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Doug Report Daily Cycling News Archive

Russia facing explosive allegations of systematic doping and extortion from former athletes.

Russia faced explosive allegations of corruption and systematic doping on Wednesday, including the reported admission of drug use by an Olympic champion runner and cover-up and extortion involving a three-time Chicago Marathon winner.

Both German television channel ARD and French sports daily L'Equipe reported that Liliya Shobukhova, who won the Chicago Marathon from 2009-11 and the London race in 2010, paid the Russian athletics federation 450,000 euros ($550,000) to cover up a positive doping case.

ARD also appeared to show reigning Olympic 800-meter champion Maria Savinova admitting to using the banned steroid oxandrolone in an undercover video that has the woman's face out of focus. The video was dubbed into German with the original audio track absent, but ARD said it possessed an unedited version.

(usnews.com)

At Home With Jonathan Vaughters: Part 2.

"Speaking from his century-old, Craftsman-style home in Denver, Slipstream Sports CEO Jonathan Vaughters covered a lot of ground in the first part of this interview last week. He talked about the reasons for the merger between his Garmin-Sharp team and Team Cannondale; the out-of-balance $40 million-a-year budgets of several rival squads; the persisting shadow of doping hanging over the sport; how his earning an MBA has affected his views on the business side of team sustainability; the backstory to David Millar’s omission from the 2014 Tour de France; and the reasons why the top dozen pro teams got together to form the Avignon Group, now incorporated as Velon. In this second and final part of the interview, I first asked Vaughters about this new alliance among leading UCI WorldTour teams."

(pelotonmagazine.com)

Horner: I never thought I wouldn’t get a contract.

“No. I never thought I wouldn’t get a contract. That wasn’t the problem. It was a matter of, do I want to wait for it? How much energy do I want to put into it."

(cyclingquotes.com)

Graeme Brown signs with Drapac for 2015.

Australian Graeme Brown is going home, leaving the European peloton behind for next season in favor of Drapac Professional Cycling.

The Pro Continental squad competes in Australian races and some international events, and Brown’s first race in his new kit will be the Australian national championships, scheduled for Jan. 7-11.

Brown won two track cycling gold medals at the 2004 Olympics, in the team pursuit and the Madison.

(velonews.com)

Cyclo-cross shorts: Cant moves into World Cup lead, Pauwels extends his points total.

Haley wins junior race in Milton Keynes, Fontana to defend Italian title. Nys and De Boer lead the Bpost Bank Trofee standings after Flandriencross. Lack of funding and increased UCI fees end Baystate Cyclocross Weekend.

(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 ...

Nibali: I get on well with Aru.

“He's a smart guy and that's why were able to talk and get on. We know that we have to talk and clear things up if there are problems. We get on well and have a laugh together. We've got a good group of people around us."

(cyclingquotes.com)

Paris-Roubaix and Hour Record primary goals for Wiggins.

Wiggins won't participate in the upcoming track World Cup held at the Lee Valley Velodrome in London, preferring to kick off early preparations for Flemish classics in Northern France instead.

(cyclingquotes.com)

Shimano ties un-used Dura-Ace lever button to wireless system.

Since the introduction of Shimano's Dura-Ace Di2 9070 levers in 2012, some have puzzled over the purpose of a little button on the top of the lever, under the rubber hood.

Now Shimano said the button can wirelessly control bike computers or other devices from third-party suppliers via its D-Fly accessory, introduced last winter.

"This allows riders to keep their hands on top of the hoods while scrolling through the screens of compatible computers. This development fits within Shimano’s stress-free riding concept. It is up to the developers of the external devices, such as cycle computers, to design the exact features that the buttons control," the company said.

(bicycleretailer.com)

Fuji Transonic 1.3.

BikeRadar verdict: 4 out of 5 stars. "Aerodynamic but well-mannered frame, immaculately dressed in full Dura-Ace 9000 – though house wheels and cockpit are less special."

(bikeradar.com)

Froome confirms he’ll race 2015 Tour de France.

5-hour Energy team folds after five seasons.

The 5-hour Energy team will not return next season after five years of competing in the US domestic peloton. Team owner Jason Kriel cited loss of the title sponsor as the reason for the team's demise when he confirmed the news earlier this week.

"We had some things that were cooking, but they kind of all fell through," Kriel said of his attempts to replace the energy drink company that has sponsored the team since 2011. "It didn't make any sense for us to try and force something. It's hard enough when you barely have enough money to run a team, to try and do it without enough money, you can get yourself in trouble.".

(cyclingnews.com)

Gillow excited by move to Rabo-Liv.

Having spent the last three seasons with Orica-AIS, Shara Gillow is "excited" for the next chapter in her cycling career at Rabo-Liv in 2015. The 26-year-old time trial specialist won several races against the clock including two national titles and the Oceania championships.

Gillow explained that the genesis of the deal with the number one women's cycling team came about through almost by chance.

(cyclingnews.com)

News shorts: Tour Mediterranean at risk, Paris-Nice starts in Yvelines.

2015 Giro Rosa to start in Slovenia, Moolman Pasio awarded. Vuelta Asturias returns. Doull eschews Europcar for track focus.

(cyclingnews.com)

Fabian Cancellara says Trek’s stability could be the key for 2015.

Fabian Cancellara has admitted that the well-documented changes in his team in the past four years have played their part in his fluctuating fortunes.

Having left Saxo Bank in 2011 with the Schleck Brothers and several other stars to ride for Leopard Trek, the team have had three rebrandings in four seasons.

But Cancellara is positive that the new stability at Trek Factory Racing could play an important role in the team’s results.

(cyclingweekly.co.uk)

Team SmartStop’s winter training tips.

After a long year in the saddle, it is important for riders to take a break from road riding and indulge a little during the first part of the off-season.

“The off-season is all about some beers, burgers, pizza, and pretty much everything else you don’t get to enjoy (or at least less often) in the racing season,” said Rob Britton. “I love good food, and I live downtown, so after Alberta I hang up the skinny tires and probably spend two or three weeks walking to all the different restaurants for breakfast, lunch, or dinner maybe four or five times a week. It’s awesome.”

 (velonews.com)

Book excerpt: Bike Mechanic: Tales for the Road and Workshop.

"The wheel change is the one time that a mechanic can really help his riders during a race. Good changes take a few seconds. Rear wheels and time trial bikes create another set of problems but the essential aim is always the same: to get the change done as quickly as possible.

Calmness is required to achieve this aim — not just from the mechanic, but from the affected rider. Riders know to wave for attention to the commissaire’s car before they stop. They hope that their team car also immediately sees the problem although either way the commissaire will radio to let the squad know that one of its riders has an issue. The rider will stop on the right-hand side of the road, allowing all the team cars, motorcycles, press, TV, and race cars to pass safely to the left."

(velonews.com)

Trent Wilson.

"'Aussie Trent Wilson used to chat ‘back in the day’ when he rode with US team Jittery Joe’s – but there was a lot more to the man than a US domestic program. He rode stagier with Fakta; spent time with ill fated iTeam Nova; rode with Frans Assez at Flanders and there were two Giro rides with Colombia-Selle Italia before he crossed the Atlantic. He was only 30 when he headed back to Australia and moved into team management. But now he’s heading back to the Giro – with his Gruppetto bike tour company.

The man doesn’t let the grass grow, we caught up with him recently."

(pezcyclingnews.com)

Klemme announces retirement.

After Jens Voigt, Danilo Hondo and Julian Kern, Dominic Klemme will be the fourth German rider to announce his retirement.

"After the last three years were very poor resultswise, I've decided to quit professional cycling," he tells radsport-news.com.

The 28-year-old also has concrete plans. During the coming year, Klemme wants to finish high school. However, he will continue in cycling as an amateur. "Futhermore, I want to pursue my passion, mountain biking," he says.

(cyclingquotes.com)

Why we race: The psychology of winning and learning.
(cyclingtips.com.au)

Julich to train Sagan, with major classic as target.

Albert: Until last week I still believed in a comeback.

BikeSnobNYC: Into The Mild.

Boost for anti-doping fight, detection of banned substances after agreement signed between WADA and Pfizer.

The current lag between the use of some doping substances and the development of tests for their detection could be shortened or even eliminated due to the signing of a long-term global agreement between the pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the World Anti Doping Agency.

WADA today announced details of the agreement, which will see Pfizer and WADA exchange information. The agency will inform the company about substances that are being abused by athletes, enabling the latter to work with its own scientists and determine which new pipeline products may have similar effects.

 (cyclingtips.com.au)

Contador: Giro-Tour double is only impossible until someone makes it possible.

Alberto Contador is well aware that his Giro d’Italia and Tour de France ambitions are a risk but the 2014 Vuelta a España winner is spurred on by the twin challenges of proving doubters wrong and cementing his legacy in the annals of cycling history.

If the Spaniard succeeds in his target of winning the Giro in May before recovering and then claiming the Tour de France, he would hold all three Grand Tour titles at the same time, a feat that would arguably place him among the very best riders the sport has ever seen.

(cyclingnews.com)

MPCC suspends Neri Sottoli’s membership, comments on Astana’s cases.

Following a number of positive tests involving the Neri Sottoli team, the MPCC anti-doping movement has announced that the squad’s membership has been suspended until at least next October.

“At the last MPCC general meeting, all of the team members have required further explanations from Neri Sottoli’s manager Angelo Citracca in order to confirm, or not, the membership of the team,” it said in a statement issued today.

(cyclingtips.com.au)

Tejay van Garderen reminds us all that the thing these guys do is not the same thing that we do.

i read about LA motorpacing Tejay and i realized that, although nothing should surprise me anymore when it comes to this kind of thing, these guys were born not only with very good ‘rider DNA’ but also with the capacity to be as thick as two short planks at times, and that this means that there will always be surprises.

Opening up CyclingSnooze is like Xmas every day. presents abound. if it ain’t some Kazakh being dumb enough to get busted by a system that is three steps behind the dopers – they call these guys ‘dopey dopers’, cute huh – it’s something like this.

(crankpunk.com)

Merckx's development team will return as Axeon in 2015.

Axel Merckx announced today that his U23 development program will re-brand itself as the Axeon Cycling Team for the 2015 season.

Pronounced like the world “action,” the new name is part of an effort to re-brand the six-year-old program that began in 2009 as Trek-Livestrong. The team changed title sponsors to Bontrager in 2012, and it raced this season as the Bissell Development Team. Merckx said earlier this year that he wanted to create a brand that would hold up through the inevitable sponsor changes.

(cyclingnews.com)

BikeRadar Editor's Picks - James Huang.

"An awful lot of gear passes through our hands at BikeRadar over the course of a year: some good, some fantastic, and some… not so much.

The best bits, however, are the ones that somehow manage to carve out a spot in our minds even long after they've left us or, better yet, give us little choice but to crack out our own wallets so that they never have to.

Here are a few of my favorites from 2014."

(bikeradar.com)

Bicycle School.

Math, history, chemistry: how was school for you? What if you could have learned about pedalling, speed and balance? Well this is exactly what kids do in many of cycling’s heartlands. Right from the earliest age children learn cycling skills, start racing and join a club all thanks to a scuola di ciclismo, école de cyclisme or “cycling school”.

This is an essential part of the sport for many and the nursery for many a champion.

(inrng.com)

Gasparotto relieved to reach the shore at Wanty.

As he sat on a beach in the Cook Islands in October, Enrico Gasparotto must have felt that his career was, well, all at sea. The Italian had left on his honeymoon midway through the month with no contract on the horizon for 2015. By the time he returned to his home in Lugano, he had braced himself for the likelihood that he might simply be cast adrift at the age of 32.

“The honeymoon wasn’t as relaxing as it should have been because I hadn’t had any response from anybody before I left, When I came home, I was 99 percent certain that instead of celebrating an end of year party with my fan club I’d be marking the end of my career.”

(cyclingnews.com)