February 2008 archive

TourTracker Tour of California

Italy's Mario Cipollini is shown joking with other riders at the front on the peloton on Monday's Stage 1 from Sausalito to Santa Rosa. As seen on TourTracker.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/02/18/tourtracker-tour-of-california/

Let Levi Ride petition drive

Cycling fans who are shocked by the unfairness of the Astana cycling team's banishment from the Tour de France will want to sign a petition at LetLeviRide.com.

American cyclist Levi Leipheimer launched the campaign to petition the Amaury Sports Organization to allow his Astana team to compete in the Tour de France,  as well as Paris-Nice and other races it owns.

ASO announced it banned Astana from the Tour de France because of doping problems the past couple of years, in spite of the fact that management has been overhauled this year and many of the cyclists are new…

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/02/18/let-levi-ride-petition-drive/

Campaign button Let Levi Ride

LetLeviRide.com website petitions Amaury Sports Organization, owner of the Tour de France, to let the Astana team compete.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/02/18/campaign-button-let-levi-ride/

Cancellara wins Tour of California prologue; Slipstream puts 4 in top 10

With the precision of a Swiss timepiece, Fabian Cancellara grabbed the prologue win in Palo Alto for the Amgen Tour of California on Sunday.

The world champion time trial champion finished the 2.1-mile route in 3:51. Levi Leipheimer, defending champion and last year's prologue winner on a climbing course up to Coit Tower in San Francisco, finished in 4th place, about 6 seconds behind.

The best team effort was put in by Slipstream-Chipotle, which placed four riders in the top 10. They were Tyler Farrar, David Zabriskie, David Millar and Steven Cozza …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/02/17/cancellara-wins-tour-of-california-prologue-slipstream-puts-4-in-top-10/

Fabian Cancellara

Swiss speedster for Team CSC's Fabian Cancellara

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/02/17/fabian-cancellara-2/

Windiest Jalapeno 100 bike ride ever

You've seen out-of-shape bicyclists get off their bikes and walk up steep hills on weekend bike tour events. But have you ever seen riders dismount because of a headwind?

Bike riders on the Jalapeno 100 through the Rio Grande Valley around Harlingen, Texas, were doing just that Saturday as wind gusts of 52 mph swept across the route.

Tailwinds above 40 mph are a good thing; but headwind or sidewinds are not. Sag wagons filled up during the day. The blogger at Texbiker.net gives this vivid account, which reads at times like it's a dispatch from the Dust Bowl era

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/02/17/windiest-jalapeno-100-bike-ride-ever/

Jalapeno 100 logo

The logo for the Harlingen, Texas, Jalapeno 100 features a pepper on a bike.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/02/17/jalapeno-100-logo/

Who's on the Rock Racing roster for Tour of California?

The prologue for the Amgen Tour of California starts at 1 p.m. (PT) today in Palo Alto, but Rock Racing's roster Saturday night looked like a big question mark. 

Tyler Hamilton. Oscar Sevilla. Santiago Botero. Will they attempt to race in spite of being banned? Apparently not.

And will one of the greatest sprinters of all time, Mario Cipollini, actually emerge from retirement at age 40 and slip on Rock Racing's black jersey? Apparently so …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/02/17/whos-on-the-rock-racing-roster-for-tour-of-california/

Rock Racing jersey

Rock Racing is sponsored by clothing company.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/02/17/rock-racing-jersey/

Watching the 2008 Tour of California from work or home


Mario Cipollini on Tour Tracker on Monday

Can't make it to the roadside for the Amgen Tour of California, which rolls out Sunday through Feb. 24? There are many ways to watch it from the comfort of your office or home computer. 

I'm not encouraging slacking off at work, but computer users will get an enhanced Tour Tracker that offers video streaming, expert audio and other cool doo-dads at the official website this year. There's also “play-by-play” offered by VeloNews and CyclingNews, as well as the highlights presented by Versus on cable TV.

You'll  have to look for the link to Tour Tracker on the Amgen Tour of California website. This is the third year the Adobe and Computer Sciences Corp. have combined attempted this, and frankly the second year was much more reliable than the first. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/02/16/watching-the-2008-tour-of-california-from-work-or-home/