Goldilocks & the Three Gruppos

Here at Bikepedia, one of the first things about the 2009 gruppos that we discussed at the water cooler was the shape & ergonomics of the new Double Tap, Ergopower Ultra Shift, & STI shift/brake hoods. We, like every other rider out there, had our own distinct hood-shape preference, including some retrogrouchy comments about how maybe we liked the old 8spd levers the best.

"This one's too long."
"That one's too short."
"Oh, if they would do X, Y, & Z to the hood, this one would be just right."

Now, we don't want to be the only ones having fun, so get your friends together, take a look at the pictures below, and let the fun begin!







The 2009 Sram Red hood.


























The 2009 Campagnolo Super Record hood.



















For comparison: The 2008 Campagnolo Record hood (image size is much smaller!)














The 2009 Shimano Dura-Ace hood.






















For comparison: The 2008 Shimano ST-7800 Dura-Ace hood (image size is much smaller!)









So, what do you all think?

Gap Fire Photos

Courtesy of Ray Ford, here.

Goleta Gap Fire

Exciting times here in Goleta. The Gap fire, which started Tuesday night around 6pm, has now consumed around 250 acres. There are mandatory & recommended evacuations for areas that are but a few miles from us.

The fire is in the rugged, steep parts of the Los Padres National Forest and as of right now, the fire fighting is mostly aerial.

For more news, you can visit InciWeb.
The Gap fire is incident #1384.

Further Discussions Regarding EPO Testing

Cologne lab responds to EPO study.

We mentioned this study in our brief post about the Landis decision on Monday. The original International Herald Tribune article: "Study shows problems with Olympic-style tests".

The International Herald Tribune has also published what we assume to be a follow-up to their first article: "IOC says Beijing anti-doping program will be the most comprehensive in sports history".

Rasmussen

Rasmussen suspended:

"A UCI spokesman said the UCI had received notification of the ban from the Monaco federation, with whom Rasmussen has a licence, during the day Tuesday. The ban will run from the date of his exclusion of last year's Tour and hence will run till July 25 2009."

Rasmussen scores a win in Dutch court:

"Rasmussen, who lost his license for two years on Tuesday for lying about his whereabouts in the lead-up to the 2007 Tour de France, won a partial victory in a wrongful dismissal suit he filed against Rabobank for kicking him out of the race and firing him within days.

The 34-year-old Danish rider had instituted proceedings for unlawful dismissal against his former team sponsor, demanding damages of 5.5 million euros. On Wednesday, a judge in Utrecht ruled that while Rabobank had been entitled to dismiss Rasmussen from the team, it had failed to follow procedures in doing so."

Some of the 2009 Specialized Langsters

The Specialized Las Vegas Langster.













The Specialized San Francisco Langster.











The Specialized Tokyo Langster.














These images are now all over the place but we originally found them at The Bicycle Escape's blog.

Specialized S-Works Turbo Tubeless

Specialized is going to be producing a road tubeless S-Works Turbo tire and a Tubeless Roval wheelset for 2009. The Turbo Tubeless tire will be compatible with all currently produced road tubeless wheelsets (including the Campagnolo Two-Way Fit Shamal Ultra & Eurus).

Initial details are limited but the S-Works Turbo Tubeless should tip the scales at 290gms & retail around $60.

Rock starts catastrophic injury fund for cyclists

Rock starts catastrophic injury fund for cyclists: "Rock Racing owner Michael Ball is creating a professional cycling catastrophic injury fund, and the edgy, often-controversial fashion magnate and former bike racer is challenging other teams to join him in his latest pursuit.

Ball will not reveal his personal contribution, only saying it's "in the hundreds of thousands,'' and that he'd like to see the fund collect $20 million over the next two years."

Originally from VeloNews.

"Bear mauls girl during mountain bike race"

"Grizzly suspected in attack along trail during 24-hour event in Alaska."

As someone who has participated in a couple of 24-hour events, I'm glad to say that my exposure to wildlife at 24-hour races is limited to small rabbits and field mice darting through the singletrack at 3am and wandering members of Team Hamana.
All pretty tame compared to being mauled by a bear.

We hope that the rider heals up & is able to get back on the bike soon.

Landis Etc.

From Cyclingnews.com, "The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland announced today its decision regarding ex-Tour de France winner Floyd Landis vs. US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). The court ruled against Landis, ending his fight to clear his name and regain his Tour victory. Landis will have to serve the full two-year suspension that is back-dated to January 30, 2007. Additionally, Landis was ordered to pay $100,000 in costs to the USADA."
The full CAS judgment, should you care to read all 58 pages of it, can be found here.


From the International Herald Tribune, "Study shows problems with Olympic-style tests", namely, "a urine test that is supposed to detect the drug [EPO], and that will be used in the Tour de France next month and in the Olympics in August, is likely to miss it, the study says."
The article describes testing procedures that will be used during the upcoming Olympic games as well as during the Tour de France and discusses the problems, both real and potential, in the testing procedures.