Cycling News Roundup - 19 March 2008
Team News & Rosters, Halfords Sponsor GB Team, GE Sponsors Chinese Team for Georgia, Graeme Fife Great Climbs book, Redlands, Andy Hampsten Limited Edition Jersey

La Lampre per la Classica di Primavera
Baldato, Ballan, Bruseghin, Bossoni, Lorenzetto, Napolitano, Murro and Vila: these are the 8 riders that, supported by sport director Guido Bontempi, will take part for Lampre in Milano-Sanremo (on Saturday).

Team Lampre with the Adriatic Sea in the background. Photo c. Lampre

Lampre staff there will be doctor Guardascione, mechanics Biron, Bortoluzzo and Pengo and masseurs Della Torre, Napolitano and Rubino.

"The team is competitive and it could be protagonists in a sprint end or in a tougher race," sport director Guido Bontempi explained. "Athletes are in a good form, Ballan's condition is increasing, we hope he won't suffer for the fall occurred in San Benedetto; Napolitano and Lorenzetto could be a good alternative to Ballan if the race will end with a sprint. Other athletes are reliable and they will help in the best way the leaders in the heat parts of the race. We're curious to discover the effect of the climb Le Manie".

Team Caisse d'Epargne Race Rosters
Milan - San Remo (22/03)
Riders: Arnaud Coyot, Imanol Erviti, Iván Gutiérrez, Vladimir Karpets, Pablo Lastras, Luis Pasamontes, Joaquím Rodríguez and José Joaquín Rojas.
Director: José Luis Jaimerena.

Cholet Pays De Loire (23/03)
Riders: Alejandro Valverde, Anthony Charteau, Mathieu Drujon, Alberto Losada, Fabien Patanchon, Mathieu Perget and Nicolas Portal.
Director: Yvon Ledanois.

Team CSC Fränk Schleck is Ready for Milano-Sanremo
As you would probably already know Team CSC had a very unlucky Paris-Nice, where several riders were beaten up pretty well by the different crashed they were in. Fränk Schleck was one of the casualties and he left the race 70km into the last stage due to a lot of pain in the back and the hip.

Tuesday Schleck commented to the Team CSC Official Fan Club that he will be ready for Milano-Sanremo later in the week in spite of the injuries.

"I'm okay. I had a day off yesterday and today I will see a chiropractor, to see what he can do. I'm still not feeling 100 %, but I will go for a long training ride tomorrow for 4-5-6 hours and 3-4 hours today and then three hours Thursday. So, I will be ready for Milano-Sanremo."

New Rapha Limited Edition Andy Hampsten Jersey (more info below)

 

The 2008 Redlands Bicycle Classic p/by PossAbilities Encourages
Youth Participation in 2nd Annual School Duel
Local Youth Have the Opportunity to Show School Spirit with Healthy Cycling Event on Professional Course April 3-6, 2008
The 2008 Redlands Bicycle Classic announces the 2nd year of "School Duel", a competition between local schools to promote bicycle riding and racing as a healthy, fun and safe activity. Hundreds of Redlands area school-age boys and girls will get to race on the same course as world class professionals in a friendly competition that rewards the school with the most participation and the school with the highest race placing.

The School Duel is part of the Public Races, beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 5th. The event allows kids to show their school spirit and earn points in an attempt to showcase the illustrious School Duel Cup at their school for the following year.

"The School Duel was a great success in its first year. We had great participation from Redlands public schools as well as few of the private institutions," said Scott Welsh, marketing director of the Redlands Bicycle Classic and father of three participants in last year's School Duel. "We are really excited to hear that kids are already starting to buzz about this year's event."

Kimberly Elementary, last year's elementary school winner, took home the cup after having a huge number of participants, raising the stakes for this year's race. No matter who takes home the cup this year, all participating schools will certainly get a taste of team work and their satisfaction of a healthy accomplishment. It will take a team of committed students to show up and bring the cup home for their trophy case.

For more information about the School Duel, as well as other opportunities to participate in the 24th Annual Redlands Bicycle Classic, visit www.redlandsclassic.com

Great Britain Cycling Team
Receives Welcome Boost from Halfords
British Cycling has announced today that Halfords, the UK's leading cycle retailer, is to become the first ever commercial sponsor of the hugely successful Great Britain Cycling Team.

The announcement comes as the team warm up for the Track Cycling World Championships at the Manchester Velodrome at the end of this month, where they will compete for crucial qualification points for the Beijing Olympics.

This is the first time that a commercial logo has been placed on the team kit and is a further sign of the depth of sponsorship commitment from Halfords to support the team in their mission for gold. The partnership with Halfords began back in January with the launch of Team Halfords Bikehut led by Nicole Cooke and is now extending to all disciplines of the Great Britain Cycling Team.

Team Poses with the new sponsors logo. Photo c. British Cycling

Performance Director, Dave Brailsford who has led the project commented, "Halfords are the perfect partner for the team, a successful, established British brand with a commitment to cycling and I'm delighted that they are the first to go on our jersey. With their continuing vision and passion we have invaluable support to our Olympic dreams"

Paul McClenaghan, Trading Director at Halfords added "Cycling is one of the most exciting sports at the moment and the team has the potential to be one of the most successful World and Olympic British teams of all time. "The Team Halfords Bikehut Partnership has already proved a great success. We have the shared goal of promoting world-class GB cycling, so this sponsorship seemed the logical next step in our partnership with British Cycling."

In addition to the partnership with the GB Cycling Team Halfords have also committed to raising the profile of British Cycling and Cycle Sport in UK through a range of promotional activities . This will provide a massive boost to accelerate the current membership growth of British Cycling and engage more people with opportunities to take part in organised cycling activities through the Everyday Cycling programme along with the 1000's of British Cycling events delivered every year.

British Cycling is the national governing body for cycle sport in the UK; British Cycling is funded by membership, UK Sport and Sport England. For more information on British Cycling visit www.britishcycling.org.uk

Rockin Robbie McEwen portrait - Tirreno Adriatico stage start.
Photo © Fotoreporter Sirotti

Tour de Georgia 2008
GE Sponsors China-Based Professional Cycling Team
Fuyu Li, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Hopeful, to Lead International Team in 600-Mile UCI-Sanctioned Event in U.S.
ATLANTA, GA.March 19, 2008 GE Energy is sponsoring one of 15 international teams, the GE Marco Polo Cycling Team presented by Trek - scheduled to compete in the sixth annual Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T, a 600-mile, seven-day cycling race across the state April 21-27.

This is the sixth year that Atlanta-based GE Energy is supporting the Tour de Georgia, one of North America’s premier professional bicycle races. GE Energy is a founding sponsor of the event, which will showcase some of the cycling world’s elite competitors.

Founded in 2005, Marco Polo Cycling is China’s first professional cycling team. Its participation in the Tour de Georgia marks the first time a China-based cycling team has ever raced on American soil, further enhancing the event’s international profile. Wisconsin-based Trek Bicycle Corporation, one of the world’s leaders in bicycle design and manufacturing, is also a team sponsor.

“We are very proud that world-class athletes from five countries will represent the GE Marco Polo Cycling Team presented by Trek in this prestigious event,” said John Krenicki, president and CEO of GE Energy. “As a global business, GE recognizes the importance of bringing people and nations together. Sports and other cultural events can play a major role in making this happen.”

Last year’s Tour de Georgia event generated a direct economic impact of $27 million, underscoring the important role that corporations like GE, AT&T, Trek and others can have in supporting economic growth in their local communities, Krenicki noted.

The GE Marco Polo Cycling Team presented by Trek features Fuyu Li, who previously rode for the Discovery Channel team in 2007 and is now on the short list of cyclists hoping to be selected as China's sole competitor in road cycling at the 2008 Beijing Olympics this August. In addition, the China-based GE Marco Polo squad has an impressive international roster that features world-class Dutch cyclist Leon van Bon, a former Olympic, World and road racing medalist.

“Our goal is to help Chinese cycling gain additional professional experience and exposure at the international level, develop new cycling heroes like Fuyu Li, and cultivate closer ties with other countries, a mission that can begin this spring in Georgia,” said Gudo Kramer, Director of the GE Marco Polo Professional Cycling Team presented by Trek.

Also competing for the GE Marco Polo team presented by Trek are Russian sprinter Sergey Kudentsov, currently ranked fifth on the UCI Asia Tour; Jai Crawford of Australia, winner of the Tour of Siam in Thailand; and Australian Rhys Pollock, who raced for the DFL-Cycling News squad last year, participating in many of Europe’s top races. Xing Yan Dong and Liu Yilin round out the list of Chinese riders who will race in Georgia.

“Xing YanDong and Liu Yilin are two of China’s most promising young riders. Although new to the international professional racing scene, we can expect to see great things from them in the future,” Kramer said. Completing the roster for the GE Marco Polo Cycling Team presented by Trek is Loh Keong, another young hopeful from Malaysia.

The seven-stage Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T will begin April 21 on Tybee Island along the coast and will end with a new circuit course in downtown Atlanta on April 27. Record crowds are expected to attend the event, which has established itself on the international racing calendar as one of the premier tune-up stage races for the Grand Tours of Europe, including the Tour de France.

“Since the inception of the Tour de Georgia, we have been grateful for GE’s steadfast support, helping the event become not only a world-class cycling race but also a tourism-related, local economic development engine throughout the state of Georgia,” said Chris Aronhalt, managing partner for Medalist Sports, which manages the race on behalf of the Tour de Georgia Foundation. “We look forward to working with GE to help make the 2008 Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T our most successful international contest ever.”

About the Tour de Georgia Presented by AT&T - The Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T (www.tourdegeorgia.com) is North America’s premier, professional cycling event and rolling festival of community activities. The Tour was first held in 2003 and has become a spring tradition with a varying route over 600 miles of racing. More than 2.8 million spectators have traveled to Georgia to watch the event in the past five years, with a direct economic impact totaling more than $148 million. The event is sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (2.HC ranking) and is part of the USA Cycling professional Tour USA Cycling, Inc., making it one of the top stage races for elite athletes around the world. The official beneficiary is the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

About GE - GE is Imagination at Work -- a diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world's toughest problems. With products and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing and media content, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.ge.com.

GE is the exclusive provider of a wide range of innovative products and services that are integral to staging a successful Olympic Games. GE works closely with host countries, cities and organizing committees to provide infrastructure solutions for Olympic venues including power, lighting, water treatment, transportation and security, and to supply hospitals with ultrasound and MRI equipment to help doctors treat athletes. In addition, NBC Universal, a division of GE, is the exclusive U.S. media partner of the Olympic Games, with its partnership also extending through 2012.

Rapha launches -‘The Great Road Climbs of the Pyrenees’
by Graeme Fife
Rapha is publishing a unique cycling guide to the great cols in the Pyrenees written by writer and broadcaster Graeme Fife. The launch of the book was held in Soho, London on 13 March 2008, where Fife and cycling commentator David Duffield introduced the book.

‘The Great Road Climbs of the Pyrenees’ is not a conventional guide to the Pyrenees. Facts and guidance is offered on obscure and well-known Pyrenean cols, but the gripping element is rather a highly personal exploration by Fife of the variety and peculiarity of the region that leaves the reader with a colourful and memorable picture. Fife combines careful historical research with a swift narrative style and supported by beautiful photographic portrayals of the imposing landscapes by Pete Drinkell, it gives persuasive encouragement to visit.

The book is an absolute must for any true-fibred enthusiast. "I've ridden a lot of mountains”, says Grame Fife. “In France, Italy and Spain and this book is a celebration of what took me there in the first place – curiosity. What kept me there - the challenge and the beauty. And what has drawn me back again and again and again - the enduring bewitchment of the high places in all their variety, their changes of mood, their stunning perspectives, the peculiar magic of all that is in and around them”.

Rapha’s Managing Director, Simon Mottram says: “This is truly an inspiring guide to the cols in the Pyrenees that have served as the stage for some of the most memorable battles of will and endurance at the Tour de France and Vuelta. This book gets to the core of what makes riding in these mountains such an amazing experience. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with Graeme on the project over the last three years”. ‘The Great Road Climbs of the Pyrenees’ by Graeme Fife is available to purchase from the Rapha website www.rapha.cc and costs £40. ISBN 978-0-9558254-0-8

Graeme Fife, a full-time writer, has written plays, stories and features for BBC radio, books on a wide range of subjects and several best-selling cycling books, including ‘Tour de France, the Legends, the Riders’, ‘Inside The Peloton’ and ‘The Beautiful Machine’. Graeme has written for, and ridden with Rapha on many occasions.
Pete Drinkell is a professional photographer with wide editorial and advertising experience. He is also a keen cyclist and competes regularly in triathlon, duathlon and road races.

Rapha 2008 Lines Announced
Limited Edition Andy Hamsten Jersey
Since its launch in July 2004, Rapha has carved out a unique reputation for high quality, stylish clothes and accessories for the most discerning cyclist. This spring, more than twenty new and evolved products will be launched for training, racing and urban riding.

Limited Edition Jersey Developed with Cycling Legend Andy Hampsten.
• In May 1988 Andy Hampsten became the first American to win a Grand Tour
• This limited edition jersey has been developed by Rapha with Andy to celebrate his Giro d’Italia win
• The jersey uses Sportwool, with traditional ribbed collar, cuffs and YKK zipper from the era
• It has distinctive Andy Hampsten branding and additional race number and safety pins

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