GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., – BISSELL Pro Cycling has removed Kirk O’Bee from the team today, immediately after learning that the rider has violated its no-tolerance policy agreed to under his contract. The rider’s actions are an isolated incident that occurred independently and without the knowledge of both team management and his teammates. BISSELL and each of its team sponsors are committed to fair competition, and support efforts for an end to performance-enhancing drugs in the sport of cycling through the enforcement of a strict zero-tolerance policy.

“I deeply regret that a mistake I made as an individual will reflect poorly on the entire sport,” said O’Bee in a statement acknowledging his contract violation. “I’d especially like to apologize to my teammates and to my sponsors, and hope that my actions will not damage their good names.”

O’Bee’s termination from BISSELL will not affect the team’s race schedule for the remainder of the year or any other day-to-day team operations.

Separately from BISSELL, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) are working with O’Bee to resolve his violation, and the team can make no further comments on this private matter.

ABOUT BISSELL
BISSELL Homecare, Inc. is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is a 133-year-old floor care innovator and international marketer of home cleaning products, including sweepers, vacuums, deep cleaning machines and cleaning formulas sold at retail locations worldwide. The company, in its fourth generation of family leadership, is the seventh oldest privately held manufacturing company in the United States.

Tyler, TX – Cobb Cycling has announced the immediate availability of its Max saddle, the latest addition to John Cobb’s line of rider-friendly bicycle saddles. Cobb has worked with many of the best cyclists and triathletes in the world, including Lance Armstrong and Greg LeMond, and has been considered one of the foremost authorities on aerodynamics, ergonomics, biomechanics and component design for over two decades.

Cobb developed the Max – available in both white and black – to provide maximum comfort for triathletes, time trialists and cyclists of all disciplines. The lowered nose section combined with the deeply cut pressure-relief trough is designed to reduce pressure on the perineum, which includes a man’s prostate area and a woman’s most sensitive soft tissue. The Max utilizes the same narrow rear section of Cobb’s popular V-Flow models which does two things: 1) it encourages male and female riders to sit further back on the saddle, even when in an aero position, better incorporating their skeletal system for support via their sit-bones, and 2) it also facilitates the more natural rotation of a rider’s hips for better efficiency and power.

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San Mateo, Calif.—At least two national cycling champions will be among the Tour de Peninsula field in its return after a one-year hiatus. The famous “Dirty Shirt” family recreational bicycle ride, co-founded by Sea Otter Classic creator Rick Sutton, returns, ’same as it ever was,’ to a new venue, Coyote Point Park, August 2. It remains a benefit for San Mateo County Parks and Bicycle Sunday (car-free cycling on Canada Road).

The repeating 50-54 years age group state and national Individual Time Trial champion, John Novitsky, will be present, as well as riders from the professional women’s Team TIBCO.

Rushlee Buchanan, the nine-times New Zealand national champion and Emma Brooks, the talented Aussie, bring an international flavor to the ride, while the 2008 US national Road and Criterium champion, Brooke Miller, will be flying in from the US nationals on Saturday.

Brooke and her Team TIBCO team-mates, who are members of the Plus 3 charitable social network, see part of their job as supporting and sustaining the cycling community, as well as winning races. Says Brooke:”We ride pretty frequently on Cañada, and we’re fortunate to have something like Bike Free Sundays. It’s great to see so many types of riders out there every week, from families with kids to people who race. It really contributes to the cycling community on the Peninsula. We’re happy to participate in and support this fundraising ride.”

After completing the 63-mile route, the Team TIBCO riders will lead out the children in the half-mile lap within Coyote Point Park, and be on hand to talk about life as a pro, as well as signing Dirty Shirts.

An annual fixture in the Bay Area’s cycling world since 1991, the Tour de Peninsula (TdP), grew to be the largest urban bicycle ride in northern California. Over 1,200 riders are expected for this weekend’s ‘dirty shirt’ ride, which includes a range of routes to suit every type of cyclist and a full day of family outdoor activities.

This fully-supported ride, which starts and finishes at Coyote Point Park in San Mateo, offers:

• A variety of ride options (20, 31 and 63 miles
• Short kids’ ride in the park at 12 noon
• Scenic route options visiting numerous San Mateo County Parks
• Mechanical assistance, rest stops with food and beverage, and a First Aid crew
• Family-friendly activities in Coyote Point Park, which includes an award-winning children’s playground. Picnic and barbecuing facilities, free admission to Coyote Point Museum, bike safety classes.

The San Mateo County Parks Foundation raises funds for projects that improve trails, restore habitat, promote environmental education, and encourage recreational use of parks.

Entry fees are as follows: 11 years and under: free 12-16; years: $20; 17+ years: $40.

All rides begin at 8 a.m. Additional details and online registration are at www.supportparks.org/tdp.

Road traffic congestion information is at www.supportparks.org/tdp/traffic.html

Bend, Ore. – Kori Seehafer’s bid for a solo victory at the USA Cycling Elite National Championship Road Race came up a few miles short Thursday.

The Team Type 1 rider was caught and passed by a group of four riders within three miles of the finish of the 67-mile (107.5 km) race that was run on the challenging Awbrey Butte circuit around Bend, Ore.

Seehafer finished fifth as Meredith Miller (Team TIBCO) soloed to the win, ahead of Christina Ruiter (ValueAct Capital Cycling Team) and Kristen Lasasso (Team Lip Smacker).

Amy Drombroski (Webcor Builders Women’s Professional Cycling Team) earned the Under 23 national title while Team Type 1’s Jacquelyn Crowell finished third in that category. The elite and age group categories competed together on the course that included more than 1,000 feet of climbing on each of the four laps of a 17-mile (27 km) circuit.

Seehafer said she did what she could to hang on after attacking with 15 miles to go and building a 35-second gap that forced a reaction from the field and the formation of the eventual four-rider chase group.

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Meredith Miller, the consummate teammate, keyed off a perfect team effort to take solo glory in the U.S. road national championship race.

Bend, OR – The U.S. National Road Champion’s jersey is staying in the Team TIBCO family, with Meredith Miller earning the jersey her teammate Brooke Miller wore for the past 12 months.

“Meredith is such an incredible teammate,” Brooke Miller said. “She’ll ride herself into the ground for any of us. She really deserved the win today.”

Meredith Miller attacked her four break-mates on the final kicker just 2 km from the finish line, “and then I put my head down and never looked back,” she said. “I wasn’t sure I was going to win until I came around the roundabout and made the last right turn with 200 meters to go.”

At that point, she not only knew she had the gap to win, but the time to celebrate it coming across the line.

Miller was part of a five rider break that formed late on the last of four laps around the hilly Aubrey Butte Circuit. The break was instigated when Kori Seehafer (Team Type 1) attacked solo ahead of the final climb. Miller was part of a four-rider group that bridged up to Seehafer.

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Los Altos, California – Team TIBCO full contingent of America riders are up in Bend, Oregon this week to compete in the women’s U.S. Road Race and Time Trial National Championship races.

Competition for Team TIBCO kicks off Thursday with the Elite and U23 road race, where Brooke Miller returns as the defending national champion. The road race will cover 111km over four laps of the same course as the final stage of the Cascade Classic this past Sunday – the Aubrey Butte Circuit – which features a particularly steep climb which starts about 6 km from the finish each lap.

“It’s a really good course, and also a really hard course this year,” Brooke Miller said. “The past couple years, you had a pretty good idea of who would be there at the end to contest for the jersey. Last year, the course lent itself to a bunch sprint. Depending on how the race plays out this year, it could be a wide open race that favors more of an all-arounder. Honestly, this year I expect to be working my butt off to help my teammates, and the course is really well-suited to our team.”

That team includes four riders who put in strong performances on this course last Sunday: Amber Rais, Katharine Carroll, Alison Starnes and Meredith Miller. All four finished in the top 15 overall at Cascade, with Rais finishing 2nd overall. Lauren Tamayo is another rider who could figure in the finish, as well.

“This really is a strong person’s course,” said Meredith Miller, one of the team’s captains. “It’s not a pure climber’s course. If you have good legs and can get over the climbs you can do well on it. It’s really hilly and there aren’t too many places to rest and recover. Even after the main climbs there are false flats that you still need to kind of power through. The course offers a lot of places to attack.

“The circuit was hard on Sunday, but we were at the end of a six-day stage race,” Meredith Miller added. “With three days of rest plus adding a lap, a lot gets thrown out the window. If the pace is easier, it could be a pretty big group at the end. If it’s harder, then we’re probably looking at a smaller group, which we’d like to have one or two riders in. I think that would be more advantageous for us. I think whomever comes to the end in the front group will be hurting. It’s going to be a matter of who can dig deeper in the end.”

All of the riders except Brooke Miller will also be contesting the Time Trial on Friday. Following her 2nd place in the ITT during Cascade a week ago, Starnes looks to be Team TIBCO’s top threat to unseat reigning champion Alison Powers (Team Type 1). But Carrol, Rais and Meredith Miller also put in good rides last week, and Saturday’s course covers the same terrain, with an extra roughly 10km added on to the end of the Cascade course.

Jerika Hutchinson, at 19 years old, will be going for the U23 road crown tomorrow, as well as the U23 time trial on Friday. She’ll contest the U23 Criterium on Sunday.

Team TIBCO Roster for the Women’s National Road and Time Trial Championships, July 30 - Aug. 2
Katharine Carroll
Jerika Hutchinson (U23)
Brooke Miller
Meredith Miller
Amber Rais
Alison Starnes
Lauren Tamayo

Photo (c) Jason Mancebo

Bend, Ore. – The Team Type 1 women’s professional squad has its sights set on challenging for a national title or two at this week’s USA Cycling Elite National Championships in Bend, Ore.

The first-year team’s best chances to put riders on the podium come in Thursday’s road race, the Elite and Under 23 individual time trials on Friday and Sunday’s Under 23 criterium.

Team Type 1’s Alison Powers is favored to successfully defend her national title in the 21-mile (35 km) elite time trial. Teammates Kori Seehafer and Jacquelyn Crowell will also race against the clock over nearly the same course that they did in last week’s Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic.

Team Type 1 Director Jack Seehafer said that is one factor playing into his riders’ favor.

“Also, with it being a longer course, it definitely suits Alison and Kori,” he said. “In a sense, it’s good that Alison lost the time trial during Cacade because she’s focused and fired up to get the job done.”

Last year, on a hilly course that ran through Santiago Canyon in Irvine, Calif., Powers beat Mara Abbott (Team Columbia-HTC) in the time trial by 99 seconds.

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Vuelta Corsa Super-Light Wheelset Pro Review by Twain Mein

• Light alloy rims at a competitive price point
• 20 spoke front, 24 spoke rear with triple-butted aero and stainless steel spokes, sealed cartridge bearings and “lubeable” cassette body.
• 27mm rim
• Claimed: weight — Front: 607 grams, Rear: 835 grams, 1442 total. Actual — Front: 650 grams, Rear: 870 grams, 1520 total, +78 grams (5.4%)
• $400 msrp for the pair

This is a follow up review to the Vuelta Corsa Carbon 50 clinchers.

These are impressive wheels, especially for the unbelievably reasonable price point of just $400 for the set, including quick release skewers. They feature the same “fast looking” red and black graphics and deliver on their promise.

The wheels feature 20/24 spoke rims with triple-butted stainless spokes, and the awesome “lubeable” cassette body. They also have the same excellent quick release levers featured in the Corsa Carbon 50 clinchers. And while not as light as the claimed 1442 grams (they came in at 1520), they are relatively light and very strong.

Often times with aluminum rims, you can see the seam and joint which is at the opposite side of the nipple hole. And, as you can see from the pictures, it was impossible to see the joint in the rim, compared to another competitor. This is a nice touch and hints at the fine finishing work.

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PORTLAND, OR – Cycle Dog is a new Portland, Oregon based company that designs and manufactures dog leashes, collars and accessories. What makes Cycle Dog unique is that their products are made from recycled bike inner tubes. Cycle Dog has relationships with bike retailers, which collect the old tubes for reuse. Cycle Dog also accepts old tubes from individuals and bike teams. These tubes might otherwise go into landfills, but can now be repurposed into high quality dog leashes, collars, and accessories. Products are handmade in Portland, Oregon, one of the top bike cities in the US. Multiple patents are in process, with new product types and innovations coming soon.

“I am an avid bicyclist, and along with that comes a lot of flat tires! I felt is was wrong to throw these old tubes away, so I started thinking about what to do with them. I have two dogs and I never had enough leashes and collars. I started sewing these products for them, and found that my family and friends loved them. After many rounds of improvements, the product is among the best out there – very comfortable, durable, and they don’t hold water. And better yet because they are recycled,” said Lanette Fidrych, founder of Cycle Dog. “We have a great in-house test team, referring to her two white Labradors. The products work great, and they look fantastic. People are really gravitating to them because many pet lovers also have great respect for the environment. It’s a perfect match.”

Cycle Dog will be selling in specialty bike and pet retailers, as well as on their website; www.cycle-dog.com. They are currently accepting applications from new retailers to expand their dealer base.

Astana’s Alberto Contador of Spain picked up his second Tour de France win today as Mark Cavendish the Brit from Team Columbia - HTC crushed the sprint to win his 6th stage of the tour.

Lance Armstrong who announced he will be riding for new American team, RadioShack next year finished on the podium as well in third place.

Stage 21 Results
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia - HTC - 4:02:18
2 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Columbia - HTC
3 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Slipstream
4 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
5 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française des Jeux
6 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
7 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
8 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Lampre - NGC
9 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
10 William Bonnet (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom

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