The Cycliste Moderne, November 21, 2005

Sorry, the Cycliste Moderne's hiatus was a little longer than I had originally intended. After getting back from Europe, I almost immediately headed back out on business. So after spending time in Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Nijmegen, Antwerp, Lisbon and Cascais, I followed those visits up with Riggins, Grangeville and Bellevue. You can guess which trip was more fun. A lot has happened in the last three weeks that requires brief comment, so I apologize in advance for the following potpourri of bike talk for those of you who were looking for some depth.

Doping Part 1

Vuelta a Espana winner Roberto Heras is caught up in the latest doping scandal with the revelation that he failed a drug control for EPO during the Vuelta. He has professed his innocence and officials are awaiting the test of his B sample. Needless to say, Liberty Seguros terminated his contract while professing their support. It is utterly incomprehensible that team leaders are using EPO due to the fact that riders who win stages and who lead stage races get tested the most. Historically, EPO was the drug of choice of riders who were just trying to finish grand tours, not the actual race leaders. With the questions that have arisen with the EPO test due to the spate of triathlete tests that have been overturned this year, it appears that either cyclists remain incredibly stupid or there is a deficiency in the test.

Doping Part 2

Disgraced former world time trial champion David Millar looks to rejoin the peleton this summer with Spanish team Saunier Duval. Millar’s two year drug ban for use of EPO leading up to his world championship in the time trial will end shortly before the Tour de France. Millar is now advocating more stringent and frequent drug testing of the peleton. It is important to note that notwithstanding his doping preceding the world championships and the testing he was subjected to as a result of his victory, Millar never tested positive for EPO. Millar was done in by a police sweep of the homes of fellow Cofidis members as a result of allegations by Phillipe Gaumont of drug use within the team. Police found used doping products in Millar’s home that he had kept to “remind” him of what he had done.

Doping Part 3 or What Were the PR Guys Thinking

The Tour of California, which is set to begin this year with the support of the Anschutz Entertainment Group (which owns about half of the Major League Soccer franchises in the United States as well as the Regal and Edwards cinema chains), announced that the main sponsor for the inaugural Tour of California would be Amgen, the maker of EPOGEN and Aranesp. It is tough to criticize a company that wants to step up and financially support cycling. Amgen has long supported its employee cycling team. However, as a manufacture of synthetic EPO, you have to wonder why Amgen would subject itself to the bad publicity that will likely arise from this marriage, especially in Europe.

Giro d’Italia Preview

Giro organizers RCS announced the Giro route last weekend and it was a surprise to everyone. Discovery Channel and CSC were happy as the team time trial was incorporated into the Giro for the first time since the 1980’s. The climbers were happy with categorized climbs included on virtually every stage. The Belgians were happy as the first four stages will take place in Wallonia to commemorate a mining accident fifty years ago in Southeast Belgium that killed scores of Italian immigrant coal miners.

The sprinters were not happy as Alessandro Petacchi has already stated that with the possibility of only four or five sprint stages, he will likely focus on the Tour de France. The peleton as a whole was unhappy as both rest days will involve lengthy transfers by airplane. The organizers also announced a split stage for the final day with a mountain time trial in the morning and the more traditional Milan circuit race in the afternoon. ProTour officials have already rejected the split stage finale so the route will still need to be modified.

United States Pro Championship Moves

USA Cycling has decided to separate the United States Professional Championship from the traditional race in Philadelphia on the first Sunday in June. When the USPRO championship began as the CoreStates USPRO Championship in the 1980’s, there were only a handful of Americans racing professionally. The race had therefore always included foreign riders and teams in what was one of the richest single day races in the world. The race has survived CoreStates merger with First Union and First Union’s merger with Wachovia. However, Wachovia’s sponsorship ended this year and the race had lost some of its luster over the last few years.

As such, USA Cycling requested proposals for hosting a domestic professional national championship. Medalist Sports, the organizer and manager of the Tour of Georgia, will be responsible for putting on both the USPRO road race championship and for the first time, a USPRO time trial championship. The races will be held in Greenville, South Carolina, over Labor Day weekend.

Threshold Sports, the promoter of the Philly week of races, has announced that the traditional three race series will be held this year but has yet to announce who will sponsor the races and is seeking a replacement venue for the race traditionally held in Trenton, New Jersey. Moreover, Threshold is facing allegations that it has been slow in paying riders and teams the prize money owed.

With the new September date, the new USPRO Championships will likely be more hotly contested by the European based Americans than it has been with the Philadelphia race, which fell during the build up to the Tour de France. More importantly, without any foreign riders, team tactics will likely be very different in the future.

San Francisco Grand Prix Over?

The San Francisco Grand Prix may have been raced for the last time. It has been learned that race organizers were issued a permit for the 2005 edition of the race while owing the city approximately $90,000 for the 2004 edition of the race. Former mayor Willie Brown had been a big supporter of the race, which San Francisco supported as part of its bid to host the 2012 Olympics. Having not been selected to be the United States’ bid city and with new mayor Gavin Newsome facing heat from the city’s board of supervisors, the race had some difficulty over the last couple of years.

Moreover, the decision to move the race to Labor Day Weekend in 2005 created additional animosity from local businesses who felt that the race, and subsequent street closures, damaged their business during what is typically a busy weekend in San Francisco. I would guess that the likelihood of the race continuing in 2006 is less than 50-50. Threshold Sports had taken over the San Francisco race from Tailwind Sports prior to the 2005 edition. It has been a rough few weeks for Threshold Sports.

Urban Bike Rules

One last item for your consideration. After spending a few days in the Netherlands, I have developed the following rules for urban cycling:

1. No miniskirt is too short to wear when riding a bike. The shorter the better.

2. When giving your girlfriend/wife/mom a ride on your rear rack, she is obligated to get off and run when you have to go over any bridge or go uphill. She can only get back on once you reach the summit.

3. Do not purchase bike locks and replacement parts from flea market booths that specialize in both bikes and pornography. Stick to one or the other, but not both.

4. When riding your bike and talking on your cell phone, it is appropriate to either eat or smoke with your other hand.

5. Taxis can and will drive the wrong way in the dedicated bike lane. If you are going to ride your bike, make sure that you are up to speed on the latest international hand signals and greetings.