Giro d’Italia stage 20: Rovetta – Tirano
The last day for the climbers to leave their mark, stage 20 includes three significant climbs over the course of 224 km.
The first climb, Passo di Gavia (2618 m), comes at 90 km into the stage and is 18.9 km long with an average grade of 7.2% and max grades of 16%. The riders [...]
Giro stage 20: Ryder finishes 17th on penultimate stage
After another seven-hour day in the saddle, Canadian Ryder Hesjedal finished a strong 17th on today’s penultimate stage. He endured the evil 12.8 km Passo del Mortirolo, snow on the Gavia (pictured right), and average grades ranging from 7-10.3%.
“The last two days have been the definition of epic in every way! Yesterday I was [...]
Giro d’Italia stage 19: Legnano – Presolana/Monte Pora
The 228 km stage 19 drags the peloton back into the mountains with a finish on the 6.35 km Monte Pora (1453 m) for the first time in Giro history. On the way to the Monte Pora, the riders get to stretch their legs on the 19.8 km Passo del Vivione (1828 m) and the [...]
Giro stage 19: Making it to Milan
Stage 19 took the guys back into the mountains for nearly seven hours of wet, hard riding. While the favorites battled each other for position and critical seconds, the dwindling Argyle Armada held tough and finished with the grupetto again.
Still suffering from his injuries earlier in the race, Julian Dean didn’t take the [...]
Giro d’Italia stage 18: Mendrisio – Varese
Stage 18 is 182 km long and includes just a little hill – the 767 meter Marzio – and will be the final stage for the sprinters to make some Italian history. Today’s stage finishes in Varese where the 2008 World Championships take place.
Stage 18 is scheduled to start at 13:35 and finish between 17:05-17:27.
Unofficially the hardest bike race in the world
We’ve been quiet regarding blog entries because this race allows us no time for such activities. I’m so tired now. I was not mentally prepared for this, the hardest bike race in the world. Unofficially. I’ll take a vote in Milan and make it official if that is the consensus amongst my experienced peers.
Christian [...]
Cruising Verona with Felt
Directors Matt White and Lionel Marie (right) test drive a couple of sweet Felt cruisers before the start of stage 14 in Verona. Felt Bicycles was at the start in Verona with a fleet of their finest for everyone to check out.
Christian Vande Velde (below) looks especially at home on his red low rider.
Washington Post: Cycling’s Drug Test
The Washington Post takes a hard look at cycling and its struggle with doping controversies. The story talks to a number of the sport’s top personalities and interviews David Millar on his past mistakes and current hopes.
From the article:
This year, Millar is racing on Vaughters’s new Slipstream team, of which he is part owner. [...]
Giro stage 18: Calm before final weekend
As the last relatively flat stage of the 2008 Giro, stage 18 featured a long breakaway that resulted in a solo victory. Most of the five Slipstream/Chipotle H3O riders finished the day with the main grupetto. With two mountain stages tomorrow and Saturday, and a final time trial on Sunday, there is still much to [...]
NZHerald.com: Bruised Dean hanging on in Giro
The New Zealand Herald profiles national road champion Julian Dean on his heroic efforts at the 2008 Giro d’Italia.
From the article: New Zealand cyclist Julian Dean looks like completing cycling’s Giro d’Italia despite battling pain for nearly the duration.The three-week tour finishes in Milan on Sunday and Dean admitted he was looking forward [...]
Giro d’Italia stage 17: Sondrio – Locarno
Though not considered a climbing stage, the 192 km stage 17 does include two 2000 meter-plus passes. The stage includes these back-to-back climbs: Passo dello Spluga (2115 m) and Passo di San Bernardino (2065 m) before descending to a fast finish in Locarno, Switzerland.
Stage 17 is scheduled to start at 13:45 and finish between 17:08-17:29.
Giro stage 17: Short and sweet
David Millar, Danny Pate and Christian Vande Velde cruising Italy.
As the shortest non-time trial stage, today’s 146 km course was relatively uneventful and predictable. A breakaway went early and was eventually caught before the finish. A dozen riders participated in the bunch sprint with most of the peloton finishing just a few seconds behind.
Tomorrow [...]
Competitor SoCal: Argyle Armada Sails for France
Competitor Socal profiles Slipstream/Chipotle H3O and the team’s progression as one of the sport’s new hopes.
From the article: “Getting an invite to the Tour de France might seem to be the culmination of a dream, but Vaughters has a larger vision: he wants to nurture the next generation of great American cyclists, while also [...]
Competitorradio.com features podcast with Tyler Farrar
Competitorradio.com interviews Tyler Farrar about the trials and tribulations of life as a professional cyclist. Check out the podcast.
Velonews.com: Interview with Doug Ellis
Velonews.com talks to Doug Ellis about the team’s performance during the Giro d’Italia.
Said Doug about the pink jersey: “It was huge for the team. It was also important to us and to our sponsors that any of the five who could go across the line would be a U.S. rider. Even though it’s an [...]
Giro d’Italia: rest day
Today will be a good day for the team to spin all the climbing out of the legs in time to recuperate for more climbing and one final time trial.
Giro d’Italia stage 16: San Vigilio di Marebbe – Plan de Corones individual time trial
Though short, the 12.85 km individual time trial goes straight up for 1080 meters of climbing. This mean little climb has an average grade of 7.9%.
Though the first part of the climbs starts at a gentle 2.6% grade, the second half of the climb includes grades of 20% and more. And to make things [...]
Catalunya stage 6: El Vendrell-Palleja
Location:
Catalunya, Spain
Overview:Lucas Euser is riding the 2008 Volta a Catalunya this week with his Garmin Edge 705 and recording all the stages – except the opening time trial – for you data hungry fans out there.
Stage 6 of the 2008 Volta a Catalunya is relatively flat with several category three climbs, including a [...]
Giro stage 16: ITT start times
Today’s individual time trial – though short at 12.85 km – goes straight up for 1080 meters of climbing with an average grade of 7.9%. The last 5.25 km of the climb are on a gravel road that tops out at 24% grade!
If Ryder Hesjedal still has something left, this could be his day to [...]
Awesome week of racing and lessons
Good weather, good form and cool team mates all add up to an awesome week of racing at the Volta a Catalunya. It felt good to actually be ‘racing’ in the final of such a big race. It was a really cool feeling to have the team looking after me with Trent and Tommy [...]
Volta a Catalunya stage 7: Palleja – Barcelona
The final stage of the 2008 Volta a Catalunya is short and sweet at 124 km with a couple of category 3 hills. The finish in Barcelona will be exciting and beautiful as always.
Giro d’Italia stage 15: Arabba – Passo Fedaia/Marmolada
Things start getting very pointy with stage 15. By far the most challenging stage of this year’s Giro, this 153 km day includes no less than six intense climbs as the race crosses the Dolomite mountains.
The fun starts from the gun with the 9.2 km Passo Pordoi (2239 m), and is immediately followed by [...]
Catalunya stage 7: A wet, hard-fought final
Race report from DS Johnny Weltz
Today anything was possible. With a heavy rain, a technically hard circuit, a short 106 stage and a close overall classification, it was still unsure who would take the overall win. So, like every other start, it was very fast. We had some good chances to go for a stage [...]
Digging deep for a dream
For reasons unknown to me, I decided to go in the breakaway today. Little did I know that today would end up being an epic stage with an elite group all thinking the same thing as myself. I was already in trouble when Sella attacked, and in all honesty, I didn’t even think about [...]
