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Doug Report Daily Cycling News Archive

(various sources)

Haga, Craddock to make 2015 debuts alongside Kittel Down Under.

Lawson Craddock and Chad Haga will make their sophomore season debuts alongside sprint ace Marcel Kittel at the Santos Tour Down Under next month.

The two Americans will be part of a solid formation for the 2015 UCI WorldTour season opener January 17-25 in Australia for the new-look Giant-Alpecin squad.

Both made solid debuts with Giant in 2014, with Craddock riding to third overall at the Amgen Tour of California, and Haga gaining confidence throughout the season to complete his first grand tour at the Vuelta a España.

Marianne Vos will return in Namur.

Marianne Vos will return to action next Sunday at the World Cup cross of Namur. The seven-time world champion cyclocross was expected to begin her new campaign in Heusden-Zolder, but her return will now be a week earlier.

Last year, Vos also returned to action at the World Cup cross in Namur, she finished second behind her American rival Katie Compton. Besides Vos and Compton, Sanne Cant, Helen Wyman and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot will all start Sunday. Which makes this the first time this season that all the stars of women cyclocross  participate in the same race.

Rising Cyclocross Star Ellen Noble: On Winning and Losing by Inches, Expectations for Nationals.

Almost a month ago, Ellen Noble passed the pits one final time at Day One of the Supercross Cup. She was zipping up her kit and passing a few words of excitement to cyclocross legend Edwin Bull. Noble had just had one of the most impressive rides of her life, taking a commanding lead and putting in enough digs to leave the rest of the field behind.

150 meters later, as Noble raised her hands in a salute of victory, Arley Kemmerer put in a final push and took the race at the line. It was an impressive effort by Kemmerer, but it was also heartbreaking to see Noble understandably crushed. (cxmagazine.com)

When It Rains It Pours: Orton and Werner Double Down on Weekend at NCGP.

Saturday’s results at the North Carolina Grand Prix can hardly be called flash-in-the-pan wins as Kerry Werner and Beth Ann Orton were able to make it to the top of the podium today, although both of their victories were narrower than the first day.

Orton, taking her first UCI win of her career on Day One, had to contend with the rising force of Ellen Noble, winner of both days at Baystate and Sunday’s race at NBX, who put up a the best fight in the women’s elite field, and Orton crossed the finish line a little over ten seconds ahead. It appears that Orton was able to fix her derailleur issues that happened after she won on Saturday.

Trebon aims for US cyclo-cross title despite recent spinal injuries.

Ryan Trebon is close to a complete recovery after fracturing three ribs and two vertebrae in a crash at the start of the cyclo-cross season in September. The Cannondale Cyclocrossworld.com rider is working on building his strength back with the hopes of salvaging his season with a good performance at the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross Championships held in January in Austin, Texas.

“Physically I am doing pretty well,” Trebon said. “I don’t have any complications or pain in my back. My ribs are occasionally a little sore but manageable. The main issue I have is strengthening the muscles in my back that atrophied from almost six weeks of no use and limited movement.

U23 champion Tanner Putt at home with UnitedHealthcare.

Although many of his former teammates went directly to the WorldTour from Axel Merckx's successful development team, Tanner Putt, twice the US U23 national champion, signed with UnitedHealthcare and is aiming to learn from the squad of talented riders in his first season in the senior ranks.

Putt, 22, hails from Park City, Utah, where he grew up with the ambition of being a ski racer, but success on the bike during the summer and a late-teen injury sculpted his path in life toward cycling and now he wouldn't change a thing.

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 ...

 (cyclingnews.com)

Finding the One.

"Lest you imagine that ordering a custom bike is a fantasy come true, understand this: If you're the kind of person who hems and haws over whether to order home fries or hashbrowns with your eggs, the process can feel like one of those free-fall trust exercises.

Choosing paint can send you down a multi-hued rabbit hole. A conversation about toe overlap ("What?! Isn't that bad??") almost made me reconsider my order. And when Ben encouraged me to go with an integrated seat mast, I agonized over the decision, worried I would cut the mast too short and the frame would never fit me right. I had to rely on his reassurances that there would be more than a centimeter of adjustability."

December 2014 Product Picks.

I"t's that time again when we pull together a whole bunch of the new and interesting products that have arrived at the CyclingTips office in the past month or so, giving you our initial thoughts. In this edition of Product Picks we feature everything from books to shoes to kit to tires and a whole lot more besides."

Van Aert solos to victory in Zilvermeercross.

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

Wells, Sunderland crowned winners at Shimano Super Criterium.

Steegmans ready to put difficult season behind him.

Boom announces race schedule.

12 Days of Dig: Day 1.

Vinokourov claims European press tried to destroy Astana team.

Alexandre Vinokourov has accused the European press of seeking to “destroy” the Astana team in the weeks leading up to the UCI License Commission’s decision on its WorldTour status for the 2015 season.

Astana was ultimately awarded a license on Wednesday despite the recent series of positive tests on the team, although reports in the Italian press last week claimed that there was also evidence from the Padova doping inquiry linking the team to the banned doctor Michele Ferrari. When contacted last week, the Astana squad had declined to comment on the allegations.

News shorts: Fuglsang considered leaving Astana, Giant-Alpecin for Tour Down Under.

Jakob Fuglsang has said that he considered cutting short his three-year contract with Astana, after the recent scandals that surrounded the team. Astana have been marred by a number of recent scandals including the latest reports in the Italian press linking as many as 17 Astana members with the banned doctor Michele Ferrari.

“Of course it is something that crossed my mind, but I quickly decided to forget it,” he said. “In the end it was important to wait to find out about the license. With the case coming so late it would have been difficult to find a new team, maybe even impossible, if it had to be a team of the same level.”

Rohan Dennis: the case for mid-season rider transfers.

A rare mid-season move may pay further dividends for BMC recruit Rohan Dennis at the Australian national time trial championships next month.

Dennis, under a typical October transfer arrangement, would have had just seven days to familiarize himself with new team equipment prior to the 40.9km title event he has identified as an objective.

Instead, the 24-year-old has had months to race and train on BMC apparatus due to an August transfer that saw him leave Garmin-Sharp, in an amicable agreement agent Andrew McQuaid oversaw, and begin racing for his new squad at the Eneco Tour.

Questions: Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas.

Team Sky recently asked Geraint Thomas to talk a little bit about what he’s like off the bike. Here are 20 not-so-serious questions posed to the 28-year-old who recently won the BBC’s Wales Sports Personality of the Year award.

Petacchi resumes negotiations with Neri Sottoli.

While the pro continental license was still uncertain, Neri Sottoli decided to put the negotiations with Alessandro Petacchi on hold. After the team has been granted a spot at the pro continental level, they have resumed talks with the Italian sprinter.

Neri Sottoli's roster for the 2015 season has almost been finalized. However, La Gazzetta dello Sport there is still an open question regarding Alessandro Petacchi. While there was uncertainty about the team's pro continental license, the team had put the negotatiations with the eperienced sprinter on hold.

Since the license for next season has now arrived, the parties have again resumed their discussions and both are reported to be very interested in a future collaboration. However, they still haven't agreed about the financial details.

MAMIL Achieves Dictionary Status.

Last week, the Oxford Dictionary announced the largest addition of new words to its online edition in years. Among the esteemed new inductees were ‘lolcat,’ ‘duck face,’ ‘man crush,’ and - in exciting news for cyclists—MAMIL.

That’s right, MAMIL - Middle Aged Man In Lycra for those of you who haven’t been paying attention - is now an acceptable word for your middle schoolers to use in their English essays.

Poll: Omega Pharma-QuickStep voted best team.

Omega Pharma-QuickStep have been voted best team of 2014 in the Cyclingnews Reader Poll. The Belgian team took more than a quarter of the votes, nearly 10 per cent more than their closest rivals BMC Racing and Movistar.

The team, which will be known as Etixx-QuickStep in 2015, claimed an astonishing 63 victories this season, the most of any team in the pro peloton. They may have lost two of their world titles this year but they added two more to replace them. Zdenek Stybar kicked off the team’s year with a win at the cyclo-cross World Championships, while Michal Kwiatkowski made it two rainbow jerseys with a victory in the road race in Ponferrada.

Merckx EMX-1.

BikeRadar verdict: 4 out of 5 stars. "There's room for some future upgrading, but this Merckx is an addictive – and not uncomfortable – ride."

12 Days of Dig: Day 2.

"Shinola Runwell Sport Chronograph: This watch will soon become a classic. The Runwell Sport features a stainless bracelet with orange dial and black sub eyes in a 47mm case. Shinola offers a variety of designs and price points, but this is our favorite."

Tiralongo sues La Repubblica for defamation.

(pezcyclingnews.com)

PEZ: EuroTrash Cyclo-Cross Monday!

Steve Tilford: How to Prove You are NOT Doping.

(mulitple sources)

Cycling’s governing body is being careful to avoid a wasteful legal fight with team Astana. UCI President Brian Cookson explained that he would only want the UCI to refuse the team’s 2015 racing license if it felt that its reasoning would stand up in court.

“I know that whatever happens,” Cookson said, “that those with resources will challenge whatever decision we make.”

“To be honest, taking the fight to the CAS is not really the issue,” Cookson said.

“I’m not prepared to put our organization and sport at risk by taking a decision that would be challenged legally.

“We have to make sure that when we take decisions that they are ones that can stand up to those challenges.”

Androni-Venezuela team riders undertake to pay large fine in case of doping positive.

The Androni-Venezuela team has announced that it has required its riders to sign a substantial anti-doping pledge, under which anyone testing positive would have to pay a large fine and also cover the cost of damages incurred by the team.

The Professional Continental team announced that the agreement has been drawn up by the notary Marco Marvaso, the team’s lawyer Giuseppe Napoleone and the team manager Gianni Savio, and has been signed by all of the riders and also the team’s technical staff.

It said that the proposal had been recommended by the team management in order to reinforce what it says is a zero tolerance policy on the squad.

BMC commemorates Worlds team time trial win.

BMC’s Daniel Oss has chosen to commemorate the team’s first victory in the World Team Time Trial Championships in a special way. The Italian gave each of his five teammates a handmade ring at the BMC training camp in Dénia this week.

“A few days after we won the race, I wanted to do something for the guys. It was important for me to have something to remember it by. I wanted to remember this part of the season, to remember the great result we had and to have something that was just for the six of us,” explained Oss. “So I was talking to some of my friends about it and they knew these guys who made the rings. I thought it was the perfect present."

Riis: Contador wants to make history.

Alberto Contador has set himself a big goal for the 2015 season as he wants to win the Giro-Tour double. According to Bjarne Riis, he is inspired by the chance to make history.

In December, the Canary Islands is not only a refuge for people seeking the cheapest alcohol. The place is also the perfect place for riders to train in springlike conditions. These days several riders are heading out on long rides in big groups, surrounded by coaches , biomechanical experts, nutritionists and directors. In one of the hotels, Bjarne Riis has gathered what he calls "the dream team" of cycling. "We are 80 people of whom 30 are riders," the Dane tells El Pais. "We have six coaches and a host of staff that do their maximum to take care of the riders."

Review: Merckx-Ickx Expo.

An exhibition depicting the sporting careers of Eddy Merckx and Jacky Ickx, a motorsport champion. Much more than a celebration of two men with -ckx in their name, the pair are friends and approaching their 70th birthdays and this show is tribute to the two and features a lot of material from their private collections.

If you’re in Brussels you must visit, if you’re not in Brussels you should visit.

Rabottini suspended for EPO, and to think we almost had him at the Taiwan KOM.

"Last year, when I was looking for KOM winners of the Grand Tours of recent years to invite to ride the Taiwan KOM Challenge, i received a mail suggesting i get in touch with Matteo Rabottini of Neri Sottoli.

Rabottini had shot to fame with a victory Rabottini on the stage to Piani dei Resinelli at the 2012 Giro d’Italia, taking the KOM classification. the following year he was 17th on the GC. he was young (25 when he won the KOM at the Giro) and charismatic, and looked perfect for the KOM."

Holiday Gift Guide #4.

"In today’s Gift Guide we’ve got you covered with lots of great gift ideas for yourself or another cyclist in your life with gear from R&A Cycles, Lynskey, PowerTap, Scapin, Primal, Velopress, MET, Xentis, BicycleAge, Scott and Assos."

The Most Precious Pump.

Silca's owner Josh Poertner defends - and exalts - his $450 SuperPista Ultimate.

Video: Dave Christensen, filmmaker.

Report: Rabottini confirmed positive for EPO.