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Doug Report Daily Cycling News Archive

Van Aert solos to victory in Zilvermeercross.

Wout Van Aert took a solo victory at the UCI C2 Zilvermeercross held in Belgium on Sunday. Laurens Sweeck rode in alone for second place, leaving third place to Tom Meeusen.

Dutchwoman Sabrina Stultiens took a victory of at the Zilvermeercross women's race in Belgium on Sunday.

Stultiens won the race ahead of Ellen Van Loy, forcing Cant to settle for third place.

Beth Ann Orton Takes First UCI Win, Werner Racks Another at North Carolina Grand Prix.

Beth Ann Orton added her name to an impressive list of riders, including Ellen Noble and Cassie Maximenko, who are American riders that took their first UCI win during the 2014-15 cyclocross season. She went on to take a solo victory by nearly a half-minute, beating second-place finisher, and 18-year-old cyclist Laurel Rathbun, another rider who knows how to push a lot of watts.

Allison Arensman, a southern rider who had a few great rides at the end of last year’s American cyclocross calender, rounded out the podium.

Kerry Werner, winner of a day at the Supercross Cup and the last ever Baystate race, took Day One at the North Carolina Grand Prix, and is certainly making a case to be a rider to look out for come Nationals.

Wells, Sunderland crowned winners at Shimano Super Criterium.

Kimberley Wells and Scott Sunderland have taken top honors in the women's and men's events of the Shimano Super Criterium series, in front of a healthy crowd in St Kilda, Melbourne.

Having only recently returned to Australia from the Track World Cup in London, Scott Sunderland, bucked any sign of traveller's fatigue with an emphatic win in the elite men's event.

Garmin-Sharp professional Steele Von Hoff salvaged second, a few bike-lengths back, while Drapac-bound Brenton Jones scooped up third. The 80-lap race saw the field competing for a handy swag of $8500 and boasted an impressive field; Tour de France stage winners Simon Gerrans and Michael Rogers both in attendance.

Steegmans ready to put difficult season behind him.

2014 was an annus horribilis for Gert Steegmans who achieved virtually no results and had to leave Omega Pharma-Quick Step in a painful way. Having signed a contract with Trek, the 34-year-old Belgian wants to get back on track as a domestique for Fabian Cancellara.

At his new team Trek Factory Racing, Steegmans has a clearly defined role: "In the classics, I will be riding in support of Fabian, and then I will be with the young sprinters: Stuyven, the Van Poppel brothers and Nizzolo. And when I feel good, I will definitely get my own chance," he tells Het Nieuwsblad.

Boom announces race schedule.

In his first year at Astana, Lars Boom will focus on the spring classics, mainly Paris-Roubaix, and the Tour de France which starts in his home country.

After 11 seasons with the same structure - Rabobank Continental, the Rabobank WorldTour team and Belkin - Boom begins a new part of his career with Vincenzo Nibali's Astana team. He expects to accompany the Italian at the 2015 Tour de France which has the special feature of starting with a 14km time trial in Utrecht. The goal is two-fold: to support Nibali in his quest to defend his title and to win a stage like he did in 2014 when he won the stage to Arenberg where Nibali laid the foundations for his victory.

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 ...

Sanne Cant Wins at Scheldecross Antwerp.

Van der Poel wins solo in Scheldecross.

Sven Nys: I'm only human.

Tiralongo sues La Repubblica for defamation.

Paolo Tiralongo has asked his lawyer to take legal action against the Italian daily La Repubblica due to a story published last Sunday.

Tiralongo claims that the story damages his image and reputation as it links him to doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.

In a press release issued by his representatives, Tiralongo categorically denies that he has had any relationship or contact with Dr. Fuentes or used blood transfusions.

Coquard concerned about Europcar losing WorldTour status.

The news that the Europcar team failed to secure a WorldTour license for 2015 has rocked the French set-up, with the riders now unsure of their race programs and long term future.

Europcar team manager Jean-Rene Bernaudeau has already revealed that Europcar will end its sponsorship after the 2015 season and he must find a major sponsor to keep the team alive and hold onto his best riders.

Fuglsang: Of course I will have to take this into account.

The drama about the Astana team with its doping positives, the uncertainly about the WorldTour license and the possible links with Dr. Ferrari raised several questions about the future of the squad. Jakob Fuglsang finds the situation serious and hopes that the new accusations are not true. During the 2015 season, he will consider whether to continue at the Kazakh team when his contract expires.

"Obviously, I have to consider things carefully and that's is what I do. Then we'll see when my contract expires. But it is evident that I will have to take it into account what has happened in the time before this season. There's no doubt about that," he tells TV2 Sporten from the Astana training camp in Calpe.

Nuyens: 50 % chance for me at the moment.

Former winner of Ronde Van Vlaanderen Nick Nuyens says there is a 50 % chance that he will continue in the peloton next season. In an interview with Sporza, he talks about his chances and his plan B in case of him ending up without a contract.

Nuyens himself has no doubts at all. He still thinks he has the level to ride at the pro level.

"I think I still can have a place in a squad, but if it ends up with nothing, I will not fall into a black hole" said Nuyens.

Bookshelf: Roads Were Not Built for Cars.

Roads Were Not Built for Cars by Carlton Reid, is an exceptionally well-researched book whose very title is "fightin’ words." This might be ammunition against those motorists (we have all experienced them) who loudly proclaim that cyclists have no right to use public roads but the author unrolls a fascinating story whose details occasionally surface but the greater history has certainly been lost, or buried.

Richie Porte's self-assessment of his 2014 season.

After a successful campaign in 2013, Australia’s Richie Porte started 2014 eager to impress as one of Sky’s lead riders. But as he tells Procycling, this year turned out to be a season littered with pitfalls.

Video: Dave Christensen, filmmaker.

Report: Rabottini confirmed positive for EPO.

According to a brief report published by Gazzetta dello Sport, a counter-analysis carried out in the Cologne anti-doping laboratory has confirmed Matteo Rabottini has tested positive for EPO.

The Neri Sottoli rider was caught in an out of competition control carried out on August 8, with the UCI confirming his A sample was positive for EPO on September 12, just hours after Rabottini was named in the Italian squad for the World Road Championships..

Zoidl: I still have to improve my descending.

Riccardo Zoidl is a rather reserved person. On the bike, however, the Austrian is a lot more offensive and put that approach on show in the past year. In his first pro season, the 26-year-old mixed it up with the best in the world and achieved several top results, including a win at the Austrian road race championships.

Nonetheless, Zoidl does not draw an entirely positive balance. "The first year was okay but it could have been better. But you also have to remember that the races were at a much higher level than they were last year," he tells radsport-news.com.

Routes Of All Evil – Why you should try a bit of deviation If you want to be a better rider.

"I bet you only have around 6 training routes that you use regularly.

Most of us do, and the other likelihood is that you always ride them in the same direction.

If you think I may not have got that right here’s a useful exercise. Go to the quirky website Sisu (https://www.madewithsisu.com) allow it to link to your strava profile and look at the pattern of the numerous rides it produces. You’ll see lots of the same shapes showing up as it takes all your rides off the map onto a blank sheet. It’s a useful way to see if you’ve allowed your training to get stuck in the rut of predictable routes (you can get to that stage for free). Even the sample posters on their homepage show that others are no different in favoring certain routes."

Ten things pro cyclists do differently to the average weekend warrior.

Aside from the enormous physiological differences that exist between the world’s top cyclists and the rest of us, professional riders do a number of things both on and off the bike that sets them apart.

Granted they’re bound to the strict conditions stipulated in their contracts but you will never, ever see a professional rider not wearing his current team’s kit while he’s out training. Jobs are hard to come by in this industry and no one would be foolish enough to jeopardise a life of sacrifice for something as silly as not wearing the items issued to them to advertise the products and services of the sponsors who pay their salaries.

12 Days of Dig: Day 1.

It’s time to add some cycling history to your morning espresso. The perfect gift for any cyclist, this espresso set comes in four different retro designs from the ’70s and ’90s classic Italian style and features a kiln-fired , high-gloss finish. Each set is €45 and they ship worldwide.

Steve Tilford: Doing Planks.

Hinault: I am against the WorldTour.