2017年6月29日星期四

Geraint Thomas: Bradley Wiggins still has questions to answer


Team Sky rider says 'people would stop asking us' if Wiggins clarified matters

Geraint Thomas has called on Bradley Wiggins to come forward and answer questions relating to the continued pressure surrounding Team Sky.
The British WorldTour squad have faced questions for almost a year after it was revealed that Wiggins was legally given injections of powerful corticoidsteroids on the eve of several major events between 2011 and 2013 under therapeutic use exemptions.
Wiggins, Team Sky and British Cycling are also at the centre of a UK Anti-Doping investigationover a medical package that was sent from Manchester to the Criterium du Dauphine in 2011. The contents of the package were administered to Wiggins by team doctor Richard Freeman but neither Team Sky, Wiggins or British Cycling have been able to back up their claim that the package contained the legal decongestant, Fluimucil.
Wiggins has co-operated with UKAD's investigation but has not spoken publicly on the matter since the Autumn of last year. Thomas has previously stated that his former team leader should answer questions on the matter and at Team Sky's Tour de France pre-race press conference he reiterated those sentiments.
When asked if he thought Wiggins had fully answered questions on the matter, Thomas said: "I don't think he has but at the same time I was getting asked all the time and that's what was frustrating. When it's all to do with Freeman and him, just go and ask them, basically. I think the investigation is still ongoing but he could definitely do us all a favour and talk to some people. Then people would stop asking us."
In the last few months Thomas has been one of the go-to guys in relation to the pressure and questions Team Sky have faced. In March Thomas was the first rider to publicly Tweet his support for boss Dave Brailsford after Cyclingnews broke the story that riders had discussed asking Brailsford to step down in light of UKAD's investigation and a British Parliament's Select Committee hearing that called several Team Sky and British Cycling staff – including Brailsford – to face questions.
For Thomas, the whole matter was an unwanted distraction.
"I was in Australia for a lot of it and in South Africa for training camps. I'm not one to read much online and when I'm home, I'm home and I just try and switch off from everything. I had such a focus on the Giro that it was easy to just stay in that bubble and not think about that," he said.
"I think with any business, not just sport or cycling, the head guy is going to get the flak and majority of the questions," he said in relation to Brailsford.
"I guess that's the way it should be. I wouldn't want them coming to me… what do I know? Like I've said and Tweeted, I was happy that he stayed on with the team and I've got full confidence in him."
Thomas once again defended Team Sky and British Cycling, having come through the ranks of the latter and been on the books of the former since their inception at the start of 2010.
"I've grown up through British Cycling and Team Sky and I know the beliefs and how things should work. I feel fortunate to have grown up through that system and not years previously. When I read stories about David Millar and what he went through I feel fortunate not to have faced all that. I've always had 100 per cent confidence in the team and British Cycling."

Supporting Froome

Thomas' role at the Tour de France will be to support team leader, Chris Froome, who is looking to win the race for a fourth time.
Thomas has finished 15th in the last two editions of the race but crashed out of contention at Giro d'Italia in May before later abandoning the race. The Italian Grand Tour was his first crack at leading a team over three weeks and while his long-term ambitions are to return to the race, he is at the Tour to support Froome.
"That's just life and sometimes it doesn't go the way you want," he said. "I had that chance at the Giro but I'm just excited to be back here and to be in decent enough shape to make the team. It's a solid team and it's hard to get into.
"I'm super motivated to be here and help Froome. Obviously if I can get a bit of personal glory along the way that would be amazing but the main objective is Froome."
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/geraint-thomas-bradley-wiggins-still-has-questions-to-answer/

Richie Porte: Team Sky not as strong as in previous Tours



BMC leader shifts the pressure back to defending champion

After Chris Froome's opening act on Wednesday, it was the turn of Richie Porte and hisBMC Racing ensemble to deliver a Tour de France performance at their pre-race press conference. In a packed auditorium, Porte took centre stage and made light of the tag of favourite that has been anointed upon him by Froome before delivering a claim that Team Sky are not as strong as they once were. In the phoney war of mind-games, the two top favourites for this year's race have proved that they are in Düsseldorf with their best lines well rehearsed.
"Chris has won three Tours and there's no reason he can't win a fourth," Porte opened with calmly as he found his voice before reaching for his big numbers.
"He's the big favourite here. I think he's going to be in a lot better form that in the Dauphiné and he knows how to take the pressure, obviously."
Shifting pressure appears to have been one of the key objectives for Porte and Froome in the last few weeks. No sooner had Froome finished the final stage of the Dauphiné before he publicly stated his former teammate and super domestique was the man to beat. In almost every interview since then Froome – who rarely goes off-script – has reiterated the point. When Porte was quizzed about his status and Froome's tag, the Australian gave a wry grin before delivering his own interpretation of the situation.
"I think that's one of the games that they play," he said.
"At the end of the day behind closed doors, I'm sure that they think that they have the guy to do it. He's got the track record but Chris is obviously the one with the biggest target on his back. He's the defending champion and it's not going to be between just him and me. It's more than a two-horse race."
Having given Froome a taste of his own medicine, Porte then decided to raise the bar. The two remain friends off the bike but the Australian couldn't resist bringing up the strength and depth of his former team. Only time will tell if the suggestion that Sky are vulnerable was a wise one to make.
"If I look at the team now it's a lot different to when I was there. I'm not sure how they've prepared. Nico [Portal] probably knows their tactics a bit better than I do, but I don't expect them to let us roll away and win the race. Sky probably isn't as strong as in past years but how that affects their tactics, I'm not sure."

Building momentum from January to July

Porte's season began with a victory in the Tour Down Under and he has barely put a foot wrong since. He claimed a stage in Paris-Nice – although he fell out of contention in the overall during the opening stages – and went on to win the Tour de Romandie with a commanding performance.
He was arguably the strongest rider at the Dauphiné but missed out on the overall victory after claiming that Froome and others had ganged up on him during the final stage. His status as Tour favourite is certainly warranted given the gap between him and Froome during their final outing together.
Flanked by the eight riders who will support him over the next three weeks, Porte gave almost every one of his teammates a special mention, praising both their strength and their willingness to fight for his cause.
"Of course the season has gone well so far but this is the biggest race and this is the biggest goal. I've got eight incredibly talented teammates who support me. It's a fantastic team and we'll do our best. The podium in Paris is the goal and we've got the right team."
Earlier this month Robert Millar wrote that the kicking Porte received on the final day of the Dauphiné will serve him well if he learnt his lessons. Two weeks on, the 32-year-old was asked if he had used the experience in a positive way.
"We were incredible the day before on the Alpe d'Huez stage. The guys were incredible. It's a shame that the race panned out like that. I would have loved to have won that race, but perhaps next year. You learn from experiences like that and I think that I learned that when people gang up on you, it's going to lead to hard racing. That's in the past now so we'll move onto the Tour. Hopefully that doesn't happen again but the Tour is a different race. Hopefully that's an isolated experience."


'I truly believe that I am the best sprinter on the planet,' says Cavendish



Manxman says he'll eventually beat Merckx's Tour stage record, but not this year as he recovers from Epstein-Barr virus

With 30 Tour de France stage wins to his name, Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) is just four behind record holder Eddy Merckx.
Despite a plethora of opportunities this year in one of the more sprinter-friendly routes in recent memory, the Manxman is unlikely to topple the Cannibal's mark in 2017 as he continues to recover from Epstein-Barr virus that has stalled his season.
"I truly believe that I am the best sprinter on the planet," Cavendish told The Times in an interview published Thursday. "Without this illness, I would be going in looking to pass the record this year."
Cavendish added four wins to his total last July, but it was a season of accomplishments that may have broken down his body to the point that made him susceptible to the virus.
In 2016 he won a world championship on the track in March, won his four stages and wore yellow at the Tour in July, took silver on the track at the Olympics and finished second to Peter Sagan in the world championship in October. Cavendish admits it was a lot to bite off in one season.
“My team manager, Rolf Aldag, even said at the time, 'You are going to be cooked next year.'" Cavendish told The Times. "But I went for it. It's just now I am paying the price."
But Cavendish said he'd do it all over again.
"My wife, Peta, when I was struggling, she was like, 'Right, if someone said at the beginning of 2016, you can do all this but you'll pay for it in 2017, would you do it?' It was a great question and I thought, 'Yeah, I would have,'" Cavendish said.
The 32-year-old sprinter has just one win so far this season, a stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour in February, and his season was stalled abruptly when a blood test after Milan San Remo revealed the problem.
Doctors ordered Cavendish to lay low and stay off his bike as the world-class athlete found himself struggling to climb a flight of stairs.
"I was absolutely on my hands and knees," he told The Times. "It was horrible. Honestly, you feel like you are never going to be able to do anything. That sounds exaggerated but when you are used to feeling tired from training and then you feel this bad and you haven't even done anything, as a professional athlete it's very hard to get your head around."
Eventually the Manxman was able to start training again, albeit with a very low heart rate that meant he had to endure some ego-shattering moments.
"I was getting passed not even by amateurs in full kit but people with their helmets back to front," Cavendish told The Times.
Cavendish was able to return to racing earlier this month at the Tour de Slovenie, where he finished 10th on the first stage and second on the last. He raced the British national championships and finished outside the time limit.
Cavendish knows he's not yet back to the form that brought him four stage wins last year, but the lure of the Tour was too great for himself or his team to pass up.
"The Tour is exposure for them and the [Qhubeka] charity," Cavendish said.
Cavendish had to consider the impact on his morale and reputation if he showed up at the Tour and could not perform as well as he has in the past, but in the end, bunch sprints are often a crapshoot and he knows there's always a chance for victory.
"The hardest thing for me is sprinting and losing," he told The Times. "Not just because it's damaging to my morale, the team's morale, but it's actually good for the other sprinters' morale and once you are on a roll at the Tour you build on that.
"I had to ask myself, 'Would I do myself more damage not winning?' As soon as we start on Saturday, a lot of journalists will forget I have been ill, that I've had glandular fever. Half won't have had it, half don't like me anyway. A few people won't even know. I could be doing myself more damage going and not winning than not going at all. I could be setting up myself to fail.
"The competitive fires are burning but I have to be realistic. It's like, you know, Ducatis are going to be faster than Hondas. I'm not firing like a Ducati right now."


De Kort: Taking EPO is ridiculous, it's just so stupid



Trek-Segafredo rider says he never wants to see Cardoso again if B-sample is positive

Koen de Kort has expressed his shock and outrage after Trek-Segafredo teammate Andre Cardoso returned a positive test for EPO on the eve of the Tour de France.
Cardoso has denied taking the drug and is awaiting the result of the B-sample analysis but the rider was pulled from Trek-Segafredo's Tour team earlier this week and has been suspended by the team pending the final analysis.
"I just can't really believe it. I'm hoping that the B-sample is going to be negative because I can’t imagine how you could be so stupid," de Kort toldCyclingnews at the Tour de France teams presentation in Dusseldorf on Thursday evening.
"It just makes no sense to me. We've spoken about it briefly [ed. at the team] but not a whole lot. We're dumbstruck."
De Kort added that he had mixed emotions on the subject – welcoming the fact that testing in professional sport works but reiterating his disappointment and frustration with Cardoso.
"It's good that some guys get caught as it means that testing works and deters people from doing stupid thing, but that it's a teammate makes it a bit painful."
"I was in a restaurant having a nice dinner and then got a message saying it was coming out any minute now. I can't repeat my exact words but I was pretty angry. What can you say? All we can say is that it's good some guys are caught. I really can't believe it's a teammate.
"You can't be that stupid to take EPO now. Everyone knows that it's not possible anymore because the tests are so good. It's really not possible, and doing any doping at all is ridiculous but doing EPO is just beyond me."
De Kort is one of the most outspoken riders in the peloton when it comes to matters surrounding doping. Now 34, he came into the sport at a far more volatile time, signing for the Liberty Seguros team in the mid-2000s. The squad, which later morphed in Astana, was littered with doping cases, and de Kort dropped down a tier after becoming disillusioned with the sport.
"It affected a lot of my career early on – my teammates going positive. I started with Liberty Seguros and everyone knows that it was terrible. I had horrible years and I remember the first year, that was terrible. I lost interest in cycling. I wasn't happy and I didn't like riding my bike anymore. I didn't really want to race anymore."
That's why I went to Skil-Shimano, a smaller team. I wanted to be able to trust my teammates and it really hurt me that I couldn't trust my teammates back in those days. I went to a smaller team and I found joy again and confidence in my teammates."
De Kort added that he had faith in the majority of the riders in the bunch, including Giro d'Italia winner Tom Dumoulin.
"I really believe that 99 per cent of the bunch is clean now. I know Tom Dumoulin really well and if he can win the Giro then cycling has cleaned up. Obviously there are still some guys hanging around that don’t know, can't change or whatever. Hopefully they'll get worked out of the sport, but if he's really taken EPO then I hope I'll never see him again."


Bakelants apologises for 'inappropriate' podium girl comments


Belgian had angered Tour de France organisers with sexual insinuations

Jan Bakelants has apologised for his derogatory remarks towards podium hostesses, describing his words as "inappropriate".
The Belgian, asked in a pre-Tour de France interview with Het Laatste Nieuws whether it was difficult to go without sex for three weeks, replied: "There are also the podium hostesses."
The AG2R La Mondiale rider had already made a joke about only contacting his parents during the race when he ran out of pornographic films to watch, and he made things worse when asked what items he would pack in his suitcase for his free time. "Definitely a packet of condoms," he replied. "You never know where those podium hostesses are hanging out."
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme was quick to demand an apology, and Bakelants' team first offered one on his behalf on Wednesday, before Bakelants himself came out on Wednesday morning to apologise on social media.
Like his team, he acknowledged the comments were crass but pointed out that he was trying to be funny in a light-hearted interview
"My sincerest apologies to all those offended by my words in a so called humouristic interview," he wrote. "My words have been inappropriate."
Bakelants, 31, will hope the matter is now closed in the eyes of ASO, and will start his fifth Tour de France on Saturday, having previously won a stage and led the race in 2013.
"My sincerest apologies to all those offended by my words in a so called humouristic interview," he wrote. "My words have been inappropriate."
Bakelants, 31, will hope the matter is now closed in the eyes of ASO, and will start his fifth Tour de France on Saturday, having previously won a stage and led the race in 2013.

Brian Cookson: I don't want Lance Armstrong's endorsement



UCI president defends his first term as Lappartient mounts serious challenge

Incumbent UCI President Brian Cookson has told Cyclingnews he is happy that Lance Armstrong has turned against him on social media, considering it a positive endorsement of the work he has done during his first term to fight the problems of doping and to drag the sport from the “dark old days” when Hein Verbruggen and, later, Pat McQuaid were UCI President and Armstrong was at the height of his powers.
When Frenchman David Lappartient confirmed last week that he would stand against Cookson, Armstrong tweeted “ABC (Anybody But Cookson)” above a message from Lappartient. Armstrong’s former team manager Johan Bruyneel, who was also banned for doping offences, also pitched in with criticism.
“I’m happy that those people are not supporting me. I’d like to think that it’s a sign I’ve been doing the right thing,” Cookson told Cyclingnews during an exclusive interview.
“I know that people from the past have been trying to drum up support for David. I’m confident that people all around the world in the cycling family don’t want to take the UCI back to very inglorious times. I think on my website I’ve got really good people endorsing me. People like Travis Tygart, Rochelle Gilmore, and Jamie Fuller from Skins who is considered to be an expert commentator in integrity and anti-doping. I have the support of many riders and teams too. I think that speaks volumes about my candidacy.”
Armstrong is banned for life after being pursued and exposed by Tygart and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). He gave evidence to the 2015 Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) into doping and governance but failed to receive any reduction in his ban for his efforts.
“I suspect Lance thought he’d get a more sympathetic ear than seems to have been the case,” Cookson suggested. “But I don’t want to reopen a dialogue or dispute with Lance Armstrong. He’s got enough things going on in his legal case at the moment.”

No Alpha-male

Cookson, formerly a town planner before entering full-time cycling politics, is known for being a mild-mannered man. He occasionally lets slip and speaks his mind when not reading from carefully prepared speeches or one-liners from his communications consultants, but he has preferred a strategy of diplomacy rather than Alpha-male leadership.
Lappartient has criticised Cookson for a lack of backbone, using it against him. In Wednesday’sL’Equipe, in side by side interviews, Lappartient suggested that it was UCI Director General Martin Gibbs who controlled the UCI, rather Cookson, while suggesting he has far more authority and leadership ability.
Cookson hit back by saying that running the UCI and its 30 million Euro budget is not like being the mayor of a ‘small Breton village’. Lappartient mixed a role in local politics and the presidency of the French Cycling Federation before becoming UCI vice-president, the president of the UCI’s Professional Cycling Council and president of the European Cycling Union (UEC).
Cookson admitted to Cyclingnews that he was surprised that the Frenchman even decided to run against him.
“He never made any approach to me about standing or not. I was neither expecting or not expecting him to stand, if I can put it in that slightly gnomic way,” Cookson said.
“David has been a UCI vice president for four years and so if there were things he was not happy with, then he could have raised them at the time. He’s participated in all of the UCI Management Committee decisions and so I’m puzzled as to why he is now mounting a challenge. Maybe he wants cycling to go back to the way it used to be.”
Cookson is trying to stay upbeat about his chances of a second term despite Lappartient throwing his hat in the ring and launching an aggressive media social media campaign. However, one well-informed UCI source described the UCI presidential elections as a ‘very close race, with every vote now important’. Among some of the traditional European federations there is a growing feeling that Cookson has failed to live up to expectations.
The vote for UCI president will be held on September 21 during the UCI congress at the Road World Championships in Bergen, Norway. 45 delegates from five continents vote in a secret ballot, with 23 votes needed to win.
Cookson won 24-18 when a total of 43 delegates voted in Florence in 2013. He hopes to have the backing of delegates from Asia and Australasia as well as North and South America.
The European Cycling Union voted to back Cookson in 2013, with Katusha team owner and Russian oligarch Igor Makarov helping to sway his campaign via funding a number of causes with minor federations. This time it seems the European Federations are tired of Cookson’s global approach to the sport. In contrast, Lappartient has offered to give the European Federations more influence.
One source told Cyclingnews that Lappartient and not Cookson will secure the 15 UEC votes and so lay down a corner stone to any successful bid. The UEC federation representatives are expected to mandate their delegates during an exceptional general assembly just as they did in 2013, when they voted 27-10 to back Cookson instead of McQuaid. In March, the UEC voted to choose its 15 delegates. None from Britain were selected, perhaps as a way for the European Federations to protect against any rogue votes in the secret elections in September.
“I’m confident I’ve got a lot support across Europe and that people don’t want to go back to the dark old days. I’m confident that many of the UEC voters want me to continue as UCI president,” Cookson told Cyclingnews, repeating his mantra of fear of the past.
“I think the UCI is now seen as an independent balanced organisation that acts in the interests of all the stake holders. I’m committed to doing the job of President impartially and with integrity. People see that the UCI is no longer in crisis mode. Calm has been brought to the UCI and we’ve had a year of stability. We’ve resolved the issues of integrity and reputation that were causing so much damage.”
Cookson highlights the addition of the men’s and women’s Madison and BMC Freestyle to the cycling programme for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Cycling is now the third largest sport in the Olympic Games, both in terms of medals (22) and athlete quota (528). He denied it is a pay-off for the Olympic velodrome being 150km outside of the host city.

The ghosts of British Cycling’s past

In his first election bid in 2013 Cookson was able to use his tenure as the president of British Cycling and the success of the sport in Britain at every level as his calling card. Four years on, things are very different after a series of damaging accusations about bullying and poor management. UK Anti-Doping is still investigating possible wrongdoing at Team Sky and there has been little clarity on the Jiffy Bag scandal that embroiled the team, manager Dave Brailsford and 2012 Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins.
Cookson has tried to distance himself from the scandals that emerged in a recent report into British Cycling by pointing out the events emerged after he had moved onto to become UCI President. A hard-hitting draft version was edited after Cookson forced his opinion to be heard.
He now suggests that Brailsford’s decision to leave his role as Performance Director of British Cycling in 2014, to focus fully on the management of Team Sky, changed the delicate balance of strong personalities at British Cycling that had previously delivered success. In a recent interview with the British Press Association news agency, Cookson described the management structure in charge of the highly funded Great Britain performance plan as a finely balanced stew. A three-legged stool also comes to mind as a comparison.
"There was a great balance and it's like a stew - if you miss one of the ingredients it doesn't work. Things changed when the personnel leading that programme changed," he said.
Cookson admitted to Cyclingnews that the huge success at the 2008 Beijing Olympics forced the British Cycling Board to back Brailsford and his management team in view of the London 2012 Olympics on home turf. Brailsford was able to demand a huge salary after 2008 even though he went on to split his time between British Cycling and Team Sky.
“Certainly I think the results of the 2008 Olympics were stunning and it became clear that the team behind the athletes was very successful. Given that funding was medal dependent, UK Sport encouraged British Cycling to continue to support the team we had in place,” Cookson said, defending the UK Sport funding philosophy despite it recently being criticised for being far too focused on Olympic medal counts while caring less for athlete well-being.
“I wouldn’t project that as a negative model. When you have a winning formula, you want to stick with it and make it even better. Of course you also need to eliminate any problems areas too,” Cookson argued.
Signs of problems with athlete well-being were first picked up by former board member and CEO Peter King. His findings for a 2012 internal report highlighted complaints of bullying and intimidation. It was suggested that the management had broken down and there were doubts about Shane Sutton’s behaviour as a senior coach and management figure. It was a red flag but one that wasn’t seen or was overlooked. Sutton went on to be lead the Great Britain team when Brailsford left but complaints became even stronger. He quit in 2016 after direct sexism allegations from sprinter Jess Varnish sparked an investigation.
Cookson claims he only saw a summary of the Peter King report but refuses to blame then Chief Executive Ian Drake for failing to implement the action plan. He suggests that things changed when Brailsford opted to fully focus his efforts on Team Sky and not to stay in charge of the Great Britain team until 2016.
“The idea that we did nothing is complete wrong,” Cookson argued. “There were lots of good things going on but one or two that needed attention. The behaviour was one of them and we agreed the action plan.
“We understood that there were five or six key elements to stability within in the team. One was that Dave would remain as performance director up to Rio 2016 and that the link to Team Sky would continue to benefit British Cycling as it did in London 2012; that Steve Peters would remain to help podium athletes and then develop a new sports psychologist who would take over after him in 2016; that a new role of programme director would be recruited and that the person would take a lot of management work off Dave, Steve and the others. Chris Boardman would also stay until Rio for Research and Development, while Shane Sutton would be moved to a different role where he wouldn’t have hands on coaching with athletes but he’d be working and mentoring the coaches.
“That was all agreed at the end of 2012 and that started to be implemented at the start of 2013. I don’t know what happened there after but Dave decided not to see things through until Rio 2016.
“I thought that at the time (in 2012) the structure worked very, very well. The outcome was a very successful British cycling team. When you change that balance, any balance, then different parameters and influences start to apply. Perhaps that’s the situation subsequent to me leaving.”

Nothing personal against ASO

Cookson that he will be in Dusseldorf for the Grand Depart of the Tour de France on Saturday. UCI presidents have been ‘persona non grata’ at ASO’s flagship race in the past but Cookson insisted he has a good working relationship with the management from the dominant French race organiser despite disputes and power struggles about the structure of the men’s WorldTour.
“I’ve always got on well with people from ASO,” Cookson said.
“We’ve disagreed on a couple of things but I’ve also got on well with every race organiser and also the teams organisations. Marc Madiot (of FDJ) is one who said he’d like to see David as the next UCI president but that’s a matter for him. It’s his opinion.”
Cookson is careful about making accusations that his rival David Lappartient maybe biased towards ASO if he is elected.
“I think the people who vote will have a view on that. What I’ve always tried to do as UCI President is to balance the needs of all the stake holders, not just one of them, however big they are. I hope that people have respected that. I think they do.”
Despite his diplomacy and sense of fair play. Cookson is not afraid of only being a one-term UCI President if he loses the election to Lappartient on September 21.
“I’m not afraid of anything. At the end of the day I’ve done my best for the last four years. As in the case of British Cycling, I think the results speak for themselves.”
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/brian-cookson-i-dont-want-lance-armstrongs-endorsement/

Brailsford: I'm going nowhere



Team Sky manager denies Edmondson cover-up

In early March, when Chris Froome's silences were speaking more forcefully than his words, it briefly seemed as though Dave Brailsford might not see another Tour de Franceas Team Sky manager. And so when Brailsford took a seat alongside Froome at the team's pre-race press conference in Düsseldorf on Wednesday evening, it might even have felt to him like a victory of sorts, yet the questions over his position persist.
Team Sky enters the Tour as the subject of a UK Anti-Doping investigation, which began last Autumn as an inquiry into the mysterious Jiffy Bag that was dispatched to Bradley Wiggins on the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. The inquiry has since revealed that the team ordered 55 doses of the corticosteroid triamcinolone between 2010 and 2013, most of which have not been accounted for.
Brailsford was asked if he was concerned that his credibility had been damaged by the litany of unflattering stories that have emerged over the past year, but he spoke around the question instead of answering it directly.
"Well, we're very focused on the race," Brailsford said. "As always, we've come here… I've been involved in this sport a long time and I've always tried to do it the way it should be done. I'm proud of what we've achieved in this sport and I'm proud to be sitting here."
Asked if he was still enjoying his role as Sky manager despite the furore of the past nine months or so and the allegations of wrongdoing, Brailsford was more forthcoming. He dismissed the idea that he was giving any consideration to stepping down from his post.
"I love it. Absolutely love it. I wouldn't want to be doing anything else," Brailsford said. "I'm going nowhere. I'll be here next year, the year after, the year after. I'm passionate about it. I'm pretty patriotic, we've built something from scratch including British Cycling, we're a global team with riders from different countries and it's a privilege to be amongst these lads. It's a privileged thing to be doing. I love it."

Edmondson

At the beginning of the press conference, Brailsford took the microphone and offered an awkward paean to his excitement on the eve of the Tour – “Of course, we're trying to win the Tour de France again with Chris, obviously, for the fourth time,” he said – but once the floor was opened to questions, it was clear that his opinions on the race were of only minor interest.
Brailsford's presence in the press centre in Düsseldorf marked a rare media appearance from a man who has seemed to retreat further from the public eye with each new revelation about the practices on his Sky team. There are pressing questions regarding his team's ethical stance that he has yet to answer.
In mid-March, for instance, the former Sky rider Josh Edmondson told the BBC that he had breached the UCI's no needles policy by injecting himself with vitamins and supplements in the summer of 2014, and claimed that Sky's management had chosen to cover up the violation rather than report it. Although Sky's former head of medicine Dr Steve Peters denied the allegation in March, Brailsford had never spoken publicly on the matter before Wednesday.
"I've spoken to the people I need to speak to about it," Brailsford said when asked for his version of events.
"Yes, but did it happen?" he was asked.
"Like I said, I've spoken to the people I need to speak to about it, the officials," Brailsford repeated.
"Did the team cover it up or not? It's a simple question," he was asked again.
"No," Brailsford said.
"Well, why couldn't you just say that the first time?" he was asked
"I've spoken to the people I need to speak to about it and that's it," Brailsford said. "I'm here out of respect to these guys on the Tour and we're here to talk about that, so…"
The terse back and forth was typical of Brailsford's dealings with the press over the duration of the UKAD inquiry into Team Sky, and his part in the final exchange of the press conference was of a similarly gnomic tone.
A reporter pointed out that in each of Sky's four Tour victories to date, Brailsford has found himself defending the good faith of his team before an often sceptical public. What is he going to say to them this time around, given the repeated blows to the team's credibility before the Tour has even begun at all?
"Believe in us, we're doing it the right way,” Brailsford said bluntly.
"And why should we believe in you?" he was asked.
"Because we're doing it the right way," Brailsford said.
"And how do you we know that?" he was asked.
"Well, over time: time will tell. We are doing it the right way," Brailsford said. "Let me tell you, we are doing it 100 percent the right way and we will continue to do it."
It's going to be a long Tour.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/brailsford-im-going-nowhere/

UAE Team Emirates brings on new sponsor ahead of Tour de France



First Abu Dhabi bank gets a sport on modified team jersey

UAE Team Emirates have brought on a new sponsor two days ahead of the Tour de France, with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) joining the WorldTour team.
FAB was created earlier this year through a merger between the First Gulf Bank and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi. With assets in excess of $180 billion, it is the UAE's largest bank and the second largest in the Middle East.
The sponsorship deal begins at the Tour de France, though the length of the partnership was not disclosed.
FAB's logo has been added to the chest and side of the team's jersey, and the new version will be debuted when the Tour de France kicks off in Dusseldorf on Saturday.
“We are investing our energies to create one of the most important cycling teams in the world and we are really proud to have First Abu Dhabi Bank on board” said the team's general manager Giuseppe Saronni. “Both of our entities share the same values, and we are inspired to achieve important goals and grow together”.
The partnership marks the second significant sponsorship investment since the team rose out of the ashes of the old Lampre-Merida team ahead of the start of the 2017 season. After backing from the United Arab Emirates rescued the team after Chinese investment fell through, it was announced in February that the Emirates airline, which has a number of high-profile partnerships across global sport, was joining as a title sponsor.
The team aims to become a 'top-three' team within three years and although figures are undisclosed, its new sponsorship only enhances its standing as one of the more financially powerful teams of the professional peloton.
Louis Meintjes will lead the team at the Tour de France, hoping for a high overall finish and the white jersey for best young rider, while Ben Swift and Diego Ulissi will target stage wins.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/uae-team-emirates-brings-on-new-sponsor-ahead-of-tour-de-france/

2017年6月28日星期三

Merida launches new Reacto


First look at Merida's Reacto III. This time with a disc option

This article originally appeared on BikeRadar
Three years on from the Reacto II, Merida has launched the Reacto III. The 2018 model is said to have improved upon the previous model's comfort, weight and aerodynamics. We'd expect no less.
The claimed aerodynamic improvement is five percent, or 8 watts, at 45km/h. The major drag-reducing factors are slimmer tubes all round, a lowered seat stay/seat tube junction and an integrated cockpit.
Merida describes the aero benefit as follows: "If you do a 100km solo ride on the new Reacto, you'll save as much energy as riding the same route on a round-tubed road bike, but drafting for 30km of the distance."
Ride comfort has been increased thanks to new slimmer seatstays, and the narrower width plus larger silicone rubber-filled window of the S-Flex seatpost is said to bring around a 10 percent improvement over the old model.

The S-Flex carbon seatpost is narrower than before and has a larger silicone rubber-filled window for vibration reduction
Taking the complete frame module's weight in to account sees a saving of 350.5g compared with the outgoing Reacto, or 17.13 percent, which is achieved through slimmer tube profiles and new carbon fibre layups — but frame stiffness remains the same.

This model's aerodynamics are designed to work with FSA's Vision Metron 5D integrated carbon bar
The top-level machine uses FSA's Metron 5D integrated carbon bar, with proprietary aero shaped headset top cap and spacers beneath to smooth the transition between it and the frame.
Merida says the new bike is designed with aerodynamics in mind, but has been kept simple too for ease of servicing, with straightforward cable routing and brakes.

Cable routing has been simplified by using one down tube port that can be adapted to the drivetrain fitted
The narrower head tube means the lower headset bearing is 1 ¼" instead of 1 ½" as before, and all tubes except the top tube and chainstays have NACA Fastback profiles.
In the CF4 carbon spec, the new Reacto's geometry is almost identical to that of the CF4 Scultura, with a short head tube and longer reach. The CF2 geometry is less aggressive with a taller head tube — on a M/L size I measured it as 20mm longer – and shorter reach.

The rear direct mount brake is still sited beneath the chainstays
Of course, alongside the direct mount caliper braked model is a flat mount disc version. The CF4 carbon disc bike's frame is just 30g heavier than its rim counterpart and the fork adds another 30g.
In the CF2 carbon spec that difference increases to 57g and 40g respectively. While the rim brake bike has conventional quick release skewers, the CF4 disc model runs Focus RAT thru-axles, while the CF2 disc bike has threaded 12mm thru-axles.

160mm disc rotors front and rear, plus the Ficus RAT thru-axle system
It's designed for 160mm rotors front and rear, and incorporates Merida's unique disc cooler — a finned forged aluminium structure that slots between the hydraulic caliper and the frame to dissipate excess braking induced heat.
Merida says it reduces temperatures by around 35 percent and much faster than the caliper alone could.

Merida's forged aluminium disc coolers are said to cool the calipers by 35 percent
Merida also says the Reacto has clearance for 25mm tyres, although my first impressions are that there's easily room for more in there, rim calipers permitting.
The seat tube is shaped to shield the rear wheel, but there's ample tyre clearance

25mm tyres are standard spec on the Reacto and these are the new Fulcrum Speed 55C wheels. Note the scored braking track

Models available


This is the disc version of the Reacto 9000-E with SRAM eTap hydraulic
There are seven new Reacto models, five of which offer both rim and disc brakes.
The top four are in CF4 carbon, the remainder in CF2, and groupset choices range from Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 (Reacto Team-E) to SRAM eTap (Reacto 9000-E) and Ultegra Di2 (Reacto 8000-E and 7000-E), through mechanical Ultegra (Reacto 6000), with Shimano 105 on the cheapest Reacto 4000 machine.
I've already weighed my ride for tomorrow, the M/L Reacto Team-E with Dura-Ace Di2, new Fulcrum Speed 55C wheelset, 25mm clinchers, bottle cage, integrated Garmin mount and Time Xpresso 10 pedals, and it weighs 7.21kg.
By comparison, the same size (M/L) Reacto 9000-E with SRAM eTap and Vision Metron 55 SL wheels with clinchers and hydraulic discs, bottle cage and Shimano SPD-SL pedals comes in at 7.88kg.

Vision Metron 55SL Disc wheels with 25mm Continental clinchers are standard spec on this bike
A CF2 level Reacto 6000 in M/L with mechanical Ultegra and Fulcrum Racing Aero alloy wheels fitted, but no pedals or cage, weighs 7.99kg.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/merida-launches-new-reacto/