PHILADELPHIA, PA – With 18 domestic and international teams already selected to compete in the inaugural running of the American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania Presented By Highmark Healthy High 5®, race organizers today released the details of the demanding 450-mile, six-day race route. A complete field of 20 to 22 teams will compete June 24 through June 29 in this first-of-its kind U-25 cycling stage race that will showcase the sport’s next generation of superstars.

The cyclists will battle for the leader’s jersey along a historically rich route. Beginning on hallowed cycling ground in Philadelphia, the route passes through towns and countryside that roughly follow Forbes Road (U.S. 30), which was forged in 1758 by British General John Forbes and Colonel George Washington. The race culminates in Pittsburgh as part of the city’s 250th anniversary celebration.

Seven Pennsylvania towns and cities will host the official race starts and finishes, with communities along the way gaining a first-hand look at the world’s best young talent in the kind of competition that is normally found only in Europe. In addition to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the host cities include Downingtown, Carlisle, Camp Hill, Bedford, Latrobe and Ligonier.

“The Tour of Pennsylvania offers $150,000 in total prize money, the richest in the world for Espoir class riders, plus it is the only UCI sanctioned race in the U.S. specifically for riders under age 25,” said David Chauner, Pro Cycling Tour president and executive director of the race that is being organized as part of a statewide celebration of Pittsburgh’s 250th anniversary. “That combination has stimulated worldwide interest and applications from many more squads than could be accepted for the race. Our technical team has designed a route that will test the endurance, power and technical skill of these young athletes who are on the road to becoming cycling’s next Olympians and Tour de France competitors.”

Highlights of the 2008 American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania Presented By Highmark Healthy High 5® include:

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The MN Fixed Gear Classic will be the prelude to the five-day festival

Minneapolis - Organizers of the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival are excited to announce the return of velodrome track racing to this annual, multi-day bicycling celebration. The MN Fixed Gear Classic, held Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8 at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn., is a prelude to the five-day festival.

The MN Fixed Gear Classic kicks-off on Saturday, June 7 with the Hoigaard’s Tour de Kid’s Bicycling Clinic from 4 to
6 p.m. Velodrome racing begins Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m. and will continue on Sunday, June 8 from 1:00 to 4 p.m.

Velodrome racing features world class cyclists racing at speeds of up to 40 mph. Bikes used in fixed-gear track races have only one gear and do not have brakes, making the races fast and exciting for both spectators and riders. The excitement, speed of the racers around gravity-defying turns, and the close proximity of riders often results in some spectacular crashes.

Velodrome racing is an Olympic sport that attracts elite riders from throughout the world. In fact, most of the cycling medals awarded in the Olympics are given in track racing. Many of the world’s premiere track cyclists, including several Beijing hopefuls, will be competing in the track races. Committed racers include the legendary Roberto Chiappa, 41-time Italian National Champion, former World champion and a member of the Italian Olympic Team.

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The Elite Fluid Primo is a US only trainer that utilizes a fluid resistance unit with the company’s Elastogel 45mm diameter roller in their CRONO frame. They tout it as the smoothest, quietest and easiest to use trainer ever built. So I put it to the test.

The preliminary impression of the unit is that it is light weight and well constructed. It is also easy to carry and the unit folds fairly flat for easy stowage under a bed or in a closet. This, combined with the advertised quietness of the Elastogel resistance roller and progressive fluid resistance, could make this trainer a good choice for someone that lives in an upper level apartment that doesn’t want to bother the lower level neighbors.

The setup was also fairly straight forward. You lift the arms in place and you place the bike between the arms and tighten the adjusting knob. But be sure to read the instructions, conveniently located on the arm adjacent to the adjusting knob, on how to properly secure the bike to the trainer. The adjusting knob is nice and large making it simple to hold the bike with one hand while tightening or loosening the bike on the trainer with the other hand.

My only issue, and a very minor one, is that the width between the two arms could be a bit wider for easier install and uninstall of the bike in the trainer. The rear derailleur cable would sometimes get caught on the adjacent adjusting arm making the positioning of the bike into the trainer tricky. But again, this was a very minor bother.

Once properly adjusted onto the trainer the weight of the rider automatically adjusts the resistance of the flywheel and the flexible support legs helped lend to the realistic road feel. As advertised, the Elastomer roller was very smooth and quiet. The smoothness translated into a higher cadence which provided an excellent Vo2 max workout. The subtle clamor of the trainer was also very prevalent, as advertised. Maybe not the quietest roller ever built but certainly in the top 2 or 3. But be sure that your tire is properly inflated. An under-inflated tire can wear on the Elastomer roller and your rear tire tread.

However, the smoothness lent itself to a faster spin of the flywheel than you would on the road due to the low resistance. So my cadence was much higher than normal compared to other trainers. I averaged about 2 mph faster over a one hour training period than I usually do.

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Française des Jeux’ Frédéric Guesdon Wins “Paris Roubaix of Brittany”

Finistère, Bretagne - Former Paris-Roubaix Champion Frédéric Guesdon piloted his Française des Jeux’ Hutchinson Fusion 2 Road Tubeless-equipped bike to victory at the 25th Tro- Bro-Leon, held in Brittany, France.

Conditions for last Sunday’s race were treacherous, with rain creating mud on the gravel and pave’ sections of the course, and slick roads on the twisting paved sections of the 193.1 kilometer event.

TRIPLE COMPOUND
The complete Française des Jeux team competed using Hutchiinson Road Tubeless tires featuring a triple compound design for varying road conditions.

Atlanta — Fred Rodriguez capped Rock Racing’s first participation in the Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T with a fourth place finish on the final stage in Atlanta Sunday.

The result by the three-time U.S. national road race champion was Rock Racing’s fourth top five finish of the seven-day, 600-mile stage race. Additionally, Rock Racing’s Oscar Sevilla placed in the top 10 overall, finishing sixth in his first international stage race in the United States.

“This performance speaks to how talented the team can be when it can race at full strength,” Rock Racing Team Owner Michael Ball said. “They just dig deep and work so well together. There are no egos. I couldn’t be prouder of what they pulled off.”

Rock Racing displayed its strength late in the race when it put its entire squad on the front to reel in the remnants of a breakaway that had been away since the first of 10 laps of a 6.2-mile (10.1 km) circuit through the streets of Downtown Atlanta. The chase was successful, setting the stage for a field sprint up the long uphill drag to the finish line.

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Atlanta, GA – On the strength of placing four riders in the top 20 overall, Team Type 1 finished third in the team classification at the Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T.

Winning the team classification was Astana, the season-long leader in the ProTour standings. CSC, the ProTour winner the past three years, was second. Team Type 1 finished ahead of three ProTour teams: Team High Road (which won the race overall, as well as two stages), Slipstream-Chipotle presented by H30 and Gerolsteiner. A first-year pro squad, Team Type 1 was also tops among the seven domestic teams in the race.

“We focused a lot of attention on this race and it paid off,” Team Type 1 Sport Director Ed Beamon said. “I couldn’t have asked of any more from these guys. It was absolutely amazing how well they rode, especially on Brasstown Bald.”

Team Type 1’s impressive success in the top 20 was led by Moises Aldape who finished eighth, Valeriy Kobzarenko was 15th, Chris Jones 17th and Glen Chadwick was 20th. Ian MacGregor placed 51st and Fabio Calabria, a Type 1 athlete and the youngest rider in the race, placed ninth in the Best Young Rider (Under 25) competition and 59th overall out of 98 finishers (and 119 starters).

Other than Astana (which had three riders in the top 20), no other team in the seven-day, 600-mile event had more than two riders in the top 20. Team Type 1 also registered three top 10 finishes, including two by Aldape. On the race’s most decisive stage, the climb up Brasstown Bald Mountain on Saturday, four riders from Team Type 1 were among the first 17 finishers – led by Aldape’s sixth place.

“I didn’t expect to be so high on the general classification,” Aldape said. “I’m really happy, especially with the high-caliber talent here. This is a big step for the team to earn respect. I wanted to give something back to the team for signing me and having faith in me and this was my first opportunity.”

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Photographer Ken Conley is down in Georgia covering the 2008 Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T, he’ll be checking in daily with a journal of each stage, as well as a photo gallery.

Today’s journal will be short and sweet as I’ve got to get ready to get home and can’t wait until the galleries are up to write a post. You can look for more photos to appear in my stage 7 gallery later in the day.

The Tour de Georgia was a blast — especially the team time trial and Brasstown Bald. I never would have thought after the Tour of California to see an American Tour so heavily dominated by High Road. Pretty much all that was missing for them was a stage win by George Hincapie, which nearly happened in Dahlonega. Hincapie was an absolute workhorse today; he seemed to be at the front of the peloton every time they passed me by.

Today’s stage was a hard circuit. I rode moto for the first two laps and got to see the break develop, first with Rhys Pollock almost immediately jumping off the front, to the riders that bridged up. That was pretty much the entire race, up until the peloton finally decided to reel the break in. In between, I got to see a lot of riders off the back, and a lot of teams sending riders back to help bridge back, including Rock Racing and BMC. The peloton looked a lot smaller by day’s end. The road was rough enough to throw my feel off the foot pegs on the motorcycle, so I can only imagine what it feels like on a bike.

It’s pretty difficult to shoot from a moto on an urban circuit as you’re constantly turning and accelerating and bumping around — another photographer used a 300mm lens to get enough distance as the tighter roads force you to stay further away. I made the mistake of stopping to shoot the peloton roll by; we never got back in front. I ended up shooting most of the stage on foot.

Photo by Ken Conley

Greg Henderson took the stage and managed to produce an interesting victory salute, especially when paired with JJ Haedo’s tongue wag. The podium ceremony was a High Road affair, even if Astana got to have their own champagne party on stage. Levi Leipheimer really is eager to grab the champagne bottles and soak everyone in sight, even if he always seems to end up bleary eyed. Thankfully they didn’t give out as many champagne bottles as they did at the Tour of California.

Photographer Ken Conley is down in Georgia covering the 2008 Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T, he’ll be checking in daily with a journal of each stage, as well as a photo gallery.

Brasstown Bald is the most fun stage of the Tour de Georgia… for the fans. The intimidating climbs lead to joking amongst the sprinters, like Ivan Dominguez’s “Push Me Up the Hill Please” sign that he taped on his bike, then JJ Haedo’s chest. His teammate Ivan Stevic noted that he taped it on the wrong side: Haedo was going to get pushed downhill. Dominguez loved the attention: “Everyone loves my sign…. They think I’m joking… I won’t be on the podium today but I will be in everyone’s photos.” He was even handed a “tow” rope, which was strung between him and Stevic (it was noted that attaching two sprinters together is the wrong idea). Stevic pulled his own prank by attacking Dominguez with 100m to go — for 99th place.

Also entertaining was my favorite ham, Justin England. England paper-boy-ed across the upper slopes of Brasstown Bald but still found the energy to raise his hand to get the fans to cheer. He gave me a good tongue stick out before heading to the finish.

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Photographer Ken Conley is down in Georgia covering the 2008 Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T, he’ll be checking in daily with a journal of each stage, as well as a photo gallery.

A long day for the riders, a short day for me. One stop alongside a lake, shots at the finish, and the day is over. Skilled drivers, aka the Versus camera crew, can make 4-5 stops on a day like today, finding every side road and driving with just the right amount of aggression to stay ahead. I was more interested in finding a scenic shot that I’d be really, really happy with, so Mario and I skipped the start once more to begin our voyage along the course that moved slowly up in elevation towards the warmup climbs for tomorrow’s course. There was an unfortunate accident during the opening circuits with one of the photo motos: a fan ran out onto the course as the caravan was moving through and collided with a photo moto — four were injured. Another accident, thankfully without injuries, occurred when the Health Net car ran into the back of the BMC car. The BMC crew ripped off their busted bumper while the Health Net team managed to tape their air bags down.

While all this chaos was happening, we were busy driving along the course to look for the spot that screamed “shoot me.” Barns, fences, trees, cows and a small goat offered themselves to our lenses, but we declined. Just before the start of the KOM climb we found what we were looking for: a lake, with a mountain overlooking it. Given that this was the first real mountain stage in the Tour de Georgia, it was the combination of scenery and story that we were looking for. A four-man break came through almost ten minutes ahead of the peloton, giving me the opportunity to warm up my telephoto lens while I waited for the bigger pack. It was quite a successful break, seeing as Edward King (Bissell) took the KOM jersey and Tim Johnson (Health Net) got himself Most Aggressive.

We went straight to the Dahlonega finish from there. Dahlonega had really good crowds, perhaps the best so far. I liked the town a lot, even though I experienced very little of it. It had the same sort of town-square-centric blueprint that every other small town in Georgia seems to have, but it felt more charming. I’ve been joking with people here that town-square courthouses are to Georgia what cathedrals are to Europe. You love the first few, but soon you’re saying, “not another courthouse!” Dahlonega managed to overcome my rising aversion.

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Atlanta, GA – As part of the team’s commitment to supporting the 2008 Tour de Georgia presented by AT & T, Rock Racing is donating $250,000 to the official beneficiaries of the event, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and the Georgia Cancer Coalition. Team Owner, Michael Ball, will present checks to Eugene Hayes, Foundation President of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and to Bill Todd, President and CEO of the Georgia Cancer Coalition on Sunday, April 27 during the final stage in Atlanta. The donations will directly benefit pediatric cancer and blood disorders research through the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service, as well as support the Georgia Cancer Coalition’s efforts to strengthen cancer prevention, research and treatment in Georgia, with the ultimate goal of making Georgia one of the nation’s premier states for cancer care.

“Giving back is an important part of what this team is all about,” said Ball. “Cancer research is a cause we strongly support through the company’s philanthropic division, Rock the Cure, and we are pleased to support Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, as well as the Georgia Cancer Coalition, and will make a difference in the lives of cancer patients.”

“The support from Rock Racing illustrates such a positive commitment to both the Tour de Georgia and to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta,” said Shelton Stevens, Manager Sports Network, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. “Their generosity through the Tour de Georgia helps us get closer to curing cancer and blood disorders and making a difference in the lives of children across Georgia.”

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