Roundup 28 December 2006
Bernhard Eisel Austrian Cyclist of the Year, Paolo Bettini, UCI Continental Teams for 2007, Breschel Ok after crash, Slipstream signs Felt bikes... more

Eisel Austrian Rider of the Year
Bernhard Eisel was named Austrian cyclist of the year by edging out Bernnard Kohl and Rene Haselbacher.
Eisel won multiple stages of the Tour of Qatar along with wins at the Volta ao Algarve and the Driedaagse van De Panne. Eisel signed to ride with T-Mobile for 2007.

Paolo in Lombardia           Photo c. Fotoreporter Sirotti

Paolo Bettini speaks of retirement after Olympics and Worlds in 2008
The current World and Olympic champion would like to retire with those jerseys in his possession after hanging up his wheels at the end of the 2008 season.
"The World Championships course in Stuttgart 2007 and Varese 2008 suit me, just like the Olympic road race in 2008. But I won't ride much longer," said Bettini to Sport.be. "Physically I can ride until the end of 2008, but with what kind of results? I will listen to my body, and when I think it's been enough, I will quit."

The UCI Professional Continental Teams for the 2007 season.
Health Net Presented by Maxxis (USA)
Navigators Insurance Cycling Team USA
Team Slipstream USA
Selle Italia – Serramenti Diquigiovanni (Ven)
ELK Haus - Simplon (Aut)
Team Volksbank (Aut)
Chocolade Jacques - Topsport Vlaanderen (Bel)
Landbouwkrediet - Tonissteiner (Bel)
Andalucia Cajasur (Esp)
Karpin Galicia (Esp)
Relax-GAM (Esp)
Agritubel (Fra)
Barloworld (GBr)
DFL-Cyclingnews-Litespeed (GBr)
Wiesenhof - Felt (Ger)
Ceramiche Panaria Navigare (Irl)
Tenax (Irl)
Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo (Ita)
Ceramica Flaminia (Ita)
OTC Doors – Lauretana (Ita)

KLAAS DE GRUYTER signs a pro-contract with team COLLSTROP-PALMANS.
In 2005 DE Gruyter was STAGAIR with Mrbookmaker.com and he finished that year 4th in Tripyque Ardennais. The 26 year old athlete is at his best in tough stage races but can also show himself in the Flemish 1-day races.
Olivier Onderbeke  www.acso.be

Breschel okay despite heavy crash
Matti Breschel was unfortunate enough to crash Thursday at the Ouverture to the six days race in Copenhagen, but the young Danish rider was examined at a hospital directly afterwards, and fortunately things are looking up.

"Nothing is broken and even though my back is hurting and I'm beaten up pretty good, it does not stop me from training at full effect, so that's good," Breschel said Friday. Breschel opened last season with a serious injury to the back and a long break to follow.
"I have a bit of experience with injuries to the back now, but the pain comes from a different place this time, so that is comforting," said Breschel who also points out, that he won't be riding on the track again.
"I have tried that now, and it really didn't go too well," he laughs. He actually crashed twice but didn't really get hurt the first time.

The 22-year old Dane has been training for the new season for quite a while as he will begin racing in Tour Down Under in January. He hopes to ride fast directly off the bat.
"I am always searching for victories, but we have three Australian riders on the team, so of course we would like to get them some victories," Breshel says and hints at Stuart O'Grady, Matthew Goss and Luke Roberts.

Happy New Year from Predictor/Lotto

The Predictor/Lotto team just finished an excellent training week on Majorca; the next camp is scheduled from 9 to 18 January at Albufeira in southern Portugal, with 21 racers.
Tour Down Under Squad
Hendrik Redant leaves January 5th with Fred Rodriguez, Wim Vansevenant, Geert Steurs, Josep Jufré en Mario Aerts for Australia's Tour Down Under, where they will reinforce Robbie McEwen, Matthew Lloyd and Nick Gates. Cadel Evans will be training in Australia, but will not race in Tour Down Under.

The Canadian 'Cross Team needs support
Oakville, ON. December 27, 2007 (Friends of Canadian Cyclo-cross Racers) Canadians Mike Garrigan, Kyle Douglas, Tara Ross and Greg Reain have all qualified and are planning on attending the Cyclo-cross World Championships in Hooglede-Gits, Belgium on January 27-28, 2007.

As the Canadian Cycling Association doesn't provide any funding for the National Cyclo-Cross Team, riders must cover their own airfare, accomodations, meals, equipment expenses and even their national team jerseys. We have seen the commitment that it has taken for these riders to qualify and get there and we are hoping that we can help them along by taking some of the financial burden off of their shoulders, allowing them to focus on putting in a stalwart performance, representing Canada at the Cross Worlds.

We're hoping that you will join us in supporting these riders by dropping a donation off via Paypal, via our website - http://www.cyclocrossontario/fccr or contact us to find any other way to pass along a payment. We have a pretty short time line to raise funds for this year and hope you can contribute today. Be assured there are no administration fees lumped in and all of your money will get directly to the athletes. For more information on the Friends of Canadian Cyclo-cross Racers, email rod@cyclocrossontario.com or visit our website http://www.cyclocrossontario.com
Thank you! Rod Olliver for Friends of Canadian Cross Racers

Adobe / Schwalbe Elite Team
The new Adobe / Schwalbe presented by Lombardi Sports Elite Cycling team is please to present it’s 2007 roster & new sponsor group. The team is a revised bigger & stronger overall Elite / Masters squad formerly under the GS Lombardi Sports title. Team director Bill Howard, along with equipment head Robbie Brennan, Masters team captain Steve Pelaez & Elite team captain Darin Divine head up a bolstered squad of young U23 talent & seasoned Elite & Masters riders.

The squad numbers 17 riders for the ’07 season, of which 8 riders are new to the team. There are three new U23 riders: Tyler Gough, JP LeClair & Matt Obregon. The new Elite rider additions are highlighted by Dave Wyandt (former Webcor pro) & Jim Miller (former Helens). The Masters squad will be deadly in both criterium events with new super sprinter Allen Vugrincic & road events with Jimi Robinson (former Village Peddler), with former pro & longtime Lombardi’s rider Colby Farrell also focusing on masters events for 2007.

The team on an overall basis will focus on Northern California road events with special focus on the District Championships (both Elite & Masters) as well as the team’s flagship event, the Giro Di San Francisco. On a National level, the team will target both Elite & Masters Nationals with emphasis on the Road & Criterium events. Additionally the team will send squads to key national events such as Superweek in Wisconsin, Tour of the Gila in New Mexico, & the Gastown Grand Prix in Vancouver BC.

Team Director, Bill Howard states,  “ With new title sponsors Adobe Systems, Schwalbe Tires, Oppenheimer & Company, & Management Recruiters of Berkeley, along with new equipment sponsor Colorado Altitude Training (CAT) & returning equipment sponsors LeMond Bicycles, Ritchey, Nike & Louis Garneau we have a great budget & the resources we need to continue the Lombardi’s history & tradition of supporting an Elite Amateur program, with special focus on the development of young talent out of the depth of the Northern California racing pool. We have a proven track record of taking U23 riders & developing them onto the national team & domestic pro teams respectively.”

“ We have a lot of momentum around this team right now, with recent events such as our seminar night with Levi Leipheimer & Shaun Wallace (with Colorado Altitude Training) speaking at Lombardi Sports in front of an estimated 200+ crowd. All this activity benefits our youth in cycling long-run.”
See team site/blog for complete view of the team roster, sponsor group, schedule & upcoming team events:
http://lombardisports.adobe-schwalbe.com/node/6

Felt Bikes Signs with Jonathan Vaughters Team Slipstream
Felt Bicycles is delighted to announce a partnership with Jonathan Vaughters' tremendously successful racing program, Team Slipstream Powered by Chipotle (formerly TIAA-CREF), for the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

 Established originally as a development model and recognized predominantly as the USA's youngest pro cycling team, Team Slipstream has produced 17 national champions since its inception in 2004. By selecting and retaining young, talented athletes and matching them with seasoned riders - like Mike Friedman, Brad Huff, Danny Pate and Mike Creed – the program provides leadership and mentoring qualities to further enhance the strength of the squad.

The team will compete with a Pro Continental license, which allows them to race in bigger and more prestigious events such as Tour of California and the Tour de Georgia, as well as entry into some of the larger European events including Tour de l'Avenir, Tour of Denmark and Tour of Normandy. Perhaps the most exciting and significant of European race dates are confirmation of entry into ProTour events Paris-Roubaix and the Criterium International. Danny Pate and Pat McCarty (USA rider and latest addition to Team Slipstream) who both rode in the 2006 Elite World Road Championships, are shooting for similar Worlds team placement in 2007.

Jonathan Vaughters said of the new partnership "Felt bikes are fast, durable, light, and make sense from an engineering standpoint. The guys love them, they test fast in the wind tunnel and they don't break. It's refreshing, and we're thrilled to work with such a superior partner."

Felt has not only opted to sponsor Team Slipstream’s road team, but also the track team and the junior development program. The track team, which is being primed for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, features three riders who are in the USA elite talent pool and will be foremost in the selection process for all upcoming major international events. Both Creed and Huff earned talent pool designation by winning both the National Track Calendar and the National Championships - Creed in the points race and Huff in the Madison. Friedman qualified automatically as the National Track Calendar winner and National Champion (with Huff) in the Madison.

Team Slipstream's junior development program is considered the most successful in the country and boasts a plethora of national champions. Developmental riders will continue to work at the younger level in cycling and towards a spot on the professional Slipstream squad.

Jim Felt, founder of Felt Bicycles said, “This is a team we have watched since its beginning and we have seen it flourish into one of the best programs in the nation. It fits perfectly with Felt’s mission – to build the best bikes in the world for our riders, regardless of whether they are already pro caliber or whether they are simply trying to beat their personal best. We could not have more exciting partnership.”

Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle will train on the Felt CA1 and race the Felt F1 and Z1 frames. In time trials, they will race the Felt DA and B2; and on the track they will race the Felt TK2 and custom pursuit frames.

About Felt: Felt Bicycles, LLC is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of its own propriety branded premium quality bicycles, framesets, components and accessories. The company headquarters is located in Irvine, CA with additional offices in Buffalo, NY and Edewecht, Germany. Felt Bicycles is an internationally recognized brand whose bicycles and products are currently sold in over 30 countries, worldwide. Athletes on Felt products have won numerous National and International events including World Championships, ESPN X-Games and other major national and international competitions. For more information on Felt Bicycles call (949) 452-9050 or log on to www.feltbicycles.com or www.feltbmx.com

About Slipstream Sports: Slipstream Sports, LLC, is a sports marketing and development company. Slipstream's primary purpose is the marketing and promotion of professional sports teams, including Team Slipstream powered by Chipotle, America’s youngest professional cycling team in pursuit of a singular goal: creating the next world champions, Olympians and Tour de France Winners.