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Posts Tagged ‘Cadel Evans’

SFGate: Publisher of ‘Anybody’s Bike Book’ dies

Publisher Phil Wood died in Berkeley, California, earlier this month. He was 72. Wood was no relation to the bicycle component company that shares his name, but has his own place in cycling’s history. “In 1971, from an apartment overlooking Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, he founded Ten Speed Press. The publishing house was named for its first book, a bicycle repair manual called “Anybody’s Bike Book.” The next year, he published what would become the house’s most successful venture, a book for job-seekers called “What Color Is Your Parachute,” which has been republished every year since.” Ten Speed Press also published the popular Moosewood Cookbook. Ten Speed Press is now part of Random House’s Crown Publishing Group.

La Voz del Interior: Armando Borrajo kills self after kidnapping

In a confusing and sad report out of Argentina, papers are reporting that Argentine cyclist Armando Borrajo killed himself Saturday, two days after being released from a kidnapper. Borrajo, 34, is an older brother of Alejandro and Anibal Borrajo, who race for the American Jamis-Sutter Home team. Some reports say Alejandro broke his arm trying to prevent the kidnapping. Please check back to VeloNews.com soon for more on this story.

Sydney Morning Herald: Evans bets on later start in 2011

Former world cycling champion Cadel Evans will gamble on a later than usual start to his season in 2011 in what could be his final chance to win the Tour de France, wrote the AAP. The 33-year-old has decided to skip the Tour Down Under in Adelaide in January and will make his first major appearance for the new season at the Montepaschi Strade Bianche race and then in the week-long Tirreno-Adriatico, both in Italy in March. “I’m working on a big 2011,” Evans said.

France 3: Corsica start of 2013 Tour de France looks more likely

The start of the 2013 Tour de France looks more likely to be headed to Corsica after the regional government agreed to budget 2 million euros to back its candidacy for the “grand depart.” France 3 television reported that the Mediterranean island – the only part of France never to host a stage of the Tour – is poised to host the start of the 100th edition of the French tour.

A Bola: Machado hopes for Giro start

Portuguese sensation Tiago Machado hopes to make his grand tour debut in the 2011 Giro d’Italia. Machado saw his hopes of racing the 2010 Vuelta a España denied when RadioShack was not invited to the Spanish tour. If he lines up in Torino for the start of the Giro in May, he will become the first Portuguese rider to race the Italian tour since José Azevedo was fifth a decade ago. “It will be my first grand tour, so I don’t know how I will react. The main goal is to finish the race, then we’ll see,” he said.

El País: Pereiro makes soccer debut

Tour de France winner Óscar Pereiro made his soccer debut over the weekend in the second division Coruxo B team in his native Galicia in northwest Spain. The 33-year-old retired from cycling at the end of this season and made the transition to soccer with his local team. He came off the bench in the second half and played 22 minutes, but his team lost, 0-1. “I am 33 and I’ve never played more than just with my friends, but I have a lot of motivation and I dream of playing some minutes with the first division team,” he said.

Het Nieuwsblad: Steegmans back to Quick Step

Belgian sprinter Gert Steegmans is set to return to Quick Step for 2011. Het Nieuwsblad reported that the RadioShack has released him from his final year of his two-year contract to allow him to return to the Belgian ProTour team for the upcoming season. Steegmans, who is training with Quick Step this week in Spain, raced for Katusha in 2009 and RadioShack this season.

The Associated Press: Austrian mountain biker gets 8-year suspension for doping

Robert Kircher, a former Austrian national cross-country mountain bike champion, has been suspended from competition for eight years. The AP says that is the longest-ever doping suspension for an Austrian athlete. Kircher, 33, “was found guilty of ordering, possessing and selling illegal performance-enhancing products in March 2009. Austria’s anti-doping agency NADA did not specify the drugs.” A local newspaper says Kircher plans to appeal.

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If the route of the 2011 Tour de France looks like one for the climbers, just wait until you see what’s in store for next year’s Giro d’Italia.

La Stampa's predicted 2011 Giro route. Let's see if they're right.

The official Giro route won’t be revealed until Saturday, but leaks throughout the Italian media are suggesting a spectacular route tailor made for climbing specialists.

If the early reports are to be believed, summit finishes include the knee-busting steeps of Zoncolan, the high-altitude Austrian road of Grossglockner, a return to the dirt roads over Finestre and an arrival at Mount Etna, Europe’s highest volcano that just happens to be still active.

There’s also talk of a new climb at Monte Crostis, located near Monte Zoncolan in northern Italy with ramps as steep as 19 percent over 16km of climbing.

The 2011 Giro will be held from May 7-29, with a start in Torino and the finale back in Milan after finishing the past two editions in Rome and Verona, respectively.

The Giro will open with a 22km team time trial before heading south with a rumored return to the strade bianchi across Tuscany that made for a spectacular day of racing this year, with world champion Cadel Evans taking the win.

The route continues south, with a return to the smoldering slopes of Mount Etna on Italy’s Sicily before sweeping north toward the Dolomites, with Zoncolan and a possible climbing time trial (what else?) on the menu before a detour into Austria for the Grossglockner, Europe’s highest road at 2,572m.

The climber’s delight ends with a passage up the Finestre gravel roads above Sestriere, site of the epic final shootout in the 2005 Giro d’Italia won by Paolo Savoldelli.

Of course, that’s all just speculation by some imaginative and/or well-informed Italian journalists.

Giro officials always like to deliver a surprise or two, but from the sounds of things, this could be a Giro to top all Giros.