Maggie Revealed

For whatever reason, the identity of the "as of yet unnamed former Paris - Roubaix winner," who recently signed with Slipstream/Chipotle has been kept a secret. At least until now.

Photo: Timm Kolln

As if a contestant on To Tell The Truth, the big Swede, Magnus Backstedt (currently Liquigas) has finally decided to step forward from among the current former Roubaix winners and comfirm.

"I feel that it is time for a new start and I am extremely attracted by the program and values of Team Slipstream/Chipotle... as soon as I spoke with him [Vaughters] regarding the possibility of me joining the team, I knew it was the right decision."

The 2004 Roubaix winner and former teammate of Jonathan Vaughters on Credit Agricole, will join Julian Dean, Christian Vande Velde, David Zabriskie, and David Millar on Slipstream for the 2008 season.

Slipstream Kiwi

New Zealand's Julian Dean (currently of Credit Argricole) is the latest Jonathan Vaughters signing. Dean joins David Millar, Christian Vande Velde, David Zabriskie, and a yet unnamed former Paris-Roubaix winner on the 2008 Slipstream/Chipotle team.

The current New Zealand National Road Champion served as Thor Hushovd's lead out man during this year's Tour. Dean's best season to date was in 2003. Riding for Team CSC, he finished second on the team to Tyler Hamilton in UCI points gained despite being the team's winningest rider that season.

He began his professional career in 1996 for Shaklee, and has ridden for Mercury (1998), US Postal (1999-2001), CSC-Tiscali (2002), CSC (2003), and Credit Agricole (2004 to present).

It'll be interesting to see how the kiwi all-black mates with the Slipstream argyle in what Scotman David Millar's sister proclaimed as "fantastic concept, horrific realization."

(Photo: Graham Watson)

In My Mind I'm Going to Carolina

Many, if not all, of the top continental professionals were in North Carolina this past weekend to partake in not one, but two US Cycling National Racing Calendar (NRC) races.

On Saturday, Charlotte hosted the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium. The event, also a part of the the USA Crits series, boast the largest prize list of the series along with $100,000 in prize money.

Health-Net presented by Maxxis' Frank Pipp outlasted the field and the Southern summer weather to take the $25,000 men's prize ahead of breakaway partner Jesse Anthony (Kodak Gallery-Sierra Nevada). Yosvany Falcon (AEG-Toshiba-JetNetwork) rounded out the podium.

Photo: Kurt Jambretz/www.actionimages.cc

The women's race came down to a bunch sprint with Colavita/Sutter Homes. TEAm Lipton, and Cheerwine attempting to deliver their sprinters to the line. Current USA Crit series points leader, Laura Van Gilder (Cheerwine) found herself out front "a little too early," during the finale and was overtaken by the four-time US criterium champion, Tina Pic (Colavita/Sutter Homes). Gina Grain (Team Expresscopy.com) came in third.

A Vicious Dig
Photo: Kurt Jambretz/www.actionimages.cc

Our friend Liz Hatch (Vanderkitten) was extremely animated all day. As reported by Cyclingnews' Laura Wieslo, "With temperatures cresting the 35 degree mark and high humidity adding to the discomfort of the evening, Vanderkitten's Liz Hatch was the first to attack on lap one, but was quickly absorbed when a prime was called at the end of the lap." Liz (second wheel trying to cover another Kori Seehafer (TEAm Lipton) attack; Photo: Emory Ball/Cyclingnews) finished 10 seconds back in 24th. And yes, that's Laura Van Gilder that Liz is out kicking in the image. More than impressive!

On Sunday, Tina Pic's appetite evidently wasn't squelched as she came back for a second helping at the Hanes Park Criterium in Winston - Salem. She bested Laura Van Gilder once again, with Katharine Carroll (Aaron's Corporate Furnishings) beating out Gina Grain for third.

On the men's side, Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United) brought it home in an impressive fashion. It was the team's 30th victory of the season. Jeff Hopkins (Jittery Joe's) and Kleber Ramos da Silva (Garneau-Crocs) finished second and third, respectively.

Ivan in Control
Photo: Kurt Jambretz/www.actionimages.cc

Dominguez's victory definitely was the highlight in Toyota-United's bittersweet weekend. On Saturday, the team lost Caleb Manion with a broken collarbone.

The weekend also marked the end of Team Director, Kirk Willett's, career in the professional cycling ranks. The 37 year old will begin his studies in medicine at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. Of the upcoming challenge and his career in cycling, Willett had this to say,

"It's always exciting to move on to new things and new challenges, but at the same time, I've spent so much time investing and learning in one aspect of my life that I'm saying goodbye to something that's been a part of me for 20 years."

Best wishes Kirk, you've had a hell of a run.

Et Stykke av Historien

Roughly translated from Norwegian, A Piece of History [How am I doing Knut-Walther?]

For the last three years, the California IT company sponsored, Danish based Team CSC has taken the overall at the Post Danmark Rundt or Tour of Denmark. In 2004, it was Kurt Asle Arvesen, followed by Ivan Basso and Fabian Cancellara in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Add to that total, Jakob Piil's victory in 2002, and Team CSC has virtually owned this race taking a quarter of the 16 previous editions.

Arvesen On Route to a Stage 3 Victory
(Photo: CorVos/Pezcyclingnews)

Now to accompany the team's success, Kurt Asle Arvesen has written himself into Danish history by becoming the first and only repeat winner of the event. Going into the penultimate stage, a 12.4 km ITT on Saturday, teammate Matti Breschel and the 32 year old Arvesen sat atop the general classification. The Norwegian finished 5th on the day, adding to his Stage 3 victory, to set himself up for the ride into Frederiksberg Allé on Sunday.

The ever humble Arvesen had this to say about his win,

"It's a great feeling to be the first to win twice, but just like the last time I won it's more than anything a team effort. There's not a lot of opportunity for attack, when we have such strong people at the front of the peloton. Matti (Breschel), Nicki (Sørensen) and I were equally strong and they could just as easily have won this race. In the end it was decided by the time trial."

Leo Roars

Leonardo Bertagnolli (Liquigas) claimed a small piece of Spain for Italy today by conquering the Clasica San Sebastian. The 29 year old from Trento won a two-up sprint over Spain's Juan Manuel Garate (Quick Step - Innergetic). Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) led the chase group home to claim third.

The victory continued a marvelous streak this year for the Italian team, with Pippo Pozzatto claiming Het Volk and Stage 5 of the Tour de France, and with Danilo DiLuca taking the overall of the Giro d'Italia. The latter remained on top of the UCI Pro Tour standings.

Photo: www.teamliquigas.it

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/).

On Tap...

Post Tour Letdown?
No way, no how! As the calendar flips to August and the temperatures flip off the charts, the racing season is kicking into high gear. Of the 24 listings below, 11 are on US Cycling's list of significant races, and two are on the National Racing Calendar (NRC).

The folks in the land of the Grand Banks are in for some excellent racing as it host both of the NRC races. The Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium in Charlotte, North Carolina takes place on Saturday the 4th, and the Hanes Park Classic in Winston Salem on Sunday the 5th. The former is part of the US Crit Series.

Closer to home, the NAS-Track International 3-Day in Rochester Hills, MI begins tonight, Friday the 3rd at 7pm. Teams from California, Colorado, Indiana, Georgia, Minnesota, Michigan, and Canada will be representing 8 different velodromes.

08/03/2007
Golden Wheel Race/Corp Challenge
Trexlertown, PA
Statesville Criteruim 2007
Statesville, NC
American Velodrome Challenge- Elite Quailfier
Indianapolis, IN
NAS-Track International 3-Day
Rochester Hills, MI

08/04/2007
Downtown Bloomington Criterium
Bloomington, IN
Deodate Road Race (TM)
Deodate, PA
Bike Source Criterium
Charlotte, NC
Ada Criterium
Ada, MI
Pur Tour
Mason, OH
Sisquoc Road Race and SoCal/NVJr St Champ
Santa Maria, CA
Grayslake Cycling Classic at Prairie Crossing
Grayslake, IL
Huntsville 100
Huntsville, UT
Wisconsin State Time Trial Championship
Kansasville, WI
District Road Race Championships
Marina, CA
Pan-Mass Challenge
Boston, MA
Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium
Charlotte, NC
San Diego AVC Elite Nationals Qualifier 2007
San Diego, CA

08/05/2007
Elgin Cycling Classic
Elgin, IL
NJ Track Championships - Mass Start and Sprint Eve
Breinigsville, PA
Timpani Criterium
Santa Clara, CA
Zionsville G.P.
Zionsville, OH
Zoar Road Race
Zoar, OH
Hanes Park Classic
Winston Salem, NC
Zaveta Construction Circuit Race
Doylestown, PA

As a life long Boston Red Sox fan, listed among the races above is the Pan-Mass Challenge. The Pan-Massachusetts Challenge raises money for life-saving cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund. The annual bike-a-thon crosses the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and offers one and two day riding options from 47 to 192 miles. Like most things on the east coast, the Pan-Mass is an original. It is considered the nation’s first fundraising bike-a-thon and raises more money than any other athletic fundraising event in the country.

Venga, Venga, Venga
As if Spain doesn't have enough to celebrate with Alberto Contador's (Discovery Channel) victory in France, the biggest Spanish one-day race, the Clasica San Sebastian takes places on Saturday. As Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne has been tabbed, The Revenge, for those who miss out on the Belgian Spring Semi-Classic, Het Volk, San Sebastian has served as a small measure of redemption for those riders who haven't faired well at the Tour.

Look for Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) to make amends.

Fully Loaded

If you're a fanboy [girl] of cycling, you have to be feeling a little bit manic these days. The present state of cycling is a series of ebbs and tides; with the ebbs leaving you wondering if you're in a desert and the tides beckoning you like the song of a siren.

On the other end of the doping controversies, the vanishing sponsorships, and the proclamations of the death of cycling, is the news of Slipstream/Chipotle loading up the Argyle Armada for an assault on the Pro Tour.

Argyle On A Roll?

Although Slipstream's Director, Jonathan Vaughters, has been advised to wait until 2009 to buy into the Pro Tour, he has positioned his team well with the recent signings of David Millar (one of the worst kept secrets), Christian Vande Velde, David Zabriskie (why do I feel like Van de Velde's and Zabriskie's signings were somehow done Elwood and Jake style, "Boys, we're putting the band back together!") and a yet unnamed former Paris -- Roubaix winner (Could it be Magnus Backstedt, Stuart O'Grady, Fabian Cancellara, PVP, or heaven forbid, Tommeke???)

Some other stuff happening today:
-- Jemele Hill of ESPN's Page 2: Americans can be hypocrites in the perfomance-enhancers debate
-- San Diego Union Tribune: Landis spins wheels in court test
-- IHT: German rider refuses 2nd drug test

Missed It By That Much

I can't recall the last time two individuals from the same team were on the final podium of the Tour de France [the making of great trivia question, oui?], but as this year's Tour wraps up we'll be privy to something historic as Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel) will be standing shoulder to shoulder on the Champs Ellysees.

It would have been even more historic if Levi was on Contador's right than on his left on the final podium. After a more than valiant effort in today's final ITT, Leipheimer ended up 8 seconds shy from displacing Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) for second place.

Or is he really 2 seconds ahead of Evans?

I think one of the most disappointing things in sports is when the outcome of an event is decided not by the players on the field, but by the officials. Because of the inability of some riders', to so speak "keep it in their pants," [or not cheat], and the Tour officials sending them packing, that's exactly how the outcome of this Tour was decided, by the officials.

In Levi's case, both his aspirations for the overall victory and for making the final podium were due to judgement calls by the officials. With Michael Rasmussen dismissed, Levi secured a spot on the podium. But on the other hand, if it weren't for a 10 second penalty he incurred on that crash filled Stage 8, Levi (Photo: Graham Watson) would now be second [being 2 seconds ahead of Evans], and therefore still would have made the podium even with Rasmussen present.

The Tour officials giveth and the Tour officials taketh away!

On Tap...

Still the Tour, Baby?!
For those of you who are still interested in the outcome of this year's Tour de France, Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel) may be the reluctant Maillot Jaune on the road, but he may not make it to Paris with it on his shoulders. When Michael Rasmussen was still participating, the talk centered around how much time the climber needed to put on his closest competitors before the final ITT. Well that ITT is here, and the climber may be different, but Contador hasn't had much, if any, of an opportunity to put time into Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) or his teammate Levi Leipheimer (Discovery Channel), who sit at 1.53 and 2.49 in arrears, respectively.

Saturday's 55.5km ITT from Cognac to Angoulême, is relatively flat and fast. This course will certainly favor Evans [who finished second to an allegedly doped up Vinokourov] and Leipheimer [who has won 3 ITT this year], but with the way Kid Contador has been battling, he's sure to go down swinging.

However, the greatest battle all the riders now face may not be with each other or with the parcours of the final "race of truth," but with their willingness and ability to focus after the drama and series of expulsions over the past few days. If Contador feels as undeserving of the Maillot Jaune as he did yesterday after Stage 17, then he's already been knocked out.

The doping controversy, we all hope, is gone from this year's Tour, and the drama shifted back to the road where Discovery Channel Director Sportif, Johan Bruyneel, is certainly a candidate for its focal point. With Rasmussen gone, and with all of Bruyneel's focus on Contador's chances to win the overall, how will he deal with the very real possibility [though slim in probability] of Levi Leipheimer winning the Tour? And we haven't even mentioned the drama of securing a sponsor for next year, even with two of his riders on the podium and his team winning the team competition.

On The Road
For those who lost all hope in professional cycling some time ago, or who may have just undergone the pain of seeing this beautiful sport's most chaotic race to date, then its time to go and mash on the pedals yourself. As usual, below is a list of races in specific areas of the country.

Our featured race this weekend is the Dave Babcock Memorial Weekend in Omaha, NE. Its a stage race that has something for everyone. It kicks off with the Douglas County Road Race on Saturday morning, followed by an afternoon time trial in Elkhorn, and a crit in downtown Omaha on Sunday.

As the Omaha area was my former stomping ground during my formative collegiate years, I am all too familiar with the routes. If you're in the area make sure to go out and support the racers, and if you're racing make sure to razz the chief referee, our friend of the blog, Sean Weide (Director of Communications for Toyota-United) if you have a [legitimate] disagreement with being pulled or with one of his calls.

To find results and photos of most of the races, check out Truesports.com


07/27/2007
13th Delaware Classic
Delaware, OH
Madison of the Americas
Trexlertown, PA

07/28/2007
Prudential Integity One, REALTORS Grand Prix
Granville, OH
Diamond Valley Road Race
Woodfords, CA
Porcupine Chalk Creek Road Race
Coalville, UT
Chris Meerman Memorial Downtown Allentown Criterium
Allentown, PA
Dave Babcook Memorial Weekend
Omaha, NE
Great Grandview Heights Criterium
Lancaster, PA

07/29/2007
The International Tour de 'Toona - Points Race
Altoona, PA
Peter Teeuwen Memorial Time Trials
Chesapeake, VA
Rum Village Criterium
South Bend, IN
The Buckeye Criterium
Columbus, OH
JBN Bicycle Race
Easton, PA
Velo Allegro Deluge Criterium
Long Beach, CA
Southbay Wheelmen Baxter Time Trial
Palos Verdes, CA

For those who have been utterly enraptured by the good and bad of the Tour, you most likely didn't realize that there's another tour race still going on in the US, the Tour de 'Toona.

After Stage 3 the Women's GC has Kori Seehafer (TEAm Lipton) holding on to a slim lead over Felicia Gomez (Aaron's).

Standings:
1 Kori Seehafer (TEAm Lipton)
2 Felicia Gomez (Aaron's)
3 Alison Powers (Colavita/Sutter Home)
4 Christine Thorburn (Webcor Builders)
5 Katheryn Curi (Webcor Builders)

The Men's standings haven't really changed much since the TTT, with Health Net presented by Maxxis and Toyota - United dominating the top.

Standings:
1 Karl Menzies (Health Net - Maxxis)
2 Rory Sutherland (Health Net - Maxxis)
3 Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United)
4 Caleb Manion (Toyota-United)
5 Chris Wherry (Toyota-United)

Real and Spectacular

If you've ever raced, whether it be organized or just out on the street with some buddies, you quickly realize how important and how valuable it can be to have some teammates around you. In a pack they can provide some shelter by blocking wind, they can shepard you to the line with a great lead-out, or they can simply instill some confidence by cheering you on or calming you down.

So when you see someone on the [start] line with a non-descript jersey or that lone team jersey in a large group partitioned by similar colors and markings, its not hard to find some measure of respect for that person. Now when you see that lone individual actually spring forth from that pack and win, well, then you know you've got something special.

Such is the current plight of our friend, Liz Hatch (Vanderkitten). She's a season away from leading Team Vanderkitten on the road, but that hasn't stopped her from showing the women's domestic circuit what a lone Vanderkitten can do [taking to heart the grassroots clothing company's motto; for women "who kick ass!"], and what they might need to worry about in the future.

In the past two weeks, Liz has lined up for the Lafayette and Albany Criteriums. In the women's Cat 1/2/3 races, she finished 7th and 1st, respectively. And according to Liz, she seems to be "finally getting the hang of this crit thing."

At the Lafayette Criterium, Liz stated that she "left my sprint for too late and there was no way I could pass the girls who were ahead of me."

Liz [second wheel] Tracking A Move

But at Albany, she was able to rectify that mistake and "attacked with 2 corners left and won by about 4 bike lengths!"

Another Victory Salute

The folks from Vanderkitten have recently set her up with her own blog, so now you can follow along with Liz's musings during her racing season and beyond. But, we'll be sure to have updates and reports for our readers of our favorite Vanderkitten.

Oh, and Liz's reaction to the Vinokourov news yesterday...an excerpt from her blog:

"I'm gutted.

I'm insulted, hurt and fucking irate.

Cycling is life to me and I treat it with respect. Hours of training, living healthy and sacrifice and nothing more. No pills, no shots, no transfusions. Nothing that would soil my accomplishments or steal from a competitor.

Apparently some have lost sight of the reason cycling is such a beautiful sport.

Apparently nothing matters besides the almighty dollar..."

Yup, she's real and she's spectacular.

More From Millar

" We've given benefit of the doubt ... that benefit is over."

From the man who has been on the other side and succumbed to the pressure to dope, an infuriated David Millar (Saunier Duval-Prodir) reacts further to the latest doping news (CLICK on the image):

NOTE: For those easily offended by strong language, Millar's reaction is extremely genuine and guttural.

Some Good News...

Just received the email confirmation, the Triple Crankset is going to Interbike 2007, as credentialed media. So to our friend of the blog, Liz Hatch (Vanderkitten), get ready for that hand shake...er, hug!

And in the realm of "Too Funny [or in this case Ironic] Not to Post," how about this story (how did I miss this on Saturday, oh yeah my head was being twisted around by that pseudo-phenomenal Vinokourov ITT)...

Instead of Tour coverage a Swiss newspaper, Le Nouvelliste, published the obituary of the sport of cycling. Roughly translated from French:

"The writer imagines a tomb engraved of the dates of birth and of death (1790-2007) and [a] wheel of [a] bicycle. The flagstone is surmounted by a funeral [bike] pump…, of course. The text indicates: “Become little by little a discipline brewing of the million francs and monopolizing the media of the whole world, in particular through the mythical Tour de France, cycling died out little by little, gangrené by the cheating and doping”.

The newspaper chose to publish the obit in anger over all the news of doping [we can all empathize with that sentiment]. Although the newspaper maintains its "passion for a clean, true, educational and popular sport,” the article ends with “Today, professional cycling is clinically dead."

Ah, Not So Good...

To say I'm shocked or to say this news hasn't rocked the Tour would be a bit of an understatement. No, make that a huge understatement! But the currently labelled patron of the peloton, Alexandre Vinokourov, has tested positive for homologous blood transfusion from blood taken after his ITT win in Albi.

(Photo: Cyclingnews)

The lab that analyzed the blood, none other than the infamous Châtenay-Malabry laboratory that processed Floyd Landis' blood.

Which brings me to a point that I've been wanting to address since the beginning of this Tour, but never found the appropriate venue, at least until now. With the delay in the announcement of Landis' arbitration hearing, what would be the effect of a positive verdict for Floyd? A positive verdict would mean that the processes of the Châtenay-Malabry lab would have been found to be inadequate and some of their staff relatively incompetent, correct?

So by delaying the verdict in the case as to not disrupt the spectacle of the Tour, [if you recall from earlier this week, the current Tour Director, Christian Prudhomme, questioned the timing of the release of information by the Danish Cycling federation regarding Michael Rasmussen's "administrative errors."] then any findings from the lab could be reasonably called into question.

Either the directors of the Tour have essentially given any rider in this year's Tour who would choose to dope evidence to combat their positive finding in their arbitration hearing [last week Italian Marco Fertonani attempted to blame the same lab for his testosterone positive]; they are attempting to lend credence to the Châtenay-Malabry laboratory by allowing them to be the main lab for the Tour [something the officials of the French Open didn't feel confident in doing as they switched all their athletes' testing to the WADA lab in Montreal], or they know the verdict of Landis' hearing [which isn't good for Floyd].

In regard to Vinkourov, my only question would be why? After a year in which he wasn't allowed to participate [due to Liberty Seguros' involvement in Operacion Puerto] and with the suspension of Tyler Hamilton, who allegedly doped in the same fashion, why do it? Maybe that moniker of "Crazy Kazakh" doesn't really refer to his mad-capped attacking attempts but rather to something more clinical.

MORE:
--Velonews: A doctor explains blood doping

Coming to America

Perhaps the greatest spectacle in professional cycling is the team time trial (TTT). Don't get me wrong, as I still believe that nothing can really touch the drama of riders battling in the high mountains. But for sheer exhilaration, teamwork, and speed, a TTT is something to behold.

Over the years, we've seen powerhouses like US Postal Service or ONCE in single or double paceline formation or even in a mini echelon cruising down the roadways in a Grand Tour. [Is it any wonder where US Postal got the nickname the "Big Blue Train," or why the US Postal/Discovery Channel URL for their site is thepaceline.com?] But lately, this type of team competition has been absent from the biggest races, instead finding a niche as a specialized race such as the Eindhoven Team Time Trial.

Well, the often seen discipline in Europe was offered up yesterday during the first stage of the Tour de 'Toona in Altoona, PA.

Our friends over at Toyota-United looked spectacular as they came in second to Health-Net presented by Maxxis over the 10.6 mile course.

Photos: Kurt Jambretz

From Sean Weide (Toyota-United's Communication Director):

"Health Net averaged 29.7 mph to finish in 21 minutes and 25 seconds. Toyota-United was 11 seconds slower while the Navigators Insurance Cycling Team finished third, 18 seconds behind the winner. Of the top 10 teams, only Toyota-United and the BMC Professional Cycling Team came to the finish line with
their entire squads intact...

Nathan O’Neil (Health Net) holds down the overall lead, followed by four of his teammates. Toyota-United was led across the line by Chris Baldwin, who sits in sixth place overall. Teammates Heath Blackgrove, Bobby Lea, Justin England, Chris Wherry, Burke Swindlehurst, Ivan Dominguez and Caleb Manion hold down seventh through 13th place overall, respectively."

I, for one, hope we see more TTT incorporated into tour road races in the US.

I Could've Been a Conta-ten-dor

It only seemed appropriate, with the road tilting upward in the Pyrenees, to have a Spaniard grace the top of the blog. In the 1990's no one had ever seen a force as indomitable as Miguel Indurain. "Big Mig" won five consecutive Tours from 1991 to 1995, being dethrowned in 1996 by 'Mr. 60%," Bjarne Riis.

Since that time, cycling mad Spain has been searching for his replacement. Many, like Iban Mayo, Alejandro Valverde, Haimar Zubledia, Juan Miguel Mercado, Jose Marie Jimenez, and Juan Manuel Garate, have all been tabbed as "next," but none has ever been a real contender in France.

Photo: AFP

Enter the precocious talents of 24 year old Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel). After today's victory at Plateau de Beille, Contador sits in second place on the GC with a more than realistic opportunity to win the Tour. With the full strength of Discovery Channel, and with two cards [in Contador and Levi Leipheimer, who currently sits in 4th overall] for Johan Bruyneel to play, we will all see how strong Michael Rasmussen truly is over the next 5 days of true racing [rest day on Tuesday and Sunday is more-or-less celebratory].

Astan-afia

Perhaps we should have all seen this coming, or rather maybe we have already. You know, this is the episode where Tony, recovering from a gunshot wound, orders Silvio, Paulie, and Christopher to hold down the fort until he's fully recovered. And once he's well, they go and whack everybody.

Insert the latest patron of the peloton, in Alexandre Vinokourov, for Tony, and any one of team Astana, like Serguei Ivanov, Andrej Kashechkin, Antonio Colom or Andreas Kloden, for the crew and you have all the makings of a Godfather-like crescendo of revenge killings in the final week of the Tour de France.

Photo: Tim de Waele

First they took care of France's hope for a podium, Christophe Moreau, when they splintered the peloton with a savage attack on Stage 11. Then they followed up that performance with the boss himself turning the screws on the favorites. Today, Vinokourov dominated the Stage 13 54km ITT in Albi, and rode himself back into podium contention. Apparently the rest of the peloton never got the memo because some guys you should just never let off the mat.

Heras, Heras, Heras
Its been said that like Red Bull, the Maillot Jaune, gives people wings. The current Maillot Jaune wearer, Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank), definitely engendered those sentiments today as he rode a powerful ITT, even catching his 3 minute man in Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Espagne).

The one prevailing comment I heard after the fact was the lack of recollection of a climbing specialist ever riding such a spirited ITT. How soon we forget?

As I watched Rasmussen finish just outside the top 10, the one thing I kept thinking about was Roberto Heras' (Photo: Graham Watson) effort in the final ITT during the 2005 Vuelta a Espana. The climbing specialist, then with Liberty Seguros, finished in second on that day to preserve what would have been his 4th Vuelta crown. However, test later turned up positive for EPO use.

Perhaps, the jadedness, skepticism, and cynicism have finally settled in [and who could blame me with Rasmussen doping speculation saturating the news media these days]. Ironically, the individual who was most affected by Heras' actions during that grand tour was Denis Menchov, Michael Rasmussen's current team leader.

Silver Streaks

Well, this isn't really news, as its been widely speculated and talked about since last December, but the old silver mining town of Leadville, CO may experience another "rush" of people come August 11th as Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong plan to dance in the dirt in the Leadville 100.

Who Needs the Pyrenees?

The Race Across the Sky is an appropriate name for this contest which starts out a 10,200 feet, with 12,068 feet of elevation gained (and loss) during the race.

So who you got?

Jolly Green Giant

Photo: AFP

It was supposed to be a day for another breakaway to succeed, the profile lended to that assumption. But with the first true test coming in the form of the individual time trial tomorrow, only two placed a serious bid into a successful attack. With those odds, the day was left to the sprinters.

At the line of Stage 12, were the top three competitors for the Maillot Vert: Tom Boonen (Quick Step - Innergetic), Robbie Hunter (Barloworld), and Erik Zabel (Milram). The imposing green figure of Boonen won the day, with Zabel nipping Hunter for second and moving 1 point behind Hunter in the quest for the points competition. At the end of the day, the three are separated by only 21 points.

Although he was unable to take today's sprint, Zabel had to be pleased with his result given the fact that he was one of those caught napping when the peloton fractured yesterday. Beside that loss in concentration by Zabel and a minor crash by Boonen in the final corner [both on Stage 11], the three have been remarkably consistent in the sprint. The focus may be on the Maillot Jaune for the next few days, but with the GC usually decided after Stage 19, we may still be in for some major fireworks on the Champs Ellysees. Remember the Tour of 2003 when Aussies Baden Cooke and Robbie McEwen battled to the very end?

On Tap...

Welcome to another installment of what's "On Tap..." for this weekend. Since I'm writing from the Midwest, let's start off with the races for the International Cycling Classic Superweek Pro Tour or simply Superweek.

Fri, July 20
Green Lake Criterium* New Race!
Green Lake, WI
Sat, July 21
Carl Zach Cycling Classic presented by Couri Insurance Agency*
Waukesha, WI
Sun, July 22
Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Grand Prix of Cycling* New Race!
Evanston, IL

If you're still not sure about participating, and perhaps need a little goading, check out the article from Chicago Tribune Staff Writer and my former xXx Racing-Athletico teammate, Luke Seemann. Luke also recently started up a site, Chicago Bike Racing [link also on our right navigation bar], that is based off a similar resource for racers in Minnesota. Both the article and the site provide the perfect snapshot of what racing is on the ground level; for every day people who have a passion for cycling but don't necessary make a living from it. And if you want an in-depth race report from the ENH Grand Prix, you probably won't find one finer than at CBR.

If you can't make it to Wisconsin or the Chicagoland area this weekend, here are some races for you in certain select regions of the country.

07/20/2007
3rd Friday Marysville Grand Prix
Marysville, OH
The Bicycling & Womens Health Magazine Int Womens
Trexlertown, PA
French Broad Cycling Classic -2007
Marshall, Henderson County, and Asheville, NC
NAS-Track #5
Mike Walden Velodrome
Rochester Hills, MI

07/21/2007
VA Age Graded Road Race Championship
Richmond, VA
Watsonville Criterium
Watsonville, CA
Nicole Reinhart Memorial Tour de FCCC
Maxatawny/Trexlertown, PA
2007 YLNI Pancake Race
Woodburn, IN
SCNCA Masters Track Cycling Championships
Encino, CA
Troy Classic on the Square
Troy, OH
Maillot Jaune Road Race
Fenton, MI
Robert Fulton Road Race
Peach Bottom, PA

07/22/2007
Ontario GP-9th Annual
Ontario, CA
Team Time Trial Presented by Volkswagen
Richmond, VA
Albany Criterium
Albany, CA
Tour d'Burg
Miamisburg, OH

07/23/2007
The International Tour de 'Toona
Altoona, PA

Support for these races and these riders is always greatly appreciated, so go and check out the action...you may just see the "next" great thing in cycling in one of these races.

For results and photos from most of the races, go to Truesport.com

Across the Pond
If you're somehow stuck to the sofa this weekend, Le Tour promises to live up to its hype this weekend [and through Monday] as three crucial stages should help sort out the contenders from the pretenders for the GC crown.

The most interesting shake outs will come from Discovery Channel and Rabobank. Both teams have their leaders [Leipheimer and Menchov] and their up-starts [Contador and Rasmussen] high on the GC standings. Depending on how the weekend plays out, we could see a complete role reversal in the third week with Leipheimer and Menchov out on the attack or even perhaps blocking some wind for their teammates.

Locally
There's always NAS-Track tonight...but the main attractions in "A" deux are the Ann Arbor Art Fairs [plus the opening of a new bike shop]. I can already feel the heat burning that proverbial hole in my pocket. I'll be one of the many randoms wearing a Red Sawx (lot of East Coast kids at UM) cap cruising the scene.