First Edition Cycling News, Thursday, February 2, 2012

• Previous Edition
• Next Edition

Date published:

February 2, 13:00

• GreenEdge-AIS impress in Qatari deserts baptism of fire

  

  Article published:

  February 1, 23:33

  By:

  Alex Hinds

  Team places three riders in decisive seven-woman break

  GreenEdge-AIS’ performance at the Ladies Tour of Qatar was always going to be a bellwether moment for the predominantly Australian squad.

  The Jayco Bay Classic series, the Australian Road National championships and the Santos Women’s Cup had all been unblemished success stories. But even the team would admit that the level of competition there would be incomparable to what they were expecting in Europe, and in their first race in Qatar.

  Dave McPartland was thus a justly proud director at the finish to stage 1 of the race, with the GreenEdge-AIS women placing three riders; Judith Arndt, Alex Rhodes and Loes Gunnewijk in the decisive seven-rider break, and setting the team up well for a strong bid at the general classification.

  "The depth of the field here is a higher quality than what we faced in January in Australia," admitted McPartland. "That said, I’m especially impressed with how the team rode together today.

  "They split the race and put three riders in the top seven. In Australia, we could dictate the entire race. Here, we can’t really do that, but we rode in a really, really good position."

  Kirsten Wild (Netherlands) won the stage, with Specialized-lululemon's Chloe Hosking and Elen Van Dijk completing the top three.

  McPartland said the team would be chasing the bonus seconds on offer over the next few days to improve the positions of Arndt, Rhodes and Gunnewijk. The race can likely only be won now by one of 19 riders, and GreenEdge-AIS have five in that group. Though they missed the win today, there's nothing to suggest the team won't be standing on the top step of the GC podium in two days time in Katara.

  "We missed the stage podium today, which is disappointing, but as we saw, the team is strong and in a good position to make their mark on this race," said McPartland. "We have the strength and the numbers to race aggressively over the next two days and that’s what we plan to do."

  Tags:

  GreenEdge

• Tour of Utah announces host cities for 2012

  

  Article published:

  February 2, 01:00

  By:

  Neil Browne

  Stage race to begin in Ogden, August 7

  The Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah revealed the cities and venues of the 2012 edition. In its second year as a UCI rated stage race, the Tour of Utah has made some changes, eliminating the prologue and adding the team time trial. The Tour of Utah starts Tuesday, August 7th in Ogden and concludes Sunday, August 12th, in Park City.

  Last year the Tour of Utah, with its position on the race calendar just after the Tour de France and prior to the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado, attracted a strong field which included BMC, Garmin-Cervelo (now Garmin-Barracuda), RadioShack, HTC-Highroad, Liquigas-Cannondale, along with America's domestic squads. Defending Tour of Utah champion Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) won the 2011 race, but the animators were the Colombian Gobernacion de Antioquia-Indeportes Antiquia team.

  The Utah organizers are expecting 16 domestic and international teams to accept the invitation to compete in what they call "America's toughest stage race."

  The prologue is not part of this year's parcours. Instead day one is a full road race stage starting in Ogden in the northern part of Utah. This is the fifth time the city has hosted the race.

  Day two the peloton heads to the Miller Motorsports Park. In the past this has been the venue for the individual race against the clock. However, the format has changed to a team time trial – the first in a North American UCI stage race since the 2008 Tour de Georgia. The track contains numerous curves with only a few tight turns. While not especially technical, teams will have to be diligent for the entire distance.

  "Part of our goal for the Tour of Utah is to keep it fresh and exciting," said Steve Miller, president of the Tour of Utah. "We inadvertently tweeted (last year) that we were going to do a team time trial – the tweet contained one too many 't'."

  However, that typo created quite a positive stir and they "mentally tucked that idea away." After speaking to the race organizers (Medalist Sports), riders, and discussed internally among the Tour of Utah management team they decided to make that mistake a reality.

  Stage 3 starts, once again, in Ogden and finishes at the University of Utah Research Park in Salt Lake City. Stage 4 the peloton rolls out of Utah County and ends in downtown Salt Lake City.

  Another slight change to the Tour of Utah is the day of the "queen" stage – Park City to Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort. The past two years this was the final stage with the overall victory still on the line, not to mention the 10,000 feet of climbing for the day. For 2012 it's switched to the penultimate day.

  "The reason it was moved to Saturday is because Park City specifically asked to host the final stage. So we came to an agreement with them to do that," explained Miller.

  Prior to receiving a UCI ranking the Tour of Utah had a criterium stage – that type of event is no longer allowed – on the final day.

  "We can't hold a criterium in a UCI event, so the next best thing is to have Park City host the start/finish."

  The other reason for the move is the mass participation ride called the Ultimate Challenge scheduled for Saturday. Cyclists will roll out several hours before the pros and tackle stage 5. In Utah holding a Sunday ride would not guarantee a good turnout as many residents do not ride on that day.

  The final day, stage 6, concludes in Park City and organizers are still weighing route options.

  Miller explained some of the changes to the Tour of Utah.

  "Our m.o. is to do an analysis of the race and take inventory of what we did well and what we didn't do well. The goal is always to retain what we did well and keep them as elements of the race. Anywhere we fall down we correct to make it a better year."

  One of those improvements for 2012 will be a daily television broadcast in high-definition in addition to live Internet streaming via the Tour Tracker.

  "It will be live or live-to-tape and we're really close to having a deal done to broadcast two-hours of racing a day. There's also a good chance we'll televise it internationally."

  This will be a national television distribution.

  The other positive change is an increase in the marketing budget for the Tour of Utah.

  "You'll see and hear a lot more about the Tour of Utah than you have before," said Miller.

  While a list of participating team's isn't available, Miller is excited about the initial reaction from the invited squads.

  "We started the invitation progress and we're very encouraged by the commitments that we have already received."

  Full individual stage details will be released in the spring. A participating teams list will also be announced later.
   

• Champion System taking "nothing for granted" in Qatar

  

  Article published:

  February 2, 04:30

  By:

  Cycling News

  ProContinental team looking to build off Clarke's solid start

  With Champion System's first training camp over and done with, the ProContinental outfit is looking ahead to its season-opening race, the Tour of Qatar.

  More than 200 people attended a final presentation and press conference last week in Hong Kong for the first Asian-based pro continental team. The event capped nearly a month of media sessions and training in mainland China and garnered coverage on Hong Kong's three major TV newscasts and in 10 newspapers.

  "I am amazed at the overwhelming reception the team received at both the Beijing and Hong Kong presentations," Champion System Pro Cycling Team General Manager Ed Beamon said. "It's very rewarding to see how the mainstream media has already embraced the team and shown its enthusiasm for the new project."

  Even before its first race of the season, Champion System has received a good share of attention thanks to Australian Will Clarke's stage win at the Santos Tour Down Under in mid-January. Riding for Team UniSA-Australia, the 26-year-old Tasmanian soloed the final 70 kilometers to win stage 2 in Stirling.

  "I'm pretty happy with how the race went and it has given me some renewed confidence in myself for this year," Clarke said. "I have not raced Qatar or Oman, from what I hear they are hard and pretty fast – with Qatar usually being decided by strong cross winds. Of the two races, I am looking forward to Oman more because there will be more variation in the course and it should suit me better. I am also looking forward to seeing what I can do there and also racing with my new teammates."

  Beamon said the team won't be deterred by a field at Qatar that's heavily laden with ProTeam talent.

  "We know it's a difficult race and will require a lot of focus, but I think we have a strong and a fast team," he said. "We'll be looking to make the splits and the team will work hard at the finishes. No doubt it is a very hard way to start the team's competitive life, but we're bringing an experienced group and we're not taking anything for granted.

  "I'm also looking forward to Oman. It may be a little better venue for us, and I think we have a good shot at a stage victory there."

  Tour of Qatar Roster:
  Clinton Avery (NZL), Will Clarke (AUS), Matthias Friedemann (GER), Xu Gang (CHN),Gorik Gardeyn (BEL), Aaron Kemps (AUS), Mart Ojavee (EST), Jiao Pengda (CHN).

  Tour of Oman Roster:
  Clinton Avery (NZL), Chris Butler (USA), Will Clarke (AUS), Matthias Friedemann (GER), Xu Gang (CHN), Gorik Gardeyn (BEL), Mart Ojavee (EST), Jiao Pengda (CHN).

• "Reborn" Walker overcomes tachycardia, makes return with Drapac

  

  Article published:

  February 2, 05:17

  By:

  Jane Aubrey

  Australia's National Road Series on immediate agenda

  Having made a premature exit from the sport in 2009 due to tachycardia, former Australian Champion Will Walker has announced he is returning to racing with Drapac Professional Cycling.

  Walker, who claimed a silver medal in the under 23 road race at the 2005 UCI World Championships in Spain, has been given the all-clear by doctors to return to competition backing up the feeling within himself that he was ready to give racing a second dig.

  The 26-year-old spoke to Cyclingnews following today's announcement by the Australian Continental outfit, explaining that a range of testing including regular electrocardiograms (ECGs), stress tests and echocardiograms indicate that he was back to full health.

  "I just started doing some rides with my brothers [fellow cyclists Johnnie and Nick] and locally and I was going quite well off very little training and my heart was feeling good again and I just thought at 26, it was a good time to get back into it again and give it one last chance," Walker, who rode with Rabobank and Fuji Servetto in his previous racing life, said.

  "I did a few times hard as I could uphill so I basically knew in myself that my heart was on the way back."

  Drapac's sporting director, Agostino Giramondo, says the key to successful return by the two-time grand tour rider is sustainability.

  "Will has been set a very thorough medical program to monitor his progress, which includes providing the team with a fortnightly report on his progress," he said in the Drapac's media release.

  "The team is committed to helping Will reach his full potential once again on the bike but his health and general well being will always be a priority.

  "We would class a healthy return to cycling a success and if he were able to achieve results on the road this would be an added bonus."

  Fear once played a huge role in his sudden and sad demise. The mental reaction was understandable considering Walker's heart would be racing at 300 beats per minute while riding at a pace of less than 30km/h. How hard could he push his body? One could be forgiven for letting the same question stifle any moves to return but Walker explains that for him it's now a case of mind over matter.

  "In the back of your mind if they're [the physical issues] there sometime it can cause it to come back," Walker told Cyclingnews. "When I had no problem it was a fantastic sign and my body is feeling healthier in general."

  Cruelly relegated to the sidelines, Walker threw himself into his new life which was never far away from the racing environment which he loved, running the Australian distribution for Nalini clothing, working as DS for the Malaysian National Team and from mid-last year, a development role with GreenEdge. If there was time to even consider a possible return to racing, it was only ever in fleeting moments and rarely part of the new world he inhabited on the other side of the cycling fence.

  "I didn't ever have time to think of it," Walker admits. "I just tried to get on. One thing, when you're an athlete you never really lose that dream of being at the top again but I guess in a way I did think about it but I never had it as part of reality.

  "It's like being reborn almost, getting back into it again."

  Walker considers working with GreenEdge while the project chased Australia's first ProTour licence, to have been a "privilege" and while he says that "no door's ever closed" believes that a return to racing with Drapac is a case of now or never.

  "To be honest, probably the only way I would have ever come back would be with a team like Drapac that can really look after you and help get me through university," Walker, who will be undertaking a business degree majoring in finance, reveals. Drapac is unique in its philosophy which hinges on the premise of 'turning champion athletes into champion people', taking the time to ensure that those other life goals apart from results don't get lost in the sporting pursuit.

  "They'll really help with looking after my body with all different types of western medicine. It's perfect. Otherwise I probably never would have done it. I'm pretty grateful to them as well."

  For now, Walker is focussed on the Australian National Road Series, where he last made an appearance back in 2004 and well before any talk of him being a genuine contender for GC and a man for the hillier classics. The 2012 NRS gets underway with the Mersey Valley Tour in Tasmania on April 21, a race which at this point is only a "maybe" for the new Drapac recruit.

  "One step at a time," he says. "I'm happy just to race. I don't have any lofty ambitions at the moment. I just want to enjoy it and help out the team where I can and get back out there."

   

• Kittel getting on with racing after ARD accusations

  

  Article published:

  February 2, 09:12

  By:

  Cycling News

  Project 1t4i rider places second in Bessèges after difficult week

  German Marcel Kittel is moving on from a hellish week that saw the star sprinter implicated in a blood doping investigation by German television broadcaster ARD - by racing his bike. Kittel started his season in the Etoile de Bessèges in France yesterday, and picked up a narrow second behind Nacer Bouhanni.

  Happy to have turned a page, Kittel was just "glad to be on the road again together with my boys".

  "I felt okay today but we have to improve our work in the final," said Kittel on twitter. "I was on position 15 at 600 metres to go [but it didn't quite work out]. But anyway thanks to my team for their work and support here in France! It's great to have such people around me!"

  On Sunday the German broadcaster ARD aired a show that shed light on Dr. Andreas Franke, who worked at an Olympic training site in Erfurt. The show named Kittel as a patient of the doctor and two current teammates later admitted that they attended the clinic.

  Kittel has been absolved of any wrongdoing but came under intense scrutiny from the German and world media in the wake of the report.

  He told Cyclingnews on Monday evening that  "it has been unbelievably hard and I'm just happy I have my people around me".

  Etoile de Bessèges continues tomorrow with a 149 kilometre stage from Nîmes to Saint-Ambroix.

• Video: Vansummeren aware of Classics pressure

  

  Article published:

  February 2, 10:16

  By:

  Daniel Benson

  Paris-Roubaix winner says team has strength in depth

  If any ride in 2011 illustrated that cycling is a team sport it was perhaps Johan Vansummeren’s winning performance in Paris-Roubaix. The Garmin rider wasn’t the favourite going into the race, he wasn’t the strongest either, but clever team tactics and timing saw him snatch a thrilling victory.

  With another Classics campaign just weeks away Vansummeren has been training with his teammates in Spain but will head to Qatar for the start of his racing season.

  In this exclusive video for Cyclingnews, the Paris-Roubaix winner talks about his expectations for the year. Yes. he’s looking forward to it [ed. has to say that] but he also admits that he’s ‘a little scared’ about the prospect of being on the radar in such pressurised races.

  The team are without Thor Hushovd this year but the Classics squad remains competitive – Heinrich Haussler is fitter after a year of full racing, Fabian Wegmann has been drafted in for the Ardennes and Sébastien Rosseler joins from RadioShack.

  Ramunas Navardauskas, who kept Van Summeren out of the Tour de France team last year, is also expected to race the spring classics.
   

  Use this on all articles. The player is narrow enough to fit next to the article gallery images box on the right.

  Tags:

  Paris-Roubaix

• Gallery: Lotto Belisol on top despite changes

  

  Article published:

  February 2, 11:05

  By:

  Cycling News

  Greipel, Vanendert and Van den Broeck to lead Belgian team

  Lotto Belisol is going into the 2012 season with a new name and a new combination of sponsors, and without world number one rider Philippe Gilbert. But the Belgian team has gotten off to a booming start, with sprinter Andre Greipel taking three WorldTour stage wins at the Santos Tour Down Under.

  Greipel will be one of the top riders at the team this year, along with Jurgen Van den Broeck and Jelle Vanendert. All three riders were present as the team was presented Thursday in Brussels.

  “I hope the form I showed in Australia will hold for a while,” Greipel said. The sprinter has his eye on the earlier Spring Classics of Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix.

  The later Classics will be for Vanendert, who last year broke through with strong performances in those very races, including a sixth place in the Fleche Wallonne. He capped his year by winning the 14th stage of the Tour de France atop the Plateau de Beille, not bad for his very first pro win.

  Van den Broeck's “absolute goal” this year is the Tour de France. “A place in the top five on my dream course would be great.” After suffering a collapsed lung, two broken ribs and a broken shoulder blade on the ninth stage of the 2011 Tour, he went on to finish eighth overall at the Vuelta a Espana.

  The team features 10 newcomers this year, including veterans Lars Bak, Greg Henderson and Gianni Meersman. The most exotic addition to the team is Iranian sprinter Mehdi Sohrabi.

   

• Rabobank manager says high-ranking dopers should be banned longer

  

  Article published:

  February 2, 12:09

  By:

  Cycling News

  Length of ban should be based on world ranking points

  The bigger they are, the harder they fall. That's the wish of Rabobank manager Harold Knebel, who would like to see the length doping suspensions based upon rider points.

  Currently, most doping violations call for an automatic two-year suspension,with no relationship between the rider's stature or the nature of the violation. But Knebel said this should be changed, depending on the rider's rank.

  “I believe in stricter doping rules,” he told AD.nl. “Under the current system, the relationship between risk and return is beneficial to the abuser.  By doping, a rider can score points and thus earn an attractive contract. If someone has a lot of points, then (they should get) a higher penalty.”

  Under his suggestion, a team captain would be banned longer than a domestique. “Who gains the most, should also be punished the most.”