General classification after stage 1
1 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas - 8.21
2 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas
3 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas
4 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
5 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas
6 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Liquigas
7 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Liquigas - 0.08
8 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
9 Koldo Fernandez De Larrea (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
10 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi

Full results here..

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After a self-professed frustrating year, the 2-Time USPRO Time Trial Champion, in 2003 and 2005, Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United) is skipping the TT this year to focus on the road race in the upcoming US Professional Championships in Greenville. Combined with the lost of the team sponsor, 2008 has been a rough ride for the (almost) always smiling rider but that didn’t dim the tremendous passion the 32-year old still feels  for the sport or his  optimism about the state of cycling in the US.

After playing phone tag with Chris, I caught up with him while he was on an afternoon bike ride with his lovely wife Kimberly, a retired professional cyclist. He took the time to answer all my questions about his year, his future and his thoughts about US cycling.

Let’s talk about the US Nationals coming up this weekend.
Chris: I actually decided against doing the time trial this year, I’m really trying to focus on the road race and hoping that goes well. With the time trial the day before, I think that takes the sting out of your legs for the next day, so that is the focus and I’m looking forwards to ride with Chris [Wherry] and Justin [England] and we have kind of a small squad but a good hit squad, so it should be fun.

What do you think is going to happen this year? Current Road Champ Levi Leipheimer is not riding and you were one of the few that stuck with him last for a bit anyway.
Chris: (laughs) I think a bit is right. I think that’s it going to be pretty similar with everybody looking at Garmin because they have so many riders, they have the most opportunities to use the riders for breakaways and what not, key on them, and then George [Hincapie] is going to be good and I think he has a couple of teammates.

What’s the plan for the Toyota-United team? Are your teammates riding for you?
Chris: No. We’re just three guys, I don’t thing anyone is riding for anyone else, we’re all riding for each together, we’ll see how it goes. Luckily, it’s kind of a mountain bike race in its style, in that it’s a hard enough race that the selection happens naturally, I think it bodes well for a smaller team.

Was the decision not to do the TT based on the road race the day after or the new course?
Chris: I would say all of the above. If there had been a decent break between the two, I would do it regardless just to do it. But with just not feeling it and not time trialing well all year, and the course, just like you said, is now flatter and two turns, a u-turn… All these factors combined, it doesn’t look like a good course for me, I’m not timetrialing well, not enough rest before the road race, it just kind of all pointed towards to just not do it. Not having it as a goal, well it’s a load off my shoulders, I’ve been training hard to timetrial all year and it just hasn’t happened, there comes a point where you feel like beating a dead horse, banging your head against the wall. Personally, it’s nice to focus on the road race for a change.

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Waterford, Ireland — When Team Type 1 signed Matt Wilson, it was assumed the 2004 Australian national road champion would be a pillar of experience for the first-year professional team.

A broken wrist sustained in training in March interrupted those plans for a time. But an ever-determined Wilson never let the injury get in the way of helping the team out - be it at the Tour de Georgia in April, the Tour de Beauce in June or Wednesday at the Tour of Ireland.

Displaying the form that has won him three races this season, Wilson drove a breakaway that nearly stayed away to the finish of the opening stage of the Tour of Ireland. And his extraordinary efforts were rewarded with the donning of the red jersey of King of the Mountain leader after winning three of the four categorized climbs along the 119-mile (192 km) route.

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Storck Absolutist 0.9 Pro Review - By Ken Conley
All Photos © Ken Conley

• 3K carbon fiber monocoque
• Super-sized seat and chain stays
• Seat post diameter 31.6mm
• Proportional tubing
• Sizes: 47, 51, 55, 57 (tested), 59, 63
• Weight: 980g (frame) 14.88lbs (built w/o pedals)
• MSRP: $3200 (frame/fork/headset) $6700 (as tested)
  

For the past decade, German designer Markus Storck has been at the leading edge of carbon fiber design. With frames, brakes, cranks, forks, and Zipp wheels designs to his credit, he has frequently sought “firsts”, such as the first all-carbon full suspension mountain bike and the sub-10-lb Fascenario road bike. The records have limited the reach of the Storck brand, however, as $6000 framesets are not often spotted on the street — even in expensive-bike-rich Woodside, CA. One rider told me that he saw a Storck once; he believes the rider was German.

Storck is now determined to reach a wider American audience with the more affordable Absolutist 0.9. At $3200 for the frameset, Storck won’t be losing their high-end status any time soon, but the Absolutist is a perfect super bike for delivering designer Markus Storck’s message to a wider audience: stiffness is king.

The Absolutist 0.9 is quintessential German engineering. Fans of German sports cars should know what to expect: fast, tight handling, solid and masculine. It’s not surprising that Storck was picked to design a Porsche-branded bike. Power, not elegance, is the word that comes to mind when you look at the over-sized chain stays and giant Stiletto Aero fork. You don’t buy a German sports car for the leisurely cross country trip: you buy it because you want to weave through traffic and switchbacks with power and ease. The Absolutist is similarly at home in the fast-paced world of the bike race. If you want to think who this bike is designed for, think of Jens Voigt or Jan Ullrich with their powerful, mashing legs instead of Lance Armstrong and his 90-100rpm cadence.

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Michelin Pro3 Race™ Review Pro Review - by Steve Cooper

• High Density Puncture Protector (HDPP) nylon belt.
• New dual-compound tread.
• 20 percent more straight line grip than the Pro2 Race.
• New shoulder rubber offers a huge 40 percent improvement.
• Weight: 200g.
• MSRP: $59

Overview:
Reports I’ve read on Michelin’s Pro3 Race are binary. Riders either to seem to praise them or malign them. As far as I can tell, the significant difference in each review seems to have more to do with how soon or frequently the rider flatted versus how the tires handled on the road.

While a tire’s review should be linked to how well it both performs and holds up on the road, it’s hard from this reviewer’s perspective to bash a high performance tire solely based on whether a puncture occurred. Punctures are a risk unless riding on a swept course or a track. And lightweight performance tires are more prone to puncture or cut than a heavy duty training or touring tire. Put a rough and tumble tire in front of me for review, and I’ll shift that focus around to put durability front and center. But let’s be straight up – these are high performance tires first, and second, training tires for those blessed with a respectable tire budget, riding on pristine roads, with an absolute need for every spin to feel sporty.

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Sun Valley, ID, — SCOTT Bicycles announced today that it will discontinue the sponsorship of the SCOTT-American Beef cycling team for the 2009 season.

“Scott has been a partner with Mauro Gianetti’s team since the beginning in 2004. In all the past years the team could celebrate some remarkable victories. We would like to thank the team for the cooperation in the past years and we wish the team and new sponsors all the best for the future.”
Pascal Ducrot VP Scott Sports SA

Giant bicycles has agreed a two-year sponsorship deal with professional cycling team, Rabobank.

Under the deal, which begins in 2009, Giant will provide Rabobank’s elite team of riders, U23 developmental squad and the cyclo-cross team with bikes. Current sponsor Shimano will continue to be the team’s primary component sponsor.

Giant chief executive officer, Tony Lo, said: “We’re pleased Rabobank has chosen to ride Giant. It’s a natural fit—two organisations with a long-term commitment to competitive cycling. Combine Rabobank’s talent with Giant’s ability to create superior products, and great things are sure to happen.”

Photo by Ken Conley

By Eric Kenney

Cyclocross is huge. Once participated in as training in the fall and winter months for fun it is now a huge international spectacle. Athletes are now focusing their whole year on cyclocross. Even for us Tri geeks and hard core all road all the time people cyclocorss is luring.

The question is coming up more and more; will racing cyclocross be a good option for training in the fall and early winter training?

First lets take a look at your year ahead and behind to answer a few questions.

• Have you had enough time TOTALLY off after your last race/ training block? (I prescribe 2-6 weeks)
• Will you have enough time to rest after your cross season and the start of Base training? (2 weeks)
• How taxing was your summer season of racing and training?
• How much other stressors will you encounter? ($$ for bike, race entry, travel, specific training, etc)

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Team CSC Saxo Bank has extended the contract with 23-year old Anders Lund. The Danish talent began his career as a professional rider with the team the year before last and has now had his contract extended for another year.

”Anders still has great potential and we’d like to keep him around and help him evolve. He’s still got his first pro victory ahead of him, but I know he’s a major talent, who can go far – so it’s only a matter of time. He managed to get through a tough Giro d’Italia fine this year and I think it has helped toughen him up and also provided him with important experience and these two things in combination might help him on his way to achieving the results his talent warrants,” says Bjarne Riis.

”I’m really happy to have my contract extended and I look forward to improving my game even further in order to achieve some great results. I’ve been through an important learning process and I’m extremely motivated to live up to the faith the team has shown in me by extending my contract. Now I’ll have to concentrate on getting better and I know I’ve got the best possible conditions to do so right here,” says Anders Lund.

Photo courtesy of CorVos

Cannondale kicks off their 2009 road line with 5 new frame platforms for the Elite & Performance rider. Always pushing the envelope to make everything…lighter and faster Cannondale incorporates High-Modulus carbon fiber in its SuperSix, Slice and selected Synapse models. Leading the charge in the “Elite” category is the already incredibly light SuperSix that for 2009 utilize 95% Hi-Mod carbon shaving even more weight and adding stiffness in all the right places. The Bedford made SuperSix utilized seamless construction (eliminating the “steps” in the seat tube) of the monocoque front triangle mated to the one-piece asymmetrical chainstays and BB30. Cannondale will offer 11 SuperSix Hi-Mod models starting with a Campagnolo record 11 speed at $6900.00, SRAM Red at $6900.00, Shimano Dura-Ace at $6400.00, and a Shimano Ultegra SL groups at $4200.00. You can also get a SRM version of the Campy Record and Dura-Ace models as well as a compact version of the Red, Dura-Ace and Ultegra SL models.

SuperSix Hi-MOD 1 shown below at $6400.00

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