The Dauphine is often a proving ground for new technology ahead of its debut at the Tour de France in 3 weeks time. This year, along with a number of teams debuting Dura Ace 9000 groups, Trek has put several Radioshack Nissan riders on what appears to be the new Madone. Supposedly dubbed the 7 series, it's currently unknown if this aero offering will replace the current 6.9SSL or be an addition to the lineup.
Hot on the heels of some released Dura Ace 9000 information, photos have been appearing on the web of a one Alex Dowsett's Pinarello Dogma 2 kitted out in prototype Dura Ace 9000 mechanical parts. Apparently Nieuwsblad was the perfect testing ground for such new parts, as they were also spied on Carlos Barredo's spare Giant on the team car. Interestingly, they were the only two bikes to be seen with the new 11 speed variant, which is surprising given the supposed Fall 2012 release date and the number of pros riding Shimano transmissions for the early classics. The spy shots show levers, brakes and rear cluster/derailleur, all relatively unmarked/branded/finished, which is typical for prototype parts, so speculation remains as to the finish and aesthetics. Anyway, enough posturing, let's get a look at the photos.
Looking at the shifters, they certainly look to be mimicking the current Campy line and (new) SRAM Red shifters:
Two more photos after the break.
After Caisse d'Epargne departed last year, we were treated to the lime and navy kit accented with white. A little more white appears along the opposite side panel of the jersey, but otherwise little has changed from last year.
The personnel changes are more intriguing than the kit changes. Vuelta champion J.J. Cobo has come aboard after the dissolution of Geox-TMC and Alejandro Valverde has returned from a 2 year suspension imposed by the Court for Arbitration for Sport.
2012 is here, and with the turn of the new year, contracts in the pro ranks renew and riders are free to present their new team kits for the coming season. Let's take a look at some of the team kits that have been revealed thus far:
Pro Team Astana is sporting a look that is very similar to their kits from last year. There is a lot of pastel/aqua/electric blue paired with bright yellow and white. Of course, these colors intimately mimic the flag of the sponsoring nation. Everyone will know that the team is the brainchild of Alexander Vinokourov, and is designed to fly the colors of (make glorious power of wonderful nation) Kazakstan.
The kit itself would benefit from some darker colors to separate the pastels from one another, but we've become used to seeing this design (it's basically unchanged from last year) so it's not a big deal.
Shrewd in the transfer market, you can look for Vinokourov to be flanked by Janez Brajkovic, Borut Bozic and Roman Kreuziger.
Giro stage three should have been a mundane day for the peloton. A cat 3 climb summiting with about 39K to go, then descending down to a cat 4 climb with 9K to the finish. Easy day, right?
Sadly, tragedy struck on the descent of that Cat 3. Wouter Weylendt, Belgian fast man racing for Leopard Trek, crashed due to, what race officials said “his left pedal got stuck in a wall at the side of the road, forcing Weylandt to tumble around 60 meters to the ground below.)” He was attended to by race doctors, but died on the scene from the injuries sustained in the crash. It's a terribly sad event that overshadowed a great stage of racing, and will no doubt cast a pallor over the next few days of the race.