Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2018 Tour de France | 2018 Giro d'Italia
I learned a long time ago that reality was much weirder than anyone's imagination. - Hunter S. Thompson
Upcoming racing:
- Jan 14 - 21: People's Choice Classic & Tour Down Under
Latest completed racing:
- January 7: GP Leuven Cross
- January 1: GP Sven Nys
- December 30: Diegem Cyclocross
- December 28: Azencross Loenhout
- December 26: Heusden-Zolder Cross
- December 17: Namur Cyclocross (Citadelcross)
- December 16: Scheldecross
- December 10: Vlaamse Druivenveldrit Cross
- December 9: Essen Cyclocross
- December 2: GP Hasselt Cross
Katrin Garfoot takes Women’s Tour Down Under lead after stage two win
Here's the report from Cycling Weekly:
Australian Katrin Garfoot took the hilltop finish on stage two of the 2018 Women's Tour Down Under to assume the overall race lead
Garfoot took the victory on Mengler’s Hill, the race’s first ever hilltop finish. She had joined fellow Australian and former team-mate Lucy Kennedy (Mitchelton-Scott) in leaving their rivals behind on the climb, putting in a hard pace in the rain-swept and blustery conditions.
Kennedy was then distanced slightly on the line as Garfoot celebrated taking the ochre jersey from stage one winner Annette Edmondson (Wiggle-High5), who had finished in 24th spot.
Amanda Spratt (Mitchelton-Scott) took third on the stage, eight seconds behind Garfoot and Kennedy, with team-mate and time trial world champion Annemiek van Vleuten placing fourth to give Mitchelton-Scott three out of the top four riders.
Results
Women’s Tour Down Under 2018, stage two: Lyndoch to Mengler’s Hill, 102km
1. Katrin Garfoot (Aus) UniSA-Australia in 2-43-43
2. Lucy Kennedy (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott, at same time
3. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott, at 8 secs
4. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott, at 15 secs
5. Kate McIlroy (NZl) Specialized Women’s Racing, at 16 secs
General classification after stage two
1. Katrin Garfoot (Aus) UniSA-Australia, in 5-52-26
2. Lucy Kennedy (Aus) Mitchelton Scott, at 4 secs
3. Amanda Spratt (Aus) Mitchelton Scott, at 14 secs
4. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton Scott, at 25 secs
5. Kate McIlroy (NZl) Specialized Women’s Racing,at 26 secs
You can read the entire story here.
Team Dimension Data previews Tour Down Under
Here's the team's report:
The 2018 season kicks off proper for Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka at the UCI World Tour opener, The Santos Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Australia. Now in it’s 20th year, the Santos Tour Down Under gets underway with the traditional People’s Choice Classic Criterium on Sunday 14th January. The six stage World Tour race then gets underway on Tuesday 16 January, ending Sunday 21 January.
Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka are motivated to get the season underway in sunny South Australia, more so with a former winner of the Tour Down now in our squad. After winning in 2013, our new recruit for 2018, Tom-Jelte Slagter returns to the Tour Down Under to lead our African Team over the coming week of racing.
Joining Slagter on our TDU roster will be a good mix of experience and youth as Mark Renshaw, Jaco Venter, Lachlan Morton, Ben O’Connor, Scott Davies and Nic Dlamini all take the start for Team Dimension Data too. For Davies and Dlamini, the Tour Down Under will be a special event as it marks the start of their pro careers for the two neo-pro’s.
For the race itself, our African Team will obviously have one eye on the overall classification with Slagter being suited to the Queen stage of the race. Morton and O’Connor will also be good options for the tougher stages and when it’s a sprint, Renshaw has proven in the past he is able to finish on the stage podium
The Dimension Data riders have been in Adelaide for a few days.
Tom-Jelte Slagter – Rider: "The Tour Down Under is great way to start the season with my new team. So far I am really happy with the team since we met in South Africa last year, everything has been great here as well with everyone working well together. Training has been going well too and it’s really nice to start the season here, in good weather. We have a motivated team, with some Australian’s who are normally in good shape for their home race. We are here to race for the victory or at least the best possible result we can achieve. I have good memories from 2013 and I was here last year as well, so I think with this team we can do a really good and I am ready for it too."
Team Roster for the Santos Tour Down Under 2018:
Tom-Jelte Slagter
Mark Renshaw
Jaco Venter
Lachlan Morton
Ben O’Connor
Nic Dlamini
Scott Davies
Court agrees to move Fox v. SRAM patent case from California to Colorado
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News sent me this:
SAN FRANCISCO (BRAIN) — A U.S. District Court judge in California on Monday ordered that Fox Factory's patent infringement case, filed here in February 2016, be dismissed and moved to a Colorado court. The new location is roughly equidistant between SRAM's headquarters in Chicago and Fox's in California. SRAM also has facilities in Colorado Springs and both companies have told the court they are amenable to moving the case to the state.
Fox is charging that SRAM, in its RockShox products, has infringed on several suspension-related patents, including at least one patent that Fox acquired when it purchased the assets of Marzocchi. SRAM has also sued Fox, in an Illinois court, alleging that Fox, in its Race Face products, infringes on SRAM's patents for its X-Sync chainring chain retention features. SRAM has reached licensing agreements or other settlements with several other component makers over the same issue. There have been no court filings in that case since Fox requested a U.S. Patent Office ruling on validity of the relevant patent in early 2016.
You can read the entire story here.
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary