After the most successful year ever for the team Bjarne Riis is looking forward to the new season with ambitions that are sky-high.

When most of Team Saxo Bank’s riders pull on their new cycling clothes and embark on a ten-day training camp on Mallorca and the rest of the team does the same in Australia it marks a brand new and exciting season for the Danish team. Expectations are high especially from team owner Bjarne Riis.

”Of course we need to be realistic and respect the fact that the other teams have a lot to offer as well, but I believe we have a great season ahead of us. And I wouldn’t be surprised if we start winning races already from the beginning,” says Bjarne Riis referring to the initial reports he’s received from the riders all over the world regarding their pre-season training and to his own expectations for the 2009 season.

”Our guys are really working hard at the moment and it seems like they want to start the season with a bang. Last year we kicked off with a bang as well so if the riders have cranked up their training efforts even further over the winter it can only mean a great start to 2009. I get the feeling that we’re all determined to prove that we have no intentions of turning down our ambitions because of the bad news regarding IT-Factory. On the contrary – we have a lot to live up to after this year but when I consider the riders on our team there’s no reason what so ever why we shouldn’t be able to do it again – and maybe even better. Obviously we’re in the middle of a major generational change but I can easily imagine some of the young riders competing for victories here and there. And with riders like Fabian, Jens and JJ we should be able to grab some victories already before the Classics,” continues Riis.

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Atlanta — Team Type 1 has hired a new director sportif, Vassili Davidenko, and a new assistant director, Gord Fraser, for the 2009 season.

Davidenko was Team Type 1’s assistant director last year under Ed Beamon, who is not returning.

“We were very fortunate to have someone with Ed’s experience to help guide us down the path of success in our first year,” said Team Type 1 General Manager Tom Schuler. “With Vassili and Gord, we have two former pros who can also relate well to the challenges a rider faces on and off the bike.”

Davidenko, 38, brings more than a quarter-century of bicycle racing experience to the team. During his 14 years as a professional, he won the Russian national road (1996) and cyclocross (1998) titles and was a silver medalist in the 1988 Junior World Road Race Championships. He also represented Russia at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games and won the Athens Twilight Criterium in 2005 and 2006.

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PHILADELPHIA - Kestrel Bicycles is pleased to announce its sponsorship of professional triathlete, Dede Griesbauer. Griesbauer enters her 5th year as a professional triathlete.

Placing 10th at the Ironman ™ World Championships in October, her second top-ten placement in as many years, Griesbauer has already earned her spot at the race for 2009. Winning Ironman™ UK in 2006 and placing as runner-up at Ironman™ Brazil in 2007 also add to her list of esteemed accomplishments.

“I’m really pleased to be affiliated with Kestrel,” said Dede Greisbauer. “I had a chance to test the bike [Airfoil Pro SE] and it made the choice an easy one - I love it.”

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Learn technique and get insight into what it is like to ride in the Tour de France and Giro de Italia. Hear Freddie comment on the 2009 Tour of California.

• Date: Saturday, Jan 10, 2009
• Time: 10AM
• Location: 14109 Winchester Blvd., Los Gatos, CA 95032
• Route: 30 mile loop with varied terrain
• Cost: $250 contribution to Fast Freddie Foundation includes lunch, cycling jersey, & presentation

Three time US Pro Cycling Champion and a member of the Rock Racing Cycling Team, “Fast Freddie” Rodriguez, will be riding in the South Bay to benefit his Fast Freddie Foundation. The Foundation supports youth cycling and education. Attendees will be able to interact with Freddie throughout the day. After a great lunch at Aldo’s Ristorante, Freddie will revel with you about stories from multiple races, teams, other great riders, and commentary on the Tour de France, Giro de Italia, and the Tour of California.

Number of riders is limited. Act soon to reserve your space.

For further details contact:
Ted Moorhead - ted_moorhead@ml.com (408) 554-7923
Adoree Dinh - adoree_dinh@ml.com (408) 554-7902
Franz Vaiarello - franz_vaiarello@ml.com (408) 554-7935

Presented by Merrill Lynch

Photos courtesy of KWC

After a year of racing as part of one of the best amateur teams in France, Alex Howes is returning to his roots, rejoining the Slipstream organization, as he will be racing with the U23 team VMG/Felt for the 2009 season. Through it all, Alex has chronicled his adventures through his blog sharing his ups and downs with the world.

The 20-year old (almost 21) Alex Howes was born in Golden, Colorado. He came up through the ranks of the Slipstream organization first as a junior with the 5280 team and then spent a year with the Slipstream squad in 2007. He capped that season with a foray to France racing at the Tour du Limousin and the GP Plouay where he launched the first attack of the ProTour race.

At the end of 2007, he joined one of the best amateur team in France, the VC La Pomme which is based in the Marseille area to continue his to learn to achieve his goal of racing professionally full-time in Europe.

I caught up with Alex right before the US Cyclocross Nationals where he finished fourth in the U23 race.

How did you get into cycling?
Alex: My father did it for quite some time. It just kind of happened, he put me on a bike, he put me on another bike.

And that was it?
Alex: And that was it. Now he doesn’t really do it much anymore and I spend 30 hours on my bike (chuckles). I was brought up through the ACA here, the American Cycling Association, the local club, they have a very good juniors program, so it was pretty easy as far as trying to find races and things like that.

How did you get with the Slipstream in 2007?
Alex: I was with the junior development team [5280 Magazine] and I don’t know, I guess I got a couple of results and Jonathan [Vaughters] was looking to bring a couple of the younger guys up, it was and to some extent still is a development team so he brought me and Peter Stetina up from the junior ranks …. and he handed me the contract at Nationals one year, it was right after I got third, a third place that I was really disappointed with, I cramped up just before the line, I probably should have won but it [the contract] was a huge surprise: ‘well you lost, here’s a contract’. ‘Whoa, all right’.

You were with the team with Slipstream in 2007, and then moved to France. Why?
Alex: I was with Slipstream the whole year that season. The reason I went over to Europe in 2007 is with Slipstream, I did a couple of races here and there, the road races we did were Chateauroux, Limousin and Plouay.

Why did you decide to stay in France in 2008?
Alex: The reason was because Slipstream had gone from a development into a more or less a ProTour team, it went from a team that was hoping to get into mildly fast French races to want to race the Tour next year. It was a huge jump, too fast for me and all parties decided that it was better if I found a team that was a little bit more geared towards a little lighter racing schedule. While I was over there, Vaughters made a couple phone calls and helped set me up with a really good French team.

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World-Class, Accomplished Teams to Compete in February 14-22 Stage Race

‘Best Field Ever to Compete on U.S. Soil Anticipated For Nine Day Stage Race’

LOS ANGELES, CA – The 2009 Amgen Tour of California will once again bring together a world-class field of cycling teams from multiple nations, including eight of the sport’s top-rated ProTour teams. Race organizers confirmed today that entries for the fourth annual race will include Lance Armstrong and the Amgen Tour of California’s two-time defending champion Levi Leipheimer’s team, Astana, along with two of the top U.S.-based teams, Garmin-Slipstream (new to the ProTour circuit) and Columbia Highroad (formerly Team High Road). Also racing will be Team Saxo Bank, which finished in the top-three of the world rankings last season and Quick Step, which claimed 55 victories in the 2008 season.

The 2009 Amgen Tour of California roster includes the following eight ProTour professional cycling teams:

• Ag2r-La Mondiale (FRA)
• Astana (LUX)
• Garmin-Slipstream (USA)
• Liquigas (ITA)
• Quick Step (BEL)
• Rabobank (Netherlands)
• Columbia Highroad (USA)
• Team Saxo Bank (DEN)

The recently expanded 750-mile, nine-day stage race, considered to be the most important and popular race held on U.S. soil, will take the world’s top professional cycling teams from Sacramento to San Diego County from February 14-22, 2009.

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[video playerid="1494779147" videoid="5070147001"]

By Thien Dinh

Look Cycles USA will be rolling out a new pedal fitting process this year, called the Keo Cleat Fit System. Developed in-house by Look’s own Pedal Product Manager Fred Roudergues, the system aims to help cyclists select the best cleat based on angular float and also to correctly position the cleat on the shoe.

The first step in the process is to setup the cleats properly on the rider’s shoes. This is done by having the cyclist stand up against a wall and measuring the ball of his/her foot in relation to the wall and then translating that onto the shoe. Once the cleats are installed properly, the fitter will setup the cyclists bike on a trainer with specially equipped Keo pedals that will be used to measures and analyzes each complete cycle of the pedal stroke. The cyclist will pedal 3 mins at a regular cadence of 60-90 RPM while the system measures values for both position and amplitude. The position value will help the fitter determine the best position on the shoe for the cleat, while the amplitude value will help the fitter determine which Keo cleat will best suit the cyclist. The process is done twice to get an average value for position, which the fitter will then use to correct the positioning of the cleat.

Once the fitter determines the best angular position for the cleat on the shoe, the fitter will use a special angular measuring tool that will reposition the cleat in the optimum position on the shoe. The cyclists will then cycle another 3 mins to verfiy that the adjustments are correct and that the cleats fall within range of the optimum position. Depending on the amplitude values recorded during the fit, the fitter may swap out the cyclist’s cleat. Look offers three different cleats depending on desired float.

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We met up with Markus Storck, founder of Storck Bicycles, and asked him a few questions. Check out our video interview with Markus, where he touches on topics such as how he got addicted to the bicycle, how the Klein merger with Trek affected him, and what motivates him when he designs a new bicycle today.

By Thien Dinh

On an overcast Saturday morning this past weekend, Campagnolo and Fulcrum North America held their first annual toy drive. While many companies these days are focusing on a lot of political issues (more bike paths, lesser taxes, cheaper production, etc…) Campagnolo/Fulcrum North America decided to focus on what matters most, family and friends.

This year Campagnolo and Fulcrum North America held their first annual toy drive that benefits both The Radys Children Hospital of San Diego and The San Diego Health and Human Services for Foster Children. They successfully collected a room full of toys and will be splitting the donations equally.

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Cyclists will have an opportunity to cycle alongside members of Team Columbia as part of Pedal to Pier, a fund-raising ride slated for Saturday, February 7, 2009.

Three hundred participants will be invited to a meet-and-greet coffee with the pros, join them on a scenic metric century or metric half-century ride through San Luis Obispo County, California, and enjoy lunch and a drawing afterward.

There will be several rest stops along the route and riders will be fully supported until 2 p.m. Each rider will also receive a T-shirt and goodie bag.

The $100 registration fee benefits San Luis Obispo Alpha Inc., which provides emotional and practical support for pregnant women, infants, and their families. The fee is tax-deductible.

For more information or to register, see the Team Columbia web site at www.highroadsports.com or www.active.com.