Vuelta Stage 6 plus Other News

Oscar Freire wins yet another final sprint today. He outran Spaniard Koldo Fernandez (who at least gave the locals something to cheer about), Angelo Furnan, Tom Boonen and Andre Koff for the win.

Freire owns the points jersey, yet Vladimir Efimkin has stayed close enough to the lead to hang on to the golden jersey. Denis Menchov, Carlos Sastre, Maxime Monfort and Stijn Devolder round out the rest of the Top 5. Somehow, Freire is all the way down in 81st in the G.C.

American Chris Horner moves up a little bit and is now in 28th place.

Other news:

Johan Bruyneel confirms that he has been talking to team leadership at Astana about a position with their organization. No firm date as to when he'll make a decision
The 44th Tour de Avenir starts today, with riders aged 19 to 22 organized in a national team format.
In 2009, the Vuelta will start in the Netherlands, then through Belgium, and will not make its way to Spain until the 4th stage.
Looks like the missed test situation with Alejandro Valverde is starting to resolve. The UCI admitted that they had made an error.

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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