They Don't Retire.... They Just Turn Into Dirty ol Men!

From: Ams

Sayers transitions to 'cross with SterlingWins!

Long-time road professional Mike Sayers is making the transition into cyclo-cross after retiring from the road after the Tour of Missouri this year. Sayers will be races as part of the team 'SterlingWins.com presented by Leopard Bikes', based in Northern California.Team manager Matt McNamara is happy to usher Sayers into the sport. "I'm honored to have Mike on the team. His leadership and approachability will be great assets to our young team," said McNamara. In addition to Sayers, the team boasts several top tier athletes including multiple State Champion Liza Rachetto, promising juniors Matt Valencia and Anthony Delivannis, several speedy Masters and a quartet of Elite B riders looking to move up. The team's most inspirational member, Chris Carroll, received a heart transplant in 2002.Sayers is looking forward to 'cross with the team. "It's going to be really nice to be a part of this program. I'm sure having fun is the name of the game." The team is focused on rider development through an innovative program that provides each rider with a personalized coaching program, weekly training rides, event and equipment support, and camaraderie. The team will focus on the Northern California calendar including the Bay Area Super Prestige Series, Central Coast and Sacramento Series, with a couple of National level events likely. The team will ride the brand new, 1100 gram, Carbon Fiber Leopard CX1 bike adorned with Ritchey WCS components, and SRAM drive trains.

.....and then there's This!

Armstrong v LeMond or Doper v Dope or Baseline v Freebase or....

2009 is gonna be off the hook!

How to Undermine Ones Legacy... But Whose?

Former Tour de France champion Greg LeMond has claimed that he was threatened by fellow American Lance Armstrong for having criticised the seven-time race winner's association with a doctor implicated in doping affairs.
LeMond, who won the Tour de France in 1986, 1989, 1990, said that he had come under pressure from Armstrong and his circle of friends after saying in 2001 that he was disappointed at the Texan cyclist's association with Italian sports doctor Michele Ferrari.
LeMond said Sunday that the threats continued after 2001.
"Lance threatened me. He threatened my wife, my business, my life," LeMond told French sports daily L'Equipe.
"His biggest threat consisted of saying that he (Armstrong) would find ten people to testify that I took EPO," said LeMond, who was the first American to win the Tour de France.
LeMond hit out at the international cycling union (UCI) for their failure to deal with the problem of doping.
"This problem goes beyond Armstrong. The Spanish scandal (operation "Puerto" which revealed a system of blood doping last month) is another example, the entire system is corrupt," said LeMond, who also referred to the Vrijman report, named after the expert commissioned by the UCI to probe the accusations of doping against Armstrong.
"The report should have come from the world anti-doping agency (WADA, who have criticised the report) or the French Ministry of Health. But it doesn't change anything if you catch a rider because Lance is now retired and it continues," added LeMond.
The 34-year-old Armstrong won seven straight Tour de France titles between 1999 and 2005 before retiring last year.
Armstrong dismissed as untrue reports Saturday that he told a doctor treating him for cancer in 1996 that he had previously taken the banned blood booster EPO, testosterone, growth hormones and cortisone.

TV Motorcycle crash at Univest..

Yup, that's Scott n Dave - Dave n I crashed at US Pro on the first lap and the next race at Tour of Missouri.... Time for new moto's before someone dies.....

We We're Right....

Levi Leipheimer has pulled out of the World Championship road race in Italy on Sunday. Leipheimer has had a strenuous second part of the season, with the Olympics and the Vuelta a España back to back preceding the Word Championships.

Says the prepared statement..... All I can say is when we shot the Vegas CX race on wed pm - the Lance attention was off the chart! I felt like some $10 news shooter "having" to get the last shot of OJ on his way to the electric chair!

Levi n Contador are gonna have to get a sweet set of fake tits to get noticed at the party next year....

Every Picture Tells a Story don't it...

Came in from a co-worker on his way to Vegas (Where we'll shoot Lance racing cross tonight)....

Kinda looks like he's a bit excited?

Rumor?

One rumor I heard today is that Lance & Hein Verbruggen are buying ASO.....





Remember, you heard it here FIRST!

Who? Me?

And Who's Gotta be Jumpin Mad About all This?

MEDIA ALERTLance Armstrong to Announce Global Cancer Initiative and Plans for2009 Cycling Season at Interbike Trade Show

WHAT:Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France champion, will hold a pressconference at Interbike, North America's largest cycling trade show.

WHEN:Thursday, September 25 at 9:00 a.m. in conjunction with the InterbikeInternational Bicycle Expo. (Press confrence is for working media only.

WHERE:Venetian Ballroom J near the upper lobby of the Sands Expo andConvention Center (201 Sands Avenue, Las Vegas),

*WHO/WHY:*During his upcoming Wednesday, September 24th press conference in NewYork City at the Clinton Global Initiative, Armstrong will discuss hisGlobal Cancer Initiative. The following day at the Interbike pressconference, Armstrong will detail plans for his 2009 return toprofessional cycling, including team, partial schedule and developmentprogram.In a statement released earlier this month by Lance announcing his plansto return to the road, he said, "I am happy to announce that aftertalking with my children, my family and my closest friends, I havedecided to return to professional cycling in order to raise awareness ofthe global cancer burden. This year alone, nearly eight million peoplewill die of cancer worldwide. Millions more will suffer in isolation,victims not only of the disease but of social stigma. After the passageof Proposition 15 in Texas, a $3 billion investment in the fight againstcancer which is helping to make this disease part of the nationaldialogue in America, it's now time to address cancer on a global level."For more information, please visit www.livestrong.com/lance2009<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001CR-Bmkb7TJIUePfbUGpT69lSr6HCkUdT9gmhs4KTlN3hVto2YFOxM5DrqH-VC0AC30yqnoGcTaHf8Xe4n7R9phsV1JDSSnVtdmqhx_oU9XJhsc6Eo1R2VCauqb_V6Og9>.

Bike For Sale - Cleverly......

Sent in from Reader Alan R.

Craig's List:

Manly Bike for Sale
Date: 2008-07-22, 10:18AM PDT
Bike for sale What kind of bike? I don't know, I'm not a bike scientist. What I am though is a manly guy looking to sell his bike. This bike is made out of metal and kick ass spokes. The back reflector was taken off, but if you think that deters me from riding at night, you're way wrong. I practiced ninja training in Japan's mount Fuji for 5 years and the first rule they teach about ninja biking is that back reflectors let the enemy know where you are. Not having a rear reflector is like saying "FUCK YOU CAR, JUST TRY AND FIND ME". The bike says Giant on the side because it's referring to my junk, but rest assured even if you have tiny junk that Giant advertisement is going to remain right where it is. I bought this bike for 300 dollars from a retired mercenary that fought in both World War 1 and World War 2 and had his right arm bitten off by a shark in the Phillipines while stationed there as a shark handler. When he sold it to me I had to arm wrestle him for the honor to buy it. I broke his arm in 7 places when I did. He was so impressed with me he offered me to be his son but I thought that was sissy shit so I said no way. The bike has some rusted screws, but that just shows how much of a bad ass you are. Everyone knows rusted screws on a bike means that you probably drove it underwater and that's bad ass in itself. Those screws can be replaced with shiny new ones, but if you're going to go to that trouble why not just punch yourself in the balls since you're probably a dickless lizard who doesn't like to look intimidating. The bike is for men because the seat is flat or some shit and not shaped like a dildo. If you like flat seated bikes you're going to love this thing because it doesn't try to penetrate your ass or anything. I've topped out at 75 miles per hour on this uphill but if you're just a regular man you'll probably top it out at 10 miles per hour. This thing is listed as a street bike which is man-code for bike tank. The bike has 7 speeds in total: Gear 1 - Sissy Gear Gear 2 - Less Sissy Gear Gear 3 - Least Sissy Gear Gear 4 - Boy Gear Gear 5 - Pre-teen Boy Gear Gear 6 - Manly Gear Gear 7 - Big Muscles Gear I only like gear 6 and 7 to be honest. Additionally, this tool of all immense men comes with a gigantic lock to keep it secure. The lock is the size of a bull's testicles and tells people you don't fuck around with locking up your bike tank. It tells would-be-thieves "Hey asshole, touch this bike and I'll appear from the bushes ready to club you with a two-by-four". Bike is for 150 OBO (and don't give me no panzy prices)
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interestsPostingID: 765370039

Apple Switcher

Ok so I've drank the Kool-Aid, well, maybe I now gone as far as cooked the stuff down, and am now smoking it!
As most of you know I've not posted for a few weeks as my PC went off the back... so I've been using my iPhone for everything n that sucks! More posts to come...

US Pro Service Course - from our friendz over @ Bike Hugger

Off To Tour of Missouri.......

Freedom isn't Free.....

Just in from our favorite little contributor - BBI's "special lady friend"

You may remember the posting of the video on ServiceCourse: http://servicecourse.blogspot.com/2008/08/good-o-boys-nypd.html back on Aug. 15-

Watch this first - then read on as you'll see, um, I guess it was an accident. Again? And in looking at the video, it must have been - those poor fat cops, trapped in the road between the strip club and the doughnut shop.... It looks like they were just scared and made a break for it to get from harms way..... Copsuckers!

Prosecutors dropped charges on Friday morning, as expected, against the bicyclist who was shoved off his bike in July by a police officer in Times Square. The confrontation between the cyclist, Christopher Long, and a New York City police officer, Patrick Pogan, was captured on amateur video and circulated widely over the Internet.
Mr. Long, 29, had been charged with assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct on July 25 after Officer Pogan wrote in his report that Mr. Long had been weaving in and out of traffic and that he had tried to hit the officer with his bicycle.
But video recorded by an onlooker soon surfaced on YouTube, showing Officer Pogan lowering his shoulder and shoving Mr. Long off his bike on Seventh Avenue at 46th Street as Mr. Long tried to steer out of the way. (Officer Pogan was stripped of his badge and gun and placed on desk duty pending the completion of an investigation into his conduct.)
Mr. Long, who appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday morning, wearing a plaid blue shirt and gray slacks, seemed to shy away from the attention and gave only a brief statement outside the courthouse.
“I’m just relieved the prosecution’s over,” he said. “I’m going to go back to normalcy.”
He added: “This isn’t the first time that we’ve clearly demonstrated police misconduct and brutality, and people are prosecuted. I’m just relieved that the prosecutors did take steps to stop the prosecution.”
Mr. Long has seemed to attract a bit of a cult following. Several people who have ridden in the Critical Mass bike rides — which Mr. Long was participating in when he was pushed, and which for years have had a troubled relationship with the police — showed up in court and applauded when the judge ordered the case dismissed. A court officer quickly quieted them down. One of the supporters had a camcorder and was taping Mr. Long as he walked through the lobby of the courthouse, but again, court officers quickly intervened and demanded that the footage be erased.
Laurie Mittelmann, 19, participates regularly in Critical Mass and was at the courthouse today to support Mr. Long. As Mr. Long walked from a horde of reporters, she told him goodbye and added, “Cool hanging with you.”
She said Mr. Long has attracted a groundswell of support “because we are a community and our community is made up of activists and people who care.”
She added, “We get excited.”

The Last Great US Tour of the Year.... Starts Monday!!

Course Schedule
STAGE 1 / Monday, Sept. 8
St. Joseph to Kansas City, road race, with 3 finish circuits (90 mi / 144.81 km) / Start: 12:30 pm / Finish: 4:30 pm

STAGE 2 /Tuesday, September 9
Clinton to Springfield, road race, with 3 finish circuits (125 mi / 201.13 km) / Start: 11:00 am / Finish: 3:30 pm

STAGE 3 /Wednesday, September 10
Branson, individual time trial (18 mi / 28.6 km) / Start (first rider): 11:00 am / Finish: 2:00 pm

STAGE 4Thursday, September 11
Lebanon to Rolla, road race (105 mi / 168.95 km) / Start: 11:00 am / Finish: 3:15 pm

STAGE 5 / Friday, September 12
St. James to Jefferson City, road race, with 3 three circuits (100 mi / 160.9 km) / Start: 2:00 pm / Finish: 6:30 p.m.

STAGE 6 / Saturday, September 13
Hermann to St. Charles, road race (110 mi / 177 km) / Start: 12:30 pm / Finish: 4:15 pm

STAGE 7 / Sunday, September 14
St. Louis, circuit race, five laps (75 mi / 120.68 km) / Start: 2:00 pm / 4:45 pm

Teams
o Columbia (USA)
o Liquigas (Italy)
o Rabobank (Netherlands)
o Garmin-Chipotle (USA)
o BMC (USA)
o Sparkasse (Germany)
o Tecos (Mexico)
o Symmetrics (Canada)
o HealthNet presented by MAXXIS (USA)
o Toyota-United (USA)
o Rock Racing (USA)
o Colovita Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light (USA)
o Bissell (USA)
o Kelly Benefit Strategies – Medifast (USA)
o Jelly Belly (USA)

The new Cheney....EXPOSED, in more ways than one!

No abortion, but once they become adults, and if they don't agree with us, kill em all!

Oh, and, God Bless.

Sent in from BBI's "special lady friend"

To Be Fast on Down Hills, You Have to Flip-Flop...

From: now "Skinny Tony", taken from the Garman site - after last weeks race, maybe JV should spend more time at the whippin post than writing....

I’ll start by saying I am about as apolitical as they come. I am a somewhat disengaged Gen X voter who doesn’t really feel that I can make a difference. In 2004 I voted, but I have to say the 15 minutes I had to wait in line to vote felt like 15 minutes I could have been out riding…or drinking. This from a guy whose father read him the Bill of Rights every July 4th and taught him the value of the American experiment in Democracy. I guess years of never knowing who any of the candidates really were and not knowing what to trust just turned me off.
Anyhow, fast forward to this week. For some reason I’ve been assumed to be a fervent Democrat and have been invited to quite a few DNC parties in my hometown of Denver. I’ve been riding bikes with Mayors, Governors, Senators, all kinds of ‘tors’ this week. They seem pretty into the whole ‘cycling is green bit’, and I’m happy to promote cycling. I quite like it and would love it if people used it to get to work. And how cool would it be if they became Garmin-Chipotle fans as a result?
So, along the DNC Denver party trail, I met up with Hunter Zeising, founder of a very cool national club team called Z team. Hunter and I became buds quite quickly, as he seems pretty enthusiastic on growing the sport, and I respect that. Anyhow, Hunter introduced me to John Kerry one night and we decided to go riding. Another ‘or’ out to show the world he’s ‘green’. But this is where my burned out Gen X attitude got turned on its arse….
What I was expecting was the normal 12 mph dawdle with the Senator wearing some ugly Bermuda shorts or whatever. However, when Senator Kerry showed up at Slipstream HQ in Boulder, man, it was a different story.
First clue was he was excited to be wearing the cycling clothes he got from us. (Yes, he bought them, regulatory agencies reading this.) The second big clue was a race cut medium actually fit him well. The third clue was his legs were shaved! Can you do that and still be a Senator??!
As we got ready for the ride, we figured he could borrow David Millar’s spare 58, if we raised the stem about 10 cm. However, he hopped on the bike and said “yeah, this feels good.” Hmmmm…
On to the ride. Immediately he bumped shoulders with me on the first corner and thought nothing of it. Then he took the first 22 mph pull with me, side by side, for a good 10 minutes. I was somewhat impressed, for sure, but of course we still had some hills to go up. so I withheld judgement.
Chugging along at a fair clip, about halfway up to Jamestown, he had dropped half the group and started asking me for ideas on how to improve some of the anti-doping legislation he has been working to introduce into the Senate. Of course I was so excited he had interest in this area, I spoke until I was blue in the face. And he just about dropped me. Conversation at 280 watts at 6500 ft is not the easiest thing for me, much less a 65 year old guy with a job like his.
This guy was a real rider, with real knowledge of racing. The riders, the history, the races, tactics, and the problems of the sport. And he was fit as a champ. He kept chattering along and asking me a multitude of well-thought out and knowledgeable questions about cycling as we passed 7000 ft. He deftly rode out of the saddle and had quite a nice pedalling style on the steeper grades. Truly impressive.
OK, but all this said, when we got to the top, I knew his undoing was at hand. Descending is the enemy of people who have speeches to go to at night and important jobs to go to in the morning. I have years of experience of riding with sponsors and other folks with real jobs, so I know to take it easy on the descents. Else they get hurt or, at the very least, their egos get a bit bruised.
But man…O’ man… John Kerry descended like he stole the friggin’ bike from the GOP. As we hit the first switchback, he immediately put his weight back, counter-steered, and carved the corner like a pro. He put three bike lengths on me like Magnus and Stuey used to do to me back on Credit Agricole. Unreal. This guy was a pilot on the bike. Down the switchback of Lee Hill and over 90 kph and he was not phased… one bit.
Anyhow, after a great two hour ride, some very hopeful conversation about how government can help cycling become more popular and a real weapon against everything from obesity to pollution, and of course, Senator Kerry’s passionate and intelligent ideas on how government can help anti-doping efforts, I gotta say, I kinda like the guy…Politician and all.
And the dude can descend like a lunatic, so at he very least, I know he’s got balls.

....and then there's Bush on a bike, or off.... wonder if he stole the bike too?

I Just Got Back From US Pro n Look What I Found.....

Two New Jerseys.... One for TT Man Dave Z!! proving a broken back has no effect on going fast!

In the race against the clock, Zabriskie covered the 20.7-mile course at the Clemson University - International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) in 40 minutes, 39 seconds (40:39:04). Tom Zirbel (Team BISSELL) of Boulder, CO, finished just five seconds behind Zabriskie for second place (40:44:33). Third place was secured by Boulder resident Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Chipotle), 10 seconds behind his teammate

Good Job DZ!

And in a stunning turn of events, Tyler Hamilton stars as the new RR Champion! Being Rock Racing Highest profile finish to date!

We shot it for Versus and the web and those who watched it live saw Moto-1 (me n driver Dave) hit the deck in one of the tight corners during the first lap....

From Cycling News:

"13:06 EDT 2.5miles/107.5miles to go The riders are underway officially. Apparently, the riders didn't really have a neutral start after all - it was a bit confusing in the beginning as they had a different start than past years and no one knew quite what was going on. A few different turns even confused the cameramen and lead moto driver. The moto driver appeared to almost almost go the wrong way and went down".

Well that's not really how it happened.. There was a Kelly Benefits guy off the ft. (for whatever reason) and we were forced to go with him. This corner is a left and has a rise in it and then rolls away, so the moto has a big platform around the back as well as the bike we were using to shoot this race was one setup to shoot marathons and is a bit funky - certainly not one to shoot bike racing where we often go 60mph! So we hit the corner, the suspension loads up and as we come over the top of the rise it unloads at the same time Dave is forced to tighten up our turn and we get into the metal under the bike and spin 180 and hit the curb backwards which shoots me into the air backwards for the cameraman whiplash impact! I caught the cam with my shins and it kept rolling during the whole event. Now, the moto is in the road, and here they come 100+ racers and 50 motos and cars and cops and ambulances - the whole caravan and we can't get the 700lb behemoth backwards up the curb till a spectator jumps in to help. Racers stack up, but no one goes down.... remount n shoot for the next 5hrs.

Now - check out the call on how Tyler won. He is the man and he had all of Garman hitting him forever - JV must not be too pleased to loose this race having been so over gunned.

17:29 EDT One lap to go for the leaders as they pass under the finish. Caldwell leads through the line with Hamilton behind him looking over his shoulder.
17:29 EDT Louder and Euser are at 10 seconds. Pate is at 15 seconds.
17:31 EDT The racers have been out there now for 4.5 hours. The rest of what's left of the peloton comes through. Many have been pulled out of concern for them getting lapped by the leaders.
17:31 EDT There is an attack out of the chase group.
17:31 EDT Blake Caldwell (Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30) and Tyler Hamilton (Rock Racing) are still leading. The Hincapie group is at 3.00.
17:32 EDT Caldwell is pushing the pace as they race through Cleveland Park with about a half lap to go.
17:32 EDT Now Hamilton takes over at the front.
17:33 EDT Louder launches an attack in an attempt to bridge up to the two leaders. No luck.
17:34 EDT Four kilometers to go. Caldwell and Hamilton are holding their 10 second lead.
17:34 EDT Hamilton looks over his shoulder, still leading. He's led most of this last half lap. Caldwell has no interest in leading because he has team-mates behind.
17:34 EDT The three chasers have Caldwell and Hamilton in sight.
17:35 EDT 2km to go. Caldwell and Hamilton are still off. Hamilton stops pedalling and looks over at Caldwell and then he starts pedalling again. They are playing cat and mouse, but still have 10 seconds of advantage.
17:36 EDT Caldwell and Hamilton have 15 seconds now. Hamilton is driving the pace, very steadily. He is occasionally looking back. Caldwell is sitting on while the other three yo-yo 15 seconds behind them.
17:36 EDT Louder is being forced to lead the chase group. No reason for the Garmin racers to do any work to chase Caldwell.
17:36 EDT Hamilton leads with 1km to go. Caldwell is on him.
17:37 EDT The two leaders have 13 seconds. Louder is chasing them hard, with two Garmin riders on his wheel.
17:37 EDT Hamilton looks over. They are in the second to last turn and he still leads.
17:37 EDT 500m to go for our lead duo.
17:37 EDT Now Hamilton looks over on the uphill and slows down. Caldwell stays behind him.
17:38 EDT They're using the whole road. Hamilton goes to the far right barrier.
17:38 EDT Caldwell is still sitting on. 250m.
17:38 EDT The sprint starts.
17:38 EDT Caldwell leads with 50m to go.
17:38 EDT Hamilton tries to come around.
17:39 EDT It's a photo finish for the top two.
17:40 EDT Officials are calling Hamilton as the unofficial winner.
17:40 EDT Caldwell in second.
17:40 EDT Pate wins the sprint for third ahead of Euser in fourth and Louder in fifth.

That was a real win! 35+ Nat Champ!

The Rumor Has Been Answered! Lucky CSC!!! Watch how Fast They Go NOW!

Bjarne Riis has chosen Specialized Bicycles to be the official supplier of complete bikes and shoes to Riis Cycling/Team Saxo Bank for at least three years.
"Bjarne (Riis) and I have been talking about working together for years," Specialized founder and president Mike Sinyard said. "It's a natural relationship based on parallel visions and values. Both Specialized and Team Saxo Bank are extremely driven and aim to be the best in our respective fields. Our cooperation will enable each of us to achieve more than ever before."
Riis Cycling had been working with Cervélo since the 2003 season. His 2008 team won the Tour de France with 33-year-old Spaniard Carlos Sastre, while 23-year-old Andy Schleck won the best young rider's white jersey. Sastre has not commented on where he'll ride in 2009. Cervélo recently announced that they would be launching their own squad, TestTeam, in 2009 and would be parting ways with Riis and Saxo Bank.
"I am really excited to start this new partnership, and I think that we can create great things together with Specialized," Riis said. "We have had a lot of different possibilities in terms of equipment for the coming years, including working together with our existing partners, but we have chosen to embark on a new project, and we are ready to take the next step with Specialized. There has been a clear mutual understanding and a good business fit between the two companies from day one, and I am convinced that it will become clear to everyone that these are two highly ambitious organizations that are going to collaborate closely in this deal.
"I chose Specialized based on our common vision, their excellent bikes and equipment, combined with their ability to develop future materials that will help us win," he added.
"For my team, the bikes and equipment must be perfect. During my visits to Specialized, I have met with the engineering team and ridden the materials personally. I am very impressed with Specialized bikes, equipment and the Specialized development process overall. I know we will push Specialized to constantly improve, and I know Specialized will make the materials that will help us win races," Riis said.
Specialized continues as the bike, helmet and optics supplier to Team QuickStep and supplies multiple pro and development teams with helmets and optics. In 2009, over 100 top European pro riders will ride Specialized Body Geometry shoes.