Month: September 2009

Alison Shanks

Richard MasonerSeptember 12, 20092 Comments on Alison Shanks

Track racer Alison Shanks of New Zealand won the gold medal in the UCI Track Cycling World Championships Individual Pursuit in Beijing this last winter.

Alison Shanks Portrait Session

Shanks began cycling in 2005, and soon thereafter she finished fourth in the individual pursuit at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and placed 7th at the World Championships that same year. Shanks represented New Zealand in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she placed 4th in the individual pursuit.

Alison Shanks Portrait Session

Elsewhere:

Posted In women 2009

Tour of Missouri: Zabriskie takes the lead

Richard MasonerSeptember 11, 2009Leave a Comment

Current Standings Here

0615_Zebriskie_1st_St5_TT_PhSpt_sm

David Zabriskie sets flying time trial to win stage and yellow jersey
Photo by John Pierce – Photosport International

SEDALIA, MO − (September 11, 2009) – The Individual Time Trial at the Missouri State Fairgrounds proved to be a playground for four-time U.S. Pro ITT champion David Zabriskie today, winning by 30 seconds over Sweden’s Gustav Larsson (Saxo Bank). American Tom Zirbel (Bissell Pro Cycling) finished third, 44 seconds behind Zabriskie. The Tour of Missouri win at Stage 5, presented by Missouri’s Electric Cooperatives, propels the Garmin-Slipstream rider into the Missouri Tourism Leader’s Jersey heading into the final weekend.

“I looked at the first 3k and the last 3k (in preparation). The rest was pretty straightforward and not too technical. I was able to hold speed on the rollers and the last part was probably the hardest with the wind,” said Zabriskie, a Salt Lake City, Utah, resident, who finished in a time of 36 minutes, 30.49 seconds. “We have two days left here and I we know what we have to do. I think the team is very strong and we’ll be able to do it (in Kansas City).”

Today’s Stage 5, presented by Missouri’s Electric Cooperatives, featured a new course for the “race of truth”, a discipline won last year by Tour of Missouri champion Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipstream). The field of 115 pro riders departed one by one in reverse order of the general classification in one-minute intervals, with the Top 10 rolling down the start ramp at the Centennial Gate of the fairgrounds complex in two-minute intervals. Riders completed a total distance of 19-miles (30.6 km), racing the clock across the Pettis County farmland and then fighting a headwind back into Sedalia to the fairgrounds.

Zirbel, set the best time of the day among the first 45 riders. Then Zabriskie, who was sitting in 56th place in the general classification, destroyed the course and kept the top spot for the rest of the afternoon. Larsson, the silver medalist at the ITT in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, made a run at Zabriskie’s time, but had challenges with a strong wind and slow-moving motorbikes on the course in the final three kilometers to take second. Italian Marco Pinotti (Columbia-HTC) narrowly missed the podium, finishing one second behind Zirbel in fourth.

“I tried to take it out a little bit harder the first half. I felt really strong about the second half. All week I’ve been excited about the time trial,” added Zirbel, who has finished second at the USA Cycling Pro ITT Championships in Greenville, S.C. the past two years. “The two who beat me (today) are some of the best in the world and I can’t be too disappointed.”

Zabriskie is now the fourth rider in five days to have worn the Missouri Tourism Leader’s Jersey. Larsson, Zirbel and Pinotti are behind Zabriskie in the G.C. as well, and with a 5th place finish in the ITT, Levi Leipheimer (Astana) moves from 41st to 6th overall in the G.C. Three teams, Saxo Bank, Bissell and Astana, each have two riders in the Top 10. 2007 Tour of Missouri champion George Hincapie (Columbia-HTC) sits in 29th position, 2’17” behind the race leader. Also back in the field are two riders who once adorned the yellow leader’s jersey, Thor Hushovd (Cervelo Test Team) in 60th place, 3’45” back, and J.J. Haedo (Saxo Bank) in 77th place, 4’56” back.

Hushovd will return in Stage 6 to wear the Edward Jones Sprint jersey. Dario Cataldo (QuickStep) continues to wear the 180 Energy/Icelandic Glacial Water Best Young Rider jersey and Moises Aldape (Team Type I) of Mexico continues to sport the Michelob Ultra KOM jersey. The Drury Hotels Most Aggressive Rider jersey was not part of the ITT ceremonies today, but will return for Stage 6.

Stage 6, presented by Wind Capital Group, will begin at 1:00 pm in Chillicothe. The road race features two Edward Jones Sprint lines (Gallatin and Savannah) and one Michelob Ultra KOM just outside the city limits of St. Joseph, the host finish city. The peloton will pass the Bluegrass Ridge Wind Farm, with its 27 turbines in Gentry County that stand majestically a few miles past the Feed Zone.

Posted In tour of missouri 2009

Russell Crowe takes the lane

Richard MasonerSeptember 11, 200910 Comments on Russell Crowe takes the lane

Gladiator Russell Crowe takes the lane where he cycles, whether in Hollywood as shown below or around his home in Sydney, Australia.

Russell Crowe biking around in Hollywood, CA

Russell Crowe goes for his daily bike ride through the streets of Beverly Hills, Ca

When Sydney Confidential gossip columnist Annette Sharp wrote “unkind things about people smoke fags and ride pushies,” Crowe challenged Sharp to a 12 mile bike ride around Sydney.

Sharp rode remarkably well for somebody doing her first bike ride, especially one that long. View the Gladiator vs Gossip Columnist video here. I couldn’t tell what Russel was riding – it looked like something older and he has lights mounted on his bike like a true transportational cyclist — but it appears Sharp was comped a nice full suspension Cannondale.

Tip of the hat to Warren.

Posted In celebrity 2009

Bicycle Highway 17?

Richard MasonerSeptember 11, 200920 Comments on Bicycle Highway 17?

Riding a bicycle on California Route 17 over the Santa Cruz Mountains is legal between Los Gatos and Scotts Valley, but in no way do I recommend trying to share the road on this highway. You’re sharing the road with very heavy high speed traffic which is often moving well beyond the 50 mph speed limit. There are significant stretches with no shoulder and sketchy road edges; many of these narrow lanes are around blind curves.

Even the most aggressively hard core of lane taking vehicular cyclists in the Bay Area will tell you to avoid Highway 17 and take alternate routes. I occasionally see cyclists between Bear Creek Road along Lexington Reservoir and Highway 9 in Los Gatos, but even here I strongly recommend the Los Gatos Greek Trail to Alma Bridge Road to the dirt trail to Old Santa Cruz Highway. As I type this on the northbound Hwy 17 bus we just passed a cyclist pulling a trailer by The Cats.

The cyclists I most often see on 17 seem to be loaded for touring. Is there a bike touring map or guide somewhere that says to take 17 to Santa Cruz?

I saw a report of a bicyclist last night during rush hour of a cyclist on southbound 17. Here are the CHP dispatches:

 5:33PM  BICYCLIST ON RHS, APPEARS SCARED, IN BAD SPOT
 5:33PM  FSP17 ADV SUBJ IS IN BAD SPOT
 6:20PM  FSP17 L/L SVPD 10-97 W/FSP SVPD REQ ETA
 6:40PM  17B / PROVIDING TFC BREAK TO ASSIST BICYCLIST TO NEXT TURN OUT
 6:41PM  17B / REQ FSP RUN BREAK AT VINE HILL

“FSP17” is the courtesy towing service, SVPD is the Scotts Valley Police Department, Vine Hill Road is on the final downhill into Scotts Valley, where the speed limit is 65 MPH and there’s little to no shoulder. The Scotts Valley PD ended up providing an escort to the cyclist to the Granite Creek Road exit.

Avoid Highway 17 on your bike. Take Old Santa Cruz Highway instead, or ride the Highway 17 bus.

Posted In Uncategorized