Cozza stoked for De Pain of De Panne
The classics crew made it back up to Belgium today. First up on our plate is Three Days of De Panne on the windy coast of Belgium. This race is three days, just like the title implies. What’s missing from the title is three “windy, rainy, sand-in-your-eyes, cow-poop-in-your-face, dangerous” days. De Panne is known for [...]
Boulder, CO – Fruit Loops/Hygiene
Overview:This classic Boulder ride is slightly over 40 miles, and is great for days when it’s too cold to go into the mountains. Difficulty: Easy to Moderate Distance: 41 miles. Description: Start at the end of Broadway Road where it meets Highway 36. Go left (north) on Highway 36 and continue for approximately 11 miles [...]
Condé Nast Portfolio profiles Zabriskie
“Condé Nast Portfolio” features David Zabriskie and his career as a world-class cyclist in their “Job of the Week” section. From profile: “When I starting racing and was moving through the ranks, I found myself breaking away and time-trialing to the finish line to avoid crashes,” Zabriskie says…He now races between 70 to 90 days [...]
San Dimas: Stetina 2nd in uphill TT and 4th overall
In the opening 3.8-mile uphill time trial of the San Dimas stage race, Peter Stetina (right) of the VMG/Felt U23 team finished a strong second and just 8 seconds off winner Oscar Sevilla. Stetina managed to hold his own on a hilly stage 2 circuit in San Dimas, rolling in with the lead group. After [...]
Critérium International stage 3 ITT: Charleville-Mézières – Charleville-Mézières
The second of two stages for the day and the final event of the weekend is a short, fast 8.3 km time trial. The first rider goes off at 14:40 and the last rider finishes at 16:50. Slipstream Squad Julian Dean Timmy Duggan Christophe Laurent Trent Lowe David Millar Kilian Patour Tom Peterson David Zabriskie [...]
Critérium International stage 2: Les Vieilles Forges – Monthermé
The first of two stages for the day is only 98.5 km long, but jagged as all get out with no less than nine hills, between 200-400 meters with some relatively steep, leg-breaking slopes. The stage starts at 8:35!! and finishes between 10:59-11:15, in time for a little lunch and a nappy before the afternoon’s [...]
CI day two: Strike-delayed recovery plan
A little less than halfway into today’s stage, a group of serious Frenchmen blocked the road and stalled the race for about 45 minutes – cutting further in the minimal recovery time the riders will have before the afternoon time trial. [Pictured left: Alexandr Kolobnev, Trent Lowe and Robert Gesink hang out during the strike.] [...]
Critérium International stage 1: Signy-le-Petit – Charleville-Mézières
The 77th Critérium International is a two-day, three-stage race that covers about 300 km in the Ardennes region of France. The opening stage covers 193 km and is a relatively flat course that includes three intermediate sprints and three smaller hill sprints all under 330 meters. The stage starts at 12:25 and finishes between 16:48-17:15. [...]
Injured Reserves Report: CJ's Bee Movie
So I’m just getting going on a night shift in Emergency at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, CA (my day job as it were). My cell rings and the caller ID shows a country code 34 number: Spain. Probably Girona and something from a rider. In fact it’s assistant DS Matt White [...]
Boulder, CO – Fourmile/Gold Hill/Sunshine
Overview:Classic Boulder loop with over 3,000 feet of climbing in just 21 miles. The upper portion of this ride is all dirt roads so many people prefer to do it on their mountain or cross bikes. Difficulty: Difficult Distance: 21.20 miles. Total Elevation Gain: 3,425 ft. Description: Start at the end of Broadway Road where [...]
Christophe Laurent's Criterium International prévision
C’est une course très particulière composée de 3 étapes en 2 jours. Depuis quelques années elle se déroule dans les Ardennes. De plus chaque année c’est le week end ou il y a le changement d’heure, et c’est encore plus difficile. La première étape est traditionnellement réservé au sprinter, l’étape est longue mais le plus [...]
Castilla y Leon stage 5: Guardo – Riaño
The final stage of the 2008 Vuelta Castilla y Leon starts out looking very toothy with three back-to-back climbs – the category 3 climb, Las Portillas at 1275 meters; the Puerto de Monteviejo at 1423 meters; and the Puerto de Pando at 1432 meters. The stage starts at 12:36 and finishes between 15:30. Slipstream Squad [...]
Castilla finale: Vande Velde 9th on stage and 10th overall
Today’s lively – and “hilly” – final stage of the 2008 Castilla y Leon included a noble breakaway attempt by our own Pat McCarty. Though that break didn’t hold, the team still managed to see to it that Christian Vande Velde (right) finished the stage 9th, holding on to his 10th place overall. Slipstream stage [...]
Dan's Castilla stage 4: Hurtful, airless climbing
Once again, we woke up to strong winds and cold. Actually as half the team heads off to Belgium next week, it is good training. Call me soft, but I would prefer a bit of sunshine. (Dan pictured above with French soigneur Soso Roullois.) Anyway, to the race. We did try and put a few [...]
Phinney qualifies for Olympics!
It’s official and making headlines across the country. Taylor Phinney, the 17-year-old phenom from Boulder, Colorado, has earned a spot to compete at the Beijing Olympics with his 8th place finish in the individual pursuit at Track Worlds in Manchester, England. Here’s a summary of the top headlines: New York Times: Phinney pedals his way [...]
Castilla y Leon stage 4: Carrión de los Condes – Montaña Palentina
Stage 4 starts out relatively flat and finishes uphill with a nice category 1 climb, the 1540 meter Collada de Salcedillo. The 160.8 km stage also includes the category 3 climb, Valle at 1220 meters. The stage starts at 12:38 and finishes between 16:30-17:00. Slipstream Squad Steven Cozza Jason Donald Huub Duyn Tyler Farrar Dan [...]
USA Today: Olympic quest for Phinney family
USA Today profiles the Phinney family and Taylor Phinney’s ascent as one of the world’s elite cyclists. The story includes a photo gallery of the Phinney family in action along with USA Today writer Sal Ruibal’s blog on Taylor’s success as an athlete and person.
Velonews.com: Phinney sets JR world record, PR
Velonews reports on Taylor Phinney’s 8th place finish at the World Championships in Manchester. His time of 4:22.358 lowered his PR by more than two seconds and was recorded as a new junior world record. Taylor Phinney photo courtesy of Davis Phinney. His performance should earn him an automatic nomination to the 2008 U.S. Olympic [...]
Boulder, CO – Magnolia/Sugarloaf/Super Flag
Overview:This is, without a doubt, one of the hardest 43-mile rides you’ll find around Boulder. It’s got over 8,000 feet of climbing, and never takes you more than 12 miles away from town. So if at any point you call uncle, you can pretty much coast home. Difficulty: Extreme Distance: 43 miles. Total Elevation Gain: [...]
Castilla y Leon stage 3: Valladolid – Villa del Libro de Urueña
Stage 3 covers 159.9 km and will be flat and fast with a finishing circuit going into Urueña. The stage starts at 12:39 and finishes between 16:30-17:00. Slipstream Squad Steven Cozza Jason Donald Huub Duyn Tyler Farrar Dan Martin Pat McCarty Danny Pate Christian Vande Velde
Napa Valley Register: Napa native talks about Tour invite
The Napa Valley Register talks to Napa native Lucas Euser about Slipstream/Chipotle’s recent invitation to the 2008 Tour de France. “Getting the tour invite is a reward for all the hard work we have been doing to change the way people look at our sport,” Euser said via e-mail from his home in Girona, Spain [...]
Velonews.com: A conversation with Will Frischkorn
Velonews.com interviews Will Frischkorn after his heroic ride at Milan-San Remo. When asked how he felt at the finish, Frischkorn said: “When I was finished, I was OK, I wasn’t in a hunger flat. I remember Maggy telling us before the race, ‘If you’re not eating every 20 kilometers, that’s 20 kilometers off the distance [...]
Dan's Castilla stage 2: All for one!
First road stage down and we are leading the team GC. When you consider the quality of teams that we are racing against this week, this is pretty damn cool! The stage followed the script to the letter. Three Spanish guys escaped and Astana rode tempo, gradually reeling them back. It wasn’t an easy day, [...]
Castilla y Leon stage 2: Segovia – Avila
Coming off a short, fast time trial, the riders will go straight into the hills for stage 2 with three category 2 climbs spread out over 141.7 km. The climbs include: La Cruz de Hierro 1467 meters; Puerto de la Lancha 1485 meters; and La Paramera 1395 meters. The stage starts at 13:02 and finishes [...]
