CanadianCyclist.com reported on the Canadian Cycling Association’s announcement of the riders who will make up their Beijing Olympic road team in August. Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O cyclist Ryder Hesjedal will be representing Canada in the road race and time trial.

Ryder said: “I am very excited to be going to my second Olympics, this time in different events then the first! I look forward to doing both the road race and time trial. To recieve this news while training for the Tour de France is a real dream come true!”

The UK’s RoadCycling.com profiles the Edge 705 in a feature on Garmin’s new title sponsorship of Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O.

“We are thrilled to partner with Garmin and believe that establishing this title sponsorship is further evidence that a new era of cycling is upon us,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of Slipstream Sports, LLC, the sports management company that runs the team.

The DenverPost.com details the new title sponsorship of Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O and the technological edge Garm International will give the team.

From the article: “More important, the team said, Garmin will provide the cyclists with the latest in navigation mechanics. Each cyclist will have an Edge 705, a bicycle computer that will provide location, heart rate, cadence and turn-by-turn navigation, among other data. The team car will be equipped with a Nuvi 770, which Garmin spokesman Jon Cassat said will be ‘the best GPS technology on tour.’ ”

SportBusiness.com reports on the announcement of Garmin International’s sponsorship of the newly named Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O.

Said Jon Cassat, Garmin Vice President of Communications: “One thing led to another, and we realised if we stepped up now we could be involved in time for the Tour de France. That was reason enough”.

USA Today featured the announcement of Garmin as the new title sponsor for Team Garmin-Chipotle H3O in time for the start of the 2008 Tour de France.

From the article: “This team is going to be around for a while,” Vaughters said before the official announcement was made. “The team’s performance at the Giro didn’t hurt; Italy is a big market for Garmin. But we’ve been talking with them for a year. We made a solid enough business case.”

As part of the “Faster, Higher, Stronger” series on Beijing Olympic hopefuls, the New York Times features Christian Vande Velde (’Mr. Vande Velde’ to NYTimes readers) and how he and his coaches approach his training. The article also includes tips on bike fit, guidelines for increasing your average wattage from Jonathan Vaughters, and Allen Lim’s recipe for the sushi rice bars.

Under an intense summer sun, 21-year-old Dan Martin made what may end up being THE move of the 2008 Route du Sud. Joining the day’s breakaway, Dan and his fellow escapees gained more than 30 minutes on the main peloton in the overall classification!

After about an hour of racing, Dan and a group of 11 other riders formed the core of the day’s break. Five more riders joined the them and the group of 17 worked well together opening up a gap that continued to increase all the way until the finish. In the last 20 km, the group started splintering with various attacks. But Dan was able to respond to and stay with each one, until the group was down to six with 4 km to go. The top three attacked out of that group for the final sprint leaving Dan to battle it out in his second group of three.

“Today was unreal,” said Dan. “Nobody missed a turn all day, so riding with 16 guys really made it quite easy. I was cruising all day. The little kickers towards the end really made me grit my teeth though.”

“The plan was to follow Christophe Moreau, but I saw the chance to make a break without too much effort. We ended up taking a bit of time, so that’s good for the GC,” Dan continued. “I didn’t really do the sprint. I just wanted the GC time, so I let the three other guys play cat and mouse for the stage win. When I opened the sprint in the second group - even into the headwind - just one guy got me. So I guess the form is pretty good. I’m not too tired now so game on tomorrow in the uphill TT!”

Team Garmin-Chipotle H30 stage 1 results
1. Simon Gerrans 4:52′05″

5. Dan Martin +20″
32. Tom Danielson +37′26″
33. Kilian Patour +37′26″
54. Christophe Laurent +37′26″
87. Trent Lowe +37′26″
95. Tom Peterson +37′26″
102. Tyler Farrar +37′26″
107. Will Frischkorn +37′26″

Team Garmin-Chipotle H30 GC
1. Simon Gerrans 4:51′46″

4. Dan Martin +38″
32. Tom Danielson +37′45″
33. Kilian Patour +37′45″
54. Christophe Laurent +37′45″
87. Trent Lowe +37′45″
95. Tom Peterson +37′45″
102. Tyler Farrar +37′45″
107. Will Frischkorn +37′45″

Bonnie Ford’s recent installment on ESPN.com explores the “…confluence of these multiyear deals, consummated as both the U.S. and European economies are suffering…Cycling, with its broad international reach, still delivers a lot of ban for the promotional buck or Euro.” Read more…