BiciRace.com :: News :: December 2005

News :: December 2005

13 December 2005

Magnus Backstedt Tests Bianchi D2 Crono

Magnus Rides, photo: Bianchi

Recently Magnus Backstedt (30) traveled to Milano to help Bianchi test their new D2 Crono Frame. The Swedish rider had just come off of an hour record attempt behind the derny, followed by a rest period, so he was in perfect shape to help the engineers of the famed Italian bike manufacture.

Several versions of the new carbon monocoque time trial frame were run through the wind-tunnel while Bianchi R&D Manager, Luca Minesso, analyzed the results. "In particular, these tests gauged the interaction between the athlete and the bicycle," said Minesso. The proving ground was the aerospace engineering department of the Polytechnic University of Milano. For the first time the engineers used special rollers to simulate the true oscillations of the bicycles, a device that had previously only been used in the automobile industry.

Looks Good!, photo: Bianchi

Over the last two years Backstedt has worked closely with Bianchi's engineers out of necessity. Due of the Swede's huge body (190.5m, 90Kg) he puts an unthinkable amount of stress and tension on bike frames, resulting in many broken rigs. In 2004 Bianchi helped develop a straight and oversized tube titanium frame for their rider to use in the Paris-Roubaix. The frame proved unbreakable and loved so much that Backstedt still uses it for racing.

The Tester, photo: Bianchi

The recent tests of the new D2 Crono frame required the 2004 Paris-Roubaix winner to be in the saddle from 11.00 in the morning to 17.30. "With the new D2 Crono frame we aim at guaranteeing athletes comfort and aerodynamics," continued Minesso. "A giant like Magnus Backstedt is the ideal rider to test the D2 Crono frame to the extreme limit." Expect to see the newly engineered version of the D2 Crono under the Italian Liquigas squadra in 2006.

Read:
Buy The Killer's Weapon, 19 November
Magnus Backstedt was 8K Short of Hour Record, 30 October
Magnus Backstedt Ready To Rock Hour Record, 29 October
Backstedt Goes For Hour Record, 1 October
Liquigas-Bianchi: Tour de France Plans and a New Yellow Bianchi, 29 June
Di Luca's Steed, All White Bianchi, 3 June

Gino Bartali Stolen

Bartali Rides, photo: RCS Sport

The head of Gino Bartali, has been stolen. Ivo Bensa, President of CONI for Imperia, announced that thieves had stolen the bronze portrayal of il Ginettaccio from the Monumento ai campioni del Ciclismo. The cycling monument is located on the Capo Berta, which is one of the finishing climbs of the Milan-Sanremo, situated between Diano Marina and Imperia (Liguria).

The Bartali bust was inaugurated only nine months ago (20 March), the day after the passing of the La Classicissima, Milano-Sanremo. The bronze portrayal was placed next to the busts of Fausto Coppi and Costante Girardengo. Interestingly, the bust of Coppi is a replica of the original one that was stolen two years ago (31 December).

Read: Gino Bartali Shows Saturday, 1 December

Grand Tour Organizers vs ProTour Update

Yesterday there was a meeting of representatives of the ProTour team sponsors and UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) at the Sheraton Hotel in Brussels. Present were 16 of the 20 ProTour teams to voice their concerns over the announced departure of the Grand Tour organizers from the ProTour (missing were Ag2R Prévoyance, Lampre-Fondital, Liberty Seguros-Würth and Crédit Agricole).

The next step is a meeting of team sponsors and the UCI on 18 January in Geneva. Over the course of the month the UCI hopes to help solve some of the major sticking points between the Grand Tour organizers from the UPTC (UCI ProTour Council). The UCI seems to now have added interest in helping solve the dispute after hearing the voices of the sponsor representatives regarding the instability that now exists.

The UCI issued this statement: "After a presentation on the perspectives and development timeline regarding the marketing and television rights of the teams, and a clarification from the UCI of the general situation, the team sponsor representatives expressed their willingness to assume a greater role within the UCI ProTour. ... In order to specify the methods of this evolution [there will be] a second meeting that will take place 18 January 2006."

Read:
Zomegnan: Grand Tours with UCI, not ProTour, 12 December
Lefevere Blasts Grand Tour Organizers, 11 December
Grand Tour Organizers Say "Ciao" to ProTour, 10 December
Grand Tour Organizers Press Release, 10 December
Giro Organizers Make Hand Gestures towards UPTC, 28 November
ProTour Council Says No to Semi-Stages (and Ghisallo), 16 November
UPTC says End of Year for Grand Tour Organizers, 15 November

Andreas Klöden Starts in February

Andreas Klöden (30) will return to racing in the month of February. The German announced from Cape Town (South Africa) that he will most likely make his debut in the Vuelta Comunidad Valenciana (21 - 25 February). Klöden, who finished second in the 2004 Tour de France, was knocked out of action for all of the fall season by a broken bone in his right hand.

Currently Klöden, along with Ullrich, Pollack, Kessler, Baumann, Sinkewitz, Ziegler and Giling, are training in the sunny and warm conditions of South Africa. The pink boys will make a return just before the Christmas holidays, then the entire T-Mobile squadra (29 members) will meet in Mallorca (Spain) for the first official team training.

Read:
Ulle to Race Giro with Eye on Tour, 25 November
Klöden Out of Action, 4 August
The Coming and Goings of T-Mobile, 5 October

12 December News ...