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Doug Report Daily Cycling News Archive

Watch Froome and Porte race in Tasmania LIVE on SBS.

Tour de France champion Chris Froome may have been on the start line but it was Charter Mason's Shannon Johnson who claimed the honors in the Launceston Kermesse, a warm-up to the Stan Siejka Launceston Criterium to be broadcast live on SBS on Sunday.

SBS will broadcast the Stan Siejka Launceston Cycling Classic, Sunday 7 December: 1530-1800 AEDT (7:30pm Pacific, December 6th) (Live Eastern States, also streamed online).

Pauwels victorious in Hasselt.

Van Aert and Meeusen round out podium.

Pauwels wins exciting duel in Hasselt ...

Sanne Cant grabbed her 13th victory of the season at a sunny edition of the GP Hasselt, fourth round of the Bpost Bank Trophy cyclo-cross series. Road world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot ended her first cyclo-cross race of the season on a fast and technical course in second place, holding off Sophie de Boer in the sprint at 13 seconds back from Cant. De Boer remains in the lead of the Bpost Bank Trophy cyclo-cross series.

Sky confirmed as “major backer” for Team Wiggins.

Ahead of the team’s anticipated pre-Christmas launch, more details of Bradley Wiggins‘s new development squad emerged today, as GB technical director Shane Sutton confirmed it will be heavily backed by Sky.

“Team Wiggins”, which aims to support the Tour de France champion’s return to the track in preparation for the Rio 2016 Olympics, is expected to be official unveiled in the next two weeks.

Great Britain wins two gold medals on opening day of track World Cup.

Great Britain kicked off the Track World Cup in London with two gold medals in the team pursuit on Friday. The men’s team, comprising of Mark Christian, Steven Burke, Owain Doull and Andy Tennant picked up their first win in the event in over a year, edging out New Zealand in the final.

Ed Clancy had helped the team to qualify second fastest and the squad beat Demark to ensure their place in the final, where they won with a time of 4:01.151, with New Zealand clocking 4:05.463.

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 ...

Four-year Ferrari investigation handed over to CONI.

The four-year-long Padua investigation into an alleged doping scandal centered around Italian doctor Michele Ferrari, and implicates athletes in cycling, triathlon and biathlon, has been handed over to the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), according to a report in La Repubblica. The file is reported to include links to individuals within the Astana team.

Public prosecutor Benedetto Roberti headed the investigation, which points to Italian and Swiss police uncovering a system of money laundering and tax fraud linked to a doping ring involving 20 professional riders, and that Dr. Ferrari helped organize the system. It was reported that some 70 people have been investigated.

UCI lays out key reforms to men's WorldTour.

The UCI and various stakeholders including teams and race organizers have agreed to a number of broad proposals aimed at improving the credibility and profitability within men’s professional road cycling.

At the 2014 UCI WorldTour seminar in Montreux, Switzerland a new standard of operational guidelines for teams was approved. Eight of the 18 existing WorldTour teams will work within the new framework starting in 2015. A full program will be implemented for the start of the 2017 season and will affect the way in which teams are approved WorldTour licenses.

Ekimov supports Astana WorldTour license.

Katusha team manager Viatcheslav Ekimov believes that it would be wrong of the UCI’ s License Commission to strip the Astana team of their WorldTour license for 2015. The Kazakh outfit must wait until December 10 to find out their fate after a series of doping infractions. If the decision goes against them then it could see them and reigning Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali consigned to fighting for wildcards at major races.

“For me it is not right,” Ekimov said. “I’ve been thinking whether or not it is the right measure to sanction and suspend the licenses for the whole team.

Buyer's guide to GPS devices.

GPS technology has found its way into many things over the past few years and is now commonplace in cars, phones, cameras and, yes, bike computers. Where GPS computers of the past were overly expensive and offered poor battery life, the current generation are far more affordable, reliable and offer a host of features previously only dreamed of in traditional cycle computers.

In the past, cycling GPS devices were primarily for riders who wanted navigation and trail guidance. Their usage has changed greatly however, and they now devices combine heart rate monitors, bike computers and navigation into one unit. The GPS is now just as much a dedicated training tool and ride tracker as it once was a navigation unit.

Kristoff targets Classics, Tour de France and Worlds in 2015.

Go big or go home. That seems to be Alexander Kristoff’s mantra for 2015. The Katusha rider is setting himself big goals for next year, as he targets a second Milan-San Remo victory, the green jersey at the Tour de France and the rainbow jersey of the World Championships.

“I will try to win and it would be a dream come true to win the World Championships. You can’t win everything though. We will try to win everything, but we will see,” Kristoff said at the team’s training camp in Calpe.

Steve Tilford: Hands Going Numb Riding.

Kreuziger: A four year ban would be bullshit.

"I don’t think I can get a four year ban. I think that’s bullshit because I’ve not had a ban before and I’ve not organized doping. I think I could get two years but that depends when it starts."

How to climb cycling’s most legendary mountains.

Generations of cyclists have made pilgrimages across Europe to conquer the tough gradients and switchbacks of the sport’s most famous ascents. Now, Col Collective is making that task a little easier.

Col Collective has produced a series of free videos that aim to give cyclists the inspiration and education needed to emulate their heroes and conquer the world’s most iconic climbs.

Bookshelf: The Race Against the Stasi.

Today’s book review is a tale of sporting glory, love, espionage, politics and more as Herbie Sykes recounts the fascinating life of East german cyclist Dieter Wiedemann in ‘The Race Against the Stasi’. A cycling hero in the East, Dieter defected to the west in the name of love as detailed in this truly unique book.

Bike racing is hard, very hard if you add up everything from the hours of training to the exhaustion of sprinting and climbing to the anxieties of actual competition to the too-real risk of crashing Now imagine that cycling could give you everything you wanted—fame, money, the unbridled admiration and affection of fellow-citizens, the chance to meet the girl of your dreams. But if things go wrong you will be deemed a traitor, not only to your sport but also to your nation.

Tao Geoghegan Hart focused on taking 2015 to a new level.

Fifteenth overall at the Tour of Britain against professionals and 10th in Tour de l’Avenir is pretty good going for a 19-year-old but Tao Geoghegan Hart isn’t just any teenager. He chooses his words carefully as he assesses the season with the experience of someone beyond his years.

He says the Tour of Britain was probably his favorite race of the season but he’s already focused on next year and looking to make a real impact.

Sutton: Giro d'Italia could be ideal preparation for Wiggins' track ambitions.

Shane Sutton believes that the Giro d’Italia could prove the ideal preparation for Bradley Wiggins’ assault on the Hour Record and a return to the track as he builds towards the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.

Wiggins is currently training for the Spring Classics and spent last week riding reconnaissance on the cobbles. Paris-Roubaix is his major objective for next spring, with a tilt at the Hour Record pencilled in for June. A Giro d’Italia ride remains a possibility before he signs off at Team Sky and moves to his yet to be named development team.