Lauren Franges (USA), Marina Duvnjak ( New Zealand) and Natalie Bates (Australia) break away from the bunch in stage 4 on the Miramar Coast during the UCI Women's Cycle tour on March 1 in Wellington, New Zealand. Australia's Oenone Wood (Team High Road) won the stage. (Photo by Marty Melville/Getty Images) More
From Business Week: 'Twenty years ago, Stanley Day Jr. was out of work, bumming around the ski slopes of Utah with his best friend, when he came up with an idea for what he might do with his MBA... Why not create shifters at the end of the handlebars?... It was a bust. Cyclists, loyal to the world's leading brands in bicycle components, Campagnolo and Shimano, didn't like the looks of it, even if the technology made sense... Since then, Day has turned Chicago-based SRAM into a manufacturer to be reckoned with in bicycle components — the gears, derailleurs, brakes, and other parts that make a bike work. After catching up with Shimano in the business of mountain-bike components, SRAM in 2006 vaulted into the rarefied parts market for road-racing bikes, the familiar sleek machines of the Tour de France. And last summer one Tour team used SRAM components for the first time.' More / Forbes piece / SRAM
Riders worried over possible UCI sanctions
The Association of Professional Riders (CPA) are reportedly concerned about the possibility of sanctions imposed by the International Cycling Union (UCI) on those who choose to compete in the upcoming Paris-Nice race. More
Mercxk urges UCI and organisers to make peace
Cycling great Eddy Merckx has called on the UCI and event organisers to settle their differences to preserve the sport's dignity. More
Support for Google Maps bike routes petition
A petition to Google calling for bicycle routes in a "Bike There" application for finding directions at Google Maps is apparently gaining a great deal of support. More
It's absurd, says Di Luca of plan to ban him
2007 Giro d'Italia champ Danilo Di Luca has characterised the Italian Olympic Committee's plan to slap a two-year ban on him for doping as "absurd". More
Spanish Vuelta saviour dies at 74
Enrique Franco, who's credited with saving the Vuelta a España in the late 1970s, has reportedly passed away in Spain after a long illness at age 74. More
Confusion at Stage 3 of Volta a Valenciana
The third stage of the Volta a Valenciana reportedly ended in confusion because the peloton split between a highway and a frontage road in the final 5km of the 166.5km climbing course around Ibi. More
A$25,000 reward to catch 'bicycle bandit'
A bank robber in Australia, dubbed the 'bicycle bandit', reportedly has a bounty of A$25,000 on his head. He is said to have pulled off eight armed robberies on ANZ and Bank SA branches in the Adelaide Hills since May 2004. More
Founder of bike lights firm Jet Lites dies in skiing accident
Jet Lites founder Jim Taylor has reportedly died in a skiing accident at Lake Tahoe's Squaw Valley. More
Leap year blues
If you're one of those who receive an annual salary, you should know that you'd be working an extra day without extra pay this year. More
From VeloNews: 'In Milan, chances are that the father will make that purchase in the Rossignoli bike shop because his father, his father’s father, and even fathers further back down the line bought their kids’ bikes there. That’s because Rossignoli was established in 1900 and the shop has been in the same location, on Corso Garibaldi, since 1926... As Rossignoli family members have done for 108 years, Renato and his siblings pay the same attention to detail and customer needs on a 200 Euro city bike as other shops might only devote to the most expensive racing bike.' More
Litespeed's new Icon road bike apparently "combines super-fast performance with a smooth, comfy feel", is "perfectly able to tear it up when required", and capable of taking "things steady on an all-day ride without leaving you feeling battered and torn". Features:
* Double butted head tube for lower weight.
* Litespeed titanium 3/2.5 G.E.T. (Geometric Enhanced Tubeset) top tube: swaged, drawn, ovalised and finally machined to create a stronger, stiffer and more responsive handling bike.
* Litespeed Titanium seat tube designed to be offset, giving greater bottom bracket contact area creating a lighter yet stiffer seat tube bracket junction.
* Litespeed Titanium G.E.T. WRAP down tube with bi-axial shaping and custom butting for increased stiffness and compliance.
* Bi-planar and shaped stays deliver stiffness and material performance specific to the differing forces and loads of the Drive side and non-drive side.
* Available in white, yellow and brushed. Custom paint & frame design available. MSRP: $3,500.00 (frameset only). More / Spex
The Victorinox Swiss Army Réserve de Marche Platine is the kind of timepiece you'd acquire more to keep than to wear... if you had $19,500 to burn, that is! Available in a limited edition of 60, it features mechanical self-winding movement technology and a power reserve indicator, and comes in a special collector’s case that includes a viewing magnifier loupe, special information package, numbered certificate of authenticity and Swiss-made rubber and hand-sewn leather straps. More
Pinnacle's limited edition "Pink and Blue" Plowman Craven Aeos Carbon team bike boasts the following features:
* Hanpainted Aeos C3 carbon fibre monocoque frame with unidirectional finish.
* Aeos carbon monocoque fork custom tuned with unidirectional finish.
* Dura-Ace shifters and derailleurs matched to FSA K-Force Light carbon cranks with ceramic bearings.
* Fulcrum Racing 3 wheelset.
* FSA K-Force Compact carbon fibre handlebar and OS-99 CNC stem with titanium bolts.
* FSA K-Force Light carbon fibre seat post with Prologo Choice saddle.
* Pinnacle pink gel handlebar tape.
MSRP: £2,499.99. More
