Loading ...Life after racing: Adrie van der Poel and…asparagus?
April 25th, 2008 Filed Under cyclocross news, racers
Adrie van der Poel was the Dutch hard man of cyclocross throughout the 90s, and racked up some impressive international victories, including winning the World Championships in 1996 and the World Cup and Superprestige titles in 1997. He finished second no less than five times at the Worlds, and had some notable results in the off-season hobby of road racing (including a second place to Greg Lemond in 1983 at the road World Championships). Van der Poel retired from racing in 2000.
What does an accomplished pro like that do nowadays? In Van der Poel’s case, a lot of rest, relaxation, and some championship ‘cross course designing.
But his competitive days aren’t over. van der Poel now focuses his energy on competitive asparagus hunting. On Thursday, he helped to find and pick the very first asparagus shoot of the year in the Brabant Wal region of Holland.
He’s seen pictured below (on the right, in gray), along with Martin Groffen, a Tourism and Sports official (center), and an younger-than-he-looks espoir on the left.
The picture above is of the competition’s podium ceremony. In true van der Poel fashion, he ceded the top step to Groffen, but was content with his consistency and podium place. You can read all about it here on woensdrecht.nl (but you really don’t have to since we just translated the whole thing for you, and yes, we’re 100% sure our translation from Dutch is completely accurate).
We thought it was going to be another slow cyclocross news week, until this story hit our desks
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Sea Otter Has Cyclocross!
April 19th, 2008 Filed Under Industry, cyclocross technology, photography
Well, the event, despite offering almost every type of cycling event, does not have an official cyclocross event. But there’s no shortage of ‘cross love and eye-candy at the event, with numerous vendors at its festival, and ‘cross riders everywhere disguised by their off-season road and mountain bike vehicles.
Cyclocross Magazine, continuing it’s tradition of bringing you the latest in cyclocross gear (see our past Interbike and NAHMBS reports), scoped out all the new ‘cross stuff companies have been working on for this season. Check out our gallery below or watch it as a slideshow. [More…]
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It’s Contract Time: Nys signs with Landbouwkrediet / Credit Agricole
April 15th, 2008 Filed Under cyclocross news, racers
Contract talks are in full swing among ‘cross pros. Sven Nys, after considering several offers from teams including his current sponsor Rabobank, has signed a three-year contract with the Belgian Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner team, and will ride for them beginning January, 1 2009. Landbouwkrediet is a Belgian bank and part of the the Credit Agricole / Landbouwkrediet banking group. Tönissteiner is a German mineral water brand.
Bob Verbeeck, Nys’ agent, said Nys chose the offer with the “best sporting options and guarantees” and not the most financially attractive proposal.”
Nys said his attraction to team was his ability to create his own “tailor-made program.” He is looking forward to the change, saying it will add a “fresh wind to his career and without a doubt an extra boost.” [More…]
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Jonathan Page Signs With Planet Bike
April 11th, 2008 Filed Under cyclocross news, racers
Planet Bike Announces Jonathan Page Sponsorship, UCI Race
Madison, Wisc.- Planet Bike, a leading manufacturer of innovative, high quality, and practical bicycle accessories, is excited to announce its 2008-2009 Cyclocross Team roster. In only its second year of sponsoring a Cross team, Planet Bike is thrilled by the signing of Jonathan Page, the top UCI rated American Cyclocrosser and Silver medalist at the 2007 World Cyclocross Championships.
Planet Bike is honored and excited that Page has chosen to represent Planet Bike for the upcoming Cyclocross season. Company founder Bob Downs stated that, “His sacrifice, determination, and heart are representative of our company in the way we do business, and we feel it is a very good fit both personally and professionally.” Planet Bike considers it only fitting that an American company be the title sponsor for the American who has come closest to capturing the one remaining major men’s World title that has eluded Elite/Pro U.S. riders. [More…]
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Season’s Last Race or First? Cult Cross Wrap-Up
April 8th, 2008 Filed Under 'cross race results, cyclocross news, racing
Larry G tried something new this year…a spring ‘cross series in Colorado. The races proved to be the ideal fix for the ‘cross diehards, as well as a great chance for newbies to try out the sport without getting swarmed by huge packs and amped up racers releasing months of cyclocross-less angst. Is he on to something? Check it out yourself in 2009, or consider organizing your own informal or official local spring series. Here’s Larry’s series write-up.
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It’s funny how similar promoting and actually carrying out a cyclocross series closely resembles the actual racing of a cross race…
At first it seems like a wonderful idea, something you are sure to finish and have a great sense of accomplishment when you reach the “one to go” bell. But somewhere along the way, the challenges and obstacles you are faced with become incredibly difficult to overcome. In my case, shoveling out “single track” from two feet of snow for two weeks prior to your first race promotion is a bit overwhelming, then you get it done and it snow another foot and stay cold. Somehow, you manage to get a course ready for riders to race on and you know what, they come, even in the spring, and they race cross like it’s Nationals in Kansas City, they leave it all out there, run the tall barrier sections, ride the three inch deep mud, negotiate the incredibly difficult snow run, survive the “truth or dare” bridge and come through lap one covered in mud with their drive trains begging for mercy.
The racers’ fitness is no where near what it will be when fall arrives, but they tackle the course as if it is fall, cross makes them feel alive and it’s great to be getting a jump start on their road or mountain bike seasons. Every racer talks about the race with a smile on their face when [More…]
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Tired of that cubicle? Dream of a job in the bike industry?
April 8th, 2008 Filed Under Industry, cyclocross news
Tired of your cube? Miss your bike all day? Or rather be in a cube focused on someone else’s bike? There’s hope. Now there’s an easy place to look for bike industry jobs. OutdoorIndustryJobs.com launches BicycleIndustryJobs.com to help the job seeker and the bike industry connect. Check it out - perhaps you might even find an opening for CXM in the listings in the near future.
Woodland, CA - The NBDA (National Bicycle Dealers Association and OutdoorIndustryJobs.com have partnered to bring a state-of-the-art online job board focused directly on the bicycle industry at http://www.bicycleindustryjobs.com.
“One of the most common requests for assistance is from dealers who need to fill key vacated employee positions or are expanding and in need of additional qualified help. This interface will allow them to gain greater access to a focused talent pool of individuals nationwide that are motivated with a passion for the bicycle industry, and will increase their reach across all of Action Sports,” states Fred Clements, NBDA Executive Director. [More…]
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Manufacturer Recalls - ‘Crossers Beware
April 1st, 2008 Filed Under Industry, cyclocross news, cyclocross technology
Note: This was one of three April Fools stories, posted on April 1, 2008. Alan and Guerciotti make fine ‘cross bikes and have not recalled any of them.
Following last month’s recall of cyclocross cranksets by Ritchey Design, cycloross racers have more reason to be careful of what they ride. Alan bicycles and Guerciotti have recalled their “glued and screwed” cyclocross framesets. The recall however only applies to frames made prior to 1992, and is not expected to impact many serious cyclocross racers. The recall is due to the older frame’s tendency to inadvertently upshift several cogs during any hard effort. Guerciotti president Paolo Guerciotti says the blame really is with Alan. “They built the bonded aluminum frames for us for years,” he explains. “They promised us they’d last for at least two seasons of racing before getting really soft. I knew they’d get soft after a little use, but not soft like a wet noodle. Upshifting by simply standing [More…]
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Cyclocross Magazine Files Class Action Lawsuit Against USPS
April 1st, 2008 Filed Under Industry, cyclocross news, print mag, publishing
Note: This was one of three April Fools stories, posted on April 1, 2008. We have no plans to sue our hardworking USPS, even if delivery in some areas took much longer than expected. We now can plan better with delivery times for Issue 3.
Cyclocross Magazine has filed a class action lawsuit against the USPS on behalf of its readers, alleging that inexplicably slow, irresponsible, and discriminatory delivery practices are entirely responsible for a some pockets of subscribers still waiting for Issue 2. With deliveries in North Carolina and New Hampshire confirmed but nothing in Massachusetts, Montana or Minnesota, the folks behind CXM feel they have no other choice but to resort to legal action.
CXM part-time editor and sandbagger columnist Hector Finely explains the drastic move. “We get emails from the ‘M’ states all the time saying they haven’t gotten their mag yet, a good four weeks after it hit the mail, but many in the ‘N’ states have…what kind of service puts ‘N’ before ‘M’?” he laments. “Even my four year old son knows M comes before N!” He claims the USPS is discriminating against “M” states and likely even “O” states, stating that Oregon subscribers received their mags well after Washington state. Finely says the lawsuit is for the readers. “We’re not tired of responding to each email asking ‘where’s my mag’ but we gotta fight for our subscribers. We can’t put up with this messed up mailing monopoly any longer. Our whole goal was to provide ‘cross joy throughout the year, not to give free magazines to the postal workers. We’ll give mags to grass-roots race promoters and high school racers but not postal workers.”
Cyclocross Magazine has hired famous cycling-scandal lawyer “Mo” Suh to represent them in their attempt to successfully sue the USPS. [More…]
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UCI Bans Tubeless Tires and Zertz Inserts, Considers Banning Barriers
April 1st, 2008 Filed Under cyclocross news, racing
Note: This was one of three April Fools stories, posted on April 1, 2008. Although we would not be surprised by a ban on barriers, tubeless tire systems, Zertz, and Buzzkill are not banned.
In a surprising move by the UCI, the international governing body of cyclocross has banned all tubeless tire systems, Specialized’s Zertz Technology, and is considering banning man-made barriers in all UCI cyclocross races. While this may not impact most amateur racers, USA Cycling’s new president, Mark Abramson, says USA Cycling is likely to follow suit.
The move to ban tubeless tire systems is a serious blow to Shimano, NoTubes.com, and Hutchinson’s plans to make tubeless tire technology replace tubular tires as the best tire option for cyclocrossers. The new rule outlaws any tire that does not use a separate latex or butyl tube to retain air. By this definition, any tire and wheel system, whether tubeless tires mounted on Shimano’s Dura Ace Tubeless-ready wheels or Stan’s 29er rims, or do-it-yourself systems using conventional rims with electrical tape and conventional tires with sealant, is not legal for any UCI-sanctioned race. We presume that Tufo tires, the lightweight glue-on tires (as well as their unique clincher version), which are built without an inner tube, will also be included in this ban.
Also affected by the off-season rule changes is the popular shock absorbing Zertz technology by Specialized. Former Specialized product manager and pro ‘cross rider Andy Jacques Maynes said Specialized plans to [More…]
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