Tinkoff-Saxo team planning to travel to Mount Kilimanjaro

According to reports in L'Equipe and Gazzetta dello Sport, the Tinkoff-Saxo  team is planning to travel to Mount Kilimanjaro at the end of October for a weeklong get together, with new signings Peter Sagan, Ivan Basso and Robert Kiserlosvski joining Alberto Contador and the rest of the team.

Team manager Stefano Feltrin refused to confirm the plans for the camp but if it happens, the boot camp is likely to include the overnight climb to the 5891-metre high summit of Kilimanjaro.

Team manager Bjarne Riis has organised similar events for his teams in the past, with riders facing a series of physical and mental challenges aimed at boosting team spirit and pushing riders beyond their limits. Previous camps have been held in Denmark and South Africa but were reduced in recent years due to a lack of funding. With Oleg Tinkov now bank rolling the team, it seems the boot camp is back on the agenda for the Tinkoff-Saxo riders.

Conti, Bonifazio and Formolo lead Italy's next generation
While Davide Rebellin may have won the Giro dell'Emilia at the ripe old age of 43, the next generation of Italian riders have shown their potential in 2014, with several names to remember for 2015.

On Sunday 21-year-old Valerio Conti (Lampre-Merida) won the GP Beghelli, the last race of the Italian season, with a late attack. Twenty-year-old teammate Niccolo Bonifazio showed his talents by winning a stage at the Tour of Japan and the Coppa Agostoni in the summer, while Davide Formolo confirmed his climbing ability this season with an aggressive ride at the Tour de Suisse and second behind Vincenzo Nibali at the Italian national championships. Formolo was first reserve in the Italian national team for the world championships in Ponferrada and his talent has also earned him a place at the new-look Cannondale team managed by Jonathan Vaughters after the merger with Garmin-Sharp.

Voeckler’s Paris-Tours disappointment results in fine
Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) couldn’t hide his disappointment at missing out on victory at Paris-Tours in a two-up sprint against Jelle Wallays (Topsport-Vlaanderen), so much so that he headed straight for the team bus and failed to show on time for the podium ceremonies.

While Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme diplomatically said that “Thomas is a rider of emotions,” the commissaires took a rather dimmer view – Voeckler was fined 200 CHF and also lost out on his prize of €3,770 for finishing second.

Voeckler did eventually make his way to the podium to stand alongside speaker Daniel Mangeas, who was feted as he carried out his duties at an ASO-organised race for the final time in his lengthy career, and Voeckler later talked reporters through his race.

At the end of a season without a victory and blighted by two fractured collarbones, Voeckler must have thought he was destined to be the first French winner of Paris-Tours in eight years when he and Wallays rode clear of the break on the final climb.

“Wallays didn’t steal the win,” Voeckler said, according to L’Équipe. “I think that we were the two riders who had done the most to ensure the break of the day survived. Finishing second at Paris-Tours is still a good result after my series of problems, but I’m not satisfied with it. I’m a rider who loves to win. It’s a pity because beforehand I had pictured a scenario like this, a break from distance that survived to the end.”

Paris-Tours marked the final race of a difficult season for the 35-year-old Voeckler. “I don’t feel old but it’s clear that time passes and that my form maybe isn’t the same,” he said. “This doesn’t happen often but, considering my current form, it’s almost a pity that the season doesn’t last for another three weeks.”

Settimana Coppi e Bartali wants new date in 2015
The organiser of the Settimana Coppi e Bartali is lobbying for a change of date in 2015 that would put it in direct competition with the Three Days of De Panne as a preparation race for the Tour of Flanders.

The four-day Settimana Coppi e Bartali currently takes place in the final week in March, beginning the Thursday after Milan-San Remo and concluding on the same weekend as the Critérium International. The WorldTour races E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem also clash with its current slot.
Although the UCI has already outlined the Europe Tour calendar for 2015, race organiser GS Emilia are hoping to push the event back to the following week, where it would clash with the Three Days of De Panne (March 31-April 2).

“For three years we’ve been asking the UCI to move the race by a week, to go from being a ‘post-Sanremo’ race to a preparation race for the Tour of Flanders,” Adriano Amici of GS Emilia told Tuttobici. “If we were granted the move, the Three Days of De Panne would be the only race at the same time, and our race could work as preparation for Flanders for a lot of Italian riders and others.”
After launching a women’s version of the Giro dell’Emilia this year – won by Rosella Ratto – the GS Emilia is also hoping to add a women’s GP Beghelli to the calendar in 2015.

Wiggle add D'hoore and Cordon-Ragot
Wiggle Honda continues to strengthen its squad for 2015 after the signing of Belgian champion Jolien D’hoore and French rider Audrey Cordon-Ragot.

D’hoore, who won her second national road race title this year, will combine her road calendar with her track programme, along with the likes of Dani King, Joanna Rowsell and Laura Trott.

“I’m really happy to join Wiggle Honda in 2015. “It was the right time to take the next step in my career to develop myself further next year,” said d’Hoore. “Also the fact that Wiggle Honda supports my track ambitions is very important to me as my goal is the omnium in the 2016 Rio Olympics.”
Cordon-Ragot is the second Hitec Products rider to sign for the team for next season, after Elisa Longo Borghini was confirmed at the end of the World Championships last month. The 25-year-old supported race winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot at the Worlds and has taken stage wins at the Tour de Bretagne and Route de France this season.

“It’s an honour to fight for Wiggle Honda next season, the team looks professional and with a good atmosphere, which is for me the most important criterion to choose a team,” said Cordon-Ragot. “I also wanted to stay next to Elisa Longo Borghini, we had a really good feeling together this season and I will continue my role of friend and domestique with her.”

Wiggle Honda have taken on a number of big names in the weeks since the season ended, including two-time Giro Rosa champion Mara Abbott and 2012 World Championship bronze medallist Longo Borghini. Former cyclist Egon van Kessel has joined the team as a directeur sportif, the Dutchman looked after the women’s Cervélo Test Team in 2010.

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TRP’s HYRD calipers changes aimed to improve long term performance

After receiving a rather quiet update at the beginning of the year TRP’s HYRD calipers are mechanical-to-hydraulic brakes that work with any standard drop bar lever.All of the changes were aimed at improving long term performance and keep users from fiddling with the parts that could cause failure. Inside, they swapped the gasket’s material the reservoir so it is more pliable. This reduces the likelihood of the system creating a vacuum since it won’t pull as hard against the fluid when levels decline slightly as pads wear. In other words, it lets the system more easily compensate for pad wear.

They increased reservoir volume to hold more oil, which should help with heat buildup. A steel ring was added around the pistons to help them slide in and out easier. Before, it was solid Bakelite, which does a great job of insulating against heat, but wasn’t as smooth, so now it’s just used in the center of the piston.

When we reviewed the original HYRD brakes, one of the tweaks we made to improve pad contact speed and power was to dial in the piston rod. Unfortunately, TRP frowns upon this and for good reason: It can cause the system to remain closed or open depending on which way you turn the bolt. Either way, it could mean brakes that don’t work.

To prevent riders from messing with it, they added a fixing bolt that threads into a notch on the piston rod to it can’t be moved from its factory setting.

These new versions started shipping in January, actually, so if you’ve purchased your brakes this year or if it was spec’d on your bike since then, you’ll have the new versions. Visually, the new version says “mineral oil” on the outward facing side, just above the TRP logo.

Retail is $149.99 per wheel with either 140mm or 160mm rotor, available in black or silver.

The urban camo edition of the Spyke brakes, which are the mountain bike version of the Spyre dual-pull mechanical calipers that include a mud/dust cover, are a new color that should start shipping by end of year. Black versions are in stock now. Retail is $99 per wheel, including 160mm or 180mm rotor. A 140mm or 203mm rotor is available separately.

Matching Levers are also available separately. They’re all alloy construction, weight is 156g per pair.
The Hylex singlespeed hydraulic drop bar disc brakeset, which was introduced last year at Interbike, started shipping in early March of this year and are selling as fast as they can bring them in. So, if you want a set, get an order in now

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Sonny Colbrelli Sky rumours

Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani-CSF) was diplomatic when asked about the Sky rumours after his win, politely insisting that he was thinking only of the final two races on his 2014 programme but admitting that he was flattered by the link.
“Right now I just want to concentrate on the end of the season. There’s still the Giro dell’Emilia and Trofeo Beghelli left for us to win the Coppa Italia,” Colbrelli told Gazzetta dello Sport. “Then we’ll think about a possible transfer. But a friendly agreement needs to be reached with the Reverberi family. Bardiani has given me a lot and I’ve given a lot to Bardiani too. But Sky would be a big opportunity.”

Colbrelli’s current deal with Bardiani extends to the end of 2015, but there is scope for him to switch during the off-season as the team will change management company, meaning that all riders must re-sign new contracts.

Since its establishment in 2010, Sky has always maintained an Italian presence on its roster, due in part to the support of the broadcaster’s Italian arm. Elia Vivani has been heavily linked with a move to Sky for next season, while Salvatore Puccio will remain on board, although Dario Cataldo departs for Astana.

Colbrelli’s victory in Peccioli was his fifth of the season and his third in recent weeks following his back-to-back triumphs at the Memorial Pantani and the GP Prato. He also finished second in the Tre Valli Varesine, a run of success that was enough to secure his place in the Italian team for the world championships in Ponferrada.

Colbrelli completed his first Worlds as Italy’s best finisher in 13th place after he fell just short of latching onto the back of the chasing group on the final climb.

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