A Candid, Up-Close Chat with Cadel Evans

You gotta love a pro bike team's training camp. The guys are looser, the access is better, and in general, everybody is affable and available.

World champ Cadel Evans has been known to have his, er, um...moments...with the media, but we found Cadel to be both easy-going and eager to talk at BMC camp in Agoura Hills, CA.

What started out as a video shoot of Cadel and his bike turned into an off-the-cuff conversation with Cadel about both the man and his machine. It's a rare candid moment with Cadel, in this CycleTo video.

What REALLY Goes On in a Pre-Ride Conference?

It happens before every pro training session. The riders get all kitted-up, and one of the directors goes over the route and rules of the road for that day's ride.

We eavesdropped on BMC director Mike Sayers as he talked to his troops before a recent ride at their Agoura Hills, CA camp.

Listen closely to Sayers' first suggestion, and also the last very comment, in this CycleTo video.

First Photos of the BMC Team at SoCal Camp

The weather gods were smiling down on the royalty of cycling today.

After a week of wind and rain and cold temps, the day dawned sunny and dry for the boys on the BMC pro team at their Agoura Hills, CA training camp.

Fresh from their rides at the Tour Down Under, world champion Cadel Evans and US champ George Hincapie lead the team through an easy 90 minute roll through the countryside northwest of Los Angeles.

Want to see what it looked like? Ride along with BMC, in the following CycleTo photos, here.

This Week's Freebie - USA Cycling Socks

You may never be selected for the USA national team, but with this week's freebie, you can at least look like you're on the team.

We're giving away a pair of USA Cycling socks, featuring the distinctive logo designed by graphic artist Michael Schwab.

To enter your name in the running for this week's CycleTo freebie, go here.

Love 'em or Hate 'em - Your Opinions on the New BMC Look

Last week, we asked CycleTo readers to give us their honest opinions on the new team uniforms of the 2010 BMC pro cycling squad.

...and you gave us an earful.

Opions ranged from, "Looks pretty badass" to "Cadel looks like he has a beer belly"...OUCH!

The consensus seems to be good...most people seem to like the new design, and the new colors, of the BMC kits.

Check out some of the better comments, here.

Video of Levi Bombing Down on a Mountain Bike

We all know that Levi Leipheimer is a helluva road bike racer, but have you ever seen him on a mountain bike?

During the off-season, Levi spends a lot of time training on the dirt trails in and around his California home.

On a recent ride, his friend Roger Bartels tagged along and captured the experience on video.

The footage is great, and the fact that Bartels could keep up with Levi as he bombed down a hill is even more impressive. Check it all out, in this CycleTo video. And...hang on tight!

Doctor, Doctor Give Me the News - Eric Heiden & BMC

We'd all like our own personal physicians to be able to relate to the passions we have for our sport. You want your doc to understand your various aches, pains and problems.

Who better to consult with the riders on the BMC team than Eric Heiden, the Tour de France veteran and five-time Olympic speed skating gold medalist?

Since his retirement from both sports, Dr. Heiden has built a career as one of the top orthopedic surgeons in America. He and Dr. Max Testa were on hand in California this week, to run the BMC squad through a set of specific tests at the Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa.

We asked Dr. Heiden if this intense testing was new for the BMC team, in this CycleTo video.

Fit to Ride? Dr. Testa Tests the BMC Team

You would think that all pro cyclists are all physically fit and in tip-top shape, right?

Yes, but before any pro is cleared to race, the UCI needs to know that they can handle the rigors of the road.

The new-and-improved BMC pro team is training in and around Santa Rosa, Californa, this week.

For the BMC boys, pre-season camp includes a trip to Napa for a battery of basic physical tests at the Queen of the Valley Medical Center, under the watchful eyes of Drs. Max Testa and Eric Heiden.

Dr. Testa talks about what they look for when they poke and prod these pros, in this CycleTo video.

Our First Look at Ballan's BMC Rainbow Stripes

The world has already seen the new 2010 jerseys for world champ Cadel Evans, US champ George Hincapie the BMC pro team.

But you haven't seen this one.

This is the special jersey made my Hincapie Sports for 2008 world champion Alessandro Ballan. As a former world champ, Ballan has earned the right to wear the rainbow stripes on his kit. His jersey is the basic red and black of the BMC team, with the blue, red, black, yellow and green stripes of a champion.

Nice.

Black CycleTo Jerseys - Major Discounts on Mediums

The weather outside is frightful in much of North America, and we want to help some of you get out on your bikes.

We've been taking stock of all the CycleTo gear that we have here on-hand, and we discovered that we have a whole bunch of the black, long sleeve CycleTo jerseys, size Medium.

So, what the heck...let's put 'em on sale.

This week, we're selling all the size Medium black CycleTo jerseys at our cost...$74.99. That's a helluva deal on these custom jerseys from Vermarc.

If you want one, you better act fast. We might not be this generous next week! You can order your own black CycleTo jersey here.

The 2010 Racing Season is Here...and There

The 2010 bike racing season begins this Sunday, with Australia's Tour Down Under. Between now and the end of the year, we'll see some pretty serious races, beginning in Australia and then moving to Belgium, Italy, France and on across the world.

But there's a less serious side to the sport, too.

One of our all-time faves here in the US is the annual Tour de Nez. Yes, it's a bike race, but it's also a great party, and a great excuse to get away to high country along the California-Nevada border.

The 2010 Tour de Nez is set to run from June 17-19. For more on this celebration of all things cycling, go here. And for a look at the history and the happening that is the Tour de Nez, check out this CycleTo video.

This Week's Freebie - Astana Team Bottle and Cap

Relics of a time gone by may soon become collector's items.

The 2010 Astana team is very different from the squad we saw on the roads in 2009. Aside from a whole lot of different guys, Astana now has new bikes, new clothes and new swag.

We have some great goodies from the 2009 Astana team for our CycleTo freebies this week...an official cap and water bottle, from the team of Lance, Levi, Klöden and Horner.

To register for this week's freebie two-fer, go here.

A High-Tech Cure for the Winter Blahs

Let's face it...across much of the world, it's just too damn cold to get outside and ride these days.

So, what's the alternative? For most of us, it's endless hours of bordedom on the indoor trainer, where the view never changes and the wind never cools us off.

But we may have found an answer. Check this out. Aki Mimoto lives in Vancouver, BC. He's found a way to combine his indoor trainer, his computer, and Google Street View to give him an ever-changing scene that responds to both his speed and where his head is looking.

Aki explains it all, in this CycleTo video.

Travel To Italy with Mari Holden in 2010

If you could design your own dream trip, you'd spend your days riding the roads of Italy, with full mechanical support and staff to take care of your bikes and laundry. Your meals would be prepared by a Michelin-rated chef, you'd sleep in historic mansions and villas, and your guide on the road would be a world champion.

Too good to be true? Nope.

You can live your cycling dream this spring on a trip to Italy lead by US and world champ Mari Holden.

Mari has scouted the roads, the villas and the food, and selected the best spots for her week-long adventure in Italy.

You can read all about Mari's spring cycling camp, here.

And you can check out Mari talking about all the details of her Italian excursion, in this CycleTo video.

Team RadioShack - Out on a Lim?

They're cycling's version of the over-the-hilll gang.

Team RadioShack's 2010 roster features some of the oldest guys in the sport. Both Lance Armstrong and Chris Horner are 38, while Levi Leipheimer is 36.

So, what can anyone tell these guys that they don't already know?

Enter Dr. Allen Lim, a sports physiologist, nutrition and training guru, and refugee from the Garmin-Slipstream team. At age 37, Lim is smack-dab in the middle of RadioShack's seniors. Allen was brought on-board to help the RadioShack guys...all the guys, both young and old... reassess, retool and refine their work on and off the bike. He may be the final piece to a puzzle that propels this first-year team to the top of the Tour de France podium.

Listen to what Dr. Lim has to say about working with, and learning from, the older riders on the RadioShack team...in this CycleTo video.

Does Team RadioShack Have a Secret Weapon?

Pro bike teams are always looking for an edge...something that will give them a leg-up on their rivals. Something that will put their guys on the podium.

The brand-new 2010 RadioShack squad thinks they have the answer. It's not a new bike or some new post-ride potion.

This year, Lance, Levi and the rest of the RadioShack guys will have one of cycling's great gurus giving them advice, counsel and...they hope...the keys to success on the road. Levi Leipheimer talks about the guy who could make a big difference on his team this year, in the following CycleTo video, here.

This Week's Freebie - CyclePassion 2010 Calendar

Our first freebie of 2010 will keep you up-to-date all year.
The 2010 CyclePassion calendar features world cup winners, Olympic medalists and national champions in distinctly non-cycling situations.

Produced in Germany and sold throughout the world, the calendar is already a huge hit.

We'll be giving away the CyclePassion calendar here on CycleTo. To enter your name in the running for this freebie, go here.

Best of 2009 - Bandit Bites Back!

We have one more memorable moment to show you from 2009. For some, this is a moment that they'd probably like to forget.

The scene was Solvang, CA. Levi Leipheimer had just won the time trial in the Tour of California, and in our attempt to get a first-hand reaction from Levi's wife Odessa, we got a lot more than we asked for.

It's one of those moments that happens in the blink of an eye...but it left a big impression. See it again for yourself, here.