Proposed UCI election changes "smack of attempted dictatorship," says Cookson

UCI presidential candidate critical of possible alterations to constitution

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cyclingnews/news/~3/1CUPATiIpMQ/story01.htm

Donna E. Grace Juan S. Trudeau Daniel P. Turner Douglas R. Petersen Lala J. Poindexter

Werner and Powless highlight day 2 of cross-country MTB nats

The 2013 USA Cycling Cross-Country Mountain Bike National Championships continued Friday at Bear Creek Resort in Macungie, Pa.

Source: http://www.usacycling.org/werner-and-powless-highlight-day-2-of-cross-country-mtb-nats.htm

Donald J. Johns David S. Wells Edward C. Scates Donna E. Grace Juan S. Trudeau

Three jerseys awarded on first day of Cross-Country MTB Nats

The first three Stars-and-Stripes jerseys of the 2013 USA Cycling Cross-Country Mountain Bike National Championships were awarded Thursday at Bear Creek Resort in Macungie, Pa.

Source: http://www.usacycling.org/three-jerseys-awarded-on-first-day-of-cross-country-mtb-nats.htm

Donna E. Grace Juan S. Trudeau Daniel P. Turner Douglas R. Petersen Lala J. Poindexter

Speed bumps and barriers could be installed on shared use paths

Police and councils are mounting pressure on Sustrans to allow speed calming measures, such as chicanes, on shared paths where racing cyclists are becoming a safety hazard.

Last week, the charity urged fast riders to slow down or use the road. Sustrans believe Strava racing is fuelling spiralling speeds on traffic-free paths, and have requested that the ride sharing site disables sections where conflict between path users, particularly walkers and cyclists, is emerging. 

Martyn Brunt, Sustrans National Cycle Network (NCN) development manager, told BikeRadar the problem is acute on the Chester Millennium Greenway in north-west England. The Chester Cycling Campaign said two pedestrians have been hit by speeding cyclists.

Brunt said: “We’ve got kids who use it for school journeys and we’re having all these stories about kids getting intimidated or shouted at, or other people out cycling being shouted at.

“So the local authority there, and other partners such as the police, have been saying to us for some time we want to put something on this which is going to physically slow people down, though they haven’t specified what they are.

“We’ve been holding them at bay saying we’ll do other things – we’ll try signage, we’ll have volunteer rangers giving out leaflets, we’ll try publicity campaigns just trying to get the message out to people: ‘Just knock off the racing.’ It hasn’t worked.”

Could more chicanes and barriers emerge on NCN paths to stop fast cyclists?

Because the Greenway runs on council-owned land, Sustrans could be forced to allow speed bumps or low level barriers on the NCN to curb cyclists’ speeds – a move that could restrict legitimate use and damage the experience for users.

On a NCN stretch on the Upper Lee Valley in Greater London, Brunt said a reluctance to upgrade gravel surfaces was emerging, in fear that the racing phenomenon will spread.  

“The real frustration in all of this is it’s a real minority,” said Brunt, who added that 485m journeys are made on approximately 14,000 miles of NCN routes annually. “This is a tiny, tiny proportion but it’s starting to have what could be a considerable impact.”

Strava segments

In a bid to slow cyclists down, Brunt said Sustrans were contacting Strava to ask them to disable ‘segments’ that fuel riders to clock fast times over specified sections of a road or trail.

Currently, users can flag ‘hazardous’ segments, which disables online leaderboards for those sections. A Sustrans area manager has already started flagging sections in Greater London, said Brunt, but fears it will not be enough.  

“We would much prefer it if Strava would block these centrally,” said Brunt. “We could supply all the data required to do that. We’re contacting them about that to say this problem is emerging, which I would describe as misusing their app.” 

Strava appear unwilling to depart from their policy allowing users to self-regulate segments. Annie Vranizan, the company’s advocacy and communications manager, told BikeRadar: “We give the community the tools to self-regulate, and this includes Sustrans and any other rider or runner who believes a stretch of road or trail to be hazardous. By flagging a segment, they are able to remove all competitive aspects of the segment.”

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BikeRadar/feeds/~3/5WUbruI2jnc/story01.htm

Juan S. Trudeau Daniel P. Turner Douglas R. Petersen Lala J. Poindexter Anna W. Hartman

Mechanic and soigneur training courses now offered by the UCI

In 2013, the UCI is expanding its�educational�program to include new training courses for soigneurs and mechanics.

Source: http://www.usacycling.org/mechanic-and-soigneur-training-courses-now-offered-by-the-uci.htm

Walter M. Martinez Madge J. Bonner Jonathan F. Cooper Susan B. Hick Kenneth P. Anderson

Vallnord Mountain Bike World Cup roundup

The Vallnord ski resort in Andorra played host to the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup this weekend, with round 4 of the cross-country and eliminator and round 3 of the downhill being contested.

The eliminator races took place on 25 July and saw two new faces atop the podium. In the women's race, Swiss rider Kathrin Stirnemann (Sabine Spitz Haibike) triumphed in the big final over Swedish pair Alexandra Engen (Ghost Factory Racing Team) and Jenny Rissveds, with Jolanda Neff (Giant Pro XC Team) finishing fourth. 

Stirnemann was unbeaten in qualification and in the heats, but had to come from behind in the last 500m of the final to claim the win. Stirnemann now trails Engen by 10 points in the World Cup standings.

In the men's eliminator it was Belgian Fabrice Mels (Salcano Alanya) topping the podium ahead of Catriel Soto (Wild Wolf Trek Pro Racing), Titouan Ganier (Focus/Rotor/Coaching-System.fr) and Simon Gegenheimer. Daniel Federspiel (5th) kept his lead in the World Cup despite not making the final.

Kathrin Stirnemann wins the women's eliminator

The cross-country events saw more familiar faces take the top spots. Olympic champ Nino Schurter (Scott Swisspower) took the men's race ahead of Ondrej Cink (Multivan Merida) and Stéphane Tempier (BH-SR Suntour-KMC). 

Schurter was pushed hard in the race, flatting on the first of six laps and missing the early break of 10, which contained U23 world champion Ondrej Cink. Schurter made it back to the group at the end of the second lap with Cink leading solo. Over the next four laps Schurter closed down the gap and was able to attack on the last lap to win by six seconds. He has a practically unbeatable lead in the World Cup standings, having won three out of four races with two more to come.

In the women's race, Sabine Spitz (Sabine Spitz Haibike) won in a tight finish ahead of Katerina Nash (Luna Pro Team), Eva Lechner (Team Colnago Sudtirol) and Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Multivan Merida). The quartet had ridden clear of the rest on the second and third laps, with world cup leader Tanja Zakelj (Unior Tools) chasing hard, ultimately finishing fifth. 

On the final lap, Nash had a five-second gap over the rest, but Spitz, making her comeback from a shoulder operation, rode her down and proved too strong in the final 200m.

Sunday's downhill races saw British duo Rachel Atherton (GT Factory Racing) and Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen Downhill Team) finish first and second in the women with Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Riding Addiction) third. Atherton's winning run was a full 1.5 seconds quicker than Carpenter's and it strengthened her lead in the World Cup standings. She now leads Emmeline Ragot by 205 points.

In the men's downhill, Commencal's Rémi Thirion scored a big win over Gee Atherton (GT Factory Racing) with Sam Hill (Chain Reaction Cycles.com/Nukeproof) finishing third. Thirion's run was also 1.5 seconds better than Atherton's but the latter did end up increasing his lead in the World Cup. Gee now has 680 points, with Steve Smith second on 477 points and Greg Minnaar third on 391 points.

For full results, report and photos of the Vallnord Mountain Bike World Cup, visit Cyclingnews.com.

Results

Elite men's eliminator
1 Fabrice Mels (Bel) Salcano Alanya
2 Catriel Andres Soto (Arg) Wild Wolf Trek Pro Racing
3 Titouan Perrin Ganier (Fra) Focus/Rotor/Coaching-System.fr
4 Simon Gegenheimer (Ger)
Elite women's eliminator
1 Kathrin Stirnemann (Swi) Sabine Spitz Haibike Pro Team
2 Alexandra Engen (Swe) Ghost Factory Racing Team
3 Jenny Rissveds (Swe)
4 Jolanda Neff (Swi) Giant Pro XC Team
Elite men cross-country
1 Nino Schurter (Swi) Scott Swisspower MTB Racing Team	1:27:07
2 Ondrej Cink (Cze) Multivan Merida Biking Team	0:00:06
3 Stéphane Tempier (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - KMC	0:00:11
4 Maxime Marotte (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - KMC	0:00:31
5 Gerhard Kerschbaumer (Ita) Tx Active Bianchi	0:00:45
6 Fabian Giger (Swi) Giant Pro XC Team	0:00:51
7 Florian Vogel (Swi) Scott Swisspower MTB Racing Team	0:01:15
8 Julien Absalon (Fra) BMC Mountainbike Racing Team	0:01:19
9 Miguel Martinez (Fra)	0:01:25
10 Manuel Fumic (Ger) Cannondale Factory Racing	0:01:36
Elite women cross-country
1 Sabine Spitz (Ger) Sabine Spitz Haibike Pro Team	1:26:54
2 Katerina Nash (Cze) Luna Pro Team	0:00:01
3 Eva Lechner (Ita) Team Colnago Sudtirol	0:00:04
4 Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Nor) Multivan Merida Biking Team	0:00:09
5 Tanja Zakelj (Slo) Unior Tools Team	0:01:24
6 Katrin Leumann (Swi) Ghost Factory Racing Team	0:01:35
7 Jolanda * Neff (Swi) Giant Pro XC Team	0:01:49
8 Alexandra Engen (Swe) Ghost Factory Racing Team	0:02:20
9 Blaza Klemencic (Slo) Calcit Bike Team	0:02:32
10 Julie Bresset (Fra) BH - SR Suntour - KMC	0:02:43
Elite men downhill
1 Rémi Thirion (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction	0:04:13.67
2 Gee Atherton (GBr) GT Factory Racing	0:04:15.02
3 Samuel Hill (Aus) Chain Reaction Cycles.com / Nukeproof	0:04:15.42
4 Steve Smith (Can) Devinci Global Racing	0:04:15.94
5 Troy Brosnan (Aus) Specialized Racing DH	0:04:16.14
6 Greg Minnaar (RSA) Santa Cruz Syndicate	0:04:16.21
7 Danny Hart (GBr) Giant Factory Off-Road Team	0:04:16.64
8 Loic Bruni (Fra) Lapierre Gravity Republic	0:04:17.21
9 Marcelo Gutierrez Villegas (Col) Giant Factory Off-Road Team	0:04:17.64
10 Aaron Gwin (USA) Specialized Racing DH	0:04:18.04
Elite women downhill
1 Rachel Atherton (GBr) GT Factory Racing	0:04:47.78
2 Manon Carpenter (GBr) Madison Saracen Downhill Team	0:04:49.40
3 Myriam Nicole (Fra) Commencal / Riding Addiction	0:04:59.23
4 Emmeline Ragot (Fra) Lapierre Gravity Republic	0:05:00.45
5 Floriane Pugin (Fra) Gstaad-Scott	0:05:05.83
6 Morgane Charre (Fra) MS Mondraker Team	0:05:14.04
7 Tahnee Seagrave (GBr) FMD Racing / Intense Cycles	0:05:14.44
8 Jill Kintner (USA) Team Norco International	0:05:17.69
9 Fionn Griffiths (GBr)	0:05:31.30
10 Emilie Siegenthaler (Swi) Gstaad-Scott	0:05:35.04

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BikeRadar/feeds/~3/olx-PLxHI_o/story01.htm

Donna E. Grace Juan S. Trudeau Daniel P. Turner Douglas R. Petersen Lala J. Poindexter

Sam Harrison aiming to make impression at RideLondon-Surrey Classic

Sam Harrison hoping to hit good form in Sunday's Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic and Tour of Britain after a roller coaster 2013 season

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cyclingweeklycouk/feeds/rss/newsxml/~3/X2E6Js09s58/story01.htm

Lala J. Poindexter Anna W. Hartman Walter M. Martinez Madge J. Bonner Jonathan F. Cooper

Schurter celebrates 10th career World Cup victory

Scott-Swisspower rider wins despite early flat tire

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cyclingnews/news/~3/5MU3yNAoSmQ/story01.htm

fixed gear guy Tony J. McMillan Brian G. Moore Donald J. Johns David S. Wells