EuroTrash Thursday!

There is just sooo much in today’s EuroTrash Thursday, I don’t know where to start! The 2012 season is “full on” in Australia with the Jayco Bay Cycle Classic, with a bit of embarrassment! Team presentations, riders getting last minute contracts, race news, Rapha 500, Fausto Coppi…and more Press Releases than you can shake a stick at! Enjoy!

“Top Story”

”Richard” Pat McQuaid!
Chloe Hosking won the first race in the Jayco Bay Cycling Classic in a fine sprint from eventual overall winner; Melissa Hoskins. After her win she described how she won the race and to use the occasion to talk-up women’s racing, commenting; “For me, it was really exciting to go out there and show what women’s racing can be like.” When asked of her opinion of the UCI President, Pat McQuaid, she remarked; “What can you say, Pat McQuaid is a dick!” She was referring to the conditions that woman’s racing has found its self of late, with no minimum wage or any support from the Governing body. Her insult is maybe what many think, but do would not put in quite that way.

Since then it looks like there may have been some pressure placed on the Specialized-Lulumon team rider to apologize, or at least reconsider her statement. She has said that “I’m not going to apologise for what I said, but I do apologise for how I said it.” Fair point, but if you think back to the occasions when the UCI President makes any public appearances, like at the Worlds prize presentations, he has been booed by many of the spectators, male and female and maybe some worse names have been used?

Jayco Bay Cycling Classic
Stage 2 saw the young Caleb Ewan (NSWIS) outsprint Allan Davis (Mitchelton Wines/Lowe Farm) and Bernie Sulzberger (Urban Hotels) after the bunch split with thirteen riders up the road. Allan Davis took the overall lead due to his second and third placing.

Jayco Bay Cycling Classic Stage 2 Result:
1. Caleb Ewan (NSW) NSWIS in 49:27
2. Allan Davis (QLD) Mitchelton Wines/Lowe Farms
3. Bernie Sulzberger (Tas) Urban Hotels
4. Nathan Haas (ACT) Bike Bug
5. Zak Dempster (Vic) Degani Bakery Cafe
6. James Mowatt (Vic) Rapido Cycles/Four Points Geelong
7. Dean Windsor (NSW) Degani Bakery Cafe
8. Mitch Docker (Vic) GreenEdge Cycling
9. Trent Derecourt (WA) John West Cycling at 0:05
10. Johnnie Walker (Vic) Degani Bakery Cafe.

Jayco Bay Cycling Classic Overall After Stage 2:
1. Allan Davis (QLD) Mitchelton Wines/Lowe Farms 18pts
2. Bernie Sulzberger (Tas) Urban Hotels 15pts
3. Caleb Ewan (NSW) NSWIS 14pts
4. Greg Henderson (NZ) Degani Bakery Cafe 12pts
5. Chris Sutton (NSW) Urban Hotels 10pts
6. Dean Windsor (NSW) Degani Bakery Cafe 8pts
7. Nathan Haas (ACT) Bike Bug 7pts
8. Zak Dempster (Vic) Degani Bakery Cafe 7pts
9. Steele Von Hoff (Tas) Bike Bug 6pts
10. Anthony Giacoppo (WA) Bike Bug 5pts.

Anthony Giacoppo (Bike Bug) won Stage 3 from Luke Durbridge (Mitchelton Wines/Lowe Farms) after the two riders had been away early and very nearly lapped the field. Allan Davis held the overall going into the last stage from Giacoppo.

Jayco Bay Cycling Classic Stage 3 Result:
1. Anthony Giacoppo (WA) Bike Bug in 1:02:21
2. Luke Durbridge (WA) Mitchelton Wines/Lowe Farms at 0:01
3. Koen de Kort (Ned) Urban Hotels at 0:25
4. Johnnie Walker (Vic) Degani Bakery Cafe at 0:28
5. Mark O’Brien (Vic) Budget Forklifts at 1:08
6. Mitch Docker (Vic) GreenEdge Cycling at 52:28
7. Chris Sutton (NSW) Urban Hotels
8. Allan Davis (QLD) Mitchelton Wines/Lowe Farms
9. Caleb Ewan (NSW) NSWIS
10. Steele Von Hoff (Tas) Bike Bug.

Jayco Bay Cycling Classic Overall After Stage 3:
1. Allan Davis (QLD) Mitchelton Wines/Lowe Farms 21pts
2. Anthony Giacoppo (WA) Bike Bug 17pts
3. Caleb Ewan (NSW) NSWIS 16pts
4. Bernie Sulzberger (Tas) Urban Hotels 15pts
5. Chris Sutton (NSW) Urban Hotels 14pts
6. Greg Henderson (NZ) Degani Bakery Cafe 12pts
7. Luke Durbridge (WA) Mitchelton Wines/Lowe Farms 10pts
8. Koen de Kort (Ned) Urban Hotels 8pts
9. Johnnie Walker (Vic) Degani Bakery Cafe 8pts
10. Mitch Docker (Vic) GreenEdge Cycling 8pts.

Stage 4 gave the young Caleb Ewan (NSWIS) his second stage win, but Allan Davis (Mitchelton Wines/Lowe Farms) took the overall prize, Davis will be racing for the new GreenEdge team this season, so you could say this is their first GC win.

Jayco Bay Cycling Classic Stage 4 Result:
1. Caleb Ewan (NSW) NSWIS in 59:45
2. Leigh Howard (Vic) GreenEdge Cycling
3. Allan Davis (QLD) Mitchelton Wines/Lowe Farms
4. Bernie Sulzberger (Tas) Urban Hotels at 0:04
5. Anthony Giacoppo (WA) Bike Bug
6. Chris Sutton (NSW) Urban Hotels
7. Greg Henderson (NZ) Degani Bakery Cafe at 0:07
8. Robbie McEwen (QLD) GreenEdge Cycling at 0:18
9. Sam Witmitz (Vic) Budget Forklifts at 0:28
10. Nathan Haas (ACT) Bike Bug at 0:30.

Jayco Bay Cycling Classic Final Overall:
1. Allan Davis (QLD) Mitchelton Wines/Lowe Farms 29pts
2. Caleb Ewan (NSW) NSWIS 28pts
3. Anthony Giacoppo (WA) Bike Bug 23pts
4. Bernie Sulzberger (Tas) Urban Hotels 22pts
5. Chris Sutton (NSW) Urban Hotels 19pts
6. Greg Henderson (NZ) Degani Bakery Cafe 16pts
7. Leigh Howard (Vic) GreenEdge Cycling 13pts
8. Luke Durbridge (WA) Mitchelton Wines/Lowe Farms 10pts
9. Nathan Haas (ACT) Bike Bug 8pts
10. Koen de Kort (Ned) Urban Hotels 8pts.

Jayco Bay Cycling Classic Women’s Race
Melissa Hoskins (GreenEgde-AIS) took the overall after finishing second on the 1st stage to Chloe Hosking (Total Rush/Hyster), third in the 2nd stage to Loren Rowney (Total Rush/Hyster), seventh in stage 3 to Shara Gillow (GreenEdge-AIS) and second again in the last stage to Amanda Spratt (GreenEdge-AIS), all in all a good showing from the new GreenEdge team.

Jayco Bay Cycling Classic Women’s Final Overall:
1. Melissa Hoskins (Greenedge-AIS) 32pts
2. Amanda Spratt (Greenedge-AIS) 29pts
3. Chloe Hosking (Total Rush/Hyster) 29pts
4. Rochelle Gilmore (BikeExchange Dream Team) 21pts
5. Jessie Maclean (Greenedge-AIS) 16pts
6. Annette Edmondson (Pitcher Partners) 15pts
7. Tiffany Cromwell (Greenedge-AIS) 15pts
8. Loren Rowney (Total Rush/Hyster) 14pts
9. Shara Gillow (Greenedge-AIS) 12pts
10. Grace Sulzberger (Jayco – AIS) 10pts.

David de la Fuente for Caja Rural
As we mentioned on Monday; David de la Fuente had not found a team for 2012 after the folding of the Geox-TMC team. The talented and experienced rider has signed for the Spanish ProConti Caja Rural team. With riders like David de la Fuente and Manuel Cardoso, Caja Rural might manage a “Wild Card” entry into the Vuelta a Espaсa this year.

This video is from the last time the Caja Rural team were at the top of cyling, 1989 I think? and brings us up to date.

Giro del Trentino Starts with TTT
The warm-up race for the Giro d’Italia; the Giro del Trentino will kick off with a team time trial on the 17th of April between Riva del Garda and Arco over 15.5 kilometres. The four day stage race takes in the mountainous north of Italy, based around Lake Garda with some of the toughest climbs possible. Anyone who shows well here will probably feature in the Giro d’Italia.

This is stage 3 from the 2011 Giro del Trentino:

Movistar 2012 Team Presentation
Press Release: Movistar team officially presented today (Wednesday)their latest, biggest signings, Alejandro Valverde and Juanjo Cobo, at the Corporate Innovation Center of Telefуnica’s headquarters in Madrid. Both also unveiled the new outfit the telephone squad will wear in 2012. The two riders showed the new gear in a presentation that could be followed by all fans for the first time live streamed on the team’s official website, www.movistarteam.com. Valverde and Cobo were accompanied in the event by Movistar Team’s general manager Eusebio Unzuй and Telefуnica’s Technical General Secretary of Presidence, Luis Abril.

In turn, Alejandro Valverde did not hide his satisfaction by returning to competition after twenty months of inactivity: “It’s been a year and a half without competing and that’s why we’got to be cautious, but I think i trained hard and I did things right. I enjoyed really much what I did until this point in my career, and now we’re srarting a new era with this new squad, Movistar Team, which gave me a new opportunity in cycling and which I want to reward with victories.” Valverde will debut on January 15th at the Cancer Council Classic in Australia, the prelude of the Tour Down Under starting two days later. In the first part of the calendar, the Spaniard will be riding in Majorca, Andalusia, Almeria, Catalonia, the GP Miguel Indurain and Paнs Vasco before starting his preparations for the Tour de France: “I had time enough to train into long time trials, my weakest point. Physically I feel more relaxed. I trained hard, I tried to simulate the hard pace of the competitions, but I didn’t have the reference your rivals give you. I have to see how I respond at the end of the races. Still, if I’m lacking some stamina, I’ll start getting it back in Australia.”

Juanjo Cobo is coming back to what was home for him, although in a short period, in 2010. “I think this will be my chance to get that bad feeling from last year out of myself,” said the winner of the 2011 Vuelta a Espaсa. “They gave me confidence and I couldn’t cope with it. Now they gave me a second chance, and my goal is getting some new, big victories for this team, and making us together happy, so I can reward Eusebio back.” Cobo will debut in Majorca in early February and will later peak during the spring in his way to the Tour de France, his first GT of the season, later followed by his quest to defend the victory obtained in the Vuelta a Espaсa.

Movistar Team’s general manager Eusebio Unzuй thanked Telefуnica for their continued support to the squad and proved convinced about the boost given by Valverde and Cobo joining the squad: “The reason for these two signings was putting the icing on top of an already interesting back. I think this 2011 season gave us the opportunity to get to know the brand on the cycling world, where we got, after facing such difficult moments, the big moments of joy, especially to the brilliance they were achieved. Now, with the arrival by Juanjo Cobo or Alejandro, we’ll be able to give this base the shining we wanted to.”

This is a day with the Movistar Team:

Team Sky Unveils 2012 Squad
Team Sky today unveiled the 28 riders that will make up the team’s squad for the 2012 season. Featuring world-class talents from 12 nations, and including ten British riders, the 2012 squad also features eight new additions to the team.

As well as world champion Mark Cavendish, Team Sky has welcomed former HTC-Highroad team-mates Bernhard Eisel, Danny Pate and Kanstantsin Siutsou, neo-pros Salvatore Puccio and Luke Rowe, Sergio Henao, and former Giro d’Italia pink jersey holder Richie Porte.

Team Sky’s 28-man roster for 2012:
Davide Appollonio (ITA)
Michael Barry (CAN)
Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR)
Mark Cavendish (GBR)
Alex Dowsett (GBR)
Bernhard Eisel (AUT)
Juan Antonio Flecha (ESP)
Chris Froome (GBR)
Mathew Hayman (AUS)
Sergio Henao (COL)
Jeremy Hunt (GBR)
Peter Kennaugh (GBR)
Christian Knees (GER)
Thomas Lцfkvist (SWE)
Lars-Petter Nordhaug (NOR)
Danny Pate (USA)
Richie Porte (AUS)
Salvatore Puccio (ITA)
Michael Rogers (AUS)
Luke Rowe (GBR)
Ian Stannard (GBR)
Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR)
Chris Sutton (AUS)
Ben Swift (GBR)
Geraint Thomas (GBR)
Rigoberto Urбn (COL)
Bradley Wiggins (GBR)
Xabier Zandio (ESP).

Team Sky will be aiming to build on a hugely successful 2011 campaign which saw them finish second in the UCI WorldTour team rankings with 32 wins and a further 71 podium finishes.

Those results included Edvald Boasson Hagen’s two stage-winning displays at the Tour de France, Bradley Wiggins’ Criterium du Dauphine success, and a remarkable Vuelta a Espana campaign which saw Chris Froome and Wiggins both secure places on the Grand Tour’s podium.

Mark Cavendish, Team Sky rider, said:
“I could not be more excited about the coming season. In many ways it has felt like coming home, by joining Team Sky. I’ve grown up with many of the riders and management and they have shown in just two years how far they have come. It is a hugely professional set up and arguably the strongest team in the world. It is definitely a team that will win races.

“Being in a British team at a time when our sport is booming is a dream come true. I want to help continue that growth and I know that together as a team we can help inspire even more people to get on their bikes and have a go themselves.”

Design the 2012 Amgen Tour of California Breakaway from Cancer® Most Courageous Rider Jersey and Win a Trip to the Race
Race Organizers Seeking Original Artwork for Jersey Design

Press Release: AEG, presenter of the Amgen Tour of California, is seeking original artwork submissions for the design of the 2012 Amgen Breakaway from Cancer® Most Courageous Rider Jersey. This jersey is awarded daily to the cyclist who best exemplifies the character of those engaged in the fight against cancer – courage, sacrifice, inspiration, determination, and perseverance.

Many of the world’s elite cyclists will compete for the Amgen Breakaway from Cancer® Most Courageous Rider Jersey during America’s largest and most prestigious professional road cycling stage race, the seventh consecutive edition of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California which will travel more than 750 miles from May 13 – 20, 2012.

From now until January 31, 2012, original artwork submissions will be accepted online at www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/bfc-contest. The winning artwork will be used in connection with the 2012 Amgen Breakaway from Cancer® Most Courageous Rider Jersey. Hincapie Sportswear will produce this specially designed jersey.

“We’re excited to use our jerseys to bring attention to a good cause,” said Rich Hincapie, owner, Hincapie Sportswear. “We can’t wait to see everyone’s creative ideas.”

One grand prize package will be awarded to the person who designs the winning artwork. The prize package includes a trip for the winner and one guest to one Stage of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California, including round trip airfare, hotel accommodations, two VIP Hospitality passes to the respective stage of the race, an Amgen Tour of California merchandise package, and the opportunity to present the official jersey to the Most Courageous Rider winner of the Stage during the awards ceremony.

The winning submission will be determined by the following criteria: creativity (50 percent), use of colors and elements (25 percent), and choice of theme (25 percent). A panel of judges will review all eligible entries. All artwork must submitted as a .jpg, .eps, .gif, .pdf or .psd file, no more than 3 MB in size. Official contest rules can be found at www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/bfc-contest.

“Amgen is passionate about helping those with cancer, and this contest is another way to reach into the community and connect with those impacted by the disease,” said Stuart Arbuckle, vice president and general manager, Amgen Oncology. “Amgen’s goal with Breakaway from Cancer is to raise awareness of the resources available for those touched by cancer – from prevention through survivorship.”

The 2011 winners of the Amgen Breakaway from Cancer® Most Courageous Rider Jersey include James Driscoll (USA) of Jamis-Sutter Home, Jan Barta (CZE) of NetApp, Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) of Team Garmin-Cervelo, Oscar Freire (ESP) of Rabobank Cycling Team, and Alexander Efimkin (RUS) of Team Type 1-sanofi.

Good for you & Canada: come and support the Velodrome
Press Release: If you have ever participated or been a spectator at a Madison race, you know the thrill that track racing brings to cycling. It’s about pure adrenaline, agility and speed. More than an event it is an absolutely fantastic show that the whole family would thoroughly enjoy.

A velodrome is the best tool that we can have to our disposal to develop top-end speed, smooth pedaling at high cadence, and better handling skills. No need to be a criterium racer to leverage such a facility, you can be sure that your next Gran Allenamento or charity ride will be even more enjoyable – just because you will be a stronger, smoother and faster rider.

Having the chance to build a permanent, world class velodrome steps away from Toronto does not happen often. This is our chance to build a facility that will change the cycling landscape in Canada: it will help us foster, nurture and build our roster of future cycling champions and yellow jersey holders, and let it begin with the Pan Am 2015!!!

The note below from the Town of Milton is self explanatory. Please share it with your friends, and join us at the upcoming session to support the cycling community you belong to and help us plan the future of cycling in Canada.

Let’s make it happen!!

Town Hall Session – January 10th in Milton
RSVP by January 5th to [email protected]
Details…
On December 15th, the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games Organizing Committee (TO2015) announced that the Town of Milton was the selected site for the Velodrome. This confirmation is conditional upon the Town signing a binding agreement late in January. Prior to signing a binding agreement, Milton Town Council has commissioned the completion of a business plan and due diligence process completed by Sierra Planning and Management that will verify that operating impacts and community use and cycling legacy requirements are satisfactory and meet the financial principle associated with this project.

The Town would like to invite all interested cycling stakeholders who could be potential users of the facility to an information session on the Velodrome. Representatives from Infrastructure Ontario, who will be the project managers for the Velodrome, will be in attendance to do a presentation of the proposed conceptual plan and answer any questions. Representatives from TO2015, Sierra Planning and Management and the Town of Milton will also be in attendance. The date of the session is Tuesday, January 10th from 4-8pm. The formal presentation will take place at 4pm and repeated again at 6pm. The session will take place at the Milton Sports Centre in the Optimist Room and is located at 605 Santa Maria Boulevard.

At the session on January 10th, contact information for interested parties will be collected and interviews will be arranged for January 12th either daytime or evening depending on what works well for each group. At the interviews, it is expected that each group be prepared to offer insight into their potential utilization of the facility that will assist in developing the business plan outcomes.

We look forward to your participation on January 10th. It is the cycling community that will be the driving force to ensure the Velodrome is viable and a lasting legacy for many years after the games. Please forward this email to any groups who would be potential users of the Velodrome that we may have missed.

Please RSVP to [email protected] or 905-878-7252 ext.2581 by January 5th. Please indicate if you are representing a group and how many will be in attendance from your group.

Here is a track cycling masterclass from Victoria Pendleton:

SCOTT Acquires Syncros
Press Release: SCOTT Sports today announced it will shift gears in the aftermarket bike accessories business and take over the Syncros brand to become a major supplier in the parts and accessories market. Syncros was founded in 1986 by Peter Hamilton and Pippin Osborne as a small, high-end components company on Vancouver’s North Shore. After a few changes in ownership, Tom Ritchey made the most recent buy in 2003, and under his guidance, Syncros returned to its roots as a leading manufacturer of high end mountain bike components focused on the All Mountain, Freeride, and Downhill categories.

SCOTT will give Syncros the necessary support to design outstanding products and will enlarge the line by expanding into Cross Country and Road categories. A dedicated design and engineering team has been created, and they have already begun developing innovative products for future Syncros lines. The products will be built to reflect SCOTT’s high standards for technology while also keeping top-to-bottom integration in mind. This type of product integration will cultivate new levels of innovation, adding further value to SCOTT bikes.

“We have always believed that the Syncros name has had an excellent image in the industry,” adds SCOTT Sports Vice President, Pascal Ducrot. “Our priority was to find a way to increase our offering of parts and accessories while still maintaining our relationship with Ritchey, our long-term partner. The purchase of Syncros was the perfect solution and we look forward to offering our dealers a full line of new parts and accessories with the same high quality standards as our bikes.”

Syncros will be distributed through the SCOTT network of dedicated dealers around the globe. SCOTT currently offers dealers a full range of bikes, clothing, bike shoes, and helmets. The addition of Syncros parts and accessories will further strengthen this package, giving dealers more to offer. SCOTT will present the complete range of new Syncros products to the public during the 2012 Eurobike show.

This is; Scott Win your next bike commercial. Directed by Johan Coopman, produced by 4-WERK:

And this is the famous film director Ridley Scott’s first film,”Boy & Bicycle” from 1965:

Santini opens US Subsidiary
Press Release: Santini Maglifico Sportivo announced Tuesday that they have opened a distribution office in the United States. The new subsidiary gives Santini a direct presence in the U.S. with the goal of increasing the company’s overall market share in the region.
The 47-year-old high-end cycle clothing manufacturer’s U.S. distribution arm is the company’s fourth territorial subsidiary following Santini France (opened in 1985), Santini Germany (1991), and Santini Benelux (2009). Santini clothing is distributed directly in Italy and through a network of distributors in most other major global territories.

Managing Director of Santini Maglifico Sportivo, Monica Santini, daughter of founder Pietro Santini, says opening the U.S. office was a natural progression of the company’s long-term plans. “We’ve always known that Santini could do much better in the U.S.,” she says. “We’ve tried different distribution approaches there in the past but we’ve learned that sometimes the best way to create the momentum that is needed to grow a market to its full potential is to invest in a direct office. We’ve committed to build a direct U.S. distribution company for Santini and have great hopes for our growth in the US.”

The new subsidiary is headed by former Future Publishing executive Steve Medcroft. “Being asked to drive Santini’s business in the U.S. is an exciting opportunity,” Medcroft says. “It’s an incredible brand that is underrepresented here. Mr. Santini has worked tirelessly to build the brand’s profile – sponsoring Word Tour teams like Katusha, Vacansoleil, and the new Australian super team GreenEDGE, as well as serving as clothing supplier to the UCI and the Giro D’ Italia. His commitment to producing world class products under tight quality control by manufacturing exclusively in Italy means that Santini clothing is meant for cyclists who care about quality and understand how apparel technology can impact their performance.
“There is a segment of the American cycling community that is ideally served by a brand like Santini and I want to honor those riders and the retailers that serve them by bringing a proper and professional focus to the U.S. market for Santini.”

Santini US is open for business as of January 2nd. “Our first mission is to build a network of retailers,” Medcroft says. “We believe the Santini message will resonate with discerning buyers but our success depends on establishing positive working relationships with the retailers that serve those buyers. So we have initially focused on creating a sound business proposition for retailers and are actively building our network. We also plan to spend as much time and energy as we can sharing the Santini story and products with consumers to drive demand to those retailers.”

Santini US will warehouse select in-line inventory in Arizona to speed supply to retailers and coordinate all US-based custom clothing orders. The company is also working with Shopatron to create a direct-to-consumer presence that builds online sales to benefit participating dealers.

Interested retailers should contact Santini US directly at www.santini-us.com, [email protected] or (623) 628-4500.

Goodbye Fausto!
January the 2nd was the anniversary of the death of “Il Campionissimo” Fausto Coppi, one of the best cyclists of all time and probably the first “Super Stars” of cycling. His wins were phenomenal, five Giro’s, two Tour’s, World champ, Hour Record and nearly every Classic on the calendar. His personal life was shocking at the time as he had an affair with the “Lady in White” and lived with her during a time when that sort of thing was; just not done! Even the Pope got involved and told Coppi to return to his wife. Coppi maybe shouldn’t have died when he did and there have been many stories and investigations concerning the details, but he contracted malaria when in Burkina Faso, Africa. He was misdiagnosed with bronchitis and died when Raphael Geminiani, who also had the same illness, lived. For sure he was the best cyclist in history….until Eddy Merckx came along!

Here is a documentary on Fausto Coppi, its long and in Italian, but a great watch.

2011 Rapha Festive 500
PEZ-Fan Brian Sacawa took part in the Rapha Festive 500 and created this short video of his participation – which is also a great reminder about why we ride our bikes…

“Over 3000 cyclists from around the world participated in the 2011 Rapha Festive 500 Challenge and I was one of them. When the dust settled, I had logged 556 total kilometers, which ranked me 411th out of those over 3000 riders in terms of distance. But as all cyclists know, it’s not the goal that matters so much as the journey we take to get there. This is a video documenting that journey.”

2011 Rapha Festive 500 from Brian Sacawa on Vimeo.

---

Any comments drop me a line, email address: [email protected] or Twitter. And there is the PezCyclingNews Twitter and Facebook Fan Page.