Well, week one of 2011 has been and gone so it is time for the Friday round up. May we take this opportunity to wish all our blog readers a wheelie happy New Year – here’s to a good one!
The week’s news in brief:
Team Leopard Trek are go.
This week saw the grand launch of Team Leopard Trek – the official name for what had been nicknamed the Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project. Brothers Schleck and Cancellara were in attendance, as was team manager Brian Nygaard and UCI President Pat McQuaid. In a setting reminiscent of a film premier (or perhaps the Team Sky launch if we were feeling cruel) Team Leopard revealed their riders, kit and their tricked out Trek Madone’s.
Brothers Schleck and Nygaard model the new kit, what do you think?
Team Leopard Trek's Madone, smart but not what you'd call stand out.
Here at PBK Towers we’re a bit ambivalent about the kit to be honest. No leopard spots, no claw marks, no teeth, no tail – so many missed opportunities?! We can see the Madone being very popular in the Leopard-Trek livery which will be available to consumers. They’ve certainly set themselves up as being the next big thing, so we’re looking forward to a very interesting year in the peloton!
Armstrong drops out of New Zealand Triathlon.
Who will McConaughey run with now? Will Lance take his top off anyway?
In what will inevitably be a big disappointment for the organisers, competitors and spectators alike – Lance Armstrong has announced he will not be taking part in the Blue Lakes multisports triathlon in New Zealand. In a phone interview and through his twitter alter-ego (@juanpelota) Armstrong confirmed that cartilage damage to his knee has left him unable to run and leaving him no choice but to delay his return to triathlon. Luckily it hasn’t affected his cycling, so his participation in the Tour Down Under (check our PBK Blog preview) next week is still on. Armstrong will have to have surgery at some point to repair the cartilage damage – hopefully it won’t derail his suspected move to triathlon too much, although we suspect that rumours of a Hawaiian Ironman appearance in 2011 can probably be ignored.
Movistar’s Andrey Amador attacked.
Sadly, Andrey Amador is recovering after a brutal attack whilst out on a training ride in his home country of Costa Rica. The 24 year old, third year pro Movistar rider, was left unconscious for six hours before he woke and called for help. He has suffered kidney damage and a pulmonary contusion but he is reported to be recovering without complications. Let’s hope he’s back on a new bike soon, get well soon Andrey!
HTC-Highroad Camp.
It would seem they had some difficulty getting Cav on the right bike however!
This week HTC Highroad have also got in on the camp action, they travelled to the Specialized HQ in California to get their bikes fitted, do some training and generally bond as a team.
They look to have a strong team once again and it will be interesting to see how the Renshaw and Cav partnership works against the new sprint foe that is Greipel. We anticipate (and hope for) some exciting finishes!
Video of the week:
Check out this poor chaps attempt at folding his Brompton! We hope it is a joke…
Tweet of the Week:
This week’s tweet of the week and top training tip comes from one of our favourites, @Bigringriding:
@bigringriding AND THE REST! RT @harveygrainger: By mid-March you should be living in the big chainring. ~John Cobb
That’s our training plan taken care of then.
Pictures of the Week:
Not even pretending to support!
Look at this for a bike lock, although we suspect a normal lock would be quicker than duct tape - you'd have to be a patient thief!
Pick of this week’s new products:
Just in this week is the new Fizik Arione Versus saddle, with all the core features of the extremely popular standard Arione this Versus model features a pressure relief channel down the middle. If you haven’t checked it out, have a look at the Saddles Product Focus on the PBK Blog.
The other product to show you this week is the Shimano R670, a new addition to the Ultegra pedal range in a rather lovely black. If you’re unsure about which pedals to buy, or the differences between brands check out our Pedals Product Focus.
What are we up to this weekend?
John is playing rugby with a cold and getting initiated.
Grant is off to the big smoke (London) to go to the dungeons, once round the London Eye and the theatre.
Chris is sorting out life insurance and getting ready to go skiing next week.
And I have the family dog (Yogi the German Shepherd) for the weekend so a dog walk will replace tomorrows ride.
Have a great weekend, stay safe and see you all next week!
