Alberto Contador wins Portugal's Volta au Algarve stage race on the strength of his stage 4 time trial.
Astana's Alberto Contador started his season out with a victory by winning Portugal's Volta ao Algarve stage race on Sunday.
Contador finished in the pack — in 96th place — on the 166km stage from Vila do Obispo to Portimao. Contador finished in the same time as stage winner Henrich Haussler (Cervelo TestTeam).
Contador had taken the overall lead on the strength of his second place in the stage 3 mountain top finish and then his commanding win in stage 4's 34km time trial.
"This year, the Tour is without doubt my priority, but I don't want to discard the Giro or the Vuelta," said Contador.
"By coming to the Algarve the objective was to stay in form with other targets in mind like the Paris-Nice. But I knew that I was capable of winning the race. I couldn't have done any better.
"It was a very good race. I did right in coming here. We had a lot of luck with the weather which is fundamentally important."
Contador's next race will be Paris-Nice, March 8-15. He won that race in 2007, the same season he won his first Tour de France.
Second Person Nabbed in Austin Cycling Thefts
Thursday, February 19, 2009 0 comments
The Austin Police Department’s South Central Area Command Detectives have made an additional arrest in the high-dollar bike thefts. Layne Severson, (DOB: 10-15-79) has been charged with Money Laundering, a State Jail Felony and has been booked into Travis County jail on a $5,000 bond.
Detectives learned that Severson owned an online payment account. The proceeds from the sale of the stolen property were deposited into this account which was connected to Severson’s checking account.
James Clayton was arrested on Tuesday Feb. 3, 2009 in connection with this case.
Detectives learned that Severson owned an online payment account. The proceeds from the sale of the stolen property were deposited into this account which was connected to Severson’s checking account.
James Clayton was arrested on Tuesday Feb. 3, 2009 in connection with this case.
Thanks for returning my bike.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 0 comments
Too hot to handle? Armstrong's TT bike reportedly recovered
Sacramento police reported recovering Lance Armstrong’s stolen time trial bike on Wednesday.
The custom Trek 1274/27.5 TTX vanished from a Team Astana truck parked outside a hotel after the Amgen Tour of California prologue, along with three road bikes belonging to Janez Brajkovic, Steve Morabito and Yaroslav Popovych.
Brajkovic's bike was found Tuesday at the hotel from which the other bikes had been stolen. Hotel employees told police that the bike had been in storage and there had been "a miscommunication between the rider and the hotel."
On Wednesday, a local resident who police said wishes to remain anonymous brought Armstrong’s bike to police headquarters. The department released a statement saying that "the facts surrounding how the person came into possession of the bicycle are not being released at this time due to an ongoing investigation."
"The bicycle is currently in the care of the police department and arrangements will be made to
return the bicycle to the owner."
That owner never had any doubts. Asked by VeloNews editor in chief Ben Delaney whether the theft bothered him, Armstrong replied: "Nah. Bikes are replaceable. I suspect that bike will come back. There’s no way you can steal a one-of-a-kind bike. And unless you keep it to yourself, or burn it, that bike comes back every time."
Sacramento police reported recovering Lance Armstrong’s stolen time trial bike on Wednesday.
The custom Trek 1274/27.5 TTX vanished from a Team Astana truck parked outside a hotel after the Amgen Tour of California prologue, along with three road bikes belonging to Janez Brajkovic, Steve Morabito and Yaroslav Popovych.
Brajkovic's bike was found Tuesday at the hotel from which the other bikes had been stolen. Hotel employees told police that the bike had been in storage and there had been "a miscommunication between the rider and the hotel."
On Wednesday, a local resident who police said wishes to remain anonymous brought Armstrong’s bike to police headquarters. The department released a statement saying that "the facts surrounding how the person came into possession of the bicycle are not being released at this time due to an ongoing investigation."
"The bicycle is currently in the care of the police department and arrangements will be made to
return the bicycle to the owner."
That owner never had any doubts. Asked by VeloNews editor in chief Ben Delaney whether the theft bothered him, Armstrong replied: "Nah. Bikes are replaceable. I suspect that bike will come back. There’s no way you can steal a one-of-a-kind bike. And unless you keep it to yourself, or burn it, that bike comes back every time."
The Austin Bike Thief has Friends Apparently
Sunday, February 15, 2009 0 comments
Lance Armstrong, Trek staffers report that Astana time trial bikes, including Armstrong's, stolen from team truck overnight.
Police in Sacramento are investigating the theft of four Team Astana bikes, including Lance Armstrong's time trial bike, from behind a team hotel overnight.
Sacramento Police Department spokesman Konrad Von Schoech told the Sacramento Bee newspaper the bikes were stolen from an unmarked truck that was parked in an alley behind a hotel overnight.
Von Schoech said it wasn't clear whether the thieves were targeting Amstrong.
"We don't have any information that would indicate they specially went after his bike," he told the newspaper.
Lance Armstrong and Trek Bicycle employees reported on their Twitter.com accounts Sunday morning that the four bikes were stolen.
Armstrong posted a picture of his stolen Trek through his Twitter account. "There is only one like it in the world therefore hard to pawn it off. Reward being offered," he wrote.
Trek's Ben Coates confirmed the theft in an email to VeloNews.
"Lance’s TT bike was stolen this morning along with three other Astana team road bikes. The stolen TT is the only one of it’s kind and can easily be spotted," Coates wrote.
SRAM marketing director Michael Zellmann also confirmed the theft, noting that Armstrong's bike had prototype SRAM time trial shifters, the 1090 R2C shifters, and a wireless SRM wattage meter. The SRM handlebar unit was not stolen, Zellmann said.
Armstrong has a backup time trial bike with a different paint job that he could use in the Solvang time trial if the stolen bike is not recovered.
Police in Sacramento are investigating the theft of four Team Astana bikes, including Lance Armstrong's time trial bike, from behind a team hotel overnight.
Sacramento Police Department spokesman Konrad Von Schoech told the Sacramento Bee newspaper the bikes were stolen from an unmarked truck that was parked in an alley behind a hotel overnight.
Von Schoech said it wasn't clear whether the thieves were targeting Amstrong.
"We don't have any information that would indicate they specially went after his bike," he told the newspaper.
Lance Armstrong and Trek Bicycle employees reported on their Twitter.com accounts Sunday morning that the four bikes were stolen.
Armstrong posted a picture of his stolen Trek through his Twitter account. "There is only one like it in the world therefore hard to pawn it off. Reward being offered," he wrote.
Trek's Ben Coates confirmed the theft in an email to VeloNews.
"Lance’s TT bike was stolen this morning along with three other Astana team road bikes. The stolen TT is the only one of it’s kind and can easily be spotted," Coates wrote.
SRAM marketing director Michael Zellmann also confirmed the theft, noting that Armstrong's bike had prototype SRAM time trial shifters, the 1090 R2C shifters, and a wireless SRM wattage meter. The SRM handlebar unit was not stolen, Zellmann said.
Armstrong has a backup time trial bike with a different paint job that he could use in the Solvang time trial if the stolen bike is not recovered.
Forecasters say this year's Tour of California could be just as wet as last year's
Thursday, February 12, 2009 0 commentsLast year’s Tour of California was notable for its cool, rainy weather that combined with a nasty bug going through the peloton to produce a 41 percent attrition rate for the then-eight-day race.
This year, riders are hoping to avoid the infection. But there is little hope of escape from a longer, tougher, race and predicted cool, wet and windy weather.
Team OUCH's Tim Johnson, known for his ability to race cyclocross in brutal conditions, says he is preparing for the toughest race of his career.
"It's going to be friggin' brutal," Johnson told VeloNews Wednesday.
"It was already hard last year, and this year there's a harder course and a better field," he said. "And there could be epic conditions."To read the whole story, click here .
Liar, liar pants on fire?
0 comments Cycling: Change in Plans
Lance Armstrong has abandoned his plan to submit to extra performance-enhancing drug tests and make all of the results public to bolster his claims that he competes drug-free, according to the anti-doping chemist Armstrong had pegged to handle the extra testing.
Don Catlin, head of the Los Angeles-based Anti-Doping Research, said yesterday the planned partnership between him and Armstrong would not go forward for a variety of reasons. Armstrong, 37, had trumpeted the proposed arrangement last September when he came out of a three-year retirement to chase his eighth Tour de France title this summer.
Catlin emphasized that Armstrong had not reneged on his promise to allow free rein on testing and the posting of comprehensive results on the Web.
I guess we all battle the same thing...
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 0 comments
Minutes before the Astana cyclists began their 107-mile training ride in Santa Rosa, one of the world’s most famous athletes made what seemed an off-hand remark.
Standing by his bike in front of the Santa Rosa Hyatt, Lance Armstrong was asked his plans for this ride, part of a 10-day training session leading up to the eight-day Tour of California, which will blast into the city on Feb.15. The King Ridge route had been selected by teammate and Santa Rosa resident Levi Leipheimer for both its scenery and difficulty.
“Just follow Levi,” Armstrong said.
Was he nervous?
For more of the story click here.
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