Cycling News

Sprinter second in standings but tied on time with Gerdemann.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO –The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and Supplement Safety Now (SSN) are pleased to support the agreement reached today by Senators McCain, Dorgan, Harkin, Enzi and Hatch which allows for a quick solution to several of the concerns raised in an effort to better protect consumers from dangerous dietary supplements sold in retail stores and online.

Dear Readers,
This week marks the return of both Paris-Nice and of our daily up-to-the-minute Live Coverage of racing. It’s one of my favorite parts of the job, due largely to the fact that I get to hear directly from readers throughout each day’s stage. Readers can simply type in comments, observations and questions and those appear right on the control panel, next to where Andrew Hood and I type in the latest news from the road.

Paris-Nice takes riders from the chilly suburbs of Paris to the (hopefully) warm, sandy beaches of Nice. | Graham Watson photo

Despite the fact that cycling is an exciting sport — certainly my favorite — and often filled with drama, even I have to admit that there are certain times when there is a lull in the action. So, on those days when there is a doomed break, with eight minutes on the peloton, but still another 150km to go, readers will often chime in with questions. I thought I’d devote this week’s column to answering a few of those questions. In some cases, I might have answered the question during Live Coverage, but too briefly for my satisfaction.

I’ll start out with a question about the history of Paris-Nice, from reader “ Old Guy,” who asks

“So you keep saying this is the 68th Paris-Nice. When did the race start?”

Well, fellow old fella, the first edition of Paris-Nice was in 1933. Like the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia, Paris-Nice was originally established for the sole purpose of promoting newspaper sales. As you know, the Tour was started by the owners of L’Auto and later taken over by the publishers of L’Equipe. The Giro was promoted by the owners of Italy’s sports newspaper, Gazetta dello Sport.

Paris-Nice was the branchild of lbert Lejune, who first promoted the race in 1933. Lejune owned both Le Petit Journal in Paris and Le Petit Niçois in Nice. Lejune really wanted to encourage Parisians to consider Nice as a vacation destination as well, so he promoted his week-long stage race as a reminder that despite the winter-like conditions in other parts of the country, Nice was a warm and pleasant place to spend some time, especially in the spring. His “Race to the Sun” was designed to underscore that point.

It’s kind of hard to imagine that Nice needed that kind of promotion, but it really was a small, sleepy town back in those days.

The race ran uninterrupted from 1933 to 1939 and then was canceled until 1946 because of World War II. That year’s race was organized by the owners of the newspaper Ce Soir, but it faltered and the race was again canceled until 1951, when the owners of Road and Track magazine took over management of the race. While Road and Track ponied up the cash, the resurrected Paris-Nice can really credit its re-emergence to the Nice mayor, Jean Medecin, who again viewed the race as a way of promoting the community as a warm weather destination for the winter-weary French.

It was in those post-war years that Paris-Nice really began to shine and the list winners looks like a roster of some of cycling’s greatest. The list of Paris-Nice winners is full of Tour de France stars like Jacques Anqutiel, Eddy Merckx, Raymond Poulidor, Joop Zoetemelk and, of course, Sean Kelly, who won Paris-Nice seven times between 1982 and `88.

Despite the big names, the race has had its ups and downs and was close to another permanent cancellation in the late 1990s. It was saved by two-time Tour winner Laurent Fignon in 2000, when he managed to put together a group of investors to carry the race through tough times. That deal, though, wasn’t quite enough and Fignon finally decided that the race would be better off being run by Tour de France organizer ASO. The infusion of cash and the logistical expertise of ASO seems to have benefited the race and it appears to be in relatively good financial health.

Reader Mary McDermott wrote in to ask:

“Is Paris-Nice really a good indicator of form for the Tour. How often does the winner of Paris-Nice end up winning the Tour de France that same year?”

Roger Lapébie was the first rider to win both Paris-Nice and the Tour de France in the same year. | AFP file Photo

Well, it’s not a bad indicator, that’s for sure, but it varies from year-to-year. There have certainly been Paris-Nice winners who have won the Tour, but not always in the same year.

Often Tour contenders don’t opt to compete, or their Tour preparation schedule doesn’t necessarily coincide with being a contender for the overall at Paris-Nice.

Alberto Contador sure seems to like the race. He won Paris-Nice in 2007, ahead of his first Tour de France victory that year. He came close (but-for that untimely bonk) last year on his way to Tour No.2. He’s certainly a favorite to win Paris-Nice this year and remains the odds-on pick for a third Tour win in July. Other riders? Let’s take a look.

In 2006, Floyd Landis became only the second American to win Paris-Nice (Bobby Julich won in 2005) and he then went on to stand atop the podium in Paris at the end of the Tour, but that result was eventually negated by a positive drug test. So, according to the record books, that one doesn’t count.

Indeed, you have to go all the way back to 1971 to see coincident wins in both by the same rider in the same year. Eddy Merckx won Paris-Nice in March of that year and then went on to win his third of five Tour titles. Of course, Merckx was pretty much winning everything those days. In fact he had already accomplished the Paris-Nice/Tour double in the previous two years.

Jacques Anquetil, who has five Tours de France to his credit, also won five editions of Paris-Nice. Like Merckx, he doubled-up for three years, winning both races in 1957, 1961 and 1963.

Other than those, I think the only other Tour winner to double up at Paris-Nice in the same year was Roger Lapébie, who won both in 1937.

There are plenty of Tour winners who have had success at Paris-Nice in years other than those in which they won the Tour. Miguel Indurain won Paris-Nice in 1989 and 1990, but that was before his string of five successive Tour wins began in 1991. Louison Bobet, who won three Tours, won only one edition of Paris-Nice, but that happened in 1952, the year before his first victory in the Tour. Interestingly, the year he won his third Tour de France, in 1955, his younger brother Jean won Paris-Nice.

Others include the great Jan Janssen, who won Paris-Nice in 1964, four years ahead of his only Tour de France victory. Stephan Roche won Paris-Nice at the age of 19 in 1981 and then went on to win the Tour in 1987. Joop Zoetemelk won Paris-Nice in 1974, 1975 and 1979 and then scored his only win in the Tour in 1980.

Don't mess with Bernie. | AFP file photo

One other winner of note, of course, is Tom Simpson who won Paris-Nice in 1967. He was among the big favorites to win the big one that year, too, but Simpson died on the slopes of Mont Ventoux on July 13th, the 13th stage of that year’s Tour.

As I mentioned above, there are plenty of Tour winners who raced in, but never won, Paris-Nice. Fignon, who came to the race’s rescue in 2000, was among those. His old teammate Bernard Hinault, too, made regular appearances in the Race to the Sun, but never won it. (Okay, okay, I admit it. The only reason I mentioned that last one is because it gives me an excuse to include this terrific shot of Hinault tussling with demonstrators at the 1984 edition of Paris-Nice. Yeah, I’ll concede that it’s gratuitous, but you have to admit that it’s not your usual guy-on-a-bike racing shot.)

Reader Dean, in Harrisburg wrote in to ask

“how did VN decide on which race (Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico ) to cover ‘LIVE’ this week?”

I guess it is a question of time and resources. Of the two, Paris-Nice attracts a stronger field of Tour contenders and it’s often seen as an early indication of those riders’ early season form.

Given that those races are being contested at almost the same time — since both are in the same Central European time zone — it would be hard for us to do both. It’s worth mentioning, though, we will not be facing the same dilemma come May, when the Tour of California and the Giro d’Italia will be happening concurrently for a week. Given the nine-hour time difference, we’ll have no trouble offering Live Coverage of both. Of course, that may mean that those of you tuning in from the office will really not be getting a lot of work done on those days.

Uhhhh, sorry `bout that.

Reader William wrote in to ask

“What’s the status of radios at Paris-Nice this year? I thought I read that they are banned by the UCI now.”

The UCI ban extends only to lower-level events, those that do not have a UCI Category 1 or hors catégorie sanction from the international governing body. While there is a movement to ban race radios in all events, the response from ProTour riders has been mixed at best.

You might recall that the Tour had planned to ban radios on two stages in last year’s race. The uproar was such that they left it at just one stage and the issue is still the subject of some debate at this point.

Follow-up: As a follow-up to last week’s column (see “Why regulate at all?“), I wanted to thank those readers who reminded me that the UCI first tried to spell out the underlying philosophy to its technical rules in a document released almost 14 years ago.

The Management Committee of the UCI was beginning to wrestle with the question of technology and at a meeting held in conjunction with the 1996 world championships in Lugano, Switzerland, issued a one-page document known as “The Lugano Charter.” I have to admit, that one slipped my mind.

While very short on specifics, the Charter does attempt to outline the UCI’s general philosophy on bikes and bike design. You can tell by reading it that these guys were really bothered by the rapid rate of development in the sport:

The bicycle is losing its “user-friendliness” and distancing itself from a reality which can be grasped and understood. Priority is increasingly given to form. The performance achieved depends more on the form of the man-machine ensemble than the physical qualities of the rider, and this goes against the very meaning of cycle sport.

Whatever that all means. Anyway, it makes for an interesting read. It’s short and maybe someone out there can make a bit more sense of it than I can. Thanks again for the heads up and the reminder.

Charles

“The Explainer” is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a question related to the sport of cycling that our editors might be able to answer, feel free to send your query to WebLetters@CompetitorGroup.com and we’ll take a stab at answering. Not all letters will be published and some questions may be combined with those of other readers. Please include your full name and hometown.

I just finished reading the book Outliers. I think it is easy to believe that successful people like Bill Gates or Mozart were successful because of some extraordinary talent. And, some of their success was due to talent. However, as you read in the book you learn it was a combination of that talent, a passion to use it, and opportunity that propelled them to greatness. In fact, many of the stories that the book shares revolve around specific opportunities presented at specific times to individuals or groups. Obviously, they still had to seize it, grow it, and use it, but at some point there was an opportunity presented that helped pave their way.

I started to reflect a little on my own path from soccer through distance running to where I am as a cyclist. And please, do not take this the wrong way: I am not comparing myself to Mozart. However, looking back on my life, I see a path that took many twists and turns as different doors or opportunities opened while others closed. As a fifth grader, I dreamed of scoring the winning goal in the gold medal Olympic game, and as a freshman in high school, I led the county in goal scoring. However, also as a freshman, the cross country coach, who was my PE teacher, witnessed me running the mile in class and convinced me to come out for the cross country team. A new door was opened, a door that would have never opened if I had a different PE teacher. There was something God-given with the talent, and I still had to put in the hours of diligent and specific practice, but I first needed an opportunity and then a willingness to go through the door.

New goals

New goals were set. The dream shifted sports. I went on to run at the University of Nebraska on a cross country and track scholarship. I was always only a bundle of potential, though. Injuries eventually closed the running door. Opportunity lost? Maybe. Or maybe the process gave me the opportunity to develop the core mental, character, and faith intangibles that I have needed to reach a world-class level.

What would have happened if I had never gone to a UC Irvine Cycling club meeting where I met my coach, or if USAC and Mr. Stapleton had never decided to help fund a national team project, or if they had done it five years earlier or later?

Years later in graduate school, I was introduced to cycling. The athlete in me had never left, and the dreams of gold and championships had never died, so when the new path appeared and the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, I took the risk and went that direction. Those pieces (or opportunities) involved me meeting my coach. They involved me transitioning from the mountain bike to the road bike at the same time as the new USAC national team (T-Mobile) started, which put me in the situation where I was surrounded by great riders and taken to Europe to race hard races against the best. What would have happened if I had never gone to a UC Irvine Cycling club meeting where I met my coach, or if USAC and Mr. Stapleton had never decided to help fund a national team project, or if they had done it five years earlier or later? Yes, I have had to be extremely focused and disciplined in the process of reaching and chasing my goals. However, I have also had opportunity that has been available at the right time that has matched my passion and abilities.

It is actually really fun for me to think about how I got to where I am now, and who has helped get me here. I definitely have not been the orchestrator of any of this, there is no way I could have planned such a path, but I have certainly enjoyed the journey. And now, as a veteran of many kinds of racing, experiences, successes and failures, I am excited to be in a position where I can help others find or recognize their own opportunities. Of course, at the same time, I am keeping my eyes open for the doors in my own life that I need to walk through.

New Zealand: opportunities present

For example, I just returned from the Tour of New Zealand, where I had the pleasure of working with a new, young group of American cyclists. We gelled as a team unit, and we helped Shelley win four stages and the GC. I had a chance to be involved with the leadership of the team and to share my knowledge with the next generation. I didn’t personally win the race, but I helped our team take advantage of opportunity and then to succeed. It was actually quite rewarding.

Going back to my own situation, many of you know that I am looking for that new door since I recently had one slammed shut. I raced for Nuernberger last year, and I had signed with them and their new sponsor for 2010. However, all of that collapsed back in late November. Since then I have been quietly searching, waiting, and listening. I didn’t want to jump just to jump. I have explored different ideas and promises that have failed to materialize. Now, however, I think things are starting to clear up. Part of the new opening will involve me racing with the national team for a good portion of the season while the other part will work itself out in the upcoming days.

So … Opportunity … I’ll ask you what I’ve been asking myself. Will you recognize it when you see it? Will you answer the door if it knocks? How can you help create opportunities for others to succeed? Hmmmm …

Amber Neben is a former world champion, Olympian, and seasoned international vet in her ninth year of full-time racing. In this column she hopes to give readers a different perspective on cycling, life as a cyclist, and the women’s pro peloton. You can all Amber’s column on VeloNews on her author page, follow her at www.amberneben.com or www.twitter.com/amberneben.

Tom Boonen (Team Quick Step) sprints to win; Linus Gerdemann (Team Milram) keeps overall race lead.

Alberto Contador (Team Astana) leads Ajejandro Valverde (Team Caisse d'Epargne) by 24 seconds in the overall standings.

Alberto Contador (Team Astana) climbs to stage 4 win and takes overall race lead.

Quick Step’s Tom Boonen won Thursday’s second stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico, outsprinting Paul Martens (Rabobank) and Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) at the end of the 165-kilometer stage.

The win was satisfying for the Belgian, who dropped his chain near the finale of stage 1.

“”I’m extremely satisfied. Throughout my career I’ve won at all latitudes, a little all over the world, but I had never won in Italy,” said Boonen.

“I like Italy a lot and I also like Italian races; with this success I’ve made up for a little something that was missing on my resume, and I’m really happy.”

American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) was 13th on the stage and sits 12th in the overall.

Linus Gerdemann (Milram) remains in the overall lead, tied on time with Boonen.

“We worked hard today to defend the blue jersey,“ said Milram director Christian Henn. “We were able to accomplish this and of course are happy to continue to lead. Tomorrow will be a similar day to today, from profile as well as from our assignments.“

A four-rider group was off the front for much of the stage.  Spaniard Alan Perez (Euskaltel), Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha) of Russia and the two Italians Diego Caccia (ISD-Neri) and Alan Marangoni (Colnago-CSF Inox)had a large gap on the Milram-led peloton. Approaching the finale, FDJeux got serious about the chase with 40 km to go and the quartet was caught 4km from the end.

The impressive one-two finishes by Polish brothers Pawel and Kacper Szczepaniak in the U23 race at the cyclocross world championships in January may turn out to be less impressive than originally thought.

According to the UCI, the Szczepaniaks have both tested positive for EPO and have now been handed provisional suspensions as a result. According to a statement issued Thursday, the two riders returned positive EPO results from samples taken at the world championships in Tabor, in the Czech Republic, on January 30.

Pawel Szczepaniak finished 20 seconds ahead of his brother Kacper in Tabor. | Graham Watson photo

The UCI statement noted that both riders had been targeted because their blood profiles, taken as part of the Biological Passport Program, showed “suspicious values.” According to the UCI, the two would have been tested no matter what their results that day, but suspicions were undoubtedly amplified when the two dominated their event in Tabor.

The samples were tested at the WADA-accredited laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria.

The provisional suspensions remain in force until a hearing panel convened by the Polish Cycling Federation determines whether the Szczepaniaks have committed an anti-doping rule violation under Article 21 of the UCI Anti-Doping Rules.

According to the World Anti-Doping Code, both riders have the right to request analyses of their B samples. Either they, or a designated representative, have the right to observe the testing of their second samples.

If found to have committed an anti-doping violation, both face a likely two-year suspension, although under recent revisions to the WADA Code, the hearing panel can add or subtract time depending on mitigating and aggravating circumstances.

In another brutally cold day, the Spanish Armada took control of Paris-Nice, with Alberto Contador winning up the same climb to Mende where he won in 2007 en route to claiming the overall.

Contador never really attacked hard. He just steadily ramped it up until he was alone.

Contador chugged away on the short, but steep 3km Mende climb to stake his claim for another crown, pulling the double on a day when temperatures never climbed above freezing.

But the cold temperatures seemed to put the freeze on everyone and Contador said he didn’t have his typical punch, winning 10 seconds ahead of Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) to carve out a 24-second grip on the yellow jersey.

“I waited to attack on the last climb because I didn’t really feel that great. It was very, truly cold, throughout the entire stage. I can only hope it will get warmer in the coming stages,” Contador said. “Nothing is won yet. The hardest part is still yet to come. There are still three stages and Paris-Nice is a race that’s hard to control.”

Contador was alluding to his infamous bonk in last year’s Paris-Nice, when he lost time while leading and eventually ceded the overall to compatriot Luís León Sánchez (Caisse d’Epargne) to finish fourth overall.

Overnight leader Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank) struggled to match the pace when Contador attacked with just under 2km to go. Voigt, who snagged the yellow jersey with a gritty ride Wednesday in Aurillac, crossed the line 12th at 44 seconds back and slipped to sixth overall at 34 seconds off the pace.

David Millar (Garmin-Transitions) did well under the extreme conditions, finishing 25th at 1:01 back and maintaining a top-10 with ninth at 1:03 back. Garmin-Transitions’ Thomas Peterson was 36th at 1:34 back and Tom Danielson was 45th at 1:56.

Cold snaps Leipheimer’s chances
You know it’s cold when a guy who grew up in Montana talked about how frosty conditions were.

A Montana native, Leipheimer said it was too cold for comfort.

The frigidly cold temperatures kept Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) from riding at his best, who started the day eighth at 24 seconds back.

Leipheimer couldn’t stay with Contador’s winning surge with just under 2km to go and rolled across with a group at 1:08 back and slipped to 16th at 1:23 off the pace.

“It’s just really cold. I guess before it was amusingly cold, but this isn’t very fun,” Leipheimer said. “It’s our job. Like any professional, we have days that we’re just going through the motions and that’s kind of where I am right now. I am not riding that great and this is obviously miserable weather. It’s good training, that’s what I keep telling myself.”

Contador did his best to fend off the cold until he hit the last two climbs.

Following his strong fourth-place showing in his season debut at Volta ao Algarve, Leipheimer’s season is very different than the past four years, when he roared into February to win three consecutive Tour of California victories.

With California moved to May, Leipheimer is using Paris-Nice now as preparation for goals for later in the year.

“I was coming off a group of like 20 riders, that’s not very good for the morale. It’s just training and building for later on,” he said. “You’re wearing a lot of clothes. You never feel great when you’re wearing all those clothes, but you have to, or you get too cold.”

Spanish armada firing away
A six-man breakaway that peeled away in the opening 15km was eventually reeled in by Saxo Bank and Astana with less than 10km to go to set up the final showdown.

2006 Tour winner Oscar Pereiro drives the chase.

Contador had Oscar Pereiro and Dmitri Fofonov from Astana to get him to the base of the Mende climb. The two-time Tour de France champion waited patiently for riders such as Christophe Le Mevel (FDJeux) to attack and for the steepness of the climb to whittle away some of his rivals.

Tony Martin (HTC-Columbia) struggled under the steep grades, but Wednesday’s winner Peter Sagan (Liquigas) did well to pace Kreuziger and then hang on to finish 20th to remain eighth overall at 54 seconds back.

Contador never quite opened up the huge gaps that he’s accustomed to once he surged away and a handful of his compatriots are nipping at his heels.

Joining Contador were other Spanish riders who clogged the top-5 in both stage and the GC.

Only Roman Kreuziger (Liguigas), now third overall at 25 seconds back, and Thomas Voeckler (BBox), fifth on the stage at 20 seconds back, prevented the top-5 Spanish sweep on Thursday.

Valverde, who struggled in the opening day prologue, bounced back into contention with a strong, second-place performance to climb into second overall. Along with Joaquin Rodríguez (Katusha), Valverde kept Contador on a short, 10-second leash.

Olympic champion Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) found his legs in the relatively easier final kilometer to pass Rodríguez and finish third on the stage in the same time as Valverde and slot into fifth overall at 29 seconds back.

Defending champion Luís León Sánchez (Caisse d’Epargne) finished ninth in the stage to keep alive his podium hopes, now fourth at 28 seconds back.

Early move breaks the ice
More cold weather “welcomed” a weary peloton in Maurs for the 173.5km hilly march to the decisive summit finish atop the Cat. 1 climb up La Croix Neuve, named in honor of Laurent Jalabert.

Amael Moinard was in the break on the same route in the 2007 Paris-Nice, too.

The bumpy, five-climb stage was ideal for a breakaway, and several riders tried in vain to escape the clutches early, including Yaroslav Popovych (RadioShack) and Verdugo (Euskaltel-Euskadi).

The day’s main break finally pulled clear at in the opening 13km , in the move were: Jerome Pineau (Quick Step), Julien Loubet (Ag2r), Albert Timmer (Skil-Shimano), Amael Moinard (Cofidis), Mikel Nieve (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil) and Jean-Marc Marino (Saur Sojasun).

With the non-threatening group up the road, Saxo Bank gladly let them take their chances. The leaders opened up a four-minute gap at 40km.

Moinard knew the roads well, since he was in a similar breakaway in 2007 when Contador eventually won the stage.

“This is the first day we tried to get into a breakaway because things will open up in the peloton,” said Cofidis sport director Francis Van Londersele during the stage. “We don’t have too much confidence in the break, because Saxo Bank is controlling the stage. We still hope to have Moinard in good position for the final climb.”

After topping a second-category climb, the route dropped down to the spectacular Gorges du Lot before two more third-category climbs to the approach to the finale. Saxo Bank was determined to give Voigt at least a fair shot of defending his hard-fought yellow jersey and kept the gap steady at about three minutes with 80km to go.

The gap grew to more than four minutes after the day’s third of three third-category climbs, prompting Astana to surge to the front.

What’s next
The 68th Paris-Nice continues Friday with the 157km fifth stage from Pernes-les-Fontaines to Aix-en-Provence.
Snow on the day’s first climb might force organizers to change the route to avoid the Cat. 2 Col de Murs at 647m at 40km into the race. There are three more third-category climbs sprinkled along the route that should push the race into milder weather.

If the sprinters can make it over the climbs, a complicated and slightly rising finish into downtown Aix-en-Provence will surely be their last shot at victory in this year’s Paris-Nice.

Forecasters are calling for temperatures to climb into the low 50s by the afternoon. After four days in bitter cold, that will feel like the Tour de Langkawi.

Top-10 stage results:
1. Alberto Contador Astana
2. Alejandro Valverde Caisse D’epargne
3. Samuel Sanchez Euskaltel – Euskadi at 00:10
4. Joaquim Rodriguez Katusha Team at 00:18
5. Thomas Voeckler Bbox Bouygues Telecom at 00:20
6. Damiano Cunego Lampre – Farnese at 00:21
7. Roman Kreuziger Liquigas-Doimo at 00:21
8. Christophe Le Mevel Francaise Des Jeux at 00:29
9. Luis-leon Sanchez Caisse D’epargne at 00:29
10. Reine Taaramae Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne at 00:31

Preliminary GC standings:
1. Alberto Contador Astana
2. Alejandro Valverde Caisse D’epargne
3. Roman Kreuziger Liquigas-Doimo at 00:25
4. Luis-leon Sanchez Caisse D’epargne at 00:28
5. Samuel Sanchez Euskaltel – Euskadi at 00:29
6. Jens Voigt Team Saxo Bank at 00:34
7. Joaquim Rodriguez Katusha Team at 00:36
8. Peter Sagan Liquigas-Doimo at 00:54
9. David Millar Garmin – Transitions at 01:03
10. Reine Taaramae Cofidis Le Credit En Ligne at 01:06

German veteran grabs overall lead at 2010 Paris-Nice.

The Nago Evo TTR time trial saddle from Prologo cuts a distinctive profile.

For a cyclist with limited training time, reasonable opportunities for competition (also known as racing) can start to feel few and far between. Racing is by no means the only reason to ride, but it’s fun. Anyone who has ever sprinted a riding buddy to the top of a hill or city limits sign knows the feeling. It feels good to go fast, and it feels good to have good legs and training rewarded by a race result.

But lacking extensive training time, 80-mile road races don’t sound appealing. And office park crits can get old, as they’re subject to the vagaries of team tactics and even sketchy at times.

Last summer I got fired up on our local time trial series. It’s a short course that doesn’t change, about 10 miles in length, and costs about fifteen bucks per race. It’s fun because you can compare times week to week, and even season to season. Plus, I like geeking out on TT gear.

MSRP: $290
The Scoop: A time trial specific saddle with normal size and shape, but extra padding and texture on the nose
Pros: Perfect length, width, and padding on the nose. Nice overall shape for both hammering on the rivet and sitting up to climb or cool down.
Cons: Why does all the cool stuff cost so much?
More info: www.prologotouch.com

This winter I’ve been playing around with a number of fun parts on my TT bike, hoping to get faster by summer. I’ve got a SRAM Red group, Zipp R2C shifters on VukaShift extensions and a VukaBull base bar, all bolted to a Trek TTX. So far, the bike feels great and the parts are sweet, but the ol’ body has some catching up to do.

One of the bigger revelations of my experimenting with parts and position is the Prologo saddle I’m using. It’s the Nago Evo TTR, built specifically for time trial use. In fact, Fabian Cancellara was involved in its development and used it last season in the Tour de France.

He must know a thing or two, because it’s awesome. If you’ve ever ridden a time trial bike, you know that sitting comfortably is a challenge. But I find the Nago Evo TTR feels great. If you’re building a TT bike for summer, give it a good hard look.

The Wrenching

The Nago Evo TTR is a normal saddle and there are no tricks to mounting it on the seatpost. The saddle I’ve got came with Nack 10 rails, which are carbon fiber with Kevlar and aluminum in the clamp area. They’re standard dimensions so there are no clamp compatibility issues. The base is injected with carbon fiber as well, making for a 192-gram saddle.

Where things get more interesting is in the shape, padding distribution, and cover texture. The Nago Evo TTR has a relatively standard shape, measuring 254mm tip to tail, and 136mm at the widest point. It’s not a stubby, sawed-off TT saddle. But it does have a nose that’s somewhat square in shape and flat across the top. Depending on how you measure, the nose is about 120mm long and 40mm wide, and the cover in this portion is defined by Prologo’s Slide Control surface texture, a series of raised arc-shaped ridges designed to help keep your personal parts firmly planted, rather than sliding forward off the end.

The raised ridges known as Slide Control look like they might be hard and uncomfortable, but they’ve got a lot of give for comfort.

In addition to the somewhat flattened, elongated nose, Nago Evo TTR has thicker padding up front here. It’s not the bulbous foam you might find on some triathlon saddles, but it’s discreetly thicker and denser padding designed to bear most of your body weight on this small area.

The wide tail of the saddle mustn’t be overlooked either. It’s got a slight up-flare to cradle your butt, and it’s wide enough to support sit bones. According to Prologo press material, the objective was to maintain comfortable seating just as on a standard saddle for climbing or hilly time trials, and also build up the nose to accommodate extended forward sitting “on the rivet” for an optimal TT position.

Fit and finish look great. Construction quality looks excellent. It comes in three color schemes: black lettering on a black cover, black lettering on white, or white on white.

The Riding

Nago Evo TTR is the best TT saddle I’ve ever used. I’ve been through a number of different saddle options, including a stubby-nosed TT-specific piece and a few normal road saddles. None have been nearly as comfortable as this one. The width of the nose and the padding density is perfect.

This standard version of the Nago Evo TTR also appeared on a Tour rider’s bike.

I also like the wide rear portion of this saddle. I’ve yet to do any hilly time trials, but for warming up beforehand and riding around afterward for cool down, it’s really nice to have a comfortable, normal-feeling seating option. The width, shape, padding and curvature feel so good, I want to check out a Nago Evo road saddle for my road bike.

Does the Slide Control surface texture on the nose work? I didn’t slide forward off the nose, and it does facilitate an extremely forward hip angle. Sitting on it, I can feel the Slide Control, but it’s not uncomfortable. I just know it’s there, and it certainly helps prevent any sense of instability caused by unintentional sliding on the nose.

In terms of positioning, the rails permit plenty of fore/aft adjustment. On my Trek, forward saddle placement is limited only by the seatpost setback and I was able to get the nose of the saddle to the UCI limit of 5cm behind the bottom bracket.

It’s darned expensive at $290. But if you’re building a TT bike for this season, check out the Nago Evo TTR. It’s cool when extensive marketing material describing a long and detailed development process actually winds up ringing true. Prologo’s press kit says the saddle took over a year to create, from data collection in the summer of 2008 to introduction of the final product at the Tour in 2009. I like that Nago Evo TTR actually has the feeling of a saddle that’s undergone careful thought and refinement.

Now if I could just get my legs to cooperate and propel me and my bike at the speed promised by this sweet TT gear I’ve got.

Team Type 1's Money Team: Aldo Ino Ilesic, Ken Hanson, Martijn Verschoor, Joe Eldridge (L-R). Photo: Brian Holcombe

Joe Eldridge calls them the Speed Team. He also calls them friends.

Eldridge, along with Aldo Ino Ilesic, Ken Hanson and new addition Martijn Verschoor make up the core of Team Type 1’s criterium squad in 2010.

Save for a handful of suitable stage races like Tour of Elk Grove, the speed squad travels the United States April to October chasing criterium and one-day purses – hence the other nickname, the Money Team. The Money Team was in the money in a big way in 2009, racking up podiums in nearly every criterium they started between July and October, and taking wins at the U.S. Air Force Classic, Dilworth Charlotte Criterium, Boise Twilight Criterium and Hanes Park Classic.

Eldridge and company largely stayed under the radar in 2009, however, and find themselves entering this season with a low profile and big expectations. For now, though, they’re four friends traveling the world and finding racing form together.

Off the Bike

Meshing on the bike is one thing. Any team worth their salt works well together in the saddle or the van. Team Type 1’s Crit Crew, as CEO Phil Southerland calls them, vacations together. This past offseason, Hanson stayed with Ilesic at his home in Slovenia for a week. Eldridge stayed for two days and the trio visited the offices of new bike sponsor Colnago before Eldridge accompanied Hanson to Milan for another two days.

Ilesic and Eldridge sign in at OCBC Cycle Singapore in March. Photo: Brian Holcombe

Ilesic, Verschoor and Eldridge live within 15 minutes of each other in the Atlanta area and not only train together daily — they go to the movies together, they eat together — they are ever-present in each others’ lives.

When teammates spend this much time together, they learn to not only understand one another physically on the bike, but they develop a deeper understanding of each other’s instincts, habits and even needs for personal space.

Watching them find their way through the Tokyo/Narita Airport en route from a recent trip to Singapore, the riders move like siblings in a mall, surging through the airport from shop to shop in a fluid dance.

“I think it’s really important that we know what to expect, that we know what the other riders are going to do, exactly, depending on the situation,” Ilesic said as the riders lounged in a Singapore hotel room. “You can only get that one way, together in races, and you have to stick together.”

Slow Starts

2009 got off to a slow start for the Money Team. Hanson and Ilesic were new to Team Type 1, joining Eldridge in his sophomore season. The group began to click in June, according to Hanson, and carried momentum from Shawn Milne’s Air Force win into the Nature Valley Grand Prix. A disappointing Nature Valley preceded two weeks off and the riders returned to the circuit refreshed, which showed immediately in their 1-2 finish with Hanson and Ilesic in Boise.

From that point on, the team reached the podium in nearly every criterium they entered, including the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational where Ilesic finished second to David Veilleux. The team earned those results based on opportunity — their often five-man squad was outgunned in nearly every bunch finish by the leadout of Colavita/Sutter Home (now Jamis/Sutter Home).

Building the Train

Hanson expects the built-out team to spend more time driving the peloton in 2010. “It all kind of really clicked for us at Boise Twilight in July. We had all the guys there on the front,” Hanson said. “This year, Vasilli (Davidenko) definitely built the components for the leadout train,” said Hanson. “The plan is to be able to take over with three or four laps to go and control.”

Those components include European imports Verschoor and Alexey Shmidt, as well as Davide Frattini and Thomas Soladay – all new recruits that should play a major role in dialing up the leadout train. Riders like Michael Creed and Shawn Milne add an element of danger to the group whenever they make a start — Milne won Air Force out of a five-rider breakaway in 2009.

Money Team  2009 Wins

Dilworth Criterium: Ken Hanson
Wells Fargo Twilight Criterium: Hanson
Basking Ridge: Aldo Ino Ilesic
Hanes Park Classic :  Ilesic
U.S. Air Force Classic: Shawn Milne

Hanson and Eldridge ready for 105 minutes at 95 degrees and 95 percent humidity in Singapore. Photo: Brian Holcombe

“We’re going to try to keep the speed because we don’t want to have breakaways in the end and unpredictable situations,” said Hanson. Ilesic agrees, pointing to the fact that he believes there will be six teams with top level finishing power: Bahati Foundation with Rahsaan Bahati and Hilton Clarke; Bissell with Daniel Holloway and Kyle Wamsley; Fly-V Australia withBen Kersten and Bernie Sulzberger; Jamis/Sutter Home with the Borrajo brothers and Ivan Dominguez; and United Healthcare p/b Maxxis with Karl Menzies and Andrew Pinfold.

The Money Team believes it has a tandem, in Hanson and Ilesic, to rival the fastest on the domestic circuit. Ilesic is a long finisher, with one of the fastest 300-meter sprints in the States, while Hanson has the pop to distance his rivals over the final 150 meters if Ilesic fades. Matched with a stronger leadout and a full season under their belt, Ilesic acknowledges that,“We’ve got the tools, we need to start using them.”

The tools will come together again in May and Eldridge says to start looking for the Money Team to show up at the front of races beginning with the Athens Twilight Criterium. From Athens, the team will target the Tour of Sommerville, U.S. Air Force Classic, Boise Twilight Criterium and U.S. Pro Championships among a full slate of NRC crits.

Team Milram captain Linus Gerdemann has won the opening stage of the 2010 Tirreno-Adriatico (March 10-16).

Team Milram’s captain, Linus Gerdemann, won the opening stage and took the overall lead of Tirreno-Adriatico on Wednesday, in a 148-kilometer stage from Livorno to Rosignano Solvay, Italy.

Gerdemann got away in the last kilometer with Pablo Lastras (Caisse d’Epargne), Matti Breschel (Saxo Bank) and Luca Paolini (Acqua & Sapone), and took the win from Lastras, who was second. Breschel was third and Paolini fourth.

“(It was an) outstanding finale from our whole team,“ said Christian Henn, Milram’s director.

“We continued to attack at the decisive moment, which made our chance for the victory possible. Linus was very attentive and won the stage for us very cleverly. All in all, it was a very hard and strenuous day for everyone in the field. The temperatures were only between three and six degrees, it rained at the start and the streets were wet the whole way.“

Ukranian Dimitri Grabovskyy (ISD-Neri) rode a solo breakaway for much of the day, only being caught with 15km to go.

American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) was seventh.

Milram sent off several attacks and counter attacks in the final kilometers, including some by Fabian Wegmann and Niki Terpstra. Pabol Urtasun (Euskaltel) also took a big flyer.

Gerdemann’s group took off as Terpstra and Urtasun were caught with just over 1 km to go.