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Reigning world champion Cadel Evans has been left off his BMC team’s roster for Saturday’s Milan-San Remo, the first one-day classic of the season.

Evans showed his early season form by finishing third overall Sunday in Italy’s Tirreno-Adriatico.

However BMC will be led by Italian Alessandro Ballan, who preceded Evans as world champion in 2008, with American George Hincapie, Dutchman Karsten Kroon and German Marcus Burghardt expected to play key roles. Americans Jeff Louder and Brent Bookwalter also will start.

BMC for Milan-San Remo:

Alessandro Ballan, Brent Bookwalter, Marcus Burghardt, George Hincapie, Karsten Kroon, Jeff Louder, Michael Schaer, Danilo Wyss.

Milram’s Linus Gerdemann and Johannes Fröhlinger, who each left Paris-Nice will illness last week, will return to racing at Milan-San Remo, the team announced Wednesday.

“Linus could be a surprise (at Milan-San Remo),“ said Christian Henn, who together with Vittorio Algeri will direct the team at the race.  “He won a stage with a similar profile at Tirreno-Adriatico, even if the stage was only half as long as here. And Luke Roberts is also in good form. When everything works out, he can be near the front of such a long and challenging race. Basically, we have a team that is good for a surprise, and we have no pressure on us because of all the riders missing due to injuries.“

Milram’s Fabian Wegmann will miss the race due to a broken collarbone, while Gerald Ciolek is recovering from a shoulder operation.  Ciolek is currently at an altitude training camp doing cross-country skiing and rehabilitation exercises, the team said.

Team Milram at Milan-San Remo:

Markus Fothen, Johannes Fröhlinger, Linus Gerdemann, Christian Knees, Luke Roberts, Roy Sentjens, Niki Terpstra, Paul Voß.

Directeurs Sportif:  Vittorio Algeri and Christian Henn.

The U.S. Open of Cycling, which had been scheduled for May, and would have been part of the USA Cycling Professional Tour, has been canceled, its organizers announced Wednesday.

The event has been held once, in Virginia in 2007. Organizers planned to move it Providence, Rhode Island, for 2008, but, while the event has been put on the UCI calendar each year since, they have not been able to produce it because of lack of sponsorship.

Richard Durishin, executive director of the U.S. Open Cycling Foundation, said, “Unfortunately, we have not been able to secure the sponsorship needed to run the U.S. Open of Cycling this year and are cancelling the event. We have already begun discussions with potential sponsors for the 2011 race and we hope that, by then, the interested parties are enjoying the fruits of a more robust economy.”

The U.S. Open Cycling Foundation is a non-profit that has remained active in promoting the use of cycling as part of a healthy lifestyle.

“The work of the U.S. Open Cycling Foundation, which focuses on reducing childhood obesity by inspiring kids of all ages to incorporate cycling into their daily lives, will continue in Rhode Island schools, businesses and on the state’s numerous bike paths through the season,” Durishin said.

Cofidis’ young speedster Jens Keukeleire won Wednesday’s Nokere-Koerse in Belgium, a 192-kilometer race from between Oudenaarde and Nokere.

Keukeleire already won this spring’s Three Days of West Flanders and Le Samyn.

Second place in the UCI 1.1 race went to Belgian’s Kris Boeckmans (Topsport Vlaaderen) and third went to Bobbie Traksel (Vacansoleil), winner of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne earlier this month.

American John Murphy (BMC) was sixth in the field sprint, and his teammates Stewart Jackson and Chad Beyer were 66th and 125th, respectively.

Top Ten:

• 1. Jens KEUKELEIRE (BEL) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne in 4:38:24
• 2. Kris BOECKMANS (BEL) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator at 0
• 3. Bobbie TRAKSEL (NED) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team at 0
• 4. Kenny DE HAES (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto at 0
• 5. Klaas LODEWYCK (BEL) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator at 0
• 6. John MURPHY (USA) BMC Racing Team at 0
• 7. James VANLANDSCHOOT (BEL) Verandas Willems at 0
• 8. Alexander PORSEV (RUS) at 0
• 9. Danilo WYSS (SUI) BMC Racing Team at 0
• 10. Roger KLUGE (GER) Milram at 0

MILRAM captain and teammate Johannes Fröhlinger recovered from illness and return to racing

Dortmund, 17. March 2010. Just in time for the 101st edition of the classic race Milan-San Remo (March 20 / UCI HIS), Team MILRAM can report that it has removed two riders from the sick list. Captain Linus Gerdemann and teammate Johannes Fröhlinger have recovered from the intestinal problems which forced them out of the Italian stage race Tirreno-Adriatico. Team MILRAM will be strengthened on the 298 kilometers from the city of Milan to San Remo on the Mediterranean coast by German riders Christian Knees, Markus Fothen and Paul Voß, Australian Luke Roberts, Dutchman Niki Terpstra and Belgian Roy Sentjens.

„Linus could be a surprise here,“ said Christian Henn, who together with Vittorio Algeri will serve as Directeur Sportif in the SKODA team car at the race. „He won a stage with a similar profile at Tirreno-Adriatico, even if the stage was only half as long as here. And Luke Roberts is also in good form. When everything works out, he can be near the front of such a long and challenging race. Basically, we have a team that is good for a surprise, and we have no pressure on us because of all the riders missing due to injuries.“

This coming Saturday Team MILRAM will have to do without two key riders. Allrounder Fabian Wegmann must miss the race due to a broken collarbone, while MILRAM captain Gerald Ciolek is recovering from a shoulder operation. He is currently in an altitude training camp with physio Christian Neitzert doing cross-country skiing and rehabilitation exercises.

Milan-San Remo is the longest one-day race in professional cycling, with nearly 300 kilometers. The race, affectionately known as „La classicissima“, has been organized by the Gazetta dello Sport since 1907. The course has not changed much over the years. The riders go from Milan over Turchino Pass. Especially spectacular and usually decisive are the small climbs near the end of the otherwise generally flat race, including the Cipressa (about 20 km before the finish) and the Poggio de San Remo (about 6 km before the finish). Despite these two climbs, known as „Capi“, the race has always come down to a mass sprint.

The record champion at La Primavera with seven wins is the Belgian “Cannibal”, Eddy Merckx (1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976). Ex-MILRAM captain Erik Zabel with four victories (1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001) is tied for third place on the all-time list with Gino Bartali and behind Constante Girardengo.

Team MILRAM at Mailand-Sanremo:
Markus Fothen (GER/Kaarst) (BEL/Turnhout), Johannes Fröhlinger (Freiburg im Breisgau), Linus Gerdemann (GER/ Kreuzlingen,SUI), Christian Knees (GER/Euskirchen), Luke Roberts (AUS/Kerpen, GER), Roy Sentjens (BEL/Nerpeelt), Niki Terpstra (NED/Haarlem), Paul Voß (GER/Bielefeld)
Directeur Sportif: Vittorio Algeri (ITA), Christian Henn (GER)

PARIS, March 17, 2010 (AFP) – Reigning world champion Cadel Evans has been left off his BMC team’s roster for Saturday’s Milan-San Remo, the first one-day classic of the season.

Evans, a two-time runner-up on the Tour de France, showed his early season form by finishing third overall Sunday in Italy’s Tirreno-Adriatico stage race.

However BMC will be led by Italian Alessandro Ballan, who preceded Evans as world champion in 2008, with American George Hincapie, Dutchman Karsten Kroon and German Marcus Burghardt expected to play key roles.

At nearly 300km long, Milan-SanRemo is known as one of cycling’s five one-day ‘Monuments’ alongside the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Tour of Lombardy.

BMC team for Milan-SanRemo:
Alessandro Ballan (ITA), Brent Bookwalter (USA), Marcus Burghardt (GER), George Hincapie (USA), Karsten Kroon (NED), Jeff Louder (USA), Michael Schaer (SUI), Danilo Wyss (SUI).

By Daniel McMahon

“He has completely and utterly thrown all caution to the wind!”

That, as many of you will immediately recognize, is an oft-repeated exclamation of famed Tour commentator Phil Liggett, one that has come to mind several times this week as I talked to racers in Brooklyn about the tactics, cunning and risk-taking that will be on display during the two-wheeled battle that is the Red Hook Criterium.

2009 action. Photo courtesy David Trimble

An unsanctioned race deep in the belly of New York’s biggest borough, the Red Hook crit, now in its third year, is held on a course that race founder and promoter David Trimble tries to keep secret till race-night registration. So riders have to show up and pay their entry fee to learn the course’s whereabouts.

Last year the NYPD showed up but did not stop the race.

The race takes place in a derelict part of the city, a postindustrial area a stone’s throw from the waterfront, where at night it’s decidedly empty of people. One Brooklynite spoke of the “eerie feeling in the air there late at night with the mist coming off the water.”

So what better a venue to host an under-the-radar bike race?

The real deal

The Red Hook Criterium, which takes place this Saturday at 11 p.m. on a .75-mile course, features winding, windswept roads, lots of corners and a tricky, cobblestone chicane. Whoever completes the scheduled 20 laps first gets to ride to the after party with the much-desired cobblestone trophy in hand.

But let’s be clear: Although Brooklyn may be the nation’s capital of helmet-less hipsters in tight-legged jeans, cruising on elaborately painted fixies, the Red Hook is a real race.

“It ain’t no hipster show,” Trimble said. “The first two winners have gone on to pro contracts. I think that speaks to what kind of talent is required to win.”

Trimble was referring to Kacey Manderfield, who went on to Team Lipsmacker, and Neil Bezdek, a new signing at Mountain Khakis-Jittery Joe’s.

The 2010 race poster

Manderfield, winner two years ago and a former collegiate national champion, took advantage of the street rivalries among locals and followed wheels until the finish, when she blew by the unsuspecting male-dominated field in a powerful sneak attack.

Bezdek, winner last year and a former messenger, used his combination of street skills and a big engine to complete laps on the technical course in the rain at an average speed of 27 mph.

Come one, come all!

In its short existence, the Red Hook has attracted a happy jumble of riders, from messengers to Wall Street roadies, those who compete in alley cat races on the streets of Manhattan as well as those who battle it out at weekend races in Central Park.

Alfredo Bobe, a messenger and a race favorite, likes that Red Hook offers such a deep field and the opportunity to really rip through the backstreets of Brooklyn.

“It’s an urban spin-off from what’s going on in the track-bike community,” Bobe explained. “You have the messengers and the passionate racers who may even ride at the Kissena Velodrome in Queens. Both groups love to get their race on, albeit under very different conditions.

Patrick Dunaway in 2009. Photo: Casey Kelbaugh

“One group thinks the other type of racing is boring, the other that the alley cats are borderline suicidal. But both groups share a passion for the track bike, which allows this race to have a place.”

Bezdek agrees, explaining that the race fills a void between racing culture, the messenger scene, and urban cycling. “It’s a unifying event that doesn’t seem to be repeated elsewhere,” he said.

Another race favorite is Russian-born Brooklyn messenger Dan Chabanov, an up-and-coming cyclocrosser. Chabanov’s plan for Red Hook is simple: to make it hard. He said he was drawn to the race because there were “no fancy bikes, no licenses, no categories.”

A young race’s brief history

About three years ago, Trimble found himself doing a lot of alley cats in the city but wanted a race that challenged not only his “urban skills” but also his road racing ability. He said he “grew tired of entering messenger races with a huge navigational disadvantage,” and that eventually led to dreams about what he would do differently if he had his druthers.

“A crit in Read Hook was just a fun idea, and its growth has been organic,” he said. “I’ve approached this as a chance to collaborate with many creative and talented people. The process, from designing the race poster, finding sponsors, coordinating the volunteers and writing the race rules, is as rewarding as the race itself.”

2009: Waiting for the start, with The Man watching the action. Photo: Casey Kelbaugh

With almost no operating budget, the race depends on a well-orchestrated collaboration of many volunteers and friends. To achieve the attention to detail that Trimble strives for, while asking people to work hard for free, has been a real balancing act.

For the third edition, Trimble started searching for new sponsors in December. Sponsors include Cinelli, Rapha and San Marco as well the Brooklyn Film Festival, the Brooklyn Brewery and Brooklyn Bicycles.

A great night out

The spectators are an integral part of the event, too, and the crowds around the start/finish can get as loud as those at cyclocross races. They come out in droves each year, even in inclement weather so typical of mid-March in Gotham.

“In the large regional road races, there isn’t much of a crowd cheering you on,” Trimble said. “A bigger crit might have a crowd, but it’s for the pros. At Red Hook, everyone’s in the main event.”

Then there’s the after party, a highly anticipated event in itself. In addition to brand-new bike frames, jerseys, and saddles, there are the cash prizes — $250 for the winner — awarded in sacks of one-dollar bills.

But Trimble’s not only the race’s founder — he’s also one of its fiercest competitors. He was second both years and aims to improve this time around. Asked if he considers himself a favorite, he just lets out a smile.

“The best thing about this race is that it puts the best alley cat racers in the world against some of the most talented local road and track racers,” he said. “It’s the meshing of scenes on an equal playing field.”

So while no license is required, helmets and track bikes are. And, of course, brakes are strictly verboten.

As for me, I’ve never so much as sat on a track bike, so I’ll be on the sidelines cheering on the riders. Maybe offer up a cyclocross-style heckle or two. I’m thinking the prime at the end of lap 1 should get things off to an entertaining start. And, yeah, I’m picking Trimble for the win.

Red Hook Criterium on the Web

Daniel McMahon is editor of cyclingreporter.com, a contributor-based blog devoted to road and cyclocross racing in the New York City area. He will provide VeloNews.com readers with a race report following the Red Hook.

 

Spain’s Luis-Leon Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) leads the 2010 UCI World Rankings thanks to strong performances at the year’s first two ranking events, the Tour Down Under and Paris-Nice.

While Alberto Contador (who won the first-ever World Rankings title in 2009) won Paris-Nice, his  countryman Sanchez also earned points there with his third place overall and three top-five stage finishes. And Contador did not race Down Under, where Sanchez won stage 5.

You can check the latest UCI points straight from the VeloNews.com homepage.

Tour Down Under winner Andre Greipel is in second and Contador is in third. While Paris-Nice was only the year’s second World Ranking event, the races are now coming fast. The just-concluded Tirreno-Adriatico race is part of the ranking (but not included in the results the UCI released this week), as is this weekend’s Milan-San Remo.

Sanchez’s native land leads the national rankings. Caisse d’Epargne leads the team rankings.

The only American among the 37 riders to earn World Ranking points so far is Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack), who scored two points by finishing third in the Paris-Nice prologue.

Complete rankings.

Cadel Evans secured his third-place finish Tuesday at Tirreno-Adriatico, earning the reigning world road champion his second top five placing for the BMC Racing Team at a major stage race.

A Successful Race
“We really came here to function well more than look at results,” Evans said after finishing 12 seconds behind race winner Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone) and runner-up Michele Scarponi (Androni Giocattoli). “To scrape through and get on the podium has been a good indication that we’ve been successful.” Evans moved himself into podium position with fourth place on Stage 5 and third on Stage 6.

Team Functioned Well
Director Sportif John Lelangue said the BMC Racing Team supported Evans well in the seven-day race as Evans added to his fifth place at the Santos Tour Down Under in January. “This is a really good result,” Lelangue said. “More than the result, the team has been functioning really well, which is important in the first big stage races of the season. These are some of the guys who will be racing the Giro and the Tour de France, if we are selected.”

Post Race Interview can be found HERE

Spaniard Alberto Contador, winner Sunday of Paris-Nice, announced Tuesday he would change his race schedule and compete at the Criterium International. Which will also include American Lance Armstrong. The Criterium International will be held on March 27th and March 28th in Corsica.

The double Tour de France winner has pulled out of two stage races in Spain, which were on his original schedule. The races were Tour de Catalunya next week, and the Tour of Basque Country in early April.