Thursday, Thursday, have they ever written a song about that? I don't think so. Anyhow, we've got news, there's always news, so let's get down to the business of me reporting on news and you reading the news. Perfect!
Nine Checks On Average For Racers
In the first year of the biological passport, riders were tested on average about nine time (8.6) over the course of the season. So let's look at the figures:
749 riders on the passport, that makes 6501 - of which, 4358 were from blood and 2143 were from urine. I think that makes 6501.
1663 samples were taken on race days, and the remaining 4838 were surprise tests. Nice! That's good stuff right there.
Nine tests (on average) over the course of a season isn't too bad.
CERA Not New?
Holy moly, Spanish newspaper ABC is reporting that documents from the Guardia Civil pertaining to Operacion Puerto and Dr. Fuentes already mentioned CERA. As in, Eufemiano Fuentes was giving CERA to his clients. It was generally assumed that CERA made its appearance this year, but this little news blurb calls that into question. Not that it changes anything at all, but still...yikes.
Most Wins In 2008
Unsurprisingly, Mark Cavendish is on the top of the list, with Tom Boonen coming in two behind. That brings the uncomfortable memory of Le Tour back for Bam Bam Boonen. Boonen had a damn fine season, it's too bad he couldn't race the Tour.
Mark Cavendish 17
Tom Boonen 15
Andre Greipel 14
Lars Boom 13
Alejandro Valverde 12
Cancellara 10
Alberto Contador 10
As for team wins, holy smokes Batman, Columbia smoked everybody by a LOT. Columbia had 29 more wins than CSC - and DOUBLE the wins of 4th place Rabobank Continental.
Team Wins
Columbia 76
CSC 47
QuickStep 45
Rabo CT 38
Credit Agricole 31
Astana 30
Liquigas 30
Ballan Is Fast On Two Wheels, Now Four
World Champion Alessandro Ballan has gone out and gotten himself a little present: a 179,200 euro gem of a four wheeled stallion that goes 310kmh: a Ferrari California.
Is he satisfied? Ballan tells La Gazzetta: "Absolutely."
I should hope so.
As for now? Ballan needs a little quiet time after all of the tv, radio, meeting, and dinner commitments of the past month. Oh the drama.
Van Der Velde Finds A Home
Ricardo Van Der Velde has signed for Garmin Chipotle in 2009. Originally, Van Der Velde was supposed to ride for the Rabo Continental Team in 2009, but who's going to turn down an offer to ride for Garmin? Exactly.
Trenti Calls It A Career
Ameritalian Guido Trenti has decided that enough is enough (as the saying goes). At 35 years of age, the gregario for Boonen, Pippo, and Cipo is hanging up his, um, bike. Trenti has raced the past two seasons for Liquigas.
He has two career wins to his credit including a stage at the Vuelta in 2001.
Milram Picks Up Two Biggies
It has been rumoured for awhile, but it's finally official: Linus Gerdemann and Gerald Ciolek are headed to Milram for the 2009 season.
Milram has picked up a huge wave of new riders for 2009:
Ciolek, Gerdemann, Knaven (Columbia), Foerster, MFothen, TFothen, Froehlinger, Russ, Scholz, Wegmann, Wrolich (Gerolsteiner), and more that I don't feel like writing down because their names aren't Ciolek, Gerdemann, or Wegmann.
Euskaltel Abstains
...From a few ProTour races that is. The Basque National Team will have only 22 riders in 2009 and will thus have to scale back a wee bit on its schedule. The team is not planning on taking part in the Tour Down Under, the Giro, and the Tour of Poland (but who in their right mind would want to do Poland after the last two years of horrible weather and insanely long stages?).
Cycle-Collstrop Is Done
The former Unibet team has finally met its demise. It has been a slow, painful descent to nothingness, but it appears to have finally happened. Manager Jacques Hanegraaf sees no future for a real team: "We had to work at a level that is not viable. There is no certainty about participation in major races."
CC had 17 riders under contract, nine of them have found new teams, but that leaves eight without a home. I'm good at math, my kindergarten teacher told me, anyhow, that's a bummer for about half the team.
Whew, At Least One German Race Remains
The Rund Um Koeln will run next year in all its glory on April 13th. Thankfully, not all German races have died just yet. The death knell hasn't quite tolled.
As You've Read Everywhere Else
Lance Armstrong is racing this weekend - two time trials in Gruene, Texas. Yay for Lance.
Morkov Stays At Home
Young Danish talent Michael Morkov has signed a two year deal with CSC Saxo Bank. The 23 year old track specialist is hoping to transition more to the road in the coming season (obviously). He just won the Grenoble Six with partner Alex Rasmussen.
Zabel Wants One Last Win At Home
Erik Zabel is set to take part in his last hometown-ish race. The man from Unna (not far from Dortmund, 20k), goes into the Dortmund Six as top favorite with his partner Leif Lampater. The winningest rider on the professional circuit is enjoying a farewell tour on the track of sorts, and his home race should be one of the high points.
Racing starts tonight!
CAS Will Hear Rasmo On November 13
Michael Rasmussen's appeal concerning his two year suspension will be heard on November 13th...and apparently not a day later as scheduled (I must have missed that somewhere).
Rasmo is of course appealing his ban from the Monaco Cycling Federation, and wants to come home to bike racing.
Do you ever think that stories such as this one from Marca, are just an excuse to write something down, because, who really cares if Rasmo's hearing is on the 13th or the 14th?
Yes folks, it's THAT time of year.
Cancellara Has Some New Goals
Straight from CSC-Saxo Bank: "Been there, done that" could almost be his slogan. Not quite though but almost – throughout his entire career Team CSC Saxo Bank's Swiss talent Fabian Cancellara has continued to set new goals for himself once he's achieved the previous ones.
There's nothing unusual in setting new goals as such but for Cancellara it's mainly about continuous challenges within the sport even though it could easily be tempting to just go for a string of victories in Paris-Roubaix or something similar.
"I sort of feel like if I've won a race I'll tick it off my mental list and aim for something else. That doesn't mean I don't want to win the big races more than once but I try to aim for new things all the time and my next big goal is winning Ronde van Vlaanderen," says Cancellara and continues:
"I consider it entirely possible that I would be able to win the five big one-day races during the course of my career and I feel that by loosing a small amount of weight I could be ready to win in Flanders."
Cancellara has already won two out of five after his victory in Paris-Roubaix in 2006 and Milano-Sanremo in 2008 but it takes something else entirely to win Ronde van Vlaanderen, Liégé-Bastogne-Liégé and Giro di Lombardia as well.
"If you look at how I won Tirreno-Adriatico this year and how I did on the climbs in the three big races and especially my performance at the Olympics with a very hilly route, I don't' think it's unrealistic that I might be able to win them all at some point."
There have been a lot of speculations that Cancellara wants to win Tour de France but that should not necessarily be taken as literally as portrayed in the media sometimes.
"There's often media attention around me and the Tour because I said a few years back that winning the Tour would be a dream come true for me. But I also sometimes dream of owning a small island in the Pacific and taking it easy – there's a world of difference from having dreams to setting yourself realistic goals to aim for. That doesn't mean I won't try one day to win the Tour, but that's not on my agenda right now. Now I'm gonna focus on Ronde van Vlaanderen," determines Cancellara.
At the moment it's holiday time for Cancellara, who has been traveling with his family before returning home this weekend to receive an award for the best international rider from members of the Belgian press. Before long he'll start training for next season starting with the annual team training camp with B.S. Christiansen.
Fabian Cancellara's victories in 2008
* Olympic Time Trial
* Milano-Sanremo
* Monte Paschi Eroica
* Tirreno-Adriatico - overall and stage victory
* Tour de Luxembourg - prologue
* Tour de Suisse - two stages and the points competition
* Swiss Time Trial Champion
* Tour de France - stage victory
* Tour of California - prologue
2008 San Francisco Bay Area Bicycle Expo And Swap
October 29, 2008 (Oakland, Calif.) Be sure to mark your calendar for the upcoming inaugural San Francisco Bay Area Bicycle Expo and Swap, presented by rideSFO. The 2-day event takes place November 29th and 30th, at the Cow Palace. The Expo and Swap is about everything on human powered two wheel machines and related. Exhibitors include everyone from bike manufacturers, eco-friendly vendors, bike shops, teams, and advocacy groups.
Booth spaces are available for all levels of participation, and the rates are staggered to maximize the value of your participation.
The San Francisco Bay Area is a hot-spot of everything bike related. Whether you are a dealer with old inventory to move, a sales rep with a sample account that needs to get cleaned up, a manufacturer with a great line that needs an audience or a bike enthusiast that wants to find NOS Superbe Pro shift levers, the Bicycle Expo and Swap is the ticket.
We are also currently scheduling various bike demos and shows highlighting a wide spectrum of the sport including a Kids demo course, BMX demos, trials, and even Pixie races. There will also be a massive raffle that will spread over 2 days. There will be something for everyone!
Check out www.ridesfo.com for details.
Cyclist Village Hosts Fun Ride With Frankie Andreu: November 16
Cycling entertainment website Cyclist Village will host the Frankie Fun Ride on Sunday, November 16th in Marin County with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the Marin County Bicycle Coalition. The 42-mile ride starting at 9 AM at The Java Hut (760 Center Boulevard in Fairfax, California) will be led by Tour de France veteran Frankie Andreu, who will be joined by other cycling luminaries including pros Jackson Stewart and Mike Sayers of BMC and Katherine Carroll (Aaron’s Pro Cycling Team).
Participants can test ride Specialized Bicycles, which will be giving away prizes. All entrants will receive a free water bottle. The Marin County Bicycle Coalition will provide complementary food and beverages and bike parking. California Highway Patrol will maintain safety with a rolling escort that will keep the ride moving. Space exists for 200 riders to participate thus pre-registration is recommended at http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=7269. Walk-up registration the morning of the ride will close at 8:30 AM. The entry fee is $75.00. To reserve a Specialized bicycle to ride during the event, email info@cyclistvillage.com.
“Part of being a member of a village comes the responsibility of contributing actively to the community. Cyclist Village takes that role seriously like the benefit ride we co-sponsored earlier this month for the USA Cycling Development Foundation. We applaud and support the important work being done by the Marin County Bicycle Coalition. I can’t wait to ride the beautiful roads in Marin County with one of the true gentlemen of our sport, Frankie Andreu,” said Cyclist Village managing partner Marty Church.
Andreu finished the Tour de France nine times and is a two-time Olympian who rode alongside Lance Armstrong during much of his 12-year professional career. The Dearborn, Michigan-native has directed the Toyota-United and Rock Racing professional cycling teams and knows every aspect of the sport - on the bike and off. He can still be found at the Tour de France every July where he serves as a commentator on the Versus television network, which has helped the effervescent personality become one of the most respected and recognized faces in all of cycling.
Cyclist Village (www.cyclistvillage.com) is the online hub of cycling entertainment that connects all things cycling on a global scale. It is an alluring multidimensional site that attracts an array of cyclists, including road, track, mountain, fixed gear and BMX riders. Cyclist Village is a comprehensive tool that houses individual and group social networking, email, an event calendar, forums, classified listings, blogs, contests, files, photos and a video vault. The video vault consists of user-generated content and the best video clips gleaned from the web along with premium original packages professionally produced under the Cyclist Village TV banner. The menu offers highlights from major races, rider interviews, product reviews, and behind the scenes segments hosted by Andreu.
Chris Hoy Launches Scholarship
Britain’s most successful Olympian Chris Hoy today launched his own personal scholarship fund designed to seek out and develop his successor. The Chris Hoy Scholarship was launched today at Murrayshall House Hotel in Scone Perthshire, a significant venue for an Olympic Champion to make an announcement. Scone is the location of the Stone of Destiny where Kings of Scotland were crowned.
During the press conference, Chris outlined the ambitious project, which is designed to partner with companies who have a strategy to invest in grass roots sports and support the development of Great Britain’s future Olympians. The scholarship has 3 levels of corporate partner, gold, silver and funding partner. Initially, funds invested will be used to support 2 young talented riders to attend the UCI Sprint School in Aigle Switzerland. This school is a purpose built facility that has been used in the development of riders such as Vicky Pendleton. As Olympic Sprint Champion, Chris sees this venue and facility as a great asset to the scholarship, with fantastic tuition and coaching for developing riders.
The scholarship aims to grow and develop and has ambitious plans to eventually run its own Chris Hoy Academy, perhaps at one of the new velodromes. With the London Olympics and of course the Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow, it is an important time to be seeking future talent.
Chris Hoy said:
I am extremely proud to launch this new project that will put something back into the sport that has given me so much. I am excited about finding talented riders, investing in them and developing future Olympic stars. Cycling is a fantastic sport. Green, healthy and fun. I hope this scholarship will, over the next few years, encourage ongoing participation and development of riders. The scholarship also announced that another famous Scottish sportsman has agreed to support the project. Gavin Hastings former Scotland and Lions Rugby Captain will take on the role of Patron to the fund.
Gavin Hastings said;
As an Olympic, World and Commonwealth Champion, Chris Hoy is one of the all time greats of cycling. As a fellow Scot I am honoured to be involved in The Chris Hoy Scholarship. In time we hope that by spotting talent and supporting aspiring cyclists we will find a successor to this great athlete. The Chris Hoy Scholarship today launched its own website www.chrishoyscholarship.com. This provides details about the aims and objectives of the fund, information on corporate involvement and will provide visitors with updates on those riders being supported and news on their development.
The Scholarship has been developed in conjunction with media and cycling consultancy Cyclevox. www.cyclevox.com and Chris Hoys management company 110sport. www.110sport.com . Contact Anthony McCrossan 07774 850516 and Chris Hoy’s Manager Ricky Cowan 07894 935555 for information.
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