Although, I don’t agree with all of Michael Balls comments in his interviews, I cant help but be excited to follow the domestic season with a team with such flair. We all have to admit, the sport of cycling (for spectators) is a bit boring, at least to americans who are brought up watching the big three sports. All last season as I watched the team roll around in nice vehicles dressed like rock stars, I couldnt help but think how it might be a good thing for the image. Americans like sports stars with wild personalities, it may not be the typical croc wearing visor sporting cyclist, but I have to hope that this different image of a cyclist may help bring Interest to the sport of cycling in America. I am excited to follow the upcoming domestic season and supporting all American teams and sponsors that support cycling and provide jobs for professional cyclists while so many are pulling out or cutting back on sponsorship.

Mike Jones Binghamton, NY

Proud Supporter Since 2005

Atlanta (December 20, 2007) – Two-time winners of the Race Across America (RAAM), Team Type 1 will join the ranks of professional cycling in 2008, bringing with them the inspirational message that athletes with diabetes can compete and win at the highest levels of sport with good control of their diabetes.

“Our goal is to inspire people with diabetes around the world to take control of their health through diet, exercise and proper health care,” said team co-founder Phil Southerland who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at seven months old.

“As a professional team, racing against the world’s best cyclists, we’ll be able to deliver that message to a much wider audience.”

Of the team’s 13 elite cyclists with diabetes, four will be part of Team Type 1’s professional roster, licensed as a UCI Continental Team, while 10 will compete as an amateur development team in RAAM and other events.

11 non-diabetic riders will join the pro team. To make the transition, Southerland and co-founder Joe Eldridge, who launched the team in 2004, have collaborated with veteran cycling team managers Tom Schuler and Ed Beamon, who between them have presided over more than 30 pro racing seasons. Leading the pro squad will be Australian Matt Wilson, a veteran of the European peloton and winner of the 2007 Herald Sun Tour. “This team is no gimmick,” Wilson said. “These guys are the real deal. What they’re able to do as athletes, despite diabetes, is remarkable.”

The four riders with diabetes joining the pro team will be Eldridge, Southerland, New Zealand’s Tim Hargrave and Australian Fabio Calabria. The remainder of Team Type 1’s pro roster is a balanced group ranging from veterans Ben Brooks, Glen Chadwick and Valeriy Kobzarenko to young talents like Ian MacGregor and Jesse Anthony. Sprinter Emile Abraham, climber Moises Aldape Chavez and all-arounders Dan Holt, Chris Jones and Shawn Milne round out the squad, which includes riders from six nations.

Team Type 1’s primary sponsor will be sanofi-aventis. Other sponsors include Abbott Diabetes Care, Insulet Corporation and Can-Am Care, LLC. The team will ride Orbea bikes with SRAM components and Zipp wheels. Champion System will be the team’s clothing supplier.

Eldridge, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 10, added, “We have a strong group of riders, experienced management, great sponsors, and an important message. Everything is in place for us to have a great year, both on and off the bike.”

2008 Team Type 1 Professional Team (* indicates riders with Type 1 diabetes): ABRAHAM, Emile; 34; Trinidad & Tobago ALDAPE CHAVEZ, Moises; 27; Mexico ANTHONY, Jesse; 23; USA BROOKS, Ben; 29; Australia *CALABRIA, Fabio; 21; Australia CHADWICK, Glen; 32; New Zealand *ELDRIDGE, Joe; 26; USA *HARGRAVE, Tim; 23; New Zealand HOLT, Dan; 27; USA JONES, Chris; 29; USA KOBZARENKO, Valeriy; 31; Ukraine MACGREGOR, Ian; 25; USA MILNE, Shawn; 27; USA *SOUTHERLAND, Phil; 26; USA WILSON, Matt; 31; Australia

2008 Team Type 1 Development Team (all riders with Type 1 diabetes): BARTELS, Nathan; 26; USA BOWDEN, Alex; 19; USA BROOKS, Matt; 21; USA HANLEY, Monique; 30; Australia MEAD, Andy; 30; USA PATTON, Morgan; 20; USA POWELL, Tim; 41; USA SCHRANK, Bob; 40; USA SUPRENANT, Mark; 44; USA

SAN CARLOS, Calif. - Dec. 20, 2007 - Ritchey Design Inc. today announced the re-signing of separate sponsorship deals with the Health Net Presented by Maxxis and the Symmetrics Fuelled by FarmPure top-tier North American-based bicycle road racing teams.

The 2008 racing season will be Ritchey Design’s fifth year sponsoring the Health Net Presented by Maxxis team and its third year sponsoring the Symmetrics Fuelled by FarmPure team with high-end carbon fiber and aerospace grade alloy cockpit components, such as handlebars, stems and seat posts.

“Health Net and Symmetrics are two of the toughest competitive teams on the professional road racing circuit,” said Steve Parke, general manager and vice president of marketing for Ritchey Design. “We believe bike racing is the best place to prove our component designs. By signing with these two superb racing teams, we continue to move forward in producing the most innovative, top-quality products on the market.”

Health Net Presented by Maxxis
“To run a consistently successful racing program we have to use equipment that can take the beating of 140 days of racing and 16,000 miles of training,” said Thierry Attias, president & director of sponsorship for Health Net Presented by Maxxis. “Ritchey products can do that. Its products are cutting edge and super reliable. Any other partnership would be a compromise.”

Ritchey will supply the Health Net Presented by Maxxis with its World Championship Series (WCS) Carbon one-bolt seatpost, Alloy Ergo handlebars, Carbon 4-AXIS stems and Pro Oversized 30-degree stems and alloy adjustable stems for time trial bikes.

Health Net is one of the most dominating domestic teams. The team has been home to multiple national champions, Olympians, world championship team members and one world champion. They have earned four consecutive USA Cycling National Racing Calendar (NRC) team titles and averaged 35 NRC one-day, stage and overall stage race victories, as well as averaging 66 NRC podium appearances per season since 2004. Overall, the team has averaged 72 victories per season in NRC, UCI and non-NRC races during the last four years.

Symmetrics Fuelled By FarmPure
“Signing with Ritchey Design for another season of sponsorship is a huge win for Symmetrics Pro Cycling,” said Kevin Cunningham, Symmetrics Fuelled by FarmPure’s team director. “Ritchey road parts are proven in some of the toughest professional races worldwide, and their philosophy of lightweight but reliable top quality materials will help to ensure success for Symmetrics Cycling.”

Symmetrics will be using Ritchey’s World Championship Series (WCS) Carbon one-bolt seatposts, Alloy Ergo handlebars, 4-AXIS alloy stems, as well as the new UD Carbon fork (sub 300-grams) and Streem saddles.

Canada-based with an all Canadian roster of racers, the Symmetrics team has an almost family like atmosphere, rare for an elite level road team. Team President Mark Cunningham and his brother Kevin have worked hard to retain top riders who are courted by bigger-budgeted U.S. teams.

In 2007, the team’s three-time Canadian national champion, Svein Tuft, won the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) America Tour, which is a season-long competition between teams from North and South America and is one of the world’s premiere events for professional cyclists. At the conclusion of the tour, Symmetrics was ranked 3rd out of 19 teams with 977 points (the second place team scored only 473).

As a result of Symmetrics Cycling’s 2008 season, Canada earned three berths at the World Championship Road Race, as opposed to the single one it had last year, as well as three guaranteed spots for Canadian racers in the Beijing Olympics road race.

For more information about Ritchey Design, please visit www.ritcheylogic.com, for information about the Health Net Pro Cycling Team, visit www.teamhealthnet.com, and for information about the Symmetrics Pro Cycling Team, visit www.symmetricscycling.com.

LAKE FOREST and SAN CARLOS, Calif. - Dec. 18, 2007 - GT Bicycles and Ritchey Design Inc. today announced the signing of sponsorship agreements with the Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team, a continental road cycling team.

As a direct result of a strategic partnership with Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team’s apparel sponsor Champion System, GT Bicycles signed a deal to become the exclusive bicycle frame supplier for two years starting January 1, 2008. Ritchey Design will be the exclusive provider of handlebars, stems and seatposts to the Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team for the 2008 racing season.

“Our riders depend on their equipment, so they can focus on the extreme demands of training and racing,” said Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team Director, Danny van Haute. “My team has 100% confidence in the race-proven products GT Bicycles and Ritchey are providing. We’re excited to welcome these two strong partners to our distinguished roster of sponsors.”

The Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team will be riding GT Bicycles’ GTR Team racing frame, a lightweight and stiff carbon fiber monocoque road frame, which is manufactured through GT Bicycles’ proprietary composite manufacturing process called Force Optimized Construction. GTR Team bikes are available to consumers through independent bicycle dealers (IBD).

“GT Bicycles has a long-standing commitment to racing,” said Steve Reeds, executive vice president and general manager of Pacific Cycle IBD division. “We are proud to align GT Bicycles with the Jelly Belly Pro Cycling team.”

Founded by product innovator Tom Ritchey in 1974 and well-known for attention to detail and high-quality components, Ritchey Design will supply all “cockpit” components including their WCS Carbon One-Bolt seatposts, WCS Alloy handlebars, WCS Carbon 4AXIS stems and Pro Oversized 30-degree stems and alloy adjustable stems for time trial bikes.

“We believe bike racing is the best place to prove our component designs,” said Steve Parke, Ritchey Design’s general manager and vice president of marketing. “Jelly Belly Pro Cycling’s team roster has some of the best racers in the U.S. and we are looking forward to helping them have a successful year.”

In the last two years, Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team riders have accumulated 47 wins and close to 100 podium finishes in both domestic and foreign events as they’ve raced in front of nearly 9 million spectators. In 2007, the team took the individual and overall victory at the Tour of Hong Kong to Shanghai, first place general classification rider at the Redlands Bicycle Classic, the Georgia Cup, the Tri Peaks Challenge, and the Missouri State Road Championships, as well as first place Team Classification at stage 7 of the Amgen Tour of California, a stage win at the Sea Otter Classic and Sport Beans® King of the Hill jersey at the Nature Valley Grand Prix. With the addition of pro veterans Bernard Van Ulden and Olympic hopefuls Brad Huff and Todd Wells, the team is poised for another successful season in 2008.

The CaliRado Cyclist Boulder, Colorado

Okay, it’s time to clean out the Inbox and respond to a few questions that have been thrown the way of my email address lately. Amazingly, these are actual emails from actual readers and I will try to do my best to respond to a few of the rest eventually. Sports, science, pop-culture…bring it on. I’ll make up an answer for just about anything.

Here we go…

Q: Does the Mitchell Report make professional cycling look any better compared to other sports?

A: I’m not sure that the Mitchell Report makes cycling look any better because I think most people understood that Major League Baseball was pretty juiced to begin with. Canseco, McGwire and Bonds made sure of that a long time ago.

It’s kind of like when official reports started coming out of China about their steroid use in the Olympics. Their female swimmers looked like Chong Li from Bloodsport and we were supposed to be surprised that they had been doing something fishy? Oh, you think so Doctor?

It does prove The More You Look, The More You Find Theory that most defenders of professional cycling have offered though. I would rather see a report like this for soccer in Europe because I’m tired of that sport getting off the hook on the Continent while bike racing is vilified. I wonder if German television would stop broadcasting soccer matches if there was a Muenchen Report or something.

I was surprised at how specific the Mitchell Report’s list of players was. I guess I have gotten used to Operacion Puerto-style vagueness and was expecting code-names or something. If Fuentes had been involved the names probably would have been “El Rocket (Clemens)” and “Bee Bee (Bonds)” at least.

But there was a sense of certainty in the Mitchell Report that I have never felt with a doping investigation in cycling. It’s unfortunate that the Spanish and various European authorities are not able to carry out a similarly conclusive investigation when they have greater legal powers than Mitchell did. But then again, it is Europe.

Q: Dude, Lance and an Olsen Twin? What’s up with that?

A: C-Mac informed me of this little bit of gossip and I still don’t really know what to think. I’m pretty sure I made the “Wait…can you repeat that?” face when she told me though.

Then I made the “Okay…that’s kind of creepy” face when I heard her description of the tabloid affair.

But that was quickly followed by the “Well…maybe it’s not that bad” face as I did the math in my head, estimating Lance in his mid/late-thirties and The Olsen in her very low twenties.

Then I realized that this relationship likely violated the Half Your Age + Seven formula and went back to the “Okay…that’s kind of creepy” face.

But then I remembered that Tom Boonen is apparently hooked up with a 16 year-old Belgian girl so…I guess Lance isn’t that much of The Old Guy In The Club.

And I’m still not entirely sure which Olsen it was. Mary Kate is the kind of hippie one and Ashley is the cleaner one right? Which is the one that wears really huge sunglasses?

I may have to investigate this further.

Q: I’m confused. Is it okay to like Astana now that they have Horner and the Discovery guys?

A: This is an interesting question because it implies that it was not okay to like Astana in the past and I can’t say that I am entirely on board with that. They were certainly controversial and the kits were horrendous, I’ll give them that.

Anyway, the greater question being…how many of the former legion of U.S. Postal/Discovery fans will throw their favor to a team named after the capital of Kazakhstan whose sole legacy is one of turmoil and suspicion?

Honestly I have no idea.

I do think that they will be a fairly likable team as a result of the rider and staff changes. The thought of Levi and Horner rolling through Kazakhstan is kind of fun. Hopefully the Borat guy won’t show at the Tour in ’08.

As long as the kits change, I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Q: What will Vinokourov do now that he has retired?

A: Apparently Vino is a huge star in Kazakhstan and is even reported to be hosting some kind of televised Christmas special. He is also involved in a number of small business enterprises in France. He also made a ton of money by legally or illegally racing his bicycle so I think he’ll probably be just fine.

But insiders have reported that the former racer is spending a lot of time in his recording studio, performing a number of Rick James songs. There are rumors that Vino will be releasing a compilation of The Superfreak’s Greatest Hits translated into his native Kazakh language and that the touring band will consist of Kashechkin, Rasmussen, Moreni and Sinkewitz.

Q: How will Dick Pound’s resignation from WADA influence professional cycling?

A: Well, first and foremost it will probably reduce the number of times that I write the words Dick and Pound in the same sentence. Nothing wrong with that.

Secondly, it may mean that he ends up in the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Lots wrong with that.

I cannot imagine that a guy who has been so openly judgmental of ALL cyclists could ever possibly find a spot in an organization that will be responsible for rendering life-altering verdicts in highly contentious doping cases.

I also don’t know much about the guy that is going to be his successor. But as long as his name isn’t Rod Hammer or something, I think it should be an improvement.

Q: What’s the deal with Rock Racing and Michael Ball?

A: I’m not sure about the team but from what I have seen of their recent signings, they should certainly be a factor. The thought of Botero and Fast Freddie in the domestic circuit is ominous. I don’t know though, I think they are kind of becoming the Cobra Kai of U.S. cycling. Even down to the black kits and SoCal roots.

Now, as for Ball (aka John Kreese)…this guy…this is not my kind of guy. But then again, it’s a pet peeve of mine when people drop F-bombs all over the place and act like cocky teenagers. So that doesn’t help. It is going to be hard to pull for the team when he is the primary face and voice.

In fact, Ball’s behavior in every circumstance that I am aware of has been so ridiculously obnoxious that it makes me wonder if his act is just some kind of publicity stunt. No one can really be that comically arrogant and cartoonish can they? If I were watching him on television or in a movie, I would think that he was totally over-acting. Like…Jim Carey-style over-acting. Seriously, no one can be that offensive without doing it on purpose.

I also simply cannot take anyone that sells jeans for hundreds of dollars seriously. Even if his company is wildly successful, there is just something inherently troubling about this element of our society. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I knew that I was encouraging people to spend hundreds of dollars on jeans.

Now…a nice pair of bib shorts is another story entirely.

As always, thanks for reading and feel free to send me any questions that you would like answered in a sarcastic and largely unprofessional/unaccountable fashion.

Thank you for all the people that completed our recent survey. The survey and comments’ will help go in the direction that we need to be in for the future. And let’s give a BIG thaks to Crumpler bags for suppling us with the prize for the survey. Last but not least, the winner of the Crumpler Bag is Andy Moskal of Ohio State University, Thank Andy for being a Fan of the site and please enjoy the bag and stay warm with that fire!

LUMBERTON, N.C. - Dec. 13, 2007 - Aqu, Inc., organizers of The Tour of America, a multi-stage coast-to-coast professional bicycle road race, today announced revised dates and tentative race route for its September 2008 event.

Based upon feedback from racers, professional racing organizing bodies, the media and enthusiastic supporters of the event, the following changes have been made to The Tour of America:
The race has been shortened to 21 stages
Will now cover approximately 2,200 miles (more than 3,500 km)
Will run from September 6-28, 2008
Additionally, The Tour of America will start in New York’s Central Park and finish in Palo Alto, Calif., a city known for its cycling culture. (To see the complete schedule, please go to http://thetourofamerica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=33)

Frank Arokiasamy, Aqu’s president, originally announced details of the event during a press conference at Interbike, the bicycle industry’s annual trade show held in Las Vegas. As originally conceived, the race would have covered 4,000 miles (more than 6,000 km) with 27 stages during 30 days of competition.

“During and after our announcement at Interbike, almost daily I received emails and phone calls with positive and negative comments about the race,” Arokiasamy said. “The overwhelming response showed there was an interest and a need for a ‘Tour de France-style’ race here in the United States. Based on the feedback from everyone, we realized our first plans were perhaps too ambitious and that the original race schedule didn’t fit within standard racing protocols. To ensure the race would attract the best international racing teams and the support of both cycling enthusiasts and sports fans alike, we’ve modified the race schedule and route to its current form.”

The 2008 Tour of America will be the largest spectator event in the history of U.S. sports, traveling from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The event will invite 25 of the most elite cycling teams in the world to participate and will boast a prize purse currently pegged at $10 million, the largest purse of any international cycling event (reduced from $11 million, due to the new shortened schedule).

Until this venture by Aqu, all major international cycling races were held outside the U.S. Smaller stage races are currently held across the country and draw respectable spectator crowds and provide significant economic impact to local communities. However, these races are geographically located within single states, while The Tour of America will span approximately 18 states and will travel through hundreds of towns and cities along the way. As such, The Tour of America is expected to attract literally millions of spectators along the 2,200-mile route.

Cities along the race’s route include New York City, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Denver, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Napa, Santa Rosa and Palo Alto, to name a few. Of note to members for the bicycle industry, the Las Vegas event includes a time trial, to be held the evening of September 22, the first day of Interbike’s OutDoor Demo.

“Our goal is to make this race happen in September 2008,” Arokiasamy added, “There is a lot to accomplish between now and then. With help and cooperation of host cities, racers, bicycle racing enthusiasts and potential sponsors, we can make it happen. The United States needs its own world caliber race and one that will be around for a long time.”

For information about The Tour of America race schedule, please visit www.aqusports.com.

The CaliRado Cyclist Boulder, Colorado

One of the most intriguing elements of sports is that it allows the viewer to openly and honestly declare favoritism and disapproval with a passion rarely found in normal life. Because of my upbringing, I will always root for the Giants, Niners, Warriors, and Buffaloes as if I were a member of the team. Consequently, I will always dislike the Dodgers, Cowboys, Lakers and Cornhuskers with equal vigor. The Good Guys aren’t as good if there isn’t a Bad Guy to compete against. Cycling is no different.

In professional cycling, one can fortunately choose to root for or against riders, teams or even countries. There may not be historical rivalries on par with the Giants-Dodgers, but there are plenty of opportunities to pick sides. These choices are largely arbitrary and superficial but they can make following sports a bit more exciting. And at the end of the day, they don’t really mean anything. Spontaneous emotion and excitement without consequence. It’s great. Unless you are a Colombian soccer player.

Anyway, I would like to start off by saying that I love France. I really do. It is one of the most beautiful countries in the world and has contributed as much to the higher culture of Western Civilization as any. When it comes to art, wine, architecture and scenery, France is about as good as it gets.

But for various reasons, I don’t like many of the country’s professional cyclists.

It all started with Bernard Hinault in the mid-80’s. Oh, how I disliked The Badger, with his snarling grimace and hairy arms. His cheesy Ray Ban sunglasses even reminded me of Mike Ditka, another sports villain from my early teens. Hinault epitomized everything that I questioned about bike racing and his dethroning symbolized the dawn of a new era in cycling. My era, of cool guys wearing Oakleys and Giro helmets. Not grumpy, old, hairy men in Ray Bans.

I recently watched the DVD of the 1986 Tour again and it confirmed all of my initial feelings about the crotchety and conniving Hinault. The aging Frenchman was at the peak of his Badger-ness during the first Tour that I was able to follow as an 11 year old and I still find myself getting annoyed with his antics at 32. I’ll write more about the ’85 and ’86 Tours soon. That DVD is almost like a comedy at this point. It’s incredible.

In terms of my all-time Bad Guys, I would liken Bernard Hinault to the legendary Billy Zabka. If you recall, Zabka (Czech for “Little Frog”) had a remarkable string of Hall of Fame Bad Guy roles in the mid-to-late ‘80’s and still sets the standard by which all others are measured.

Most recognize Zabka as Johnny Lawrence, the quarterback of the Cobra Kai butt-kicking team in the Karate Kid and ultimate witness to the power of the Crane Technique. But just like Hinault, Zabka had a number of other great Bad Guy performances that are often overlooked. I personally think that his portrayal of “Chas” in Back To School was similar to Hinault in the 1985 Tour and the role of Audrey’s boyfriend “Jack” in European Vacation was kind of like the Frenchman’s Coors Classic rides.

Following Hinault in the growing legacy of unlikable Frenchmen, Laurent Fignon came around to challenge the far cooler LeMond in 1989. The silly ponytail and nerdy glasses put Fignon at an immediate disadvantage but there was just simply no way that I could like the guy when he was going up against the greatest comeback story in the sport.

The other HUGE factor in my disapproval of Larry Fignon was his startling resemblance to Robert Preston, also known as the villainous “Kent Torokvei” from Real Genius. While not quite as popular as some of the other ‘80’s movies, Real Genius provided one of Val Kilmer’s better roles as well as a startling glimpse of a Fignon look-alike playing the evil, laser sabotaging Kent.

Needless to say, a few years later when Larry was flopping on the ground after having lost on the Champs Elysees, I couldn’t help but think that Val Kilmer was smiling somewhere. I sure was.

Solidifying this theme of French guys I could do without was the emergence of Richard Virenque. The Festina scandal was just the beginning but let’s just say that Tricky Ricky was not someone that I was rooting for, whether or not he was wining polka-dot jerseys or lying for a couple years about doping.

Virenque’s success in the mountains of the Tour de France forces the comparison to Roy Stalin, the ski racing Bad Guy from Better Off Dead. Not to mention that Stalin stole John Cusack’s girlfriend and Virenque was always called The French Housewives Favorite.

Ironically, Cusack’s character in the movie ends up with Monique, a French girl. I don’t recall seeing Aaron Dozier in many future roles but then again, he was really just a Zabka wanna-be. Billy must have been busy when they were casting Better Off Dead because he would have been a lock for the Stalin role.

The most prominent current member of the French cyclists that I don’t particularly care for is Le Chien, Christophe Moreau. More than anything, I have found myself questioning his tactics and generally not liking his style on the bike. He will forever be linked to Festina and getting popped for steroids at the Criterium International and his knee-high socks aren’t helping either.

Actually, one of the main issues I have with Moreau is that he looks exactly like a skinny version of a former employer I had back in the Bay Area. I got along quite well with this person but it’s still weird to see a guy that looks like your boss chasing worthless mountain points and generally wasting energy in the Tour. Off-putting at best.

Anyway, beyond all of these things, Moreau kind of reminds me of Shooter McGavin from Happy Gilmore in that he’s just a guy that is easy to like to dislike. It’s an interesting quality.

And isn’t that really what being a fan of athletic competition is all about? Taking certain qualities, defined or not, and determining a hierarchy of preference? It is a fact that making a certain emotional investment in the success or failure of the athletes or teams enhances the entertainment value significantly.

Truthfully though, compared to other sports, there are really very few cyclists that I dislike. Overall, I think most professional riders are a pretty agreeable bunch. If Terrell Owens, Jeff Kent and Kobe Bryant were bike racers, I would probably not have any of these Frenchmen very high on my list of Bad Guys.

The CaliRado Cyclist  Boulder, Colorado2007 has been a weird, wild year in the world of professional cycling. There will be plenty of time to reflect on the meaning of it all as we head in to the darkness and cold of Winter, but for now I’d like to take this opportunity to look back at some of the major international races we had the pleasure to enjoy this past year. We’ll work through chronologically and fittingly, go back to my birthplace of San Francisco, for the first big race of the season.

Tour of California – Levi Leipheimer

The second edition of the Amgen Tour of California was even better than the first. Probably even for Ben Jacques-Maynes who, after a stellar prologue in The City, became the victim of one of the most blatant Home Town officiating decisions since the offsides penalty call in “Victory.”

The “Neutral for however many k’s from the finish we want” rule used in Santa Rosa ended up getting brushed under the rug because Levi was the favorite coming into the race and no one wants to see a crash in the finale take out the leader but BJM, a nearly-local guy himself, got seriously jobbed on that one. Bike racing is bike racing.

Regardless, the rest of the ToC was pretty entertaining. Any time you’ve got Jens Voigt presented by Chuck Norris challenging for the win on one of the most picturesque courses, it’s going to be a good event. The Rainbow Jersey wearing Paolo Bettini nabbed one of his few wins in 2007 and Hincapie’s fall and subsequent ride to help reel in Stuart O’Grady on the last big road stage was one of the toughest performances I’ve seen in a while.

Plus, I got to go to Solvang and show my Dad and Grandparents a little “behind the ropes” action at the Time Trial. That made it the best race of the season for me personally. You can catch my voluminous coverage of the entire event starting here.

Het-Volk – Fillipo Pozzato

While not as prestigious as his M-S-R victory last year, Pipo bagged himself another good early season win but apparently still can’t afford a haircut. Nevertheless, this guy is almost guaranteed to rack up a few W’s each year, whether in late attack or a small bunch kick. But the hair really does kill me. My initial thoughts on the race can be found here.

Paris-Nice – Alberto Contador

This was the first race that really made me a believer in Contador and was the catalyst for my later description of his style as being reminiscent of “a crazed spider-monkey darting around the road.” But I mean that in the best way possible. Seriously. You can read my original thoughts on this race here.

It really was amazing to watch him dance away from Rebellin and everyone else on the final stage though. It should have come as a surprise to no one who watched Paris-Nice that Contador would be a threat at the Tour in July.

How do you say “Better Recognize” in Spanish?

Milan Sanremo – Oscar Freire

I still don’t know how you beat Oscar Freire when he’s on form. And since he was clearly flying and motivated in early 2007, he made his second M-S-R victory look easy. And he didn’t even have to throw his bike this time.

What was not easy, was having to watch replay after replay of all the crashes, including poor Andrea Moletta breaking his leg by wedging himself between a light post and the cement wall on the side of a tricky corner. Milan Sanremo is just a spectacular event for so many reasons. I wish they did it twice per year. My first recap of this race can be found here.

Tour of Flanders – Alessandro Ballan

I’m not certain, but I think Leif Hoste means “Nice Try” in Flemish. Maybe the Belgian will win this race someday but going to the line with Ballan this year was not the way to the top step.

My brother would argue that Hoste is still working off his bad karma from ditching Hincapie a few years ago so he could gift wrap the victory for Boonen. Ballan had been knocking on the door for a while though, so he’s a deserving winner. He nearly made TomTom look like the paperboy on the Muur de Huy that day.

My original thoughts on the Tour of Ned Flanders are here.

Paris-Roubaix – Stuart O’Grady

I had a chance to hang out with O’Grady for a few minutes before the start of the Santa Barbara stage of the ToC this year and despite being a really nice freckly guy with earrings, he just oozes toughness. He threw down a gutsy ride that day and it was no surprise that he went on to win The Hell of the North this year.

Unfortunately, it ended up being kind of a hellish year for the unlucky Aussie but it was great to see him finally notch that big Classic win. There are few riders more deserving of it.

Following Stuey’s lead, maybe it will be Big George’s turn in 2008. Does anyone know who is making the stems and forks for Team High Road this year?

Amstel Gold – Stefan Schumacher

Speaking of Hincapie, I will probably never appreciate Schumacher after the whole Eneco debacle from 2006. Even though I don’t think that the German meant to take out Melanie’s husband, he certainly was responsible for George hitting the deck. There is just something terribly wrong about a guy (regardless of intent) ramming into the race leader, making him crash and then winning the event because of time bonuses. That was foul.

But anyway, even though Amstel is one of my favorite races (and beers), I have all but forgotten how Schumacher won it this year. I’m guessing Michael Boogerd was involved somehow though.

Liege-Bastogne-Liege – Danilo Di Luca

After a series of close calls and podiums, Di Luca was pretty much on fire at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. I think that ultimately, in a race as long and brutal as L-B-L, the guy who wants it the most wins. It could be argued that of the guys in the finale, The Killer was the only one who really needed to win. To overcome the embarrassment of those blue and green striped shorts. And that meager nickname.

Tour de Georgia – Janez Brajkovic

For some reason I have never really gotten too excited about the Tour de Georgia. Maybe it’s the annoying combination of the “de” in the name and the fact that it’s in the South. I’ve been to Georgia and I know that it is a very beautiful state (for the most part) but I just can’t seem to get that into it.

This year was no exception, as the Brajkovic breakaway blew the race to bits and relegated the strongest guy in the race (Levi, his teammate) to going for stage wins and an anonymous overall placing. It’s always bittersweet when the winner isn’t the best guy. SEE: Hinault/LeMond, 1985 Tour de France for example.

Not to diminish the win or speak ill of Janez, or “Yanni” as it seems people call him. I would like to pronounce it Jan-EE-ZEE. He seems to have a bright future ahead of him though. Wearing pants with a 23” waist.

Giro d’Italia – Danilo Di Luca

So Di Luca won the Giro…something that I openly proclaimed was impossible for the last few years. I don’t know how he won it, but he did. Oily hair and all…

Andy Schleck was pretty impressive as well. Although ever since I learned that Luxembourg has the highest per capita income in the world, the all-white, Best Young Rider kit seems kind of like a country club tennis outfit.

Dauphine Libere – Christophe Moreau

When Le Chien won the Dauphine, I was actually as happy as I could be for a guy that I really don’t care for very much. It has to be pretty cool to win solo on Mt. Ventoux as a Frenchman. Even though he should have known that he peaked a month too early and would croak in the Tour.

This race should have also served notice that Astana was charging. They were all over the place, including Vinokourov and Kashechkin getting the better of Zabriskie and Evans by a startling 30 seconds in the 40.7k Time Trial. All in all, Astana riders won 4 of 6 road stages (Vino 2, Colom – w/ Vino 2nd, Iglinski) and had two riders hold the leaders jersey for half the race (Vino, Kashechkin), ultimately leaving it for Moreau as they eyed the Tour. I was very afraid of that team after the Dauphine.

Tour de France – Alberto Contador

The most excruciatingly enjoyable and frustrating 3 weeks of absurdity imaginable.

Can’t wait until next year. But please…no Trautwig.

It’s not that I wish Contador hadn’t won…but I wish either Cadel or Levi had. Does that make sense?

Anyway, my original thoughts start somewhere around here and go on for a while. I still don’t know what to think about my old friend though.

USPRO Championships –David Zabriskie, Levi Leipheimer

More surprising than DZ’s repeat win in the TT was how close Danny The Pate and Boulder’s own Timmy Duggan came to clipping their soon to be teammate. Good work for the domestic fellas.

More surprising than Levi’s runaway victory in the Road Race was how his teammate, Melanie Hincapie’s husband, reacted to it. Poor PR work there big guy. There are some more thoughts about it here.

I ran into fellow BHS alum and former USPRO Road Champ Chris Wherry at DIA on Labour Day, the day after the race, and he said Levi was just super strong and that the field was pretty blown apart.

But how about this glimpse into the life of a pro bike racer – Chris was waiting in Denver for a flight to Durango after having done the 100k Classic in Atlanta that morning, the day after the 177k USPRO Championships in Greenville. That’s a pretty tough 48 hours. Props to professional bike racers.

Vuelta a Espana – Denis Menchov

Apparently dropping out of the Tour after your scandalous yellow jersey-wearing teammate gets fired by your stressed out Director is the perfect way to prepare for the Vuelta a Espana. At least it seemed that way, because Denis Menchov followed that exact path to dominance in the bronze medal Grand Tour.

The flap between Carlos Sastre and Leonardo Piepoli was weird. It would be nice to see Carlos get a Vuelta win someday but he got a little lippy this year. I guess Triki Beltran did too. I wonder what Bjarne Riis had to say about the prospect of Piepoli working for Menchov. And the prospect of his top rider coming off like a whiner.

Tour of Missouri – George Hincapie

The inaugural Tour of Missouri was an armadillo-ridden affair that resembled the TdG in a number of fashions. With an early breakaway ensuring that only a handful of riders ever had a shot at the overall, Discovery Channel again steamrolled and got the W on home soil.

It’s not often that Big George wins stage races so I couldn’t help but think that this was kind of similar to Davis Phinney winning the 1988 Coors Classic for America’s first team, 7-Eleven. They are obviously different types of riders and won the races in different manners, but still. Although I bet the scenery in Davis’ race from San Francisco to Boulder was a touch prettier than George’s week-long jaunt through Mizzourah. What the Show Me State showed me can be found here.

World Championships – Fabian Cancellara, Paolo Bettini

See 2006 World Championships. At least they already had the jerseys made up.

Oh yeah, there was also the whole ridiculousness of the UCI versus the German Race Organizers versus Bettini versus general respectability and professionalism. I still don’t know if anyone came out of it a winner though.

I actually thought Bettini handled the whole situation better than anyone. After being specifically targeted as undesirable by the organizers (along with Eddy Merckx and a number of others) The Cricket channeled it into the legs and gave the best gun-related victory salute I’ve seen in a long time. I used to give the two-handed 6-shooter style when I had the chance but Bettini took out the rifle for whoever deserved it.

Paris-Tours – Alessandro Petacchi

Ale-Jet got a nearly perfect leadout from Erik Zabel and took home the prize but the real excitement came when Robbie McEwen was basically punched in the face by a spectator in the final stretch.

As the Pocket Rocket was snuggling up to Petacchi’s wheel he tasted hand at about 40 mph, got his glasses knocked sideways, unclipped a pedal and veered left directly into Oscar Freire who then bumped into Alan Davis. It was amazing that none of them stacked it. I must have rewound (Is that really a word? Spellcheck didn’t catch it. But it did catch Spellcheck…) the tape of the finish 10 times and saw something different and crazy and amazing with each viewing.

It’s cool to see breakaways and the cat-and-mouse of smaller group finishes but there is nothing like a big field sprint in a major event. Nothing. It’s insane. Seriously. The sheer physics of that many riders and bikes moving at so many angles at such great speeds would lead one to believe that a field sprint is something akin to a game of Russian Roulette. Well…maybe that’s not too far off base. And Robbie, Oscar and Alan all nearly caught a bad one in Tours this year.

Tour of Lombardy – Damiano Cunego

Lombardy is always a beautiful and exciting race and makes a nice bookend to the season with Milan-Sanremo in the Spring. The 2007 edition lived up to this reputation and provided some good drama and a worthwhile winner.

Even though Cunego got the win and was probably the strongest guy in the race, the real animator was Ricardo Ricco who seemed to be able to jump off the front at will. Cunego was marking him throughout the entire finale and got the better of him in the end, but it was Ricco’s repeated attacks that finally sprung the two young Italians.

I would like to take a moment here to acknowledge some similarities and differences between Cunego and Ricco. First, they both kind of superseded teammate Gilberto Simoni in the Giro, which is always fun to watch. But despite this common bond, they have very different nicknames. Cunego is The Little Prince and Ricco is The Cobra. I think the Italians are poor nicknamers in general but I’ll give the edge to Ricco on that one. Although if his nickname were “Cobra Kai” then it would immediately be the coolest in the peloton. Sadly, it’s just Cobra.

Also sadly, I got the feeling that Franck Schleck was the strongest rider until he spaced out, crossed wheels and decked it a few k’s from the finish. That was most unfortunate.

So…there is a quick recap of the biggest international races of 2007. Well, maybe not that quick. It was not the best year for cycling, but also probably not the worst either. Well, depending on who you ask I suppose.

There was certainly a lot of negativity in professional cycling in 2007, but there was also a lot of exciting action as well. I think 2008 will be better for a number of reasons but looking back on 2007 provides some good memories to build on.

Except the Liquigas and Saunier-Duval kits of course.