Bontrager Pro Cycling Team: New Year, New Name, Same Resolve

The Bontrager Pro Cycling Team recently launched for the 2013 season and with it introduced their new line up of young riders. This team is aimed at developing talented young riders into professionals ready for the World Tour stage, and has a proven record of doing just that.

The team had a dramatic launch recently, taking part in the second 'Hullabaloo in Waterloo' at Trek's head office, matching up against Bontrager staff in head to head roller racing sprints, with Jasper Stuyven emerging victorious. Check the gallery on VeloNews.com to see how it unfolded.

You can also get an insite into the preparations that go into a season of racing with this VeloNews.com gallery of the teams HQ in Boulder, Colorado.

To learn more about the team and it's riders, check their website, bontragercyclingteam.com or you can follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

The team will be riding the Trek Madone or Domane, and using a full complement of Bontrager accessories, including saddles, bars, wheels, tyres and shoes.

Wet weather getting you down?

Well, a lot has happened in the last 2 weeks, so today will be an attempt to catch up on it all. This way you'll have heaps of reading to do and videos to watch over the weekend while it's raining outside. Well, if you are in Sydney at least. For those of you living where it isn't raining, lucky you! And I hope you make the most of it! :-)

First up, when I last updated, the Giro D'Italia and the Tour of California were both underway. Both races saw exciting racing right up until the final stage, with the top 5 riders not giving in and attacking right up until the end. Great stuff to see! In the end, Ivan Basso took the win in the Giro, despite the best efforts of Cadel Evans, and Aussie Mick Rogers took the win in California, denying Team RadioShack rider Levi Leipheimer his 4th consecutive victory, despite his best efforts.




Photo courtesy of VeloNews.com

Despite Basso winning the overall, it was great to see all the other jersey's in the Giro won by Aussies! Cadel took the red points jersey, Matt Lloyd the green climbers jersey and Riche Porte, the young sensation of the race, the white U23 jersey. An excellent race for Australia.

Meanwhile, the build up to the Tour de France is building. Although the exact make up of Lance Armstrong's preparation for the Tour was still undecided recently, he is now competing in the Tour de Luxembourg, finishing in 5th in the very short opening prologue, and currently sitting in 3rd place overall after the first stage. Fellow Team RadioShack riders Gregory Rast and Andreas Kloden are also in the top 10.

The other Trek sponsored road team, Trek-Livestrong U23, also had a win recently with Taylor Phinney winning the U23 Paris-Roubaix for the second year in a row. This is a great result and confirms the talent this young rider has. You can see a video from the race here.

Although denying rumors that he will get called up to Team RadioShack early, no doubt there is a bright future ahead for him.

Photo courtesy CyclingNews.com

That's it for now. I'll have more stories from the world of Trek soon.

Team RadioShack hitting the Road

The international road cycling season is kicking off in earnest now!

Last week saw the running of the Volta Ao Algarve in Portugal, which was won by Alberto Contador. Team RadioShack riders Tiago Machado and Levi Leipheimer were close behind in 3rd and 4th after finishing 2nd and 3rd on the Queen third stage finishing at the top of the Alto do Malhão climb.

Levi Leipheimer at the Volta Ao Algarve. Photo courtesy Team RadioShack

The high point for the team however was the win on stage 4 by Sebastien Rosseler who soloed to the win ahead of four former breakaway companions. This was the first victory for the Team and is a good indication that the team is in good form in the lead up to the coming Classics season.

Sebastien Rosseler winning Stage 4 at the Volta Ao Algarve. Photo courtesy Team RadioShack

This week sees the running of the Giro di Sardegna, or Tour of Sardinia, and Team RadioShack has fielded a  different team to the Volta Ao Algarve. Yesterday saw the Queen stage that finished atop the first category Monte Ortobene. Team RadioShack rider Chris Horner was with the leaders setting a cracking pace the whole way up the final 12km climb, but unfortunately was beaten to the line by Roman Kreuziger. Still it's a great start to the year for Horner who was plagued by bad luck last year.

Chris Horner on the way to second in stage 2 of the Tour of Sardinia. Photo courtesy CyclingNews.com

Team RadioShack have also announced the riders who will be racing in the first of the cobbled classics this weekend in Belgium. Luckily Tomas Vaitkus and Gert Steegmans have no lasting consequences from their small crashes at the Volta Ao Algarve which saw Steegmans suffer a slight concussion and Vaitkus land heavily on his shoulder. The riders will be: Fumiyuki Beppu, Sam Bewley, Daryl Impey, Gregory Rast, Sébastien Rosseler, Bjorn Selander, Gert Steegmans & Tomas Vaitkus.

Check out the team website for more news and great photos from all the races.

Trek Bikes Blitzing the Reviews

Over the last few months Trek bikes have been getting great reviews from sources around the world.

In the December issue of Australian Mountain Bike (AMB) the Remedy 9.8 won the 6-Inch Dream Bike shoot out against the strongest competition. And it's not only AMB who love the Remedy. BikeRadar.com test rode the Remedy 8 recently and gave it 4 1/2 out of 5 saying "The ABP pivot tracks the ground really well, so braking and climbing traction are great...It performs well on descents, and on flatter terrain it’s one of the fastest long-travel bikes around." 

 

AMB have also got a Remedy 8 as a long term test bike, so keep an eye out on their ongoing reviews for it.

Dirt magazine also recently published their 'Dirt 100', their list of the best products of 2010. Included in their list is not only the Remedy 9.9, but the Session 88, as well as several Bontrager products. This is a great rep from one of the gravity MTB scene's leading publications.

Bike magazine also recently published a review of the 2009 Session 88 DH concluding "Nimble and flickable aren’t characteristics normally assigned to a DH rig, but this bike achieves both traits without sacrificing “bombability”—the ability to point and shoot with no regard for personal safety." Even better for 2010, is that the Session 88 frame set is available in Australia. Ask your local Trek dealer about one today.

Towards the end of last year, Trek MTB endurance racer Chris Eatough announced his retirement and the 24 Hours of Moab was to be his last race. Unfortunately Chris fell victim to Swine Flu the week before and was unable to race. But stepping in to his shoes was Trek Racing Co-Op rider Kelly Magelky. The race turned out to be Kelly's break through performance with a very strong ride to finish 2nd. Soon after the race BikeRadar.com ran a 'Pro-Bike' feature on Kelly's Top Fuel 9.8. Check it out here.

 

The great thing about this is that Kelly's bike is nearly 100% stock, like you would buy off the floor. The only thing he changed on it was the grips and the rear tire. He then rode that bike 386kms, climbing 6,630m in the course of 24 hours with no mechanical issues at all. Remarkable. 

Smack bang in the middle between the racey Top Fuel and the all-mountain Remedy is the do-it-all Fuel EX. Guess what? BikeRadar.com also have just reviewed the new 2010 Fuel EX 9.8. Their conclusion? "Race light, mountain tough, superbly balanced and precise for fast and involving riding - and at a great price."

Not to be left out, the road going Trek 6 Series Madone has also been reviewed by BikeRadar.com (do these guys have the best job or what??)

Not only do they sing the praises of the ride of the bike itself, "The ride is simply awesome. The biggest surprise is how comfortable it is...The impressive thing here is that despite this comfort, the Madone is stunningly efficient at going forward." but they also talk about the Project One process, where you can customise your Madone to look exactly like you want it to.

What can you learn from all these great reviews? No matter the bike you are after, Trek product continues to offer class leading performance and you can be confident when buying a Trek, no matter what the style or price level.

Welcome back!

Well I hope you all had a great Australia Day and were able to relax, whether it was with a ride or around a BBQ. Now we are post Australia Day holiday it seems everyone is heading back to work or school. There was certainly a LOT more cars on the road this morning as I rode to work. I never get tired of the feeling of passing cars sat stationary in traffic!

By now of course you would have heard the results of the Tour Down Under. Unfortunately Team Radio Shack were not able to get up for a stage win although they did show themselves at the front of the pack on almost every stage.

Photo courtesy CyclingNews.com

The most exciting stage though had to be stage 5 featuring the two climbs up Willunga Hill. With the early breakaway pulled back in Cadel Evans attacked and got a gap, followed by Valverde and Sanchez! An Australian World Champion attacking on the climb in front of thousands of cheering Australian fans! What a sight! At one stage Cadel was the virtual leader on the road, but by the end of the stage they couldn’t stay far enough in front of the fast finishing peloton for Cadel to slip into the leaders jersey. I watched it on TV (which was great in itself to have live coverage) and can only imagine the atmosphere that must have been on the hill itself. Will have to make it a priority to be there next year! You can read some reports of the stage here, here and here. Were you watching the stage? There in person or on TV? Are you planning on going next year?

Meanwhile, in the world of triathlon, Trek have been busy joining forces with sportswear brand K•Swiss to form the 2010 Trek/K•Swiss Triathlon Team.

Expanding the support they have given to Chris Lieto and Julie Dibens, the team has 9 triathletes who focus on Ironman, 70.3 and Xterra events. The team also features two Aussies! Joe Gambles and Paul Matthews will be flying the flag for Trek and Australia as they compete across the world. See the official announcement here.

And not to leave the MTBers out of the sponsorship news, it was announced over the weekend that Trek World Racing will be taking on rising XC star Emily Batty for the 2010 season.

Emily had a fantastic season in 2009, wining multiple Canadian Cup races, a Pan American Championship and getting 10th at the World Cup in Belgium. She will be competing in the full World Cup season and taking aim at the U23 World Championships that will be held on her home soil of Mt. St. Anne. Read the full announcement here and read a recent interview with Emily here. Combined with the Flu brothers, the TWR XC team is looking very strong! Of course not to forget the DH riders, check the video news story on the second round of the NZ DH Cup that Justin Leov won recently. What a great looking course!

While one career is taking off, another comes to a close. Last year Chris Eatough announced his retirement from full time MTB racing. CyclingNews recently had an interview with Chris where he talks about his stellar career and his plans now that he won’t be racing full time.

That’s it for today, catch you tomorrow!

Australia Day Long Weekend On It's Way!

Well, the fourth stage of the Tour Down Under has wrapped up, and despite everyone’s best efforts, Team Radio Shack included, it looks like Andrew Greipel will ride away with his second TDU title.

They are already reporting record crowds for this years TDU, and I’m sure no-one can claim to be disappointed with the quality of the riding, and now it seems like some are calling for a second Pro-Tour race in Australia by moving the Herald Sun Tour to the weeks following the TDU. We’ll see what comes of that, but it’s a good sign for cycling in Australia when these sorts of suggestions are coming forward.

Meanwhile, there’s been some Mountain biking going on too. The NZ MTB Cup has been going on, and Trek World Racing rider Justin Leov has been taking advantage of the high level of the racing. He was narrowly beaten by Sam Blenkinsop at the first round, but comfortably took the win in the second round after Sam broke his wrist in practice.

Keep an eye on Dirt mag for results of the third round.

Now, to get you stoked on riding in the dirt for the weekend, check out these sites coverage of the Trek Ultimate Ride, the launch of the new Remedy and Scratch models, recently held in Utah. Great stuff.

These bikes will be in a Trek dealer near you soon, so keep an eye out.

See you post-Oz Day holiday next week! Keep the rubber side down, no matter what you’re riding.

Cycling in Major Papers

It's not too often that cycling makes the major national news papers, but today is the exception.

Of course with the Tour Down Under being run, the nations sports writers re-familiarise themselves with the sport of cycling and pen a few words. Today's Sydney Morning Herald has a full spread, including a summary of the TDU so far, a massive article on Lance, and then some smaller articles on Cadel Evan's new team and the possibility of a second Pro-Tour race in Australia.

Next up was the Fin Review, getting in on the action with a large article about the growing popularity of cycling, both as a recreational activity and as a more legitimate form of transport. They refer to the announcement earlier this year from Victorian Roads Minister Tim Pallas, at a launch of a cycling plan, that having more commuters on bikes would relieve pressure on other parts of the transport system. This comment is a healthy contrast to views expressed by former transport ministers. Glad to see the tide may be turning and looking forward to more support for cycling infrastructure.

Of course, bike paths are great, but what if you don't have anywhere to park your bike when you get to work? Or no where to shower and get changed? One of the company's referred to in the Fin Review article is Penny Farthings, makers of the Green Pod, a self contained bike parking and shower/change facility that is designed to fit into the space of a standard car parking space. A great way for companies to make cycling to work more viable for their employees.

See you on the road!

Stage One Down Under

By now the second day of racing will be underway at the Tour Down Under, but the first day provided some great racing while showcasing the beautiful surrounds of South Australia’s wine growing regions.

Photo Courtesy CyclingNews.com

The main breakaway of the day included 20 year old Tim Roe, a member of the Trek-Livestrong U23 team who is from Glenelg, just outside of Adelaide. While the rest of the Livestrong U23 team is at a camp in Califormia, Tim stayed with the breakaway while they opened up a gap of close to 10 mins, and then dropped his fellow breakaway riders going up the major climb of the day, Menglers Hill. Despite a short off-road excursion on the descent, he managed to hold on a little longer until the peloton caught up as the pace quickened in preparation for the sprint finish. Tim’s riding was following UniSA team orders to be aggressive and earned him the King of the Mountains jersey and the most aggressive rider jersey, a great achievement for him.

 

Photo Courtesy CyclingNews.com

Once the race got to the finish town of Tanunda the pace quickened in preparation for the sprint. Team Radioshack was up near the front of the field to lead out Gert Steegmans. In the frenetic finish Gert got himself up for a fantastic 2nd place, behind stage winner Andre Greipel. This has got to be the first time a member of Lance’s team has been so closely contesting a sprint! Great to see Gert up at the front and we’re looking forward to Team RadioShack pushing for a stage win in the next few days. You can read more reports from PezCyclingNews and CyclingNews.

 

Photo Courtesy CyclingNews.com

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Trek Bicycle Corporation is helping to grow the sport of cycling in it’s home state of Wisconsin. Bike Radar recently did a short article on the bicycle manufacturers support of cycling through working closely with advocacy groups and government officials. The fact that Trek has a full time “director of advocacy and government affairs” goes to show how much they are committed to helping more people enjoy cycling, whether competitively or purely for transport and recreation. Great to see from such a large bike company, but probably easier to believe as it is still a family owned business rather than a public company.

Summer Days: Perfect for Riding

This morning dawned clear and cool, the sun was shining and yesterday's wind had blown all the pollution away. Perfect for a ride. What sort of ride? It doesn't matter!

The 2010 ProTour may be kicking off in Adelaide today with the first stage of the Tour Down Under, but you don't have to have shaved legs and skinny tires to enjoy a ride on a morning like this. Most people I saw out riding this morning were simply on the way to work, enjoying the simplicity and freedom of a ride in the sunshine, instead of being stuck in traffic or crammed on public transport. If you need any more confirmation of the benefits of riding to work, check out this article form the Sydney Morning Herald website.

Wade Wallace puts forward a great, and fair, argument for riding to work:

Some things in life you can't avoid, such as a day's commute, but there is a way to make it enjoyable. I realise cycling to work isn't for everyone.  However, many of you do have a choice in how stressful your commute to work is going to be.  You don't have to be stuck in a car for nearly two hours a day. You don't have to be at the mercy of public transport. You do have time for exercise if you combine it with your commute to work, which you need to do anyway.

He also includes some great tips on how to get started.

Have a read and let me know your thoughts. Do you ride to work? How far do you ride? If you don't, what's stopping you?

Test Ride the Best Bikes in the World at the TDU

During the week of the 2010 Tour Down Under, you can experience the ride of the best bikes in the world for yourself.

From January 17th to January 24th you can test ride a 5 or 6 Series Trek Madone at Bicycle Express* in Adelaide.

For more information head to tba.com.au/testrides.

*Conditions Apply.