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Doug Report Daily Cycling News Archive

Ricco: It’s impossible to win a grand tour without doping.

Italian Riccardo Riccò, who is serving a 12-year doping ban, attacked cycling’s credibility at the launch his book, “A Funeral in Yellow — The Confessions of The Cobra.” Riccò called cycling’s reform commission “a joke” and said it is impossible to win a grand tour clean.

“It’s cleaner now but not completely clean,” the 31-year-old told Tutto Bici.

“You can [race a grand tour clean]. I did in 2006 at the Tour de France. Winning it clean? A one-day classic, yes. A grand tour, no.”

MPCC releases 2015 watch list of member teams.

The Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC), which represents 78 percent of UCI WorldTour and Pro Continental teams, issued a statement Thursday that summarized the standing of seven teams. Six of the listed teams will face voluntary suspension, according to MPCC rules, if one or more of their respective riders fail an anti-doping test.

Androni Giocattoli will have to suspend itself for a week if one of its riders violates anti-doping rules before May 30, 2015.

Astana WorldTour will have to suspend itself for four weeks if one of its riders violates anti-doping rules before August 1, 2016.

 (cyclingnews.com)

Rigoberto Uran to ride Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in 2015.

Etixx-Quick-Step has confirmed that Rigoberto Uran will make an attempt at the Giro d’Italia title in 2015, before riding for stage wins at the Tour de France shortly afterwards.

The Colombian finished second in the 2014 edition of the Giro behind compatriot Nairo Quintana, but will come up against the likes of Alberto Contador in 2015 as he challenges for the pink jersey.

Uran held the maglia rosa for five days in this year’s race and took a stage win, but will not be looking to challenge for the yellow jersey at the Tour de France almost two months later.

Gilbert targets first win at Milan-San Remo.

Philippe Gilbert will begin his 2015 campaign with a his debut at the Dubai Tour before heading over to the Tour of Qatar a day after racing closes. However, he will make Milan-San Remo his first big target of the 2015 season. San Remo is one of the few early season races that Gilbert is yet to win but he believes that the 2015 course will give him a chance.

"I would like to do well in San Remo now they've fixed the parcours," he said during a meeting with the media at the team's training camp in Dénia, Spain. "It's back on the old one, the one I like the most."

Testing course revealed for 2015 Tirreno-Adriatico.

Organizers RCS Sport revealed on Thursday the course for the 2015 edition of the prestigious week-long stage race, Tirreno-Adriatico, including a tough mountain top finish on Monte Terminillo on stage five.

The race will run its 50th edition between March 11 and 17 next year, and is likely to continue to attact many of the best riders as it acts as a prelude to the classics season and those looking towards the first grand tour of the year, the Giro d’Italia.

Behind the scenes: Live-streaming the Shimano SuperCrit with on-board cameras.

"Last Sunday, CyclingTips live-streamed the elite men's race at the St. Kilda Cycling Club Shimano SuperCrit including live footage from on-board cameras. As far as we're aware, it's the first time on-board vision has been used for a live race broadcast anywhere in the world.

It wasn't perfect by any stretch, and we weren't expecting it to be. Rather it was a chance to test the technology and show that it is possible. After all, you have to start somewhere."

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)

US domestic teams chase UCI points ahead of Richmond Worlds.

Next September's UCI Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia, will be the first in the US in nearly 30 years, and as the queue of domestic teams that hope to participate grows, so do the opportunities to earn the UCI points that can get them there.

Bradley Wiggins talks about his cycling mentality in BBC radio documentary.

An 86-mile ride on Christmas Day – that’s just one of sacrifices a young Bradley Wiggins made to chase his dream of becoming a professional cyclist.

As part of a BBC Radio 5 live documentary called Mind of a Cyclist, which will broadcast tonight, Wiggins sits down with fellow Olympic gold medalist Victoria Pendleton to examine the mental demands of the sport at the highest level.

“I love the mundane part of the sport,” Wiggins says. “I love the romance of doing the training, which is the bit that no-one sees. That might be a 5am gym session or an 8am session in the velodrome before anyone else comes in."

CrankBrothers Sterling LG mini pump.

BikeRadar verdict: 4.5 out of 5 stars. "Solid, user friendly and pleasingly versatile mini pump."

Scott Addict Team and Solace 10, Part II.

"The Addict is a pretty typical road racing bike, while the Solace is part of the now established class of grand touring or endurance bikes, typified by the Specialized Roubaix. It’s easiest to demonstrate their differences with their stack and reach figures.

Both my review bikes were size large, ostensibly a 56cm frame. For the Addict, the stack and reach are 56.8 and 39.4cm respectively. For the Solace, the stack and reach are 59.2 and 38.4cm respectively. That difference in position for the headset top cap—1cm less reach and 2.4cm higher stack—means Scott is serious about the Solace being not just a different ride, but also a different fit."

Jens Voigt: My Life After Retirement.

No firm comeback date yet for Taylor Phinney.

Cant and Van der Poel Win in Cyclocross Waasland, American Elle Anderson Lands Podium in Europe.

Tejay van Garderen: Criticism over Lance Armstrong link was not unexpected.

Tejay van Garderen admits he expected the backlash that came his way after the news emerged that he has been motorpaced by Lance Armstrong.

The American racer, who finished fifth in the 2014 Tour de France, insists he wasn’t trying to court controversy by working with the Texan, simply making use of a local resource.

But the 26-year-old, who is replacing Cadel Evans as the BMC team leader in 2015, feels Armstrong is being overly persecuted for his role in the US Postal doping scandal.

Changing the Business Model: Setting ethical standards in cycling.

Professional cycling has never adopted a formal set of ethical standards for its riders, teams or governing officials. There has been no clear standard for responsible and ethical behavior — no training or guidelines, no expectation that people should do the right thing, even when “no one is looking.” Cycling has instead always relied on the strength of its rules and regulations — and prescribed punishments for violating them — to guide the behavior of its participants, to maintain order, and to keep the sport from breaking down.

But after more than a century of continuous cheating, a thoroughly entrenched culture of doping, and too many scandals to count, one could argue that the UCI’s rules and regulations have devolved into nothing more than strongly worded suggestions. Individuals with the right finances, advisers, and influence in cycling have basically been able to chart their own path. Worse, there have been examples where the governance structure itself has apparently fallen into that gray area where “turning a blind-eye” and actual collusion with the doping culture start to converge.

Offseason Capsule: Lotto Belisol's Slow Development.

Life can be rough for Lotto-Belisol, or *that other Belgian team*. Living in the shadows of the Quickstep franchise has never been easy, and the country's other World Tour squad has been struggling to define itself in recent years. But, with a host of promising younger riders developing within the team, that may be changing.

Astana’s Tanel Kangert.

"Tanel Kangert is starting his fifth year with the team and so he is in the perfect position to give us his thoughts on the team’s present situation. There are two sides to every story, but Tanel is one of the people caught in the crossfire.

Kangert rode as a stagiere for Ag2r in 2007 before joining as a full pro the following year, but in 2010 he had to step down to race again with the amateurs due to a near career ending knee injury. The Astana team took him back to the WorldTour for the 2011 season and since then he has been a dedicated helper with a pretty strong palamés behind him. We chatted about Estonia, his career and the 2014 Tour, but in the end we had to tackle the elephant in the corner; how did he feel about Astana’s satiation?"

New England’s Newest Permanent Cyclocross Course: Interview with Riverpoint’s Lafleurs.

If you’re like us, cyclocross is on the brain more often than you’d like to admit. Perhaps the obsession even permeates into your daily schedule, and on your daily commute, you often see a field on the side of the road, and wonder how you could turn that into a cyclocross course.

Cory and Melissa Lafleur, two passionate cyclocrossers who spent much of their season racing in New England, have made these type of daydreams a reality. In relative proximity to the NBX Gran Prix in Warwick, Rhode Island, the couple has transformed a long stretch of land into a permanent cyclocross park called Riverpoint.

Look highlights counterfeit 695 frames.

French bicycle manufacturer Look has issued a press release warning buyers to steer clear of counterfeit versions of its road frames.

The news comes after fake versions of the company's 695 Light and 695 models in different ranges and colors have surfaced in Asia and more recently in Europe.

The love story: Riding through Italy with a legend.

She was beautiful in a way that bolted a man’s feet to the floor. When a long look is the only reaction and the blood in your cheeks feels like cans of hot oil.

“What can I get you?” she said.

The whole world, I wanted to say. All of it.

Instead I ordered two coffees and a beer. It was noon in the Dolomites, on the Passo Duran, and there was nothing else to do but sit, erase the salt lines from my face, and point at the map, deciding where to go next. I am now certain I sat there too long.

It is possible to fall in love 50 times a day in northern Italy. With the ups, with the downs, with the sideways rain, and the washing of a bike. With the barista.

This is a love story. A love story like Proust said, in that the “remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were.”

Review: The Crashtag™ by Elevengear.

Simple.

Which is the idea behind The Crashtag, far as i can see. On one side of the rounded piece of Al6V4 titanium you have a pattern of your choosing from 10 patterns (they have a club special too, whereby you can get your club name and logo on the front – in fasct, I think anyone can get whatever they want put on there), on the other you have space for 159 characters that should include your name, an emergency number and whatever else you want, laser-engraved on there.

12 Days of Dig: Day 5.

"We’ve been following Seth Davidson’s writing for a long time, and thankfully he has created a book with some of his popular musings on the riding life. We like his writing so much, in fact, that you will now see the Wankmeister on the brand-new www.pelotonmagazine.com. To get you ready for weekly posts you should pick up his book. It’s worth it."

Christmas cycling jerseys - five of the tackiest.

Christmas is just a week away, and what better way to show your holiday spirit than with garish holiday attire? Ugly Christmas jumpers are a time-honoured tradition, but they’re not the best choice for logging some miles to burn off the excess calories that accompany the holiday season.

UCI still waiting for Padova file from CONI, want to see any relevant Astana information.

Van Garderen laments lack of Tour de France time trials.

(pezcyclingnews.com)

Ask a Mechanic: Do I need to use pedal washers?

Vaughters: This team is the love of my life.

We are constantly told that cycling is a sport both undervalued and undersold, that sponsors should be lining up to back teams and that the sport is an excellent marketing opportunity when compared to soccer and other mainstream sports. While that may all be true, unless you’re backed by Kazakh oil or have the deep pockets of an Andy Rhis or Rupert Murdoch at your disposal, running a WorldTour team can be a draining and ultimately fruitless endeavor.

Take Cannondale and Garmin-Sharp, for example. Both have credible footings in the sport, impressive rosters and sound management structures, but had it not been for their merger for the 2015 season both teams would have probably vanished from the top tier of the sport.

“I don’t think either us or Cannodale would have been able to run a WorldTour team if there hadn’t been a deal,” Garmin’s Jonathan Vaughters says in rather blunt fashion.

Santambrogio tests positive for testosterone during EPO ban.

Italian Mauro Santambrogio is in more hot water with the anti-doping authorities after returning an Adverse Analytical Finding for testosterone during his ban for EPO.

Santambrogio was in the midst of a doping suspension, a result of the EPO positive from the 2013 Giro d'Italia, which was due to expire on November 2, 2014 when he tested positive on October 22 for testosterone, the UCI announced today.

A Rider Union.

The picture shows Luca Paolini and Manuel Quinziato in discussion with officials from the Giro d’Italia following the treacherous circuit around Bari where riders were sliding over the road. Others took part in the discussions and it’s always difficult to work out who should speak for the riders. There are regular calls for a rider union, a collective body to protect and strengthen the rights of professional cyclists.

As the sport reorganizes there’s an alphabet soup of acronyms, each fighting for competing interests. There’s the UCI itself then race organizers like ASO and RCS who themselves are part of the AIOCC, a lobby group for race promoters. There are the teams, the employers, who form several groups for example their collective lobby is the AIGCP and many also subscribe to the MPCC and there’s the newly created Velon too.

But what of the riders? Actually there is a union, it’s called the CPA and every pro is compelled to pay for it. Only few seem to know about it.

Evans could take years to replace, says Peiper.

 (cyclingnews.com)

Oleg Tinkov: Team Sky are afraid of Tinkoff Saxo.

Oleg Tinkov is never one to mince his words, so it’s no surprise to hear him talking about his rivalry with Dave Brailsford – the man he feels he is replacing as the “king” of cycling.

Speaking to the Telegraph’s Tom Cary at Tinkoff Saxo’s training camp in Gran Canaria, the Russian claims he is building a “superteam” which will surpass Team Sky in 2015, but with a smaller budget than Brailsford’s team.

“Obviously, he is afraid of us,” said Tinkov. “Because Dave was the king, he was alone, he dominated the scene."

Jack Bobridge on his hour record attempt: “I’ll go to hell and back several times.”

Reigning individual pursuit world record-holder Jack Bobridge announced yesterday that he will be attempting the world hour record. Today he announced further details about that attempt to better Matthias Brandle’s mark of 51.852km, set in October.

Bobridge’s attempt will come on January 31, 2015 at the DISC Velodrome in Melbourne — the final night of the Australian National Track Championships.

Bobridge’s coach, Tim Decker, explained why they chose DISC.

5 Ways to Nail Your Training Goals.

Lisa Brennauer clearly knows how to focus her training so that she dominates when it counts.

After winning the German National Championships in the road race and time trial this past June, she snagged the rainbow jersey in the time trial at World Championships in late September (plus gold in the team time trial and silver in the road race) with a busy three months of racing in between.

“Wearing the national jersey made me proud,” Brennauer said at a recent Velocio-SRAM team camp in Lanzarote, Spain. “It was very motivating for the end of the season.”

Limar Eyewear Sets Sight on U.S. Market.

LIMAR is offering a wide range of eyewear for American customers: Eight different frame styles and four types of lens, including Photochromic NXT, Polarized, Photochromic+Polarized, and Polycarbonate. MSRP of LIMAR eyewear range from $49.95-$149.95

LIMAR's photochromic lens (models OF10-PH, OF8-PH, F70-PH) automatically adjust to sun light intensity and are the ideal solution for outdoors in any light condition, adjusting to the quantity of light that reaches the eye. The LIMAR lens also utilizes sophisticated NXT technology that allows the lens to adapt quickly to changes in the sun's UV radiation intensity.

Reviewed: The Bell Star Pro, an aero, airy helmet.

The latest generation of road helmets walks the line between aero helmets, like the Giro Air Attack, and the ventilation-heavy helmets of years past. These helmets, like the Giro Synthe and Kask Protone, offer ventilation that comes close to the featherweight helmets of the mid-2000s but with a consideration for aerodynamics.

Many would be quick to include the Bell Star Pro in this in-betweener family. But the Star Pro is first and foremost an aero road helmet. You won’t be seeing riders in the UCI WorldTour wearing the Star Pro to mountaintop finishes in the heat of July, though you would see the UnitedHealthcare team wearing it to countless criterium podiums. And we saw Lars Boom, who switches from Belkin to Astana for 2015, ride one to victory in the cold, wet weather in this year’s Tour de France stage on cobblestones.

Cyclepassion calendar 2015.

The new year is fast approaching, and with it returns a classic – the Cyclepassion calendar. Known for its images of female cycling stars in seductive poses, this year's edition marks 10 years of the calendar and features athletes from various riding disciplines and locations around the world.

The theme for Cyclepassion 2015 revolves around fitness or “train hard and race hard” as its creators put it. The double-sided format means two different styles of image for each month's athlete – one showing them training in a gym environment and the other being an action packed riding shot.

In the News: Mexican U23 rider caught with EPO, HGH.