Jakob Piil Stays with Team CSC

New two-year Contract in Place--Following a long series of negotiations, Team CSC and Jakob Piil were today able to reach an agreement. The new contract ensures that one of Denmark’s best riders stays with the team for the coming two years.

"The decision has been difficult but I am very happy that everything now is in place. It has been a priority to get the best possible conditions to have results and that is why I have preferred to stay with Team CSC. This is where I want to be. It is very probable that the next two years will be the most important years of my career and it means a lot to me that I will be on a team where everything works", says Jakob Piil about the new two-year contract.

"Jakob is an important rider for the team and I am very glad that the contract is in place. He has developed into a great rider in the past few years and I am happy that he has decided to stay. With a victory in the classic Paris-Tours last year and a stage victory in the Tour de France, Jakob has moved up and into a very exclusive category of riders and I believe that he will win great races for our team in the coming years", says Bjarne Riis. (Courtesy CSC).

Dean in Spain

3rd Place for Dean in Zaragoza--Team CSC’s Julian Dean keeps making top-results in the bunch sprints in this year’s Vuelta. On today’s 166-kilometre 5th stage from Soria to Zaragoza, Dean placed 3rd, but neither he, nor any of the other fast sprinters in the peloton, were able to threaten Fassa Bortolo’s Alessandro Petacchi who took his second stage victory.

"The wind played a big role today but we paid attention in the finale. Many teams were put to hard work. Julian Dean did another good sprint but Petacchi is quite a mouthful at the moment. This is our 3rd top-10 result and we have reason to be satisfied. Tomorrow will be an important day for Carlos. It will be exciting to see how he is placed after the time trial. From now on, the race will be very tough", said Bjarne Riis after the stage. (Courtesy CSC).

Anonymous Day in Belgium

No Team CSC representation in finale--In the Belgian cobblestone race GP Van Steenbergen (UCI 1.2), Team CSC was not able to play a role when the race was decided.

"Tristan Hoffman was the last rider that we had left in the finale but he crashed and was forced to give up. We cannot be satisfied with such a result but our riders were not really feeling on top today", said Sean Yates after the race that was won by Nico Eeckhout (Lotto-Domo). (Courtesy CSC).

Vuelta Off To A Good Start for Quickstep – Davitamon

The Vuelta started very well for the Quickstep – Davitamon team with the riders already proving their will to be amongst the protagonists of the race. After having finished the Timed Team Prologue in 5th place, they went on to be amongst the best during the Gangas di Onis and Santander stages.

Patrik Sinkewitz and Tom Boonen in particular are to be mentioned for their excellent attempts. This is the first time that Patrik has taken part in one of the great stage races. "I am here" – explained the talented young German rider – "to gain experience. My main objective is that of finishing the race. I’ll also be looking, as long as it is possible, to remain in the classifications. I’d love to get a good result and be amongst the best during the difficult uphill climbs".

Tom gained an excellent third place under pouring rain during the stage that launched Petacchi into history. "I am satisfied with how I rode today" - Tom said – "I believe that if I had engaged the last corner a little further ahead I would have done even better still. I want to win a stage at this year's Vuelta. It won’t be easy, but I’ll be trying my very best".

Members of Pedro Horrillo’s Fan Club visited the team today at Santander. Pedro lives near to Bilbao, which isn’t that far away from where today’s stage finished making this an ideal occasion for them to see their idol. (Courtesy Quick.Step – Davitamon).

Roberto Heras focused

In his diary, Roberto Heras today looked forward to the Vuelta individual time trial. He knows this will be a tough stage for him, as he’s a climber ‘pur sang’. The higher the mountains are, the more Roberto feels at ease, but for tomorrow he promises his time will be more than acceptable…

"There is little or nothing to report about today’s 5th stage. This was your typical flat stage, which was ridden at a very high pace and which as expected ended by a peloton sprint, something we already saw during the first week of the Tour de France. I’m impressed by Petacchi, boy, is that man fast!"

I will go to bed early tonight, in order to be well rested for the individual time trial. After breakfast, I will have a look at the parcours for the last time, together with Manuel, Floyd and Jose. I know I’m not at my best against the clock on flat terrain, but you can count on me giving it all I’ve got to ride the fastest race possible. What I know is that we will face lots of open terrain and long, straight stretches of road, which is ideal for those who can ride a big gear. All a climber can do there, is try to do the best he can…[Heras finished an excellent 18th.]

Much more important are the mountain stages that follow the individual time trial. There, Manuel and I should play a prominent role. My congratulations to the team-mates, by the way. They did an excellent job, for which I am very grateful. I will do all that is in my power to thank them by means of a stunning result." (Courtesy US-Postal)

Lampre for Memorial Rick Van Steenbergen, Paris-Brussels, and GP de Fourmies

The second week of September sees a double race programme for team Lampre, with the Vuelta and then the races in France-Belgium. It starts on Wednesday with Belgium and the start in Antwerpen in the memorial Van Steenbergen-Aartselaar. The one day race was renamed a few months ago when the great Belgium sprinter died.

Saturday 13th is yet another race for the sprinters, the Paris-Brussels, and then to end the weekend off we have the GP de Fourmies on Sunday the 14th.

The General Manager of the team Lampre Giuseppe Saronni is in accordance with the selectors of the team for selecting the following riders for the Memorial Van Steenbergen-Aartselaar on Wednesday 10 September. (Courtesy Lampre).

Memorial Van Steenbergen 10 September. One day race with Classification UCI 1.2
The following riders will be representing Lampre:
Alberto Loddo
Milan Kadlec
Luciano Pagliarini
Marco Pinotti
Eddy Ratti
Maximilian Sciandri
Marco Serpellini
Sport Director: Pietro Algeri

Paris - Brussels 13 September, One day race with Classification UCI 1.2
The following riders will be representing Lampre:
Sergio Barbero
Alberto Loddo
Gabriele Missaglia
Milan Kadlec
Luciano Pagliarini
Marco Pinotti
Eddy Ratti
Maximilian Sciandri
Marco Serpellini
Sport Director: Pietro Algeri

Sunday the 14 September, for the Gp de Fourmies/ La Voix du Nord. One Day race with Classification UCI. 1.1 The following riders will be representing Lampre:
Sergio Barbero
Francesco Casagrande
Gabriele Missaglia
Milan Kadlec
Marco Pinotti
Eddy Ratti
Maximilian Sciandri
Marco Serpellini
Sport Director: Pietro Algeri

Juan Antonio Flecha joins Fassa Bortolo

26 year old Spanish rider Juan Antonio Flecha will join Team Manager Giancarlo Ferettis troops at Fassa Bortolo, for the upcoming 2004 season. Flecha who won the 11th stage into Toulouse in the years edition of the Tour De France, will be leaving the Spanish iBanesto.com, which still remain in the hunt for a new sponsorship deal, that could save the traditionally Spanish team from leaving the pro peleton in which its has played a huge role over the last decade. Flecha will already be joining his new team-mates at Fassa Bortolo when the current seasons ends in October.

José Manuel Vazquez leaves Relax

After 4 years within the Spanish team of Relax Fuenlabrada, the 29 year old Spaniard José Manuel Vazquez has decided to leave the Spanish team in total agreement with the sports directors of the Spanish squad. Instead its being reported that the Spanish equipment are very interested in bringing the very talented Spanish climber Peio Arreitunandia and the very talented Russian Fastman Alexei Markov on board to reinforce the little Spanish team for the upcoming 2004 season. Its also seems like that there could be at strong possibility that the young Neo Pro Spaniard José María Pérez could be joining the Spanish team for the 2004 season as well.

Matteo Carrara joins Lampre

24 year old Matteo Carrara will leave the Italian De Nardi-Colpack team and joined the Italian giants Lampre for the upcoming 2004 season. The young Italian has been compared by many as the new Michele Bartoli, because of his similar ability to accelerate hard, on the short but steep climbs up to a couple of kilometres length, and also because of his fast finishing sprint in any minor group finish, battling for the final victory. Matteo Carrara will join Manager and former professional star himself Giuseppe Saronni at the mighty Lampre team after the current season, and it will be very interesting to follow this young talent in the future and to see if he can live up to prediction of a "New Champion".

Sergio Barbero re-signs with Lampre

The Italian Piemontese rider Sergio Barbero has extended his contract with Giuseppe Saronni of the Lampre team. Yesterday he signed a one year contract. His next objective will be to repay the confidence of the team by wearing Italian blue at the World Championships at Hamilton. (Courtesy Alex Carerra at A&J Sports Image)

Ride with Ofoto Lombardi

Hello. We'd like to invite you all to join us on a ride this Saturday...Ride with the Ofoto / Lombardi Sports Pro Cycling Team prior to T-Mobile International!

What: The Ofoto / Lombardi Sports Cycling Team invites sponsors, members of the media and the general public for a group bike ride through Marin county on the day  before the T-Mobile International presented by BMC Software, the event formerly known as the San Francisco Grand Prix. The ride will feature a support van and a celebrity guest cyclist, and will travel the popular “Paradise loop” through Sausalito, Mill Valley, Larkspur, and Tiburon.

Who: Participating team members will be Tim Larkin (33, Berkeley, CA); Peter Lopinto (23, Madison, NJ); and Andy Bajadali (30, Boulder, CO). Larkin recently placed 2nd in the sprints competition and 9th overall at the New York City Cycling Championships. Bajadali has been the team’s top rider this year in many of the country’s most difficult stage races, including the Cascade Classic in Bend, Oregon. Lopinto is one of the team’s youngest members and will be looking for a breakout performance in the T-Mobile International.

When: Saturday, September 13. The ride will assemble at 8:30am and depart at 9:00am. Estimated return time is 11:30am.

Where: The ride will meet on Marina Boulevard between Baker St. and Lyon St., opposite the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. Ample street parking is available.

Ofoto Inc., a Kodak company, is the leader in online photography, providing photographic prints for both digital and film camera users. Ofoto offers a safe, easy and fun way for people to store, share and get prints of their digital and film images. www.ofoto.com

Lombardi Sports is the San Francisco Bay area’s premier sporting goods retailer, located at the intersection of Polk and Jackson Streets in San Francisco. www.lombardisports.com

Formerly America's premier amateur cycling team, the Ofoto/Lombardi Sports Pro Cycling Team is in its second season as a professional team. The team contains a current National Champion, four ex-National Champions, and a current US National Team Member. National and racial diversity are key elements of the team’s make-up, with an Irish, a Swiss, and a Canadian amongst the American contingent, which contains two of the three African-American professional road cyclists in the world. www.teamofoto.com.

Celebrity Chase Riders at T-Mobile International

San Francisco--Event producers Tailwind Sports and Threshold Sports announced yesterday that San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr., Mountain bike guru Gary Fisher, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Leah Garchik, Joe Boxer founder Nick Graham, Talking Heads keyboardist and guitarist Jerry Harrison, and actor Robin Williams are among the celebrities set to race for a cause in the BMC Software Celebrity Chase at the T-MOBILE INTERNATIONAL, presented by BMC Software in San Francisco on Sunday, September 14th at the Embarcadero.

“We are excited to have such a stellar line-up of Bay Area personalities this year,” said Dan D’Armond, Director of Community and Government Relations at BMC Software. “With this eclectic field of cycling enthusiasts, the BMC Software Celebrity Chase is guaranteed to be an eventful fight to the finish, all for a good cause.”

· San Francisco’s illustrious Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr. will ride in the 2003 BMC Software Celebrity Chase on behalf of his Employment and Youth Education Foundation.
· Doug Biederbeck, restaurateur and owner of Bix, Florio Restaurant and MarketBar, is riding on behalf of the California Trout Association.
· Gary Fisher, pioneer of mountain biking is riding on behalf of Trips for Kids.
· Leah Garchik, San Francisco Chronicle columnist of The In Crowd is riding on behalf of Home away from Homelessness.
· Nick Graham, founder of Joe Boxer is riding on behalf of Meals of Marin.
· Jerry Harrison, former keyboardist and guitarist of legendary rockers Talking Heads is riding on behalf of Breast Cancer Foundation.
· Steven Seaweed, DJ for 107.7 The Bone is riding on behalf of the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
· Detlef Schrempf, former NBA superstar is riding for Detlef Schrempf Foundation.
· Sharkie, the mascot for the San Jose Sharks will ride in costume for San Jose Sharks Foundation.
· San Francisco’s favorite actor/comic Robin Williams will ride for the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

Sunday, September 14th marks an event-filled day beginning with a professional women’s race at 7:30a.m., followed by the men’s pro race, featuring five-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, 11 a.m., the BMC Software Celebrity Chase at 11:40 a.m., BMC Software Celebrity Chase Awards Ceremony at 12:30 p.m., and the T-MOBILE Rocks San Francisco Concert 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

The Hard Road Upcoming Screenings

--Arizona State Cycling presents The Hard Road Saturday September 20th 2003 in Room BAC 116 of the Arizona State University campus.
Admission will be $7 per person.
Show times will be 3:30pm and 6:30pm.
Each showing will be followed by a Q & A session with Jamie Paolinetti - Racer, Filmmaker, and Writer.
For more information visit AZ Racers.

--"Bike-In" Film Festival
When: September 23 & 24, 2003
4:30pm Matinee Show featuring Hardihood & Song of the Bicycle
7:30pm Evening Show featuring The Hard Road & Riding the Black Mamba
Where: Play Circle Theater University of Wisconsin -Madison
Memorial Union 800 Langdon St. Madison, Wisconsin 53706

What: This two-day film festival will offer an intimate glimpse into bicycling culture in the US and internationally. Viewers will experience rich film material ranging from an intimate documentary about the sacrifice and spirit of pro cycling to a special newsreel on the economic struggle of citizens using bicycles for income generation in developing nations. As an added bonus, pro-cyclist and filmmaker Jamie Paolinetti, will present his movie, The Hard Road, in person each night at the evening showings. Join other bicycling and film enthusiasts for this unique opportunity!

Tickets: Admission is free. Advance tickets will be available at the Great Choices tables, located around campus, from September 22-24. All remaining tickets will be made available at the door.

More: The first 50 student viewers to arrive each night will receive a free bike headlight, courtesy of Bucky's Ambassadors.

--The Hard Road, a feature length documentary film about what's it's like to become a pro cyclist will screen at the Wild Rose Film and Video Festival.
When: Sunday, September 28, 3:00 pm
Where: The Vaudeville Mews at 212 4th Street in downtown Des Moines, Iowa.
Only $6 at the door with a portion of proceeds benefitting junior bike racing. Please visit Bike Iowa for more information.

Kashi Leuchs Mtn Bike Journal - The Worlds

Hi everybody, I've just got online for the first time since the race on Sunday. It was extremely dry and rocky. Probably one of the most technically challenging courses in years. I like to think of it as a play park because it was just a lot of small climbs, and fun technical descents. After a few hours of riding this at full speed, this gets pretty tough!

For tyres I used the Ranchero on the back, and a TT on the front. Both were the 2.0 Exception series, which I mounted tubeless using Stan's "No tubes" sauce. I rode both at 30psi. Like this, I saved probably 400g of rotation weight, and this feels amazingly fast. I really do like the TT tread pattern.. I have learnt to trust it and I know it hooks up well under most circumstances. It rolls well, so overall, a great tire. The Ranchero has great rolling resistance, which is why I run it on the back, and it has a consistent feel. The atmosphere at the race was incredible. Most of the course was lined with people, and they were very loud! It really gets you going! I was really aiming for a medal, but I knew that to get this I would have to be with the first few into the first piece of singletrack. Right off the gun, I got stuck behind Bart Brentjens, who was slow to react. This put me back into around 25th-30th, and then I had only about 800m of narrow road and a short 100m climb to get back up there.

I entered the singletrack in 17th place, and although this section was just 200m long, it stretched the field out so much that I was already about 20sec behind the leaders, and I was not strong enough to bring them back. After this point, I feel I raced very well. I managed to work myself into the top 10 after the first lap, and from there I rode smooth and consistent lap times. I only crashed once, but it was a goodie... a huge superman dive over the bars, right in front of hundreds of spectators!

I started to get form just when I returned home from USA, which was rewarded by my first ever Swiss Cup win 4 weeks ago. Since then I have just tried to maintain the level, and improve on the short intervals.

Coming back to the start/finish after the first lap, I was in a pretty big group of about 6 riders back around 15th. The key on the this course was to get ahead before the tricky sections, otherwise it was easy to get stuck behind slow riders. So I just kept riding ahead at the right time, and putting gaps on the others instead.

Ryder Hysjedal had a great start and was off the front from the beginning, with the new European champion, Ralf Naaf, in second. By the second lap, the technical sections had singled out almost everyone. I was riding with Cedric Ravenal for a while, but then he dropped me. For most of the race I was alone, which is harder. I just focused on steady pace, and not crashing! Up front, Filip Merhager caught Ryder on the 6th lap, and went on to win his first ever World Champs! The big "worlds" party was on Saturday night, as usual. (so annoying) We had a great dinner, so we went to Luganos central square for gelatos. Many riders had the same idea, and then we managed to find an open club, so we made our own party there.

It was pretty decent for a XC party... good dancing, everyone buying everyone rounds and having a good time. I guess none of the same excitements as the DHers. We ended up home at around 6pm, and it didn't drag at all, so it must have been okay! Monday was pay back time though... driving to some friends' place, my rear tire blew on the van, and I had a nightmare fixing it because my spare wheels bolts were a different size!!! I had to go to a garage to get a new tool, and finally the spare was not fitting well, so I had to drive very slowly. All this with a hangover!

Catch you later!
Kashi  

Another Great Season at Portland International Raceway on Monday Nights!

As the road race season winds down, I start to review the race series as a race organizer and think forward to next season. Attracting new racers to PIR is always an objective. I also try to make more media, publicity and marketing connections to market the event to new racers of any ability or fitness level.

Overall year the Monday Night PIR Series was a positive experience for the women racers at PIR. In 2003 more women have come out to race than anytime in the past. Just a few years ago we would see only 7 ­ 10 women racers, now 10-18 women regularly show up. Women had 4 different categories to choose from (Open Women, Women Cat. 1/2/3s, Women Cat. 4/5, Women 35+) this season.

Thank you to all the more experienced women racers who have been very proactive and willing to help out the new and less knowledgeable beginner racers. This year Monday Night PIR races proved to be a great venue to recognize all different abilities of women athletes. This growth in the women¹s events was a great success and will certainly continue in 2004.

The Masters Men categories saw record field sizes this year. Each week competitive groups showed that master racing is definitely strong in Oregon. In fact, OBRA membership has approximately 2130 members that are 30+. The format (masters by categories) for the Monday races seems to be popular because it allows racers to compete in their category with their peers of similar ability, instead of simply grouped by age. In 2003, the masters by categories have put on hotly contested races week after week all summer long.

Focusing on attracting new racers has always been a mission of the Monday PIR Series. Getting cycling enthusiasts who want to try racing is what the PIR series is really all about. Along with supporting the new racers, we also support the intermediate to advanced racers, too. In 2004, a novice category is to be offered. This is a perfect opportunity for a new racer to just try out racing with less intimidation and mileage. On average the Monday Series sees 2-3 new OBRA members a night at PIR, which is great forour organization and bicycle racing in Oregon!

The race series not only has a mission to get attract new racers for our organization and build bicycle racing in Oregon, but also strives to be part of the community by donating to the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA). For several years the race series has offered at bike commuter discount. What that means is if you ride your bike to the race, you get a dollar off entry. Then I donate that $1 to the BTA to support their causes in bicycle safety, advocacy, and awareness in Portland. For 2004, I plan to support them even more and encourage racers to do their part by not only bike commuting but car-pooling and using the new North MAX Light Rail System (opening in Sept 2004). When they do so they will get that same discount off entry, and I will donate that amount to the BTA.

There will still be racing on September 8th and 15th. Plenty of prizes and excitement for the last two races of the summer! Lastly, a special thank you needs to go out to the racers, OBRA race officials, Portland International Raceway, OBRA, and Mike and Candi Murray. As always thank to our sponsor, Lakeside Bicycles. They have support the series for many years and are great supporters of bicycle racing in Oregon, thank you Lakeside! This has been a great season at PIR! More information on the race series or results at: www.obra.org, information about the BTA: www.bta4bikes.org and for more information on our sponsor please visit: www.lakeside-bikes.com.

TDS on board for 2004 along with Schwalbe Tires!

After enjoying a very successful first season, the TDS High Speed Team will continue racing for TDS Telecom in 2004. In addition, Schwalbe North America has joined the team as a co-title sponsor. Schwalbe North America is based out of Victoria, British Columbia and is the official importer and distributor of the Schwalbe brand of bicycle tires.

“We are thrilled to be given the chance to support this fantastic women’s cycling team, the sport of cycling and to be involved with such an outstanding group of individuals,” say Celeste and Klaus Moser, Directors of Schwalbe North America, “Here’s to a superb 2004!”

The 2004 team will be named “TDS-Schwalbe High Speed Team” and will compete in the U.S. national circuit and a few select races in Europe. “We’ve achieved more than I could have ever imagined in our first year and are extremely excited about growing the team with TDS and Schwalbe Tires,” says team manager, Karl Heidgen. “We’ll be looking to add a few new riders to our already strong core group” he continues.

 “The team has exceeded our expectations this year,” explains DeAnne Boegli, Manager of Branding and Communications, TDS Telecom. “They’ve definitely earned our continuing support through their professional corporate representation and impressive racing results. We’re looking forward to building on this success next year with the team and with our new co-sponsor, Schwalbe.”

More information about Team TDS can be found at www.tdstelecom.com/biketeam.

Team sponsors include TDS Telecom, Schwalbe North America, Salsa Cycles, Extran, Rudy Project, Northwave shoes, Limar helmets, Biemme clothing, Sockguy, Graber Products, Motivation Station, and Suttle-Strauss

TDS Telecom brings high quality, reliable, locally based telecommunications services to 900 rural and suburban communities across the United States. Founded in 1969, TDS Telecom is a growing part of the Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (AMEX: TDS) family of companies and serves more than one million customers. For more information about TDS Telecom visit www.tdstelecom.com.

CycleItalia announces 2004 vacation schedule

The original "pedala forte, mangia bene!" (ride hard, eat well) cycling vacation operator offers seven exciting vacation packages for the summer of 2004.

Classic Road Vacations
Etruscan Trails May 19-28
Umbria Marche May 27-June 6
Paradiso in Piemonte June 7-19
Appennines of Emilia-Romagna June 23-July 3

Mountain Trilogy Series
Dolomites July 3-11
Legendary Climbs of the Giro July 10-18
Italian Alps July 17-25

All vacations include: airport pickup/dropoff; hotel accommodations; daily "cyclist's" breakfast; welcome and farewell dinners; private transportation for you, your bike and luggage; bilingual tour guide and pro mechanic, luggage and support vehicles; custom Santini jersey and DeFeet socks.

Tours are limited to 16 participants and prices are based on double occupancy and do not include airfare. More details can be found at www.cycleitalia.com or by phoning toll-free 877 ITALBIKE (482 5245) 712 258 1775 outside the US.