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20 July 2005

21 July News ...

Ondrej Sosenka Breaks Boardman's Hour Record

Yesterday Ondrej Sosenka (Acqua & Sapone) set the new hour record at the Krylatskoye Olympic velodrome in Moscow. The Czech rider topped the mark set by Chris Boardman back in 2000. Sosenka's hour long ride produced a ride that was 49.700K, compared to Boardman's old distance of 49.441K.

Sosenka is a giant at 2 meters tall and 82Kg. He tore about the track in Moscow using 190mm cranks with a 54x13 combination (Campagnolo). Francesco Moser, who is the frame sponsor of the team and also an advisor, provided the carbon frame. Sosenka was pleased with the help in pursuing his record, "Thanks to the advice of Moser I knew how to resist this tremendous strain."

For the Italian team, Acqua & Sapone, it was a great win offering loads of publicity. The idea started after his team missed the invite to the 2005 Giro d'Italia, followed by the exclusion from the Tour of Poland (now a ProTour race), that Sosenka had won only year before. Sosenka, 29, is a master of the race-against-the-clock. He has five national TT titles in his home country of the Czech Republic, and one road title. He has also won the Tour of Poland twice (2001 and 2004).

Sosenka approached his attempt at the Athlete's Hour Record under conditions set by the UCI governing body. He was using equipment similar to Eddy Merckx's 1972 record-setting ride of 49.431K. Therefore he didn't use any tricky aero equipment, such as helmets and special frames. Sosenka's frame was a 54cm seat-tube with a long 63cm top-tube. His saddle had a set-back of 7cm and rose 25cm above his handlebars. Up front, the Czech rider had FSA equipment. He used a 130mm stem with 36cm handlebars, the size typically used by juniors. Finally, his front wheel was carbon and his rear was aluminum, without any special spokes, as per the UCI rules.

BiciRace.com salutes Sosenka for setting the new hour record. This is a classic cycling event that more current top pros should attempt. Below we have a list of all the past record holders.

1893: 35.325K - H. Desgrange
1894: 38.220K - J. Dubois
1897: 39.240K - M. V.d.Eynde
1898: 40.781K - W. Hamilton
1905: 41.110K - L. Petit-Breton
1907: 41.520K - M. Berthet
1912: 42.122K - O. Egg
1913: 42.306K - R. Weise
1913: 42.741K - M. Berthet
1913: 43.525K - O. Egg
1913: 43.775K - M. Berthet
1914: 44.247K - O. Egg
1933: 44.588K - J. van Hout
1933: 44.777K - M. Richard
1935: 45.090K - G. Olmo
1936: 45.398K - M. Richard
1937: 45.558K - F. Slaats
1937: 45.840K - M. Archambaud
1942: 45.871K - F. Coppi
1956: 46.159K - J. Anquetil
1956: 46.393K - E. Baldini
1957: 46.924K - R. Riviere
1958: 47.346K - R. Riviere
1967: 47.493K - J. Anquetil
1967: 48.093K - F. Bracke
1968: 48.653K - O. Ritter
1972: 49.431K - E. Merckx
2000: 49.441K - C. Boardman
2005: 49.700K - O. Sosenka
(There were many attempts between 1972 and 2000, but those were used with special aero setups.)

Pereiro Gets Revenge with Stage 16 Victory

Oscar Pereiro (Phonak) was beaten by George Hincapie in Sunday's epic stage, but in stage 16 of the Tour de France Pereiro got his sweet revenge. The Spaniard was in an escape group of four at the finish in Pau. He worked-over his break companions to take the stage glory.

For Phonak's team manager, John Lelangue, that victory meant shaving his head. Lelangue had a bet that if Pereiro won a stage then the rider would get to shave his boss's head. Lelangue kept his word and now can be seen at the start village with a bald, and very white top.

Mazzoleni Happy with Season Progression

Eddy Mazzoleni (Lampre-Caffita) finished third in stage 16 but was happy with his season progression. "I was secure that I would win, but in the sprint Pereiro had anticipated me, and my legs were missing a little something," said the Italian post stage. "But now I have moved up on the overall classification. Next is the stage to Mende [stage 18], with an uphill finish ... I would like to try something new there."

Eddy Mazzoleni is now back after five months of tendinous in the left knee. Staring the Tour de France, Mazzoleni was picked as the GC leader for Lampre-Caffita, after the non-entry of Cunego and Simoni. Currently Mazzoleni is in 12th at 14'24" behind Armstrong.

For 2006 there has been talk about Mazzoleni joining up with his friend, Ivan Basso, on Team CSC. However, the Lampre-Caffita rider says that he has agreed to continue with Giuseppe Martinelli. The aim is to ride for Damiano Cunego in his 2006 Tour de France attempt.

92nd Tour de France:
Startlist, Classifications, Tour Challengers, Discovery Channel Profile
Key Stages, Key Stage Descriptions, Stages and Maps, Overall Map
Photos, Dust Devil's Daily Wrap

Armstrong Talks about his Buddy, Hincapie

Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel) was thrilled with his teammate's efforts on Sunday. George Hincapie won the hardest mountain stage of the 2005 Tour de France and gained the biggest win in his career. Armstrong added, "Clearly a huge win for him. A guy who is so helpful for me in all the Tours and has been a great friend of mine for 16-17 years."

Armstrong has been a leader and long time inspiration for Hincapie. Armstrong remarks, "He's a steady influence in my life and in my racing career. He's the guy whose always been around, the guy that when I have really, really bad days, he's always there as a calming source in the bus or in the day." Armstrong then reflected on his tough 2003 Tour, "I remember very well 2003 when many days it didn't look like I wasn't going to win the Tour ... He was always there just with a little lift, a little encouraging word, a little gesture, some bit of optimism that was important for me."

2006 Giro d'Italia to Start in Belgium

The 2006 Giro d'Italia will start in Belgium next May. It has been announced that the prologue will be on 6 May in Seraing (Liege). The following stage will finish in Marcinelle, a famous town for Italian mine workers. Then the third stage finish (stage 2) will be a 2K uphill to Namur. This finish that will probably produce some of the first major time gaps.

From Belgium, the 89th Giro d'Italia will likely make its way to Italy via Germany. The details on the entire route have yet to be released. What is for certain is that the ultimate stage will again finish in Milano. There is talk of having the 2007 Giro finish in a different city.

19 July News ...