Stybar to Quick Step?

Posted on November 25, 2010 by


2011 Gavere CX - Stybar

Photo by Tim VanWichelen


This morning, Cyclingnews reported that reigning cyclocross World Champion Zdenek Stybar is on the verge of signing with Quick Step, moving over to the perennially classics-oriented road team and potentially signaling a career change. Stybar, who had a dominant start to the season, has lost ground to his rivals in both the Superprestige and GvA Trofee competitions due to a knee injury that’s plauged him through November.

He follows Lars Boom over to the long roads. Boom, the Dutch National Cyclocross Champion and 2008 Cyclocross World Champion, has been making the transition to road racing in the past three years. He’s racked up a few notable victories, too, winning the Tour of Belgium, a stage of the Vuelta, and the prologue of Paris-Nice.

If Stybar hopes for similar success in his transition to a Classics racer with Quick Step, expect it to take a season or two. Developing the endurance necessary to be a factor at the end of a six- or seven-hour race is much different than training for an hour-long cyclocross race. Developing the intuition to survive some of cycling’s hardest races may take longer – in fact, even after a few years of success on the road, Boom still races some road races like cyclocross races, hoping that a late attack and ten or fifteen seconds’ advantage with a few kilometers to go would be successful. Such attacks are exciting, but doomed.

Stybar may hope for more success than another high-profile World Champion crossover – trackstar Theo Bos, who rode for Rabobank and then Cervelo Test Team on the road after winning five World Championships (in the match sprint, the keirin, and the kilo) between 2004 and 2007 (with two silvers and two bronzes completing his collection). Indeed, his most notable race as a road pro may have been the controversial crash with Daryl Impey in the 2009 Tour of Turkey. He has yet to match his track success on the road.

What do you think–can Stybar do it?

Share your comments below.



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Domestic Cyclocross Report & Power Ranking – Week #10

Posted on November 24, 2010 by
2010 Gavere CX - T. Johnson

Photo by Tim VanWichelen


Brian Matter stole the show at this past weekend’s North Carolina GP. The two-day UCI affair has become the marquee weekend of the ever-expanding North Carolina cross calendar. Davide Frattini, a North Carolina resident, was the heavy favorite heading into the weekend, but the Italian just missed the top spot after taking a few weeks off. Midwest star Ryan Knapp finished behind Frattini, picking-up a pair of third places. Overall, it was a great weekend for all three but especially Matter and Knapp, as they racked-up precious UCI points ahead of Nationals in December.

The rest of the domestic cross contingent was relatively quiet, with the exception of Valentin Scherz, who spent his last weekend in the US in New York at a pair of MAC races. While the events lost their UCI-points following a venue change, they still enjoyed stellar fields for the MAC finale. Other participants included Luke and Jesse Keough, Johnny Bold, and Jeff Bohnson–all of whom will be favorites in their respective age groups at Nationals.

Finally, Tim Johnson made a return trip to Europe this past weekend for the Superprestige event in Gavere. It was the first time that I can remember that a US rider started on the front row in such a major European cyclocross race. Johnson finished an impressive 12th and is staying in Europe for next weekend’s World Cup in Koksijde, Belgium. More importantly, he continues to accrue UCI points, something he cannot do stateside.

So with only two riders from last week’s Power Ranking in action this weekend, things remain relatively static. Here’s a rundown–and preview of things to come. Enjoy!

Domestic Power Ranking – Week 10

1. Tim Johnson (1) – Johnson’s first row starting position ended-up being a moot point as he struggled during the first half-lap in Gavere. As a result, the National Champion had to battle back, never quite making contact with the front group. If Johnson has a better first lap at the World Cup this weekend, he could easily finish inside the top-10.

2. Jeremy Powers (2) – Powers will not be heading to this weekend’s World Cup. Instead, he’ll stay close to home and head to the NACT finale in Massachusetts. And with Johnson absent, he’s is a near lock for the overall title. Believe it or not, Powers has not maxed-out his UCI Cat. 2 points yet, so a victory this weekend will give him a net gain of 10.  Every little bit helps!

3. Geoff Kabush (3) – Kabush is on a roll right now as the US season winds down. Unfortunately, he’s not in the running for the NACT overall, so he may skip this weekend to avoid a bit of travel ahead of the final USGP rounds in Oregon. If he does show though, he’ll be an instant podium candidate.

4. Todd Wells (4) – I’m going out on a limb to say Todd Wells fails to repeat his 2009 hat trick in Iowa this weekend. With Sunday’s race being a UCI Cat. 1 event, a lot of riders are heading to Jingle Cross Rock for three days of UCI point-filled action. Wells will win at least one of the races though, and should hit the podium in all three.

5. Ryan Trebon (5) – Trebon is one of the riders to have finally discovered Jingle Cross Rock. He still needs valuable UCI points and the three races in Iowa are a perfect opportunity for him tom improve his start position for Nationals. This will be Trebon’s last weekend away from his native Oregon. He should podium every day, but I don’t think he can put consecutive victories together–I see him winning one race.

6. Jamey Driscoll (6) – In a bit of a surprise, Driscoll is skipping the races in New England and heading to Iowa. His results have started to improve and now is the prime time to gain some UCI points. While he won’t pick-up a victory, he should be on the podium two out of the three days.

7. Valentin Scherz (7) – A big congratulations goes out to the Swiss Sensation who concluded a stellar domestic season by winning his last race on US soil–and wrapping-up a the MAC overall title in the process. Scherz heads back to Europe this week and will return to action at the World Cup in Koksijde on Saturday. It will be very interesting to see how he does. I think he’ll finish inside the top-10, with an outside chance at a top-5–as a U23, that is.

8. Adam Craig (8) – Craig’s name isn’t on any of this weekend’s start lists, so I’m not sure what he’s doing. If he decides to race, he’ll head to Iowa. Otherwise, he’ll take another weekend-off ahead of a run for a national title.

9. Luca Damiani (9) – After a string of bad luck and injuries, Damiani should return to action this weekend in New England. No matter what he does, I hope he rebounds to end his season on a positive note.

10. Zach McDonald (10) – I think McDonald will surprise a few people with a podium finish in Iowa. He will not pick-up a victory, but he’ll definitely be looking to refine his form and grab some UCI points before Nationals in December.

That’s it for this week. I hope everyone stateside has a great Thanksgiving. Look for my International Report and Power Ranking later this week.

Leave your comments and predictions below.

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2011 Team Kit First Look: Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator

Posted on November 23, 2010 by
2011 Team Kit: Topsport Vlaanderen

Image Courtesy of Vermarc

Not many changes with this one.  But still nice!


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Monday Musette – A New White Jersey for Andy Schleck?

Posted on November 22, 2010 by
2010 Coppi e Bartali - M. Rasmussen

Fotoreporter Sirotti

Here are some morsels for your Monday:

1. This just in: Team Lux is rumored to be starting the 2011 season in neutral jerseys.  Apparently the Schlecks don’t quite have their ducks in a row yet.  While it is yet to be confirmed, no matter how you spin it, this is not a good sign. And if it is true, how can the UCI allow it?  Call me crazy, but I see a Team Radio Shack/Team Lux merger on the horizon—if not for 2011, 2012 for sure.

2. Last week’s What’s New over at Competitive Cyclist raised a notion I’ve been bouncing around with friends for quite some time now: if the UCI and WADA really wanted to put an end to doping (or at least the he said/she said/he ate/she ate games currently plaguing the sport), it would consider offering amnesty to everyone to have ridden up to a certain date—and lifetime bans to anyone testing positive (after a due process, of course). We need to end our ceaseless obsession with what happened in the past and concern ourselves with cleaning up the sport’s future.  Amnesty takes the teeth out of former pro’s hoping to win one last bit of fame by outing themselves or their peers, while lifetime bans might make even the most hardened dopers think twice before doing it.  And as hard it might be to offer clean slates to some (Rasmussen, DiLuca, etc…), the ends might more than justify the means. That’s my two cents.

3. That said, the Armstrong investigation appears to be heating-up even more.

4. Hindsight’s 20/20—right Matti?  Seriously though, if Breschel can’t heal in time for the next year’s Classics, we’ll all miss-out. Will Breschel be in 2011 what Heinrich Haussler was in 2010?

5. And speaking of Saxo, where will they be after losing so many UCI points?  Could a Contador suspension spell the end of the team’s high UCI ranking?

Moving on…

6. Paolo Bettini is getting an early start on downplaying Cav’s chances at 2011 Worlds in Copenhagen.

7. Pegasus is one “new” team wishing it would get a few less breaks as it heads into 2011. (Sorry, the pun was too good to resist.)

8. Sky is going to refocus for 2011, deemphasizing the Tour de France. While some might want to point the finger at Pavé for its steady stream of Sky/Wiggo criticism, it should be noted that we’re not the only ones on the bandwagon.

9. Finally, we should have our 2011 kit finalized by the end of next week.  We’ll be sure to post the first look here—with prices of course.  For now, feel free to add your name to the list to be the first to know when updates arrive.

Have a great week!


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Cyclocross Weekend Preview – From Carolina to Asper-Gavere

Posted on November 19, 2010 by


2010 Neerpelt CX - S. Nijs Run-Up

Photo by Tim VanWichelen


Here’s a quick preview of this weekend’s cyclocross action:

With only one pair of UCI races this weekend, many of North America’s top riders are taking some time off. However, with the National Championships a mere month away, many are still trying to grab valuable UCI points. Therefore, the action at this weekend’s North Carolina GP should be very exciting as Jackson Park in Hendersonville hosts two UCI C2 races. The heavy favorite is North Carolina resident Davide Frattini. Frattini has already won four C2 races this year and continues to have a great season. Behind Frattini there are about a half-dozen riders who could contend for victory. Ryan Knapp and Mark LaLonde have finished on UCI podiums this year, so expect those two to be near the front.

With such a large contingent of local riders and most of the big names missing, this weekends predictions are merely an educated guess. So, here we go:

Saturday:

1. Davide Frattini

2. Mark LaLonde

3. Ryan Knapp

Sunday:

1. Davide Frattini

2. Mark LaLonde

3. Brian Matter

Internationally, Round Three of the GVA Trophy will be held in Hasselt, Belgium on Sunday. The UCI C2 race promises to be an all out brawl amongst Europe’s top crossers. Zdenek Stybar holds a slim lead in the overall and his recent results don’t bode well for the World Champion. The heavy favorite has to be Sven Nys who won this race twice (2005 and 2007). 2008-winner Bart Wellens has had an impressive few weeks and is a definite podium contender as well. Other riders to watch include Niels Albert, Klass Vantournout and Kevin Pauwels. Not to mention Rob Peeters, who is on the verge of a spot on the Belgian World Cup squad.

I really like Nys at this point and am convinced that he’s at a higher level than anyone else. The other two riders I really like are Albert and Vantornout. However, I wouldn’t be shocked if we saw a surprise in the form of Bart Wellens. Here’s my podium:

1. Sven Nys

2. Niels Albert

3. Klaas Vantornout

On Sunday, all eyes will focus on Gavere, Belgium for round four of the Superprestige series. Last weekends race went to Sven Nys, who now has a one point lead over Zdenek Stybar. History is on Nys’ side; he has won this race six out of the nine times it has been held. The other two riders to watch in Gavere are Niels Albert and Bart Wellens (a two time winner)—both could take the victory. Klaas Vantornout pushed Nys to the limit last weekend and has to be a favorite for victory. Another rider to watch is American Jonathan Page. Page has had some great results lately and his form appears to be coming around.

The course in Gavere is one of the hardest in Europe, which means recovery from Saturday’s race is key. I really think Stybar will have a shot to prove him self in this race, but Nys’ desire for a 10th overall title is undeniable. I think he gets the job done and Stybar gets on the podium. However, I feel like there may be another rider who finishes between those two. Here’s my podium:

1. Sven Nys

2. Bart Aernouts

3. Zdenek Stybar

Finally, a little side note for US fans: National Champion Tim Johnson is in Europe for the next few weekends. Although he’s not showing-up on start lists yet, I’m sure he’s hitting the GVA and Superprestige races this weekend where he could surprise a few riders. While I don’t think he’ll win, I do think he could finish inside the top-10. Imagine: if Page and Johnson are on their games, there could be two Americans in the top-10 at a major international event. Incredible.

Have a great weekend—share your comments below.

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Team Lux: It’s Not About the Sponsor. Or is it?

Posted on November 19, 2010 by


2010 Elite Men World Road Championship - Schleck & Cancellara Pre-Race

Fotoreporter Sirotti


Here’s the follow-up to yesterday’s post by Mattio on the current status of the Luxembourg Cycling Project’s title sponsors.

Let me begin my counterpoint with a concession: ultimately, Mattio’s right—sponsors are the means to an end in which riders earn contracts, gain entry into the sport’s greatest events, and with a little support and direction, hopefully become legends.  We will always remember cycling’s greatest champions for the races they won, not the jersey’s they wore at the time.

However, in the matter of the world’s news-starved cycling fans versus the management of the still-to-be-named Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project, we have a right to be making such a big deal about the fact that a team ranked #1 by the UCI heading into 2011 has still not named any of its main sponsors—aside from its bike and car suppliers, that is.

What me worry?  I’ll tell you why.

Logistically speaking, any team worth its salt right now is knee deep in preparations for 2011.  Mechanics are taking measurements, ordering frames, inventorying parts, and building bikes in preparation for the first of the 2011 training camps.  Now, Team Lux has its bikes covered—but here’s a question: what color will they be?  In the era of “our kit matches our bikes and vice versa” the identify of a team’s main sponsor and it’s branding makes a big difference.  It might seem like a minor detail to some, but when you’re ordering over 100 road and time trial framesets, it’s a minor detail that can quickly become a major hiccup.  Stickers don’t cut-it anymore—the first race of the year is about 2 months away.

As for the soigneurs, they’re busy with clothing.  Getting sizes, dividing numbers between programs, and figuring out just how many extras of each item they’ll need to make it through the season.  And while the numbers be affected by the identity of a team’s sponsors, the design of the kit certainly will.  A friend of mine at Vermarc told me that Quick Step is on Proof #100 of it’s kit design process; Omega Pharma-Lotto just sent back Proof #70.  And these two teams have no questions as to the identities of their main backers in 2011.  For a Team looking to make such a splash in 2011, it will look pretty bad if the team’s biggest riders lack new kit to wear come January 1st. Granted, they could be working behind the scenes, but as I learned with Mercury-Viatel in 2001, there’s nothing that causes more headaches—or saps more money—than a last minute clothing re-order.

Let’s not forget the director sportifs, the men responsible for building the team’s race program.  A lot of these decisions are self-explanatory, but what happens when Title Sponsor X from Belgium wants the team racing in Belgium while it’s doing both the Giro and the Tour of California?  It’s hard to say no to the company giving you millions of dollars to run your program.  A little headache, yes—but little headaches become massive migraines quickly.

Perhaps most importantly, a shaky sponsorship situation risk a team’s ability to compete and risks riders’ ability to earn a living – and to race. I watched as Viatel and LeMond withdrew their sponsorship from Mercury-Viatel midseason; the team was on thin ice and ultimately collapsed. When Linda McCartney Foods withdrew its sponsorship commitment to an all-vegetarian team in 2001, the team folded, just two days before the team’s official launch. And in 2007, a team sponsored by Unibet, an online gambling company, was excluded from Paris-Nice due to UCI, ASO, and ProTour squabbling (with the ASO citing national bans on gambling advertising), the riders were left unable to race.  While bike racing is ultimately about the racing, teams rely on solid sponsorship in order to give riders the opportunity to race – to entertain us or capture our hearts and minds.

To make a long story short, while the identity of a team’s sponsor might not matter in the long run, it certainly matters now—to the staff, to the team’s management, and to the riders.  The peace of mind that comes from knowing your benefactor goes a long way to getting the season started right—time that can be spent preparing, training, or getting to one another is now spent tying up loose ends that are now way over due.  Is it any wonder why Fabian Cancellara hasn’t officially made his decision yet?

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