News

Basso & Astana-Wurth Ejected from the Tour Too!
6/30/06 - Looks like Bjarne Riis and Team CSC have made the decision to boot Ivan Basso from the Tour de France after more damning evidence was released regarding the Operación Puerto doping probe in Spain. Astana-Wurth got ousted as well. Double Sheiss!!! Should I even bother to get OLN at this point?

T-Mobile Suspends Ullrich, Sevilla and Pevenage
6/30/06 - In the course of the investigations into the Spanish doping network, new information has been presented to the Bonn-based T-Mobile Team, which casts doubt on the protests of innocence that have until now come from Jan Ullrich, Oscar Sevilla and Rudy Pevenage. The Spanish investigators and the sponsors of the cycling team, the mobile communications company T-Mobile, have demanded that the team management, suspend with immediate effect the two implicated athletes and the sporting director. more > Sheiss!!!

Are you Looking for a Job in the Bike Industry or for Good Employees?
6/29/06 - If so, check out our classified ads? This is a great place for companies in the Bike Industry to find qualified employees in Southern California. Right now, Saris Cycling Group is accepting resumes for an Outside Sales Rep on the West Coast.

MOTORTABS™ Fluid Replacement System at La Mirada Grand Prix
6/29/06 - Visit the MOTORTABS booth at the La Mirada Grand Prix on Sunday and taste free samples of Southern California’s newest sports drink. Give-a-ways will also include t-shirts and water bottles. MOTORTABS – a revolutionary effervescent electrolyte/energy tablet - turns ordinary water into a smooth, refreshing sports drink. Designed for use any time around your participatory athletic activity (before, during and after), MOTORTABS is a portable sports drink that can go anywhere, as the individual tablets are wrapped in water/air tight foil packages that protect them from sweat, dirt and other harmful elements.

Cedars-Sinai Grand Prix Recap
6/27/06 - The 2006 edition of the Cedars-Sinai Grand Prix on the West Los Angeles College campus in Culver City was much anticipated by the racers and lived up to its reputation as a leg-breaking race. The Pro-1/2 race was marked by much early aggression with riders taking shots to make the selection that always happens on the tough Stocker St climb. The racers see this 7% 70 meter climb every 3 minutes for 75 minutes and must dig deep to hold their speed over the false flat top. The initial barrage of attacks settled down with a select group of six rolling away including Ivan Dominguez, "Chepe" Garcia (Toyota-United), Gordon McCauley (Successful Living presented by ParkPre), Thurlow Rogers (Sonance/Speacialized), Rigo Meza (Coates Cyclery/Arce Bros), and Jorge Alvarado (Kahala LaGrange). more >

Track Omnium and Time Trials on July 1
6/27/06 - LAVRA is hosting the final omnium and time trials of its second series on July 1, 2006 at the ADT Event Center.  Overall winners of the series will receive products from Sportkilt, as well as merchandise prizes for the day’s omnium results. Time Trials begin at 10 am (doors open at 9).  Riders who are competing only in the time trials do not need to be certified to ride at the ADT Event Center, but should bring stationary trainers, as limited warmup time may be available. Distances for time trials are 200 m (flying start), 500 m, 1 km, 2 km, 3 km, and 4 km.  The afternoon omnium rolls out at 3 pm, with categories P/1/2/3, 4/5, Women A, Women B, Masters 45+, and Juniors.  Racers for this session must be Category 2 or higher, or have passed the ADT Event Center track certification. more info >

Floyd Landis Featured in LA Times West Magazine and Outside
6/26/06 - Somehow I signed up for this free subscription to Outside Magazine that I thought expired, but I still keep getting magazines every month. I won't complain, as I was pleasantly surprised when the July issue had Floyd on the cover and an interesting article by Daniel Coyle, the author of the best seller Lance Armstrong's War. It touches on his Mennonite upbringing, move to California to become a bike racer, and his feud with Lance Armstrong where he yells "Discover this!" after beating Lance in a time trial. Yesterday, while reading the Sunday LA Times I came across another great article on Floyd in the West Magazine, which also features his wife, Amber, who sounds like a down to earth lady. It is great to see Floyd getting some mainstream media coverage.

Toyota-United's Tony Cruz Wins Second Career Tour de Nez
6/25/06 - Former Reno resident Tony Cruz was the hometown favorite at this year’s Tour de Nez and Cruz, the 2004 Tour champion, did not disappoint. After three days of racing and three top 5 finishes including a third place in the Mighty Tour De Nez Pro Criterium today, Cruz sealed the overall title with an 18 point lead over Health Net’s Karl Menzies, winning the race for the second time in his career. Teammate Chris Baldwin was third overall, just five points behind Menzies. “It was great to bring one home for the team,” says Cruz, “especially to do it here in Reno. Throughout the whole course, people were cheering for me so I was pretty motivated to win.”

Four Californian's Selected for the Tour de France
6/23/06 - Can you believe the Tour is almost here? This year should be very exciting, as Ullrich, Basso, Landis and a few other contenders don't have to deal with Lance. For Californians, it will be exciting as we have four riders to cheer for with Floyd Landis, Chris Horner, Fred Rodriguez and Levi Leipheimer all being selected for their respective teams. It is time to get hooked up with OLN, if you don't already have it. Be prepared to get less work done and less riding in, as you watch 2-3 hours of each stage and wonder where all your time went. But hey, it only happens once a year right? Vive le Tour!

Sonance/Specialized Rider Wins State Road Race Championship
6/22/06 - Sonance/Specialized Cycling Team rider Steve Strickler won the prestigious SCNCA State Road Race Championship for Masters 45+ held on the Pt. Sal Road Race course on Vandenberg Air Force Base. Supporting Steve in his win were Thurlow Rogers, Keith Ketterer and Malcolm Hill who took the next 3 positions. more >

Sonance/Specialized Riders Bring Home State Crit Titles
6/22/06 -The Sonance/Specialized Cycling Team brought home 2 more State Championship titles this past weekend at the San Fernando State Criterium Masters Championships. In what was truly a team effort Malcolm Hill and Jay Wolkoff came home with Championship jerseys to add to the total already won by Sonance/Specialized riders at the Time Trial Championships earlier this spring. more >

Elite & Masters State Road Race Championships - By Dan Vinson
6/21/06 - This year, the weekend of June 17-18, 2006 was reserved for Vandenberg - Masters and Elite SCNCA Road Race Championships. The 36 mile Pt. Sal course consisted of a 28 mile out an back section with rolling climbs, followed by a nearly flat 8 mile "airport loop." The toughest climbs were a 3 mile rolling climb on the return after the turn-around and then the one mile feed zone climb just before entering the airport loop. After 2 laps (for Masters) and 3 laps (for Elites) we had a 1.3 mile finishing leg which was a short and gradual incline up to the finish line. more >

Time Flies! SoCalCycling.com's Newsletter June '06
6/15/06 - In July, it will be a year that my partner, Frank, and I took over SoCalCycling.com from previous owner Rick Thomas. We have made some pretty significant changes in the site and hopefully everyone likes them. We have tried to provide you with the latest cycling news and photos. We recently added a Mountain Bike Schedule, Forum and an area where you can Find a Coach to help take your riding to the next level. For me, running SoCalCycling.com has brought me back to the sport which I know and love and put me back in touch with old friends and introduced me to new ones. Newsletter >

The Bicycle Film Festival Comes to LA, June 21-24
6/19/06 - “May I park your bike?” In the parking lot we call Los Angeles, this is not a common phrase. But come this June, get ready for two-wheeled transportation to take over the city as the 2006 Bicycle Film Festival rolls into town. The Bicycle Film Festival (BFF), complete with complimentary valet bike parking, kicks off on June 21, 2006 with screenings at The Vine Theater. Known as the largest bicycle related cultural event in the country, the BFF has largely been responsible for the spike in popularity and interest of urban bike culture. The BFF is four days of highlighting shorts and feature films, as well as artists and musicians, celebrating the bicycle in all its various forms and styles. more >

The Cedars-Sinai Grand Prix on Sunday June 25th
6/17/06 - The Cedars-Sinai Grand Prix on Sunday June 25th at West L.A. College in Culver City will feature the devilish Stocker St. climb that has proven very selective in previous years. Past winners include Harm Jansen and Fred Rodriguez who both won out of small breaks which left shattered fields in their wakes. For 2006, with the help of our generous sponsors, we have pumped up the prize list to $8,000 in cash along with at least $7,000 in merchandise primes. As the racers bust a gut on the course spectators can get food (featuring El Pollo Loco and Kettle Korn) and drink (free Surf-City Squeeze smoothies) in the exposition area by the finish stage. In addition, there will be a Mega-Watt power challenge using Cycleops indoor trainers where the biggest wattage beast can win a Cycleops trainer. Finally, we have a HUGE raffle with a new Cannondale R1000 bike in your size, a commemorative Tour of California bike, a Floyd Landis signed Tour of Cali leaders jersey and gift certificates to Helen's cycles on offer.
More Info: Website & Press Release

The 2006 Bicycle John's Glendale Grand Prix Sees the Best Juniors!
6/14/06 - The 2006 Bicycle John's Glendale Grand Prix presented by Kool N Fit Sport and Z-Bar took place on Sunday, June 11th and was the host of USA Cycling's Lance Armstrong Junior Olympic Road Series (LAJORS). The goal of LAJORS is to increase the quantity and quality of road racing opportunities for junior racers. Top finishers in these events qualify for regional training camps, offering them a chance to pursue the dream of Olympic participation. Over 80 Junior racers from around the region made the trip to Glendale and were treated to Mad Heaven's Martin's rendition of the Star Spangled banner. Former Junior star himself and Olympian, David Brinton brought insight to the race as the race's guest commentator. more >

The Rim Nordic Mountain Bike Racing Series Starts June 25th
6/13/06 - The Rim Nordic Mountain Bike Racing XC Series, CA kicks off with their first event on June 25th in Running Springs, with other races on July 30, August 13th and August 27th. In addition, the Mark J. Reynolds Memorial Stage Race will be held Aug 12-13th and will feature 3 events over two days with a hill climb, dirt crit and XC race. The Rim Nordic XC #3 will join The Idyllwild Spring Challenge on May 13th, and the Mt. Sac Fall Fat Tire Classic on Nov 5th as part of the So Cal Triple Crown Mountain Bike Series. This looks like a great series of races and a great opportunity for road racers that may be suffering mid-season burnout to recharge the batteries on the dirt. For more info on the Rim Nordic Mountain Bike Racing XC Series, please visit their web site or check out the mountain bike schedule on SoCalCycling.com.

Henderson gives Health Net-Maxxis a Repeat in Philly
6/12/06 - After winning the Reading Classic on Thursday, if there was still any question that Greg Henderson of the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis had recovered from his fractured femur, he proved emphatically to the hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets of Philadelphia – and to the entire cycling world –he was back. With a vengeance. more >

Team Successful Living Adds Gordon McCauley
6/8/06 - Successful Living Professional Cycling Team announced today that it has added Gordon McCauley for the remainder of the 2006 season. McCauley was released voluntarily by Team Monex and will make his Successful Living debut at the Philadelphia International Championships, on June 11 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Team Successful Living Director Steve Hegg commented, "Adding a rider like McCauley gives our team some additional horse power, and experience as we move into the second part of the year." McCauley is the current New Zealand road race champion and will compete to keep his title in November after the season here comes to a conclusion in September. Hegg commented, "Gordon just came off a bronze medal performance in the Commonwealth games a few months ago, and I’m personally looking forward to seeing his abilities against the clock, as well as his aggressive riding style I’ve heard much about. I think his racing style will set a good example for some of our younger riders in stretching their limits."

Get Ready for the Vail Lake Shootout Mountain Bike Race on June 24th
6/7/06 - On Saturday, June 24th, local Murrieta-based mountain bike race squad Team I.E. Bikes will be hosting the second in a series of mountain bike races. Vail Lake Shootout #2 will be held at Vail Lake RV Resort (8 miles south of I-15 on SR 79 south). Vail Lake has been around since the 1800's. It once served as wagon train stop and is now an oasis for families to camp and enjoy good wholesome activities. The 2nd race of this young series looks to be a great time that will include challenging cross-country and super downhill races, a kid's race sponsored by Shimano, an expo area for sponsors and vendors, a raffle with great prizes, and a $1000.00 cash prize for any expert, semi-pro, or professional racer who clears the “no dab hill climb challenge.” Racers are encouraged to come out, enjoy some great racing, and even receive a discounted rate on camping should they decide to bring the whole family. more info >
Visit SoCalCycling.com's Mtn Bike Race Schedule for More Events more >

Sale on SoCalCycling.com Clothing!
If you like SoCalCycling.com and the resources it offers in connecting you to So Cal's Cycling Scene, then please show your support by purchasing some awesome clothing that supports the site and keeps bringing you the latest! We have socks for just $ 6.99 and if you really want to show your support you can buy a really nice jersey or kit. Thanks in advance! Buy Now >

Amber Neben Wins Time Trial at Pan Am Games
6/6/06 - The United States Cycling Team captured a Continental Title on Tuesday as Amber Neben (Irvine) rode to a win in the time trial event at the Pan American Cycling Championships in Cabreuva, Brazil. Kori Seehafer (Louisville, Colo.) earned her second medal of the week, riding to a bronze in the race against the clock. On Sunday, Seehafer gave the U.S. its first medal of the Championships with a silver-medal performance in the 87-kilometer elite women’s road race in Indaiatuba.

Bicycle John's Glendale Grand Prix is an Event for the Entire Family
6/5/06 - The Bicycle John's Serious Cycling team invites you to attend the 2006 Bicycle John's Glendale Grand Prix presented by Kool N Fit Sport and Z-Bar this Sunday, June 11th. This year's Grand Prix is not only a race, but an event for the entire family featuring a spectator friendly course, Lance Armstrong Junior Olympic racing, the Z-Bar kids' bike zone and race, live music from Mad Heaven's up and coming artists and this year we will debut a new contest: "The Golden Mic Award" where racers will get a chance to become the next Phil Liggett or Bob Roll adding race commentary throughout the day. The event is expected to draw over 1200 competitors and spectators with a portion of the proceeds going to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. more >

Toyota-United Opens Philly Week on the Podium
6/4/06 - After nearly losing control over bumpy terrain with less than 150 meters to go in the final sprint, Toyota-United’s JJ Haedo regained his form to pull off a second place finish at the Tom Bamford Lancaster Classic, securing the team’s position as one of the elite in this week’s Commerce Bank Triple Crown.

Cynergy Cycles to Open in Santa Monica, CA on June 24th
6/1/06 - Cynergy Cycles is opening it's doors to the public in Santa Monica, CA with a Grand Opening Event on June 24th. Cynergy is “Setting the Pace” with the Ultimate Cycling Shopping Experience:

• Transforming a 90 year old historic building into the most technologically advanced and state-of-the-art cycling retail facility you have ever seen
  
• Assembling the most experienced, approachable, knowledgeable and trained sales and service team in the industry
  
• Offering only the highest quality brands that are at the forefront of product development and fully supported by the strongest Companies more >

Toyota-United Begins Quest for the Jersey at Philly Week
6/1/06 - Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team heads to cycling's fabled Philly Week looking to continue its winning momentum against an international peloton at the Commerce Bank Triple Crown in Pennsylvania. Led by current USPRO Champion and defending Philadelphia Champion Chris Wherry, the A-list squad includes Co-Captain Tony Cruz, former New Zealand National Champion Heath Blackgrove, Pan Am Games Champion Ivan Dominguez, Justin England, former Mexican National Champion Jose Manuel “Chepe” Garcia, Sean Sullivan, Serbian National Champion Ivan Stevic, and four-time Argentinean National Champion and dual stage winner at the 2006 Amgen Tour of California, Juan Jose “J.J.” Haedo. more >