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Doug Report Daily Cycling News Archive

Bobby Lea finishes with bronze in London, gains lead in World Cup.

Bobby Lea finished with a bronze medal in the omnium competition at the UCI track cycling World Cup in London on Sunday.

After Saturday’s action, Lea sat third on the omnium. Solidifying his bronze on Sunday, he finished off the weekend with a third-place finish in the 1km time trial, followed by a seventh-place flying lap, and a 13-place effort in the points race.

Colombia’s Fernando Gaviria Rendon won the omnium gold with 197 points, Australian Scott Law earned silver with 171 points, and Lea took bronze with 164 points.

Lea, 31, currently leads the men’s omnium World Cup rankings after the first two events with 240 points, followed by Casper Phillip Pedersen of Denmark with 179 points and Rendon with 150 points.

CX Monday: It's Kevin Pauwels' World.

With his victory in Hasselt Saturday, Kevin Pauwels caused a slight rift in the cyclocross atmosphere, a nearly imperceptible blip picked up mostly by elderly fans, the same ones who've been waiting for the feeling that a storm is approaching, to signal the real cyclocross season. The first half of the season is officially over, with today's Druivencross representing a quasi-official midseason marker, and alone at the top of the sport is a guy who, well, might not be keeping the spot warm for Sven Nys.

Noble, White win NBX Gran Prix finale in Warwick.

Strong winds blew off the bay for the final day of racing in the 2014 Verge New England Cyclocross Series presented by Stan’s NoTubes and Cycle-Smart. The NBX Gran Prix of Cyclocross in Warwick, Rhode Island was the stage for the grand finale of the 2014 Series. The race’s signature beach runs numbered two in Sunday’s race, and a soaking rain overnight left sections of rooty trail mud-covered and slick. In addition to dismounts for the stretches of bayside sand, riders faced both log barriers and traditional cyclocross barriers, making this a challenging course deserving of hosting the series finale.

Waves for Water, day two: Lloyd sweeps, Raleigh-Clement dominates.

Rachel Lloyd took her second win of the weekend, while Ben Berden followed up his Raleigh-Clement teammate’s Saturday victory with a win of his own on Sunday at at Ft Steliacoom State Park in Lakewood, Washington.

The fast, tacky course featured one big climb, and a gravel descent. Both the men’s and women’s race saw large groups racing together into the final moments, tactics proved to be critical on Sunday.

Team SmartStop signs Colombian Juan Pablo Villegas for 2015.

Team SmartStop announced Monday that it has signed Juan Pablo Villegas to the team’s 2015 roster.

Villegas, 27, will be the 14th rider on the SmartStop team, after two years with the 4-72 Colombia team.

SmartStop director, Michael Creed, first noticed Villegas at the Vuelta Mexico in March where he won three stages and claimed the overall in the six-day stage race.

Roy returns with Orica-AIS to defend national criterium title.

Sarah Roy will return to defend her national criterium title at January’s Mars Cycling Australia Road National Championships, this time with the backing of the Orica-AIS team.

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 ...

Time running out for Mark Cavendish’s Olympic track dream, says Shane Sutton.

Neil van der Ploeg wins as Porte and Froome abandon.

Nibali, Astana under further scrutiny after claims Michelle Ferrari attended team training camp in 2013.

Vincenzo Nibali made repeated denials during this year’s Tour de France that he had ever met Michele Ferrari, but that insistence is under the microscope today after La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that the banned doctor had attended a team training camp in November 2013.

According to the Italian paper, Ferrari attended the team hotel in Montecatini Terme thirteen months ago. Unbeknownst to the team, so too did anti-doping investigators, who reportedly have photographs of the doctor talking to various members of the team.

Brian Cookson to explore mixed track cycling events for future Olympics.

UCI president Brian Cookson has already started thinking of ways to make cycling more attractive following the International Olympic Committee’s vote in favour of scrapping the Games’ 28-sport cap.

From the 2020 Games in Tokyo there will be a cap on the number of athletes, at 10,500, and events, at 310, rather than limiting the number of sports.

With the reforms designed to reduce the cost of staging the Olympics and increase interest in the events on offer, there is a worry that track cycling could be one of the events to feel the brunt of cuts in future Olympiads.

In the News: Sven Nys struggling to find form.

Sporza reports that former world cyclocross champion Sven Nys’  recent string of bad races may signal a more serious problem for the Belgian.

“We don’t know what is going on,” Jan Verstraeten, Nys’ team’s sport director told Sporza after the Belgian champion withdrew halfway through the Vlaamse Druivencross race in Overijse, Belgium on Sunday.

“There is something up with him the last weeks, as the maximum just does not want to come for Nys. And that has never been as clear as it is today.

Bannan: Chaves a development in progress.

After suffering an almost career ending crash in February last year, the performances of Esteban Chaves in 2014 provided Orica-GreenEdge team manager Shayne Bannan with enough evidence to suggest that he can become a future grand tour contender. The 24-year-old started his year with fourth place overall at the Tour de Langkawi and continued to repay Orica-GreenEdge's faith in signing him throughout the season, culminating in third place overall and the best young rider jersey at the final Tour of Beijing.

2014 Vlaamse Druivencross Overijse.

By the time the women made their first pass over the slippery forest trails on the lower half of the course, Belgian Ellen Van Loy had seized the lead. But as soon as they entered the woods, Van Loy’s countrywoman, Sanne Cant, surged to the front of the race, where she would remain, more or less, for the remainder.

Norco Threshold 105: The Power of Potential.

"The Norco Threshold, may have been the most eagerly anticipated ‘cross bike of the season. It was due to a combination of the previous bike’s well-respected performance, the vibrant colors and the sneak peeks Norco trickled out prior to ‘cross season. It was the Threshold 105, the entry-level carbon bike that passed our UPS driver’s tailgate. Other than a lower modulus carbon recipe it comes from the exact same mold as its higher priced siblings and with its new Shimano 105 11speed group and nuclear-fallout green paint job it looks a lot more expensive than its $2115 price tag."

Smith PivLock Eyewear.

"A suggestion for Smith Optics. The PivLock line of optics should be called Periphery. I know, PivLock describes how the arms are removed to swap lenses. No offense to your marketing department, your product development department or any other person or team involved in naming these shades but the periphery is what I noticed when I first put on the Smith Periphery V2s. They rock.

I am not talking peripheral vision here. Even the worst sunglasses make us aware of our peripheral vision. In researching this suggestion I looked up periphery, online. Yeah, I know, pretty high tech."

PEZ: EuroTrash Cross Monday!

Report: Banned doctor Ferrari spotted with Astana riders in 2013.

Italy’s most notorious doctor, Michele Ferrari, visited team Astana prior to the 2014 season in which it won the Tour de France with Vincenzo Nibali, according to a new report.

“In November 2013, one year ago, at the team’s first meeting for the 2014 season … a truly special guest arrived in the evening: Michele Ferrari,” reported Italy’s sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport Monday. “That evening, stationed outside the hotel, investigators photographed Ferrari speaking with some members of the team.”

Healthy hearts: Why the UCI’s mandatory medical checks are important.

In preparation for their 2015 season, Orica-GreenEdge last week held a training camp that saw much of the team ride from Central Victoria up to Canberra. As part of that training camp, the riders visited the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra to undertake the UCI's mandatory annual health checks.

Aaron S. Lee went along to the AIS to learn what the UCI requires of WorldTour teams when it comes to health checks, and to learn more about the elite cyclist's most important asset: a big, healthy heart.

How to Prevent Muscle Cramps.

Will Sherman was 10 minutes from his best result as an amateur mountain bike racer when his quads seized, causing him to crash hard on a flat section of Indiana singletrack. As his muscles cramped into what felt like knots the size of golf balls, Sherman watched competitors pass him on their way to the finish line.

Nearly every athlete is familiar with the telltale signs of cramping—fatigue and a searing twinge that's a precursor to painful muscle contractions. They can be triggered by overstressing muscles or, more commonly, during intense activity when your body sweats out too many electrolytes like sodium and potassium.

Sony Action Cam review.

If you consider the Sony Action Cam in the context of cameras like GoPro’s Hero range, or the Shimano Sports Camera, the Sony Action Cam’s long and narrow form factor seems a little strange. But when you consider that Sony is coming to the Action Cam having designed more traditional camcorders in the past, the size and shape makes sense.

The unit itself weighs 90g (with battery and SD card installed) and has an IPX4 rating making it “splashproof”. Placing the unit inside the supplied case makes the Action Cam waterproof up to 3m underwater, while increasing the unit’s weight to 147g. The unit feels compact and sturdy; doubly so when housed inside the waterproof case.

PEZ Holiday Gift Guide #3.

The Holidays are fast approaching so what better time to look at some cool gift ideas for friends/family/loved ones, or the kind of thing you leave open on your computer to make sure that a certain somebody knows what makes your heart sing. Check out wheels from Ritchey, bikes from Boardman & Fondriest, shoes from Lake, Club Ride Apparel’s jersey, decals from Zipp, computer mount from Sram, sunglasses from BBB and headwear from Rapha and Smith.

Trek Factory Racing unveil 2015 Domane 6 Series.

US-based WorldTour team Trek Factory Racing have unveiled the Domane 6 Series road bike that their Spring Classics’ team will race on during the upcoming 2015 season. The team has moved away from this year’s primarily black paint job and will sport a much more standout viper red.

The Spring Classics team is led by Fabian Cancellara, who is currently riding the viper red Domane 6 Series at Trek Factory Racing's pre-season training camp. However, Cancellara's bike will come with a new design to follow.

CyclingFans: 2014-2015 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Videos.

UCI to publish doping report in full as cycling sets an example for FIFA to follow.