2008 Teams Preview Part 2: Credit Agricole through Gerolsteiner

For the second installment, we will look at Credit Agricole, CSC, Euskaltel, FdJeux, and Gerolsteiner.

Credit Agricole
French
Sponsor: French bank
Team Manager: Roger Legeay (France)
Key Riders: Thor Hushovd, winner of the Green Jersey and 5 stages of the Tour; Pietro Caucchioli, he has several top-10s in the Giro.
Depth: 3/10, besides Hushovd, Credit Agricole is a very weak team, and Caucchioli is getting old.
2007 Season: 4/10, Hushovd's Tour stage win was their only ProTour win in 2007; Laszlo Bodrogi finished second in the Worlds TT, but that was while riding for Hungary, not Credit Agricole.
Expectations: A Tour stage or two from Hushovd, and some decent stage race placings from Caucchioli.

CSCDanish
Sponsor: Computer Sciences Coroporation (self-explanatory)
Team Manager: Bjarne Riis (Denmark)
Key Riders: Fabian Cancellara, back-to-back World Time Trial Champion, two stages in the 2007 Tour; Stuart O'Grady, winner of last year's Paris-Roubaix; Carlos Sastre, 4th and 2nd in the 2007 Tour and Vuelta, respectively; Jens Voigt, winner of the '07 Criterium International and Tour of Germany, with a stage win in each as well; Andy Schleck, 2nd overall and Best Young rider in the Giro; Frank Schleck (Andy's older brother), winner of the '06 Tour stage to l'Alpe d'Huez and 10th overall.
Depth: 10/10; There is no one better. CSC has everything, from climbers (Sastre, the Schleck bros.), to sprinters (O'Grady, J.J. Haedo), to time triallists (Cancellara, Bobby Julich), to classics riders (O'Grady, Cancellara, Voigt, Frank Schleck).
2007 Season: 10/10, the best team in the world, hands down. 14 ProTour wins, and second places in the and Giro and Vuelta.
Expectations: A Grand Tour win and more of the dominance we saw last year.

Euskaltel-Euskadi
Basque (Spanish)
Sponsors: The Basque telephone company and regional government, respectively.
Team Manager: Miguel Madariga
Key Riders: Sammy Sanchez, 3rd overall and three stage wins in the Vuelta; Haimar Zubeldia, 5th overall in the Tour; Mikel Astarloza, 9th overall in the Tour.
Depth: 6/10, a solid squad, especially in the high mountains of stage races.
2007 Season: 6/10, an average campaign for the Basques, a pretty good Tour overall, although they could have used a stage win, and a very good final week of the Vuelta.
Expectations: A top-5 in the Tour for Zubeldia and a podium finish in a Grand Tour outside of Spain for Sanchez; miscellaneous mountain stages.

Francaise des Jeux (FdJeux)
French
Sponsor: The French National Lottery
Team Manager: Marc Madiot
Key Riders: Sandy Casar, who won their only ProTour race of the season, Stage 18 of the Tour de France; Phillipe Gilbert, winner of the 2006 Omloop Het Volk; Sebastian Chavanel, who placed highly in several Tour sprints last year.
Depth: 2/10, they lost their best young rider, Thomas Lovkvist, to Team High Road and have no one capable of winning any serious stage races.
2007 Season: 4/10, but only because winning a Tour stage for a French team is HUGE. Otherwise they were very mediocre.
Expectations: Very low. A Tour stage win if they're lucky, and Milram & Quick.step have pity on them.

Gerolsteiner
German
Sponsor: German mineral water company
Team Manager: Reimund Dietzen
Key Riders: Davide Rebellin, the best rider in the Ardennes classics over the last three years, with four wins, a second place, and a third, also 2nd in Paris-Nice; Stefan Schumacher, two stages in the '06 Giro, the 2007 Amstel Gold Race, and bronze in the World Championships
Depth: 6/10, a very diverse team with a lot of very strong classics riders and time triallists.
2007 Season: 6/10, seven ProTour wins, including Amstel Gold and Fleche Wallone, as well as stages in the Giro, Dauphine, and Tour of Germany.
Expecatations: A strong showing in the Ardennes classics again, and some wins from their sprinters, especially Heinrich Haussler.

That's Part 2. Part 3 will be along soon, with Team High Road (formerly T-Mobile), Lampre, Liquigas, Milram, and Quick.Step.

2008 Teams Preview Part 1: Ag2r through Cofidis

Over the next few weeks, I'll be profiling all of the ProTour and Pro Continental Teams. In this first installment, I will be discussing Ag2r, Astana, Bouygues Telecom, Caisse d'Epargne, and Cofidis.

Ag2r-La Mondiale

French
Sponsors: Ag2r and La Mondiale are both insurance companies
Team Manager: Vincent Lavenu (France)
Key Rider: Jean Patrick-Nazon; the French sprinter has won stages in the Tour in the past, and is a good finisher.
Depth: 2/10; The loss of Christophe Moreau to the Pro Continental outfit Agritubel has left Ag2r without any real GC contender. Although they signed seven new riders, none of them are going to be more then team helpers for Nazon.
2007 Season: 7/10; Moreau's fighting win in le Dauphine Libere more than made up for their relative anonymity for the rest of the season.
Expectations: Some stage wins in French races; a stage in the Tour would be the highlight of their season.

Astana

Kazakh
Sponsor: Astana is a consortium of Kazakh businesses
Team Manager: Johan Bruyneel (Belgium)
Key Riders: Alberto Contador, the defending Tour champion; Levi Leipheimer, third at last year's Tour and a serious contender this year as well; Janez Brajkovic, winner of last year's Tour de Georgia and a major player in the 2006 Vuelta; Andreas Kloden, twice a podium finisher at the Tour, and , although his form and luck have been erratic, he is one of the best in the world on his day.
Depth: 9/10; Bruyneel has taken the best riders from Discovery Channel and brought them to Astana. The one missing piece of the puzzle is a top class sprinter, although Bruyneel didn't seem to worry about that at Discovery either.
2007 Season: 0/10, the team essentially collapsed mid-Tour when Vinokourov was kicked out and they pretty much did nothing for the rest of the season.
Expectations: Nothing less than a Tour win will satisfy Bruyneel or the sponsors, and they certainly have the team to do it.

Bouygues Telecom

French
Sponsor: French mobile phone company
Team Manager: Jean-René Bernaudeau (France)
Key Riders: Thomas Voeckler, wore the maillot jaune for 10 stages in 2004, won the GP Ouest France - Plouay last year; Pierrick Fedrigo, who was French Champion in 2005 and won a stage in the 2006 Tour.
Depth: 3/10, slightly better than Ag2r, but nowhere near the top level of teams in the ProTour
2007 Season: 4/10; their saving grace was Voeckler's win in Plouay, it was their only ProTour win of the year.
Expectations: Win....something?

Caisse d'Epargne

Spanish
Sponsor: French (yes, French) bank
Team Manager: José Miguel Echavarri (Spain)
Key Riders: Alejandro Valverde, beat Lance Armstrong to the summit of Courchevel in 2005, finished 2nd in the 2006 Vuelta; Vladimir Karpets, Best Young Rider of the 2004 Tour and winner of last year's Tour de Suisse; Jose Rujano, a one-trick pony so far, but what a trick it was, King of the Mountains, 3rd overall, and a stage win in the 2005 Giro d'Italia; Oscar Pereiro, winner of the 2006 Tour de France.
Depth: 8/10, this is one of a few teams which will seriously challenge Astana in the Grand Tours. This is the year when Valverde has to win his first of the same, or there will be serious doubts as to whether he can live up to the hype of being the next Miguel Indurain or Luis Ocana.
2007 Season: 7/10, a very good season for many teams, but for a strong GC team like Caisse d'Epargne to fail to contend in any of the Grand Tours was a huge disappointment.
Expectations: A Grand Tour win for Valverde and a strong showing in all three Grand Tours.

Cofidis

French
Team Manager: Eric Boyer (France)
Key Riders: David Moncoutie, twice a stage winner in the Tour, King of the Mountains in last year's Paris-Nice;
Nick Nuyens, a strong rider in the early season classics, winner of the 2006 Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.
Depth: 4/10, some strong riders, but no one who really threatens for big wins at all.
2007 Season: 5/10, an average season for an average team; Wiggins' prologue win in the Dauphine and Duque's stage in the Vuelta were the high points.
Expectations: A stage in one of the Grand Tours, miscellaneous wins in French races.

That's Part 1, I'll be back in a few days with Part 2 (Credit Agricole, CSC, Euskaltel, FdJeux, and Gerolsteiner).

Mayo Debacle reaches a satisfactory conclusion

Today the Spanish cycling federation (RFEC) made one of the best decisions a governing body of cycling has made in recent years. They have declared they will not investigate the doping case against Iban Mayo (Saunier Duval) any further, meaning that he is clear to race in the 2008 season. It would be wrong to suggest that the author of this blog does not have a strong anti-doping stance; however, this case has been horribly handled by the UCI and if RFEC did decide to investigate, it would have been a gross miscarriage of justice.

The case began with Mayo's non-negative "A" sample test from last year's Tour de France, which was tested
at the Châtenay-Malabry lab in France. This is the same lab which came under serious scrutiny after allegations arose that it mishandled Floyd Landis' samples after the 2006 Tour de France. Mayo requested that the "B" sample be tested, and it was, at a laboratory in Ghent, Belgium. The Ghent lab said that the test on the "B" sample was inconclusive, and in most cases this would mean that the charges would be dropped.

However, the UCI, fearing that this would seriously damaged the credibility of the Châtenay-Malabry lab, sent it back to the same lab to test the "B" sample again. Now, I am no expert in the science of drug controls, but it wouldn't seem like a good idea to retest the same sample multiple times. More importantly, why would the UCI send it back to the same lab whose credibility was questioned if they didn't want to cover for that lab? Obviously, if the UCI had sent it to another lab, say the UCLA lab, and they had confirmed the Ghent lab's result, this would have shattered the credibility of the Châtenay-Malabry lab and damaged the case against Floyd Landis, both of whose samples were tested there. Naturally, the UCI announced that the French lab's result was a non-negative.

In short, I feel that the Châtenay-Malabry lab needs to have not only a complete personnel review in the wake
of several leaks to the French sports daily L'Equipe, but it needs to be stripped of its UCI accreditation until it has done a full review of all its operations. Morover, the head of the UCI's anti-doping department, Anne Gripper, needs to be fired, and the UCI President, Pat McQuaid, needs to be impeached or forced out. They have been the central figures in this witch hunt of Iban Mayo. They have lost all credibility in my eyes, and I cannot take anything they say seriously any more. Not only is McQuaid an incompetent fool and an idiot in his dealings with the Grand Tour organizers (ASO, RCS, and Unipublic) with regards to the ProTour, he has led two attempts by the UCI to destroy riders' credibility and livelihood based on suspicious, at best, testing procedures at labs with vested interests in non-negative results.

I have no more time for stupid organization and incompetence at the UCI. We, the fans, want to win this war on doping, and we want to win it the right way. We want to catch the cheats, but only the cheats. There need not be any "collateral damage" in the War on Drugs. McQuaid seems to think that by going after lots of high-profile riders using suspect evidence, young riders will be too scared to get within 100 meters of an EPO syringe. If anything, his actions will only discourage young riders from looking to go pro, which will seriously damage the quality of professional cycling around the world. I, for one, would be much less likely to become a professional (if I had the talent) because of McQuaid's witch hunt.

The bad news in this story is, however, that the UCI has appealed RFEC's decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. This is another stupid move by McQuaid & co. because even if CAS does side with them, it has no means by which to force RFEC to investigate the case. In that case, RFEC should refuse to investigate and the national federations should break away from the UCI. It is not the head of cycling, that is the fans. It is merely an infected arm, which, when amputated, will bother our system no longer.

2008 Tour de France Preview

We're about seven months away from Le Grand Depart of the Tour de France 2008, so I decided to write up a short preview. I'll go much more in-depth when the Tour is closer and the full details are announced. Expect a Preliminary Giro d'Italia preview as well in a few weeks, once the route is announced. Going by recent Giro routes, its going to be excellent.

The Route of the 2008 Tour de France.

When I first saw the route of the 2008 Tour, I was very disappointed. Only two serious summit finishes, no Mont Ventoux, and no Plateau de Beille, Luz Ardiden, or Pla d'Adet. Even this afternoon I was looking at the route and was distinctly displeased with it. However, I have come to see the benefits of next year's route. For one, it gives my man Alessandro Petacchi several more chances to win Tour stages. Also, the Tour includes several arduous stages through the Massif Central, which could give breakaways a good chance to take a stage or two in the opening week. Most importantly, the backloaded nature of the route means that we will probably not know the destiny of the final yellow jersey until the end of the stage to l'Alpe d'Huez, at the earliest, and probably after the final Time Trial. I'm assuming, of course, that Alberto Contador or Damiano Cunego doesn't launch a devastating attack on the first big mountain stage to the top of the Hautacam climb in the Pyrenees. You may ask why I assume this, and its simple, really. I suspect the field for next year's Tour will be one of the deepest in years, and as such no rider would dare putting all of his cards on the table on the first mountain stage.


Week One: Le Grand Depart

Next year's Tour starts in the cycling homeland of France, Brittany, the home region of Tour legend and five-time winner Bernard "The Badger" Hinault. Although the first stages are fairly flat, the contenders will have to be wary of Brittany's famous winds - a rider who is caught out during crosswinds could see himself losing anywhere from one to five minutes on a single stage. The fourth stage is the first big test: an individual time trial around the city of Cholet. This is an opportunity for a strong time triallist like Cadel Evans, Michael Rogers, or Vladimir Karpets to throw down the gauntlet and put serious time into the climbers before the first foray into the mountains. A short stage as Tour Time Trials go, at just 29 km, it still offers a really powerful man in the mold of Miguel Indurain a perfect chance to seize the yellow jersey. The next four stages are undulating or flat south and then west across the Massif Central to the foot of the Pyrenees.


Week Two: Into the Mountains

Col de Peyresourde - 13.2 km @ 7.1%

Col d’Aspin - 12.1 km @ 6.6%

The ninth stage of the 2008 Tour de France is the first of five mountain stages. As Tour mountain stages go, it is only moderately difficult. However it is a very long stage at 222 km, and after several long and probably hot days (remember, it is July) through the center of France, this stage will really hurt the riders' legs. A strong breakaway group will probably win the stage after a crazy chase down the descent of the Col d'Aspin. The other major possibility is that one rider, perhaps Christophe Moreau, will go hunting for King of the Mountains points today, and win the stage as a result. The major contenders will sit back and keep their powder dry for the next stage.

Col du Tourmalet - 17.7 km @ 7.5%

Hautacam - 14,2 km @ 7.2%

Stage 10 will be a critical stage. If any of the climbers have aspirations of winning overall, they must strike here. However, they must measure their efforts carefully because there are still many battles yet to come. Even though it is a short stage at just 154 kilometers, it features two very well known climbs. The final climb of Hautacam is where Lance Armstrong vanquished Marco Pantani and Jose Maria Jiminez in the 2000 Tour. The Col du Tourmalet is the most legendary of all the Pyreneean climbs, and the first mountain pass ever crossed by the Tour de France, way back in 1910. Even now it is feared, an 18-kilometer monster which tops out at well over 2000 meters. One of the Spanish or Italian climbers will probably win this stage, but I would be surprised to see time gaps much larger than a minute to the other major contenders. Hautacam is not an easy climb by any means, but it is not as hard several climbs yet to come.

After a Rest Day in Pau, the riders cross the south of France in four fairly flat stages which will determine the real contenders for the Sprinters' green points jersey before four hard days in the Alps. The peloton will probably let a breakaway win one or two of these stages, but there will still be a furious fight behind for every point on offer.


Week Three: Crunch Time

Col de Larche / Maddalena - 16.1 km @ 4%

Prato Nevoso - 11.1 km @ 7,1%

The third mountain stage of the Tour is a fairly straightforward climb over the Southern Alps up to the Italian town of Prato Nevoso. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the climbers who was caught off guard on the stage to Hautacam blitzed the field and won here. Barring that, It will probably come down to one of the Italian climbers, Cunego or Piepoli, to win the stage.

Col de la Lombarde - 21.2 km @ 7%

Col de la Bonette-Restefond - 26.7 km
@ 6.2%

After a second and final rest day, the Tour riders will venture out from the Italian city of Cuneo, back across the Alps into France on a huge mountain stage. This stage is almost entirely either climbing or descending, but the serious climbing starts about 50 kilometers in, with the huge climb of the Col de la Lombarde. This is immediately followed by an even bigger climb to the high point of the 2008 Tour at 2802 meters, the Col de la Bonnette-Restefond. After the riders cross the summit, they have a fast 22-kilometer descent into the town of Jausiers. The winner of this stage will be the most daring climber with the best descending skills because after claiming the Souvenir Henri Desgrange (a prize awarded to the rider first over the highest mountain in the Tour and named after the race's founder) the leader will still have to contend with a tricky descent to the finish. If Paolo "Il Falco" Salvodelli is within a minute of the leaders at the top of the Bonnette-Restefond, he would be a good bet to win this stage, as he is arguably the best descender int he world.

Col du Galibier - 20.9 km @ 5.6%

Col de la Croix de Fer - 29.2 km @ 5.2%

L’Alpe d’Huez - 13.3 km @ 8.6%

Here it is, at long last. The queen stage of the 2008 Tour de France, from Embrun to the most famous climb in world cycling, L'Alpe d'Huez. The 21 infamous switchback turns of the Alpe will see many a contender fall by the wayside, and could decide the fate of the final yellow jersey. The stage begins with a long undulating section before the riders face the first test of the day, the Col du Galibier. The riders climb it from the "easier" side this year, and descend the harder side. After the Galibier, the peloton will climb the Col de la Croix de Fer (French for "The pass with the iron cross"). The early morning breakaway riders will try to hang on over the Croix de Fer, in hope of snatching a win on the Alpe, as Frank Schleck did in 2006. However, the pace in the peloton will be very high as they come through the town of Bourg d'Oisans at the foot of the Alpe. On the climb the attacks will come thick and fast, with all of the remaining contenders looking to put time into their rivals. It should be an epic stage, and as a result I won't dare to predict who will win it. I do suspect, however, that it will be either one of the Spanish or Italian climbers.

After the queen stage, the riders venture out of the Alps on stage 18, before an undulating stage to Montlucon. These two stages will probably determine the final winner of the green jersey, but the way the competition has gone these past few years, it could all come down to the final sprint on the Champs-Eysees.

The final time trial of the 2008 Tour de France will be the last shakedown of the overall standings before the final day's stage into Paris. If all goes well, we will see a huge battle for the final yellow jersey enacted between Cerilly and Saint-Armond-Montrond. It is a long time trial at 53 kilometers and a good time triallist could make up 2 minutes quite easily. As such, I think this stage, just like the Alpe three days before, could go down as a classic in the history of the Tour.

The final stage into Paris is traditionally quiet until the riders hit the Champs-Elysees for the first of 8 circuits. Everyone has a bit of fun and chats for the first 75 kilometers or so and enjoys their last day of racing together. However, when the first riders hit the bone-shaking cobbles of the Champs, the attacks will start. Lap after lap the sprinters' teams will try to chase down each successive breakaway. Rarely do breaks win on the Champs, and the race will probably come down to a big bunch sprint, with every sprinter in the pack looking for his moment to shine. Hopefully that gentleman will be my man Alessandro Petacchi, but I doubt it :( .

I hope that next year's Tour de France will be an exciting, scintillating, and most importantly drug-free affair. Forza Petacchi and Vive Le Tour!

2007 Year in Review & Awards

Season Review

2007, what a year it was for professional cycling. Fantastic racing which was sadly overshadowed by more drug scandals. The early season classics were a joy to behold, as was the Giro. The Dauphine Libere was a bit of a let down because, once again, the "big boys" decided to keep their powder dry for le Tour. Speaking of which, it was a fantastic race to watch. Despite the expulsions of Rasmussen (ex-Rabobank) and Vinokourov (ex-Astana), the Pyreneean stages were some of the most exciting cycling I saw last year. August and September showed once again how badly the calendar needs to be revamped. Too many races in too short of a time. Chapeau to Christophe Moreau (ag2r) and Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) for their great, attacking wins in the Dauphine and the GP Ouest France-Plouay, respectively. It would be great to see France make a renaissance in cycling; we haven't seen a Frenchman seriously challenge for a Grand Tour win since Richard Virenque (then Festina) in 1997. However, there don't seem to be any real up-and-coming French prospects in road cycling.

The latter part of the season was pretty interesting, although la Vuelta was more or less a wash for Denis
Menchov (Rabobank). Three stages combined for Peta' and Erik made this Milram fan happy. Serious props to Menchov for salvaging his season after working like an ox for Rasmussen in le Tour. Bennati's form over the latter part of the season should have merited a place in the Italian team for the Worlds, but the FCI Directeur Sportif Franco Ballerini built his team around Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step) and it paid off . Two World Championships in two years for Il Grillo and I can see him retiring this year if he wins another Olympic title. The late season classics were overshadowed by the polemics between Danilo di Luca (Liquigas) and the UCI. His involvement in the Oil for Drugs scandal resulted in a farcical 4-month ban, but, more importantly, the loss of his ProTour leaders' jersey to Cadel Evans. Evans certainly deserved the win for his form and tremendous grit over the course of the season, but he surely would rather have won it in a different way. Petacchi (Milram) took his first win in Paris-Tours while Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital) closed the season with his second win in the Giro di Lombardia after beating one of the revelations of the season, Ricardo Ricco (Saunier Duval) in the sprint.

The Six-Day season was once again dominated by the Swiss duo of Bruno Risi and Franco Marvulli. Although Erik Zabel & Leif Lampater gave them a good run in the early part of the campaign, their domination was finally broken by Iljo Keisse and Robert Bartko in Ghent. The British, Dutch and French reigned supreme in the first two Track World Cups and are surely expecting a big haul in the Worlds and Olympics this year. One of my favorite riders, Chris Hoy (GB) has done a fantastic job of transitioning from a World Champion in the 1 kilometer Time Trial to a challenger for the same in the Keirin; big ups to Chris for that, and I hope, as he does, that the UCI has the sense to bring back the "kilo" (although we must remember that this is the UCI we're talking about).

Cyclocross has once again been the personal domain of "King 'Cross", Sven Nys. Although he suffered a few defeats in the early part of the season, including Neils Alberts Superprestige win in Gieten, which ended Nys' streak of 13 consecutive Superprestige victories, his dominance over the Christmas/New Year's period has shown that he is still the best 'Cross rider in the world.

2007 Awards:

Best Cyclo-Cross Rider: Sven Nys (Rabobank), for his ability to seemingly win at will.

Best Track Rider: Tie between Chris Hoy (GB), because of his incredible ability to transition from the best "kilo" rider in the world to the best Keirin rider, and the duo of Risi (SUI) and Marvulli (SUI) for their domination of the Six-Days.

Best Stage Race: le Tour de France, for all of the drama that surrounded it and the cliff-hanger of an ending.

Best One-Day Race: Tie between Paris-Roubaix and de Ronde van Vlaanderen, for their gritty winners and great attacking cycling.

Best Grand Tour Route for 2008: Il Giro d'Italia, for the simple audacity of having a mountain time trial up the Kronplatz.

Best Moment: The final 10 kilometers of de Ronde, because of the fantastic suspense and Ballan's amazing come-from-behind win.

Bike of the Year: Cervelo SLC-SL, it is simply the fastest and most beautiful bike on the market today. I love the styling of the Pinarello Prince, but the SLC-SL's aerodynamics seal it for me.

Most Improved Rider: Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto), for going from a Grand Tour also-ran to a serious challenger.

Most Underrated Rider: Alessandro Petacchi (Milram); for the last three years people have been predicting the fall of Ale-Jet, but once again it has failed to occur.

Most Underperforming Rider: Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital). I love the guy, he's a great attacking rider who can climb and sprint, but he hasn't showed up in the Giro since he won in 2004.

Worst Rider of the Year: Tie between Alexandre Vinokourov (ex-Astana) and Michael Rasmussen (ex-Rabobank), for obvious reasons.

Revelation of the Year: Andy Schleck (CSC); second in the Giro and the Best Young rider. Expect big things from this kid in the coming years.

Legend of Cycling: Peter van Petegem (Predictor-Lotto), who retired this year, was a fantastic rider in the early season classics, a great rival of Johan Museeuw, and one of few men to win de Ronde and Paris-Roubaix in the same season.

Best Female Road Rider: Tie between Marianne Vos (DSB Bank), for showing everyone why she deserved to be the World Champion last year and for her win in the World Cup, and Nicole Cooke (Raleigh-LifeForce), who would have won this award handily if she hadn't been injured for the latter part of the season and lost the World Cup as a result, in the final race.

Best Male Road Rider: Alberto Contador (Discovery Channel); although he only rode a few races, he won when it counted and was very exciting in the Pyrenees during the Tour. I think the 2010 Tour may be a duel between Contador and Andy Schleck, and what a race that will be!

Best Road Team: CSC barely squeaks this over Lampre-Fondital, who were very consistent and always threatening throughout the course of the season. The Danish-based team wins because of their better GC performances in the Grand Tours.

Rider of the Year: Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto), for his amazing consistency and because he fought so hard for his high places in the Tour and Vuelta. He is one rider who I have no doubt is clean; he finished second in the Tour because of sheer determination in the Pyrenees and the final time trial.

Congratulations to all the winners and here's to a fantastic (and clean) season of racing in 2008!

Explaining Cycling, Part 3 of 6: Cyclocross

Known to fans simply as 'cross, cyclocross is a blend of road cycling and mountain biking. 'Cross bikes are essentially the same as road bikes, but with a wider front fork and more space between the seatstays and chainstays to allow for wider tires. The handlebars are standard road drop handlebars, but 'cross riders generally use smaller gear ratios because of the sharp, steep climbs which characterize 'cross courses.

'Cross courses are generally short, from 1 to 4 kilometers, and races generally last from around 20-30 minutes (amateurs) to 1 hour (Elite Men). Courses usually feature obstacles which riders either have to dismount and carry their bikes over, or bunny hop over.

Bunny hopping is a difficult and complicated maneuver which can either save time or make the rider look very foolish. There are also frequently sand pits which the riders can either ride or run through, while carrying their bikes on their shoulders.

Cyclocross courses also commonly feature stairs which the riders must run up, also carrying their bikes on their shoulders.

American Johnathan Page at the top of set of stairs, 2006 Cyclocross World Championships.

The final major element or 'cross courses is the steep climbs. Some, including the infamous "bridge" at the Pijnacker course in Holland have gradients in excess of 30%. This short climbs are launch pads for strong riders like Sven Nys or Bart Wellens to attack the field.

'Cross fields are generally fairly diverse, although the Belgians have dominated in recent years, winning the
last 7 World Championships.

Four Belgians lead the field in the World Championships.

However, don't think that the races aren't competitive. Because 'cross is an individual sport, the Belgian "team" isn't really a team at all. They will attack each other as much as they can, from the starting gun to the final sprint.

Explaining Cycling, Part 2 of 6: Six-Day Racing

The six-days are the heart of track racing, and we're right in the middle of the season right now. The six-days are really a series of Madison races (see the explanation thereof in Part 1) with other track races (also explained in Part 1) between them. The six-day team consists of two riders who swap out racing the Madison and slowly riding around the top of the track. They swap places when the racer grabs the hand of the other rider and slings him up to race speed. Sprints for points are held every 20 laps, and the team on the lead lap with the most points at the end wins. Even if a team has more points, if they are a lap down, they do not win.

Explaining Cycling, Part 1 of 6: Track Cycling Basics

The Velodrome

All track cycling events are held in Velodromes. The shortest velodromes are 200 meters and have very steep banking, while the longest are 450 meters and have shallow banking (most of these are also outside). An Olympic standard Velodrome is 250 meters long, is inside, and has the track made of wood (most outdoor tracks are concrete).

The Equipment

Almost all riders wear aerodynamic, one-piece skinsuits to reduce drag (even stationary air in an indoor velodrome has an impact). Track bikes are incredibly stiff, as weight doesn't make that much of a difference. There are no brakes, and the crankset and pedals are attached directly to the rear wheel (in other words, if the bike is moving, you are pedaling). The bikes for the Madison, Match Sprint, Olympic Sprint, Keirin, and Points race have standard track frames and drop handlebars. The bikes for the 1 Kilometer Time Trial (Men), 500 Meter Time Trial, Individual Pursuit, and Team Pursuit have similar frames but aerodynamic handlebars.

The Events

Match Sprint
Held over 1000 meters, the Match Sprint is generally considered the "purest" track event. It involves two riders, one of whom is designated to lead the first lap, unless the other rider passes him. The two riders ride slowly around the track for the first two or three laps, before one of them starts their explosive sprint to the line. In the World Championships and other major events, it is a best-of-three competition.

1-Kilometer Time Trial (Men)/500 Meter Time Trial
A very fast and simple event. Riders ride 4 laps (or 2 for the women) of an Olympic Velodrome and are timed. Fastest time wins. The present World Record for the men is held by Arnaud Tournant of France, who covered the kilometer in just 58.875 seconds, for an average speed of over 60 kph.

Olympic Sprint
The Olympic sprint is a three lap event with teams of three riders each. All three start together, but after each lap, the first rider pulls off of the track and the remaining rider (s) continue. This means that the first rider does one lap, the second two laps and the third three laps. Each team is timed and the fastest time wins.

Keirin
The Keirin is one of the strangest track events. Held over 2000 meters (8 laps), the first 5 1/2 laps are paced by a small motorbike which increases the speed from 25 kph up to 45 kph before it pulls off of the track. The final two and a half laps are an insane sprint to the finish, which can include some serious accidents. The first rider across the line wins.

Individual Pursuit
The Mens' Pursuit is over 4 kilometers, while the Womens' is 3 kilometers. Two riders start on opposite sides of the Velodrome, and the rider with the fastest time wins.

Team Pursuit
The principle is the same as that of the Individual Pursuit and it is a mens' only event held over 4 kilometers. Two teams start on opposite sides of the track and the team with the fastest time wins. Germany are the current record holders, averaging over 60 kph.

Madison
A Mens' only event held over 50 to 60 kilometers (200-240 laps), it gets its name from the arena where it was first held, New York's Madison Square Garden. Two man teams participate in the Madison, with only one man racing at a time. The other one rides slowly around at the top of the banking until his team-mate slings him into the race. This is a delicate and dangerous maneuver, which can cause a serious accident if one of the riders makes a mistake. The intent, however, is to get the slower-moving rider up to speed on the track. Sprints are held every 20 laps, and points are given to each of the first four places (1st-5, 2nd-3, 3rd-2, 4th-1) and the last lap counts for double points. However, if a team manages to lap the field, they automatically win because points only serve as a tiebreaker for teams on the same lap.

Points Race
Similar to the Madison, but it is an individual event for both Men and Women and held over a shorter distance (it varies). Sprints are held every 10 laps (the point distribution is the same), and the last lap also counts for double points. If a rider laps the field, they get 20 points. If a rider is lapped by the field, they lose 20 points (this is why you sometimes see negative scores).