The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) notified the 1997 Tour de France winner yesterday that it has extended the deadline for its final ruling until February 10, 2012.

A letter from CAS attorney Andrea Zimmermann states that, “the three-month time limit to communicate the operative part of the award to the parties, pursuant to article R59 of the Code of the Sports-related Arbitration, has been extended until 10 February 2012.”

The extension came on the same day the CAS announced its delayed judgment in the case of Alberto Contador. A final decision in the Spaniard’s clenbuterol case is now expected during the week of January 31.

Battered and dazed after crashing in stage 7 of the 2011 Tour, Chris Horner is ready to get back to work. Photo: Andrew Hood (file)

American veteran Chris Horner is relaxed, recovered and ready heading into the coming week, which marks the first training camp for the newly merged all-star squad of RadioShack and Leopard-Trek members.

“It’s time to go back to work,” said Horner, the 2011 Amgen Tour of California winner who last pinned on a race number on July 9, the day he crashed out of the Tour de France with a concussion and ankle injury. Later that month he developed a blood clot in his lung, and was forced to sit out the remainder of the season, both to allow his lung to recover and because of the anti-coagulant medicine he was taking.

Since that crash his team has undergone a major transformation, merging with the Leopard-Trek squad of Tour de France podium finishers Andy and Fränk Schleck and classics champion Fabian Cancellara.

Three directors from each team have been confirmed for RadioShack-Nissan going into next season. From Leopard-Trek, staying on will be Kim Andersen, Lars Michaelsen and Luca Guercilena; Alain Gallopin, Jose Azevedo and Dirk Demol are continuing from RadioShack.

The team will hold a weeklong training camp in Calpe, Spain, a beach town on Spain’s eastern coast between Valencia and Murcia. A press conference is scheduled for Tuesday, December 6.

“For me, the team has the same feel as last year, working under Johan (Bruyneel), (Alain) Gallopin, the same guys,” Horner said. “And the Leopard guys will have a lot of the same main directors to work with one on one. Usually how it works is there are five or six directors on each team, and each director takes on four or five riders they stay in contact with all year. For me, each year it has been Gallopin.”

Asked about the potential for ego clashes as the two top teams settle into one, Horner said he isn’t worried about it.

“I think bringing so many strong riders together is actually the upside to the mix of this team. I don’t think there will be an ego problem,” Horner said. “I’ve known the Schleck brothers since I came back to Europe in 2005. Over the years we’ve always stayed at the same hotels, I’ve had dinner with the guys. I’ve even gone to the movies with the guys when we were stuck at the same hotel between Amstel Gold Race and Liège–Bastogne–Liège.

“I’ve known Jens Voigt since 1997 or ’98. So that won’t be too strange. Klödi (Andreas Klöden) doesn’t have an ego. Fabian is a character, but there’s no ego there. I don’t know him as well. I haven’t spent as much time racing with him. Jakob (Fuglsang) seems like a nice kid, all the times I have run into him.”

Horner said a lack of egos wouldn’t mean a lack of pressure, however, for the new team.

“I hope there is a lot of pressure,” Horner said. “That’s the point, on a team like this, with this kind of depth, you gotta come up with some results. The way I see the sport, you have Alberto Contador, who is still number one, Cadel (Evans) is putting on a good show at the grand tours and weeklong stage races, and then you have the strongest team in the world, which is ours. When you look at the mix, we’re not such a strong team that we can just show up and win, but we will have the strongest numbers.

“But we’ve still got to beat Alberto, and he’s the strongest rider. If he’s off again next year at the Tour, you can beat him outright, but if he’s on the form we’ve seen him in the past, you have to beat him with numbers and tactics, and this is the perfect scenario, a strong team with four or five guys capable of riding for GC.”

As for his health, Horner said he was able to bring himself back up to 90 percent of full strength in training before backing off his training load.

“Training is no problem,” he said. “I spent a month, six weeks off the bike, then eight weeks of training. I took the form up to 90 percent, and I did that for two weeks at 90 percent and then shut it back down to take a normal winter break. I usually start training harder on January 1, this year it will be a few weeks earlier, probably just a little after camp, in early December. So I’ll have had two breaks since July — six weeks off, eight weeks of training, six weeks easy, then back to training again.

“I won’t be riding hard at camp. Some guys may be getting ready for early-season stuff, like Het Volk, but the for the majority of us, we’ll be trying to find form for March. More than anything, December training camp is just to bring everyone together in the same place. If you don’t have a camp in early December, you can go two or three months without seeing everyone.”

The team, which was presented in November 2007 as Slipstream-Chipotle, has come a long way in those four years, in 2011 winning Paris-Roubaix and four stages of the Tour de France, as well defending Thor Hushovd’s maillot jaune for a week and winning that race’s overall team classification.

General manager Jonathan Vaughters started the squad in Boulder in 2003 as a developmental team sponsored by Denver’s 5280 Magazine. In 2004 the team, run by Slipstream Sports, assumed the title sponsorship of TIAA-CREF, which lasted through 2007 before Vaughters hired several Tour de France veterans and took the leap into Pro Continental status for 2008.

A team time trial victory at the 2008 Giro d’Italia launched that team into the stratosphere, and the squad has since landed a rider in the top-10 of the Tour de France every year — Christian Vande Velde in 2008, Bradley Wiggins in 2009, Ryder Hesjedal in 2010 and Tom Danielson in 2011.

Over the past four years the team has forged an identity not by winning the sport’s biggest events but rather as a stringent anti-doping squad, decked out in Vaughters’ preferred argyle pattern.

The list of returning riders that have been with the team since its first presentation in Boulder four years ago includes Vande Velde, Hesjedal, Danielson, David Millar, David Zabriskie, Tyler Farrar, Martijn Maaskant, Dan Martin and Tom Peterson. Two other riders, Colorado natives Peter Stetina and Alex Howes, have been involved with the team’s developmental program since its inception in 2003.

This week’s camp, which began Sunday, included group rides, social outings, meetings with both sponsors and team directors, and team-building exercises, such as a 10-mile hike Tuesday up to Bear Peak, among Boulder’s iconic Flatirons.

“This has been the best team camp yet,” Hesjedal said. “It’s great to be back in Boulder, where we started the whole thing. It’s become a top-notch organization compared to four years ago, it’s great to see that we’ve come this far.”

The event was emceed by Versus cycling commentator Robbie Ventura, and after a brief introduction and quick words by Slipstream president Matt Johnson and Garmin’s VP of Marketing Jon Cassat, the lights were dimmed for a 15-minute video, titled “Journey To a Dream,” shot and assembled by British filmmaker Nigel Dick earlier during the week.

The film touched upon the squad’s grassroots legacy, bringing up riders like Stetina and Howes through its development program, as well as the all-for-one team aspect of bike racing and Slipstream’s long-running anti-doping policy.

Vande Velde's pants were later auctioned to the highest bidder.

“We came here four years ago, and I showed my first film with the team, ‘Millar’s Tale,’ about David Millar and his return from a doping suspension,” Dick said. “And I remember Jonathan saying ‘We might not win all the biggest races, but we will be the cleanest team in the peloton.’ And I remember thinking, ‘Good luck with that.’ But from my perspective, they’ve done it. And Jonathan seems to have changed the sport. What it took was somebody with courage.”

Vaughters said he didn’t have specific goals for the team in 2012, other than for everyone to be the best they can be, and to “perfect the process.”

“What I’ve learned in cycling is that you have to roll with the punches,” Vaughters said. “I don’t twist riders’ thumbs on specific goals. If everyone does their job, good things will happen.”

After the team was brought onstage a Q&A session followed, highlighted by Zabriskie serenading Vaughters with a modified rendition of “Proud Mary,” with the chorus “Rolling on the Garmin.” Zabriskie also applied his trademark brand of humor to the auction of a seat in the team car during the 2012 USA Pro Cycling Challenge, displaying remarkable auctioneer skill and at one point informing a potential buyer, “Hey, you can’t bid on your own bid.”

Following the auction, former Garmin teammate Will Frischkorn, who now co-owns a Boulder cheese shop called Cured, was the surprise winner of the night’s raffle prize — a 2011 Cervélo S5 race bike.

A team of second chances

Four riders on the 2012 squad were absent from the team presentation — Murilo Fischer, Jack Bauer, Dan Martin and Alex Rasmussen.

Both Bauer and Martin were at their respective homes attending the weddings of close friends.

Rassmussen was home in Denmark, having been cleared Thursday of a doping infraction by a Danish sports doping tribunal. During the 2010 and 2001 seasons Rasmussen missed a total of three out-of-competition drug tests, which brings an automatic suspension, however the UCI failed to notify the rider within the mandatory 14-day period, and the case was dismissed.

Vaughters said Rasmussen would therefore be welcomed as part of the team’s 2012 roster.

“He’s got a contract, we signed it in August,” Vaughters said. “And there’s now no reason we wouldn’t make good on our contract. He’ll be at our next team camp in December. At the end of the day, he’s a real genuine guy, and he screwed up. He’s lucky. On this team, if you miss even two tests, you sit. You’re not racing, that’s our policy. It doesn’t mean you’re fired, as there’s no legal basis to do that, but you sit. He’s going to have to deal with that system. He’s an incredible talent, but I also knew in June, when we started talking to him … he missed his flight to Plouay, he missed his flight to Eneco Tour … next year he’s got to get it together.”

Another rider joining the team on a second chance is Dekker, the former Rabobank star who took overall wins at Tour of Romandie and Tirreno-Adriatico before serving a two-year doping suspension, from July 2009 through June 2011.

In August of this year Dekker returned with Slipstream’s Chipotle Development team, winning the Duo Normand time trial alongside Roubaix champion Vansummeren in mid-September. But, Dekker said, though he’d flown over from Europe earlier in the week, his inclusion as part of the 2012 WorldTour team was in question all the way up until the day of the presentation.

“Everyone on the team, from the riders to the directors to (team owner) Doug Ellis to Jon Cassat from Garmin — everyone had to have a say,” Dekker said. “And I met with (Cassat) earlier this afternoon. Until he agreed, I was not sure if I would be on the team or not. It wasn’t a surprise, I was going for it, but I didn’t know until an hour before the presentation.”

Now 27, Dekker said that he was mentally ready to get back to racing, but that he might not be physically ready for some time.

“I’m hungry,” he said. “Two years is a long period to go without racing. But physically, I missed the big tours, the classics, and it’s impossible to train as hard as you would race. Give me some time, and I hope to show that I can still race at the highest level.”

Earlier in the evening, during the open Q&A, an audience member asked how many of the team’s 30 riders hope to make the Tour de France squad. A dozen hands went up, including those of Vande Velde, Danielson, Zabriskie, Farrar and Hesjedal. Another of those hands raised belonged to Dekker.

Time will tell if the Dutchman will be able to earn a spot on that Tour de France team. If he is, just as Millar’s tale of redemption has been integral to the Slipstream organization’s identity, Dekker’s story may just be another triumph in the team’s growing legacy.

Garmin-Cervélo 2012 team roster (30 riders)
Jack Bauer (New Zealand)
Tom Danielson (USA)
Thomas Dekker (The Netherlands)
Tyler Farrar (USA)
Koldo Fernandez (Spain)
Murilo Fischer (Brazil)
Nathan Haas (Australia)
Heinrich Haussler (Australia)
Ryder Hesjedal (Canada)
Alex Howes (USA)
Robbie Hunter (South Africa)
Andreas Klier (Germany)
Michel Kreder (The Netherlands)
Raymond Kreder (The Netherlands)
Christophe Le Mevel (France)
Martijn Maaskant (The Netherlands)
Dan Martin (Ireland)
David Millar (Great Britain)
Ramunas Navardauskas (Lithuania)
Tom Peterson (USA)
Alex Rasmussen (Denmark)
Jakob Rathe (USA)
Sébastian Roessler (Belgium)
Peter Stetina (USA)
Andrew Talansky (USA)
Christian Vande Velde (USA)
Sep Vanmarcke (Belgium)
Johan Vansummeren (Belgium)
Fabian Wegmann (Germany)
David Zabriskie (USA)

Directors
Johnny Weltz (Denmark)
Bingen Fernandez (Spain)
Allan Peiper (Australia)
Eric Van Lancker (Belgium)
Geert Van Bondt (Belgium)
Charly Wegelieus (Great Britain)

Tristan Schouten exits the sand ahead of Tim Johnson. Photo: Brad Kaminski © VeloNews

BOULDER, Colo. (VN) — Following an abnormally slow start this year, former national cyclocross champion Tim Johnson said he could leave Colorado content with a third-place finish at Sunday’s C1 Victory Circle Graphix Boulder Cup.

The Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com rider is riding his first ’cross season without a summer of domestic road racing in his legs. The longtime UnitedHealthcare road captain walked away from his pro road career at the end of the 2010 season to dedicate himself to cyclocross. Thus far, his results have been less than stellar for a rider who has won the USGP and NACT series overall titles, as well as three elite national championships.

Johnson’s 2011 season results include seventh at CrossVegas, sixth and a DNF at the USGP Planet Bike Cup in Madison, 10th and second over the Gran Prix of Gloucester weekend, and 13th and fifth at the USGP New Belgium Cup in Fort Collins.

Following the New Belgium Cup weekend, Johnson headed to Europe for two rounds of World Cup events in the Czech Republic.

At the first, in Plzen, he was among a dozen riders caught behind race photographers still standing in the starting grid after the gun went off, which led to a 10-second delay. Just 100 meters later he was caught behind a crash when several riders hit a misplaced barrier; he finished 20th, one spot ahead of American Jonathan Page. Rapha-Focus rider Jeremy Powers was the top American, in 10th, behind winner Sven Nys.

One week later, in Tabor, Johnson finished 17th, two spots behind Powers, who was again top American.

Still jetlagged from his travels from Czech Republic to Colorado, Johnson sat out Saturday’s C2 Colorado Cyclocross Classic in order to rest up for Sunday’s C1 race. He rode in the front group all day, finishing third when he squeaked past Geoff Kabush at the finish line with a bike throw.

“I can be happy about finishing third because I was able to race, and at a lot of races this year, I haven’t been able to do that,” Johnson said. “I’ve been riding sub-par for me, and the speed of the other guys has been over my head. I’ve been watching moves happen and watching moves go. It’s hard to do that. It messes with your head. Physically you can still do what you need to do in training to get better but if you don’t feel like you can compete, it’s tough. Any little bit of improvement is nice.”

Berden starts down the corkscrew descent. Photo: Brad Kaminski © VeloNews

BOULDER, Colo. (VN) — Belgian Ben Berden and U.S. national champion Katie Compton emerged as winners Sunday at the C1 Victory Circle Graphix Boulder Cup cyclocross race, the inaugural UCI event held at Boulder’s new Valmont Bike Park.

On a course layout noteworthy for its hilly profile, twisting descents and long, deep staircase, it was a 100-meter straight, muddy section on the backside of the course that proved most decisive. Though weather was sunny and in the 60s, an early-season snowfall days earlier had left sections of the course wet, and in one section, churned into a thick, sticky goo.

Berden (Ops-Ale-Clement) counterattacked Rocky Mountain-Maxxis rider Geoff Kabush through the mud on the final lap to outfox a lead group of seven riders for the win; Saturday’s Colorado Cyclocross Classic winner Ryan Trebon (LTS-Felt) took the bunch sprint ahead of Tim Johnson (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com), who came from behind and threw his bike at the line to edge Kabush off the podium.

In the women’s race, Compton (Rabobank) attacked on the first lap and never looked back, stretching her lead to over a minute, and finishing 45 seconds ahead of Luna’s Georgia Gould. French national champion Caroline Mani (SRAM) finished third, another 15 seconds behind Gould.

Compton — again

Compton rolled to the start line at Valmont Bike Park the overwhelming favorite, and she didn’t disappoint. In front of a crowd that easily topped 1,000 spectators amassed in warm, sunny conditions, Compton proved why she’s won World Cup cyclocross events over each of the past five seasons.

From the gun Boulder local Nicole Duke (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com) took the holeshot and Compton followed.

“Nicole got off to a good start, I was just following her, and on the stair section, I made myself push there, and that’s where I got the gap,” Compton said. “It wasn’t so much a planned attack — I just wanted to attack the stairs today.”

Gould had an uncharacteristically poor start and was forced to work her way back from mid-pack to the front. But by the time she’d made her way back Compton was gone, and instead, the battle was between Mani and Gould for second.

“Katie was really fast. I tried to follow her, but on the first lap she pushed really hard and we weren’t able to follow,” Mani said. “I raced with Georgia, but on the stairs, she was really fast and I was just dying. I made a small mistake on the muddy section and Georgia just went. There was a small gap and I wasn’t able to catch her, so I’m happy with my race, with finishing third.”

Katie Compton all alone on the 5280 run up. Photo: Brad Kaminski © VeloNews

Though she rated her performance “three out of five stars,” Gould had nothing but positive words for the Valmont Bike Park course. “There were more places today that could make a difference — if you messed up in the sand you could lose a few seconds, or if you had a bad line in the mud… there were more defining sections. The stair section was long enough where … you can kind of fake a run-up if it’s five steps long, but when it’s 30 of those giant stairs, and you’re not good at running up them … there were sections where I was a little stronger, and that helped me today.”

Compton said her win Sunday was harder earned than at the Boulder Reservoir on Saturday.

“The mud was unforgiving,” Compton said. “The uphill section, the stairs, there’s no place to recover and settle in. There’s a lot of seated, power accelerations. I had to work hard today, and Caroline and Georgia are riding better than yesterday, which made it tougher.”

Berden, the Belgian, best in the mud

Within two laps from the starting gun, a select 12-rider group formed at the front men’s race.

In that group were the top-four finishers — Berden, Trebon, Johnson and Kabush — as well as Todd Wells (Specialized), Jamey Driscoll (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com), Danny Summerhill (Chipotle Development Team), Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Trek), Allen Krughoff (Boulder Cycle Sport), Tristan Schouten (Mafia-Felt), Yannick Eckmann (Pearl Izumi) and Mitch Hoke (Clif Bar).

That group whittled down lap after lap, until with three to go just Trebon, Johnson, Kabush, Driscoll, Schouten, Berden and Wells remained.

The pivotal moment of the race came as the group of seven crossed the start/finish line with one lap remaining. With Wells about 50 meters ahead, Kabush laid down a fierce attack heading into the course’s main climb. Berden followed while Trebon led the chase, slowly reeling in the leaders.

“I hit it as hard as I could on the drag through the start/finish on the last lap and didn’t look back, just drilled it as hard as I could,” Kabush said. “I wanted to go for the win.”

The Belgian made contact with Kabush on the downhill section of the course, sat on the Canadian until the backside mud bog, and then removed any chance of a two-man sprint when he accelerated through the mud, comfortably winning by more than 30 meters ahead of a hard-charging Trebon.

“You could see earlier in the race that Ben definitely had some legs, and he was the one that dragged me back,” Kabush said. “On the mud pit on the backside, it was kind of peanut butter there, and you really had to nail your lines. If you messed up once, there would be big gaps, and Ben just nailed it there on the last lap and came by me.”

With Johnson sitting on, Trebon admitted he’d tried to split the difference, driving the chase just short of making contact and delivering Johnson to the leaders. Trebon said he’d planned on making his move through the mud pit near the finish line, but when push came to shove, he didn’t have the legs to follow through.

“I put a big effort up the climb and bridged across, and my plan was to just surf about 20 feet behind them and then make a big effort in the mud section, but I was already at my limit,” Trebon said. “I had nothing left. Ben had a great line through that mud bog, he was able to get a gap there and hold it to the finish… I could have raced a little smarter today, but Ben was aggressive, and riding well, and I just didn’t have enough on that last lap to bridge up to him and try to sprint with him. I burned a few too many matches, left me lacking a little on that last half lap.”

Trebon leads Johnson through the lower sand pit. Photo: Brad Kaminski © VeloNews

After Trebon surged across the line in second, Johnson came around Kabush at the line to take the final podium spot. Kabush was philosophical after his go-for-broke attack fell short. “I would have liked hang on for the finish, but that effort took a bit of the snap, and I got pipped on the line,” he said. “It was definitely an interesting race, and probably a good show, how close it all came down at the finish.”

Johnson admitted that he had placed all his hopes of racing for the win on Trebon catching Berden and Kabush during the final half lap.

“The last lap today I waited all on Ryan,” Johnson said. “Ryan let a gap go to Ben. I was just expecting Trebon to do his last-lap acceleration to catch Ben, and then we’d be fighting for the win. And he did it, but he just couldn’t catch Ben. I put my race on Ryan, and he put his race on his best super-fast last lap, and it didn’t work. When you do go slow in the beginning, like we did today, it makes it easier for things to happen. Ben was riding well, he did attack a few times, and got a legitimate gap. He had the best line through the mud. He’s ridden in the mud his entire career. “

The win was a long time coming for Berden, whose career spans two decades and has seen its share of ups and downs. The heavily tattooed Belgian took a bronze medal at the world junior cyclocross championship in 1994, at the sandy course in Koksijde, and was the Belgian U23 national champion in 1996. After a string of top results at the World Cup level, Berden tested positive for EPO in 2004. He admitted to doping, and served out a two-year suspension.

Now 36, Berden considers himself a spokesperson for clean racing. This fall he’s been racing in the U.S. for the first time, since CrossVegas, and the win in Boulder was his first at a UCI-sanctioned cyclocross race since the 2004-05 season.

Photo: Brad Kaminski © VeloNews

“Tim was following Trebon all day — whenever he went left, Tim went left,” Berden said. “I did one attack and Trebon closed the gap, I did a second attack and a third attack, and the third attack was on the last lap. Kabush went on the hill after the finish line on the last lap, that’s a really difficult part. I followed him and I waited until the sand pit and the mud. I knew that I was better than Kabush there. I went full there, got 20 or 30 meters, and it was enough.

“It’s my biggest win in five years,” Berden said. “I was here (in the U.S.) for some victories, and now I finally have one. I’m 36 years old, and I had some bad years, five, six years ago. But I love cycling, and that’s where my heart is.”

Race Note: Racers give Valmont Bike Park the thumbs up

Ben Berden: “There was mud, there was sand, there were climbs, and descents, there were a few technical parts. Finally we’ve had some real cyclocross, I think.”

Tim Johnson: “Racing here at Valmont, seeing all the people, going up that run-up where it was absolutely insane, every single lap, this place has really got something going. If we get nationals here, or more big races here, it’s just going to be insane. This is going to be a new stop in the U.S.”

Geoff Kabush: “You had sand pits, a run-up, it’s a great spectator venue, and with the weather, a few extra features with the mud pit. The course challenged everyone with a little bit of everything.”

Georgia Gould: “It was really fun. It’s the first time I’ve ridden here, and kudos to everyone who worked on this. It’s an awesome area. There are tons of possibilities. They did a great job on the course.”

Check back soon for full results.

Todd Wells at the Valmont Park 'cross course on Friday. Photo: Brad Kaminski © VeloNews

Specialized rider Todd Wells has had a stellar past 12 months. He didn’t win a lot of cyclocross races during the 2010 season, but he won the one that matters most, the national championship. His mountain bike season included a defense of his national cross-country title, a win at the Leadville Trail MTB 100, and a personal-best seventh place at the world cross-country championship.

Next week Wells flies south for his first attempt at La Ruta de los Conquistadores, a four-day stage race in Costa Rica. Before that, the Durango resident will race the  Colorado Cyclocross Classic and Boulder Cup UCI races this weekend.

Wells stopped by the VeloNews offices Friday for a quick chat after pre-riding both courses.

Q. You weren’t planning on racing in Boulder, and then you changed plans. Why?

A. I wasn’t going to, but I always come up for this race weekend, and it was tough to not do a UCI race weekend that’s within driving distance of Durango. I don’t get too many of those races in the year.

Q. Won’t that throw a little chaos into your plans for La Ruta? You’re leaving on Monday?

A. A little bit. I was thinking of going down to La Ruta earlier to prep for the humidity, maybe pre-ride a few of the stages, but after talking to (2010 winner) Ben Sonntag, he hasn’t ridden many of the stages, and he thought the weather in Colorado in the fall is generally good. He advised me to stay here and just go down last minute. And since he won last year, I figured he’d have good advice.

Q. What other advice did he have for you?

A. Well I’m bringing two bikes, a hardtail and full suspension, an Epic 29er. He said three of the days were better for the hardtail, and one is better for the Epic. You can’t swap bikes in the race but you can bikes from day to day.

Q. When did you decide to race La Ruta?

A. About two months ago, after Leadville. Specialized didn’t have much exposure in a Leadville or La Ruta type of race, and it was a good excuse to go to Costa Rica, I’ve never been.

Q. You’ve been national cyclocross champion three times, and always focused on that race. This year it’s moved to January — will you be there to defend your title?

A. No, I won’t be doing ’cross nationals this year. They moved it back to January, and the mountain bike World Cup starts one month earlier, so that’s a two-month swing. The one time I did race cyclocross worlds into the mountain-bike season I had a horrible mountain-bike season. I need to take a break.

If ’cross nationals were the same time they had always been (in early December), it would have made it a tough decision because the World Cup starts a month earlier, and in order to do what I always do, I wouldn’t be good for that first World Cup, which is important for the rest of the World Cups, to have a good start position, it’s important for the Olympics, and it’s just nice to start the year off with good fitness. But with ’cross nats so late, it was an easy decision.

Q. You went in 2004 and 2008 — will the Olympics be your biggest priority in 2012?

A. It is an objective, buy my overall goal is to do well in the World Cup. and if I do well in the World Cup, I’ll make the Olympic team. I’ve been twice, and had mediocre-at-best results. I don’t want to go again and suck. I don’t want to barely make the team and not have good form, and just have making the team be my goal. If I were to go I’d like to be competitive, and have good results leading up to it, and that’s why I would have made the team.

Q. What’s your objective at La Ruta?

A. It’s a hard race, and sure, I would like to win, but I’ve never done a four-day mountain-bike stage race, so I don’t know how my body will react. I’ve done stage races on the road but a mountain bike race is a steadier, more fatiguing, overall body effort. I don’t know how I will react to that.

I’ll be racing in the snow in Boulder this weekend, and then flying to Costa Rica, where the “real feel” at the start line was 110F today. I’ve never done the race before, and I think one of the keys for me doing well at Leadville was that I did it last year, and I knew what to expect, and how to train for it. This race I’m kind of going in blind. I think I have an idea for La Ruta, but I’ve never done it before.

It will be a big learning experience. The promoter was saying that only four international riders have won the race, and (Thomas Frischknect) raced it two or three times before he won, and that was when he was at the height of his career.

Q. After La Ruta, what more will you do for cyclocross this year?

A. I’m back two days before the Louisville USGP, which I’ll race. I’m not going to race the USGP finale in Bend, but I will do Jingle ’Cross on Thanksgiving weekend. I love it out there, they have great fans, and there’s a big hill you go up and back down, with a downhill, off-camber section. Last year we raced it at night, on frozen ice. It’s something different.

A Ugandan woman with a World Bicycle Relief bike. Photo by Lara Kroepsch.

To her classmates and teaching staff, Lara Kroepsch is another student, regularly assisting in heart surgery during elective rotations as part of her physician assistant training at the Yale University School of Medicine.

To fans of competitive cycling, Kroepsch is a former Olympic hopeful whose racing career, which spanned most of the last decade, included stints with T-Mobile and Lipton.

But to a group of women in Uganda, Kroepsch and her boyfriend Corey Collier — a former pro with HealthNet-Maxxis and Bahati Foundation — are foreign benefactors, the providers of new bicycles, via World Bicycle Relief, the organization formed by SRAM and Trek in 2005 that supplies durable bikes across Africa.

In September Kroepsch traveled to Uganda for a medical rotation, working at a referral hospital treating infectious disease.

Before leaving she reached out to World Bicycle Relief’s development coordinator Rebecca Much, a former T-Mobile teammate, and arranged a bicycle demo day in Uganda to introduce WBR and Light Gives Heat, a non-profit based in Grand Junction, Colorado, which employs 115 Ugandan women, focusing on encouraging sustainability through commerce.

Collier is a Grand Junction native and longtime friend of Dave and Morgan Hansow, who started Light Gives Heat after they moved to Uganda to adopt a child. Light Gives Heat sells necklaces and bags online made by the Ugandan women.

Collier and Kroepsch. Photo: Allen Krughoff

More than 50 of the Ugandan women that work with Light Gives Heat attended the demo day; several pedaled a bike for the first time. Kroepsch said the experience was life changing.

“To see how much fun, these women were having riding a bicycle, to see 60-year-old women laughing and riding a bike for the first time, it was really inspiring,” Kroepsch said. “All of a sudden felt like most important thing in my life.”

Upon returning to the States, Kroepsch and Collier set out to provide bicycles for each of the 115 women employed by Light Gives Heat, with a price tag of $150 per bike. They arranged to micro-finance the bikes with the Ugandan women splitting the cost — the women will paying for their half with monthly pay check deductions coming from their LGH salaries.

“The bikes will factor in their lives in so many ways, from getting back and forth for employment, to taking their kids to school, to getting water at a well,” Kroepsch said. “Bikes are shared and used in the community there — they’re as good as gold.”

Collier is currently competing in the seven-day, 362-mile Brazil Ride mountain-bike stage race. Hoping to raise money for the program, he’s seeking donations — either a nominal amount for each mile he races, or a full $150 to cover a WBR bicycle.

Updates from Collier’s ride can be found on the Light Gives Heat blog.

Collier and Kroepsch are also racing cyclocross this fall to promote WBR and Light Gives Heat, riding bamboo fames made by former Jamis-Sutter Home pro Nick Frey. In December Boo Bicycles will donate and auction off a custom bamboo frame — all proceeds will go to purchasing bikes for the Ugandan women,

With more than $10,000 to raise, they are seeking help from the racing community.

“While I was there it became apparent that, while people donate big chunks of money to Africa, they minute they pull out, everything disappears,” Kroepsch said. “It has to be about sustainability — you have to empower people to empower themselves.”

For more information, visit Light Gives Heat, World Bicycle Relief and their shared Facebook page, Bikes Give Light.

Even in a wild transfer season that’s seen sponsors jump teams (Omega Pharma, to Quick Step), successful programs fold for lack of sponsorship (HTC-Highroad), and top programs merge (RadioShack and Leopard-Trek), Leipheimer’s departure from RadioShack came as a surprise.

Along with Chris Horner, Leipheimer was one of the top Americans on a team that, while primarily Belgian in staff personnel, is sponsored by an American company that came on board in 2009 during Lance Armstrong’s comeback.

For 2012, that team’s sponsor and management will join Leopard-Trek riders Fabian Cancellara, Andy and Fränk Schleck, Jakob Fuglsang, Robert Wagner, and Daniele Bennati.

Confirmed to stay from RadioShack side are Horner, Andreas Klöden, Matthew Busche, Nelson Oliveira, Jesse Sergent, Ben King and Haimar Zubeldia.

As he told VeloNews.com, when whispers of a merger between the two Trek-backed teams began to take shape, Leipheimer realized the new “RadioSchleck” squad was a team that didn’t have room for him.

“That’s just how it works out,” Leipheimer said. “Johan wanted to change the team. He had Lance (Armstrong) winning the Tour for seven years, and then he won several grand tours in a row with Alberto (Contador). He’s won the Tour a lot. He’s won big races. I think this year, especially in the Tour, it was clear we weren’t going to win. And the chances aren’t increasing with time. I’m not saying we couldn’t have won, but there are guys out there with a better chance. Alberto is the best rider in the world, along with Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans. Johan is interested in getting back on top, and that was going to take something major.”

Though his Tour de France was marred by crashes and injuries, and he wasn’t able to win his beloved Amgen Tour of California, finishing second to Horner, the 2011 season was one of Leipheimer’s best. He rode to overall wins at the Tour of Switzerland, the Tour of Utah, and the inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge.

Negotiations began between Leipheimer’s agent, Paul de Geyter of Celio Sport & Image, and Lefevere during the Tour — well before the American’s wins in Utah and Colorado.

With HTC-Highroad disbanding, Lefevere and the team’s owner, Czech billionaire Zdenek Bakala, were keen on picking up several top GC riders, such as Tony Martin and twin brothers Peter and Martin Velits — and the valuable UCI WorldTour points they brought the historically classics-focused team. Lefevere was also keen on hiring HTC director Brian Holm.

“Quick Step first went to (Paul de Geyter), maybe even before the Tour de France,” Leipheimer said. “I knew I had to do the Tour, just to see how it goes. Then things got serious immediately after the Tour.”

Leipheimer said most of the communication (and negotiation) took place between de Geyter and Lefevere, while the American rider spoke most with Specialized president Mike Sinyard, whom he’d known since his days at Gerolsteiner in 2005 and 2006.

“I spoke with Brian Holm at the races,” he said. “I also spoke with Mike Sinyard, who told me (Specialized) was moving to Quick Step. That’s when I started to gather more information about the team, about how they were about to take on these stage racers, and how the whole thing was built around UCI points. We (stage racers) have points, and the way to score points is through stage races and GC. And Mike Sinyard told me, ‘I know they are interested in you.’”

“When they first approached me, I still saw it as a classics team, and thought, ‘how am I going to fit in?’ But I also heard that Mr. Bakala and Patrick Lefevere were looking to change the team. Of course Tom Boonen and the classics squad will be one of the best, that will always be a priority, but they also wanted to invest into riders who could time trial, and win stage races.

“They wanted to bring on a new group of people, like Brian Holm, to help orchestrate that, and to use more of the approach that teams like Garmin, Sky, HTC and RadioShack have been using — more equipment oriented, taking into consideration the wind tunnel, nutrition, recovery, and all the major factors in stage-racing performance. For me it was an opportunity and a challenge, to help them find their way, and to help create a part of the team that can compete at stage races.”

News leaked out nearly a month ago, yet Leipheimer remained tight-lipped about the move until late last week, when he posted a short message on the website for his King’s Ridge Gran Fondo. Why the delay?

“I was trying to be respectful to RadioShack and Nissan,” Leipheimer said. “My Gran Fondo is coming up, and they’re both big sponsors. Those guys have been really cool to me, and I felt bad (that news of the transfer) was going to come out before this big event that they’ve put a lot of support into.”

Looking forward

Leipheimer rode for the U.S. Postal Service in 2000 and 2001, launching his status as a grand-tour contender with a third-place finish at the 2001 Vuelta a España. He switched over to Rabobank for three years; then two years with Gerolsteiner, winning the 2005 Deutschland Tour and the 2006 Dauphiné Libéré. In 2007 he returned to Bruyneel’s program, taking the first of three consecutive wins at the Amgen Tour of California and riding to a third-place finish at the Tour de France behind Discovery Channel teammate Alberto Contador. He also won the U.S. national road title that year.

In 2008, riding in an Astana kit, Leipheimer again rode in support of Contador at the grand tours. The Spaniard won both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta, with Leipheimer finishing 18th at the Giro, and second overall at the Vuelta, where won both time trials. The American also took a bronze medal in the Olympic time trial, and finished fourth at the world time trial championship.

Stage race success continued over the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Leipheimer won the Amgen Tour of California, Vuelta a Castilla y León and SRAM Tour of the Gila in 2009, and also finished fifth at the Giro. In 2010 he won Gila, Utah, and the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race, but finished third in California.

Though he turns 39 next year, Leipheimer said he still has ambitions of riding for stage-race wins, adding that while training earlier this summer, he broke a personal record for a local Santa Rosa climb that he’d set five years earlier.

“I’m still interested in riding for a top spot for myself. I’m not any weaker than I’ve ever been,” he said. “I’ve shown that in racing and in training. When the day comes when I can’t do it anymore, I’ll stop. But the way things were working out, there was this big opportunity at Omega Pharma-Quick Step for me, and I wanted to be part of that.”

With Martin and Velits, Leipheimer knows he won’t be the only rider on the Omega Pharma-Quick Step team looking for GC results. Martin’s ride into the rainbow jersey last week reinforced that he’s now the top time trialist in the sport, also capable of winning week-long stage races as he did at Paris-Nice and Volta ao Algarve. Whether or not he and Leipheimer will race together, as co-leaders, or focus on different events remains to be seen.

“Tony won Paris-Nice, he can go uphill,” Leipheimer said. “I’m not sure if he wants to try to turn himself into a grand tour contender. It could compromise his time trialing ability a little to become a better climber, and right now he’s just crushing everyone in the time trial. So maybe he’ll just focus on one-week stage races. He’s the best in the world — why would you risk that? Maybe it just happens over time, he becomes a better climber in the big mountains day after day. But if I were him, I think I might keep doing what he’s doing, he’s doing so well.”

Though it’s a Belgian team, Leipheimer said his schedule would remain the same, as Specialized’s commercial interests will bring the team to California, Utah and Colorado in 2012.

“I’ve always had a lot of friends at Specialized,” Leipheimer said. “I’ve always had a good relationship with Mike, and that was the catalyst to get me focused on Omega Pharma-Quick Step.”

Specialized will also sponsor Saxo Bank and Astana with bikes in 2012.

Part of the jump in teams means Leipheimer will be switching from Trek to Specialized time trial bikes — from a Trek Speed Concept to a Specialized Shiv. And for a rider who has both won and lost time trials by fractions of a second over the past few seasons, Leipheimer knows that adapting his TT position to a new bike will be an undertaking.

“It’s a big task,” he said. “Even when Trek went from the TTX to the Speed Concept, after switching bikes, I never felt as fast as I had on the Speed Concept. It’s difficult to replicate your position on one bike to a new bike. The thing to do is get with Specialized, get into the wind tunnel, and spend time getting used to the new bike. I’m confident Specialized will support myself and the team and help in making us go as fast as possible.”

Also unclear is whether or not Leipheimer will continue to work with Dr. Allen Lim next year. Lim left Slipstream Sports two years ago to come across to Bruyneel’s team, working with Armstrong and the rest of the RadioShack squad. But in 2011 Lim worked most closely with Leipheimer, something Leipheimer said was integral to his results. Leipheimer said Lim’s plans for next year aren’t finalized — “I don’t want to speak for Allen about his future” — but that he hopes to work with him again in some capacity.

“Allen has helped me out a lot the past few years, especially this year,” Leipheimer said. “He invested a lot of time into my season. I had an up and down season, and he pulled me back up a couple of times. Max Testa has always trained me, and that will never stop, he motivates me to get to my best form. But Allen was hands-on, traveling with the team, able to travel with me to certain training camps and certain races, able to be hands on with motor pacing, nutrition, recovery, all these different aspects. I wouldn’t have had the season I had without Allen, and I plan on continuing to work with him. We plan on doing some training camps together; we’ll look for any opportunity to work together.”

Leipheimer said all in all he feels good about how he left Bruyneel’s team, particularly given the confused atmosphere that so many riders and staff from both RadioShack and Leopard-Trek find themselves in now.

“I left the team on good terms. Johan and (Luxembourg real estate mogul Flavio Becca) wanted the best team in the world, and there are a few people they wanted to build the team around,” Leipheimer said.

“But at the same time, it’s unfortunate, because there will be riders and staff that are left out. What do you do? That is business. It happens every day in the business world, people lose their jobs, and it’s unfortunate. I don’t know all of the details, how they are structuring it, but I feel good about what I’m doing, and looking forward, I think I made a good choice. I’m happy I have a two-year contract with Omega Pharma-Quick Step. I’m looking forward to a new set of challenges. Change is good.”

Three different courses were on tap, offering routes of 32, 65 and 103 miles. Several pro racers and industry luminaries also participated.

Rabobank star Robert Gesink, who finished second to Philippe Gilbert at the GP Québec City on September 9, crashed while training Sunday and broke his femur, his team press officer reported.

The 25-year-old Dutch climber will undergo surgery Monday, bringing a premature end to his 2011 season. Though he was not expected to contend for victory on the flattish world championships course in Copenhagen, Denmark, Gesink was expected to add firepower to the Dutch squad.

Gesink was scheduled to end his season at the Giro dell’Emilia, which he won last year, and the Tour of Lombardy.

Rabobank’s Lars Boom, who wrapped up an overall win of the Tour of Britain on Sunday, will captain the Dutch national team at worlds. Also on the squad is Bauke Mollema, fresh from winning the points classification at the Vuelta a España, as well as Pieter Weening, Maarten Tjallingi, Jonny Hoogerland, Wout Poels, and national champion Pim Ligthart.

Also injured, and out of the world championships, is Canadian Dominique Rollin.

Rollin crashed along with Gilbert at last Sunday’s GP Montréal, injuring his right hand and gashing his upper lip. The FDJ rider finished in the top-20 this spring at Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, and Dwars door Vlaanderen and was gunning for a top result in Copenhagen.

Michael Barry (Team Sky) will replace the injured Rollin in the elite men’s road race. Canada’s other riders are David Veilleux (Europcar) and Svein Tuft (SpiderTech-C10).

The pair just held off a hard-charging peloton at the line, led in by Belgian national champion Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) just two seconds behind in third.

Leopard-Trek’s Stefan Denifl, the only other rider to go clear with Costa and Fedrigo in the closing kilometers, finished fifth, with Gilbert’s teammate Jurgen Roelandts in fourth.

Sixty riders finished the GP Cycliste de Montréal within 44 seconds of Costa on a demanding 205km circuit that, because of a headwind on the route’s major climb, did not become the race of attrition many had anticipated.

The race and its favorites

Now in its second year, the GP Cycliste de Montréal is a difficult 12.1km circuit run on the classic Mont-Royal circuit, which has been used throughout the decades: at the 1974 world championships, won by Eddy Merckx; at the 1976 Olympic Games; and more recently as part of a UCI Women’s World Cup, won four times by local Geneviève Jeanson. The hill, located in the heart of Montréal, is the city’s namesake; taking its name from Mont-Royal, or Mont Réal.

The crux of the course is the 1.8km Camilien-Houde climb up Mont-Royal, averaging 8 percent, which riders climbed 17 times. The other significant climb is the climb up the Cote de la Polytechnique at the University of Montréal, a short and punchy 800-meter pitch that averages 6 percent and maxes out at 11 percent. The finishing straight, along Avenue du Parc, is a 560-meter stretch that averages 4 percent. Lap speeds averaged 37kph (23mph), with lap times averaging between 18 and 20 minutes.

Conditions were picture-perfect Sunday, with light wind and temperatures in Montréal hovering between 68 and 72 Fahrenheit under brilliant September sunshine. Enthusiastic crowds lined the route, particularly on the recently resurfaced pavement up and down the Camilien-Houde climb in Parc Mont-Royal, as well as along the course’s 180-degree right-hand turn along Avenue du Parc that leads back to the start/finish area.

Prior to the start, Gilbert, Friday’s GP Cycliste Québec winner was relaxed, telling VeloNews: “For us, we’re relaxed. We’ve won a race. There’s less pressure. For some teams, and some riders, there’s a lot of pressure to win, such as with Ryder Hesjedal, it’s very important for him and his team. They will try to win. We’ll just try to follow.”

Last year’s winner, Robert Gesink (Rabobank), told VeloNews he would try to repeat his 2010 performance, when he attacked on the Camilien-Houde climb, 10km from the finish line, and held his gap to the line ahead of a 30-man chase group.

“I’m feeling okay,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes. I’ll try to do the same as last year, but it won’t be easy.”

RadioShack’s Levi Leipheimer finished fifth in Québec on Friday, 15 seconds behind Gilbert and 12 seconds behind Gesink. Before the race he said he knew he was not going to beat Gilbert or Gesink in an uphill sprint; the ideal scenario, he said, would be to get a gap, even if just a small one, in the closing kilometers.

“If I can get away, I’m a guy that would be hard to bring back, because I can time trial,” Leipheimer told VeloNews. “That’s what I will be looking for, a time to surprise people, to get that gap, get that 10 or 15 seconds, and just go. And hopefully there is some hesitation in the back, and that’s all you need.

“That’s what happened with (Robert) Gesink last year. He was the best on the climb, he got that gap, but behind, if they would have cooperated, they would have caught him. They hesitated, and he was strong enough to keep that gap all the way to the finish.”

A fast start

Racing started fast and furious, with a 10-man break instantly forming, containing Sylvester Szmyd (Liquigas-Cannondale), Tejay Van Garderen (HTC), Dave Zabriskie and Tom Peterson (Garmin-Cervélo), Juan Antonio Flecha (Sky) and David Arroyo (Movistar). That move was short-lived, however, with Omega Pharma-Lotto reeling it back the second trip over the Camilien-Houde climb, with a pace so challenging Gilbert’s team split the field in half.

“The first hour was incredibly hard,” Vacansoleil’s Jonny Hoogerland told VeloNews. “It was a hard race; one of the heaviest one-day races I’ve ever done.”

The split in the peloton lasted for two laps (24km.) The day’s primary breakaway formed after four laps; American Danny Pate (HTC-Highroad) attacked from the peloton, spent a lap alone, then was joined by Italian Danilo Di Luca, Frenchman Anthony Geslin (FDJ), and Japanese rider Yukiya Arashiro (Europcar).

Gilbert’s day got off to a bad start. He took a bike change at the start of the fifth lap, due to drivetrain issues, and again later that lap, when he was among several riders to go down in a crash along Cote Ste-Catherine Road, the straight, flat section of the course that follows the Polytechnique climb and leads into the finish. Also down in that crash was Szmyd and Canadian Dominique Rollin (FDJ), who later abandoned.

The peloton stopped for a nature break following the fifth trip over the Polytechnique climb, allowing the gap to open to three minutes. And when the peloton briefly rode neutral, following the Gilbert/Rollin crash a few kilometers after the nature break, the four leaders opened up a maximum lead of more than six minutes.

That gap stabilized at around 3:30 a short while later, where it hovered for several laps, with Di Luca capturing maximum King of the Mountains points over the Camilien-Houde climb while riders from Sky and Rabobank drove the chase.

With nine laps (109km) to go the gap from the four leaders to the peloton was 3:45; 25km later it was pegged at 3:40; with five laps (60km) to go, it had come down slightly, to 2:46.

On the 13th trip over the Camilien-Houde climb, just as they’d done at the same point in the Québec race, Rabobank upped the pace, bringing the gap down to 1:20 and splitting the peloton into pieces.

Rabobank’s Grischa Niermann went on the offensive. He attacked, and when reeled in he stayed at the front, stringing out the peloton single file. Meanwhile, up ahead, Di Luca was dropped from the breakaway group.

After the descent down Mont-Royal, Flecha, Danilo Wyss (BMC Racing) and Jérôme Pineau (Quick Step) slipped away in an attempt to join the three remaining escapees, who held a 33-second lead.

However, with Vacansoleil and Omega Pharma upping the pace coming through the start/finish line with three laps (36km) to go, Pineau, Wyss and Flecha were reined in.

With Laurens Ten Dam (Rabobank) and Lars Nordhaug (Sky) on the front the peloton caught Arashiro and Geslin on the Camilien-Houde climb — but not Pate, who held on to get maximum climbing points and overcome Di Luca for the climber’s prize.

“We worked together okay,” Pate said. “Arashiro was taking pulls on the flats; he rode like you should in a breakaway. Di Luca only seemed to want to pull on the climbs, maybe he wanted to look cool over the climb. I don’t think it was for the KOM points; I don’t know if any of us even knew there were KOM points offered.”

The action begins

Soon the chaos that only a one-day circuit race can deliver truly kicked in. With 30km remaining, Svein Tuft (SpiderTech-C10) put in a dig, forming a group on the Polytechnique climb, with Canadians Tuft, Michael Barry (Sky) and David Veilleux (Europcar) all in the move, joined by Pieter Weening (Rabobank), Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervélo) and Gregory Rast (RadioShack).

Another group bridged across, including Costa, Hoogerland, Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R), Cristiano Salerno (Liquigas), Mikel Landa (Euskaltel), Gorazd Stangelj (Astana) and Francesco Reda (Quick Step).

“I was thinking it could go to the end, but there was a headwind on the climb,” Hoogerland said.

With the race blowing apart behind him, Pate stayed clear until he was caught with 27km to go.

Coming through the finish line, local favorite Veilleux attacked from the lead group, through he never managed to open a significant gap as his mates worked to hold their 20-second advantage over the main field with two laps (24km) left.

On the penultimate trip over the Camilien-Houde climb Gilbert finally showed himself, and attacked. His move split the field into pieces, but was not enough for the Belgian national champion to go clear.

“I tried to bridge the gap to the front group, but there was a lot of headwind on the climb, and it was almost impossible to make a difference,” Gilbert said. “There were guys that didn’t want to cooperate, and I realized I was just working for my rivals.”

Ahead, Barry attacked, with Danielson following, while Tuft and Veilleux were dropped from the front group, while the peloton closed in due to Gilbert’s acceleration.

Peraud attacked going into the Polytechnique climb with 18km remaining, but with Philip Deignan (RadioShack), Brent Bookwalter (BMC Racing) and Spanish national champion Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) driving the chase, that move was also squashed. With one 12.1km lap remaining, the gap between the leaders and the 60-man pack of favorites was just nine seconds.

The two groups came together at the bottom of the Camilien-Houde climb, with Costa again on the attack, first drawing out Simon Gerrans and Rigoberto Uran (Sky) and Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Cervélo). Fifty meters behind, Gilbert, Leipheimer and Gesink watched each other until Gesink finally blinked, jumping up the climb. The Dutchman’s move looked to be a race-breaker, but the pack came back together on the descent.

“We flew up the climb,” Vande Velde said. “But Rui Costa wouldn’t work with us. We probably should have kept going for it since it was so smashed.”

Next to attack, on the descent, was Fedrigo, drawing out Costa and Denifl. The trio opened a slight gap, with little reaction from the peloton. Behind, Gilbert could be seen calmly talking with Uran on the flat roads that led into the Polytechnique climb.

“All the strong guys were looking at each other,” Leipheimer said. “Gilbert was maybe saving something for the sprint.”

Once on the Cote de la Polytechnique Hesjedal took a massive dig, with Gesink, Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel) and Fabian Wegmann (Leopard-Trek) closely following.

“I made a last-ditch effort on the Polytechnique to try to separate and get some good guys going and try to make it, but there were too many guys from behind arriving with Phillipe,” Hesjedal said. “It was not a good situation for the sprint. Everyone missed out not being able to catch the break.”

The regrouping that followed the climb allowed the leading trio to widen its lead to 16 seconds with 6km remaining.

“So many guys either wouldn’t work or couldn’t work,” Vande Velde said. “No one was banking on a sprint; no one was banking on anything. No one really had teammates around them. People were destroyed.”

The trio came into the final kilometer with a nine-second lead, and heading towards the 180-degree right-hand turn along Avenue du Parc looked to have the podium locked up.

But the charging peloton, led by Gilbert, nearly caught the break at the line, where Costa beat Fedrigo.

“I go all out at all the races I enter, and I did my homework before coming to Montréal,” Costa said. “This morning, my manager Yvon Ledanois told me I was the team’s leader, with Jose Joaquin Rojas, and he said we had gone a long way to come here and it was impossible to go home empty-handed.

“My stage victory in the Tour de France in Super-Besse remains the highlight of my career but this rates quite close. In the finale, I never doubted — I was confident we had enough time left to go all the way, and I knew Fedrigo was the man to beat.”

Gilbert was far from unhappy at the finish, quickly giving teammate Roelandts, who finished fourth, a shoulder hug for his help.

“It’s unfortunate that I came so close to winning, but I am happy with third place, especially considering that I fell,” Gilbert said. “I sprinted for 500 meters, it was one of the longest sprints of the year, so it wasn’t possible to start my sprint earlier.”

Gilbert also took a moment to thank the Canadian fans for the warm welcome he’d received, and said he spoke for the peloton in saying the events were at the sport’s highest level in terms of courses and organization.

After the race Serge Arsenault, head of the Grand Prix Cyclistes Québec–Montréal organization, expressed his commitment to hosting both races through 2014.

“I’m happy with the race, and I think things will only get better,” he said. “We will look for things to perfect, but I think the racers have left happy.”

Complete results

Though he beat Robert Gesink for the win on Friday, Gilbert came to the Québec City and Montréal Grand Prix Cyclistes uncertain of his condition, aiming only to secure the UCI WorldTour rankings title.

Gilbert had intended to ride the world championships in support of Belgian compatriot Tom Boonen; in April, following Gilbert’s sweep of the Ardennes classics, they visited the course together for reconnaissance along with Belgian under-23 contender Jelle Wallays.

However, Boonen broke his hand at the Vuelta a España and is now unlikely to start the road race in Copenhagen, setting the nation’s expectations on Gilbert’s shoulders.

Belgium’s worlds squad has not yet  been announced, but other top-ranked Belgian WorldTour riders this season include Johan Van Summeren (Garmin-Cervélo), Nick Nuyens (Quick Step), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing), Bjorn Leukemans (Vacansoleil) and Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto).

On Wednesday in Québec, the Omega Pharma-Lotto rider told Belgian reporters he did not want to be Belgium’s “only protected rider” on the flat Copenhagen course, which is expected to end in a field sprint.

“It makes no sense to have me as the only protected rider,” Gilbert said. “I’m not ready. My form is not the same as in April or July. During a difficult season I spent a lot of energy, both physically and mentally. It was never my intention to take on leadership in Copenhagen. Without Tom it is a difficult worlds. He is a specialist for one-day races and a course like the one in Denmark suits him more than me.”

And though the world championships will see Gilbert racing in national colors, the rest of the season will see him again racing in his trade-team kit; relations with his Omega Pharma team management have soured as the world number-one rider opted to head to BMC Racing team in 2012.

After winning in Québec, Gilbert was openly critical of his team, saying: “This victory is different because it was the first time I didn’t have a team to help me. We had a very weak team today. I was stressed throughout the race because I was often alone, especially in the finale. Those are situations that I’m not used to anymore.”

Asked if he might end the season before defending his title at the Tour of Lombardy, Gilbert said only: “I don’t know. My program is fixed until the world championships, and then I don’t know if I will do the fall classics, or what. I can’t tell you.”

The beautiful Chateau Frontenac towers over the course. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

QUEBEC CITY, Canada (VN) — After 200km of hard circuit racing, the top rider from the 2010 Québec City and Montréal Grand Prix Cyclistes and this year’s most prolific one-day race winner squared off on a uphill drag to the finish line here Friday afternoon, with Belgian national champion Philippe Gilbert just holding off Robert Gesink to take the win.

The scenario for the race’s finale — the two biggest pre-race favorites, a climber and a strongman, battling for victory on a 4 percent climb that suited them both — was a dramatic finish to an exciting day of racing for this second-year event.

In 2010 Gesink (Rabobank) finished third in Québec, behind Thomas Voeckler, and then won Montréal.

Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) did not race the Canadian WorldTour events last year, but coming into this year’s events, the most dominant rider of the 2011 season was the overwhelming favorite, even after he claimed his form was not what it has been earlier this year.

And just as it’s happened so many times in 2011, when Gilbert laid down his late-race attack, though it came as a surprise to no one, no other rider could match the pace. This time the attack came on the Côte de la Potasse, a 420-meter climb that averages 9 percent.

“The race was really hard, and in the last lap everyone was tired,” Gilbert said. “No one wanted to attack, and the wind was blowing strong, especially at the finish line. It was difficult to control the race. I didn’t have any teammates. I was alone, and I didn’t know how I was going to get out of it.”

Gesink tried, and came close, losing by three seconds, but the Rabobank rider was left conceding that he’d been beaten by the stronger man.

“Gilbert is the man of the season,” Gesink said. “It’s not a shame to lose to him, but it’s hard when you are that close. I felt good, but it was just not quite enough.”

Winding it up

In contrast to the inaugural Québec event, which was held in chilly conditions, sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted the peloton on Friday — and brought out spectators en masse.

Run on a demanding 12.6km circuit through Old Québec City, the GP Cycliste de Québec delivers several tough hills, including the Côte de la Montagne, a 375-meter pitch located 9km into the circuit that maxes out at 13 percent. There’s also the aforementioned Côte de la Potasse, which falls 10km into the circuit, and the final 1km climb up Grande Allée Street, averaging 4 percent.

Michael Barry leads Sky on the front of the peloton. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

Once through the start/finish area, the race traveled through the green fields of the Parc des Champs-de-Bataille before a screaming fast descent down Gilmour Hill took the route along the Saint-Laurent River and back toward the old city, where a serpentine course brought the peloton first to the steep Montagne and then the Potasse before winding back towards the Grande Allée. The course delivered 16 laps, with lap times averaging around 19 minutes.

“It’s going to be hard,” said HTC-Highroad’s Tejay van Garderen before the race. “It will have that criterium sort of feel, where it never really lets up.”

Light winds buffeted the peloton, with a headwind through the park and along the start/finish, and a tailwind along the river, the course’s closest thing to a recovery section.

The day’s primary breakaway consisted of three riders — Spaniard Jesus Herrada (Movistar), Frenchman Tony Hurel (Europcar), and Italian Cristiano Salerno (Liquigas-Cannondale). After escaping on the second of 16 laps, the trio quickly opened a gap that maxed out at over six minutes on the fourth lap. But by lap 6, with Sky and Garmin driving the chase, the gap had come down to 3:40, where it would hover for several subsequent laps.

While Sky’s Michael Barry, Juan Antonio Flecha and Jeremy Hunt were parked at the front, the teams of other favorites, such as Gilbert’s Omega Pharma-Lotto squad and Gesink’s Rabobank team, had things easier.

“We worked hard, but we didn’t throw around our strength,” said Rabobank’s Stef Clement.

Ryder Hesjedal in the main chase group. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

At the beginning of the tenth lap, the gap to the break was just over three minutes.

On lap 11 Rabobank attacked en masse over the Côte de la Montagne, but not to the desired effect; a frustrated Gesink was waving his arms in anger over the top of the climb when none of his teammates could stay with him. However the team’s aggression halved the gap to 1:45.

A small, short-lived group formed coming through start/finish to complete lap 11. In the move were Timmy Duggan (Liquigas), Laurens Ten Dam (Rabobank), Luis Pasamontes (Movistar), Matteo Trentin (Quick Step), Peter Stetina (Garmin) and Stefan Denifl (Leopard-Trek). The gap was down to 1:15 with five laps (63km) remaining.

Another chase group formed, with Rui Costa (Movistar), Gorazd Stangelj (Astana) and Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil). Though it would also be reeled in, the tension in the peloton created by the escape brought the gap to the leading three down again, to 35 seconds.

On the 12th time over the Montagne, Hurel was dropped from the lead group, and Herrada went clear. Riding for Canadian Ryder Hesjedal, Garmin-Cervélo massed at the front of the pack over the steep climb, setting a blistering pace that shed riders such as Flecha and Alessandro Ballan (BMC Racing). Salerno was caught at the bottom of the Grande Allée climb, and Herrada was caught a kilometer later, near the finish line. The peloton was strung out entering Parc des Champs-de-Bataille, with Tom Danielson on the front, and Gilbert sitting directly behind Hesjedal.

Sky returned to the front the 13th time over the Côte de la Montagne, but it was Vande Velde attacking over the top, drawing out Trentin (Quick Step), Pasamontes (Movistar), Philip Deignan (RadioShack) and Maciej Paterski (Liquigas).

Behind, cameras focused on riders such as Ben King (RadioShack) and Sébastian Hinault (AG2R La Mondiale) pedaling squares up the steep hill.

A second chase group formed over La Potasse, including Lars Nordhaug (Sky), Tom Stamsnijder (Leopard-Trek), Jan Ghyselinck (HTC-Highroad) and Costa (Movistar).

As that escape reached the Vande Velde group to form a group of nine, Garmin controlled the race from behind, crossing the finish line 15 seconds later. Thirteen laps were done, with three to go.

Bringing it home

With 31km remaining, Rabobank and Omega Pharma reeled in the nine-man Vande Velde. Again Garmin went to the front, with Hesjedal attacking on the 14th trip over the Montagne. Trentin, who had been in moves twice already, countered, opening a gap of 30 seconds with 26km to go; he would later be named the day’s most combative rider. While Costa bridged across to Trentin, Euskaltel-Euskadi rider Samuel Sanchez was dropped from the 80-rider peloton, punching at cramps in his quadriceps muscles.

Rabobank broke open the race with an attack with 5 laps to go. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

Canadian national champion Svein Tuft (SpiderTech-C10) launched a move in the park, bridging across to Trentin and Costa, with Deignan, Pasamontes, Stangelj and Hayden Roulston (HTC) in tow. With 21km to go the seven-man Tuft/Trentin move held a 10-second lead, but was also reeled in by the dwindling peloton.

On the penultimate trip over the Montagne, Vacansoleil riders Marco Marcato and Bjorn Leukemans launched a ferocious attack that forced the race-winning selection — and saw Boasson Hagen dropped from the bunch.

In the leading group were Gilbert, Gesink, Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack), Rigoberto Uran (Sky), Gerald Ciolek (Quick Step), Simon Clarke (Astana), Fabian Wegmann (Leopard-Trek) and Simone Ponzi (Liquigas).

From that group Gilbert attacked, opening a tenuous 10-second lead across the finish line with one lap to go. But he eased up in the park, dropping to the back of the lead group. His intentions had become clear — his attack was not an attempt to win, but rather to thin out the front of the race. It had worked, and Hesjedal had been the primary victim.

“I wanted to make the race harder,” Gilbert said. “I thought I was going to attack with just a few riders, and one of us could have won, and everyone would have cooperated a lot more. I knew I was exposing myself to a counterattack on the last hill, so once they brought me back, I tried to recover.”

Behind, Danielson and Vande Velde rode at the front, desperately trying to bring the move back for Hesjedal, who had been unable to follow the Vacansoleil move on the Montagne.

“At first I wasn’t that worried about it, I had guys there, and the way things were being ridden, I thought we would bring it back,” Hesjedal said.

On the last trip over the Montagne it was Gesink who was first to attack, opening a gap that only Gilbert and Ciolek could initially close. But as the course leveled out the remainder of the 10-man group came back together until the Côte de la Potasse, which had served as the day’s King of the Mountains summit. Gilbert opened a small gap on the Potasse that grew larger through the winding streets that led to the uphill finishing straight.

Phillipe Gilbert wins just ahead of Gesink. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

“I felt close at 1.5km to go, then we went through a right/left section and I lost 5 meters,” Gesink said.

The final kilometer played out like the final round of a heavyweight fight, as each man surged and faltered, digging deep time and again to take the victory. Both men looked over their shoulders, Gilbert to assure himself the win, and, Gesink to assure himself second place, ahead of Uran.

“It was close, but in the end, I was also looking behind me,” Gesink said. “When I crossed the finish line, I wasn’t very happy, but now I am happy with the result. I think I am in even better shape this year than last year. Last year, I was just trying to follow the guys. I will try to win again in Montréal.”

Wegmann took fourth, with Leipheimer in fifth and Leukemans sixth.

“It was a tough race,” said Wegmann. “It was like an elimination race with every lap faster than the last. I know the race from last year, and I knew I needed to wait to make my move. On the second to last lap, a Vacansoleil rider attacked. I followed his wheel. Gilbert was there, and a lot of other strong riders made the move. We worked well together until the second to last climb. When the pace slowed slightly, Gilbert attacked again and again. He was simply faster and stronger than the rest of us. He powered away from the break. I tried to follow, but it wasn’t possible. In the end, we each crossed the line alone.”

Ciolek finished ninth, 30 seconds back. “I wasn’t really ever confident of the victory,” he said. “With the uphill finish it was a course made for guys like Gilbert and Gesink. I just wanted to keep the group going to stay away to the finish. Riders like Gilbert and Gesink can do four or five efforts on that sort of climb; I can really only do it once.”

Hesjedal crossed the line in 27th, 1:39 behind the winner. “I couldn’t do anything when the move went,” he said. “I didn’t feel bad today, but I didn’t feel great. The team was amazing, and they took the initiative. I’m proud of how we rode, but I’m upset I didn’t have the legs.”

Sky’s Michael Barry crossed the line 14th, 1:23 down, and was awarded as the top Canadian rider.

The final podium of Gilbert, Gesink and Uran. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

“We started the race today with three leaders — Rigoberto, Simon Gerrans, and Edvald Boasson Hagen,” Barry said. “The course suited all three of them very well, and we started the race knowing it would be our responsibility to control the race. We started riding on the front right away, after a couple of laps. In the final, Edvald Boasson Hagen did not have the legs to be up there. The final was harder than last year. It was more selective. We can be happy with third place today; the team rode very well. It was not my goal to be the top Canadian; I just wanted to do the best race I could possibly do. Still, it was special to race in front of a Canadian crowd.”

With the win, Gilbert secured 80 UCI WorldTour points, running away with the points classification ahead of BMC’s Cadel Evans, who will not race again this season.

“For the first time this season I was a little stressed at the start, because I had only six points to take for the WorldTour ranking — but they were six hard points,” Gilbert said. “In Montréal, I’ll be under far less pressure. It’s already mission accomplished for me. I achieved both my goals, and everything that comes next is a bonus.”

Complete results

Quick results:

• 1. Philippe Gilbert, Omega Pharma-Lotto (olo), in 5:03:06
• 2. Robert Gesink, Rabobank Cycling Team (rab), at 1
• 3. Rigoberto Uran, Sky Procycling (sky), at 9
• 4. Fabian Wegmann, Leopard Trek (leo), at 9
• 5. Levi Leipheimer, Team RadioShack (rsh), at 9
• 6. Björn Leukemans, Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team (vcd), at 9
• 7. Simone Ponzi, Liquigas-Cannondale (liq), at 9
• 8. Marco Marcato, Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team (vcd), at 9

Race headquarters at the Chateau Frontenac. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

QUEBEC CITY, Canada (VN) — The list of contenders to win this year’s Québec City and Montréal Grand Prix Cyclistes is long and varied. However no matter who is asked at the historic Fairmont Le Château Frontenac hotel, which serves as the race’s headquarters, the same names keep popping up. Here we lay out the five top favorites for the podium in Canada.

The Québec race is Friday and the Montréal race is Sunday.

Saxo Bank's Michael Morkov won the finale. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

QUEBEC CITY, Canada (VN) — Saxo Bank’s Michael Morkov won the inaugural Challenge Sprint Pro Thursday evening in Québec City, besting Enrique Sanz (Movistar), Simon Clarke (Astana) and Robbie Hunter (RadioShack) in a final four-man heat at the crowd-friendly warm-up event held prior to Friday’s WorldTour one-day race.

The 26-year-old Danish rider was the fastest man over the 1,050 meter out-and-back course along Québec’s famous Grande Allée, registering a finishing speed of 29.8 mph.

The format of the event was simple and straightforward — each of the 22 WorldTour teams racing in Friday’s GP Cycliste de Québec sent one rider to contest the eight qualification rounds.

As the top two men from an earlier street sprint competition held only for Canadian riders, Rémi Pelletier-Roy and Ben Chaddock also competed, bringing the total starters to 24.

The top two men from each qualification round moved into a quarter final, and again the top two men from the quarters moved to the semifinals.

The entire event lasted approximately 90 minutes and drew an enthusiastic afternoon crowd, particularly along the final 200 meters.

The course was laid out upon Grande Allée’s hilly slant, with different areas for the start and finish lines. Riders started out downhill, passing the finish line, in the opposite direction, after 200 meters. After another 450 meters, riders hit a left-hand 180-degree turn at the St. Louis Gate, where cat-and-mouse tactics often ensued before the return to the finish on an uphill drag averaging 2-3 percent.

RadioShack's Robbie Hunter wins a qualifying sprint. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

Morkov, the 2009 world Madison champion, was impressive from the first round, winning each one of his heats.

In the final round, Sanz was first to break the stalemate at the turnaround, jumping on the left side of the road while the rest of the group watched each other on the right. Sanz’s move caught out Hunter, who appeared preoccupied with marking Morkov and Clarke.

“I was looking mostly at Robbie Hunter, expecting him to be fastest, and to take responsibility for the sprint,” Morkov said. “But when Sanz started his sprint, I went immediately. I had the perfect lead-out for winning the race.”

Sanz salvaged second place, while Clarke made it on the podium despite having been called as a last-minute replacement for his Astana team.

“I just discovered I was doing this today,” Clarke said. “I thought our true sprinter, Allan Davis, would jump at the opportunity, but he’s had knee troubles since the Eneco Tour, and I guess he was not keen to do four standing starts after a seven-hour flight. I was nominated, and I decided to come and enjoy myself.”

Morkov said his background on the velodrome likely contributed to his success, as road sprinters generally have to put out one major effort in a race, versus the repeated sprints required in an event like the Madison.

“My track background was important, given the short recovery time between heats,” Morkov said. “I’m used to doing a few sprints in a Madison race.”

Though he’s not a field sprinter in the traditional sense, Morkov recently finished second in a Steamboat Springs sprint at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, behind stage winner Elia Viviani of Liquigas-Cannondale.

Asked if the event was tailored towards true sprinters, Morkov answered, “You have to be fast. But I don’t consider myself a real sprinter. I’m not in the bunch sprint, I tried in Colorado last week and got second place. I have a good start in the sprint, but I’m not that good in a mass sprint. But the uphill finish was good for me. I’m a light sprinter, not a heavy sprinter.”

Canadian David Veilleux made it to the quarter finals. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

Clarke said the uphill effort, and repeat efforts, required fitness as much as speed. “I don’t compare myself to sprinters like Robbie Hunter or Gerald Ciolek, even though I may have finished ahead of them today,” Clarke said. “It’s not just about the sprint but also the recovery. Maybe the fitter guys, who are in better condition at this time of the season, might be the guys who ended up succeeding at the end of the day.”

Morkov said the combination of an uphill finish and a slight headwind meant that riders couldn’t start their sprint from a more traditional distance to the line, such as 250 meters.

“When I saw the course, and I saw that it was uphill and a headwind, I knew it was almost impossible to do a sprint of 200 meters. I always waited to the very end to start my sprint, and I think I only ever sprinted for 100 meters.”

Asked to comment on the race format, Hunter said it was a great idea, and much better than the standard team presentation held before many races.

One thing all riders agreed on is that the effort, just one day before the GP Cycliste Québec, would likely take its toll.

“The format is a great idea, and judging by the turnout tonight, you could see that there were a lot of people,” Clarke said. “A night event is more convenient for people who have to work the next day. But one thing that could be better is to do this event one day earlier. If you look at the three of us on the podium, we may not be the best sprinters in the hunt for the win tomorrow. Maybe the favorites, the guys that could go well tomorrow, decided to rest, and instead sent a teammate. If this had been held two days earlier, instead of one day earlier, we might have had a different outcome.”

Race note: After winning the Challenge Sprint Canada, Pelletier-Roy made it to the semifinals of the Challenge Sprint Pro, having fought five hard sprints within two hours. He finished ahead of Dominique Rollin in the quarterfinal. “I’m very happy in any case,” Pelletier-Roy said. “I gave it my all but the legs were starting to burn.”

2010 Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

QUEBEC CITY (VN) — After a 2010 debut that was unanimously lauded as a resounding success, the top riders in professional cycling have returned to Canada to contest a pair of one-day WorldTour races, the 2011 Québec City and Montréal Grand Prix Cyclistes.

Both events are circuit races using historic Canadian courses, with both events lengthened this year to exceed 200 kilometers (16 laps in Québec City, for a total of 201 km; 17 laps in Montréal, for a total of 205 km).

The GP Cycliste de Québec is run on a demanding 12.6km circuit through Old Québec City, ideal for riders capable of producing punchy accelerations on the old city’s hills, including the Côte de la Montagne, a 300m pitch that maxes out at 13 percent gradient. The course finishes on Grande Allée Street; a variation of the route has been used for years at the Tour de Beauce.

The GP Cycliste de Montréal is a more difficult 12.1km circuit run on the classic Mount Royal circuit, which was used at the 1974 world championships, won by Eddy Merckx, and again at the 1976 Olympic Games. The crux of the course is the one-mile Camilien-Houde climb, averaging 8 percent, which riders will climb 17 times. The Montréal course was also used in the 1980s, at the Grand Prix des Amériques, and as a women’s World Cup event during the last decade.

The Grands Prix Cyclistes Québec–Montréal organization, which was granted the first two UCI licenses for WorldTour races in North America, produces both events. Headed by enigmatic TV commentator Serge Arsenault, the organization is committed to hosting both races through 2014.

At last year’s inaugural events, Thomas Voeckler won in Québec, and Robert Gesink won in Montréal. Both men won alone, soloing away on the hilly circuits ahead of small chase groups. Along with Gesink, who finished third at Québec, Garmin-Cervélo’s Ryder Hesjedal was among the strongest men in both events, finishing third at GP Montréal and fourth at GP Québec.

Other marquee riders racing this weekend include UCI number-two ranked rider Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), recent USA Pro Cycling Challenge overall winner Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) and USAPCC podium finishers Québec (Garmin-Cervélo) and Tejay Van Garderen (HTC-Highroad).

Gesink won with a dramatic solo attack in Montréal. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

Additional starters include Tour de France stars Pierre Rolland (Europcar), Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel), Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky).

Canadian crowd favorites include Hesjedal, Michael Barry (Sky), David Veilleux (Europcar) and Dominique Rollin (FDJ), as well as the bulk of the SpiderTech-C10 team headed by Svein Tuft, Zach Bell and François Parisien.

A new addition to the 2011 events is the Challenge Sprint Pro, a street-sprint competition held Thursday on Grande-Allée Street in Québec City. In total 24 riders will race in successive heats over a 1km course with a slight uphill finish. The top two finishers from each elimination round will move on to the next sprint, until the final heat, when the top four riders will sprint for the win.

Riders expected to contest for the Challenge Sprint victory include Rollin, Bell, Hayden Roulston (HTC-Highroad), Robbie Hunter (RadioShack), Gerald Ciolek (Quick Step) and Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil). Americans Ted King (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Peter Stetina (Garmin-Cervelo) are also listed as starters for the street sprint competition.

Though he was slated to compete, Leopard-Trek’s Andy Schleck announced last weekend that he would not be able to contest the GPs due to complications from a wisdom tooth. Schleck’s older brother Fränk was not scheduled to race in Canada, instead racing the September 14 Grand Prix de Wallonie before the late-September world road championships in Copenhagen.

Voeckler and Lampre’s Damiano Cunego were also once listed as provisional starters but did not make the trip across the Atlantic.

The favorites discuss the favorites

With the parcours’ hilly profiles and uphill finishes, all eyes are on Gilbert, who swept the hilly one-day Ardennes Classics week in April, and then took the maillot jaune on the opening stage of the Tour de France with an uphill finish at Mont des Alouettes.

After the Tour Gilbert kept up his winning ways at Clasica San Sébastian, also winning a stage of Eneco Tour of Benelux and a national time trial championship. But the Belgian road champion insisted Wednesday that his current fitness is not on the level that has seen him win, seemingly at will, all year long.

The view from the 1k banner in Québec. The large building is the Chateau Frontenac, the race headquarters. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

“I’m not in the same condition I’ve been in other times of the year,” Gilbert said at a Québec City press conference, held at the historic Fairmont Le Château Frontenac hotel, which serves as the race’s headquarters. “My main goal is to snatch points for the UCI world rankings. But if along the way I’m in a position to win, obviously I’d love to.”

Gilbert is six points behind Cadel Evans on the world rankings. He would have to finish ninth in one of the two Canadian races to tie Evans and eighth to surpass him. Evans is not racing again this season.

Gilbert, who did not race in Canada last year, pointed to Team Sky as the biggest favorite. In 2010 Boasson Hagen won the bunch sprint for second in Québec, and was in the front group on the final lap in Montréal before he crashed on the course’s 180-degree right-hand turn. And Gilbert said Sky’s Simon Gerrans might be best suited for the course’s punchy climbs.

“We checked out the (Côte de la Montagne) climb for the first time this morning,” Gilbert said Wednesday. “I saw it was pretty hard, and since it’s only a 12km circuit, we’ll go back on to the climb regularly. It’s going to hurt on the final laps. How the final plays out will depend on the weather, if it is windy. I heard last year there was a headwind in the final. That is a final that suits me, but I think Gerrans might be better prepared.”

Gerrans, who recently finished second at the GP Ouest France-Plouay after winning the Tour of Denmark, said Gilbert’s pick was “a huge compliment.”

“I have been able to carry some good condition on from the Tour de France and had some solid results in my last two races in Denmark and Plouay,” Gerrans told VeloNews. “I expect the circuit of the GP Québec to be really selective. Sky has a great team here, and with their support I hope to be up there in the final racing for the win.”

In addition to Boasson Hagen, Gerrans and Barry, Sky brings Juan Antonio Flecha, Jeremy Hunt, Roberto Uran and Christian Knees.

Gilbert pointed to the riders who competed in the USA Pro Cycling Challenge as likely podium contenders, citing both their time spent training and racing at altitude as well as a lack of the jetlag so many European-based riders will face. Pre-race favorites Gesink, Leipheimer, van Garderen, Hesjedal and Vande Velde all raced in Colorado in late August.

Gesink said his performances in Canada last September were among “the best period” he’s had in his young career. “I’m motivated to do well again,” the Dutch rider said. “The Colorado racing was a good warm-up for this race. I think I’m in good shape.”

Asked if he expected the races to finish as they did in 2010 — with both races won by solo moves, chased by small groups — Gesink said the harder the pace, the more it suited him.

“Last year Garmin made the race really hard for Ryder Hesjedal, they did a hard tempo and that’s good for me, if it’s a difficult race and everyone has to go to their maximum,” Gesink said. “On a small, steep climb (like the Côte de la Montagne), it’s more or less the same for everyone. But when someone like Voeckler is attacking in the final, it’s a good opportunity to win like that. Montreal is a different race, it’s a really tough parcours. The climb is longer. I expect small differences at the finish line, but if you can get the right moment, I think you can do it in the same way (winning solo).”

Hesjedal fans at the 2010 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

One rider who performed well in Canada last year is Euskaltel-Euskadi’s Samuel Sánchez. The Tour de France King of the Mountains finished sixth at Montréal last year, but the Spaniard and five of his teammates went down in a training ride pile-up Wednesday caused by rough road surface. And though Sánchez said Miguel Minguez was the only Euskaltel rider to have significant injuries, the Olympic champion winced as he stepped down from the press conference stage, visibly in pain.

Fresh off a stage win at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, George Hincapie leads the BMC Racing Team in Canada.

“I came out of the Utah and Colorado block of races in really good shape,” Hincapie said. “Hopefully, I can take advantage of that this weekend. Last year, I was coming off an injury, so I was only 70 percent. But I thought if I were good, both races would suit my capabilities. I think Montréal is harder, there’s more overall climbing. But they’re both tough.”

BMC’s Alessandro Ballan placed in the top-10 of both events one year ago, but he hasn’t raced since the Tour de Pologne, where he crashed out on stage 2.

With a weather forecast of warm and sunny all weekend, the expected large crowds lining the circuits will once again cheer loudest for a Canadian winner. Hesjedal and Tuft are the two men likeliest to fulfill that wish. In 2010 Tuft rode for Garmin, putting in massive work for Hesjedal at both events.

Tuft, the Canadian national road champion, was a late addition to SpiderTech’s squad — in part due to his recently announced transfer to the new GreenEdge squad for 2012, where Gerrans will also ride. But Tuft said the thrill of riding at the biggest races in Canada in the maple leaf jersey was all the motivation he needed to give his best, whether it was for his own chances or for another SpiderTech rider.

“The team wanted to make sure it was doing what is the best thing for team, and that’s a fair call,” Tuft said. “But from my end, I’m here 100 percent for the team, and I’ll do whatever they ask of me. I’m still super motivated. From what I saw last year, this is one of the greatest events I’ve ever seen in Canadian cycling, and I think I’ve done them all. I couldn’t believe the crowds for both races, and how psyched people were. It is pretty refreshing, what it does for Canadian cycling is huge. It brings people to that level, to see what it can be, and people start to believe in it — and not just the fans, but the sponsors, too. They see that it’s worth something, to be part of something this big, and that this needs to keep happening.”

The Tour de France runner-up posted on Twitter that he was forced to withdraw “because of an untimely, but imperative dental operation at the bottom left wisdom tooth.”

The rider from Luxembourg has been suffering from a toothache for more than a week and must undergo the operation immediately, a Leopard-Trek press release stated.

“An infection of the root of the tooth during the Tour of Colorado caused complications that demanded a minor but critical surgery,” Schleck said via press release. “I regret pulling out of these two races, as I adore racing in North America, and I was very excited about the idea of being in these two Canadian events.”

Schleck, 26, has been in North America for nearly a month, racing in the inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge in late August. He did not contest for the general classification, although he did attempt to win stage 5 into Breckenridge, attacking from a breakaway over Swan Pass. His move was unsuccessful, and his breakaway group was caught inside the final kilometer.

Schleck was to be one of many top European riders at the Canadian WorldTour events, which take place Friday, in Québec, and Sunday, in Montréal. Other marquee riders include Philippe Gilbert, Thomas Voeckler, Ryder Hesjedal, Robert Gesink, Samuel Sanchez, Tom Danielson, George Hincapie, Damiano Cunego, Pierre Rolland, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Dominique Rollin.

At last year’s inaugural events, Voeckler won in Québec, and Gesink won in Montréal; both men won alone, soloing away on the hilly courses ahead of small chase groups.

Schleck’s older brother Fränk was not scheduled to race in Canada, instead racing the September 14 Grand Prix de Wallonie before the late-September world road championships in Copenhagen.

Andy Schleck will aim to return at the GP Wallonie, and both Schleck brothers are contemplating finishing out their season with the October 15 Tour of Lombardy.

The Vail TT starts out flattish and then ramps up.

ASPEN, Colo. (VN) — After three days of racing, five Americans stand atop the general classification standings at the inaugural 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge, separated by 45 seconds with the decisive Vail time trial on the horizon.

With his aggressive, inspired riding over Independence Pass on stage 2, HTC-Highroad’s Tejay Van Garderen took the race lead from RadioShack’s Levi Leipheimer, who seized up on the cold, wet descent into Aspen, losing 45 seconds.

Alongside van Garderen at the front of the race was stage winner George Hincapie (BMC Racing) and Tom Danielson (Garmin-Cervélo), two men who had also finished near the top of the classification at both the prologue in Colorado Springs and the uphill stage 1 finish at Mount Crested Butte.

The trio of Americans in the front group was rewarded for its courage on the descent of Independence Pass. Hincapie moved into second overall, 16 seconds behind van Garderen, with Danielson third overall, 22 seconds back.

Leipheimer moved down to fourth, at 34 seconds, with Christian Vande Velde in fifth, at 0:45.

Hincapie’s BMC Racing teammate, Tour de France champion Cadel Evans, is the first non-American on the general classification, sitting sixth, 51 seconds behind van Garderen.

With all five American riders capable of producing a strong time trial on the 10-mile uphill course, the likelihood of an all-American final podium at this inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge grows stronger by the mile.

Beginning in Vail Village at 8,163 feet, the course delivers 1,500 feet of elevation gain, finishing at 9,643 feet. The same route was ridden by Tour de France winners Greg LeMond and Bernard Hinault in the 1980s as part of the Coors Classic. Andy Hampsten held the record for 21 years; his time of 26:33, set during the 1987 Coors Classic, was broken at the 2008 Teva Mountain Games by both Ben Day (25:48) and Chris Baldwin (26:29).

The first half of the route is relatively flat, with the gradient increasing dramatically around mile 6 — meaning riders that go all-out on the flats may be in for a rude awakening as the gradient, and elevation, intensify.

Equipment choice will also play a factor. The majority of GC riders will ride standard time trial bikes, although Garmin’s Peter Stetina told VeloNews he intends to ride a Cervélo R3 road bike with clip-on bars. Those who run standard TT bikes will look to get their aerodynamic rigs as light as possible, meaning that unless there is a tailwind, riders will forgo rear disc wheels for lighter alternatives.

“It starts out flat but then kicks up hard,” Stetina said. “And then you’ve got the altitude to deal with. It’s going to suit a rider that’s not a pure climber, but not a time trial specialist, either — someone who can time trial on the flat but also climb with the best.”

Of the five Americans atop the GC standings, all but Hincapie are world-class climbers and time trialists. Hincapie is respectable at both disciplines, but lacks the power-to-weight ratio required to excel on high-mountain climbs. Hincapie said he hadn’t come to the race with the idea of a top finish at the USAPCC in mind, but the notion of a podium finish is starting to grow on him.

“Being so high up in overall, I’ll give it everything I have,” Hincapie said. “I didn’t come here with the intention of going for the overall, I wanted to win stage, and I’ve done that. I’ll try to stay as high up as I can. I haven’t seen the course, but I’ve heard it’s fast for an uphill course.”

Likewise, van Garderen, who lives with his fiancée Jessica Philips in Aspen, has not ridden the course.

“It seems like a course that doesn’t require a whole lot of thought because it doesn’t seem technical and it doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of corners and a lot of turns, and there’s no real recovery sections,” van Garderen said. “So, it’s kind of like you just have to pick your pace and go with it, stay relaxed and stay focused. That’s about all you can do.”

Leipheimer acknowledged that van Garderen is perhaps his most formidable opponent, particularly given the 34-second lead he now holds over the RadioShack rider. “I’m confident, but I think Tejay is also strong,” Leipheimer said. “And he’s a great time trialist. It’s going to be difficult. I’d love to win the stage.”

Danielson also was hesitant to claim that he would be able to take the race lead in Vail. “If I was 100 percent confident, I would say yes, ‘I’m going to win tomorrow,’” Danielson said. “But I’m honestly not 100 percent confident. After today I feel better, for sure. Hopefully I’ll feel great. I will try as hard as I can and see what happens. But it is a very good course for me, and I hope to have a very good performance.”

Hincapie pointed to both van Garderen and Leipheimer as the men likely to wrestle over control of the GC following the Vail time trial.

“Tejay is riding great, he’s motivated, and he lives in Colorado,” Hincapie said. “I rode with him a bit last week, and he’s definitely motivated. He’ll be hard to beat. Levi is obviously riding super well, and he’s shown he is one of the strongest guys in the race. He was definitely the strongest in Crested Butte. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him return to the race lead.”

At this point, the one thing that would be a surprise would be a non-American rider standing atop the final podium in Denver on Sunday.

The team, founded in 2003 by Denver native Jonathan Vaughters, is based in Boulder, Colorado.

Three riders on Garmin’s USAPCC squad — Tom Danielson, Peter Stetina and Danny Summerhill — call Colorado’s Front Range home.

And though he’s returned to the Chicago area, prologue runner-up Christian Vande Velde lived and trained in Boulder for several years earlier in his career.

Beyond Danielson, Vande Velde and Stetina, the team also brought GC threats Ryder Hesjedal and Tom Peterson, with Summerhill, Dan Lloyd and Dave Zabriskie riding support.

Stetina made the team’s intentions clear at a pre-race team presentation dinner Saturday night, when he told race commentator Paul Sherwen, “We’re here to win the race.”

Vaughters was only slightly gentler in describing his ambition on home turf.

“Ever since the race was announced, I’ve been trying to figure out how to win it,” he told VeloNews. “It’s a high-level race, in Colorado, and with us being the home-town team, you can’t beat that. It’s come full-circle for me; the reason I got involved in cycling was because of the Coors Classic, and this race is really the reinvention of that race. But when it’s all said and done, I’m not here to simply enjoy the week. I’m here to try to help the team, to help Tom, to help Christian, win the race.”

After two days Vande Velde has emerged as the team’s top GC rider, finishing second in the prologue and fifth on stage 1; heading into Wednesday’s queen stage, Vande Velde sits second overall, 11 seconds behind Levi Leipheimer.

Danielson, a high-altitude climbing specialist whose image appears on the bulk of the event’s promotional material, was disappointed by his ride up to Mount Crested Butte, where he finished 10th, 18 seconds down.

“I didn’t really feel very good. I was definitely suffering and not feeling 100 percent on the climb,” Danielson told VeloNews. “Explosive climbs like that are normally hard for me, so hopefully that’s what it was. I hope to feel better, but I didn’t feel as good as I wanted to. I did the best I could, but I lost some time there.”

Danielson now sits ninth overall, 37 seconds behind Leipheimer, and is aware that he’s going to have to make up time over Independence Pass on stage 2, as well as over the Vail Pass time trial on stage 3.

“We’ve got to attack on Independence Pass and I hope I feel better, more comfortable than I did today,” he said. “If I do hopefully I’m in a good position, but if not, Christian’s riding really well. Either him or I will hopefully be able to be the first guy or in the first guys over Independence Pass.”

Vande Velde agreed that Independence Pass would be key to the overall win.

“A lot depends on the weather. I don’t think a lot of people perceive how bad it can be. They haven’t trained in these kinds of conditions,” he said. “Wednesday is a huge day. It could be seconds separating riders, or it could be shrapnel. Who knows how many people are going to be in it after Independence Pass … we could come to the line with 20-30 people or it could be three guys together, and a group of 30 riders behind.”

However Stetina, whose father and uncle each claimed overall wins at the Coors Classic, said he believes the race will ultimately be won at the Vail time trial.

“It starts out flat but then kicks up hard,” he said. “And then you’ve got the altitude to deal with. It’s going to suit a rider that’s not a pure climber, but not a time trial specialist, either — someone who can time trial on the flat but also climb with the best. It’s a good course for Tom Danielson. I hope to have a good ride there. I’ve raced the course at the Teva Games, so I’ve already done an effort on the course. I’ve got my fingers crossed.”

Stetina’s not the only one. A win at the USAPCC is paramount on the minds of every Garmin rider and staff member at the event.

“This race is built for guys like Tom and I,” Stetina said. “That’s what we do. I was born in Boulder, and I grew up at altitude, and with altitude climbing. Our family went road tripping on these passes. I’ve done junior races around these parts, and the area is part of my family history. It’s a dream come true to do this race.”

VeloNews copy editor Tom LeCarner contributed to this report.

The Luxembourg national road champion keyed off an attack by his brother Andy in the final 3km of the 99.4-mile stage from Salida, disrupting an already-dwindling group of GC contenders on the final slopes up to Mount Crested Butte.

That move promoted a counterattack by eventual stage winner Levi Leipheimer, with Colombian rider Sergio Henao (Gobernacion) leapfrogging Schleck for second on the stage.

Fränk Schleck crossed the line third, seven seconds behind Leipheimer, while Andy didn’t fare as well, finishing a full minute behind the RadioShack rider.

After summiting the 11,312-foot Monarch Pass early on the stage, the stage reached its climax on the 3km run-in to the Crested Butte ski resort.

“All the big teams were there, HTC, Rabobank was working for Gesink, RadioShack and Garmin, and they all had their last helpers swap off with about 2km to go,” Frank Schleck said. “Andy was there, I guess he also adapted well to the altitude. All the big leaders were alone, except myself and Andy, and it came to the point where Andy knew what to do. We raced the way we’re used to racing, and that’s together.

“As soon as the last helper from Rabobank swung off, I said, ‘Andy if you can go, now would be a good moment.’ I got an angry, hateful look from him … but he went anyway. He did his job, and he tried for himself, too. It could have been a good move, and it made the race harder. As soon as we caught him, I attacked, and then Levi counterattacked me and I couldn’t hold his wheel. He was the strongest today.”

Asked about the effects of altitude, Fränk Schleck said that more than hurting more, it’s the power output that suffers.

“The altitude affects everybody, that’s the good part,” he said. “Everyone has to ride at the same altitude. Some of the riders, like Levi, are more adapted to it — they have spent more time at altitude, racing in Utah. You feel it deep in your lungs. You can’t output the same watts. You just don’t have the same power.”

Schleck had a busy schedule after finishing third at this year’s Tour de France. He first traveled to Holland for post-Tour criteriums, then Spain, for Clasica San Sebastian, and back to Holland before flying to the U.S. earlier this month to visit his team’s bike sponsor, Trek.

“I was only home for one day before we flew to Wisconsin for Trek, which was great,” Schleck said. “It was great to see the Trek family. We had some events there for four days, then I flew home for five days, and then I flew over here.”

He hasn’t had a chance to preview Wednesday’s queen stage, the 130-mile ride from Gunnison to Aspen, which features the dirt climb over Cottonwood Pass, elevation 12,126 feet, and the final climb over Independence Pass, elevation 12,095 feet. But Schleck said he has heard enough to have a healthy respect for what lies ahead.

“I just came to Colorado three days before the race, so I haven’t seen it,” he said. “I had to spend one day out at a river, fly fishing. There was no time to ride those climbs; that takes too much energy out of you. You want to rest and take easy rides to get used to this altitude. I’ve heard a lot about (the stage 2 route), especially the first climb (Cottonwood Pass), and I think it’s going to be exciting. It’s the queen stage, and we’re going to see the first big contenders come to the front — if we haven’t already seen it today. It will be one of the big showdowns of this race — stage 2, and the (stage 3 time trial.)”

Unlike some riders at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Fränk Schleck isn’t utilizing the race as preparation for the early-September Québec and Montréal Grand Prixs. He will instead return to Europe for the September 14 Grand Prix de Wallonie, and the late-September world road championships in Copenhagen. Then, he said, depending on his form, he may also race the October 15 Tour of Lombardy.

“I was very motivated to come to Colorado, but I think I might be even more motivated after today,” Schleck said. “Cycling in America is a big, big passion, there are a lot of fans in the U.S., and I’m really feeling that support. To get this third-place today is a small way to give something back to the American fans. I’m more motivated now than ever.”