24 - June - 2012 - Daily News

Short of posting dozens of articles on the National Championships that are going on, here is a quick list that links to all the completed ones:

2012 National Championships index page

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/2012-national-championships-index-page)

Australia: Road race - Elite men, Elite/U23 women, U23 men; Time trial - Elite men, Elite/U23 women, U23 men
Austria: Road race - Elite men, Elite women
Belgium: Road race - Elite men, Elite women
Brazil: Road race - Elite/U23 men, Elite women
Canada: Road race - Elite/U23men, Elite women; Time trial - Elite/U23men, Elite women
Croatia: Road race - Elite men, Elite women
Czech Republic: Road race, Time Trial
Denmark: Road race - Elite men, Elite women; Time trial - Elite men, Elite women
Dutch Antilles: Road race - Elite men
Estonia: Road race - Elite men; Time trial - Elite men, Elite women
France: Road race: Elite men, Elite women;  Time trials - Elite men, Elite women
Germany: Road race: Elite men, Elite women; Time trial - Elite men, Elite women
Great Britain: Road race - Elite men, Elite women
Hong Kong: Road race - Elite men, Elite women
Hungary: Road race - Elite men, Elite women; Time trial
Ireland: Road race - Elite men, Elite women; Time trial
Israel: Road Race; Time trial - Elite men, Elite women
Italy: Road race - Elite men, Elite women, U23 men; Time trial - Elite men, Elite women, U23 men
Japan: Road race - Elite men, Elite women; Time trial - Elite men, Elite women
Luxembourg: Road race - Elite men, U23 men, Elite women; Time trial
Mexico: Time trial - Elite men, Elite women
Netherlands: Road Race - Elite men, Elite women, U23 Men; Time trial - Elite men, Elite women, U23 men
New Zealand: Road race - Elite men, Elite women, U23 men; Time trial - Elite men, Elite women, U23 men
Norway: Road race - Elite men, Elite women, U23 men; Time trial - Elite men, Elite women
Poland: Road race - Elite men, Elite women; Time trial - U23 men, Elite women, Elite men
Portugal: Road race - U23 men; Time trial - Elite men, Elite women, U23 men
Russia: Road race - Elite men; Time trial - Elite men
Serbia: Road race; Time trial
Slovakia: Road race; Time trial
Slovenia: Road race - Elite men, U23 men, Elite women; Time trial - Elite men, Elite women, U23 men
South Africa: Road race - Elite men, Elite women, U23 men; Time trial - Elite men, Elite women, U23 men
Spain: Road race - Elite men, U23 Men, Elite Women, Time trial - Elite men, Elite women, U23 men
Sweden: Road race - Elite women, Time trial - Elite men, Elite women
Switzerland: Road race - Elite men, U23 men, Elite women; Time trials - Elite men, Elite women, U23 men
Ukraine: Road race - Elite men
United States: Road race - Elite women, Elite men; Time trial - Elite men, Elite women, U23 men

Some cyclists, like Jakob Fuglsang, are surprised when left off their team's Tour de France roster. Other riders, not so much...

Thomas Dekker says 2012 Tour de France too early for him

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/thomas-dekker-says-2012-tour-de-france-too-early-for-him)

Thomas Dekker was not surprised to be left off the Garmin-Barracuda squad for the Tour de France, stating that he is not yet ready for a race of that difficulty. “It's just too early. I'm too far from the level needed for the Tour,” he said.

The Dutchman served a two-year doping suspension and has been back in the peloton for nearly one year. “It's just a tough sport and you notice that you don't have the hardness,” he told NU.nl. “In the Tour de Suisse I rode 1400 kilometers in nine days. I need more of these competitions."

Giro d'Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal was named as the US team's general classification contender, with Tom Danielson and Christian Vande Velde as backups. “They are much better now and everyone has a certain role in a team. The rest should help them and that's never been my forte.”

Dekker was supposed to ride the Giro d'Italia, but had to pass due to knee problems. He still expects to ride a Grand Tour this year, the Vuelta a Espana. “And then there's the World Championships in my own country, so there is still a lot to go.”  He further expects to ride the Tour in 2013. "Otherwise it would be a significant disappointment."

He has one individual win this season, the fifth stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe. His next race is Sunday's Dutch national road race.

Here's an update from a rider that I have missed in the Tour...

Jan Ullrich: "I would have acted differently"

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/jan-ullrich-i-would-have-acted-differently)

Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich hasn't raced professionally since his removal from the Tour 2006 and seems to have finally moved on from the difficult years which followed his dramatic exit from the sport. The German is currently ‘serving’ a two year suspension for his involvement in Operacion Puerto while he has no intension of returning to the sport.

Ullirch may have no desire to race again but believes he should have been honest when his case first came to light: "I wanted to protect my family and was advised not to express myself. In hindsight I would have acted differently" he told Bild am Sonntag (bild.de).

He still remains coy about the exact details in relation to the doping case and said that "the issue was closed with the court’s verdict". Ullrich is disappointed about the length of time it took for his case to be resolved, rather than the verdict itself. He did however admit "I’m partially to blame". All of his results from May 2005 have since been stripped but he has tried to move on with his life. He has been riding his bike, clocking more than 10,000km this year. "Since I am active again, the head is clear again. I am much more energetic" he said.

Ullrich was asked if he had considered the possibility of being awarded the winner of a few more Tours de France - if Lance Armstrong was found guilty and stripped of his titles - but instead hoped for a faster resolution to the case and not necessarily the outcome: "I get the developments but do not follow it" he said.

In the meantime Ullrich keeps himself busy running a number of businesses including cycling camps and promoting an anti-hair-loss shampoo. He also contributes to a blog on eurosport.

Surprisingly, there was no RadioShack Nissan Trek news today that I saw. However, I am going to end with an article about my favorite, Thor Hushovd. I know this is 4 years down the road, but it still makes me sad...

Bergen 2016 Worlds could be Hushovd's last race

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bergen-2016-worlds-could-be-hushovds-last-race)

Thor Hushovd has said that riding in the 2016 World Championships in Bergen, Norway, would be the perfect end of his career – assuming the city is awarded the races.  “I think I can guarantee that it would be my last race,” he said.

If Bergen is awarded the championships, then “I feel I would have to say yes” to continuing to ride until then, Hushovd said, according to procycling.no.

“To ride in the Worlds is a great experience anyway, but to do it at home would be a dream,” said Hushovd, who would be 38 in 2016.

The BMC Racing Team rider fought a virus much of the first half of the season, and decided to skip the national championships and the Tour de France in order to concentrate on the 2012 London Olympics.

“The feeling is completely different now than it was a few weeks ago. Now I'm 100 percent focused on the Olympics and the rest of the season,” he said.