Tour de Georgia Posts Route

Organizers of the Tour de Georgia have announced the route and host cities for the 2007 ride to begin April 16th. In an effort to continue to build the T de G as the premier American professional racing event and the great American warm up for the European Grand Tours, they have added a mountain top time-trial at Lookout Mountain to the venerable climbing stage to the top of Brasstown Bald. The tour also grows by a day to begin on Monday and run for seven days now.
One point to note is the change in sponsorship again this year. With difficult times falling on American automakers and cycling still holding just a niche market in the sports landscape, the tour has lost the original sponsor Dodge as well as last year's sponsor Ford. Now, owned and sponsored by the state of Georgia, we hope for a more a little more consistency.
Other than that, teams and riders will be announced around January to join Discovery Channel and Predictor-Lotto who have already given their intention to ride.

T.C.S. = Tinkoff Credit Systems?

Or does it mean, "Takes Controlled Substances"
Oleg Tinkoff, the Siberian beer tycoon, recently sold his breweries to get into the credit business. What better way to begin to advertise this new venture but with a Russian/Italian cycling team. If only there were a host of capable riders out there looking to be signed to a squad. What is that you say? All this fuss about Operation Puerto? Nonsense, these guys told me they had no idea what was on the other end of the IV line when they tripped and accidentally fell onto the needle, pricking them right in the left arm (allegedly).
How convenient is it to build a roster with the likes of Tyler Hamilton, Francisco Mancebo, and soon to be announced no doubt, Jan Ullrich. Not since, well, the 2006 U.S. mid-term elections, have we seen a line up with such a dark cloud of questions and poor judgment. Can you imagine the team returning to the old Soviet training camps, far up in Siberia? There was never in the history of sport a program more dedicated to clean/drug free sport! I challenge anyone to show me a place that cared more about fair and honest competition. Oh, and Spiuk may need to ramp up their production of XXL helmets, because for some reason these riders have begun to get unusually large heads. Oh, well. Hamilton did his time and the others were not confirmed, right? So join us in welcoming Tinkoff Credit Systems to the peloton! They join a proud tradition of teams to compete. Although, bicycling.com did note, "the last team to be sponsored by a company whose official name included 'systems' was Phonak."
Oh, I almost forgot, there should still be room on the roster for our boy Floyd too, if he wants to ride.

Bjarne Riis Looking Toward A Clean Future

From the very beginning, Riis wanted CSC to be something different. He didn't want egotistic athletes filling their pockets with money and shelves with palmares any way possible. His focus was to build a core philosophy of "team", where the riders put each other first. If they could give their all for the team, respect the team, never embarrass the team, and show the rest of the cycling world what character really is, the awards and money would come to them secondary. So it was no surprise to see how disappointed Bjarne was to hear that his protege, Ivan Basso, had been linked to the Puerto investigation. But that is a tough spot, either Riis knew what was going on and did nothing until Basso was caught (which I do not think is the case), or Riis had no idea what was taking place on his team, and to his fault, really should have been more aware.
So on a matter of principal Riis and the rest of Team CSC removed Basso from the roster, only to watch him never get a formal confirmation of his doping, and then get snatched by a rival squad. Bjarne's firm principles led to his mismanagement of the situation and caused him to act too quickly in letting Basso go. But no one will ever mistake Riis as a man of character, and with that, he is moving on.
Riis and Team CSC announced a new anti-doping program which will set the standard for cycling and professional sports teams around the world. This unprecedented plan will have CSC riders complying to close to 800 drug control test starting in December and continuing through the '07 season. Coincidentally, or not, most of these tests will occur Out of Competition, when riders are on break or in training sessions, and away from the watchful eye of their DS. On team-csc.com Riis announced, "Our ambition is to be pioneers in the work against doping" and "I have no qualms about submitting our riders to the most rigorous tests out there, because we want cycling to be a clean sport. I have faith in the fact that our riders have the right attitude and I would like for them to be able to show this to the world."
The power of this initiative comes from the fact that CSC is not a scrappy little amateur or Continental Team. This is CSC! CSC that has had riders dominating in all types of races during the whole season and who has been unmatched in team competitions. For a team like this to make a move like this, I hope it does place pressure on the other squads. Realistically though, this will only happen if they can find a way to continue their great success with out a powerful rider like Basso. Discovery didn't do well when their leader was removed, it remains to be seen how CSC will adjust. For the effort though, I tip my hat to Riis for initiating the move.

Basso the Disco

The inevitable has come to pass.
The Discovery Channel has announced that they have signed Ivan Basso to a two year contract reportedly earning between $1.5 and $2 million USD a year. DSC has not hidden their interest in Basso since his days at Fassa Bortolo, while Basso, who had entertained offers from non-Pro Tour teams, could not refuse the money or the potential to make his run at the Giro-Tour double.
This gives the blue train a definitive leader as it takes the line for the 2007 season. This should come as a relief to the team whose 2006 season was only slightly less as embarrassing as the LAPD's portfolio of celebrity mug shots. One of the most excited people over the signing of the Italian had to be DS Bruyneel, who watched his genius status drop to clueless as grand tour strategist during the 2006 Tour. It is amazing how having a (potential) winner can change that.
The most interesting thing to come out of this deal is Disco's complete disregard for the October 25th unanimous decision by AIGCP teams to refrain from signing riders implicated in doping investigations, even before the full results are known. With this being a US based squad, maybe they are relying on the fact that the general US population will not get hung up on drug allegations or be aware of these gentlemen's agreements. This move however, stunned CSC, T-mobile, and Gerolsteiner. Web site www.express.de quoted T-Mobile Sports Director Rolf Aldag as saying, "I find it inconceivable that Basso will sign with Discovery Channel," adding, "Basso and Jan Ullrich, too, should prove their innocence, only then will they be interesting again." Bjarne Riis admitted to cyclingnews.com that "the interests of individuals prevail while the initiatives go disregarded." Perhaps DSC's decision to have a DNA sample given to the UCI as the final portion of the contract was intended to be a thoughtful, "get well soon" card after stabbing all these other teams in the back.
In the end, it's all about "Score board." Basso was never confirmed to have doped and now he joins a team with a seasoned legal squad well equipped with the expertise to fight drug allegations. Teams had better watch out next summer, because Disco is back.

USA Cycling Announces 2007 Varsity and JV Schedule

USA Cycling released their 2007 schedule of races November 6th. The most notable change in the calendar is the separation of the National Racing Calendar and the inaugural USA Cycling Pro Tour. The NRC still holds the bulk of the races, totaling 41, across 19 states, giving away 1.5 million in prize money. However, it has now been classified as the JV league with the creation of the USA Pro Tour. The addition of the Pro Tour gives the United States a portion of the elite cycling pie. Races like the Tour of CA, Tour of GA, Rochester Twilight Criterium, the US Pro Championships, and others have been linked toward the naming of the best male, female, and Men's and Women's Teams to race in the United States. At first glance it closely mirrors the UCI Pro Tour, due to the fact that these races are largely UCI sanctioned events.
Is it wise to make this division? On paper, it makes sense. The schedule is not as overbearing as the UCI Pro Tour which stretches teams and riders to their limits. And while it calls for an invitation to at least five foreign teams, it also recognizes that the primary races are in Europe and these races are not mandatory for elite foreign teams. This will also alleviate the NRC to include more amateurs, creating a "minor league" or "development league". And with the growing talent of Saul Raisin, Tom Danielson, and David Zabriske to name a few there seems to be some truth to the notion that some young US athletes are now considering cycling as a viable option for sport in their early years. I still have to believe that the mind set of the US organizers is a bit optimistic if they plan to compete directly with Europe for talent. With over a century of cycling ingrained into the European continent, you just can't overcome history. Our best option is to do it the American way and just throw money at everything and hope for the best.

If You're Not Cheating, You're Not Trying...

...and you're only cheating if you get caught.
Cycling in the US is no where near registering on the sports radar of the average American. Sure they know the Tour, Lance, and now Floyd(thanks again for showing us all the virtues of a Mennonite upbringing). Beyond that it is really hit or miss, and mostly the kind of idiotic miss depicted by the French marching into Russia. The greatest shadow hanging over the sport is the cloud of suspicion from doping scandals continuing to surface.
My question is to ask, is it really that bad? Understand that all sports have doping scandals. Look at the superstars of baseball reduced to laughing stock as they squirmed their way through congressional hearings parroting meaningless words. Performance enhancing drugs were a major concern in the NFL during the 80's and into the 90's. Track and field athletes are frequently failing drug tests as well. It happens in all sports, whether a result of pressure from peers, sponsors, management, or self-imposed.
It just so happens that in the US, Football, Baseball, Basketball, and (for a small hardy bunch along the northern border) Hockey are so close to their hearts that these occurrences are often overlooked. Sure people stand at the office water cooler and complain about the devalued records being set in a tainted era, only to then go back to their desk and buy tickets to next weekends big game and support the sport.
So the truth is athletes will always be one step ahead of the countermeasures and always looking for that edge, the issue is about image control. It should be accepted that Cycling will never be a major sport in the US and not try to force it. Let it be a European sport with niche markets in the US. To do more is to force another MLS on this poor nation, who is still reeling with the embarrassment of the WNBA. Instead focus on the positives of the pro cycling teams creating self-imposed ethical guides, riders being lead by great individuals like Jens Voigt, along with the UCI to create some of the strongest regulations and penalties for testing and failure. Maybe the reason cycling appears dirtier than other sports is because they are investing in the effort to compete in a clean environment by enacting policies with teeth. Imagine the MLB Player's Union fighting for a year's suspension for Barry, instead of arguing to allow him and their other members the right to destroy their bodies with roids. Wouldn't that just be silly. Even still, I hope David Millar enjoyed his farewell tour this year, because I hear the Tour d' Cell Block D doesn't draw quite the same audience.

On the clock

And so it begins...
I am writing this blog not as a news source for the sport and industry of cycling, there are plenty of those existing that do an outstanding job. Rather, to share thoughts, passion, ideals, and critiques on a sport that I have come to love. So as I go forward, I hope you'll find my writing interesting and engaging. I do not expect everyone to agree with me, in fact I enjoy a lively discussion, but I do hope to encourage awareness. And with that, we are off.