Star sprinter Mark Cavendish of Team HTC-Columbia finally got his first-ever win in a road race this season as he grabbed the 2nd stage victory at the 2010 Volta a Catalunya last Tuesday.

The British rider has had a rough start to his 2010 season, as he was beset by dental and medical problems as well as numerous crashes in the races. However, he seemed to have broken the jinx as he finally found himself on top of the podium as the winner of the Catalunya scond stage. Cavendish finished in front of Team Saxo Bank’s Juan Jose Haedo and Spanish rider Aitor Galdos, who finished in second and third place respectively.

Cavendish is in unfamiliar territory this year as his 2009 season was unlike what he is undergoing now. At this point of the season last year, he had already grabbed six victories, including the Milan-San Remo classic,…

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Cameron Meyer of Team Garmin-Transitions will be using a new handlebar from 3T for the track world championships in Australia.

The new product is called the Sphinx. It has a flat aero, top section that rises before curving downwards. Thin aero profiles are found in between the end of the hooks and the bends of this UCI-friendly bar.

The handlebar was named the Sphinx for the flat forearm position of points of racers. 3T developed this item with Meyer.

Richard McAinsh, a technical director of 3T, explains how they worked with Meyer on the conception of the handlebar. “We know Cameron through Team Garmin-Transitions. He came to us and explained how he rides the points race, alternating between level high speed and all-out sprinting. We saw the chance to use a new UCI-compliant aerofoil we were developing.”

A rider can somehow copy a road position with the raised bends. The wrists are positioned on…

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The TransWales mountain bike stage race will be a new challenge for riders joining the event this year. The race boasts of a new course that will cover 500km of some of the trails ranked best in the world.

The Gore Bike Wear TransWales powerd by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport will be held on August 14 to 21 at Builth Wells, Pwys, Wales. The event will test the racers in five stages. There will also be a 1km hillclimb that will take place in Radnor Hills and another highlight would be a downhill time trial on the Climax trail at Machynlleth.

Mike Wilkens is the brains behind the TransWales event. He sees the race as an inspiration for cyclists who wish to show the world their talents in endurance racing. It is also known to be one of the most challenging races in the UK mountain biking calendar.

For avid mountain bikers, the Gore…

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With the 2009 best team title under their belt, the Holowesko Partners Under-23 Development Team hopes to have history repeat itself this year at the Redlands Bicycle Classic.

Alex Howes, the Under-23 US National Road and Criterium Champ, is confident that they can attain the goal of best team title once more. “We are coming to race, not to be pack fill. We have to set the goals high. Last year when we won it that was a big surprise for us so maybe we will surprise ourselves again this year.”

The four stages of the Redlands will be on March 25-28 in California. It also marks the start of the National Racing Calendar. There will be almost 200 riders from 26 teams participating in the race.

The riders for Holowesko Partners are Howes, Peter Salon, Caleb Fairly, Taylor Sheldon, Andrei Krasilnikau, Lachlan Morton, Danny Summerhill and Raymond Kreder.

Howes hopes to bring a…

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Reigning world road race champion Cadel Evans is looking forward to racing in the 2010 Giro d’Italia, and is particularly setting his sights on what he called the “interesting stages” of the race, referring to the mountain stages such as the Strade Bianche, the Plan de Corones, and the Zoncolan.

Evans has been strongly developing his form all throughout the season, and has been getting highly-placed finishes in the races he’s been in, including 5th place in the GP dell’Insubria, plus 3rd overall in the Tirreno-Adriatico, both in the points standings and in the final classification.

Aside from his strong form, Evans has also enjoyed a more relaxing atmosphere with his new team at BMC. The team was apparently built to support him, and Evans himself says that he feels a lot more respected here as compared to his previous team.

John Lelangue, the directeur sportif, has said that they…

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The Omega Pharma-Lotto is under extreme pressure to garner a win. With the Belgium classics just around the corner, the team has nothing to show for this season yet.

Only two teams are left in the Pro Tour teams that have not won anything. Eukaltel-Euskadi joins the Belgian team on this unfortunate state. There are 39 Pro Tour and Professional Continental teams and out of them, there are 8 teams with no wins yet. BMC and Omega Pharma-Lotto are the only major classics team included in the group with zero victories.

Mostly, victory is just within the team’s reach. For instance, Jurgen Van den Broek nearly won the Ruta del Sol but only finished second on the two attempts. At the Volta ao Algarve, Mickael Delage and Jurgen Roelandts only came second on the stages too. The team leader of Omega Pharma-Lotto Philippe Gilbert also did his best to win…

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The Pan American Mountain Bike Championships is expecting an increase on this year’s attendance. 21 delegations have given their confirmation for the event on April 7 to 11 in Guatemala. The PanAm serves as the Continental Championships in North America as well as its neighbors in the South and Central America.

The course for the cross-country, downhill and four cross races are now complete. It is ready to accept the brunt of competing cyclists. The course for cross-country was tested recently by local racers. The route is 4 miles long.

Assigned by UCI, the commissioners for the race are Ludwig Johanssen, Josee Bedard and Simon Burney. Johanssen will oversee anti-doping campaigns with 36 anti-doping control stations for the event. Bedard will be heading up the panel of commissioners and Burney is the technical delegate.

The race headquarters will be located at the Hotel and Conference Center Conquistador. This is where technical meetings, accreditation…

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