Racing News - Wednesday September 19th

The racing season is winding down very quickly. The Tour of Missouri is finished, the Worlds are on the horizon, and the Vuelta will be coming to a close in Madrid on Sunday.

Monday the 17th was the second rest day.

Tuesday's Stage 16 is a relatively short (161km) but tough day, featuring 2 Category 2 climbs and 1 Category 3 climb.

154 riders started today. The peloton stayed together today until the 58 km mark, when 18 racers managed to pull off the front. The lead built to 4 minutes, and then 6 minutes with 50km to go. The peloton didn't really expend any effort to catch the break, as Menchov had at least a 20 minute lead over the riders in the break.

Leonardo Bertagnolli was the first to try and attack out of the break, but he was reeled back in with 25km to go. Vorganov then attacked, but it didn't last. Finally, three men (Kolobnev, Duque and Horrach) pulled ahead as the breakaway started to splinter. They built a 42 second lead with 5km left to go and in the final kilometer, it was Duque who had the strength to win the final sprint. The remaining 8 riders in the break came in 6 seconds afterwards and the peloton rolled in 7 minutes and 43 seconds later.

Menchov continues to hold on to his commanding 2 minute lead. Some have suspected that Vladimir Karpets may challenge in the next several days, but he is over 6 minutes behind.

Information and results courtesy of CyclingNews.

Other News:

Jorg Jaksche is testifying before the Austrian cycling federation today. He has admitted that he received blood transfusions from Operacion Puerto doctor Eufemiano Fuentes and had said that he wants to help cycling fight doping. All this generosity in exchange for a possibly lighter sentence.
The UCI will be peforming 120 out-of-competition tests in the 8 weeks leading up to the World Championships (compared to 27 last year). In addition, the top 4 riders in each event will be tested along with 4 others that will be selected randomly.
David Millar will be the lead rider for Great Britian's World's team
The U.S. team for the worlds looks to be very strong: Hincapie, Zabriskie, Julich, Van de Velde, McCartney, Devine, Farrar and Pate. All but Pate are highly experienced pro tour riders. The women's team will consist of Kristin Armstrong (Team Lipton), Amber Neben (Flexpoint), Christine Thorburn (Webcor Builders), Mara Abbott (Webcor Builders), Tina Pic (Colavita-Sutter Home-Cooking Light), Lauren Franges (Team Lipton) and Katheryn Curi (Webcor Builders).
For now, Tom Boonen is on Belgium's world's team, but they are closely watching his condition and say that they will replace him with someone else as close as 24 hours before the road race.
Pat McQuaid is now calling for lifetime bans from cycling for doping offenses. All I have to say it that they had better get their labs straightened out first.

Lance Breaks His Silence On The Landis Decision

When first asked a couple of weeks ago about the decision in the Floyd Landis case, Lance Armstrong basically implied that he didn't keep up with cycling anymore and that he didn't have time to look at it.

Now, in a new interview released yesterday, Armstrong blasts the decision of the arbitration panel and states that he feels that Landis would have been exonerated by a jury.

It's about time he spoke up. He may be focused on finding a cure for cancer, but he needs to recognize that for most Americans, he is the person that comes to mind when they think about professional cycling.

Specialized Rolls Out 2008 Products In Advance Of Interbike

Specialized has already rolled out much of their new products for 2008 in advance of Interbike.

Saddles: Specialized found that, because of its comfort and light weight, many of their mountain bike riders were using the Toupe road saddle off road. They saw that they could use the same technology to make an MTB saddle that is as light and comfortable, but more durable and off road specific. The result is the new Phenom saddle.
They also are rolling out a new time trial/tri saddle called the Tri-Tip. This is very similar to the Toupe, but with a longer and wider, slighty more padded nose.
Tires: Specialized grew their tire team this year and worked with long time advisor Ned Overend on a new line of mountain bike tires. This year sees the introduction of the Control line, with S-Works, Captain, Armadillo and S-Carve models. The S-Works tire was designed to be lighter while increasing cut resistance.
The Captain is an all around tire, while the Armadillo is focused on overall durability.
The…

First "Look" at Look 586 Road Frame

The new Bikeradar.com site (formerly cycling.co.uk) gives a first look at Look's new 586 high modulus carbon road frame that will come out in 2008.
It is 100g lighter than the frame it replaces. Like it's predecessor, it has an integrated seatpost, but this model includes elastomer blocks in the post that will help to soften the ride a little bit.
The same article mentions the introduction of the Keo Grip cleat. Apparently this is the Keo cleat with some rubber grip pads to help keep your feet under you when walking.
The new products can be seen at Look Cycle's web site.
As an aside, I see that the review was written by Gary Boulanger, of the late, great Cycles Gaansari.

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