Normann's New Ride

Chris Lieto Checks In From Kona

Chris Lieto Checks In From Kona

This morning I headed down to DigMe beach for a morning swim. It is starting to get a little busier. The crowds are still not here yet. In a couple days I will post a video with the chaos that goes on at the pier at 7am.

I ran into Norman Stadler and we got to catch up and talked about how windy it has been on the roads up to Hawi. Norman said it was blowing so strong yesterday that he couldn't get in his aero bars. I have a feeling no matter how windy it is on race day he will be in his aero bars going as fast as he can. Hopefully I will be right there with him.

Normann Stadler Set To Defend 2006 Title

After six weeks of hard and ambitious training in the training camp of San Diego California, for Normann Stadler the final phase of the project Hawaii 2007 has begun.

Normann Stadler:
“We had an extremely tough but extremely good time in the training camp of San Diego. My two Dresdner Kleinwort team mates challenged me a lot during our training units. On the Island now, I take my time and prepare myself calmly for the things to come, than we will see.”

Chris Lieto Checks In From Kona

Yesterday I went for an hour run with my coach, Lance Watson. It was a good run and it gave us a chance to catch up and talk about the race. We went over my race strategy and my nutrition. Breaking up the race course in segments is important. I like to break up the bike into five segments and the run into four 10k segments. It helps me focus on smaller achievements and keeps my focus and motivation high. Later in the day I went for a swim with my brother Matt. We ended up doing a simple out and back swim for about 45 minutes. The rest of the day was uneventful.

This morning I went for a 3 hour ride and had a good race pace effort for a big portion of the ride. On the way back to town I hooked up with Cameron Brown and got to catch up with him for about a half hour. I like being at the races to race, but I also enjoy seeing my competitors again. We don't get a lot of opportunities to see each other, and I enjoy the social aspect as well. I think most of the male pros get along really well and we go out of our way to support each other and hang out even though on race day we are very competitive.

Well, it was a good morning and we will see what the rest of the day has in store. I have a feeling it will be the same old laying around, taking a nap, and watching some tv.

Dotsie Bausch Wins Gold In Pursuit

Top-seeded Dotsie Bausch (Colavita-Sutter Home) took home the gold in the women's pursuit, coming from behind to beat Christen King. 2002 pursuit champion Angie Vargas-Coggan was third, taking a close-fought battle against Neva Day. Bausch got off to a rough start in her gold-medal round pursuit race, wiping out in the first 10 meters while attempting to get a powerful start. The officials restarted the race after Bausch, an admittedly novice track racer, collected her thoughts. Her subsequent second start was noticeably more apprehensive, and it showed early on - allowing Christen King to begin with a comfortable lead early, and even maintain an advantage to late in the race. But slow and steady wins the race, and for Bausch, the words rang true as she rode to her first track national championship.

"I was a second or so slower, but it didn't matter," said Bausch. "She was killing me early on and I did get a little freaked out, but then the adrenaline kicked in. I listened to Andy every lap from there."

"I felt good about my chances in the last four laps after watching her qualifying ride, I knew I could be patient."

Bausch is one of many riders here this weekend that are converts from the road side of the sport. And like the others, she is enjoying her exposure to the track. "It's been really fun so far. It's new which is what makes it fun, and I love that there aren't as many variables than in the road. It's been amazing training with Sarah [Hammer] and Andy every week. This track is like 35 minutes from my house! I knew that in the second week that I was sticking with it!"

"I thought that might give me a little advantage," said King about Bausch's mishap. "But it didn't. She rode like an experienced pursuiter, and she's only been doing it this year!"

Tim DeBoom Interview On Competitors Radio

http://www.competitorradio.com/shows/158Competitors-TimDeBoom.mp3

2007 Interbike Sinclair Imports Party

The Lion King was swamped by adoring fans!

Each year Sinclair Imports plays host of the one of Interbike's highlights, a mega-party where industry figures and professional riders come together with some of the most beautiful girls that Vegas has to offer. This year's party was held at the uber-trendy JET Nightclub inside the Mirage Casino and it certainly created some excitement, and not just among the male cycling fans.

The almost-now-retired Italian super-sprinter, Mario Cipollini, was one of the major celebrities who attended the party he was in town for the seriously competitive Industry Cup event, open mainly to members of the bike industry who are still racing, and invited VIPs, an event he would eventually crash out of. Joining 'Cipo' at the bash on Wednesday, September 26, were former Paris-Roubaix winners Magnus Backstedt and Stuart O'Grady, as well as a still-glamorous Rochelle Gilmore, despite the loss of her luggage from the flight across from Italy.

Michellie Jones Checks In From Kona

Aloha Kona! Boy, do I have a lot of stuff. I can't believe how much gear and nutrition you need for an Ironman. Of course, Pete the equipment manager has to make sure I have everything I need as well as a back up plan. For instance, depending on wind conditions I have every possible Zipp wheel configuration that you can have. An extra Felt DA has been shipped Fed-Ex just in case as Pete would say. Extra tires so if anyone needs some in Kona give us a shout.:) Plus nutrition, nutrition and more nutrition. Matt my bike mechanic is arriving a little later in the week. Dan The Man my ART guru is arriving on Sunday. Haley has volunteered to be my personal assistant so after the race she has no idea what she has gotten herself into. Someone's gotta help me walk down the stairs.:) Gabby my twin is coming from Australia to be my cheer squad. I can't forget Ryan he is also coming from Australia and racing his first Hawaii Ironman so I hope my training program that I gave him works.:) This time my best friend Neily has been assigned to look after the Brats. Of course we get up early for our flights only to find our flight has been delayed 2 and half hours. It gave me a chance to catch up on all the latest gossip by reading the weekly paparazzi magazines. Yippee we finally arrive a few hours late but very happy to be here in Kona.

Normann Stadler Talks About Kona 2007

Bjorn Andersson to race on Quintana Roo

Las Vegas, Nevada, September 28: At Interbike it was announced that Swedish Ueberbiker Bjorn Anderson will be racing as a Quintana Roo athlete in 2008 and 2009.

According to his manager and mentor Jason Goldberg, Anderson will race on a Quintana Roo bike and swim in a Quintana Roo wetsuit. It is also said that Anderson will be heavily involved in the development of a new tri bike for the brand.

"It is great that we signed Bjorn with QR. His past sponsor has been phenomenal to work with and we have experienced some magical moments with them, but we look forward to be part of several big projects with QR and most importantly, we are really excited to the attention to detail that will be afforded to Bjorn by engineers who have built bikes for men like Lemond and Armstrong" said Goldberg.

Anderson commented "It is great to be working with Quintana Roo and I look forward racing on one. Since they created the tri bike designed to run well after the bike, I look forward to taking advantage of their technology and using it to my advantage."

Faris Al-Sultan Pre-Kona Radio Interview

http://www.competitorradio.com/shows/163Competitors-FarisAl-Sultan.mp3

Chris Lieto Checks In From Kona

Today was time to get down to business. I am 10 days out from the race and I always like to do some harder threshold and Vo2 max efforts to open my body up and push my threshold up a little more. 10 days out has always been a good time frame for my body to respond well and recover in plenty of time for the race. The workout started with a 2:30 bike ride with a couple 2 min Vo2 efforts and then 3 x 10 minutes at threshold effort. I got to test out my new Aeolus 6.5 wheel with the wireless 2.4 PowerTap hub. Watts were good and it was a great testing point for me and my new products. I felt good out there with the company of my brother Matt to keep me honest and motivated. The weather is warm, but I feel great in this temperature. The 3 weeks I spent here last month has definitely paid off. I followed up the bike with a 30 minute run at race pace. Overall the mornings workouts were very successful.

Later in the day we will go for a good swim in the ocean. The key to the swim will be a couple solid 800 meter efforts. I always look forward to swimming in the ocean so I know it will be a very enjoyable swim.

Contador, the Don Quixote of Cycling

By Adolfo Cortes V.

He does not ride on Rosinante's back, but on Jaca de Acero, a mare made of steel. Nor does he live in a village of La Mancha, but travels the world competing as a professional cyclist. His figure, though, is similar to the ingenious Hidalgo's, for he weighs 62 kilos and is 1.76 meters tall. He is not attended upon by a squire like Sancho Panza, but he does have a loyal friend in his fellow countryman Benjamin Noval, his roommate during the last Tour de France and faithful teammate.

Nevertheless, the human history of Alberto Contador, the current king of the Tour de France, is as fascinating as that of Don Quixote de La Mancha. Alberto did not have to fight against windmills, but against a cerebral hematoma that struck him on May 12, 2004, while he was competing in the opening stage of the Vuelta a Asturias. He not only ended up in a hospital bed but was plunged into a coma, hovering between life and death.

Cut off from cycling for eight months, he never abandoned his dreams, and, to the utter amazement of doctors, magically recovered and started to train on the bike again. Nobody at the time thought he had the slightest chance of doing something noteworthy on the bike, except Discovery Channel, who offered him a contract, after Liberty Seguros.

"There are circumstances in life when you learn a lot, and above all to value and appreciate your environment in a different way. The support of my manager, Manolo Saiz, and the help of Lance Armstrong's book were a key motivation in my comeback to cycling and my victory in the Tour de France two years later. It's a dream come true. My life has changed drastically. And the celebration in Spain has not ended yet," says the barely 24-year-old cyclist who has been the main attraction in the Tour of Missouri's first edition, where he granted an exclusive interview to Hispanic News.

Friendly with fans and cordial with the media, Contador admits that the pressure in Spain after his Tour de France victory is intense and so are expectations. Alberto is the youngest Tour de France winner since German Jan Ullrich's victory in 1997. "Can you imagine? They expect me to win the Tour eight times!" explains the rider from Madrid.

How is it possible to face such a high level of pressure? "The main thing is that, on one hand, I manage to cope with it, but on the other hand, the pressure I put on myself is the most intense because I know that I'm my own rival. My first priority for the 2008 season is to be on a team whose principal objective is the Tour de France, because it's motivating to try for a second victory. It seems complicated for me to work for a Spanish team because they already have their planning scheduled for the next season, and I want a team composed of riders who believe in me. My wish is to keep Johan Bruyneel as sports director, but we'll see what happens," adds Contador.

To all those who see in him the new master of the Tour de France, Alberto says, "It's hard to predict because every season is different. I want to face one thing at a time, and my mind is now focused on 2008. What I want is to work the best I can, have a strategic training program like I had this season, and in the end we'll see how many Tours I can win."

The Tour of Missouri had a very special meaning because it was the farewell of Discovery Channel, the world's dominant team, with eight Tour de France victories in the last nine seasons. The fans' enthusiasm displayed along every stage simply outstripped all the organizers' expectations.

"Of course, the disappearance of Discovery is a shame, but hopefully a sponsor will come along and keep a nucleus of excellent riders like Levi Leipheimer or George Hincapie, who are natural potential candidates for a Tour de France victory," says Contador.

A subject that always causes controversy is doping. The last Tour de France was no exception, with Rabobank's expulsion of Michael Rasmussen, who had lied about his whereabouts, probably to avoid anti-doping tests. This occurrence opened the door to victory for Contador, whose name had appeared in the police investigation carried out in Spain known as "Operacion Puerto."

"I'm clean," stresses Contador. During the Operacion Puerto case I was in the wrong team (Liberty Seguros) at the wrong time. By definition my name was linked to this case, but later on the UCI corrected the error. I have nothing to do with it," emphasizes Contador.

sign up for subscriptions to the Alberto Contador Fans Notebook at contadorfans@chechurubiera.info

Contador To Ride For Astana @ 1.5 Million Euros

As reported yesterday on VeloNews.com, Tour de France winner Alberto Contador will ride next year with Astana under the leadership of Johan Bruyneel.

The Spanish daily MARCA reported Wednesday that Contador will sign a two-year contract worth 1.5 million euros per season and bring Benjamín Noval and Sergio Paulinho with him. Other riders linked to Bruyneel's move to Astana include Janez Brajkovic, Levi Leipheimer and Tomas Vaitkus.

Leipheimer looks likely to join Bruyneel as the Belgian director is poised to take over the troubled Astana team as general manager as part of a three-year contract.

No official announcements can be made until the Kazakh sponsors reach an accord with current team manager Marc Biver to clear the way for his departure from the team. Biver came under fire following a string of doping scandals on the team, including the blood doping positives of stars Alexandr Vinokourov and Andrey Kashechkin.

Paolo Bettini - Images From His Worlds Win

Paolo Bettini of Italy prevailed in Stuttgart, Germany, after a week of polemics that threatened his participation. The 33 year-old from La California formed part of a five-man group with Fränk Schleck (Luxembourg), Cadel Evans (Australia), Alexandr Kolobnev (Russia) and home rider Stefan Schumacher. It stayed clear following the advantage gained over the Birkenkopf at 9.2 kilometres remaining. Bettini passed Kolobnev as he led out the sprint, while Schumacher kept powering for third over Schleck and Evans.

"It was a difficult week. I was accused [of certain things]," said an emotional Bettini at the finish. "This is a present for all the people. It was not an easy victory. Grazie a tutti!"

He complemented his nine-man squadra azzurra, "It was a difficult circuit. You can only win with a great team. We had a team that could make the difference." Bettini became the fifth rider to archive the back-to-back Worlds win. His compatriot Gianni Bugno was last rider to double (1991 and 1992) – he achieved his first of two wins in Stuttgart.

Floyd Landis Checks In.....

Dear Friends and Supporters,

I’m of course disappointed and in fact angry about the split decision ruling against me last week.

If any good has come out of this, we have shown that the anti-doping system is corrupt, inefficient and unfair. The content of this decision unfortunately highlights this once again. The straightforward and clear dissent in support of my case contrasts sharply with the scientifically flawed and illogical majority decision against me – not to mention the nonsensical ruling regarding when my proposed two-year suspension should start. I still have hope that the system can, and will be, changed so that no other athlete has to suffer through this process only to be denied a clean chance at justice.

I can sleep well at night knowing that I won the 2006 Tour de France fair and square. I hope that my campaign to clear my name still means something to all of you who have kindly donated to my legal defense fund. Every single contribution to the FFF made a real difference. For your constant support and generosity, I thank you.

At the end of the day, I am proud of what I accomplished in winning the Tour and I’ll always consider myself the rightful winner of the Tour. Whatever the way ahead, it will be good to be moving forward with my life, and at this point I will take some time to review my options.

Thank you for all of the support and encouragement,

Floyd

Images From The 2007 Interbike Trade Show

Images From The 2007 Interbike Trade Show

Tereza Hurikova Finishes 14th @ Worlds TT

Results

1 Hanka Kupfernagel (Germany) 34.43.8 (43.432 km/h)
2 Kristin Armstrong (United States of America) 0.23.5
3 Christiane Soeder (Austria) 0.41.5
4 Amber Neben (United States of America) 1.02.8
5 Christine Thorburn (United States of America) 1.11.1
6 Priska Doppmann (Switzerland) 1.21.2
7 Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (France) 1.21.8
8 Emma Pooley (Great Britain) 1.32.6
9 Karin Thürig (Switzerland) 1.35.2
10 Meifang Li (China) 1.37.8
11 Mirjiam Melchers-Van Poppel (Netherlands) 1.49.7
12 Zulfiya Zabirova (Kazakhstan) 1.50.5
13 Susanne Ljungskog (Sweden) 1.55.3
14 Tereza Hurikova (Czech Republic) 1.55.5