine deserved such a high accolade." (bikeradar.com)

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

Dumoulin, Vos named Dutch cyclists of the year.

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

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

Farrar to play important part in MTN’s 2015 ambitions.

American Tyler Farrar is set to play an important part in the next chapter of MTN-Qhubeka as it pushes to become the first African team at the Tour de France.
“The Tour is the big event in our sport and that’s what we are going for,” Team MTN general manager Brian Smith told VeloNews.
“Nelson Mandela Day is the 18th of July, during the Tour de France. If this African team gets into the Tour de France, then that’s going to be huge for the team but also for the Qhubeka charity.” (velonews.com)

Astana, FDJ and Movistar opt to 'wait and see' before joining Velon. ..

The hours following the announcement of the Velon business project were punctuated by a series of press releases from the 11 member teams. Each declaration from team managers and riders was couched in remarkably similar language: stability, sustainability and new technology were the recurring buzzwords. (cyclingnews.com)

Christine Vardaros: Battling on Flanders Fields, Cyclocross Style.

"I am smack dab in the middle of yet another full Belgium-based cyclocross season. This means I’ve taken the dive down the zig-zagged lines riddling the Zonhoven sandpit, bounced around the neverending washboard at the QianSen Trophy Cyclocross Yanqing Station China race, slid through tricky berms of the Grote Prijs van Brabant , delicately navigated the off-cambers at Ronse, flew down the greasy death descent at Gavere, climbed the infamous cobbles of the Koppenberg, powered up the steep muddy Ruddervoorde mounds and bruised yet another finger against those immovable wooden course poles along the way.
No worries about the finger, though, since bodies heal. Bike parts, however, remain permanently broken I’ve discovered. So far this season I’ve been lucky. I’ve only lost a derailleur hanger, two chains, a brake, a headset, 4 brake pads, a shoe and a pedal. As they say here in Belgium, I’ve been “goed bezig” (good busy)." (cxmagazine.com)

2014 Report Card: Katusha.

There was a definite shift in the balance of power and success for Katusha's top men in 2014. The team may have slipped down a few rungs of the WorldTour ladder this season but it was by no means a terrible year for the Russian outfit. (cyclingnews.com)

Trackside: Gent Six Day & Koksijde Cross.

A weekend in Belgium – taking in the best of winter cycling at the Gent Six Days & the Kokside Cross races - trackside photo report of the boards, the bikes and the boys who pedal through anything – including axle deep sand. (pezcyclingnews.com)

News shorts: Via Roma back in Milan-San Remo, Cav in action at Zurich Six.

Basso celebrates his birthday, Rusvelo goes Russian red. Derny driver home after Amsterdam crash. (cyclingnews.com)

Goggles and Dust.

At 8-inches by 7-inches and 120 pages, Goggles and Dust is a small volume, but it contains much. It’s a photo book, with images drawn from The Horton Collection’s 170,000-image archive. From that archive Brett Horton has drawn a collection of images from the aughts, teens, twenties and thirties. Image, subject, race, caption. No treatise on the import of the situation, no poetics about man and machine or triumph of will. In that, the book is its own poetry. We are left to focus on what is contained within the frame, to glean what we can, to connect the dots ourselves. (redkiteprayer.com)

TruTrainer Premium Rollers: The PEZ Review.

"The market for indoor cycling training systems is constantly increasing and evolving, and while most non-trackies are opting for fixed-mount trainers, TruTrainer has reconverted me to the fun of rollers with their top-end quality and ride feel." (pezcyclingnews.com)

Orbea Avant M10D: Versatility Reviewed.

Disc road bikes, they have their converts and they have their detractors. They have spawned quite a bit of anger from riders frustrated with yet another standard to contend with and plenty of time to comment on the interwebs.
What if you aren’t in either camp, what if you actually want to try something new before jumping on the bandwagon or assassinating its credibility? In short, what if you are like most of us, the quiet thousands with better things to do than vent on message boards? Orbea has your answer, it’s called the Avant and it’s the most versatile bike on the road – or gravel – or dirt. (pelotonmagazine.com)

Cancellara unhappy with new hour record regulations.

BikeSnobNYC: The One-Week Tour de France.

Fedosseyev is fifth doping case for Astana organization.

The UCI today announced a fifth doping positive for the Astana organization, and the third for the Continental team. A doping control from Artur Fedosseyev taken on August 16, 2014 returned an adverse analytical finding for an anabolic steroid unspecified by the UCI.
Fedosseyev's positive test is the fifth doping case in just three months for Kazkhstani cycling, all coming from the Astana teams that include the WorldTour team of Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali and the Continental development team. (cyclingnews.com)

A Case for Suffering: Made in Taiwan.

"It was pissing rain.
It was the type of day that gave you a simple choice: sulk, or smile. I’ve learned a lesson from years of racing in inclement weather: it’s always advantageous to stick with the grins; pouting only makes you colder.
We were in Taiwan, far from home, in an exotic landscape that I had quickly fallen in love with, about to race bikes up one of the longest hill climbs in the world. The choice was made for me.
I embraced the dreary, soggy conditions, absorbing the wet, the cold, the foul soup of mist and misery and turning it on its head.
I made a case for suffering..." (velonews.com)

Steve Hed, Founder of Hed Wheels, Passes Away.

Steve Hed, a pioneer in the field of bicycle aerodynamics and founder of the Hed Cycling wheel and component brand, passed away today. At the moment, there has been no mention of Steve’s passing on Hed Cycling’s Facebook or Twitter streams, both of which do not have any recent posts. When reached for confirmation by phone, a representative at Hed wheels confirmed Steve’s passing at 9:30 am this morning. (bicycling.com)

News shorts: New Canadian Continental team, Pro Mountain Bike Gravity Tour gets UCI status.

Boels-Dolmans announce sport medical center partnership, strong Australian team for London World Cup. UCI status and broadcaster confirmed for 2015 Pro Mountain Bike Gravity Tour. Australia sends 19-riders to London Track World Cup round. Boels-Dolmans announce partnership with Sportmedisch Centrum Zuid-Limburg. (cyclingnews.com)

Bookwalter recovering from broken toe.

A broken toe is not expected to significantly delay the start of Brent Bookwalter's season, BMC Racing Team Chief Medical Officer Dr. Max Testa said Wednesday. (cyclingquotes.com)

Vogels resigns as Drapac's sports director.

Hendricus Vogels has decided to spend 2015 away from professional cycling and has resigned from his position with Drapac Professional Cycling as sports director.
Vogel's role with the professional continental team meant he spent long periods of time away from his family.
With the team's racing program growing for 2015 he saw it best to step down from his role enabling him to dedicate more of his time to his children. (sbs.com.au)

Spiuk 16RC shoes.

BikeRadar verdict: 4 out of 5 stars. "Custom-fit road shoe with top-notch performance." (bikeradar.com)

Smart Hat designer bemused by critical response.

The designer behind the controversial SmartHat, a conceptual helmet that could be fitted with a registration plate, says he’s committed to developing the idea further and is bemused by the response among the cycling community.
Toby King, who launched the design two weeks ago with a presentation to Mosman Council says the idea for the multi-function device, which could also include SatNav, biometrics, and windscreen wipers, spawned in response to discussions in the Sydney newspapers as to whether cyclists should be registered. (sbs.com.au)

ToolBox: Lex Albrecht Interview.