Category: Racing

Cadel Evans scorches time trial; back in yellow at Dauphine

Cadel Evans will be wearing the leader's jersey at the Dauphiné Libéré on Thursday when the peloton sets out on the 95-mile bicycle race to Mont Ventoux.

The Australian regained the yellow jersey by finishing second in the individual time trial on Wednesday, trailing Bert Grabsch of Columbia-High Road by 7 seconds.

Alberto Contador, Evans' chief rival in the Dauphiné and the upcoming Tour de France in July, finished 5th on Wednesday, 44 seconds behind Grabsch. The Astana cyclist is 2nd in the overall standings, 45 seconds behind Evans …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/06/10/cadel-evans-scorches-time-trial-back-in-yellow-at-dauphine/

New leader at Dauphiné Libéré

A five-man breakaway that developed early in Stage 3 of the Dauphiné Libéré survived to the finish line in St. Etienne on Tuesday.

The winner of the breakaway sprint, Milram's Niki Terpstra of the Netherlands, also took over the race lead from Silence-Lotto's Cadel Evans.

Evans, one of the favorites to win the Tour de France next month, finished with rival Alberto Contador in the peloton that crossed the line about 1:30 behind the breakaway group …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/06/09/new-leader-at-dauphine-libere/

Furlan wins Dauphiné Libéré sprint; Evans leads

Garmin-Slipstream's David Millar couldn't hold a 5-second lead over the peloton in the final kilometer of Stage 2 at the Dauphiné Libéré as Angelo Furlan of Lampre won the sprint.

Millar, who sits in 5th place overall, faded within reach of the finish line in Dijon to end the 141-mile race. He was swarmed by the QuickStep team of Tom Boonen, who finished 3rd. Marcus Zberg of BMC Racing finished in 2nd place.

Australia's Cadel Evans safely finished further back, retaining his 8-second lead over Spain's Alberto Contador of Team Astana. Both are favorites to win the Tour de France, which begins in Monaco on July 4 …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/06/08/furlan-wins-dauphine-libere-sprint-evans-leads/

Evans wins Dauphiné Libéré opener; Columbia's Greipel wins in Philly

Two bicycle races of note are on tap this Sunday — one a stage race that's considered a Tour de France prelude and another a one-day championship race in the U.S.

Aussie Cadel Evans won the opening time trial of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré in France. The second-place finisher of the Tour de France the past two years beat 2008 Tour winner Alberto Contador by 8 seconds in the 7.5 mile individual time trial around the streets of Nancy.

Meanwhile, cyclists took to the streets in the city of brotherly love for the TD Bank Philadelphia International Championship. Columbia-High Road's sprinter Andre Greipel beat teammate Greg Henderson at the line. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/06/07/evans-wins-dauphine-libere-opener-columbias-greipel-wins-in-philly/

Race Across America: “… Something completely out of this planet”


Larger version on jump

Solo cyclists in the most amazing bicycle endurance event in the world, the Race Across America, start their cross-country purgatory on June 17.

A documentary that chronicles their mind-boggling trials over a previous 10-day-long race from Oceanside, California, to Annapolis, Maryland, will be released early next week.

Entitled “Bicycle Dreams,” the film by Stephen Auerbach gets inside the heads of these cyclists and their support crews over the mind-numbing, sleep-deprived 3,000-mile race.

Auerbach, who produced an earlier documentary on RAAM for NBC-TV in 2005, had 18 cameras following the action. This included camera crews embedded with cyclist's support crews. You can experience the personal drama that resulted from their efforts  in the 2:50-minute trailer above. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/22/race-across-america-something-completely-out-of-this-planet/

Leipheimer wins ITT at Tour of the Gila

Three-time Tour of California winner Levi Leipheimer won the individual time trial at the Tour of the Gila on Friday, solidifying his overall lead.

Unofficial results show Leipheimer beating Tom Zirbel of Bissell by 53 seconds and Lance Armstrong by 1:23. Other top five finishers were Philip Zajicek of Fly V and Rory Sutherland of Team OUCH.

The ITT accounted for Stage 3 of the five stage bicycle race based in Silver City, New Mexico. The 16.15-mile course out-and-back course left from the town of Tyrone and featured two climbs …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/01/leipheimer-wins-itt-at-tour-of-the-gila/

Unintentional crash or assault and battery at Tour of Turkey?

You may never have heard of Dutch cyclist Theo Bos before (I hadn't), but I'll bet you won't forget his name now.

The cyclist for Rabobank was involved in a crash on Sunday in the final meters of the Tour of Turkey that looks to all the world like he grabbed yellow-jersey wearer Daryl Impey of Barloworld and flung him to the ground.

Both Bos and Impey hit the deck. Impey eventually limped across the line to win the 8 stage Presidential Cycling Tour (Tour of Turkey), but he skipped the podium celebrations and is being monitored for a light fracture in a vertabra; he also lost a tooth.

Calls immediately came in for Bos to be suspended. Among those offered criticism were Lance Armstrong at his Twitter site:

“rewatched Bos crash 10x. Fences were uneven, sprint looked nervous/sketchy, but imo the hands should never come off the bars in a sprint..

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/04/20/unintentional-crash-or-assault-and-battery-at-tour-of-turkey/

Tyler Hamilton admits to taking banned substance; retires from pro cycling

Just like that, Tyler Hamilton is out of professional cycling.

Admitting to testing positive to a banned substance, Hamilton said Friday that there's nothing to fight about. The 38-year-old cyclist said he's retiring from cycling immediately.

According to the AP and ESPN, Hamilton said he tested positive after taking an over-the-counter anti-depressant. He told the AP:

“There's nothing to fight about. I took a banned substance. I accept the consequences. You make mistakes in your life and I accept the penalty like a man.” …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/04/17/tyler-hamilton-admits-to-taking-banned-substance-retires-from-pro-cycling/

A grisly finish to Belgium bike race and the blame game

Here's the nasty finish at the Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen in Belgium on Wednesday via Cycling.tv. It just amazes me that this doesn't happen more often.

The good news was that Alessandro Petacchi won his first-ever race in Belgium with this sprint. The bad news is that seven riders were injured, among them Robbie McEwen (who broke a rib and was treated for a suspected concussion) and Tom Boonen.

In the aftermath, the first rider to go down,  Greg Van Avermaet, blamed Petacchi for the crash. McEwen blamed Avermaet, who ran into him and started the chain reaction. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/04/16/a-grisly-finish-to-belgium-bike-race-and-the-blame-game/

Tom Boonen wins third Paris-Roubaix; Hincapie 44th

Belgium's Tom Boonen won his third Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, becoming part of a very small list of cyclists who have won a “Hell of the North” hat trick.

The video at left shows what was probably the defining moment for Boonen. Having established a two-man lead with Thor Hushovd, the Norwegian crashed as Boonen led him through a cobbled section near the end.

Hushovd, riding for the Cervelo Test Team, is considered the stronger sprinter of the two, and would have been favored to win at the finishing velodrome in Roubaix. The crash put him out of contention for the win, but he battled back to take third ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/04/12/tom-boonen-wins-third-paris-roubaix-hincapie-44th/