Podium Cafe (Free subscription) | 11/18/2009
Interesting team, that Katusha and an interesting pick-up on their part, picking Joaquin Rodriguez from Caisse d'Epargne. For CN today comes word on the race schedule for J-Rod next year and it's much like in previous years, with two exceptions: there's Tour de France for the first time and there's no Alejandro Valverde to support. Here's his early season (up to the Tour) schedule: warm-up: Volta a...
VeloNews (Free subscription) | 11/09/2009
There is a new delay in Alejandro Valverde’s hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport. According to a statement released Monday by the world sports court, a scheduled November 16 hearing has been postponed due to requests by all parties involved in the case. A statement said a new hearing “will be fixed as soon as possible.” The court also reported that another appeal initiated...
cyclingnews.com (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
Slated to take place on November 16th, Alejandro Valverde’s appeal hearing against CONI will now not be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport until later this year. The rider’s Caisse d’Epargne team confirmed the delay to Cyclingnews on Friday. In May, the Vuelta a España winner was served with a two-year ban by CONI for his part in the Operación Puerto affair....
PezCycling News.com (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
Message by Edmond Hood Here at Pez we pride ourselves on being on the case of who's up and coming - but sometimes even Pez misses the boat. The first we heard of Tom Faiers was when he signed recently for Pro Tour team Footon-Servetto; but a quick call to the team's main man - ex-pro Mauro Gianetti, soon had us in communication with the 22 year-old Englishman from Cheltenham, who has the likes of Luis...
cyclingnews.com (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne), Carlos Sastre (Cervélo) and Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) will participate in the Spanish Professional Cyclists Association (ACP) criterium in San Andrés del Rabanedo (León), Spain on Sunday. The trio tops a list of Spanish cyclists racing to honour former Tour de France winner Federico Bahamontes. The event consists of two races:...
cyclingnews.com (Free subscription) | 10/31/2009
Alberto Contador may yet opt to stay with the Astana team for one more year but, if he does leave, Caisse d’Epargne are one of the teams most likely to secure his signature. Their current top rider Alejandro Valverde has made it clear that his compatriot would be welcome, even if that would impact on his own Tour de France goals. “As I have said in the past, it would really be great if...
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 10/29/2009
• Kazakh cycling federation claims Contador will stay • Money issues a result of technicalities says team The Tour de France winner Alberto Contador will remain with the Astana team at least until his contract expires at the end of next year, the Kazakh Cycling Federation's deputy president Nikolai Proskurin has said. The Spaniard's future with Astana has been unclear for months amid persistent...
Podium Cafe (Free subscription) | 10/27/2009
Attached is a poll to determine the Podium Cafe 2009 Rider of the Year. Barring a catastrophic outcome, the poll results will determine the winner. Poll compiled based on your submissions . Vote ends Friday at noon Pacific. Poll Who is the 2009 Rider of the Year? Cadel Evans Alberto Contador Fabian Cancellara Mark Cavendish Thor Hushovd Edvald Boasson Hagen Philippe Gilbert Heinrich Haussler Andy Schleck...
Podium Cafe (Free subscription) | 10/21/2009
So after f'ing this up in the VDS thread (I blame Will because... well... just because) I decided to redo it using Chris' actual final spreadsheet this time, rather than the actual non-official spreadsheet that I pulled out of my ass. So, following the rules as I remember them (must have one 25 point rider, no more than two 20 point riders, 25 riders total with a total cost of no more than 150 points),...
cyclingnews.com (Free subscription) | 10/19/2009
Alberto Contador has spearheaded a dominant season for Spanish cycling after finishing on top of the International Cycling Union's (UCI) world rankings, announced on Monday. The Tour de France champion led a Spanish trio, with compatriots Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) and Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) taking second and third in the individual rankings, respectively. Contador's...
cyclingnews.com (Free subscription) | 10/15/2009
Alejandro Valverde learned this week that he will have a hearing with CAS on November 16th to present his argument against the ban imposed by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI). But it will be some time longer before he finds out if he will be served with a worldwide ban. The Spanish Caise d'Epargne rider is facing not one but two appeals before CAS. The first relates to a CONI decision taken on...
VeloNews (Free subscription) | 10/15/2009
Alejandro Valverde finally has a date with destiny. November 16, to be exact, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear testimony in the ongoing appeal on his two-year racing ban in Italy for links to the Operación Puerto blood doping scandal. The reigning Vuelta a España champion is fending off allegations leveled by Italian authorities that he was one of the top clients of Dr....
Euro Peloton - Pro Cycling News (Free subscription) | 10/14/2009
Juan Mauricio Soler burst onto the professional cycling scene in 2007 at the biggest bike race in the world, the Tour de France. A tall, gangly climber with a nose like a hawk, Soler drew wry comments from the race announcers for his awkward form while climbing, but he took their breath away with his fierce accelerations on the steeps as he flew around France en route to becoming the winner of the...
Podium Cafe (Free subscription) | 10/07/2009
And, um, holy crap you guys : Team Beer Lao, 13,485 points Vlammende Vedetten, at 24 EuroPeloton, at 119 Low Road Redux, at 181 Brian Clough's Nose, at 221 Cruzers, at 244 Down Tube Shifters, at 328 Spin'n Doo Dads, at 359 Let's Hurt a Little!, at 390 I thought I'd do the standings in the cyclo-recognizable deficit form, to emphasize how unbelievably close this race is as we head down the home stretch....
cyclingnews.com (Free subscription) | 10/05/2009
With all due respect to the riders at the Franco-Belge and the cyclo-cross stars taking part in the first round of the World Cup in Treviso, the big match-up of the weekend pitted Vuelta champion Alejandro Valverde against a six-dog sled team under the direction of champion "musher' Ismael Piñol. The result? A convincing victory for the canine sextet, who reached a speed of 60kph along...
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