First Edition Cycling News, Thursday, September 2, 2010

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September 2, 2010, 00:00

• Eurobike 2010: Cyclingnews' complete coverage

  

  Article published:

  September 17, 2010, 03:13

  By:

  James Huang

  Eurobike show continues to dominate the world stage

  With Eurobike now firmly cementing its status as the world's most important bicycle trade show, this year's 19th running will bring a record-setting 1,090 exhibitors, 35,000 dealers, and 1,500 journalists into a massive 100,000m2 (1.08m ft2) exhibition space in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

  Kicking things off will be a one-day demo event in nearby Austria where we'll be able to ride firsthand some of the coming season's newest gear, followed by three days indoors and even a public day on Saturday. While most of the bigger companies have already unveiled their new wares at private events, most of the rest of the industry will be showing items off for the first time here and as always, we'll be sure to bring you full coverage of the hottest bikes, components, accessories and clothing you'll see in the coming months.

  Looking for something in particular though? Along with a small army of Future Publishing staffers, Cyclingnews and BikeRadar technical editor James Huang will be on site with camera, laptop, smartphone, and notebook. Send requests directly to him on Twitter at @angryasian.

  New! Video coverage from Eurobike can now be found on BikeRadar's exclusive Eurobike video page. Our video crew was hard at work combing the halls of Friedrichshafen, Germany to bring you 3-5 minute clips from 36 different companies.

  Eurobike show coverage:

  September 17: Eurobike 2010: Trickstuff show off mechanical-to-hydraulic converter for 'cross bikes
  September 16: Eurobike 2010: New mid-range wheel models from DT Swiss
  September 16: Eurobike 2010: Ritchey looks ahead to the future, reflects on the past
  September 15: Eurobike 2010: Small but important changes to Chris King bits for 2011
  September 15: Eurobike 2010: BMC revamps road range for 2011
  September 14: Eurobike 2010: Syncros expands on carbon range for 2011
  September 14: Eurobike 2010: Van Nicholas offers revised road racer, big-wheeled MTB
  September 13: Eurobike 2010: Hutchinson’s puncture-proof Serenity tube
  September 13: Eurobike 2010: Canyon adds new enduro bike, track model for 2011
  September 10: Eurobike 2010: Giant road bikes for 2011
  September 9: Eurobike 2010: Rocky Mountain 2011 mountain bikes
  September 9: Eurobike 2010: Colnago debuts new C59 Italia and M10 models
  September 8: Eurobike 2010: Highlights from Bianchi's 2011 range
  September 8: Eurobike 2010: Eddy Merckx creates new EMX-7 flagship for 2011
  September 7: Eurobike 2010: New wheels and components from Easton for 2011
  September 7: Eurobike 2010: Kuota's revamped range for 2011
  September 6: Eurobike 2010: Look, Polar collaborate on new pedal-based power meter
  September 6: Euorbike 2010: AX Lightness debuts customizable carbon road frames
  September 3: Eurobike 2010: FSA creeps another step closer to new complete road group
  September 3: Eurobike 2010: Reynolds Cycling revamps road range
  September 2: Eurobike 2010: Zipp launches faster 808 Firecrest
  September 2: Eurobike 2010: Cervélo's updated road range
  September 1: Eurobike 2010: fi'zi:k shoe introduction

  Pre-show launches
  

  August 31: Giro Factor and Code shoes
  August 30: 2011 Focus MTB introduction
  August 29: 2011 Focus road and urban range

• Haussler happy with move to Garmin-Cervélo

  

  Article published:

  September 1, 2010, 11:33

  By:

  Susan Wesetmeyer

  Australian hopes classics riders can do ‘real damage’ in 2011

  Heinrich Haussler is convinced that the influx of Cervélo TestTeam at the Garmin team for 2011 will complement the team’s existing roster rather than sparking internal rivalry.

  Haussler spoke to Cyclingnews immediately after the Garmin team confirmed that he, Roger Hammond, Andreas Klier, Brett Lancaster, Daniel Lloyd and Gabriel Rasch will all be part of the Garmin- Cervélo line-up in 2011. Thor Hushovd announced he will also part of the merger on Monday.

  Haussler and the Cervélo TestTeam have produced some fine performances in the classics in the past two seasons and he is pleased that core of riders will still be together in the new set-up. He does not envisage any rivalry or difficulties with Garmin’s top sprinter Tyler Farrar, confirming that his primary objectives will come in the classics rather than in the sprints from now on.

  “Most of the classics group is still together and next year we can do some real damage,” he told Cyclingnews.

  “There are no problems expected with Tyler, not at all. He's an easy guy to get along with. At this stage in my life, I realise that I'm not really one for the sprints. I might go for the green jersey at the Tour, but the classics are really my main goal.”

  Haussler expressed regret that the Cervélo TestTeam project had come to an end. After a promising start to his professional career at Gerolsteiner, his career really took off after joining Cervélo in 2009.

  “It's a shame that such a good team has already come to an end,” he told Cyclingnews. “But teams come and go. It wasn't expected.”

  Haussler is still recovering from the knee problems that have hampered his racing since mid-June. As a result he missed out on selection for the Australian team for the world championships. However he is confident of racing for the Cervélo TestTeam this season before he begins a new chapter of his career with Garmin- Cervélo in 2011.

  “I've been back on the bike training for two weeks now, and expect to race again this season, if all goes well,” he said.

  
   

• BMC announce six new signings for 2011

  

  Article published:

  September 1, 2010, 13:24

  By:

  Barry Ryan

  Tschopp, Quinziato, Santaromita, Eijssen, Van Avermaet and Moinard arrive

  BMC has confirmed six new signings for 2011, as the Swiss-based team bolsters its line-up in the hope of securing a ProTour licence. Italians Manuel Quinziato and Ivan Santaromita, Belgians Yannick Eijssen and Greg Van Avermaet, France’s Amaël Moinard and Swiss rider Johann Tschopp have joined the team.

  Tschopp’s arrival should provide Cadel Evans further support in the high mountains, as he has put in some impressive displays in the major tours in recent years. He won stage 20 at this year’s Giro d’Italia which went over the Passo di Gavia, while riding for BBox-Bouygues Telecom. After starting his career with Phonak, Tschopp is pleased to return to riding Swiss-made bikes. “It’s exciting to be with a team with a Swiss sponsor that is so international in nature,” he said.

  Evans will also be able to count on the support of Moinard and Santaromita on the climbs next season. Moinard was consistently aggressive for Cofidis at the Tour de France and was a stage winner at Paris-Nice earlier in the year. Santaromita has spent three seasons in the service of Ivan Basso at Liquigas-Doimo and won the Settimana Coppi e Bartali this spring.

  Young Belgian talent Yannick Eijssen will offer an exciting boost to BMC’s climbing armoury. The 21-year-old rode as a stagiare for Silence-Lotto in 2009 but opted to remain in the amateur ranks this season. He impressed in winning the Ronde de l’Isard and was second in the Belgian under 23 championships. Eijssen is making the full-time transition to professional cycling for BMC. “I want to be a good support rider for our leaders and I hope I can measure my performances with the team’s other climbing specialists,” he said.

  BMC’s line-up for the classics has also been strengthened with the arrivals of Greg Van Avermaet from Omega Pharma-Lotto and Manuel Quinziato from Liquigas-Doimo.

  Van Avermaet will strength BMC's chances in the sprints and allow him to develop his classics aspirations, with the Tour of Flanders and Amstel Gold Race high on his list of priorities. Quinziato has had some strong performances in the cobbled classics in recent years, including top 10 finishes at Paris-Roubaix and Gent-Wevelgem in 2009.

  BMC directeur sportif John Lelangue is pleased with his team’s signings. “The talent we have acquired will be beneficial to our stage racing group, to our roster for the Grand Tours and to our team for the classics," he said. "That's the reason we're representative all season and that's important to us."

  Meanwhile, team president Jim Ochowicz suggested that his team’s transfer campaign is still ongoing. “BMC Racing Team is still evaluating talent and considering future signings,” he said.
  
   

• Trek to supply bikes to new Luxembourg team

  

  Article published:

  September 1, 2010, 15:44

  By:

  Stephen Farrand

  Schleck brothers to use Shimano Di2 in 2011

  Trek has confirmed it will supply bikes to the new Luxembourg team that will be captained by Frank and Andy Schleck in 2011.

  Trek will provide frames, wheels and give technical advice on components, bike fit and sizing. The bikes will be equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 electronic drive trains and brakes. Trek made the announcement at the Eurobike show and revealed that the team will also use new Bontrager helmets.

  The US-based company confirmed that it will continue to sponsor Lance Armstrong’s RadioShack team in 2011, giving it two major teams in the professional peloton.

  Fränk and Andy Schleck currently use Specialized bikes at the Saxo Bank team but Tour de France winner Alberto Contador will replace them at the Danish team in 2011.

  "We looked at a number of equipment suppliers, but our goals are to win the Tour de France and be the number 1 team in the world. Trek has the best equipment, along with more experience and expertise to help make that happen," directeur sportif Kim Andersen said in a statement.

  Team General Manager Brian Nygaard said: "We know Trek can help us go faster. Their expertise in aerodynamics and performance can make an appreciable difference in results. It is the right move to help the Schlecks and the whole team."

  John Burke, the president of Trek, said: "We have had great success at the Tour de France over the past decade, and this new team will help continue that legacy. This is the right team for Trek to partner with in Europe. From day one we realized that this team is full of Trek guys."

  The Luxembourg team has yet to unveil its main sponsors but is in the process of applying for a ProTour licence for 2011 and has reportedly agreed terms with 20 riders for 2011, including the Schleck brothers, Joost Posthuma, Jakob Fuglsang, Jens Voigt, Dominic Klemme, Linus Gerdemann and Stuart O'Grady.

• Menchov will set Vuelta objectives in Andorra

  

  Article published:

  September 1, 2010, 16:50

  By:

  Cycling News

  Gusev is another Russian to watch

  Invisible man Denis Menchov is once again in a threatening position in a Grand Tour as he lies in fourteenth position overall at the Vuelta a España, just 1:11 behind race leader Philippe Gilbert. The Russian had ridden discreetly on both uphill stage finishes in Malaga and Valdepeñas de Jaén but stayed close to the front on each occasion.

  “It was a good result for me,” Menchov told Cyclingnews before the start of stage 5 in Guadix. “It was the first difficult stage and the finale was really not suited to me. I’m not explosive enough for such hilltop finishes. I’m also not in my best shape yet as I didn’t race at all between the Tour and the Vuelta. But the most important thing will be to perform during the second week.”

  Having won the Vuelta a España twice, in 2005 and 2007, and the Giro d’Italia last year, Denis Menchov is a natural favourite for the Spanish Grand Tour, especially in the wake of his third place at the Tour de France behind Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck.

  After the Tour de France Menchov went to his Russian hometown of Orel to visit his family and while he was there he experienced the high temperatures that badly affected central Europe in August. As a result he wasn’t put out by the 45°C the riders experienced in Sevilla prior to starting the 65th Vuelta a España.

  Menchov feels at home when riding in Spain, a country in which he has lived since 1999 when he joined the Banesto amateur team. The following year he turned professional with the legendary Pamplona-based outfit. When he decided to leave his current team Rabobank, Menchov considered returning to Eusebio Unzue’s organisation, which will operate as Movistar next year, but eventually opted for Mauro Gianetti’s project with Geox.

  “I’ll take this Vuelta day by day”, Menchov added. “[Stage 11 to] Andorra will be the real start of the race. If I can do something on GC, I’ll know it in Andorra. I want to be strong there.”

  Gusev’s return

  There is also another Russian to watch in this Vuelta. Vladimir Gusev is riding his first Grand Tour since the 2008 Giro d’Italia after which he was fired by the Astana team, run at the time by Johan Bruyneel, after allegedly showing abnormal values during an internal doping check. After a long legal battle, CAS cleared him of the doping accusation and ordered the Kazakh team to compensate him over €800.000 in unpaid wages and damages.

  During this parenthesis in his career, Gusev’s family grew. Like Menchov, he also lives in Spain, and so he expects to see his wife Natalia, 3-year-old daughter Diana and 1-year-old son Leonardo when stage 9 of the Vuelta starts in Calpe, close to where they live. A third child is due in November.

  “They came with me to my altitude training camps in Livigno in Italy”, the Russian time trial champion told Cyclingnews. “I spent a total of 34 days training up there in a period of two month, before and after the Tour of Poland. I would have liked to ride the Tour de France but I joined Katusha in April after they had already given the list of fifteen potential riders.

  “Since I haven’t raced much yet, I knew I’d struggle a bit at the beginning of the Vuelta”, said the 28-year-old from Nijni-Novgorod. Gusev is currently 30th overall, 2:54 down on Gilbert. “But I’m hoping to move up,” he said. “Joaquin [Rodriguez] and myself are the two Katusha riders protected for the overall classification.”
   

• Phinney considering his career options for 2011

  

  Article published:

  September 1, 2010, 19:08

  By:

  Stephen Farrand

  Talented American offered a contract by BMC and new Luxembourg team

  Taylor Phinney has confirmed he has received an offer from BMC and the new Luxembourg team  to turn professional in 2011 but insists he has not ruled out other offers as he considers his options.

  Phinney was widely expected to turn professional with Lance Armstrong's RadioShack team after riding for the Trek-Livestrong team since 2009 and as a stagiaire with RadioShack at the Tour of Denmark. However, his apprenticeship with the team ended prematurely due to a knee injury and he is hesitant to sign with the team because the RadioShack sponsorship is expected to end in 2011.

  "There are a lot of rumours going around at the moment but all I can say is that no decision about who I'll ride for next season has been made yet," Phinney told Cyclingnews from Lucca , Italy.

  Phinney is individual pursuit world champion, won this year's Under 23 Paris-Roubaix and has already shown he can be competitive in sprints against older professionals at the Tour of Qatar. With such wide ranging talents he is considered one of the rising stars of the future.

  Still only 20 years old, he is wisely hoping to build a successful and long career as a professional rider.

  "The most important thing is the longevity of my career and the problem with joining RadioShack is that their sponsorship only runs for another year," Phinney said.

  "BMC is interested, which is nice, but there has been a lot of interest from other teams too, including the new Luxembourg team the Schlecks will ride for and who will use Trek bikes. To be honest, it has been very flattering to get so much interest. Things are still evolving and there is new information emerging all the time. I wish I knew who I'll be riding for next year too but it's a slow, ongoing process."

  Phinney is currently looking for a house in Lucca to create a more permanent European base for the 2011 season. The US national team has a base near the Tuscan town and Phinney has already spent long spells there this season with fellow American Tejay Van Garderen.

  His next race will be the Tour de l'Avenir stage race with the Under 23 USA team and then he will return to the US to ride the national championships before the world championships in Australia .

  "The l'Avenir begins on Sunday. There's a good 7km prologue time trial and then two rolling stages that could be good for me. We've also got a really strong team, I'm looking forward to it," he told Cyclingnews.

  "After that I'll head back to the USA for the nationals. The road race is probably a little too close to the world championships, there's only about 10 days between them, but the TT is definitely a goal. Then both the time trial and the road race will be big goals at the world championships because both courses suit me."

  By the time Phinney lines up for the Under 23 road race in Geelong on October 1, he will almost certainly know which professional team he will ride for in 2011.

• Farrar remains focused on Vuelta a España

  

  Article published:

  September 1, 2010, 21:13

  By:

  Jean-François Quénet

  Worlds, influx of Cervélo TestTeam riders next season not a current concern

  Tyler Farrar's fantastic win in Lorca confirmed that the American from Garmin-Transitions is the most improved sprinter in professional cycling since he claimed his first Grand Tour victory at the Vuelta a España one year ago. Not only did he score for the seventh time this year, but Farrar also felt relieved after beating Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia) for the first since the 2009 Tirreno-Adriatico.

  "Of course it's always nice to win against the best sprinter in the world but it's even better to win a stage at the Vuelta. I'm very happy," said a delighted Farrar who put his duty at the Vuelta a España ahead of any concerns about the future.

  "Winning always helps to build confidence," he said when asked about the world championships in Australia on October 3. "This is a huge objective but firstly, there are still a lot of sprints to come at the Vuelta. I'm already happy with one win. Any other one coming after today's would be a bonus."

  Farrar's Garmin-Transitions team is also working on next year's roster. While Farrar and his teammates, including Julian Dean suffering from the consequences of his injury, were pedalling under the sweltering Spanish sun, reinforcements were announced with the arrival of Cervélo TestTeam's Heinrich Haussler, Roger Hammond, Andreas Klier, Brett Lancaster, Daniel Lloyd and Gabriel Rasch in addition to Thor Hushovd. The Norwegian champion said, "I need these six guys on my side for the classics and I don't have any problem with becoming a teammate of Farrar who is an up and coming sprinter. He and I won't be in competition."

  Hushovd hasn't taken part in the sprints in the early part of the Vuelta a España where he rides at the service of designated sprinter Theo Bos who finished ninth today.

  "I know they're coming with us next year," the 26-year-old American said about the inclusion of seven riders from Cervélo in 2011. "But I don't have anything in mind yet but the Vuelta. There's a time for everything."

  A more immediate concern will be Thursday's stage 6 which starts from Caravaca de la Cruz, the location of Farrar's first Grand Tour win in last year's Vuelta a España at the conclusion of stage 11.

• Focus switches sponsorship to Katusha

  

  Article published:

  September 1, 2010, 23:31

  By:

  Cycling News

  More evidence that Team Milram will become defunct?

  As a raft of team sponsorships are announced for 2011, German bicycle manufacturer has switched its technical support to Russian ProTour outfit Katusha for the next three years.

  After a recent meeting between Focus managing director Mathias Seidler and Team Katusha president Andrei Tchmil, the German company decided to continue its participation in the ProTour, albeit with a different squad.

  Over the past two years Focus has been a technical partner of Team Milram, although it's well known that the German squad has encountered issues with finding an ongoing headline sponsor, with no company stepping into the void left by the withdrawal of dairy company Milram.

  The withdrawal of Focus adds to speculation that the squad will not exist next season; with ProTour licence recipients to be announced soon, the possible cessation of the German team will be good news for the likes of Fly V Australia, Team Geox and BMC Racing, just three squads seeking a ProTour permit for 2011.

  Focus simply wants to be involved in the highest echelon of the sport, and it believes Katusha offers that opportunity. "Our aim is a long-term partnership which will allow us to further broaden our excellent experiences in the ProTour over the last two years internationally," said Seidler.

  While Belgian company Ridley has sponsored Katusha since its advent as a ProTour team, Focus considers this recent move as a coup for the German manufacturer, with the likes of Joaquin Rodriguez and Filippo Pozzato on board its machines for the next three years. "We are investing quite deliberately in a strong international team," said Focus marketing director Herwig Reus. "We hope to achieve great sporting success with this team and to prove beyond doubt what our bikes are capable of.

  "Needless to say, these expectations go hand in hand with our aim to further develop our markets abroad and increase demand for our products."