Vacation Time

Sorry my readers but I will be gone for two to three days. I might be able to place a post on Sunday depending my location. Don't expect the post though it is unlikely. I am sorry for the inconvenience. I hope my past posts can be enough to keep you all busy. Have a good weekend and have a good weekend full of cycling thanks. Oh yeah it's only six days till the tour starts.
Thanks,
Seamus

Tour de France Squad updates.

Well some more teams have released their rosters for the Tour de France. Some very important names have been left out of the rosters. This is due to the connection to steroids usage. This is a good sign that the Tour is going to be cleaned up. They are on the right track to cleaning up the cycling world. The sooner it is cleaned up the better. I hope more teams follow the examples of the likes of Astana.

Astana Squad

1. Antonio Colom
2. Maxim Iglinskiy
3. Serguei Ivanov
4. Andrey Kashechkin
5. Andreas Kloden
   
6. Daniel Navarro
7. Gregory Rast
8. Paolo Savoldelli
   
9. Alexandre Vinoourov

Saunier Duval-Prodir Squad

1. David Canada
2. Fran Ventoso
3. Iban Mayo
4. David de la Fuente
5. Juan Jose Cobo
6. Iker Camano
7. Buben Lobato
8. Christophe Rinero
9. David Millar

T-Mobile Squad

1. Michael Rogers
2. Mark Cavendish
3. Marcus Burghardt
4. Linus Gerdemann
5. Kim Kirchen
6. Bernhard Eisel
7. Axel Merckx
8. Giuseppe Guerini
9. Patrick Sinkewitz
   

No news but I'm Angry

Nothing to report on other than that it's one week till the Tour de France's start. Here is my angry report on Shimano Disk Brakes. I absolutely hate them. My major problem with these brakes are the adjustment capabilities. The shimano only can be adjusted with the mounting bolts. Where as many other brands have the capabilities to adjust the pad width. The shimano doesn't. This causes great difficulty to be able to stop the rubbing of the rotor with the pads. I would much rather choose any other maker than Shimano. I would much like to advise any purchaser of disk brakes to buy Sram's brand Avid. Avid now produces theses sweet Carbon Fiber levers to go with the Avid Juicy Seven Brakes. Go buy them instead please for the sake of stopping the rubbing.

The Discovery Team Announces Tour De France Squad

Well today Johan Bruyneel announced the team which he will bring with him the Tour de France. It will include the notables of Levi Leipheimer and George Hincapie. Also Valdimir Gusev did guarantee his spot among the nine riders thanks to his win in a stage of the Tour de Suisse. Here is the complete list of all nine riders attending.

1. Levi Leipheimer
2. George Hincapie
3. Alberto Contador
4. Benjamin Noval
5. Egoi Martinez
6. Sergio Paulinho
7. Tomas Vaitkus
8. Valdimir Gusev
9. Yaroslav Popovych

Shimano Dual Control Shifters

Today I am going to make my review on the Shimano LX Dual Control Shifters. I have recently been able to take these levers out on the trail to test. I was very impressed. With the combination of shifting and braking off of the same lever is genius. The ability of never having to move your fingers to use separate brake levers and shifters allows for less concentration need to operate while riding. It also is very easy for a road cyclist to switch to mountain biking because this lever system is just like a road bikes. This I know from experience because I recently purchased a mountain bike with these Shifters. The shifters do come with a thumb shifter but is not needed since the actual lever will move in both directions. Here is a photo of the levers provide from the Shimano website. All the specs can be found at http://bike.shimano.com/.

Sorry for the past post

I am sorry for the past post that I made. I made a few mistake that I take full responsibility for. I have just revised the entry to its proper form. Once again I am sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you Seamus

Pereiro's doping? or something like that

Well there is no races that I felt were worth updating you on but I have got some more gossip. Today's gossip surronds Oscar Pereiro's talked about defualt win of the Tour de France if Landis is found guilty. Now Oscar has been underfire recently for if he is award the title of winner. People all say that Floyd was doping because of his tremendous comeback in the mountains, not saying that Floyd is not guilty or is guilty I'm just pointing out facts, people started to say he was doping. Well here is some news Oscar had a 30 minute comeback as well during the tour to become the runner-up. Not only did he do the a simular unthinkable comeback as Landis did its just people blew Landis's comeback out of proportion. It leads me to find that the Europeans are being very hypocritical of any American rider. They are just mad that USA has dominated the beloved tour. I'm thinking that Oscar has been juicing a little as well. But this whole topic is very shady so I'll leave it at that and let you develop your own opinion. But something must be done to end this on going problem within the cycling world.

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Discovery's Team sponser? and the Tour de Suisse

Well Tour de Suisse has concluded with a win by Vladimir Karpets. He beat out his teammate Vladimir Efimkin by 1 minute and 41 seconds to gain the overall lead and took the victory. Efimkin dropped from first overall to a disappointing 5th after controlling the lead for so long. Fabian Cancellara took the win of the stage today with a twenty second lead to Andreas Kloden. There is a lot of talk surrounding the sponsorship of Discovery Team. As of the end of this year Discovery Channel's 3 year deal with the Discovery team terminates. Johan Bruyneel has said they are not worried about the sponsorship. They has been some gossip that the sponsor may come from China due to the ties that the team has made there recently. They have just got a new rider from the country. If I hear anything I will update all of you on it immediately.

Tour de Suisse and Landis? 1 month anny

Today is also 1 month anniversary of the cyclist blog. Keep on reading my readers. Well the second to last stage of the Tour de Suisse has been won by Rigoberto Uran. This 20 year old rider from the questionalble team Unibet.com. He attacked near the 500 meter mark and beat out the likes of Andreas Kloden. Also Vladimir Efimkin has remained in the overall lead with 24 second to Kim kirchen. The tour will end tomorrow 33.5 kilometer time trail. From an comment I have received I am also going to direct my attention to the Floyd Landis Trail. We are still awaiting the verdict. There has been no news since the attack that Landis's business manager, Will Geoghegan, made towards Greg Lemonds secret. This all happened on the 24 of may. As soon as I receive info on the case I will let you all know.

Gusev takes Charge at the Swiss Mountains

Today Discovery Team's rider, Vladimir Gusev, took the stage win in the mountains of Switzerland. The young Russian rider took aim and beat the Field to the finish with a 2 minute and 2 second lead. This win now guaranteed Gusev to be added to Team Discovery's 9 man team at the Tour de France. Another notable mention was Christopher Horner taking second place today at the stage. The American was the only rider from the Predictor-Lotto team to place in the top 10 of today's stage. Vladimir Efimkin took ninth today and remained in the lead of the Tour de Suisse. He has a lead of 24 seconds to Kim Kirchen. Kim has recently become a threat moving up through the ranks to take his spot in second place. Tomorrow's stage is 152.5 kilometer.

Updates and the Tour de Suisse

Well I have completed my updates. The new features include the survey at my left side of the page as well as the new subscription box which is also on the left. The survey will help me help you find the topics that will most interest you. Also the subscription box allows you to enter your address into it and I will updates a program which will allow me to send you my new posts through a mailing list. I hope you like the new features please let me know if you have comments. I am also working on creating a poll which will ask you which opinion on certain races. It will be up and running by the Tour de France. Well back to the cycling news. Andy Schleck lost his lead today overall to Vladimir Efimkin by 21 seconds. He now is in third place following Jose Angle Gomez Marchante in second. The stage winner today is the young Tomas Dekker. He is a 22 year old rider from Rabobank. He won by a total of 8 seconds. Today's stage was cut short due to bad weather in the morning. It started to hail which means that riding is pretty treacherous. It was cut from the original 190.8 kilometers to just 95. Tomorrows stage is supposed to be 125.7 kilometer long. This of coarse depends on if mother nature decides to change that again.

Working hard to Change

Well, today I will be taking the cyclist blog and adding new features to it. It will be all updated and fixed with any problems that I am a where of. I will of coarse update you readers later with all the race coverage when I am finished fixing and expanding my blog. If you have a comment about a feature of addition you would like to edit or change on the cyclist blog let me know through my email at thecyclistblog88@yahoo.com or thecyclistblog@gmail.

Thanks for your understanding,

Seamus the Admin. of The Cyclist Blog

Dauphine Libere and Tour de Suisse

Well I'm back sorry for that short leave I had to take. It's just when summer comes I take trips which do include cycling but I leave home for a days at a time. Enough about me I've got a lot of race coverage to tell you. Well the Dauphine Libere has concluded, during my leave, but the winner is... Christophe Moreau. This is his second victory of the French race. He now can gain the ranks of Lance Armstrong who also has completed this feat. Also I was unaware that the Tour deSuisse has also started. I am deeply sorry I fell behind on my reporting I will try not to let it happen again. The fifth stage ended with Robbie McEwen taking the win with the sprint. But my man of the CSC team Frank Schleck remaining in the overall lead. Andy has a lead of 49 seconds to the second and third placed racers. Tomorrow's stage is a grueling 191 kilometer. I will return tomorrow with all the updates from the Tour De Suisse.

Short leave

Sorry but my busy life has taken my time away again today. I will have to take a short leave for up to two days from now. I have no race updates due to that the Dauphine Libere is still under way as we speak. I will return with all the news I missed and I am very sorry its just that during summer my time gets cut short.

New Dauphine Leader!!

Today Moreau takes the lead of the Dauphine Libere from Kashechkin. Zabriski has retained his spot in 5th place. Once again today's stage was won by a rider from Astana team. It was Maxim Iglinskiy. He claimed first place a 51 seconds. Today's post is really short because I am short on time but I promise I will make up for it tomorrow if time permits.

Race Coverage and Basso

Andrey Kashechkin remains in the lead today after stage 4 was completed todayof the Dauphine Libere. Andrey has expanded his lead from 8 seconds to 14 seconds. Astana showed a strong finish today with taking the first two places today in stage 4. Colom came in first place and Vinokourov took second. Leipheimer and Zabriski are still placed at 6th and 5th place in that order. Once again steroids are back in the news this time its a big name that is involved. Former Discovery Channel member Ivan Basso has ban banned by the Italian Cycling Federation for two years. This is another big blow that has been dealt to cycling in the recent month following all of the Telekom members admitting use of steroids. Basso was suspended due to his involvement in Operacion Puerto.

New Author and Dauphine

Today I would like everyone to welcome my newest author to the Cyclist Blog. He is my coworker and I hope all you readers enjoy his input. Anyway Moreau one today's treacherous stage four. He took the win atop the legendary Ventoux climb. He crossed the finish a full 1 minute and 8 seconds ahead of Sylvester Szmyd. Another notable finish is Levi Leipheimer in eighth place today. Moreau also cut his overall time to 14 seconds behind Kasheckin who took the lead today . I'll return tomorrow with the stage 5 results.

Dauphine Time Trail

Dauphine Time Trial has been completed today. Alexandre Vinokourov won the TT by a total of 9 seconds. David Zabriske placed third and Levi Leimpheimer placed eighth place. Vinokourov now has taken the overall lead from Moreau. Alexandre has a slight lead be 2 seconds in the overall category. Tomorrows stage is a blistering 197 kilometer stage. It will include three cat. 4 climbs before they riders will reach to treacherous Ventoux climbs. If you can get this on TV I would recommend watching this stage. O yeah an update on my guest author. I am still awaiting his approval and I will let you know ASAP of any knowledge I get on his approval.

Dauphine Report

The second stage of the Dauphine Libere has concluded today with a win from Christophe Moreau. He also snatched the lead away from Bradley Wiggins. Moreau now has a lead of seven seconds over second place. Other notable names in the overall standings would be Levi Leipheimer at 25 seconds out, his teammate George Hincapie is 26 seconds out, and David Zabriskie is 27 seconds out. All three are in the top eight overall. Tomorrow is a shorter stage, 40.7 kilometer time trial, is expected to be exciting.

Dauphine Coverage

Well the first stage of the Dauphine Libere took place today. It ended with a fantastic sprint. Favorites like Tom Boonen where beat to the line by Heinrich Haussler from the Gerolsteiner. This is Haussler third year in the pros and this is quite a awesome feat for such a young rider. He beat out some major talent that's expected to win the Tour De France this year. The Briton Bradley Wiggins still remains in the lead following yesterday's prologue. After today's stage tomorrows is a 157 kilometer stage. There will be a few climbs tomorrow but relatively a less interesting stage because with the hills there will most likely not be a sprint. I will see you all tomorrow my readers I have also just added a new author today I am still awaiting his approval by invitation so I'll let you know If he joins. He is my coworker so I value his opinions and views.

Pictures of Epic and Brain

Well here are to pictures I promised. I know I was a little slow at posting but here they are.

The Brain system. Go down a few post I've got the info on it.
The Epic as a whole.

Prologue

Dauphine Libere prologue ended today. The 4.5 kilometer time trail was won by the Briton Bradley Wiggins. He edged out Levi Leipheimer by one second and Levi's teammate George Hincapie was out by another two seconds. Also fellow American David Zabriskie of CSC rounded out the top six. Tomorrow the first stage will start. It will be a 219 kilometer stage. Tom Boonen also finished just out of the top five in seventh position just to let you know. Lets go all American riders and Team CSC I'm behind you.

Levi and T-Mobile

Well today is another slow day as we wait for the races to start again but I found out the pictures I talked about yesterday will be up tomorrow. Also T-Mobile is trying to drop there sponsorship for the Tour De France following the doping problems from then team Telekom which is now T-Mobile. Also Levi Leipheimer is the defending champion of the Dauphine Libere which starts today. He is a heavy favorite for that win and also the Tour De France. Plus hes a fellow American. Good luck Levi i rooting for you. I will see you all tomorrow for the race updates and pictures.

Vandenbroucke and Pictures

I will have pictures for you soon of the last post I made referring to the Specialized Epic. I also have one of the brain system. Well cycling was pretty slow today, but I went a ride myself. It was pretty intense. Any ways about he only new is that Vandenbroucke is now said to be "out of danger" after a apparent suicide attempt. He is going through a rough time and I hope he can over come his troubles. I will return tomorrow with hopefully more news on anything but cyclist was just slow on this fine Friday afternoon.

Specialized Epic

The Epic MTB from Specialized. Maybe the coolest new MTB out on the market. This thing is gonna dominate the XC races. Specialized has created the Brain system for the rear shock. It works just like the terralogic from fox shocks if your wondering. If you have no clue what I'm talking about well I'll put it in lamans terms. The brain works by locking the rear shock when the rider is pedaling. When terrain changes the lockout will cease and the shock will be fully functional. When I tested this new tech out I was quite satisfied. With the combination of the fox shock with terralogic in the front creates one mean XC bike. The components will vary from model to model but they are all work up to my standards for an XC bike for the price of the model. If I could buy one now I would but I still own my Scott Scale so. If you like what you hear about the Epic go to specialized.com for more information.

Velo Vie Bikes?

Well today I found a relatively new road bike producer. Velo Vie cycles. They only produce high end cycles but they appear to be structurally sound. Through the pictures that I view today the all carbon frames are quite strong appearing. I have yet got to test ride one so when I do I can get back to you with more info. Velo Vie only sell frames, forks, and headsets. It is up to you to purchase the components that you would like to mount on it yourself. So this will leave you with a lot of options to choose from. Also T-Mobile team will leave Honchar off the roster for the 2007 Tour De France. This is all spurred from the allegations against Honshar for you guess what. 'Roids.

'Roids again and Cateye Review

Sorry but I'm gonna touch on the steroids topic again. Well Erik Zabel has announced that he will not take part in next years Olympic games in Beijing. Also Michele Scarponi will be banned for 18 months. Operacion Puerto's connections to the cyclist has led the Italian Olympic Committee to place this suspension on Scarponi. Well enough with this doping topic. Well my review on the Dual Wireless Cycling Computer from Cateye is done. I have found that the heart rate monitor opinion was the one I would want. It offers plenty of functions. All the basics are covered quite well. It also has capabilities for keeping TT time, Heart rate functions, laps, and many others. The harness that hold the heart rate monitor is quite comfortable. It is attached to a elastic strap which holds the measuring pads efficiently against your chest. After a few minutes of riding I didn't even notice that I had it on. The most important feature is that is wireless. Well you probably could have guessed that but I felt just in case you were confused I would say it. The magnetic wheel sensor also is a little larger than to be desired but it gets the job done. Well that all I got for you tonight continue on readin'.

If you have comments on my review feel free to say them and criticize. The average consumer should here others opinions. Thanks Seamus

The Giro and Sram

Well I am glad to see that the Giro has concluded today. I applaud Di Luca in his victory by fighting off the impressive showing by Andy Schleck. Andy's my home boy from CSC so I'm natural gonna root for him but any ways he is 22 years of age and by finishing second shows hes got plenty of potential for the future. Also today I was browsing the Internet and I happened to check out Sram's website. I was very impressed with the what I saw that was coming from the Force group. I would love to place those sleek new carbon levers on my ride. I have only heard great things about them as well. While browsing the Internet I also came across that there is an recall on some lefty forks from Cannondale. It includes the lefty speed carbon sl and the lefty speed DLR2. If you ride these forks takem in. They are coming apart while riding them. There is more info on Cannondales website go check it out if it affects you.

ALL NEW MADONE FROM TREK

Well the all new Madone from Trek has been released. They have increased the 68mm bottom bracket to a 90mm one. This will strengthen the tubing around the region as will it increase the efficiency of your drivetrain. They have also increased the strength within the fork. The frame has also gone under many improvements as well. The junctions between the exist on the frame have increased in diameter and stiffness. Now its 25o grams lighter with a weight just a little over 1400 grams. Some real interesting addition Trek has made it is the integrated speed sensor. They have created a space within the fork to place the sensor in it to increase the aerodynamics and a cleaner look. If you would like to see more information on the Madone visit Treks website at trekbikes.com

Results

Many important races have now conclude today or early this week. Di Luca was able to maintain his lead in the Giro and took an eight place finish today. I would like to congratulate him on his success. Also the Ronde de l'Isard conclude on the 29th of may in France. Our very own USA National Development Team rider John Devine won it by 49 seconds. Fabiana Luperini won this year's Montreal World Cup race for the women edging out American Mara Abbott today. Also some real breaking news just came out. Jan Ullrich may be striped of his Olympic medals from the Sydney, Australia games. This will occur if the IOC can prove that Jan took performance enhancing 'roids to help him get his medals.

Sorry and the Giro plus the new addition announcement

I am very sorry I haven't been able to update this in a while. I have contracted a cold and it has left me bed stricken for the past few days. Well anyway to no surprise Di Luca has maintained his lead through the Giro. Lately the racing has been very wet thanks to the recent storms in Europe. Some real major news that involved the steroid use again has surfaced lately. Erik Zabel has just announced that he will retire form professional cycling following his recent announcement that he took steroids in the 1990's. The German sprinter will continue to race with Milram team till the end of the 2007 season. The defending Champion Nathan O'Neill has won the Mt. Hood time trial and has gain the overall lead. Starting next week I will start a new tradition and give my opinion on some gear each and every week. It will range from components to clothing. I hope you enjoy the new tradition and keep reading my blog.