April 17/09 11:59 am - Cycling News of the World

Posted by on 04/17/09
 

Supernatural: Mountain Bike Slideshow
While the focus may be on the world of skiing and snowboarding during the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival, there's at least one event taking place that promises to transport the audience to the spring and summer, just a few weeks into the future, and plant them smack-dab into the heart of mountain bike country.

Chris Winter is organizing a mountain bike slideshow. He said the event fits well with the rest of the festival plans because it speaks to the mountain culture-loving crowd.

"Whistler loves mountain biking, and hitting the dirt for skiers and snowboarders in the valley is a natural step," Winter said. "Spring in Whistler is the best time of the year - you can rip fresh powder in the morning and shred dry dirt in Pemberton or Squamish in the afternoon, and maybe even hit a patio to top off the day."
Read more at Pique


Miller wins Fluidride, ready for Sea Otter
Downhill mountain biker Miranda Miller began her first senior professional season by winning the opening Fluidride Cup race in Port Angeles, Washington on April 5.

Miller, 19, finished ahead of Whistler’s Katie Holden and North Vancouver’s Danice Uyesugi with a time of three minutes and 14 seconds to get a good start on the small American race series while preparing for a big season that includes Canada Cup and World Cup races.
Read more at The Squamish Chief


Fundraiser in support of the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride
The world of high fashion will invade Barrie on May 31 at a special fundraising event in support of the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride.

Supermodel Coco Rocha, and 20 fellow models, will strut their stuff on the runway at the Roxx Nite Club, showcasing spring fashion by Nygard and Liz Claiborne.
Read more at Barrie Advance


Calgary launches mountain film fest
One of the world's most active outdoors communities is banding together next week to launch an outdoors festival that celebrates spring.

Salt Lake City, Chamonix or Perth? No, no and no. Actually, it's Calgary. The Calgary Outdoor Festival, sponsored by the Spirit West outdoors shop and the Calgary Area Outdoor Council, is set to hit venues across Calgary from April 22 to 26.

"It's about time we had an event of our own," says festival organizer Steve Bommer.

Whether you're into snowboarding, hiking, trekking, climbing, cycling, adventure travel or water sports, the festival should boost your heart rate.
Calgary Herald


Whistler Toonie Ride and Bike Swap
This year the Whistler Off Road Cycling Association's annual bike swap will take place after the first official Toonie Ride (formerly Loonie Race) on April 30.

The swap was moved because of the difficulty staging the event on the last day of operations for the Creekside Gondola, which was moved up a week this year to April 19. Rather than compete with the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival, WORCA postponed the swap to Saturday, May 5.
Read more at Pique


Hamilton says he's retiring from cycling
American cyclist Tyler Hamilton will hold a teleconference Friday to announce he is retiring after testing positive for the steroid DHEA, which he said he knowingly ingested in an over-the-counter herbal antidepressant.

It was the second doping offense for the veteran rider, who tested positive for homologous blood transfusion in 2004 and served a mandatory two-year suspension even as he disputed the test results through two rounds of arbitration.

Hamilton likely would face a suspension of eight years to life for his second offense.
Read more at ESPN


Lance will ride in Giro
Lance Armstrong has told organizers that he will race in the Giro d'Italia.

The announcement posted on the Gazzetta dello Sport's Web site on Thursday removed doubts about the seven-time Tour de France champion's participation after having surgery on a broken right collarbone last month.

The Gazzetta said the American contacted organizers Thursday from Colorado, where he is currently training.

The Giro runs May 9-31.


Kazakh federation to resume paying Astana wages
Kazakhstan's cycling federation said Thursday it will resume paying salaries to Lance Armstrong's Astana team now that it has received money owed by its sponsors.

Astana cyclists, including Giro d'Italia winner Alberto Contador, have not received salaries for around a month, prompting fears the team could be disbanded.

"We started receiving the first payments yesterday ... and now that money will be forwarded to the team," Kazakh Cycling Federation deputy chief Nikolai Proskurin told the Associated Press.
Read more at Forbes


Can Britain’s women conquer Europe?
While Nicole Cooke's fourth place in the Tour of Flanders in early April may not have been the result that British cycling fans were hoping for, the race represented another step forward in the emergence of British women as a force at the top level.
Read more at BBC


British Cycling announces measures to rescue road racing
British Cycling have today announced what it is doing to safeguard the future of racing on the British highways.

The sport's governing body has come under increasing pressure this year after several high profile races had been cancelled. Most damaging to the future of the sport was when the Bikeline Two-Day Premier Calendar race was halted by the Police as riders consistently crossed the white line.
Read more at Cycling Weekly


(At Least) Ten Reasons Why Cycling Is Not The New Golf
As I was flipping through TV channels on Easter Sunday, I came across The Masters Championship. It was around 4:00 p.m., so CBS was about halfway through their 6 hour continuous broadcast of the event. In vain, I continued to flip through the (basic cable) channels, looking for a mere glimpse of Paris-Roubaix.

No luck.

The infamy!
Read More Bike World News


Bettini to Compete in Ypres Rally
Retired cyclist Paolo Bettini will make his Intercontinental Rally Challenge debut when he contests the Ypres Rally in Belgium from June 18-20.

Bettini, a long-term rally fan, has contested a handful of events in his native Italy in the past.

He has linked up with fellow cyclist Franco Ballarin for an attack on the asphalt-based Ypres Rally in Belgium driving an Abarth Grande Punto. Ballarin will co-drive.
Read More Ralleye-info.com


Halfords defies satnav slump with profits from biking boom
Halfords has shrugged off the collapse of the satnav bonanza, saying it will beat last year's record profits on the back of the continuing boom in cycling.

The retailer also said it expects a busy few months ahead as stay-at-home Brits head to Halfords to pick up their roof boxes, trailers, tents and cycle carriers and head into the countryside for their credit-crunch holidays this year.

Halfords today said profits for its financial year just ended are set to come in at between £92 million and £92.5 million, ahead of last year's £90.2 million.
Read More Evening Standard


EU Digs Deep in Public Rental Bikes
The huge popularity of public bike rental schemes like Velib in Paris didn’t escape the attention of the EU government. The European Commission initiated an extensive study to the implantation of public rental bike systems in Europe over the past two years.

The outcome of this study was recently published by consultant agency SpiCycles that carried out the study. In close cooperation with six big cities SpiCycles gathered experiences related to specific areas of cycling policy in these cities.
Read More Bike Europe