News
End of Season Race Report - By Dan Vinson
9/27/06 - "What Starts in Vegas, Ends in Vegas (Well . . . Almost)". It has been a long 2006 racing season - starting with the Nelson's Landing Stage Race, held out of Las Vegas and ending nearly 8 months later after completing 68 races. My original plan was to do the Ontario G.P. and then end the year with the Vuelta Baja California in Mexico. The form was good and I was looking forward to the race, but unfortunately Baja was cancelled at the last minute. So, I did Ontario, shut down the riding for the most part, but then decided later that I might as well complete the season in Las Vegas at the Mt. Charleston Hillclimb Road Race. That was to be my last race until I was cruelly talked into doing the Everest Challenge by two of my teammates. more >
InCycle MTB and Cross Challenge at Bonelli Park This Sunday
9/25/06 - SC Velo will play host not only a cross country mountain bike race but also a cyclocross race at a new venue to SoCalCross: Bonelli Park in San Dimas on Sunday, October 1st. Bonelli Park has played host to many cycling events over the years, but The InCycle Cross Challenge will be the first of its kind with special awards being handed out to the fastest lap times in each event as well as special prizes for those taking the challenge of racing both events! Lot of fun for the entire family including live Mariachi music and Z-Bar kids MTB and CX fun races. Race info at: SCVelo.com
SoCalCross Prestige Series: SoCalCross.org, event flyer
Interbike OutDoor Demo Starts Today
9/25/06 - Interbike’s OutDoor Demo starts today in Boulder City Nevada’s Boot Leg Canyon with 61,200 square feet of outdoor exhibit space filled with more than 130 bicycle and accessory manufacturers, the largest ever in Interbike’s 25-year history. Bootleg Canyon, home to one of the International Mountain Bicycle Association’s (IMBA) “Epic Rides,” features great trails and open roads to test mountain, road, BMX, dirt jump, downhill and recumbent bikes and accessories. The OutDoor Demo runs Monday and Tuesday, September 25-26 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day. The indoor portion of the show, the International Bicycle Expo, runs Wednesday through Friday, September 27-29 at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Vegas, Baby! The bike industry is gearing up for Interbike, with the
Outdoor Demo Sept. 25-26 and the Expo Sept. 27-29.
Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! Photo © SoCalCycling.com
Vos Wins World Championship Road Race, Neben 12th
9/23/06 - Dutch teen sensation Marianne Vos surprised her elder rivals to kick to an impressive sprint victory of an elite group of 15 to become the youngest elite women's world champion. Vos, just 19, relegated German sprinter Trixi Worrack into second with world No. 1 Nicole Cooke settling for bronze in the hard-fought, 132.9km race. Amber Neben led the way for the Americans, finishing 12th in the winning break. more >
Landis Request for Dismissal Rejected, Hip Surgery Next Week
9/22/06 - Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, who will have hip replacement surgery on September 27, received notice that the Anti-Doping Review Board (ADRB) has recommended that the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) move forward in the disciplinary process related to Landis’ alleged positive drug test of July 20, 2006. more >
Starbucks is Raising Drink Prices by Five Cents
9/22/06 - Starbucks is raising their prices on lattes, cappuccinos and drip coffee by a nickel per cup and 50 cents for a pound of beans. Since most cyclists are also java junkies, this price increase will probablly effect most of us in some way. The way I see it, if you were totally addicted and bought a cup every day for one year, it is only going to set you back $18.25 - less than a race entry. I guess we should just be glad it's not Fiddy Cent per cup! more >
The Agency for Cycling Ethics - Press Release
9/21/06 - The Agency for Cycling Ethics announces our Clean Cycling Initiative for the amateur and professional peleton in the United States and Internationally. Through our education, counseling and innovative On-schedule Volunteer Anti-Doping programs, we are forming partnerships with teams and sponsors to reach the goal of a 100% clean cycling community. more >
Zabriskie Time Trials to Silver at Worlds
9/21/06 - David Zabriskie (Salt Lake City, Utah/CSC) gave the United States its third medal at the 2006 UCI Road World Championships with a silver-medal in the elite men’s time trial Thursday. One day after Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho/Team Lipton) rode to a world title and Christine Thorburn (Menlo Park, Calif./Webcor-Platinum) captured a bronze medal in the elite women’s time trial, Zabriskie added to the medal count to push the United States into the lead with three medals to Switzerland’s two. more >
Armstrong Wins World Time Trial Title
9/20/06 - Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho/Team Lipton) became the third elite women’s world time trial champion in American history Wednesday with a 25.57-second win over two-time defending champion Karen Thurig of Switzerland while teammate Christine Thorburn (Menlo Park, Calif./Webcor-Platinum) won the bronze medal. Armstrong joins 1994 victor Karen Kurreck and 2000 winner Mari Holden in the exclusive club of world champions since the discipline was introduced to the world championship program by the UCI in 1994. Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif./Felxpoint-Buitenpoort) placed tenth for the U.S. with a time of 36:31.70. more >
Bobke Entertains SanDiego Cyclists
9/20/06 - Bob Roll entertains an audience of San Diego Triathlon Club and San Diego Bicycle Club members at Qualcomm headquarters in San Diego. Roll's original team-issue 7-11 Eddy Merckx is in the background. Bobke’s rollicking talk covered everything from Phil and Paul's drinking habits at the Tour, to Greg Lemond picking a fight with a Belgian truck driver, to calling upon a Belgian teammate to translate Sean Kelly’s English, to why Roll says Tour DE France and how he got the name Bobke, to his lifelong efforts at exacting revenge upon the French.
Photo & Story © Mark Johnson, ironstring.com
Endless Summer Crit on October 1
9/19/06 - Just when you thought the road season was over and it was safe to hang up the road bike for a little while, a fun crit has popped up to keep you going for a little longer. SDBC has announced the Endless Summer Crit, which will take place on October 1 in San Diego. more >
UCI Road World Championships Begin this Week in Austria
9/19/06 - The 2006 UCI Road World Championships open Wednesday in Salzburg with the elite women’s and U23 men’s time trial competitions. Five Americans are slated to start in the race against the clock, including three women who placed in the top eight at the 2005 world championships. The elite women’s trio of Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho/Team Lipton), Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif./Buitenpoort-Flexpoint) and Christine Thorburn (Menlo Park, Calif./Webcor-Platinum) is arguably the deepest roster of any country and all three should be considered medal contenders if previous competition is any indication. more >
Interview with WADA's Dick Pound on Landis
Landis Visits Vuelta, Insists He's Innocent
USADA Expected to Offer Recommendation in Case This Week
9/17/06 - Floyd Landis attended the final stage of Spanish Vuelta on Sunday to support his former teammates, and again insisted he is innocent of doping. He tested positive for elevated testosterone after winning this summer’s Tour de France and was fired by his team, Phonak. The tour no longer considers him the champion. more >
Mount Charleston Hill Climb is this Saturday, September 16th
The Mount Charleston Hill Climb is coming up this Saturday, September 16th in Las Vegas, Nevada with 17.5 miles of climbing from 3,000 to 8,700 feet, a unique climb with a straight line for over 3 miles and an average grade of 5.7 %. There is over $3,000 IN CASH AND PRIZES and SoCal Cup points awarded. Please check out the official website of the race for more info. You can get the race flyer on SoCalCycling.com or at mcghiesbikes.com. Registration is Online at Active.com until Thursday 6pm for $30.00 and includes a t-shirt and BBQ at the top of the Las Vegas Ski Resort.
Elite Track Championships this Weekend
9/13/06 - The Southern California/Nevada Elite Track Championships hosted by the LA Velodrome Racing Association take place this weekend, September 16 and 17th at the ADT Event Center in Carson, California. Come out to race or watch as the best track racers in Southern California, Nevada, and Hawaii compete for state championship titles as they race their way toward the USCF Elite Track Championships, to be held at the ADT Event Center, October 4-7. Admission is free for spectators. more info >
Frankie Andreau and Armstrong Teammate Admit to Drug Use
9/11/06 - Two of Lance Armstrong's eight teammates from the 1999 Tour de France have admitted for the first time that they used the banned endurance-boosting drug EPO in preparing for the race that year, when they helped Armstrong capture the first of his record seven titles. more >
US World's Teams Announced
Elite Men's Time Trial: Chris Baldwin, David Zabriskie
Elite Men's Road Race: Chris Baldwin, Chris Horner, Tyler Farrar, Patrick McCarty, Danny Pate, Fred Rodriguez, Jackson Stewart, Guido Trenti, Christian VandeVelde.
Elite Women's Road Race: Kim Anderson, Kristin Armstrong, Kimberly Baldwin, Amber Neben, Tina Pic, Christine Thorburn.
Elite Women's Time Trial: Kristin Armstrong, Amber Neben, Christine Thorburn.
2006 SoCalCross “PRESTIGE SERIES” Starts Sept 17th
9/11/06 - The highly anticipated 2006 SoCalCross Prestige Series is set to premiere on Sunday, September 17th with Muckenthaler Cross Presented by Southern California's Best cyclocross team, San Diego based Celo Pacific. The event will take place on the grounds of the prestigious Muckenthaler Cultural Center. Known primarily for art exhibitions, theatre performances, and musical concerts, the Muckenthaler mansion and theatre are located within 8.5 acres of parkland just a mile west of downtown Fullerton. Racers will speed up and down green hillsides, through groves of trees, and past rows of palms and the historic 1924 Italianate Muckenthaler mansion." more >
Goodbye Farmers Tan!
9/9/06 - Clothing Designer Sheila Moon has come up with the perfect solution for getting rid of that lovely farmers tan. Only wear your arm and leg warmers while riding and it should be gone in no time!
Post Card by Sheila Moon
Landis Attorney Seeks Dismissal
9/8/06 - Floyd Landis's attorney Howard Jacobs said Wednesday that he intends to request the dismissal of the doping case against client based on "inconsistencies in the testing protocol and methodology" used to show that the 2006 Tour de France was positive for testosterone. Jacobs said he will file a formal request with USADA on Monday, September 11 asking that the anti-doping agency drop the allegations against Landis and cease further disciplinary action. more >
Hincapie wins USPRO Road Championship
9/3/06 - To the delight of a partisan hometown crowd, Discovery Channel's George Hincapie won the first-ever all-American national road championship in Greenville, South Carolina, Sunday, crossing the finish line alone in front of a decimated field that produced only 31 finishers. Fellow ProTour rider Levi Leipheimer of Gerolsteiner finished second, 16 seconds behind Hincapie, with TIAA-CREF's Danny Pate rounding out the podium, 1:20 off the winning pace. It was Hincapie's second national road championship, following a win in Philadelphia in 1998. more >
Plenty of Fall Fun Rides and Mountain Bike Races Ahead
9/2/06 - The road race season has wound down, and for many the off season is here. We have some awesome fun rides and mountain bike races lined up that will keep you riding and having fun over the fall and winter months. Check them out!
Cyclocrossers clear the barriers at a CX clinic.
Zabriskie Captures USPRO Time Trial, Baldwin Crashes
9/1/06 - With a lot of talent and a little luck, time trial specialist David Zabriskie (Team CSC) captured the first-ever national title at the USA Cycling Professional Individual Time Trial Championships, presented by The Cliffs. The 20.15-mile event was held today outside Greenville, S.C., with the start at The Cliffs at Mountain Park and the finish at The Cliffs Valley, taking the field of 55 riders on an undulating and scenic course across the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. more >
David Zabriskie (Team CSC) on his way to winning the USPRO Time Trial.
Photo © Mitchell Clinton
