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Doug Report Daily Cycling News Archive

Cookson: Calendar reform ‘still a work in progress’.

Cycling’s makeover is still very much a work in progress.

That’s according to Brian Cookson, who said it’s still too early to reveal a detailed roadmap on how elite men’s road cycling will look in the coming years.

Many were expecting more specifics to come out of a two-day WorldTour seminar last week in Switzerland, but Cookson said there is still no consensus among the major players about a planned reconstruction of the elite men’s racing calendar set for the 2017 racing season.

Sutherland: Movistar is different from Tinkoff-Saxo.

Rory Sutherland has made the jump from supporting Alberto Contador at Tinkoff-Saxo in 2014 to supporting Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana at Movistar for 2015 this offseason.

“This opportunity popped up, the conversations started earlier in the year, as they do, and as things progressed and I think Eusebio (Unzué, Movistar team manager), the sports directors and some of the riders saw what my job was and I think what I do and what I bring to a team would fit in here a little better because it’s a different structure of riders. There is no full Classics team, but there are a lot of climbers, whereas I’m not a full climber, I consider myself to be in that middle area and can look after people in a different way and I think and I hope and they hope as well that the place I will have here is going to be one that will be incredibly fruitful to the organization.”

Steele Von Hoff: “I was just a victim of the game.”

Australian sprinter Steele Von Hoff has spoken of his frustration with having to drop down from the WorldTour, saying that he was left waiting for a long time before finding out he would not be retained by Garmin-Sharp and ultimately had to settle for a Continental ride.

However the 26 year old national criterium champion has said he is determined to seize opportunities with his new NFTO team and to try to follow the example set by Adam Blythe, who returned to the top level after a successful period with that squad.

Joe Dombrowski: Cannondale-Garmin, the best option!

Having ridden impressively in his first two years at the Continental level, Joe Dombrowski joined Team Sky. But health issues prevented him from performing in line with such expectations. He said that his left leg feels just "as strong as the right now" and "it gives me a lot of confidence heading into 2015". For the next season, he will ride for Cannondale-Garmin Sharp after two seasons with Team Sky.

The American rider has just returned from a ten day team camp with his new team. "We spent the first three days at the Cannondale headquarters in Connecticut. Then we went sailing in the Carribean. While it was definitely a bit of a vacation, it was also a great exercise in team building."

Voigt to stay with Trek Factory Racing team.

Jens Voigt will continue his association with the Trek Factory Racing team, initially as a consultant and then as a directeur sportif. The 43-year-old German retired as a rider this fall after a 17-year career.

He is currently attending the team training camp in Alfas del Pi, Spain, and his first racing assignment with the team will be at the Tour Down Under.

“I’ll take on an active role in the team staff and my new role involves a lot of things: coaching and motivating the riders, helping out the youngsters, and directing at a few select races, once I have obtained my director certificate,” Voigt said in a team press release.

Quintana named Colombian Sportsman of the Year.

For the second year running, Nairo Quintana has been named the Colombian Sportsman of the Year of the year at a ceremony held in the JW Marriott hotel in Bogotá and sponsored by Movistar in conjunction with the El Espectado newspaper. Quintana made history in May when he became the first Colombian to win the Giro d'Italia and first Colombian in 27 years to win a grand tour.

Eight tips for steady improvement at the races.

Trevor Connor talks to Garmin-Sharp’s Alex Howes and Frank Overton of FasCat Coaching about how to improve without moving too quickly. Connor is a long-time cycling coach and researches both exercise physiology and nutrition at Colorado State University.

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 ...

PdC Fashion Alert! Training Kits... Waitwhat?! [Plus Etixx].

"Team Tinkoff-Saxo, quite possibly the most energetic team of the moribund pre-holiday season (if their media presence is to be believed). have gone out and done it now. It being "third jerseys," conceptually speaking. Calling it their "training kit" to be used at official team training camps (of which there typically aren't many), Tinkoff-Saxo are now riding around Gran Canaria in a kit full of various shades and hues of green, in camouflage style. Let me guess what comes next: like our extra kit? You can buy that one too! Get the whole set for the low low (not very low) price of all the moneys!" (podiumcafe.com)

No details yet from UCI on sweeping reform.

Taylor Phinney Interview Part 2.

Licensed to Ride.

Astana have got their World Tour licence for 2015 following a late review from the UCI. A shock? Not really because the rules don’t give the License Commission much room to exclude a team. It takes a smoking gun, or in the case of Team Europcar, denied a World Tour place, cold arithmetic.

It’s worth remembering a license is primarily an administrative exercise. The team can exist on paper but it’s going to face headwinds in the coming weeks and months. In fact you wonder whether the sponsors will want to continue?

(inrng.com)

Astana must be dealt with and kicked off the WorldTour.

Last weekend, after a two-day seminar in Montreux involving key stakeholders, which we are told took place in a spirit of openness and transparency, the International Cycling Union (UCI) sent out a press release welcoming "the return of credibility to the sport”. If it wants those words to be taken seriously today, cycling's world governing body needs to act tough on Astana.

Forget the argument, proffered in recent weeks by general manager Alexandre Vinokourov and others (including, worryingly, the Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali, who should be distancing himself from, rather than defending his team), that Astana and Astana Continental are separate entities.

Even if that were true, which it is not, two positive tests for EPO by senior Astana riders, one of them just one week after helping Nibali to claim his yellow jersey, are scandalous enough.  

Astana accused of systematic doping.

Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport has revealed many of the riders implicated in the Padova police investigation as clients of banned doctor Michele Ferrari. The newspaper lists 38 professional and Under 23 riders, going onto suggest that 17 Astana riders have links with Dr. Ferrari.

The full 550-page Padova investigation documents the results of phone taps, house searches and the seizure of bank records, which were apparently handed over to the Italian Olympic Committee's doping investigators before the weekend. The Padova investigators called the inquiry Operation "Mito" (Legend), one of several nicknames used by riders to identify Dr. Ferrari. The investigation covers 2010 and 2011, and includes 230 pages of phone tap conversations.

Rojas: I only exchanged mails with Stefano Ferrari.

José Joaquín Rojas has reacted to the information that linked him to doctor Michele Ferrari in the investigation by the Padova inquiry and has been published by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The reports claim that there have been phone calls and email exchanges with Stefano Ferrari, Michele's son, in November 2010. Rojas does not deny those contacts but rejects that there are any stronger links. "Regarding the imformation published today, I exchanged several mails with Stefano Ferrari about my workouts Everything else are baseless rumors," he said in a Twitter message.

Amira Mellor, a Rising Powerhouse of British Cyclocross: Milton Keynes Interview.

Seventeen year old British rider Amira Mellor’s battling ride into 26th place at the Milton Keynes World Cup was just the latest in a string of rides which have marked the 2014-15 cyclocross season as a breakthrough for her.

Back in September, the average UK cyclocross fan could have been forgiven for not recognizing her name as, apart from a bronze medal in the National Junior Women’s Championships last January, she has not been a regular visitor to the podium, despite steady progress through the age categories.

Greipel takes new approach to early-season racing in 2015.

André Greipel may have claimed more wins than any other pro in the men’s peloton last season, but that isn’t stopping the German sprinter from taking a new approach to spring racing in 2015.

In a press release filed from its Benicàssim, Spain training camp, Lotto-Belisol announced that its sprinter will forgo the Tour Down Under, where he’s won 16 stages over the years. He also won the overall classification at the Australian race in 2008 and 2010.

Is Lezyne stuff just the best stuff in the world of stuff or what?

"this is the best stuff out there bar none.

i’ve tried other stuff but nothing works as good as Lezyne stuff.

‘engineered design’ is the motto and that is what you get, intelligent engineering married to design that is cool as.

the real slick thing about this whole love affair is that i can go to the factory, like i did today, and pick my gear up personally.

how slick is that?

yes, quite slick."

Steve Johnson to step down as CEO of USA Cycling.

Podcast: 2014 Special Feature – Episode 54 – Sarah interviews Christina Siggaard.

Cookson defends UCI’s response to doping amid brewing Astana storm.

The UCI president has protested that cycling is doing more than many of its rivals to tackle doping as it confronts a new dark chapter over the Tour de France winning Astana team.

The UCI licensing commission was slated to announce on Wednesday its recommendation on whether Astana, whose top rider Vincenzo Nibali won this year’s Tour de France, should get a racing license for 2015 after a series of doping failures.

UCI president Brian Cookson said the federation, in making a final decision, will also study new allegations that members of Astana met with banned doping doctor Michele Ferrari last year.

Marcato: I have never visited Ferrari.

Marco Marcato denies that he has had any relationship with doctor Michele Ferrari and rejects the information published today in the Gazzetta dello Sport about the list of riders who worked with the Italian physician who is banned for life.

Marcato rode for Cannondale this year, will join Wanty-Groupe Gobert for the next two seasons. "I've never had any relationship with Dr. Michele Ferrari. I have never met this person, I have never seen and never talked to him. Again, nothing has ever linked me to him," said the Italian rider.

Portland a potential host of 2015 UCI road race.

Found on the 2015 UCI America Tour calendar, between well-established events such as the USA Pro Challenge and the Tour of Alberta, is the August 29 GP of Portland, a proposed 112-mile UCI 1.2 race through the city.

As first reported by The Oregonian in August, the event has made its way on to the UCI calendar, however sponsorship is still the factor that will determine whether or not it takes place.

Jack Toland, the event’s co-founder and operations manager, was involved with the launch of the renowned CoreStates US PRO Road Race Championship in Philadelphia, alongside Jerry Casale and Dave Chauner in 1984.

Specialized Body Geometry Fit with Tinkoff-Saxo.

Getting properly positioned on the bike through Specialized's Body Geometry Fit was one of the priorities on the agenda for the new riders on Tinkoff-Saxo at their training camp held on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria. Dr. Andy Pruitt developed the bike fit process over the past 30 years and believes that it can significantly improve a rider’s comfort and performance, and that we should expect to see big changes to the bike position of Peter Sagan, the team’s sprinter.

"We first saw Peter Sagan in the fall, when he first signed with Tinkoff-Saxo, and made changes to his position that included the bike, saddle and shoes, and we made huge changes," Dr. Pruitt told Cyclingnews. "He rode with those changes and then we followed up with those changes at this camp. He is absolutely in love with what we are doing."

PEZ On The Road with Katusha.

"Our man in Spain, Alastair Hamilton, was lucky enough to receive an invitation to the presentation of the Katusha team and new clothing for 2015. He didn’t just go for the free food and drink, but spent the day with the team for a ride (in the car) and some interviews. Here is his day with the Russians."

The Athletes Who Train With Soda.

Ted King, a member of the Cannondale Pro Cycling team, estimates that 90% of the riders on the Tour de France drink Coke at some point during the race.

“A really cold soda on a hot day is that blast of energy you need,” King says. “There’s something about the quick caffeine and simple sugar that helps fuel the final bit of a race.”

Pro cyclists can burn 800 to 1,000 calories per hour and ride for five or six hours on a race day, King says. Riders also eat energy bars and gels and drink sports drinks. “Your palate can only take so many sports-specific things,” he says. Drinking a Coke has become a tradition among riders.

Cannondale Si Chainset.

BikeRadar verdict: 4 out of 5 stars. "Light, stiff and well priced – and it’s pleasingly easy to install." (bikeradar.com)

CIPOLLINI BOND Review.

Launched with one of the coolest videos in cycling, the Cipollini Bond at first smacked cycling’s establishment as more of the flash and hype the Super Mario is known for. But he’s also known as a prolific race winner, and as this bike proved – both offer enough performance to warrant a place in cycling’s upper echelon.

The instruction manual for the Cipollini Bond runs ninety eight pages, the last fourteen offering a broadly “Italian” treatise on how to pack a bicycle for transport.

BikeSnobNYC: The Waffle Defense.