First Edition Cycling News, Wednesday, October 21, 2009

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Date published:

October 21, 2009, 14:00

• Fuji-Servetto signs new title sponsor

  

  Article published:

  October 20, 2009, 20:04

  By:

  Cycling News

  Footon backs ProTour squad

  The Spanish team Fuji-Servetto will become Footon-Servetto for 2010 after signing a title sponsorship deal with the Swiss company which specializes in making healthcare products such as insoles.

  The team announced Tuesday that it had submitted its documentation to the UCI for inclusion into the ProTour within the deadline for licensing.

  The team has been actively seeking an additional sponsor this year. The squad grew out of the former Saunier Duval team which lost its title sponsor due to the doping scandals during and after the 2008 Tour de France involving Riccardo Ricco and Leonardo Piepoli.

  The cases led to the team being excluded from this year's Tour de France and forced it to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn exclusions from the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana as well as Milano-Sanremo and Tirreno-Adriatico.

  Its woes continued this year after Riccardo Serrano was first suspended by the team for having abnormal biological passport blood values, then found positive for CERA.

  Despite the problems, bicycle maker Fuji will continue its support of the team, as will Servetto and Cantabria Infinita.

  The additional backer will allow the squad to formalize its 2010 roster, and a press release stated that a full list of riders for next season will be forthcoming.

  A number of riders have already left the team. Paolo Bailetti departed for Ceramica Flaminia, David De La Fuente is rumoured to be heading to Astana, Fredrik Kessiakoff signed with Garmin, and Davide Vigano contracted with Team Sky.

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• Vacansoleil finalizes 2010 squad

  

  Article published:

  October 20, 2009, 20:11

  By:

  Cycling News

  Mol, Gardeyn and Ruijgh complete Dutch team

  The Vacansoleil team announced the completion of its 2010 roster on Tuesday, naming Dutchmen Wouter Mol and Rob Ruijgh and Belgian Gorik Gardeyn as the final signings.

  Mol will continue with the team after showing himself as a solid domestique and a second place at the Münsterland Giro. The 22-year-old Ruijgh was a trainee for Vacansoleil from August 1st and earned a one-year contract.

  Gardeyn is one of three Belgians on the team, and comes from the Silence-Lotto team after an unlucky two seasons. His best results came in 2007 while part of the Unibet.com squad, where he scored his last win, a stage of the Tour of Belgium.

  Sport director Hilaire Van Der Schueren is enthusiastic about the 2010 squad. “We will be stronger in 2010. The 2009 season is a fairytale and we have to work hard to do better next year but I think we can. A lot of riders stayed with the team and I love to work with riders for a while, all of them have space to grow.”

  Team manager Daan Luijkx is also happy with the team. “The 2010 team has a lot of quality and is well balanced. Thanks to that balance we should be able to be compatible in two races at the same time. I am also very happy with the fact most of the riders who have to leave the team found a new squad."

  The Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team in 2010: Borut Bozic (Slovenia), Sergey Lagutin (Uzbekistan), Gorik Gardeyn, Björn Leukemans, Frederik Veuchelen (Belgium), Alberto Ongarato, Matteo Carrara, Marco Marcato (Italy), Martin Mortensen (Denmark), Brice Feillu, Romain Feillu, Stephané Rossetto (France), Michal Golas (Poland), Rob Ruijgh, Joost van Leijen, Wouter Mol, Arnoud van Groen, Bobbie Traksel, Johnny Hoogerland, Lieuwe Westra, Jens Mouris, Matthé Pronk and Wout Poels (The Netherlands).

  Departures: Wim De Vocht (Milram), Gerben Löwik (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Reinier Honig (Acqua & Sapone), Thijs van Amerongen (unknown), Aart Vierhouten (retired) and Baden Cooke (Saxo Bank).

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• Cycling Sports Group hires Peter Denk as director of technology

  

  Article published:

  October 21, 2009, 09:58

  By:

  Emily Wren/www.emilywren.com

  Strong implications for development of Cannondale, GT, Mongoose, Schwinn labels

  Cycling Sports Group (CSG) today announced the hiring of Peter Denk as full-time director of technology for the company's research and development team. Denk is perhaps best known for his decade-plus collaboration with Scott (where he and his Germany-based firm penned such key carbon projects as the Spark, Scale, CR1 and Addict, plus their associated CR1 and IMP construction technologies) that ended in late 2007.

  The relationship has already starting bearing fruit. CSG actually began working with Denk back in June 2008 and the first product – the featherweight Flash carbon hardtail – was officially launched just fifteen months later at this year's Eurobike show.

  According to CSG vice president of research and development Chris Peck, the addition of Denk is in keeping with the company's overall goal of becoming the undisputed industry leader. Moreover, though Denk obviously brings with him a hefty load of intellectual property developed over the years, Peck says CSG is more interested in what's to come, not what's already been done.

  "His composites knowledge is second-to-none in the industry both from a design perspective and in terms of manufacturing processes that he's developed over the years," Peck said. "We didn't decide to start working with Peter based on what he's done in the past. What we're really focusing on with Peter is new development going forward."

  "In general, our goal is to be the number one bicycle brand in the world, which means that from a product and innovation perspective, we need to continue to come out with industry-leading product," he continued. "We're making a number of investments, whether it's hiring Peter Denk, whether it's money put into electronic projects like Simon, whether it's expanding our industrial design team which we've done over the last few months – all those steps are really focused on developing Cannondale as a brand in addition to Schwinn, GT and Mongoose."

  Peck says that Denk will indeed work across all four brands but realistically speaking will be focused primarily on CSG's more performance-oriented Cannondale and GT labels and on the road and mountain bike categories, as opposed to the recreational and urban divisions.

  For now, Denk and his Denk Engineering GmbH colleague – who is also now a full-time employee of CSG – will both remain in Germany. "We're still working out those details but [Peter will] most likely [stay in Germany]," said Peck. "One of the reasons for that is that we really value his market knowledge and feedback that he gets from Europe. He really has a good sense of the market and trends and a lot of that is gained from contacts and events he goes to in Europe and we're pretty happy to maintain that."

  Peck was understandably unwilling to divulge any information on upcoming products but suggests nonetheless that the development timetable is moving quickly and that consumers should begin seeing some changes fairly soon.

  "I can't really give you any details at this point but I can tell you that even before this announcement, Peter's been working with us on a number of projects that will come out for model year 2011. So it's not like we're just starting today and saying, 'Hey, Peter, we have some new projects that we want your feedback on.' Although we're making the announcement today, we've already started working on some projects that will be out next year."

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• Giro d'Italia to skip Milan in 2010

  

  Article published:

  October 21, 2009, 10:00

  By:

  Gregor Brown

  First time in 21 years stage race avoids Milan, returns in 2011

  Next year's Giro d'Italia will skip Milan for the first time in 21 years. City officials are talking with organiser RCS Sport to ensure the race returns in 2011, according to news agency RCD.

  "Unfortunately, we found out that Milan is not in the 2010 edition," said president of the provincial council, Bruno Dapei. "It's fine because it opened up an important channel of dialogue and collaboration with the organisers."

  The last time the Giro d'Italia skipped Milan was in 1989, when Frenchman Laurent Fignon won the three-week race. The city usually hosts the finish of the race's final stage.

  "It's an important event for our area and one which the province believes in," Dapei continued.

  RCS Sport had two difficult moments with its races this year in Milan. The Giro d'Italia's stage in the city was neutralised on the day of the race due to tram tracks and traffic along the circuit. At the start of the one-day classic, Milan-Sanremo, on March 21, traffic police ticketed official race cars parked at Castello Sforzesco.

  RCS Sport will present the official route Saturday in Milan. It has already announced that the race, May 8 to 30, will start with three stages in the Netherlands.

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• Cyclingnews' Form & Fitness panel returns

  

  Article published:

  October 21, 2009, 10:05

  By:

  Cycling News

  Answering your fitness questions every week

  Cyclingnews readers may have noticed that the regular Form & Fitness Q&A took a brief hiatus while our new-look site was being launched.

  The popular section gave readers the opportunity to send their queries to our panel of experts, which includes specialists in areas such as nutrition, bike fit and conditioning.

  The staff at Cyclingnews are pleased to announce that the Form & Fitness panel is back, which means the return of the Q&A.

  Consisting of members who are passionate about cycling, have worked in their field for many years and have a long-time involvement with Cyclingnews, our Form & Fitness panel will be offering even more as we head into another year.

  The ever-popular question and answer section has already returned to the site, plus we'll be bringing you features on areas such as bike fit, 'food fitness' and conditioning.

  It's a chance for readers to get involved with their favourite site whilst learning about training tips, nutritional information and the cutting edge of bike fit theories and practice. Go to our features page each week to find the latest from the Form & Fitness panel.

  Here's a list of the people who'll be answering your questions - please send related correspondence to fitness@cyclingnews.com:

  Steve Hogg (www.cyclefitcentre.com) has owned and operated Pedal Pushers since 1986, a cycle shop specialising in rider positioning and custom bicycles. In that time he has positioned riders from all cycling disciplines and of all levels of ability with every concievable cycling problem. Clients range from recreational riders and riders with disabilities to World and National champions.

  Scott Saifer (www.wenzelcoaching.com) has a Masters Degree in exercise physiology and sports psychology and has personally coached over 300 athletes of all levels in his 10 years of coaching with Wenzel Coaching.

  Kelby Bethards, MD received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University (1994) before obtaining an M.D. from the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 2000. Has been a racing cyclist 'on and off' for 20 years, and when time allows, he races Cat 3 and 35+. He is a team physician for two local Ft Collins, CO, teams, and currently works Family Practice in multiple settings: rural, urgent care, inpatient and the like.

  Pam Hinton has a bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology and a doctoral degree in Nutritional Sciences, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She did postdoctoral training at Cornell University and is now an associate professor of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at the University of Missouri-Columbia where she studies the effects of energy balance on bone health. She has published on the effects of cycling and multi-day stage racing on bone density and turnover.

  Pam was an All-American in track while at the UW. She started cycling competitively in 2003 and is a three-time Missouri State Road Champion.

  David Fleckenstein, MPT, OCS (www.physiopt.com) is a physical therapist practicing in Eagle, ID and the president of Physiotherapy, PA, an outpatient orthopedic clinic focusing in orthopedics, spine, and sportsmedicine care.

  His clients have included World and US champions, Olympic athletes and numerous professional athletes. He received his Masters degree in Physical Therapy from Emory University and is currently completing his doctorate at Regis University.

  He is a board certified orthopedic specialist focusing in manual medicine and specific retraining of spine and joint stabilisation musculature. He is a former Cat I road racer and Expert mountain biker.

  Carrie Cheadle, MA (www.carriecheadle.com) is a Sports Psychology consultant who has dedicated her career to helping athletes of all ages and abilities perform to their potential. Carrie specialises in working with cyclists, in disciplines ranging from track racing to mountain biking. She holds a bachelors degree in Psychology from Sonoma State University as well as a masters degree in Sport Psychology from John F. Kennedy University.

  Dave Palese (www.davepalese.com) is a USA Cycling licensed coach and masters' class road racer with 16 years' race experience. He coaches racers and riders of all abilities from his home in southern Maine, USA, where he lives with his wife Sheryl, daughter Molly, and two cats, Miranda and Mu-Mu.

  Dario Fredrick (www.wholeathlete.com) is an exercise physiologist and head coach for Whole Athlete™. He is a former category 1 & semi-pro MTB racer. Dario holds a masters degree in exercise science and a bachelors in sport psychology.

  Click here to discuss this and other fitness-related topics in our forum.

• Boom plans big for 2010 Spring Classics

  

  Article published:

  October 21, 2009, 13:00

  By:

  Gregor Brown

  Dutch 'cross champ makes full road conversion, focussed on Flanders and Roubaix

  Lars Boom closed his season at the Giro di Lombardia Saturday in Como, Italy, but his thoughts have already turned to winning some of cycling's biggest one-day races next spring. The former cyclo-cross World Champion made a successful switch to the road this season and is keen to improve on his impressive debut season.

  "I am meeting with the team and trainers this week to see what needs to be done to be ready for the Spring Classics in April," Boom told Cyclingnews. "I want to do big races – Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Amstel Gold – they are the ones that motivate me."

  Dutchman Boom rose to the top of cyclo-cross to win the World Championship title 2008 in Treviso, Italy. This season the 23-year-old moved to Rabobank's top ProTour team from its Continental team to concentrate solely on the road.

  He had a good start with victory the Tour of Belgium stage race in May. He recovered from illness and returned for another win in September. Boom attacked from an escape group on the San Jerónimo climb in stage 15 of the Vuelta a España and rode solo for 22 kilometres to win by 1:36.

  For Boon, the results have given him confidence for 2010 and justified his decision to abandon cyclo-cross.

  "I will do a couple of non-competitive cyclo-cross events and then a couple of races in January, but that's it. I want to be ready for the big Classics," he continued.

  Boom will take a vacation and then return home to Vlijmen, where he will move into a new apartment before he commences his preparations for next season.

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• Moreni to pay UCI salary fine

  

  Article published:

  October 21, 2009, 14:14

  By:

  Gregor Brown

  First rider to pay UCI a year's salary for testing postive

  Cristian Moreni will be the first cyclist to pay the International Cycling Union (UCI) a year's salary for failing an anti-doping test.

  "Moreni came to our headquarters last week and we defined payment terms," UCI President Pat McQuaid told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

  The UCI introduced an anti-doping agreement June 19, 2007, to strengthen its fight against doping. It established a minimum two-year suspension and required offenders to pay a year's salary as a fine. The UCI will use the fine to fund its anti-doping programmes.

  Italy's Moreni tested positive for Testosterone following stage 11 to Montpellier at the 2007 Tour de France, July 19.

  "No one has paid up until now," said McQuaid. "[Alexander] Vinokourov, [Andrey] Kashechkin and [Michael] Rasmussen, all positive in 2007, have appealed the decision to CAS [Court of Arbitration for Sport] and we are waiting its decision."

  Moreni won the Italian Championships in 2004. His French Cofidis team withdrew from the 2007 Tour de France after the UCI confirmed the results six days later, on the stage to Col d'Aubisque.

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• Police investigating doping ring in Spain

  

  Article published:

  October 21, 2009, 14:34

  By:

  Shane Stokes

  Previously implicated Valladolid doctor suspected of doping key riders

  The immediate aftermath of Operacion Puerto saw new laws criminalising doping but, if the Spanish magazine Interviu is correct in claims made this week, that hasn’t deterred the Valladolid doctor Jesus Losa from running another doping network and helping riders gain an illicit advantage.

  Losa is suspected as being the supplier of Moises Dueñas and Maribel Moreno, who were positive for EPO in last year’s Tour de France and the Olympics, respectively. While a subsequent investigation was shelved due to lack of evidence, several big names have been revealed to have been in contact with him.

  According to Interviu, Moreno was injected with EPO in Barajas airport prior to flying to Beijing. Then, after a surprise control resulted in her positive test, Spanish Secretary of State for Sport Jaime Lissavetzky asked her to name the supplier who gave her the doping product. She didn’t answer and fled China, claiming an anxiety attack.

  Dueñas and Moreno were later visited by police, who would uncover more details about what went on from the former Barloworld rider. Moreno continued to deny he was her doctor.

  The police were investigating Losa, who works in the Regional Medical Center of Sports Medicine in Castilla y León. In 2004 he had been previously named by David Millar as someone who had supplied him with EPO, and was subsequently fired from his post within the Euskaltel-Euskadi team.

  Losa realised he was being tracked and limited evidence was available to the police. They tapped phones and intercepted SMS messages between the doctor and several professional cyclists but, due to scarcity of other evidence, the judge looking into the case temporarily shelved the indictment last May.

  Duenas co-operated with investigators and received a reduced one year suspension as a result of his assistance. He said that in 2008 he paid Losa a fee of €6,000 plus bonuses for targets, and received injections of an unknown substance in his clinic. The doctor also gave him a bottle of the testosterone precursor DHEA to use during the Tour, telling him that he would never test positive if he followed his instructions.

  The case will raise further concerns about doping in Spain. The country has previously been criticised by the UCI following a lack of progress in the Operacion Puerto investigations. One of its top riders, Alejandro Valverde, is currently awaiting a CAS hearing following a joint UCI/WADA bid to have him suspended due to Puerto links.

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