Rocacorba Daily

Brennauer beats Solovey and Stevens to win Elite women’s world championship time trial

Taking her second gold medal of the championships after Specialized lululemon’s victory in Sunday’s elite women’s team time trial, Lisa Brennauer raced to her biggest career result on Thursday when she won the individual race against the clock.

The German rider improved from fifth place at the first time check to set the fastest time at the end of the 29.5 kilometre test, beating the Ukrainian Anna Solovey by 18.68 seconds and her own trade team-mate Evelyn Stevens (USA) by 21.25.

Brennauer’s compatriot Mieke Kroeger was fourth and Belgium’s Ann-Sofie Duyck fifth, while defending champion Ellen Van Dijk (Netherlands) and last year’s runner-up Linda Villumsen (New Zealand) were off their usual pace and also delayed by a heavy rainshower near the end of their efforts.

They placed seventh and ninth respectively.

“I can’t believe it. I’m overwhelmed. I’m going to need time to know that it’s reality,” said Brennauer after it was confirmed that she had won. “I had a really good day and knew I was riding well. I gave it all on the climb, took no risk on the descents and then went full gas to the finish.”

Her success came after compatriot Lennard Kamna won the junior men’s time trial. “It’s a great day for Germany. I saw the juniors’ race this morning and it’s great we’ve both won world titles,” she said.

Solovey looked set to take the gold medal after setting the fastest pace at the 12.23 and 21.31 kilometre checkpoints. The Ukrainian previously served a two year ban for doping and the prospect of her ended the day as a world champion with a question mark over her seemed a real one when she went quickest at the finish.

However Brennauer came through over 18 seconds quicker, bumping her down to the silver medal position and
sparing the UCI the awkwardness of crowning a rider [Solovey] with a suspension in her past.

1.		BRENNAUER Lisa Specialized-lululemon	00:38:48
2.		SOLOVEY Hanna	0:18
3.		STEVENS Evelyn Specialized-lululemon	0:21

View full results

Kamna far ahead of rivals in junior men’s world championship time trial

Lennard Kamna ensured German took two victories on day three of the UCI world road race championships when he dominated the junior men’s time trial on Tuesday morning.

The second year junior covered the 29.5 kilometre course in a time of 36 minutes 13.49 seconds, beating closest rivals Adrien Costa (United States Of America) and Michael Storer (Australia) by 44.66 seconds and 58.11 seconds respectively.

The Italian Filippo Ganna and the American Zeke Mostov finished just out of the medals.

Kamna’s success was the latest result in what has been a fine season for the rider; his other wins this year include the national time trial title plus the European junior championship in the same discipline.

“I’m very destroyed, very happy and very tired,” he said at the finish.

“The last five kilometres of the course was the hardest part with the climb, particularly after 25 kilometres in the saddle. At the top of the climb, my coach said I had the best time, so I hoped I wouldn’t crash on the descent, but I thought by that part I would win.”

His success follows on from previous junior world time trial championship gold medals by compatriots Patrick Gretsch and Marcel Kittel. The latter took a different path since then and is now the dominant sprinter in the sport.

Kamna’s future direction remains to be seen but his success marks him out as one of the most talented riders in his age group.

He was quickest at each of the checkpoints, being 19.8 second faster that Costa at the first and then increasing that lead to 34 seconds by the next.

He continued to pull away to the finish, and scorched in to pick up the best result of his career to date.

1.		KAMNA Lennard	00:36:13
2.		COSTA Adrien	0:44
3.		STORER Michael	0:58

View full results

Evans’ future plans to be revealed on Thursday

The BMC Racing team has announced that its president and Cadel Evans will make public the rider’s plans for the future in a press conference to be held at the road world championships in Ponferrada, Spain on Thursday.

Evans and Jim Ochowicz will speak to the media at the press centre at 6.30 pm local time, disclosing what the rider has decided to do in relation to his career.

According to a report last week in La Gazzetta Dello Sport, the rider has decided to retire in 2015, but will compete in two events prior to doing so. He will ride the Santos Tour Down Under one final time, then take the start in the new Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.

The first of those runs from January 17 – 25, while the second will be held on the weekend of January 31 to February 1.

Evans’ has the best career of any Australian rider, winning the world road race championship in 2009, La Flèche Wallonne in 2010 and the Tour de France in 2011. He was the first Australian winner of the latter, and also took two stages.

His other career victories include Tirreno-Adriatico, the Criterium International, the Settimana Coppi e Bartali, plus two victories in both the Tour de Romandie and the Tour of Austria.

Tour victory aside, he was runner-up in the race in 2007 and 2008. He also took third in the 2009 Vuelta a España and in the 2013 Giro d’Italia.

Bennett extends with NetApp Endura, Archbold signs up

Following what has been a very strong debut season with the NetApp Endura team, the German squad and Irish sprinter Sam Bennett have confirmed that the rider has decided to extend his current contract until the end of the 2017 season.

Bennett had been due to race with the team until the end of 2015 but after a debut which saw him clock up four victories plus numerous other strong placings, the team negotiated and finalised a new deal with the rider.

“I am delighted to stay with my team for the next three years. The start to my professional career has been great with the team and I am already looking forward to next season,” said Bennett, who hails from Carrick on Suir, the same hometown as former world number one Sean Kelly.

“Having this year under my belt and also the experience I gained, I want to step up another level to bring the team even more success next year. Also I hope to start a Grand Tour, which will help my development.

“I get amazing support from all the staff and my teammates, who have never let me down. I can’t wait to work with the guys next year to pull off some big results.”

Bennett’s performances this season have seen him follow on from his stage win in last year’s Tour of Britain, a performance which secure the-then An Post Chainreaction Sean Kelly rider a contract with NetApp Endura.

He won the Clasica de Almeria in March, the Rund um Köln in April and stage five of Bayern Rundfarht in June. He followed that up with a kermesse victory in Belgium.

Read more here at CyclingTips.

Bigla continues to reinforce team with signing of Slappendel

Adding on to the previously-announced signings of Annemiek van Vleuten, Shelley Olds and Ashley Moolman-Pasio, the Bigla Cycling Team has named a fourth addition to the squad. It has inked a one year contract with Dutch national road race champion Iris Slappendel, continuing the increase in level and ambition of the team.

“When it came to this decision to switch teams I was basically looking for a new environment and a more challenging one for myself,” said Slappendel.

“At Rabobank I played the same role in the team and with Bigla we will race different tactics which will give me more opportunities.”

In addition to her victory at the Dutch championship, Slappendel also won stage seven of La Route de France and was eighth in the Ronde van Overijssel. Her past results also include victory in the 2012 Open de Suède Vargarda and victory in the GP Comune di Cornaredo in the same year.

She has often been in a position where she has had to ride for team-mates, but should now have a greater chance to chase her own results.

“I feel it’s a step in my career that I need right now,” she said. “A change of environment is always good after a few years. It’s good to be surrounded by new management and new teammates, which can inspire and motivate you.”

Click here to read the full story on CyclingTips.

Roche psyched for world championship time trial

He’s not thought of as a time trial specialist but Nicolas Roche’s 13th place in last year’s world championship race against the clock has given the Irishman considerable focus to try to perform well in Wednesday’s test.

The Tinkoff Saxo rider will don a green Irish skinsuit and try to equal or better than showing. He was part of the squad which took fifth in Sunday’s team time trial and hopes that points to a good display in the 47.1 kilometre individual event.

“I think it’s a very nice course. The first part is very fast and the true powerhouses will benefit from this part,” he said. “However, the second part is a bit more complicated with a relatively long climb with 15 kilometres to go. It’s going to be intense.

“I’ll try to go fast on the flat section and keep the pressure on the slope. I’m actually not sure what to expect regarding results. I can only tell that I’m motivated and I’ve been working hard for this,” he stated.

The 30 year old is expected to depart the Tinkoff Saxo team at the end of this season. He has remained tight-lipped on where he will be racing in 2015, but it is understood that he will likely be part of the Sky setup.

He will join compatriot Philip Deignan there; before then, the duo plus Roche’s first cousin Dan Martin will compete in Sunday’s elite world championship road race.

Men’s World Championships Time Trial Preview

For an excellent preview of the Men’s World Championships Time Trial being held tonight (Australia time), head over the the InnerRing.

Contenders include Tony Martin, Bradley Wiggins, Rohan Dennis, Tom Dumoulin, Alex Dowsett, Tejay van Garderen, Sven Tuft. Fabian Cancellara will not be riding.

Professional Cycling Council agrees on 2015 World Tour calendar, confirms Tour of Beijing to end

The Professional Cycling Council (PCC) agreed on the 2015 WorldTour calendar [available here] and the next steps of the reform of men’s pro cycling at its meetings in Ponferrada, Spain.

The PCC confirmed its commitment to build on a number of technical innovations that have been trialled in 2014 including bike cameras, geo-location technology and audio visual content to further enrich the viewer experience.

The PCC also confirmed that the 2014 Tour of Beijing (10-14 October) will be its final edition.

UCI President Brian Cookson said: “As we are getting close to the last two events in the 2014 UCI WorldTour, Il Lombardia and the Tour of Beijing, we can all reflect on what has been a fantastic season which demonstrated some tangible proof of the global growth of the UCI WorldTour. We are convinced that the UCI WorldTour has now entered a new and exciting era.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the organisers of the Tour of Beijing as we head towards the fourth and final edition of that race and the role it has played in helping to build the profile of road racing in Asia.

Adapted from UCI press release.

Nick Green appointed CEO of Cycling Australia

A week after revealing a new board and the appointment of Malcolm Speed as president, Cycling Australia has announced that former Olympic rower Nick Green will take up the position of Cycling Australia CEO.

Green is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion having been part of the dominant Oarsome Foursome coxless four rowing crew in the 1990s. In addition to his experience as an Olympic athlete, Green was the Chef de Mission of the Australian Olympic team at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Green joins Cycling Australia after a six-year stint with the Victorian Major Events Company where, most recently, he held the position of Group Manager of Acquisition and Development.

“I am absolutely delighted to be appointed as the new CEO of Cycling Australia, an organisation with a rich history and a very exciting future,” said Green via a Cycling Australia press release. “I am looking forward to working closely with Malcolm Speed and the newly elected board, as well as a large and passionate cycling community.”

Green himself is a keen cyclist and comes to the role as a fan of the sport.

Read the full story here on CyclingTips.

Damp reaction to Bikerumor plagiarism pledge

A promise by the owner of the Bikerumor.com website to avoid a repeat of plagiarism issues which have long dogged the site and a pledge to pay a substantial amount to charity in the event of any repeat has been given a decided lukewarm reaction within the industry.

As reported by BikeBiz.com, the Bikerumour founder Tyler Benedict has acknowledged the inappropriate use of other media sources’ materials. “Recently, we ran a post with images and information that were either used without permission or did not have the source appropriately credited,” he wrote, saying that the incident was a mistake and that new policies had been put in place to ensure it didn’t happen again.

He apologised and said that it was his responsibility to make things right. “To prove I’m serious when I say we’ll be better because of it, I will personally write a $1,000 cheque to the cycling charity of the competing editor’s choice anytime this happens in the future.”

He said that the first donation would be made to People For Bikes on behalf of Red Kite Prayer owner Patrick Brady, whose material Benedict acknowledged was used without permission.

Writing an article in response, Brady said that he considered Benedict’s motivation wasn’t to make things right, but rather to avoid public embarrassment.

“Tyler isn’t Robin Hood. Stealing from me and giving to them is just salt in the wound,” he wrote. “By stealing my work without my permission or attribution, he’s making it harder for me to feed my family.”

Cyclingnews’ tech editor James Huang was one of several who was highly sceptical. “There’s a big diff btw truly being sorry and merely doing damage control. Most of us learned early. Some never learn,” he said on Twitter.

His equivalent at VeloNews, Caley Fretz was similarly unimpressed. He tweeted a link to a Reuters article on a payout given by Agence France-Presse and Getty Images to a photographer they used images from without permission. “According to this,” he wrote, “bikerumor owes me $1.2m for the photos it ripped off in ’13. I’d accept half that, to be honest.”

Read the original article in bikebiz.com here.

Shimano neutral service to the rescue

Some of the most riveting action in a bike race will be seen from the neutral support vehicles. Shimano neutral support caught this footage of them assisting Movistar’s Jonathan Castroviejo from a ravine during stage 15 of the Vuelta a Espana. Fortunately Castroviejo was okay and finished the race.

The Rocacorba Recap

And finally this morning, here are a few things you might have missed at CyclingTips:

• Garmin Virb Elite Action Camera review
• ‘Retiring wasn’t an option’: what the move to MTN-Qhubeka means to Matt Goss
• Gerrans on worlds: Perfect form, strong team and solid confidence
• Rocacorba Daily: Monday September 22