Sport Psychologist Attributed To Steegmans Sucess

Quick Step rider Gert Steegmans, winner of Paris-Nice Stage 1 and Stage 2, has attributed his two victories to the work he's done with a sport psychologist. The 27 year-old began his career as the final lead-out man for Predictor-Lotto's Robbie McEwen before moving to Quick Step to join forces with sprint superstar Tom Boonen.

Last year the tall Belgian made a name for himself after winning the Tour de France's Stage 2 in an uphill sprint ahead of Boonen and Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas). Since then Steegmans has shown that he has what it takes to not only lead out the best sprinters in the world, but be one himself.

After winning the shortened first stage, due to bad weather, Steegmans backed up his fine performance by taking the second stage ahead of current race leader Norwegian Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) in more bad weather.

"I wasn't confident enough to ride for the win in the past," Steegmans admitted to Belgian news site HLN.be. "I always had troubles with my sugar level and I always got hunger-flat after 200 kilometers of racing. We've worked on that last year and it's resolved now.

"I also went to see a psychologist, Jeff Brouwers, quite a lot and my mental approach of the racing is much better now," he added. "I'm less stressed and more confident."

Steegmens' success represents natural progression of the Belgian's career, with the 27 year-old enjoying a bumper season in his first year with Quick Step last season. In addition to his Tour victory, Steegmens claimed stage wins at the Volta ao Algarve, Driedaagse van de Panne, Quatre Jours de Dunkerque and a double victory at the Circuit Franco-Belge last season.

"Paris - Nice cannot get much better," he said. "If I can go to Milan-Sanremo with the condition that I have now a lot is possible.

"The difference between now and then is I no longer think that the worst is going to happen," he explained. "I just take my own chances. Maybe that is due to Jef Brouwers."

The end of stage two looked like a Spring Classic, something that Steegmans can reasonably aim at winning himself now. "Winning a classic is difficult for me because there are many other riders in my team able to do it," said the Belgian rider, who is more used to putting himself at the service of Boonen than riding for himself in the biggest events.

"Today I stayed calm enough to let Hushovd, (Sylvain) Chavanel and (Michael) Albasini do the work and only to go to the lead when it was needed," he said. "My Paris - Nice has been positive. Now I will work hard for the next two days for our GC riders just as they did for me over the past two days."

World Champion Tim DeBoom Returns to Auburn

Tim is a two-time Hawaii Ironman world champion and the undisputed greatest American triathlete of the past decade. Formerly a top contender at Olympic distance, DeBoom turned his attention to the ironman distance and methodically worked his way up the ranks to become the dominant force in the world. Check out this chronological progression of Hawaii Ironman finishes up to 2002: 10th, 21st, 11th, 10th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, 1st!

Known for his focused preparation, Tim races infrequently and is extremely difficult to beat whenever he steps on the starting line. His back to back victories in Hawaii in 2001 and 2002 established Tim as one of the all-time triathlon greats. In particular, his victory in the October 2001 Hawaii Ironman was the first international sporting event after the 9/11 tragedies. Over 30,000 spectators in Hawaii witness this emotional and uniting sporting effort, the first American victory in 6 years at the most pretigious race in triathlon.

Tim's fourth place finish at the 2007 Hawaii Ironman represented a remarkable comeback to the top echelon of the sport after numerous setbacks following his two victories, including dental surgery, a broken elbow, kidney stones, and injury-related DNF's. Just when the yoo haws were writing Tim off as a top contender, he delivered a brilliant 8:22 in Kona for fourth overall and first American.

Tim will be in Auburn race weekend as a special race guest and supporter of Running School kids fitness charity. Take the chance to meet one of these great legends of the sport and perhaps get him to sign one of his wife Nicole's SkirtSports original fitness skirt - it's revolutionizing fitness fashion - a great gift idea.

2004 - World's Toughest Half Champion
2x Hawaii Ironman Champion (2000, 2001)
2x Hawaii Ironman Champion (2000, 2001)

Click on title link to register for any of the races.

Kristy Gough: champion triathlete with bright future

Recovox knew Kristy well. She was an amazing person. Our heart goes out to all the friends and families of Kristy and Matt. The following article appeared in the SF Chronicle today.

San Leandro -- Kristianna "Kristy" Gough was a champion triathlete who had been training exclusively as a bicyclist in recent months and, according to her friends, winning just about every road race she entered. When she was fatally struck Sunday, she and two companions were at the front of a pack of cyclists on a training ride in preparation for another race next weekend.

"I've never seen her so enthusiastic as in the last couple of months," said Clas Björling, a champion Swedish triathlete who was Gough's longtime sweetheart. "She was a really talented athlete, especially on the bike. She was so strong physically and mentally."

A friend and fellow cyclist, Matt Willinger, said Gough had hit her stride as a cyclist and was working with a pair of trainers from Belarus.

"They were ecstatic about her progress and what they thought she would do in cycling," said Willinger, who works with the same trainers. "She wanted to pursue Ironman triathlons. They had different plans for her. They wanted her to go to the Olympics and to world championships for cycling.... She was on her way to something great."

Gough, who grew up in San Leandro, had been a swimmer and ran cross-country at the Madeira School, a boarding school in Virginia, friends said. But it wasn't until she got to Chabot College in Hayward, where she and Willinger met, that she became passionate about triathlons.

"She just felt free," said Willinger. "When you're working at your peak, you don't have to think about anything else. It's very liberating."

As an amateur triathlete, Gough won in her age group in the 2004 Ironman Hawaii triathlon.

"That's the world championship; the biggest you can win as an amateur," said Björling by telephone from his home in Sweden.
Her biggest achievement as a professional triathlete was finishing third in the Ironman in the United Kingdom in 2006.
Friends described Gough as quiet and introspective, even a bit tough on the outside, but full of warmth and with a wicked sense of humor she shared with those who got to know her.

Tanya Grossman, another longtime friend, met Gough almost dozen years ago when Gough started training with a group of athletes connected with a triathlon shop owned by Grossman's husband.

"She was just this young girl who was fast and kicked everyone's butt," said Grossman. "The guys didn't like it. She was faster than most of them."

Grossman persuaded Gough to join her at a training camp in New Zealand in 2004, and the two biked and ran and swam and traveled around the country.

"You know you're good friends with someone when you can share a room and sometimes a bed with them for three months and still like them at the end," said Grossman.

Then, choking up, she added: "She has grown into a woman with such depth. I wasn't done with her yet as a friend."
It was in New Zealand that Gough met Björling. The couple trained together and divided their time between the Bay Area and Sweden, where they cycled almost 250 miles across the country.

The couple last saw each other a year ago, before Björling returned home to Sweden to take care of a serious health problem, but their relationship had only deepened over the telephone in recent months, he said.

Gough's outlook on life was shaped in part by a childhood that included divorced parents and a lot of moving around, said Björling.

"When I met her, she already knew what was important in life: take it day by day. Don't spend too much energy on details, but try to see the big picture," he said. "As we see today, life can change in a second, so why make long term plans?"

Moffatt Gets Her Olympic Spot At Oceania

Blustery but warm conditions greeted triathletes in the OCA Triathlon Oceania Championships in Wellington, New Zealand today where Australia’s Emma Moffatt and Shane Reed of New Zealand won the elite women’s and men’s races respectively. Their wins give Australia and New Zealand a coveted spot on the start line of this summer’s Olympic Triathlon in Beijing.

Moffat was hugely impressive and looked like she could run another ten kilometres when she crossed the line almost two minutes clear of her countrywoman and silver medalist Annabel Luxford. A further two minutes back was New Zealand’s Nicky Samuels in third.

The two Aussie’s dominated the majority of the race exiting the water in the lead and pulling away on the bike with Kiwi Andrea Hewitt before Moffatt took command early on the run. Hewitt was unable to hang on to the pace, however, and was eventually passed by Samuels.

Moffat though was delighted with her days work in the trying conditions.

“That was bloody windy and tough the whole race but it was a good race, I felt great the whole day. My transition out of the bike and on to the run was great and from then I just ran solid and established what proved to be a winning lead. I have not tapered for this, I raced last week as well but the real aim is Mooloolaba in three weeks.”

In contrast Luxford crossed the line suffering from a shin injury and immediately sought ice to soothe the pain and inflammation.

“The wind made that so tough today. I swam well and led into transition but lost some time as a shoe had fallen off my bike. I had to work hard early on to get back on the lead bunch. From there we worked well together but from the moment I hit the run I was feeling the shin and struggled for the most part. The injury has flared up in the last week or so, I’m just glad to have this race out of the way and I will look to sort it out when I get home.”

The victory gives at least one Olympic spot to Australia but it does not guarantee that spot will go to Moffatt. Selection to Australia's Olympic team is discretionary. Moffatt’s win coupled with the high rankings of Luxford, Emma Snowsill and Felicity Abram means Australia is likely to field a full women’s team of three in Beijing.

2008 Wellington OCA Triathlon Oceania Championships, New Zealand
Elite Women - Final Results
1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Oceania Champion - Emma Moffat (AUS) 2:06:36
Silver - Annabel Luxford (AUS) 2:08:11
Bronze - Nicky Samuels (NZL) 2:10:30
4 - Andrea Hewitt (NZL) 2:10:47
5 - Samantha Warriner (NZL) 2:11:22

Cipollini's Sanremo Still In Doubt

Italian Mario Cipollini attended the start of the Monte Paschi Eroica to see the first RCS Sport event of 2008 depart, while hoping the organiser will open a spot in Milano-Sanremo for his team, Rock Racing. The 2002 World Champion, who returned from retirement to race in the Tour of California, wants to enter the race he won in six years ago with the USA-based Continental team, but knows it will be difficult.

"It is difficult to enter the Sanremo at this point, but the desire is there," the 40 year-old from Lucca noted at the start of "Eroica" on Saturday morning in Gaiole in Chianti.

The team started by Michael Ball has difficulties entering into events such as the Milano-Sanremo due to its status as a Continental team; such teams are not allowed to race in ProTour events under International Cycling Union (UCI) rules, but since the status of RCS Sport organised races has recently changed there might be a chance.

"We can't say anything about Sanremo at this point; look what is happening in Paris-Nice. We don't know what will happen. To judge the situation at this moment seems impossible. We are preparing the team in hopes that we will race."

This will be Cipollini's last chance to participate in the race known as La Classicissima as he indicated he will not be on the bike in 2009. "No, absolutely no," he clarified. "I will not be riding but - I hope - with him [Ball], managing the team."

"The Lion King" saw the riders part for the 181-kilometre run, famous for its white gravel roads, although he had no desire - at his age - to race. "I would like to do this race, but maybe I am already a little bit too old for Eroica."

Alberto Contador Takes 3rd Overall At Murcia

The Astana Cycling team under directors Alain Gallopin and Alexandr Shefer won the team classification by 1'04" over Acqua e Sapone and 1'32" over Caisse d'Epargne. They placed three riders in the top ten.

"We proved again that we are a strong team. We all worked for the same goal and, with Chechu Rubiera, we won the queen stage in this Tour of Murcia," said Gallopin, who was generally satisfied with the race. "However, I am convinced that Alberto Contador could have won the time trial on Saturday, and consequently the overall classification, if we were correctly informed about Valverde's intermediate time. It seems we were given the wrong time. Anyway, we are motivated for the next races. There are still enough challenges this year."

Contador agreed with his team director. "Maybe my preparation was not ideal. After the ASO decision not to allow us in their races, I was out a few days and my training suffered from it. Maybe then, I missed the few percent that failed me in the decisive time trial. My own fault, but the season is still long."

Contador Doesn’t Expect Tour Retreat

Tour de France champion Alberto Contador isn’t exactly holding his breath expecting Tour organizers to change their minds on its controversial decision to exclude his Astana team from cycling’s marquee race.

“It seems unlikely, even though I am receiving the support from everyone, from the other riders and from the public,” Contador told the Spanish sports daily MARCA. “Being optimistic, I see 0.5 percent of the possibilities that the Tour would reconsider its posture.”

Last month, Tour organizers shocked the cycling community by excluding the scandal-tinged Astana team from any of the races it organizers.

Racing this week in the Vuelta a Murcia — where he has chances to take the overall title if he can do well in Friday’s decisive climbing time trial — Contador insists he’s moved on.

“I swear that I don’t think about,” he continued. “To the contrary, I think that the best races are the ones where I am, like now at the Vuelta a Murcia. I imagine the closer I get to the dates, it will be harder, but right now, with the exception of Paris-Nice, which I switched for Murcia, I am going to keep the same objectives.”

Contador, 25, has had nearly a month to come to terms with the Tour’s contentious verdict and says he has set his sights on new goals for the 2008 season.

Without a chance to defend his titles at the Tour and Paris-Nice, Contador said he would set his sights on the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing as well as making a run at the Vuelta a España in September. Contador will also race the Vuelta a Castilla y León later this month and the Dauphiné Libéré in June.

Above all, a defiant Contador says he doesn’t regret signing with Astana.

“It doesn’t do any good to keep going over it. I took the decision I had to make and I don’t regret it,” he said. “They were undergoing a new project, I saw that everything was different, including an internal anti-doping system to erase any suspicion. Everything was so serious and so professional that it seemed it was safer to sign with Astana instead of other teams. I cannot regret something I fully considered.”

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Chechu Wins Queen Stage @ Tour of Murica

Jose Luis “Chechu” Rubiera won the queen stage in the Tour of Murcia after a thrilling finale. With three kilometers to go, Rubiera attacked in the streets of Totana. Only two other riders, out of the front group of 12, could close the gap. In the sprint, Chechu, the veteran of Astana Cycling Team, was faster than Aitor Pérez and Vasil Kyrienka. Alberto Contador finished 7th, Antonio Colom 9th.

It was snowing on the last climb of the day, the Alto Collado Bermejo. In those terrible conditions, five riders reached the top still 30 kilometers from the finish, with 30 seconds advantage: Alberto Contador, Stefano Garzelli, Alejando Valverde, Ricardo Serrano and Ezequiel Mosquera. In the descent, seven riders including Rubiera and Colom, were able to catch the leaders. Garzelli gave the strongest impression, but Chechu Rubiera was the cleverest rider.

“3 K from the finish was the perfect moment to attack”, said the happy Asturian rider. “Toni Colom didn’t feel strong enough to attack. Neither did I, but I tried. And it worked. More than having good legs, you have to be lucky in such situations. The legs were good of course. Already in the Tour of California, you could see that I had the good shape.”

This victory will not change Rubiera’s plans to end his cycling career at the end of this season. The ideal team mate participated in 19 big Tours (four times top ten in GC and two stage victories in Giro d’Italia), “It is super nice to stop with these feelings. It is time to do something else. The decision has been taken. Definite for sure.”

“What a day. We were so close to cancelling this stage. It was dangerous in the peloton. With a few riders, and I was one of them, we wanted to cancel the stage after 40 kilometers. We stopped riding, but after a short discussion, we went further. I don’t regret it any more. For me it is a nice victory but without Alain, Toni, Alberto, Jani, Benjamin, Sergio, Daniel and Maxim, it would have been impossible.”

Cipollini Continues With Rock Racing Towards Sanremo

Mario Cipollini is continuing his push towards a repeat Milano-Sanremo win with the USA-based team Rock Racing. 'The Lion King', who came out of retirement to help manage and race for the Continental team, already showed his intentions to be serious when he competed in the recent Tour of California.

The 40 year-old Italian from Lucca recently stated his differences with the team of Michael Ball, but a meeting held after the conclusion of the eight-day tour in USA's Golden State has seemingly smoothed the rocky road, and now Milano-Sanremo is in Cipollini's sights.

"The project is going forward, notwithstanding the 15,000 kilometres and nine hours time difference that divides us from California [Ball's headquarters - ed.]," said the 2002 World Champion to La Gazzetta dello Sport of racing Milano-Sanremo, March 22, the day he will turn 41 years old. "In this moment we are concentrating on racing Sanremo. We are hoping of the possibility to be there. The significance would be personal satisfaction and a great sponsor's first step into Europe, which cycling needs."

Part of the controversy surrounding Team Rock Racing was the signing of riders who had been linked to the Operación Puerto doping investigation; Michael Ball contracted Tyler Hamilton, Oscar Sevilla and Santiago Botero over the winter to reinforce the relatively young team. To respond to the criticism the team has adopted a anti-doping programme, organised by Scott Analytics.

"The construction was already going," continued Cipollini of the programme. "Ball talked to me about it during the week of the race." The programme is run by Paul Scott, who in the past worked for the Agency for Cycling Ethics (ACE) and served as an expert witness for Floyd Landis.

Anti-doping programme in place, the team will still have difficulties entering into events such as the Milano-Sanremo due to its status as a Continental team; such teams are not allowed to race in ProTour events under International Cycling Union (UCI) rules, but since the status of the biggest Italian one-day race has recently changed there might be a chance.

"The invitation is in the hands of the organiser [RCS Sport]," said Cipollini. He is not worried about UCI President Pat McQuaid weighing in on the matter, "He certainly has more important things to occupy himself with."

Horner Takes 2nd In Local Californian Race

Strong winds played a factor in the 50-lap event when a nine-rider break split off the front of the peloton. Horner's well-seasoned fitness and diesel-like engine arguably had the most significant effect on the break's consistent 40 second separation from the field.

After several unsuccessful attacks, the single Astana rider launched himself off the front with eight riders in tow and never looked back. His initial break away companions included Borrajo and Jacques-Maynes along with Tyler Wren (Colavita/Sutter Home), Kayle Leogrande (Rock Racing), Richard England (Bissell), Daniel Holloway (VMG), Adrian Garrits (Kahala-LaGrange) and Canadian national road champion Cameron Evans (Symmetrics).

The break looked to be working well together, holding a sizeable lead over a field chase led by Rock Racing and California Giant Berry Farms. After the third prime Horner recognized some riders not working as hard and threw down one final attack that shattered the break, taking with him Borrajo and Jacques-Maynes.

"I know the other two riders were very strong, but it was no problem for me to rotate through with them in our break," said Borrajo, regarding the time trailing ability of both Jacques-Maynes and Horner. "Maybe in a time trail they are stronger but in this type of race in a break away there were no problems because in Argentina the races are always flat and windy with breakaways - I'm used to that."

The three riders continued to round the course gaining ground on the field and once in sight, Horner used his efforts to close the gap despite the opposition from Borrajo and Jacques-Maynes, who felt that a bunch sprint would be too dangerous. "I wanted to lap the group because I love the chaos of a sprint, maybe not when I'm on the same lap as everyone but when I'm one lap up on everyone it's nice because all I have to do is follow a good sprinter," said Horner.

"Both guys were sitting on me for two full laps until I closed the gap to the field with three laps to go," he added. "It took me a lot of energy to do that and it took a lot of energy to get back up to the front, but I wanted that kind of comfortable chaos. I knew if I went head-to-head with Borrajo he was going to win in a clean sprint like that. Maybe if we were mixed up in the field, with chaos and bumping, I'd have a better chance at winning."

Merco Cycling Classic - Elite Men Grand Prix

1 Alejandro Borrajo (Colavita/Sutter Home)
2 Chris Horner (Astana)
3 Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell)

Hurikova Wins Afxentia Stage Race

"I felt very good, not too exhausted from yesterday. But when Sabine attacked my legs were hurting so much I couldn't follow her. I think my shape is much better than last year. I'm happy to get the overall victory," said Hurikova after she crossed the finish line 15 seconds following Spitz. The gap and the outcome were similar to Friday's race.

The Czech grabbed the overall with 10:09 over Alexandra Engen, who finished fifth in stage three behind Elisabeth Osl in fourth for the day. Heather Irmiger ended up on third place overall at 19:25 behind Hurikova.

Final general classification

1 Tereza Hurikova (Cze) Czech National Team 4.15.51
2 Alexandra Engen (Swe) Merida Sweden 10.09
3 Heather Irmiger (USA) Subaru/Gary Fisher 19.26
4 Nataliya Krompets (Ukr) Ukranian National Team 23.18
5 Evgenia Belozerova (Rus) Russian National Team 28.45
6 Ksenia Chernykh (Rus) Russian National Team 37.01

Boonen & Bettini Reflect On Trip To California

Quick Step's Tom Boonen and Paolo Bettini were very enthusiastic about their trip to the Tour of California last month when they spoke with Cyclingnews on the eve of the classics season. Despite some bad weather on the US's west coast and having to deal with jet lag from a 10 hour flight, the duo remained positive about the early season trip.

"The weather was not so good, but we were there a week before and the weather was superb and we got a lot of good training rides in," noted 27 year-old Boonen. "The race is well organised and it is something that I think will grow in the future."

Many of the Europeans suffered jet lag during the long flight over the Atlantic. However, the race's length and a lack of sufficiently competitive alternatives made it worth the days needed to recover after travelling.

"It is very hard to find a race in Europe with that amount of good racers and that amount of kilometres so early in the year," continued Boonen. He was even impressed with the level of domestic teams that took part in the eight-day race. "They were good. Racing in the States, everybody thinks it is easy, but it's not. I did my first races there in 1999, and even then it was very hard. It is not always that the European races are better than the US races, otherwise we would not have had an American win the Tour seven times - he wasn't that bad," added Boonen with a smile.

'Tommeke' also had a chance to meet 'The Terminator' during his stint in the Golden State. "I know he is the Governor of California. He did not know who was I was, but I did not ask him at any rate," said Boonen of California's Governor, former actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Boonen joked with his team-mate, World Champion Paolo Bettini, about their trip to the US and the little bit of trouble they had recovering from jet lag. Nevertheless, Bettini confirmed the overall positive experience. "For me it was the second participation," said the 33 year-old Italian. "It is a good tour - organised well."

Still, he was not impressed with the final 150-kilometre stage, that included the climb to Millcreek Summit. "This year, the last stage was not favoured [by the riders]. It was not necessary that we had to do that climb, because for a tour of eight days in February it is not needed to do a climb of 1500 metres, and then with the possibly of raining on that given descent. And, even in America, there was a tunnel without lights!"

Final stage aside, the duo were happy with the warm-up event and are ready to put the kilometres in their legs to good use as the Spring Classics season gets underway.

Brown's big day - Wins 2008 IMNZ

After winning here in exciting fashion a year ago, Cameron Brown�s luck went completely awry. Actually, it was even before the race last year that things started to go wrong. A flu bug almost sidelined him from getting his sixth Ironman New Zealand win. A foot injury prevented him from defending his Frankfurter Sparkasse Ironman European Championship title, then he ended up sick again in Kona � this time he couldn�t pull out any magic and had to drop out.

It looked like Brown would need some luck to get the win here today, for no other reason than the field assembled here seemed very likely to challenge him right to the line.

As expected, Kieran Doe pushed through the swim and on the bike, trying to get a big lead. Luke Bell seemed to be staying close to Brown through the early going, too � seeming to indicate we could be in for a repeat of last year�s dramatic marathon.

None of that happened, though. Bell would drop out, never seeming to recover from a four-minute drafting penalty that put him well back off the bike.

Doe�s lead, which started at seven minutes off the bike, was gone by the halfway point of the marathon.

It was all over by then. Frederik Van Lierde would provide some excitement with his Ironman debut second place finish, but he never challenged Brown as the Kiwi got his seventh title here in Taupo.

Luck really didn�t have much to do with it, though. Brown was simply too good. It�s nice to see his luck change a bit, though!

Top 10 Pro men

1. Cameron Brown (NZL) 8:24:49
2. Frederik Van Lierde (BEL) 8:31:35
3. Kieran Doe (NZL) 8:33:35
4. Stephen Bayliss (GBR) 8:37:03
5. Pete Jacobs (AUS) 8:47:03
6. Hubert Hammerl (GER) 8:47:36
7. Richard Ussher (NZL) 8:48:10
8. Duncan Milne (NZL) 8:56:30
9. Daniel Niederreiter (AUS) 8:57:51
10. Scott Neyedli (GBR) 9:00:17

Top 10 Pro Women

1. Joanna Lawn (NZL) 9:16:00
2. Kate Bevilaqua (AUS) 9:20:06
3. Emi Shiono (JAP) 9:23:26
4. Bella Comerford (GBR) 9:25:33
5. Gina Ferguson (NZL) 9:33:29
6. Fiona Docherty (NZL) 9:41:56
7. Joanne Bennett (AUS) 9:47:27
8. Emma Weitnauer (AUS) 10:01:56
9. Sue Mellsop (NZL) 10:08:27 *
10. Elly Franks (AUS) 10:10:37

Rock Racing's Michael Ball - Interview

A chat with Michael Ball owner of Rock & Republic and Rock Racing Team... "Let me be straight up here, I am a business man first and a team owner second. "

By: Brian C Grenier

Michael Ball, a creative and innovative businessman, Ball has eschewed the sport’s traditional sponsorship-driven business model to create a viable, profitable alternative. Using the same business principles that drove Rock & Republic to become a global lifestyle brand, he hopes his example will compel other corporations to invest in cycling as well.

Known for his integrity and sense of fair play, he is also leading the charge for the creation of fair anti-doping rules, focused on the rights of the individual and the American principle that one is innocent until proven guilty. With a clear conviction that the true power rests in the peloton and with team owners, he is at the forefront of a movement to establish an international riders’ union to protect the rights of cyclists. He hopes his legacy and contributions to the sport will open new doors for younger athletes, create diversity and bring excitement to a new breed of cyclists and fans.

A native Californian, Michael grew up in Southern California. The child of divorced parents, he was always on the move, always in trouble and always hustling to make a buck. With no real focus, he spent his time and money on fast cars, fast girls and rock ‘n’ roll.

Recognizing that Michael needed structure, his mother involved him in sports. It proved to be the perfect place for him to channel his rebellious nature. Cycling became his sport of choice, and the key to adding structure, focus and direction to his life. Cycling taught Michael team skills and the rewards of competition. But it was the bright colors and bold graphics of the team’s uniforms that inspired his sense of design. He taught himself the technique of sublimation, a highly technical process that digitally screen-prints fabric, and he began making all of the team’s race-day wear.

By the late ‘80s, Michael was considered one of the fastest, smartest and most aggressive cyclists on the circuit. The avid athlete had discovered he had the stamina to succeed at any task he took on. Michael won the LA Tri-Sprint Series and then went on to the national track rankings where he conquered the Velodrome. However, an unfortunate racing crash forced him to put his racing aspirations on hold.

Michael Ball currently resides in Los Angeles, where both Rock & Republic and Rock Racing are headquartered. A CEO who believes strongly in corporate social responsibility, he established Rock the Cure, the company’s philanthropic arm that far surpasses the fashion and entertainment industry’s standard approach to charitable giving. Each year, the foundation donates 100% of profits from Rock the Cure specialty items in each season’s Rock & Republic collection to a designated cause. In 2008, all proceeds will benefit City of Hope.

During the Tour of California I had a short chance to talk with him during stage 4 - here is what we had time to cover as the riders fought through the rain and wind on an epic day of racing down the California coast.

To read the interview click on the title link.

2008 ITU Promo - Let The Season Begin

Basso Gives Back With Intervita In India

Ivan Basso, who was banned until 24 October, 2008 for his involvement in Operación Puerto, continues to ride and maintain some of the form that saw him win the 2006 Giro d'Italia. He has formed an alliance with Intervita, a non-governmental organisation formed to benefit disadvantaged children in the southern hemisphere, and will wear its colours when he partakes in various charity rides.

Basso has directed his efforts towards a baby girl in India, where Intervita has been present since 1999 in the region of Maharashtra. "I will be happy to help the association in its work," said Basso. "It is a solid gesture of helping the unfortunate to construct a better future for themselves and their communities."

Laurent Jalabert To Race At Ironman France

Ironman France will take place on 22 June 2008 and could be one of the largest Ironman events in history with 2,700 registered athletes. Former cycling star Laurent Jalabert is included in the field, competing in his third Ironman.

"I am of course happy to participate in Ironman France," Jalabert says. "Very happy, actually, and also very motivated for this new challenge." He competed at Ironman Switzerland last year and qualified for the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona in October.

Jalabert is the most decorated cyclist to ever give the Ironman challenge a try. He has won Paris-Nice three times, four stages of the Tour de France, three stages at the Giro d’Italia and 18 stages at the Vuelta – plus the World Time Trial Championships in 1997.

He will profit from the experience gained at his two former Ironman events. He finished 41st in Switzerland with a final time of 9:24:29, which included a 12-minute penalty. He improved his time in Kona, finishing in 76th position with 9:19:58! He exited the water in 1143rd position, then rode to a 4 hours and 37 minutes cycling split. He had the fastest cycling time in his age group, the 26th best of the day, and passed more than 1,000 competitors during the bike leg of the race.

In Nice it is expected that he will progress even more. He has already proven that he has the capacities to handle the volume of an Ironman triathlon. And with the support from the locals, who know him well having won the Paris – Nice cycling race three times, Jalabert has the potential to do a brilliant race.

In only three years Ironman France succeeded in attracting a record number of athletes. The entries had to be closed five months ahead of the race. With an expected 2,500 triathletes on the starting line on race day, no other race in Europe welcomes more athletes than Ironman France.

Tour of Valencia Stage 2 - Contador Sits In 5th

With five climbs on tap in the second stage of the 66th Tour of Valencia, 134 riders took to the roads under sunny skies with temperatures in the mid-70sF. With a fast start many early breaks tried to get away and eventually a group of three got clear and included Tim Duggan (Slipstream) and Gustavo Cesar (Karpin-Galicia). The trio stayed away and built a maximum gap of just over four minutes. Led by race leader Iván Gutiérrez' team Caisse d'Epargne the escapees were caught within 8km of the finish.

After missing yesterday's opportunity to sprint to the line, the teams of the sprinters took full control of the race and moved to the front, increasing the speeds to ward off further attacks as they rolled toward the line. Following his lead-out train and taking the stage win by almost a bike length was 37-year old veteran sprint specialist Erik Zabel (Milram) in front of Micro Lorenzetto (Lampre) and Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis). There was no change at the top of the leader board with Gutiérrez retaining the leader's jersey for another day. Team Astana's Alberto Contador sits in 5th place just nine seconds back, followed by teammate Toni Colom at 10 seconds off the front.

Thursday's stage offers more mountain-fun with three Cat. 2 and one Cat. 3 climb which could prove a launching pad for the climbers who hope to move up on GC.

According to Team Astana's DS Alain Gallopin, "On the first stage the team was very good and we prepared the attack of Alberto in the last climb. He put in the attack but didn't continue because he had five Bouygues Telecom riders just behind him and it was still 25 km to go to the finish. But it was good training and the guys showed good team work." He continued, "Today was an easy day for us. Caisse d'Epargne and sprinters' team took the control. All of the team came in with the first group. Thursday will be very difficult on the second half of the stage so we'll see how it goes."

General Classification after stage 2
1 Iván Gutiérrez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 8.18.11
2 Rubén Plaza (Spa) Benfica 0.04
3 Gorka Verdugo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.06
4 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Bouygues Telecom
5 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana 0.09

Cipollini & Ball's Relationship On The Rocks

The relationship that was started last fall in a Las Vegas discotheque could come to an end if Mario Cipollini does not get his say in the management of Rock Racing. The Italian, who came out of retirement at the age of 40 to race in the Tour of California last week, and his lawyer met with the owner of the team, Mike Ball, yesterday to discuss the coming season.

"We need to sit at the table and make clear who is in command," said Mario Cipollini in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport's Luigi Perna. The Italian from Lucca and lawyer Giuseppe Napoleone were scheduled to meet with Ball later in the day.

"The boss is Ball, but after him it is me. Therefore I want to manage the squad starting now. I can organise the participation in [Milano-] Sanremo. To find men to race is not a problem. ... If Ball does well it will continue, otherwise goodbye. I now understand that the name Cipollini still has value, in the United States and elsewhere."

Cipollini was happy with his return, but not with the fiasco surrounding the team and Ball's backing of Tyler Hamilton, Oscar Sevilla and Santiago Botero. The riders, all allegedly linked with Operación Puerto, were barred from racing by the organiser, but continued along daily by riding behind the race caravan and signing autographs for fans at the stage villages.

"For a week I had an infinite amount of patience ... Maybe it was my great desire to return to racing with an important project. However, we can't go forward like this. We are not able to continue to pull along this heavy weight that ruins our image, and now Ball also understands this. It is not enough to advertise and show off models."