Rafael Valls' Canyon Ultimate CF SLX — Gallery

http://bit.ly/2sXc35Y

This article first appeared on BikeRadar.

German direct-sale giant Canyon will supply both Katusha-Alpecin and Movistar Team in 2019, with the latter riding on a mix of Aeroad CF SLX and Ultimate CF SLX framesets built with groupsets from Campagnolo. 

In the run up to the 2019 Tour Down Under, we took a closer look at the build on Rafael Valls' Ultimate CF SLX, who is into his second season with Movistar Team.

ADVERTISEMENT

Valls’ bike is built around Campagnolo’s as yet unreleased EPS version of its 12-speed generation Super Record groupset. Bahrain-Merida and Lotto-Soudal are also running the new groupset.

• All-new Campagnolo 12-speed EPS electronic groupset spotted

Campagnolo also supplies its Bora Ultra wheels and the crankset is fitted with a Power2Max power meter.

The bike is built with Canyon’s own finishing kit, including its one-piece H36 Aerocockpit.

Rafael Valls' Canyon Ultimate CF SLX full bike specifications

• Frameset: Canyon Ultimate CF SLX

• Front brake: Campagnolo Super Record
• Rear brake: Campagnolo Super Record 
• Brake/shift levers: Campagnolo Super Record EPS, 12-speed
• Front derailleur: Campagnolo Super Record EPS, 12-speed
• Rear derailleur: Campagnolo Super Record EPS, 12-speed
• Cassette: Campagnolo Super Record, 12-speed, 11-32 
• Chain: Campagnolo Record, 12-speed
• Crankset: Campagnolo Super record, 53/39 chainrings, 172.5mm crank arm length

• Wheelset: Campagnolo Bora Ultra
• Tyres: Continental Competition Pro LTD, 25mm tubular

• Handlebars: Canyon H36 Aerocockpit, 150mm stem, 410mm wide bars
• Tape/grips: Lizard Skins
• Pedals: Look Keo Blade Carbon
• Saddle: Fizik Arione
• Seatpost: Canyon S13 VCLS

• Bottle cages: Elite Vico Carbon
• Computer: Garmin Edge 1030 (not pictured)

Critical measurements

• Rider height: 1.79m
• Saddle height (from centre of bottom bracket): 785mm
• Tip of saddle nose to handlebars (at centre): 600mm
• Weight: 7.10kg

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/rafael-valls-canyon-ultimate-cf-slx-gallery

UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships Start Lists

http://bit.ly/2RZ0TwN

 

ADVERTISEMENT

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/uci-cyclo-cross-world-championships-start-lists

Mechanical groupsets and Shimano 105 cranks – Vuelta a San Juan Tech Gallery

http://bit.ly/2CPCA9S

The Vuelta a San Juan has attracted some of the biggest teams in the peloton but also much smaller Continental and national teams from across South America, creating a contrast in ability and equipment.

Many of the WorldTour teams have transitioned to disc brakes during the winter and have the best electronic groupsets from Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo. In contrast, the riders in the smaller teams are often on different bike brands and components, with some frames showing years of use.

Cyclingnews wandered through the team parking before stage 2 to look at some of the bikes and tech.

Several of the Deceuninck-QuickStep riders, including neo-pro Remco Evenepoel, were sporting the new Specialized lightweight climbing shoe that was first spotted at the Tour Down Under. Several Bora-Hansgrohe riders used an orange-coloured version in Australia, but here in San Juan, the Deceuninck-QuickStep riders have a more classic-looking black and white version.

The Belgian team are all riding on disc brakes, with the riders opting for the Venge model on the early stages. We spotted a single Tarmac disc bike and that was reserved for Julian Alaphilippe, perhaps for the key mountain stage to Alto Colorado. Specialized recently confirmed to Cyclingnews that both their sponsored teams – Deceuninck-QuickStep and Bora-Hansgrohe – will ride exclusively on disc brake bikes in 2019.

Bora-Hansgrohe have elegant green, white and black Specialized bikes for 2019 but Peter Sagan has his own colour-scheme from his Sagan Collection that was launched last summer.

Androni Giocattoli are riding Bottecchia bikes and water sponsor Lauretana has its logo on transparent bidons that look a lot like bottles of water. Being transparent means the riders can quickly see which bidon contains water and which an energy drink. There is no longer a need for an X or S to indicate the energy drink.

Winner Anacona of Movistar was proud to be riding the new Campagnolo 12-speed Super Record EPS gears and also had a stunning power meter crankset from Power2Max.

Fernando Gaviria and his new UAE Team Emirates teammates are all riding matte black Colnago frames and, somewhat surprisingly, they have caliper brakes. Some were using the Deda Alanera one-piece carbon fibre cockpits but Gaviria opted for a more robust Deda 35 stem that, like many bikes in the early season, still has some steerer tube emerging for possible changes in bar height.

ADVERTISEMENT

The lower teams

The Pro Continental teams are a step down from the WorldTour level and their kit showed it. The Israel Cycling Academy are riding on De Rosa bikes and Conor Dunne has a special white, orange and green colour scheme for his custom made bike to highlight he is Irish national road race champion.

The Caja Rural team are also using De Rosa frames and have stunning green versions of the Protos model. Surprisingly, they were fitted with Shimano Ultegra groupsets rather than Dura-Ace.

Both the Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia and Sporting Tavira teams are using KTM bikes from Austria. The Revelator Lisse model has obtuse angels and chunky tube shapes that look designed to give an aerodynamic edge. Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia are using the KTM frame with SRAM components but several riders were still using older Shimano Dura-Ace 9000-series cranksets.

The Italian Beltrami Tsa Hoppla Continental team had grey Argon 18 disc-brake bikes fitted with Zipp wheels and SRAM red components. However their equals in South America were not so well equipped, with several teams on different bikes and a multitude of older components and wheels that will leave their mechanics with a headache.

We saw a rider on Lightweight carbon wheels, Shimano Ultegra derailleurs and a Shimano 105 crankset, and another rider on a bike that seemed to have been handed down from the former Geox team. One Scott bike looked like it had been involved in several crashes, while the Start Cycling Team from Bolivia had Aster frames from Taiwan, equipped with older Shimano Dura-Ace cranks and the rarely seen Microshift gears.

A rider from the Sel Brasil team had a florescent green Dynatek frame that was as outlandish as it was ugly. A rider with the Cuban national team was using a Shimano bike provided by the neutral service provider of the race. Sometimes you just have to use what you are given and be grateful.

Click or swipe through the gallery above for a full look at the tech on display at the Vuelta a San Juan.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/mechanical-groupsets-and-shimano-105-cranks-vuelta-a-san-juan-tech-gallery

Women's Herald Sun Tour start list

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/womens-herald-sun-tour-start-list

Jayco Herald Sun Tour start list

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/jayco-herald-sun-tour-start-list-2

No holds barred: the Mark Cavendish Procycling interview

http://bit.ly/2WpFoUi

Mark Cavendish recently guest-edited Procycling magazine. He chose a variety of feature subjects, including investigations into concussions, an interview with Marianne Vos, a celebration of Milan-San Remo and a retro feature about Chris Boardman's 1992 Olympic gold medal. He also sat down for an interview with Procycling's regular editor, Edward Pickering, to talk about what the future holds for him after a glittering career and a couple of challenging years. To subscribe to Procycling and support our journalism, go to https://www.buysubscriptions.com/print/pro-cycling-magazine-subscription.

The number 34 is looming large over Mark Cavendish's life and career from the perspective of early 2019. On May 21, he'll celebrate his 34th birthday. A decade or two ago, turning 34 might have meant retirement, but 34 is only getting towards the upper end of mid-life for cyclists these days. Alejandro Valverde, the current world champion, is 38, the current Giro d'Italia champion Chris Froome is a day older than Cavendish, and reigning Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas will be 33 when he makes his defence of the 2018 yellow jersey.

But 34 is also the single number that will define the life and career of Mark Cavendish between now, its end and far beyond. It's the number of stage wins taken by Eddy Merckx at the Tour de France, and trying to equal and beat it will be the last great challenge for Cavendish in his career.

ADVERTISEMENT

In his favour: the knowledge that some of the best sprinters in recent history have achieved their best results in their 30s. Mario Cipollini won 16 Giro stages in his 20s but 26 in his 30s (including 12 taken after he turned 34). Alessandro Petacchi was in his 30s for 16 of his 22 Giro stage wins (with five more stripped after his salbutamol case). Robbie McEwen won three Grand Tour stages in his 20s and 21 in his 30s, including four Tour stages after 34. As André Greipel has recently proved, sprinters winning Grand Tour stages in their 30s is not at all unusual.

Furthermore, Cavendish's ambitions won't be diluted by other targets. He has a rainbow jersey and a Milan-San Remo in his palmarès. More would have been nice, and he didn't sleep properly for weeks after getting beaten to the line by Peter Sagan in the 2016 Qatar World Championship, but his season won't be built around these races anymore. Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Tours, which used to look like sure-fire wins for Cavendish, are no longer races for sprinters.

Coming back from mononucleosis

Targeting the Tour

Making it look easy

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/no-holds-barred-the-mark-cavendish-procycling-interview

'It's crazy what you can talk yourself into' - BMX rider drops from helicopter

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Scottish BMX rider Kriss Kyle is scared of heights but that didn't stop him from dropping out of a helicopter on his bike above one of the world’s tallest hotels.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/scotland/47042221

Mark Cavendish says it's 'nice to be back in the mix' after race return

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Mark Cavendish finishes eighth in Sunday's opening stage of the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina after six months out.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47033472

One in a Million: British Cycling campaign aims to get more women on bikes

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

British Cycling hopes to get more women onto bikes through their 'One in a Million' campaign and address the gender imbalance in the sport.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/get-inspired/47027572

'I'm one in a million' - join the campaign to get more women cycling

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Watch British Cycling's new campaign trail as they aim to boost women's cycling and get one million more women on their bikes by 2020.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/get-inspired/47031058

Luis Leon Sanchez's Argon 18 Gallium Pro — Gallery

http://bit.ly/2Sce8cC

This article first appeared on BikeRadar.

Former Tour Down Under winner Luis Leon Sanchez enters his 16^th season at the top of the sport and his fifth consecutive with Astana Pro Team.

The Kazakh-registered team stick with Canadian brand Argon 18 to provide framesets for the 2019 season and Sanchez opts for the all-round, simplistic Gallium Pro for the WorldTour opener in Australia over the more aero-focused Argon 18 Nitrogen Disc.

ADVERTISEMENT

Astana also continues to stick with Corima wheels for 2019. Sanchez pairs the 47 WS+ carbon wheels from the French company with classic, gum-walled Wolfpack Race Tubulars.

The bikes use Shimano Dura-Ace R9150 drivetrain components with cranksets from FSA. Sanchez opts for a 54-tooth outer chainring on his race bike.

FSA also provides the team with finishing kit, including seatpost, handlebars and stem.

Full specification

• Frameset: Argon 18 Gallium Pro, size 56

• Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Brake/shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Cassette: Shimano Ultegra, 11-28
• Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Crankset: FSA Powerbox Carbon with FSA TT chainrings 54/39, 175mm cranks

• Wheels: Corima 47 WS+
• Tyres: Wolfpack Race Tubular, 25mm

• Stem: FSA OS-99, 130mm
• Handlebars: FSA Energy, 400mm
• Tape/grips: Prologo
• Pedals: Look Keo 2 Max Carbon
• Saddle: Prologo Scratch 2, Astana team issue
• Seatpost: FSA K-Force Light

• Bottle cages: Tacx Ciro
• Computer mount: K-Edge

Critical measurements

• Rider height: 1.86m
• Seat height (from centre of bottom bracket): 800mm
• Tip of saddle nose to handlebars (at centre): 615mm
• Total bicycle weight: 7.12kg

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/luis-leon-sanchezs-argon-18-gallium-pro-gallery-1

Remco Evenepoel impresses on pro debut at Vuelta a San Juan

http://bit.ly/2Sce8cC

Remco Evenepoel enjoyed a relatively quiet but still emotional debut as a professional rider with the Deceuninck-QuickStep team on the opening stage of the Vuelta a San Juan.

The 19-year-old Belgian prodigy impressed his teammates and even Peter Sagan by avoiding an early crash and trying his hand in some echelons and attacks before becoming part of the team's lead-out that tried to set up sprinter Alvaro Hodeg. Sagan noticed that he was well placed at the front of the peloton when the speed rose and echelons briefly threatened to split the race.

Hodeg finished fifth, several bike lengths behind winner and former Quick-Step rider Fernando Gaviria, with Evenepoel 34th in the peloton. The youngster was still interviewed by Belgian television channel Sporza and the Flemish newspapers, who are at the Vuelta a San Juan largely to follow the 19-year-old as he makes his professional debut after jumping directly from the junior ranks and his two world titles in Innsbruck last September.

ADVERTISEMENT

"I expected it to be harder and to suffer more with the high speed in the final kilometres but it actually turned out really well, I was up there with the team. I did what I could, I did my best," Evenepoel told Cyclingnews post-stage, where his biggest concern was the worsening sunburn on his arms after almost four hours and 159km under the South American sun, in temperatures that touched 38C.

"I didn’t crash and so that’s a success for me. I had a difficult moment early on but I avoided crashing by making a weird move. I was also in the echelons a little bit later on. I’m happy; the racing was actually more relaxed than with the juniors I’ve raced against.

"I rode in the first 20 all day. I think Sagan must have seen that too because he made me a compliment. That is motivating for the next few days."

The biggest story in Flemish cycling in 2019

The Wolfpack puppy

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/remco-evenepoel-impresses-on-pro-debut-at-vuelta-a-san-juan

Chasing rainbows: Marianne Vos and the World Championships

http://bit.ly/2Sce8cC

Marianne Vos has not worn a rainbow jersey in almost four years. For someone who had barely been out of one since the age of 18, that's quite something – something she's out to put right this year.

Once the overwhelmingly dominant force in women's cycling, Vos has endured a rocky few years. In 2015, she was beset by a combination of injury, illness, and pushing herself too far for too long, and was forced into an extended break from the sport.

After coming back part-way through 2016, she was good – there were the European road race and the Ladies Tour titles, among others – but it was a far cry from the dominant, cannibalistic Vos of old. Prior to 2015, she was averaging more than 20 wins per season on the road. Since her comeback, it's been more like seven.

ADVERTISEMENT

Yet, the back end of 2018 – and indeed the start of 2019 - have seen a glimmer from the shadows, a hint that Vos might be 'back' – not just in the peloton but back to her old self.

The start of 2018 saw her out of shape during the cyclo-cross season, ill during the cobbled classics, and then out of action completely when she broke her collarbone again at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. She came back in June and there was immediate cause for encouragement, with a string of high placings at the Women's Tour and a stage win at the Giro Rosa. She then won the overall at the Ladies Tour and says things truly clicked into place as she won the Crescent Vagarda. From there she went to the Tour of Norway and won every stage. The run crossed over onto the mud, with Vos winning the World Cup series with victories in four of the nine rounds.

"The consistency at the end of the season, and also the start of the cyclo-cross season, has given me a lot of confidence and motivation. That has been the biggest win of the past year – not exactly the results themselves but more the consistent shape, the feeling of being fit and healthy and being able to do what I have in my potential," Vos says.

Vos and Worlds

2006 Cyclo-cross Worlds - Zeddam

2006 Road Worlds - Salzburg

Cyclo-cross Worlds - 2009-2014

2012 Road Worlds - Valkenburg

2013 Road Worlds - Florence

2008 Track Worlds (Points Race) - Manchester

2011 Track Worlds (Scratch Race) - Apeldoorn

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/chasing-rainbows-marianne-vos-and-the-world-championships

National Track Championships: Reade wins first British title, Kenny takes keirin

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Shanaze Reade wins her first National Track Championships title, while six-time Olympic champion Jason Kenny is victorious in the keirin despite a huge error.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47026882

Cycling: John Archibald sets new British and sea-level world record at National Track Championships

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

John Archibald beats his own world record in the individual pursuit at the National Track Championships in Manchester.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/scotland/47007272

Vuelta a San Juan 2019 Start List

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/vuelta-a-san-juan-2019-start-list

Laura Kenny: National Track Championships gold for Olympian on first appearance since 2015

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Laura Kenny wins scratch-race gold on her first National Track Championships appearance since 2015.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47018186

A balancing act: Analysing the Giro d'Italia wildcards

http://bit.ly/2Tfi2yF

The business of designating the four wildcard invitations to the Giro d'Italia is always a delicate matter, and one senses that the process was even more fraught for RCS Sport this year. It was, after all, the final time that Mauro Vegni and company could assign all four places; from 2020, as per the impending UCI reforms, the two top-ranked Pro Continental teams will have first refusal on two of the four invitations to the Grand Tours.

The wildcard announcement, initially slated for the middle of the month, was postponed on several occasions, as RCS assessed the applicants' dossiers – or, more accurately, agonised over whether they could and should use their final free selection to award wildcards to all four Italian Pro Continental teams.

In the end, three of the four Italian squads got the nod. Androni-Sidermec had already earned selection by dint of their victory in the season-long Ciclismo Cup classification in 2018 (it is as yet unclear if the competition winner will collect the same prize in 2020), and on Friday afternoon, Bardiani-CSF and Nippo-Vini Fantini also had their tickets stamped for the Giro.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Neri Sottoli Selle Italia KTM team, however, were left standing on the platform, as RCS Sport deemed them surplus to requirements and assigned the fourth and final wildcard berth to Israel Cycling Academy.

It is the first time since 2010 that Luca Scinto's squad have missed out on Giro selection, and one wonders whether they will survive the body blow. After losing Wilier as bike supplier and title sponsor for 2019, the squad only presented their roster and new title sponsor in early January, and although new signings Giovanni Visconti and Dayer Quintana caught the eye, the team's strength-in-depth was lacking after the departures of Jakub Marezcko and the retired Filippo Pozzato.

From a purely sporting point of view, the case for Neri Sottoli was arguably the least compelling of the four Italian teams, while the squad may also have paid an admittedly belated price for its ethical record over the years. At various points, the team's future was threatened by positive tests from Danilo Di Luca and Mauro Santambrogio on the 2013 Giro, from Matteo Rabottini in 2014, from Ramon Carretero in 2015 and from Samuele Conti in 2016.

Androni, the Ciclismo Cup winners

The other wildcards

The future

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/a-balancing-act-analysing-the-giro-ditalia-wildcards

Williamson 'thankful' to make race return after serious crash

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Cyclist Vicky Williamson says she is thankful to be back representing GB after a serious crash in March 2016.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/47007590

Diego Ulissi's Colnago C64 - Gallery

http://bit.ly/2DyDFol

UAE Team Emirates rides the most Italian bikes in the whole WolrdTour, with the team using Campagnolo-equipped Colnagos that are fitted with a full complement of Italian-made components.

Diego Ulissi has been with UAE Team Emirates - previously known as Lampre - since 2010 - and he continues his tenure with the squad for the 2019 season.

Ulissi’s Colnago C64, which was released in early 2018, is built around a 12-speed Campagnolo Super Record EPS groupset alongside the Italian brand’s Bora Ultra wheels, which are fitted with Vittoria Corsa tyres.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Italian theme continues with the finishing kit, with Deda supplying its Alanera one-piece cockpit and Prologo its Scratch saddle.

Click through the gallery above to have a closer look at Diego Ulissi’s Colnago C64.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/diego-ulissis-colnago-c64-gallery

2019 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race start list

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/2019-cadel-evans-great-ocean-road-race-start-list

2019 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race Women start list

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/2019-cadel-evans-great-ocean-road-race-women-start-list

Mat Hayman: I'd do it all again

http://bit.ly/2FTMJpr

Back when magazines were a sustainable business model, the now-defunct Cycle Sport ran a series of features entitled 'Introducing', in which they would highlight up-and-comers who had burst onto the scene. One month it could be Santiago Blanco, the next, Danny Pate, Angel Casero, Chris Jenner, and so on.

In one edition - April 2001 to be precise - it was the turn of Mathew Hayman.

The previous season had seen the Australian turn professional with Rabobank after three years with their development team, and in those days, early spring Spanish stage races were virtually tripping over each other on the UCI calendar. The 21-year-old impressed and duly made it into the 'Introducing' hall of fame by virtue of a 180-kilometre solo break, stage victory and GC title at the Mallorca Challenge.

ADVERTISEMENT

I haven’t seen the copy of the magazine for years. It’s stored away in a cabinet, either at home, the Cyclingnews office, or at the home of my unappreciative parents, who for some unfathomable reason don’t see the value in hoarding magazines from 20 years ago. Regardless, what’s memorable from the double-page spread was the image that accompanied the piece. On the left-hand side of the fold sat the interview, conducted by Alasdair Fotheringham, while the entire right side was devoted to a picture of Hayman during what was presumably his stage-long break in Spain. Back in those days, there was no social media and no television coverage of such niche races. This was a genuine introduction.

Twenty years later and the article and accompanying image are still vivid in my mind. It’s funny how we can remember almost every facet and every detail from when we first fall in love with cycling, yet still struggle to name the last winner of this spring Monument or that Grand Tour. I can even remember that Cycle Sport wrote that Hayman’s resting heart rate was 38 beats per minute, and that his ideal holiday location was Canberra – somewhat amusing given that he was born just a few hours away in Camperdown.

However, the image I’ll remember now, as Hayman hangs up his wheels, is of the Australian taking one last pull on the front of the peloton on stage 6 at the 2019 Tour Down Under and then quietly, and without fuss, slipping back through the wheels as the battle for GC leaves him behind. There’s no fanfare, no fancy show, just a 40-year-old pro dropping back as riders from his generation and those that followed offer a pat on the back and a few words. It’s almost like watching the sands of time themselves slip away. It’s quiet, it’s dignified. It’s so Hayman.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/mat-hayman-id-do-it-all-again

2019 Tour Colombia 2.1 start list

http://bit.ly/2FTMJpr

 

ADVERTISEMENT

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/2019-tour-colombia-2-1-start-list

Pendleton has 'turned corner' after being 'minutes away' from taking own life

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Olympic track cycling champion Victoria Pendleton says she has "turned a corner" after she "was minutes away" from taking her own life last summer.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/46970230

What groupsets, tyres and pedals do WorldTour teams use?

http://bit.ly/2FFUzne

This article originally appeared on BikeRadar.

The demands and needs WorldTour pro racers place on their equipment are far removed from those of the vast majority of everyday riders, but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying ogling at the latest and greatest kit that the top-end of the sport uses.

We’ve spent the last two weeks hassling mechanics at the 2019 edition of the Tour Down Under — the opening WorldTour race of the season — and from our findings, we’re pleased to present a comprehensive illustrated breakdown of what groupsets, tyres and pedals each WorldTour team will use in 2019.

ADVERTISEMENT

We'll also reveal which teams will exclusively ride disc brakes this season.

What groupsets do WorldTour pro racers use?

For the 2019 season, SRAM, Campagnolo and Shimano are the sole three groupset suppliers to the pro peloton.

We’ve heard rumour that Rotor’s 1x13 groupset may make an appearance on a few very, very select occasions — likely on Dimension Data’s bikes — and we wouldn’t be surprised to see FSA’s K-Force WE groupset pop up at some point, but you can guarantee that the main three will dominate the season.

2019 WorldTour teams that use Shimano groupsets

• Astana Pro Team
• Bahrain-Merida
• Bora-Hansgrohe
• CCC Team
• Deceuninck - Quick-Step
• Dimension Data
• EF Education First Pro Cycling
• Groupama-FDJ
• Mitchelton-Scott
• Team Jumbo-Visma
• Team Sky
• Team Sunweb

2019 WorldTour teams that use Campagnolo groupsets

• AG2R La Mondiale
• Lotto Soudal
• Movistar team
• UAE Team Emirates

2019 WorldTour teams using SRAM groupsets

• Katusha-Alpecin
• Trek-Segafredo

What tyres do WorldTour pro racers use?

2019 WorldTour teams that use Continental Competition Pro LTD tyres

• Bahrain-Merida
• Dimension Data
• Groupama-FDJ
• Katusha-Alpecin
• Movistar Team
• Team Sky
• Team Sunweb

2019 WorldTour teams that use Vittoria Corsa tyres

• CCC Team
• EF Education First Pro Cycling
• Lotto Soudal
• Team Jumbo-Visma
• Trek-Segafredo
• UAE Team Emirates

2019 WorldTour teams that use Specialized S-Works Turbo tyres

• Bora-Hansgrohe
• Deceuninck - QuickStep

Other tyres

• AG2R La Mondiale — Vredestein Fortezza Senso T
• Astana Pro Team — Wolfpack Race Cotton tubular
• Mitchelton-Scott — Pirelli PZero Velo Tubular

What pedals to WorldTour pro racers use?

2019 WorldTour teams that use Shimano pedals

• Bahrain Merida
• Bora-Hansgrohe
• CCC Team
• Deceuninck - Quick-Step
• Dimension Data
• EF Education First Pro Cycling
• Groupama-FDJ
• Mitchelton-Scott
• Team Sky
• Team Sunweb
• Trek-Segafredo

2019 WorldTour teams that use Look pedals

• AG2R La Mondiale
• Katusha-Alpecin
• Lotto Soudal
• Team Astana
• Team Jumbo-Visma
• Team Movistar
• UAE Team Emirates

Which WorldTour teams use disc brakes?

2019 WorldTour teams that use disc brakes

• Bora-Hansgrohe
• Bahrain-Merida
• Deceuninck - Quick-Step
• Dimension Data
• Katusha-Alpecin
• Trek-Segafredo

2019 WorldTour teams that use rim brakes

• AG2R La Mondiale
• CCC Team
• EF Education First Pro Cycling
• Groupama-FDJ
• Lotto Soudal
• Mitchelton-Scott
• Team Astana
• Team Jumbo-Visma
• Team Movistar
• Team Sky
• Team Sunweb
• UAE Team Emirates

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/what-groupsets-tyres-and-pedals-do-worldtour-teams-use

Introducing: Jasper Philipsen

http://bit.ly/2W13kNw

Jasper Philipsen caught the eye during his spells with the BMC development team and Hagens Berman Axeon before deciding to make the step up to WorldTour level with UAE Team Emirates at just 20 years of age this season. The Belgian’s professional career got off to a fine start at the Tour Down Under, where he claimed sprint victory on the penultimate stage.

Cyclingnews: How did you get into cycling?

Jasper Philipsen: No one in my family raced. I played soccer as a child but then I had a BMX accident and that gave me some injury problems that meant I couldn’t play soccer any more. I was still watching cycling on television and when I was roughly 12 I started to get the sport. At the time, I didn’t really know much about professional cycling but I started racing, joined a team, and started to have fun.

ADVERTISEMENT

CN: You’re from Ham, near Mol, in Belgium. Mol has produced a number of professional riders but none bigger than Tom Boonen.

JP: That’s right. During Boonen’s final years we were in the same training group, along with Maarten Wynants from Jumbo-Visma. My first training ride with Boonen was probably a short coffee ride because we do a lot of them back home. We’d stop at a bar, have a coffee, and then have an easy ride home. He was always a hero for me because I’d watch him race in the spring Classics, and I really looked up to him and his achievements while the Classics were always special for me when I was growing up. He was a superstar when I was growing up, so it was strange to then find myself riding with him. I got used to it.

CN: How did you end up on Axel Merckx’s Hagens Berman Axeon team in 2018?

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/introducing-jasper-philipsen

5 conclusions from the 2019 Tour Down Under

http://bit.ly/2W13kNw

The 2019 edition of the Tour Down Under came alive thanks to Patrick Bevin's aggression and defending champion Daryl Impey's experience, and it soon became clear that it was those two riders who were most likely to beat the mountain men – Richie Porte, Wout Poels, Michael Woods – at their own game with the climb of Corkscrew back on the menu for stage 4 and Willunga Hill providing the race's climax on stage 6, along with a more-than-lumpy stage 3 – with Peter Sagan eventually flattening the latter.

While Sagan's emergence as the winner of a stage that had been billed beforehand by some as one of the toughest ever to grace the race seemed unlikely, with the stiflingly hot weather potentially playing a part in preventing the peloton from exploding quite as much as it otherwise might have done, there was no denying Bevin and Impey's contributions to a race that really should, on paper, have gone the climbers' way.

Bevin might have held his lead all the way to the end had it not been for his crash on stage 5, and while Porte attempted to pull the race apart with his attack on Willunga Hill on the last stage, it was Impey who came out on top to take his second overall win in as many years.

ADVERTISEMENT

Here, then, are Cyclingnews' five conclusions from this year's race.

Bevin's a boxing fan

Absolutely central to the race was Patrick 'Paddy' Bevin's emergence as a genuine contender for this year's Tour Down Under title. He might have won it, too, were it not for his crash on stage 5, which, despite his injuries not being overly serious, prevented him from being at his best for the final stage, leaving him unable to defend his ochre leader's jersey.

After the New Zealander's CCC teammate Jakub Mareczko had finished third to winner Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-QuickStep) on the opening stage to Port Adelaide, you could have been forgiven for thinking – as many did, including the team, initially – that the bright orange jersey that emerged from the mêlée to win stage 2 in Angaston was Mareczko going two places better.

Ewan doesn't like losing

Philipsen has a fabulous future ahead of him

Mitchelton are going to miss Mat Hayman

Can anyone stop Porte from reaching seventh heaven on Willunga?

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/5-conclusions-from-the-2019-tour-down-under

Britain's Katy Marchant claims World Cup keirin silver in New Zealand

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Katy Marchant of Great Britain wins a silver medal in the Women's keirin at the World Cup in New Zealand.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/46941683

Daryl Impey's Scott Foil RC — Gallery

http://bit.ly/2DigAGi

This article first appeared on BikeRadar.

Daryl Impey won last year’s edition of the Tour Down Under riding for Mitchelton-Scott. The current South African national champion continues his tenure with the Australian-registered squad for 2019 and has just taken the win in stage four of this year’s edition of the race on this Scott Foil RC.

• Sagan to race alloy bike with tubeless tyres
• 2019 WorldTour team bike guide

Impey is a strong all round rider and is expected to spend time on both Scott’s Foil aero bike and Addict race bike this season. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Impey’s pictured Foil RC is set up with a full Shimano Dura-Ace R9150 Di2 groupset. The bike is built around direct-mount rim brakes, with the rear brake tucked beneath the chainstay in a bid to improve the aero qualities of the bike

Shimano also supplies wheels to the team, with Impey rolling on Dura-Ace R9100 C40 wheels for stage four. Syncros — Scott’s in-house components brand — supplies finishing kit, including its RR1.0 SL one-piece cockpit.

Click through the gallery above to have a closer look at Daryl Impey’s Scott Foil RC

Daryl Impey's Scott Foil RC full bike specifications 

• Frameset: Scott Foil RC

• Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9110-F
• Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9110-R
• Brake/shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 11-30
• Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 
• Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100-P 54/38 chainrings, 175mm crank length  

• Wheelset: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 C40
• Tyres: Pirelli P-Zero Velo tubular, 25mm 

• Cockpit: Syncros RR1.0 SL cockpit, 150mm stem, 410mm wide handlebars
• Tape/grips: Syncros Superlight tape
• Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Saddle: Syncros Tofino
• Seat post: Syncros Foil RC seat post

• Bottle cages: Elite Leggero carbon 
• Computer: Garmin Edge 820
• Other accessories: K-Edge Garmin Splayd Race Mount

Critical measurements

• Rider height: 1.83m
• Saddle height (from centre of bottom bracket): 765mm
• Tip of saddle nose to handlebars (at centre): 610mm
• Weight: 7.15kg

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/daryl-impeys-scott-foil-rc-gallery

Mitch Docker's Cannondale SuperSix EVO - Gallery

http://bit.ly/2DigAGi

This article first appeared on BikeRadar.

Ahead of the start of the 2019 edition of the Tour Down Under EF Education First Pro Cycling and Rapha unveiled their 2019 kit — and the final WorldTour team to do so. The pink and blue fade design is Rapha's first return to the top level of the sport since ending their partnership with Team Sky back in 2016.

Alongside the new kit, EF Pro Cycling also unveiled their 2019 Cannondale race bikes, which have also been given the wavy pink and blue fade treatment.

ADVERTISEMENT

• Peter Sagan to race alloy frame and tubeless tyres
• EF Education First aim to 'disrupt' pro peloton with bright pink kit — gallery

A print of the design has been wrapped around the top tube and down tube of the bike then clear lacquered, alongside retro, contrasting white Cannondale decals.

The black undercoat on the frameset is complimented with deep carbon Vision Metron wheels, black FSA finishing kit, a black Prologo Nack saddle, Cannondale SISL cranks and FSA 54/38 chainrings.

Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 series components provides Docker with shifting and braking. Tacx bottle cages hold the eye-catching bidons in the same pink and blue fade design as the team's new kit.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/mitch-dockers-cannondale-supersix-evo-gallery

Adam Hansen: The five races that changed my life

http://bit.ly/2DigAGi

With a career spanning two decades, and the record for the most consecutive Grand Tours completed, Adam Hansen (Lotto Soudal) has had a unique and prestigious path within professional cycling. The 37-year-old has ridden alongside some of the greatest stars in recent years, and enjoyed success in his own right, and at the Tour Down Under he sat down with Cyclingnews to reveal the five races that changed his life the most.

National championships 2006

My first national championships. Back then I wasn't on a team and I was a bit of a nobody if I'm honest. The guy who won the U23 was Will Walker, and back then the U23 and the elites would race together, and the first U23 rider to cross the line became the champion of that level. I had no idea that those were the rules but I attacked with around 15 kilometres from the finish, and on this little uphill section, Walker came across and I jumped on his wheel.

At the top of the hill, I looked back and I could see that another three riders were working their way towards us. I thought that if I stayed with Walker I'd lose the sprint because I was right on my limit. I decided to take it easy in order to recover and I eased my way back to the three chasers. It was such a stupid move because they were on their knees by the time they reached me. Walker went to the finish and won but as he was U23 and not an elite all I needed to do was stay on his wheel and I would have been Australian champion. It's crazy but I had no idea.

ADVERTISEMENT

At the presentation, they gave the elite jersey to Russell Van Hout, who won the sprint for second. I finished fourth over the line but that equated to second in the elites, because Wesley Sulzberger won the sprint for second, he too was a U23 rider. Does that make sense? I still can't get my head around it. At the time I was riding for an amateur team in Austria so this was still a massive result and huge experience for me. It was my first major nationals and I was going up against guys like Henk Vogels, Matt Wilson, Mathew Hayman, and Robbie McEwen.

It was surreal racing against those guys to be honest because I didn't know any of them. When I made it into the winning break, Vogels got angry with me at one point because I was riding too hard. And when that happened another rider came up to me and said: "That's Henk Vogels, you should do what he says." I came to learn that Henk was right, that you shouldn't ride too hard when you're in a break, but I found it amusing that another rider would take it upon himself to chime in. Overall, that experience taught me that I could aim for something better in cycling. I never imagined I could get a result like that but it gave me more confidence and it got me onto a Continental team for the next three seasons. If only I'd held Walker's wheel though…

Giro d'Italia: Stage 7, 2013

What do you want to know because I can remember everything about this race. I remember knowing I'd be in the break, and I was so confident I posted a message on Twitter that morning announcing my plans. I'd been in so many breaks up until that point but never made it to the finish but that day everything worked out. Emanuele Sella was in the move as well and we all knew that the end was super hilly. I had done the Giro in 2008 when he'd won two stages - this was before he tested positive - and we were struggling to make the time limit that year because of him. Forty to fifty riders that year were holding onto cars just to make the time cut. It was ludicrous. He was doing it day after day and at the time I thought I'd never come back to the Giro.

Vuelta a España: Stage 19, 2014

Vattenfall Cyclassics 2007

Racing in Europe in 2001

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/adam-hansen-the-five-races-that-changed-my-life

Laureus Awards: Lewis Hamilton and Geraint Thomas nominated for prestigious awards

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton and Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas are amongst the nominees for the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/46916439

Jess Varnish says she has 'no regrets' over failed tribunal against British Cycling and UK Sport

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Ex-Great Britain cyclist Jess Varnish says she is "disappointed" but has "no regrets" over her failed tribunal against of British Cycling and UK Sport at tribunal.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/46910520

Ben O'Connor: Unfinished business

http://bit.ly/2RX0qtW

Ben O'Connor experienced a dream season in 2018 when he found himself leading his Dimension Data team at the second-biggest race in the world in what was only his second year racing at WorldTour level.

However, last year's Giro d'Italia would end in devastating fashion for him when he crashed on stage 19 while in 12th place overall, and heading for an almost-certain top-10 position, just two days from the finish in Rome.

While just 22 years old last May, and having first raced a bike at the end of 2013, the Australian had experienced close to the pinnacle of professional cycling only to be brought back down to earth with a painful bump.

ADVERTISEMENT

Eight months on, it clearly still rankles. O'Connor comes across as a happy – and happy-go-lucky – young man who looks a little like he'd dream of one day riding for a WorldTour team if he hadn't already been riding for one for two seasons.

And while he chats easily and animatedly with Cyclingnews about his cycling life so far, his smile turns almost imperceptibly gritted when the conversation moves to discussing his 2018 Giro.

"I have massive regrets because it was my fault," he tells us. "I'd started to get really tired the day before, and so it had become – or should have become – about trying to control my decision-making. I didn't need to be that aggressive; Tom Dumoulin, Miguel Angel Lopez and Richard Carapaz were in front, and I'd already made up ground on Rohan Dennis, while Patrick Konrad and Pello Bilbao had been dropped. So I didn't need to panic – but I was still pushing."

Humble beginnings

Opportunities Down Under

Enjoying the off-season

Unfinished business

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/ben-oconnor-unfinished-business

Jess Varnish: Cyclist loses employment case at tribunal

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Jess Varnish fails in her attempt to prove she was an employee of British Cycling and UK Sport at an employment tribunal.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/46890146

Tramadol: UCI bans painkiller in competition from March

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The powerful painkiller tramadol will be banned in-competition in cycling from March this year.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/46896799

2019 Tour Down Under race tech mega gallery

http://bit.ly/2CkYkdu

This article first appeared on BikeRadar.

We’re at the 2019 edition of the Tour Down Under and have visited the start and finish of the Down Under Classic — the precursor to the race itself — and stage 1 of the race to bring you the latest and greatest race tech from the first event of the WorldTour calendar.

• Poll: Deceuninck-QuickStep vs. Bora-Hansgrohe S-Works Venge
• Tour Down Under 2019 WorldTour tech gallery
• Tour Down Under 2019 bike tech

Keeping your cool

With temperatures rising to over 45 degrees Celsius during the first two stages of the 2019 edition, teams have had to go to great lengths to keep riders cool.

ADVERTISEMENT

Dedicated ice vests are more popular than ever, but the good ol’ stockings filled with ice trick and bringing a giant parasol remains the most popular ways to make sure the top talent keeps its cool.

105 and alloy in the peloton

The news that Sagan was to race on an alloy Specialized Allez Elite fitted with tubeless tyres near enough broke our little corner of the internet.

• Peter Sagan to race alloy frame and tubeless tyres

All the computer mounts

ANGI and a koala

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/2019-tour-down-under-race-tech-mega-gallery

Elia Viviani's Specialized S-Works Venge and Tarmac Disc — Gallery

http://bit.ly/2CkYkdu

This article first appeared on BikeRadar.

For 2019, Deceuninck-QuickStep rider and current Italian national champion Elia Viviani will have a choice between a Tarmac Disc or Venge, with the sprinting-specialist winning the opening stage of the 2019 Tour Down Under in a chaotic sprint aboard the latter. 

Both of Viviani's bikes are built around a Shimano Dura-Ace R9170 Di2 groupset that is fitted with Shimano's power meter.

ADVERTISEMENT

Viviani opts for a set of Roval — Specialized's in-house wheel brand — CLX 50 Disc wheels on both bikes, which are fitted with 26mm-wide S-Works Turbo tubular tyres.

Specialized's own S-Works Aerofly II handlebars are seen on both bikes, with the bar tape neatly finished with a strip of fabric tape.

The stem and seatpost on the Venge are both proprietary. The seatpost on the Tarmac is also proprietary, with Viviani running a 125mm-long Pro Vibe. Sprint shifters are fitted to the drops on both bikes.

• Peter Sagan to race alloy frame and tubeless tyres
• Tour Down Under 2019 bike tech
• Specialized S-Works Venge: lighter, faster and all-in on Shimano discs

Elia Viviani's Specialized S-Works Venge full bike specifications

• Frameset: Specialized S-Works Venge
• Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9170 disc, 160mm rotor
• Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9170 disc, 140mm rotor
• Brake/shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace R9170
• Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100, 11-28
• Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100-P, 172.5mm cranks, 53/39 chainrings
• Bottom bracket: CeramicSpeed

• Wheelset: Roval CLX 50
• Tyres: S-Works Turbo, 26mm tubular

• Stem: Specialized Venge, 120mm
• Handlebars: S-Works Aerofly II, 400mm
• Tape/grips: Supacaz Super Sticky Kush
• Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 
• Saddle: Specialized S-Works Toupé
• Seatpost: Specialized Venge

• Bottle cages: Tacx Ciro
• Computer: Bryton Aero 60 (not pictured)
• Other accessories: K-Edge out front computer mount, K-Edge chain catcher (both team issue)

• Saddle height (from centre of bottom bracket): 745mm
• Tip of saddle nose to handlebars (at centre): 575mm
• Weight: 7.13kg

Elia Viviani's Specialized S-Works Tarmac Disc full bike specifications

• Frameset: Specialized S-Works Tarmac Disc

• Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9170 disc, 160mm rotor
• Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9170 disc, 140mm rotor
• Brake/shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace R9170
• Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
• Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100, 11-30
• Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
• Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100-P, 172.5mm cranks, 53/39 chainrings
• Bottom bracket: CeramicSpeed

• Wheelset: Roval CLX 50
• Tyres: S-Works Turbo, 26mm tubular

• Stem: Pro Vibe, 125mm
• Handlebars: S-Works Aerofly II, 400mm
• Tape/grips: Supacaz Super Sticky Kush
• Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 
• Saddle: Specialized S-Works Toupé
• Seat post: Specialized Tarmac

• Bottle cages: Tacx Ciro
• Computer: Bryton Aero 60 (not pictured)
• Other accessories: K-Edge out front computer mount and K-Edge chain catcher (both team issue)

• Saddle height (from centre of bottom bracket): 745mm
• Tip of saddle nose to handlebars (at centre): 580mm
• Weight: 6.90kg
• Rider height: 1.77m

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/elia-vivianis-specialized-s-works-venge-and-tarmac-disc-gallery

British Cycling: BBC obtains email at centre of testosterone delivery

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

BBC Sport obtains an email at the centre of the controversy over a mystery delivery of testosterone to the National Cycling Centre.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/46885207

Tour Down Under 2019 WorldTour tech gallery

http://bit.ly/2M9nWyw

The Tour Down Under is the first race of the WorldTour season and, as such, it's an early-season hotbed to see all of the latest bikes, tech and team jerseys for 2019. It's also the first opportunity to see the biggest signings in their new team colours.

The 2019 season sees four teams on new bikes, and headline signings include Richie Porte moving from BMC Racing to Trek-Segafredo and Rohan Dennis moving from the same team to Bahrain-Merida.

Alongside the headline rider signings, Team Sunweb switches from Giant to Cervélo, Team Dimension Data moves from Cervélo to BMC and BMC Racing (now CCC Team) completes the circle by signing with Giant.

ADVERTISEMENT

AG2R La Mondiale is another team on new bikes for 2019, switching from Factor to Eddy Merckx framesets.

We've also seen a swathe of new shoes and helmets, including new shoes from Specialized and Rapha, as well as a brand-new helmet from POC.

Lastly, and arguably most notably, Peter Sagan — three-time world champion and current Slovakian national champion — raced the Down Under Classic on Sunday, the precursor to the Tour Down Under, aboard an aluminium Specialized Allez Sprint Disc. Sagan finished second, just a bike's length behind Lotto-Soudal's 2019 headline signing Caleb Ewan.

More 2019 Tour Down Under race tech

• Michael Valgren's BMC Teammachine SLR01 Disc — gallery
• New lace up shoes from Rapha seen at Tour Down Under
• Unreleased POC helmet at Tour Down Under
• New lightweight Specialized climbing shoe spotted at the Tour Down Under
• A close look at SRAMs new 12-speed eTap groupset
• Ewan's 2019 Ridley Noah Fast - Gallery
• EF Education First aim to 'disrupt' pro peloton with bright pink kit - Gallery
  

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tour-down-under-2019-worldtour-tech-gallery

Ex-British Cycling doctor Freeman charged with ordering testosterone for athlete

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Former Team Sky and British Cycling doctor Richard Freeman will face a charge he ordered testosterone to enhance the performance of an athlete at a tribunal next month.

via BBC Sport - Cycling http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/46870091

Horrible bosses

http://bit.ly/2M7kmVE

We've all had them. Maybe they blocked your promotion; maybe they pretended to lose your expenses forms just for their own gratification because their life lacked any form of joy. Horrible bosses are a feature of everyone's work life and, just like family, you don't get to choose them.

Think horrible bosses don't exist within the cycling world? Think again.

Cyclingnews spoke to several riders, all of whom were given anonymity, to share some of their stories. Turns out they've all worked for that person, too.

ADVERTISEMENT

***

After training one day I was cleaning my bike in the garden and I had my phone on speaker. At the time my wife was heavily pregnant and about to give birth in the coming days, and my boss at the time called up and said I should seriously consider missing the birth of my first child in order to do a team time trial at a non-UCI event because there was a TTT in the Tour de France that year, and they thought I could do with the practice.

Like I said, the phone was on speaker, and my wife, in no uncertain terms, said exactly what she thought. It went along the lines of, 'Is this guy for fucking real?' with a few additional expletives thrown in there for good measure. I don't think he was happy with the timing of the birth of our child, but perhaps the underlying problem was that he didn't know how babies were made and that some things are more important than a team time trial.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/horrible-bosses

Viviani: There isn't another lead-out train like ours

http://bit.ly/2M7kmVE

Twelve months ago, Elia Viviani walked into the Adelaide Hilton with a point to prove. He had just moved from Team Sky to Quick-Step Floors, and the Tour Down Under would be his first race in the Belgian team's classic blue colours. After a season in which Team Sky had shackled the Italian's sprint ambitions, he was finally free to showcase his undoubted talent on a consistent basis.

We all know what happened next. Viviani would win a stage in Australia and go an almost unstoppable winning romp across Europe that would eventually settle on the final stage of the Vuelta a España in Madrid. By the time he finished his season, he had won seven Grand Tour stages, a national championships on the road and several important one-day races. Argue all you want, but Viviani was the stand-out sprinter of 2018.

A year on from his Quick-Step debut, Viviani struts out of the lift at the same hotel and takes a seat in the lobby. The only discernible difference is that this time he's carrying an Italian national championships jersey with him after finishing up a photo shoot on another floor. He hurt his foot in the late crash that stopped him contesting Sunday's Down Under Classic criterium but it will not stop him chasing more sprint success at the Tour Down Under. 

ADVERTISEMENT

"We came here last year as a team that included Fabio Sabatini and Michael Mørkøv. We started well, and from there we just kept on rolling," he tells Cyclingnews as he leans forward, almost to emphasise that it all started right here.

"We had that momentum all through the year, and always had results. At every race I went to, I was treated like a leader and there was pressure to get results, but it was good pressure. There was a block in the spring when I lacked a win between Milan-San Remo and Gent-Wevelgem, but the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta were amazing."

The benchmark sprint train

A new rivalry with Gaviria

The best of the best?

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/viviani-there-isnt-another-lead-out-train-like-ours

Michael Woods: Tour Down Under is one for the climbers this year

http://bit.ly/2M7kmVE

"No," answers Michael Woods, before bursting out laughing when Cyclingnews asks the Canadian climber if he knows what to expect at this year's Tour Down Under.

"When I first came here in 2016, I was a total neo pro, and in retrospect I lucked out big time in the lead-outs," admits Woods. "I had Simon Clarke helping me out quite a bit, who's a really experienced guy, but despite his vast knowledge, I just kind of 'lucked' into the positions that I ended up being in.

"On the Corkscrew that same year, I was fifth wheel going into the climb, and even on Willunga Hill I did an OK job, and my legs were great – so I had a great race.

ADVERTISEMENT

"The following year, I came here with all this excitement towards the race because I felt like I'd done better training, and I'd had a year of WorldTour racing under my belt, but then I completely messed it all up, and finished every stage with my tail between my legs," he says. "I'd talked a big game before the race, and ended up just, like, totally crap."

Having skipped last year's race, Woods is back again this year, as is the Corkscrew, on stage 4, and Willunga Hill, which has been moved from the penultimate stage to the final stage – stage 6 – in the hope that the overall result will go right down to the wire.

"By virtue of stage 3 [from Lobethal to Uraidla] also being so hard, I think this year's race is going to suit the climbers a bit more than in years past," he tells Cyclingnews.

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/michael-woods-tour-down-under-is-one-for-the-climbers-this-year

Pierre Latour's Eddy Merckx 525 – Gallery

http://bit.ly/2VOv1sR

This article first appeared on BikeRadar.

AG2R La Mondiale’s two-year contract with Factor Bikes ended at the end of last season with the team announcing in October that it would switch to Eddy Merckx bikes for the 2019 and 2020 season.

• Tour Down Under news and tech
• WorldTour team bike guide 2019

The team will ride the rim brake version of the Eddy Merckx 525 for the next two seasons. A disc version of the bike is also available.

ADVERTISEMENT

We pulled aside Pierre Latour’s bike in the run up to the 2019 edition of the Tour Down Under. His bike – which was set up for a morning training ride – is notably different compared to the full race spec build we saw a few months ago. Whether or not the bike will remain in this guise once the racing starts this weekend remains to be seen.

• AG2R La Mondiale reveals Eddy Merckx bike for 2019 season

AG2R is one of four Campagnolo-sponsored teams this season but it is the only one that is still using the previous generation of the Italian brand’s 11-speed Super Record EPS drivetrain. However, the bikes are set up with the latest generation of its Record brakes.

• All-new Campagnolo 12-speed EPS electronic groupset spotted

You can read more at Cyclingnews.com

via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/pierre-latours-eddy-merckx-525-gallery