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A stunning victory by Andreas Klöden in the Tour of Romandie has helped propel his Astana squad into the number one spot in the teams classifications of the ProTour series.

Ousted from the number one spot are last year’s top ProTour team, CSC, the Danish squad is now third overall. 2007 runners-up Caisse d’Epargne, meanwhile, remain firmly in second place. Klöden’s first victory since the Circuit de la Sarthe stage race in France last April has also seen the German shoot straight into fifth place overall in the individual ProTour rankings. Continue Reading »

03 May 2008.  Alessandro’s Petacchi dream of stage wins in the upcoming Giro d’Italia (10.05-01.06) has come to an end.  The MILRAM sprinter, who was one of the favorites for victory in the sprint stages, has had to cancel his start in the race through his homeland because of a serious bronchitis.

“I’m very sorry that I won’t be able to start in the Giro d’Italia,“ said the MILRAM sprinter, who already has eight wins to his credit this season.  „Yesterday I thought that I would be able to start, even if my condition is very bad because I have not been able to train the last 12 days. I feel  better now but there is not enough time for a good training. So, I agreed with our tem manager Gerry Van Gerven, that I would instead prepare myself for the Tour de France.”

The 34 year old has suffered for two weeks from a serious case of bronchitis which he caught in the Tour of Turkey.  Since then, the star sprinter, who lives in Lido de Camaiore, has been taking strong antibiotics, which have prevented him from training Continue Reading »

he strength and experience of the international opposition in the FBD INSURANCE RÁS moves up a few notches with the news that Poland will be represented by its powerful Beijing Olympics team. Poland now joins Iran, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Netherlands, Norway and Britain in providing fierce competition for the Irish national team, two Irish pro teams and eleven county squads when the big 8 day international race gets underway from Navan in two weeks time.

Przemyslaw Niemiec, Rafal Ratajczyk, Wojciech Dybel, Jaroslaw Dabrowski and Błażej Janiaczyk will travel to Ireland for the May 18 start in Navan and are expected to present an extremely strong challenge for stage victories and overall honours.

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The South Australian event, which took place from 22 – 27 January, attracted record numbers of visitors and record media coverage. The statistics have just been released by the Australian authorities.

According to the South Australian police, 548’000 spectators lined the roads during the event, representing a 53.5% increase on the previous year’s crowd figures of 357’000. Of those spectators, 15’100 were tourists who traveled to South Australia specifically for the Tour Down Under.

The entire world watched 84 hours of broadcast television programming, compared with 71.20 hours in 2007. To date, 618 media articles have been published on line, 362 more than last year.

The 2008 Tour Down Under was the tenth edition of the race. In receiving a four-year ProTour license, it became the first non-European event to be included on the UCI ProTour calendar.

PHILADELPHIA - April 30, 2008 – With 18 domestic and international teams already selected to compete in the inaugural running of the American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania Presented By Highmark Healthy High 5^®, race organizers today released the details of the demanding 450-mile, six-day race route.  A complete field of 20 to 22 teams will compete June 24 through June 29 in this first-of-its kind U-25 cycling stage race that will showcase the sport’s next generation of superstars.

The cyclists will battle for the leader’s jersey along a historically rich route.  Beginning on hallowed cycling ground in Philadelphia, the route passes through towns and countryside that roughly follow Forbes Road (U.S. 30), which was forged in 1758 by British General John Forbes and Colonel George Washington.  The race culminates in Pittsburgh as part of the city’s 250^th anniversary celebration. Continue Reading »

Further boosting the high quality of this year’s field, past race victors Chris Newton and Kristian House will return for another FBD INSURANCE RÁS campaign and spearhead a very strong Britain Team Stena Rapha Condor Recycling.co.uk squad in the big 8 day international cycle race which starts in Navan in a little over two weeks time.

Newton, winner in 2003 and 2005, and 2006 champion House will be joined by Dean Downing, Rob Partridge and either Ryan Bonser or Dale Appleby, with the final place being determined closer to the event. They all have the potential to play a very big part in the outcome of the 2.2-ranked event.

The squad will be backed by Stena Ferry Line for the race, and team manager John Herety is determined to give them a good return. “The team would like to once again thank Stena for their sponsorship during the RÁS,” he stated. “We hope to be able to show off their brand along with those of our other sponsors by winning stages and getting involved with some aggressive racing.”

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CYCLING-Pezula’s Ciaran Power was back to winning ways in a 2.1 ranked Union Cycliste Internationale Event when he triumphed in the East Midland Classic at Molten Mambray close to the city of Nottingham yesterday.

The Pezula Boys dominated the ‘Classic’ throughout the 158kms of racing. “The team had their eyes and ears focussed on the big picture. We didn’t come to win primes and it worked out well for us. It was a team effort and this was clearly in evidence as we covered all the moves over a unique course in some ways like the Paris Roubaix,” said Ciaran.

From the off, Power, David O’Loughlin, Cameron Jennings and Kieran Page were always in the fray which included 11 sections of off road terrain. Continue Reading »

PHILADELPHIA - April 22, 2008 - In a recent announcement, organizers of the American Eagle Outfitters Tour of Pennsylvania presented by Highmark Healthy High 5®, named PA Lightning as one of twenty national and international six-man teams selected to compete in the six day, 450 mile race across the state from June 24 to 29.  Also named were international squads from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Netherlands, South Africa and Sweden and American teams from Arizona, California, Colorado, Minnesota, New England, New York, North Carolina and New England.

The Pennsylvania Lightning, is an under age 25 cycling team whose mission is to promote competitive excellence, sportsmanship, teamwork, talent development and brand enhancement while competing in a full season of regional, national and international cycling events highlighted by the Tour of Pennsylvania. Continue Reading »

Putting in a sensational finish, Ren Chengyuan took out her second consecutive win at Houffalize. Even the World Champion, Topeak Ergon rider Erina Kalentieva (2nd) and Marie Helène Prémont (3rd) were powerless in the face of Chengyuan’s fiery finish.

With just four months left until the Beijing Olympic Games, the Chinese contingent once again proved that they will be in the running for an Olympic podium. One year ago at Houffalize, Ren Chengyuan took out a first World Cup victory for her country. Yesterday, the former Under-23 World Champion (in 2006) once again made a huge impression. Continue Reading »

The Olympic Champion, Julien Absalon, has won at Houffalize for the first time. It is the French rider’s 13th World Cup win and he logically takes the lead in the overall standings.

Nino Schurter made a big impression with his second place, the best result of his career. Christoph Sauser also put in a great performance to take third place.

You really need to search the history books to find a French victory at Houffalize. Indeed, since Christophe Dupouey’s win in 1999, no Frenchman has raised his arms in victory in the world’s cross-country capital. Continue Reading »