Bike World News

Wouldn't you rather look at a lovely Italian lass in the 2010 "maglia rosa" than a sweaty cyclist?

In today’s cycling news, no shortage of soundbites from Lance Armstrong, Mathias Kessler in criticial condition after crash in Mallorca, U.S. ‘cross squad named, Six Days of Bremen starts and more…

• Lance Armstrong told Australian media that Andre Greipel and Allan Davis are the favorites for a win at the Tour Down Under, but that if he leaves Adelaide without a stage win, he’ll be upset. He expects Radio Shack teammate Gert Steegmans to be a factor in the race as well.
• Armstrong also announced his first “Twitter Ride” of 2010, and will rendevous with whoever shows up at Adelaide’s Wigley Reserve at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
• Armstrong told Milan-San Remo organizers that he would like to have a crack at the one day classic again. The opening classic of the cycling season, Milan-San Remo is scheduled for March 20. Armstrong rode the nearly 200-mile race six times, with his best finish (11th) in 1996. Last year, he was 125th.
• Armstrong also spoke of possibly returning to Australia later in the year for the World Championships. He played down his own chances but said that he would like to bring a strong American contingent that could help someone like Tyler Farrar capture the rainbow jersey.
• Armstrong pledged a donation of $250,000 for relief efforts in Haiti.
• Alejandro Valverde’s Caisse de Epargne team may be shutting its doors at the end of the 2010 season. According to a report on French website cyclismag.com the sponsors of the Spanish team are rumoured to be looking at football as the sport where they want to spend their millions next time around.
• The Tour of Oman had its official announcement today. The premiere edition of the race will be held from February 14 to 19, just two days after the completion of the Tour of Qatar. The stages are said to be well suited to sprinters, so look for appearances by all of the usual suspects such as Fabian Cancellara, Mark Cavendish, Tom Boonen, Philippe Gilbert, Heinrich Haussler, Tyler Farrar, Filippo Pozzato, Daniele Bennati, Alessandro Ballan, Gerald Ciolek, Jimmy Casper and more.
• While most of the Milram team has headed to Mallorca to train for the Tours of Qatar and Oman, Christian Knees, Fabian Wegmann, Johannes Frohlinger, Matthias Russ and Paul Voss have headed to Cyprus for a nearly 2 week long training session. The five are staying in apartments located in the small village of Tochni, near the south coast. From there, they are heading out for daily rides with a knowledgeable local guide provided by the Cyprus Tourism Organization.
• Xacobeo Galicia has signed an agreement with BH Bikes for the 2010 season. The Spanish bicycle manufacturer will be equipping the team with their prototype high-end G5 model. The agreement was made possible by the strong bond between company director Alvaro Pino, who in 1986 won the Tour of Spain, with the team BH.
• Full Speed Ahead (FSA) has become the Italian Cycling Federation’s (FCI) official track racing partners for the next two years. The component maker will be able to use the feedback they get from Italy’s teams to improve their track – and ultimately singlespeed and fixie – products.
• Colombian cyclist Mauricio Soler, a recent acquisition of the Caisse d’Epargne team, was struck by a car during a training ride around Ramiriquí in Colombia. Soler’s brother Omar, has announced that Mauricio has reported bruises and wounds on his face, arms and legs, but should not have serious injuries.
• Former pro Matthias Kessler was also seriously injured in a training accident on Wednesday on the island of Mallorca and is said to be “in mortal danger”. According to reports, the 30-year-old tangled with a cat and he fell on his head. Kessler was training with Danilo Hondo and Andreas Kloden when the accident took place. Kesser turned professional in 2000 and spend time with the Telekom and T-Mobile teams before signing with Astana in April 2007. Among his biggest successes was the victory at the third stage of the Tour de France 2006. Kessler tested positive for testosterone in a July 2009 test.
• Bradley Wiggins says that new Team Sky teammate Edvald Boasson-Hagen is one of the most talented riders on the peloton and looks to him to be a powerful force in cycling over the next 10 years.
• The departure of Cadel Evans to BMC leaves Jurgen Van Den Broeck in the enviable leadership position at Omega Pharma-Lotto. His major goal for 2010 is the Tour de France mountains jersey as well as a top ten finish in the race.
• The Equipe Nurnberger team will ride (for now) under the name Noris Cycling in 2010. The name is derived from Noricum, the Latin name for Nuremberg. Many of the riders have already taken pay cuts to allow the team to continue, and management continues to seek supporters.

Six Days of Bremen:

• They’re barely done wiping the sweat off of the track in Rotterdam, but the 46th edition of the  Six Days of Bremen starts tonight. The race will take place in Bremen’s famous “Hanse-Stadt” velodrome. The race will be contested by 12 pairs of riders including Risi/Marvulli, Bartko/Keisse and Stam/Van Bon.

Cross Worlds:

• USA Cycling announced today the final round of nominations to the United States National Team for the 2010 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic, Jan. 30-31. Five athletes were named to the elite men’s squad, rounding out the 20-rider U.S. contingent. Jonathan Page, Tim Johnson and Ryan Trebon earned automatic nominations to the team while Jeremy Powers and James Driscol received discretionary nominations.
• Zdenek Stybar leads the Czech Republic team along with Radomir Simunek Jr, Petr Dlask, Martin Bina, Martin Zlamalik and Ondrej Bambula.

Related Posts:

• Lance Armstrong confirms George Hincapie for The Shack + more cycling news (2)
• 2009 Vuelta a Espana – Day 5 News & Notes (0)
• Vinokourov is back and Armstrong is gone: Road racing news for August 24, 2009 (0)
• Tour de France Rosters – Version 0.3 (0)
• Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador wrapping up seasons? (2)