Yaroslav Popovych has a rich history riding for Johan Bruyneel, General Manager of the Astana Cycling Team. In Popovych’s first year at Discovery Channel, the Ukranian won the Tour de France’s white jersey, honoring the Best Young Rider, while helping Lance Armstrong win a record setting seventh Tour title. His Tour de France success continued with a stage win in 2006 and a personal best eighth place overall finish in 2007, while helping teammate Alberto Contador win the leader’s yellow jersey.

“I was with Discovery for three years,” stated Popovych, “and then went to Lotto for one year….and now I am with Astana. I do not feel there is any difference between Discovery and Astana. I stayed here for three years, three very good years, where we won the Tour. Now I’m coming back and Lance (Armstrong) is back. It’s great.”

“There was a huge change from Discovery to Lotto for me,” continued Popovych. “Lotto’s main focus was Classics and Discovery’s focus was stage races. Both were big teams with different emphasis. It was very different riding for Lance and riding for Cadel (Evans). Their approaches and style were completely different.”

Popovych secured the third overall position at the 2008 Paris-Nice. “The first two months with Lotto was very good.” Popovych signed with Lotto to provide support to Evans at the Tour de France.

“After Paris-Nice I kept getting sick. I didn’t understand why I kept feeling bad. I went to the doctor to try to figure out what was wrong. I just kept feeling bad, bad, bad. Even in the Tour….I was feeling bad. I was not at 100%. The team was feeling pressure and I was expected to give Cadel support but I could not. The team was not happy and I was not happy. I tried my best in the mountains for Cadel and my team. 2005, 2006, 2007 were very good years…..2008 was bad….and I am looking forward to a very good 2009.”

“Coming back to Astana is like coming home for me. At the training camp I felt very comfortable right away. I knew the riders and the staff. For me it has been a relief to be back. I feel like I am back to normal. I will ride the Giro and I will help Lance or Alberto in the Tour. I know that I can help Lance, Alberto, and Levi. I know my role on this team. It’s a nice fit for me. I can handle the work pressure on this team. Johan’s organization is the perfect fit for me. He is one of the few people I know who has successfully been able to manage both individual and team goals.”

Before Popovych rides the Tour, he will ride for Leipheimer and Armstrong at the Giro d’Italia in May. “The Giro is crazy, tough….plus Lance wants to ride the Giro. It will be amazing this year. I know the stages finishes well. The Giro is very important for me since I Iive in Italy. My wife and my baby will be there to see me.”

Popovych finished third in the 2003 Giro and fifth in 2004, spending three days wearing the overall leader’s pink jersey. Prior to turning professional, Popovych captured the U23 Paris-Roubaix title and the World Road Championship in 2001.

Photo courtesy of www.lynelamoureux.com

Jesse from Ritchey Designs runs us through what’s new at Ritchey for 2009. Including a few new wheelsets, named Apex.

Reigning World Champion Cento1 Integrates Award-Winning Electronic Groupset

Atlanta, GA – Wilier Triestina USA has announced the special order availability of its reigning World Road Champion model, the Cento1, in a version modified specifically for use with Shimano’s acclaimed electronic drivetrain, Dura-Ace Di2. The Cento1 Di2 frameset boasts the same superlight 46Ton carbon monocoque construction and performance features, while enhancements have been implemented in the form of internal routing for wiring that connects the Di2 battery with its electronic shifters and derailleurs.

“While performance was the key pursuit in the development and use of the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 electrically actuated shifting system, the side benefit is the freedom and creativity afforded frame makers with respect to cable routing,” explained Devin Walton, Director of Media Relations for Shimano North America. “Wilier’s new frame design takes advantage of that benefit and with the special accommodations for the battery pack creates historically sought-after integration of frame and controls without any impact on shifting response.”

Angelo Cilli, Wilier Triestina USA co-owner and founder, added: “We’re excited about the promising new age being ushered in by Shimano’s electronic groupsets for road and time trial bikes. In the past, attempts were made by other manufacturers to offer electronic shifting, but after extensive in-house testing we have become believers that this technology by Shimano has been refined to the point of being truly feasible and relevant. Campagnolo is promising release of its own electronic drivetrain in the near future, so it seems that the technology may finally be here to stay,” concluded Cilli.

Bisbee, Ariz. – Team Type 1’s Darren Lill captured the La Vuelta de Bisbee Sunday in thrilling fashion, overcoming a 30-second deficit on the final stage.

Following his third place in Friday night’s prologue, Lill won Saturday morning’s 82-mile (131 km) Sulphur Springs Road Race. But a fifth-place finish in that afternoon’s 7.2-mile (11.5 km) Warren Time Trial dropped him into second behind Phil Zajicek (Fly V Australia) heading into the last race of the three-day event, the 84.4-mile (135 km) Tombstone Road Race.

“I thought it was still possible to win,” Lill said. “It was just a matter of isolating or getting the jump on Zajicek. I was surprised he didn’t watch me more or didn’t come with me when I went.”

Lill made his move by bridging up to a small group that contained Team Type 1 teammate Moises Aldape and older brother, Antonio Aldape, who was joined by two of his Tecos-Trek teammates. With fresh horsepower, the reinforced break enjoyed a 90-second lead at the foot of 5,930-foot Mule Pass leading back toward Bisbee. And as the road climbed up, Lill put the hammer down.

“Three attacks were enough to drop everyone except for Bernardo Colex (Tecos-Trek),” Team Type 1 Assistant Director Gord Fraser said. “With Zajicek still chasing hard from behind, we had Darren ride a hard tempo and perhaps sacrifice the stage win to make sure he had enough of an advantage to take the overall.”

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Agen, France – Alison Starnes of Team TIBCO took a hard-earned 3rd place at Les Pruneaux D’Agen in France Sunday. Starnes, who is racing for the U.S. National Development Team on this trip, soloed in for 3rd on the final lap of the 40-lap, 70km criterium, which was won by teammate Devon Haskell, ahead of another American, Megan Guarnier.

“With six girls in the race, we wanted to make it hard, fast and safe,” Starnes said of the race, which was run under cold and rainy conditions.

The team was aggressive from the start, and by five laps in, Haskell and Guarnier had established a break with a third rider. That left Starnes and teammates Lindsey Meyers and Sinead Miller in a group of seven chasers, with nothing to do but chase down any attacks from their group, which they did handily.

“The other girls were relentless in attacking,” she said. “We still had 33 laps to go and they were attacking every lap!”

However, they weren’t quite as good at working together in the chase, which allowed the trio upfront to maintain their gap. They did succeed in lapping the field twice, though. And when the two Americans succeeded in dropping their break-mate later in the race, the U.S. team’s director, Chris Georges, came on over the radio and told the other U.S. Development riders they were racing for 3rd place.

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VCRC Ceramic Pulley Set Pro Review

• 11t VCRC Ceramic Pulley Set
• Compatible with: Shimano 10 Speed, Campy 10 Speed, SRAM Road 10 Speed
• VCRC Ceramic Balls - ABEC 7
• Plastic Pulley Bodies for Quietest Performance
• Sold as a set of 2 pulleys - Only 9g each, 18g/set
• MSRP - $129.95
• Company website - www.velocarbon.com

VCRC has been around since 2002 and might be remembered originally as Velo Carbon. But in 2004, they began to develop other lightweight products and changed their name to VCRC. They began offering lightweight alloy parts (stems, handlebars, and seatposts) along with their carbon offerings. At the same time, they started to develop a new product, ceramic bearings. What began as a joint venture between F1 Ceramic Bearings and VCRC has now developed into a product line that includes bottom brackets, pulleys, and ceramic upgrades for various different product manufacturers.

A year ago, we reviewed VCRC’s Shimano compatible ceramic bottom bracket and found it to be a great upgrade for the price. What we have on review now is something that is aimed to compliment that upgrade, the VCRC Ceramic Pulley Set. The package comes from VCRC with two pulleys, an upper and a lower (both labeled accordingly), a spacer tree with the various sets of spacers you’ll need depending on which drivetrain you’re running, and instructions on how to install the set.

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Roswell, Ga. – Team Type 1’s Jen McRae scored her second straight podium placing of the weekend Sunday when she finished third at the Eighth Annual Historic Roswell Criterium.

Five-time U.S. national criterium champion Tina Pic (Colavita/Sutter Home Women’s Cycling Team) won the 55-minute race ahead of Brooke Miller (Team Tibco).

McRae also finished third at Saturday’s Athens Twilight Criterium in Athens, Ga. – a race Miller won ahead of Pic.

McRae’s back-to-back podium placings came in her first two races of the season.

“It was the same people on the podium both days, so it shows who the top sprinters are,” McRae said. “But we’re not going to be happy with being third again. We definitely want to improve on that. I think the whole objective of riding with the team this weekend was dialing in the team dynamics.”

Team Type 1 Women’s Director Jack Seehafer said McRae’s performance definitely shows the squad’s potential in criterium racing.

“She’s got to fine tune her training to just get the last part of the sprint down,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes when she and Jackie (Crowell) come back next weekend.”

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Oakland, CA – OUCH Presented by Maxxis team sponsor TriSports.com is set to host team members and the public for two events this Sunday and Monday in the company’s home town of Tucson, Arizona.

Sunday morning at 9 a.m., TriSports founder Seton Claggett, as well as OUCH Presented by Maxxis riders Jonathan Chodroff, Cameron Evans, Tim Johnson, Pat McCarty and Brad White, will lead a 2.0 to 2.5-hour tour of the Tucson mountains. The social, no-drop ride leaves from the TriSports retail shop at 4495 S. Coach Drive, and will head out behind the mountains and return over Gates Pass. The ride is open to the public.

Monday evening from 6-9 p.m., TriSports will host a reception and autograph session at its retail shop, featuring OUCH Presented by Maxxis stars Rory Sutherland and Floyd Landis, as well as the rest of the riders.

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BMC ready to bring A-Game to Romandie
With the start of the Tour of Romandie just days away, the BMC Racing Team is putting the finishing touches on their preparation for their first ProTour stage race of the season. This will be the second year in a row that they have taken the start of the second biggest stage race in Switzerland, and the team’s overall goals will reflect the growth the team has experienced in the past year. Confident that they are fielding a strong group of riders, the management has every expectation that the team will be placing riders in the top 10 of individual stages as well as in the overall General Classification. BMC will be sending Jeff Louder, Alex Moos, Ian McKissick, Mathias Frank, Markus Zberg, Danilo Wyss, Brent Bookwalter and Steve Bovay to Romandie. “The Tour de Romandie has special importance to the team. Enthusiasm for BMC is strong in Romandie, and the Tour de Romandie organization has been supportive of our project. We intend to show our Swiss sponsors, and our Swiss fans, a
strong performance,” says Team Manager Gavin Chilcott.

Confident in strong leaders
“We believe that we have put together a roster which is stronger than what we had last year, and consequently we expect to figure more prominently in the top 10 of the event,” Directeur Sportif John Lelangue explained. “We are bringing Jeff Louder and Alex Moos who have the experience and talent to be in the top 10 of this race, and we also have two young guys in Ian McKissick and Mathias Frank who have some room to learn, but also a lot of potential for a race of this calibre.” Louder’s recent successes at Redlands and Circuit de la Sarthe, and Moos’ strong ride at Paris-Roubaix indicate that both leaders are in the sort of form needed to lead the squad at Romandie. “We will start the race with an eye to protecting all four of these riders, and then see how the race unfolds to decide which one or two of them will have the best opportunity to be highly placed come Geneva,” Lelangue explained.

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Tim from SBS shows us the 2009 Lapierre X Lite II 700, the same light weight frame ridden by the pro tour team, but without the white pro tour paint job and hefty price tag.