EXCLUSIVE: United's Rainbow Warrior

Over the past year, we've made some great friends and great contacts through the Triple Crankset. Today marks a first for us, as Sean Weide, Director of Communications for Toyota-United Pro Cycling provides us with an exclusive. Most of what you read below will be in the upcoming Toyota-United press release, but we are priviledged to present it to you here, first.

For the first time in years (and quite possibly, ever), the pro peloton will feature the jersey of the UCI B World road race champion. There is a certain amount of education that I'll be doing since few are familiar with the rainbow-and-blue jersey that goes along with winning that title.

The UCI B World Championships is an event that is staged to create an opportunity for those nations where cycling is not considered to be a major sport to qualify riders and teams for the Olympic Games. Because of this, it is normally raced the year prior to the Olympics. It has a secondary objective to allow those riders from these nations who do not qualify for the Elite Championships or who may not be able to have an opportunity to ride for a professional team an opportunity to compete against other riders of a similar level. It is also seen as a developmental event where young, up and coming riders can test their mettle and be identified as potential stars of the future.

There were two days of road competition – the time trial and the individual road race – and a three-day track programme. The men's road race was 100 miles (161 km) and Toyota-United's Ivan Stevic (inset) soloed to victory, winning ahead of Namibia’s Erik Hoffman and Alexandr Pliuschin of Moldova, respectively. In 2003, Stevic finished second in this race.

The B World Championships are often staged in countries outside of Europe and this year was no exception. Cape Town, South Africa, follows past venues which include Ipoh, Malaysia in 1997, Beijing, China in 2001 and Aigle, Switzerland in 2003. Past winners of the men's road race are names you probably don't recognize: Sergey Beloussov (1997), Gregorio Bare (1999), Tang Xuezhong (2001) and Murilo Antonio Fischer (2003), who currently rides for Liquigas.

The blue-with-rainbow-stripes jersey is one not often seen. It is for both the"B" and masters world champions. Domestically, five-time world masters mountain bike champion Steve Tilford (of Topeka, Kan.) is one of the few who have earned the honor of wearing the jersey. My research indicates only Fischer raced on a ProTour-level (or equivalent) team in the year after his B World's victory. The Brazilian spent the 2004 season with Domina Vacanze - which had the reigning world road race champion (Mario Cipollini) in its ranks that season. That might explain why Fischer never sported his blue-and-rainbow jersey.


Stevic will debut his new kit at next weekend's Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove, a two-day, three-stage race in Elk Grove, Ill.

Sean Weide is the Director of Communications for Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team. He is an accomplished sports journalist who has covered the Tour de France since 1981. He has been an USCF official since 1993, and helps to promote cycling in the Midwest through his work on Nebraska Cycling News (http://www.nebraskacyclingnews.com/).