Bet on Cycling

Posts Tagged ‘Cycling’

Our local weatherpersons forecasted big rain for today, but the Jet Stream blew it all south to Southern California again. Instead, we have wind from the north gusting up to 60 MPH. Since I’m going south for the evening commute, maybe it’s a good time to beat some Strava records. Too bad I brought my heavy, fendered singlespeed clunker today.

One of the big news story today is John Hofmeister’s prediction for $5 gasoline in 2012. I don’t know if it will hit $5 in the United States next year, but it’s not too hard to see gas will be a story again in 2011 like it was in 2008 when American prices broached $4. Nobody’s really talked about it, but our gas prices have been at record highs for the winter season, when gas prices normally drop significantly. Combine that with low inventories and dropping production worldwide, and we’re gonna get hit hard when the summer ‘driving season’ and mandatory reformulated gas begins next June.

My cycling friends say they’re glad they bike, but the price of gas affects much more than personal transportation costs. When gas prices go up, the economy slows, food prices go up, transit fares rise, transit service is cut, and people lose jobs. We’ll see another double to triple digit increase in bicycling next year, but a lot of that increase will be tempered by a another big wave of layoffs.

A bipartisan congressional commission recommended a 15 cent increase in the Federal gas tax so those high prices will benefit the public at large instead of multinational oil corporations. Incoming House transportation committee chair John Mica (R-FL) — who received $60,000 in contributions this year from the oil lobby — has pledged to shoot down any proposed increases in the national gas tax.

Related posts:

1. 21.6% inflation
2. Cycling: Keep toes and fingers warm
3. Bike shops selling more bikes and service

Marca: Rodríguez wants to win grand tour

Joaquím ‘Purito’ Rodríguez says he hopes to win either the Giro d’Italia or Vuelta a España someday following his breakthrough 2010 season after his move to Katusha. The Spanish rider was fourth overall at the Vuelta this year, a result that fuels his ambitions for the coming seasons. “Now my dream is this: to win a grand tour or at least be on the podium. The Vuelta and the Giro are within reach of my possibilities.”

Eurosport:: Voeckler believes there’s less doping in cycling

Thomas Voeckler, the French rider on Bouygues Telecom, believes that cycling is getting cleaner. In an interview with Eurosport, the French rider of the year says that the increased number of doping controls are having an impact: “Fifteen years ago, there were no positives at the Tour, but that doesn’t mean that people were not doping. You have to accept that better controls mean that riders will get caught.”

The Associated Press: Vuelta to start with team time trial

The Associated Press reports that the 2011 Vuelta a España will start with a team time trial following the official confirmation from Benidorm officials.

Team Saxo Bank: Nuyens says there’s no star attitude on his new team

Rabobank transfer Nick Nuyens says one of Bjarne Riis’ famous off-season team building exercises revealed a well balanced squad. “It also became very quickly apparent that no one sought to be ’star,’ “ he says in a post on the team web site. The 30 year-old Belgian classics specialist said the team’s discipline at meetings impressed him. “There’s no chitchat for joint meetings, which is a relatively rare phenomenon when it comes to professional cyclists,” he said.

El Mundo: Tonkov now running hotel in Spain

Pavel Tonkov, winner of the 1996 Giro d’Italia, has traded the pink jersey for the business suit of a hotel owner.

The Russian has settled into a new life as the owner and operator of the Hospedería del Atalia in Córdoba, hometown of his wife. Tonkov, now 41, opened the 20-room boutique hotel in May.

Tonkov, who became one of the most successful riders to come out of the post-Soviet Russia, told the Spanish daily El Mundo that he cannot stand to sit still. He also offers guided cycling trips in the mountains north of Córdoba.

Tonkov, known as The Czar during his heyday, retired at the end of the 2005 season. He won seven stages and one overall at the Giro, two stages at the Vuelta a España and the overall at the Tour de Suisse in 1995.

Gavi Epstein at the Saratoga 'cross race start.

Gavi Epstein is a 24-year-old rider who this week signed with Slipstream Sports’ continental team. In addition to winning a number of races near his home in the New York City area and placing consistently high in races on the East Coast, Epstein has stood on the podium at the USA Crits finals in Las Vegas and won the best young rider classification at the Tour of Hong Kong–Shanghai.

With his pro contract freshly inked, Epstein spoke with VeloNews contributor Daniel McMahon about getting into cycling in London, coming up as a racer in the Big Apple, and riding in 2011 with the continental arm of team Garmin-Cervelo in countries around the world.

Q. So how does it feel to be turning professional?
A. I’m ecstatic! It’s a long-time dream come true, a goal I’ve been working toward for a long time. I’ve realized my dream.

Q.What’s the reaction been like from Garmin?
A. Jonathan Vaughters has been very enthusiastic about the whole deal, and he’s got a good program for me racing this year. The team is trying to get invitations to do more races all around the world.

Q.What are the team’s expectations of you, and what will your role be?
A.We haven’t really talked too much about that yet. I just want to work as hard as I can for the team. My own results, I think, are secondary. I really just want to make an impact on the team as a hard worker, somebody they can count on when they need me. That’s what I want to do. If they need me to chase down breaks, get bottles or go with the early break, I’ll be there.
And they know I’ve done races like the Vuelta Mexico and the Tour of Brazil, which were really hard races. Chann McRae (Garmin continental team director) told me that the year I did Vuelta Mexico it was just as hard as the Tour of California. There were about 200 guys that started that race, and only about 120 finished.

Q.At 24, you already have quite a lot of experience as a cyclist.
A. Well, I’ve been racing in New York since I was 14. From age 10 to about 13 my family lived in London, where my father was working at the time. Somehow I got involved in local charity rides there when I was 11. I just loved riding and I rode everywhere!When I moved back to the US, I never really thought there was bike racing here. I bought myself a road bike at a local shop when I was 13, and the guy there told me about the racing in Central Park. So when I was 14, I started doing the spring series, and that was it. I joined CRCA (the Century Road Club Association).

Q.How did your years racing as a junior go?
A.Actually, all of my junior career I was never allowed to race on Saturdays, because I grew up in a Jewish orthodox home, so I never really fully committed to bike racing. Even though I was going to all these races and qualifying for the junior regional champs, I could never go, which was kind of frustrating for me. So I was always just doing it for fun, you know.
But as I got older everyone still had interest in me. When I moved out of my house, that first weekend I raced on Saturday. That second weekend I rode at Univest.

Q.You’ve done lots of stage races, time trials, and the NRC and USA Crits series. Do you consider yourself an all-arounder?
A.When I started out, I used to think of myself as a climber because I was smaller, but the way my path in cycling has gone, I’ve had to acclimate to doing really everything. Like on CRCA/Foundation, my team this past year, it was primarily criteriums; with Champion System before that, it was a mix of crits and road and stage races. So I think I’m pretty much an all-arounder.

Gavi Epstein

Q. You’ve been coached for the past few years by former pro rider Matthew Koschara, who also coaches Evelyn Stevens (Columbia-HTC). How has he helped you?
A.Before I got a coach, I’d just go out and do long, easy miles. Once I met Matt, he really showed me that the wintertime is the only time you can really improve, and for me that was my power, my high end. I had great endurance before I met Matt but I couldn’t do anything super hard, you know, because I just didn’t have that high power. So that’s what we really focused on.
Matt’s really helped me dial it all in, but he’s been more than a cycling coach. He’s really been my life coach, because he’s helped me through times in my life when I needed guidance. He’s involved himself in my everyday training, too. I think his secret is really understanding how you feel. We talk every day on the phone, and we ride a lot together. Such good coaches are far and in between. I’m lucky to have him.

Q. As someone who’s been racing in New York City for over a decade, what’s your take on the state racing there?
A.It has definitely grown and there’s a ton of racing. You can race every weekend; you can race four or five times a week. It’s just that all the racing is grassroots. I wish New York racing could evolve on a larger level.
In downtown Manhattan we used to have the New York City Cycling Championship, right on Wall Street. I did that race twice, once as a junior and once as an elite rider, and it was pretty fun. I don’t know if that race could come back but, you know, it’d be great to have some big races in the city again. With races like that we’re not getting in the way of people — people are coming to see us. I feel like with a lot of the races we’re just getting in the way. But we should really be the entertainment.

Q.What does your new team’s calendar look like for 2011?
A.I imagine we’ll be doing most of the UCI races in the US, except for the ones that the ProTour team goes to, like Tour of California or the race in Colorado, the Quiznos Pro Challenge. I imagine they’ll probably do the Tour of the Battenkill again; I just don’t know if I’ll be on the roster for that race or not. Jonathan has said he wants to take the team to Europe, so I could be going there as well. It’s a possibility.

Q.What’s the plan for the coming months?
A. I’m most likely going to Tucson at the beginning of January for an unofficial training camp. I know the team is scheduled to race in both the Tour de Langkawi and the Tropicale Amissa Bongo (Tabo), which is a stage race in Africa. They’re both UCI races, and they’re both going on at the same time. So basically the team is split in two.
Because I was a late signing, I was told that the rosters were already set for those races, but I’m on reserve for either team. So if somebody were to get sick I’d probably go. I was told by Chann to be ready to race.

Q.Will you still be based in the New York City area?
A.Well, my wife and I live here, and she’ll want me coming home often. I imagine it could be half the time here, half the time away.

Q.When you’re home, will you still come out and do the local races?
A. Of course I would love to come out to some of the local races. It really just all depends if it fits in. If I’m coming home from a long racing block it might not be too smart to do more racing when I need to rest.

In what may be wishful thinking or perhaps a sign that there’s something brewing, Alberto Contador is registered to start the Vuelta a Murcia in early March in Spain.

The Spanish wires were alight Christmas night with news that Contador has been listed as one of the starting riders for Saxo Bank-Sungard for the Murcia tour, set for March 4-6 along Spain’s Mediterranean coast.

According to a report on the Spanish wire service EFE, race organizers confirmed that Contador’s name is on the Saxo Bank roster. Others include Lucas Sebastián Haedo and Jesús Hernández.

Due to the late hour in Europe, VeloNews could not independently confirm the news.

Whether that’s just a procedural matter by Saxo Bank brass or a gesture of solidarity for its embattled star remains to be seen.

Teams will often send names to race organizers simply to fill in a rough draft of what races athletes might participate only to see the final rosters altered due to injuries, illnesses and other changes in racing schedules. Teams are also required to register riders at least 20 days before the start of an event.

The appearance of Contador’s name on the preliminary start list, however, could be a sign that there may be news coming soon for the Contador camp.

The Spanish rider is anxiously waiting to hear his fate ever since he was temporarily banned from racing after testing positive for traces of clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour de France. He blames the positive test on contaminated steaks.

Contador’s press attaché Jacinto Vidarte told VeloNews on Thursday that they don’t know when a decision would be forthcoming from a four-member panel empowered by the Spanish cycling federation to review his case. An interview with the Spanish cycling federation president last week suggested a decision wouldn’t be likely until mid-January.

But perhaps Contador received a hint that there could be good news coming down the pipe.

Contador suddenly “reappeared” on his Twitter account Friday after a three-week silence and sounded optimistic in the three messages he posted, promising that 2011 would be “HISTORIC” (his emphasis).

“Hello, long time — this will not be my best Christmas or the quietest. I hope that in 2011, coherence, ethics and truth will prevail to do justice,” Contador wrote. Also thanking his teammates at Saxo Bank-Sungard, he added: “Next year will be HISTORIC. Querer es poder (where there’s a will, there’s a way), Merry Christmas.”

If the Spanish cycling federation were to clear Contador, however, it likely wouldn’t be the end of the story. Both the UCI and the World Anti-Doping Agency can appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, a process that would likely drag on for months.

In what’s a clear sign of what Contador can likely expect, WADA recently filed motions to appeal a decision to the German table tennis association to not ban Dimitrij Ovtcharov, who also claimed he triggered a false clenbuterol positive after eating meat on a trip to China.

Alberto Contador is hunkering down this weekend to celebrate the Christmas holidays with family and friends in Spain as he faces a far from certain future.

Life in Purgatory: Contador hopes for a quick resolution

With the possibility of a two-year ban after traces of clenbuterol were detected in his system, the beleaguered three-time Tour de France champion is trying to maintain a façade of normalcy as the decision looms from the Spanish cycling federation.

“Alberto is with his family and wants to enjoy some quiet days,” Contador’s spokesman Jacinto Vidarte told VeloNews. “Of course, Alberto is very affected by this situation. He’s trying to not let it get to it him, but it’s not easy.”

Vidarte said that the Contador camp has no idea when the four-member competition committee of the Spanish cycling federation will make a decision about the clenbuterol case. The president of the Spanish cycling federation said last week that a decision likely won’t come until at least mid-January.

Until then, Contador can only try to keep his focus on training and remain close to his family and friends in his hometown of Pinto, a small community south of Madrid.

Vidarte said Contador is sticking to his training schedule and preparing for the 2011 season despite not knowing if he’ll be cleared of charges or enter into what would likely be a drawn-out legal process that could go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if WADA, the UCI or Contador exercise their right to appeal.

“Alberto is maintaining his full training schedule, but right now, it’s very light,” Vidarte said. “There’s no pressure, he had always planned to come into the 2011 season a little easier than he’s done the past few years anyway.”

Contador has largely avoided the public eye since an emotional press conference in late September, when he denied knowingly taking clenbuterol and made the claim that the banned substance found its way into his system after eating contaminated steaks brought into France from Spain.

On Christmas eve, Contador posted a message on his Twitter account for the first time in nearly three weeks. His three posted messages seemed to capture his mood, defiant yet quietly optimistic.

“Hello, long time – this will not be my best Christmas or the quietest. I hope that in 2011, coherence, ethics and truth will prevail to do justice,” Contador wrote. Also thanking his teammates at Saxo Bank-Sungard, he wrote: “Next year will be HISTORIC. Querer es poder (where there’s a will, there’s a way), Merry Christmas.”

Vidarte said Contador enjoyed the two-week training camp with his new Saxo Bank-Sungard team in mid-December. Though banned from competition, the UCI ruled that Contador could train with his new team while waiting for the legal process to unfold.

Saxo Bank team boss Bjarne Riis said he believes in his new team captain, who left Astana to pen a deal with Riis just weeks before the clenbuterol story broke. That confidence is important to Contador, Vidarte said.

“The first contact with the team in Fuerteventura was very positive. He was able to forget a little bit about the problems surrounding him and came back in good spirits after two weeks together with his new teammates,” Vidarte said. “They really supported him, from the team to his teammates. He’s fully integrated into the team. “

Whether Contador and his legal team can beat back the clenbuterol charges remains to be seen. Contador claims that the minute traces of clenbuterol entered his system after eating tainted meat laced with the banned product, something that’s raised the ire among Spanish beef producers who say that their meat is uncontaminated and where the drug has been banned by the European Union since the mid-1990s.

The World Anti-Doping Agency, however, has been consistent in interpreting WADA rules and recently filed motions to appeal a decision to by the German table tennis association to not ban Dimitrij Ovtcharov, who also claims he triggered a false clenbuterol positive after eating meat on a trip to China.

Contador and his supporters remain cautiously optimistic that Contador will be fighting his battles on the bike and not in the courtroom come 2011.

“We haven’t spoken yet about (a racing schedule yet). It’s foolish to plan too far in advance for anything until we know what the decision will be. That will change everything,” Vidarte said. “We are still optimistic that the legal defense of Alberto will be able to clearly demonstrate that this was a case of contamination and we’re hoping for the best.”