Category: Racing
As Stage 8 of the Tour de Suisse drew to a close with a final climb on Saturday, Lance Armstrong attacked a group that was chasing a six-man break up the road.
The General Classification contenders reeled him back, but Armstrong proved that there's still plenty of life in his legs.
He emphasized that point on the final stage Sunday with a decent finish in the individual time trial that catapulted him into second place overall, just 12 seconds behind winner Frank Schleck. Aussie Tony Martin (HTC Columbia) won the ITT, and defending champ Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) trailed by 17 seconds.
Armstrong, riding for Team RadioShack, finished 11th at 1:09 behind. He reported to his Tweet followers ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/20/big-finish-for-armstrong-at-tour-de-suisse-ready-for-tdf/
Slovenia's Jure Robic rolled across the finish line of the Race Across America on Friday afternoon, winning an unprecedented 5th solo title in a span of just seven years.
The 45-year-old completed the 3,005-mile RAAM route from Oceanside, California, to Annapolis, Maryland, in 9 days, 1 hour and 1 minute. That's an average of 13.85 mph for the entire trip, including stops.
He was among 24 men who set out in the solo men's divisions at noon a week ago Wednesday. Ten have abandoned …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/18/robic-bikes-coast-to-coast-in-9-days/
A bicyclist riding for a four-man Spanish relay team at the Race Across America is recovering on Thursday after being struck by a vehicle on a Kansas road.
News reports say the driver was distracted by something in the car about 6:45 a.m. Wednesday and drifted onto the shoulder where Spain's Diego Bellesteros was riding his bicycle.
The collision happened on U.S. 254 near El Dorado. Ballesteros was airlifted to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas, where his condition was upgraded to serious condition late Wednesday.
Ballesteros is somewhat of a bicycle ambassador ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/17/raam-cyclist-struck-by-car-robic-blazes-on/
Some riders held up the start of Wednesday's Stage 5 of the Tour de Suisse to protest Mark Cavendish's erratic cycling at the finish of Stage 4 on Tuesday that led to this crash.
The British sprinter for the US-based HTC-Columbia team has been docked 25 points in the sprinter competition and 30 seconds in the General Classification and been fined 200 Swiss francs.
The crash forced earlier Tour de Suisse leader Heinrich Haussler of Cervelo out of the race, as well as Frenchman Arnaud Coyot.
Cavendish is reportedly riding with a serious case of road rash on Wednesday. Teammate Mark Renshaw snapped this photo of Cavendish all bandaged up …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/16/hold-your-line-cav/
As the Race Across America cyclists charge eastward with their teammates or support crews or both, there's an equally amazing corps of cyclists heading down the spine of the Continental Divide individually and with no support whatsoever.
The Tour Divide got underway from Banff, Alberta, with 48 mountain bike riders on Friday (video at left). They're heading along the spine of the Rocky Mountains to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, on gravel roads and dirt paths for a distance of 2,745 miles.
You could draw comparisons between the two races all day long. For instance:
— They're both ultra-endurance events whose winners measure success by hours spent not sleeping.
— Both aim for the lightest rides possible. Weight issues stop with the frame and components for RAAM cyclists; Tour Divide bicyclists must factor in tools, food and cooking equipment, sleeping bags …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/15/tour-divide-mountain-bike-race-rolling-along-how-to-follow-the-race/
Slovenian ultra-cyclist Jure Robic is well past the half-way point of the 2010 Race Across America with the entire solo field strung out for hundreds of miles behind him.
The 45-year-old four-time champion most recently rode through the Fort Scott, Kansas, checkpoint at 2:10 p.m. (ET) on Monday.
His closest rival is Gerhard Gulewicz of Austria, who's trailing by about 60 miles. The other 15 men in the under-50 age stretch as far back as Trinidad, Colorado, more than 500 miles behind. [June 15 update: Gulewicz had cut that gap to 40-some miles by Tuesday afternoon. See RAAM website for update and video.] ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/14/robic-leads-raam-as-vegetation-comes-to-life-for-one-sleep-deprived-cyclist/
Just about any European bicycle race this month is touted as a tune-up for the 2010 Tour de France. That's always been true for the just-ended Dauphine Libere.
It's also the case for the Tour de Suisse that started Saturday and runs through next Saturday. The Versus cable network will broadcast highlights of the race daily this week.
While Spain's Alberto Contador focused attention on the Dauphine as the training ground for his attempt for a third victory at the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong, above right, is racing in the Tour de Suisse to prepare for his attempt for an eighth Tour de France championship.
Among others, he's going up against Switzerland's homeboy and defending champion Fabian Cancellara (spoiler alert) …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/13/lance-armstrong-in-the-tour-de-suisse-versus-televising/
Another epic Race Across America begins this week as bicycle racers depart from Oceanside, California, for a 3,004-mile sleep-deprived slog across 14 states to Annapolis, Maryland.
The efforts of the two-, four-, and 8-person relay teams that leave on Saturday are remarkable. Even more phenomenal are the aspirations of 5 female solo racers who leave today and the 25 men who leave on Wednesday.
They'll single-handedly battle the mountains, headwinds, and dark nights as they pedal across the US ahead of their support crews. In the past 27 years of the event, only 200 solo riders have finished the race. Most succumb to exhaustion or hallucinations or failure to meet the time cutoffs. Two died in collisions with motor vehicles ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/08/raam-ultra-endurance-bike-races-start-this-week-how-to-follow/
Lance Armstrong held onto third place overall as the Tour of Luxembourg came to an end Sunday, putting the 38-year-old cyclist closer to the condition he'll need for the 2010 Tour de France.
Armstrong shared the podium with overall winner Matteo Carrara of Vacansoleil and second-place finisher Frank Schleck of Saxo Bank.
The leader of Team RadioShack, which won the team classification, told reporters after the race that he felt good about the finishing on the podium, especially considering the illnesses and crash that marred his spring season. He's quoted at Reuters:
“Any time you can win a race, be on a podium, in preparation it's important. I wouldn't ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/06/armstrong-finishes-tour-of-luxembourg-bike-race-on-podium/
Lance Armstrong remained in 3rd place at the Tour of Luxembourg after Frank Schleck of Saxo Bank won the most difficult stage of the race on Friday and took the overall lead.
The five-day race around the tiny country ends Sunday. Armstrong will take a week off, then compete in the Tour of Switzerland from June 12 – 20 as he tries to ride himself back into shape for the 2010 Tour de France in July.
Armstrong, 38, will sit out the Dauphine Libere bike race that starts Sunday and runs through June 13. While considered a tune-up for the Tour de France, so is the Swiss bike race ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/06/04/armstrong-coming-around-at-tour-of-luxembourg/
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