BikeRadar.com Racing

BikeRadar video expands, literally

BikeRadar UK — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:56:00 GMT

You've probably noticed a new addition to the BikeRadar home page: the video strip that expands at the top, replacing the player on the right hand side. There you can find all our latest videos, as well as an easier to navigate video section.

Why have we done it? Because video is increasingly important for today's hungry internet users, who watch billions of minutes of cat-related footage online alone. In fact you guys have watched over 2,965,912 minutes of video on our site in the past year and we don't have cats.

What we do have is lots of expert opinion on bikes and gear, as well as workshop tips on how to maintain it, how to ride it, people doing crazy stuff on it (including racing), and on special occasions like today, cake.

We like cake

There's more where that came from so sit back and enjoy the bike entertainment experience that is BikeRadar video.

UCI announces Olympic mountain bike spots by nation

Sue George, Cyclingnews.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:38:00 GMT

This article was originally published on Cyclingnews.com.

The UCI announced the number of mountain bike spots qualified for each nation for the 2012 London Olympic Games on Wednesday. The spots are based on three criteria specified by the UCI including nations ranking and performance within the individual continental regions.

The UCI Olympic qualification ranking was determined by summing the points of the UCI rankings by nation Olympic format as of May 23, 2011 and May 23, 2012.In case of equal points, the nations were ranked by their best place in the UCI rankings by nation.

For the men's race, the top 24 ranked nations qualified one, two or three riders depending on their specific ranking. In addition, seven other nations also qualified one rider each based on individual rankings as of the 2011 Continental Championships for Asia, America, Africa and Oceania. Finally, Guam qualified one rider under a special provision which states that if an NOC obtains a qualifying place under criterion no. 2, but has already qualified under criterion no. 1, the next best ranked NOC in the respective continental championships ranking will qualify.

For the women's race, the top 18 ranked nations qualified one or two riders depending on their specific ranking. In addition, four other nations also qualified one rider each based on individual rankings as of the 2011 Continental Championships for Asia, America, Africa and Oceania.

In total, 50 men and 30 women are allocated spots by nation for the Olympic Games. A complete listing of the number of mountain bike racers qualified per nation is below.

Although there was some minor shuffling in the rankings after this past weekend's World Cup in La Bresse, France, there were no changes in the number of racers each nation qualified relative to what Cyclingnews posted last week thank the calculations of Rob Jones.

What happens next is that nations will decide whether to accept all qualified spots and then name their riders to the teams. Any unclaimed spots will be re-allocated by the UCI.

The Olympic mountain bike races will happen at Hadleigh Farm in Essex on Saturday, August 11 and Sunday, August 12.

Olympic Mountain Bike race qualifying by nations

Men

#	Country	Spots
1	Switzerland	3
2	France	3
3	Czech Republic	3
4	Spain	3
5	Germany	3
6	Italy	2
7	Netherlands	2
8	South Africa	2
9	United States of America	2
10	Austria	2
11	Canada	2
12	Poland	2
13	Belgium	2
14	Great Britain	1
15	Sweden	1
16	Australia	1
17	Japan	1
18	Brazil	1
19	Ukraine	1
20	Hungary	1
21	Russian Federation	1
22	Argentina	1
23	Greece	1
24	Cyprus	1
25	Namibia (Africa)	1
26	Rwanda (Africa)	1
27	Colombia (America)	1
28	Costa Rica (America)	1
29	Hong Kong, China (Asia)	1
30	People's Republic of China (Asia)	1
31	New Zealand (Oceania)	1
32	Guam	1

Women

#	Country	Spots
1	Canada	2
2	Switzerland	2
3	France	2
4	Poland	2
5	United States of America	2
6	Slovenia	2
7	Germany	2
8	Norway	2
9	Russian Federation	1
10	Czech Republic	1
11	Italy	1
12	Austria	1
13	Netherlands	1
14	New Zealand	1
15	Ukraine	1
16	Great Britain	1
17	Sweden	1
18	Denmark	1
19	South Africa (Africa)	1
20	Colombia (America)	1
21	People's Republic of China (Asia)	1
22	Australia (Oceania)	1

Castelli unveil clothing tailor-made for mountains

BikeRadar UK — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:31:00 GMT

Today sees the Giro d'Italia hit the high mountains of the Dolomites, so what better time for Castelli, kit supplier to Team Garmin-Barracuda, to unveil some new garments tailor-made to tackle them.

First up is the 90g Climbers' jersey, which is made from the 'super light' Strada Light 3D mesh fabric and is cut to eliminate excess flapping in the wind. Castelli reckon, because of the mesh material, it's their quickest drying jersey yet and sacrifices 3 watts at 40km/h compared to the Aero Race jersey.

The matching Inferno Bibshorts are constructed from seven different fabrics and, like the jersey, is claimed to be their coolest and lightest yet. They contain titanium dioxide (the active ingredient in sunscreen) but because some fabrics are open meshes, they recommend you still use cream on the front and side of the legs. The seamless Progetto X2 Air seatpad, used in Castelli's Body Paint shorts, is also used here.

Pricing hasn't been confirmed yet for either garment

They've both been seen in the recent mountain stages of this year's Giro, worn by, amongst others, Ryder Hesjedal, who holds second place going into the final week. It will be some time though before the public can get their hands on them - they are part of the summer 2013 collection, which means next spring at the earliest.

Teenager reunited with his stolen £3K bike

Met Police — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:42:00 GMT

A teenage cyclist who had his £3,000 customised racing bike stolen was reunited with it, in time to compete in the UK National 10 mile TT Championships on Sunday 20 May.

Georg Mew Jensen, 13, built the bike over two years using his savings and money he won from competing. On his 13th birthday he was able to buy a frame using a grant from Tower Hamlets, completing the bike.

Originally, the family began a poster and media appeal to trace the bike stolen from Redbridge Cycling Centre on Saturday 5 May. This reached BBC radio DJ Robert Elms and Gary Kemp from the band Spandau Ballet, who together raised £700 to replace Georg's bike.

Meanwhile, an investigation was launched by police in Redbridge and supported by the Safer Transport Command's Cycle Task Force, funded by Transport for London, who circulated the details of a van containing the bike, which was seen leaving the cycling centre. The van was seized by Essex Police and the owner later arrested, however the bike was not recovered.

A few days later information led officers from the Cycle Task Force to a van parked in Islington, which was seized and found to have the stolen bike within.

As a result of Georg being reunited with his bike on Thursday 17 May, Georg won his age group at the RTTC National Championship 10 mile Time trial on Sunday 20 May.

The money raised by the BBC will now be used to improve the security at the cycling centre.

Chief Superintendent Sultan Taylor, Safer Transport Command, said: "The Cycle Task Force is dedicated to tackling cycle theft across London and we are delighted to be able to return Georg's bike back, especially in time for his important competition on Sunday.

"Bike thieves should be aware that we will use the full powers of the law and range of tactics to track them down and bring them before the courts."

Steve Burton, TfL's Director of Community Safety, Enforcement and Policing, said: "TfL will continue to work with the Met to reduce the rate of cycle theft in the Capital. Through TfL's funding of the Met's Cycle Task Force, the team continues to do an excellent job to tackle this issue so more people chose to cycle in London.

"We urge cyclists in London to help protect their bikes by parking their bike at a designated location, securely locking their bikes and ensuring that they are cycle security marked."

Video: Hesjedal down but not out at Giro d’Italia

Barry Ryan, Cyclingnews.com — Mon, 21 May 2012 10:24:00 GMT

This article was originally published on Cyclingnews.com.

A tired Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda) reached the summit of Pian dei Resinelli 39 seconds down on Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) but he remained upbeat about his chances in spite of losing the maglia rosa on stage 15 of the Giro d’Italia.

The Canadian was defending a narrow 9-second lead overall coming into the day’s stage, a testing 171km into the heart of Tour of Lombardy country that was made all the more difficult by constant rain and treacherous roads, including the descent of the Valcava.

While Liquigas-Cannondale succeeded in controlling the tempo of the pink jersey group most of the way up the final climb above Ballabio, the racing ignited inside the final three kilometres, as first Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) and then Rodriguez attempted to jump clear.

Mindful of his own qualities as something of a diesel, Hesjedal understood immediately that the best option was to continue at his own pace rather than attempt to match the ferocity of Rodriguez’s acceleration.

“I can’t get sucked in to trying to accelerate with those guys, especially today as I didn’t feel that good,” Hesjedal told reporters shortly after wheeling to a halt beyond the finish line. “But if today was my bad day then I can be happy with that.”

As Hesjedal covered up his mud-splattered pink jersey with a jacket, Rodriguez was preparing to mount the podium to accept a pristine version. However, with just 30 seconds separating them and with a 30km time trial still to come in Milan, Hesjedal was bullish about his chances of staying in the hunt through the Dolomites.

“It was a good finish for him again today, very explosive at the end of a hard day,” Hesjedal said. “It’s clear that he’s in good shape and we’ve got quite the little battle shaping up here.”

Hesjedal explained that he was still suffering the effects of his acceleration on the previous day’s stage to Cervinia, when he had upset the odds by clipping off the front of the group of contenders and moving back into the pink jersey. In such circumstances, he declared himself satisfied to have limited his losses in the mountains overlooking Lake Como.

“I didn’t feel that good today all day so I’m pretty pleased with the ride today,” he said. “I had some problems. I had to ride my spare bike today and it was wet and cold. Plus it was a big effort yesterday. Tomorrow’s the rest day so I’m happy because I don’t think I lost too much time.”

The weight of defending the jersey now passes to Katusha, while Hesjedal’s brief will be to stay as close as he can to the Catalan and the other favourites in the troika of stages in the Dolomites next week. The strongest of the overall contenders in the time trial, he is aware that he has a 30km test to come in Milan to try and recoup any additional losses.

“The team was awesome again on a real tough day to be in the jersey and I enjoyed it again,” Hesjedal said. “It was exciting to take it back yesterday and I’ve got no problems giving it back.”

There was a brief moment of levity as Hesjedal prepared to ride off to his team bus, parked at the foot of the final climb. Asked if his Norwegian ancestry had helped him to cope with the mountains and the cold, Hesjedal managed to raise a smile in spite of his fatigue. “Yeah, probably it’s in the genes.”

MTB World Cup XC #4: Dahle-Flesjaa and Absalon back on top

Rob Jones, Cyclingnews.com — Sun, 20 May 2012 18:00:00 GMT

Women: Dahle-Flesjaa back on top at La Bresse World Cup

This article was originally published on Cyclingnews.com.

Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Multivan Merida) raced to victory at the fourth round of the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in La Bresse, France on Sunday. Dahle Flesjaa took over the race lead on the final descent, overtaking eventual runner-up Katerina Nash (Luna). Julie Bresset (BH-Suntour) rode in for third place. It was Dahle-Flesjaa's first World Cup win since 2008 and her 27th career total. It was also her first World Cup win since having a baby.

"I can't really believe this," said an incredulous Dahle-Flesjaa. "I was focusing on not going over my limit. You need so much power and concentration on this course. I had a very good race. I paced myself. The course is great. It was tough up and tough down."

The women delivered a super exciting race on a technical course with regular lead changes as they took turns crashing at various points in the race. They raced in front of huge crowds.

Nash spent much of the race at the front while the women with her shuffled. Bresset was with her for the first part of the race, and then Pendrel moved her way steadily up before taking over the lead.

About mid-way through the five-lap race, Pendrel crashed on the descent. Bresset was unable to avoid her and endo-ed. Nash got around both women and took over at the front, and the crash seemed to slow the momentum of both downed riders. Pendrel struggled to get her chain on afterward while Bresset tried to get her seat back to a level position.

Meanwhile, Dahle-Flesjaa, one of the most experienced racers out there, bided her time and rode steadily toward the front. By the final lap, she was in second place behind Nash. The Czech star looked comfortable and likely to win, but two crashes on the final descent opened the door for a smooth riding Dahle-Flesjaa, who overtook her en route to the victory.

"Everyone is talking about the Olympics, but we have other big races, like today. If I want to fight for a gold in London, I have to be superb. I'm on the right path and we'll see what happens in London," said Dahle Flesjaa.

Race note: Former World Champion Irina Kalentieva (Topeak Ergon) skipped the race, instead choosing to do altitude training in preparation for the Olympic Games.

Men: Absalon wins La Bresse cross country in front of home crowd

This article was originally published on Cyclingnews.com

Julien Absalon (Orbea) won the elite men's cross country World Cup in front of a home crowd in La Bresse, France. Absalon, who lives about 10km away, rode a smart race tactically and managed to escape the bad luck that affected some of the other favorites. Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized) steadily worked his way up throughout the race and made a late bid to overtake Absalon, but finished second. Ralph Naef (Multivan Merida) was third, putting in a strong performance in his quest to make the Swiss Olympic team.

"It is maybe one of my best races. It's been in mind forever - first World Cup at home is a lot of pressure, and I'm happy," said Absalon after winning on an "old school" course designed by his brother Remi.

It was a dramatic finish with Absalon crashing on the final technical descent. A surging Kulhavy nearly caught the Frenchman, who quickly got back up and into action.

"It was hard. When I saw Jaroslav in the last half lap, I was dead," said Absalon. "I was thinking I needed to go slow and not crash on that last descent, but then I lost my concentration and I crashed."

While the women's race was influenced by crashes among the favorites, the elite men's race was influenced more by mechanicals and flats. Burry Stander (Specialized) flatted just after the start, and Marco Fontana (Cannondale) flatted while leading the race, unfortunately immediately after passing the tech zone which meant he had a long way to go for help. Moritz Milatz (BMC) also had a mechanical just after the tech zone and Manuel Fumic (Cannondale) required a wheel change. World Cup leader Nino Schurter (Scott Swisspower) sat out the race due to "stomach problems".

Naef, Florian Vogel and and Marco Fontana set the pace from the start until Fontana flatted and ended up pulling out. Behind them, Absalon, Milatz, Giger and Lukas Flueckiger chased together.

Absalon attacked and went to the front on the second of two laps as Milatz and Vogel chased him, a few seconds back. After Milatz's mechanical, Giger, Vogel and Naef formed the primary chase group.

At the end of lap 4, Naef made an impressive bid for victory by attacking, then catching and passing Absalon. But Absalon wasn't about to give up a win on home turf and he surged past Naef on the climb on lap 5. Kulhavy, who had been steadily working his way up through the field, overtook a fried Naef and went in pursuit of Absalon. He got close and almost caught Absalon on the final descent of the final lap, when the fatigued Frenchman crashed. Kulhavy finished just seven seconds back in second place, and Naef soloed in for third.

Results

Women

1 Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Nor) Multivan Merida Biking Team	1:39:57
2 Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Pro Team	0:00:16
3 Julie Bresset (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	0:00:55
4 Catharine Pendrel (Can) Luna Pro Team	0:01:12
5 Maja Wloszczowska (Pol) CCC Polkowice	0:02:22
6 Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Pro Team	0:02:46
7 Katrin Leumann (Swi) Ghost Factory Racing Team	0:03:06
8 Annie Last* (GBr) Milka Brentjens MTB Racing Team	0:03:20
9 Emily Batty (Can) Subaru - Trek	0:03:51
10 Sabine Spitz (Ger) Sabine Spitz Haibike Team	0:05:14
11 Elisabeth Osl (Aut) Ghost Factory Racing Team	0:05:24
12 Nataliya Krompets (Ukr) ISD MTB Team	0:05:39
13 Pauline Ferrand Prevot* (Fra) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	0:05:40
14 Lucie Chainel-Lefevre (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	0:06:22
15 Alexandra Engen (Swe) Ghost Factory Racing Team	0:07:00
16 Lea Davison (USA) Specialized Racing	0:07:14
17 Tanja Zakelj (Slo) Salcano Factory Team	0:07:30
18 Aleksandra Dawidowicz (Pol) CCC Polkowice	0:07:37
19 Blaza Klemencic (Slo) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	0:07:58
20 Eva Lechner (Ita) Colnago Sudtirol	0:08:13
21 Marie-Helene Premont (Can)	0:08:21
22 Cécile Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix	0:08:30
23 Esther Süss (Swi) Wheeler - IXS Team	0:08:47
24 Sabrina Enaux (Fra) Specialized Solodet Vosges	0:10:00
25 Anja Gradl (Ger) Team Bulls	0:10:43
26 Mary Mcconneloug (USA)	0:10:47
27 Sarah Koba (Swi)	0:11:09
28 Janka Stevkova (Svk)	0:11:20
29 Tereza Hurikova (Cze) Sabine Spitz Haibike Team	0:11:21
30 Amanda Sin (Can) Scott-3Roxracing	0:11:33
31 Katarzyna Solus-Miskowicz (Pol)	0:12:05
32 Vera Andreeva (Rus)	0:12:26
33 Rie Katayama (Jpn)	0:12:54
34 Silke Schmidt (Ger) Notebooksbilliger.De Team	0:13:31
35 Qinglan Shi (Chn)	0:14:11
36 Heather Irmiger (USA) Subaru - Trek	0:14:43
37 Hanna Klein (Ger)
38 Laura Turpijn (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team	0:15:25
39 Heidi Sandsto Rosaasen (Nor) Team United Bakeries	0:15:32
40 Julie Krasniak (Fra) Focus Mig Team	0:15:53
41 Corina Gantenbein (Swi) Fischer - BMC
42 Jean Ann Berkenpas (Can)	0:16:11
43 Elisabeth Sveum (Nor) Team Crampfix Nakamura	0:16:36
44 Fanny Bourdon (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix	0:16:53
45 Pavla Havlikova (Cze)	0:17:02
46 Laura Metzler (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	0:18:28
47 Marielle Saner-Guinchard (Swi) Bikepark.Ch Craft	0:20:47
48 Judy Freeman (USA)	0:20:56
-1lap Githa Michiels (Bel) Trek-KMC Trade Team
-1lap Jenni King (Aus)
-1lap Kathrin Stirnemann (Swi) Sabine Spitz Haibike Team
-1lap Anna Villar Argente (Spa)
-1lap Nicoletta De Jager (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team
-1lap Caroline Mani (Fra)
-1lap Asa Maria Erlandsson (Swe)
-1lap Lucie Vesela (Cze) GT Bicycles Opportunity
-2laps Anne Terpstra* (Ned)
-2laps Samantha Sanders (RSA)
-2laps Franziska Brun (Swi)
-2laps Judith Pollinger (Ita) Hard Rock Canossa Merida
-2laps Kristien Nelen (Bel) Houffalize-Granville Team
-2laps Rowena Fry (Aus)
-2laps Krista Park (USA)
-2laps Elisa Maria Garcia (Chi)
-2laps Céline Farner (Swi) Jb Felt Team
-2laps Aurélia Perry (Fra)
-2laps Jessica Roberts (GBr)
-3laps Inbar Ronen (Isr)
-3laps Chloe Woodruff (USA)
-3laps Maxine Filby (GBr)
-3laps Katherine O'shea (Aus)
-3laps Elisabeth Brandau (Ger) Notebooksbilliger.De Team
DNF Adelheid Morath (Ger) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
DNF Magdalena Sadlecka (Pol) CCC Polkowice
DNF Annika Langvad (Den) Team Fujibikes Rockets
DNF Nathalie Schneitter (Swi) Colnago Sudtirol
DNF Maaris Meier (Est)
DNF Lene Byberg (Nor) GT Skoda Chamonix
DNF Karen Hanlen (NZl)
DNF Angelica Edvardsson (Swe)
DNF Zephanie Blasi (USA) WXC World Racing
DNF Erica Zaveta (USA) Moda-Bikemagic Racing Team
DNF Joanne Clay (GBr) WXC World Racing
DNS Anna Szafraniec (Pol) CCC Polkowice
DNS Sabrina Maurer (Swi) Bskgraf Rollmat-Koba MTB Team
DNS Ana Zupan (Slo) Energijateam.Com
DNS Tracy Moseley (GBr)
DNS Anneke Beerten (Ned) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team
DNS Joanna Petterson (USA)

Teams

1 Luna Pro Team	91	pts
2 Ghost Factory Racing Team	60
3 BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	49
4 CCC Polkowice	41
5 Multivan Merida Biking Team	40
6 Milka Brentjens MTB Racing Team	23
7 Sabine Spitz Haibike Team	23
8 Subaru - Trek	22
9 ISD MTB Team	19
10 Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	18
11 Specialized Racing	15
12 Salcano Factory Team	14
13 Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	12
14 Colnago Sudtirol	11
15 GT Skoda Chamonix	9
16 Wheeler - IXS Team	8
17 Specialized Solodet Vosges	7
18 Team Bulls	6
19 Scott-3Roxracing	1

Elite women individual World Cup standings after round 4

1 Julie Bresset (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	750	pts
2 Catharine Pendrel (Can) Luna Pro Team	690
3 Maja Wloszczowska (Pol) CCC Polkowice	670
4 Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Nor) Multivan Merida Biking Team	538
5 Emily Batty (Can) Subaru - Trek	515
6 Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Pro Team	509
7 Irina Kalentieva (Rus) Topeak Ergon Racing Team	425
8 Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Pro Team	393
9 Pauline Ferrand Prevot* (Fra) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	374
10 Katrin Leumann (Swi) Ghost Factory Racing Team	362
11 Sabine Spitz (Ger) Sabine Spitz Haibike Team	349
12 Blaza Klemencic (Slo) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	348
13 Annie Last* (GBr) Milka Brentjens MTB Racing Team	342
14 Esther Süss (Swi) Wheeler - IXS Team	332
15 Marie-Helene Premont (Can)	306
16 Elisabeth Osl (Aut) Ghost Factory Racing Team	303
17 Eva Lechner (Ita) Colnago Sudtirol	295
18 Lea Davison (USA) Specialized Racing	252
19 Karen Hanlen (NZl)	234
20 Adelheid Morath (Ger) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	230
21 Sabrina Enaux (Fra) Specialized Solodet Vosges	226
22 Marielle Saner-Guinchard (Swi) Bikepark.Ch Craft	209
23 Nathalie Schneitter (Swi) Colnago Sudtirol	207
24 Alexandra Engen (Swe) Ghost Factory Racing Team	199
25 Tanja Zakelj (Slo) Salcano Factory Team	196
26 Aleksandra Dawidowicz (Pol) CCC Polkowice	196
27 Rosara Joseph (NZl) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	182
28 Tereza Hurikova (Cze) Sabine Spitz Haibike Team	181
29 Heather Irmiger (USA) Subaru - Trek	179
30 Lucie Chainel-Lefevre (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	176
31 Elisabeth Brandau (Ger) Notebooksbilliger.De Team	159
32 Mary Mcconneloug (USA)	157
33 Julie Krasniak (Fra) Focus Mig Team	155
34 Nataliya Krompets (Ukr) ISD MTB Team	153
35 Annika Langvad (Den) Team Fujibikes Rockets	150
36 Lene Byberg (Nor) GT Skoda Chamonix	142
37 Vera Andreeva (Rus)	126
38 Laura Turpijn (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team	125
39 Amanda Sin (Can) Scott-3Roxracing	124
40 Anna Szafraniec (Pol) CCC Polkowice	120
41 Cécile Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix	119
42 Janka Stevkova (Svk)	118
43 Hanna Klein (Ger)	118
44 Rie Katayama (Jpn)	114
45 Elisabeth Sveum (Nor) Team Crampfix Nakamura	111
46 Sarah Koba (Swi)	110
47 Qinglan Shi (Chn)	105
48 Magdalena Sadlecka (Pol) CCC Polkowice	104
49 Silke Schmidt (Ger) Notebooksbilliger.De Team	103
50 Kathrin Stirnemann (Swi) Sabine Spitz Haibike Team	103
51 Heidi Sandsto Rosaasen (Nor) Team United Bakeries	93
52 Judy Freeman (USA)	91
53 Katarzyna Solus-Miskowicz (Pol)	84
54 Anne Terpstra* (Ned)	83
55 Laura Metzler (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	80
56 Anja Gradl (Ger) Team Bulls	70
57 Corina Gantenbein (Swi) Fischer - BMC	63
58 Katherine Compton (USA) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	51
59 Rowena Fry (Aus)	51
60 Jean Ann Berkenpas (Can)	50
61 Fanny Bourdon (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix	47
62 Githa Michiels (Bel) Trek-KMC Trade Team	47
63 Pavla Havlikova (Cze)	38
64 Chloe Woodruff (USA)	36
65 Samantha Sanders (RSA)	36
66 Jenni King (Aus)	31
67 Caroline Mani (Fra)	25
68 Anna Villar Argente (Spa)	24
69 Mikaela Kofman (Can) Scott-3Roxracing	24
70 Ivonne Kraft (Ger)	20
71 Nicoletta De Jager (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team	15
72 Willow Rockwell (USA) Trek World Racing	14
73 Asa Maria Erlandsson (Swe)	13
74 Jodie Willett (Aus)	13
75 Lucie Vesela (Cze) GT Bicycles Opportunity	12
76 Katherine O'shea (Aus)	12
77 Pavlina Sulcova (Cze) Merida Biking Team	10
78 Franziska Brun (Swi)	9
79 Catherine Vipond (Can)	9
80 Julia Colvin (RSA)	9
81 Judith Pollinger (Ita) Hard Rock Canossa Merida	8
82 Jane Nussli (GBr) Fischer - BMC	8
83 Melanie Palframan (RSA)	8

Team World Cup standings after round 4

1 Luna Pro Team	296	pts
2 CCC Polkowice	176
3 Ghost Factory Racing Team	164
4 BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	155
5 Subaru - Trek	119
6 Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	111
7 Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	105
8 Multivan Merida Biking Team	98
9 Colnago Sudtirol	91
10 Sabine Spitz Haibike Team	85
11 Topeak Ergon Racing Team	82
12 Milka Brentjens MTB Racing Team	67
13 Wheeler - IXS Team	55
14 Specialized Racing	44
15 ISD MTB Team	31
16 Team Fujibikes Rockets	31
17 Bikepark.Ch Craft	28
18 Specialized Solodet Vosges	25
19 Notebooksbilliger.De Team	22
20 Salcano Factory Team	22
21 GT Skoda Chamonix	18
22 Focus MIG Team	7
23 Team Bulls	6
24 Team Crampfix Nakamura	2
25 Scott-3Roxracing	1

Men

1 Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea Racing Team	1:37:33
2 Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing	0:00:07
3 Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team	0:00:40
4 Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team	0:01:24
5 Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	0:01:41
6 Christoph Sauser (Swi) Specialized Racing	0:02:08
7 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra)	0:02:20
8 Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	0:02:35
9 Max Plaxton (Can)	0:02:51
10 Lukas Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing	0:03:20
11 José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team	0:03:24
12 Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing	0:03:45
13 Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale Factory Racing	0:03:46
14 Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing	0:04:15
15 Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing	0:04:42
16 Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing	0:05:32
17 Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TX Active Bianchi	0:05:43
18 Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team	0:05:46
19 Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team	0:05:47
20 Martino Fruet (Ita)	0:05:51
21 Daniel Mcconnell (Aus)	0:06:05
22 Martin Fanger (Swi) Giant Swiss SR -Suntour	0:06:08
23 Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	0:06:10
24 Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing	0:06:21
25 Liam Killeen (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team	0:06:26
26 Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team	0:06:52
27 Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Cannondale Factory Racing	0:06:54
28 Marek Konwa* (Pol) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team	0:06:59
29 Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Specialized Racing	0:07:05
30 Andras Parti (Hun) Euroone-Waberer's-Cube MTB Team	0:07:24
31 Jürg Graf (Swi) Bskgraf Rollmat-Koba MTB Team	0:07:37
32 Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spa) Elettroveneta - Corratec	0:07:44
33 Karl Markt (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	0:07:59
34 Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru - Trek	0:08:06
35 Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team	0:08:28
36 Stephen Ettinger (USA) Bmc Mountainbike Racing Team	0:08:55
37 Michele Casagrande (Ita) Elettroveneta - Corratec	0:09:33
38 Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team	0:09:50
39 Fabien Canal (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix	0:09:59
40 Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop	0:10:02
41 Henk Jaap Moorlag* (Ned) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	0:10:07
42 Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team	0:10:16
43 Lachlan Norris (Aus) Giant Factory Off-Road Team
44 David Fletcher (GBr) Orange Monkey-Cannondale	0:10:18
45 Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team	0:10:24
46 Nicola Rohrbach (Swi)	0:10:38
47 Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru - Trek	0:10:44
48 Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing	0:10:59
49 Alexis Chenevier (Fra) Scott Les Saisies	0:11:10
50 Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing	0:11:11
51 Marek Galinski (Pol) JGB - 2 Professional MTB Team	0:11:29
52 Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	0:11:37
53 Sergji Rysenko (Ukr) Isd MTB Team	0:12:01
54 Umberto Corti (Ita) Team Cbe Tecnoimpianti A.S.D.	0:12:22
55 Ruben Almeida (Por)	0:12:28
56 Hannes Metzler (Aut)	0:12:32
57 Jérémy Huguenin (Swi) Giant Swiss SR -Suntour	0:12:34
58 Piotr Brzozka (Pol) JGB - 2 Professional MTB Team	0:12:44
59 Marc Bassingthwaighte (Nam)	0:12:52
60 Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team	0:12:58
61 Shlomi Haimy (Isr) Focus MIG Team	0:13:35
62 Kevin Pauwels (Bel)	0:14:42
-1lap Martin Loo (Est) Hard Rock Canossa Merida
-1lap Spencer Paxson (USA) Kona
-1lap Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Versluys Team
-1lap Hans Becking (Ned) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team
-1lap Patrik Gallati (Swi) Bmc Mountainbike Racing Team
-1lap Kazuhiro Yamamoto (Jpn)
-1lap Simon Scheiber (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
-1lap Pascal Schmutz (Swi)
-1lap Paolo Cesar Montoya Cantillo (CRc)
-1lap Pierre-Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) Lapierre International
-1lap David Joao Serralheiro Rosa (Por)
-2laps Tiago Jorge Oliveira Ferreira (Por) Bi&Esse - Infotre Protek
-2laps Pascal Hossay (Bel) Merida Wallonie Mountain Bike Team
-2laps Benjamin Wittrup Justesen (Den)
-2laps Javier Eduardo Puschel (Chi)
-2laps Lukas Kaufmann (Swi) Team Fujibikes Rockets
-2laps Daniel Eymann (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team
-2laps Severin Disch (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team
-2laps Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team
-2laps Ludovic Dubau (Fra) Team Newcycling
-2laps Derek Zandstra (Can) Scott-3Roxracing
-2laps Giuseppe Lamastra (Ita)
-2laps Cristobal Silva Ibaceta (Chi)
-2laps Michael Broderick (USA)
-2laps Seiya Hirano (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team
-2laps Lukas Sablik (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized
-2laps Vitalii Zubchenko (Ukr) Isd MTB Team
-2laps Dariusz Batek (Pol)
-2laps Jonas Baumann (Swi) Wheeler - IXS Team
-2laps Simon Gegenheimer (Ger)
-3laps Davy Huygens (Bel)
-3laps Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
-3laps Sid Taberlay (Aus)
-3laps Simon Seehofer (Aut)
-3laps Marco Schätzing (Ger)
-3laps Brice Scholtes (Bel) Merida Wallonie Mountain Bike Team
-3laps Tim Lemmers (Ned) Feenstra Stevens Bike Team
-3laps Sandro Soncin (Swi)
-3laps Bojan Djurdjic (Srb) Salcano Factory Team
-3laps Steffen Thum (Ger)
-3laps Adrien Niyonshuti (Rwa)
-3laps Weisong Tong (Chn)
-3laps Pascal Meyer (Swi)
-3laps Artyom Golovaschenko (Kaz)
-3laps Klaus Nielsen (Den)
-3laps Dennis Ebert (Ned)
-3laps Philip Buys (RSA)
-4laps Robby De Bock (Bel)
-4laps Besik Gavasheli (Geo)
DNF Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Roxracing
DNF Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized
DNF Moritz Milatz (Ger) Bmc Mountainbike Racing Team
DNF Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) Lapierre International
DNF Jiri Novak (Cze)
DNF Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Spa) Orbea Racing Team
DNF Daniel Geismayr (Aut)
DNF Andy Eyring (Ger)
DNF Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) Bmc Mountainbike Racing Team
DNF Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing
DNF Christoph Soukup (Aut)
DNF Oleksandr Gerashchenko (Ukr) Isd MTB Team
DNF Giancarlo Sax (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team
DNF Adam Morka (Can)
DNF John Whittington (GBr)
DNF Kirill Kazantsev (Kaz)
DNF Oliver Beckingsale (GBr)
DNF Robert Mennen (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team
DNF Sven Nys (Bel)
DNF Tom Meeusen (Bel)
DNS Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team
DNS Cédric Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix
DNS Alban Lakata (Aut) Topeak Ergon Racing Team
DNS Brian Lopes (USA)
DNS Heiko Gutmann (Ger)
DNS Miha Halzer (Slo) Energijateam.Com
DNS Florian Thie (Swi)
DNS Arnould Jeremy (Fra)

Teams

1 Specialized Racing	68	pts
2 Multivan Merida Biking Team	64
3 Cannondale Factory Racing	41
4 Orbea Racing Team	40
5 Trek World Racing	37
6 Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	36
7 Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing	32
8 Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team	30
9 BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	23
10 TX Active Bianchi	14
11 Topeak Ergon Racing Team	13
12 Giant Swiss SR -Suntour	9
13 Giant Factory Off-Road Team	6
14 Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team	3
15 Euroone-Waberer's-Cube MTB Team	1

Elite men individual World Cup standings after four rounds

1 Nino Schurter (Swi)	700	pts
2 Julien Absalon (Fra)	650
3 Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze)	625
4 Burry Stander (RSA)	568
5 Manuel Fumic (Ger)	470
6 Fabian Giger (Swi)	440
7 Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita)	410
8 José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa)	405
9 Ralph Naef (Swi)	395
10 Florian Vogel (Swi)	390
11 Lukas Flückiger (Swi)	385
12 Christoph Sauser (Swi)	364
13 Stéphane Tempier (Fra)	364
14 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra)	331
15 Maxime Marotte (Fra)	314
16 Moritz Milatz (Ger)	290
17 Rudi Van Houts (Ned)	284
18 Martin Gujan (Swi)	280
19 Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa)	272
20 Emil Lindgren (Swe)	242
21 Mathias Flückiger (Swi)	236
22 Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa)	227
23 Max Plaxton (Can)	212
24 Jochen Kass (Ger)	212
25 Liam Killeen (GBr)	206
26 Geoff Kabush (Can)	192
27 Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spa)	190
28 Karl Markt (Aut)	189
29 Wolfram Kurschat (Ger)	187
30 Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn)	166
31 Samuel Schultz (USA)	162
32 Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Spa)	160
33 Daniel Mcconnell (Aus)	152
34 Thomas Litscher (Swi)	148
35 Marek Konwa* (Pol)	143
36 Michele Casagrande (Ita)	135
37 Henk Jaap Moorlag* (Ned)	127
38 Milan Spesny (Cze)	124
39 Catriel Andres Soto (Arg)	114
40 Tony Longo (Ita)	111
41 Martin Fanger (Swi)	108
42 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra)	105
43 Jan Skarnitzl (Cze)	104
44 Fabien Canal (Fra)	103
45 Sven Nys (Bel)	100
46 Martino Fruet (Ita)	98
47 Jürg Graf (Swi)	98
48 Jiri Novak (Cze)	91
49 Stephen Ettinger (USA)	90
50 Todd Wells (USA)	83
51 Chris Jongewaard (Aus)	82
52 Derek Zandstra (Can)	76
53 Andrea Tiberi (Ita)	70
54 Matous Ulman (Cze)	68
55 Andras Parti (Hun)	63
56 Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut)	56
57 Cédric Ravanel (Fra)	53
58 Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel)	53
59 Jeremiah Bishop (USA)	52
60 Piotr Brzozka (Pol)	51
61 Umberto Corti (Ita)	48
62 Lukas Sablik (Cze)	42
63 Lachlan Norris (Aus)	41
64 Julien Taramarcaz (Swi)	40
65 Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA)	40
66 Marek Galinski (Pol)	37
67 Nicola Rohrbach (Swi)	34
68 Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi)	30
69 Robert Mennen (Ger)	30
70 Philip Buys (RSA)	30
71 Adam Craig (USA)	29
72 Alban Lakata (Aut)	29
73 Periklis Ilias (Gre)	27
74 David Fletcher (GBr)	24
75 Patrik Gallati (Swi)	24
76 Kristian Hynek (Cze)	20
77 Jérémy Huguenin (Swi)	20
78 Alexis Chenevier (Fra)	19
79 Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus)	16
80 Sergji Rysenko (Ukr)	15
81 Marcel Wildhaber (Swi)	14
82 Ruben Almeida (Por)	13
83 Hannes Metzler (Aut)	12
84 Kevin Pauwels (Bel)	11
85 Michal Lami (Svk)	10
86 David Joao Serralheiro Rosa (Por)	10
87 Sebastien Carabin (Bel)	10
88 Marc Bassingthwaighte (Nam)	9
89 Martin Loo (Est)	8

Team World Cup standings after four rounds

1 Specialized Racing	295	pts
2 Cannondale Factory Racing	238
4 Multivan Merida Biking Team	227
3 Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team	194
6 Orbea Racing Team	134
5 Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	131
7 Trek World Racing	119
10 Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing	83
8 TX Active Bianchi	74
9 BMC Mountainbike Racing Team	59
12 BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	59
11 Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	39
13 Scott-3Roxracing	35
14 Elettroveneta - Corratec	24
15 Giant Factory Off-Road Team	20
20 Topeak Ergon Racing Team	17
16 Subaru - Trek	11
21 Giant Swiss SR -Suntour	10
17 Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized	8
18 Lapierre International	6
19 S&H Superior MTB Team	5

Video: Victoria Pendleton on the Olympics and beyond

BikeRadar UK — Sat, 19 May 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Victoria Pendleton, one of the UK's leading cyclists, will be going for multiple gold medals at this year's Olympic Games in London. A top favourite for the women's track sprinting events, Pendleton wants to crown her career with success in front of her home crowd.

"It gives me goose bumps just thinking about it. I can't wait to get out there and get it done," she says in this video, taken at the launch of the Samsung Hope Relay, a free app for logging miles that Samsung will turn into charity donations.

After the Olympics, Pendleton says she's hanging up her wheels after the better part of a decade as the world's leading female track cyclist. Then what?

"First of all I'm going to go on holiday beause I never allow myself to go on holiday and really relax," she says. "I always end spending my time in the gym, finding a gym, going for a bike ride. Also I want to plan my wedding and finally get married so that's something that's going to take a little bit of time too."

For the full interview, click on the video below (click here for a larger version).

Video: The Athertons, chapter 3

BikeRadar UK — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:35:00 GMT

Dan Atherton is under the spotlight in the third video of our exclusive four-part series filmed at home with the most famous siblings in mountain biking, the Athertons.

This season Dan will be racing gravity enduros - a combination of four cross and downhill - as well as some longer events like the Trans Provence and Italian super enduros. As he says, for someone who grew up on a diet of dirt jumps and skate parks, these are likely to be tough to adapt to.

Check it out below (click here for a larger version):

Filmed and edited by Liam Murphy

Click here for chapter 1: Gee Atherton and chapter 2: Rachel Atherton).

Pro bike: Andrew Talansky’s Cervélo P5

Ben Delaney in California — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:00:00 GMT

Garmin-Barracuda’s Andrew Talansky got the attention of the racing world in late April, when he finished less than a second behind Team Sky’s Bradley Wiggins in the final time trial of the Tour de Romandie. That performance earned him second place on the stage, second overall in the race and the Best Young Rider award.

It also earned him a new ride. At the Amgen Tour of California, Talanksy’s Cervélo P4 from Romandie was hanging on the team rack, but inside the team truck a new Cervélo P5 awaited him.

Cervélo’s P5 comes in two styles: a triathlon edition and the UCI-approved TT model. Both share the same frame but differ in forks; the tri bike has a fairing over the front brake. The P5 was introduced in January, and only a handful have been made thus far.

The 3T Aduro handlebar comes in three heights; Talansky is running the shortest option, with the arm-rest clips bolted in nice and narrow (14cm apart at the center of the pads).

The two most remarkable features of the P5 are the Magura hydraulic rim brakes and the completely integrated Shimano Di2 package. While many team mechanics are still bolting Di2 batteries under down tubes and taping wiring down along the length of tubes, the P5 has completely internal wiring, from the tips of the handlebars, down through the stem and into the frame. Much more impressive, however, is the battery solution — it is tucked inside the down tube, accessible via a panel that faces the rear wheel.

Can you see the Shimano Di2 battery here? Sure can't - and that is exactly the point

Tom Danielson and David Zabriskie are the Garmin-Barracuda team leaders at California, but Talansky could well give them a run for the money in the time trial on Thursday. Talansky starts as the 98^th rider, two minutes behind Danielson and two minutes ahead of defending race champion Chris Horner (RadioShack-Nissan-Trek).

Check out all the details of Talansky’s Cervélo P5 in the gallery at right above, and be sure to follow all the action from the Amgen Tour of California on Cyclingnews.com.

Complete bike specifications

Frame: Cervélo P5
Stem: 3T Aduro
Handlebar: 3T Aduro, 38cm (c-c); pads 14cm (c-c)
Front brake: Magura RT8 Hydraulic
Rear brake: Magura RT8 Hydraulic
Brake levers: Magura RT 8TT Hydraulic
Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 FD-7970
Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 RD-7970
Shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace CS-7900, 11-23T
Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace CN-7900
Crankset: Rotor 3D+ TT, 172.5mm, 55/44T
Bottom bracket: Rotor
Pedals: Garmin Vector (without the power-meter internals)
Front wheel: Mavic CC80
Rear wheel: Mavic Comete
Front tire: Mavic Yksion GripLink tubular
Rear tire: Mavic Yksion PowerLink tubular
Saddle: Fi'zi:k Arione Tri 2
Seatpost: Cervélo P5
Bottle cages: Arundel Chrono
Computer: Garmin Edge 500

Critical measurements

Rider's height: 1.75m (5ft 9in)
Rider's weight: 63kg (139lb)
Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 73.5cm

Pro Bike: Peter Sagan’s Cannondale SuperSix EVO

Ben Delaney, from Santa Rosa, CA — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:00:00 GMT

Slovak speedster Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) won the first and second stages of the Amgen Tour of California aboard a Cannondale SuperSix EVO Team with custom geometry.

Although the expense of carbon molds has made custom geometry cost-prohibitive for some companies, Cannondale had created a “54x58” mold for former Liquigas rider Daniele Bennati. Now used by Sagan, the frame size features a 54cm seat tube with a relatively long 58cm top tube.

BikeRadar test rode the Cannondale SuperSix EVO last year, and came away generally impressed by its light weight and smooth ride.

The claimed frame weight of 695g is impressively light. In fact, Cannondale love to point out that production bikes are “illegally light”. Team liaison Rory Mason was quick to point out the custom solid steel spindle used on Sagan’s bike to bring it up to the UCI’s minimum weight of 6.8kg (14.99lb).

Can you spot the steel?

“Last year we added the weight inside the seat tube,” Mason said. “But some riders – Ivan Basso, in particular – felt that the bike’s handling was affected by having the extra weight that high in the bike, so we moved it down.”

Aside from the Cannondale SL Hollowgram crankset, Sagan’s bike is completely spec’ed with SRAM Red 2012. Well, almost completely. The front derailleur is ‘old’ SRAM Red, with a SRAM Force steel cage marked SRAM Red. The SRAM Red cages are titanium, and some riders and mechanics prefer the feel of steel for shifting. (The 2012 Red front derailleur features an aluminum outer cage and a steel inner cage.)

This bike is Sagan's second race bike. His first bike – which he won on twice in California – is identical except that it also has an SRM power meter, which provides information for the rider and coach, and more heft for the UCI.

To keep things tidy, Sagan has clear stickers on his crank arms to avoid scuff marks from his shoes. After all, one must keep things looking good when the bike is coming first across the line so often.

Complete bike specifications

Frame: Cannondale EVO, custom geometry
Headset: SuperSix EVO, 1-1/4in lower bearing, 1-1/8in upper
Stem: FSA SL-K 120mm
Handlebar: FSA Traditional Bend Alloy Energy, 42cm (c-c)
Front brake: SRAM 2012 Red
Rear brake: SRAM 2012 Red
Front derailleur: SRAM Red (not 2012 Red) with a Force steel cage
Rear derailleur: SRAM 2012 Red
Shift/brake levers: SRAM 2012 Red
Cassette: SRAM XG 1090 11-23
Chain: SRAM 2012 Red
Crankset: Cannondale SL Hollowgram with custom solid-steel spindle, 53/39t (note: his race bike also has an SRM power meter)
Bottom bracket: Cannondale
Pedals: Speedplay Zero Team Edition
Wheelset: Mavic Cosmic Carbone Ultimate
Front tire: Mavic Yksion GripLink tubular 22mm
Rear tire: Mavic Yksion GripLink tubular 22mm
Seatpost: FSA K-Force
Saddle: Fi'zi:k Aliante
Bottle cages: Elite Pase Custom Carbon (2)
Computer: SRM (not shown)

Critical measurements

Rider's height: 1.84m (6ft)
Rider's weight: 73kg (160lb)
Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 75cm
Saddle setback: 95mm
Seat tube length, c-t: 54cm
Top tube length: 58cm (horizontal)

MTB World Cup #3: Schurter and Bresset take cross country

Rob Jones, Cyclingnews.com — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:30:00 GMT

Men: Schurter overcomes early mishap

This article was originally published on Cyclingnews.com.

Nino Schurter (Scott-Swisspower) gave himself the perfect 26th birthday present on Sunday when he won the elite men's cross country World Cup in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech. On the final lap, Schurter powered away from home crowd favorite Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized) and Burry Stander (Specialized). Marco Fontana (Cannondale) and Ralph Naef (Multivan Merida) had been with the lead three for much of the race, but fell off their pace with just over one lap to go. They held on to fourth and fifth places respectively.

"I had a mistake in the first lap. I dropped my chain and had to catch back up to the lead group," said Schurter of his tough start to the race. "It was an awesome race in front of the Czech crowd."

Women: Bresset gets first win for the season

This article was originally published on Cyclingnews.com.

Julie Bresset (BH-SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry) raced to her first World Cup victory of the season in Nove Mesto na Morave on Sunday morning. She won by 29 seconds over Irina Kalentieva (Topeak Ergon) and by 48 seconds over Czech's own Katerina Nash (Luna). Georgia Gould put another Luna rider on the podium by out-sprinting Blaza Klemencic (Felt Oetzal) for fourth place

Results

Men

1 Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team	1:26:46
2 Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing	0:00:06
3 Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing	0:00:17
4 Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing	0:00:46
5 Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team	0:00:47
6 Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team	0:01:14
7 Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	0:01:20
8 Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team	0:01:32
9 Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing	0:01:43
10 José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team	0:01:47
11 Christoph Sauser (Swi) Specialized Racing	0:02:03
12 Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing	0:02:15
13 Lukas Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing	0:02:23
14 Max Plaxton (Can)	0:02:32
15 Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale Factory Racing	0:02:57
16 Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team	0:03:13
17 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra)	0:03:15
18 Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Roxracing	0:03:17
19 Liam Killeen (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team	0:03:28
20 Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru - Trek	0:03:29
21 Jiri Novak (Cze)	0:03:36
22 Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TX Active Bianchi
23 Sven Nys (Bel)	0:03:51
24 Michele Casagrande (Ita) Elettroveneta - Corratec
25 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) Lapierre International	0:04:24
26 Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	0:04:25
27 Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team	0:04:31
28 Henk Jaap Moorlag* (Ned) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	0:04:39
29 Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spa) Elettroveneta - Corratec	0:04:42
30 Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	0:05:04
31 Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized	0:05:08
32 Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing	0:05:10
33 Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team	0:05:11
34 Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing	0:05:19
35 Marek Konwa* (Pol) Milka- Superior MTB Racing Team	0:05:25
36 Lukas Sablik (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized	0:05:26
37 Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing	0:05:27
38 Daniel Mcconnell (Aus)	0:05:33
39 Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing	0:05:50
40 Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop	0:06:00
41 Periklis Ilias (Gre) Team Protek	0:06:10
42 Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Milka- Superior MTB Racing Team
43 Karl Markt (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	0:06:11
44 Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Spa) Orbea Racing Team	0:06:17
45 Tony Longo (Ita) TX Active Bianchi
46 Umberto Corti (Ita) Team Cbe Tecnoimpianti A.S.D.	0:06:19
47 Martino Fruet (Ita)	0:06:20
48 Kristian Hynek (Cze)	0:06:26
49 Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru - Trek	0:06:27
50 Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	0:06:34
51 Andras Parti (Hun)	0:06:38
52 Jürg Graf (Swi) Bskgraf Rollmat-Koba MTB Team	0:06:44
53 Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team	0:06:51
54 Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team	0:06:54
55 Philip Buys (RSA)
56 Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Specialized Racing	0:06:55
57 Kevin Pauwels (Bel)	0:07:01
58 Michal Lami (Svk)
59 Jérémy Huguenin (Swi) Giant Swiss SR - Suntour	0:07:16
60 Martin Loo (Est) Hard Rock Canossa Merida	0:07:24
61 Sergji Rysenko (Ukr) ISD MTB Team	0:07:31
62 Stephen Ettinger (USA) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team
63 Shlomi Haimy (Isr) Focus MIG Team	0:07:36
64 Martin Fanger (Swi) Giant Swiss SR - Suntour	0:07:46
65 Pavel Boudny (Cze)	0:07:55
66 Robert Mennen (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team
67 Cédric Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix	0:08:09
68 Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team	0:08:16
69 Lachlan Norris (Aus) Giant Factory Off-Road Team	0:08:23
70 Ludovic Dubau (Fra) Team Newcycling	0:08:42
71 Cameron Jette (Can) Scott-3Roxracing	0:09:15
72 Tom Meeusen (Bel)	0:09:22
73 Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Versluys Team	0:09:26
74 Giancarlo Sax (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team	0:09:35
75 Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	0:09:41
76 Hector Leonardo Paez Leon (Col) TX Active Bianchi	0:09:44
77 Simon Scheiber (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	0:09:50
78 Oleksandr Gerashchenko (Ukr) ISD MTB Team	0:09:54
79 Marc Bassingthwaighte (Nam)	0:10:06
80 Markus Bauer (Ger)	0:10:20
81 Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	0:10:31
82 David Fletcher (GBr) Orange Monkey-Cannondale	0:10:36
83 David Joao Serralheiro Rosa (Por)
84 Adam Morka (Can)	0:10:38
85 Jeremiah Bishop (USA) Cannondale Factory Racing	0:10:39
86 Pascal Meyer (Swi)	0:10:58
87 Jan Jobanek (Cze) Merida Biking Team	0:11:02
88 Andy Eyring (Ger)	0:11:09
89 Tiago Jorge Oliveira Ferreira (Por) Bi&Esse - Infotre Protek	0:11:21
90 Daniel Geismayr (Aut)	0:11:22
91 Alban Lakata (Aut) Topeak Ergon Racing Team	0:11:31
92 Dariusz Batek (Pol)	0:12:01
93 Fabien Canal (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix	0:12:14
94 Hannes Metzler (Aut)	0:12:58
-1lap Sid Taberlay (Aus)
-1lap Daniel Eymann (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team
-1lap Hans Becking (Ned) Milka- Superior MTB Racing Team
-1lap Spencer Paxson (USA) Kona
-1lap Lukas Kaufmann (Swi) Team Fujibikes Rockets
-1lap Martin Haring (Svk)
-1lap Tim Lemmers (Ned) Feenstra Stevens Bike Team
-1lap Pierre-Geoffroy Plantet (Fra) Lapierre International
-1lap Paolo Cesar Montoya Cantillo (CRc)
-1lap Michael Broderick (USA)
-1lap Patrik Gallati (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team
-1lap Rafal Hebisz (Pol)
-1lap Javier Eduardo Puschel (Chi)
-1lap Matous Ulman (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team
-1lap Sang Hoon Na (Kor)
-1lap David Escolar Ballesteros (Spa)
-2laps Derek Zandstra (Can) Scott-3Roxracing
-2laps Steffen Thum (Ger)
-2laps Mariusz Gil (Pol)
-2laps Rafal Alchimowiz (Pol)
-2laps Milan Barenyi (Svk)
-2laps Adrien Niyonshuti (Rwa)
-2laps Jan Fojtik (Cze)
-2laps Christopher Maletz (Ger)
-2laps Giuseppe Lamastra (Ita)
-2laps Cristobal Silva Ibaceta (Chi)
-2laps Vitalii Zubchenko (Ukr) ISD MTB Team
-2laps Simon Seehofer (Aut)
-2laps Kirill Kazantsev (Kaz)
-2laps Weisong Tong (Chn)
-2laps Tomasz Drozdz (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team
-3laps Felix Euteneuer (Ger)
-3laps Matthias Waldhart (Aut)
-3laps Bostjan Hribovsek (Slo)
-3laps Zdenek Mlynar (Cze)
-3laps Frantisek Zilak (Cze)
-3laps Ioan Tudor Radu (Rom)
-3laps Brian Lopes (USA)
-3laps Gabor Bogar (Hun)
-3laps Artyom Golovaschenko (Kaz)
-4laps Elisei Miron (Rom)
-4laps Miha Halzer (Slo) Energijateam.Com
-4laps George Vlad Sabau (Rom)
-4laps Lubomir Vojta (Cze)
-4laps Besik Gavasheli (Geo)
DNF Piotr Brzozka (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team
DNF Kazuhiro Yamamoto (Jpn)
DNF Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team
DNF Severin Disch (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team
DNF Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea Racing Team
DNF Marek Galinski (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team
DNF Christoph Soukup (Aut)
DNF Matthias Wengelin (Swe) Team Herbalife 24 Raumerrittet
DNF Adrian Brzozka (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team
DNF Davy Huygens (Bel)
DNF Simon Gegenheimer (Ger)
DNF Sepp Freiburghaus (Swi) Thoemus Racing Team
DNF Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team
DNF Robby De Bock (Bel)
DNS Ola Kjören (Nor) Team Herbalife 24 Raumerrittet
DNS Marco Schätzing (Ger)
DNS Markus Loisl (Aut)
DNS Dennis Ebert (Ned)

Teams

1 Specialized Racing	87	pts
2 Multivan Merida Biking Team	64
3 Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team	63
4 Cannondale Factory Racing	49
5 Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	29
6 BMC Mountainbike Racing Team	26
8 Trek World Racing	18
10 Giant Factory Off-Road Team	12
11 Subaru - Trek	11
12 TX Active Bianchi	9
13 Elettroveneta - Corratec	9
14 Lapierre International	6
15 Topeak Ergon Racing Team	4
16 BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	1

Elite men individual World Cup standings after three rounds

1 Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team	700	pts
2 Burry Stander (RSA) Specialized Racing	510
3 Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze) Specialized Racing	425
4 Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing	410
5 Julien Absalon (Fra) Orbea Racing Team	400
6 Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing	385
7 José Antonio Hermida Ramos (Spa) Multivan Merida Biking Team	315
8 Fabian Giger (Swi) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	300
9 Stéphane Tempier (Fra) TX Active Bianchi	292
10 Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team	290
11 Lukas Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing	290
12 Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team	240
13 Ralph Naef (Swi) Multivan Merida Biking Team	235
14 Christoph Sauser (Swi) Specialized Racing	234
15 Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team	216
16 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R	211
17 Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	204
18 Martin Gujan (Swi) Cannondale Factory Racing	200
19 Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing	198
20 Geoff Kabush (Can) Scott-3Roxracing	192
21 Emil Lindgren (Swe) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	182
22 Inaki Lejarreta Errasti (Spa) Orbea Racing Team	160
23 Mathias Flückiger (Swi) Trek World Racing	160
24 Jochen Kass (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team	158
25 Liam Killeen (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team	150
26 Carlos Coloma Nicolas (Spa) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing	149
27 Karl Markt (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	149
28 Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez (Spa) Elettroveneta - Corratec	148
29 Thomas Litscher (Swi) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	148
30 Samuel Schultz (USA) Subaru - Trek	124
31 Kohei Yamamoto (Jpn) Specialized Racing	118
32 Wolfram Kurschat (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team	117
33 Max Plaxton (Can)	112
34 Tony Longo (Ita) TX Active Bianchi	111
35 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) Lapierre International	105
36 Jan Skarnitzl (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized	104
37 Michele Casagrande (Ita) Elettroveneta - Corratec	103
38 Sven Nys (Bel)	100
39 Henk Jaap * Moorlag (Ned) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	100
40 Milan Spesny (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team	98
41 Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing	94
42 Marek * Konwa (Pol) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team	93
43 Jiri Novak (Cze)	91
44 Daniel Mcconnell (Aus)	88
45 Derek Zandstra (Can) Scott-3Roxracing	76
46 Fabien Canal (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix	74
47 Matous Ulman (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team	68
48 Todd Wells (USA) Specialized Racing	65
49 Stephen Ettinger (USA) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team	56
50 Jürg Graf (Swi) Bskgraf Rollmat-Koba MTB Team	54
51 Cédric Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix	53
52 Uwe Hochenwarter (Aut) Muskelkater Genesis Team	48
53 Martin Fanger (Swi) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour	46
54 Chris Jongewaard (Aus) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team	46
55 Lukas Sablik (Cze) Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized	42
56 Andrea Tiberi (Ita) Torpado Surfing Shop	42
57 Piotr Brzozka (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team	41
58 Julien Taramarcaz (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team	40
59 Umberto Corti (Ita) Team Cbe Tecnoimpianti A.S.D.	34
60 Martino Fruet (Ita)	32
61 Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team	30
62 Robert Mennen (Ger) Topeak Ergon Racing Team	30
63 Philip Buys (RSA)	30
64 Alban Lakata (Aut) Topeak Ergon Racing Team	29
65 Periklis Ilias (Gre) Team Protek	27
66 Patrik Gallati (Swi) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team	24
67 Marek Galinski (Pol) JBG - 2 Professional MTB Team	20
68 Kristian Hynek (Cze)	20
69 Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (USA) Subaru - Trek	19
70 Andras Parti (Hun) Euroone-Waberer's-Cube MTB Team	17
71 Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	16
72 Lachlan Norris (Aus) Giant Factory Off-Road Team	16
73 Marcel Wildhaber (Swi) Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team	14
74 Adam Craig (USA) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	13
75 Nicola Rohrbach (Swi)	12
76 Kevin Pauwels (Bel)	11
77 Michal Lami (Svk)	10
78 David Joao Serralheiro Rosa (Por)	10
79 Sebastien Carabin (Bel) Versluys Team	10
80 Jérémy Huguenin (Swi) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour	9
81 Martin Loo (Est) Hard Rock Canossa Merida	8

Elite men team World Cup standings after three rounds

1 Specialized Racing	227	pts
2 Cannondale Factory Racing	181
3 Scott - Swisspower MTB Racing Team	164
4 Multivan Merida Biking Team	163
5 Orbea Racing Team	94
6 Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	92
7 Trek World Racing	82
8 TX Active Bianchi	60
9 BMC Mountainbike Racing Team	59
10 Wildwolf - Trek Pro Racing	51
11 Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	39
12 BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	36
13 Scott-3Roxracing	35
14 Elettroveneta - Corratec	24
15 Giant Factory Off-Road Team	14
16 Subaru - Trek	11
17 Rubena Auto-Mencik Specialized	8
18 Lapierre International	6
19 S&H Superior MTB Team	5
20 Topeak Ergon Racing Team	4
21 Giant Swiss SR - Suntour	1

Women

1 Julie Bresset (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	1:29:17
2 Irina Kalentieva (Rus) Topeak Ergon Racing Team	0:00:29
3 Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Pro Team	0:00:48
4 Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Pro Team	0:00:59
5 Blaza Klemencic (Slo) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
6 Catharine Pendrel (Can) Luna Pro Team	0:01:10
7 Maja Wloszczowska (Pol) CCC Polkowice	0:01:17
8 Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Nor) Multivan Merida Biking Team	0:01:32
9 Marie-Helene Premont (Can)	0:02:11
10 Emily Batty (Can) Subaru - Trek	0:02:56
11 Katrin Leumann (Swi) Ghost Factory Racing Team	0:03:09
12 Nathalie Schneitter (Swi) Colnago Sudtirol	0:03:21
13 Eva Lechner (Ita) Colnago Sudtirol	0:03:26
14 Adelheid Morath (Ger) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	0:03:41
15 Alexandra Engen (Swe) Ghost Factory Racing Team	0:03:44
16 Tereza Hurikova (Cze) Sabine Spitz Haibike Team	0:03:52
17 Sabine Spitz (Ger) Sabine Spitz Haibike Team	0:04:10
18 Marielle Saner-Guinchard (Swi) Bikepark.Ch Craft	0:04:21
19 Nataliya Krompets (Ukr) Isd Mtb Team	0:04:27
20 Annie Last* (GBr) Milka Brentjens Mtb Racing Team	0:04:45
21 Pauline Ferrand Prevot* (Fra) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	0:05:08
22 Rosara Joseph (NZl) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	0:05:26
23 Sabrina Enaux (Fra) Specialized Solodet Vosges	0:05:38
24 Esther Süss (Swi) Wheeler - IXS Team	0:06:08
25 Elisabeth Osl (Aut) Ghost Factory Racing Team	0:06:28
26 Karen Hanlen (NZl)	0:06:44
27 Magdalena Sadlecka (Pol) CCC Polkowice	0:07:03
28 Lucie Chainel-Lefevre (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	0:07:21
29 Lene Byberg (Nor) GT Skoda Chamonix	0:07:41
30 Heather Irmiger (USA) Subaru - Trek	0:07:46
31 Mary Mcconneloug (USA)	0:07:47
32 Sarah Koba (Swi)	0:08:02
33 Anne Terpstra* (Ned)	0:08:13
34 Vera Andreeva (Rus)	0:08:24
35 Kathrin Stirnemann (Swi) Sabine Spitz Haibike Team	0:08:30
36 Janka Stevkova (Svk)	0:08:34
37 Lea Davison (USA) Specialized Racing	0:08:36
38 Cécile Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix	0:08:39
39 Judy Freeman (USA)	0:08:47
40 Amanda Sin (Can) Scott-3Roxracing	0:08:49
41 Elisabeth Brandau (Ger) Notebooksbilliger.De Team	0:09:11
42 Laura Turpijn (Ned) MPL Specialized Mtb Team	0:09:15
43 Julie Krasniak (Fra) Focus Mig Team	0:09:34
44 Jean Ann Berkenpas (Can)	0:09:38
45 Silke Schmidt (Ger) Notebooksbilliger.De Team	0:09:49
46 Heidi Sandsto Rosaasen (Nor) Team United Bakeries	0:09:55
47 Corina Gantenbein (Swi) Fischer - BMC	0:10:41
48 Tanja Zakelj (Slo) Salcano Factory Team	0:10:52
49 Qinglan Shi (Chn)	0:11:00
50 Githa Michiels (Bel) Trek-KMC Trade Team	0:11:37
51 Hanna Klein (Ger)	0:11:38
52 Rowena Fry (Aus)	0:12:13
53 Pavla Havlikova (Cze)	0:12:53
54 Anja Gradl (Ger) Team Bulls	0:13:36
55 Jenni King (Aus)	0:14:09
56 Katherine O'shea (Aus)	0:14:25
57 Mikaela Kofman (Can) Scott-3Roxracing	0:14:28
58 Pavlina Sulcova (Cze) Merida Biking Team	0:15:25
59 Samantha Sanders (RSA)	0:15:53
60 Anna Villar Argente (Spa)	0:16:24
-1lap Zephanie Blasi (USA) WXC World Racing
-1lap Nicoletta De Jager (Ned) MPL Specialized Mtb Team
-1lap Fanny Bourdon (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix
-1lap Chloe Woodruff (USA)
-1lap Lucie Vesela (Cze) GT Bicycles Opportunity
-1lap Ivonne Kraft (Ger)
-1lap Michalina Ziolkowska (Pol)
-1lap Maxine Filby (GBr)
-1lap Tracy Moseley (GBr)
-1lap Angelica Edvardsson (Swe)
-1lap Rie Katayama (Jpn)
-1lap Krista Park (USA)
-2laps Elisa Maria Garcia (Chi)
-2laps Erica Zaveta (USA) Moda-Bikemagic Racing Team
-2laps Ana Zupan (Slo) Energijateam.Com
-2laps Judith Pollinger (Ita) Hard Rock Canossa Merida
-2laps Joanne Clay (GBr) WXC World Racing
DNF Laura Metzler (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry
DNF Caroline Mani (Fra)
DNF Elisabeth Sveum (Nor) Team Crampfix Nakamura
DNF Aleksandra Dawidowicz (Pol) CCC Polkowice
DNF Anna Szafraniec (Pol) CCC Polkowice
DNF Catherine Vipond (Can)
DNF Katarzyna Solus-Miskowicz (Pol)
DNF Inbar Ronen (Isr)
DNF Lee Craigie (GBr)
DNF Daniela Storch (Ger)
DNF Anneke Beerten (Ned) Milka-Superior Mtb Racing Team
DNF Joanna Petterson (USA)

Teams

1 Luna Pro Team	88	pts
2 Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	45
3 BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	43
4 Ghost Factory Racing Team	42
5 Colnago Sudtirol	37
6 Topeak Ergon Racing Team	35
7 Sabine Spitz Haibike Team	29
8 CCC Polkowice	28
9 Multivan Merida Biking Team	23
10 Subaru - Trek	22
11 Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	19
12 Bikepark.Ch Craft	13
13 ISD MTB Team	12
14 Milka Brentjens MTB Racing Team	11
15 Specialized Solodet Vosges	8
16 Wheeler - IXS Team	7
17 GT Skoda Chamonix	2

Elite women individual World Cup standings after three rounds

1 Julie Bresset (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	590	pts
2 Catharine Pendrel (Can) Luna Pro Team	540
3 Maja Wloszczowska (Pol) CCC Polkowice	530
4 Irina Kalentieva (Rus) Topeak Ergon Racing Team	425
5 Emily Batty (Can) Subaru - Trek	415
6 Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Pro Team	309
7 Pauline Ferrand Prevot* (Fra) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	294
8 Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Nor) Multivan Merida Biking Team	288
9 Blaza Klemencic (Slo) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	280
10 Esther Süss (Swi) Wheeler - Ixs Team	272
11 Georgia Gould (USA) Luna Pro Team	263
12 Sabine Spitz (Ger) Sabine Spitz Haibike Team	254
13 Marie-Helene Premont (Can)	242
14 Katrin Leumann (Swi) Ghost Factory Racing Team	242
15 Karen Hanlen (NZl)	234
16 Annie Last* (GBr) Milka Brentjens MTB Racing Team	232
17 Adelheid Morath (Ger) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	230
18 Eva Lechner (Ita) Colnago Sudtirol	229
19 Elisabeth Osl (Aut) Ghost Factory Racing Team	213
20 Nathalie Schneitter (Swi) Colnago Sudtirol	207
21 Marielle Saner-Guinchard (Swi) Bikepark.Ch Craft	188
22 Rosara Joseph (NZl) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	182
23 Lea Davison (USA) Specialized Racing	178
24 Sabrina Enaux (Fra) Specialized Solodet Vosges	168
25 Elisabeth Brandau (Ger) Notebooksbilliger.De Team	159
26 Annika Langvad (Den) Team Fujibikes Rockets	150
27 Heather Irmiger (USA) Subaru - Trek	145
28 Lene Byberg (Nor) GT Skoda Chamonix	142
29 Tereza Hurikova (Cze) Sabine Spitz Haibike Team	133
30 Julie Krasniak (Fra) Focus Mig Team	127
31 Aleksandra Dawidowicz (Pol) CCC Polkowice	126
32 Tanja Zakelj (Slo) Salcano Factory Team	124
33 Alexandra Engen (Swe) Ghost Factory Racing Team	123
34 Anna Szafraniec (Pol) CCC Polkowice	120
35 Magdalena Sadlecka (Pol) CCC Polkowice	104
36 Mary Mcconneloug (USA)	103
37 Lucie Chainel-Lefevre (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	98
38 Laura Turpijn (Ned) Mpl Specialized MTB Team	95
39 Elisabeth Sveum (Nor) Team Crampfix Nakamura	86
40 Hanna Klein (Ger)	86
41 Kathrin Stirnemann (Swi) Sabine Spitz Haibike Team	86
42 Vera Andreeva (Rus)	84
43 Amanda Sin (Can) Scott-3Roxracing	78
44 Rie Katayama (Jpn)	74
45 Anne Terpstra* (Ned)	72
46 Judy Freeman (USA)	71
47 Qinglan Shi (Chn)	69
48 Nataliya Krompets (Ukr) ISD MTB Team	68
49 Janka Stevkova (Svk)	68
50 Silke Schmidt (Ger) Notebooksbilliger.De Team	65
51 Heidi Sandsto Rosaasen (Nor) Team United Bakeries	64
52 Sarah Koba (Swi)	58
53 Laura Metzler (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	58
54 Cécile Ravanel (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix	57
55 Katherine Compton (USA) Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	51
56 Rowena Fry (Aus)	51
57 Katarzyna Solus-Miskowicz (Pol)	40
58 Corina Gantenbein (Swi) Fischer - BMC	36
59 Chloe Woodruff (USA)	36
60 Githa Michiels (Bel) Trek-KMC Trade Team	28
61 Samantha Sanders (RSA)	26
62 Jean Ann Berkenpas (Can)	24
63 Mikaela Kofman (Can) Scott-3Roxracing	24
64 Fanny Bourdon (Fra) GT Skoda Chamonix	23
65 Ivonne Kraft (Ger)	20
66 Pavla Havlikova (Cze)	15
67 Anja Gradl (Ger) Team Bulls	14
68 Willow Rockwell (USA) Trek World Racing	14
69 Jenni King (Aus)	13
70 Jodie Willett (Aus)	13
71 Katherine O'shea (Aus)	12
72 Caroline Mani (Fra)	11
73 Pavlina Sulcova (Cze) Merida Biking Team	10
74 Catherine Vipond (Can)	9
75 Julia Colvin (RSA)	9
76 Anna Villar Argente (Spa)	8
77 Jane Nussli (GBr) Fischer - BMC	8
78 Melanie Palframan (RSA)	8

Elite women's team World Cup standings after three rounds

1 Luna Pro Team	205	pts
2 CCC Polkowice	135
3 BH - SR Suntour - Peisey Vallandry	106
4 Ghost Factory Racing Team	104
5 Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team	99
6 Subaru - Trek	97
7 Rabobank Giant Offroad Team	87
8 Topeak Ergon Racing Team	82
9 Colnago Sudtirol	80
10 Sabine Spitz Haibike Team	62
11 Wheeler - IXS Team	47
12 Multivan Merida Biking Team	35
13 Milka Brentjens MTB Racing Team	33
14 Team Fujibikes Rockets	31
15 Specialized Racing	29
16 Bikepark.Ch Craft	28
17 Notebooksbilliger.De Team	22
18 Specialized Solodet Vosges	18
19 ISD MTB Team	12
20 GT Skoda Chamonix	9
21 Salcano Factory Team	8
22 Focus MIG Team	7
23 Team Crampfix Nakamura	2

Pro bike: Old man Chris Horner's Trek Madone 6.9 SSL

Ben Delaney in Santa Rosa, CA — Sun, 13 May 2012 13:25:00 GMT

Chris Horner has never been overly concerned with what professionals are “supposed to do”. And at age 40, the RadioShack-Nissan-Trek rider who started the 2012 Amgen Tour of California Sunday as the defending champion isn’t about to change his style.

On the eve of arguably the biggest race in America, riding on one of the world’s biggest professional cycling teams, Horner’s bike looked more like the rig of one of the fans cruising the team parking lot than the stereotypical pro bike.

For one thing, Horner rides with a saddle bag, even when followed by the team car. And he carries a pump, strapped to said saddle bag. His seat tube bottle cage is filled with a spare tubular, just in case.

For another thing, Horner rides a taller head tube than Trek’s “pro” geometry that the company calls H1. H2 features a head tube that’s 3cm taller than H1 geometry. A 56cm Madone 6.9 SSL in the H2 geometry has a 17cm head tube. (The reach is also about .5cm shorter.)

In fairness, Horner isn’t alone on the team in riding the H2 geometry. Five riders, including 27-year-old Matt Busche, use the H2 bikes.

“It is a lot about cosmetics, but it is also structurally stronger not having a big stack of spacers beneath the stem,” said Trek team liaison Jordan Roessingh.

Another nod to Horner’s preference for comfort over the stereotypical pro look — 25cm tires. (He will likely be racing 23s Schwalbe tubulars with the rest of his team throughout the week in California.)

Horner likes to be prepared. Even when he has a team car following him the day before the 2012 Amgen Tour of California

Horner is the only one on the team riding the wide Bontrager RL saddle, which he runs on a seatpost with almost no set-back. On the 56cm frame, Horner has a 120 stem.

“Chris is not exactly slammed,” Roessingh said of Horner’s position.

But despite his lack of concern for what pros are “supposed to do” for position, Horner continues to demonstrate the ability to deliver what really counts for professionals — getting himself first across the line.

Be sure to follow all the daily coverage of the Amgen Tour of California this week on Cyclingnews.com as Horner and his teammates defend his race title.

MTB World Cup #3: Freiburghaus and Engen win Eliminator

Rob Jones, Cyclingnews.com — Sat, 12 May 2012 08:10:00 GMT

Men: Attacking raid nets Freiburghaus the victory

This article was originally published on Cyclingnews.com

The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup saw a new face on the top step of the podium of the Eliminator at Nove Mesto na Morave in the Czech Republic. A brillant mid-race attack by Sepp Freiburghaus (Thoemus Racing caught all of his rivals off guard, allowing the Swiss rider to take the win.

Australian Paul van der Ploeg (Felt Oetztal X-Bionic) was considered the favourite for the men, after qualifying first and finishing second here last year. His powerful sprint afforded him the ability to come from behind on the long finishing straight.

In the final, Freiburghaus and van der Ploeg were joined by Mirco Widmer (Giant Swiss SR Suntour), Germany's Martin Gluth, Marcel Wildhaber (Scott-Swisspower) and Marek Konwa (Milka-Superior). Significantly, round one winner Brian Lopes and cross-country stars Jose Hermida (Multivan Merida), Manuel Fumic (Cannondale) and Marco Fontana (Cannondale) did not make the final.

Paul Van Der Ploeg (Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team) out of the start house

In the final, at the far side of the course on the only climb, Freiburghaus attacked, immediately gaining ten metres on his rivals, who all looked at each other, with none willing to take the initiative and lead the chase. Coming into the final straightaway, Freiburghaus was still well in front and cruised across the line while van der Ploeg led the rest of the group in, shaking his head. Widmer took third.

"It was pretty tactical in the climb," explained Freiburghaus, "and so I changed my tactic for the final. I tried with an attack on the climb, and then got a gap. On this Eliminator it was very important to have a good tactic. If you are in the lead for the whole round you have a problem, when you come with four or five guys on this straight finish. I am very happy to bring it to the line."

"It was a brilliant move by Sepp [Freiburghaus]," commented van der Ploeg. "I was thinking 'oh damn' when he attacked, but that was it, that was the move. I would have liked to have won, of course, but I'm happy to be on the podium again."

Women: Engen too good in Nove Mesto

This article was originally published on Cyclingnews.com

Alexandra Engen (Ghost Factory) dominated the women's competition at round two of the UCI Eliminator World Cup. The second round of the Eliminator was completely different from round one in Houffalize, Belgium. Where the Belgian race had short, steep climbs, technical descents and narrow singletrack, Nove Mesto was wide open, with pavement and dirt forest roads. This led to multiple sprints and some photo finish results in the heats.

Engen qualified first for the women and won both of her preliminary heats to move into the final. She was joined there by 2011 cross-country World Cup champion Julie Bresset (BH-SR Suntour-Peisey Vallandry), Eva Lechner (Colnago Sudtirol), Australia's Rowena Fry, Laura Turpijn (MPL Specialized) and Cecile Ravanel (GT Skoda Chamonix). Missing from the final were former world champions Tracy Moseley and Anneke Beerten (Milka-Superior).

Turpijn took the early lead, but the group stayed together for the entire 1100 metre circuit, with Engen hitting the front 150 metres from the line and easily outdistancing her rivals. Engen had enough of a lead to coast across the line with her arms in the air, while Bresset nipped countrywoman Ravanel at the line for second.

After and early season filled with injury and illness, this is the first time Engen has felt fully healthy. "This is a really positive result for me, after the spring. In the quarter finals I realized that I had my full fitness, and that I was able to do well. I like this kind of wide courses where it is possible to pass and use my sprint."

Results

Men

Big final

1 Sepp Freiburghaus (Sui) Thoemus Racing Team
2 Paul Van Der Ploeg (Aus) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
3 Mirco Widmer (Sui) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour
4 Marcel Wildhaber (Sui) Scott - Swisspower Mtb Racing Team
5 Marek Konwa (Pol) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team
6 Martin Gluth (Ger)

Small final

7 Kevin Van Hoovels (Bel) Versluys Team
8 Simon Gegenheimer (Ger) Multivan Merida Biking Team
9 Jochen Kass (Ger) S&H Superior MTB Team
10 Milan Spesny (Cze) Cannondale Factory Racing
11 Martin Gujan (Sui) Notebooksbilliger.De Team
12 Daniel Federspiel (Aut)

Round 1

13 Jan Fojtik (Cze)
14 Lukas Loretz (Sui) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour
15 Philip Buys (RSA)
16 Simon Stiebjahn (Ger)
17 Lukas Kaufmann (Sui) Team Fujibikes Rockets
18 Marco Schätzing (Ger)
19 Thomas Litscher (Sui) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
20 Simon Scheiber (Aut) Felt Oetztal X - Bionic Team
21 Kenta Gallagher (GBr)
22 Moritz Milatz (Ger) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team
23 Fabrice Mels (Bel) Salcano Factory Team
24 Matthias Wengelin (Swe) Team Herbalife 24 Raumerrittet
25 Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing
26 Rudi Van Houts (Ned) Multivan Merida Biking Team
27 Jérémy Huguenin (Sui) Giant Swiss Sr - Suntour
28 Miha Halzer (Slo) Energijateam.Com
29 Brian Lopes (USA)
30 Michal Lami (Svk)
31 Markus Bauer (Ger)
32 Ola Kjören (Nor) Team Herbalife 24 Raumerrittet
33 Jan Nesvadba (Cze)
34 Marek Rauchfuss (Cze) S&H Superior MTB Team
35 Marco Aurelio Fontana (Ita) Cannondale Factory Racing
36 Davy Huygens (Bel)

Women

Big final

1 Alexandra Engen (Swe) Ghost Factory Racing Team
2 Julie Bresset (Fra) Bh - Sr Suntour - Peisey Vallandry
3 Cécile Ravanel (Fra) Gt Skoda Chamonix
4 Eva Lechner (Ita) Colnago Sudtirol
5 Laura Turpijn (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team
6 Rowena Fry (Aus)

Small final

7 Anne Terpstra (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team
8 Pavla Havlikova (Cze)
9 Pavlina Sulcova (Cze) Merida Biking Team
10 Chloe Woodruff (USA)
11 Ramona Forchini (Sui) MTB Kader Zentralschweiz
12 Kajsa Snihs (Swe)

Round 1

13 Jenny Rissveds (Swe) Sweden
14 Ana Zupan (Slo) Energijateam.com
15 Tracy Moseley (GBr)
16 Angelica Edvardsson (Swe)
17 Heidi Sandsto Rosaasen (Nor) Team United Bakeries
18 Anneke Beerten (Ned) Milka-Superior MTB Racing Team
19 Paula Gorycka (Pol) 4F E-Vive Racing Team
20 Caroline Mani (Fra)
21 Nicoletta De Jager (Ned) MPL Specialized MTB Team
22 Joanna Petterson (USA)
23 Lucie Vesela (Cze) GT Bicycles Opportunity
24 Tina Perse (Slo) Slovenia
25 Katherine O'shea (Aus)
26 Erica Zaveta (USA) Moda-Bikemagic Racing Team
27 Weronika Rybarczyk (Pol) Superior MTB Energy Team
28 Imogen Buick (GBr) Moda-Bikemagic Racing Team
29 Rita Malinkiewicz (Pol) Poland

Official 2012 Tour de France Souvenir Pack available to pre-order now

BikeRadar UK — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:43:00 GMT

Celebrate the build up to the world’s greatest race with the only UK Official Tour De France Guide 2012, which is available to pre-order now.

Put together by the team behind Procycling magazine and Cyclingnews.com, and featuring the best cycling writers in the world, this year’s guide is better than ever.

This year’s massive 228-page official programme comes packed with detailed maps and profiles of each stage, stats for every rider, interviews with the stars, expert analysis and a lot more.

In addition to the official programme the souvenir pack also contains:

- a highlights DVD with all the best action from last year's Tour.

- a massive wall planner for filling in the stage winner and jersey holders after each day’s racing.

- classic book extracts with dramatic stories from some of the legends of the Tour, featuring Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Mark Cavendish.

- the official, fold-out, full-size race route map to stop you getting lost on the roads of France (should you be lucky enough to be there!). Looks great on your wall too.

The Official 2012 Tour de France Souvenir Pack, containing the Official UK Tour de France Programme, goes on sale in all good UK newsagents on 1 June, priced £9.99. But don’t risk missing out - Click here and pre-order yours today including FREE delivery!.

New wind tunnel and fitting service offered in UK

BikeRadar UK — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:27:00 GMT

UK cyclists and triathletes have a new avenue for bike fitting and wind tunnel testing in order to optimise their positions on the bike.

Prestige Cycles (Hove, East Sussex) have partnered with the University of Southampton's wind tunnel facility to offer an all-in-one bike fit and wind tunnel package for £799.

The service will be a two-stage process, the first being a bike fit at Prestige Cycles. This will last roughly 2.5 hours and involve a member of shop staff, a sports physio, Dartfish video analysis and foot bed assessment. The outcome will be four positions for an aero fit that can be fine tuned in the tunnel.

Tunnel sessions will take place at the University of Southampton (with their technicians on hand) at the end of each month and last approximately 1.5 hours. Each of the rider's four positions will be tested and the best one in aero terms will be fine tuned.

Tunnel time only will cost £550/hour. For comparison, Drag2Zero's wind tunnel testing costs £899 for a two hour session. For more information, email info@prestige-cycles.co.uk.

Video: The University of Southampton wind tunnel

Preview: 2012 Mountain Bike World Cup #3

Cyclingnews.com — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:40:00 GMT

This preview is based on an article originally published on Cyclingnews.com.

The 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series hits Nove Mesto na Morave in the Czech Republic this weekend after a one-month break since the last round in Houffalize, Belgium.

Once again, it'll be skinny-tyred action only, with cross-country and Eliminator racing but no downhill – you'll have to wait until next weekend's World Cup in La Bresse, France for your fix of 'gravity' action.

The next two weekends of racing are crucial as they're the final opportunities for nations to score valuable ranking points for Olympic qualification (and for riders to meet Olympic standards), so the level of competition will be more intense than ever, with riders fighting for every position.

Nove Mesto is hosting the World Cup for the second time, after last year's race was chosen by the riders, teams and press as the top cross-country event of 2011. Held in the scenic Vysocina region southeast of Prague, the event is headquartered at the Czech Nordic and Biathlon centre, providing a superb stadium (doubled in size from last year) for fans to watch the start and finish of the racing, and cheer on their countryman, defending men's champion Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized).

Eliminator

The action begins today with the eliminator, an exciting short course event that has riders sprint around a course filled with obstacles, with the top two moving on to the next round after each heat. Usually, the eliminator runs heats of four riders at a time but Nove Mesto will run six on the track at once, to make the racing even more exciting.

The course has been totally redesigned from last year and will take place mostly on asphalt, meaning that spectators are likely to see multiple bunch sprint finishes. Britain's Annie Last (Milka Brentjens) and American Brian Lopes (Ibis) won the first round in Houffalize last month, but the tight racing and crashes mean that they're by no means assured of repeating.

Cross-country

The cross-country circuit is similar to last year, with long climbs through the surrounding forest requiring tremendous fitness, plus technical descents demanding concentration and skill to do well. However, organisers have lengthened the course to 4.46km with the addition of a BMX-style technical section at the far end. This will require both speed and technical skill – a rider could easily open a gap here, or drop out of contention with a mistake.

On Sunday, it's expected that the elite men will do six laps (plus a start loop) and the elite women one lap less. Currently, it's sunny and in the low 20°Cs. However, a cold front is moving in for the weekend, with frost expected tomorrow night, and it could be as low as single digits for the start of the women's race.

World champion Catharine Pendrel (Luna) leads the women's World Cup standings after her dominating performance in Houffalize, but she's tied on points with Maja Wloszczowska (CCC Polkowice) at 410. The 2011 World Cup champion, Julie Bresset (BH-SR Suntour-Peisey Vallandry), sits in third place with 340 points, just 20 ahead of Emily Batty (Subaru-Trek). Pendrel and Bresset finished one-two in Nove Mesto last year, so expect them both to be contenders, along with Wloszczowska. One other rider who's sure to be in the mix is Pendrel's teammate Katerina Nash, a local rider who began her international sports career here as a Nordic skier.

For the men, it should be an exciting battle between defending champion and local hero Kulhavy, current World Cup leader Nino Schurter (Scott-Swisspower) and round two winner Julien Absalon (Orbea). Kulhavy dominated the World Cup last year, including his home win in Nove Mesto, however, this year he's been building his fitness slower and is currently ranked seventh. This trio finished one-two-three last year, and it'll be interesting to see if the influx of 20,000 local fans will inspire Kulhavy to new levels and a repeat win.

Video: The Athertons, chapter 2

BikeRadar, UK — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:15:00 GMT

In this second video from our exclusive four-part series filmed at home with the most famous siblings in mountain biking, the Athertons, it's Rachel who takes centre stage.

The 24-year-old talks about her recovery from injury, her hopes for the 2012 season and her favourite new bike the GT Force, and then takes us on a cross-country ride with her dog Angus. Check it out below (click here for a larger version):

Filmed and edited by Liam Murphy

Vision Metron time trial groupset – First look

Warren Rossiter, in Bath, England — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:10:00 GMT

FSA/Vision’s time trial groupset has been on our radar for a while now – we first came across prototypes at Eurobike 2010. Finally the group is ready and set to be ridden by Gustav Larsson and his Vacansoleil-DMC teammates, plus Team Androni Giocattoli too, at the Giro d'Italia. Designed purely to meet the needs of TT riders, it has components that radically differ from any else on the market right now.

Shifters

Up front the Metron TT shifter looks at first glance like a brake lever. Designed to fit into the forward extensions of a TT bar, the lever blade is actually the up-shifter. A pull on the lever allows for shifting of up to three cogs at a time, with a return to the start position after shifting. Downshifts are done via the button integrated into the lever housing, a simple push providing the shift. The unit weighs in at 192g and is compatible with Shimano drivetrains (as well as Metron, obviously).

Front derailleur

The front derailleur uses a carbon link construction and a wider than usual spacing. The cage is a full-aluminium affair and uses stainless steel hardware for precise, flex-free shifts under load. The shape of the cage allows for a maximium tooth difference of 16t which means it’ll work with anything from a compact 50/34t setup up to a TT-specific 56t outer ring. Despite the burly construction, the front mech only tips the scales to the tune of 63g (braze-on).

Rear derailleur

The rear mech looks radically different to the early designs and prototypes. It has an aerodynamic design, with the outer and inner cage plates fully enclosed to reduce turbulence. The pulleys mix a standard 11t top wheel with a massive 15t lower. Vision claim the larger lower pulley saves energy, though that remains to be seen. The short cage design will accept up to a 28t sprocket and is compatible with Metron, SRAM and Shimano drivetrains.

Cassette

The Metron cassette features heavily ramped teeth and pins to aid faster shifting. The internals are heavily machined but Vision have avoided removing too much material from the freehub interface to help reduce damage to alloy freehub bodies. The sprocket are riveted together rather than machined from one piece a la SRAM but weight is kept down to a healthy 165g (11-21t). The 10-speed cassette will be available with ratios of 11-21t, 11-23t and 12-25t.

Crankset

The Metron crankset uses hollow unidirectional carbon fibre arms bonded to an aluminium axle that spins on full ceramic bearings. The heavily scalloped shape of the arms is wind tunnel designed and keeps the Q-factor (distance between pedal centres) down to a respectable 145mm.

The dome shaped spider and solid outer ring keep it aerodynamic, and looking great. Arms will be available in lengths from 170 to 180mm, increasing in 2.5mm increments. There's a choice of three chainring combinations: 53/39, 54/42 or 55/42t. Complete claimed weight is 730g.

Just when you thought we had enough bottom bracket standards in cycling, along comes another. But before you dismiss the BB386 design used here, we think it’s actually the most interesting and the one with the widest potential applications.

While Cannondale’s excellent BB30 system is considered the benchmark of light weight and stiffness, it does require a bike designed to use it. That’s because it relies on a direct fit (to the frame) bearing. FSA/Vision, who offer plenty of BB30 options, have taken the principle of a bigger 30mm axle but increased the width from 80mm to 86mm. This means that, with the use of one of FSA’s various bottom bracket adaptors you can use a BB386 chainset on any bike.

The increase in axle width widens the Q-factor over BB30 bikes, but Vision have designed the chainset to minimise this. Bikes designed from the outset to use the BB386 standard can be built with a wider bottom bracket shell, which helps improve rigidity in this crucial area.

Aero brake levers

The Metron aero brake levers are quite a minimal design. They’re compatible with any 24mm OD bars and fit via an internal expanding wedge. The lever blade is made from unidirectional carbon fibre while the wedge and pivot are alloy. Designed to be used with Vision's DragOn brake cables, they tip the scales at a lightweight 45.5g.

Cycling News HD issue 2 on sale now

BikeRadar, UK — Thu, 10 May 2012 09:45:00 GMT

Issue two of Cycling News HD, the weekly digital magazine for iPad, is available to download now.

Featuring an in-depth look back on the Giro d'Italia's visit to Denmark, it also focus on this week's stages back on home soil in Italy. The issue also features an interview with the dominant rider of the spring campaign, Tom Boonen, and looks ahead to the upcoming Amgen Tour of California.

Featuring world class photography, in-depth reports, analysis and opinion, your issue of this week's Cycling News HD is out now. Click here to get your copy.

Campagnolo EPS time trial shifters spotted at Giro

Jeff Jones in Verona, Italy — Wed, 09 May 2012 23:29:00 GMT

Campagnolo EPS electronic shifting may have taken years to get to market but already we're seeing the technology being applied to time trial shifters.

Case in point, stage 4 of the Giro d'Italia, a 33km team time trial starting and finishing in Verona. Although many teams were riding with Dura-Ace Di2 electronic shifting, a couple - namely Lotto-Belisol and Movistar - were sporting Campagnolo EPS shifting on a few of their bikes, with fully functional return-to-centre shifters on the extensions and satellite shifters on the cowhorns.

Campy tech lab time trial shifters

As you can see from our photos, team mechanics have had to get a bit creative with cabling through the handlebars, but it's clear that we're not far away from seeing full production versions of these shifters.

The second piece of new kit we came across was the Vision Metron time trial groupset on Gustav Erik Larsson's Vacansoleil Bianchi. That's shifters, levers, derailleurs and cranks all under the Vision Metron brand (brake calipers were FSA K-Force by the same company). It looked interesting but alas, it wasn't ridden during the stage as there just wasn't the time to set it up properly. Hopefully we'll see it working in future races.

Gustav Erik Larsson's Vision Metron equipped Bianchi

There was plenty to see from the team time trial in Verona. Just click on the image gallery to see it all.

Canyon Speedmax CF Evo launched

Jeff Jones in Verona, Italy — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:53:00 GMT

German online bike company Canyon officially unveiled their Speedmax CF Evo time trial bike before stage 4 of the Giro d'Italia in Verona today. It's the product of 10 aerodynamicists, engineers and designers who've worked with former top time trialist Michael Rich, and the result is an extremely well thought out piece of speed weaponry.

The skinny

- Indoor velodrome testing on this bike had Denis Menchov (Katusha) putting out just 270W to go 47km/h (CdA in the low 0.18s). In layman's terms that's very quick for not a huge amount of effort.

- There are 7,560 (!) possible ways to set up the cockpit in each of three frame sizes, by altering handlebars, stems and extension type, and making width and height adjustments

- Only available with Shimano Di2 electronic shifting (Ultegra or Dura-Ace)

- Earliest availability mid-October 2012, depending on component sourcing

- Pricing for complete bikes will start at ~€4,000

- UCI legal in both TT and triathlon versions

The frame

When looking closely at the frame of the Speedmax CF Evo, the first thing that stands out is that the fork, seat and down tube profiles aren't traditional NACA airfoil shapes. They're curved at the front but taper off sharply. Canyon said that in doing their initial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) designs, they found that the NACA shapes were neither as aerodynamic nor stable at speeds below 70km/h and yaw angles up to ~10 degrees as their new profiles, which they've dubbed Trident.

The evolution of the Trident shape

Canyon built an adjustable prototype and tested it at the Mercedes Petronas Drag2Zero wind tunnel in the UK, guided by aerodynamics expert Simon Smart. That led to some minor tweaking of the profile shape, followed by a full CFD build of the bike, then another prototype and final testing in the tunnel. The result was a frame that was a lot slipperier (more on that below), 25 percent more stable in crosswinds, 15 percent torsionally stiffer and around 300g lighter than their current Speedmax CF.

The stability of the frame is potentially a big win and was one of the things Michael Rich emphasised as being important. The less energy used to battle crosswinds, the more can be used to propel the bike forward.

Integration of key components

With the frame sorted, Canyon's next challenge was to integrate the handlebars, stem, forks and brakes into the most aerodynamic package possible. This isn't a new problem, so it's no surprise to see the front brake hidden inside the fork, the rear behind the bottom bracket, the stem nicely flush with the top tube and the cabling as internal as possible.

Exposed cables are kept to a minimum

There's a total of 12cm of exposed cable on this bike – the rest feeds through the handlebars into the stem, down a "virtual steerer tube", into the down tube and through the chainstays. It's apparently not too difficult to install either. Finally, the fork has been optimised to work best with 80mm deep front wheels, and it will accomodate wide rims. Canyon say this level of integration resulted in total savings of 21W at 50km/h (about 2sec/km) over the Speedmax CF.

Geometry and adjustability

Canyon will offer the Speedmax CF Evo in three sizes: S (54cm seat tube), M (56cm) and L (58cm), all growing proportionally in seat tube, top tube, head tube, wheelbase, stack (bottom bracket to top tube distance) and reach (BB to steerer) length. All feature 73.25° head angles and 73.5° or 76.5° seat angles, depending on which seatpost is chosen.

There are two stem options: one flush with the top tube and a riser – albeit a sleek one – with the option of spacers. The bike can therefore meet the requirements of UCI races (laid back Selle Italia Monolink seatpost) and triathlon (steeper fliphead rail seatpost) without radical changes.

Taking bar adjustability to the extreme

Looking at the front end in more detail, the cockpit options are mind boggling. There are two different types of stems (flat or riser) in three lengths (75mm-90mm-105mm), flat or downswept 420mm wide cowhorn bars, three types of extensions (straight, S-bend, J or L-bend) which can be mounted above or below the base bar, three different width and 20 different height options for the extensions, and three different pad widths.

Canyon reckon that gives you 7,560 possible ways to set up your cockpit, while keeping the sleekness of the frame intact. We think this alone is worth waiting for as no other bar setup offers this. There are in addition three fork rake options (5mm total either way) but you'd really want to test ride the bike before playing with that.

Design

Designing the Speedmax wasn't a simple process

The Speedmax CF Evo is a function-over-form bike, but its designer, Tomas Fiegl from Artefakt, still had to produce something that looked good. Aesthetics are a key selling point after all, and this machine does follow through with some slick artwork and an elegant frame.

The red top tubes and handlebar tops on the Katusha bikes we saw look the business. Think "knife" and "sword" and you get the idea. It's complemented by a white 'Z' shape on the sides of the tubes with the Canyon name pretty prominent, as you'd expect. The bike has been awarded a 2012 Red Dot design award as well as the all-important UCI certification.

Specification and availability

The Canyon Speedmax CF Evo is being specced with Shimano Dura-Ace or Ultegra Di2 electronic groupsets, with batteries being placed inside the frame. Surprisingly there's not going to be a mechanical option, but Canynon are confident that this won't affect sales. Given that prices for complete bikes with Ultegra Di2 and low-end wheelsets are expected to start from around €4,000, we can understand why they're not worried. Most superbike framesets cost this alone.

Shimano Di2 shifting only

Wheelset options will be a choice of Mavic, Reynolds or Zipp, while on the saddle front you'll have to be content with a Selle Italia (Monolink or rail). The bike's a 2013 model and will be available from mid-October, providing Canyon's component suppliers can meet the demand. We're aiming to get one to test a little before then, and will be quick to report on how it rides.

Putting it to the test with Katusha's 'climbing team'

Team Katusha were astride their Speedmax CF Evo machines in today's fourth stage of the Giro. Team boss Hans-Michael Holczer insisted that they didn't have the team to win and merely wanted to support climber and general classification rider Joaquim Rodriguez, and that he'd be happy with anything above 15th. Saying that, the lads did rather well for themselves, finishing second in the stage, just five seconds behind winners Garmin-Barracuda.

The new Speedmax CF Evo in its 'triathlon' guise with forward seatpost and riser stem

Video: A brief history of the Giro d'Italia

Cyclingnews.com — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:51:00 GMT

Wednesday sees the 2012 Giro d'Italia arrive on home soil after the brief three-stage sojourn in Denmark, so it's as good a time as any to look back at a race with over 100 years of history.

In the video below, Cyclingnews' Mark Robinson takes us on a whistle stop tour of what many people consider to be the most prestigious race in the sport, from the early years of Coppi and Bartali to the present day and why a race that's Italian through and through started in Denmark.

Giro d'Italia: A brief history

Ticket prices revealed for Box Hill area of Olympic road race

BikeRadar, UK — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:14:00 GMT

Cycling fans will have to stump up as much as £15 to watch key sections of the Olympic road race this summer, organisers have confirmed.

The decision by LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) to charge spectators to view proceedings on key sections of the route caused uproar in the cycling community when it was announced last year and news of the exact figures will only further rile fans of what is traditionally a free-to-view sport.

Parts of the section in question, Box Hill, are owned by the National Trust and spectator numbers on certain stretches will be limited to 15,000 in order to protect the area, with LOCOG saying the decision to charge was “in line with London 2012 aims to provide fair access and safety at venues”.

Tickets, which go on sale here from Tuesday 29 May, cost £15 for the Donkey Green area (£5 for under 16s/60+) and £10/£5 for the viewing area at Dormouse Drive. Other parts of Box Hill will be free to view, along with the rest of the route.

The time trial at Hampton Court Palace hasn't swerved the money men either. Prices come in two tiers, depending on whether you go for Viewing Area A (£15/£5 for full price/under 16s and Over 60s) or Viewing Area B (£10/£5).

The men's and women's road races (28 and 29 July) are among the first events taking place at the summer's Games, with both time trials following on 1 August.

What do you think? Will you be parting with your cash when the tickets go on sale at the end of May, taking your free place on The Mall for the race's climax or just staying at home and watching on TV?

Cavendish left unimpressed by Ferrari move

Cyclingnews.com — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:22:00 GMT

This article was originally published on Cyclingnews.com.

Mark Cavendish has voiced his frustration at being taken out by a diversion from Androni-Giocattoli-Venezuela rider Roberto Ferrari within sight of the Giro d'Italia's Stage 3 finish in Horsens.

Cavendish was one of several riders, which also included maglia rosa Taylor Phinney, to crash after Ferrari changed his sprint line. The reigning world champion hit the tarmac at 75km/h injuring his left shoulder and losing his fair share of skin. Ferrari was relegated by commissaries to last place for the manoeuvre.

"Ouch! Crashing at 75kph isn't nice! Nor is seeing Roberto Ferrari's manoeuvre. Should be ashamed to take out Pink, Red & World Champ jerseys,"the Manxman tweeted following the stage.

"Apparently Roberto Ferrari has said to journalists, when asked about the incident, that he can't see what happens behind him & doesn't care," Cavendish continued. "Is the team of Roberto Ferrari or the UCI going to do the right thing? Other riders, including myself, have been sent home for much less."

Androni-Venezuela manger Gianni Savio made no bones about his rider Ferrari's responsibility, telling Cyclingnews: "I'm on the bus going to the airport [for the transfer – ed.] and I will apologize to Mark Cavendish in the name of the team and in the name of Roberto Ferrari for the incorrect behaviour that was not intentional."

Sky's team doctor explained that he was hopeful of Cavendish recovering. "Mark's had a bad crash and is very uncomfortable but we're taking care of him," Richard Freeman told teamsky.com.

Cavendish had commented following his Stage 2 win at the post-race press conference that the pure sprint stages were becoming more dangerous.

"Because things are changing in the peloton, there's not the respect that there used to be," he told reporters. "That means there's a lot more crashes... a sprint team wants to stay at the front, and a sprint team is fighting with a GC team. If every team tries to stay together and stay at the front it becomes more of a stress."

CLIF Bar give opportunity to chat with Levi Leipheimer today

BikeRadar US — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:15:00 GMT

Three-time Amgen Tour of California champion and Olympic bronze medalist, Levi Leipheimer, will be answering viewer questions at 4:30EST (1:30PST) in a 30 minute live webcast sponsored by CLIF Bar.

Here’s how to attend: Go to CLIF Bar’s Ustream Page to watch the web cast. Choose your medium to present questions: Twitter (hashtag #AskTeamCLIFBar), CLIF Bar’s Facebook page, or via Ustream chat (you must create a Ustream account to chat directly).

Should you just want to watch there’s no sign-up process, just click on the above link. CLIF have made the webcast open to the public.

If you do participate and Levi picks your question as one to answer, you’ll score a signed limited edition signed Levi poster from CLIF bar.