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This Week in Pro Cycling - May 13, 2008
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the latest edition of The Prologue, the weekly summary of news from the world of competitive cycling by your friends at VeloNews.com.
Our favorite time of year is here! It's time for the grand tours and this year's Giro d'Italia promises to be special. Already, the race kicked off on an interesting note, with Christian Vande Velde becoming the first American in 20 years to wear the famed maglia rosa, the leader's jersey of Italy's national tour. Vande Velde earned the honor on the strength of a strong team time trial performance by his Slipstream team, finishing six seconds ahead of CSC and another second better than the other U.S.-based squad at the Giro, Team High Road.
Unfortunately, one of the big contributors to that effort - U.S. national time trial champion David Zabriskie - crashed out of the Giro only a day later and was taken to the hospital with a fractured L1 vertebrae. Vande Velde lost the jersey, too, that day, but remains just one second out of the lead, now held by Liquigas's Franco Pellizotti.
Ahead, the race moves to the north of Italy and you'll be able to keep track of some spectacular racing, great climbs and another three time trials, by following the Giro Live on VeloNews.com. Be sure to check in every day (except on the rest days) at around 8:00 eastern time here in the U.S. Patrick O'Grady and I will be offering up-to-the-minute reports throughout the Giro.
While you're at it, be sure to check out Lennard Zinn's tech columns from the Giro, in which he takes a look at a variety of issues, including what equipment riders used in the opening time trial and even what folks are using to slow down those expensive carbon wheels.
While much of Europe is focused on Italy, we have some great racing here in the U.S. My fellow VeloNews.com editor, Steve Frothingham, is in Oregon for the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic. Be sure to check in throughout the week for results, race reports from Steve and photos from our own Casey Gibson. If you're in the neighborhood, check out the racing, too. Mt. Hood has always been one our favorite events and this year promises to be one of the best.
Meanwhile, don't forget to try and step away from the computer - even if you are just checking out our site - and try to get some miles in. Have fun, have a good week and be safe out there.
Sincerely,
Charles Pelkey
Senior Editor - VeloNews.com
CPelkey@insideinc.com
